Post by Corvou Dracul Ryusaki on May 8, 2017 4:39:29 GMT
yeah so i'll be real here for a second
the main reason i do stuff like this is for fallback purposes
ive realized that im not the best with keeping files safe so i like to post things here and there in case i lose my original source for whatever reason
all my literature shit is in my google docs which saves automatically but hey something may happen one day so i just wanna be safe
without further ado though
prepare to be submerged in a shitload of things ive written that are probably ship-based- and prepare even more since some are pretty damn lengthy
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the main reason i do stuff like this is for fallback purposes
ive realized that im not the best with keeping files safe so i like to post things here and there in case i lose my original source for whatever reason
all my literature shit is in my google docs which saves automatically but hey something may happen one day so i just wanna be safe
without further ado though
prepare to be submerged in a shitload of things ive written that are probably ship-based- and prepare even more since some are pretty damn lengthy
.........................................................................................................................................................
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Versace On the Floor ::: Ishini Mazuka x Corvou Dracul Ryusaki
**Honestly has nothing to do with the actual song except for the oneshot title and the song and dances involved, to be honest.**
**Canon ages are applied. For frame of reference, canon Corvou is twenty-seven years old (today) based on real-time timelines, making Ishi about twenty-four.**
**Universe of occurrence isn't TAU, which explains the unfamiliar city mentioned in the beginning.**
**This occurs on January 17th, 2016; two days before Ishi's twenty-second birthday, and about a year or two after she and Cor canonically began dating.**
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City lights illuminated the sanctity of Sera beneath the radiance of the moonlight brightly exhibited across the area, further emphasizing the luminescence within the area while providing further and extended paths of light to guide those who continued to trek along the streets without much thought about the given time at that moment. Within those very same, starlit and post-lit streets would be the sounds of a strong, revving engine as its source sped in a seemingly free and unrestricted manner with the lack of other vehicles roaming about at the time. A motorcycle sped through the evening, stopping at each stoplight and stop sign appropriately and as was needed before continuing to speed off into the night after a reasonable amount of time, only to take a final, slowing cease in movement entirely as it pulled into the driveway of various apartment buildings and duplex houses, among many, many other housing options within the general vicinity of the neighborhood. Its driver took care to tilt the bike over ever so slightly, sliding her foot down and using the outer side of it to lower its stand to balance it before it fell over completely. Reaching around with one of her hands, she snuck the key from the ignition, sliding it into her pocket and trading it for a pair of house keys in the process. By the time the house keys themselves had been revealed to the air around her, she was well on her way towards the front entrance to the duplex apartment that she had become rather well-accustomed to in the past year or so. With a soft breath, she slid her helmet off just before beginning to slide a key into the door’s lock, though paused slowly and quietly as faint traces of some type of music reached her ears from within the living spaces beyond the doorway.
...Another dancing session of his. Figures.
Sighing gently, Ishini Mazuka shook her head ever so faintly before turning the key, which, in turn, unlocked the door itself and automatically turned the knob by sole virtue of the two being more or less connected. Pushing the door open, she glanced around the first floor after taking her keys back for a second time, only taking a moment to close and lock the door behind her back up before walking over to the first living room immediately to the left. She tossed her keys - both house and motorcycle - into a bowl that sat primly upon a table within the center of a few couches and reclining chairs. She set her helmet down besides it, sparing a glance at the TV against the wall before progressing over towards the stairs next to the kitchen. As she gradually lifted her foot and set it upon the surface of the first step, she looked up. Amber voids of hers scanned the ceiling thoughtfully and silently, subtly tracing the room paths that she committed to memory from her current perspective as she strained her ears for any traces of the earlier music that they heard just seconds prior. By sole virtue of her being indoors, the melody was, indeed, a little bit louder by then, but was still rather muffled by both the above floor, as well as what could have been assumed to be proper and careful padding.
After finishing her minor analysis, she gave a small murmur under her breath as she fully departed from the first floor - which had previously been her entire and sole domain in the past, and actually still had a few of her belongings lying around here and there - in order to ascend to the second. Upon reaching the top step, she was met with familiar sights of a blended decor that was easy on her eyes, yet, at the same time, faintly and appreciatively different from the exact things that she could have warmed up to right away. Alongside the decorations, many of her own belongings were easily visibly and strewn across the second floor’s living room, as well as the occasional shelves and other pieces of furniture leading to the bedrooms down one of the hallways. Another glance down it would be spared before she turned right in a decision to make a short venture through the second hallway instead; this one slightly wider, and leading to another, larger room, alongside a terrace if she chose to continue through the sliding doors directly ahead of her. With her attention set upon the room, however, she brought herself closer and closer to its doorway, and took care to notice how the music appeared to get louder as she did so. Before long, she found herself leaning against the doorframe, gazing into a room bordered by mirrors on all walls, as well as industrial-tier speakers on the ceiling within each corner. Well enough, there was padding on the walls behind the mirrors, which did a good job sealing the otherwise obnoxiously loud music volumes from the rest of the duplex- save for the few notes that escaped through the open door. In the center near the mirrors towards the back would be a taller man in particular, clad within a rather loose, navy blue longsleeve, as well as a pair of track pants sweats and a pair of athletic shoes. To complete the dancer’s look, he wore a snapback hat; the bill black, while the remainder of the hat itself was composed of a shade of blue that was slightly brighter and more faded than his shirt. He appeared to be finishing a routine as the music came to a close, giving Ishi a sense of amusement watching him all the while.
It’s a good song, but it’s not like the type that he and the others normally dance to… the girl thought to herself. Her eyes followed him along the mirrors as she herself stayed hidden from view, though ended up drifting over to one of the speakers in due time. It’s a lot less energetic… It works, but it’s a change from his normal style…
The music came to a temporary close, and it was during the time that it brought itself into a second loop that the wolf averted her gaze back to the man. He wore an accepting yet unsatisfied expression upon his face; acceptance seemingly reluctant as he scratched his head in pensive thought.
