Location: Dorm
Skills: N/A
Days before the Dance
Dorian sat at his desk, a pile of crumpled up papers stacked in a lazy pyramid that spilled out from over his wastebin. The sound of crunching paper could be heard as he tossed another wad towards the pile and jostled a few of the others free as they cascaded down the trail and spilled under his bed. His pen clattered against the desk as he scrunched up his hair in frustration and groaned so loud he was sure Percy could hear him from the other side of the wall. He planted his face between his arms as he rested his head against the desk, mumbling to himself.
"Why is t'is so 'ard? We're already datin' it should be easy!" He knew he liked all that old fashioned stuff, having written him a letter the day of the Contest even though they were on the same team.
Dorian looked at his phone, and instantly panicked for a moment. He'd almost forgotten to send his dad a message. He quickly sent him a text, giving him warm wishes and telling him about what had happened at school so far. He didn't tell him about Percy, certain both him and Appa would come barging in demanding to talk or something. A part of him wondered if he could just text Percy instead, but knew that wouldn't be received the same way. So, for the umpteenth time, Dorian took pen to paper, using his calligraphy pen to write out a letter asking Percy to the dance. Something that would make even Jane Austen proud. Once he finished he let the ink dry for a moment, texting Percy quickly as he threw himself onto his bed with a wide grin.
"Think we can hang at yours in a bit? ;p "Percy actually wasnât in his dorm room at all. He was in the library, browsing the stacks as he tried to find the book he needed for a report for one of his classes. So far, he had found about ten different books that interested him, but not yet the correct one. It seemed to have been misplaced. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, intending to double check the information he had jotted down, only to see that he had a text from his boyfriend.
Dear Dorian, certainly we can. I am at the library, I will return shortly. Regards, Percy.Dorian's eyes lit up as he noticed the response from Percy. He wanted to shoot out of bed and go rushing towards the Library, but his ink hadn't fully settled and dried yet. He threw his head back onto his pillow with a groan.
"uuuugh. How did people do t'is back t'en? It would take forever just to finish a conversation." He waited a moment longer, scrolling social media and liking images Sabine had posted during the week before finally getting up to check on the paper. Finally. He folded the note in thirds, sealing it with wax and thr AA crest before placing it in-between a book and shoving it in his backpack.
"đĽ°đĽ°đĽ° Can't wait. Just let me know when. đť"Percy didnât feel any sense of a rush to leave the library. So rather than abandoning his stack of books and then running, Percy walked up to the self-checkout and began scanning them all out, one by one. He then adjusted his bag and put the books away as neatly as he could, the zipper bulging as he struggled to close it. It was rather hefty, definitely enough to qualify as a weapon. Maybe he could consider using books instead of an ax next audition season, but he wouldnât want to damage the books.
If there was an alternative career path Percy had ever given some deep consideration to, it was probably becoming an archivist.
About twenty minutes or so later, Percy returned to Stark Hall, emerging from the elevator on the sixth floor. He made his way down the hallway, and paused at this doorway, unlocking it. Once inside, he carefully put all of his books away and sat down at his desk, pulling out his phone.
Dorian, I have returned. Please come over at your convenience. Yours, Percy.Dorian was more literal than usual. When he'd said he couldn't wait, he'd meant he couldn't wait. All the anxious energy had begun to build up inside of him, pacing across the room and back as he frantically worried about how Percy would receive the letter. What's more, what if he said no? What if he didn't want to go with him to the Monster Mash? He was certain he would've burned a hole straight into the carpet if he kept up his pacing any longer. He wanted to open the letter back up, read it and then read it again, to scrutinize what it was he'd said and make sure it was perfect. But it was too late now. It was sealed and he didn't have time to make a new one.
Every minute felt like an hour. Time ticked so slowly he began to wonder if Percy was taking his message literally. Twice he'd checked the clock thinking surely thirty minutes had passed, only to find out it had only been two minutes top. Finally after what felt like an eternity he got a reply from Percy. No sooner did he see the message preview than he'd bolted out his dorm door and slammed it behind him. All that could be heard in the hallway were two loud thuds. One of his door slamming closed and another as Dorian slipped across the waxed floors of Stark Hall and went face first into a wall as in his rush he'd only kept his socks on.
Dorian laid there for a moment before picking himself back up, and limping slightly over to Percy's door slowly before knocking on it.
"Trick R Treat." He said with a slight groan to his voice as his leg began to feel sore from the collision.
Percy heard the loud thumps, and his heart sank. He paused for a moment, hoping that he wouldnât hear Dorianâs voice - that it was some other idiot that had made the sounds, probably running into a wall or something. But then, there was a slow knock at his door, and he could hear his boyfriendâs voice. It was his idiot after all. Percy sighed, getting up from the desk and opening the door, looking at Dorian with a look of somewhat fond exasperation.
