jessara40k_lj (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
jessara40k_lj) wrote2009-05-04 04:20 pm
jessara40k_lj) wrote2009-05-04 04:20 pm
Entry tags:
FIC Courtship Part 6
Title: Courtship
Fandom: FFVII Cetra Restoration AU
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: implied slavery, implied het, implied slash
Zack noted the way each of the three pairs they were considering had positioned themselves for after dinner drinks with interest. He hoped Aeris found it as revealing as he did. Glen and Darres had taken the table with the second best view of the room, leaving the table with the best view for Zack and Aeris, and Glen was sitting the same way Zack was, in a position to protect Darres if he needed to. Zack knew that the way Rhoslyn was kneeling at Regis’ feet wasn’t that different from the way Sephiroth had to kneel at Cloud’s feet on formal occasions, but something about the adoring way she gazed up at Regis rubbed him the wrong way. Especially when he saw how Lazard was sitting with Lewis, talking to the two Cetra with them as an equal. Phaedra wasn’t part of the conversation, but Arlene spoke sometimes while she watched what everyone else was doing.
“Did you learn anything interesting about Rowan?” If the consorts had all realised the dinner was ‘really about’ investigating Rowan Zack figured the Cetra would have guessed the same thing.
“A bit, yes. Everyone worked out ‘why’ they were invited at your table too then?” There was a wry smile on Aeris’ lips, telling Zack that no-one had recognised the real reason for the party, the one hidden under finding out about Rowan. It probably helped that Lewis was on record as having dealt with Rowan’s merchant family, and Darres could easily be passed off as having been invited to give Zack a chance to question Glen, with Regis as camouflage.
“Yeah. I don’t think I gave it away, but Glen guessed when I asked if there’d been any interesting students at his parents’ school.” Zack shrugged casually as he spoke. “They co-operated, and none of them seemed to see any problem with us trying to learn everything we can about her.”
“Why should they? It’s the smart thing to do, if you take it as given that the nature of Cloud’s spouse concerns me. And it does. Sephiroth’s my declared brother; I have the right to be concerned about someone who could be in a position to hurt him.” That wasn’t something Zack had thought about, and a way of seeing things that wouldn’t have occurred to him, but he could see the sense in it.
“Can’t argue with that I guess.”
“No, but we shouldn’t talk about Rowan now. Leave it for later, we can compare notes on Rowan after everyone leaves, or even tomorrow, depending on how long the dance lasts.” Aeris started to stand, and Zack obediently imitated her, moving to let her leave the table. “Let’s start the ball rolling then.”
Zack took her hand and let Aeris lead him onto the dance floor, settling into a proper ballroom hold and waiting for the musicians to start playing at her signal. The first dance was a foxtrot, they’d agreed on that beforehand, and Aeris had told the musicians to play something appropriate for that style of dance. Traditionally either the host or the highest ranked Cetra present (or sometimes both) danced the first dance of an evening without any other couple on the floor to get in the way, so all Zack had to worry about was following Aeris’ lead. They weren’t really dancing for their audience, so Aeris stuck to simple, classic steps that Zack could follow from body language cues, not bothering with all the frills and curlicues exhibition dancers used.
“We’ll dance a tango next, then we should split up to dance with some of our guests.” A tango so that the change in hold would signal the end of the first dance for their guests, rather than relying on them recognising the start of a new piece of music - and so that the changed style of music would make doing that easier.
“Yes Aeris. Who do you want me to try to dance with?” The music changed, and Aeris adjusted her hold before responding.
“The three candidates we chose, if they will allow you to dance with them.” It would be an honour for Aeris to allow her guests to dance with her consort, so there was a catch, and Zack knew just what that catch was, but he thought he should ask to be certain.
“You want me to approach them, and ask to dance, rather than hint or wait for them to ask me?” Zack looked to locate his targets as Aeris pushed him into a turn, noting how they treated their consorts without trying to analyse it now.
