Candlelight, Baccano!, Firo/Ennis
Title: Candlelight Author/Artist: shiegra Rating: R Prompt: March 1: - Baccano!, Firo/Ennis: physical responses - a human body is more than a tool A/N: I made some somewhat last minute requests and our busy mod hasn't gotten back to me, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to post something. Also, I feel it is not what I wanted to come out but...I only had a day and I hope this is better than nothing.
The first time he kissed her it was in the small room she'd appropriated, warm and dim in the evening, a candle burning on the dresser. She stumbled backward in surprise and her knees hit the bed, landing her sitting squarely on the comforter staring up at him in astonishment.
"Ah, I'm sorry." He said, a crooked, sheepish smile tipping up the corners of his mouth. "I didn't mean to startle you."
Ennis lifted a hand to her tingling mouth, startled, and then gave him a questioning look. "What are you...?"
He blinked at her. "Ennis..." When he touched her cheek, she felt the calluses of a fighter, but the touch itself was tender, like he was handling something unbearably fragile. "I wanted to kiss you." He said simply. "So I did."
She touched her mouth again and shook her head slowly.
He let his hand fall away. "I apologize if I--"
"No." She said suddenly, surprising herself. "Don't apologize. I was not--you didn't--I didn't mind."
His eyes were wide when he looked down at her, and he waited in patient silence. "If you didn't mind," he finally said, utterly polite, "may I do it again?"
She nodded, brief and wordless.
He caught her hands and drew her up again; this time when he kissed her she didn't jerk back. It was very soft, but they were pressed together, and one of his hands curled gently at the small of her back and pulled her closer, jolting a soft sound from her throat. She felt too warm, heat prickling at her belly, and her hands settled on his arms and clenched restlessly.
His tongue touched her closed lips, and she parted them after a startled second. When he deepened the kiss his grip on her tightened almost involuntarily, bringing them closer together, and Ennis responded, warmth fully suffusing her limbs.
When he pulled back his eyes were wide and dark, the pupils dilated. His fingers touched her mouth very gently. "Firo-san--" She began, not relinquishing her grip.
"You're more than a tool." He said intensely, and the words stuttered to silence in her throat. "Let me show you."
"I--" She glanced helplessly at the candle, the bed, his face. His grip on her had loosened again, giving her freedom. Her pulse was fast and hard in her throat; she could almost feel it, and she could feel his hands on her like a burning imprint through her clothes. His breath ghosted over her skin.
"Yes." She whispered against his mouth, and he leaned in to kiss her again, tugging her toward him. Pressed up against his body, she lost track of motion a little, as he kissed her with delicate skill, his mouth sure and wet on hers. Ennis broke away to gasp for breath and found herself on the bed, the suit jacket discarded and her shirt half unbuttoned; his hands traced over long lines of muscle, the curve of her shoulder and slope of her neck. She breathed deeply and lifted one of her own hands, flattening it against his collarbone. His eyes were wide and dark and fascinated, and there were only traces of that mild, unassuming smile left, twisted to something a little hungrier and bright with fascination.
"So strong." He said softly, and lifted her arm to kiss the inside of her elbow, her shoulder, and then down over the curve of her breast. Her breath caught and he rose for her mouth again, spilling them both back against the mattress, his fingertips tracing scorching lines along her skin.
So alien to everything she'd ever known--the reverence in his touch, the silky heat of his mouth and his hands on her--Ennis pushed her own hands under his clothing, seeking warm skin and feeling jumping muscles beneath it as he gasped, spine arching into her touch. "Beautiful." He told her, almost laughing against her mouth, and his hands slid over her thighs and between and she gasped, arching, and her voice rose into a clear sharp cry, shuddering against his hands.
His mouth was between her breasts, on her stomach, and then she was biting down on her lip and then the pillow to stifle a scream, and drowning in liquid heat. His hands burned against her skin.
Firo, she thought dizzily, and it when the flashfire-heat faded, it was fitting that like a phoenix, it was into his hands she was reborn.