Odium Medicant

By Batpig and Mastress Alita

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Title: Odium Medicant
Author: Batpig and Mastress Alita
Type: Oneshot
Rating: NC-17
Pairings: Alex/Platina
Dedication: To those who like angst. And lemons. Or... lemony angst!
Spoilers: Includes spoilers for the end of the Apocripha/0 game. Therefore, this story is spoiler heavy.
Summary: In the night following Jade and Sapphirus's death, Platina and Alex finds redemption among each other.

Author's Notes: When we thought of doing this fic, at first we thought we'd do a light-hearted ouji/ouji fic, but a rather dark Tarot reading led us in a totally different direction. Thanks to Eruantale for translations of the sanbou death scenes, which helped grately for this fic. As far as the title, an "odium" is "the state or fact of being subjected to hatred and contempt as a result of a despicable act or blameworthy circumstance" and "medicant" is a remedy or cure. Sadly enough, coming up with a title was the hardest part of the whole story. :-P

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The cold night breeze gently stroked the King of Hell's face as he gazed at the sky from his balcony in solitude. Tilting his head, letting his long platinum hair fall loose to the ground, he looked up at the illuminating full moon. "How beautiful..." he murmured, sighing. It never ceased to amaze him, the fact that such a marvellous sight could be found there, in this wasteland of Hell. If only there was someone beside him to answer these questions, like before.

<As a part of becoming King, you are to live alone.>

He looked down at his own hands. The fate of this beautiful wasteland lied in them. He, Platina Pastener, would alone be responsible. Tomorrow, and beyond... It wasn't supposed to be this way.

Cringing, Platina held himself as he slid slowly onto the marble floor. No, there was no way, he thought, burying his palid face into his hands. How could Jade have sincerely believed that he could do this, alone? Platina couldn't believe that Jade's dying words were still filled with the mockery and jests that he had grown accustomed to.

So strange, that all his life, Platina had only strived to be strong and independent, the way Jade wanted him to be. Jade may have betrayed him, but he had also failed Jade. He said that his betrayal deserved death. Platina sighed. Perhaps he deserved that punishment as well.

"Platina?" A voice came softly from the doorway of the balcony, looking out at the hunched figure. The large red eyes started to water, but he held back the tears, trying to remain composed, though it was so hard to appear strong on the outside when inside... inside...

He walked over, sitting next to Platina, bringing his arms around him, holding him tightly. He wrapped his cape around them, already feeling the first small flakes of snow starting to fall. The black sky, the gray clouds moving in to cover the bright full moon, the wetness of the tiny white flakes... it was like the very world was in mourning.

Although taken by suprise, Platina accepted the warm embrace of his older brother as the snow began to fall. As the air around them began to freeze, he and Alex huddled closer together. Platina let his head fall into the quivering shoulders of his older brother. He felt too tired to ask, but even so, he knew that Alex was thinking the same thing he was.

"Aniue..." he began. But as he opened his mouth, the calmness that he had kept began to slip, and tears threatened to fall from his eyes. In front of others he had kept a cool composure so far. But somehow, knowing that Alex understood his feelings, Platina's coolness began to falter as waves of emotion and confusion began to hit him. He couldn't hold it, and a drop of a warm tear rolled down his cold cheek. Ashamed, he quickly wiped it and turned his face away from Alex.

Alex reached a gloved hand over and put it under Platina's chin, turning his head back towards him, and then he ran his hand to the back of his brother's head, nestling his fingers into the silver hair, pressing his face up against him. "You can cry... No one will even know."

Platina bit his trembling lips as he let the tears that had been held back roll down silently. How shameful, he thought, looking into Alex's eyes. He was supposed to be the stronger of the two, the victorious prince who became King, and yet it was he who broke down first. Jade would have surely laughed. He cast his eyes upwards. Perhaps he was...

Looking into the blue eyes, Alex felt his composure start to falter. Trying to keep his voice as even as possible, he said quietly, "Hey... do you... want to talk about it?" As much as he'd tried to sound calm, his voice had cracked, and he'd felt the warm wetness on his cheek mixed with the stinging cold wetness of the snow.

Talk? Platina wondered as he listened to the soothing words. Oh, there was so much to talk about. But how could he say it? What could he say? His blurry eyes continued to stare blankly into Alex's bright red eyes. Words overwhelmed him and when he opened his mouth, he felt like choking. But as he could see that Alex was also shaken with strong emotions, Platina began to feel the urge to let something spill out from his mouth. Anything. "I..." He gritted his teeth. "I could have done something... Couldn't I?"

