[ those are lovebites, possessive marks, and he's pretty sure those are outlines of fingers, which tells him a lot. but they are fresh, and it doesn't take much for him to try and put it together. the most obvious scenario is taboo, but ignis can't shake it off, not when he can feel albert's emotions with such clarity. ]
These marks... who made them?
[ ignis is not a jealous man, not really, but they are too purposeful to be careless -- he recognises the intent of them in a heartbeat, to mark and claim. he doesn't draw his hand away from those soft lips; in fact, he curls his fingers around his, openly curious. clearly, albert likes it rough, too. very rough. ]
[The most obvious scenario is the correct one, and Albert does have the presence of mind to be slightly shamefaced at his response. He knows it's taboo, of course. He knows better than anyone.]
...William, primarily.
[The rest of the story becomes important now, the secrets Albert should take to his grave, but that Ignis' eyes are going to ask.]
They're... not really my brothers. Not by birth. They're adopted. And William isn't his real name.
[He looks down, anywhere but at Ignis.]
I didn't tell you everything. I wasn't sure how. If I tell you how we came to be brothers, you may look at me less kindly.
[ technically not quite what it's supposed to be, then. ignis blinks, reaching out to trace light fingers over the marks, quietly fascinated. he is no stranger to this kind of play, and he lightly curls his hand over the back of his neck. there is more that comes out, even heavier things, it seems, and ignis is quiet for a moment, contemplating him. ]
Are you ready to tell me this tonight, or should it be something for another day?
[The honest truth, as he tips his head to the side and lets Ignis explore.]
I want so badly for you to break me. Claim me. Everything I've been too good to ask for. I need to be yours. I can't... I can't shake that need. The entire time I was with my brothers I felt you. I should have come here.
[He sounds a bit hollow again, saying that.]
But if you do let me in without knowing, I'll fear you'll regret being with me at all. Then again, if I do tell you, maybe I can begin to atone somehow. It is unforgivable, I know, all of it. We were the devils ourselves, and I began it all.
[He looks at Ignis with fear and more than a touch of sadness.]
[ ignis is silent for a long moment, considering him with care. it's clear what albert needs, what he says with all honesty that stirs up something primal in ignis, something very much like the darker side of desire.
his fingers press lightly over the more egregious, darker marks, reading the intent behind all of it -- that albert belongs to another, first and foremost. and yet. yet he comes, and yearns to be his.
he leans forward to press a soft kiss to a particularly vivid bruise, right over the pulse point of his throat. there will be no peace until albert confesses, and something tells him that it's something he's kept buried from everyone for a long, long time.
he looks back at him steadily, reading the fear and sadness in those lovely green eyes, feeling the aching tremble of it through their bond. ]
Courage, my dear Albert.
[ he says softly. it is only in shedding the last vestiges of his defenses that ignis can truly break and claim him. and albert needs this, more than anyone else he knows. ]
[Albert lets the marks be explored, sins that they are, one layered atop another and atop another still. He'll never escape them, and these are sins he'll go back to willingly and with love. William is, after all, his life.
How does he explain this? The pain borne from good intentions? Knowing the path led where it did? He hesitates... but looks deep into Ignis' eyes.]
Our first victims--my first--were my mother and younger brother, William.
[Somehow just voicing the unspeakable takes a weight off Albert's shoulders that he had no idea was so heavy. How can Ignis draw this out of him after over a decade? How can he make him want to be whole again?]
...When I was a child, I did work at an orphanage. I read to the children there, visited them constantly. Two new children arrived, and I... I fell in a deep fascination with his ideals. I would've called it love then. These two children were adopted into the Moriarty family at my behest, but my family loathed them. They were horrific to them, though they paid for a life saving surgery for Louis, they worked him to the bone, and abused the other constantly.
[He takes a deep breath, quelling the years-old rage he still feels. Death was too good for them.]
I asked if murder was an acceptable route to an ideal world, one where no noble could trample another commoner again. I killed them with my own hands, ultimately, and we burned the house down... killing my father as well and the household servants. William took my younger brother's name and identity. We trained as teenagers to fight, to survive and to reach those ideals.
[He smiles, sad and sincere.]
Everything I've done has been for William: my military service, my work with MI6, everything I've done here as well. I love him. I always have. And Louis... I wanted to protect him as much as William did. But somehow... he has my position now in his time, and I am no longer in the picture. I don't know how I feel about any of it.
ignis is silent throughout, eyes widening in surprise when he finally drops the bomb: that he murdered his family for it. that the home he had come from had necessitated such a terrible, terrible thing. he is somber, mouth set in a grim line as the story continues. for a kind, gentle soul like albert, he has done monstrous things. in between them, the air is heavy with the awful truth, and ignis doesn't do anything to dispel it.
he absorbs everything, the abuse toward the young children, the seething hypocrisy that he's certain albert chafed at and hated more than anything else. what had gone through his head as he killed his family, he wonders? is murder truly an acceptable route to an ideal world? who is ignis to say whether it is or isn't? noctis will pave the way to the world of light with his death. all the sacrifices, the deaths that have happened on their watch, all of it had been to ensure that noctis fulfilled his purpose.
and so here, right now... something in his chest tightens as he studies him. he reaches out silently now, touching his cheek somberly. it's clear as day, his love for his adopted brothers, that selfless, giving spirit that had compelled him to do such terrible things. now, everything makes more sense, all of it coming together to paint a tragedy, with albert in the middle of it all.
[For all that he's been through and all that he's seen and done, Albert still feels intense conflict about what he's done. Was it truly right? Was it avoidable? Was there another way?
The waver in Ignis' emotions outweighs the rage he feels, the rage that numbs and dulls him. Suddenly, he's worried, suddenly he's looking into those beautiful eyes with his own of dulled emerald and searching for what he's supposed to say.]
...I don't know. The one thing I know I regret for certain is William dying. I've ever wanted to die in his stead, when the time came. To atone, to be sent to the Hell I rightly deserve. I was the one who started this. I [his voice wavers] should've been the one to die.
