FicWad

His Father's Son

He's under deep water, in the dark -- he twists, spins in the water, choking, lost -- there's no source of light, everything blue-black and slow-swirling, and he can't figure out which way is up --

Something cold and scaly twines around him, heavy coils like a snake's, and suddenly he's not choking, not drowning, but something worse -- something deeply unclean and terribly familiar -- he opens his mouth to scream --

"You always were a crybaby," he hears, whispered in his ear, and he recognizes the voice -- Jecht -- and the form -- Sin -- both at once, as his father continues, "you gonna cry now?" mocking and harsh, the coils squeezing tighter --

His mouth is pried open, and he tastes something like oil, sludgy and thick and metallic, and it feels like the same slow oozing horror is invading his entire body, getting worse the more he struggles against it --

Tidus wakes up with a start, panting, his legs tangled in the sheets and his body filmed with sweat. He's shaking, and it takes a few very long minutes before he can convince himself that the dream was just a dream, nothing more sinister, more real. Auron's words stick in his head: /Sin is Jecht/.

He's been trying his best to not believe it, all afternoon and evening. Seems like his subconscious is telling him his best isn't good enough. Just like Jecht used to.

This is all Auron's fault. Tidus untangles himself from the sheets and stands up unsteadily. Jecht is Sin, hmm? What the hell is that supposed to mean?

Afterward, he will tell himself that it was the fuzzy logic of his sleep-fogged brain that made him go searching for Auron in the middle of the night. It's somewhere in the no-man's-land between midnight and dawn, and he has no right to expect anyone to be awake.

But when he lets himself into Auron's room, across the hall from his own, the bed is empty. Auron is sitting on the floor, cross-legged, with his sword resting on his lap. He opens his good eye as Tidus enters, and a little smirk twists the corner of his mouth.

"Don't you ever sleep?" Tidus asks, before he can really think about it.

The smirk broadens, comes as close as Auron ever gets to a real smile. "Don't you? I'm pretty sure it's past your bedtime."

"I can't sleep. I keep thinking about my old man." He feels restless, fidgety, immature. Auron always does that to him, but it's worse tonight than usual.

"He was an extraordinary man," Auron says softly, and there's a strange gentleness in his tone that Tidus doesn't quite know how to read.

"I guess you guys were pretty close, huh?" Tidus says, feeling stupid but not knowing how else to respond.

"Very much so," Auron replies, in that same reminiscent tone. "Very much so."

There's something about his voice, the real sorrow in it, that makes Tidus pause. Auron can't possibly mean it like -- like /that/. Tidus can easily imagine Jecht taking advantage of all his groupies, not just the girls. But thinking about Jecht with someone who's as strong as he is -- maybe stronger -- doesn't make sense. Jecht always wanted to be the star of the show.

He must look like an idiot, because Auron is still watching him with that amused, superior expression. "You don't believe it?"

Tidus opens his mouth to say no, but he can't quite get the word out. Auron has been honest with him. "I don't know," he says at last.

Auron says nothing, just watching him, relaxed but alert, the perfect warrior. Tidus imagines him ten years younger, with dark hair and not yet scarred, and he has no trouble understanding why Jecht would have found him attractive.

And he is, as much as he hates to admit it sometimes, his father's son.

"Auron," he says hoarsely, reaching out one hand, "I want --" He doesn't even know the end of that sentence: /I want to understand/, perhaps, or /I want to find him again/, or maybe even /I want to kiss you/, which he wishes were the effect of Sin's toxin but he thinks it isn't, really --

He doesn't even see Auron move, but he hears the sword thud against the floorboards as he hits the floor himself, pinned, the air leaving his lungs in a shocked huff and Auron's strong hands gripping his biceps. "If you want me to stop, say so," Auron growls, and Tidus thinks he probably should want that, but he can't seem to feel it. He writhes in Auron's grip, trying to break free, but Auron is much stronger than he is, and he's trapped beneath the weight of Auron's hard, muscular body.

And if he can't get away, and he doesn't want to say stop, then there's only one thing left to do. Tidus clenches both hands in the folds of Auron's coat and reaches up to kiss him. Auron leans into the kiss without hesitation, and Tidus can taste the earthy, smoky burn of sake in his mouth.

If he moves just right, rocks his hips just like that, he can feel the hard swell of Auron's cock against his own. The first time he tries it, Auron growls into his mouth and bites at his lip, so Tidus does it again, grinding their cocks together. He lets go of Auron's coat and reaches for his belt instead, snaking his hands between them to tug at the buckles. Auron helps, bracing his weight with a knee planted between Tidus's thighs and raising himself up so that Tidus's hands have room to move.