“Ii desu, ii desu…” he murmured lowly under his breath, though sighed in minor defeat while rubbing his face. As the lyrics began not too long after the loop started, he pulled his hands away, instead loosening them by shaking them out as he stared at the mirrors and paced in an equally loose manner upon his feet in preparation. “Demo…amari ni mo nagakunai…! Tch… Chikushou…”
The way he spoke was actually rather loud and audible enough over the intensity of the music’s volume, which led Ishini to raise an eyebrow in amusement, specifically at the last word - specifically a curse - that the other had spoken before resuming dancing, though, unbeknownst to her at the time, he was merely repeating the same routine for the moment. Amari ni mo nagakunai… she repeated in her head, crossing her arms and legs as she leaned further against the doorway in a casual, comfortable manner. It’s not long enough…?
Despite the curiosity in regards to the man’s statement prior to resuming his business, Ishini decided to continue keeping quiet, and instead watched him until he completed his first routine for a second time. Eyes of an amber brilliance would drift over towards the speakers for a split second yet again as the music began to trail off within an end, leaving the drake afar to scratch his head similarly to how he had done so by the end of the routine’s first repeat. Glancing over at him, she peered over his form as he kept his eyes upon his reflection, murmuring another, foreign-tongued comment under his breath. Unlike the first ones, this next one was a bit quieter and lost beneath the fading music, so all that Ishi obtained was a lingering sense of curiosity in regards to what he could have said.
Soon enough, the third loop had begun, and the introductory phase of the song rang its lyrics through the air- but, unlike the first two times, the dancer hadn’t quite started, even as the song reached its first chorus. Rather, he began preparing just as the chorus ended, and began hopping faintly in the way that dancers did as the second verse neared its time. Once the verse had begun, Corvou Dracul Ryusaki leaped back into action within an utmost precision and sharpness, beginning another routine all the while. Ishini absentmindedly took a couple of steps forward into the room to attain a better view before leaning lazily against one of the closer mirrors.
Despite how she was in clear sight of both her own reflection and his - meaning that he could have easily seen her by then - he seemed to pay her no attention. Instead, his silver-eyed gaze was kept intensely upon his own form as he followed his own steps, causing the girl to smile slightly in amusement.
It wasn’t until the choreography had progressed enough for him to perform a couple of spins that he noticed a second presence; the first of which he did rather swiftly yet with calculated care, but the second seeming to finally cause his attention to drift towards her at long last as he caught a glimpse of her before turning to face the main mirror again. He merely kept dancing once the second spin was over with, but it was obvious that he had noticed her by then as his gaze focused upon her reflection in the distance, rather than his own. Seemingly noticing the smile that she wore, Corvou gave her a curious, questioning look, though was quick to return it with one of his own as he looked indirectly at her through her own reflection. Slowly, he brought his dancing to a stop as the song only reached its halfway point, and he turned to face her while tilting his head and beginning to walk over.
“...I wasn’t aware that you were home already,” he said with a laugh, raising an eyebrow.
To his words, Ishini gave a slight, innocent shrug, returning the laugh with one of her own. “I’d figure it’s because of the music,” she responded. Turning her head to look at the door, she nodded over at it while leaning a bit more into the mirror. “There’s no point in soundproofing the room if you’re gonna leave the door open, by the way. Just saying.”
Quirking his lip in amusement, Corvou merely gave the comment and gesture a dismissive wave. “I didn’t think you’d be back ‘til a bit later.” Sighing, he shrugged, taking his hat off momentarily to scratch his head and ruffle his hair. “You honestly weren’t even supposed to see this to begin with,” he admitted.
“I wasn’t?” Ishini felt one of her eyebrows raise in curious interest as she pushed herself from the mirror, instead shifting the entirety of her weight onto her feet once more as she looked up at him. “Why? Was this not one of your studio routines?”
The man shook his head, laughing in an awkward sense of defeat. “Aha...nah. Not at all, honestly.”
“Why, exactly?”
“...Well, I mean… What’s today’s date?”
Furrowing her eyebrows and narrowing her eyes, Ishi blinked while crossing her arms slowly. “...January seventeenth?”
Corvou nodded, making a rolling gesture with his hand for her to go on. “And what’s two days from the seventeenth?”
“It’s...the nineteenth, Cor,” she responded in a matter-of-fact tone at first. Her brows furrowed slightly more as she tilted her head. “Seventeen plus two. The ninetee-...”
The drake gave his companion an amused, implying look through narrowed, silver voids of his, all while raising his eyebrows. Ishini stared at him for a moment before quickly making a connection in the back of her mind. She sighed.
“...Of course that’s why you’re doing it,” she mumbled, closing her eyes while rubbing her face. “It explains the different song choice, too…”
Sighing in soft defeat, Corvou shrugged and nodded in confirmation. “Guilty as charged,” he said, chuckling.
“You really don’t have to,” Ishi murmured, gazing upon him.
“I don’t, but I still want to,” he replied with a soft smirk.
The girl leaned against the mirror again, crossing her arms. “I’d prefer if you didn’t.”
Ryusaki rose one of his eyebrows, his smirk faintly broadening. “I’m perfectly aware.”
With those words, he stepped forward a pace or two more as Ishini pressed herself against the mirror behind her, locking voids of silver with an equally intense hue of amber with what could have been an underlying and subtle sense of both amusement and mischief alike. He lifted an arm rather casually, leaning his hand into the portion of the mirror above her head and using it as a means of support as he leaned in rather closer and peered down upon her. Mazuka herself returned the gaze, though couldn’t help but allow a faint glint of discomfort to surface within her eyes, as well as a subtle crimson to gradually and slightly emerge upon her cheeks.
“I know that it’s only been about a year, but I want you to be a bit more comfortable with me,” he spoke softly. Leaning down a little bit more, he closed enough distance between the two of them in order to make it so that their foreheads were barely apart.
