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Felix smooths his hands over the formal clothes he wore, pressing fingers lightly to all the concealed daggers on his person. “ It’s in poor taste to be armed so publicly at a party such as this, Felix.” The boar king had told him, when talk of the ball had only just begun.
He looks at the floor length mirror in his room and reaches up to tighten the loose curl of his hair, a bun coiled tightly at the top of his head.
The fabric he wore drapes across his form, hugging tight to his shoulders and waist while leaving his arms free to move. Dark blue accents complimented the blue grey of his wings. It was a stupidly expensive outfit, and Felix had wanted to shove the box back in his face when Dimitri had first handed it to him.
He scowls and brings his wings forward, smoothing over the feathers until they lay perfectly flat. He turns and huffs, reaching to try and get the ones at the center of his back, but the angle is off.
The door opens with a quiet click and Felix turns to glare at the intruder, already knowing who it was. “What do you want, boar king? Couldn’t wait to see me, was that it?”
Dimitri smiles at him, tilting his head slightly and Felix has the inexplicable urge to push the hair out of his face when it falls forward. He smothers the urge without question. “I thought maybe you would need some help. Forgive me if I was mistaken.”
Felix grumbles and decides not to answer, turning his back to Dimitri. It is a silent offering, and he knows Dimitri takes it when there is a presence at his back.
Warm, glove covered fingers preen gently at the soft feathers at the center of his back, and Felix moves and braces his hands on the desk not far from the mirror. Letting himself relax, his wings fluff up naturally as Dimitri’s hands coax feathers out of the uncomfortable twisted position they had adopted.
There is silence, and they both know not to break it. There is little peace to be found when ruling a country, even when war is no longer occurring, and they both know to take the calm where they can.
Dimitri’s hands smooth over his shoulders when he finishes, and Felix lets himself relax into the touch. After a moment he turns and gestures wordlessly with a hand. He won’t ask. He refuses to ask, even if he wants, but Dimitri has always known him better than anyone and swaps places with him unquestioningly.
Felix doesn’t think he’ll ever understand how a monster like Dimitri could bear to turn his back on anyone, but then Felix has never understood how he could love a monster and he has found himself doing so all the same.
Large wings spread and Felix starts with the small, downy feathers at the base, enjoying the softness against his fingers. Dimitri sighs under his touch and the ever-present tension in his shoulders starts to bleed out, head dropping forwards.
Felix methodically combs through the feathers, working his way down until he’s carefully spreading the flight feathers and brushing everything into place. When he finally steps back they gleam faintly, though they’ll still need to be groomed more deeply at a later date.
Dimitri turns a soft smile at him as he straightens and Felix rolls his eyes. “Thank you.” The boar king murmurs. Felix turns away, wings rustling in his discomfort. He has never been comfortable with the thanks Dimitri is so willing to offer him.
In lieu of answering, he pulls the box that has contained his clothes towards him. At the bottom, nestled in the thin fabric meant to protect it, is the mask Felix is to wear tonight. It is, admittedly, beautiful.
A white cat's face stares up at him, with swirls dancing across the surface in delicate silver and deep blue. It matches what he’s wearing, just as it was made to do. There’s a matching silver hair comb in the box underneath it, that he hadn’t noticed before.
Felix pulls it out and runs a finger over it. The teeth are of a plain silver colour but the top was an intricate swirl of silver and sapphire. An unnamed emotion wells in his chest at the thought that had gone into everything.
Dimitri moves to stand at his side, holding a hand out. “If I may?“ Felix stares at him for a moment, and then places the comb into his hand, turning around. Dimitri’s hands are careful as they press the comb into his bun, the teeth fitting smoothly against the back of his head and Felix can feel the weight of it as it’s fitted into place.
He brings a hand up after Dimitri is done, fingers ghosting lightly over the comb. A smile comes to his face, but he doesn’t banish it this time.
Dimitri is leaning against the wall when Felix turns, and flicking his eyes over what the man wears he realises it cannot be the outfit intended for the ball. Which is in less than an hour. “Planning to wear that to the ball, are you boar? Not very formal, now is it.”
Dimitri chucklesles and looks down at himself. “You would be right, however this is not what I’ll be wearing. I will be changing into my formal clothing once I return to my rooms.”
Felix narrows his eyes, placing a hand on his hip anc cocking his head. “I don’t get to know what you wear, but you get to choose what I’m going to the ball in? Rather presumptuous of you.”
