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The atmosphere in the ballroom is warm, complimented by the hundreds of bodies wandering around the edges of the hall. The crowds are parted in the center, Dancing Lights in paper lanterns hanging low over the guests of honor in the first dance of the evening. The leader of Tz’arrm, Saleek, dances with his half-elf partner. Bryn leads Big, teaching him to waltz along with the orc orchestra’s magically projected music. The third couple is Jon and Bella, their chests pressed close together. They swing in time with the violin, having lost the beat of the waltz moments ago.
Bella looks up into Jon’s eyes, his face close enough to see the faded scars scattered across his skin. He glances past her for a moment before speaking softly. “You look really nice tonight.”
She blushes in reply, her neck and checks burning bright red. “Thank you. You, too. You look nice, too.”
For a moment, time slows. The lights above reflect in their eyes as their swaying comes to a stop. The murmuring of the crowds fade until the only ones left are them. Two soldiers, clinging to each other in a brief respite from their daily battles; two lovers, opening themselves up to give one another their most vulnerable parts. Jon leans down and kisses Bella.
The party had always made fun of their pairing: forcing them to take nightly watches together, letting them sit next to each other on long trips, and cat calling as she takes him to bed after a long night of drinking, despite the innocence of her actions. The two had become something of a joke. Although they longed for each other in the darkest parts of the night and when the battles became too tough to endure, they’d held fast. Something stopped the two from coming together and transforming love into lovers. Yet, as their lips press together and time and hearts rush to catch up, it’s as if every action before now had dedicated itself to leading up to this. Every battle scar and awful childhood memory, every prolonged glance and awkward moment. It all led directly to this.
Jon can hear Delp’s excited cheer from the edge of the ballroom and he smiles into the kiss. His friends, and now his lover, are all here to celebrate the successes and losses to come. Despite the distance from his home – the multiverses and hundreds of thousands of coins needed to cross them – he feels a little more hope than usual. As the two part, Bella smiles at him. Her blush had neglected to fade with the kiss, and the two lovers laugh with the glee of true love’s first moment. For now, everything feels right.