Shifting slightly at the closer quarters, Ishi took a deep, quiet breath, closing her eyes. “I’m already comfortable enough to have agreed to let you date me,” she responded in a seemingly bashful tone.
Silence lingered between the two of them for a few, brief seconds before she heard the man before her laugh again in continuous amusement. Before long, she felt the presence of his being retreat faintly; a sign that he had taken care to step away - even if just a little bit - for the moment. She pondered to herself before deciding to finally open her eyes again, only to be met with an outstretched hand, as well as a smirking Corvou behind it.
“I want you to be even more comfortable.” Gesturing for her to come closer, he nodded to further emphasize the unspoken request. “I promise you that your trust is gonna be in safe, good, and dependable hands.”
Ishi eyed the hand offered to her in an almost skeptical manner before letting her gaze match the man’s for yet another time. “And if it actually isn’t?”
As if jokingly hurt by the thought, Corvou crossed his other hand around, placing it over his heart and clutching it gently. “Impossible, since I can assure you that it is,” he spoke back. “Even if it may not seem like it at first, this is one of the top things that I’d never lie about. I promise on my own heart.”
Stepping forward again, he reached out with both of his hands by then, gingerly unfolding her arms as she herself watched him do so. He took her hands within his own not too long afterwards, squeezing them once in reassurance before simply assuming a caring touch and hold alike, gently tugging them and pulling her after his own form while he took a step back and towards the center of the room.
“All you have to do is let me lead.”
Those words seemed to linger in the air after they were spoken, even despite the fact that, in reality, they lasted no more than the second or two that Corvou used to say them. At first, she seemed hesitant to follow in suit after her partner as he said what he did and made the first movement in towards the center of the dance floor. She stared at their hands in subtly debating thought before eventually and ultimately deciding to comply.
She allowed her resistance to falter, which, in turn, allowed Corvou to complete their venture to the center. All the while, however, she gave a soft sigh, and kept her gaze lowered and off towards the side.
“I’m pretty sure you know that dancing isn’t exactly my forte,” she murmured almost shyly and reluctantly.
Corvou laughed, peering down at her. “Of course. You’re more of a fighter than a dancer, anyways,” he responded in agreement. “That’s exactly why I said that all you had to do was follow my lead.”
It was Ishini’s turn to give a softly amused laugh, even if she still found herself within a small amount of skepticism. Despite tensing slightly as she felt one of Corvou’s hands wrap around her waist - all while his other kept its hold on one of her own hands - she found enough willpower to peer up at him, rather than continuing to avoid his eyes. “I was under the impression that you meant something symbolic,” she mused.
Another shrug would have been Corvou’s initial response. “It was a double whammy.”
“More of the former than the latter?” Ishini asked with a rising tone.
Winking, the drake smirked and snickered. “Who knows?”
They both shared smiles and quiet laughter for another instance before eventually and slowly falling into step with one another as the song in the background progressed through the middle of yet another loop. After some time and admittedly gained comfort, the girl slid her free hand around, sneaking it over his shoulder and both partially and comfortably behind his neck. Eventually, her other hand separated from his to follow suit, finding residence over his other shoulder. Leaning forward a little bit, she pressed her face gently into his chest, and felt Corvou himself go on to wrap both of his hands around her waist within an embrace as they continued to step to and fro to the melody in the background rather peacefully.
Peering down at her in a small amount of ongoing silence at first, Ryusaki couldn’t help but smile softly, laughing within a similar, pure manner as he lifted a hand for only a moment to tap her head before returning it to its prior positioning. “See what happens when you put your trust in me?”
Ishini gave a low, muffled murmur against his chest while tapping her fingers against his shoulders absentmindedly. “I get pulled into an honestly boring slow dance,” she stated with a joking flatness.
Puffing his cheeks out, the man narrowed his eyes, bringing his hand up once more to ruffle her hair with another, louder laugh. The gesture earned her attention enough to drive her to gaze up at him with a slightly bothered but amused look all the same.
“I could easily drop you at any moment, you know,” he teased, a joking and mischievous glint within his eyes.
“Pfft. How could you drop me if all we’re doing is walking around each other?” Ishi challenged within an amused type of voicing.
A snicker left Corvou’s lips as he mulled over the inquiry posed before him. “Walking around each other…?” he repeated thoughtfully. Like earlier, he lifted one of his hands, taking care to ghost his fingers beneath her chin gently and gradually before taking it within the fingertips themselves and tilting her head up gingerly, grinning. “Is that symbolic…? Specifically for how you’re dancing around all these feelings of yours?” he added curiously.
Hearing those last few words caused a subtle hue of crimson to surface upon Ishi’s features for another time, and she simply narrowed her eyes before breathing outwards in a quiet and forced huff. “No. I’m just saying that my expectations of what you meant aren’t really being met.”
“Tch… Ouuuuuch~.” Clicking his tongue, the silver-eyed dragon drifted his hand back down her form with a mockingly hurt expression upon his face, with the only thing betraying the supposed pain being that continued smirk of his. “Fine, then… If you’re so unsatisfied, you know what we could do instead?”
Wearing another smirk of her own by then, the girl stifled a small laugh as she averted her gaze from his another time, sighing while shaking her head. “Is it something that’s gonna disappoint me even more?”
