Frost Bitten (BxB)

Chapter Thirty-One

(Joseph's POV)

"Um...wait, am I really supposed to wear this?" I eyed the clothes Delkele had managed to nab from one of the shop venders, my brows furrowed as I stared at the...well, the thong in particular. Did he really pick out a piece with a thong for me? Like really? Was he that desperate to see my nice booty cheeks? Then again, maybe it was just something the dancers here wore, considering Jox's outfit also had a thong piece. That didn't mean I was comfortable wearing something like that, I mean, I would only ever wear a thong if Asurah asked, and only then. This was just...weird.

Delkele rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "It was all I could find, Joseph. But if you are going to blend in with the masses, I'm afraid you must wear the...the thing."

Jox lifted his in the air and shrugged, tossing the flimsy fabric in the air before he effortlessly caught it, not even looking the least bit bothered about the piece. "I don't see anything wrong with it considering a lot of Glacic clothing is fashioned pretty similarly."

Of course after he said that, I would be an idiot not to notice the way Delkele's cheeks darkened, his crimson eyes now unable to meet with Jox's gaze as he cleared his throat and looked down at his feet. "Well, regardless of the issues with the outfit, we need to hurry up and get changed. The dance thing starts in about an hour, according to Ferriah, and I am not sure how far away this colosseum is."

I sighed and looked back down at my ensemble once more, wrinkling my nose in distaste before I pursed my lips and huffed, yanking my shirt over my head as I got dressed in the sheer, light blue dance clothes. Jox blinked and Delkele turned and covered his face with his hand, as if he couldn't believe I was changing right in front of him. I mean, I did this all the time while I was in the military, changing in front of the other soldiers in the locker rooms, yadda yadda. So I was pretty much used to changing amidst company.

Though, admittedly, for some reason it felt a little awkward in front of Delkele and Jox, and I wondered if it was because I saw them as friends instead of just...soldiers. Like with my colleagues back on Earth, I never really conversed with any of them, not that I could considering they liked to single me out because of my sexuality, so I never got close with anyone there. So I dunno, but I just felt a little weird.

My nose remained scrunched as I slipped on the damned thong, the string feeling weird and out of place as I pulled on the sheer blue harem-like pants and cheap gold jewelry. The pants, if you could even call them that, felt scratchy against my skin, and my...well...dude-hood felt like one wrong step and I would accidentally flash someone. Which was also not ideal, since no one but Asurah should be allowed to see such glory. Ok, maybe not glory, but come on, it was my manhood and I didn't want anyone to see it. Definitely not Delkele or Jox, or Teiken, because that would be awkward as hell and I really didn't want to have that conversation.

So I really hope I didn't have a wardrobe accident.

"So how are we even going to do this, anyway? And why are only Jox and I being forced to dance anyway? Why can't Teiken dance too?" I wondered after I got all my clothing situated correctly, Delkele turning his back to Jox to face me so that the Glacic male could slip into his outfit.

Though, I could see that Delkele was struggling not to take a peek, since his form was rigid, and I swear I saw a vein pop out on his forehead, but I couldn't know for sure with all that red hair falling into his face.

"Because we need to be in the crowd, waiting in case Vextian tries anything. If all of us are out there dancing, there won't be anyone close enough to Vextian or any trouble in case anything goes awry."

I pursed my lips and turned to pick up the head peace that went with my outfit, my gaze skimming over the dragon/lion-esk designs before I tucked it under my arm and turned back towards the gargantuan redhead. "Dude, you're like...pure muscle. Are you saying you can't handle Vextian on your own and need that tall twig over there to help you subdue him?"

Teiken gave me a dry look as he wrapped the beige cloak around him, the Volcic narrowing that orange gaze. "Tall twig? And what, pray tell, is it that you can do, human? Annoy Vexitan to death with your lackluster and, frankly, confusing jokes?"

I tilted my head and snapped my fingers. "Actually, you know what? Maybe I will, since the only person who actually appreciates my jokes is my husband."

"I don't think your jokes are that bad," Jox interjected, moving to stand next to Delkele, all dressed up in his matching red dance garbs. "Though, they are rather confusing sometimes."

I pursed my lips and shook my head, causing a few chocolate curls to fall between my eyes. "That's because they're human jokes," I muttered, mostly to myself as I pulled the mask over my head, already wishing Asurah was with me. At least he liked my jokes. But then again, he seemed to be the only one who was able to get me, save for my Ma.

"Alright, so when do we want to start heading to the Coloseum?" Jox wondered, turning his attention towards Ferriah, who had been silent this entire conversation.

The Tronian man looked up abruptly, as if he had been pulled out of his thoughts before he blinked and cleared his throat, hopping off of the box he had been sitting on. "Oh, um, we should probably head there now. Good, you're both ready."

"Hold on, how are we going to blend in if we don't know the dance routine? Surely they'll wonder what's up if Jox and I are stumbling all about like fish out of water."

Ferriah sighed and nibbled at his bottom lip, crossing his arms over his chest as his wings twitched and his tail flickered around behind him. "The only thing you can do, is watch and try to repeat. The both of you will most likely be in the background as there are certain lead dancers..." he stopped talking and his expression went sad, as if he were thinking about something painful.

"Is your...lover one of the main dancers?"

Ferriah tugged a hand down his face and nodded. "Tuani is a rarity. Not only was he born without wings, he was born as albino. He is gorgeous, and of course people noticed. With his feminine appearance, he is the one who depicts Te'techi, our Goddess of Fertility, in the dance. That's...how we met." He shook his head and looked back up. "Anyway, just copy what the others around you do, and lets pray nothing goes wrong."

"Ok, that's no help, but," I shrugged and crossed my arms over my chest, "I am good at improvising, so this shouldn't be too big of a problem. Hopefully."

"I think we'll be just fine. Especially if we're in the background." Jox added with a shrug, smiling towards Delkele when the redhead glanced towards him.

Delkele, of course, blushed and averted his gaze, but cleared his throat and gestured towards the door leading to the bustling streets beyond. "Let's get going before we're too late to join in on this...dance thing."

I groaned. "I'm so not looking forward to this...but I will do anything to get my beautiful husband back, even risk flashing people. God, Asurah better love me when this whole damn mess is over." I shook my head and made sure my mask was held in place, before I sucked in a breath and walked over to the door, placing my hand on the handle, glancing back towards my companions. "Let's do this."

A/N: The thought of Joseph dancing is just *chefs kiss*. Though, it will be hilarious to see how him and Jox can handle moving their bodies in such a way, huhuhu.

Also, random fact that I don't think I've ever mentioned, but Joseph's family is from Puerto Rico, if anyone finds that interesting lol. I dunno why I've never mentioned that or even thought to mention it until now...but yay...random fact lol

Anywho, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Lemme know what you think of the story so far!