Title: Moonlight Waltz
Ship: Jenna/Muriel [Self Insert/Canon]
Word Count: 2259
Summary: Jenna receives an invitation from Nadia for Vesuvia’s masquerade. She wants nothing more than to bring Muriel with her. Convincing Muriel, though, will be harder than she thought, especially with his confession that he doesn’t know how to dance.
A/N: A commission for @aoi-hina of her and Muriel! It was super fun to write, dancing is always such a time ;u;
Vesuvia’s warm summer days and nights were perfect for celebrations. The long standing tradition of them as a whole permeated the very fiber of the country’s bieng, some of those memories good and others terrifying in their sense. Nadia had hoped to bring about their return in a slow, communal way. Invitation only for certain events, building up and testing out various styles of partying and adventures until they could somehow create the perfect blend of what once was and what could be. It was a delicate situation, one that Nadia brought Jenna over to recount constantly over tea and sweets. A magician by trade, politics did not come as easy to her as her normal subjects did, so Jenna contented herself with nodding and throwing her ideas in when she thought they might be useful.
Which was why it surprised her when two invitations were passed delicately from the countesses fingertips to her own, golden paper signed and inlaid with the wax seal of the court in glittering bronze powder. Nadia smiled, her lips knowing but discreet, as she admired the look of awed confusion on her friend’s face.
“What are these fo-”
“Invitations,” Nadia waved off the question with a hum, “For you and anyone you might feel like celebrating the night with. It will be Vesuvia’s first public masquerade in...well, quite a while as you know. Though the invitations themselves are a mere formality for some of our more higher up guests, I figured you may enjoy them for sentimental reasons.”
Jenna smiled at Nadia, the papers held on her chest and blossoming with warmth, as if the sheets themselves were on fire with the care her close friend had put into them. Nadia was engulfed in a hug before she knew it, eyes wide before they faded warmly into a laugh and she returned the hug. “Thank-you,” Jenna hummed as she separated from Nadia with a grin, “I promise to bring my boyfriend...and make sure that we are the finest dressed in the party.”
“After me, of course,” Nadia snorted teasingly.
“Of course,” Jenna giggled, “After you.”
---
“No.”
“Muriel come on.”
“I’m not going.”
Jenna pouted as she paused in walking, watching Muriel move forward as if he didn’t notice she had stopped. The two had been on a nightly walk through the woods that Muriel fondly called home, a tradition built to give them equal times to talk and to enjoy the natural scenery of the world around them. While Jenna adored the city as a whole, the forest itself was something so unique and magical in its power she felt drawn to it almost by a natural instinct.
Right now, however, it felt suffocating as she realized the uphill battle she would have to fight to get the man before her to go anywhere near the city. Muriel, for all of his sweetness and strength, always had difficulties going into the area with anything but anxiety and skepticism. After what they had done to him, of course, Jenna could understand why. To be forced back into a place where you felt nothing but bad habits rising in the pit of your stomach was less than ideal for almost anyone.
But Vesuvia was different now. They were all different now, the world changed with every day and night cycle and thus they did too. To keep going was to keep growing. Jenna lead herself forward with that mantra in mind, hurrying after Muriel with a light gate to her steps. Muriel had paused in his own movements, hulking form obvious in the center of the forest as he waited for her to catch up with him, never truly being able to leave her alone. His green eyes held her form in their line of vision with the utmost attention. The fear of losing Jenna had strained long into his every day habits, from watching her like this in the woods to making sure she woke up in the mornings, kissing her awake or gently pushing her hair back from her face to make room for her vision…
Muriel’s face went red at the thoughts, soon disrupted to when she caught up to him and gave his chest the gentlest of taps. Looking down was met with a pout, eyes holding his with a warmth that saturated his bones and made him feel loved...and amused all at the same time. Reaching out, he didn’t stop his large hand from touching at her hair, ruffling it as softly as he could.
“You look like a lost puppy when you pout like that.” He noted.
“I wouldn’t be pouting if you agreed to come with me.” Jenna retorted with a sigh, tilting her head into his touch and shutting her eyes, “It’s an important event...Even Asra’s going to be there!”
Muriel frowned again, averting his eyes as he watched the forest grow consumed by the late night hours. Fireflies had begun to make their way out of their bushes, the lights of their abdomens flickering and dancing in the grassy knolls around them. Somewhere in the distance, the sound of an owl echoed against the treetops while the flowers all curled themselves away from the world in favor of sleep.
He loved this forest….He loved it more than most people or things in this world. Given the choice, he would live there...He would protect it forever.
His eyes then settled on Jenna, whose on shown with a soft hope for him. A soft love that radiated brighter than any sun he had experienced in the past. From the way her hair fell in her face to the way her eyes shone in the light of the fireflies that had begun to comfortably dance around them, to the kindness she treated him with and the love passed between their lips when they kissed…
He knew he loved her more.
“...Fine,” Muriel gave in with a deep sigh of momentary regret, “I’ll...go with you, I guess. It’s just….”
“Just…?” Jenna urged on with a small smile, unable to hide the excitement and curiosity commingling in the center of her stomach as Muriel slowly agreed to take on the adventure with her in Vesuvia. Muriel swallowed, shuffling his feet as he brushed back some of his own hair, the warmth on his face as he slowly opened his mouth to admit the situation that stopped him primarily:
“There’s dancing...and stuff at those balls right? On floors with people and...they watch you and others….”