When the last buckle comes undone, Auron lets go of him and sits up, kneeling over him and shrugging out of the coat. The muscles in his arms flex and ripple under pale skin, and Tidus's mouth is suddenly dry.

Auron must misinterpret the look on his face, because he stops, looking very serious. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

It's too hard to find words, so Tidus just nods, squirming out of his shirt, pushing the straps of his overalls off his shoulders. Auron almost smiles, and his hands trail down Tidus's chest, one gloved, one bare. The contrast is wickedly sensual, all the more so when Auron unfastens his buckles and zippers and drags the rest of his clothes off. His skin feels ticklish and sensitive -- he squirms under Auron's touch, arching up, his cock aching for touch.

"Up," Auron says, tugging at Tidus's arm. "You might not mind the floor, but I'd be more comfortable in bed."

Tidus laughs, a little, feeling giddy. "Now that you mention it, yeah, this is a little hard on my back."

Auron smirks. "It would be harder on your knees. Now come on."

What's that supposed to mean? Tidus stumbles on the way to bed, yelping when Auron grabs him by the scruff of the neck and tosses him at the mattress. He can't quite hold on to the outrage, though, when Auron follows, climbing in beside him and pressing him down into the surprisngly soft bed, the warm weight of his body making Tidus press up, hungry.

One of Auron's knees nudges Tidus's thighs apart, the fabric of Auron's trousers rough against the soft skin of his inner thighs -- and suddenly he's not sure about this at all. He tenses up involuntarily, his breath hitching in his throat.

"It's all right," Auron says, his gloved right hand massaging the taut muscles of Tidus's neck and shoulders. "If you want to stop...."

Tidus opens his mouth, and he hears Jecht's voice again: crybaby. "Don't stop," he whispers. From the feel of Auron's shaky, hot breath on the back of his neck, he knows it's the right answer.

And that's before he feels Auron's tongue, hot and wet, tracing a path down his spine. That he's not prepared for, and he whimpers, instantly ashamed of himself because really, who cries about having sex?

Except that Auron doesn't seem to mind -- his hands tighten on Tidus's hips, and he makes a low growling sound that shivers across Tidus's skin. He pulls, and Tidus rocks back onto his knees, his ass in the air and his fingers clenched tight in the sheets.

"Have you done this before?" Auron asks, his voice harsh and hungry. His hands are moving, sliding over Tidus's skin, outlining muscles and tracing the lines of bones.

It takes a minute for Tidus to remember he actually needs to answer that, instead of just panting and writhing. "I've messed around with one of the guys on the team, back home, but I haven't gone all the way."

"Hmm." One of Auron's hands slides up between Tidus's legs, gentle but implacable, and Tidus parts his knees further. "Are you sure that's something you want to do with me?"

Tidus nods; he's having trouble getting the words to come. "I trust you," he manages at last. Just saying it out loud helps him believe it, makes him less nervous. He almost thinks he can feel Auron's smile against the small of his back.

"I'm glad to hear it," Auron says dryly, and something he's doing with his fingers makes Tidus really want less talk and more action.

"Then -- mmm -- what are you waiting for?" He's barely finished the sentence when Auron's hands leave his body abruptly. He makes an embarrassingly disappointed noise, and starts to get up to see what's going on, when Auron grabs him by the hair.

"Don't move," Auron growls. Tidus shivers, and holds very still. He feels the mattress shift under him as Auron moves, reaching for something, and then he hears a rustle of cloth and Auron's hands brush the backs of his thighs.

"Please," Tidus whispers into the pillow, and then hopes Auron didn't hear him. But from the sound of soft laughter, he guesses he wasn't that lucky.

"Please what?" Auron asks, the tips of his fingers resting lightly on the curve of Tidus's hip.

"Please...do it," Tidus says, feeling stupid and sure it won't be enough, sure he'll end up having to actually say it: /please, Auron, fuck me/. But even Auron seems to be able to show mercy every once in a while, because while that one hand stays there, steadying, the other is stroking the unbearably sensitive skin between the cheeks of his ass.

Auron's fingers are slippery with something cool and liquid, and when the first one enters him, Tidus moans helplessly. The hand on his hip tightens, and Auron breathes out in a low hiss. "It's been such a long time," he murmurs.

Tidus almost asks how long, but he's afraid the answer will be /ten years/, and then he'd be almost certain that it was Jecht, and -- he needs to stop thinking about this now.

