Aces & Queens (Private; Ace & I, PM to join)

Her spoiled, sheltered life shone back at him like flecks of gold before a bigger. Peace was there, training so rigorous a lesser human would have given in. Not a Toromaki. There was that same fighting spirit in him, the same thing keeping his head afloat, even through it all. And here she was, the very opposite of everything that he had become, bare before him in body and soul, watching him with intent, waiting, innocent eyes. She knew the surface of his troubles, but the storm that lay beneath was what was holding her, here and now, the storm that should never have come, that stole the world he should have had. But she offered it back, she held what she could to reach the normalcy he had known. It wouldn't be perfect, polished glass in a room full of diamonds, but she offered it, for him.

"Would that be so bad? "

A child, laying on the ground in pain as the world around him shook, looked up to the girl above him, offering a hand. If he took it, would it make him weak? If he had to rely on someone else to pick him up while he was down, would it make him a lesser person? The fall wasn't so bad. His leg was only bruised. He didn't need any kind of help. Pushing the shame aside, the boy rose to his feet, at first fine, then collapsed in a ball of pain, bone jutting straight out from the skin.

The memory jarred Ace, and he closed his eyes for but a moment, erasing- no, rewriting the past. As the wounded boy reached up to join hands with the girl, accepting that he could only do so much alone, Ace's lips met Rin's.

It didn't feel abnormal. Not the tense awkwardness that existed with Bri, nor the boredom with Lily, and not even the oppressiveness with Sarah. This moment was okay. He'd accepted another person into his heart, and didn't run the risk of giving in to fear. She'd never harm him. She understood the way he felt about things, let HIM make his choices. If he wanted this, he had to decide. Rin wasn't going to force it on him, nor was she going to wait for him to force it on her. She offered him a light switch, and waited for him to flip it. And oh how bright the world was with a light.

The kiss was not passionate, nor was it dull. It was heartfelt, not lustful. It was an interpretation for all of the emotions Ace had. Everything he wanted to give to Rin. Every "thank you", every apology, every ounce of love that his broken heart could bleed.

Ace, for once, wanted to be the fragile, frightened one, asking for someone to hold him and tell him that it was okay. After all, the truth was: it was a feeling he'd been deprived of his entire life. Always lonely. Always sad. Always quietly pleading for help.

His unspoken answer? An obvious "No".

Of course it wouldn't. She thought, the words as much to herself as to him. The embrace was tender, more an indication that the light had gone green than anything along the lines of flags dropping for a drag race. Petal shell lids closed easily over the gems of her eyes, a relaxing curtain seeming to fall upon her, all tension in her muscles long gone. She neither fought nor pushed him, serene before him as her other hand reached up to cup the other side of his face.

Childhood dreams and memories flooded her, every random drop-off from one's parents or the other's, every secret hideaway they'd discovered, every game and every exploration. Even spoiled, their lives as youngsters was typical, normal even, lives long abandoned by the passage of time and demands of reality. For her, this had encompassed little more than various forms of training and schooling; for him, she knew, it meant something entirely different. Unlike her, where shame was a thing of the passed but she'd never been corrupted by anything other than rage, his innocence had been stolen from beneath him. Like a rug pulled, a trapdoor released, he had fallen without any chance to catch his bearings or even to know, let alone understand, what it was that had occurred. Rin couldn't imagine that, could not put herself in his shoes, though she so desperately wished to robs the events from his life, to take them away before they had ever happened. But she had been seven when his life went to hell; nine when he resurfaced. Her family had kept her sheltered, for so many years, until old memories resurfaced and demanded the answers she'd been deprived of. The Toromaki perfect was no fool, knew when she was being had and when she was being hidden; worst of all, she knew when he was being hidden.

A year of demands, a month of searching, five months of renovations, and here she was, the day she was to move in, locked in place by the man who'd sworn he'd keep a smile on her face. How funny, really, how tragically, beautifully ironic it was that now, somehow, she would be the one to banish the darkness from him. It was fitting, a conquering of demons he'd tried to bury, clinging onto for the hatred it brought, the fury that kept him fueled and going. He didn't need that, now; revenge, yes, he would have if he wished it, but she wouldn't let the darkness of his past consume him, would not allow it to take him over, body, mind, and soul.

No, perhaps, should things continue down this path, she might very well do that, herself. It was a silly thought, a foolish one, and one that she silently vowed to do anything in her power to prevent. She was, for the time being alone, the Headmistress of the household, but she would never steal the free will from him, never remove his right to choose or the choices the rest of the world would bring. But, by Lord, she would do everything and anything she could feasible manage to return things to normal, to make his life what it should have been, could still be, would still be, whatever he wanted. Just a word, just a nod of approval and she would enact anything that she could. Silently, she prayed that she wouldn't smother him.

But in the moments of her racing mind and thudding heart, her fingers of her right hand had laced into his hair, sliding the band that held it loose in the process. Her cheeks flushed at the realization, but something about the feel of his hair engulfing her fingers felt right and comfortable. She didn't want to stop. She didn't want any of it to stop. No longer aware of her current state of undress, she pressed her lips just the slightest bit more against his, leaning forward in the process, breasts brushing against his legs with a feather-light touch that not even she seemed quite aware enough to notice.

