Walk forward, into the world
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Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
20
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Category:
+. to F › Ai no Kusabi
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
20
Views:
5,731
Reviews:
7
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Ai no Kusabi, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 20/20
Title: Walk forward, into the world
Author: Ainzfern
Genre: Ai no Kusabi – Post OVA
Code: Iason/Riki
Rating: NC-17
Parts: WIP – 20/20
Epilogue:
Standing in front of the huge plate-glass windows that dominated one side of the Midas space port terminal, Riki smiled tightly when he felt Iason’s hands slide over his shoulders, their warmth and strength soothing to him, even in spite of the turmoil currently roiling around in his gut.
This was it. The first transport to Hepstra would be taking off in a little less than ten minutes time.
Peripherally, he saw Chey Neeson move into place beside them, his eyes also fixed upon the launch area, where the huge streamlined federation-class transport vessel was firing up its secondary engines in preparation for the launch. Behind them, he could hear Katze’s and Raoul’s voices, engaged in quiet conversation as they, too, waited for this historic moment to come to pass.
There were no crowds gathered to cheer the event, no fanfares or honor guards. It was a quiet, almost private, affair. But it was significant, Riki knew. From such small beginnings great change could grow.
He smiled slightly, thinking about the conversation he’d had with Iason only a couple of days ago.
Certainly this particular moment was under the Elite’s radar right now, he mused as he watched the transport vessel slowly approaching the start of its designated runway; but once Iason finally tabled his latest submission to the Syndicate, the Elites of Amoi would have no choice but to realize that their world was changing.
For Iason’s sake, he desperately hoped that the majority of them would see what a blessing that was...
Chey had joined them only a moment ago, having spent nearly two hours down in the loading area, working his way through the first group of soon-to-be Amoi expatriates, accompanied by Enif, talking to ex-Pets and Ceres residents alike as they waited to board the ship, assuring them that all would be well. Promising them, as he had promised Riki, that he would personally see to their well being as they established the latest lucrative mining colony for his government.
Even through the thick reinforced plates of the terminal windows, the deep boom of the thrusters gearing up to full power was clearly audible. Without talking, the small group standing behind the protective plexi-glass watched as the great vessel accelerated down the runway, gaining speed rapidly and gracefully lifting off into the clear skies of Amoi.
Chey cleared his throat as he turned to Riki, smiling, “Well, young man,” he extended his hand, his grin widening as Riki shook it firmly. “My congratulations to you on a difficult job well done.”
“Thank you, Chey,” For some reason, Riki’s own throat seemed rather tight.
“I hope you realize, Riki,” Chey’s face grew very serious, but his shrewd eyes were kind as he looked down into Riki’s face, “You’ve given those people more than just a new employment opportunity. You given them a chance to walk forward, into their own world with their heads held high. That’s really…” Chey trailed off for a moment, actual wonder in his face. “That’s really rather extraordinary,” he finished softly.
Swallowing hard past the lump in his throat, Riki smiled at him.
“Well!” Chey gave a little jolt and patted his coat pockets in a busy little gesture. “I’m afraid I can’t stay. If I’m going to beat the transport to Hepstra, I’ll need to hop on board my own ship very quickly. Iason..?” he extended his hand to the Blondie beside Riki, “It was good to see you again.”
“Indeed,” Iason clasped Chey’s hand warmly. “Perhaps next time you visit, you might not be so rushed.”
“I hope so,” Chey nodded again at them both, and then turned towards Raoul and Katze, warmly passing his farewells with them, too.
Iason sighed softly, once more sliding his hands over Riki’s shoulder’s, even as the younger man turned to gaze out the window again, staring up at the empty area of sky where the first federation transport had just disappeared from view into the upper atmosphere. Iason gently turned Riki to face him, his hands smoothing over his upper arms. He smiled, his pale blue eyes warm and affection filled, even though his flawless face held its usual expression of regal composure.
“And so…” Iason said, satisfaction in his velvet voice, “It is done.”
Riki nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah.”
“I must confess, I’m rather interested to see what you will come up with next,” Iason’s beautiful eyes flashed with genuine amusement.
