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“Perhaps we should dance as well to blend in?” Gillion suggested, his ears twitching as he looked around at the couples on the dance floor surrounding them. The music played by the band blared a little too loud as they mapped the stage for a slow dance.
“Sure, Gill,” Chip said, albeit a little distracted and forgetful of who he was talking to as he examined the room, “you can dance or whatever.”
Jay brought a hand up to her face, hiding a small grin behind her fingers as she watched Gillion’s face shift. The small veil that covered her eyes shifted with the breeze in the room and she chuckled.
Chip, oblivious, stared at the faces of the people in the room. He was even about to go off and see what he could investigate at the moment when he felt a hand grab his. A pair of claws pressed lightly against his skin and he made a small noise of surprise from the back of his throat.
“Huh?” Chip’s eyes widened, turning to face Gillion as the Triton pulled him closer. Gillion’s gaze was focused and intense as he placed his remaining hand on Chip’s waist. Gillion chewed on the inside of his mouth as he looked back and forth from the people dancing, back to Chip.
“What are you doing?” Chip stage whispered, squeezing Gillion’s hand. His skin was still cold to the touch and Chip shivered. His hands fit neatly between Chip’s palms and the small patches of scales that dotted along his skin glistened with the ballroom light.
“You said we should dance,” Gillion insisted, pulling the two of them closer to the mix of people already partnered together. Chip stumbled, his face heating up dark blush that spread to his ears.
“Well, this isn’t exactly what I meant,” Chip spluttered, bringing his hand to rest on Gillion’s shoulder, “usually a man and a woman dance.”
“Is that how it works in the oversea?” Gillion tilted his head to the side, “I could certainly be the woman if you would like, Chip.”
“No, no, no, no, it’s okay,” Chip’s blush somehow managed to get darker, “you’re okay how you are.” Chip genuinely had no idea what Gillion actually meant with his offer. But he rather liked Gillion as he was.
“Oh,” Gillion blinked, “I see.”
If there was a flicker of confliction in Gillion’s face, Chip didn’t notice it. He just licked his lips, trying his best not to step on Gillion’s feet as he led the dance.
It was a bit odd, Gillion was shorter than Chip so normally, Chip would be the one leading a partner dance like this. But he let Gillion do what he wanted, and didn’t even try to take the lead. Gillion hummed under his breath, not to the tune of the song that was currently playing, but to a different one that he knew better. It was kinda cute.
When Chip looked over at Jay, maybe for a bit of silent advice or some assistance, he saw her infatuated in a conversation with that same woman from before. She brought a hand up to her face, laughing behind her hand and the lady extended her palm. Jay nodded and took her hand. Chip scoffed to himself and turned back to Gillion.
“Is there something wrong?” Gillion asked, noticing the sudden shift in Chip’s expression.
“No, Jay is still all over that lady from before,” Chip squeezed Gillion’s hand watching the eyeliner run down his cheeks.
“Oh?” Gillion looked over, his eyes darting across the room for a few seconds before he spotted Jay, “Ah.”
Chip made a noise from the back of his throat, moving his hand from Gillion’s shoulder to wipe at the running eyeliner and try to fix it up some, “You really got makeup all over your face buddy.”
Gillion took a step back, pulling Chip with him, “Is that not what you’re supposed to do?”
“Well, kind of? Not really,” Chip found that wiping at the makeup only seemed to make it worse. The streaks that ran down Gillion’s cheek smeared and a splotch of black rubbed against Chip’s fingers.
Gillion hummed, tracing his fingers over the dip in Chip’s side. His tail swished back and forth with the rhythm of the song and he let out a slow, wheezing breath. Chip was almost surprised at the fact that Gillion knew how to ballroom dance. At least, he knew how to better than Chip did.
“Where did you learn to dance?” Chip asked, placing his hand on the base of Gillion’s neck to try and avoid the spikes on his jacket while also being keenly aware of his gills.
Gillion looked down at their feet, nearly bumping into another couple that was dancing, “In the undersea,” he responded, licking his lips, “Eden taught me.”
It made sense, so Chip nodded in agreement. His shoes clicked against the lavish tiles and he puffed out a small breath. Gillion’s ears flicked and twitched in different directions depending on which way their dance went. There was something almost nostalgic about Gillion’s expression as he thought about his sister, but after a few seconds, he focused his attention back on Chip.
Gillion smiled, baring his sharp pointed teeth. Chip smiled back, pressing closer to Gillion. There were only a few inches between the two of them as they were nearly chest to chest. Gillion took a step forward, Chip took one back. They spun with the pairs of people dancing around them and Chip felt Gillion’s hand tighten around his waist.
Chip tripped over his feet, stumbling over his steps for a second before he was able to right himself. Gillion’s claws dug into the side of Chip’s hand as he tried to keep Chip from falling, his grip tight.
“Sorry,” Chip whispered, looking down so that his forehead was almost pressed against Gillion’s. Gillion said nothing, but hummed slightly and nodded, sliding his tongue over his lips as he focused on their movements.
Gillion’s tail was swaying back and forth with his steps, his fins dragging in the air and splaying out around his form. He closed his eyes for a few seconds, a small breath puffing against Chip’s skin.
For a small moment, Chip took the lead and lifted Gillion’s hand above his head, spinning the Triton along with the song. Gillion laughed, his face lighting up in a sparkling grin that caused small flickers of electricity to pop along the crown of coral on his head. He fell against Chip’s chest with a panting breath, taking the lead once again and trying to keep up with the rest of the dancers.
