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“I hate these functions,” Umi said. She said it through gritted teeth, wide smile plastered across her face. She raised her hand to tinkle her fingers in a wave to a Chizetan dignitary passing by. “Is tonight over yet?”
“Now, Umi-san,” Fuu sighed, her own cheeks sore from smiling (though not as wide as Umi and Hikaru did).
“No seriously, didn't we just have one our last visit?”
“Umi-chan, you like the dancing, though,” Hikaru offered from the other side of Umi. “Everyone wants to dance with you.”
“That's because they're scared to ask you,” Umi replied, raising her eyebrows. “What with tall, dark and over-protective hanging around.” She nodded to where Lantis stood on the other side of the hall, watching over the night's happenings. “And Fuu's a boring dancer.”
“I ought to take offense at that.”
Hikaru laughed and leaned her arm against Umi's. “You love the attention, don't lie.”
Umi's plastered-on smile became more of a genuine grin. “Maybe a little.”
“Fuu-chan doesn't get as many offers to dance because she's always dancing with Ferio,” Hikaru said, leaning around Umi to grin up at Fuu. “He's been holding you pretty close tonight, Fuu-chan,” she added, and there was a knowing sort of grin on her face that she definitely picked up from Umi.
“I'm sure I don't know what you're suggesting by that.” Fuu tried to look innocent but Hikaru lowered her eyelids at her friend. “It's just been a while since we've visited. That,” she added, looking back to Umi, who unfortunately had the same knowing expression, “is why we attended a similar event the last time we were in Cephiro. That much time has passed since our last visit.” She knew her face was red.
“Hmm.” Umi and Hikaru glanced at each other and Hikaru snickered before leaning back into position next to Umi, smiling out at the crowd.
It was boring, just standing here between dances and making small talk with politicians and representatives and military and the like, from Cephiro and its allies. The first few times the Knights had attended these events it had been exciting and exotic and so very grown-up, but with over a dozen under their belts now, the glitz and glamor had become commonplace and the whole affair a bit of a chore. Though it was fun getting dressed up, even still.
“Maybe Prince Ferio likes dancing with Fuu so much because of her dress,” Umi said, tipping her shoulder casually.
“I should hope so,” Fuu muttered. “A dress like this is expensive.” She smoothed the fabric at her waist. The Knights usually wore Cephiran dresses to these events but had decided to mix things up with some nice dresses from Earth. Fuu had wanted to wear anything but green – she was getting a bit tired of always wearing it to these events – but they all agreed to wear their 'colors' as they always did. The line of the neck scooped wide, nearly off-the-shoulder, and a bit lower than she usually preferred. It seemed most of the fabric had been reserved for the layers and layers in the deep green skirts.
“You don't want to waste your money,” Umi agreed. “You should get the most out of your dress.”
“I want a pretty, slinky dress like Umi-chan's,” Hikaru said, thankfully taking the focus off Fuu.
“It's not slinky .”
“Well, it's–” Hikaru gestured with her hands. “Very flowing. Is that better?”
“I'll take 'flowing'. Your dress is cute, Hikaru, it suits you.”
Hikaru twisted her mouth in a pout. “I don't always want to look cute .”
“It's our Look,” Umi shrugged. “You're always cute and charming in red, I'm flowing and draping in blue, Fuu is modestly classy in green.”
Fuu was about to ask Umi what in god's name 'modestly classy' even meant when Ferio came up from her other side. “Everything cool?”
“Everything is fine,” Fuu said.
“From across the room it looks like you're arguing.”
“Heaven forbid,” Umi said, rolling her eyes.
“Anyway, it's been nearly an hour since I danced with this lady,” Ferio continued, his hand coming to rest on the small of Fuu's back. “And if I don't get her out on the floor I may just wither up and–”
“Go, go ,” Umi said, waving her hands to shoo them both away. “Spare us the theatrics.”
Ferio grinned crookedly and bit his lip a little, glancing back at Fuu. “Shall we, then?”
Fuu sighed and smiled despite herself. She did like dancing, even if she wasn't particularly good at it. Ferio was only passable himself, but at least his rhythm was better than hers. It always was, though, she thought briefly, thinking not of dancing, when she caught his gaze below her neck. “See something?” she asked.
His cheeks tinged red just the slightest bit. “Couple things.”
“I'm certain you've seen those before,” she said, raising her eyebrows and feeling her face flush.
“Not in this dress!” he insisted. “Breasts are quite amazing you know. They can be smooshed into so many shapes. This particular display is new.”
“So you ogle.”
“You've caught me.” There was a slight huskiness to his voice that was distracting, and she missed a step. “Careful, there,” he said, and his hand firmed on the small of her back. “What're you thinking about, Fuu, that your dancing is affected?”
“Do shut up,” Fuu managed, but her skin felt warm. It had been about three months in Earth time since the girls had visited Cephiro. And she hadn't had any privacy with Ferio that last visit, so it was probably – oh hell, she'd been keeping track. It'd been well over four months since she had to make up excuses about how her eyeglasses got bent out of shape.
“Warm in here, isn't it?”