For what could have been a countless time during that experience, a brief period of silence enveloped the air between the two of them, though Ishini felt that she received a reply through the way that she felt her hands rise and fall upon Corvou’s shoulders; a sign that, yet again, he had done nothing more than bother to shrug in response to her question. Thoughts gathering within her mind, her initial goal was to breathe some following remark as a form of confrontation towards his lack of vocal replies, but she found herself momentarily distracted as the feeling of a hand snaking away from her side and across her frame met her senses and admittedly sent a brief shiver tingling through her body for the moment. Amber eyes of hers followed the hand as it slid away, only to eventually trail along the skin of her arm before taking the corresponding hand within its own grasp. By then, she shifted her gaze and attention to the man’s face, gaining a clear view of the smile that he bore - as well as the coy shine within his eyes - as he tenderly brought her hand around so that it, alongside his own, was held in the air by their respective sides. With a quick quirk of his lip, he gave her a momentary look before suddenly taking another, brisk step to the side- which then led into one towards the back, one towards the side again, and then one towards the front before beginning the cycle all over again. The abruptness of the movement did catch Ishini off guard, though she found herself swift to adjust as she was guided along the wooden tiles beneath them. As they turned and danced within their waltz in a rather brisk manner, she even went so far as to lift herself on her toes after each step to correctly and appropriately assume proper postures, just as Corvou himself had begun to do after initiating the shift in their little routine.
Before long, however, he added a few more steps to their movements. With a lingering and even broadening smile upon seeing her initial senses of surprise each time, he wordlessly added something new, giving a soft laugh through the first time that he had stepped away from her and turned with an arm outstretched, only to quickly pull himself back. He took care to do the same to Ishini all the while, though took an experienced degree of care to lift his arm over her head as she came back to him, spinning her once before taking hold of her other hand and continuing the steps. These spins continued over and over for a few more times, and with an increasing speed and fluidness alike the more the girl seemed to grow accustomed to the dance- and at a remarkably fast rate, which impressed Ryusaki in all honesty.
Given a little bit more time had progressed onwards, he would have repeated the same motion once more; stepping outwards and extending his arm all the while, and was pleased and clearly amused to see his newfound partner following suit as if she had run through these steps for her entire life. Swiftly spinning back inwards, he stood pridefully as he reached their intertwined hands up high once more, this time motioning them in multiple circles overhead in order to lead his companion in a few spins that gradually grew quicker, and went on to turn outwards once more by the last spin to assume their prior positions. As had been the trend for the last few minutes, Ishi expected them to turn inwards again before twining their hands and continuing the waltz.
She certainly didn’t expect him to let go of her, and for her to, quite literally, be swept and lifted off of her feet.
Without much time to process what had happened beforehand, all that she managed to see was Corvou feigning the next spin as he instead stepped into her direction towards her front. His hands found themselves upon her sides in a sudden, temporary, and loose embrace, and she reacted quickly enough to only be able to secure her hands on his shoulders on pure instinct and haste as he crouched down ever so slightly to build momentum, lifting her somewhat high into the air as she gave a soft gasp in surprise. She found her eyes locked with Corvou’s as he smiled brightly up at her at the sight of her ever-so-slightly shocked expression, and he laughed heartily as he took a few, careful steps around the dance floor, all while keeping her up.
“If things get too boring for you,” he started off, “then I’ll do my best to spice it up and make it a little more fun.”
He boosted her up a tad more before allowing his arms to relax and fall slightly. Ishini felt herself fall alongside them slightly - which immediately shocked its way into her mind for a split second - before he simply caught her once more, hooking his arms beneath her legs as he continued holding her up in such a way that needed him to peer upwards a little bit in order to meet her gaze.
“If you ever feel like you’re about to fall, then I’ll always be there, ready to catch you.”
Still holding her against his frame - and finding a subtle sense of appreciative amusement in how her hands had found their way around the back of his neck as a means of support - he walked slowly and calmly over to the nearest mirror.
“If you ever do fall, then I’ll be there, ready and more than willing to pick you back up.”
As they neared the edge of the dance floor and he stepped upon the small strip of carpet that bordered the room between the tiles and the mirrors, he slowly put her down, waiting for her to appropriately find the balance upon her feet again before leaning over again and into her, pressing her softly into the mirrors behind. Similar to how he had done when she had first entered, he leaned down and caressed her face both teasingly and affectionately alike, all while using the remaining arm and hand as his own form of support as it leaned against the mirror above her. His voice dropped into a gentle whisper.
“...And if you ever run away from me, I’ll be mad. I’ll be bitter; I’ll be betrayed; I’ll be so much more hurt than any words could ever imagine.”
Narrowed voids of silver met narrowed ones of amber in silence and a subtly intense quietness once more as it enveloped the two of them; the wolf herself finding herself slightly flustered and unable to look away, while the drake himself merely gave her a serious yet loving look all the same. A small laugh escaped his lips as he softly stroked her cheek with his thumb in an absentminded manner before caressing it within an utmost care and carefulness alike, leaning down and closing the distance between them as he made contact, pressing his lips against hers softly. The gesture seemed to cause Ishi’s face to flare up slightly more upon stumbling over the obvious realization of what was happening, but for the most part, she didn’t quite seem to mind as she gradually closed her eyes like Corvou had also done by then and kept her head tilted upwards, willingly returning the contact in the form of her own, returned kiss, however shy and slow it may have been at first. As they remained this way for a reasonable while, she unknowingly guided her hands over his form. By the time their lips had parted, she finally realized that they had snaked themselves over his shoulders so that her arms rested upon them, and her hands were twined faintly yet securely around the back of his neck as he leaned down to meet her.
Corvou closed his eyes kept his forehead pressed against hers as he smiled once more, lowering a hand a tad in order to caress her neck instead. The hand that secured itself against the mirror finally found the will to lower, as well, and seeked a seemingly better location as it wrapped itself around her waist, pulling her slightly closer as he took a silent breath.
“I’ll be mad and bitter and hurt… But in the end, I’ll get over it, and I’ll be waiting for you to come back home to me,” he continued off of his earlier statement. His voice was thoughtful as he opened his eyes into slight, narrowed slits, gazing upon his partner with all of the affection that he could have housed at that particular moment in time. “I’ll wait for you as long as I can - as long as it takes - because I trust you, and I love you.”
The last words of his latter statement seemed to induce a feeling of breathlessness within Ishi’s being, and she mentally rewinded the conversation to confirm what he had just said. Flushing into a faintly deeper shade of red, she absentmindedly tightened her hands around the back of his neck in thought while peering up at him.