Dimitri’s smirks at him and his voice is deceptively sweet when he says “You like it though, do you not? Not to worry Felix, I’m sure you’ll rather like what I wear tonight. You’ll see it later, I do hope for a dance after all.” He turns and strides towards the door quickly, leaving Felix staring after him in disbelief.
Left behind in the sudden silence of his room, Felix flares his wings in annoyance and decides that if Dimitri wants to be a bastard, then Felix is going to embrace his own ability to be a little shit. He turns and stalks towards the other side of his desk, leaning down and pulling out a box Annette had given him.
Opening it, he finds a set of unopened lip and eye paints, a few small brushes, and three little containers of shimmery powder. He hadn’t wanted to throw it away when she’d given it to him - it was obvious she’d been genuinely excited to give it to him - so it had just sat under the desk, unused. Until now.
Smirking, he pulls out the silver shimmering powder as well as one of the brushes and brings his wings forward. Felix pauses, not quite sure how to go about this, before finally dipping the brush in the powder and carefully dusting it over his wings.
Felix focuses it on the tops of his wings, from his shoulder down to his flight feathers. It would take forever to wash out, but it would be worth it. He was going to resolutely ignore that he was only doing this to see Dimitri’s reaction.
The powder wasn’t an obvious gleam, but whenever he moved it caught on the light. The silver blended into the grey of his feathers, and Felix didn’t think anyone would notice unless they were standing next to him. Standing in front of the mirror he spreads them wide, turning to admire the gleam as the light of the sunset comes through his window.
Nodding to himself, Felix folds them again and carefully puts the lid back on the small jar. Walking to place it back in the wooden box, he pauses and looks at the lip paints. It was tempting, but it would certainly be far more noticeable. Fuck it.
He pulls out a softer pink that wouldn’t stand out horribly (he thought) and might go with what he was wearing (he hoped). Taking out another brush, he stood in front of the mirror and carefully dipped just the tip into the paint. Parting his lips, he carefully presses the brush to his mouth. The paint is cold, and Felix isn’t quite sure what he’s doing, but he’s seen some of the girls use it before and thought he could do well enough.
When he finishes and puts the brush down, Felix thinks it looks fine. The paint felt odd as it dried and after a moment of hesitation he pulls a small vial of oil out of a drawer and dabs a little bit on. The dry feeling fades and, putting everything away, Felix is confident he’ll get some sort of reaction out of Dimitri.
Preferably one that would result in being dragged back to his chambers early and not leaving until morning.
The wooden box goes back into its spot, and Felix pulls out one last gift. Dimtitri had given it to him when they were kids and Felix..never had the heart to throw it out. It’s simple enough, thin dark blue fabric with a silver clasp and a little silver lion pendant in the front. It fit snugly against his throat, unlike the looseness it had held when he first got it, but Felix thought it only fitting.
Stepping back, he nods in satisfaction. He takes one final check of the daggers hidden in his clothes, and then grabs the mask out of the box. Putting it on, it fits perfectly against his face, as though it had been made for him. Knowing Dimitri, it probably had been. Small cats' ears poke up from the top, and the bottom of the mask comes down a little farther than most, arching to meet the top of his nose. Dark blue silk ties it against his head, and the entire outfit comes together at once.
Glancing at the sky he sees the last of the sun's rays have faded. Felix takes a deep breath to steady himself and then leaves his room, shutting the door behind him. Making it downstairs, to the large ballroom, he’s confronted by the sudden influx of noise that comes from the multitude of guests.
He stands at the doorway before he enters, somewhat out of sight, and just watches the partygoers for a moment. The room is large and illuminated by bright, suspended candles that cause shadows to flicker and dance across the walls.
With a sigh, Felix slips inside, pausing reluctantly for the herald to announce his arrival. “The Lord Fraldarius, Duke Consort.”
Felix nods his head in acknowledgement and enters. The formality was impossibly stupid, not to mention dangerous. Yet, Dimitri insisted they stand by it. His wings threatened to flutter in annoyance and Felix clamped then tight against his back with a sigh.
Glancing around, he spotted Annette standing with Ingrid and elected to stand near them rather than just hover waiting for Dimitri to arrive. This entire affair was ridiculous but..Felix had to admit there was some pleasure to be found in it.
Annette saw him as he walked closer and before Felix could say a word, her eyes scanned over his body, before finally landing on the summer in his wings and the paint on his mouth. She squealed and launched herself at him, wings flaring out in excitement.
