#A Heart's Waltz (Conrad & Rinea | tomestobetold)

[masked-paladin]

[ HAND ] ❤️-Rinea

At this point, it was more of a formality than anything, to take her hand and kiss the back after requesting a dance. Free as the Zofian Court was, even here, there were still a few rules. Sweeping Rinea out onto the dancefloor was done carefully, with gentle assurance. They could lose themselves in the quiet between them once there, the couple unlikely to part or even so much as cease dancing until the night at last drew to a close. After all, it was -- when politics allowed -- the one way the husband and wife could bear festivities. The smooth repetition and closeness to his wife soothed Conrad's discomfort and anxiety, while he hoped his presence could do the same for her own. A step or two slower than the rest, the pair only had eyes for each other, wholly lost in their own world where only they two existed.

There, in that moment, nothing else mattered.

@tomestobetold

[masked-paladin]

💋 -from Rinea maybe in that arranged marriage au we talked about, lmao

Political marriages were one thing, marrying your childhood crush best friend for the good of your people was another, but to learn that said childhood crush best friend had romantic feelings for you? That she wanted to kiss you? That was something else completely. For a moment, Conrad wondered if he were dreaming, but then reasoned that if this were a dream his and Celica's mothers would have been alive and happy together. Which then meant that this wasn't a dream, he had heard Rinea entirely correctly... and that she was probably waiting for some sort of response.

Blushing, the redhead somehow managed to be both impulsive and careful at the same time, as he reached out to take the bluenette's hands in his own. (Normally, he tended to be touch averse, but thank Mila today he didn't seem to feel compelled to recoil away from his own actions.) Smile tremulous but genuine, he hoped she wouldn't mind that he couldn't find words, as he leaned in to press a gentle kiss to the corner of her mouth. It could be innocent, or progress into something more, but for the moment it was hopefully enough. Either way, he didn't want to overwhelm her.

Or overwhelm himself, but that was a different issue.

@tomestobetold