Work Text:
"We could just use our hoods-"
"No can do; there's wanted posters in there, too, and these ones have more detailed descriptions then the ones of Gollapolis." Sylvando announced, striding out of the entrance of Octagonia.
Eleven frowned in concern at the news - though it has been a week since they've left Gondola, they already had wanted posters here? - while Erik crossed his arms. "Well, how else are we supposed to get in? Unless we have some disguises on hand…"
Eleven could admit to being a little concerned when Veronica shared a rather conspiratorial look with Sylvando, and Serena just offered her warmest smile. "Leave that to us!"
0o0o0
"Are you going to take all day? Come out already!" Veronica demanded.
Erik watched in interest - and amusement, especially since El's reaction to getting 'dolled up' as Sylvando put it was adorable - as Eleven's hand stuck out from behind the rock, holding up a finger before disappearing.
Sylvando’s hand also appeared for a second, flapping at them. “Hold on, darlings; beauty takes time!”
Veronica heaved a sigh, but just sat down on the nearest rock.
A hand gently tapping his back brought his attention, and he glanced at Serena whose face was of far more concentration than the task deserves, Erik thought.
Adjusting something over his shoulder, she stepped back with a warm smile. “There, all finished!”
Erik looked down, raising an eyebrow once again as he lifted his gloved hands. He had no idea where El found it - the Luminary had just given him sad puppy eyes and he had caved before getting a solid answer; yes he knew he was weak, shut up, Ronnie - but it looked eerily similar to what he once wore a very long while ago. The all black fur-lined clothes, leather gloves, boots, and all, and… he wasn’t sure what to think.
There were too many memories tied to them, and he wasn’t sure many - if any - of them were really good.
He looked up, to see Veronica eyeing his outfit with a critical eye before giving a firm nod, which he supposed was as much approval as he was going to get from her.
Still, he would rather not be in something that made him feel a little stuck in a past he'd rather forget.
Before he could speak up and change into something else, a gasp had him looking to the side.
Sylvando grinned brightly, clapping hands once. "My, but you do look handsome, honey!"
"Thanks," Erik drily replied with an amused smirk at Sylv's endless theatrics, a remark at the ready, but immediately tripped over his own tongue when his eyes landed on the figure trying - and failing - to hide behind Sylv.
Sylv's voice turned distinctly amused and mischievous. “I’m not the only one who thinks so; isn’t he devilishly handsome, Ellie dear?” Sylvando stepped to the side, revealing El who seemed to tense at having his hiding place exposed.
As soon as Erik landed eyes on the now fidgeting, nervous and shy Luminary, any thoughts about his own outfit were immediately forgotten.
"Of course, Ellie here is absolutely sweet and precious, won't you agree?" Sylv's words gained a lightly teasing tone, something else to his words, but Erik could barely spare them much thought, though he did quietly agree with the statement.
When Serena had returned from a shopping trip in Gallipolis, happily presenting the dancer costume, it was just about unanimously agreed with the group that she wasn’t allowed to wear it in public; for how exposing it was, and it would definitely bring her the wrong kind of attention. But they had relented in letting her keep it; her sad puppy eyes were almost on par with El’s.
That had been that, as far as Erik was concerned, and had forgotten all about it as they readied for the Sand National.
Now, looking at Eleven wearing that same costume… well.
The same feeling he’d been trying to push down around his best friend returned in full force, and he had to clench his fists to not reach out and unhook the newly added veil covering the lower half of his face, to not bury his hand in his prettily pinned back hair and run a hand down his exposed side, to not pull him into his arms and protect him in every way possible.
It took about all of his willpower to not move closer and simply touch.
Those bright, precious blue eyes glanced up at him, his heart seeming to flip as stupid as that sounds, seeming to take his whole outfit in, before abruptly averting, somehow seeming to become even more shy. Erik raised an eyebrow when he noticed how his ears and upper cheeks were turning a pretty pink.
A part of him - the same one that existed in the place that feeling did - wondered if that was from embarrassment of his own outfit or something else from Erik’s.
Erik promptly told that part of him to shut up, it wasn’t helping his already low resolve.
Even still, he found himself naturally relaxing into an open, confident stance, crossing his arms and tilting his head with a smirk.
Was he showing off? Yes.
