Disclaimer: I don't own Bravely Default/Second!
So, I'm writing this particular oneshot for Bravely Ship Week, Day 5, running from October 31st to November 6th, 2018! I thought I'd go with the prompt of Time for this one. Why? You'll find out when you read this fic! XD
I hope you all enjoy reading!
ALSO PLEASE NOTE: I am no expert in dancing whatsoever and I literally searched up WikiHow and also watched several videos to figure out how to write a Samba. If I totally screwed up some details, feel free to dish some constructive criticism on it!
Warning: DeRosaxKamiizumi, takes place after "Risks" and "Enticed," takes place post-Bravely Second, and Bravely Second and Default spoilers abound!
The Time Is Now
Summary: After the disastrous masquerade party, DeRosa decides to take things into his own hands and make time for him and Kamiizumi to have a better one for just themselves.
"Are we there yet?"
"Just a little longer." Fiore DeRosa nipped at Nobutsuna Kamiizumi's ear, then trailed a kiss down to his neck as they walked together. He smiled at feeling the older man shiver, and he chuckled. "I think you'll love it."
The Swordmaster, at Fiore's request, was blindfolded as they approached their destination. He had literally no idea as of where they were going, but the Red Mage knew the place very well. Too well, perhaps.
He heard a door slide open with a 'thunk,' and he heard a "watch your step" before they started descending down a set of stairs. Feeling DeRosa's arm sling around his lower back, he let the other lead him, step by step. The closing of a door was heard some moments later behind them, and his mind drifted to a couple nights ago.
The disastrous masquerade party at Central Command, ending with both men basically storming out accompanied by Praline, Kikyo, and Jackal, resulted in them going to a bar during the night to mostly drink away their sorrows (except for Kamiizumi, who opted to drink only water be the sober man out of all of them). Sure, the party itself sucked, but at least they had people with them to make the best of the aftermath.
"Nobutsuna." DeRosa's voice cooed. "You can take off your blindfold now."
Kamiizumi raised his hands behind his head to take it off, keeping his eyes closed as he pulled the blindfold off. DeRosa took it from him, and Kamiizumi opened his eyes.
"This is…" He breathed.
DeRosa smiled, slinging an arm around his waist. "My old lab." A soft chuckle escaped him at that. "Not the best place to act as a new ballroom, given what I used to do here, but I figured it was better than nothing."
The Swordmaster's eyes widened, turning towards him. "When did you…?"
"Remember how I haven't been coming home too early these past few nights?" DeRosa explained, looking to him in return. "It was…actually, spent here." He let go of Kamiizumi, looking around. He still remembered pushing tables out of the way and cleaning up, and—actually, it was best not to think of those exhausting moments. "Took me a while to clean up the place, but it's better than it was when I found it."
A stare. "When you found it? What do you mean?"
The younger man sighed. "I kicked out Rocca Pellar to get the place back. To be fair, it belonged to me first."
"Fiore!"
DeRosa raised his hands in surrender. "Don't worry, I found him a new place in Florem where he can work on his little compositions. Besides, after my passionate, emotional plea about making things up to you, he could barely resist handing the lab back to me."
"You, passionately and emotionally pleading to get a lab back?" Kamiizumi pictured the Red Mage on his knees, dramatically monologuing about how he wanted to heal Kamiizumi's broken heart, and he smiled at that image. "That does sound very like you."
"It was my lab for years when I was part of the Bloodrose Legion." DeRosa turned to fully face him, extending a hand towards him. "And now? It's ours."
The Swordmaster's grey eyes looked at Fiore's hand, then up at his face. "Ours?" He repeated.
The Red Mage raised an eyebrow. "You opened up your home to me. It's only fair that I give you an open invitation to this place. You and this lab…" A chuckle escaped him, but it was lower, weaker.
Kamiizumi swallowed, looking him in the eyes. "You sound a bit less confident than usual. Is it because of…?"
Both of them hadn't really talked much about that disastrous masquerade from the other night, and how they abandoned the party early because of a fight with a Valkyrie that ended with them going to a bar late at night. At least Praline, Kikyo and Jackal were there. At least Barbarossa had been nice to them. At least Geist gave them his support, in a way.
But what happened that night still hurt.
DeRosa raised his hands in surrender, before tucking them into his pockets and leaning back against a nearby wall. "Alright, you got me. Yes, it's because of Einheria and you getting into that fight. And I'm sorry, again."
