Fanfiction: "Shake the Stars from the Sky" (Final Fantasy VI)

[deemoyza]

Title: "Shake the Stars from the Sky" (7,430 words)
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Final Fantasy VI
Rating/Warnings: Explicit / Warning for Explicit Sexual Content
Characters: Daryl, Setzer Gabbiani
Relationships: Daryl/Setzer Gabbiani
Summary: After leaving a fancy Jidoorian party, Setzer and Daryl can't agree on where to head to next, so they devise a very physical challenge to break the stalemate.
Notes: Written for this years smut4smut Exchange

Daryl was a high-flying thrill-seeker, her hair constantly mussed by the wind, her hands callused and often stained with grease, but the ease with which she moved in a ballgown and could exchange her full-throated laugh for a demure titter betrayed her Jidoorian roots.  The daughter of a wealthy couple who perished in a shipwreck when she was only in her teens, Daryl had taken her share of the family fortune and invested it in airships and adventure and business enterprises that failed as often as they succeeded.  She refused to be confined by her class and the social expectations thereof and vowed to live the kind of life her parents never dared to.

Still, she returned to Jidoor every now and then, to patronize the Opera House or to scope out potential investors for her next venture, to keep old contacts updated and engaged, and to refamiliarize her palate with the tastes of her childhood.  She kept her banter light and amicable, her ears tuned to fresh gossip, and her eyes on the man she'd arrived with, whether from across the room or inches from his face.

Though Setzer hadn't been born into luxury, he'd worked his way there through charm and wit and shrewd decisions and was just as much at home among the marble and crystal as he was in the cabin of an airship, possibly even more so than Daryl.  Tonight, he looked particularly striking in a simple black tuxedo, his hair pulled into a low ponytail.  Without the bulk of his usual overcoat, his silhouette was lean and lithe, so close to the Setzer Daryl knew in intimate moments that she couldn't help but notice the pressure building low in her stomach and traveling farther downward with each little movement of her body.  He smiled at her through the crowd and raised his glass, and try as she might, she could not disengage from her current conversation and reach him before the music started up.

"Care to dance, m'lady?" Eldhorn, a tall, bespectacled man of about fifty, and owner of the mansion in which they were gathered, bowed deeply and offered Daryl his hand.  She gave a strained, polite smile and accepted, noticing that Setzer had chosen a partner for himself, as well.

The musicians played a lively tune, and when Eldhorn swept her out toward the center of the dancefloor, Setzer was quick to follow.  And so, for the duration of the song, he and Daryl turned and swayed within paces of one another, aware of the keen effect this proximity had on their bodies.  At one point, Daryl caught Setzer's gaze, smoldering with his own unique mixture of playfulness and desire.  In response, she tipped her head back, exposing the length of her throat down to the tops of her breasts, and parted her lips slightly.  He cocked a brow and ran the tip of his tongue over his upper lip, even as the woman dancing with him fought to suppress a laugh.

Once the song ended, Daryl and Setzer each excused themselves from their partners and joined each other for the next dance.

"What was that about?" Setzer asked as they began to move to a slower tune.  "Flaunting your lovely self like that?  There are so many older men here; you could have stopped their hearts outright."

"Just reminding you of what you were missing."  She slipped her hand beneath his ponytail and traced a finger up the back of his neck.  He shivered.  "Why didn't you cut in?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to be rude."

"You, rude?" she laughed.  "You have a silver tongue, Setzer.  You could murder someone and talk your way out of it."