Canon: Remove if not applicable.The sound from inside is still heard clearly, but the balcony itself is more or less quiet. There was only one other person there when Finral stepped out on the balcony, and he was alerted to his presence when he heard the sound of a hiccup.
He hadn’t actually seen anyone out there at first, and once he looks into the shadows that was explainable. Even white clothes can disappear in the darkness of a winter night, and he is standing outside the reach of the warmly glowing lamps. At first Finral thinks that he had misheard, because it seems so unlikely that this person would have the hiccups. But more hiccups follows and they are undeniably coming from the captain of the Silver Eagles.
The glare that meets Finral’s startled gaze would have been way more intimidating for not the hiccups, which sounds ridiculously adorable. It looks as if the hiccups were painful, though, though the captain had dropped the hand rubbing at his throat when he noticed Finral’s presence.
Finral flees with a “sorry for bothering,” but for some reason he finds himself return a few minutes later. Nozel Silva stares with a scowl - of what might look just a little like confusion - at the glass of water Finral offers him. After over a minute of silence, only interrupted by more hiccups, Finral explains, “since it might help,” and Nozel’s gaze shifts up to Finral’s face. Eventually the captain takes the glass, and Finral makes to leave again.
He is almost at the door when he hears another hiccup. Enough time has passed for the captain to actually drink the water in whatever way he had decided to drink it - Finral had left because he knows that it can look undignified and because he also knows that the captain has a lot of pride - but apparently it didn’t work.
Turning on his heel, Finral walks back to the captain for a third time, quickly so he won’t chicken out. He presses his palm over Nozel’s mouth, and is met by a stunned expression. Neither of them move for many seconds. Then Finral loses his courage suddenly (he’s surprised that didn’t happen sooner), removes his hand, and starts to apologize. He knows he was way out of line doing something like that but he thought that maybe it could startle the hiccups away... Is how he truthfully explains his actions. Though he waffles nervously and says a lot of excessive words.
Nozel says nothing, at least for a little while. “That is enouhic!” He cuts himself off at the new hiccup. And Finral had hoped that it had really worked, considering it took over a minute before the new hiccup came. But they seemed intent on continuing.
“Maybe there’s something else that can be used--” It’s only when Finral tries to turn to go back inside and see if any of the food provided could be used, as he knows a few other things that might help, that he realizes that at some point, Nozel had grasped his wrists in his hands. The crunching on the balcony floor under his feet tells him that that’s where the glass went. He didn’t notice that happening, either. Still half turned away from the captain he manages to stutter out a few sounds and a question, but Nozel doesn’t seem about to let him go, which he finds pretty strange. He directs a questioning look at the captain, who seems to be in deep thought. Or attempting to be, at least. The hiccups has to be distracting.
“If there is anything--” Finral doesn’t get to finish that sentence either, but this time he’s cut off by the captain speaking. “Try someth - hic - thing else hic,” he says in a tone that doesn’t offer up any chance of objection (and he really does seem to be in pain each time he hiccups, so Finral does want to help), and Finral wonders if he even understands that he can’t actually do a whole lot with this wrists caught in a tight grip. Not that the very handsome captain isn’t smart, but because he doesn’t seem to notice that he’s holding Finral locked in place with his hands.
It’s a strange decision that he makes, but he thinks later that it must have been that he was not presented with a whole lot of options. You don’t simply kiss a Magic Knights captain without asking for permission, but that’s what he does. He expects retaliation, anger or, well, something, but the only reaction he notices is wide eyes and how pretty they are.
At least Nozel finally releases Finral’s wrists, which is a relief. But instead of pushing Finral away, or letting Finral step away for that matter, he uses his hands, placed on Finral’s shoulders then, to still keep him in place.
When Nozel kisses back, it’s hard to resist the urge to keep the kiss going, and what was initially only a light press of lips against lips turns to involve tongue. Finral supports himself with his hands against the wall, and he briefly wonders when they ended up so close to it that he could touch it, but the thought disappears out of his mind because he is yanked closer with firm and determined hands and a pretty decent kiss that doesn’t seem about to end anytime soon.
Not that he is about to object.
Sure, the captain’s lips might have been cold, initially, which made sense because it was the middle of the winter and he had been outside for a while, but getting caught up in the kiss is easy and he doesn’t want it to end.
Of course, once it does end, Finral is mortified. He just kissed a captain without warning - or, worse, permission! - and that was not good. Really not good. Nozel pauses to see if his hiccups has disappeared or not, and it appears as if they finally have properly done so. While Finral privately freaks out, Nozel seems relieved to be rid of the hiccups. He rubs at his throat, probably still in some pain or sore after the amount of hiccups he had to suffer through, and lets out a sigh. Eventually he turns his gaze, cool and collected as it usually is, onto Finral, and Finral stands still waiting for that retaliation to finally come.
But it doesn’t. Instead, the captain turns his gaze away again, adjusts his clothing where it had become a little skewed, and he nods once at Finral in...acknowledgement? or thanks? or...what? “Not a word about any of this to anyone,” he says, and his tone offers up no chance to object. Again. He succeeds at it this time, uninterrupted by hiccups as he is. Finral nods, probably too much or too fast to not look a little strange or exaggerated, but he really won’t tell anyone. Not that he would have told anyone even if he had not just been told not to. Not that anyone would even believe him.
Nozel returns inside the party venue, where the new years celebration is still loudly ongoing, and he leaves Finral behind. Now alone, Finral leans against the wall, and he rubs his eyes with the balls of his hands. Oh god, what has he done... Kissing a captain, and not apologizing for it. What a mess. He would have to apologize, somehow, without anyone else overhearing. That... That would not be easy, considering....well, everything.
Loud chatter interrupts Finral’s thoughts when Asta, Noelle, Yuno, Mimosa and Leopold Vermillion pour out onto the balcony. Asta’s greeting is, as usual, the loudest, but the teens appearing on the balcony with him is a decent distraction and makes him unable to try to figure out how to talk to the Silver Eagles captain without arousing suspicion. Not that he is likely to get the chance to do so at this party now, so he should try to enjoy himself and not stress out over his actions for at least a little while. He will end up thinking about it while being unable to sleep once it’s over anyway, he just knows it beyond a doubt.