“Yes. I think that will tell us a lot about them, how they react to you asking them to dance rather than the other way around.” Since it was supposed to be the higher ranked partner who asked for a dance, as well as led in the dance. “If they refuse then dance with their consorts - you have the rank to make that invitation, and even the most traditional Cetra would agree with me there.”
“Yes, they would.” And Zack could take the opportunity to ask about the Cetra then, rather than talk about Rowan, since that was the polite topic for consorts to discuss. It wouldn’t be any hardship to boast about Aeris in return, so he couldn’t imagine any consort wanting to stay silent about his or her Cetra. Aeris released him as the music shifted again, and he began looking around for his next partner while Aeris glided over the floor to choose her own partner. Regis had his arm around Rhoslyn’s waist as they moved to the edge of the dance floor...he’d do. Zack reached them just before they left the floor, and Regis came to a halt and looked at him with a distant, but polite smile.
“Yes?”
“Might I have this dance, lord?” Best to be respectful, Zack suspected that Regis was the type to be easily offended from what Rhoslyn had said about him at dinner. But his manners didn’t seem to help, a faintly offended look came over Regis’ face, and the chill between them was palpable.
“You meant to ask for permission to dance with my consort.”
“Ah...yes sir. I misspoke, please, forgive me.” Zack forced himself to sound apologetic too, even though he really felt offended by the implication of Regis’ words. “Might I dance with your consort?”
“Yes, you are forgiven, and you may dance with my consort, but wait for the next dance.”
“Thank you lord.” He’d prefer to ask Rhoslyn directly, but it would probably be a better idea to ask Regis based on his attitude. “Can she handle a quickstep or a spinning waltz?”
“Not a spinning waltz, they make Rhoslyn dizzy. But as long as you keep the pace reasonable she shouldn’t have any problems with a quickstep.” Regis took Rhoslyn’s hand and offered it to Zack with cold formality, kissing her cheek as Zack accepted her hand.
“I’ll take care of her for you.”
“Yes, you will.” The music shifted then; not lively enough for a quickstep, or dramatic enough for a tango, so Zack pulled Rhoslyn into a waltz.
“Would you have refused if I’d asked you to dance directly?”
“No...I would have told you to ask my lord. It isn’t my place to agree to that for myself.” Zack really didn’t like the sound of that, but he refrained from commenting, focusing on Regis instead.
“He’s very protective of you.”
“Yes, he is.” She smiled up at Zack, his words apparently enough to set her off talking about how wonderful Regis was. But her praise only made Zack feel more uneasy about Regis, even though Rhoslyn seemed content, and he covered that with the same distant politeness Regis had used when he returned Rhoslyn to him. Darres would be more reasonable, even if Darres refused Zack was certain Glen wouldn’t put up with the sort of control Rhoslyn did, and Zack hurried over to catch him as he separated from his consort.
“If you want to dance with Glen I suggest you ask him yourself.”
“No, sir. I want to dance with you.” Should he expand on that? Zack hadn’t thought about how playing along with Regis could turn around to bite him on the ass like this, but...even if he’d known the consequences Zack would have played along. “I wanted to dance with Regis, but-”
Darres laughed then, cutting Zack’s words off. “He got offended, and you had to placate him. Yes, I’ll dance with you.” Darres reached up to rest one hand on top of Zack’s arm, letting Zack move into hold from there. “A foxtrot I think.” He remained silent for long enough to start the dance properly, then spoke again. “So, what did you want to ask me while we dance? Your lady has already got everything I know about Rowan out of me.”
“Darres...who was it I tried to dance with before you?” Zack wondered what conclusion Darres would come to from that, hoping it wasn’t the right one, but waiting for his response.
“Regis. And he had nothing useful to say about Rowan. If Aeris wanted to make him feel better about the way he was left out of the conversation at dinner she should have went to dance with him herself.” That was a good reason, even if it hadn’t featured in her thinking.
“Glen boasted about how you’d learned to use a spear at dinner...was there a reason?”