Fuu pressed her lips together. “That is a very tired old line.”
“Let me be frank, then.” He leaned in, breath tickling her neck. “I want to make you come.” This time Fuu did stumble and their half-hearted attempt at dancing ceased. “Oh, c'mon Fuu, don't be so obvious.” He slipped his arm back around her, pulling her back into what passed for dancing. “We'll just make our way across the room. Here we go.”
It was so ridiculous. He was so ridiculous. Fuu laughed, firming her grasp on his shoulders, and Ferio laughed too, and he leaned in and gave her a light – and very nearly chaste – kiss on her mouth as they clumsily danced towards a door.
Fuu caught Hikaru's eye – Umi was probably on the dance floor somewhere – and the redhead put up her fists in two thumbs-up gestures. Fuu bit her lip and giggled, turning her gaze away from her friend before her face caught fire.
Ferio was one to scold her for being too obvious. When they were a few strides from one of the smaller doorways, he grabbed her hand and scurried into the hall where he pressed her up against the wall. She was giggling as he tried to kiss her so he settled for her neck just below her ear, pushing aside her curls with his nose. “Stop fidgeting, Fuu.”
“Oh for heaven's sake,” she hissed, “not here. Are you thinking at all?”
“Not with the bigger one, admittedly.”
Fuu rolled her eyes. “Allow me to regain my bearings.” She took a deep breath, but there was still that warm itch blooming in her belly. “Through the antechamber in that direction. There's a sitting room. I'm assuming you cannot bear to wait to get to your room.”
“I cannot.”
“Then we'd best run.”
“Fuu–”
“Right?” she said, wriggling out of his grasp and taking his hands, stumbling back past the doorway before getting her footing again. It wasn't easy to run in these shoes, especially not with her head spinning a little, but she managed down much of the hallway until Ferio scooped her up and carried her. She fumbled with the clasps on the front of his ceremonial armor as he scuttled into the sitting room but didn't make much progress.
He dumped her unceremoniously on a large, square ottoman. She squeaked as she landed, breathing rushed as he removed the most cumbersome parts of his outfit before hunching over her, tipping up her face and capturing her mouth hungrily.
He lifted one knee to rest on the ottoman, tipping his head to better access her mouth. Fuu reached up to discard his gloves, then clumsily unfastened his belt before his mouth began to move down her neck, trailing wet, open-mouthed kisses across her shoulder. He grabbed a fistful of her curls, tugging her head to the side and pressing his tongue against that sweet spot where her jaw met her ear. When this drew a soft, shaking little moan from her, she felt him grin against her skin before biting her hard enough to make her gasp.
Fuu's hands slid up under Ferio's shirt, fingers digging into his back as he claimed her mouth again while he fiddled with the clasps at the back of her dress. She usually liked to play hard-to-get, to make him a little crazy, but his enthusiasm was so consuming that she just surrendered to his momentum.
And she knew, she knew that anyone could walk in at any moment. The thought was almost so distracting, made her so anxious, that she wanted to stop, but then he made that thick, wanting sound in her ear and she forgot to care.
“...the fuck do I do with these,” he was muttering against her neck, fumbling with the fastenings at the back of her dress. Fuu was about to help him when he said, “Forget it,” and knelt in front of her. The warm itch in her belly had grown much warmer, much lower, and she bit her lip as he burrowed through the fabric of her skirts. She heard him say, “Ooh, the fancy kind,” and laughed, reaching down to help him move back her skirts. The “fancy” underwear was just her plain cotton panties, but they didn't have quite those here, so he always got a kick out of them.
Then he was pushing her skirts all up around her hips, baring her legs and what was between them. “Ferio, maybe–” He nudged open her thighs, pressing his mouth hot to the inside of her left leg, making his way towards her core. “Ferio– wait, stop.”
He did pause this time, peering up at her. It was dark in the room but light spilled in from the sconces in the antechamber and she could see his cheeks were flushed, his eyes dark. “Really?” he breathed, and she saw him swallow hard.
She bit her lip. Her legs were shaking. “I– Well, we...” She took a breath. Glanced back at the doorway. Felt his breath on the crease where her thigh met her belly. “No, not really. Continue.”
A fire passed over his eyes and his mouth drew into a fabulous crooked grin. “Good.” He grabbed her hips, pulling her to the very edge of the ottoman. She had enough room now to lean back, her elbows on the edge of the other side, felt the soft fabric against her skin, then he lowered his mouth onto her.
Fuu took a shaking breath, jerking a little at his first contact, then melting against him as he warmed her up. His fingers dug into her hips, holding her in place as his ministrations became tighter, more focused.
She dared a glance towards the doorway. Still no one in sight. Ferio tightened his grip on her hips and stopped moving his mouth, making a soft grunt against the inside of her thigh. “Fuu.” Breathing hard, she turned back. “Look at me,” he said, and his voice was so low and thick that all she could do was nod and watch him go back to work. One of his hands moved from her hip and his fingers pressed into her, then it wasn't long before she was bucking her hips against him, biting her lip and trying to keep her rather generous gasping noises quiet.
