Notes: Before I forget, I made an illustration for this fanfic! It shows a scene from Chapter 3 of Rhythm of Happiness, and it's something I submitted for Reigisa Week on Tumblr (which is partly why these extras were late orz). My friend ButterfliesAndPenguins also made some lovely art for Chapter 5 (Thank you so much! x3) The links are on my profile, so if you're interested please go check it out! :)
03. Object of Affection
Time Setting: Hazuki Nagisa, age 17/Ryuugazaki Rei, age 24
When news got out that they were no longer wed, there was much talk throughout the palace for a while. But once they began courting, it was only a matter of time before Rei and Nagisa gained a reputation throughout the palace as 'those fools in love'. And there were many reasons why. One of them was jealousy—or more so, how each of them dealt with it.
After all, it was not on just a few occasions that Rei had to stand back and watch the men and women of the court aim mesmerized glances at Nagisa as the boy danced on the floor of the audience hall with his sisters. Of course, Rei himself never failed to be mesmerized by the beauty, both of Nagisa himself and his dance. But as a royal guard, he had his duties—his eyes had to keep wandering around the hall at all times—
During which he ended up seeing the audience's enraptured faces. Some of them being younger—and older—men whose gazes skirted Nagisa's form up and down, with poorly concealed desire in their eyes. And although the rational part of Rei told him that casually jabbing each and every one of them in the ribs with his bayonet as he patrolled the hall was not the right way to deal with the flares of irritation in his stomach, that didn't stop him from throwing a few glares here and there—mostly aimed at the guards under his command, who quickly averted their eyes with guilt. A few tight-lipped smiles might have been directed at some of the court nobles, who also gulped and looked the other way—because many of them knew Rei was not General of the Royal Army for nothing.
What he didn't realize was that Nagisa noticed these warning looks of Rei's—the blonde looked as though he was concentrating on his dance, but oftentimes his gaze searched for his lover in the crowd. It didn't take him long to figure out why Rei was glaring, and it made Nagisa's heart dance and the smile on his face widen. Sometimes Rei would break one of his glares and turn his eyes away to coincidentally meet Nagisa's, and these times the brunet would flush and look away in embarrassment, as if he feared that his lover saw right through him. Truth be told, Nagisa loved it—loved the fact that Rei was jealous and that he himself was able to notice it now. He had been oblivious to it before they confessed to each other, but now—he delighted in the perks of knowing his feelings were returned by Rei, loved that they were courting now.
And he had no problem with letting the whole palace know. On the fifth night that he caught Rei intimidating the court with his expressions, he did something that became somewhat of a tradition for the both of them.
"Rei!" It was immediately after the dancers' performance that Nagisa wound his way over to the guard. Startled, Rei felt a blush creep into his cheeks as the boy neared him.
"Nagisa?" Usually, the blonde bowed and left the hall with the other dancers to change, before returning to the banquet. As some curious eyes in the hall followed him, Nagisa stopped before Rei and looped his arms around the man's neck, a playful smile on his lips.
Before Rei could even register what was going on, the boy went on tiptoe and gently pressed his lips to Rei's. In front of everyone. It was not long before the guard's face erupted into flames, the flush quickly traveling down his neck as well. Breaking contact after a good ten seconds, Nagisa released his arms and stepped back, rocking on his heels casually with a wide smile and rosy cheeks.
"See you later!" With a light laugh, he was weaving his way through the crowd once more, this time headed for the dancers' dressing rooms—leaving behind a beet-red, gaping Rei. As he heard the courtesans start to whisper—with some of them casting the guard envious looks—his brain processed what had just happened, and his ears turned an even darker shade of red.
Afterwards, they had a talk, in Rei's words, about 'the proper extent of affection to be shown in public'. After compromising, Nagisa would come to Rei after his dances and kiss his lover on the cheek instead. And while he still felt somewhat embarrassed, Rei did not try to stop the boy from thereon. When they had been courting for a while, the brunet even leaned down first to kiss Nagisa on the forehead sometimes—despite the fact that his ears still turned a nice pink under the eyes of the court. And Nagisa certainly had no protests against that, none at all. Eventually even the court got used to it, and the scene became like one of daily life.
And after all, it was not on just a few occasions that Nagisa caught sight of courtesans trying to flirt with Rei. They were not so bold about it during public events like the Sultan's balls, but in daily life they would pop up in the palace hallways and start chatting with Rei, throwing him compliments while batting their eyes, barely trying to keep a polite distance from the guard. This would happen now and then, especially during the times that Nagisa went to visit Rei during his breaks from duty. Because he didn't want to seem childish or do something to ruin Rei's reputation, he initially tried to be mature about the situation and let it pass. After all, Rei had chosen him, loved him over everyone else, and Nagisa wanted to trust the man he loved.