Alex was silent for a moment, then carefully answered, "Maybe... but... did you really want to? Because..." He paused a moment, trying not to lose his words. "Because it is so hard... to love someone so much... and find out that you've been deceived." He broke down then, unable to hold it back any longer, burying his face into Platina's cape as he was wracked with sobs.

Hesitantly, Platina put his arms around Alex, feeling his body shake with his twin's sobs. "...Yeah." He nodded, looking up. But even as Alex said that, something still stirred in Platina that made his stomach churn. He never knew what Jade felt towards him, but, for a traitor, his last words were filled with too much kindness. "Aniue, I let him die. And he was... he was..." Platina could still see the gentle, blood-stained smile on the green-haired angel's face. "...He was willing to die for me."

Alex took a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down enough to speak. "I know. I felt so hurt that he had left me... that I..." He choked again, then with effort continued. "I've always been so selfish. Even then, I only thought about what I felt, how hurt I was inside. And then... even at the end... he was filled with nothing but kindness. He'd said that he had always wanted to... be with me. But by then... it was... too late."

"But then again... It could have been an act, couldn't it?" Platina chuckled bitterly. "All our lives, they have deceived us with lies." He wished he didn't believe that Jade's attention to him was only filled with ulterior motives. "Do you think they'd still lie to us... even when they were dying?"

"Even if your mind was telling you to be wary, inside... didn't you just know... feel... that it was the truth?"

"I don't know." Platina shook his head. He felt that of course. "Maybe..."

Alex rested his head against Platina's arm, feeling tired from the crying. "At the time, I thought it was the right thing to do, because I was so upset to find out the truth. But now... I have nothing but regret. I think... I love him even more than I did before. And now I can't do anything about it. All I can do is think about how my selfishness had killed him." He shook his head, trying to erase Sapphirus's smile as he laid there bleeding to death from his mind, but no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't go away.

But what could they do now? Platina thought. Tired, he leaned into Alex's chest. "Have I commited a horrible sin?" The tears would not cease.

Alex ran his fingers through Platina's hair, answering softly, "This is the land of sin, isn't it?"

A moment of silence passed between them as Platina laid on Alex's arm, soothed by the sound of his beating heart. In a sudden realization, Platina pulled himself away, and wiped his tears. "Tomorrow... Tomorrow we have an important business that we must attend to." He stood up slowly, brushing the snow off of him. "We cannot be distracted now." His voice quivered. "Regardless of what we feel, we must forget this... and move on." Platina clenched his hand into a fist, his fingers digging into his palm. He then extended his hand to Alex. With his best effort to steady his voice, Platina whispered, "Let's... let's go now. It's worthless pondering over something that can't be changed."

Alex nodded, slowly, taking the hand and rising. "It's because you have that strength that you became King... instead of me."

<No, it is you, Aniue,> Platina wanted to say, but he felt embarrassed to say so. He could feel Alex's warmth through the tight grip of his hand. Even though it was Platina who made a gesture towards the door, he could not bring himself to let go of Alex's assuring hand.

"Hey... is it really okay... for you to be alone?" Alex asked as they moved inside, the warmth of the room feeling strange compared to the bitter cold outside. But even though he asked it, he was the one that didn't want to be alone.

Platina turned to Alex, surprised at his question. Was his feeling so obvious? "I... suppose," he mumbled. If anything, he had been used to Jade watching over him until he slipped into slumber. Now, especially on a day like this, it was too weird to be sleeping alone.

Alex clung to Platina's side, hiding his face in his brother's hair. "I don't want to admit it, because... I'm sure he'd want me to be strong, but... I'm scared. So..."

"Of course, Aniue. Please stay with me... tonight." Platina reached out his arm to embrace the golden-haired prince. Alex's shoulders may not be as wide as Jade's, but they welcomed him on this lonely night. He turned towards the bed. "You must be tired... Let's go sit down."

He nodded, wiping his eyes with the back of his blue glove, following the silver-haired prince, climbing up onto the tall bed. "Gomen ne."