Tickled by that wicked sparkle, Riki chuckled softly. “Who knows? A public forum to force you Elites to cut your hair short, maybe?”
Iason arched an elegant brow at him. “I can only imagine the screams of our anguish would echo across the world,” he muttered dryly.
Riki laughed again, softly, before falling serious once more. He looked up at Iason, feeling deep emotion filling him. This man, who had once been his tormentor and who, through the quirks of fate and luck and destiny, had now become his everything… was the one man whom he would stand faithfully beside for the rest of his life.
Riki smiled up at him.
Fondly, Iason returned his smile. “Are you ready to go home?”
Home… Riki nodded and smoothed one hand across Iason’s broad chest, petting him gently. Only a few years ago he would have freely admitted that he had no real idea what the concept of ‘home’ actually meant. From the dark and dangerous streets of Ceres’ inner slums, to the graceful soaring spire of Eos tower, Riki had always felt torn; always felt as though he had one foot in each place and that neither was where standing where it truly belonged.
But now he knew. Without a doubt. Stepping forward slightly, he slid his arms around Iason’s body and held tight for a moment, smiling against a powerful shoulder when he felt Iason return the embrace with gentle intensity.
He belonged wherever this man was.
“Yes, Iason,” he answered, feeling wholly content at last. “I’m ready to go home.”
THE END
Author’s note: Well, this is the end of this particular story. I would just like to throw a few wobbly, huggy, squishy thanks out at this point...
To Lena, whose magnificent site truly inspired me to believe that there was a space out there for a ‘happy’ ending to the Ai no Kusabi saga. Also, Lena, to you personally, thank you – a thousand times over – for your incredible help with this first AnK effort of mine!
To Kerklin… My goodness, lady – what can I say? Your insights, your advice… the fact that you put up with E-mails from me that were roughly the size of ‘War and Peace”, For all of your most excellent assistance, allow me to humbly thank you.
And for those lovely people who were compelled to take a moment and give me feedback from a reader’s perspective… truly, I hope you know just how valuable your contribution is to a writer. You guys just, like, fully ROCK!!
Oh… and for those folks out there who would like to see a Raoul/Katze story arc...? Well, a sequel is most certainly is in the works…
Trust me.
Really.
With genuine respect and affection,
Ainz
Author: Ainzfern
Genre: Ai no Kusabi – Post OVA
Code: Iason/Riki
Rating: NC-17
Parts: WIP – 20/20
Epilogue:
Standing in front of the huge plate-glass windows that dominated one side of the Midas space port terminal, Riki smiled tightly when he felt Iason’s hands slide over his shoulders, their warmth and strength soothing to him, even in spite of the turmoil currently roiling around in his gut.
This was it. The first transport to Hepstra would be taking off in a little less than ten minutes time.
Peripherally, he saw Chey Neeson move into place beside them, his eyes also fixed upon the launch area, where the huge streamlined federation-class transport vessel was firing up its secondary engines in preparation for the launch. Behind them, he could hear Katze’s and Raoul’s voices, engaged in quiet conversation as they, too, waited for this historic moment to come to pass.
There were no crowds gathered to cheer the event, no fanfares or honor guards. It was a quiet, almost private, affair. But it was significant, Riki knew. From such small beginnings great change could grow.
He smiled slightly, thinking about the conversation he’d had with Iason only a couple of days ago.
Certainly this particular moment was under the Elite’s radar right now, he mused as he watched the transport vessel slowly approaching the start of its designated runway; but once Iason finally tabled his latest submission to the Syndicate, the Elites of Amoi would have no choice but to realize that their world was changing.
For Iason’s sake, he desperately hoped that the majority of them would see what a blessing that was...
Chey had joined them only a moment ago, having spent nearly two hours down in the loading area, working his way through the first group of soon-to-be Amoi expatriates, accompanied by Enif, talking to ex-Pets and Ceres residents alike as they waited to board the ship, assuring them that all would be well. Promising them, as he had promised Riki, that he would personally see to their well being as they established the latest lucrative mining colony for his government.
Even through the thick reinforced plates of the terminal windows, the deep boom of the thrusters gearing up to full power was clearly audible. Without talking, the small group standing behind the protective plexi-glass watched as the great vessel accelerated down the runway, gaining speed rapidly and gracefully lifting off into the clear skies of Amoi.
