Chapter Text
Rayla refused to do this anywhere that others could see, so she’d told Callum to meet her just outside the palace gate. It was bad enough having humans stare at her all over the palace and capital city...she didn’t need them laughing at her too.
Callum had mentioned dancing would be on the agenda at Ez’s 12th birthday celebration, but it wasn’t until Ezran rattled off a list of his favorite dances that she realized she would be totally clueless at this party. She prided herself on being a good dancer, but that wouldn’t make a difference if she didn’t know any of the steps to these “courtly dances” that everyone apparently loved so much here in Katolis. She rolled her eyes at the thought.
She’d then made the mistake of mentioning her apprehension to Prince Two-Left-Feet himself. Of course, he’d immediately volunteered, in the middle of the courtyard, where everyone could see, to teach her the dances himself. Callum, who trips over his own feet. He’d been quickly hushed, and then she’d mumbled her instructions to meet her outside the gate at sundown.
And, of course, as she approached the path that led to the city from the palace, her big, dumb, dorky human prince was there, waving at her and grinning from ear to ear.
“Let’s get this over with,” she groaned as she kept walking right past Callum, taking a turn for the forest path that she knew led to a secluded clearing.
“Aw, c’mon, Rayla! It’ll be fun!” He bounded up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist to squeeze her gently. She continued onward, unphased.
”Doubt it. Don’t like being bad at things.” She stared dead ahead.
”What? You’re so graceful and beautiful...how could you be bad at dancing? I’ve seen you dance!” She scoffed, and rolled her eyes.
”I’m a good dancer, I just don’t know these dances. And sorry, Prince Fancypants, but I dont exactly have faith in your teaching here.” She slowed her pace a little, now at least looking at him as she spoke.
”That cuts deep,” he responded, a grin under the surface of his melodramatic facade. “I’m not that bad of a dancer. Plus, most of them are easy! Even I can’t mess them up!”
They had arrived in the clearing. “Alright, alright. Show me then.” She had stopped walking and stood, arms crossed, eyebrow raised, watching him.
”Uhhh...ok, where to start?” He tapped a finger to his chin, thinking.
”Are you kidding me?” Rayla groaned.
”Ok, ok, I got it! This one is easy, it’s the same pattern, over and over. Everyone just rotates partners.” He started singing the melody of the song clumsily, and began the pattern. His steps formed a large square, with a few turns along two sides of the square. He demonstrated, with a phantom partner, the next part, where each pair circles each other, switching partners at the end of the circle.
When he looked back at Rayla, done with the pattern, she was smiling, just a little.
“M’lady?” He said, bowing, again with the most ridiculous, affected tone he could muster. She laughed a bit and rolled her eyes, but stepped up to stand across from him and bowed back.
“Uh...usually the girls, or at least the people in the other line, curtsy at the beginning.” Callum said. Correcting her felt weird to him.
”Oh.” Her cheeks went pink and she awkwardly tucked her left foot behind her right and bent her knees to dip a little. “Like that?”
Callum nodded and bowed again. “Do you want to watch me again? All of your moves would be opposite of mine.”
”No, I think I can manage.”
Callum counted out the time as he walked through the steps with her, their right hands meeting above their heads about half way through the pattern as they turned around each other. Rayla matched him with ease.
”That was perfect! Do you want to try again?” Callum grinned at her.
”Can you sing it this time so I’ll know which one this is at the party?” Rayla reset her position and started to curtsy again. He hummed the song. This time, as their hands met in the middle of the pattern, they made eye contact, smiling sweetly at each other. “I guess you’re not that bad of a dancer,” she teased as they finished the steps. “What’s next?”
”Well, sometime there will be songs where everyone is just in partners. I can show you a few of those dances.” He stepped towards her and took her right hand in his, placing his left hand on her waist. “You—“
”I know this part,” she said and put her left hand on his shoulder. The physical contact between them might have made them blush at one point but now they were so accustomed to one another’s presence that neither were phased.
“For this one, you count in threes,” Callum explained. He started by stepping with his right foot first, 1-2-3, then back the other way with his left, 1-2-3. “Make sense?”
Rayla nodded.
”Ok, well then, the other part of this should be easy for you since you’re such a good dancer already. For most people you’ll dance with, you’ll probably follow, so the other person will guide you where to go.”
He started the pattern again, this time taking her around in a large circle around the clearing. He lifted his right hand and put a tiny bit of pressure on her waist and easily, gracefully, she spun under his arm, out, and back in again. They kept going around and around the clearing, which was now growing dim. The sunlight had mostly disappeared for the day, and the light of the moon took its place. He spun her again, this time bringing her in very close as she returned to his arms. He stopped the pattern of triplets and just rocked side to side with her, both hands on her waist now.
”How are you feeling?” He said quietly.
”Better. I have a confession,” she started. “I knew that one.” She smiled at him, meeting his eyes.
“See? What are you worried about?” He smiled back, pure bliss and ease written across his face.
”I just...don’t want to embarrass myself. Or you.” She rested her cheek again his shoulder, carefully angled so her horns wouldn’t poke at him. “I don’t want to give people another reason to think that I don’t belong here.”
