Chapter Text
Anyone from across the town could see a gigantic mansion owned by the honorable house of Landau. It was a big stone building with fancy ornaments and a garden, which due to Trailblazer’s interference with the Stelleron bloomed with colorful flowers. The lights from the residency made stars look bland in comparison. The most eye-catching part of the manor was a party house that stood in the middle of the garden. The Landau family used any occasion to throw extravagant events and collect every noble from Belobog in one place. The ballroom was tall and seemed endless. Thousands of people were occupying the dance floor and even more formed groups around the room and spoke in whispers. Few guests could be spotted wandering the gardens outside and some of the braver ones even dared to enter the main building excluded from guest use.
The lights of many chandeliers were flashing in a blurry mess behind the face of his dance partner. Her hair was trailing after her movements making her dance seem gracious. Gepard had a weird feeling while looking at her. She felt like an old friend who moved far away. She was like a distant memory of someone unreachable. Like a person he knew but with a different face. And then it hit him. She was similar to HIM. HE always seemed unreachable. He was always out of reach. But Gepard couldn’t help but try to catch on. He longed for the other man. For his company. For his witty comebacks, bad pick-up lines and shameless flirting. The feeling of his body under his, even if only for a second when the other pretended that Gepard finally caught him. No matter how close Gepard was to catching him, he always got away. The countless banters they shared made Gepard feel like he knew the criminal better than he did in reality. After all, reality was cruel. He knew that a relationship with someone elusory like Sampo was impossible. The other man jumped between lines of comradery and hatred with most people, he changed teams depending on what he needed at the moment. An ever changing person like Sampo could be bound to no one. He didn’t belong to anyone.
And even if Sampo reciprocated his feeling, Gepard had his duties. He couldn’t just let him get away forever. That would be against everything he stood for. And that was enough for Gerpard to stay quiet. His status as the Captain of Silvermane Guards and a member of the Landau family didn’t make this situation better. As the oldest son and as a person who swore to keep the Belobog safe, he couldn’t turn a blind eye on one of the most active criminals. His crimes may be petty and totally avoidable if a person on the other end had a functional head on top of their shoulders, but they were still crimes against the law.
The woman scoffed. Her red eyes pierced him with amusement and her lips turned into a mocking smile. Gepard knew this expression. Serval wore the same expression when he got too lost in his head thinking about the criminal. She couldn’t stay mad for long though. Teasing him about the crush was even more enjoyable than whatever she was talking about before.
“Am I not the only one on your mind?” the voice of his partner caught his attention. ”One must be careful not to disrespect a lady. Especially during an occasion like this one, Mr. Landau. We both know the consequences of disrespect among the nobles.”
He felt the chills running down his spine. If not for the playful tone, he would think she really was threatening him. Or maybe she was? Gepard was never the one suited for social interactions. When they were younger he left all the speaking to Serval. She was a natural even if she pretended otherwise. After the split in the family Gepard was the only one left to attend parties and “keep up” the family appearances. He still hoped that in situations like this, his sister would turn up and save him from upcoming embarrassment. But in reality he knew that even if they’d bury the hatchet between them, she would never attend another party hosted by their parents. Serval despised her life as a noble and Gepard would never force her to endure it again.
He must have spaced out again, because he didn’t realize that his partner walked him to the nearest table and offered him a drink. He nervously took it. The typical red wine with few frozen mints weighed in his hand. Gepard could feel the chills running down his spine. He promised Serval that no matter what, he wouldn’t accept anything from strangers. The murders were happening more often than not on these types of occasions. Everyone in Belobog knew that nobles held a grudge. They remembered everything they deemed as disrespect and waited patiently, just looking for an opportunity to “settle” the score.
He didn’t know the woman in front of him. She had long black hair falling freely on her open shoulders and back. Her red eyes, which reminded him of a certain someone, were half closed with a lazy smile painting her face. Her dress didn’t leave much to imagination. A scantily cut red blouse pulled into black corset was perfectly bland in comparison to the long skirt cut fittingly to show off her leg and hide the other in an endless sea of ruffles. She had heels so high that he was wondering how she was able to move so swiftly. Gepard had his suspicions about her background but decided to keep his mouth shut.
His parents' decision to throw a party open to anyone who wanted to attend was a strategic move but Gepard doubted many Underworlders were interested in this type of entertainment. The only people from Underworld he happened to see were representatives of Wildfire - Oleg and a beautiful lady named Natasha. He was pretty sure Bronya invited her “friend” to the ball but he had yet to run into them.
“You sure know how to make a lady feel lonely in a room full of people. One can not have too many hopes towards the nights’ end if one’s partner is not interested.” His attention was once again focused on the woman. She was seeping wine from one of the fancier looking glasses. Her lipstick left marks all over the edges of the glass. Gepard couldn’t help but feel irritated. Poor workers will have a lot of trouble trying to clean this. At least he knew the pay was good.
“I do apologize, ma’am,” he spoke, trying and failing miserably to hide his embarrassment. “My head tends to betray me in such a noble company.”
“I presume it’s a fancy way of saying you’re not interested in me at all and you would rather be anywhere else but here,” she stated boldly and slid his glass across the edge of the table, nearly spilling the contents. “A person who dares to speak such bold words is a rarity among those circles. Perhaps your presence will be sufficient to make up for the boredom I had to endure during this party.”