“Yes, at first I just didn’t want to be dependent on anyone to protect me, the way too many healer caste are, but later, after I learned I’d be a high noble that changed.” With that Darres was off, talking about his plans and the reasons behind them. It was fascinating, and Zack wished he could get away with asking for another dance when the foxtrot ended. Lewis was dancing with Iris, so Zack looked around for someone else to partner. Lindis was starting to dance with her spouse, and his consort was dancing with her fellow ex-bodyguard, leaving Phaedra on her own. She looked unhappy to be alone, and Zack could easily do something about that.
“Can you handle a spinning waltz Phaedra?”
“Oh, yes sir. I can even manage a fleckle if you want to put that in.” She blushed then, something Zack could only see because of his enhanced vision, and looked down. “That is if you wish to dance with me. I did not mean to presume.”
“You didn’t. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to dance with you.” Zack offered a hand to Phaedra, and she swiftly moved into hold. When they started turning Zack realised the problem with this dance for the purposes Aeris had selected his targets - you couldn’t talk when you were doing it, not the way you could in other dances. At least he knew now, and Phaedra wasn’t one of the partners Aeris had asked him to dance with. And Lewis was free when Zack looked around to find him.
“Lewis, would you care to dance with me?”
“Yes, I would.” Lewis pulled him into hold, and Zack relaxed to follow him, resting his left hand on Lewis’ right upper arm. “We’ve got the right music for a quickstep.”
“Yes, we do. But I’m not used to dancing with anyone taller than me, so please, keep it simple.” Zack smiled up at Lewis, in silent appeal.
“I will. You don’t dance with the Planet’s Weapon’s consort then?”
“He doesn’t like dancing, not this sort anyway.” Zack was pleased to see that Lewis could speak easily at the pace he was setting, and it gave him an opening to exploit. “You’re clearly very fit, and I saw that Lazard has some training in how to fight. Do you have the same training?”
“Yes, it’s a good way to stay in shape, nothing more for me, not really.” Zack kept Lewis talking about himself for the rest of the dance, then followed that up by dancing with Glen and Lazard before choosing his partners for the rest of the dance - not quite a ball - by who he’d enjoy dancing with.
Fandom: FFVII Cetra Restoration AU
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: implied slavery, implied het, implied slash
Zack noted the way each of the three pairs they were considering had positioned themselves for after dinner drinks with interest. He hoped Aeris found it as revealing as he did. Glen and Darres had taken the table with the second best view of the room, leaving the table with the best view for Zack and Aeris, and Glen was sitting the same way Zack was, in a position to protect Darres if he needed to. Zack knew that the way Rhoslyn was kneeling at Regis’ feet wasn’t that different from the way Sephiroth had to kneel at Cloud’s feet on formal occasions, but something about the adoring way she gazed up at Regis rubbed him the wrong way. Especially when he saw how Lazard was sitting with Lewis, talking to the two Cetra with them as an equal. Phaedra wasn’t part of the conversation, but Arlene spoke sometimes while she watched what everyone else was doing.
“Did you learn anything interesting about Rowan?” If the consorts had all realised the dinner was ‘really about’ investigating Rowan Zack figured the Cetra would have guessed the same thing.
“A bit, yes. Everyone worked out ‘why’ they were invited at your table too then?” There was a wry smile on Aeris’ lips, telling Zack that no-one had recognised the real reason for the party, the one hidden under finding out about Rowan. It probably helped that Lewis was on record as having dealt with Rowan’s merchant family, and Darres could easily be passed off as having been invited to give Zack a chance to question Glen, with Regis as camouflage.
“Yeah. I don’t think I gave it away, but Glen guessed when I asked if there’d been any interesting students at his parents’ school.” Zack shrugged casually as he spoke. “They co-operated, and none of them seemed to see any problem with us trying to learn everything we can about her.”
“Why should they? It’s the smart thing to do, if you take it as given that the nature of Cloud’s spouse concerns me. And it does. Sephiroth’s my declared brother; I have the right to be concerned about someone who could be in a position to hurt him.” That wasn’t something Zack had thought about, and a way of seeing things that wouldn’t have occurred to him, but he could see the sense in it.