Because what matters is that this is happening, now, and it's good, the slippery stuff warming inside him and making Auron's fingers glide in smoothly. He expected it to hurt, at least a little, but it's almost effortless. "What is that stuff?" he asks, his voice shaky.

Auron laughs. "Potion," he says. "It's not strong enough to do us much good against the fiends we're likely to encounter from here on, but it's perfect for this."

Well, Tidus thinks, he'd sort of thought that it was Auron who was perfect for this -- especially when he did that, oh yes, right there, deep -- but he's not about to argue. "More," he says instead, "oh please, more."

Tidus has to swallow another hungry noise when Auron slowly withdraws his fingers, desperate to hang on to what's left of his dignity. He can hear Auron's breathing, harsher and shakier than it ever gets in battle.

And then the head of Auron's cock is pressing against him, slick and warm, and Auron asks in carefully measured tones, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Tidus moans, "/fuck/, yes." The words dissolve, turn to pure needy sound, as Auron's cock pushes into him thick and hard and -- yes.

For a long moment Auron doesn't move, waiting there sheathed in him, breathing hard and gripping Tidus's hips so hard they'll need more potion for the bruises. Then he thrusts, slow and deep, and the head of his cock slides against something that makes Tidus come undone, gasping and moaning.

"There?" Auron asks, doing it again. Tidus can't reply in words. "I thought so," Auron says, and moves into a slow, steady rhythm that focuses right on that spot. It's wonderful, maddening, thrilling.

Tidus shifts his weight carefully, trying to balance himself on one arm so he can free his other hand to stroke himself. His cock is swollen and aching, desperate for touch. But as he starts to reach for it, Auron's hand snakes around, over the flat plane of his stomach, and wraps around Tidus's cock. His fingers are nimble and sword-callused and strong, so good against Tidus's hot, sensitive flesh.

If he thought it was good before, it's nothing to how fucking amazing it is now, Auron's cock filling him and Auron's hand stroking him -- he rocks back into the touch, pleasure thrumming through him in waves. Tidus can't seem to help moaning, his voice harsh and broken. Behind him, Auron is nearly silent, except for the hitch in his breathing that he can't quite suppress.

It's almost hotter than if Auron were making a lot of noise -- knowing that he's trying to stay stoic and he just can't quite do it, knowing that fucking Tidus is almost enough to destroy Auron's iron control.

All that power, all that strength, focused on him -- it's enough to make Tidus a little giddy, a little reckless. "Harder," he pleads, pushing back, and Auron rewards him with a low growl and a brutal, hard thrust. "Aaah," Tidus moans, "yes, like that."

Auron laughs for the second time in ten minutes, which Tidus thinks is probably some sort of record. "As you wish," he purrs -- and why has Tidus never noticed how perverse that sounds before?

He can think about it later: Auron grabs his shoulder to hold him still and drives into him hard, stroking his cock just right, and sex becomes the only thing in Tidus's world that matters. Everything is reduced to this moment, these sensations, the heat everywhere Auron touches him, the liquid slide of Auron's cock inside him, the rough strokes of Auron's hand on his cock.

And maybe his old man is right about him after all, because the noise he makes when it's finally too much and he shudders, shatters, comes in Auron's hand is more of a sob than a moan. He feels limp and boneless, completely at peace until he realizes that Auron is pulling out. "Don't stop," he says urgently.

His heartbeat is loud in his ears, and Auron stops moving -- for a minute Tidus is afraid he has mortally embarrassed himself by begging for it like that, afraid that Auron will think less of him for it. Then Auron grabs his hips and thrusts back into him, hard and fast, all restraint gone, and it's all Tidus can do to brace himself against the headboard and hang on.

Auron stays quiet even when he comes, but his hands tighten on Tidus's hips and his cock pulses in Tidus's ass, and when he collapses against Tidus's back at the end of it, it's like a wave crashing against the shore.

After a few minutes, when Tidus's heartbeat has almost returned to normal, he feels Auron slowly pull out and shift to lie beside him. "You can stay here if you want," Auron says, "but you should try to get some sleep. We leave Luca first thing in the morning."

Tidus gets comfortable among the pillows, one hand resting on Auron's shoulder for comfort. He does feel like he could probably sleep now. "You'll tell me more about my old man on the way, right?"

"No," Auron tells him. "But you'll have the chance to find out more for yourself."

Tidus sighs. Nothing about this adventure is going to be easy. But he's starting to think he just might do okay.