A chuckle bubbled up from the back of Chip’s throat and he traced small patterns over the patches of exposed skin on Gillion’s neck. His gills were flexing occasionally as he shifted, sharp breaths causing his chest to rattle.
Gillion took a step forward once more as Chip took a step backward. Chip stepped forward, and Gillion stepped back. An impossibly close waltz tip-toeing on the edge of touching while at the same time being so entwined in each other's arms it was difficult to separate. Eyeliner dripped down Gillion’s face, rolling underneath his chin and pooling in black droplets that stained the shirt underneath his spiked leather jacket. Chip swiped his thumb underneath Gillion’s eye, smearing some of the makeup in his attempt to wipe it off.
He managed to look even more threatening with the smudged eyeliner on top of the dripping substance. The dye that he had tried to put in his hair dripped off of the strands as well. And Chip wasn’t even sure if it was actually dye, knowing Gillion, it probably was more eyeliner that he had dumped on his head.
His teeth poked out from behind his lips, the tip of his blue tongue just barely visible in the gap. He hummed along to a song, one that was nowhere to be heard in the room, but still a waltz nonetheless. Chip had noticed in their time of sailing together, that Gillion did not know many songs.
The Triton knew hymns, he knew short lullabies that he must have heard when he was younger, and apparently a waltz or two. Gillion’s knowledge of music was not very extensive, and it was even less so when it came to oversea music. But Chip didn’t fault him for that.
It just gave him more excuses to play his guitar for Gillion. There were times that the two of them sat in their shared sleeping quarters, and Gillion would watch and listen intensely as Chip strummed the strings of his guitar. He would pluck notes and play chords, song after song until one of them got tired.
Many times, Chip would finish a song and Gillion’s eyes would light up and he would beg Chip to play it again, and again, and again, until the tips of his fingers were sore. But that never stopped Chip from playing just a little longer.
At least Gillion seemed to like his playing. Despite the fact that the old, dented guitar that they had on the ship refused to stay in tune. And despite the fact that Chip was incredibly out of practice, Gillion didn’t seem to care. He had an almost childlike love for the music that Chip played, and would listen for hours sometimes.
Gillion drumming his fingers over the dip in Chip’s side startled him out of his thoughts. He met eyes with Gillion, blinking a few times and smiling softly. His fin-like ears twitched and he tilted his head to the side, squeezing Chip’s hand.
“I didn’t tell you how lovely you looked tonight,” Gillion whispered, taking a deep breath and pressing his lips together in a small smile.
“Thank you,” Chip huffed in amusement, “you look very intimidating tonight.”
“Is that not what we were supposed to do?” Gillion asked.
“Well…” Chip shrugged and tilted his head to the side, “we were supposed to dress our best.”
Gillion clicked his tongue and made a small gurgling noise in the back of his throat. He nudged Chip’s foot with his toe as he stepped forward a bit too far. He tightened his grip around Chip’s hand as he stumbled slightly. Chip made sure to catch him, keeping Gillion steady on the ballroom floor.
“The elders would not approve of dress like this,” Gillion said after a few moments of silence between the two of them. His cheeks suddenly erupted in a dark blue blush as he seemed to just realize that fact for himself. He almost pulled away from Chip, his ears pinning back some.
Chip squeezed his hand reassuringly, noticing Gillion’s slight distress.
“What the elders don’t know, won't hurt them,” Chip insisted, smoothing his fingers over the nape of Gillion’s neck, “it’s okay.”
“Perhaps I should’ve chosen something different,” Gillion said, chest stuttering slightly.
“It’s okay Gill, you’re okay,” Chip took the lead of their dance while Gillion was distracted so the two of them didn’t bump into anyone, “you’re not in the undersea anymore, what you’re wearing is alright.”
“Of course,” Gillion seemed to come back to himself in a quick moment, “I’m sorry… I—”
“You don’t need to apologize,” Chip leaned down some, burying his face against the side of Gillion’s head and pressing a small kiss to his temples.
Gillion’s lip trembled but he took another small breath, throwing his arms over Chip’s shoulders. The song was slowing down, or maybe the previous song had ended and a new one had already started. Chip hummed to the gradually slowing tune, one that he had gotten familiarized with throughout the course of the song.
Chip smiled, dragging his thumb over Gillion’s chin as he lifted his face slightly to plant another small kiss against his lips. Gillion smiled into the kiss and curled his fingers around the fabric of Chip’s shirt, his tail wagging faster than before.
The couple's dancing had slowed down with the song, remaining almost stationary in the areas where they had found themselves in. Gillion shuffled his feet and Chip followed his movement.
Chip was unable to spot where Jay was in the crowd, which was almost surprising because of her height. Usually, she was pretty easy to spot (surprisingly, Gillion was also pretty easy to spot especially considering his height). Chip pressed his lips into a thin line, dropping his arms to rest around Gillion’s waist as they swayed back and forth to the last few notes of the song.
The music silenced as the band stopped playing and Gillion looked up around the room, almost as if he had been pulled from a stupor. Chip dragged his fingers over the small bit of skin that peeked out from underneath his shirt.
Gillion’s ears twitched back and forth as a few murmured conversations erupted from some of the couples. Chip leaned his chin on top of Gillion’s head, unashamedly holding him as close as possible.
After a few seconds of confusion and trying to figure out what was going on, a hush went through the crowd of people gathered, and the room went dark.