Sitting on the edge of the bed with his brother, Platina began to realize the awkwardness of the situation. Despite all that passed between them earlier, he was now at a loss for words once the strong emotions had subsided. He could only look straight ahead, not wanting to meet the red eyes and let them see his flushed face. "It... It was really cold outside... Wasn't it?"

Alex blinked his large red eyes, looking up at his taller brother. He nodded. "You should've known better, it would be very bad for you to catch a cold now, considering what you have ahead of you tomorrow. Look, I think your cheeks got chapped from the cold, they look a bit red." He pulled his gloves off and rubbed his hands together, warming them with the friction, and then he turned Platina's head to face him, placing his hands across Platina's cheeks.

The heat in Alex's hands seeped into Platina's cheeks, causing Platina's face to blush into a deeper red shade. "Aniue, your hands... they are warm," he said, shutting his eyes.

"But it's within that's really cold, isn't it?" He pulled himself up into Platina's lap, his legs on either side of him as he wrapped his arms around him, leaning up against the younger twin's body.

Without saying a word, Platina stared down into Alex's eyes. His older brother seemed to be able to see everything through him no matter what he did. "...And the same with you, Aniue?" he whispered softly, wondering.

He nodded. "I feel frozen to my very core... I failed him so badly. I was too weak to become King as he had wanted so much... and too weak in the end. And I will probably be too weak against... that angel who has my face. My face... on the one who killed..." He trailed off, pulling in closer to Platina, knotting his hands in his silken hair.

A chill ran up Platina's spine as he remembered the cruel angel's laugh as he dispatched the two fallen angels, the look on Jade's face as Platina refused to save him... He pulled himself more into Alex. "I... I don't know." Platina shivered. "It was... It was I who was weak... Aniue. And it was I, who..." He was scared then, and his fear resulted in tragedy. "Aniue... What if... What if I..." What if he became scared again, and made that mistake again? He buried his head into Alex's hair. "I can't lose you too..."

Alex was quiet for a moment, then spoke softly, "Then we have to win tomorrow... or their deaths will mean nothing, right?"

"...Mmm," Platina nodded. "I will be strong tomorrow, Aniue. For Hell. For us." For him...

Alex leaned forward, whispering in Platina's ear, "Make the cold go away..." Moving his hands up behind Platina's head, he covered the silver prince's lips with his own gently.

Platina blinked briefly before shutting his eyelids, taking in the feel and taste of Alex's tender lips. Then passively, he returned the kiss to his twin.

Alex pulled back, his face red, his eyes showing his unspoken question as he pushed some hair away from Platina's face, studying him.

Platina averted his fluttering blue eyes downward, unable to think of anything to say. A moment passed between them without words before Platina could collect himself and clear his throat. "Perhaps..." His blush deepened into a rose color. "Perhaps this is the remedy we need... for this cold night..." He glanced up, anxious.

Without commenting, Alex came forward to kiss Platina again, more forcefully this time, trying to lose all his thoughts, all his guilt, all his despair in such a simple act. He didn't have to be alone... because at least one other person completely understood his pain.

Warm tears trickled down from Platina's eyes as he accepted the passionate kiss. For a moment, that was all there was, and nothing else in the world mattered. Alex's force pushed Platina's fragile body to its limit and he fell back onto the white crumpled sheets. He pulled away briefly, panting, his face flushed.

Alex looked into his blue eyes, reaching over to wipe the tears away, and then his hand trailed down Platina's neck to the blue clasp on his cape. Unbuttoning it, he pushed back the white fabric which was now pinned under Platina's body, exposing the lithe figure in the tight blue onepiece.

Platina snuggled into Alex's small but sturdy embrace, finding a cozy shelter for his flustered body. He shook off his gloves, revealing the pale skin underneath. With his liberated hand, he reached up, delicately caressing the reddened cheek. Staring into Alex's eyes, those shimmering pools of crimson wine, Platina was drawn into a drunken hallucination. He reached his hand up towards Alex's hair, stroking it. The blue hat that covered the prince's hair was pushed away, letting loose a waterfall of flimsy golden hair.

Alex reached up and unclasped his own cape, letting the black material fall to the side. He then leaned down and pushed some silver hair aside to kiss Platina gently on the side of his neck before removing the demon-eye choker from around it, revealing the zipper to his dark blue clothing beneath. He reached for it, then stopped, uncertain, embarrassment shading his cheeks. "Nee, Platina... Did you and..." He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

Surprised by Alex's sudden question, Platina turned away, unable to look at him in the eyes. He reached his hands to Alex's back, massaging it, and pressed his body closer to him. "Please... Let's not talk about that..."

