Ora Pattiniamo [C]

Most women were wearing shawls, jackets or fur coats over their shoulders as they mingled around the reception before the made their way down to the rink to get their seats.

It didn't seem to bother the tanned woman whose shoulders were bare. Her sleeveless red dress elegantly fell to the grown, simple in design but no less stunning. The empathise was on the cut, and how it flattered her shape.

Dick was no stranger to the looks she was getting. Like every other man, he was done up in the suit. It was one of the few things he would splash out on, to ensure it was a good cut that fit his frame and that it was made out of quality comfortable material. His hair was pulled back into his signature ponytail, with a couple of unruly curled that flattered and framed his face

Next to Giacinto, he may as well been a ghost.

"You're certainly not going to walk away without people falling on their knees tonight," he said airily. It didn't even need to be said.

How many times had he witnessed that already? Too many. It was tiring after the first.

His eyes wandered around as he tried to pick out Fleck from the crowd, or any of the Pierce family.

Giacinto's deep red eyes turned down to her companion, and a smile came to her deep red lips - a perfect match to her dress and the delicate jewels that sat on her skin.

"I'm sure I'll have one lucky girl truly on her knees tonight." Her smile was coy, but her eyes were dark and glittering with a promise she knew would make Dick uncomfortable.

Her heels clicked as they strolled past the isles of seating, towards the VIP seats.

"Is my company not good enough, or are you getting withdrawals after just a day?" she queried, descending the steps to the VIP seating, now coming level with the ice.

She walked past one couple, eyeing up the tall ginger woman, who looked back at her with the same interest.

Dick blink and distaste showed. He didn't want to know. He never ever wanted to know what she did behind closed doors.

Or, unfortunately at times, open doors.

"I'm not getting withdrawal symptoms, besides," his own eyes followed to where she was looking, "I don't think I'm the one getting bored my company," he said in the same airy tone.

His eyes turned to the man beside her and frowned. He looked familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Had he met him before?

His vision was obscured by a curvy brunette joining them, the back of her dress obscenely low. He diverted his gaze back to Giacinto.

While Dick cut his gaze away, Giacinto eyed up the new woman's back. Her tongue ran over her lower lip slowly.

"Don't take offence. You just don't fill out a dress - or my fantasies - as well as those lovely ladies do."

Her gaze eventually did turn away from the two women, and settled on the large congregation of people before her.

"Trisola, sweetheart, how are you?" she greeted, ducking to press a kiss to the stunning woman's cheek, arms wrapping around her in a light hug.

Trisola greeted her back with the same fondness, and soon Giacinto was moving along the line of family, greeting each one with affection.

Trisola reached out for Dick, gesturing for him to give her a hug.

Dick was gonna make a comment on how he was very happy to stay that way. He didn't want to be part of her fantasies or fill out that dress. But he didn't get the chance.

He smiled down warmly at Trisola, bending down to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"You look nice," he said in both politeness and sincerity.

It was still strange knowing the Giacinto knew this family for so long, and it was through coincidence that he met Fleck. The strangeness of it was only confirmed seeing her greet them all so affectionately.

"And look at you!" Trisola cupped his cheek with a weathered hand. "All handsome in your suit."

She pulled back after a moment and gestured for Dick to go down the line of family.

By the time Dick got to the end, he'd been hugged, kissed, and teased half to death.

The last on the line was Fleck, who was chatting away with Giacinto amiably.

"-spent so long fretting about his hair that I thought we would be late. I'm sure he was trying to get it just right for you," Giacinto chuckled lightly.

Dick couldn't help but feel this was some sort of purposefully made obstacle course. He cared about Fleck's family. He really did. But he also desperately wanted to see Fleck. After a day.

Was he too clingy?

Probably.

Dick frowned as he overheard the conversation. The bright smile that he going to greet Fleck with wasn't on his face. Instead, there was a frown and blush.

"We weren't going to be late. Besides, I was taking the normal amount of time to do my," his mouth went a dry, "hair."

Dick never realised how much he needed to see Fleck in a suit. Until now.

"You spend more time on your hair than most women," Fleck teased, turning his gaze to his boyfriend as he joined them.

Fleck's dark eyes trailed over his boyfriend appreciatively. Damn.

He felt a lot less hot in comparison.

His suit was black, Italian in cut, the jacket fit well around his broad shoulders, but was loose around his waist. Under the jacket was a black shirt, offset by the deep red tie, and pocket-square of the same colour folded into his breast pocket. His pants fit much better than his jacket, slim around his legs and clinging to muscular thighs.

Fleck's hair was pulled back into a high ponytail; loose, bar a few thin braids that were bundled up into the ponytail. His beard was trimmed short, now looking more like thick stubble than an actual beard. Gone, for tonight, were the piercings on his face, and most of the piercings in his ears. The only ones visible were the gauge that stretched his ear, and his reverse cartilage piercing.

A smile bloomed on Fleck's face. "You look fantastic." As he spoke, a flash of silver could be seen in his mouth. His tongue piercing was still present.

Colour flooded his cheeks as Fleck looked at him appreciatively. His own eyes wandered up and down.

He wasn't even thinking about the cut of the suit being off, or the quality of the material. He was thinking about how fine Fleck looked. Even with his shorter stubble that looked like he would scratch more, and how strange it was seeing him without his piercings. It made the flash of silver all the more noticeable.

"Great," he said, voice a little high.

What he was meant to say was "you look great".

Although "great" was a little lacklustre.

Because what he wanted to do right now was shove him in the chair, kiss his face off, and rip off the suit he was appreciating him in. That was how great Fleck looked.