“...Love is a really strong way to put it, don’t you think?” she asked simply. Her voice’s tone rivaled the quietness of his by then.
“It is. ...And that’s why I said it,” Corvou reassured her. With a lingering smile, the hand secured near her neck slid up once more to caress her cheek for a second time. He leaned in for a second time, lowering his voice even more as he closed his eyes and lessened the distance between their lips into no more than an inch or so. “I understand if you still need time to say it yourself, but I can say it with pride for myself without any fear. And just to let you know...waiting for you to be able to say it to me is something I’ll gladly do, too.”
Again, he closed the distance as he captured her lips within a kiss; this one still soft, yet a tad more active than the last as he tightened his grasp around her waist a little bit to pull her closer. While still a bit tense, Ishini melted into his form almost instantly that second time around, shutting her eyes yet again as she gladly returned the contact. Her hands trailed down from his neck, and as Corvou took a small step forward to press her gently into the mirror a little bit more, one of them hooked around to mimic him as she slipped his cheek within the palm of it. Between kisses and soft, bashful, and reserved smiles alike, the man released his remaining hand from her waist, taking her free one within its grasp and squeezing it absentmindedly before pressing it against the glass, as well; an action that left Ishini pondering in the back of her mind as the night continued on.
It’s dangerous to say things like that… If you keep doing it, then I’ll end up falling for you even harder...
...Another dancing session of his. Figures.
Sighing gently, Ishini Mazuka shook her head ever so faintly before turning the key, which, in turn, unlocked the door itself and automatically turned the knob by sole virtue of the two being more or less connected. Pushing the door open, she glanced around the first floor after taking her keys back for a second time, only taking a moment to close and lock the door behind her back up before walking over to the first living room immediately to the left. She tossed her keys - both house and motorcycle - into a bowl that sat primly upon a table within the center of a few couches and reclining chairs. She set her helmet down besides it, sparing a glance at the TV against the wall before progressing over towards the stairs next to the kitchen. As she gradually lifted her foot and set it upon the surface of the first step, she looked up. Amber voids of hers scanned the ceiling thoughtfully and silently, subtly tracing the room paths that she committed to memory from her current perspective as she strained her ears for any traces of the earlier music that they heard just seconds prior. By sole virtue of her being indoors, the melody was, indeed, a little bit louder by then, but was still rather muffled by both the above floor, as well as what could have been assumed to be proper and careful padding.
After finishing her minor analysis, she gave a small murmur under her breath as she fully departed from the first floor - which had previously been her entire and sole domain in the past, and actually still had a few of her belongings lying around here and there - in order to ascend to the second. Upon reaching the top step, she was met with familiar sights of a blended decor that was easy on her eyes, yet, at the same time, faintly and appreciatively different from the exact things that she could have warmed up to right away. Alongside the decorations, many of her own belongings were easily visibly and strewn across the second floor’s living room, as well as the occasional shelves and other pieces of furniture leading to the bedrooms down one of the hallways. Another glance down it would be spared before she turned right in a decision to make a short venture through the second hallway instead; this one slightly wider, and leading to another, larger room, alongside a terrace if she chose to continue through the sliding doors directly ahead of her. With her attention set upon the room, however, she brought herself closer and closer to its doorway, and took care to notice how the music appeared to get louder as she did so. Before long, she found herself leaning against the doorframe, gazing into a room bordered by mirrors on all walls, as well as industrial-tier speakers on the ceiling within each corner. Well enough, there was padding on the walls behind the mirrors, which did a good job sealing the otherwise obnoxiously loud music volumes from the rest of the duplex- save for the few notes that escaped through the open door. In the center near the mirrors towards the back would be a taller man in particular, clad within a rather loose, navy blue longsleeve, as well as a pair of track pants sweats and a pair of athletic shoes. To complete the dancer’s look, he wore a snapback hat; the bill black, while the remainder of the hat itself was composed of a shade of blue that was slightly brighter and more faded than his shirt. He appeared to be finishing a routine as the music came to a close, giving Ishi a sense of amusement watching him all the while.
It’s a good song, but it’s not like the type that he and the others normally dance to… the girl thought to herself. Her eyes followed him along the mirrors as she herself stayed hidden from view, though ended up drifting over to one of the speakers in due time. It’s a lot less energetic… It works, but it’s a change from his normal style…
The music came to a temporary close, and it was during the time that it brought itself into a second loop that the wolf averted her gaze back to the man. He wore an accepting yet unsatisfied expression upon his face; acceptance seemingly reluctant as he scratched his head in pensive thought.
“Ii desu, ii desu…” he murmured lowly under his breath, though sighed in minor defeat while rubbing his face. As the lyrics began not too long after the loop started, he pulled his hands away, instead loosening them by shaking them out as he stared at the mirrors and paced in an equally loose manner upon his feet in preparation. “Demo…amari ni mo nagakunai…! Tch… Chikushou…”
The way he spoke was actually rather loud and audible enough over the intensity of the music’s volume, which led Ishini to raise an eyebrow in amusement, specifically at the last word - specifically a curse - that the other had spoken before resuming dancing, though, unbeknownst to her at the time, he was merely repeating the same routine for the moment. Amari ni mo nagakunai… she repeated in her head, crossing her arms and legs as she leaned further against the doorway in a casual, comfortable manner. It’s not long enough…?
Despite the curiosity in regards to the man’s statement prior to resuming his business, Ishini decided to continue keeping quiet, and instead watched him until he completed his first routine for a second time. Eyes of an amber brilliance would drift over towards the speakers for a split second yet again as the music began to trail off within an end, leaving the drake afar to scratch his head similarly to how he had done so by the end of the routine’s first repeat. Glancing over at him, she peered over his form as he kept his eyes upon his reflection, murmuring another, foreign-tongued comment under his breath. Unlike the first ones, this next one was a bit quieter and lost beneath the fading music, so all that Ishi obtained was a lingering sense of curiosity in regards to what he could have said.