Was it working? He wasn’t sure, as that was a pretty loaded question he was trying to ignore the implications of, but that same part thrilled when El seemed to blush even darker, eyes stealing glances from him, and Erik felt pretty victorious.
“You look so pretty, Eleven!” Serena’s voice cut in, bringing his attention back to the world that wasn’t just the still blushing Luminary.
Eleven glanced at her, and even with the veil Erik knew he was giving that small smile he got whenever someone he cared about complimented him, eyes brightening and warming in such an enthralling way.
‘Thank you’, he nervously signed with one hand, the other determinedly wrapped around his exposed waist.
Erik quickly deduced that Sylv was evil to add that alluring veil.
That thought was quickly followed by him being exasperated with himself to be in such extreme levels of pining, just from El dressing up as he was.
“Alright, since you're both ready, let’s get going,” Veronica piped up, stepping out behind the bush she had changed into her own outfit.
Erik took one look before snorting, a wide smirk crossing his face. “Nice costume, Ronnie; ready for that grade school dress up contest?” He snarked, deeply amused; it didn’t escape his notice that El seemed to relax at having the attention diverted from him, but something - disappointment? No, it couldn’t be… could it? - crossed his eyes before falling back to neutral,
“Shut up, dog boy,” she sniped back, adjusting the hood shaped like a cat's head, matching the cat pajama-like costume.
“We should get going if we want to get there before nightfall,” Serena cut in, stepping out in her own polka-dotted dress.
“Oh, you look lovely, honey!” Sylv piped up, admiring Serena’s dress. El nodded in agreement, signing a cheery ‘very pretty’, eyes smiling.
Serena smiled at both of them. “Thank you, Sylvando, Eleven; and I have to say your outfit is very nice as well.” she added, turning to Sylv.
Sylv waved a hand in faux flattery, coyly winking. “Oh, this old thing? Well, I just had to dress up as you all are, wouldn’t want to miss the fun, now would we?” He sing-songed, pulling at the cuffs of his overly bright aqua tunic. If nothing else, Erik had to admit he dressed up well.
El stepped forward, seeming to admire his outfit. ‘Very suave, very handsome,’ he sincerely signed, smiling up at him.
As Sylv proceeded to gush about ‘how sweet and just as lovely’ El was, Erik felt something… not so nice as before curl up in his abdomen.
He knew jealousy when he felt it, but immediately shook it off; there was no point to the emotion - it was just El being El and Sylv being Sylv, that’s all - but even still, he crossed his arms, turning away from the compliment battle that appeared to be taking place before walking past Veronica, ignoring the questioning look she gave him.
“Alright, everyone looks great and all that, we should really get going,” he cut in, turning back to them and raising an eyebrow as he waited for anyone to protest; they really should get moving if they wanted to make it before nightfall.
And if his eyes lingered on El as he adjusted his sword and pack straps, well… he was just looking out for his partner if he needed help, is all.
Ignoring the rather pointed looks both Sylv and Veronica were giving him, he turned, leading them down the path to Octagonia.
He immediately recognized when El fell into step with him, and he glanced at him out of the corner of his eye.
El gave him that hidden eye-smile, cheeks still delightfully pink. ‘You look very handsome and cool wearing that,’ he signed almost shyly.
And just like that, the ugly feeling faded away. By Yggdrasil, Erik was hopeless.
Coughing, rubbing his hand behind his head, he turned his attention back down the path, hoping his face wasn’t as red as it felt. “Thanks… and, uh, you look good in that, too.”
Another glance revealed El ducking his head down, face and ears back to a bright, endearing red. ‘Thank you.’ The sign was somehow even more shy.
If Erik felt a surge of something close to satisfaction swell in his chest, well, it was just his business.
The long, long walk to Octagonia, though broken up by bouts of skirmishes with the monsters in the area, was alternated between trying to ignore El - to save his sanity - without appearing like he was ignoring him, and many, many teasing remarks from the others in the group, specifically a certain jester and sorceress.
He was man enough to admit he very much failed in trying to ignore El; watching him blush and fidget under attention was far too captivating, and utterly adorable, his mind tacked on without his permission.
Then as night just began to fall, they made it to the far too cave-like city, hoping to relax a bit now that some of the attention was turned away from his unfortunately obvious attraction to the thankfully oblivious Luminary.
