𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐳 — 𝒘𝒐𝒆𝒊𝒄𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒄🕯️
summary: of all the lavish and luxurious places he's been to, charity galas, high-ranking government officials' parties, and elegant ballrooms in hotels around the world, there was no place that compared to this little corner in paris.
characters: chase devineaux, carmen sandiego
word count: 800+
tw: none
author's note: this is part of a compilation of one-shots for carchase, every chapter is based on a month prompt, you can check the prompt list here and read it in the ao3 archive! this chapter was inspired on a fic i read a long time ago by @kaellecappuccino i blame her beautiful writing for make me love this ship so baddd
note two: hi there again, this is the first chapter for january and the yotp challenge, there's more to come, i will try to complete the chapters per month (update: lol nope but you'll have them soon). so that's it, happy reading! ^^
January prompt: may I have this dance with you?
Of all the lavish and luxurious places he's been to, charity galas, high-ranking government officials' parties, and elegant ballrooms in hotels around the world, there was no place that compared to this little corner in Paris.
Even if it wasn't the biggest or most exclusive apartment in the city, none of those pretentious spaces were as special as this room, perfect for two.
For as long as he could remember, he'd never felt comfortable being the center of attention or socializing with people on a night of champagne, events of that caliber usually accompanied a specialized invitation for him —and a plea from the Chief and Mr. Weller to make an appearance and relax a little bit. He didn't understand how it was so easy for her to float among guests and shine in dazzling discretion.
He still remembers the many times she made an almost divine appearance to make his evenings more interesting; she liked to keep him on guard, strutting in brilliant shades of scarlet and crimson. Among a sea of men and women, the expensive fabrics of boutique dresses and long wool-covered pieces revealed a particular lady who walked away from him, inviting him with a challenging and amused look to get lost with her for the rest of the party.
And then he follows her. A soft smile replaces the stone mask that encloses his heart, letting her take it in her hands and take care for it for a while.
The world is so small and insignificant when she is in front of him, eclipsing everything with a soft smile he would kill to preserve.
It is when the music absorbs them that they can leave that part of their lives behind and connect in a more intimate way, reserved for moments like this. He offers her his hand and she takes it without hesitation, leading them towards the dance floor crowded with couples.
The soft beat slowly fades into a new song, the lights from the chandeliers are bright and blinding, breaking into colorful shards on the ceiling and descending to paint the marble floors with their tones, everything here is ostentatious and banal, enough to make him want to look at her again.
Losing sight of her would be relatively easy, after all, she is a woman who tends to disappear as suddenly as she appears.
He delicately raises her gloved hand and twirls it, the fabric of her dress rise beautifully, creating a silk mist around her before he pulls her closer to him again. When his eyes follow her he is slightly surprised to see that she is looking at him too and for a moment the world stops.
A whole decade with her, the same woman from those parties, dancing with him in the best place of all, their home.
Even if those ornate buildings were to disappear one day (not by her he hopes) he wouldn't care; She doesn't even need to wear a ball gown to make his heart leap with excitement. Being able to see her, being able to touch her and have her in front of him is enough to be in awe.
Just them, just him and her sharing a dance tonight, protected from the world and seeing Paris from the windows of their building. Right now, nothing else matters.
Her hand reaches out to him for his and he lets his fingers intertwine with hers, ready to lose himself in this eternal dream, in a night of music by her side.
He spins her around once more, as he has done so many times before, and she gracefully follows his steps, waves of her hair float in motion until she falls back into his arms. Her bare hands caress his cheek, cradling his face on her forehead; he can feel the warmth of her skin melting the cold and bringing him down to earth. He feels his knees shake with each step, just wishing the song would never end.
His arms tighten around her, still not stopping to spin. There is such a pure freedom between these walls bathed in the amber light of the lamps, one that he has never felt before. Everything seems to vibrate to the rhythm of the music as they both slowly sway. He realized too late that he never asked her the question formally.
"I'm sorry for not asking this before but... may I have this dance with you, Carmen?"
A new song started and she gave him a smile before answering. "Always and forever" Chase felt his body melt into hers in a hug and let her head rest on his shoulder as he held her, pressing his lips on her forehead to dance once more.
In this apartment, in this living room... with this wonderful woman, is where he wants to be.