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what-i-call-men · 3 years

Text

Jiggle physics

Jeff Pfister x female!reader

Warnings: SMUT, dominant reader, sub Jeff, some degradation towards Jeff, a bit of voyeurism at the end (reader finds out mutt saw the whole thing)

Request: My fic thought for the night (up for grabs) but it’s Jeff pfister. Reader is a dancer/instructor and Jeff studies her for “jiggle physics”. Thought is definitely a smut

One again I am stealing a picture from @copy-of-a-cheeto because I love the icons they make. Thank you!!

Also thank you to @divineruler for proof reading

It was another day for you to begin with. You were working at a small gym in town after your other job hadn't really worked out. You were freshly graduated from college and needed somewhere to work while you looked for other opportunities, a gym was your best option. Now you weren't an avid gym person, but you did enjoy dancing so you ended up instructing a Zumba class. It was more of a hip hop class because your gym was right near a college town, and early 00s Spanish didn't reach college kids as much as hip hop and rap music.

This week you had specifically scheduled a dirty Thursday class, uncensored music and a lot of confidence boosting music. You were doing your last few songs, pushing everyone to their "sexy limits" as you put it. You had stripped off your tank top, now just in your sports bra and leggings. When you were stripping off your top, you had a few of your regulars whistle or cheer, some even joining you as they knew the choreography. You ended your last high energy song and started your cool downs, opting to leave the shirt off as you were definitely sweating right now.

The slow sounds of Just the two of Us by Grover Washington jr played through the speakers as you instructed your class to stretch out. As you faced them, you couldn't help but catch a glance of blonde hair from outside the glass doors to the room. It looked familiar but you couldn't put your finger on it as you continued your instruction. After you finished your cool down, you moved to gather your things as some of the students chatted with you. One of your best friends had walked out to run to the locker room and came back, running up to you and pinching your arm a bit. "You'll never guess who is outside looking for you." She whispered so others wouldn't hear.

Turning to her you rubbed the now pained part of your arm and raised an eyebrow in amusement. "Um I don't know, Ryan Reynolds ready to sweep me off my feet?" You asked and reached down to pick up your gym bag and tank top, choosing to toss it in the bag rather than putting it on. Your friend followed you out of the classroom with the rest of the remaining class. "No, it's fucking Jeff and Mutt from high school." She whispered and nodded to the front desk where they stood, talking to a receptionist. You looked at them for a second.

"And they have those same dumb haircuts from when they were 12." You choked back a quiet laugh as you approached the front desk. Mutt saw you first and then elbowed Jeff to look up at you. "Hey boys, long time no see." You said and walked up to the pair, holding out your membership card to the front desk people to clock you out. "What warrants such an abrupt visit from the resident horny weeb club." You said and led the boys out, your friend keeping a close distance behind the group.

"Hey y/n, can we talk to you alone? We have a job offer for you?" Mutt said and glanced at your friend. You stopped outside the gym and nodded to your friend to go to the car you shared. "What job could you two possibly have for me? Last I heard you guys were just trolling random people online and spam liking my Instagram pictures." You said and crossed your arms. You weren't really friends with the two in high school, but you did have a friendly teasing relationship with them, rather than really making fun of them like others did. You were really only nice because you never knew who'd end up going crazy, and you'd rather not be on someone's shit list.

"We recently ran into... a lot of money. And we wanted to hire you at our robotics company." Jeff said and gestured excitedly at you. He definitely was on something from the way he had a shake to his hands. "Uh... you two know I majored in archeology? I don't know the first thing past how to google." You said and looked mainly at Jeff. God if he didn't have that stupid haircut still, you'd be tempted to say he got hot. He's got a pretty good body and he looked pretty good in comparison to Mutt. It would help him a lot if he didn't still dress and look like he was 12.

"We're aware. It has nothing to do with your degree. Here, this is what you'd make if you come to work for us." Mutt grabbed a card from his pocket and a pen that hung from your bag pocket. When he handed you the paper you had to blink at the numbers for a second. "Annually?" "Weekly" Jeff corrected your question. You stared at the paper for a second. "How do I know you guys aren't just high or something? How'd you even find me?" You asked and Mutt and Jeff looked at each other before Jeff grabbed his keys from his pocket. He clicked the unlock button and a Rolls Royce beeped from where it was parked only a few spots away from where you stood. "If you're interested come pay us a visit." Mutt pointed at the business card he had handed you and the two walked to the car before you could say anything.

When you got home of course you researched the company name on the card. Kineros Robotics had made actual headlines and pictures of the men were on different sites about their sudden influx of money to their company from a generous anonymous donation. You glanced at the card and pursed your lips before pulling up Instagram, going to Jeff's page, glancing at the pictures he's posted and biting your lip. God you could really tell he was either still a virgin or very submissive in some sense. He wasn't like any of the gym bros that hit on you or messaged you. With a small surge of courage, you hit the 'message' button and typed out a quick text.

After messaging back and forth about the job opportunity for about two days, you found yourself standing outside the main entrance to the robotics lab. You walked down the hall to see glass doors and just a buzzer. You buzzed and were quickly let in. "You guys should get a receptionist or someth-" your words were cut off when you saw what was really in the room. There were humanoid robot figures and a lot of latex parts just laying around. A lot of these parts were tits or asses, all different shapes and sizes but there seemed to be something off with all of them.

"Hey I'm glad you made it. You can set yourself up in the room over there." Mutt said as he stared down at his computer. The room was all white, some windows around but pretty much all of them had shade covering them with little to no light peeking through. There was a pile of white powder sitting at each desk. Oh so they were coked out and making sex dolls. What the actual fuck did this have to do with you? "Set my stuff up...?" You asked softly and Jeff stood from his desk to lead you to the room.

"I didn't tell you what you were here for?" He asked as he opened the door to the next room. You shook your head and looked at the hardwood floor and speaker set up. "We need you to be a model. See... our last few latex prints came out... less than desirable- jiggle wise. Our math was way off and we need these to be as real as possible." Jeff said and walked to a small cabinet in the corner of the room. "I need you to put this on so we can monitor your motions to make our robots more realistic." He said and handed you what was barely any cloth. It looked like those dotted suits superheroes wore so their suits could be cgi but instead of a suit it was a bikini top and what is pretty much a skimpy pair of bottoms that were basically bathing suit bottoms with how little they covered.

"Jeff, you didn't mention this." You said and took the clothes slowly as he headed back out to the door. "Just put those on and I'll be back in a few." He said and glanced over your body again quickly before closing the door. You decided to send a quick text to your best friend- just a "here's what I'm doing in case I get murdered" text. After that you slipped the clothes on and stared at yourself in the mirror beside the little cabinet. You could tell this was a makeshift dance room. That was probably what they were looking for. Good thing jiggle physics was your thing in class.

Jeff came back a couple minutes later with a laptop in his hands. He stopped and gulped when he looked over your body in the skimpy outfit, quickly opting to sit on the ground as he monitored the points on the laptop. "Go ahead." He said and positioned the laptop on his lap, having to adjust himself a bit a couple of times. "Jeff... I need music." You said and moved to grab your phone, nodding to the speaker system, him shrugging and letting you do so. As you leaned over the speaker you glanced in the mirror beside you and he was very much staring right at your ass. God if he wasn't such a virgin you'd probably be disgusted. That was probably why they didn't know the right jiggle physics for a woman's body.

You started playing some of your best twerk music, trying to shake off how weird it was to have just Jeff staring at his computer then back to you as you danced. You tried to just close your eyes and get into the choreography as you ignored the awkwardness of Jeff obviously having a boner and you just twerking for him to collect data. You did a few hip swirls and then some quick shakes, glancing at yourself in the mirror. Honestly as you looked you didn't realize you had given Jeff a perfect look of your ass. He ran a hand through his hair as the song began to wrap up. You went to your phone to change the song and decided to strike up a small conversation.

"So… are you getting good data?" You asked and just got a simple nod from Jeff, his stupidly cute bowl cut bobbing back and forth as he nodded. "So you're making sex robots huh?" You asked as you looked through your playlist nonchalantly bending over a bit to give Jeff a good view of your chest. He once again responded with a nod as you started the next song. It was a bit more sexy than the last one. "Why don't you monitor the jiggle physics of sex then?" You asked as you lowered the volume of the song, starting your choreography, which included some moves where you're on the ground, shaking and bouncing as if you were riding someone. "I'm sure they are more accurate than me dancing." You said as you pushed yourself down to the ground chest first with your ass up and facing Jeff.

He adjusted a bit and you moved yourself a bit closer to where he was seated as he chose not to answer you. "If you want more accurate results Jeff, you need the jiggle physics of sex." You stated and gently moved the computer off his lap, placing it on the ground as you gently moved to straddle his legs. "The reason you and Mutt can't get the math right is because you need to really experience a woman's body during sex and neither of you could rope in a girl to fuck you for science. Am I right?" You asked Jeff as you leaned into him, settling yourself on his lap. His face was so red as his eyes kept flicking from your chest to your face. He just nodded silently to your question.

"Jeff, I'm gonna need you to verbally respond to me. I want to hear you say it." You said and ran your hands from his shoulders and down his chest. He took a deep shaky breath. "Fu- I need you to fuck me for science." He said softly and looked up to you as you tutted at him.

"No honey, the other thing." You said and pushed your fingers under the hem of his shirt. He gulped and took in another breath. "I can't get anyone to fuck me. Please y/n I need you." He pretty much whimpered under you as you pushed up to the balls of your feet, leaning forward and beginning to shake your ass a bit from where you sat on his lap. You rolled your hips slowly forwards and pushed your chest against his, leaning up next to his ear. "That's better." You whispered and then left a small wet kiss under his ear. Slowly working down his neck in small wet kisses and sucks.

You could feel his body tense as you reached down between you and gently palmed at him. God you could tell how hard he was without looking. You smirked a bit and continued to suck small hickies on his neck and under his ear as you quickly undid his button and fly, grabbing his dick from his boxers. Wow if you would've known he was packing you probably would've slept with him in high school, but everyone just assumed he wasn't and that was why he didn't get girls. You pumped him slowly and you could hear him let out small moans and whimpers, wanting to stay quiet on the off chance Mutt heard over the music.

As you pumped him you gently bit his earlobe to get his attention. "If you wanna get inside me baby, you gotta help me out." You said quietly and he nodded and willingly let you take his hands and place them on your ass. He gave a small gentle squeeze and you smirked as you felt him twitch in your hand. "God... fuck... holy shit..." he muttered as you rolled your hips against his thighs, wanting to at least stimulate yourself a little bit.

"You wanna make sure my monitoring is ok baby?" You whispered and he glanced over at the laptop, still reading the outfit you wore. You grabbed his cock again, now moving yourself to push your bottoms to the side. Slowly sinking down on to him, you could've sworn Jeff came right then. And he did. But that wasn't going to stop you from helping him out for the 'sake of science'. You grabbed his hands and placed them on your waist so as to not interfere with his readings. Slowly you began to bounce on him, feeling all parts of your body begin to bounce. Jeff was letting out the most sinful noises. Honestly it sounded like he only knew what moaning was from women in porn, but you didn't mind- honestly it was hot to have him be so responsive.

"Oh baby you're gonna be too loud, Mutt might interrupt us and you wouldn't want that would you? Don't want him to find you moaning like a whore for me." You said lowly as you reached up to gently squeeze his throat. He closed his mouth and nodded at you as you continued to bounce on him. God you could tell how close he was to coming again, but lord knows you weren't done with him. His moans got quieter but he still let out small whines from below you. You reached down to rub your own clit as you bounced on top of him. "Fuck baby, you wanna fuck me so bad? How about you get that data you need by pounding me from behind?" You muttered and climbed off of him.

He barely questioned you when you did so, only whining a little at the loss of contact. As you turned around and got on your knees, pushing your ass up in the air, he quickly moved to his own knees, pushing into you and beginning to thrust at a rapid pace. You could definitely tell his knowledge of sex is from video games and porn because he kinda went wild. He pounded hard and you couldn't help but moan out as he grabbed your waist with a tight grip. After he got a hang on his speed, he reached forwards and pulled you up, pushing you against the mirrored wall he had been leaning against, he paused momentarily to undo the bikini top, and as soon as it dropped to the ground he was grabbing your tits from behind.

You pushed back against him, your face now pushed against the foggy mirror as he thrusted into you hard. "Fuck.... fuck y/n." He grunted out quietly as his thrust became more sporadic and sloppy. You could tell he was gonna come again, so you reached behind your head and grabbed his hair firmly. "You're not coming again until I cum. You fucking hear me?" You groaned as he continued to thrust into you. He nodded and reached around in front of you, fumbling for your clit for a moment before you corrected his hand placement and showed him the correct movement. He rubbed quickly and in pace with his thrusts, you could tell from his look in the mirror that he was trying so hard not to cum.

As soon as you finally reached the edge, you let out a loud and pretty pornographic moan of his name mixed with some swearing and praises. "God... fuck Jeff you feel so good in me. I want you to cum baby. I want you to cum in me baby." You thrusted back on him and kept your hand firmly tugging at his hair. It was only seconds before he was coming in you, his own face twisted in pleasure as you looked at him through the mirror. He slowed to a stop and slowly removed himself from you. You only caught your breath for a couple moments before there was a knock on the door.

"Hey those were good readings, we're gonna need you here again tomorrow so we can get some other position readings." Mutt called through the door. You looked at Jeff. "Could he see the reading the whole time?" You asked Jeff quietly. He bit his lips and nodded. "I assumed you knew because you saw this room through the glass when you walked in." Jeff said and pointed to the mirror which was in fact a one way mirror you had seen walking in from the lab, which you falsely assumed was a window because of the shade. "So mutt saw the whole thing?" You asked softly, slowly piecing everything together. Jeff nodded, scared you were gonna be upset. You only shrugged and reached over to gently grab his throat again. "Guess now he knows how good of a whore you are for me then." And god if he hadn't just come, Jeff probably would've come again from that action alone. Damn you were gonna have fun working here.

#jeff pfister #jeff pfister x reader #ahs apocalypse #Jeff pfister smut #fic thoughts fulfilled

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doggernaut · 3 years

Note

I feel like the Divorce AU is going to kill me, but if you haven't discussed that one yet . . .

Don’t worry! It’s not as painful as you think. Or, well, it might be what you think because divorce can be painful in general, but this fic isn’t about a Zimbits divorce so you don’t have to be concerned on that front. I would never do that.

What this fic is actually about is Bitty and Jack, both recently divorced, finding one another and developing a friendship that eventually turns to love.