[ ignis can feel it, the conflict raging alongside albert's fury, the reassuring fact that albert, for all of his confidence, doesn't know. his uncertainty speaks volumes of albert's thoughts, his heart, his decency.
he meets his own, measured as he considers his own response. surprise and shock, of course -- but also a growing understanding and curiosity that has never been dampened. ignis doesn't pull away from him, doesn't condemn him. how can he, when he deals in shades of grey? how can he, when albert tells him he wants to die in his stead, so much like ignis himself that it pierces his heart?
he frowns now, shaking his head. ] ...Albert.
[ he can almost taste it, the guilt, the sorrow, the desire to be punished. the foundation of a good man who has done terrible things and is suffering the weight of it. his heart aches for him, and he finally speaks up. ]
Would he have wanted you to do that? This burden that you bear is heavier than even I can imagine. But let me ask you this: if you are to atone, how will you do that with death? Atonement is made by the living, for the living.
[He is an open book to this man, now. He has only spoken of the ill he has done and not the good that came of it, of course, but he sees the conclusions for only a moment before moving on to the next problem. He's never been one to rest for long.
And Ignis is right. Albert is riddled with guilt over something that makes little sense. William, in all his brilliance, would never let Albert die. William would want him to live. And Albert knows that being alive and suffering every day with the burden of what he did, trying to make things right in the world, is the only way.
This much he knows, and hearing it confirmed by someone who is as brilliant and cunning and wonderful as Ignis somehow makes his heart feel a little less cold, his stomach a little less sick.]
It's... what I've pledged to do here, actually. To live. To not kill again, unless I absolutely must. I've spoken with Colonel Moran about it, and my brothers as well. We'll see how things go forward, but... No more. I won't bloody my hands again if it isn't absolutely necessary.
[He can almost smile at that, with some small confidence. Life here is different, and there are ways he can affect change in this society. He can feel it.]
It's why I want to become a politician, to defend both the rights and treatments of those of us who are visitors, and those of the downtrodden. I'll make them listen. [A pause, and he raises a gentle hand to brush back some of his lover's hair.] Will you help me, Ignis? Will you walk this path with me? Atonement is my own burden, but if I have you by my side, I feel like the very world would quake before us.
[ albert doesn't need to explain the good that he has done. ignis, who has been groomed to be the guiding hand in the king's governance, is very aware of the ramifications of it in a country. theirs is a revolution that will shake the core tenets of the kingdom, with the potential to up-end the existing status quo, which is clearly what they've intended all along.
the plan is objectively brilliant. straightforward, but brilliant in its execution, even if ignis also knows, too, that sometimes hard decisions must be made, and that once this plan is done, none of the perpetrators may be suffered to live with freedom. with a successful revolution comes shackles, a grim reality ignis is certain albert and his brothers have reckoned with.
he nods at the plan, reaching out to cup his face, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his mouth with a small smile. sometimes killing is necessary -- ignis, whose very life belongs to the king, the crown, has no qualms carrying out the difficult tasks; duty above all.
but albert's plans are noble and genuine, earnest and steeped with such kindness that he can't help but smile. for a moment he reminds him of noctis, with his soft heart that makes ignis want to protect him, and he pulls him close, leaning into his touch. he looks back up at him, his gaze unwavering. ]
I will take your hand and walk with you. And I will help you however I can. Your conscience burdens you, which is a good thing, but take care not to let it drown you.
[He could have asked to find a better person. Ignis hasn't looked to judge him for any of this, and Albert's last secrets are gone. The brighter things he did--sparing Irene Adler, helping Colonel Moran, bringing in Moneypenny, to name a few--may never pass his lips. Ignis may never know the extremes Albert took in both directions, save those he took on behalf of his brothers.
Yet here Ignis sits, something gentle and true in his gaze that makes Albert wish he was able to be everything Ignis could want. He looks into those endlessly beautiful eyes and sees understanding and hope. It helps him to find his own, which the back and forth with his brothers and his own anguish could not help him claw his way to. He is kissed, adored, pulled close again, and it makes him feel the way he did when he once saw William ringed in a halo of light. Only this time, he won't mistake love for salvation. He can become whole here, he swears it, in time.
And he'll do it with this brilliant, beautiful, glorious, stalwart, generous man at his side.]
It drowned me daily for years. Yet every morning I woke, and the cycle repeated again. Now... I'll have to find my own ideals, won't I? My own reason for being alive.
[Because, much to his fearful disappointment, his brothers arriving did not solve everything immediately. They made his heart more complicated than before.]
I want to do it. I want to live. I honestly, truly do. And I want to be yours, as much as I've ever been William's.
[The question that was posed when they first met, as to whether they were men of ideals, if they had someone they would sacrifice everything for, has been surely answered for Ignis. To Albert, it was always William. With all his self-destructive passion, Albert pursued that for years.
This feels... not better, but different. That same passion--less destructively--could be turned on someone who walks beside him and not before him. Someone who holds his hand and sees him as worthy and valuable and so many other things he won't yet see in himself.
This man.]
I won't ask for more of you than I already have, but know that the part of you that lives in my heart is held dearest of all.
[ ignis doesn't judge not because he's essentially a good man -- it's just that he's aware of the myriad complications of different worlds, and he has seen albert's core goodness for himself, a trait that is impossible to fake. he might have done wildly questionable things, but the more time ignis spent with him, the more he sees the man underneath all these actions. deeply flawed, just like all of them, but a good man all the same.
and it is this belief that defines how ignis sees him, and he's silent at albert's courage in those words, the wherewithal to find a reason to live for himself, a purpose that ignis hasn't ever quite found for his own. his life is his duty, and his duty is noctis, and something in him flickers in the face of those words. is he a hypocrite to agree, when he has never quite been able to do this for himself?
ignis is silent for a long moment, lost in his own thoughts before he says -- ]
Then be mine, Albert.
