"Heh, sorry, I'm not really... much of a dancer, Rals."

The girl spoke honestly, moving with an anxious inexperience that could only be found at high school promenades. It was plenty difficult enough for her to get a proper dress; harder still was finding one that she could sneak the "special occasion" bottle into; and hardest yet was stepping around in those damn heels that were apparently inseparable from the dress. Though, finding ones that were compatible with her talons was probably its own challenge, too.

"Haha, it's okay, Susie," her partner assured her. Ralsei stepped as best as he could, trying to ignore the handful of equally inexperienced teenagers around him while simultaneously looking for some kind of guidance in their own awkward steps. He'd wanted to dance with Susie, not only to get "the full prom experience" as Kris had put it, but also just because it seemed like a fun enough thing for them to do. Not that Ralsei wasn't enjoying his time with Susie, either, though he definitely wasn't that capable when it came to dancing in such a foreign environment. "I-I don't really dance much, myself..."

"Really?" Susie snorted out skeptically. She was in a similar boat, though the added prospect of being so much taller than Ralsei added one last layer of challenge that she didn't currently feel like appreciating. "You're doin' a helluva good job there for not being a dancer. Least, better than me. I'm the one steppin' on your toes, and all. Stupid fricken' heels..."

Ralsei shrugged, his hands still clinging up to the girl's shoulders. It was the best way he could accommodate Susie's height that didn't involve directly touching the bare midriff her dress had given her. Ralsei's willingness to touch Susie's abdomen was the explicit reason he didn't allow himself to, ironically enough. "It's okay, Susie. And, I don't have toes, remember? It's just the shoes."

"Oh, yeah, right." Susie looked to the dim ceiling above them, thinking. "How does that work, anyways? Never thought about it."

Ralsei similarly contemplated, glancing towards his footwear. "I'm... not sure, actually." Ironically, putting his gaze towards his feet rather than his partner resulted in a gracious misstep, and the goat stumbled in place for a few panicked seconds. He regained his balance well enough, though the resulting blush was far less expedient to dissipate.

"A-ah, sorry, Susie!" he apologized. "I-I'm just a little, um... nervous."

Susie, feeling similar enough, relaxed her grasp a tad. Her features softened as she tilted her head curiously. She was so busy with her own anxieties about ineptitude that she hadn't considered Ralsei was also capable of being nervous. Usually he was the confident one, exemplified in no small part by the formal suit he wore. "Why's that?" Susie asked, much quieter than before.

An anxious chuckle floated from Ralsei's lips. "Hah, well... I-I..."

After two words and a stutter, Ralsei fell quiet, eyes darting to the side. Susie didn't intend to look so interrogative, what with her taller stature and more defined physique, though she guessed she wasn't making Ralsei feel at ease much. As if to solidify that fact, Ralsei spoke again, nearly whispering. "...I-I guess it's just... intimidating...?"

The girl's face fell at the word, her insecurities compounding within seconds. Seeing her reaction forced Ralsei to speak again within the same handful of seconds. "B-but it's not you! Well, not in how that sounded. I promise, Susie, you're- it's not you're fault you're so beautiful!"

Again, Susie's features were thrown to the other end of the spectrum, broadening tenfold at the last word Ralsei uttered. "What?" she sputtered out, barely even able to keep up with the two and a half steps their lackluster dance consisted of. Her face reddened considerably as the compliment registered. Mimicking her, Ralsei's own cheeks flared into a bright pink.

"I-I mean," the prince tried explaining, his tongue tied tighter than his suit's tie. Whatever words came to mind weren't the kind of things that he could readily admit to, but no other options could be found. "I just mean, Susie, that... you're very pretty, tonight especially, a-and I don't want to be rude by, um, staring, or... getting distracted, but... I-I can't help it. I'm sorry."

Susie stared dumbstruck at the boy, eyebrows still peaked like flags on Mt. Everest. Her face hadn't cooled since Ralsei first blurted out about her supposed "beauty." It was hard for her not to look anywhere other than his anxious features. It was even harder not to just say "What?" again in continued confusion. The next best thing still left her mouth.

"Really?" Susie asked, leaning in a tad closer than she meant to. She was far too flattered to care about how hopeful she probably sounded. "You... you think I'm pretty, Ralsei?"

Ralsei looked like he wanted to adjust the collar of his suit, though his hands stayed around Susie's shoulders in that delicate grasp Susie already committed to memory. "Well," he started timidly, looking away again. "...of course. B-because, you are very pretty."

A few seconds passed as the two continued their ambient dancing, putting the movements in the back of their mind. Slowly but surely, a grin pulled at the corner of Susie's lips. Ralsei's shyness told her enough, regardless of how appealing she always found his blush. "Aw," she heard herself say, still quiet. "You really think I'm pretty, don't you?"

Confused by the question, Ralsei glanced back to Susie again. "Um, yes," he confirmed again. Then another thought crossed his mind, and he turned to face Susie better, if only for honesty's sake. "Not just tonight, I mean. You look fantastic tonight- obviously- but you're a very... comely woman."