“Can’t argue with that I guess.”
“No, but we shouldn’t talk about Rowan now. Leave it for later, we can compare notes on Rowan after everyone leaves, or even tomorrow, depending on how long the dance lasts.” Aeris started to stand, and Zack obediently imitated her, moving to let her leave the table. “Let’s start the ball rolling then.”
Zack took her hand and let Aeris lead him onto the dance floor, settling into a proper ballroom hold and waiting for the musicians to start playing at her signal. The first dance was a foxtrot, they’d agreed on that beforehand, and Aeris had told the musicians to play something appropriate for that style of dance. Traditionally either the host or the highest ranked Cetra present (or sometimes both) danced the first dance of an evening without any other couple on the floor to get in the way, so all Zack had to worry about was following Aeris’ lead. They weren’t really dancing for their audience, so Aeris stuck to simple, classic steps that Zack could follow from body language cues, not bothering with all the frills and curlicues exhibition dancers used.
“We’ll dance a tango next, then we should split up to dance with some of our guests.” A tango so that the change in hold would signal the end of the first dance for their guests, rather than relying on them recognising the start of a new piece of music - and so that the changed style of music would make doing that easier.
“Yes Aeris. Who do you want me to try to dance with?” The music changed, and Aeris adjusted her hold before responding.
“The three candidates we chose, if they will allow you to dance with them.” It would be an honour for Aeris to allow her guests to dance with her consort, so there was a catch, and Zack knew just what that catch was, but he thought he should ask to be certain.
“You want me to approach them, and ask to dance, rather than hint or wait for them to ask me?” Zack looked to locate his targets as Aeris pushed him into a turn, noting how they treated their consorts without trying to analyse it now.
“Yes. I think that will tell us a lot about them, how they react to you asking them to dance rather than the other way around.” Since it was supposed to be the higher ranked partner who asked for a dance, as well as led in the dance. “If they refuse then dance with their consorts - you have the rank to make that invitation, and even the most traditional Cetra would agree with me there.”
“Yes, they would.” And Zack could take the opportunity to ask about the Cetra then, rather than talk about Rowan, since that was the polite topic for consorts to discuss. It wouldn’t be any hardship to boast about Aeris in return, so he couldn’t imagine any consort wanting to stay silent about his or her Cetra. Aeris released him as the music shifted again, and he began looking around for his next partner while Aeris glided over the floor to choose her own partner. Regis had his arm around Rhoslyn’s waist as they moved to the edge of the dance floor...he’d do. Zack reached them just before they left the floor, and Regis came to a halt and looked at him with a distant, but polite smile.
“Yes?”
“Might I have this dance, lord?” Best to be respectful, Zack suspected that Regis was the type to be easily offended from what Rhoslyn had said about him at dinner. But his manners didn’t seem to help, a faintly offended look came over Regis’ face, and the chill between them was palpable.
“You meant to ask for permission to dance with my consort.”
“Ah...yes sir. I misspoke, please, forgive me.” Zack forced himself to sound apologetic too, even though he really felt offended by the implication of Regis’ words. “Might I dance with your consort?”
“Yes, you are forgiven, and you may dance with my consort, but wait for the next dance.”
“Thank you lord.” He’d prefer to ask Rhoslyn directly, but it would probably be a better idea to ask Regis based on his attitude. “Can she handle a quickstep or a spinning waltz?”
“Not a spinning waltz, they make Rhoslyn dizzy. But as long as you keep the pace reasonable she shouldn’t have any problems with a quickstep.” Regis took Rhoslyn’s hand and offered it to Zack with cold formality, kissing her cheek as Zack accepted her hand.
“I’ll take care of her for you.”
“Yes, you will.” The music shifted then; not lively enough for a quickstep, or dramatic enough for a tango, so Zack pulled Rhoslyn into a waltz.
“Would you have refused if I’d asked you to dance directly?”