The basic plot: Bitty’s a recently-divorced single dad who is not coping well with his ex moving on, and Jack is going through a very high profile celebrity divorce after his wife cheats on him with a teammate. As a result, he gets traded to the Falconers. The point of connection here is Chowder, who also plays for the Falconers and whose kids play hockey with Bitty’s kids. So Jack and Bitty start running into each other at events and get to know each other very casually. They don’t spend time alone together until one day when there’s a mix up with schedules and Bitty’s ex forgets to pick up the kids from the rink. Jack happens to be there, notices them, calls Bitty, and keeps them calm and works on skills with them until Bitty can get there. Of course Bitty has to thank him by making him dinner. Things progress from there.

The seed for this idea came from the idea that this new man in Bitty’s ex-husband’s life is much much better at the social media game than Bitty ever has been, and he’s been using Bitty’s kids as “props” in his posts to make himself seem sympathetic even though he was “the other man.” I started thinking about how much that would annoy Bitty (would annoy anybody, really) and it spiraled from there.

I started writing this in mid-2019 and took a break from it when some close family members abruptly divorced. It was just too hard to think about. I still really like the general concept. I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to it, but I think it has some strong bits.

It had only been three months. Eric was still a work in progress. He didn’t really mean to open Christian the Homewrecker’s Instagram and click on the newest post, a picture of Sam and Lizzie posed next to a flower display at the famers market.

“Loving these kids is easy, but asking them to accept me as another parental figure in their lives was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do,” the caption read. “I still remember meeting them for the first time, all four of us nervous, wondering if we could find a way to make it work. There have been growing pains, but I wouldn’t trade this life for anything. Lizzie and Sam, I love you to the moon and back and wouldn’t trade being your father for anything.”

Eric resisted the urge to throw his phone across the room. Their father? That was bold, seeing as how the ink was barely dry on the divorce papers and Jesse had not, as far as Eric knew, proposed to Christian. Besides, being a parent was a lot more than Disney cruises and miniature golf outings on the weekends, that was for damn sure. Where had Christian been when Lizzie had colic, when Sam went through his biting phase in preschool, when Jesse had been out of town and all three of them had gotten sick with the flu, one after another?

Right. He hadn’t been. He’d been in the apartment Jesse paid for.

Eric told himself not to look at the comments, which were most likely a variation on the usual: “So glad you finally got your happily ever after,” and “Those kids are so lucky to have you.”

Yes. So lucky. So lucky their father left their other father for a part-time Applebee’s bartender/Zumba instructor. Eric had not built a career on his “Kids in the Kitchen” brand, all about creating opportunities for kids to be creative and confident in the kitchen, only for the inspirations for that video and cookbook series to declare Applebee’s grilled cheese “way better than yours, Dad.” Christian was incapable of serving a meal without a side of ranch.

He sighed and closed Instagram, opening the People app instead. Maybe reading about celebrities’ problems would take his mind off his own.

“Zimmermann-Cassidy divorce. Tensions heat up on ice.”

Eric snorted in disgust but clicked on the headline anyway. He couldn’t help but feel a kinship with Jack Zimmermann, the NHL star whose model wife had been caught cheating on him with his own teammate. Ava Cassidy had played an inane game of Password and gushed about her new romance on Jimmy Fallon earlier in the week. Meanwhile, Jack Zimmermann was rumored to be devastated and supposedly seeking a way out of his contract at the end of the season.

Celebrities, he thought as he downed the last of the wine straight from the bottle. They’re just like us.

Jack isn’t doing well, either

“Oh, honey.” Maman said. “You didn’t fail. Marriage isn’t a game you can win or lose.”

That was easy for her to say. Jack’s parents had a dream marriage, and were still disgustingly in love after more than 40 years. They’d weathered everything—a bicoastal romance in the beginning, the years of trying to have a baby before Jack, the pressures of having careers and raising a child in the public eye, Jack’s ... troubles. Somehow, they’d managed to survive all that with their relationship not only intact, but stronger than ever.

Jack wished he was still small enough to climb into his parents’ bed and lie between them, secure in the knowledge nothing bad would ever happen to him.

“You’ve lost weight,” Maman said. Her eyes were sad but her tone was … not quite sympathetic. Jack knew it was because she worried about him, had always worried about him. It was the fact of being a parent, but because of his history her concern loomed over him, bigger and prone to alarm at even the hint of instability.

“A little,” Jack allowed, not wanting to tell her exactly how much weight he’d lost in the past three months. His trainer was already riding him about it, and the locker room chirps, which he usually ignored, were beginning to get to him. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to care very much.

“Jack, are you eating?” Papa asked, unwilling to tiptoe around the issue.

Jack didn’t know how to tell his parents that if he wasn’t at work, or fulfilling obligations for work, he was sleeping. Usually on the couch with the TV on, because he couldn’t bear being in a silent house or sleeping in his bed alone. Papa would definitely not want to hear that part.

“I still use that meal delivery service,” Jack said truthfully. He did not tell them the meals sat in the refrigerator until he gave up and moved them to the freezer, unwilling to waste them. The chest freezer in the basement that usually held the spoils from their annual Alaskan fishing trip was now full of pre-portioned, nutritionally balanced meals Jack would likely never eat.

“Have you talked to your therapist about adjusting your meds?”

Jack pretended he didn’t hear the question.

Papa sighed. “Look, Jack, I didn’t want to be the one to tell you this, but it’s better you hear it from me instead of somebody else. There are rumors out there …”

Jack knew rumors. This wasn’t the first time he’d been the topic of hot league gossip.

“You’re becoming a problem.”

Yeah, also not a first for that.

“Everybody agrees Rudy was in the wrong, but the way you’re handling this is not helping your case. You still need to do your job. Get through the season, see what happens with the trades. Hell, take a break. You’re almost forty. You have two Cups. Nobody would blink if you wanted to finish out the season and retire quietly.”

“Would you?” Jack asked.

Papa looked at him, gaze steely. “I would do whatever I had to do to stay healthy.”

In June, Jack found himself on a plane to Providence. The trade everyone predicted had happened and while Jack could have just ended it all by announcing his retirement, he didn’t want to end his career on the sour note that was his last year with the Kings. With an entire country between himself and Ava, maybe he would finally find some clarity. If he didn’t have to work with Rudy, maybe he could finally move on.

The Falconers seemed happy to have him, at least, and if anybody had reservations about the sad sack of the NHL joining their roster, nobody voiced them. Not to Jack’s face, anyway.

#WIP asks #the-lincyclopedia

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bytheangell · 4 years

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Give It a Chance

(Read on AO3) Alec is no stranger to working out. That isn’t why he’s cringing as he pulls on a pair of sweatpants and slips his feet into socks and sneakers at the crack of dawn on a Monday morning. He’s questioning why he ever agreed to do this because he isn’t on his way to an actual workout: he’s on his way to Zumba.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” he grumbles at Isabelle, shuffling into the living room of the apartment they share with Jace. Jace, who is sleeping peacefully because he somehow managed to not get himself subjected to their sister’s guilt-trip after Clary cancels at the last minute due to some rescheduled meeting with a potential buyer from out of town. Who even wants to look at art before 9 am?!

“I don’t want to go alone and you’re already awake! Plus you love to work out.”

“I do. And if we were going to work out, I’d be ecstatic. Instead, we’re going to… I don’t even know what to call it, because it isn’t even dancing. Which I guess is good, since I hate dancing. But it isn’t working out, either.”

“You’re only saying that because you’ve never tried it before. Just wait.” Izzy grabs her water bottle off of the kitchen counter, filling it as she talks. “Magnus’ class is the most difficult class to get into in the city. It wouldn’t be this popular if it wasn’t amazing, just give it a chance.”

“It’s a fad. And if it’s so popular you should’ve been able to give this spot away to anyone. The way you talk about it, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some Zumba Black Market you could’ve auctioned it off on.” He follows suit, filling his own water bottle before turning back to his sister. “Let’s just get this over with.”

---

They get there early. Much earlier than Alec thinks should be necessary, but it ends up not being early enough - there’s already a line at the door and the class doesn’t even start for another 20 minutes. With pre-signed up spots, though Izzy assures him that they still want to be early enough to not get stuck in the back corner. Alec disagrees and is seriously considering going that way when the doors open anyway.

“This is ridiculous,” he starts but stops when his almost-rant earns him an elbow to the side from Izzy.

“Just shush until it’s over. Then if you still think it doesn’t live up to the hype you can bash it as much as you want.”

There’s something in the way her eyes seem to twinkle with the offer, like she knows something he doesn’t, gives him a moment of pause. “Promise?” “Promise.”

That’s a deal Alec can stick to. A few minutes of silent judgment in return for what he’s certain he can stretch into hours of commentary later.

“Deal.” Alec leans back against the wall while they wait, arms crossed over his chest. He sees a few other guys in the line, one or two of them looking about as thrilled as he is to be there, but for the most part there’s an eager chatter among the growing crowd waiting for the doors to open. Maybe he is missing something here…

Izzy’s already striking up a conversation with the girl in front of her and Alec allows himself to zone out until the doors swing open and Izzy tugs on his t-shirt to get his attention when the line starts to file into the large group classroom.

And oh.

Oh.

“Sorry about the delay, I was having some trouble with the sound system but we should be all set!” The apology comes from a man in tight black… leggings? Workout tights? Alec isn’t positive about what they are because he’s only ever seen guys working out in shorts or sweatpants around his usual gym, but he certainly isn’t complaining. They have neon orange accents that match the tank-top he’s wearing, which is ripped for style down the sides. It’s a racerback that shows off some impressive arm and shoulder muscles, and--

“I can see you won’t have any problem watching the instructor, at least.”

Izzy’s voice is light with barely-concealed amusement, a smirk spread wide on her features.

“What?” Alec asks, half to stall and half because he wasn’t entirely paying attention to what his sister was actually saying, though the tone and the look on her face filled in the blanks easily enough.

“Try not to trip over your jaw on the floor on the way in,” she teases, having the good grace to lower her voice as they get closer to the door, which also brings them closer to the gorgeous man standing next to it. He’s taking the time to welcome each person who comes in, greeting some by name, others with casual nods.

Alec is trying to pick up speed through the doorway to avoid any direct interaction but he isn’t fast enough.

“I haven’t seen you two around before,” the instructor - Magnus, Alec remembers his sister mentioning- says, glancing from Izzy to Alec. “I’m certain I’d remember if you were.”

“This is our first class,” Izzy confirms. “I’m sure you know how difficult it is to get into.”

“I’m very glad you could make it. You and your...?” Magnus trails off very clearly fishing for information. Alec, who is still trying very intently to focus on anything other than the way the light catches Magnus’ eyes and gives them hints of gold among the brown, misses the cue entirely.

“Brother,” Izzy is quick to supply. “Alec. And I’m Isabelle.”

“Brother…” Magnus repeats softly, eyes falling on Alec but not dwelling too long, aware of the rest of the line behind the siblings. “Right. Well, Alec and Isabelle, I’d love to hear what you think after the class. Grab a spot and I’ll see you in there.”

“Thanks,” Izzy says, and Alec realizes he hasn’t said anything the entire exchange, as he pushes slightly past Isabelle to go in first.

Once they’re inside he waits for her to pick their spot, knowing better than to think he’s getting away with hiding in the back corner he instinctively wants to gravitate towards.

“Anywhere but the very front,” he tells her the moment her eyes drift towards that half of the room.

“Oh, so you can speak. I was starting to wonder if you’d gone mute back there.” He can hear the smile behind her words even as she walks away from him towards the right-middle of the room.

“I was just keeping quiet like I promised. Unless you wanted me to tell Magnus all about how I’m only here because you forced me to come, and don’t actually care how popular his class is?”

“Uh-huh,” Izzy says, clearly unconvinced, but doesn’t have time to harp on it when the last of the line files in and Magnus makes his way to the front of the room adjusting the headset that indents the top of his hair.

“Testing, testing.” His voice is too soft to be heard over the music that starts up, an uptempo beat that’s energetic but not too fast for a good warm-up. Magnus fidgets with the volume for a few more seconds before striking the perfect balance. “There we go. Alright everybody, grab your spots and make sure you have enough space to move!”

Izzy moves a few steps forward but keeps them near the middle of the room, and off to the side. “You’re lucky I know how annoying it would be for you to stand in the middle and block everyone’s line of sight,” she tells him. “Otherwise I’d drag us right behind Magnus.”

Alec rolls his eyes but silently says a prayer to the genetics that graced him with his impressive height.

He’s about to say something heavily laced in sarcasm when Magnus’ voice drowns out any clever comeback he might have.

“Welcome! Y’all ready? We’re going to have a lot of fun with this one, right?”

Several people give a cheer, a few others clap, and Alec is at a loss to find who is this enthusiastic this early in the morning about a dance class.

Perhaps he would’ve cheered if he anticipated the show he’s about to get.

Magnus moves in a way that makes it very clear that he has a dancing background of some sort. The instructions start off easy enough to follow, but even when he misses a verbal cue it isn’t as if Alec has any issue with keeping a studious gaze on the instructor.

When Magnus starts a song with heavy salsa influences, all hips and fluid arm movements, Alec isn’t sure if he’s being rewarded or cursed by the universe.

Alec has to admit that this is a lot more difficult than it looks. It still isn’t his first, or second, or anywhere near his top choices for a workout, but there’s a sheen of sweat on his face by the 4th or 5th song... which is probably because he’s only just starting to follow actively along without getting lost in the left-and-rights. Up until now, he’s been tripping over his own feet too often to get into any consistent flow.

Magnus facing them now, somehow managing to mirror the steps for them to follow with impressive ease even facing this way. His eyes scan the group, giving tips here and there to people he sees struggling and cracking a few jokes with people who Alec can only assume are regulars.

“See, Thea, I told you you’d get that grapevine down after a few tries,” he says before his eyes fall on Alec.

And Alec, foolish enough to make eye contact, loses all train of thought and forgets to step right with everyone else, leaving the poor girl to his left nearly colliding into him. Magnus’ light chuckle of amusement is barely audible over the thump of the bass in the song and Alec is glad the red on his face could be attributed to the exercise and not the blush it definitely is as he scrambles to the side, ignoring the steps entirely.

With the extra eyes on him, Alec returns all his focus to the movements, forcing his eyes to look back down at Magnus’ feet instead of his face. He still can’t seem to get his own feet to remember which steps forward first, starting off backwards almost every time and eventually stopping entirely in flustered frustration.

“Don’t worry so much about doing it perfectly! First times with the routines are always a rough run-through, just keep going until there’s a good spot to fix it, like this.” Alec watches as Magnus intentionally gets off-step, going left instead of right. And then, at the start of another repetition, does a small hop to switch feet in a half-step to get back onto the right one. Alec nods to himself and waits for another rotation to do the same, looking far too pleased with himself when it works and he’s back on step.

When Alec looks up Magnus is grinning, too, and nods at him with a smile before turning his attention back to the room at large.