"None of that was your fault. You don't have to apologize for that."
"Dating me earned you the disapproval of Edea and Einheria at the least."
"Dating you earned me the chance to be with you in a way I never thought before, Fiore." The Swordmaster walked over to him, cupping his face with a hand. He looked him in the eyes, his gaze softening. "Is it painful that others don't approve? Yes. But I…love you. And I love being with you."
DeRosa chuckled, less sad than before. One of his hands trailed down the Swordmaster's side, before resting on his hip, gaze trailing downward. "You're too good for me."
"I don't know…"
"You are. And I never thought I'd get this serious with anyone, let alone you." The Red Mage swallowed, looking him in the eyes again. "Usually when I have things like….this, I don't let them get this serious. All those things Einheria yelled about the other night? They're true."
Kamiizumi's hand on his cheek trailed to his shoulder, then to his forearm. "We can't linger in the past forever."
Silence fell between them, and DeRosa looked down at Kamiizumi's hand on him, and then pulled him into a tight embrace. Silence fell between them, and the Red Mage heard himself laugh.
"Hm?" The Swordmaster sounded confused at best. "What is it?"
"I didn't come down here to get all angsty on you." DeRosa muttered, pulling back just enough to face him properly, but he still had his arms wrapped around him. "And I'd rather lighten up this mood. I want this time to be about us and to make up for that stupid masquerade."
The Red Mage took out a remote control, clicked a button on it, and music started playing from the speakers. He grinned, winking at Kamiizumi.
"Swordmaster, shall we dance?"
Kamiizumi looked almost dumbstricken, face flushed slightly, but there was a smile on his face as he nodded once.
"I accept. Though…" He wet his lips, hesitant. "Do you mind leading again?"
"I don't mind. Just follow my lead," The Red Mage whispered as he placed a right hand on the other's back, smiling. "I know how this one goes. Okay? Just trust me."
Kamiizumi nodded, before he placed his right hand in DeRosa's left one, while resting his own left hand along the other's arm, resting it on his shoulder. Looking into DeRosa's matching grey eyes as the music swelled, his gaze flickered down to the other's lips counting silently before he started leading him through. One step, a lift of the foot, then another, Kamiizumi going backwards as Fiore moved forwards. Both of them kept their eyes on each other, though occasionally looked down to make sure they weren't stepping on each other's toes.
At first the Swordmaster knew he was a bit stiff in his movements, felt more like Fiore dragging him along to the beat. But like any good student, he did his best to keep up, feel the beat (even if the other's hands on him felt slightly distracting, but Fiore's touch always made him feel that way). Getting into the rhythm was the difficult part, but after that…well, things progressed much faster after that.
At some point, DeRosa had a hand on his hip, standing behind the other and having a spare hand intertwining with his hand, both men turning together on their heels, and Kamiizumi just let him whisk him away into the music with the following two turns.
They faced each other again, the Swordmaster laughing a little as he tried his best with mirroring the other's arms and footwork, and he saw the Red Mage smile as they both went back into holding each other again, swaying to the music.
"Tsuna?"
"Mm?"
"You're getting better."
"You too." There was a pause as DeRosa pulled Kamiizumi close, a hand on his hip, before whispering into his ear, "Can I dip you and kiss you, like you did with me?"
The Swordmaster felt his face heat up a bit at that, remembering how he did it back at the masquerade. But he, too, also wanted to make up time for what happened back then, and if that was going to help…
"Yes." Kamiizumi locked eyes with DeRosa. "Do it, love."
He thought he saw DeRosa almost blush at being called 'love,' but that was when he got dipped mid-dance, kissing.
When DeRosa finally pulled him up to straighten himself, pulling his head back just enough to breathe, Kamiizumi couldn't stop himself from smiling and kissing him again.
Maybe others didn't like them together, but the Swordmaster found himself caring less about it. This time with Fiore was now, and he would spend every moment savouring it with him.
Author note: After seeing Juan Pablo Di Pace and Cheryl Burke's Samba to "Ni Tú Ni Yo" by Jennifer Lopez feat. Gente de Zona on Season 27 (THIS CURRENT SEASON AT THE TIME OF WRITING THIS FIC) of Dancing With The Stars, I could NOT stop myself from seeing Kamiizumi and DeRosa dancing to this together. So if you want a reference for as of what I was trying to imagine the samba DeRosa and Kamiizumi were dancing together looked like, search this up on Youtube!