[ even though he knows that it's not possible; if william is anything like noctis, the man will have an indomitable hold over albert, but the truth is that ignis understands, but even now, for a moment, albert can retreat to him and they can have it be true for the next few hours.
his arms come around him now, and he lifts him as he rises from his seat, carrying him to the bedroom that albert is surely more than acquainted with by now. ]
For now, at least. You'll be all mine. Let me lay claim on your heart anew.
[Never once in Albert's life did he think he'd be so able to be thrilled by being carried in someone's arms, held precious and close, guarded and wanted and kept. But Ignis has awoken all manner of bizarre things in him, including his desire to break away from what he was, what he's lived as for most of his life. Ignis makes him want to challenge his own heart, his ideals. One look into those pools of murky green makes his heart feel unbearably excited and impossibly peaceful at once. This man... has changed him in such a short time. Albert knows, in all his own foolish passion, that he is the sort to leap into arms that open for him in good faith.
Ignis is the prologue to a story, the entr'acte before the climax of an opera, an appetizer before a grand meal, something so easy to take for granted if one doesn't look deeper. But for Albert, these mundane things are beautiful beyond measure, comforting and cherished. Ignis is the same, a mystery in so many ways because Albert has feared digging deeper, but an open book at the same time. He reads into this one man's heart, and finds it holds all the answers he's sought his entire adult life. The answers aren't the stark black and white that Albert always clings to, but gray in every imaginable shade, subtle and nuanced.
His passion for this revelation may have spurred him to reveal his own heart entirely, but he doesn't regret it. He won't. And he wants this bundle of ideals and glorious freedom from a prison of Albert's own making to claim him and keep him. What he always needed and was afraid to pursue is here, in front of him. And he loves him, not what Ignis represents, but the truth in his words and the uncompromising way he deals with Albert's volatility.
For once in his life, Albert feels safe.
He's carried to the bed, and his arms wind around Ignis, fingers tracing through his hair with all affection.]
For now. [For as long as he can be.] Memorize every part of me, Ignis. I'll refuse to ever forget you.
[ albert is everything ignis finds that he wants to cherish and treasure. the first person outside of his fellow eosians and his brothers-in-arms who is truly his own. they've discovered each other on their own terms, fallen in love with each other over so sweetly and so impossibly. there is much they still have to learn about each other, but everything he has learned about albert is heartening -- he is a remarkably kind man made to do terrible things in an unkind, cruel world, a man who can still love so readily, so willingly despite everything that he has been put through.
and his wit, his intelligence, the sheer joy that albert's company brings him makes him want to pinch himself sometimes, makes him wonder if this is a fever dream that he will wake from one day, and pine forever for a man who exists only in his imagination.
but here and now, he has never felt more real as he clings to him. they are a perfect match in every way, albert with his goodness, challenging him to be better -- and ignis in his shades of grey, drawing albert out of absolutes, slowly but surely.
ignis loves him in turn, holds him like he's everything precious, and as he lays him on the bed and follows after with a smile, tugging the scarf free and unbuttoning albert's shirt, he smiles. ]
I'll make sure I'm seared into your heart, dear Albert. [ his hand moves between his open shirt, splaying possessively over the flat of his stomach. ] I'll worship every inch of you, all night long. Take your clothes off for me, darling.
[Everything about Ignis wakes up a long-dead part of Albert, something he clings to now that he's seen it again. This man believes in him, in his ideals and his righteousness, and believes that Albert can forge his own path forward. No matter how much he loves his brothers, he does need to learn to stand on his own, and to believe in his own way of doing things. Even in the absence of MI6, he is strong, a powerful force in his own right, and he doesn't need to hold himself back simply because he feels beholden to an ideal he chased when he was a child.
Even if he was right, he did terrible things. Even if he deserves punishment and has no right to atone in his own heart, he has the chance to walk a new path. The world as he knows it now is full of contradictions that shatter his desire to see black and white. It causes him no end of mental stress, but this... This man makes things seem possible. The joy he brings Albert, the companionship and company, the adoration... They make it possible for Albert to step into light he'd avoided in so many ways for so long. And he's grateful.
As he's tasked, he shrugs off his shirt, smiling up at Ignis warmly. This makes the ache of profound sadness feel more distant, manageable. He's going to be adored by this man, someone he loves with passion and fervor and a beautiful, endless steadiness.
The rest comes off just as quickly and easily, Albert discarding his clothing carelessly on the floor before reaching up to ease Ignis down into a kiss.]
You already are, you know. Seared into my heart. [A hand runs along Ignis' cheek.]
[ there it is, a pet name lovingly dispensed just for him, a glimpse into how ignis echoes his sentiments, how he reciprocates. albert is breathtakingly beautiful when he takes off his shirt, and he picks up on the sadness lingering, pausing for a moment to cup his cheek, leaning in to kiss him. it's gone quickly, like a butterfly in the morning light, but ignis wants to make sure he's all right all the same.
he draws him into a slow, sensuous kiss when he's fully naked under him, ignis himself still dressed as he gently spreads albert's legs, coaxing him around his waist. he lets his own feelings vibrate through their shared connection, the adoration and affection, the intensity of his own feelings and his desire, the genuine yearning to be with him, to take him however he can have him.
he looks into the fascinating, gorgeous green of his eyes, his hands coming to give his ass a playful little squeeze as he kisses him again, again and again, like he's long been addicted to the taste of his lips. ]
[It's breathless, Albert caught up in everything that is the glorious, incredible Ignis. He's kissed thoroughly, lovingly, in ways that leave him doubting absolutely nothing about the feelings Ignis has for him. They're together in this moment, just the two of them, and everyone else is far flung from Albert's thoughts.
He loves this man, honestly and with every part of his fragmented soul. His legs tighten around Ignis, even if his lover is still clothed, and Albert feels exposed but in a way that only serves to heighten the experience. It's like being taken, his breath and his heart stolen away and carried off. Nothing to hide means there's nothing Ignis can't reach, and as Albert's already bared his soul and his past, this is nothing at all by comparison. He will treasure this time, will cry out in lust and love, and mourning for his own spirit. Everything will be better, and he will feel more whole.
His hips rock against Ignis, though he's not hard yet and is simply taking in everything that is his lover. He wants to be impossibly close, marked and held and kept dear.]
