[She can think of something nicer to give him than a thin piece of ribbon. Something embroidered, perhaps, as it's a hobby she's taken up when the Hideaway is quiet and she's left with nothing but her thoughts.
Her fingers trail up and down his forearm that's across her body. There's a soft hum at his touch, body a bit tired from the previous night, but welcoming the contact.]
All those years apart, when I thought the worst had happened to you... I prayed you were at peace each night before I slept.
[The worst to happen to him may have been his reality, branded, forced to serve. Left to believe he killed his beloved brother. He had no peace.]
[ His hand stills, then gently draws away as he's reminded of his years as Sanbreque's Imperial wyrm; he doesn't want to touch Jill with that memory on his mind. Even though there was nothing good about their thirteen years of being apart, at the very least, Jill didn't have to endure him in such a pathetic state. ]
...I didn't deserve peace. Not back then.
[ But Jill is kind to say so, and he loves her for it. His chin rests on her shoulder, shoulders curled to fend off any tension. ]
I was such a wretched thing. So selfish, so small. Too afraid to even think of you, for the pain it would cause me.
[Jill isn't upset he pulls his hand away. This is a discussion that demands their full attention. She does find his hand and lift it to her lips, pressing a kiss to his knuckles before cradling it to her chest, over her heart.]
You did. You deserved peace and love and comfort. You did what you needed to do to survive.
[ Funny, how he finds Jill's circumstances easier to digest than his own. They led mirrored lives, being treated as barely more than things to be used by others' whims, and yet he thinks she had far more grace than he did.
But he won't waste either of their times weighing their pasts on scales. Instead, he splays his fingers gently over Jill's heart, and feels her pulse under her skin. Slow and steady, to a beat that he loves. ]
...I did. But I'm glad to no longer be that wyrm. [ Obviously. ] And to be slightly more deserving of your prayers now.
[ He knows he can be a wet blanket, but he would, in fact, like Jill to have some fun.
There are little vials of what look like oils in a box by the edge of the bath: Clive reaches for one of them and uncaps it, making sure that the contents smell appropriately nice (clean, floral) before he drops a bit of it onto Jill's shoulders for a nice lather.
Slyly, he tries to see if he can get away with some massaging as well. His thumbs dig gently into pressure points along Jill's shoulderblades, where she's bound to have some tension from holding herself so upright. ]
[She plants her hands on her knees. Behaving! And letting him dote as he pleases, humming when he begins his task, and... moaning, immediately, when he applies pressure. Stealing a page out of her book! But she's really in no position to complain.]
That's nice, Clive.
[Some praise for him before she forgets how to form words.]
[ Turnabout, etc. He loves that soft sound out of Jill's mouth, and he encourages more of it with careful drags of his fingers along ridges and planes, mapping Jill's body as much as he tends to it.
Because, again, he doesn't see much of her back. Maybe because he likes looking at her face too much to want to lay her on her stomach. ]
You're tempting me without even trying.
[ Jill could just be standing in a room, breathing, and Clive would think she was the most beautiful thing in the world. The bar is exceedingly low. ]
[It would be nice to lay on her belly, but obviously not in the water. Maybe later, once they're back home, she'll have to ask for him to rub her back again. He'll be happy to touch, she's sure, even if asking for such things doesn't come naturally to her. A common trait between them both.]
Your hands are... wonderful. I'm just trying to keep my head above the water.
[Really, she feels like she could sink down and drown without ever realizing it.]
[ Tarja would never let Clive go anywhere with Jill again if he let her drown halfway into their date. So he laughs and hefts her up a little higher onto his knees, cascading water over her shoulders to hastily rinse some of the suds off bath-warm skin. ]
It might have been more prudent for me to do this on the bed.
[ There are two of them in the rather ridiculously spacious suite, but he's sure they'll only need the one. ]
[ The lightness of her tone means that Clive doesn't let himself fuss. Instead, he quirks a quick smile (which he knows Jill won't be able to see, with him tucked behind her), then presses his lips to the back of her neck again. Just the barest suggestion of teeth follow. ]
I should hope that I satisfied you thoroughly.