Gepard was at a loss of words. He was never good at speaking with women. The exception being his two sisters and even then they did the most of talking. But the woman in front of him seemingly didn’t appear offended. She didn’t bother to hide the amusement in her eyes as she took a place at a table and gestured to the place where his drink stood proudly.
“A man like you truly is a gem among all of the stones,” she said. Gepard could feel her eyes travelling down his body. After a few seconds of awkward silence her gaze focused solely on his face. “A pretty oblivious gem. How much more must I imply? Am I not clear enough or the one in front of me does not wish to understand?”
“I’m sorry what?!” Gepard spoke too loudly, unintentionally grabbing the attention of other guests. “My lady must forgive me, but I fear I am confused about the implication of your words.”
“I’m suggesting we ditch this poor excuse of a party and I can show you something much more interesting.” The elegant tone was gone and the lady in front of him seemed simpler. Gepard knew it was probably a bad idea. A one that ends with him dead in a back alley or drugged and sold on the black market, but he couldn’t help but long for a person in front of him. She was too much like HIM. Maybe for one night Gepard could pretend that the smug lady he shared a dance with was the alluring criminal he spent many nights aching for.
“Somewhere private would be preferred,” the woman added after seeing the decision written all over his face. Serval would always tell him that he was like an open book. And she wasn’t the only one to say so. “I’m sure a member of the Landau family owns a room in the residence.”
“I sure do,” was all Gepard said before taking the stranger's hand and pulling her up. Their lips were centimeters from each other. He didn’t realize how tall she was until she stood so close to him. She took one step closer and whispered into his ear.
“Then maybe you can show me the way?”
Without second thoughts Gepard began leading her towards the exit ignoring the curious looks from his younger sister who was taking her place next to their parents. How long was she there? He didn’t have a clue. He was sure Lynx said she was not going to attend the party. Maybe Pela convinced her otherwise. With few words she could easily sway his normally stubborn younger sister.
After a few minutes of moving through the crowd, they finally reached the exit. It wasn’t an easy task, but Gepard managed to spill only a few drinks held by noble guests. It caused some ruckus but they entered the gardens before anyone had a chance to stop them. But only after high bushes nearly covered the sky providing a natural ceiling and sounds of conversations became muffled Gepard felt like he could breathe again. They walked through alleys of flowers and rows of fountains enjoying each other's company in silence. When the woman spotted a small gazebo covered from ground to roof in white flowers she couldn’t help but gasp in exhilaration. Gepard, seeing her reaction, strengthened his hold on her hand and led them to the building. Inside stood a small garden table covered with countless leaves and two chairs with puffy white and blue pillows on them. He took a seat on one of them and gestured to the woman to do the same on another chair.
She laughed and ignored his gesture and instead took a seat on the same chair facing him. Gepard could feel her breath on his lips, her hands on his shoulders. After a few seconds she finally closed the gap between them and impatiently connected their lips. She tasted like wine, which wasn’t one of his favorite flavors but the feeling of her tongue against his lips successfully took over his attention. His hands traveled to her waist, holding it and pulling closer to him.
A soft moan escaped her lips and died in the silence of the night. Gepard pulled away to appreciate the beauty of his companion. The light provided by stars gave her eternal look. The misty eyes looked deeply into his and even without proper lighting he could see the slight blush on her cheeks. For a small moment he could forget she was the one straddling his lap and not the other man. Sampo’s face replaced hers as his imagination took over. He could easily imagine that the other person was the one he longed for. That her hands were his and instead of a slim waist his hands held the waist of the other man. Shame quickly took over his thoughts and Gepard could feel the guilt creeping up his throat.
“I am not the one you wish to have tonight,” she said confidently. “But maybe you can pretend. Maybe you can imagine I am the one you lust for. The one you desire. Just close your eyes and pretend. I will do the rest.”
Gepard just shook his head, refusing to make eye contact. The silence between them became overwhelming. The woman seemed to be deep into her thoughts as he regretted ever accepting her proposition. Gepard should have rejected her right away. It would save them both from embarrassment and maybe she could have found another person willing to entertain her for the night. It was already too late to look for someone else. She spent the whole evening trying to get his attention and most of the guests probably already left the party. How selfish was it for him to use her as a replacement for someone else?
“I apologize. I shouldn’t have…,” he couldn’t finish. With what should he begin? Sorry for leading you on? Sorry for pretending I’m interested? Sorry for wasting your time and ruining the whole event for you?
“There is nothing to apologize for,” was all she said before getting up and running a hand through her hair. “May this encounter remain between the two of us, my dear.”
She didn’t wait for an answer. With indifferent expression she turned away and walked back into the darkness of the garden leaving Gepard alone with his conflicted feelings. He leaned back into the chair and closed his eyes. His head was overflowing with emotions and what ifs. What if he refused right away? What if he didn’t accept her request for dance? What if he didn’t agree on coming all together?
Serval would tell him to stop overthinking things and Lynx would tell him to get his shit together. But well. His sisters weren’t around, so Gepard could afford a few seconds of self pity. And after these few seconds he will go back to his lonely apartament and pretend this whole mess of an evening never happened.