[ he can feel it, the overwhelming, glorious way albert loves him, how the man winds around him and seeks him out. in this instant, albert james moriarty is the only man that matters. he revels in the difference between how they're dressed, how albert is so completely exposed to him, open and trusting -- so different from when they first met that it makes his heart skip a beat.
his fingers track over the lovebites that were left on his skin, vivid but fading, and he presses his mouth to the one over his pulse point and kisses it. he sucks hard, now, sealing his mark over it. another, and another -- there is an odd sort of possessive, perverse pleasure he finds in claiming albert for himself, when his mouth, hot and hungry, trails down over his chest to take a nipple in his mouth.
his hands are skilled, roaming his lovely body, a hand coming to curl around his cock as he slowly works him, stroking and playing with the shape and feel of his shaft, the weight of his balls, the patch of skin behind it that he teases. ]
I'll ravish you all day long. [ he murmurs, low and sultry as he looks up at him with dark green eyes. ] I'll make you come until you can't come anymore.
[ and he kisses his way down, spreading his legs further. ] Look at you. Any man would kill to have you, and you're mine.
[The promises Ignis pours on him make Albert's lips turn up into a joyous smile. He'll feel this tonight, and be his. It's crystal clear in the bonds between them that Albert is entirely captivated, that he won't look away from Ignis or so much as think of anything but him for the next several hours. Whatever may come after, in all its pain and tragedy, he can deal with. He can face them if he has this man by his side.
There's the smallest feeling in Albert that he tied himself to Ignis on that first night, when talk of ideals and loyalty mingled with loneliness and blind passion to make Albert more than willing to give over more than he usually would. Now, what he has to show for it is the only man here who knows all his secrets that didn't know them a mere month ago. What he has to show is overflowing affection that he can't contain.
Every mark Ignis makes sends a thrill up Albert's spine, his anguished thoughts melting into nothing. It feels good to be so wanted, claimed by strong, incredible men he has no illusions of ever parting from. They can make their marks, love or hate each other as fiercely as Albert adores them all, and he'll soak up every bit of the love he's shown. His fingers tangle in the sheets, eager and desperate.
Albert's hips rise as Ignis touches him, strokes and fondles and praises with his hands as well as his lips. He wants those hands to squeeze and undo him, wants those words to tear him apart.]
I'm yours. [The gravity of that isn't lost on Albert. He really will give his everything to Ignis, someone who sees his heart even when he doesn't see it himself. Moderation is what Ignis brings to his heart and mind, but in affairs like this he'd rather leave the moderation aside. Another man has killed to have him... and yet Albert is here. Selfishly.] Ruin me.
[ that permission, that request is all the permission ignis needs. he isn't a stranger to the rough side of sexual play -- in fact, he's proven quite a natural at it, adept at pain and pleasure both, and he's more than happy to show albert how it's done.
he can feel that joy, that recklessness, that sharpened desire and intent, the need for more. ignis has never felt more connected to him than tonight, their bond taut and crackling with mutual need and the ferocity for more.
the gravity of those words is not lost in ignis, either -- he knows that albert has someone he is steadfastly loyal to, someone he loves deeply, and for him to offer himself up like that is a tremendous thing. the weight of his words are significant, as is the way he gives himself over so completely to him, entrusting himself to ignis. he presses loving kiss-bites to the sensitive inside of albert's thigh now, marking him up as he lets his cock brush up against his cheek.
it's brief, fleeting, because as much as he wants to suck him off, now is not the time for that. he's fishing out the lubricant for them both, smearing a generous amount onto his fingers gripping his hip to urge him up and turn him over. ]
On your hands and knees, and face the mirror.
[ the full length mirror, perpendicular to the bed, right where ignis can watch his every expression when he claims all of him. he's helping him into position, coming up behind him with a smile, a possessive hand gripping his hip bruisingly tight. ]
Spread your legs for me, darling. Let me see your tight little hole.
[ his lube slick fingers find it, and he murmurs, ] Tell me, does it miss me?
[He has someone he intends still to die for, but that man is far from Albert's thoughts at the moment. His entire world right now, thanks to wrung-out emotions and a growing, dearly beloved lust, is Ignis.
Each bite makes him squirm, each mark that guarantees questions later, and he can't care at all. He's hasn't felt free from the shackles he put on himself for years, not properly, completely. The ball and chain of death and sin is far from here, discarded with his clothing and his caution when he walked through Ignis' door tonight.
Turned over, he knows without being told what position Ignis wants him in. The only variable here is the mirror--something they fondly use perhaps too often--something that will show Albert for hours just who he belongs to when he's in this room. So he faces it, eyes fixed on his own, red-ringed emerald looks back and telling him that whatever he is from here on, it starts today. And he doesn't have to look back.
It makes him smile.
Distracted, he almost misses Ignis instructing him. After a moment, his knees part further, and he arches his back just slightly, presenting said target to Ignis with all pleasure.]
It misses you so, Ignis. Please... don't make me wait. I need you.
[ he murmurs roughly, because you have no idea what your words do to him, albert. how they unravel him and make him wild -- or perhaps albert does. the sight of this elegantly beautiful man saying such filthy things to ignis makes him want to keep albert forever, to have him just like this.
he can feel albert, focused solely on him -- the echoes of his confession threaded in the strength, the deepening of their connection. he comes up behind him, admiring the look on his face before he looks down and spreads his cheeks, revealing that tight little puckered rim. the lube is taken out and smeared on his fingers in quick order, his own cock slicked before the tube is discarded in quick order.
he's so turned on it hurts, especially having albert on his hands and knees just like this. but as much as he wants to fuck him into oblivion, to plow into him and give him such a good fucking that he screams, he wants albert to know how much ignis adores him, how much he wants to ravish and worship. and so he does it, laying kisses down his spine, down, down until he reaches those spread cheeks and presses his lips to his hole.
lips, then tongue, pushing in slow as he urges him to relax, to open up for him. ]
[All he can offer in response to that comment is a gentle, self-deprecating laugh. There are precious few people who could wrench such words out from his silvered tongue. Albert is used to speaking firmly and plainly, but not used to letting himself be such base filth. Yet with Ignis, it comes so easily. It's like breathing clean, crisp morning air, invigorating and right.