As they made their way towards the tournament desks, he then quickly realized that no, he could not relax here.
If watching El interact with the group - specifically Sylv - made something ugly curl a little in the pit of his stomach, then consistently watching strangers approach the increasingly flustered and anxious Luminary brought the feeling to a raging boil, no matter how much he and the group tried to keep him close and keep them away.
The feeling came to head while they waited in line to join the MMA.
“What’s a sweet, pretty thing like you doing here?” A silken, rough and drunk voice immediately caught Erik’s attention from where he had been amusedly watching Veronica argue with one of the attendants about being ‘too young to enter’.
The feeling - possessive and protective both, and not one Erik wanted to ever look too closely at - came back in full force when he glanced over, and saw El all but with his back against a pillar, one of the muscleheads in line leaning over him.
More than that, he saw how El had his hands up in minor defense, shaking his head in a clear ‘no’ that the idiot obviously ignored, panicked blue eyes glancing around before they finally met Erik’s, all but pleading for help.
“How about you and I head to the inn; I’ll treat you nice, real nice-”
Erik hadn’t even known he had moved until he shoved the guy to the side, immediately stepping between them.
“The answer was obviously ‘no’; how about you back off before I make you?” He all but growled, staring him down.
The idiot narrowed his eyes down at Erik, as if he was not a threat. “You make me? You and what army?”
His hands were all but aching to bring out his knives.
The only reason he didn’t were the hands anxiously gripping the back of his cape.
Now, Erik was under no illusions that Eleven could take the guy down, easy.
But he also knew the Luminary was far too kind and forgiving to ever lay a hand on someone for supposedly ‘no reason’, at least in his own mind and where himself was concerned.
Erik wasn’t. But he’d try for his partner, his best friend.
Before he could think of something to get the drunken asshole gone that didn’t end in blood - and thus El’s disapproval, something he tried to avoid where he could at all possible - thankfully the others chose that moment to make an appearance.
“I would listen to him if I were you,” Sylv sing-songed, but the tone was sharp and his eyes were blazing with something fiercely protective that Erik empathized wholly with. “We wouldn’t want to cause a scene and ruin your reputation now, hm?” He grinned, all teeth.
Erik felt his level of respect grow for the others as Veronica nodded in firm agreement, scowling the idiot down, and Serena stood back, face hardened in a way that was rare for the normally serene mage.
The guy looked between all of them, and despite their hodgepodge of outfits, took the smart move and just grumbled, stalking away.
Sighing heavily, Erik forcibly forgot about said asshole and turned to the one he did care about - and perhaps a bit too much - feeling just a small loss when his cape was quickly let go.
"You alright, El?" He asked, gentling his voice as he turned to his partner.
"Yes, are you alright, Ellie dear?" Sylv asked, concerned, as both Veronica and Serena gave him worried looks.
Eleven just nodded, straightening and appearing calm and relaxed. Erik immediately could tell he definitely wasn't. 'I'm fine, thank you for the help.'
Erik looked over El's shoulder and shared a look with the others. Right.
Thankfully, Sylv was very good at distractions.
"Come now, honey, let's get you signed up so we can head to the Inn for a good meal and a nice bed; oh but I do so miss my bed on the ship when we're out exploring…" Sylvando rambled, herding the compliant Luminary back in line, Erik following silently behind.
He glanced over when Serena passed, nodding when she whispered that she and Veronica would get their rooms saved, before turning his gaze right back to their leader.
El was now at the front desk, carefully looking over the papers, and Erik resolved to keep a more careful eye on him, to make sure the same mistake doesn't happen again.
When it was Erik's turn, he simply signed where he needed without much of a glance over the rest of the forms, just done with everything and wanting El somewhere not so exposed.
Eleven gave him a glance when he quickly matched stride, eyes crinkling in that way Erik knew he was giving that soft smile before turning back ahead.
Erik had to fold his arms tight to keep from reaching over and tucking his Luminary against his side.
His resolve drastically weakened when El moved to walk just a bit closer next to him, brushing against him as they went.
He determinedly ignored Sylvando's wide smirk and knowing eyes.
It was only when they were back at the Inn and both he and El were safely ensconced in their shared room that Erik let out a breath, finally feeling safe to relax.