“No...I would have told you to ask my lord. It isn’t my place to agree to that for myself.” Zack really didn’t like the sound of that, but he refrained from commenting, focusing on Regis instead.
“He’s very protective of you.”
“Yes, he is.” She smiled up at Zack, his words apparently enough to set her off talking about how wonderful Regis was. But her praise only made Zack feel more uneasy about Regis, even though Rhoslyn seemed content, and he covered that with the same distant politeness Regis had used when he returned Rhoslyn to him. Darres would be more reasonable, even if Darres refused Zack was certain Glen wouldn’t put up with the sort of control Rhoslyn did, and Zack hurried over to catch him as he separated from his consort.
“If you want to dance with Glen I suggest you ask him yourself.”
“No, sir. I want to dance with you.” Should he expand on that? Zack hadn’t thought about how playing along with Regis could turn around to bite him on the ass like this, but...even if he’d known the consequences Zack would have played along. “I wanted to dance with Regis, but-”
Darres laughed then, cutting Zack’s words off. “He got offended, and you had to placate him. Yes, I’ll dance with you.” Darres reached up to rest one hand on top of Zack’s arm, letting Zack move into hold from there. “A foxtrot I think.” He remained silent for long enough to start the dance properly, then spoke again. “So, what did you want to ask me while we dance? Your lady has already got everything I know about Rowan out of me.”
“Darres...who was it I tried to dance with before you?” Zack wondered what conclusion Darres would come to from that, hoping it wasn’t the right one, but waiting for his response.
“Regis. And he had nothing useful to say about Rowan. If Aeris wanted to make him feel better about the way he was left out of the conversation at dinner she should have went to dance with him herself.” That was a good reason, even if it hadn’t featured in her thinking.
“Glen boasted about how you’d learned to use a spear at dinner...was there a reason?”
“Yes, at first I just didn’t want to be dependent on anyone to protect me, the way too many healer caste are, but later, after I learned I’d be a high noble that changed.” With that Darres was off, talking about his plans and the reasons behind them. It was fascinating, and Zack wished he could get away with asking for another dance when the foxtrot ended. Lewis was dancing with Iris, so Zack looked around for someone else to partner. Lindis was starting to dance with her spouse, and his consort was dancing with her fellow ex-bodyguard, leaving Phaedra on her own. She looked unhappy to be alone, and Zack could easily do something about that.
“Can you handle a spinning waltz Phaedra?”
“Oh, yes sir. I can even manage a fleckle if you want to put that in.” She blushed then, something Zack could only see because of his enhanced vision, and looked down. “That is if you wish to dance with me. I did not mean to presume.”
“You didn’t. I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want to dance with you.” Zack offered a hand to Phaedra, and she swiftly moved into hold. When they started turning Zack realised the problem with this dance for the purposes Aeris had selected his targets - you couldn’t talk when you were doing it, not the way you could in other dances. At least he knew now, and Phaedra wasn’t one of the partners Aeris had asked him to dance with. And Lewis was free when Zack looked around to find him.
“Lewis, would you care to dance with me?”
“Yes, I would.” Lewis pulled him into hold, and Zack relaxed to follow him, resting his left hand on Lewis’ right upper arm. “We’ve got the right music for a quickstep.”
“Yes, we do. But I’m not used to dancing with anyone taller than me, so please, keep it simple.” Zack smiled up at Lewis, in silent appeal.
“I will. You don’t dance with the Planet’s Weapon’s consort then?”
“He doesn’t like dancing, not this sort anyway.” Zack was pleased to see that Lewis could speak easily at the pace he was setting, and it gave him an opening to exploit. “You’re clearly very fit, and I saw that Lazard has some training in how to fight. Do you have the same training?”
“Yes, it’s a good way to stay in shape, nothing more for me, not really.” Zack kept Lewis talking about himself for the rest of the dance, then followed that up by dancing with Glen and Lazard before choosing his partners for the rest of the dance - not quite a ball - by who he’d enjoy dancing with.