âShould I ask?â he prompted, before stepping aside for Dorian to come in. Once Dorian was inside, Percy grabbed the first aid kit his roommate kept.
âSit,â he then asked, intending to look Dorian over and patch up any scrapes.
Dorian smiled weakly at Percy. Even when exasperated by him, Percy still looked absolutely adorable, kissable, huggable. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as he walked in, laughing it all off.
"I'm fine, just forgot t'ey were waxin' t'e floors today and went runnin' out in socks. It's no biggie mon cĹur." He sat down on Percy's bed, looking him head to toe before finally matching his gaze again and raising an eyebrow.
"But if you insist it was my leg t'at got 'urt. So unless you want to take my pants offâŚ"Percy raised an eyebrow at Dorian. His boyfriend was much more explicit than he was - Percy had been called a prude before and he did not necessarily disagree with the label.
âPerhaps not,â he said, before taking a seat down at his desk and looking at Dorian.
âIf youâre well enough to make jokes like that, then you donât need me to examine your leg anyways,â he reasoned. He then narrowed his eyes slightly, like a chess master examining the board.
âSo, what is it you wanted to do?âDorian held his hands up to his chest in surrender. His patented smile plastered on his face as he laughed at Percy's scrutinizing eyes.
"Not t'at I swear. I uhâŚI wanted to give you somet'in." He pulled out the note from the book in which it was being pressed in, holding it out towards Percy with both hands. The tea stained paper half limp in his grip. He hadn't stopped his toothy smile the whole time. Hoping his charm would help to butter him up for a simple yes to his question. Though, of course, Dorian wouldn't mind it if Percy showed more enthusiasm for it than a simple yes. After all, Halloween was his favorite holiday.
Percy hadnât been expecting Dorian to hand him a piece of paper - and especially not one that wasnât a school essay that Dorian needed help with.
âHuhâŚâ Percy mumbled, turning the paper over curiously and he began to read.
Dorian watched Percy intently as he began to read his letter. He tried not to make it obvious, as he could practically feel Percy wanting to peer over the edge of the paper to tell him that he's staring if he did. But he couldn't help it. In the past days he'd spent his time reading and re-reading the works of Jane Austen. Trying to capture the essence of how it was that she coupled relationships together and how the characters were capable of expressing their feelings in so many words that one had to peer between them to get the true meaning of it. And so that was what he'd set out to do. He and Percy were already dating, but it didn't mean he couldn't express himself to his boyfriend.
Dorian wrote several paragraphs in such a way as to mimic the very essence of the characters of her books. Expressing his feelings for Percy, as well as his love for the holiday and how much it would mean to him if they could go together to such an event. He even went so far as to offer to talk to the committee putting the dance together to see if they could add in a ghostly waltz for them to dance to if that was more his style of dance.
Percy was naturally a quick reader - his eyes tended to sprint across the page. But as soon as the meaning of the letter became clear to him, he slowed down. He wanted to savor these words, as he read them for the first time. Dorian had put a lot of work into it - it was sweet and endearing, and Percy wanted to honor that. He had never particularly been into Jane Austen - he wasnât much of a romance reader, preferring a good mystery instead - but he was moved by it. He read the letter a second time, before his eyes flickered to Dorian, a blush across his face.
âIâd love to go with you, Mr. Gray,â Percy said softly, taking Dorianâs hand and kissing it.
Dorian's eyes lit up. His heart raced as Percy lifted his hand and kissed it. He'd no idea how to keep up the pretense of Austen's writings in person, he knew he hadn't had that kind of nerve. So instead he opted to do things his way. As soon as Percy's lips left his hand, Dorian gripped his tight and pulled him closer till he toppled over him. He wrapped his arms around Percy tightly, squeezing him into a big hug as he placed dozens of kisses across his cheek and neck.
"T'ank you t'ank you t'ank you t'ank you t'ank you! Aaaaaaahhh I'm so excited! We 'ave to t'ink of costumes like now! Oh we all 'ave t'is idea for a group t'ing each of us as a character from a very queer show! Oh oh you could join in! Or uh do your own t'ing if you're not into group t'ings or want to keep us still a bit hush hush aside from t'ose already in t'e know ya know? And oh am I ramblin'?"Percy could barely breathe, as Dorian squeezed the life out of him (affectionately). Dating Dorian had gotten him used to more and more physical contact, although the wrinkles put into his clothes were somewhat of a tragedy. It wasnât too long before he had been thrown to the ground, Dorian on top of him, kissing him everywhere as Percy laughed, closing his eyes reflexively.
âYouâre crazy,â Percy whispered.
â...Uh, whatâs the show?â he then asked. He wasnât against costumes necessarily - but he did have standards.
"She-Ra and t'e Princessess of Power!" Dorian answered enthusiastically as he drew an invisible sword.