"Ah, I wasn't... I mean... It's just..." he stammered, his face starting to match the color of his eyes. "I haven't... done this before. So... that's why... I wondered..."

"..Mmm." Platina shook his head slightly, indicating that he didn't mind. Alex's flushed innocent face on the mention of this topic was so much different from Jade's usual smug look. He pulled Alex's face down to him and kissed him, forcing his tongue into the blonde prince's mouth.

Alex's eyes grew wide for a moment and then softened, welcoming the kiss as he slowly worked the zipper on Platina's clothes downward. He broke away then, looking down into the blue eyes for a moment, and then he moved a hand down his neck and over his exposed collarbone, hesitating before pulling the zipper down lower.

With the red eyes fixed on his naked chest, Platina began to grow restless in shame. Every touch that Alex came on contact with his sensitive skin sent a jolt of sensation through his spine, causing him to gasp. He moved his shaking hands down to Alex's torso and quickly undid the belt, letting it slip from his body. Then he pushed those hands up, underneath the white shirt, feeling the bare, moist skin. "Please don't worry Aniue. There's no need... to hesitate... about anything," he whispered softly into Alex's ear.

He nodded as he drew in a breath at Platina's touch, and then pulled off the white shirt, throwing it away carelessly, giving Platina more access to his skin. He leaned over to nuzzle at his neck for a moment as he reached back over to finish unzipping his brother's clothing. Sitting back up, he started rolling the tight blue cloth down his shoulders, having a little difficulty, an embarrassed frusteration showing on his face.

Seeing Alex's frustration, Platina chuckled to himself at the cute reaction, before turning his body so that the task would become easier. Then he sat up, letting more of his clothes slide off him. Reaching behind Alex's back, he started nibbling on his neck. Simultaneously, he slid his slender hands down the puffed striped shorts and pushed them down, along with the thigh high white socks, to reveal more of the radiant flesh.

Alex gasped, unused to being so exposed in front of another person. He reached down and started rolling Platina's bodysuit down his legs, determined to make Platina equally uncovered, and his fingers brushed against the inside of Platina's thighs accidentally as he fought with the tight fabric.

The sudden contact in Platina's sensitive area caused him to arch his back in a jerking reaction. Panting, he leaned back, his hands still gripped firmly on Alex's lower back, as he felt more stimulation in his groin. He glanced down at his rising penis, then, moaning, he looked up at Alex, pleading with his eyes.

Alex's face darkened at least three shades. Sucking in his breath, he reached a trembling hand over to enclose it, running his thumb over the head, his red eyes blinking back at his younger brother questioningly.

Platina looked back at Alex, his face completely red in ecstasy, and nodded to his brother approvingly, then leaned back, shutting his eyes. As Alex continued to rub him, Platina felt more and more intense. All he could see in his head was a white flash and his gasping became more frequent. "Aniue... I... can't breath..." he bursted out, barely able to articulate.

"Should I stop?" Alex released his grip and ran his fingers upwards over Platina's chest, bending down to steal a kiss, finally starting to ease up a little.

"...Mmmm... No... Please keep going..." Platina sighed to every one of Alex's touches.

His legs on either side of Platina, Alex pressed his groin down against his brother's, nothing but the thin fabric of his underwear covering his obvious erection. Gripping Platina's shoulders he kissed him again, deeply, his tongue exploring the other's mouth.

Platina's eyes fluttered in bliss as he accepted the kiss. Then, noticing the bulge on Alex's crotch, his eyes widened in amusement. Carefully, he pulled the underwear down, freeing the erect manhood. He took a glance at his brother, seeing if he would protest, then lowered his mouth to envelop around it, feeling it throbbing inside.

"Ahhh!" Alex gasped, the foreign sensation shocking through his entire body. "Nnn... Platina... I..." He clutched his hands to the back of Platina's head, his fingers tangling into his hair. The pleasurable feeling of Platina's warm mouth around him, his tongue caressing him... it was almost too much.

Seeing Alex twitch in ecstasy, Platina continued, licking hungrily. His heart began to race faster with each moan of pleasure that Alex let out. With the growing desire, his tongue worked in a more rapid pace to caress Alex's length. Then, as Alex neared climax, Platina broke away, panting in exhaustion and excitement, leaving Alex unsatisfied.