“Yes.”
“Um...I don’t know how to dance.”
The admittance was sheepish but humble in its own way, Muriel’s chest heaving slightly as the words fell from his lips, grateful to have it off of his chest but worried about the reaction it may receive. Perhaps she would change her mind and choose to take someone else who COULD dance in the proper manner for a court appearance? Asra was good at dancing, he was sure of it, and she would rather spend time with her former master than him anyways...Muriel felt the dejected landscape of anxiety beat relentlessly at his temples, causing him to shrink back slightly. An odd sight for such a massive man, but, it was stopped quickly when a hand rested on his face.
Jenna felt the roughness of his beard as she held Muriel’s cheek, rubbing her thumb over near his lips as she smiled fondly at him.
“Is that all you’re worried about?”
“No, but, it is the main thing.”
She laughed at this, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Muriel’s lips. She had to stand on the tips of her toes to reach them, straining from their height difference enough that Muriel chose to lean down to ease her stretching, kissing her back with all of the care he could muster into that one point in their bodies. She felt safe to him, a home he could hide away against and a scent that brought immediate comfort as he was enveloped in it.
“Don’t worry about that,” Jenna grinned, “I can teach you how to dance.”
Muriel raised an eyebrow at the statement, the gut-feeling that she wasn’t actually aware of just how little he knew about dancing to suggest such a thing. The face didn’t go unnoticed, Jenna shooting him one of her own in retaliation as they watched one another with deadpan curiosity for a few moments. Eventually she gave in, laughter bubbling up in her throat and bursting forth, a colorful array that startled the fireflies around them and echoed against the treetops.
Jenna decided then was the best time to move. Standing up straight, she took a deep breath and clapped her hands together, a smile forming on her lips as she gazed up at Muriel, now straight as well and eyeing her curiously.
“Let’s start then.”
“Wh-What?”
“You heard me,” Jenna smiled as she approached the other, reaching out to touch his shoulder and wrap an arm around the area, taking a breath before daringly scooping one of his hands in hers and placing it on her waist. She watched as Muriel’s face grew a bright shade of red, his eyes wide as he looked at the position they had put them in. A traditional (at least what he assumed was a ‘traditional’) sort of waltz position, with him assuming that of leading and her the follower as they prepared for the impromptu lesson.
“It’s quicker to do it now and be ready, don’t you think?” Jenna hummed as she took a deep breath, “You’ll do great, Muriel...Just follow my lead, okay?”
There was a pause as he considered the situation for a moment, lip falling between his teeth as he bit it in concentration. Time passed, but, after a moment he finally gave a soft nod of approval, allowing her to continue with the instructions she had been planning on giving.
“Okay, it’s simple.” She murmured, “One foot forward while mine goes back, okay?”
He nodded and followed the instruction, stepping a foot forward while that foot on her went backwards. They stepped back as a result.
“Good, now, side and then I go back, okay?”
A side step. A step back where his foot followed hers. They stepped together in the patterns Jenna called out, Muriel tripping on occasion and her stepping on his foot when he didn’t move it in time, but, they were brushed off with bouts of laughter and soft hums of acceptance towards his huffed out ‘sorries’.
Practice after practice, however, he seemed to get the hang of it. They lost themselves in the darkness of the night, stars obfuscated by the endless tops of the trees but made up for by the lights of the fireflies surrounding them. They twinkled and flickered, making it feel as though they were dancing alone in space. Muriel’s hand had grown warm in her grip as they moved to hold onto one another’s, using them to lead and move the dance according to the tune Jenna had long since started humming under her breath. Nonsensical and mellow, it provided the only backdrop to their movements as they twirled around the forest.
Muriel’s lips twitched up in a smile as they moved, the entirety of the situation feeling natural. Being with the woman he loved, in the location he loved...dancing under the light of the creatures who he had felt the closest to...He closed his eyes a moment to imagine being in the castle of Vesuvia, mask over his face as he moved to music played by actual instruments. They crescendoed in his mind as he moved, spinning Jenna in his arms and making her gasp in surprise at the sudden movements he had created for them both.
She spun out, the world glowing with dizziness before she was spun back in, laughter now bubbling instead of shock. The end of it had the small of her back in Muriel’s palm as he dipped her, low and careful, to the ground. Jenna felt her hair fall back, Muriel’s face lean close to hers as they finished their moment of dance practice, his strands of black hair tickling her face.
“That was good,” She gasped, breathless, “For...a beginner.”
Muriel chuckled, slowly lifting her back up but keeping his hands on her form, as if he was afraid she would still fall over at any minute. Jenna sighed and went to hug him, her arms wrapping around his frame as she brought him into the warmth of her body, the both of their chests heaving with the aftermath of physical activity.
“There’s...something else at the end,” Muriel protested softly as he averted his eyes, “Isn’t there?”
Jenna tilted her head, eyebrows knitting as she tried to think about something they could possibly be missing in this night, in this practice.
“I’m supposed to do this…”
With that, Muriel cupped her cheek in his strong hand, bringing her close again to share a passionate kiss, warm and sweet in the embrace he held onto her with. The both of them stood like that, their lips locked as he poured the passion that he could managed into the moment. To show her how much she meant to him. To show her how much he loved her...To show her everything and anything all at once.
Fireflies faded as the soft hints of sunrise began to peak over the horizon, their lesson over but their adventure?
Oh it had only just begun.
