i see two stars (great comet; danatole)

i see two stars

anatole often finds soirées to be incredibly boring.

he lounges on an empty couch, slouching enough to be considered disrespectful. his head lolls slightly as he tunes out the sounds of forced pleasantries and uncomfortable laughter around him, staring at fedya out of the corner of his eye. he's talking to another soldier, a tall, lean man, who's standing far too close to him. fedya does nothing, just smiles again and continues the conversation. anatole knows that face well enough to realize the smile is nothing but a display of politeness, a show for someone he doesn't find to be to his taste.

anatole relaxes back agaisnt the cushions, bringing an arm behind his head and stretching out in a way that elicits more than a few whispers from people standing near him. he's used to it, the snatches of disdainful words as he passes. poor prince vasilly, stuck with a son like that. why he couldn't be as charming as his sister, i don't know, one woman would say. well, you know how it is, the other woman would reply, you always get one bad egg, and they'd titter and scurry off, skirts swishing as if in mockery of anatole. it makes him scoff. if they could see the things helene does gets up to! either way, he doesn't let it bother him. as long as he's handsome, he knows at least some people will bear with his company, and he delights in preening in front of all of the flustered, naive young women who flock to him.

a hand on his wrist, drawing him back to reality. painfully, he notes, yanking his arm away and cradling it protectively. he remembers, in vivid detail, exactly why his wrist hurts so much, and immediately sits up straight, his entire body at attention. he hears fedya's soft laugh behind him.

"i saw you looking." it's low, teasing, and anatole's hairs stand on end. "are you jealous?" anatole rolls his eyes, even though fedya can't see. "what kind of a question is that? of course you were. how are those bruises, eh?" fedya reaches toward anatole's sleeves and attempts to roll them up. anatole squirms away.

"fedya, not here," he hisses. fedya's faster, grabbing the hem and exposing fresh bruises littering anatole's wrist and forearm. anatole shivers, finally turning to look at fedya. he's smirking.

"come here." it's not gentle. it's a command. anatole feels his face grow hot as fedya grabs his wrist again, his swaggering public persona faltering with the feeling of fedya's breath on the shell of his ear. he's come to realize that he performs in society--even his actions that are looked down upon, said to be disgraceful, embarrassing, are in a way calculated, or at least as calculated as anatole kuragin can be. his nonchalant disrespect, his confident smirks--they all dissolve as soon as fedya so much as raises an eyebrow at him. with fedya- well, he's needy, to say the least. clingy. fedya can rip him open, dominate him, in the best way, baring anatole's deepest self all while holding him close and keeping him grounded.

he follows fedya's lead, a firm grasp on his tender wrist that sends prickles of electricity up his arm. anatole flushes pink as he feels the visible remnants of a night forgotten, of whispered orders and stifled moans. they reach an empty room that feels far removed from the world of high society's stiff decorum, a small, rather nondescript bedroom. the bed is crisp and clean, and anatole has to bite his lip to keep from letting out a noise at the thought of how fedya could push him down onto the mattress and ruin him. he draws in a sharp breath of air as fedya slams the door and presses him against it, his knee immediately finding its way between anatole's legs.

"fedya, wait," he gasps. he's already panting, as per usual when fedya so much as brushes against him. fedya pulls back, still smirking much too close to anatole's face.

"what, want me to stop?" fedya teases, he's always teasing (is this payback for the time anatole teased him when they were in public once? it's time to get over that), and anatole squeaks a little and shakes his head vigorously.