Skinship

A/N: Alright, first fic for this fandom. Just watched Last Exile for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and I admit, totally shipping Dio/Claus! XD Really, I could never figure out who would top in that relationship, so this is just some fluffy angst-flavored shonen-ai. Slight mention of het –gasp-!
Constructive criticism is welcome. Flames will be used to decorate a vanship. XP
Last Exile
Skinship
Dio/Claus
It was late that night and the airship hanger was mostly empty save a lone figure hard at work and one other, sharp gray eyes watching his every move. For the first time in his life, Dio, heir to house Elaclaer crouched on the dirty floor behind a spare vanship, watching his unaware companion with baited breath.
Oh how he loved watching Immelman work! Every move the other boy made was slow and deliberate, as if he thought out everything he did far in advance, unlike Dio’s own rather flighty personality. It took the young lord quite some time before he figured out why Immelman had such a fixation on that one dingy, run-down ship. So it had belonged to his father, what’s the big deal? It’s not like Dio held on to anything of Delphine’s… as always the thought of his sister sent a vicious shiver down his back. He forcefully shook his head to clear his mind of such thoughts, short, white hair flying around his face with the motion. He would not think of Delphine, not when Immelman was near…
Of course, he knew the boy’s name wasn’t Immelman, he couldn’t walk anywhere in the ship without hearing whispers of Claus Valca, but Dio was the only one to call him address him by this particular name. That set him apart from the boy’s other admirers, even if just a bit.
Immelman slid out from underneath the vanship and stood, wiping the sweat off of his brow only to leave a smear of engine grease. Dio had to smother the giggle. Immelman was just too adorable!
Then the boy reached for his glove and Dio’s breath caught. Seeing someone’s bare hand was such an unusual thing in the Guild. In yet another example of Delphine’s desire to be above and separate from ‘lesser beings’, every inch of the Guild members was covered save their face. Thus since Dio was a child, he had always felt the world through a thin layer of cloth. Here, among these so called ‘lesser beings’, bare hands were still rather rare, since most activities required gloves for protection, but not unheard of.
But there was something about seeing Immelman’s naked hands that just seemed so… naughty. As if he was baring far more personal parts for Dio’s viewing pleasure. Maybe it was the way he removed his gloves, catching the fingertip between his teeth and pulling it off, or maybe it was seeing those clean tan hands and imagining them against his own white flesh…
Immelman tossed the discarded gloves beside him and plopped beside the vanship, cradling his face in those naked hands. Gray eyes watched avidly as that hand came up and rested carefully against his bottom lip as had been one of his odd habits lately when he was lost in thought.
“Miss Sophia…”
Anger, sharp and hot raced through Dio at this, along with a healthy spark of jealousy. So he was still thinking about that woman was he? Well, Dio would just have to change that…
~
“Immelman!”
Claus’s head jerked up at the, by now familiar, call, almost slamming his head into the metal behind him in the process. He blinked, blue eyes staring into gray, suddenly way too close.
“D-Dio?”
The white-haired lordling scoffed, turning his head to the side. “Of course it’s me, Immelman! Who else did you think?”
“I-I didn’t mean-!” Claus sighed shaking his head at the unpredictable boy. “Never mind.” He turned to stand up when Dio asked him a question.
“Why do you take your gloves off?”
Claus blinked, again caught off guard by the peculiar boy. “Um, well, I was done working so…”
“I’m never allowed to take mine off,” Dio said matter-of-factly, staring at his own hand. “Delphine would be most displeased.”
“Never? But, how do you feel?”
“Feel?” Dio seemed honestly confused. “I can still touch things with my gloves on.”
Claus shook his head. “That’s not the same. You just feel the pressure and temperature, but all you really feel is the cloth.”
“Really? Things feel different…?” At Claus’s nod, Dio looked back at his hand. “I’d like to try.”
Before Claus could ask what he meant, Dio reached up into his sleeve, a moment later revealing a very white, very bare hand. That white hand grabbed for Claus’s own, startling him.
Dio’s hand was… much softer than his own, free of the calluses one developed when working with machines.
“Wow, Immelman…” Dio crooned, carefully exploring every inch of Claus’s hand, even between his fingers and the back of his palm. “You’re… warm. Much warmer than my sister or even Lucciola!”
“Um, thank you?” Honestly, Claus wasn’t sure how to respond to that. A small smile graced his lips at Dio’s childlike enthusiasm. Who would have thought such a small thing would bring him such joy? Was everyone in the Guild this cut off from physical contact? What kind of family did this strange boy have to forbid actual contact with others? Did they even… kiss?
At the thought of kissing, Miss Sophia came to mind as it frequently did after that odd interlude on the balcony. Claus’s free hand came up, tracing his lip again when all movement from Dio ceased.
“Still…” his voice was abnormally dark and tense. “Even when I’m here in front of you your thoughts go elsewhere, to her.”
“D-Dio?”
Hot, angry eyes stared back at him. “She kisses you and now that’s all you can think about?!”
“Wait, Dio, that’s not-!”
“I already have to fight for your attention and she gets practically your every waking thought from that tiny contact?!”
Claus’s eyes widened and a blush stained his face. “You saw that-?”
“Of course I did!” Dio snapped, before suddenly all the anger drained away, leaving behind a familiar, self-assured smirk that made the hair on the back of Claus’s neck stand straight up. “If that’s all it takes…”
Suddenly those smirking lips were on his, cool and forceful. But it was the edge of desperation that gave Claus pause. Like that small point of contact meant everything to him. Claus simply didn’t have it in him to refuse this silent, frantic plea.
After several long moments, Dio pulled back, achingly slow as if savoring every last moment.
“There. Now I’ll be in your thoughts all the time, Immelman.” Despite the confident words, the fragile hope that was beginning to form in those gray eyes told Claus much more than usual. “I’ll be back later for more experiments with contact.”
Maybe it was too much, Claus pondered as the other boy slunk away, but when kinship failed, skinship was important.
~
Short, but eh, I liked it. And that’s really the important part, no? Maybe one of these days I’ll actually buckle down and write a chaptered fic. XP