The moment became lost to Ace. Everything else disappeared to him, and the wavelength of his own soul reached out, humming with the electricity from within him. It danced between him and Rin, connecting them in a way that no two humans could understand. This was how it truly felt to resonate with someone; to match their soul entirely. Ace couldn't handle it, nor could he break away. It was a feeling that could only be described as being so surreal, yet so tangible, that it felt like it was his own conscience.

Disregarding his own earlier disposition, his hand reached up and clasped Rin's shoulders in a gentle fashion. He drew her in closer to him, and let their tongues meet. Ace let his arms slide down to her lower back, almost like a hug, and then let one of them run back up her spine, tenderly offering her back a small stimulation.

He dare not force her to a position where her status over him be stripped. To take her dignity and ask her to submit to him would be cruel. Instead, he invited her to do as she saw fit. He could hear her soul in his mind, enjoying the elegant, yet strong beat. It brought a sense of order to his own chaotic and melancholic tone. Something about it grounded him. Made him feel like he could have some moments of normalcy.

The closer and closer her body came to him, the more and more he could feel the heat pervading his own. Ace broke away for a time, locking eyes once again with Rin, giving a look of affirmation and understanding.

Passion was a sensation ignited in her in many ways, though typically the relation generally involved art, rather than physical stimuli. Here and now, however, he was reaching her on more levels than she realized she possessed, stroking her physically, awaking her emotionally, invigorating her mentally, and caressing her down to her very soul. Every bit of the usual Ace was a being careening on the edge of his sanity, phasing back and forth between some hollow stability and bouts of insanity most would think made him a monster. In reality, he was just the same, broken boy he'd been on that night. In reality, he was fighting the world that he was flung into.

In reality, he held her in ways she could never bring to words, could never begin to explain to another. It was surreal, the bond that they had, the way that things had always been, had escalated into in these fleeting moments. Not a complaint could escape her lips, however, lips that she'd willingly granted possession to. She wanted this, come what may in these moments, and even as he pulled away, with her very nearly on top of him, by this point, not even the slightest tinge of regret or fear tainted her, inside or out. There was a sort of kindling fire in those eyes of her, lighter and more serene than perhaps he had ever seen her, an eye of the storm or a dove after rain. She was grounded and yet otherwordly, extraordinary and yet almost normal, in so many different ways. Her eyes held his with a gaze not commanding but that held him, peaceful, gentle, like arms in a gentle embrace, holding him steady through the tide of his own hurricanes.

Ace gazed upon Rin as though he were staring at some divine being, looking down upon him from the heavens. Not because he found her beautiful, nor because of any lust he had for her at the moment. It was simply because, at that moment, she appeared as though she were not of this world. Her eyes both gossamer jewels reflecting the light of a million stars. Her hair thousands of long strands of crumbled moondust, dancing in the black void of space that was the rest of the room. Her skin pristine and almost polished like sculpted ivory. For that moment, and that moment alone, Ace truly realized that he was in the presence of someone whom he did not deserve to be in the presence of. Stating this, however, was practically taboo, as no Toromaki would commit such shame as to express a lack of gratitude at something gifted to them by fate.

"I guess you've always had this moment in the back of your mind too." Ace's hands slowly dropped, sliding down every inch of Rin's body that they could reach on the way. This was something that meant more to them than they could have possibly imagined. It wasn't about satisfying a sexual fantasy. It was about consummating a bond that they shared on a level that went beyond that of any siblings or lovers. It was about the two affirming that they were closer to one another than anyone else was in any way.

Almost to confirm this, Ace's thin lips opened once more, whispering like a permissive summer breeze. "Go wild, then."

Goosebumps rose along her skin where his fingers trailed over her, a tremble snaking down her spine, chasing after the feeling. Her face flushed softly, innocently, the thrill echoing through her very being. Long fingers freed his hair and traveled through it, strands like stardust rolling over them. Hints of purple glistened along her fingertips, the metaphysical charge of their encounter painted along every touch.

'Go wild, then.'

Wild, could she even be that? Rin was a fighter, a trained warrior in her own right, but she was tender and gentle, a warm, golden heart amidst the stone coldness of diamonds. Still, these passed few months had been almost a suppression of sorts, a dodging of things not necessarily romantic, but something almost... soul binding. Restraint need no longer be held, now, but could she let lose?

Slowly, she rose off of her knees, fingers tangling a bit more into his hair, a confidence raging over along her nerve endings, her every move more deliberate. As she stood before him, her lips returned to his, and a spark seemed to ignite within her veins, ricocheting off of them and touching his very soul. There was more to this kiss than the last, not a drive for lust but a passion that transcended their beings. Control held her tight as she stoked the kindling flames, though her other hand reached for his, placing it softly against her hip.

