three's a crowd

the kiss

A/N: The bond grows stronger, and a first kiss is shared in the moonlight.

-Aro's POV-

Suddenly, the room turns silent, everyone turning to look at the dancefloor. This draws Aro's attention, as well as his brothers'.

"Is that... Ophelia?" Felix asks no one in particular, eyes wide. All Aro can do is stare as his mate begins to dance with the Romanian Prince. Or maybe he was King now, Aro wasn't sure.

"Aro, do you even realize what dance they're performing?" Caius hisses, jealousy and anger sounding through his voice.

"It's the ceremonial royal dance, I'm very aware of that, yes." Aro mutters back, unable to keep his eyes off of their mate.

"The ceremonial royal dance performed between a Romanian Prince and the woman he wishes to marry! It's outrageous!" Caius exclaims.

"Look at her, Caius. She's enjoying this, I haven't seen her much happier before. Let her be." Marcus interrupts, giving his brothers a calm look.

"King Vlad wouldn't have taught his son and her that dance if he didn't have anything planned for them! She's ours!" Caius hisses possessively.

"Just look at her, there's no sign of love in her eyes, at least not the kind she feels for us. Her bond with him is very special, yes, but one between friends." Marcus argues calmly.

"Let her enjoy herself. We should be happy she's dancing without being nervous about the people watching her, like she was earlier. At least now she's at ease." Aro finally speaks up, shutting his brothers up.

"She's rather good." Marcus notes, after a moment, the three of them watching her as she dances elegantly around the Prince, a bright smile on her face, eyes sparkling when they remain onto the white haired Prince the entire time. Marcus was right, she did know how to dance. Not only did her hips entrance Aro, her smile made his undead heart skip a beat. Seeing her like this, like nothing in the world mattered except for her enjoying this dance with one of her friends, like she didn't give a damn about what people thought about the future Italian Queen dancing a marriage proposal dance with the Romanian Prince, made Aro happy.

He and his brothers needed a strong woman, someone who would be able to handle the comments and what other people might think of her, and so far Ophelia was doing exactly that. Above everything, despite what everyone might think of the situation, despite the fact that in usual circumstances she shouldn't be dancing this dance with that guy, Aro cared about her happiness, and as long as she was happy, he'd let her dance with whomever she wanted to. Sure, he'd love to dance with her like that himself instead of seeing her dance with another guy, but he'd made himself avoid touching her actual skin. With their mate, Aro wanted to take things slow, to get to know her the normal way instead of always knowing everything about her with one touch. He also realized she didn't trust him or his brothers enough to open up completely already, which is why he respected her personal space and didn't try to use his powers on her too often, and he could tell she appreciated that immensely. Of course, there were times when he simply worried too much about her and had to verify she was alright, or the time in her bedroom when she had chosen to take his hand and he'd gotten to enjoy the love she already began to feel for them first hand, but those were exceptions more than anything. Usually, Aro used his powers far more often on those around him.

When the dance comes to an end, Ophelia and the Romanian Prince bow, a loud applause following. Her smile breaks out into a full grin, the Prince smiling back at her, Aro smiling subconsciously as well.

"Come, I'll introduce you to my mates." Aro hears her say excitedly, very endearingly grabbing the vampire's hand to drag him along. When Aro looks at his brothers, he finds even Caius smiling at the way she calls them 'my mates' without hesitation for the first time. Weaving through the crowd, dragging along a chuckling Prince, she finally reaches them.