At the same time, he wants to drown in this man's lust and never come up again. If he could die in a moment like this, beloved and treasured and given over to someone who sees him for who and what he is and still loves, still cherishes, he wouldn't regret a thing. He's on his hands and knees for no one, but for Ignis it's simple. For Ignis, it's right. He watches Ignis behind him, eyes sharp and full of desperate need, sure he's going to take him more swiftly and beautifully savagely than ever before...
But then he lowers himself, his head, his sweet lips, and presses them to Albert's tight waiting hole so gently. A shiver shakes Albert as he watches, his cock twitching faintly toward some semblance of hardness while his ass clenches, then relaxes with each breath he takes. Those lips are warm, welcome, loving, and he keens when Ignis presses his tongue inside. This is filthy, but it is somehow what Albert needed... A reminder that he is wholly and completely adored by this man, and that he'll be taken not as some object of pity or scorn, but as a beloved, dearly treasured other half.
They are so alike, and so different, in all the ways that make them fit together neatly. There is perfection in their imperfection, even delight in their depravity, and that is familiar and comfortable to Albert, too. How he wants Ignis to hurt him, to unmake him again. But first, to be loved so sinfully sweetly...]
Ignis...
[He feels the slight wetness and warmth at his hole and his body responds so kindly, relaxing little by little there even as his spine tingles and his fingers curl against the bedsheets.]
[ hearing his name fall from those lips is a magical, intoxicating feeling. he loves how albert gives in to him -- he knows that the man is expecting to be wholly, completely wrecked, and it will happen in due course; right now, ignis wants him to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that ignis loves him, that he wants him to be cherished and adored, and wanted.
the other half, indeed. he laps him up and spreads him further, deft fingers coming down to play with his balls and to let albert watch. he's teasing, stroking his cock before curling his fingers around it, inviting his lover to fuck into the circle of his grip while he pleasures him. ignis can feel the way he eases up around him, and he moves even more surely, his tongue burying inside of that tight little hole to explore, to fuck him just like that.
it's kisses, slick, wet little worshipful explorations inside of him, while his other hand comes to tease him open a little more, a lube-slick finger gently pushing inside of him alongside his questing tongue. ]
You're being so good for me, my darling... open up a little more. I need you to be ready to take me, mmmm?
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These marks... who made them?
[ ignis is not a jealous man, not really, but they are too purposeful to be careless -- he recognises the intent of them in a heartbeat, to mark and claim. he doesn't draw his hand away from those soft lips; in fact, he curls his fingers around his, openly curious. clearly, albert likes it rough, too. very rough. ]
no subject
...William, primarily.
[The rest of the story becomes important now, the secrets Albert should take to his grave, but that Ignis' eyes are going to ask.]
They're... not really my brothers. Not by birth. They're adopted. And William isn't his real name.
[He looks down, anywhere but at Ignis.]
I didn't tell you everything. I wasn't sure how. If I tell you how we came to be brothers, you may look at me less kindly.
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[ technically not quite what it's supposed to be, then. ignis blinks, reaching out to trace light fingers over the marks, quietly fascinated. he is no stranger to this kind of play, and he lightly curls his hand over the back of his neck. there is more that comes out, even heavier things, it seems, and ignis is quiet for a moment, contemplating him. ]
Are you ready to tell me this tonight, or should it be something for another day?
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[The honest truth, as he tips his head to the side and lets Ignis explore.]
I want so badly for you to break me. Claim me. Everything I've been too good to ask for. I need to be yours. I can't... I can't shake that need. The entire time I was with my brothers I felt you. I should have come here.
[He sounds a bit hollow again, saying that.]
But if you do let me in without knowing, I'll fear you'll regret being with me at all. Then again, if I do tell you, maybe I can begin to atone somehow. It is unforgivable, I know, all of it. We were the devils ourselves, and I began it all.
[He looks at Ignis with fear and more than a touch of sadness.]
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his fingers press lightly over the more egregious, darker marks, reading the intent behind all of it -- that albert belongs to another, first and foremost. and yet. yet he comes, and yearns to be his.
he leans forward to press a soft kiss to a particularly vivid bruise, right over the pulse point of his throat. there will be no peace until albert confesses, and something tells him that it's something he's kept buried from everyone for a long, long time.
he looks back at him steadily, reading the fear and sadness in those lovely green eyes, feeling the aching tremble of it through their bond. ]
Courage, my dear Albert.
[ he says softly. it is only in shedding the last vestiges of his defenses that ignis can truly break and claim him. and albert needs this, more than anyone else he knows. ]
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How does he explain this? The pain borne from good intentions? Knowing the path led where it did? He hesitates... but looks deep into Ignis' eyes.]
Our first victims--my first--were my mother and younger brother, William.
[Somehow just voicing the unspeakable takes a weight off Albert's shoulders that he had no idea was so heavy. How can Ignis draw this out of him after over a decade? How can he make him want to be whole again?]
...When I was a child, I did work at an orphanage. I read to the children there, visited them constantly. Two new children arrived, and I... I fell in a deep fascination with his ideals. I would've called it love then. These two children were adopted into the Moriarty family at my behest, but my family loathed them. They were horrific to them, though they paid for a life saving surgery for Louis, they worked him to the bone, and abused the other constantly.
[He takes a deep breath, quelling the years-old rage he still feels. Death was too good for them.]
I asked if murder was an acceptable route to an ideal world, one where no noble could trample another commoner again. I killed them with my own hands, ultimately, and we burned the house down... killing my father as well and the household servants. William took my younger brother's name and identity. We trained as teenagers to fight, to survive and to reach those ideals.
[He smiles, sad and sincere.]
Everything I've done has been for William: my military service, my work with MI6, everything I've done here as well. I love him. I always have. And Louis... I wanted to protect him as much as William did. But somehow... he has my position now in his time, and I am no longer in the picture. I don't know how I feel about any of it.