Soon enough, the third loop had begun, and the introductory phase of the song rang its lyrics through the air- but, unlike the first two times, the dancer hadn’t quite started, even as the song reached its first chorus. Rather, he began preparing just as the chorus ended, and began hopping faintly in the way that dancers did as the second verse neared its time. Once the verse had begun, Corvou Dracul Ryusaki leaped back into action within an utmost precision and sharpness, beginning another routine all the while. Ishini absentmindedly took a couple of steps forward into the room to attain a better view before leaning lazily against one of the closer mirrors.
Despite how she was in clear sight of both her own reflection and his - meaning that he could have easily seen her by then - he seemed to pay her no attention. Instead, his silver-eyed gaze was kept intensely upon his own form as he followed his own steps, causing the girl to smile slightly in amusement.
It wasn’t until the choreography had progressed enough for him to perform a couple of spins that he noticed a second presence; the first of which he did rather swiftly yet with calculated care, but the second seeming to finally cause his attention to drift towards her at long last as he caught a glimpse of her before turning to face the main mirror again. He merely kept dancing once the second spin was over with, but it was obvious that he had noticed her by then as his gaze focused upon her reflection in the distance, rather than his own. Seemingly noticing the smile that she wore, Corvou gave her a curious, questioning look, though was quick to return it with one of his own as he looked indirectly at her through her own reflection. Slowly, he brought his dancing to a stop as the song only reached its halfway point, and he turned to face her while tilting his head and beginning to walk over.
“...I wasn’t aware that you were home already,” he said with a laugh, raising an eyebrow.
To his words, Ishini gave a slight, innocent shrug, returning the laugh with one of her own. “I’d figure it’s because of the music,” she responded. Turning her head to look at the door, she nodded over at it while leaning a bit more into the mirror. “There’s no point in soundproofing the room if you’re gonna leave the door open, by the way. Just saying.”
Quirking his lip in amusement, Corvou merely gave the comment and gesture a dismissive wave. “I didn’t think you’d be back ‘til a bit later.” Sighing, he shrugged, taking his hat off momentarily to scratch his head and ruffle his hair. “You honestly weren’t even supposed to see this to begin with,” he admitted.
“I wasn’t?” Ishini felt one of her eyebrows raise in curious interest as she pushed herself from the mirror, instead shifting the entirety of her weight onto her feet once more as she looked up at him. “Why? Was this not one of your studio routines?”
The man shook his head, laughing in an awkward sense of defeat. “Aha...nah. Not at all, honestly.”
“Why, exactly?”
“...Well, I mean… What’s today’s date?”
Furrowing her eyebrows and narrowing her eyes, Ishi blinked while crossing her arms slowly. “...January seventeenth?”
Corvou nodded, making a rolling gesture with his hand for her to go on. “And what’s two days from the seventeenth?”
“It’s...the nineteenth, Cor,” she responded in a matter-of-fact tone at first. Her brows furrowed slightly more as she tilted her head. “Seventeen plus two. The ninetee-...”
The drake gave his companion an amused, implying look through narrowed, silver voids of his, all while raising his eyebrows. Ishini stared at him for a moment before quickly making a connection in the back of her mind. She sighed.
“...Of course that’s why you’re doing it,” she mumbled, closing her eyes while rubbing her face. “It explains the different song choice, too…”
Sighing in soft defeat, Corvou shrugged and nodded in confirmation. “Guilty as charged,” he said, chuckling.
“You really don’t have to,” Ishi murmured, gazing upon him.
“I don’t, but I still want to,” he replied with a soft smirk.
The girl leaned against the mirror again, crossing her arms. “I’d prefer if you didn’t.”
Ryusaki rose one of his eyebrows, his smirk faintly broadening. “I’m perfectly aware.”
With those words, he stepped forward a pace or two more as Ishini pressed herself against the mirror behind her, locking voids of silver with an equally intense hue of amber with what could have been an underlying and subtle sense of both amusement and mischief alike. He lifted an arm rather casually, leaning his hand into the portion of the mirror above her head and using it as a means of support as he leaned in rather closer and peered down upon her. Mazuka herself returned the gaze, though couldn’t help but allow a faint glint of discomfort to surface within her eyes, as well as a subtle crimson to gradually and slightly emerge upon her cheeks.
“I know that it’s only been about a year, but I want you to be a bit more comfortable with me,” he spoke softly. Leaning down a little bit more, he closed enough distance between the two of them in order to make it so that their foreheads were barely apart.
Shifting slightly at the closer quarters, Ishi took a deep, quiet breath, closing her eyes. “I’m already comfortable enough to have agreed to let you date me,” she responded in a seemingly bashful tone.
Silence lingered between the two of them for a few, brief seconds before she heard the man before her laugh again in continuous amusement. Before long, she felt the presence of his being retreat faintly; a sign that he had taken care to step away - even if just a little bit - for the moment. She pondered to herself before deciding to finally open her eyes again, only to be met with an outstretched hand, as well as a smirking Corvou behind it.
“I want you to be even more comfortable.” Gesturing for her to come closer, he nodded to further emphasize the unspoken request. “I promise you that your trust is gonna be in safe, good, and dependable hands.”
Ishi eyed the hand offered to her in an almost skeptical manner before letting her gaze match the man’s for yet another time. “And if it actually isn’t?”
As if jokingly hurt by the thought, Corvou crossed his other hand around, placing it over his heart and clutching it gently. “Impossible, since I can assure you that it is,” he spoke back. “Even if it may not seem like it at first, this is one of the top things that I’d never lie about. I promise on my own heart.”
Stepping forward again, he reached out with both of his hands by then, gingerly unfolding her arms as she herself watched him do so. He took her hands within his own not too long afterwards, squeezing them once in reassurance before simply assuming a caring touch and hold alike, gently tugging them and pulling her after his own form while he took a step back and towards the center of the room.