The rest of the class passes by much too fast now that he’s found a rhythm and is, though he’ll never admit it to Isabelle, actually starting to enjoy himself, and when the cooldown comes he’s surprised at how disappointed he feels.

“Great class, everyone! See you back here Friday!” Magnus says, cutting the stereo off. The sudden lack of music is jarring but the room quickly dissolves into chatter to fill the silence.

“So?” Izzy asks him before taking a long drink from her water bottle. “And don’t think you can lie to me - I saw you having fun.” “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be,” Alec admits grudgingly, wiping at the sweat about to drip into his eyes with a corner of his t-shirt.

A sudden voice behind him makes him jump.

“What a ringing endorsement.” Alec recognizes the voice immediately - how could he not, after hearing it for the past hour straight. “Perhaps after the next class I can reach ‘moderately tolerable’ status.”

Alec grimaces. “I-”

“Perhaps you could give me a few pointers on what could bring up my rating. Maybe… over coffee?” Magnus continues, not giving a chance for Alec to backtrack his original statement.

Alec takes a second to make sure he heard that right.

“Coffee?” Alec repeats, stalling because he’s honestly caught too off-guard to answer.

“Or smoothies, or proper drinks. It’s only 10 am but I don’t judge, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere,” Magnus adds with a wink.

Yet another comment Alec isn’t expecting. “You mean right now? Like this?” These aren’t even Alec’s best sweatpants, ignoring the fact that they’re sweatpants in the first place, and the sides of his hair stick to the side of his face from sweat.

“Are you saying there’s something wrong with the way I look?” Magnus asks.

The panic that crosses Alec’s face has Izzy laughing beside him. Magnus looks offended - but it’s exaggerated enough that Alec thinks he’s faking it just to be dramatic. Right?

“You look great,” Alec manages. “I, on the other hand…”

“Also look great,” Magnus supplies, not missing a beat. “Is that a yes?”

Alec hesitates, but a not-so-subtle nudge from Izzy’s elbow into the small of his back has him nodding.

“Yes. Yeah, sure. Coffee sounds great.”

“Coffee it is. Let me just wrap up here and I’ll meet you outside. I know a wonderful shop just a couple blocks down.

The second Magnus walks away Isabelle’s in front of him, grinning from ear-to-ear.

“While I’m thrilled you have a date, if you actually tell him what you hate and he changes his classes, I will murder you,” she says pointedly.

“You’re in luck,” Alec says. “I didn’t actually hate any of it. It was really fun.”

“I knew it!” Isabelle nearly shouts, and Alec motions for her to quiet down when a few eyes, Magnus’ included, turn their way at her exclamation.

“Ready to go, Alec?” Magnus asks, coming up beside them. “Sorry for stealing your brother away,” he adds. “I’m not interrupting any plans am I?”

“None at all,” Isabelle is quick to reassure him. “Please, steal away. In fact, you’re more than welcome to keep him.”

Alec rolls his eyes. “Iz, please,” he half-whines. It’s just coffee, just an impulsive date. Magnus doesn’t even know him. In fact, if they make it through a whole cup of coffee without Alec boring him to death he’ll consider it a win.

“I guess we’ll have to see how amenable Alec is to being kept,” Magnus says, and Alec wonders how he’s that smooth, just like, all of the time.

As it turns out, after two cups of coffee, then lunch, then an afternoon walking around the park and talking and dinner after realizing how late it was, Alec is very amenable to being kept.

#malec #magnus bane #alec lightwood #isabelle lightwood #shadowhunters #i started this ages ago and meant for it to have chapters #but when I didn't have any more ideas I decided to let it live its best life as a oneshot #elle writes a few deadbeat lines #long post

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thearvariblues · 4 years

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Alright, this is probably my new addiction to working out speaking, but hear me out: Modern Fitness Center Geraskier AU.

Geralt is the owner of a fitness center, with his ex-wife Yennefer. He’s also an instructor and teaches Krav Maga.

Yennefer’s also an instructor. She’s known for her strict approach that verges on cruelty, not sugarcoating anything and yelling at her clients occasionally. She will make you hate her and yourself, but it works like a fucking charm.

She’s got her own youtube channel where she posts her workouts. She doesn’t give modifications. The more people ask for modifications, the harder the next workout.

Enter Jaskier. He’s a zumba instructor. He’s fully aware of the fact that zumba’s gone out of style, but he’ll be damned if he lets it stop him.

He’s known for his cheery attitude, talking constantly (constantly!) during his lessons, and even singing from time to time. Yes, exactly. He’s jumping around like mad, sweating like mad, and singing.

Honestly, Geralt has no idea why Yennefer insists on keeping him, because they never planned on having zumba classes, thank you very much. But hey, he brings some new people in, so it’s probably alright.

(He brings lots of new people in. He’s good. He’s adorable. The word spreads and everyone needs to see this new zumba sensation.)

Pretty soon, Yennefer asks Jaskier to make a zumba workout for her youtube channel. The number of subscribers doubles. “Come on, dear heart, jump for me, I know you can” becomes a new catchphrase.

Of course that Jaskier falls madly in love with the tall, muscular, white-haired instructor.

Of course that Geralt mostly sees him as a nuisance who talks way too much and tends to get in trouble for sleeping with his clients.

They get into a heated argument one day, when Geralt has to (once again) save Jaskier’s sorry ass from a betrayed husband of one of his clients. Geralt yells at Jaskier that his workouts are nothing but silly jumping, something a ten-year-old could do. (And yes, Ciri does it quite regularly, because Jaskier also has classes for kids. Needless to say, Ciri loves Jaskier unconditionally and ships him with her father. Hard.) Jaskier yells back that Geralt’s Krav Maga classes are nothing but brainless punching and kicking.

In the end, they reach an agreement. Well, more of a challenge, really. If Jaskier comes to one of Geralt’s Krav Maga lessons and survives, Geralt will show up in Jaskier’s next video.

Jaskier does show up, but he very nearly doesn’t survive. He ends up sore, his arms and legs hurting worse than they have for the past few years. But he makes it to the end. He wins.

It’s Geralt’s turn now, and Jaskier is determined to destroy him. His next workout will be his masterpiece, the best thing he’s ever created.

They have a rehearsal before shooting, and Geralt is confident as ever. It’s even easier than he thought. Only when they start shooting, he realizes that the rehearsal was just to get his technique right, and that he’s expected to double his speed.

“Did I hear you say ‘Faster, Jaskier‘?” “Holy Mother of God...” “So that’s a yes.”

In the end, Geralt is on the verge of tears. He’s sweating. He’s gasping for breath. The moment the camera stops rolling, he falls to his knees and begs Death to finally claim him.

When he comes to his senses, though, he proposes another challenge. For every time Jaskier makes is through Geralt’s lesson, Geralt shows up in another video. Jaskier accepts.

Their first workout video gets thousands of views within the first twenty-four hours after being posted.

Jaskier shows up to at least one lesson a week. Geralt has got a bad feeling that at this rate, he’s gonna be doing workout videos with him until he’s eighty.

The truth is, Jaskier stops caring about the challenge pretty soon. He becomes addicted to Geralt’s lessons. To feeling strong. To Geralt’s hands on his body when he corrects his technique.

Geralt secretly prays Jaskier doesn’t ever stop coming for his lessons, because Geralt is addicted to his smile, his laugh, his eyes sparkling with mischief. With each new lesson he realizes (again and again and again) just how feral Jaskier is and he loves it.

“Hello, my dear hearts. As always, I’ve got my lovely colleague Geralt here with me...” turns into “Hello, my dear hearts. You already know my darling friend Geralt–” “We’re not friends.” “Whatever you say, sweetie.”

Within two months, everyone who ever saw one of their workouts ships them.

“He’s cute, don’t you think? And single. He hasn’t seduced anyone’s significant other in weeks,” Yennefer tells Geralt at least three times a week. Geralt grunts.

Geralt knows Jaskier’s cute. He knows it damn well. He’s cute and gorgeous and amazing and Geralt’s madly in love with him.

Mutual. Fucking. Pining.

One evening, just as Jaskier leaves the center, he gets surrounded by three guys. He’s never seen them before, but it’s clear as day that they know of him. And they’re determined to teach the queer instructor a lesson.

Jaskier’s first reaction is fear, of course, but then the months of training with Geralt kick in. Before he realizes what’s happening, there are three guys lying on the pavement. One of them is vomiting and one of them is spitting blood and his own teeth.

Enter Geralt, who saw it from the inside. He was already coming to Jaskier’s aid, but Jaskier beat him to it. And holy shit, Geralt’s never been more aroused in his life.

He insists on giving Jaskier a lift home, and then on coming in to take a look at Jaskier’s split lower lip. (Jaskier has no idea how he managed to get his lip split, but to be fair, he still has no idea how he managed to utterly destroy three guys, either.)

“There’s some ice in the–” Jaskier starts, but Geralt’s lips are already crushing into his, Geralt’s hands desperately pulling Jaskier closer, and yes, yes, this is what Jaskier’s been craving for months...

When they come to the gym together the next day, hand in hand, Yennefer only whispers: “Fucking finally!”

The next workout video starts with “Hello, my dear hearts. I’d like to introduce you to my boyfriend Geralt...”

Aaand that’s about it. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. XD

#geraskier #jaskier x geralt #geralt x jaskier #the witcher #the witcher fanfiction #my fics

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keigosbirdie · 4 years

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So I was doing a bit of research on bird courtship rituals before I try and possibly fail to write an AU where Hawks is a Zumba instructor, and I read about how some partners will lightly preen one another to help diffuse the spatial boundaries between them and sit right next to each other and lean on each other and generally be close together and let each other know that they won’t hurt each other.

In case that didn’t make me feel soft enough, that had me thinking back to the shower scene from Nighthawk because it wasn’t just physical boundaries that were broken down, but rather emotional ones and that’s so fksjdhdcking beautiful. So anyways, I’m gonna go cry now because I’ll probably never find a boyfriend who will gently pick pieces of lint off of my sweater while he sleepily rests his head on my shoulder.

HHHAHAH I used to do Zumba and imagining Hawks trying to instruct it sounds fuckin hillarious omfg - I hope u make it hhah!

But yes!!! ;n; Birds are just so --- hng cute and sweet ;n; (ssssometimes haha!) but the ones that mate for life especially get me in the feels. Just -- precious babs being cute/comforting with each other. It’s part of the reason I like imagining hawks’ s/o preening him so much ;n; but also him trying to return the favor is an adorable thought. combing through their hair with his fingers, picking hair and lint from their clothes, nestling into their neck and just hummingggggI love it ;n;

#Anonymous

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keichanz · 5 years

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Move Your Body || pt. 1

Hi, friends. First off, I want to say that I really wanted to finish and post this before Sunday, but obviously that didn’t happen, so I decided to go ahead and post the first part of my new AU because...well. Just continue reading. :)

Secondly, some of you may know this, some may not, but today, the 28th, is also my birthday. Yep, I turned the big 3-0 today, and lemme tell you I am not thrilled about it lmao.

Some of you may also know that recently I created a Ko-fi and that I’ve been struggling a bit financially wise.

This fic is a great, big, fat thank you to all of you who have supported me through Ko-fi and also for those of you who didn’t, but were there for me anyway with your encouragement, kind words, and emotional support. I can’t begin to tell how how much it meant to me that you guys didn’t hesitate to donate, and I am not lying when I say it literally brought me to tears. I cried from your generosity, and I cannot thank you enough for helping me out. This month has been a bit rougher than most, and I am eternally grateful to every single one of you. I wanted to give you something in return, and I thought, why not post this AU early. It’s small, and I know a lot of you are looking forward to the next chapter of You Rescued Me (it’s in the works!), but I hope this will suffice.

Having all of you as friends, as followers and readers, is the best birthday gift I could have ever asked for. I’m so damn blessed and grateful to have all of you in my life and i hope you all know that I appreciate and love you all from the very bottom of my heart.

So thank you again for being there for me. You can all bet your asses I’ll be the first one to jump on the chance in helping in any way that I can if ever one of you need support. Because you have mine, guaranteed.

Note: I know fuck all about choreography or being a producer, so for the sake of this story, pretend everything in factual and accurate lmao.

Inuyasha was lounging in his office and puffing idly on a cigarette while poring over some of his old routines in hopes of sparking some inspiration when he heard the music.

Normally he wouldn’t care and would just ignore it, the probability that it was one of his instructors coming in for the midnight lessons his studio offered more than likely. Less likely it was one of their students wanting to get in some late night practice, but still possible. They needed express permission from himself in order to do that, and since neither Sango nor Miroku had run it by him to get that authorization, Inuyasha doubted any of his instructors’ students actually had the balls to sneak in without consent. So that ruled that out.

Inuyasha frowned and looked up from his desk, pinching the cig between two fingers and exhaling. He cocked his head, ears twitching as he tried to determine where exactly it was coming from, and when he did his eyebrows shot up in surprise. The music was not coming from the first or second floor, suggesting it was either one of his friends or a student, but instead the soft notes of a vaguely familiar hip-hop song were drifting up from directly below him.

The Taisho Studios building was made up of five floors, with the ground floor being the first. That one was Sango’s studio where she held her lessons, teaching those interested in how to dance in various styles and offering kick-boxing lessons as well. Miroku instructed his clientele on the second floor, where he offered various unique exercise regimes that was basically Zumba but with his own personal flare.

The third floor, however, was reserved for his use only, the top dog’s private studio where only a select few ever saw the inside, and those usually consisted of celebrities looking for the best of the best for their music videos. Inuyasha instructed those lessons himself and charged top dollar for his services. Everyone knew it was off limits and he kept the door locked. The fourth floor consisted of his spacious office and gym, also available to Miroku and Sango whenever they wanted since they weren’t just his instructors, but also his valued friends. It was conveniently located right below his top floor condo so whenever Inuyasha was working late, he could just drag his ass upstairs and bam, he was home.

Wondering who had the balls big enough to use his private studio without his permission, Inuyasha abandoned his work and strode to the door, cracking it open and sticking his head out into the hall. The music got louder and Inuyasha surmised whoever it was must have left the doors wide open so as far as he was concerned that was an open invitation to go see who it was and then kick them the hell out.

Glancing over his shoulder and eyeing the desk littered with paperwork and his open lap top, Inuyasha snorted, shrugged, and promptly decided he needed a break. His deadline wasn’t for another month and he wasn’t being very productive tonight anyway so Sesshomaru can just kiss his merrily dancing ass and deal with it.

Sticking his cig back between his lips, Inuyasha forwent using the elevator and instead wandered casually down the hall, going into the stairwell and then abruptly vaulting over the railing and dropping to the third floor. The entrance to his studio was right across from the elevators and staircase, so when he opened the door he found himself staring directly into it—and the person brave enough to utilize the spacious room without his knowledge.

