* flamereign.
his heart beats a rapid, erratic rhythm inside his chest as terra melts into the touch and kisses back, his hands falling from around the brunette’s cheeks to hook behind his neck, tangle into the back of his jacket as terra pulls him in closer. he can’t claim much experience, the last kiss he’s shared years ago and not having been much of a kiss at all, too much bite and too much violence, but even so it doesn’t take them too long to fit themselves together in a way that makes a rush of heat race through his veins and settle in his gut.
terra whispering his name like that, breathless and wanting, causes a noise of his own to tumble from kiss-stung lips, a low hum that ends on a whimper the moment those steady fingers tug at his hair, the moment those soft lips find the edge of his jaw. his eyes blink open, dark and a little dazed and it’s only terra’s question that makes him remember they’re quite literally standing at the edge of a crowd, kissing where everyone could see.
frankly, the thought doesn’t really douse his arousal as much as it should but —- that’s probably something to unpack later. now, right now, he’s not quite ready to share this new development with the rest of the world, wants to enjoy this revelation just between the two of them.
he untangles his fingers from terra’s coat to gently press against his chest, getting some distance between them before this escalated any further, before he loses all conscious thought completely. his eyes have deepened, darkened to a bold green, cheeks flush and expression lined with a fierce joy bordering on hunger. when he moves to take terra’s hand, however, linking their fingers together, the hold is gentle. “ we could uh, go down to the docks already ‘n take a boat out on the water, “ he suggests, tone carrying a husky, breathless edge. “ no one’s gonna disturb us there, ‘long as the festival’s still ongoin’, “ or at least that’s what he hopes.
not that he’d care either way. lea really just wants to kiss terra again, now that he knows he can. that terra wants it too, just as much as he does. hearts, and to think he’s spent so much time being scared his feelings would change things for the worse —- when terra disappeared for those few days, he’d felt miserable thinking it’d been his fault for pushing too hard, for being too obvious. now he’s sure something else must’ve been the cause … but that too, is something he can find out later. “ c’mon. you want for us to uh, buy some snacks? just in case we don’t make it back for a while? “ his cheeks colour a little deeper as he says so, but there’s a smile on his lips and his thumb brushes terra’s knuckles sweetly.
ever since returning from the darkness, terra had told himself that he did not deserve good things. after everything he had done, everything he had put his loved ones and countless others through. . . he just didn't deserve good things. he had, more or less, made his peace with it. it would have been a lonely life, he thought, lonelier than his master's life had been. at least he could have said he had tried everything to keep the light from going out.
but being here in lea's arms, with lea's mouth moving against his and tasting so sweet, he was shown what the light looked like. what it tasted like and, most importantly, was shown that he, too, could have the light.
his gaze focuses on the dark hues of lea's eyes, the beautiful flush dancing across his cheeks, and it sets something ablaze within him. a desire he hasn't felt in a very long time, if at all, and he doesn't want to let go. a sense of pride follows, knowing he was the one who elicited the soft pants and noises, the blush on lea's cheeks. his hands fall from lea's hair, sliding down to his face, down his arms, before coming to rest at his waist, unable to stop himself from POUTING when some distance is put between them. even so, it lasts mere seconds before his hand is taken by lea, and he gives the other man's hand a tender squeeze.
they've held hands before, with lea leading him out of his apartment to mingle with everyone else ; coaxing him out into the world with promises of fun and laughter. many times these hands had led him to his friends, had pulled him through the dark. . . and now, they held his once more, filled with infinite promises of what could be.
"good," he answers without hesitation. he doesn't want to be disrupted, not when they finally, finally have realized that they both want the same thing. when asked about snacks, terra thinks for a moment. he wants to tug lea towards their boat and get out onto the water, away from anyone else, but knows that they may be out there for a while. a soft breath leaves him as he leans in, pressing a quick, much too quick, kiss to lea's mouth.
"wait here." pulling back, he lifts their hands to press a kiss to his knuckles before he lets his hand go to disappear back into the crowd. moments later, he reappears with a hefty bag full of snacks from various vendors, cheeks a pretty pink as he comes to a stop before lea. ". . . we might be gone a while," he explains, motioning to the bag. "i want to be. . . prepared."
ignoring the burning of his face ( and the blush rushing to the tips of his ears ), his free hand is held out for lea, ready to lead them to their boat. once there, terra steps into the boat first, putting their sack of snacks to the side before he turns to help lea into the boat.
once they're both settled, and after another kiss is stolen, he begins to row them away from the docks, further and further out where no one will, hopefully, disturb them. he hopes common sense comes to them and they realize they're out there for that very reason. locking in the oars, terra turns his attention to lea, own eyes dark and hungry and wanting ---- and he wastes no time in picking up where they left off, leaning forward to catch lea's lips in a needy kiss.