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ignis is silent throughout, eyes widening in surprise when he finally drops the bomb: that he murdered his family for it. that the home he had come from had necessitated such a terrible, terrible thing. he is somber, mouth set in a grim line as the story continues. for a kind, gentle soul like albert, he has done monstrous things. in between them, the air is heavy with the awful truth, and ignis doesn't do anything to dispel it.
he absorbs everything, the abuse toward the young children, the seething hypocrisy that he's certain albert chafed at and hated more than anything else. what had gone through his head as he killed his family, he wonders? is murder truly an acceptable route to an ideal world? who is ignis to say whether it is or isn't? noctis will pave the way to the world of light with his death. all the sacrifices, the deaths that have happened on their watch, all of it had been to ensure that noctis fulfilled his purpose.
and so here, right now... something in his chest tightens as he studies him. he reaches out silently now, touching his cheek somberly. it's clear as day, his love for his adopted brothers, that selfless, giving spirit that had compelled him to do such terrible things. now, everything makes more sense, all of it coming together to paint a tragedy, with albert in the middle of it all.
what can he say to that? ]
...Do you regret any of it?
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The waver in Ignis' emotions outweighs the rage he feels, the rage that numbs and dulls him. Suddenly, he's worried, suddenly he's looking into those beautiful eyes with his own of dulled emerald and searching for what he's supposed to say.]
...I don't know. The one thing I know I regret for certain is William dying. I've ever wanted to die in his stead, when the time came. To atone, to be sent to the Hell I rightly deserve. I was the one who started this. I [his voice wavers] should've been the one to die.
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he meets his own, measured as he considers his own response. surprise and shock, of course -- but also a growing understanding and curiosity that has never been dampened. ignis doesn't pull away from him, doesn't condemn him. how can he, when he deals in shades of grey? how can he, when albert tells him he wants to die in his stead, so much like ignis himself that it pierces his heart?
he frowns now, shaking his head. ] ...Albert.
[ he can almost taste it, the guilt, the sorrow, the desire to be punished. the foundation of a good man who has done terrible things and is suffering the weight of it. his heart aches for him, and he finally speaks up. ]
Would he have wanted you to do that? This burden that you bear is heavier than even I can imagine. But let me ask you this: if you are to atone, how will you do that with death? Atonement is made by the living, for the living.
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And Ignis is right. Albert is riddled with guilt over something that makes little sense. William, in all his brilliance, would never let Albert die. William would want him to live. And Albert knows that being alive and suffering every day with the burden of what he did, trying to make things right in the world, is the only way.
This much he knows, and hearing it confirmed by someone who is as brilliant and cunning and wonderful as Ignis somehow makes his heart feel a little less cold, his stomach a little less sick.]
It's... what I've pledged to do here, actually. To live. To not kill again, unless I absolutely must. I've spoken with Colonel Moran about it, and my brothers as well. We'll see how things go forward, but... No more. I won't bloody my hands again if it isn't absolutely necessary.
[He can almost smile at that, with some small confidence. Life here is different, and there are ways he can affect change in this society. He can feel it.]
It's why I want to become a politician, to defend both the rights and treatments of those of us who are visitors, and those of the downtrodden. I'll make them listen. [A pause, and he raises a gentle hand to brush back some of his lover's hair.] Will you help me, Ignis? Will you walk this path with me? Atonement is my own burden, but if I have you by my side, I feel like the very world would quake before us.
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the plan is objectively brilliant. straightforward, but brilliant in its execution, even if ignis also knows, too, that sometimes hard decisions must be made, and that once this plan is done, none of the perpetrators may be suffered to live with freedom. with a successful revolution comes shackles, a grim reality ignis is certain albert and his brothers have reckoned with.
he nods at the plan, reaching out to cup his face, leaning in to press a soft kiss to his mouth with a small smile. sometimes killing is necessary -- ignis, whose very life belongs to the king, the crown, has no qualms carrying out the difficult tasks; duty above all.
but albert's plans are noble and genuine, earnest and steeped with such kindness that he can't help but smile. for a moment he reminds him of noctis, with his soft heart that makes ignis want to protect him, and he pulls him close, leaning into his touch. he looks back up at him, his gaze unwavering. ]
I will take your hand and walk with you. And I will help you however I can. Your conscience burdens you, which is a good thing, but take care not to let it drown you.
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Yet here Ignis sits, something gentle and true in his gaze that makes Albert wish he was able to be everything Ignis could want. He looks into those endlessly beautiful eyes and sees understanding and hope. It helps him to find his own, which the back and forth with his brothers and his own anguish could not help him claw his way to. He is kissed, adored, pulled close again, and it makes him feel the way he did when he once saw William ringed in a halo of light. Only this time, he won't mistake love for salvation. He can become whole here, he swears it, in time.
And he'll do it with this brilliant, beautiful, glorious, stalwart, generous man at his side.]
It drowned me daily for years. Yet every morning I woke, and the cycle repeated again. Now... I'll have to find my own ideals, won't I? My own reason for being alive.
[Because, much to his fearful disappointment, his brothers arriving did not solve everything immediately. They made his heart more complicated than before.]
I want to do it. I want to live. I honestly, truly do. And I want to be yours, as much as I've ever been William's.
[The question that was posed when they first met, as to whether they were men of ideals, if they had someone they would sacrifice everything for, has been surely answered for Ignis. To Albert, it was always William. With all his self-destructive passion, Albert pursued that for years.
This feels... not better, but different. That same passion--less destructively--could be turned on someone who walks beside him and not before him. Someone who holds his hand and sees him as worthy and valuable and so many other things he won't yet see in himself.
This man.]
I won't ask for more of you than I already have, but know that the part of you that lives in my heart is held dearest of all.
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and it is this belief that defines how ignis sees him, and he's silent at albert's courage in those words, the wherewithal to find a reason to live for himself, a purpose that ignis hasn't ever quite found for his own. his life is his duty, and his duty is noctis, and something in him flickers in the face of those words. is he a hypocrite to agree, when he has never quite been able to do this for himself?
ignis is silent for a long moment, lost in his own thoughts before he says -- ]
Then be mine, Albert.