Except then he turned and was presented with Eleven, still in his dancer costume, staring up at Erik with wide, blue eyes.
Erik stopped, taking him in - he looked far too good in that outfit, he swore - but looked away when El started fidgeting, face hot as he told himself firmly that he wouldn't do anything to make Eleven uncomfortable.
"I'll head to the bathroom if you want to change here, unless you want to shower first, either way." Erik said with a forcibly casual half-shrug, tension thrumming through him as he gathered his sleep clothes.
And then a gentle hand on his back stopped him in his tracks.
Glancing over his shoulder, El was standing almost right behind him, seeming to study his face for a side second.
Before Erik could gather the words to ask what he needed, he froze when El suddenly lent forward and, through the sheer, thin cloth covering his mouth, pressed a kiss on his cheek.
Erik only watched, wide eyed, as El's eyes squinted around a smile even as a bright red blush bled across the visible skin of his face, and then the Luminary abruptly turned, walking over to his bed and gathering his stuff.
It was about then that Erik's brain kicked back into gear and that yes, that did in fact just happen, he didn't just dream it.
And that he should do something about it now that he was freely given what he wanted.
He may have given up on it as he traveled with his Luminary, but he had been raised as a pirate and a thief, and he was no fool to turn down what was freely given.
Taking the few determined strides, he gently grabbed El's arm and turned him, took in a glance of surprised blue eyes and pink cheeks, and gently unhooked the veil, pausing to brush soft brown hair back behind his ear, delighting when the brush turned darker.
And unable to hold it anymore, he slowly leaned in, not parting eyes as he looked for any sort of sign that El didn't want this.
Though his eyes were shy in meeting his, El leaned forward just a small amount, and that was enough for Erik.
Erik had done his fair share of kissing before, but kissing El, his Luminary, wasn't anything like that.
A soft brush of lips, El hesitantly copying Erik, but then Erik nudged El's face just a little, and they clicked like nothing else.
Erik kept it chaste by sheer will, satiating his need to be closer by gently tightening the arm wrapped around his waist, sinking his other hand in soft, silken hair, El's hands squeezing his shoulders in response.
Slowing it down, he reluctantly pulled away, but only enough to rest his forehead against Eleven's.
They met eyes, and Erik watched as a bright, beautiful smile spread across El's face, eyes shining.
Erik felt his mouth tick up, gently brushing some errant strands from El's face.
He wasn't good with words, never had been.
When El removed his hands, Erik leaned back just enough to watch him sign. 'I… I wasn't expecting that.'
Erik smirked at the fumbling signs. "But it was something you liked, right?" He said it jokingly, but was watching critically for his reaction; this was one thing he wouldn't let slide if Eleven lied.
To Erik's relief and delight, Eleven blushed deeply, eyes shyly glancing away, a small smile etching his face. 'I liked it. A lot.'
Feeling more confident, Erik gave El a slow, appreciative look, lightly plucking the puffy sleeves. “Well, I definitely like this outfit a lot,” he paused, fondly watching as El fidgeted, ducking his head against his chest. He only continued when El peeked up, unable to keep from smiling at his partner.
“You gonna wear it when I take you on a date?” He teased, chuckling as El scrunched up his nose in faux-irritance, eyes sparkling like nothing Erik had seen.
‘Only if you wear your costume,’ El signed, eyes glinting with mischief. He hesitated for a moment, ears burning bright, and shyly peeked at him. “You look very handsome,” he quietly muttered.
Erik perked up, tightening his grip; El rarely ever spoke, and only in private.
“Oh, is that so?” Erik smirked, feeling smug and fond and a squishy warmth in his chest he couldn’t quite name, not yet. “Well, my beautiful Luminary,” he said, enjoying the blush that again spread across El’s face; how easy it was for El to blush would never not be something he enjoyed. He leaned in closer, lips brushing soft skin, taking in those fluttering eyelashes and crystal blue orbs, “I’ll wear it whenever you desire.”
The soft hum through their kiss was more than enough of an answer.
(Later, Erik may or may not have regretted giving El so much power; Erik did, in fact, wear the Wolf’s gear, but vetoed it when El tried to get him to wear it at Gallipolis.
It’s just too damn hot… But he did get El to wear the Dancer costume again. Take and give and all that.)