“All you have to do is let me lead.”
Those words seemed to linger in the air after they were spoken, even despite the fact that, in reality, they lasted no more than the second or two that Corvou used to say them. At first, she seemed hesitant to follow in suit after her partner as he said what he did and made the first movement in towards the center of the dance floor. She stared at their hands in subtly debating thought before eventually and ultimately deciding to comply.
She allowed her resistance to falter, which, in turn, allowed Corvou to complete their venture to the center. All the while, however, she gave a soft sigh, and kept her gaze lowered and off towards the side.
“I’m pretty sure you know that dancing isn’t exactly my forte,” she murmured almost shyly and reluctantly.
Corvou laughed, peering down at her. “Of course. You’re more of a fighter than a dancer, anyways,” he responded in agreement. “That’s exactly why I said that all you had to do was follow my lead.”
It was Ishini’s turn to give a softly amused laugh, even if she still found herself within a small amount of skepticism. Despite tensing slightly as she felt one of Corvou’s hands wrap around her waist - all while his other kept its hold on one of her own hands - she found enough willpower to peer up at him, rather than continuing to avoid his eyes. “I was under the impression that you meant something symbolic,” she mused.
Another shrug would have been Corvou’s initial response. “It was a double whammy.”
“More of the former than the latter?” Ishini asked with a rising tone.
Winking, the drake smirked and snickered. “Who knows?”
They both shared smiles and quiet laughter for another instance before eventually and slowly falling into step with one another as the song in the background progressed through the middle of yet another loop. After some time and admittedly gained comfort, the girl slid her free hand around, sneaking it over his shoulder and both partially and comfortably behind his neck. Eventually, her other hand separated from his to follow suit, finding residence over his other shoulder. Leaning forward a little bit, she pressed her face gently into his chest, and felt Corvou himself go on to wrap both of his hands around her waist within an embrace as they continued to step to and fro to the melody in the background rather peacefully.
Peering down at her in a small amount of ongoing silence at first, Ryusaki couldn’t help but smile softly, laughing within a similar, pure manner as he lifted a hand for only a moment to tap her head before returning it to its prior positioning. “See what happens when you put your trust in me?”
Ishini gave a low, muffled murmur against his chest while tapping her fingers against his shoulders absentmindedly. “I get pulled into an honestly boring slow dance,” she stated with a joking flatness.
Puffing his cheeks out, the man narrowed his eyes, bringing his hand up once more to ruffle her hair with another, louder laugh. The gesture earned her attention enough to drive her to gaze up at him with a slightly bothered but amused look all the same.
“I could easily drop you at any moment, you know,” he teased, a joking and mischievous glint within his eyes.
“Pfft. How could you drop me if all we’re doing is walking around each other?” Ishi challenged within an amused type of voicing.
A snicker left Corvou’s lips as he mulled over the inquiry posed before him. “Walking around each other…?” he repeated thoughtfully. Like earlier, he lifted one of his hands, taking care to ghost his fingers beneath her chin gently and gradually before taking it within the fingertips themselves and tilting her head up gingerly, grinning. “Is that symbolic…? Specifically for how you’re dancing around all these feelings of yours?” he added curiously.
Hearing those last few words caused a subtle hue of crimson to surface upon Ishi’s features for another time, and she simply narrowed her eyes before breathing outwards in a quiet and forced huff. “No. I’m just saying that my expectations of what you meant aren’t really being met.”
“Tch… Ouuuuuch~.” Clicking his tongue, the silver-eyed dragon drifted his hand back down her form with a mockingly hurt expression upon his face, with the only thing betraying the supposed pain being that continued smirk of his. “Fine, then… If you’re so unsatisfied, you know what we could do instead?”
Wearing another smirk of her own by then, the girl stifled a small laugh as she averted her gaze from his another time, sighing while shaking her head. “Is it something that’s gonna disappoint me even more?”
For what could have been a countless time during that experience, a brief period of silence enveloped the air between the two of them, though Ishini felt that she received a reply through the way that she felt her hands rise and fall upon Corvou’s shoulders; a sign that, yet again, he had done nothing more than bother to shrug in response to her question. Thoughts gathering within her mind, her initial goal was to breathe some following remark as a form of confrontation towards his lack of vocal replies, but she found herself momentarily distracted as the feeling of a hand snaking away from her side and across her frame met her senses and admittedly sent a brief shiver tingling through her body for the moment. Amber eyes of hers followed the hand as it slid away, only to eventually trail along the skin of her arm before taking the corresponding hand within its own grasp. By then, she shifted her gaze and attention to the man’s face, gaining a clear view of the smile that he bore - as well as the coy shine within his eyes - as he tenderly brought her hand around so that it, alongside his own, was held in the air by their respective sides. With a quick quirk of his lip, he gave her a momentary look before suddenly taking another, brisk step to the side- which then led into one towards the back, one towards the side again, and then one towards the front before beginning the cycle all over again. The abruptness of the movement did catch Ishini off guard, though she found herself swift to adjust as she was guided along the wooden tiles beneath them. As they turned and danced within their waltz in a rather brisk manner, she even went so far as to lift herself on her toes after each step to correctly and appropriately assume proper postures, just as Corvou himself had begun to do after initiating the shift in their little routine.
Before long, however, he added a few more steps to their movements. With a lingering and even broadening smile upon seeing her initial senses of surprise each time, he wordlessly added something new, giving a soft laugh through the first time that he had stepped away from her and turned with an arm outstretched, only to quickly pull himself back. He took care to do the same to Ishini all the while, though took an experienced degree of care to lift his arm over her head as she came back to him, spinning her once before taking hold of her other hand and continuing the steps. These spins continued over and over for a few more times, and with an increasing speed and fluidness alike the more the girl seemed to grow accustomed to the dance- and at a remarkably fast rate, which impressed Ryusaki in all honesty.