Susie's grin graduated into a smirk, accompanied by a few fruitful chuckles. "'Obviously,' he says," she muttered to herself, laughing at how Ralsei treated her prettiness like fact. Then a few more hoarse laughs pierced the soft music they danced to. "'Comely woman?' Where the hell did you pick that one up, Casanova?"

Ralsei's blush intensified, nearly reaching the length of his ears. "...I-I read it in a book, once..." he said to himself, looking towards the ground again.

Susie couldn't suppress another laugh if she tried. She didn't try, but still. After a few more giggles, she allowed herself to move in closer, her yellow teeth glinting in the glow around them. Ralsei noted her approach, adjusting his arms a tad better to accommodate her, though had some difficulty in adjusting his feet.

"Well," Susie spoke, eyelids falling like feathers. Even her freckles felt like they were smiling, warm as the coziness in her heart. "Thank you, Ralsei. That... means a lot to me."

Though Ralsei's blush didn't go anywhere, he did look back to Susie's features, some of his embarrassment transforming into an honest appreciation. Moving just those handful of inches closer let Susie appreciate the prince's own kind of comeliness that much more. Warmed by the boy before her, she let herself speak honestly (though not necessarily easily).

"A-and, uh..." she started again sheepishly. "I ain't just saying this, but... I think you're real pretty, too."

While Susie hadn't said it so fact-like as Ralsei had talked of her supposed comeliness, the two knew each other well enough for Ralsei to hear a similar degree of honesty in Susie's tone. His shock at the unexpected compliment was palpable, lengthening his blush's lifespan considerably. This time, it was accompanied by a far easier smile.

"Thank you, Susie," he granted. "That's very kind of you to say."

Susie had to laugh at his phrasing, though not for the usual sarcastic reasoning that she would've used weeks ago. "Yeah," she started, chuckling a little. "I can't take all the credit, though. Picked it up from you, Rals."

Hearing his nickname was a pleasant enough surprise for Ralsei's smile to widen. Unconsciously, he moved a little closer, stepping more carefully around his taller partner. "I'd like to think we worked together," he joked. There was a quiet laugh in his voice; the kind that Susie had long since grown to love. "We're a team, after all."

Susie shook her head, her brunette ponytail swaying with the motion. "'Course," she joked back with a shrug. Another few inches were lost as she moved closer still, puling Ralsei towards her without any hint of resistance. Somehow, they managed to still have space on the floor for their quiet movements. "We're a team."

Ralsei's eyelids grew heavy as he looked into Susie's eyes, a unique fuzziness permeating his chest. While he wasn't sure what the feeling might've been, he knew enough to understand how much he liked the feeling. Loved it, even. Susie claws tightened a little around Ralsei's midriff, and he leaned in closer still.

"We're a team..." Susie repeated, her husky voice the quietest it's ever been. One of her hands left Ralsei's side, gliding over his suit like a scaled feather all the way up to his chin. After a moment's hesitation, she risked a cautious grasp under Ralsei's chin, thumbing it in contemplation. The fuzziness in Ralsei's chest intensified. Susie spoke slowly, each word a confession in its own right. "You're always there for me, you know that, Rals?"

Ralsei swayed in Susie's grasp, leaning into the warmth of her hand. His own words were like dandelions on the wind, soft and honest as his features. "There's nowhere else I'd rather be, Susie."

Another small laugh fell from Susie, though not at all derisive or skeptical. More comforted than that. "And you're always so nice, too..." she said, hand still on Ralsei's chin. "Not just kind, but... nice to be around. Comfy, y'know? And not just 'cause of the fur."

Ralsei giggled again, just as lovable as before. In response, Susie stepped even closer to Ralsei, holding her best friend like he was the most important thing in the world, because he was. "You're so... cute, too, and pretty, and nice, and..."

Susie fell to silence, her snout getting closer to Ralsei's with each passing second without even thinking about it. Ralsei gravitated closer just as automatically, the boy's snout being tickled by Susie's breath. Time stood still. Then, Susie felt her lips press themselves against Ralsei's, soft and serene. He met her mouth comfortably, leaning into the warmth she offered with open arms. His arms moved themselves over her shoulders, even going so far as to lean on his shoes to reach Susie's height better. They didn't know how long the bliss lasted; after what felt like an eternity, they broke away, still close enough to feel each other's breaths.

Like drifting leaves, Ralsei's eyes moved to Susie's, the emeralds shining brightly with a newfound excitement. Susie's mixture of bewilderment and awe was a sight to behold. She looked over Ralsei's white fur, his pink cheeks, his round glasses, and saw something more than just her teammate or best friend. A few more words left her lips, whispers only someone as close as Ralsei could hear.

"I love you, Rals."

The softness of Ralsei's smile said more than any wideness could've, every part of the prince overflowing with a newfound coziness. Being held in Susie's arms, enveloping in the warmth of her lips, merely being this close to her... it all filled him with an undeniable comfort that he'd never felt before. He leaned in close again, his snout reaching hers for another kiss, just as caring as before. They broke apart again, only so Ralsei could voice the fuzziness radiating through him.

"I love you too, Susie."