Alex made a small mewl of protest at the sudden loss of Platina's attentions, and pushed the taller boy back down on the bed, pinning him under his smaller body. Capturing Platina's face in his palms, he kissed him again before sitting back, red eyes meeting blue. "Why did you stop?"

Breathless, Platina stared up at Alex, stunned at his older brother's innocence. He reached his hand up and brushed away the strands of tangling silver hair from his sweating face. "I was... tired," he lied. "Aniue, why don't you... finish this..."

He could feel his face turn red up to his ears, and he tilted his head a bit, letting the golden hair fall around to cover his embarrassed face. "I won't be very good at this..." he said quietly as he reached a hand down to spread apart Platina's sweaty legs.

Platina shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He raised his legs and moved them to the side to give his twin more access.

Alex positioned himself between the legs and bent over to push away a stray strand of hair stuck to the side of Platina's face with sweat. "Won't this hurt you?" he asked, his eyes concerned.

At that moment, Platina wanted to slap his forehead in disbelief. Another part of him, though, chuckled warmly towards the naive prince. He was... very different... Platina sighed. "Please stop worrying, I will be fine." He sat up and kissed Alex, silencing him from further questions. "I think you are prepared," he whispered, glancing down at Alex's erection, dripping wet with his own saliva, ready for penetration.

Alex nodded and pushed Platina back down, wrapping his arms around him as he slowly entered him. He gasped as he felt the tight warmth enclose around his manhood, and with a moan he buried his head against Platina's neck. "This is..."

"Uggg!" Platina choked, digging his fingers into Alex's back. The entrance into his body brought him a mixed sensation of pleasure and pain. Each friction caused by their movements sent Platina out of his mind, his breath quickened by the heightened ecstasy. He pulled Alex closer to him, stroking his head with a shaken hand.

Alex fell into his own world then as he moved within his brother, falling deeper and deeper into the euphoric sensation, letting the physical ecstacy take him far away from the painful memories in the back of his mind. He panted, quickening his thrusts, wanting madly to feel more. "Platina..." The word escaped as a whispered breath against the other prince's ear.

Platina shuddered in response. Each of Alex's thrusts sent waves of intense euphoria through Platina's body, pushing him closer and closer to the edge. He wanted to be closer to his twin, to feel their existance as one. "Aniue..." he whimpered, at first softly, than gradually louder as the blissful sensation intensified.

"Nnn..." Alex moaned, knotting his hands further into the silver hair. "Platina... I... can't..." he got out between his rapid breathing. It was becoming too much for him, becoming too overwhelming...

Platina didn't need to hear those words, as he was heading towards his climax as well. Finally, he could no longer hold the pressure building up inside him. He gave a loud cry as his release came, the white liquid spilling onto himself and Alex, pushing him into a mind-numbing vortex of heavenly bliss. He panted in a breathless exhaustion and let the tight clasp on Alex's back drop.

It was too much; Alex was driven over the edge, washed away in orgasmic bliss as he emptied himself inside Platina. Breathing deeply, he stayed like that for a moment until he could catch his breath, and then he pulled himself out of his brother to fall, exhausted, beside him. Pressing his sweat-slick body against Platina, he hid his face by burying it into his brother's hair.

With the little strength left in him, Platina turned onto his side to face Alex. Tilting the older prince's head slightly, Platina brushed his lips gently on Alex's rose colored cheeks. Then he curled himself and snuggled closer to the warm body of his smaller brother.

Alex could feel the slow rise and fall of Platina's back as he slowly ran his fingers down through his hair, tucking his head in against the other's chest, letting his own golden hair fall over it to hide the moistening at the corners of his eyes. A bit bothered by the silence and not knowing what to say in such a situation, he quietly murmured, "I think I've tangled your hair."

"It's alright," Platina sighed. "Tomorrow morning, I'll..." He felt a slight pain as he said those words. "Tomorrow, I'll just comb it... Myself..." His voice trailed off at the end as he tried to suppress the surfacing tears.

"I'll brush your hair if you make me breakfast," Alex said as he clutched tighter to Platina.

Platina's eyes widened in surprise. Then he closed his eyes, smiling, and pulled Alex closer into his arms. "Yes... that sounds like a good deal," he mumbled softly before drowsiness took over and pulled him into a deep slumber.