Given a little bit more time had progressed onwards, he would have repeated the same motion once more; stepping outwards and extending his arm all the while, and was pleased and clearly amused to see his newfound partner following suit as if she had run through these steps for her entire life. Swiftly spinning back inwards, he stood pridefully as he reached their intertwined hands up high once more, this time motioning them in multiple circles overhead in order to lead his companion in a few spins that gradually grew quicker, and went on to turn outwards once more by the last spin to assume their prior positions. As had been the trend for the last few minutes, Ishi expected them to turn inwards again before twining their hands and continuing the waltz.
She certainly didn’t expect him to let go of her, and for her to, quite literally, be swept and lifted off of her feet.
Without much time to process what had happened beforehand, all that she managed to see was Corvou feigning the next spin as he instead stepped into her direction towards her front. His hands found themselves upon her sides in a sudden, temporary, and loose embrace, and she reacted quickly enough to only be able to secure her hands on his shoulders on pure instinct and haste as he crouched down ever so slightly to build momentum, lifting her somewhat high into the air as she gave a soft gasp in surprise. She found her eyes locked with Corvou’s as he smiled brightly up at her at the sight of her ever-so-slightly shocked expression, and he laughed heartily as he took a few, careful steps around the dance floor, all while keeping her up.
“If things get too boring for you,” he started off, “then I’ll do my best to spice it up and make it a little more fun.”
He boosted her up a tad more before allowing his arms to relax and fall slightly. Ishini felt herself fall alongside them slightly - which immediately shocked its way into her mind for a split second - before he simply caught her once more, hooking his arms beneath her legs as he continued holding her up in such a way that needed him to peer upwards a little bit in order to meet her gaze.
“If you ever feel like you’re about to fall, then I’ll always be there, ready to catch you.”
Still holding her against his frame - and finding a subtle sense of appreciative amusement in how her hands had found their way around the back of his neck as a means of support - he walked slowly and calmly over to the nearest mirror.
“If you ever do fall, then I’ll be there, ready and more than willing to pick you back up.”
As they neared the edge of the dance floor and he stepped upon the small strip of carpet that bordered the room between the tiles and the mirrors, he slowly put her down, waiting for her to appropriately find the balance upon her feet again before leaning over again and into her, pressing her softly into the mirrors behind. Similar to how he had done when she had first entered, he leaned down and caressed her face both teasingly and affectionately alike, all while using the remaining arm and hand as his own form of support as it leaned against the mirror above her. His voice dropped into a gentle whisper.
“...And if you ever run away from me, I’ll be mad. I’ll be bitter; I’ll be betrayed; I’ll be so much more hurt than any words could ever imagine.”
Narrowed voids of silver met narrowed ones of amber in silence and a subtly intense quietness once more as it enveloped the two of them; the wolf herself finding herself slightly flustered and unable to look away, while the drake himself merely gave her a serious yet loving look all the same. A small laugh escaped his lips as he softly stroked her cheek with his thumb in an absentminded manner before caressing it within an utmost care and carefulness alike, leaning down and closing the distance between them as he made contact, pressing his lips against hers softly. The gesture seemed to cause Ishi’s face to flare up slightly more upon stumbling over the obvious realization of what was happening, but for the most part, she didn’t quite seem to mind as she gradually closed her eyes like Corvou had also done by then and kept her head tilted upwards, willingly returning the contact in the form of her own, returned kiss, however shy and slow it may have been at first. As they remained this way for a reasonable while, she unknowingly guided her hands over his form. By the time their lips had parted, she finally realized that they had snaked themselves over his shoulders so that her arms rested upon them, and her hands were twined faintly yet securely around the back of his neck as he leaned down to meet her.
Corvou closed his eyes kept his forehead pressed against hers as he smiled once more, lowering a hand a tad in order to caress her neck instead. The hand that secured itself against the mirror finally found the will to lower, as well, and seeked a seemingly better location as it wrapped itself around her waist, pulling her slightly closer as he took a silent breath.
“I’ll be mad and bitter and hurt… But in the end, I’ll get over it, and I’ll be waiting for you to come back home to me,” he continued off of his earlier statement. His voice was thoughtful as he opened his eyes into slight, narrowed slits, gazing upon his partner with all of the affection that he could have housed at that particular moment in time. “I’ll wait for you as long as I can - as long as it takes - because I trust you, and I love you.”
The last words of his latter statement seemed to induce a feeling of breathlessness within Ishi’s being, and she mentally rewinded the conversation to confirm what he had just said. Flushing into a faintly deeper shade of red, she absentmindedly tightened her hands around the back of his neck in thought while peering up at him.
“...Love is a really strong way to put it, don’t you think?” she asked simply. Her voice’s tone rivaled the quietness of his by then.
“It is. ...And that’s why I said it,” Corvou reassured her. With a lingering smile, the hand secured near her neck slid up once more to caress her cheek for a second time. He leaned in for a second time, lowering his voice even more as he closed his eyes and lessened the distance between their lips into no more than an inch or so. “I understand if you still need time to say it yourself, but I can say it with pride for myself without any fear. And just to let you know...waiting for you to be able to say it to me is something I’ll gladly do, too.”
Again, he closed the distance as he captured her lips within a kiss; this one still soft, yet a tad more active than the last as he tightened his grasp around her waist a little bit to pull her closer. While still a bit tense, Ishini melted into his form almost instantly that second time around, shutting her eyes yet again as she gladly returned the contact. Her hands trailed down from his neck, and as Corvou took a small step forward to press her gently into the mirror a little bit more, one of them hooked around to mimic him as she slipped his cheek within the palm of it. Between kisses and soft, bashful, and reserved smiles alike, the man released his remaining hand from her waist, taking her free one within its grasp and squeezing it absentmindedly before pressing it against the glass, as well; an action that left Ishini pondering in the back of her mind as the night continued on.
It’s dangerous to say things like that… If you keep doing it, then I’ll end up falling for you even harder...
**End.**