Giacinto leaned over, whispering in Fleck's ear.

Fleck's eyes didn't shift off Dick as she whispered, and the two shared a private laugh, Giacinto's eyes turning to the younger Vampire as well.

Then she hugged Fleck again, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth and flouncing off back towards Trisola.

Fleck reached out, offering his hand to Dick and at the same time leaning forward to press a light kiss to his lips.

Dick saw Giacinto whisper in his ear and they shared a laugh. But his attention was sorely on Fleck. Only on Fleck. He couldn't look away.

Dick welcomed the hand and kiss eagerly. It took all his restraint not pull him forward, deepen the kiss, and tilt his hips just right.

"You should have warned me," he accused after the kiss broke, and the initial shock wore off.

"Warned you?"

Fleck blinked in shock, not know what on Earth he needed to warn Dick about. "About what?"

Had something happened?

Dick blinked, a little surprised Fleck was confused about what he had to warn him about. He was walking about like that and he didn't even realise how amazing he looked?

Sex on legs felt like the appropriate term right now.

"You should have warned me about how handsome you were going to look," he said with a flush.

Fleck gave a disbelieving half-laugh, his cheeks flushing the same as Dick's.

"I don't..." He shook his head with a grin. He leaned forward to press another kiss to Dick's lips, then pulled him to take a seat, sitting down in a chair himself.

"Miss me?"

One thing he didn't miss about wearing suit trouser suit all the time was how tight they were.

"I did, for the whole twenty-nine hours."

He grinned at Fleck. Last time they saw each other, he was whining about how long he would have to wait to see him again.

"It was weird sleeping on my own, too."

If on the occasion Fleck was working late, he would at least be surrounded by the cats still if he was staying at his. The mansion was very lonely without anyone to cuddle.

"So many hours! How did you survive?"

He reigned himself in before he could ruffle his boyfriends hair. If what Giacinto had said about it was right - and he didn't doubt it - Dick had put in a lot of effort to keep it looking neat. He didn't want to ruin that. Yet.

"You say that every time we don't sleep together."

"I almost didn't, I was collapsing on the way in, being so close to the thirty-hour mark."

He couldn't stop grinning. Happy to see his boyfriend again. His incredibly attractive boyfriend, his mind supplied.

"I know, but it's the truth. Did you enjoy sleeping by yourself?"

"Poor soul."

The question had his brows raising in shock, as if it was silly for Dick to even ask the question. "Of course I did. It was just me, Sollew and Cream. I had so much space. It was bliss."

It was rare he got to stretch and spread out on the bed, that was for sure.

"Awe, I knew you missed me."

He leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips. Playfully pretending he didn't hear Fleck's real answers.

"Don't worry, it will be back to normal tonight. We'll be sharing a bed again," he said innocently.

They will be sharing a bed and he could finally get his hands on Fleck.

Not only had he missed sleeping beside him, but he had also missed the recreational activities beforehand, and sometimes after.

"Sorry, I like having my own space too much now. You're free to sleep on the couch, though."

His brows arched in challenge, his grin stretching.

"Not that I don't enjoy watching my brother flirting, because really I do," came a sarcastic snort over Dick's shoulder. Leo leaned over. "But our brother and his idiot student have just come onto the ice. Now's the time to be quiet and watch the pretty dancing."

Leo clapped Dick on the shoulder, then leaned back in his chair.

Dick felt his whole body flush as they were called out and he silently leaned back in the chair to watch.

He spotted Chrys instantly with his blond hair. The dark hair boy must be his "idiotic student".

Dick frowned.

That was another familiar face.

Both of the skaters' costumes were tight and glimmered in the spotlight, contrasting each other. The aesthetic more on the shape and contours of their bodies as the gracefully moved around the ice as the music began.

Then it hit him.

It was him.

"That was the guy that hit on you," he hissed in a hushed tone.

Which he then rudely, as Fleck pointed out, scared off. Somehow, they then received a free bottle of ridiculously expensive champagne as an apology. So all grudges were forgiven.

"Hmm?"

Fleck's gaze turned down to his boyfriend then back to the ice.

"Hit on me? When?" Clearly he didn't remember any particular time that stood out to him. He'd admit that there'd ben a few people that had hit on him in the past couple years. Remembering one stand-alone incident wasn't something that he planned on doing.

"Pride," Dick replied.

The man that hit on Fleck and his brother came together in what looked like an embrace and started twirling and dancing with each other. He would be lying if he said it wasn't beautiful, or that he wasn't impressed.

"He was the one I was rude to," he admitted, still speaking in a hushed tone. "He also brought us a bottle of champaign. Expensive champaign."

That may or may not have been the main reason why he remembered.

It was also the reason why he couldn't really remember the rest of the night.

"Oh right! Shit, I must have been out of it to not recognise Ciro. What the fuck?"

He and Ciro weren't exactly close. Ciro tended to go to his brother's place rather than the family house and was much closer with those two, but he'd been around the family place a few times.

Clearly not enough.

Leo leaned over and shushed the two of them again.

Dick ignore Leo.

"You both must have been," he murmured. Ciro - whose name he only found out - was the one who came over to flirt.

The tall, willowy men broke apart and did things that were simultaneously impressive but also made him wince. Their bodies moved in time with the music and continued to do so when they joined back together. Both took turns to lead and lift rather than one of them taking on the role of the woman.

It was a little strange seeing two men dance so emotionally and sensually together. No, it wasn't just a little strange. It was foreign. He half expected two girls to come out on the ice to be lifted and spun.