”Oh, Rayla...I could never be embarrassed about you.” He tightened their embrace. “I’m sorry that you don’t feel welcome here. But, if it makes you feel better, the party might actually help that.”
She pulled away to look at him inquisitively. “What do you mean?”
“This is the first time people will see us together at a public event like this. So maybe if they see that you’re a part of our family now and that I love you...”
”Maybe. I like that, being a part of your family. I love you too.” She leaned in to give him a brief kiss, then settled her head back on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head. They continued rocking back and forth.
“Hey, you should show me the dance you use to get into the Silvergrove again. I liked doing that dance with you, even if I was bad at it,” he chuckled lightly.
She pulled away from the embrace with a fond smile and assumed the opening position of the ritual. He mimicked her, and she began. As she rounded the first turn, Callum, having “accidentally” turned the wrong way, ran into her, full force. They had ended up on the ground, a messy tangle of limbs.
”Oops,” Callum laughed, removing his legs from where they had landed, across Rayla’s torso. He laid down on his side next to her in the grass. She shot him an annoyed look, laying flat on her back, arms crossed. “Oh, c’mon...” He scooted closer to her so that his body pressed against her side. He buried his face in the crook of her neck. He nuzzled there for a moment, then kissed.
Rayla rolled her eyes, yet again, then smiled up at the night sky. She closed her eyes and sighed a little as Callum’s warm breath tickled her neck. He kissed his way up her neck, to her temple, and then across to her ear. She wondered if her pointed ear would make him pause, but he continued to softly kiss all the way around her ear, down to her neck again. There he dared a small, light bite, immediately covered by a kiss.
”Callum!” Rayla blurted out. Callum hummed questioningly in response and continued kissing. When her arm reached across to touch his, grasping his sleeve, he knew he could continue, that she was enjoying this new adventure. He bit again near the crook of her neck. “Callum, I like that. Don’t be shy...”
She trailed off and Callum felt his cheeks heating up. He found a spot, just under the corner of her jaw and followed her direction, kissing and biting the spot over and over. She sighed heavily and gripped at his arm. He pulled back to find a small, pink welt on her neck. “I, uh, left a mark.” He smiled nervously at her, unsure if this had been what she intended.
Her hand flew up to feel the mark. He saw her face go from shocked to a briefly angry before settling on mischievous. She roughly knocked him over on to his back before placing herself directly on top of him, straddling his waist. “Pay back.” She said. He was surprised by the swift change, but his slight smile and pink cheeks told her he would be happy for her to get revenge.
She smirked and leaned down to first kiss his cheek, before trailing her kisses around his rounded right ear, down to his neck. She gave a few experimental bites as she went, and she could feel him shudder each time. On the third little nip, his hands moved to sit atop her hips. She then found the same spot under the corner of his jaw and started kissing and biting. She felt his fingers press into the soft flesh above her hips as she worked.
”R-Rayla...” He sighed her name. She pulled away and ran her fingers over the new raised spot on his neck. She realized it was positively red. She kissed the spot, then leaned up to look at him. A hand left her hip to brush a piece of hair behind her ear. His hand trailed down to touch the spot he’d left on her, still pink. “Do you think they’ll be gone in time for party?”
“I hope not,” she smirked, making his cheeks darken from pink to red.
He moved to sit up, and as he sat up, she slid down so that she sat on the grass, her legs still wrapped around him, her bottom in between his legs. He attached his lips to hers, and as she leaned forward into the kiss, he noticed the pressure of her body against his growing arousal. She gripped him more tightly and seemed to purposely press their bodies together. “Is that ok?” She asked, having broken their kiss to ask when she felt his breathing hitch. She rested her forehead on his, waiting for his response.
“Of-of course I like this, Rayla, but I think maybe we shouldn’t...” Callum raised a hand behind his head nervously. She pressed her lips briefly to his reassuringly.
“I’m sure you’re right. I just...” She struggled to find the words. “...want to be with you.” Her gaze was intense, especially as the moon reflected in her eyes.
“Rayla, I want to be with you, too. More than anything.” He reached up to stroke his thumb across her cheek and reciprocated her reassuring kiss from a moment ago. “I just...want to take it slow. I want to take time to enjoy all of it. We don’t need to rush.”
“Will you at least kiss me again?” She asked, smiling at him. “I promise, no funny business this time.” He hummed a little chuckle and used his hand to angle her face towards his lips, guiding her chin upwards. He kissed her slowly, trailing his other hand down her arm to intertwine their fingers. She squeezed his hand back, and put her other hand against his chest, letting her fingers wrap themselves up in the fabric of his jacket. She detached her lips from his and kissed along his cheek, back to his ear
“It’ll be hard enough to hide one of those,” he said as she started to kiss below his ear.
“Oh, relax,” she said, with no intention of leaving another hickey. Even so, as she kissed he let out little contented sighs. They grew in frequency before he interrupted.
”Th-there are more dances, you know,” he reminded her, voice a little shaky.
“Oh? And which ones are those?” She whispered in his ear. She nipped at his earlobe suggestively.
”Uh, ya know,” his voice cracked. “More of the kind where everyone does the same steps.”
“Hmmm...well, we better get started then.” She untangled herself from his lap, leaving their fingers intertwined to pull him up with her.