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Nagisa stretched out in bed as the morning sun lit up his room via his open window. He took a moment to enjoy lying there. He rarely had a chance to sleep in, but it was Carnevale and he had the day off. The Hazuki household had been in the employ of the Ryuugazakis for generations. Nagisa had been born just a few months before Rei, so they had grown up together. Officially Nagisa was Rei’s serving man, but he also acted as his friend and confidante. And today they were going to enjoy the holiday together.
Unable to lie still any longer, especially with the sounds of his sisters fighting over what to wear to the festival tonight, he rolled out of bed. He pulled on dark brown trousers, a white shirt, and a yellow vest. He secured his coinpurse and grabbed his boots and ran to the kitchen before his father could tell him to put on something nicer or his sisters could force him to help them dress. He would much rather help a girl he was not related to put on a dress (or, preferably, take one off).
"I'm going out to meet Rei!" He called out as he left, stuffing a piece of bread in his mouth. It wasn't a technically a lie--he had promised to meet Rei before the festivities began. But that wasn't for several hours. He decided to kill some time hanging out at La Rosa Verita. He didn't plan on purchasing any of their special services, but he could see if Kou had some free time. She was dying to meet Rei after Nagisa talked him up so much.
.........
Rei heard giggles from his brother's room. It was barely noon! He rolled his eyes as he walked past. Nagisa was sure to be there any minute. Rei was unsure why he had agreed to attend carnevale with Nagisa. He typically observed from the sidelines, but, knowing Nagisa, he would be forced right into the center of everything.
Rei walked out the front door and was greeted by a familiar voice. "Good morning, Rei!" Rei turned to Nagisa. "Someone is looking nice," Nagisa added, eyeing the embroidery on Rei's tight blue vest. The chipper blond was grinning as usual, and he wasn't alone. Next to him stood a woman with her red hair pulled up in a bun. "Rei, this is Kou." The woman--Kou--curtsied and offered her hand.
"Nice to meet you," Rei said, taking her hand. Her dress was low cut and colorful, but he was too distracted by her eyes to notice. Her eyes were almost the same shade as her hair and seemed to be judging him.
"Greetings, messere," she smiled slightly.
"Rei, look, I bought us masks," Nagisa jumped in. "You should wear this one--it matches your eyes." Nagisa handed him a purple and white checked mask. "Go on, put it on."
"I think that can wait until nightfall," Rei objected. But Nagisa pouted and Kou was already tying hers on. "Fine," he sighed, turning away. He could never hold up against that pout. Even looking away he could feel Nagisa smile. He carefully tied the knot behind his head. Once it was secure he turned back to see Kou retrying Nagisa's mask. Her mask was thin and black, while his matched Rei's, only with yellow instead of purple.
"Wow, Rei. You look so handsome like that! Doesn't he, Kou?" Rei could feel the heat rise to his cheeks.
"It does match his eyes perfectly," she agreed. Rei was grateful the mask covered enough of his face to hide some of his blush.
.........
After lunch at a place near the Ryuugazaki home, the three of them wandered around the market, watching people decorating. Nagisa complained that it was still too cold and wished summer would hurry up. As the afternoon wore on, more people started to gather around. Some wore masks, some were drunk, and some were both. Nagisa spotted one of his sisters flirting with the neighbor boy.
As the sun began to set, Kou spoke up. "I should go back to work now. Enjoy your night," she said, leaning in to give Nagisa a kiss on the cheek. She smiled at Rei. "I hope to see you again."
"Where does she work?" Rei asked after she left.
"La Rosa Verita. Why? Thinking of visiting her there?" Nagisa couldn't hold back his smile at Rei's shocked expression. It was the most well-known brothel in all of Florence. Even Rei knew about it, and he was not one to associate with brothels.
"She's... You brought a prostitute to my house?" Rei pulled Nagisa closer so he could whisper. "In the middle of the day?"
Nagisa rolled his eyes. "Would you rather me bring her by at night? I've met your brother. Kou's presence outside is hardly the most risqué thing to happen at the Ryuugazaki household." Nagisa didn't need to mention he had more than once spotted Itsuki hanging around La Rosa. Rei had no response to that; all he could do was frown.
More lamps than usual we're burning on account of carnevale, leaving the city square almost entirely lit up. People were dancing and drinking and eating and generally making choices they would have to confess on Ash Wednesday. But that wasn't until tomorrow, and the night was young.
Nagisa watched his companion, standing still and totally uninterested in the fun happening around him. Even frowning he was beautiful--taller and broader than Nagisa could even hope to be. His loose sleeves barely hid the strong arms Nagisa knew were there. Rei may not notice, but Nagisa saw all the girls watching him. They were there tonight, hoping he would ask them to dance, to drink, to give them something to confess. But Nagisa had spent enough time trying to convince Rei to ask out his admirers, and he was tired of it. Not tonight, ladies. "Dance with me?"
"What?!" That brought Rei back from whatever he had been thinking about.
"Come on, let's dance!" Nagisa grabbed Rei's hand to drag him closer to a group of musicians.
"No! We're both men?" Rei refused to follow, but didn't let go of Nagisa's hand. Nagisa took that as a sign to continue and laughed.
"So what? It's carnevale! Normal rules don't apply!"
"That's no excuse for sodomy!" Rei whispered harshly.
"Oh my, Rei! I was talking about dancing. I didn't realize you wanted sex," Nagisa whispered back as dramatically as he could.
"What... I... No, I didn't..."
"It's just a dance." Nagisa leaned into whisper in Rei's ear, which Nagisa noted were slightly red. "Besides, what's the point in wearing masks if you aren't going to do something a little scandalous?"
Rei cleared his throat but didn't say anything, nodding instead. Nagisa grinned at his response, pulling Rei toward the music.
.........
Rei tried to lead, but he wasn't used to the music, and kept losing the beat. They wordlessly shifted to Nagisa leading. As they kept dancing, Rei was barely aware of the music or the fellow dancers. All he noticed was Nagisa's smile and Nagisa's laugh and Nagisa's hands and Nagisa's body and Nagisa. Finally Nagisa seemed to tire of the dance and led Rei towards drinks.
They drank wine while leaning against a wall, arms touching. Their breathing slowed down to a normal pace following their frantic dancing. "That was fun." Nagisa said, leaning his head against Rei's shoulder between sips.
"Yes," Rei agreed. He took another sip and stared ahead, trying not to notice how warm Nagisa felt against his side.
Nagisa finished his drink first, downing the last half. He returned the cup to the vendor and told Rei, "I'm going back out." Rei nodded wordlessly and watched Nagisa ask a nearby girl to dance with him.
Nagisa led his dance partner closer to the music. Rei had been to parties with his parents, had studied dance. But this was different. It was faster and looser and Nagisa moved with a grace Rei's teachers would envy. Whatever he lacked in technique he made up for in style. Rei was openly staring when he noticed Nagisa looking back at him, still guiding his dance partner.
Rei tried to look away. Tried to think about something other than Nagisa's body and how it had felt. But Nagisa's movements were entirely too inappropriate for public, his body entirely too close to his dance partner, and his eyes entirely too focused on Rei. They made eye contact for what felt like an hour (but was probably closer to ten seconds) before Nagisa winked and spun, twirling his partner with him. Rei was sure he blushed straight through his mask.