The Deck of Destiny - A Caraval Oneshot Collection

May I Have This Dance?

Scarlett and Julian talking about some struggles being rulers + fluff

Setting: post-Finale
Inspiration: "May I have this dance?"

     The annual peace ball seemed to never end. Scarlett had been tossed around the dance room from representative to representative, and somehow hadn't had one dance with her husband. Her feet were sore, her throat was dry and her head was pounding.

     The peace ball was made so that the citizens of Valenda could celebrate and unite on the day when they were all saved from the Fates' grasps. It was also a day where everyone danced their heart out, and was an event that Scarlett and Julian were mandated to be present for, no matter how much Julian begged to skip it to just be alone.

     Scarlett felt a little nag in the centre of her stomach as Valendians began to trickle out of the palace, considering she promised Julian that she would spend as much as the night as she could with him. She glanced around the ballroom where empty trays of snacks and scuff marks of shoes left their prints everywhere, proving of the night's success. Her eyes managed to find Julian leaning behind a pillar, watching her from the distance.

Scarlett started towards him, adjusting the heavy crown on her head while she briskly walked, keeping it balanced. "Julian, I've been trying to dance with you all night! And I wanted to ask-"

"Ah, ah, ah. Stop right there," Julian interrupted her.

"What?" Scarlett asked confusedly.

"I get to ask that question."

"Julian-"

"Go up that huge ass staircase and walk down to me. I'll be waiting for you at the bottom. Pretend this is the start of the night, and it isn't two o'clock in the morning."

Scarlett wanted to protest, but from the flash of hurt in his eye and determination in his voice, she had no choice but to obey his wishes. She didn't care how sore her feet were, she wanted to make up for her broken promise.

So she climbed the grand staircase step by step, wanting nothing more than to cheer up her husband. When she reached the top, she descended them, heel clicks echoing off of the walls of the gigantic, empty room.

As she finally reached the bottom, Julian gently took her hand and kissed her knuckles, swooping down into a semi-bow.

"You look extravagantly breathtaking," Julian complimented as he stood straight again, not letting go of her hand.

Scarlett smiled. "And you look dazzlingly handsome."

"May I have this dance?" Julian asked, his amber eyes locking with her hazel ones.

Scarlett's heart melted. "You may."

She was about to bring up the fact there was no music when suddenly, piano notes floated into the air. "Is that Casper playing?"

Julian began to guide her slowly around the floor. "He was in a good mood since he found a boyfriend, so it wasn't hard to convince him to help me with a favour."

Scarlett laughed. "And when did you cash in this favour, when we were busy all night?"

"I have my sources."

She leaned into him as they swayed, feeling that prick of guilt again. "I'm sorry I didn't try harder to stick with you tonight."

"It's okay, I knew you'd be busy tonight. I had to talk with people too."

"No, it's not okay. I was so caught up in wanting to please everyone else, I forgot about the most important thing to me. You."

Julian's hand drifted to her face, his thumb brushing her lip as his eyes trained on her.

"I'm sorry that I disappointed you tonight," she whispered.

"Crimson, while I must admit, my heart deflated a little as I watched you dance with everyone else, but you could never disappoint me. I love you, and I get a little jealous from time to time, but I know at the end of the day, you love me too."

"I do," her voice cracked. "So much."

"And," Julian continued. "I know being The Empress and Emperor of The Meridian Empire can get a little overwhelming, but we'll always be there for each other. I knew what I was getting into when I proposed to the Empress."

Scarlett pressed a featherlight kiss to Julian's cheek, before covering his lips with her own. They stopped dancing and Julian's arms encased her waist, bringing her flush against him.

She poured everything she had into the kiss, their noses sliding against each other as their foreheads leaned together. Scarlett gripped anywhere on his body that she could, feeling as if she was about to be torn away from him again.

His taste, so calming and so safe, also managed to make her heart race faster than she ever thought possible.

They both refused to to let go, kissing each other for as long as they could before needing to pull apart to catch their breath. Their lips met again, more gently this time, brushing and pulling repeatedly. When they finally stopped, Julian's voice was hoarse as he spoke.

"Is that vanilla lip balm?"

Scarlett laughed, a real, deep belly laugh, her head falling into the crook of his neck. "Why, do you like the taste of it?"

"I do. Very much. But your lips always have an addictive taste."

Scarlett smiled into his neck, lazily kissing him there as a wave of fatigue hit her.

"Do you want me to carry you to our room, Crimson?"

"I think I can manage."

A bright grin spread across Julian's face. "What if I just want an excuse to hold you?"

"Then I'd say you don't need an excuse, Julian. I'm all yours, and as long as your hands are on me and you are mine, I'll be happy beyond forever and eternity."

"Forever and eternity?" Julian scooped her up, her dress hanging down all the way to the floor.

"Forever and eternity," Scarlett confirmed, dropping both his and her crowns to the floor, letting herself just be a girl, and he just a boy, as he ran down the corridors with her in his arms.