For the second time that night Inuyasha’s eyebrows rose in surprise and without even being aware of it he padded across the hallway. His footsteps were masked by the music coming out of the Bluetooth speakers and they were facing away from them. Curious despite himself, Inuyasha leaned against the doorjamb and crossed his arms, golden eyes silent observing as a little smirk quirked his lips.

Kagome released an undignified squawk as she stumbled forward for the nth time that night, the toe of her shoe catching on the hardwood floor and throwing off her balance. Windmilling her arms, she managed to catch herself before she face-planted onto the hard floor and resisted the urge to stamp her foot like a child and scream her vexation into the empty studio.

Dammit, why couldn’t she get this? Sango had made it look so easy when she’d shown her earlier, and after a couple of tries with her instructor’s guidance, Kagome had been able to more or less command her body to execute a smooth hip roll without looking like a twerking imbecile. Now for some reason she was unable to smoothly transition into the dance move she wanted without nearly falling over and needless to say she was getting frustrated.

Grumbling under her breath and wishing she had her friend’s tall and slender physique, Kagome stomped over to the table where her phone sat and paused the song in order to once more bring up the choreography. She hit play for the hundredth time, studied closely the two men and one woman flawlessly busting out move after move without fault and she promptly scowled before tossing her phone back on the table with a rough exhale.

Closing her eyes and tilting her head back, Kagome frowned and allowed her mind to wander, vaguely noting the faint smell of cigarette smoke that had been present earlier had suddenly gotten stronger. What was she even doing, anyway? She’d never been the most coordinated of people and was oftentimes called a klutz. She wasn’t graceful and she wasn’t even athletic, so really, this was a waste of time. She knew if she carried this out she would only end up making a fool of herself so why go through the trouble?

“Because,” Kagome answered herself with a deep sigh, shoulders slumping in defeat, “I’m too damn stubborn and my stupid pride won’t let me quit.”

“You make it sound like that’s a bad thing.”

Kagome gasped and spun around, hand over her pounding heart and blue eyes wide with a combination of surprise and embarrassment. Her gaze landed on the lounging figure in the doorway, casually puffing away on a cigarette as he regarded her silently.

Well, that explains the odor of cigarette smoke, Kagome mused while aloud she said, “Jeez, you scared me. I didn’t know anyone else was here.” She paused and then frowned when his words registered. “What?”

The man said nothing and just continued to stare at her, cig tucked between his lips, expression unreadable. He was...damn, he was attractive, Kagome secretly admitted, feeling a blush creep up to color her cheeks a soft pink. Donned in loose fitting black jeans that rode low on his hips and a plain white t-shirt that contoured very nicely to a toned chest and stomach, a backwards ballcap was pulled on top of a head of short, shaggy silver hair. His eyes looked to be a stunning golden color and when he lifted a hand to pinch the cig between two fingers, Kagome noticed two things: the talons tipping each finger, instantly giving away what he was, and the black tattoo starting at his wrist that crawled up his arm to disappear into his shirt sleeve.

Kagome’s breath hitched and her heart skipped a beat. No wonder he’s so attractive, she thought dazedly, glimpsing a flash of fang as he parted his lips and tendrils of smoke drifted up toward the ceiling. He’s not human.

What was that saying? The most beautiful things in life are often the most dangerous, or something to that effect. Kagome was inclined to believe it, suddenly feeling very flushed and where was her water bottle?

“Tenacity and pride,” the man continued, studying the fag between his fingers with an air of boredom. “By themselves they don’t do much good and more often than not just get you into trouble, but put them together and success is pretty much guaranteed in the performing arts industry.

“So I guess you could say,” he said and took a drag of his cig, “they’re requirements in our world. Stipulations if you wanna get anywhere in life.”

Kagome shook her head. “Um, our world?” she repeated, utterly lost.

The look he gave her was deadpan. “Dancing, babydoll.”

Ocean eyes widened in understanding and her flush darkened as she sheepishly averted her gaze, fidgeting where she stood.

“Oh, I, um,” Kagome faltered, clearing her throat and for some reason suddenly feeling like a child in front of a grown up about to confess to being naughty. “I’m...not a dancer,” she finished lamely and winced, twisting the fabric of her shirt with her fingers in a nervous habit.

Inuyasha raised a dubious brow at that declaration. “Alright,” he allowed, nodding slowly. “So suppose you tell me what the hell you’re doing in my private studio then, playing music and dressed like that?”

Kagome blanched and jerked her head up to stare at him with wide-eyes. “P-private?” she squeaked and looked so terrified Inuyasha briefly regretted telling her that. “Oh god—I’m so sorry, I didn’t know! Er, my dance instructor Sango told me I could use her studio tonight to get some practice in, but when I got here it was locked and I...found this one and it was unlocked...”

Looking very uncomfortable with a red face and shifting nervously from foot to foot, Inuyasha felt his face soften slightly as he watched her and he released a quiet sigh around the cig in his mouth. It had been unlocked since he was in here an hour before trying out some moves for the new routine he was working on and he’d planned on locking back up before he went upstairs.

So ultimately it was his fault since he’d left the doors unlocked, and as such it wouldn’t exactly be fair to be angry at her. It also appeared she didn’t know who he was, which admittedly was a bit surprising. Everyone knew everything above the second floor was off limits unless given permission and it led him to believe she was a fairly new student of Sango’s.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized again and gave an awkward half-bow, biting down on her lip as she finally met his eyes. “I’ll, um, leave if you want me to. I really didn’t know...”

Inuyasha considered her for a moment and then shook his head. What was the point if she was already here? “Nah, don’t worry about,” he muttered and took another drag on his cig, watching as she visibly relaxed and offered him a timid smile.

Cute little thing, ain’t she? he mused idly and racked his gaze down her lithe form. She says she’s not a dancer, but she certainly had the body to be one. That damn shirt hid most of his view, but from what he could see of her legs—

“Are you an instructor?” she asked him, tilting her head. “I haven’t seen you around before.”

Inuyasha fought against the urge to grin. She really didn’t have any idea who he was.

“You can say that,” he finally said at length, finding himself not wanting to give away his identity just yet. This could prove to be interesting, and who knows; maybe it would spark some inspiration and he’d finally be able to get some results so Sesshomaru would stop jumping down his damn throat with his demands and deadlines.

“Still waiting for an explanation, babydoll,” Inuyasha reminded her and took another drag. Technically there was no smoking allowed in his building, but he owned it and could do whatever the hell he damn well pleased, so whatever.

She blinked. “For what?”

He cocked a brow at her and carelessly flicked some ashes onto the floor; maintenance would clean it up tomorrow morning anyway. “Why you’re here. You said you ain’t a dancer, which is all fine and dandy, but you got me curious.” He shrugged and let the cig dangle from his lips as he crossed his arms again.

Kagome winced and then wrinkled her nose, her face warming up at the true reason for her being here.

“It’s stupid...” she mumbled, staring down at the floor and hunching her shoulders a little.

Inuyasha frowned. “I doubt that,” he told her and had an insane, unexplainable urge to cross the room and wrap her up in his arms. She just looked so small and fragile and he wanted to...protect her? What the—from what?

Kagome looked like she didn’t believe but she took a breath and told him anyway, figuring he had a right to know since this was his private studio. Or at least that’s what he told her, however Kagome figured he was telling the truth because why else would he be here?

“It really is stupid,” she repeated with a sigh and a fleeting grimace crossed her features. “My college was holding an event the other day out in the courtyard in front of the student activities building, and since my friends and I had nothing better to do, we decided to go and see what it was all about. Turns out it was a DDR competition and they were using a giant white board as a screen and extension cords to hook the game up. Anyone was welcome to play a round and enter some friendly competition, and even though I’ve never played before in my life, I gave it a try.”

She paused and crossed her arms, her nose scrunching slightly in a little pout that he found completely too adorable. “Of course I failed miserably at it, but I laughed it off because it was just for fun anyway. But then this extremely rude and universally not liked rich bitch laughed way too hard about it and snarked that I would never win any contest with those moves.”

Inuyasha cocked a brow at her, his tone disbelieving as he drawled, “You’re here because of a game of DDR?”

She scowled at him and had the good grace to blush. “No. If you let me continue, I was going to say the purpose of the entire event was to promote an actual dance competition where you have to come up with a new dance to a song of your choosing. It has to be at least one minute long, an entry can have up to four people, and all of the moves have to be completely original.”

“Sounds fair,” he commented.

Kagome nodded. “So after humiliating me in front of dozens of people, this bitch flips her hair, pops her chest out so everybody notices her fake boobs, and loudly declares that it’ll be a piece of cake winning the competition since ‘nobody worth while’ has entered. And oh my god, I got so heated, and just to spite the cocky bitch, I stared her right in the eye as I entered despite the fact that I cannot dance worth a good goddamn.

“And so now,” Kagome shrugged and held up her hands helplessly. “Here I am, sneaking into private studios at midnight and pretending like I know what the hell I’m doing.” She offered a wavering smile, her face still red but her blue eyes were bright.

Inuyasha nodded again and whistled low. “I see,” he murmured. “Good on you though, for not letting her cow you like that. I take it this isn’t the first time she’s given you grief.”

Kagome sighed and pinched her nose. “Since I started college three years ago. We’re in the same major.”

“Which is?”

“Nursing.”

He looked surprised. “So this bitch walking about like her shit don’t stink wants a career that dedicates all of her time taking care of and thinking about someone else other than herself? Is that what you’re telling me?”

“I know,” Kagome said drolly, her expression one of dry exasperation. “Trust me, the irony is not lost on me.”

“Damn,” Inuyasha muttered in bewilderment, shaking his head.

Kagome grunted in agreement, wrinkling her nose.

He bit back a chuckle. “Alright. Now lemme ask you this, babydoll,” Inuyasha suddenly said, flicking more ashes onto the floor and when her inquisitive blue eyes met his, he continued. “You said earlier that your stubbornness and pride won’t let you back down. Is that still true?”

Kagome blinked in confusion, brow furrowing slightly. “What...?”

“Is it?”

Amber eyes bore into her own and Kagome shivered. “I...yes,” she answered, barely above a whisper.

He nodded. “One more thing.” Pinching the nearly gone cancer stick between two fingers and lowering it from his lips, Inuyasha looked directly into her eyes and exhaled smoothly.

“Do you want it?”

Kagome opened her mouth. Closed it. Looked adorably confused. “Do I...do I want what?”

Inuyasha was silent for a moment as he studied her, and then he answered roughly, “You have to want it, babydoll. Spite is a great motivator, but it’s not enough if you want real results. If you don’t want it bad enough, if this is all just a game to get back at some snotty bitch with fake tits, then you’re wasting your time and might as well leave right now. I don’t give my time to quitters.”

Kagome gasped and shook her head, her heart pounding at what he was implying. “What do you—”

“Do you want it?”

The intensity in which he’d asked that single question gave Kagome pause and suddenly she knew exactly what he was referring to, what he wanted to hear her say. And it was amazing because she did want it; she wanted it with a desperation that surprised her because when she’d changed into her workout clothes and left her apartment at 11:30 at night to practice dancing in an empty studio, she hadn’t truly thought that she would get anywhere and thought for sure she’d end up giving in and backing down.

But then suddenly this man appears out of nowhere, starts asking her questions about pride and tenacity, somehow wheedles out the real reason why she’s here and her ambition roars back to life. No, it wasn’t just spite that made her agree. True, she wanted to prove that bitch wrong, but she wanted to prove to herself even more that she could do this and do it so well she’d leave everyone wondering if she was the same clumsy Kagome that tripped over air and fell up the stairs.

“Yes,” Kagome answered honestly, squaring her shoulders and straightening her back. Nodding, she repeated herself, her voice strong and ringing with resolve.

“Yes, I want it. I want it.”

Inuyasha’s eyes flashed and he nodded once. “Good.”

Then with that he started toward her, his strides purposeful and Kagome watched him as he approached the table behind her and stabbed out his cigarette in the ash tray she’d failed to notice before now.

Then he turned to her, crossed his arms, and leaned back against the table.

“Let’s see it.”

Kagome balked. “What?”

“Show me what you got, babydoll. Dance for me.”

Kagome blushed and swallowed thickly, her mouth suddenly feeling dry as her heart kick started in her chest.

“Why?” she whispered although she suspected she already knew why.

Instead of answering, Inuyasha grabbed her phone and woke up the screen, ignoring her protest. “What song?”

Kagome made a half-hearted swipe for her mobile and huffed in aggravation when he held it away from her. “Song?”

He cut his eyes to her with an annoyed frown. “What song are you going to be dancing to?”

She blinked. “Oh. Well, I was thinking maybe Girls like You by Maroon—”

“No.”

“...Excuse me?”

“No,” Inuyasha repeated and scrolled through the songs on her music app. “It’s not a bad choice, but it’s too...soft for what you need. If you wanna win this competition you’re gonna want something with a real shock factor, something totally unexpected that’ll knock their fucking socks off and have men and women alike panting and wanting a piece of that.”

Kagome made a face and muttered, “I don’t really care if I win this thing. I just want Kamlyn to eat her words and maybe get her to stop harassing me every goddamned day.”

Inuyasha shrugged. “Then consider it a bonus because when I’m through with you it’ll be guaranteed. Now,” he said and browsed her music again with a contemplative frown. “From what you’ve told me about this Kamlyn wench, it’s safe to assume her dance is not going to be kid friendly. That means you’re gonna hafta knock her performance outta the park with something sexier.”

Kagome blanched. Sexier? Oh god. She was anything but sexy and she really didn’t think she liked where he was going with this...

“You’re taste in music sucks,” he commented idly when still he saw nothing after a few more minutes of scrolling. She must have had over five hundred songs on the damn thing and yet none of the titles he glimpsed were appropriate for what he had in mind. He uselessly scrolled for another minute, gave up, and decided he’d have better luck with YouTube. They’d have to discuss what song she’ll use at a later time, but for now he’d just use a random bop with a suitable rhythm and he searched for the first one that came to mind.

“It does not,” Kagome fired back petulantly and crossed her arms again. “If you’re gonna insult my music then you can just—”

Inuyasha tapped the screen and seconds later the rest of her words were abruptly cut off by a steady, thrumming beat pumping from the speakers around them. The music ebbed and flowed, giving off a suggestive and sultry energy that can often be found in strip clubs. The lyrics followed shortly thereafter, soft, sexy, and alluring.

Kagome’s heart stopped and for the second time in as many minutes the color drained from her face. Oh no. Nooooo no no no no he couldn’t possibly want her to dance to…to something like that?

As the crooning lyrics abruptly turned into obscene moaning sounds, Inuyasha set her phone on the table and crossed his arms before nodding his head behind her, a wordless gesture to get on with it.