[ His chest presses against her back, warm from his natural heat and the bathwater. ]
Mm. I'm trying my hand at this 'misbehaving' business.
[ Funny, coming from an outlaw-verging-on-terrorist. He's been misbehaving for ages now. But not like this, not in a way that makes him smile and feel playful, with his arms around Jill's middle and one hand dangerously close to cupping her chest. ]
[ The way he would have wilted like the saddest dog in the world if he'd thought that Jill meant any of that, even a little bit... but obviously she doesn't, and she does a very good job of invoking any sliver of alarm when she coaxes him to touch her the way she does.
Soft and warm. Clive palms her, and runs his thumb over the peak of her nipple. Savoring the way she feels, and trying to see if he can't pleasure her a little like this. ]
You could try not to make me fall more in love with you than I already am.
[ Please, Jill, his heart might explode. To distract himself from his own quickening pulse, he pinches at that sweet peak this time, rolling it gently between a thumb and forefinger. ]
[ Oh, sweet retribution. Karma swings back and hits Clive with that slow grind, which feels both welcome and far too good. He has half a mind to get up with Jill in tow and march them right to the bed that very second, actually.
(They'll probably catch cold if they do, though, and if that happens, Clive is going to be thrown in jail for the next week with Jill privileges revoked.) ]
Then you'll have to deal with my mounting infatuation. [ He clears his throat. ] Among other things.
[Tarja will be in a mood regardless of what they do here. In fact, Tarja expects it, now. Jill can only protect Clive so much, and ultimately, who could expect either of them to keep their hands off one another when sharing such a luxurious bath?
Although it's not like they wouldn't be in some sort of scandalous scenario even if they were camped out in a field for the night. The door of physical intimacy has been blown off its hinges.]
I happen to welcome your mounting infatuation and all that comes with it. Did you ever imagine I wouldn't?
[ Like a boy who's finally discovered how his cock works, which is sometimes how he feels around Jill when she's giving him attention. Surprised by his own sudden boner and how it drools every time he gets an inkling that Jill might be interested. ]
Like some sort of lecher. [ This is where Cid, were he alive to hear this, would have thrown his hands up and groaned. "Greagor's tits, listen to yourself, you dunce." ]
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[She can think of something nicer to give him than a thin piece of ribbon. Something embroidered, perhaps, as it's a hobby she's taken up when the Hideaway is quiet and she's left with nothing but her thoughts.
Her fingers trail up and down his forearm that's across her body. There's a soft hum at his touch, body a bit tired from the previous night, but welcoming the contact.]
All those years apart, when I thought the worst had happened to you... I prayed you were at peace each night before I slept.
[The worst to happen to him may have been his reality, branded, forced to serve. Left to believe he killed his beloved brother. He had no peace.]
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...I didn't deserve peace. Not back then.
[ But Jill is kind to say so, and he loves her for it. His chin rests on her shoulder, shoulders curled to fend off any tension. ]
I was such a wretched thing. So selfish, so small. Too afraid to even think of you, for the pain it would cause me.
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You did. You deserved peace and love and comfort. You did what you needed to do to survive.
[They both did.]
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But he won't waste either of their times weighing their pasts on scales. Instead, he splays his fingers gently over Jill's heart, and feels her pulse under her skin. Slow and steady, to a beat that he loves. ]
...I did. But I'm glad to no longer be that wyrm. [ Obviously. ] And to be slightly more deserving of your prayers now.
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[Now that he feels like a man of some worth to the world. Someone who can change it, like Cid dreamed.]
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You help me feel deserving. [ Drumming his fingers along her chest, slowly. ] I'm a lucky man.
[ A hum, and he rests his chin against Jill's shoulder. ] ...Now, let me wash your back before I distract myself further.
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Very well.
[The sooner he does hers, she can do his.]
I'll try to behave.
[She scoots forward. So far, so good.]
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Not too hard, I hope.
[ He knows he can be a wet blanket, but he would, in fact, like Jill to have some fun.
