Chapter Text
Tavish stands against the wall, bored out of his mind as he watches the other lords and ladies prance about the room in all their finery. He sips on the water, wincing a little at the bland taste, but knowing it’s for the best. His Mum’d have his head and the Administrator would have his arse if a lick of alcohol makes his lips a little too loose.
“Is this seat taken?” someone asks, catching Tavish’s attention. You sway awkwardly in a pair of heels, looking severely uncomfortable.
“Nah, be meh guest,” Tavish waves off, smirking when you drop into the seat with a sigh of relief. Looking down at your feet, he can’t help but arch an eyebrow at the shoes which very obviously don’t match the rest of your outfit.
“Sorry,” you apologize as you lean down and loosen the heels enough that they almost slip off your feet.
“Don’ be,” Tavish assures you, “Jes’ wonderin’ why y’ got those on.” You laugh a little, giving your toes a little wiggle that makes Tavish briefly wonder what your legs would feel like over his shoulders.
“A friend of mine thinks she found the man of her dreams,” you explain, jerking your chin toward a young woman dancing with a young Lord Tavish knows is looking for a wife, “But her shoes are definitely more for looks instead of function.”
“So y’ took th’ bullet f’r th’ lass?” Tavish asks, sipping his drink as you laugh again.
“Obviously,” you agree, wiggling your toes again. Tavish snorts and takes another sip of his water, or he would if he hadn’t already drained the glass already. Huffing, he sets the glass on the ledge behind him before stepping closer.
“Wanna dance?” he asks, holding out his hand. You look up at him in confusion, still obviously trying to get feeling back into your poor toes. Tavish snorts and grasps your hand, tugging you out of the seat and out onto the balcony. You half-heartedly complain about being barefoot, but Tavish can’t find it in himself to care. The curve of your mouth tells him that it’s all for show, the glint in your eyes revealing surprise and awe at this turn of events.
“Now,” Tavish huffs, pulling you close, “Yer gonna stand on me feet.”
“I don’t want to crush your feet,” you immediately turn down, making him laugh.
“Don’ ye worry yer bonnie heid,” Tavish assures you, “Ah’m in steel-toes!” You blink a bit before snorting.
“Well then,” you huff, tentatively standing on said steel toes, “Lead the way.” Tavish beams at you, does his best to wink at you with his eyepatch on, and does just that. You’re nowhere near the heaviest thing he’s had to carry on his feet, recalling some of his odd jobs years prior, but you are the prettiest, especially when you laugh when Tavish dips you. The two of you dance through a waltz, then a samba, followed by quickstep that finally leads to Tavish mis-stepping. You both tumble to the ground, luckily not hard, but still end up laying on the concrete, staring up at the overhang above the balcony as you try to catch your breaths. You turn toward each other, and burst into laughter.
“Aye, should ‘ave been more careful,” Tavish says, sitting up and grinning as you dissolve into a fit of giggles and snorts.
“I- hehe- I told you,” you manage to choke out, getting a snort from Tavish.
“Ye didn’ tell meh anythin’, Love,” he argues, grunting as he rises to his feet before holding out his hand. You take it without a second thought, absolutely trusting of him while Tavish pulls you up and against his chest. He stares into your eyes, once again cursing his lost eye, because he can’t stare at you with both. You grin back, before your eyes flick down, causing Tavish to lick his lips. Slowly, you lean in, your breath gently fanning across his lips, sending a thrill down his spine. However, a throat clearing puts a halt to the kiss before it could even happen.
“Come on!” your friend calls, her heels back on her feet and what could only be your shoes in her hands, “We gotta go!”
“S-Sorry,” you stutter, stepping off Tavish’s feet and out of his arms. You take back your shoes and quickly slip them on, pausing briefly to tap at the toes to make sure they’re on securely, before you spin back to him. You lunge forward and kiss his lips, startling him enough that he can see you’re speaking, but he can’t hear your words from how loud his blood pumps through his head. He watches disjointedly as you turn and follow your friend out of the ball, the lass chattering away about something or other.
“Well, that was intriguing,” an all too familiar voice says as the sound of decloaking startles Tavish out of his pleasant haze. Spy struts forward, wearing Medic’s face while in one of his nicer suits. Fake grey eyes flick over to him before turning back to the ballroom as Tavish tries to return to his bored Lord look from before meeting you.
“Did you at least get your… partnerz name?” Spy asks, watching with a smirk as Tavish blanches.
“Feck,” Tavish groans, running his hand down his face, “Was that wha’ they were sayin’ after they kissed me?”
“Indeed,” Spy admits, “Don’t worry, I can give it to you, mon ami.”
“What’s th’ price,” Tavish demands, narrowing his eye at the other man. Spy snorts, before making a gun with his fingers and moving it quickly, like Engineer’s…
“Aye, Ah can help wit’ tha’,” Tavish agrees, already planning out the angles in the places the other Engineer likes to hide. Even if it’s just to be a distraction while Spy saps the bloke’s machines, it’s a more than fair trade off to get your name at least.
Turns out, you had left more than your name. Tavish swats away Scout and Soldier, scowling as they try to demand to know who he’s calling and to speak to you themselves. The ringing of the phone cuts off and Tavish turns his attention back to the phone.
“Hello?” you answer, making Tavish grin.
“Hello there, Love. Wanted ta ken when Ah could take ye out fer a night oan th’ town.”