[ even though he knows that it's not possible; if william is anything like noctis, the man will have an indomitable hold over albert, but the truth is that ignis understands, but even now, for a moment, albert can retreat to him and they can have it be true for the next few hours.
his arms come around him now, and he lifts him as he rises from his seat, carrying him to the bedroom that albert is surely more than acquainted with by now. ]
For now, at least. You'll be all mine. Let me lay claim on your heart anew.
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Ignis is the prologue to a story, the entr'acte before the climax of an opera, an appetizer before a grand meal, something so easy to take for granted if one doesn't look deeper. But for Albert, these mundane things are beautiful beyond measure, comforting and cherished. Ignis is the same, a mystery in so many ways because Albert has feared digging deeper, but an open book at the same time. He reads into this one man's heart, and finds it holds all the answers he's sought his entire adult life. The answers aren't the stark black and white that Albert always clings to, but gray in every imaginable shade, subtle and nuanced.
His passion for this revelation may have spurred him to reveal his own heart entirely, but he doesn't regret it. He won't. And he wants this bundle of ideals and glorious freedom from a prison of Albert's own making to claim him and keep him. What he always needed and was afraid to pursue is here, in front of him. And he loves him, not what Ignis represents, but the truth in his words and the uncompromising way he deals with Albert's volatility.
For once in his life, Albert feels safe.
He's carried to the bed, and his arms wind around Ignis, fingers tracing through his hair with all affection.]
For now. [For as long as he can be.] Memorize every part of me, Ignis. I'll refuse to ever forget you.
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and his wit, his intelligence, the sheer joy that albert's company brings him makes him want to pinch himself sometimes, makes him wonder if this is a fever dream that he will wake from one day, and pine forever for a man who exists only in his imagination.
but here and now, he has never felt more real as he clings to him. they are a perfect match in every way, albert with his goodness, challenging him to be better -- and ignis in his shades of grey, drawing albert out of absolutes, slowly but surely.
ignis loves him in turn, holds him like he's everything precious, and as he lays him on the bed and follows after with a smile, tugging the scarf free and unbuttoning albert's shirt, he smiles. ]
I'll make sure I'm seared into your heart, dear Albert. [ his hand moves between his open shirt, splaying possessively over the flat of his stomach. ] I'll worship every inch of you, all night long. Take your clothes off for me, darling.
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Even if he was right, he did terrible things. Even if he deserves punishment and has no right to atone in his own heart, he has the chance to walk a new path. The world as he knows it now is full of contradictions that shatter his desire to see black and white. It causes him no end of mental stress, but this... This man makes things seem possible. The joy he brings Albert, the companionship and company, the adoration... They make it possible for Albert to step into light he'd avoided in so many ways for so long. And he's grateful.
As he's tasked, he shrugs off his shirt, smiling up at Ignis warmly. This makes the ache of profound sadness feel more distant, manageable. He's going to be adored by this man, someone he loves with passion and fervor and a beautiful, endless steadiness.
The rest comes off just as quickly and easily, Albert discarding his clothing carelessly on the floor before reaching up to ease Ignis down into a kiss.]
You already are, you know. Seared into my heart. [A hand runs along Ignis' cheek.]
You're remarkable, and I...
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[ there it is, a pet name lovingly dispensed just for him, a glimpse into how ignis echoes his sentiments, how he reciprocates. albert is breathtakingly beautiful when he takes off his shirt, and he picks up on the sadness lingering, pausing for a moment to cup his cheek, leaning in to kiss him. it's gone quickly, like a butterfly in the morning light, but ignis wants to make sure he's all right all the same.
he draws him into a slow, sensuous kiss when he's fully naked under him, ignis himself still dressed as he gently spreads albert's legs, coaxing him around his waist. he lets his own feelings vibrate through their shared connection, the adoration and affection, the intensity of his own feelings and his desire, the genuine yearning to be with him, to take him however he can have him.
he looks into the fascinating, gorgeous green of his eyes, his hands coming to give his ass a playful little squeeze as he kisses him again, again and again, like he's long been addicted to the taste of his lips. ]
I want you to cry out for me tonight.
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[It's breathless, Albert caught up in everything that is the glorious, incredible Ignis. He's kissed thoroughly, lovingly, in ways that leave him doubting absolutely nothing about the feelings Ignis has for him. They're together in this moment, just the two of them, and everyone else is far flung from Albert's thoughts.
He loves this man, honestly and with every part of his fragmented soul. His legs tighten around Ignis, even if his lover is still clothed, and Albert feels exposed but in a way that only serves to heighten the experience. It's like being taken, his breath and his heart stolen away and carried off. Nothing to hide means there's nothing Ignis can't reach, and as Albert's already bared his soul and his past, this is nothing at all by comparison. He will treasure this time, will cry out in lust and love, and mourning for his own spirit. Everything will be better, and he will feel more whole.
His hips rock against Ignis, though he's not hard yet and is simply taking in everything that is his lover. He wants to be impossibly close, marked and held and kept dear.]
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his fingers track over the lovebites that were left on his skin, vivid but fading, and he presses his mouth to the one over his pulse point and kisses it. he sucks hard, now, sealing his mark over it. another, and another -- there is an odd sort of possessive, perverse pleasure he finds in claiming albert for himself, when his mouth, hot and hungry, trails down over his chest to take a nipple in his mouth.
his hands are skilled, roaming his lovely body, a hand coming to curl around his cock as he slowly works him, stroking and playing with the shape and feel of his shaft, the weight of his balls, the patch of skin behind it that he teases. ]
I'll ravish you all day long. [ he murmurs, low and sultry as he looks up at him with dark green eyes. ] I'll make you come until you can't come anymore.
[ and he kisses his way down, spreading his legs further. ] Look at you. Any man would kill to have you, and you're mine.