Oh good lord he did. Fervently Kagome shook her head, her eyes pleading with him to choose another song while inwardly cursing every perverted songwriter that decided it would be a good idea to create something like that. It was too embarrassing, too…too suggestive, something she wouldn’t even do in the privacy of her own room, let alone in front of a very attractive man!

Inuyasha frowned at her adamant refusal and explained, “I need to see what I’m working with here, babydoll, and in order for me to do that, you need to show me. This is just to give me an idea on where to start, so just pretend I’m not here and let the music take over. Close your eyes if you need to and let everything else just fade away.”

Blushing furiously, Kagome bit her lip and hesitated, dropping her gaze to stare down at the floor and clutched the hem of her shirt, wringing the fabric in an obviously nervous gesture. She knew without a doubt that even if she did close her eyes she would still be aware of his presence. Even now she could feel the weight of his gaze, staring at her unwaveringly and it made her stomach do not so unpleasant flip-flops as her heart accelerated in her chest.

Didn’t he realize what he was asking of her? Kagome had never considered herself sexy; hell, she wouldn’t even call herself pretty. She was average. She didn’t turn heads, never attracted attention, and she could count on one hand the number of times a guy had flirted with her. (Once, and it was her ex-boyfriend.) Kagome was awkward, clumsy; she knew she was no prize and her confidence level was drastically low.

Simply put, she wasn’t Kamlyn, who, despite being completely fake, was considered one of the hottest people on campus and she wasn’t afraid to flaunt what she had. How could he possibly ask her to dance to a song like this when she had nothing to flaunt?

When the song transitioned into the first chorus and all she did was continue to stand there looking very uncomfortable while avoiding his gaze, it became glaringly obvious that her hesitation went beyond mere shyness so with a sigh Inuyasha swiped up her phone and hit pause. Her shoulders hunched as the music was abruptly cut off and she peeked up at him, biting her lip and looking like she was about to be scolded.

His expression softened, however the confusion was evident on his face as he regarded her thoughtfully. Was this truly so difficult for her?

“Okay,” he murmured. “What’s the matter?” The patient softness of his voice surprised even him and judging by the look that crossed her face, it surprised her too.

She recovered quickly, though, and once more ducked her head, shifting her weight and feeling a flush of embarrassment color her face a soft pink. She really didn’t want to confide in a virtual stranger all of her self-image issues, even if he was trying to help her. Maybe if she gave him just a brief display of her awkwardness and incoordination he would see for himself that the song definitely wasn’t the best choice.

Dearly hoping she wouldn’t regret this, Kagome swallowed thickly and said just loud enough for him to hear, “Um, s-start the song over, please.”

Inuyasha frowned at her unexpected request and he eyed her for a moment, expression contemplative, before wordlessly reaching over to wake up the screen and did as he bade him. A single tap of a clawed finger and the song was starting over, the beginning notes echoing throughout the studio.

Steeling herself, unable to stop her nervous shaking, Kagome took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and started moving.

Right off the bat Inuyasha knew with absolute certainty, or at the least very strongly suspected just why exactly she was so adamant about not using this particular song. It was heavy with sex appeal, the kind that made women grind and gyrate their hips as they sought to turn on every single man nearby, and this girl, this young woman had absolutely zero.

Her movements were stiff and awkward as she attempted to move her body to the music provided like she had no idea where to put her limbs. The look of intense concentration on her face suggested that might very well be the case and it was clear she’d never before used her hips or ass as a method of seduction. They didn’t roll so much as jerk and her knees weren’t at all relaxed but locked which accounted for all the stumbling she was doing. Of course with that damn shirt in the way it was hard to accurately guess, but altogether it was glaringly obvious how out of her element she was, her discomfort not only painted clear as day on her face, but in the stiff way she moved.

After another stumble that nearly sent her sprawling onto the floor, Inuyasha couldn’t take it anymore and he put a stop to her painful performance by pressing pause and he didn’t miss the unmistakable look of relief that crossed her features. Then she righted herself, sighed, and looked positively defeated as she stared at him, as if she already knew he was going to declare her a lost cause and change his mind about helping her.

If only she knew that watching her sorely lacking performance had the complete opposite and only solidified his decision to help her.

And besides, he always liked a challenge. It was only a bonus that he could use her routine – with her permission, of course – as new material and Sesshomaru would stop hounding him about the damn deadline in a month.

Which reminded him… “What’s your name, babydoll?” he asked as he scrolled through her songs and selected one that would be good practice for what he had in mind.

Kagome frowned at the unexpected question but answered, “Kagome.”

“How long you got until the competition, Kagome?” Setting her phone back on the table, Inuyasha took off his hat and carelessly tossed it onto the table as well before promptly reaching behind him and yanking off his shirt.

Kagome sputtered as her face flamed, eyes going very wide to suddenly be faced with a very attractive, bare chested man. Good god, but this man was a silver-haired Adonis, all sculpted muscle, tanned skin, and those ears were too damn cute. What really grabbed her attention, however, was the wicked looking tribal tattoo wrapped around his left arm that she was finally able to see in its entirety. The intricate design extended all the way up to his shoulder and upon closer inspection it appeared to be a dragon with the head on his left pectoral. It was beautifully done and Kagome was slightly jealous. She’d always wanted a tattoo...

“I—I—uh, a little over a month?” she said, completely distracted by the complete magnificently tattooed male...yumminess that he presented.

Without her permission her eyes tracked the line of silver hair that disappeared into his low-slung jeans. Her heart beat a little faster as the blush on her face intensified and oh my god, he had another tattoo in the delectable V of his right hip bone, what looked to be jagged red claw marks half-concealed by his jeans.

Kagome thought she might faint.

Inuyasha snorted in amusement. This was too perfect. “Good. Take it off.”

That jolted her right out of her avid admiration of his solid abs and she blinked, darting her gaze this with a puzzled frown. “What?”

He withheld a smirk. Checking him out, was she? Then it was only fair he got to do the same.

“Shirt. Off. Now. Unless you’d like me to do it for you?” He cocked a brow at her and had to grin when she squeaked and took a step away from him. “C’mon, we ain’t got all night.”

“But—what—” Kagome stuttered, utterly perplexed and she crossed her arms over her stomach as if that would be any defense to him divesting her of her shirt. “Why?” she finally managed.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and explained, “Because it’ll only get in the way and I need to be able to see.”

She eyed him suspiciously and narrowed her eyes. “See what?”

He scowled then, getting impatient. “To see why you move like an eighty year old woman with Parkinson’s, now would you stop questioning me and just take the fucking thing off already? You’re wearing a bra anyway and it ain’t like I’m asking so I can ogle your tits or some shit. Christ,” he muttered and rubbed his forehead. She certainly wasn’t kidding when she said she was stubborn.

Kagome flushed. Truth was, she had assumed part of the reason he was asking was so he could stare at her chest but now she felt ridiculous for even suspecting it. She didn’t even think he was that type of man anyway, she was just...nervous. She liked her oversized shirts; they were her security blanket, a shield to protect herself from anyone looking too closely. If she took it off, despite having a sports bra on underneath, she would feel too vulnerable, exposed in a way that had nothing to do with lack of clothing.

Here he was, standing in all his beautiful half-naked glory, sculpted abs, a hard chest, and arms thick with muscle and strength. Meanwhile here she was, plain, frumpy Kagome, with her small chest, soft stomach, and general awkwardness. Standing next to him, she felt like the ugly duckling that got hit with every branch on her way down the ugly tree and he expected her to reveal all of her could-stand-to-lose-a-few-pounds body to him?

Hell no.

Once more avoiding his gaze and shifting from foot to foot, Kagome’s hands clutched the dark gray fabric of her shirt and she shook her head, biting down on her lip.

“Um—I, uh, c-can’t I continue wearing it? Please?”

Even she could hear how pathetic she sounded pleading about something so trivial but she couldn’t help it. She was already feeling out of sorts with the song he was using; keeping her shirt was her last defense. Didn’t he know that?

Scowling, Inuyasha opened his mouth to once again demand she remove it, but then she peeked up at him from under dark, sooty lashes and when his eyes connected with hers realization hit him so hard his eyes widened and his mouth dropped. Kagome winced and immediately ducked her face again, flushing darkly.

...Well, fuck. It made so much sense now. Granted, this whole endeavor just became ten times more challenging, but it was too late to back out now. Besides, he couldn’t in good conscience allow her to continue thinking about herself like that when it was so obviously untrue.

Muttering a curse under his breath that had Kagome daring another glimpse at him, Inuyasha promptly stepped in close to her and ignored her quiet gasp of surprise before knocking her arms out of the way and hooking a claw in the collar of her shirt. Too late Kagome realized what he was going to do and before she could utter any sort of protest Inuyasha swiftly drew his hand down and sliced the garment right down the middle. Stunned and blushing up a storm, Kagome could do nothing as he yanked the shirt the rest of the way off and tossed it carelessly behind him onto the table.

While Kagome stood there with her arms over her chest and berated him for ruining her shirt, Inuyasha finally got his first good look at her and damn did he like what he saw. She was fucking perfect with a flat, trim belly that tapered into shapely hips and sender thighs encased in tight spandex shorts. Her skin was smooth and creamy and his hands suddenly itched to roam over her figure but he kept them to himself; he figured ignoring her wishes and destroying her only cover was pushing it enough as it was and he needed her to trust him.

From what he could see of her chest behind her arms, her breasts were small but that didn’t matter; a push-up bra or corset could do fucking wonders and before his mind had the chance to travel in a decidedly less than pure direction, Inuyasha said four words that promptly drew Kagome’s tirade to a screeching halt.

“Kagome, you’re fucking perfect,” he told her sincerely and perhaps a tad bit impatiently but she refused to hear it, adamantly shaking her head and denying his claim. Frowning he grabbed her hands kept her from hiding herself, tightening his grip when she tried to pull away.

“No, listen to me, I’m serious. You have absolutely fucking nothing to be ashamed of, Kagome. You’re stunning with a fucking rocking body and I’ll say it every goddamn day if I have to until you believe me, but what I see before me is nothing short of beautiful.”

When still she wouldn’t look at him and kept shaking her head, Inuyasha growled and gently grasped her chin in his fingers, tilting her face up and her sharp gasp went ignored as he continued, “Confidence is a key factor in this sort of thing, babydoll. You move the way you do because you don’t have any; you think you’re not sexy and that’s sorta the whole point I’m going for here. If you wanna do this, you’re gonna have to start believing you can and the first step is being confident and comfortable in your own skin.”

Inuyasha suddenly sighed and some of the vehemence left his tone as he said a bit more gently, “Look, you have the physical requirements for this; you’re fit and I’m willing to bet you’re flexible as hell. There’s really nothing stopping you but you and if you really do want this like you told me, then you need to stop this embarrassed shit and either tell me to fuck off and go home, or look me in the eye and fucking commit. I don’t half-ass things, Kagome; I’m gonna work you into the fucking ground until I think you’re ready and if you think you can’t do this, tell me now. Like I told you before: I don’t give my time to quitters.”

Kagome flinched and he grit his teeth but didn’t take his words back. He wanted to help her, he truly did, but she needed to help him by trusting what he said and doing what was necessary. He may have been a bit too harsh, but he couldn’t help it. Most of the people he dealt with on a daily basis were pretentious celebrities that liked to throw around large amounts of cash just because they could and it was required of him to be a hardass to get through their self-absorbed bubble of fame in order to get to the nitty gritty of things. Most of the time it was received well, but occasionally he’d get the bored up and coming rock star that got too comfortable in their lifestyle and became nothing more than a spoiled brat and they ended up bowing out before any of the real work began. It was a giant pain in the ass and a huge waste of his valuable time, which was why he was so strict on who he decided to take on as a client.

He was one of the most respected, successful, and coveted producers in the whole fucking country. He was allowed to be choosy, goddammit.

Gently sweeping his thumb across her chin, Inuyasha waited to see what she would do, not afraid to admit to himself that he hoped she wouldn’t back out. He didn’t understand his strong desire to help her, not to mention his very strange urge to protect her at all costs, but he didn’t dwell on it. Kagome was different than any of the other woman he’d ever met; she was soft, innocent, untouched by the harsh realities of the world and despite having some evident self-image issues, he suspected that she was utterly breathtaking when she flourished and he wanted so badly to witness that. He wanted to be there when she shined, when she made that bitch Kam-whatever eat her words and that was when Inuyasha decided he was going to do something he’d never done before in any of his client’s routines.

Of course he needed to get her to agree to it first, but he was confident he could wear her down even if she did disagree at first. She may be stubborn, but he was as bullheaded as they come and was oftentimes told he didn’t know when to give up. It was one of his best qualities that contributed to his popularity among producers and he wasn’t afraid to let anyone know.

Now if only Kagome had half that confidence...

Inuyasha was already cooking up a few ideas while he waited for her to make her decision when finally, finally, Kagome lifted her head, those beautiful ocean eyes locked with his, and the cautious hope in them was nearly his undoing. Without even realizing it his expression softened and he gave her that last push she needed to make her decision.

“Trust me, Kagome,” he murmured and daringly brushed his thumb across her bottom lip, watching the flush spread across her cheeks and hearing her breath hitch in her throat. “Just trust me and I promise you won’t regret it. Alright?”

Kagome’s eyes widened and she studied him quietly, her eyes searching his face, his eyes for what he hadn’t a clue, but apparently after another moment she found it because the corners of her mouth lifted up into a small, timid smile, she sucked in a breath, and then she gave a barely perceptible nod.

“Okay,” she breathed and officially sealed her fate.

Inuyasha grinned. “That’s my girl,” he said and had the insane urge to kiss her forehead. “Now let’s get this show on the road; it’s late, I have a meeting at 9 am, and I want to at least go over the basics before we call it a night. Sound good?”

Hardly believing she was actually going through with this, Kagome closed her eyes and nodded again. She could trust him. She could trust...wait a minute, what even was his name?

“What’s your name?” she blurted out as he restarted their practice song and golden eyes cut her way at the question.

He gave her a crooked grin and his eyes flashed wickedly. “It’s Inuyasha, babydoll, but I’m more commonly known as Sha.” He cocked a brow at her and watched Kagome’s face go from blank as she attempted to place his name to instant recognition, eyes going wide and mouth dropping in astonishment.

“Y...you’re...” she breathed, apparently having trouble articulating her thoughts, and Inuyasha chuckled. Usually it annoyed him when someone was so starstruck they could barely speak, but strangely with Kagome he found it completely endearing.

“Yeah,” he affirmed, raising his brows. “I admit, I’m a little surprised you didn’t recognize me. The ears usually give it away.” He wiggled them for emphasis and he caught her quiet giggle.

Her smile was equal parts sheepish and apologetic. “I don’t really watch TV and I’m not really invested in the entertainment world, either.” She shrugged.

