Pulse

[Princess]

The ballroom seemed even more of a crush now than it had before their lengthy interlude in the gardens. The Princess's pulse still fluttered from the kiss as they headed toward the dance floor, both eager to begin.

[Princess]

[Phantom]

The kiss helped the Phantom move from the surreal feeling of talking back to the intensity of the dance floor. He led the Princess out to the floor, silently enjoying the knowledge that he could and not have to worry about getting looks, it was freeing. He pulled her close to him and started to move his feet, knowing that she would follow.

[Princess]

The Princess followed the Phantom's lead easily, thrilling at the same sense of freedom the Phantom was feeling, though perhaps for different reasons. She had told him much tonight, and through explaining things, had developed a deeper understanding herself. Still, that understanding faded into the background at the motion of the dance, at the physical freedom of it, and the still humming awareness of her partner's body.

[Phantom]

The music was faster now, and many of the other people on the dance floor were doing dances more fit for privacy than in company. But the Phantom wasn't usually one for that kind of dancing, he had tried it a few times and it just didn't fit him as well as the more, as he saw them, sophisticated dances. He led the Princess in a whirling dance, twirling her once in a while, a broad smile on his lips.

[Princess]

The Princess laughed as they circled the floor, the motion sending tendrils of hair dancing at the sides of her face. She had never felt as free as she did in this very moment, with her lover's arms around her, the world spinning around them as they moved. There was no pretense between them, no awkward silence, only the sway of two bodies perfectly matched and the silent understandings between them. She truly belonged to him, and marveled that he belonged to her.

[Phantom]

The Phantom had done the same dances with others before, but this time, with her, felt so very different. When he was younger, at other balls, he had watched couples dancing just as they were and wondered at how happy they seemed. He didn't need to wonder any more, he knew why they glowed, knew why their laughter had seemed so carefree when his own smiles had dripped with tension. His eyes danced as he watched her, sparkling at the happiness coming from her in nearly tangible waves.

[Princess]

That emotion the Princess refused to name had grown stronger throughout the course of the night, or perhaps simply less inclined to hover in the shadows where she habitually kept it. But now it glowed from her in the entirely unselfconscious curve of her lips, glittered in her gaze. She had not wanted that emotion, had shied away from it for the instinctual way she knew how easily it would expose her to painful risk. There was no denying it any longer. She had told him in the gardens that she had no regrets, and she knew now that it was true. Come what may, as her unknown pirate had told her, she had loved, and the memory, if nothing else, would always be with her.

[Phantom]

The Phantom saw the emotion flaring in her eyes, he was sure it was the same that he felt boiling up inside of him, however much he refused to admit it. He would not say the words, afraid that if he did, then he would just hurt her again, and that was something he couldn't stand to do again. He wasn't even positive what the emotion was, he just knew that he cared deeply for her. Instead, he pulled her in close, stealing a quick kiss, a short press of lips, before twirling her again, watching how her dress floated around her feet and how her hair spun out around behind her.

[Princess]

The Princess, already flushed from dancing, could only laugh breathlessly at that brief, teasing kiss and the immediate twirl that sent her unable to respond in kind. As she spun back into his arms, she purposefully misjudged the distance, and her body was sent flush against his. She chuckled, a light, somewhat husky sound, and lifted her lips to his. Her kiss was only momentarily longer than the Phantom's had been, then she glided back into position, eyes glittering.

[Phantom]

A low chuckle came from the Phantom's throat, his eyes laughing. Where had the shy girl gone? Why don't you find another that just can't get enough? she had asked him once. Perhaps, perhaps he had. He put his hands at her waist, pulling her against him again. One eyebrow raised in almost a challenge as he bent to kiss her again, would she give in to the kiss, or would she turn and continue the tease?

[Princess]

She kissed him, unable to keep up pretense a second time when she wanted the kiss so badly. The Princess held nothing back, but slipped her arms around his neck and parted her lips eagerly, as though there was no one else in the world but them. Her adrenaline was racing, her emotions high, her mind still pleasantly whirling, though her feet had slowed. She wanted him, she loved him, and nothing else mattered.

[Phantom]

The Phantom, strangely, felt more alive than he could remember ever feeling. He attributed it to the strange surreal feeling of the night, though he knew that it was more than that. He poured his heart, and the soul the interview swore he didn't have, into the kiss. His feet stopped, not caring that they were in the middle of the crowd, and he forgot the dance for the kiss.

[Princess]

The kiss, at first joyously free, had grown intense, unbelievably so. The physical and emotional welled together, overflowing into powerful need between them, leaving the Princess clinging to her Phantom as she drank in everything he would not say, and she would not demand of him. She was dizzy with it, with the emotion, the shared possession, and the sudden overwhelming knowledge that her feelings were returned, beyond simply caring. She could not have pulled away from him then, not even had she wanted to.

[Phantom]

The Phantom's hands tightened on her sides, keeping her from pulling away, though he knew that she wouldn't. The intensity made his blood rush and he was breathless. He slowed the kiss, really not caring to have the Princess pass out again on him, then stopped, looking into her eyes. "Not going to faint on me again, are you?" he teased, putting his forehead to hers.