Chey cleared his throat as he turned to Riki, smiling, “Well, young man,” he extended his hand, his grin widening as Riki shook it firmly. “My congratulations to you on a difficult job well done.”
“Thank you, Chey,” For some reason, Riki’s own throat seemed rather tight.
“I hope you realize, Riki,” Chey’s face grew very serious, but his shrewd eyes were kind as he looked down into Riki’s face, “You’ve given those people more than just a new employment opportunity. You given them a chance to walk forward, into their own world with their heads held high. That’s really…” Chey trailed off for a moment, actual wonder in his face. “That’s really rather extraordinary,” he finished softly.
Swallowing hard past the lump in his throat, Riki smiled at him.
“Well!” Chey gave a little jolt and patted his coat pockets in a busy little gesture. “I’m afraid I can’t stay. If I’m going to beat the transport to Hepstra, I’ll need to hop on board my own ship very quickly. Iason..?” he extended his hand to the Blondie beside Riki, “It was good to see you again.”
“Indeed,” Iason clasped Chey’s hand warmly. “Perhaps next time you visit, you might not be so rushed.”
“I hope so,” Chey nodded again at them both, and then turned towards Raoul and Katze, warmly passing his farewells with them, too.
Iason sighed softly, once more sliding his hands over Riki’s shoulder’s, even as the younger man turned to gaze out the window again, staring up at the empty area of sky where the first federation transport had just disappeared from view into the upper atmosphere. Iason gently turned Riki to face him, his hands smoothing over his upper arms. He smiled, his pale blue eyes warm and affection filled, even though his flawless face held its usual expression of regal composure.
“And so…” Iason said, satisfaction in his velvet voice, “It is done.”
Riki nodded, swallowing hard. “Yeah.”
“I must confess, I’m rather interested to see what you will come up with next,” Iason’s beautiful eyes flashed with genuine amusement.
Tickled by that wicked sparkle, Riki chuckled softly. “Who knows? A public forum to force you Elites to cut your hair short, maybe?”
Iason arched an elegant brow at him. “I can only imagine the screams of our anguish would echo across the world,” he muttered dryly.
Riki laughed again, softly, before falling serious once more. He looked up at Iason, feeling deep emotion filling him. This man, who had once been his tormentor and who, through the quirks of fate and luck and destiny, had now become his everything… was the one man whom he would stand faithfully beside for the rest of his life.
Riki smiled up at him.
Fondly, Iason returned his smile. “Are you ready to go home?”
Home… Riki nodded and smoothed one hand across Iason’s broad chest, petting him gently. Only a few years ago he would have freely admitted that he had no real idea what the concept of ‘home’ actually meant. From the dark and dangerous streets of Ceres’ inner slums, to the graceful soaring spire of Eos tower, Riki had always felt torn; always felt as though he had one foot in each place and that neither was where standing where it truly belonged.
But now he knew. Without a doubt. Stepping forward slightly, he slid his arms around Iason’s body and held tight for a moment, smiling against a powerful shoulder when he felt Iason return the embrace with gentle intensity.
He belonged wherever this man was.
“Yes, Iason,” he answered, feeling wholly content at last. “I’m ready to go home.”
THE END
Author’s note: Well, this is the end of this particular story. I would just like to throw a few wobbly, huggy, squishy thanks out at this point...
To Lena, whose magnificent site truly inspired me to believe that there was a space out there for a ‘happy’ ending to the Ai no Kusabi saga. Also, Lena, to you personally, thank you – a thousand times over – for your incredible help with this first AnK effort of mine!
To Kerklin… My goodness, lady – what can I say? Your insights, your advice… the fact that you put up with E-mails from me that were roughly the size of ‘War and Peace”,
And for those lovely people who were compelled to take a moment and give me feedback from a reader’s perspective… truly, I hope you know just how valuable your contribution is to a writer. You guys just, like, fully ROCK!!
Oh… and for those folks out there who would like to see a Raoul/Katze story arc...? Well, a sequel is most certainly is in the works…
Trust me.
Really.
With genuine respect and affection,
Ainz