Inuyasha stared at her. God, she was so pure he felt as if just standing next to her would somehow taint or blemish her. He’d done some shady shit in his past, and he was by no means innocent now, and for the first time in his life he felt inadequate and quite suddenly wanted to take a shower, as if that would help wash off his sins and dirty deeds.

“Well,” he drawled and reached back to wake her phone’s screen. “After tonight, babydoll, consider yourself invested.”

He hit play and the first notes of their practice song drifted out of the speakers.

Instantly Kagome recognized it and she frowned. “I thought we weren’t using this song.”

The silver-haired choreography shrugged and grabbed her hand to tug her a little closer. “We’re not, but it’s got a good enough melody to use as a practice song. We’ll start with something slow first that you’re comfortable with and then work our way up to faster paced songs that are similar to what you’re gonna use for the competition. Sound good?”

Releasing a steadying breath, Kagome briefly closed her eyes and then nodded, resolute. “Let’s do this.”

He smirked. “That’s what I like to hear. And now, lesson one.”

Without warning Inuyasha spun her around so he back was facing his chest and used his foot to nudge her legs a little farther apart. He slid his hand around to splay across her lower stomach and he felt her immediately tense up. Expected, which was why this was a good place to start.

“When I was watching you dance earlier,” he began and placed his other hand on her hip. “I noticed you were thinking way too hard on how to move, where to put your feet and all that. You need to relax. Let your body think for you, let it move on its own. You kept stumbling and tripping earlier because you were so tense and you were so busy trying to command your body to move the way you wanted it to that you ended up looking like a robot.”

He leaned his face down so his mouth hovered next to her ear. “So breathe, Kagome,” he said and smiled when she released the breath he was sure she wasn’t even aware she’d been holding. “Dancing is supposed to be fun. It ain’t rocket science.”

Reminding herself that she had to trust him – he did this for a living, after all – Kagome did as she was instructed and took a few moments to just breathe, closing her eyes and trying to clear her mind. She was highly aware of his hands on her hip and stomach but surprisingly enough the not so unpleasant sensation was easy to get used to. Her lips lifted into a slight smile as she slowly relaxed, listening to the music, allowing the smooth beat to ease the tension from her muscles.

“Thatta girl,” Inuyasha murmured behind her and squeezed her hip once in approval. “Alright, now listen to the beat...move with it...don’t think about it, Kagome, listen to the song and let it command you, not the other way around.”

“I am,” Kagome huffed, her brow furrowed slightly as she attempted to sync her hips with the beat of the music.

“No, you’re not,” Inuyasha insisted and closed the slight gap between them, stepping in close to press his chest flush against her back and yanking her ass into the cradle of his hips. She gasped, but he ignored it as he said, “You hear it, but you’re not listening.”

With his hands and his own body, Inuyasha moved her the way he wanted her to, guiding her hips from side to side as his own did the same, allowing her to feel and not merely hear what he was saying.

“See,” Inuyasha rumbled in her ear and Kagome shivered, willing her heartbeat to calm and the fierce blush on her face to recede as. “Don’t just listen with your ears, listen with your body. As cheesy as that sounds,” he added and smiled when she released a breathy laugh, gratified when she finally allowed herself to be taken by the beat and let the music command her.

With her eyes closed and so in tune with the melody wrapping around her body, letting it dictate her movements, Kagome was barely aware of Inuyasha stepping back, though he kept a light grip on her hips. She didn’t even understand how, but suddenly it was so easy to move with the rhythm of the beat and soon she lost herself to the notes of one of her favorite songs, smiling now as she danced without a care. It wasn’t a chore, it wasn’t something she felt she had to do at all costs, but a deep desire she hadn’t even been aware she’d harbored.

Standing a few feet away from her, arms crossed and a satisfied grin on his face, Inuyasha watched with half-lidded eyes as she danced like no one was watching, losing herself to the music and even singing along to the lyrics. It was obvious she’d forgotten he was even there, but that was okay. That’s what he’d wanted, for her to forget everything and just have fun, if only for a few minutes.

All right, so he could admit, this wasn’t really a lesson so much as a warm up. He’d caught a few brief glimpses of it earlier when he’d told her to show him what she had, but watching her now, taking in the graceful movements of her body and the smooth way she transitioned each step, it was obvious to him that Kagome was a natural. She knew what to do, or at least her body did; she just needed some fine-tuning, is all, an upgrade to an already seamlessly working piece of machinery. They still had a long way to go of course, but perhaps it wouldn’t be as challenging as he’d originally thought.

He was suddenly really looking forward to the next month or so.

The song ended a moment later and Kagome stood there, legs akimbo, chest popped and shoulders back and her face was beautifully flushed with a bright smile spread across her face. He was gratified to see she didn’t even seem to be that much out of breath either, a testament to her strength and agility, another thing that would make this easier for both of them.

The sound of clapping drew her attention and Kagome turned her head to find Inuyasha standing a little ways a way, a satisfied grin on his face as he clapped, obviously pleased with her performance. Suddenly giddy Kagome giggled and gave an exaggerated bow, sweeping her arms around behind her and she heard his amused chuckle.

“That was great, babydoll,” he praised and ambled toward her. “You’re a fucking natural and with a little guidance from yours truly, we’ll have both men and women drooling after you and you’re gonna show up that bitch Kam-what’s-her-face so good she won’t be able to show her face on campus for fucking weeks.”

With big blue eyes glinting with cautious hope, Kagome peered up at him with a hesitant smile as butterflies abruptly took flight in her belly.

“You really think so?” she asked, for the first time daring to believe that she could do something better than Kamlyn, daring to believe that she could be better, period.

Inuyasha stopped in front of her and smirked arrogantly.

“I know so. Alright, now I’m gonna show you a few basic moves and I want you to follow my lead...”

Part 2

#move your body #part 1 #inuyasha #kagome #inukag #keizfanfiction #fanfiction #i have no idea how long this is gonna be #the document is already 41 pages and im only about half way done lmao #anyway hope you like it!! <3 #also this entire fic stems from my very selfish and self-indulgent desire to write about inuyasha dancing #so there you have it hahahahaa

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hes-writer · 5 years

Text

Harry and Y/N are best friends

Summary: Y/N likes Harry, but he has a girlfriend

Warnings: some angst

Word Count: 2.6k

Harry and Y/N were a power couple. They weren’t even a couple, they were just best friends. Attached to the hip, some would say and it was true because whenever you see Harry, there’s a large possibility that Y/N would be popping up from somewhere only a few minutes later. She was everywhere he was and it was the same for him. It wasn’t a surprise to see a world-famous pop star trailing behind Y/N when he decided that it would be a good idea to sit in on her classes. Her university was quite fond of Harry since it meant that their title would be on the headlines and suddenly, there was a peak in applications being processed by the administrators. It was quite funny, really. Seeing Harry in casual clothes and not in his well-known glittering suit, bell bottom pants, and revealing jumpsuits was quite an eye-catching moment. Not only did it make him blend in –as much as he could–, it only made him more attractive to Y/N. Made it feel like she and he had a chance at something, it made him retract from his godly level and stoop down to hers.

So maybe Y/N had a teensy crush on Harry, she was quite fond of the green-eyed boy ever since he had bumped into him at a coffee shop. And it wasn’t even that Y/N didn’t try to stop her feelings from growing because she did—she really did. It was hard granted that he was probably, if not, the most amazing person she had ever met. He was nice and kind and it made her heart melt every time he bent down to his knees to talk to her little cousin who could barely waddle her way to him while he held a cookie in his hand. He’s also too sweet, especially when a date failed to show up at her apartment, one that she was really looking forward considering that it was her first one after a very long dry spell of abstaining from love and relationships. That was when she realized that maybe the reason why she didn’t feel the need to scavenge for a long-lasting relationship was that Harry was always there for her.

He made time for her on his super busy schedule when even her own friends barely checked in on her. When he was in Paris on tour, he immediately called her after the show to babble on about the ‘funniest story ever’ (as he put it) because it was too hilarious not to share even though it wasn’t at all funny in any sense. But of course, his voice was too thrilled and exhilarated and she felt so special that he called her about it made Y/N laugh and snicker at his deep voice transmitting through the phone. He mentioned that he wished they could do a video call, but unfortunately, her apartments’ tower was knocked down by some large bird that messed up the internet signal all over the whole building, and Harry was sad because he ‘won’t get to see your lovely face’. Her heart pounded when she heard those words, albeit a little static-y, and it left her speechless that she didn’t even realize that Harry had already moved on to another topic.

And oh god, she wished that she made an excuse about an essay being due in a couple of days that she procrastinated so hard on, or maybe her neighbors’ dog and kitten were making really annoying sounds through the thin walls because maybe then she wouldn’t have to hear Harry’s bubbly voice talk about a woman he had met. It was still early on, that conversation. Y/N had only accepted that she had feelings for him a couple of weeks prior and she had somehow talked herself into confessing her feelings to him when he came back from the tour which ended in two months. She thought that two months was enough to get over him, even when they weren’t together, so she tried to put herself out there. She met new people at the community center where she enrolled in yoga classes in the morning and beginner Zumba at night. It kept her busy and a little more athletic and her Zumba instructor was a really adorable guy that always made sure everybody in the class was feeling mentally up for the activities. She definitely wasn’t complaining, but even though her eyes were set on him, Darren; her heart was completely Harry’s.

Y/N thought that someday maybe they’ll have their own chance at love. And she believed it more and more as days passed and the distance between them (he was still on tour) seemed non-existent when the most probable thing happening was that they’d drift off into their own different worlds, but no. The relationship, friendship, that Harry and Y/N built grew into something stronger that Harry was appalled at it. He was alone in his hotel room, laying on his bed after being on the phone with Y/N for the past couple of hours when he realized that the friendship they had lasted longer than his romantic relationships, and thickened only by distance, not frayed it like the ones he had had with others. He swore he felt his heart flutter at the thought of her smile, but he denied it– not when a knock sounded on his hotel room door briefly before the sound of a key swiped the lock system. Before he knew it, Luna was diving into the bed with him.

“She’s so pretty,” Harry murmured, and this time it was a video call. Not only did Y/N have to suffer hearing him say the most amazing things about Luna, but she also had to see his dreamy face, mocking her.

“Must be nice,” Y/N joked. It was the truth too, who could blame her? And who was she kidding thinking that he’d go for someone as plain as her?

“S’got the best jokes too, funny.” He continued, not paying mind to her slightly bitter tone. “Think ‘m gonna ask her out,”

This time, she took the chance to escape before things could escalate into something worse.

—-

Turns out, he went through with his plans and asked Luna out with Y/N’s advice as his metaphorical wingman. She didn’t think that he would do it because he was significantly affected by his most previous relationship; he didn’t let anyone in, not even her. It was a drunken confession, probably a huge mistake on Y/N’s part. She remembers calling him after she had had a couple of drinks. Slurring her words together, entangling them but one sentence was still coherent enough to understand.

“I love you, Harry” She recalled herself saying.

It wouldn’t have hurt her as much if he just plainly said that he didn’t like her back either, that he only saw her as a friend. She would’ve understood it and maybe she’d take a step back to distance herself from him because she thought that she came on too strong. She really would’ve. But the fact that he said,

“Thank you, but I just don’t think I’m ready to be in a relationship, Y/N”

Was a real heartbreaker for Y/N. The following day, her head pounded as the memories of the night before slowly came into comprehension for her. She cried a bit, but she didn’t let herself dwell too much. Said to herself that when Harry comes back in a week’s time, she would act like nothing had happened. Y/N would do everything in her ability to make sure that she acted the same as she did before he left. She didn’t want to lose her friendship with Harry, and if it meant that the closest thing she’d ever be to him was a best friend, then she will be the bestest best friend ever.

Except to find out that he had totally lied to her about not being ready to be in a relationship because the next time Y/N saw Harry was at the airport. It was an agreement between them, that she’d always drop him off at the airport whenever he left the country, and that she’d always be standing front and center with a bag of his favorite snacks in the middle of the ‘Arrivals’ section to greet him home. But he wasn’t alone, he strode amongst the striped-carpeted floors, a duffel adorned on his right shoulder, and Luna clinging on to him on the other side. When they were near enough, Harry’s hair was exceptionally messy and a smidge of lipstick stained the collar of his white shirt and ‘is that a cum stain on his pants?’

“Y/N!”

She blinked to get the disgusting thoughts out of her mind and smiled up at him.

“Hey, you.” Y/N took a step forward, closer to Harry to give him a welcome back hug. She could see him try to move his arm away from Luna’s grasp— assuming it is her, she’d never actually seen her. He hugged her tightly, both of them inhaling each others’ scent from months of being away from each other.

“I’ve missed you, H”

“Missed you too, lovie” He mumbled against her hair.

Luna coughed slightly, causing them to break apart.

“Got you your favorite snacks, you better have picked a movie for us to watch,” She stated, holding up the bag to eye level so he could see the contents through the transparency of the item. And yes, it was a sad attempt of luring him into her. “I’m Y/N, by the way. Are you coming with us too?”

“I’m Luna and uh …” The blonde girl trailed off, looking at Harry who was currently nibbling on his lip.

“About that Y/N, Luna and I are gonna crash at her place,” He began, and Harry couldn’t bear to look at her face slowly dropping at his words. “Maybe I can take a rain check,”

“But Harry, we always do this! It’s tradition,”

Harry opened his mouth to defend himself but Luna interrupted him before he could utter another word.

“Har, the car’s here,” She tugged on his arm again, pulling him in the direction of the exit. “See you, Y/N,”

--------

The next time they saw each other was a complete coincidence. Y/N was running some errands before the weekend, dropping by the grocery store to buy the necessities and snacks to binge on for a relaxing weekend. She just wished that Harry would be with her, but he couldn’t because Luna wanted to spend time with him. That’s what he said, and if Y/N was being honest--- she didn’t know if it was true, if she should believe him blindly because he hasn’t been acting like a good best friend lately. It was hard adjusting to Harry when he first left for the tour, but Y/N always kept the thought that he would come back eventually in the back of her mind to keep herself from reeling off-track. In short, she didn’t know how to live her life without Harry by her side considering that he has been with her for the past years; letting go of somebody you’ve known for that long is a difficult task. Yet, here she was strolling down aisles alone in silence when he would usually be bumping his hip against hers in a teasing manner. Or maybe Harry would look at her with a face of disappointment every time she took the initiative to get snacks and then returning with an armful loaded with sugar and sodium. When she did that, he would push the cart speedily, making her run to catch up with him just so she could drop the items in the metal cart. He’d put up a fight all the time being a health nut and all, but eventually, Harry couldn’t help but give in to her doe eyes and small pout that he found so adorable; he couldn’t resist. She was way too cute for her own good, and he couldn’t believe that he even thought of not giving her anything she wanted.