Ace's hand bent slightly into a fashion that was more favorable of Rin's figure, conforming to the curvature of her hip, then slowly tugged at her body, pulling her towards him. His free hand moved along her spine once more, then found itself dancing careful about her collarbone. He threatened to go further. Threatened not to. All the while he remained locked in what was almost a trance, with his lips firmly pressed against hers. The sensation was like a driving force, invigorating him, convincing him that, while he didn't deserve this, he certainly needed it. A penultimate distraction from the horrors in his life. Not the greatest, but better than anything he'd come along so far.

Ace couldn't help but feel a sort of unfairness to the situation though. Rin was likely not at all used to this kind of interaction. She certainly didn't seem to hate it, but her blood hadn't truly begun to boil yet. Of course, Ace's hadn't either, though that was simply because he was still in a sort of shock over the whole thing. His body was moving, his soul was in it, yet his mind still hadn't fully processed the fact that he was locking lips with Rin Toromaki. It went without saying that she was not a bad kisser.

She moved towards him easily, not complaining in the slightest, not resisting in the least. The closer she drew, however, the more difficult it became to maintain comfort, though it had not, as of yet, quite gone noticed. His touch was encouraging, felt right and yet, surreal. Whether it was a dream or not, whether it was real, passed through her mind idly, coming and going in the same instant. In many ways, she didn't quite care if she was dreaming; let it be, let it be. Let the fantasies paint themselves within the realities of her mind, even if fate left them there. Yet, every passing second hyped the heat beneath the skin, the electricity of his touch, and made everything seem, very much so, increasingly, real. Pressing forward, she deepened the kiss once more, dancing her tongue along his. As the intimacy escalated, she found herself straddling his lap, first one leg, then both, fingers tangled in his hair and the other fighting his vest in an attempt to reach his skin, craving the contact of it.

The hand at Rin's neck slowly slid down, the hand at her hip sliding back, both seeking new ways to invigorate and embolden the girl's attitude. In the meantime, the violet vest came undone rather easily, taunting her with another layer of clothing. There was little Ace could do now at this point. Rin had control of the situation, and he was more than okay with that. Eventually, there was a moment where they held one another so close, that in their very souls, it was as though they were dancing.

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Ace held his cousin close against his chest, face as stern as always, but with a kind of lightheartedness to it at the same time. A lavish staccato reverberated in them as they prepared to lift their feet. "You lead, alright?" The boy tightened his grip slightly and the corner of his mouth rose into a slight smile.

Rin seemed almost to grin at him, but the expression was nearly exclusive to her eyes, her tenacious resilience holding her lips in a professional, though not perversely tight, line. With the barest hint of a nod, she shifted her weight, moving her body with the motion of her shifted gravity. Each step was muscle memory, programmed into every fiber of her being like an operating system itself, but her free will added a, not whimsical, but seemingly unconventional creativity to the dance. Every beat brought with it something new, both predictable and unprecedented all at once. For the beginner, she seemed quite adept at everything she did, each movement deliberate, despite the barest hint of hesitation caught only in her breath and the off-beat of her heart, a reverberating vibrato the grossly contradicted the music surrounding them. With every thump, she felt almost as though her form would glow, a taunting waver in her soul that she could swear made it spike and spread.

The two moved about in a theatrical fashion, hand in hand, Ace's towering figure holding Rin's lithe form. Their rhythm, their movement, so perfect that it was almost like clockwork. Both sets of eyes gazed back upon the other, satisfied with the moment they'd had. Rin had been leading from the start, but slowly, little by little, Ace had taken control, almost unaware of it himself until he realized that he was pulling them from one side of the room to the other. Towards the end, the two parted for a brief moment, almost as if acknowledging the other's performance, then paired back once again for a grand finish.

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Ace's breathing slowed as his gaze settled on the beautiful canopy of the bed, reminding him of a moonlit sky. The air was calm, and for once, so was he.

The form beside him lay curled against his body, eyes closed blissfully, perfect shells masking the swirling amethyst depths. Her breathing had slowed, making her astonishingly still, a serene, picturesque scene in the backdrop of his world. Their dance had left her worn almost to sleep, and one could easily mistake her for such. A single digit swirled against his chest, a relaxing, coaxing measure of her otherwise idle hands. Where they went from her she neither knew nor cared. Peace was upon them both, and work did not need attended to for quite some time.

"Ace?" She murmured, shifting only slightly as she remaneuvered circulation back into her legs.

"Huh?" He said, expression changing to one of mostly confusion. In all honesty, he thought they were done speaking for.... the rest of the night. He assumed they were just going to pass out there, and deal with everything in the morning. Although if Rin wanted to bring something to his attention, he'd hear it. Although, he'd somewhat dropped his noble knight act given that the two were laying beside one another in bed.

"I'm proud of you..." she murmured, getting comfortable and laying there, mind in a haze. She wasn't all of the way there, all things considered, but she was trying to stay awake for a few moments. "Goodnight." Rin whispered, not sure of what else to say. Something had been swirling lazily through her mind, but it had waned out of consciousness, just as she was now doing. Whatever it was, it, like everything else, could wait.