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“Hey! Percy!”
Vane’s voice rang out, loud enough to even turn the heads of random passersby, but the one being called for didn’t even flinch. If anything, his shoulders tensed and his pace quickened—not that it would deter the cheerful vice captain of the Order of the White Dragons.
Sure, it could be a little worrisome how Percy shut himself away from others, but that only meant that Vane needed to try all the harder. That was just how Wales’ youngest prince tended to be; harsh words and a cold shoulder wouldn’t stop Vane from trying to get closer to him.
Any friend of Lancey’s was an important friend of his, and they’d gotten at least a little closer over time. Plus, Percival never stuck around in Feendrache for more than a week or so at a time, which made it all the more important to spend extra time with him whenever possible. Letting his moodiness get in the way wasn’t a real option.
“So, this is where you’ve been, huh? I’ve been looking all over for you!”
Percival only seemed to bristle further as the blonde vice captain clapped an arm around his shoulders; a lesser man may have flinched at the suddenness of the motion, coupled with Vane’s strength, but the lord of flames merely sighed over his bold behavior.
“You’re getting too chummy again, mongrel.”
Sharp words were paired with Percival shrugging his way out of the other knight’s grip, smooth and easy despite the weight that Vane had put on his thin shoulders. The sudden shift was enough to make the larger of the two knights stumble a little, a loud sound escaping him as he regained his balance.
“C’mon, Percy, it’s been nearly a year! You have to be warming up to me by now!”
Even if the smile on Vane’s face was sheepish in nature, nothing else about his body language betrayed the tiniest hint of embarrassment or uncertainty. When Percival huffed in response, muttering about how it made no sense that such an uncoordinated and obnoxious man could be vice captain, Vane ignored it. Arguing now would make it way too difficult to get a yes out of Percy.
“Yeah, yeah, but, hey—one of the knights in the order is getting married in a few days from now, you should join the party! The more the merrier, and there’ll be food and dancing. You’ve been to plenty of formal stuff, you’ll be right at home!”
It was almost hilarious how much more annoyed Percival became the longer Vane spoke: his brows furrowed even deeper, mouth twisting in a way that made it seem like he’d just been sucking on a lemon. Despite his soured expression, after a pause, the lord of flames heaved out an irritable, “Fine.”
“Don’t be like- Wait, really? You mean it?!”
Vane’s shocked look only seemed to further fuel the other knight’s exasperation; regret almost seemed to radiate off him as Percival pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Quit shouting. You’d only continue to yip at my ankles like a lost puppy if I refused, as always.”
The ceremony itself was relatively standard, but the union between two people, deeply in love, quickly managed to move Vane to tears. His sniffling and whimpering was at least muffled enough not to be heard throughout the chapel, but everyone sat nearby could hear him getting emotional. It didn’t matter whether or not he was particularly close to the knight that was being wed; he cared deeply for each and every member of the order, and their joy meant the world to him.
Of course, it also meant that Percival had to listen to him blubber throughout, but he didn’t choose to comment on his behavior. If anything, Vane could have sworn that he saw the faintest hint of a fond smile through his own tears at one point, and moments after, a handkerchief was handed to him. It was probably just wishful thinking, since Percy’s lips were twisted back down into a frown by the time his vision cleared.
It had taken some convincing to even get the fiery knight to dance with him at all. They’d spent most of the after party together, since Percival wasn’t exactly close with the other attendees, but he didn’t seem the least bit interested in any aspect of the formal event.
Framing it as something of a challenge worked out more or less in Vane’s favor, though, even if he hadn’t quite meant it that way. If anything, he thought he’d properly realized that the reason Percival didn’t want to participate was because he didn’t know how.
Still, the end result was the same. Percival tersely agreed to join him with the other pairs dancing around the hall. Though, the song shifted to something far slower before they could begin, which caused Vane to hesitate for just a moment.
“Losing your nerve already?”
“No way, Percy!”
And with that, Vane wrapped an arm around his friend’s waist, pulling him in closer as a dusting of pink rose to his cheeks. Percival didn’t seem quite so affected, merely rolling his eyes and placing his hand on the vice captain’s shoulder.
Was Percival’s waist always so thin? He always seemed smaller without his armor on, and Vane couldn’t help but notice the curve of his hips and little details that he normally wouldn’t focus on when they were pressed so close together like this.
Focusing like that ended up a mistake, when Vane lost track of his footing and ended up stepping on Percival’s toes.
The shift in mood was sharp, Percival pulling away almost instantly, words as biting as they were quick, “Clumsy idiot. I’ll show you how it’s done.”
Their positions were quickly reversed; Vane’s hand placed on Percival’s shoulder, and Percival’s arm wrapped around Vane’s waist. It was hard to believe that the lord of flames was still willing to indulge him like this, but it was probably just to prove that he could outdo Vane, regardless of what they were doing at any given moment. Yeah, it was definitely because the vice captain had assumed he couldn’t dance at all.
They weren’t doing anything too complicated, just basic slow dancing, but Percival was a bit more active about it: his steps would quicken at any time that the minstrels’ tempo increased, and he seemed far more practiced and smooth about it.
Well, maybe that was expected from a prince. It was easy to get lost in the movements, and how pretty Percival looked with his hair down.
So much so that before Vane could even process what was happening, Percival lead him into a quick twirl, which then transitioned into a slow, smooth dip. Their faces remained inches apart as the lord of flames dipped down with him, their chests pressed together during the movement. Time seemed to stop.
Had Percival always been strong enough to support all of his weight? Vane had never thought about it much; no one ever bothered to lift him or anything like that since his final growth spurt as an awkward teenager. His red eyes seemed to bore into him, sharp and intense like when they trained together.
He was breathtakingly graceful, and it would be so easy to close the distance between—
Vane hadn’t even realized that his lips were edging closer to Percival’s until it backfired; at the exact same moment as he decided to really go for the kiss, his partner decided it was time to shift back up into a normal position, and their foreheads collided when Vane surged forward.
But it was obvious what he’d been trying for, and even Percival’s features were just the slightest bit flushed; he wasn’t nearly so flustered as Vane, of course, his face starting to turn a shade of red that matched his friend’s hair, but...
Their foreheads pressed back together much gentler after they were upright again, instigated by Percival as Vane’s heart threatened to beat right out of his chest.
It almost seemed like they might really kiss this time, but before their lips connected, Vane lost his nerve. He managed to yelp out a rather loud, “Sorry!” before disappearing, too embarrassed now that his heart was going a mile a minute, and his brain had short-circuited.