That was before when they actually spent time together. She didn’t know why but Y/N seemed to be noticing him first every time they have an encounter. The hypothesis proved to be more real than she’d thought because there he was again; bumping his hip with Luna and seeing her small bum do it back etched a crack in her heart-- that used to be her. Y/N felt like she was making a bigger deal out of this than she should, but she can’t help but feel hurt when she realized that she was slowly being replaced by another woman without a second thought.

“Y/N!”

Someone yelled her name and of course, it was Harry with Luna trailing behind him, a smile on both their faces. She smiled too.

“What are you doing here?” He asked, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend and Y/N can’t help but let her eyes linger at the place they made contact.

“Just doing some shopping for the weekend,” She started but quickly wavered when she noticed that Harry’s attention wasn’t even on her. “... you know,”

“Oop, sorry. Luna and I are gonna have a movie night and dinner. You wanna join us?”

She couldn’t be mad at him with the way his tone softly caressed her heart; maybe she was just whipped, but he looked and sounded genuine. And she could see that Luna was smiling at her invitingly as if to say that she didn’t mind her joining them, but she knew deep inside that although she was physically in the presence of Harry, knowing that his attention and feelings were for someone else was enough to make her shake her head at his offer.

“Sorry H, got to catch up on some stuff. Maybe next time,”

Maybe next time, she thought, until they eventually lose touch of each other and those were probably the last words that they’‘ say.

-----------

Y/N went back home that day pretty down in the dumps. Like she said, ‘it was a tradition’ between them and they haven’t missed a celebration since they’ve established it but Harry’s actions made her feel insignificant and compared to Luna, she was essentially diminished to a second priority in Harry’s life. She’s not putting the blame on anyone he was busy, she was busy and their schedules didn’t match up. Except they did; because Y/N always made time for Harry and he used to do the same for her. Their weekly routines ended when Harry took the first rain check, and then the second and eventually, he didn’t even try to make it up to her after missing friend dates. He said that Luna wanted to do something during that time, or Luna was feeling sick and asked for him to stay by her side.

She couldn’t even blame Luna for ruining her chances with him because she was too nice and innocent to be put in the middle of her feelings for Harry. It turns out that Luna was actually really kind, except that instance at the airport where she explained that she was jet-lagged when they interacted at the supermarket. So in summary, Luna embodied the perfect girl for Harry. Nice, kind, pretty, and who could forget funny. Y/N guessed that she was smart too.

In a perfect world, Y/N would’ve had the courage to confess-- again-- but maybe when the circumstances were a bit better than they were before. Maybe he would actually reciprocate her feelings, and maybe he wouldn’t have met Luna because he had decided that his heart belonged to Y/N back home.

Part 2

------

still trying to figure out which series i’ll enjoy writing more

If you like it, shoot me a message, drop by my inbox or reply! :D

#harry #harry styles #harry styles one shot #harry styles angst #harry styles writing #harry styles one shots #harry styles oneshot #harry styles oneshots #harry styles imagines #harry styles imagine #harry styles fluff #harry styles x reader #harry styles x you #hes-writer #my writing #one direction

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artificialqueens · 5 years

Text

Échappé / Chapter 1 (Branjie) - DenDenMonMon

Échappé: Slipping movement in which a dancer starts in a closed position and ends in an opened one.

For: svpermodel

A/N:

Hi. Hello. Welcome!

So I have never written Branjie before, please, be patient since this is my first attempt. This was a crazy idea that a friend started ranting about on Twitter. I couldn’t help myself and just HAD to bring it to life. Even when I did significant research on them, there’s a huge chance you are about to read a version of Branjie that exists only in my head, tweaked a little by said friend.

Also, I’m Trixya trash, through and through, so expect a lot of that in the background.

Enjoy!

AO3 Link

Échappé

Chapter one

“You know, you can just admit that we are lost.” Brooke laughed dryly from the backseat. Her big sunglasses slid down the bridge of her nose slightly. She pushed them back into place with a smile pasted on her lips.

Ben looked at her through the rear view mirror, the single curl bouncing on his forehead to the movement. He had his lips twisted to the side in a cheeky grin, gladly welcoming the friendly banter.

“If you must know, I am very sure of where we are. I just need to find a street that actually goes down.”

Brooke didn’t bother in replying. Her eyes rolled on their own, even when they were hidden behind the black shades. She changed her crossed legs, switching to left over right, and looked out the window.

She liked Los Angeles, she liked it a lot. Sure, she used to live in, probably, the biggest metropolis in the country, but this wasn’t her calm and relaxed Canada. Downton LA was ugly, dirty, dangerous, and she loved every bit of it. That was the whole charm about it. She could stare at those old buildings all day. They seemed to belong in so many different eras and times, yet, they coexisted in harmony, creating this mix-match look that somehow fit perfectly together. The sidewalks were always crowded with people from all over the world, in all these different colors and shapes, and speaking so many languages. They were always walking fast and never waiting for the red hand to change to cross the street.

The car finally went left. There were honking sounds following the movement, and Brooke was sure that her driver had taken an unauthorized turn.

She held onto the handle on the door with a smile, amused by the way her body slid on the seat. The smile stayed there. Even when Ben kept mumbling complaints under his breath, Brooke couldn’t help but smile. She was happy. She had traveled the world and eaten the most amazing food; she had lived in exotic places and fallen in love with wildly interesting people, but she had never felt so content in her life. Her heart skipped a beat at the thought, at the very happy thought.

Brooke Lynn Hytes had just turned thirty, and her life was right where she wanted it to be. It hadn’t been easy, but she wouldn’t change a single thing about it. In a way, she liked how she had to fight for what she wanted, it gave her a certain perspective on life she could only obtain through struggle. She celebrated every victory and embraced every failure. Learned and grew from every experience, appreciated every achievement, and made sure to keep a quick and smart sense of humor; which her mom had taught her. Mom’s are always right after all.

She didn’t like to consider herself a lucky person. Everything Brooke had, she had worked for it. Nothing had been given to her for free, and opportunities had most definitely never simply fallen into her lap. When it came to her family, though, she knew that God, or the universe, or merely luck, had worked in her favor, landing her in the most amazing environment for any kid to grow up in. She, and all of her siblings, were always given the chance to be free, express themselves, go after their goals and trust their instincts. That’s how she managed to follow her passion and turn the life she dreamed about into a reality.

Being a ballerina had always been her aspiration. There was a world of a difference between her current self and that dreamy girl - the girl who would take advantage of any flat surface to try and pull dance moves she had just seen on TV. Brooke remembered being in her shared bedroom, pushing her sister’s stuff to the side so she could have more space to practice. Her legs were weak and untrained.

She couldn’t help but touch her toned thigh through the fabric of her skirt. Her body had truly come a long way.

As much as her parents wanted to help her to pursue that dream, money had been tight, and dance academies have never been cheap.

Brooke had fond memories of small dance groups she went to after class, at a tiny community center across from the school. For only a few bucks a week, she could dance with her friends for an hour per day, guided by an overly-enthusiastic Zumba instructor who really liked children. Those were enough credentials for the director of the place, who allowed her to teach. Brooke had no complaints, though. Those were her favorite dance years, before she was ‘discovered’ - when dancing was all about having fun, when dancing wasn’t a career. She had to admit, it was a job she loved, but a job nonetheless.

On the street, a mother angrily pulled her child by the arm. The girl seemed to walk a little too slow for the mom’s taste. Blonde curls created a jumping curtain around the girl’s face, who deliberately refused to move faster. Brooke saw so much of herself in the small child, the stubborn resemblance making her chuckle in her seat.

“See? Told you I knew where we were,” Ben said triumphantly. His words only meant he had finally found the right route again. He was a very talkative man, and just then did Brooke realize he had been quiet for a long time, probably trying to figure out his away around that part of the city.

The thought brought a new question to her mind. “DeLa, where are we? Is this still downtown?”

Her eyes once again met Ben’s through the mirror, what looked almost like an apologetic smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “Yeah, but according to this thing…” His fingers tapped on the GPS integrated in the dashboard. “We only need to go a few blocks down, enter the ten, and we’ll be on our merry way.” The silly smile was obnoxious, mainly because it was genuine. Brooke couldn’t stand the idea of someone being so happy all the time, but leave it to BenDeLaCreme to be able to pull it off.

Once he’d gotten some sense of direction, Ben went back to his usual self, giving random information he knew about the buildings around them, and how the government’s money only went to certain parts of the city, leaving this side completely forgotten.

After taking a right turn, the street grew smaller, the four lines merging into one and slowing them down.

Brooke didn’t welcome the traffic very well. The day was hot and she could feel her shirt sticking to her back. She ran a hand around her ear, pushing nonexistent loose strands back into place. Her blonde hair was perfectly tied in a bun at the back of her head, just like a prima ballerina should always wear it. Not a strand fell out of place, ever, she was always careful about that. Sitting in a car for so long, with nothing to do but entertain Ben’s pointless conversation, forced her hands to play with imaginary hair.

Suddenly, her eyes were pulled to the scene taking place across the street, her back straightened and her jaw dropped dramatically. She took the round sunglasses away from her face, just to have a clear view of what was happening in the corner of the park.

Her flat hand hit the front seat a few times with more force than she intended. “Ben, pull over.”

“What, now? Where? Why?”

“Oh, God, just do it!”

The cars around them were not moving much, traffic finally doing some good for them. Ben easily moved out of the way and found a spot to parallel park. The tires of the SUV hadn’t fully stopped when Brooke was opening her door and stepping down.

Her high heels hitting the pavement were barely audible above the loud music and inevitable sounds of children playing around her. She had to step on grass but she didn’t even care, she kept going and going, trying to balance the best she could in those shoes, until she reached her destination.

A group of young girls had a speaker perched on a bench. The round tube shined bright colors that immediately got drowned by the sunrays. Brooke didn’t recognize the music, but she liked the Latin flavor it had. Her mind was instantly thinking of intricate ballroom dances that could be performed to that song. Nonetheless, the girls dancing to it had a very different idea. Their hips moved to a synchronized rhythm, even when they were clearly freestyling. Each had their own take on the song, the beats awakening unique moves for each of their limbs but, at the same time, they clearly worked together. They looked like a perfectly structured dance team.

The song ended and the five girls giggled happily. They hugged and shared high-fives, proud of the creation they had just given life to.

She didn’t even think about it, Brooke clapped her hands slowly but loudly. She knew the smile on her face, open-mouthed and all teeth, probably looked stupid, but she wouldn’t do anything to hide it. What she had just witnessed wasn’t like anything she had ever seen in her life before. The way those girls had danced, so effortlessly, yet so accurate in technique, made her feel a certain warmth in her stomach she couldn’t really identify. She had come alive by their little performance, her heart was still beating to the rhythm of the song she didn’t even know.

All eyes went to her. The girls stopped their celebration and looked up at her. Brooke didn’t know, but they were not particularly used to see tall ladies in black pencil skirts, fancy white shirts, and sky-high stilettos. They stared at her with big questioning eyes as they lined up a few steps away from her.

“Hi!” She finally let out. It was supposed to be kind and welcoming, trying to ease the tension, but excitement made her almost yell the word at them. “You guys are so good! Are you part of a dance group?”

They looked among each other, until one of them nodded her head. If someone had instructed these girls not to talk to strangers, they should be really proud right now.

In yet another attempt to try and be friendly, Brooke bent her knees and placed her hands on her thighs, trying, unsuccessfully, to be at their eye level. She ended up sitting on her heels instead.

“You really are amazing! I wish I could dance like you, would you teach me?” Her ears filled with the innocent sound of girly giggles. Her smile only grew wider.

One of the girls, who Brooke had right away recognized as the leader, eyed her from the side. Her stare was analytical, scanning her up and down, and actually pondering if she could be taught. “I don’t think you could do it,” was her professional opinion.

Brooke’s jaw was somewhere near the floor, partly in exaggeration to entertain the children, but mostly shocked at the unfiltered comment of the girl. She couldn’t be more than ten years old and yet she carried herself like a fully grown adult. Her clothes were colorful and her frizzy hair threatened to break out of the braid adorning the side of her head. Her skin was dark and, mixed with the slightly detectable accent, Brooke deduced she at least had some Latin descendance. No wonder she had no issue speaking her mind.

Just when she was about to ask them who was their teacher, the question answered itself. They all heard a voice yelling from behind them. The girls froze for a moment, understanding the admonishing words barked at them in Spanish.

Then came a vision in red, black and denim shorts.

“Who is you and what the fuck you doing talking to my babies?”

Brooke’s eyes widened. She crossed her arms on top of her chest with a stern look on her face. “Excuse me, maybe you shouldn’t curse in front of the children.” Her statement came out more like a question, almost asking if the girl standing in front of her understood the damage.

There was a thin braid at the top of the girl’s head, adorned with rhinestones along the way; the rest of her hair went all the way down to her waist in natural waves. The long red curls bounced as she shook her head. “Huh? You serious, girl? How I talk is none of your business. Thank you very much. Plus, they know better than to repeat those words, right, girls? Or you wanna get’cha little asses whooped?”

They all shook their heads, amused smiles spread across their faces, indicating that the words directed to them meant no harm.

Honestly, there was something intimidating about the young woman standing in front of her. Brooke had to admit as much. It wasn’t her size, she was tiny, but her presence was grand. She wore high heel boots that went all the way up to her thighs, still a long distance from where her tiny shorts ended; and that black crop top hid barely enough of her chest. Her silver hoop earrings, that pretty much rested on her shoulders, caught the sun, blinding Brooke for a moment, and making her realize she had done nothing but stare at her for too long.

“Ya done?” The girl asked, her long lashes blinking rapidly. “You need me to turn around or somethin’?”

That was enough to fully snap Brooke out of her observations. She shook her head to physically exist that weird daze. “I apologize. Hello, I’m Brooke, Brooke Lynn Hytes.” She smiled and extended her hand, trying to be as cordial as possible.

The laugh that followed her words, she hadn’t expected. “What kind of name is that? You from New York?”

“I’m from Toronto,” Brooke offered, completely aware of the other girl’s chain of thoughts, and not falling for it. She was too used to be bullied by the unintended pun placed on her name, she had learned a rather delicate way to deal with it.

“Your parents wanted to live there or some shit? What’s the deal with that, bitch?”

That last word had thrown her off guard. Brooke was used to hearing it among her teammates, it was a term of endearment, usually the start of fun banter. Having it fall from the lips of a stranger made her feel uneasy, even when the few letters carried no harm in her direction. She retracted her hand, letting it land awkwardly on her hip.

“Yeah, okay, listen, child, don’t go all serious on me, okay? It was a stupid joke, alright? No offense to mommy and daddy and their dream vacation spot. I’m Vanessa,” she said as she closed the gap between them, grabbing Brooke’s hand without permission and shaking it at an unusual speed. “Nice to meet you, Brooke.”