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There's the smallest feeling in Albert that he tied himself to Ignis on that first night, when talk of ideals and loyalty mingled with loneliness and blind passion to make Albert more than willing to give over more than he usually would. Now, what he has to show for it is the only man here who knows all his secrets that didn't know them a mere month ago. What he has to show is overflowing affection that he can't contain.
Every mark Ignis makes sends a thrill up Albert's spine, his anguished thoughts melting into nothing. It feels good to be so wanted, claimed by strong, incredible men he has no illusions of ever parting from. They can make their marks, love or hate each other as fiercely as Albert adores them all, and he'll soak up every bit of the love he's shown. His fingers tangle in the sheets, eager and desperate.
Albert's hips rise as Ignis touches him, strokes and fondles and praises with his hands as well as his lips. He wants those hands to squeeze and undo him, wants those words to tear him apart.]
I'm yours. [The gravity of that isn't lost on Albert. He really will give his everything to Ignis, someone who sees his heart even when he doesn't see it himself. Moderation is what Ignis brings to his heart and mind, but in affairs like this he'd rather leave the moderation aside. Another man has killed to have him... and yet Albert is here. Selfishly.] Ruin me.
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he can feel that joy, that recklessness, that sharpened desire and intent, the need for more. ignis has never felt more connected to him than tonight, their bond taut and crackling with mutual need and the ferocity for more.
the gravity of those words is not lost in ignis, either -- he knows that albert has someone he is steadfastly loyal to, someone he loves deeply, and for him to offer himself up like that is a tremendous thing. the weight of his words are significant, as is the way he gives himself over so completely to him, entrusting himself to ignis. he presses loving kiss-bites to the sensitive inside of albert's thigh now, marking him up as he lets his cock brush up against his cheek.
it's brief, fleeting, because as much as he wants to suck him off, now is not the time for that. he's fishing out the lubricant for them both, smearing a generous amount onto his fingers gripping his hip to urge him up and turn him over. ]
On your hands and knees, and face the mirror.
[ the full length mirror, perpendicular to the bed, right where ignis can watch his every expression when he claims all of him. he's helping him into position, coming up behind him with a smile, a possessive hand gripping his hip bruisingly tight. ]
Spread your legs for me, darling. Let me see your tight little hole.
[ his lube slick fingers find it, and he murmurs, ] Tell me, does it miss me?
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Each bite makes him squirm, each mark that guarantees questions later, and he can't care at all. He's hasn't felt free from the shackles he put on himself for years, not properly, completely. The ball and chain of death and sin is far from here, discarded with his clothing and his caution when he walked through Ignis' door tonight.
Turned over, he knows without being told what position Ignis wants him in. The only variable here is the mirror--something they fondly use perhaps too often--something that will show Albert for hours just who he belongs to when he's in this room. So he faces it, eyes fixed on his own, red-ringed emerald looks back and telling him that whatever he is from here on, it starts today. And he doesn't have to look back.
It makes him smile.
Distracted, he almost misses Ignis instructing him. After a moment, his knees part further, and he arches his back just slightly, presenting said target to Ignis with all pleasure.]
It misses you so, Ignis. Please... don't make me wait. I need you.
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[ he murmurs roughly, because you have no idea what your words do to him, albert. how they unravel him and make him wild -- or perhaps albert does. the sight of this elegantly beautiful man saying such filthy things to ignis makes him want to keep albert forever, to have him just like this.
he can feel albert, focused solely on him -- the echoes of his confession threaded in the strength, the deepening of their connection. he comes up behind him, admiring the look on his face before he looks down and spreads his cheeks, revealing that tight little puckered rim. the lube is taken out and smeared on his fingers in quick order, his own cock slicked before the tube is discarded in quick order.
he's so turned on it hurts, especially having albert on his hands and knees just like this. but as much as he wants to fuck him into oblivion, to plow into him and give him such a good fucking that he screams, he wants albert to know how much ignis adores him, how much he wants to ravish and worship. and so he does it, laying kisses down his spine, down, down until he reaches those spread cheeks and presses his lips to his hole.
lips, then tongue, pushing in slow as he urges him to relax, to open up for him. ]
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At the same time, he wants to drown in this man's lust and never come up again. If he could die in a moment like this, beloved and treasured and given over to someone who sees him for who and what he is and still loves, still cherishes, he wouldn't regret a thing. He's on his hands and knees for no one, but for Ignis it's simple. For Ignis, it's right. He watches Ignis behind him, eyes sharp and full of desperate need, sure he's going to take him more swiftly and beautifully savagely than ever before...
But then he lowers himself, his head, his sweet lips, and presses them to Albert's tight waiting hole so gently. A shiver shakes Albert as he watches, his cock twitching faintly toward some semblance of hardness while his ass clenches, then relaxes with each breath he takes. Those lips are warm, welcome, loving, and he keens when Ignis presses his tongue inside. This is filthy, but it is somehow what Albert needed... A reminder that he is wholly and completely adored by this man, and that he'll be taken not as some object of pity or scorn, but as a beloved, dearly treasured other half.
They are so alike, and so different, in all the ways that make them fit together neatly. There is perfection in their imperfection, even delight in their depravity, and that is familiar and comfortable to Albert, too. How he wants Ignis to hurt him, to unmake him again. But first, to be loved so sinfully sweetly...]
Ignis...
[He feels the slight wetness and warmth at his hole and his body responds so kindly, relaxing little by little there even as his spine tingles and his fingers curl against the bedsheets.]
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the other half, indeed. he laps him up and spreads him further, deft fingers coming down to play with his balls and to let albert watch. he's teasing, stroking his cock before curling his fingers around it, inviting his lover to fuck into the circle of his grip while he pleasures him. ignis can feel the way he eases up around him, and he moves even more surely, his tongue burying inside of that tight little hole to explore, to fuck him just like that.
it's kisses, slick, wet little worshipful explorations inside of him, while his other hand comes to tease him open a little more, a lube-slick finger gently pushing inside of him alongside his questing tongue. ]
You're being so good for me, my darling... open up a little more. I need you to be ready to take me, mmmm?
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