There are little vials of what look like oils in a box by the edge of the bath: Clive reaches for one of them and uncaps it, making sure that the contents smell appropriately nice (clean, floral) before he drops a bit of it onto Jill's shoulders for a nice lather.
Slyly, he tries to see if he can get away with some massaging as well. His thumbs dig gently into pressure points along Jill's shoulderblades, where she's bound to have some tension from holding herself so upright. ]
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[She plants her hands on her knees. Behaving! And letting him dote as he pleases, humming when he begins his task, and... moaning, immediately, when he applies pressure. Stealing a page out of her book! But she's really in no position to complain.]
That's nice, Clive.
[Some praise for him before she forgets how to form words.]
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Because, again, he doesn't see much of her back. Maybe because he likes looking at her face too much to want to lay her on her stomach. ]
You're tempting me without even trying.
[ Jill could just be standing in a room, breathing, and Clive would think she was the most beautiful thing in the world. The bar is exceedingly low. ]
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Your hands are... wonderful. I'm just trying to keep my head above the water.
[Really, she feels like she could sink down and drown without ever realizing it.]
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It might have been more prudent for me to do this on the bed.
[ There are two of them in the rather ridiculously spacious suite, but he's sure they'll only need the one. ]
Are you tired from the travel?
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[She'll be happy to request his hands on her back. Hands on her everywhere, really.
Jill is going to be even more of a regular patient of Tarja's. Oh, well. It can't be helped.]
No more than usual. You?
[Then, she adds--]
Truthfully, I'm more tired from last night than the journey here.
[Happily so, says the tone of her voice.]
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I should hope that I satisfied you thoroughly.
[ His chest presses against her back, warm from his natural heat and the bathwater. ]
Else I might be tempted to redeem myself.
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When I said I would try and behave, that was under the assumption that you would as well.
[Far from a complaint given the way she leans back into him.]
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[ Funny, coming from an outlaw-verging-on-terrorist. He's been misbehaving for ages now. But not like this, not in a way that makes him smile and feel playful, with his arms around Jill's middle and one hand dangerously close to cupping her chest. ]
I think you might like it more than you let on.
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[Not a trace of it in the purr of her voice. Likely not in the way she slides her free hand over his to coax him to palm her breast.]
We should be good.
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Soft and warm. Clive palms her, and runs his thumb over the peak of her nipple. Savoring the way she feels, and trying to see if he can't pleasure her a little like this. ]
I want it to be very good for you, Jill.
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[Her nipple is quickly hardening under his touch. Her sigh is a contented one, eyes closing as her fingertips trace the back of his hand.]
Every moment with you is good.
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You could try not to make me fall more in love with you than I already am.
[ Please, Jill, his heart might explode. To distract himself from his own quickening pulse, he pinches at that sweet peak this time, rolling it gently between a thumb and forefinger. ]
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I'm only telling you the truth.
[And he doesn't get to have all the fun. Jill shifts back to give her ass a slow, pointed grind against him.]
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(They'll probably catch cold if they do, though, and if that happens, Clive is going to be thrown in jail for the next week with Jill privileges revoked.) ]
Then you'll have to deal with my mounting infatuation. [ He clears his throat. ] Among other things.
[ Like his semi, currently poking at her thigh. ]
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Although it's not like they wouldn't be in some sort of scandalous scenario even if they were camped out in a field for the night. The door of physical intimacy has been blown off its hinges.]
I happen to welcome your mounting infatuation and all that comes with it. Did you ever imagine I wouldn't?
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[ Like a boy who's finally discovered how his cock works, which is sometimes how he feels around Jill when she's giving him attention. Surprised by his own sudden boner and how it drools every time he gets an inkling that Jill might be interested. ]
Like some sort of lecher. [ This is where Cid, were he alive to hear this, would have thrown his hands up and groaned. "Greagor's tits, listen to yourself, you dunce." ]
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Listen to yourself, my love.
[... okay, she's much gentler, to no one's surprise. Same intent.]
I like you overeager.
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