Leaning back on her elbows still, Fuu tried to catch her breath as Ferio raised up to kneeling. He wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist, grinning wolfishly at her. “Oh, shut up,” she managed, and he laughed as she sat up to tug down his pants around his knees.
He was ready, but she needed a minute. So she slid her hands over his hips, ghosting her mouth over his stomach until his hand splayed against her head. He tipped her head gently, guiding, and she obliged him, running her tongue along his length until he was making low sighing sounds and tightening his fingers in her hair. She liked those sounds, she liked when he grabbed her hair this way, when he breathed her name.
So she let him come down to kiss her hard and hot, pushing her back across the ottoman again. He lifted her hips, bending up her knee to hook her leg up over his shoulder as he guided himself into her. Okay, it had been a little while. Ferio noticed her discomfort and slid his hand to press his thumb between her legs in slow circles, easing himself in, moving slowly at first. Fuu pressed her elbows into the fabric of the ottoman, nodding up at him a little, and he leaned forward, moving harder, faster against her now.
Apparently he'd been worked up for a while because it didn't take him long before he was hunched over her, pressing his face into her shoulder, his body moving against her at just the right angle to give her the stimulation she wanted. She pressed her mouth to his collarbone to muffle the low sounds he was drawing out of her, but then he hitched up her hips and a sort of gasp-moan sound escaped her throat as he drove his hips against hers and went tight, his harsh groan in her ear.
He moved to pull away but she was teetering near the edge, her mind reeling. “Not yet.”
“I'm–”
“Please,” she whimpered, and she didn't mean to sound so pathetic but through the fog in his eyes she saw something spark. He bit his lip hard and leaned against her, pushing her back so her head lolled off the back of the ottoman, and rolled his hips against hers, and then it wasn't long. She gasped a curse and clutched the shirt at his shoulder blades as she arched her back and shuddered, and let out a long sigh as she came back down.
“Fuck's sake, Fuu,” he muttered as he finally pulled back, but he didn't sound unhappy.
Fuu passed her hand over her eyes as she closed her thighs and crossed her ankles, a shiver gliding over her like an aftershock. “Mmn.” She turned her head back and forth slowly, trying to get her bearings, before pushing herself back up to sitting. “You couldn't very well have left me there.”
“I wouldn't've, I would've finished you.”
“Not the same.” She shrugged one shoulder and offered him a coy smile, and realized her sleeve had been yanked down almost to her elbow. She must have looked a complete mess.
Ferio closed his hands around her forearms, pulling her closer and kissing her long and deep, lingering, lazy, his breathing still rushed against her mouth. She tipped her head, leaning into him, fingers closing around the fabric of his shirt. “Mm, we should tidy up,” she murmured against his lips, but went back to kissing him for a few minutes more.
Eventually he pulled back, fumbling with his pants around his ankles and Fuu rolled off the ottoman to find where he put her underwear – and where did she drop her shoes, anyway? This was all extremely undignified and a bit more of a mess than she had anticipated. Maybe she should've insisted they wait to get to his quarters, after all.
“Is there a mirror in this room?” She got to her feet and stumbled, her legs still weak, and she heard Ferio laugh. “Don't you laugh at me, Prince,” she said without looking at him, having seen the large decorative mirror on the other side of the room. “You would also have trouble walking if you went two times. I don't know that I'll be able to dance for a while.” Her hair was tousled and the delicate braids circling from her temples around to the back of her head were coming undone. “Oh, dear.”
She was aware of him dressing behind her as she tried to put her dress back into place and tame her curls enough that only Hikaru and Umi would think twice about their current state. Her fingers were still shaking as she fussed with the braids before finally giving up and turning back to Ferio. “I think you may have left a mark.”
“Don't be paranoid, Fuu, it wouldn't show already.”
“It may by the end of the night.”
He was dressed now, tending to the last of his many fastenings and adjusting how the armor sat on his shoulders. Fuu couldn't help but be impressed at how quickly he'd gotten most of it off; she hated trying to get past it, especially in a hurry, but Ferio was very driven when he actually put his mind to something. “Well, if you're concerned about people noticing, we can always duck out early.”
“Didn't we just do that? I'm sure everyone will notice if we disappear twice.”
“Let 'em.” He was grinning, practically glowing, the idiot.
Her brows raised and she gave him a small smile as he leaned closer to her. “You can't possibly be serious.”
“I'll need some recoup time, unfortunately. But I don't plan to let you sleep with Hikaru and Umi tonight. I'm calling dibs. I still haven't gotten the chance to peel that thing off you yet.”
There was still a delicious shivering current of electricity shooting between her shoulder blades and she realized that she was not entirely sated, either. “Perhaps by the time we return to the hall I'll be able to dance properly again.”
“Not if I did my job right, you won't.”
She laughed and when he offered his arm to her, she slipped her hand through and leaned on him. “Ferio, it was all very clumsy.”
“Well then now I owe you a proper romp. Trust me, you just keep fiddling with the neckline of that dress and I'll be good to go before you know it.”
“I really will get my money's worth out of this dress,” Fuu mumbled as they went back into the hallway.
“What?”
“Nothing.”