On one such occasion, however, when a particularly persistent gaggle of courtesans had Rei closely surrounded, with one of them actually brushing their fingertips across his shoulder, Nagisa decided he'd seen enough. Emerging from between the columns behind Rei, he put a bright smile on his face as he casually barged in on the conversation. Wrapping his arms around Rei's and casually leaning on the slightly flustered guard's shoulder, the blonde chirped,
"Hello, there! May I join in on the conversation?" As most of the courtesans stiffened, one of them blinked her light turquoise eyes in genuine confusion.
"Excuse me? Just who might you be, sir?" At this question Rei and Nagisa exchanged looks—it seemed as if the courtesan was new to the palace. Next to her, one of the courtesans nudged her in the waist with poor discretion.
"Shh—be quiet, cousin—" Before the lady could finish her warning, however, a bright voice cut in.
"I'm Hazuki Nagisa, Rei's fiancé! It's a pleasure to meet you!" As he heard Rei's breath catch, Nagisa made sure his smile was extra sparkly—his hold around Rei's arm tightening. As the courtesans stared in bewilderment at the pair, the brunet fought the urge to gawk at Nagisa, his cheeks heating as he rapidly tried to figure out how to react. Eventually, he composed himself enough to smile at the courtesans, albeit with a still-red face.
"We are courting, miss," he said—the look in his eyes softening. Nagisa's eyes widened when he felt Rei's arm wrap around his waist and tug him closer. "We have yet to become engaged—but I would gladly be his fiancé in the future, if he would have me." And now it was Nagisa's turn to flush—as the blonde's cheeks turned scarlet to match Rei's, the courtesans seemed to visibly deflate before them—all except the girl with turquoise eyes, who actually seemed to sparkle as she smiled back at the couple.
"That's just lovely! You make quite the picture together!" she piped back enthusiastically, surprising the couple. Before she could say more, however, her cousin pinched her in the arm, silencing her.
"We will be excusing ourselves then, General Ryuugazaki—and Hazuki-sama." Bowing stiffly, the courtesans quickly shuffled away, dragging their cousin along with them.
"What in the world were you blabbing back at them for, Cousin? You humiliate us!"
"But they do go well together! Just because you have your eye on the General—and you said he wasn't seeing anyone!" As the gaggle of courtesans furthered away, it was Rei who cleared his throat first.
"Nagisa—" Ears still red, the brunet attempted to take on a scolding tone as he turned towards Nagisa and released his waist. "Why—"
"You would?" The blonde's small voice made Rei's stick in his throat. "You'll become my fiancé?" For a moment, Rei gaped slightly at Nagisa, his mouth opening and shutting wordlessly. Face slightly pink, he eventually turned his face the other way in embarrassment.
"Why would you ask that, come now?" His voice was soft. The calloused hand that took Nagisa's was warm, its hold gentle yet firm. "The answer is obvious. You are still young—and it may take some time before I ask you—but if you will have me…" As he trailed off, a flustered silence fell between them for some time.
This was ridiculous. They had been married before, even if it had been a temporary one for appearances—there was no reason for either of them to be so…
He was snapped out of his thoughts when Nagisa tugged him by the hand behind a pillar and kissed him.
"I wouldn't have anyone else." Rei barely caught Nagisa's murmur before the boy stepped back with a soft smile on his face. "I'm sure of it." Still feeling flustered, the boy turned on his heel and scampered away—leaving Rei to gape like a fish out of water for a few seconds before turning a brilliant shade of red. Slumping to the bottom of the column, he buried his face in his hand, ears quickly changing color to match his face.
So there may have been a few palace servants who witnessed the whole scene. And spread some gossip. And maybe that was why the pair ended up with the reputation they did. But maybe more of the fault lay on Nagisa, who continued to 'politely' join Rei's conversations with the courtesans by sidling up to Rei. And maybe it was also Rei's fault, for wrapping an arm around Nagisa each time to tug him closer.
It was only a matter of time before Rei and Nagisa gained a reputation throughout the palace as 'those fools in love'. And while there had initially been talk about their marriage annulment, it was quickly replaced with the question of why they did not just stay married in the first place.
Not that either of them were exactly unhappy with the turn of events. Not at all.
End Notes: Guess who the girl with turquoise eyes was? :D To the next story~!