"It's all planned out! We 'ave Beanie as She-Ra duh, cuz she literally 'as a sword like 'ers, Danni will be Double Trouble, I'm t'e lovable Sea'awk, a dashin' pirate who evades danger wit' ease by settin' 'is boats ablaze! Leah I t'ink was doin' Scorpia, and April 'as been torn between two for a bit but I t'ink I know which way she'll lean. Oh! And Sea'awk is sorta datin' a princess wit' your same demeanor and t'ey love mystery novels and are super cool! So you could totes be 'er!"He considered it. He wasnât opposed to dressing up as a princess - drag was a common form of expression in the queer community, which Percy was proudly a part of. However, he had not ever seen She-Ra, and he felt odd about dressing up as a character he didnât know. It felt almost like lying or cheating.
âWould you be hurt if I⌠didnât?â Percy then asked seriously.
Dorian's excitement took a pause as he tried to process the words that had just come out. He didn't expect that there was a chance he'd say no. I mean, who didn't dress up for Halloween? It was unheard of. He tried to remain cool, clearing his throat as he smiled for Percy.
"No no t'at's cool. Yeah. SoâŚno costume at all? I mean you 'ave to wear somet'in. Its a costume party after all."âIâll wear a costume,â Percy said, shaking his head slightly.
âIâve never seen She-Ra, so I would feel⌠odd⌠wearing a costume from it,â he admitted. It wasnât long until the date of the dance too, and he wasnât going to binge all of the content beforehand. They had exams and training sessions and whatnot to attend to.
âMaybe Iâll go as the Doctor,â he mused.
âOr Luke Skywalker.â "Always did find Luke kinda 'ot. T'en again so was Anakin." Dorian didn't give his two cents on the idea of a doctor. I mean, sexy doctor had been done plenty of times so it was a safe bet, then again he doubted Percy would go the sexy route. If anything he'd be fully covered and with a lab coat and stethoscope just to mess with Dorian and tell him how he could hear his heart beating fast.
"Eit'er way I'll be 'appy. After all t'ere's no need to feel odd especially if you've never seen t'e show ya know? Besides, you'd make a good doctor."Percy laughed slightly.
âIâve always been more into Kylo Ren,â he admitted. There was something about the dark brooding nature of Leiaâs and Hanâs failson that appealed to him, more than Anakin or Luke or Han or Lando ever had. Obi-Wan wasnât bad either, in the prequels.
âThe Doctor might be a bit on the nose, but I imagine you might appreciate the tie.â "Oh? I do love a good tie. Just don't go complainin' when I mess it up or wrinkle it a bit." Dorian said with a smirk. He wondered how he could forget that doctors wore ties, maybe this costume could be salvaged after all, a semblance of sexy added to it whether Percy had meant to or not. Though if he were honest he'd say how surprised he was that he didn't just go as Odysseus or Apollo or another Greek tragic. Given how much he loved those stories.
Percy rolled his eyes.
âYouâll have to fix it, then. Actually, no. Iâll have to fix it,â he corrected himself. He didnât trust Dorian to iron out a tie properly. But he made a mental note to get a mildly lower quality tie for the costume, so that way if Dorian ruined it by wrinkling it to death, he wouldnât be too upset about it.
Dorian scoffed at the accusation.
âI'll âave you know I'm more t'an capable of fixinâ a tie.â Though in his mind the tie didn't need fixing so long as it was affixed between his fingers. A thought crossed his mind and he looked towards the door.
âSoâŚI kinda âaven't told anyone but April and Danni about usâŚt'is may be a big reveal kinda t'in you ok witâ t'at?ââDoes big reveal mean⌠something chaotic? Or just that it might be shocking?â Percy asked. It was hard to tell when it came to Dorian. It could mean that Dorian was planning fireworks and a musical number, or just that he was planning on telling everyone for the first time. Percy was fine with the latter, but the former was somewhat stressful to think about. He didnât enjoy drawing a huge amount of attention to himself.
Dorian laughed, trying to keep it under control as he answered.
âMore like t'e ot'ers in t'e group may âave questions or tease or somet'in. I'm not entirely sure to be âonest. T'ey may not even say anyt'in so who knows.ââI can handle that,â Percy said confidently.
âI withstood your bullying, after all,â he added with a smirk, purposely messing with his boyfriend slightly. Their first meeting had been less than ideal, after all. He was certain he was more than equipped to deal with whatever questions Dorianâs friends had.
Dorian's mouth opened in shock.
âIâŚwhaâŚbully?...me?â He'd never thought of himself as a bully, and had attempted to apologize about any incidents the two had before. A part of him was certain Percy was teasing yet still he couldn't believe the words he was hearing.
âWell at least if you can âandle me you can âandle anyt'in. So we got t'at covered no problem.âPercy pressed a kiss to Dorianâs open mouth.
âI agree,â he murmured.