Felix squawked in offense, rearing back but she didn’t let go. Ingrid watched in mild amusement and exasperation but didn’t interfere. “You’re wearing the things I gave you!! Oh Felix, it looks so nice on you!”
He shifted uncomfortably and just nodded his head in response to the compliment. Annette wiggled her eyebrows “I’m sure his highness will love it too-“
Felix scowls and tries to shove a hand over her face, feeling the heat rush to his cheeks and he’s suddenly glad the mask covers his face. Annette skipped backwards, almost falling as she did so. “As if I care what the boar king thinks.”
They both roll their eyes and Felix can’t help but give Ingrid a look of betrayal. Ingrid gives him a very pointed look back and he looks away. The party is in full swing by now and Felix finds himself glancing over the crowd as though Dimitri would be there.
Annette pats him on the shoulder, her wings brushing against his lightly. “He’ll be here soon.” Felix doesn’t deign to answer her, and just keeps waiting. He knew that.
They didn’t have to wait much longer. Mere minutes later, the herald was announcing in a loud voice “His Highness, King Blaiddyd!” The crowd turns and bows, and before them all Dimitri stands.
Felix understands, suddenly, why Dimitri hadn’t showed up to his room in full dress. If he had, there was every chance Felix wouldn’t have let him leave. The party carries on quickly, many formalities pushed aside in favour of the simple pleasures of the sound and dance of tonight.
Dimitri, standing taller than most, can be seen making his way across the room. Felix stands straighter and his wings flare out slightly as the man approaches. He wears black and blue, as were his normal colours, but the clothing hugs his skin tight enough to leave little to imagination.
The fabric near gleams in the lighting and Felix wonders just how expensive it must have been. The standard cape he’d always worn was gone, replaced by a beautiful dark thing that had white feathers lining the edges. His wings were settled over the top of it and Felix thinks they shine more than they had earlier.
His mask is black and the structure is that of a lion. It’s fitting, Felix supposed. Blue and white mark it’s surface and it’s a beautiful thing, yet Felix can’t help but say “A boar would have been more fitting.”
Dimitri smiles at him and Felix sees the exact moment he notices the new effort Felix has put into his appearance. Dimitri’s lips part and then he swallows hard, a hand coming out to brush over the feathers gently. “You look..”
Felix raises his head and let’s a smug smirk cross his face. Dimitri’s eye flicks to his mouth and darkens, but there isn’t a thing he can do here. “I look?” He’s playing with fire, he knows, but it will be more than worth it.
Dimitri exhales and the hand comes up to cup his face, a thumb brushing at the edges of his mouth. “ Beautiful.” Felix can feel the heat rush to his face and swallows hard before he pulls away.
“Careful, boar,” he murmurs, “that’s not behaviour fit for a king.” Dimitri growls and Felix’s wings fluff up in response. The boar is living up to his name it seems. Annette and Ingrid have gone, he realises, but here on the main floor, surrounded by people, there’s nothing Dimitri can do.
They both know it, and Felix can see Dimitri take a deep breath before nodding slowly. After a moment, Dimitri extends a hand. “May I have this dance then, my love?”
Felix scoffs but places his hand in Dimitri’s anyway. The boar king leads him to the centre of the dance floor and the music picks up in volume - or maybe Felix is just now more aware of it - as Dimitri’s hand comes to his waist.
Felix places his hand on Dimitri’s shoulder and smiles. They’re still for a moment, and then Dimitri is pulling him into a twirl immediately, spinning him out and then pressing him in close. The movement causes air to rush through his feathers and Felix gives himself over to the feeling.
He doesn’t keep track of how long they move for, only aware of Dimitri’s body against his. Dimitri meets his eyes and then Felix feels gravity hold onto him, wings flaring open wide as he’s dipped low to the ground, the only thing keeping him from falling is the hand on his waist and the one that goes to his leg to stabilise him.
They pause in that position and Felix lets his eyes close, chest heaving for air. The moment ends when he’s pulled back up, and applause arrises around them. Dimitri holds him close as more people come to the dance floor, encouraged by their king and his consort.
Their wings brush against each other, closing them off from the world. Dimitri sighs in his ear and grumbles “Tonight. Tonight we are going back to my rooms, and I’m taking tomorrow off.”
And Felix, still caught in the adrenaline of the moment and the tranquility of tonight, just laughs light and clear with his head against Dimitri’s shoulder.
He wouldn’t change this for anything.