Walls, Crumbling

"Shall I be the one for you, who pinches you softly but sure?"

Four months ago.

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After almost a full year of training in Ishgard, Erisande had become a conjurer at last. Still, she guarded her heart, refusing to allow anyone access...until Sebastian. 

She'd met Ser Sebastian Pavel in Ul'dah on a business trip for the House. While wandering through the Quicksand, they'd crossed paths and the attraction had been almost instantaneous. She'd taken him as a lover that very night, their passions burning brightly in the days and weeks that followed. Always it seemed Sebastian desired more, but she continued to push him away, insisting that pleasure was enough.

When Sebastian woke one morning, Erisande was not in the bed beside him. Though the indent of her body was there, there was no warmth. She had been gone from his side for hours. Across the room, he saw her standing before the window in a sheer robe. The sun shone through the flimsy fabric, displaying her long-limbed figure in the light. Her long hair lay captured in a long braid to one side of her head, and she seemed deep in thought as she looked out onto the grounds of House Marchand. 

Rising from the bed, Sebastian joined her on the other side of the room, savoring the glimpse of paradise he witnessed before him. He could only smile as the sunlight shifted around her, as though she was one of the Twelve given form before him. Standing behind her, his hands folded around her waist. She could not help but lay her own atop his, leaning her cheek into the gentle kiss he offered.

She savored the touch for a few long moments, closing her eyes and lifting one hand to sift through his hair. Her decision was made, and it was cruel to lead him on further. Though it was difficult, she turned and managed to extricate herself from his arms, turning to gaze up at him.

"Sebastian, I..." She licked her lower lip, glancing away. He could see the pain and fear in her eyes, and she trembled with it. "I cannot be with you anymore. We are too different, too..." She paused again, ensuring they were no longer touching. "I have enjoyed our dalliance, but it cannot continue," she said, somewhat more firmly. 

He looked at her as though he did not hear her correctly. Surely she must be jesting with him. Then, he saw her eyes, that pained look that he had seen every time she recalled her past to him. He stood there, raising an arm to the wall as he braced himself. "You are certain of this?" He spoke evenly. 

"I...." She looked at him in shock and surprise. "I am, Sebastian. We do not belong together," she whispered, glancing away again and taking a step back, trying to put more distance between them.

"Just know I will look on our time together fondly," she said softly.

"Fondly..." That word repeated in his head as he marched his way toward her. She could see the anger roaring to life inside him as he took her by the shoulders, closing the distance. "Don't you dare back out of my life because you are afraid that I would abandon you."

He pulled her back into an embrace, taking her lips with a fiery passion. His strong arms drew her closer and more tightly against him, keeping her there where he thought she belonged. 

Never before had she seen him angry, and her cheeks flushed with the realization that she had made him quite upset. "Sebastian, you cannot..."

Her words were ended, muffled by his drugging kiss. Though everything in her called out to return it, to embrace him and all that he was, still her head was in control and so she struggled in vain in his arms. "Sebastian..." she whimpered angrily, her senses being overwhelmed. "We are not..." As he kissed her again, he could feel her melting against him. Once more she broke free of the kiss, her eyes meeting his. "It is foolish to go on."

His teeth gritted as he turned and pinned her to the wall, determined to keep her from squirming away again. "Foolish is letting the past haunt you as it has." Pressing her to the wall, he danced his lips along her neck. Even now in his anger he still loved her, drifting up to her ear did he voice her, "You have me weak and exposed to you. I won't..." He paused, shaking his head as he swept her into his arms, carrying her back to the bed they'd shared. As he lay her down among the coverlets, he spoke soft and low:

"I refuse to give you up. Ever."