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It’s the wrong side of midnight, but he’s just drunk enough to ignore his aching limbs. He grabs Cissy’s arm and lets her spin before she’s pulled over to Isaac, and then- oh. Bel’s got one hand on his shoulder and the other clasped in his before he even realises, falling into him with a jolt. She laughs and it’s like heaven, just for a moment.
“May I say how exceptionally beautiful you look tonight, Moneypenny?” Yes, he’s a little tipsy, but it’s true.
She throws her head back and avoids his gaze, but she’s still grinning. “Now, I know you say that to all the girls, James.”
Something twinges inside him when she calls him that, like a pinch. Even so, he plays along. “Yes, very, very… Buenos noches, guapo.”
She laughs again, so he does too, still steering her around and around in his arms. He raises his eyebrow. “Really! I’m driving them wild.”
“Hmm?” Is that disbelief? Naturally.
“I’ve got,” he’s suddenly daring, and dips her down low, “snake hips tonight.” Ordinarily, it wouldn’t be OK. It’s too brash, too overt, too not Freddie. But it’s his birthday, and the world’s going to hell, and she’s- well, she’s…
He brings her back up, and she makes a delightful, gasping sound that slowly becomes a hum. She flicks her hair as she becomes level with him, and it’s enough to make him falter, just for a second.
“I like you like this,” she says, her voice a little breathy.
That knocks him too. “You didn’t like me before?” He had intended to keep his tone the same, stupid and silly and drunken, but his uncertainty is audible, his mask has slipped.
She pauses. “More… I like you even more.”
He hums too, without realising, and starts to laugh. He pretends not to notice the ache in his chest.