[ TUG ]: the sender tugs the receiver close against them by resting a hand against the small of their back, pulling them flush against their body. / ikki and darcy please 🥺🥺💖
& RE : closed prompt / @dangaer.
OH , THE MEMORIES THAT PAINT THIS SCENE , CARRY HIS movements as he steps with rhythmic coordination across the open village grounds. Drums ring in the air as the White Rabbit’s hand finds the palm of one of the fae amidst the circle of festivity, fingers curling into their own briefly only as the two of them spin. From partner to partner does he step, in time with the music that plays around them, uncharacteristic and carefree, dancing in time with their hands. The fae villages, yet untouched by the war waged at Red Queen’s hands, were places of innocence, frozen in time. One would never think, looking ‘pon this vision of the Wonderland of old, that danger ever lay beyond these borders, nor least of all that the rabbit, in all his paranoid grandeur, had ever suffered more than a night’s sleep loss at behest of his own lateness.
Even still does Darcy White ever seek the attentions of his beloved, catching the eye of Ikki himself picked out from the crowd gathered ‘round those who danced in the middle. Mid-turn does he stumble, catching balance just well enough to prevent falling to the ground, though his movements pause as he regains strength spent, refusing now to look away.
“Alice,” he murmurs his title between caught breaths, eyes widening in a show of rather blatant anticipation. So rare, for a man so tragic to exhibit such unabashed happiness. And yet he cannot stop himself, breaking from the fae who dance around him in favor of marching up to the very man he yearns for, eye contact unbroken. There are eyes upon them, giggles of mischievous fae who had never seen the White Rabbit so blatantly smitten, cold and calculative as he oft was. He did not care, rushing forward to take Ikki’s clapping hands into his own. “Come with me.” His request is breathless, but he does not wait for a response as he pulls him forward, stumbling backwards into the circle with his attention now solely focused to one intended partner.
Lively is the pace at which he pulls him to dance, hands raised above heads in turns to spin ‘pon the beat, hands grasping at one-another’s hips and reaching to relocate each other’s palms. He laughs at the clumsiness of it all, as he narrowly dodges stepping on his partner’s feet, so uncoordinated when all he has ever known was ballroom, and yet so deeply in love quite the same. His hair falls from his ribbon, obscuring his face ‘side from those times he moves, and for once, Darcy’s bruised hands grip his with such strength yet do not ache. All the pieces fall into place : memories of dancing with a soul so warm, so loving, not him, but he all the same. Alice, Ikki, his most cherished friend, his most beloved soulmate. Only he could dishevel him so : disarm him, even, in such a bold and genuine display of warmth.
Even still, after some time spent dancing with him, he slows their steps, using his hold on his hands to pull him into the same standstill. Every bit a mess, Darcy stares at him, catching his breath as he squeezes his hands and reaches up to pull the loosened red ribbon from what remains tied within it. Before his hair can fall down, he’s gathered it all back up, tying off a messy but tight and uncharacteristically careless knot at the back of it to keep it from his face once more. His ponytail rests strangely high for him, the ribbon ‘round his neck equally askew, just as out of place as the happy smile that adorns his face, or perhaps the monocle now dangling off his lapel. When he catches Ikki’s eyes again, he blurts out a bashful laugh, fingers trembling as they drag down his own neck from back to front. The sudden flush ‘pon his face is easy enough to dismiss as exertion from dancing, but it had not appeared until he looked at him.
“Oh, don’t look at me. I’m so embarrassing,” he whispers, voice nearly lost as they stand in the middle of the fae who now dance around them, now lost too far in their own reverie to give a care for the White Rabbit and his darling Alice among them. His embarrassment is met with Ikki stepping forward to close the space between them, an act that alone causes the rabbit to startle, ears perking up straight. He doesn’t move, of course, simply remains caught in Ikki’s eyes as the other man’s arm loops around his waist. This time, his palm presses to his rabbit’s back, insistent upon ensuring there is no space left at all. Pulled against his chest, Darcy sputters, not a single thought given to Ikki’s other hand that reaches for the nape of his neck. He should not be caught off guard when he is pulled flush towards him, eyes closing in a shy panic, but he is.
Both on instinct and desire not to fall forward against him, Darcy’s arms wrap ‘round his waist, bracing himself as he’s tugged forward, Alice’s lips pressed ‘pon his own shortly after. There they stand with one-another : forgetting where they are, lost in the track of time. Around them, the fae seem to freeze in a sudden halt, all music and sounds of merriment falling deathly silent. Against Ikki’s chest, the clock hidden in the rabbit’s heart ticks to a crawl, then a complete stop. They linger in that moment, stood alone together in that fraction of time, as the villainous White Rabbit melts ‘neath the love of Wonderland’s precious savior. Then, slowly, the world around them begins to move again, in time with the reignited ticks of Darcy’s heart. Music pours back into the scenery, leaving him awed as Alice pulls away from his lips, though not far enough to reinstate that distance.
The rabbit does not waste a moment, searching his eyes for an answer as he parts his lips, desperate to say something, but all that can be expressed is the desperation and adoration that filter through his expression when he finally gives up on speaking. The world returns to proper time, but even still, Darcy falls before him, enveloping him, too, in his own arms as he now leans down to press his face against Ikki’s neck. “Ikki,” now he addresses him properly, spoken quietly in a setting loud enough to mask his voice. The embrace of his beloved tightens, holding him there now, and he lets out a shuddering breath he had not known he’d been holding. “Don’t let me go.”
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