Some alone time

The weeks following the end of the breeding season had been…unpleasant, to say the least. With a fresh new face in residence, Adagio now had to deal with the reek of blood relations in his place of comfort and, perhaps worst of all, compete for his master’s praise. Staying away from home became more desirable than vying for Marchosias’ attention, and Adagio dove head-first into his work, traveling at length around Burrowgatory to attend performances and intermingle with the alleged upper crust of wherever he was at the time. 

In the end, all of his traveling had paid off: with the Gossamer Gala drawing near, Angora had sent out invitations to the elite far and wide, and Adagio had the honor of being counted among them as a valued professional of his craft. With invitation in hand, he set out to attend the gala…but not before inviting a special someone, of course. After all, why try and drown out his child-induced misery alone with champagne when he could better enjoy himself in the company of someone he actually liked? 

In the days leading to the gala, a certain miss Basil would be delivered a letter: neat cursive on perfumed paper detailed the invite,

“Dearest Basil,

I do hope the days have been treating you kindly. I presume that a woman of your social standing will have doubtlessly received an invitation from the exalted Miss Angora already, but it would bring me great joy were you to attend the gala at my side. Please write to me at your earliest convenience. I look forward to your correspondence.

Yours,

Adagio.”

All Adagio could do then was bide his time. 

In no time at all the gala had begun, and Angora’s guests poured into her residence in a sea of finery. Adagio had dressed for the occasion, his outfit showing off the splendors of a fae spring: blue delphinium, peach roses, mini sunflowers, pink larkspur, purple waxflower, and orange and pink alstroemeria were piled high on a mini tricorne embroidered with gold, showcasing a picturesque bouquet of spring; a cape of gossamer-fine silk trailed behind him, the glittering thread upon it making it seem not unlike a magnificent pair of cicada wings ready for takeoff; and jewelry speckled with gems, the brilliant prisms of light shining off of it transient—like a fairy there and gone again in the blink of an eye.

He had parted immediately from the throngs of people, making a beeline for one of the grand towers of champagne. Adagio was in no rush to make him known to any acquaintances or colleagues; not until his intended +1 showed herself.

She didn’t have the time to reply to the letter amongst the stress of last-minute deadlines and surprise vacations her employees had decided to go on, but Basil hoped that Adagio would be forgiving.

She had to find him first, though. There were quite a few other buns who were all vying for social attention, which meant that she had to take care of a few introductions - for the sake of keeping herself in good social standing, of course. It would be rude to brush anyone who introduced themselves off for the sake of finding somebody else… even if it was her main goal tonight.

But just as she was worried she may have missed him - wondering if he left early - she spotted him enjoying the champagne. She smiled brightly at first– which she quickly tried to tone down a little. She couldn’t go around at the gala smiling like an idiot unless she wanted people to assume she was… well, an idiot!

…She’d still smile, though. She didn’t want to hide her feelings entirely.

“Adagio…! I’m so glad I found you.” She paused for a second– she felt like she should do something here, like offer her hand, but they weren’t exactly set to dance yet… so instead, she took a glass of champagne for herself to hold. “I’m so sorry I hadn’t sent a reply, I– your letter was so wonderful, so I didn’t want to send back just a simple ‘yes,’ but… everything I wrote just came out wrong.”

She laughed quietly at her own embarrassment. Her blush did match her dress, though - it was fairly plain, but it had a slight floral pattern to it. In fact, the little blue daisies weren’t just on her dress, they were on her earrings as well… it might have been simple, but there was still some thought put into it.

The sound of a familiar voice brought a warm smile to Adagio’s face, and he greeted Basil with an incline of his head as he turned to face her. As if reading her thoughts, he took her free hand in his and—much like he did the first time they met—swooped down in an elegant bow, the gentle kiss he placed upon her knuckles bringing with it the scent of spring from the flowers adorning him. The simple touch alone was enough to rid Adagio of some of the stress he had unknowingly brought with him to the gala.

“Basil, I’m delighted to see you. Worry not—your presence here is more than enough of an apology. You are forgiven,” He teased, his smile widening. “But I’m glad to know that you’ve found the letter to your liking. Perhaps I should send you more in the future.” Now that he thought about it, it would be nice to have something else to look forward to in his travels. Sending her letters full of fanciful writing, detailing the places he visited for his performances…Adagio made a mental note to surprise her with one on his next trip.

“You look lovely this evening. I take it work has been treating you well since the last time we met?”

Basil’s smile crinkled her eyes, now, as she felt Adagio’s familiar touch and heard his warm voice. She wanted to hug him - to bask in as much of this affection as she could. However… the gala wasn’t the right time for any of that. Maybe later, if she was lucky.

“Well… it at least has been uneventful,” She said, trying to laugh it off. “Business has been going as usual. I’ve had to pick up some more of the work as the gala approached… apparently everyone’s been trying to get in, even those who can only attend by trading in their labor for it!”

How interesting, really - the idea that the gala was so grand that even just getting a glimpse as a waiter was coveted among some buns. Truly, she and Adagio were lucky to be able to attend properly.

“I actually attended one of your concerts–!” She added, quickly changing the subject from her own work to Adagio’s. “I was surprised at how quickly the tickets sold… I was only able to get one of the seats far off to the side. The music was lovely, though! I wish I could have met you afterwards to tell you how much I had enjoyed it.”

“Unsurprisingly—a party hosted by none other than Angora is sure to get anyone in the know vying to attend. The allure of meeting the woman herself and finding your way into her good graces is too enticing a possibility for many.” Adagio, too, had seen how strangely some acted towards even him in their poor attempts at becoming his +1. Alas, it was all for naught; he had little interest in people who only cared about brown-nosing their way into the upper echelons of succubun society.

Adagio’s smile grew at the admittal. “Did you now? You should’ve told me! I would have gladly invited you to the afterparty, your company would have made it much more enjoyable. Next time. I’ll send you tickets with my next letter.”

It wasn’t long into their conversation before the music began to pick up in full-swing; it was time for the gala to well and truly begin, it seemed. As the guests around them began flooding the dancefloor, Adagio’s lips curled into a smile far more secretive and he plucked the champagne glass from Basil’s hands. “Well now, suddenly we find ourselves with all this free space to ourselves… While the crowds are off, how about you and I find some place quieter to continue our little talk?”

It would be their little secret—and in the throngs of partygoers, two succubun sneaking off wouldn’t be missed. ♥