Her shoulders squared up. Brooke was a strong, independent, successful woman, she was always cool and collected. There was no plausible explanation as to why this young woman, with caramel skin glistening in the harsh sun, was making her feel so… insecure?

Vanessa let go of Brooke’s hand, theatrically placing it back against her hip. “Alright, Imma ask you one more time. Are you, like, some kind of fancy-ass predator here to steal my girls and sell them to slavery, or…?”

“What?! No!” Brooke replied shocked, her voice tinted with indignation. She brought both her hands up to her hips, stretching her back and neck to at least feel some leverage, even if it was just her height. “Just, I saw the kids dancing and was taken away by their talent.” She craned her neck to look behind Vanessa, where the girls were patiently waiting for the grown-ups to be done speaking. “Are they your students?”

“Yeah.” Vanessa smiled proudly, directing her attention to them for a moment. “And they’re late for their stretching class!” Her high heeled boot was raised, pretending to send a kick their way, even though they were too far behind. “You better drag ya little asses inside before Miss Yvie comes and fucking skin you alive or some weird shit like that. You know she’s into all that freaky stuff.”

The girls ran in playful delight. Brooke followed them with her eyes until they reached a small building in the middle of the park. It looked familiar, she had never been on that part of the city, yet she felt like the construction was something she had visited before.

“Is that… your community center?”

Suddenly, Vanessa’s eyes seemed to light up. “Oh, shit! You are that-that–” her hand flailed in front of her as her brain tried to find the right noun, coming out empty. “The lady that’s supposed to give us the money, right?! The government help we applied for!”

Before Brooke could reply, before she could deny the title just given to her, Vanessa was stomping her way back into the building, throwing words into the air that Brooke didn’t catch. Her strides were short but powerful. The red and black plaid shirt that covered her bottom bounced to the rhythm of her hips in a hypnotizing way.

“Well, c’mon!”

It took Vanessa to yell over her shoulder to take Brooke out of her trance. She walked with fast steps behind her, unsuccessfully trying to catch up. She looked down, unable to stop herself from comparing her light steps against the forceful ones of the powerhouse in front of her. Of course, Brooke had to remind herself that she was a ballerina. She had been taught her entire life to be graceful. Feet should not make a sound when hitting the ground, that was one of the primary rules. So, she decided to stay true to her learnings and slowed down the pace, leaving Vanessa to stand by the front door for a few more seconds, waiting for her to reach it.

The first thing Brooke spotted when she walked in was a big sign next to the front desk. It read ‘We can save the center!’ in big blue letters against white background. It had a thermometer drawn on one side. The marks on it were set in intervals of five thousand, going from zero to fifty, and it had a big dollar sign at the top. Red marker covered the bottom, barely reaching the number ten.

Behind the desk was a blonde girl with big hair, overdrawn lips, extremely pink cheeks, and way too much mascara on her heavy lashes. Her complete attention was set on the phone in her hand as she popped pink bubbles of gum.

“This is Trixie,” Vanessa informed Brooke as they walked by her. “She helps with the makeup. I have no idea what she’s doing here right now. Don’t pay attention to her, she won’t pay attention to you, anyways.”

In response, the girl lifted her middle finger, but didn’t look up from her phone.

Vanessa took her around the place, showing Brooke the small indoor basketball court, and the few craft rooms. She mentioned a pool at the back but that was being cleaned, so it was better not to see it now. They walked through a small gym, where generic work out equipment had been placed. Vanessa explained someone had built them from scratch using metallic waste from the construction site where he used to work.

Music could be heard when they reached the back of the place. Those were the multipurpose rooms. They used them to teach yoga, zumba, karate, and modern dance; which was Vanessa’s class. They stopped by the room with the loud music flowing. There were around twenty girls in there –including the ones she had seen at the park– each supporting themselves on their hands and bare feet, forming an arch with their backs. A thin young woman, with limbs that seemed to go on forever, and skin as smooth and rich as milk chocolate, corrected the girls and helped them place their backs in the right position.

The tour ended back at the front desk. “See? Don’t tell me it ain’t cute. This is such an important place for the community,” Vanessa spoke with such enthusiasm it was contagious. “Grandmas come knit while the kids play basketball or dance their booties off. This is not a nice neighborhood, you see? So we need good things. This is a really good thing and we would like to keep it. If you could, please, not sell it to those big companies that only care about shit like parking space, that would, you know, really help us a lot.”

Brooke blinked a couple of times, she had completely forgotten about the misunderstanding. She had been so wrapped up in the way Vanessa talked about the place, making her fall in love with it right from the start, that she never found a moment to clarify who she was. Learning that they could lose it broke her heart. And then she had to think of an easy way to let them know she was not the salvation they had been expecting… or maybe she was?

Her hand landed on the desk, the other one found its rightful place on her hip. “Umm, I don’t know how to say this, but… I can’t make the government help you.”

Vanessa looked around, her weight shifting from one foot to the other in clear annoyance. “I knew it! This fucking administration doesn’t give a shit about–”

Brooke lifted her hand, making Vanessa’s rant die on her lips. “But only because I don’t work for the government like you thought.”

“Ha!” A scream-like laugh came from behind them. “She’s got you, V!” Trixie said before getting up and walking away, not willing to waste her time on them anymore.

Vanessa’s jaw hung low in surprise. “Then why the fuck you made me give you a goddamn tour of the place?”

“I didn’t–” Brooke was unable to answer, Vanessa’s anger filling up the space around them.

“You showed here with all you-your big money shoes and executive clothes, looking all cah-ching, cah-ching, and you can’t even help us!”

Brooke was reaching the end of her patience. The palm of her hand landed loudly against the desk, regaining Vanessa’s attention. “Listen here. I never said I couldn’t help you, okay? If you could stop for one minute and pay attention. I direct a dance company–”

“Oh, Mary! You are fuckin’ competition, aren’t you? You are here to steal our moves! Nah ah. No, ma’am. Not on my watch, Momma. You better get going.” Vanessa’s index finger pointed towards the door, her arm fully extended, and her face showing nothing but fury.

Instead of exiting, Brooke took a few steps closer, towering her. The heat radiating from Vanessa’s body was tickling her skin. “I could help you,” she said slowly and carefully. “My company can make a generous donation so you can save this place.”

Vanessa didn’t even flinch, her feet hit the ground one at the time, her jaw was clenched, and her stare pierced right into Brooke’s soul. “We are not a charity. We don’t need no free money. Go, now.” The words came out low but full of force.

Brooke was not going to accept being treated like that. She looked up at the thermometer sign, spotting a date for the first time in the top left corner.

“See you in two months. I’ll love to see the demolition of this place.”

And, with that, she walked out the door, not even bothering to look back to see Vanessa’s reaction. The girl had just gotten on her bad side, and there was no turning back.

Notes:

Thank you so much for reading and giving this story a chance, please don’t forget to let me know what you think.

#rpdr fanfiction #branjie #brooke lynn hytes #vanessa vanjie mateo #yvie oddly #trixie mattel #lesbian au #dance au #echappe #dendenmonmon #submission #bendelacreme

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musingsofazumbamind · 4 years

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In honor of the Shakira and JLo STAGE-BREAKING Halftime Show

Hello all!

Former music educator (and geek) here to show you how I’ve built my new favorite playlist. The great thing about being a fitness instructor is that I can channel my love of music, my passion for world music, into themed playlists like this and really raise the bar on how much fun we can have. The great thing about the upcoming sportsball halftime show is that two of my favorite divas are taking over. There’s no denying, the world of foosball is masculinity and mayhem, and I cannot wait to see what these queens bring to the stage to break the macho monotony. Here’s my excitement, in dance fitness (specificially Zumba) playlist form:

1. Warm up 1 - Dance Again - JLo ft. Pitbull

2. Warm up 2 - Waka Waka - Shakira

3. Toning Warm up - Booty - JLo ft. Iggy Azalea

4. Merengue - Rabiosa - Shakira ft. Pitbull (this one I sped up in the Zin Play app another 4% so that it fits the first “peak” spot in the playlist)

5. Salsa - Vivir Mi Vida - Marc Anthony - This is my only slant rhyme in the poem! I had to! Although he is JLo’s ex, he is still my top salsa artist, and although there are other salsas featuring JLo, and others by Marc Anthony that would have filled this space, this was by far my favorite for this particular list. Back in that *hot second* I was a Salsa Jammer candidate, this was one of the choreos I made my own and submitted to Zumba Home Office.

6. Pop - Medicine (Steve Aoki from the Block Remix) - JLo & Steve Aoki

7. Samba - We Are One (Ole Ola) The Official 2014 FIFA World Cup Song - JLo, Pitbull & Claudia Leitte *special note: Liana Veda choreographed this, and she was also the first person I ever helped to host as a Zumba event host; there’s something special about this song to me because I know it’s a part of her*

8. Reggaeton - Chantaje - Shakira & Maluma *special note: Henry Cedeno choreo’d this one -- please see Henry teach in person some time, he’s mesmerizing and I love him, he gives great hugs, too!*

9. Latin Pop - Adrenalina - JLo & Ricky Martin

10. Belly Dance Circle - Ojos Asi - Shakira

11. Flamenco - Ni Tu Ni Yo - JLo & Gente de Zona

12. Cha Cha - Let’s Get Loud - JLo

13. Brazilian Funk - El Anillo - Prince Royce ft. JLo

14. THE ONE SONG NOT IN THE THEME SO I CAN PRACTICE IT! Soca - The Road - Machel Montano & Ashanti

15. Vallenato/Cumbia - La Bicicleta - Carlos Vives & Shakira

16. Stretch - Try Everything - Shakira from Zootopia

If anyone has a soca or dancehall flavored somehow by these two rock stars, let me know! And thanks to everyone singing along in class this week, reveling in goosebumps. YOU are the true heroes!

#zumba #jlo #jenniferlopez #zumbafitness #fitness

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outhereperusing · 5 years

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A WHOLE LLAMA LOVE: I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO

Wow, a lot has happened since the last time I wrote a blog. Things have been very busy in Andahuaylillas, which leaves me little time to write. Since my trip to Lima, I have stayed with my host family, spent the month of February in meetings for my job, started my job in March, changed my immigration status, went on our mid-year retreat, celebrated my birthday, and hit the eight month mark. Time has flown by with the amount of things I have on my plate, but I have learned a lot about myself and how I have leaned into my commitment to the JVC thus far.

Community at its finest

One of the biggest things that I realized early on into my JVC experience was how much I value my family and friends. These people have always been a priority in my life, so it was a shift from being around them on the daily to being separated by a new time zone. Staying with my host family for a few weeks really eased my homesickness and gave me a sense of family that I was missing. My host family reminded me so much of my nuclear family because of the mother daughter dynamic that I was living in. My host family consists of my host mom and my 23 year old host sister. I loved being able to have a host sister that is so close in age to me. It was easy to relate to her given her extracurricular activities and that she was still in school. While with my host family, I felt like a real member of their family because I did everything with them. I went to swim lessons with my host sister, grocery shopping with my host mom, and watched all the danzas for San Sebastian. This was definitely the highlight of staying with my host family because for a whole week, the district celebrated San Sebastian with dances, masses, and food. I loved going to this with them because I could see how important the saint was not only to this community, but also to my host family.

I left my heart in San Francisco

High on a hill, it calls to me

To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars

The morning fog may chill the air, I don't care

(Tony Bennett)

Knowing that I had the support of my host family, JV community, family, and friends, I was in a good space when work started. February was filled with meetings learning about the purpose of the social program and the curriculum, redesigning my sala, and planning my activities for March. Even though the preparation period was long, I knew I was given the tools to do my best work when the kids would come. The first day of social programs and everyday since has been filled with special moments. My day starts with prep time in the morning, which allows me to clean my sala and prepare my session for the afternoon. At 1:30PM kids start coming for lunch from The Escuelita and Fe Y Alegria, the two schools our social programs serve. After lunch the kids can enter the ludoteca (a huge indoor playspace), the biblioteca (library), the sala de lectura (a space to read), or the sala de computo (computer classroom, which is where I work). I try to make my sala as dynamic as possible in terms of layout and activities. I designed my sala to highlight the importance of working as a team, so the kids work in pairs when they are in the sala. I also have a portion of the wall dedicated to the art my students draw for me. In terms of the activities I plan, I try to make them as fun as possible. Every social program has a curriculum we have to implement throughout the year, so there is a lot of freedom in the way I plan my sessions. So far, I have done activities with all the microsoft programs and a typing website. Additionally, when I finish an activity the kids can do their homework, practice their typing skills, play chess, draw, or play educational games that fine tune their math, writing, and coloring skills. On days when I do not have planned activities, I help out in the biblioteca with homework until 3:30pm when I open my sala. In addition to my work at the parish, I teach Zumba to primary and secondary school students at Fe y Alegria on Wednesdays and Thursdays. These days are my favorite days because I get to see some of my favorite students in their academic environment. Fe y Alegria is such a fun place to teach Zumba because the kids voluntarily elect to participate because we teach the class during their break. I love teaching my students at Fe y Alegria because I really get to see them have fun and be kids. Zumba has definitely been one of the most rewarding decisions I have made in Peru because it is something that keeps me authentically myself while serving the greater Andahuaylillan community.

Jueves de Zumba

My love waits there in San Francisco

Above the blue and windy sea

When I come home to you, San Francisco

Your golden sun will shine for me

(Tony Bennett)

Zumba has always held a special place in my heart. Since my first class at Regis with my friends, to taking classes with my mom in the city, I knew that I would teach zumba. Zumba is something that keeps me connected to my family and friends because they are still doing it in the US while I am in Peru. Teaching Zumba on my birthday was one of my favorite memories because my sister was there. She started my day off right by making me a special breakfast and picking out matching outfits for us, in true twin fashion. When it came time to teach Zumba I was so excited because it was my special day and this is what I love to do. The class started out just like we normally do, with me, my sister, and the other instructor on the top level of the school´s amphitheatre. We taught a lot of our material when I saw that the school ́s principal walked up to where we were and grabbed a microphone. I thought this was strange since she has never done this before, but just continued doing my dance moves. Then the music stopped and she started announcing that it was my birthday and all the kids rushed to where I was and group hugged me. This was the best surprise I could have gotten for my birthday because I was being showered with all the love.

My birthday and Bun

All the love I received on my birthday continued to happen in the days that followed. A couple of weeks after my birthday I celebrated my eight month Andaversary, and while I was talking to my best friend back home she told me that I was ⅓ of the way completed with my commitment to the JVC. This number was so surprising because it makes it real how long I have been in Peru. Every month I celebrate an Andaversary I am proud of myself for my growth and commitment to my community, my job, and Peru. I am proud of how far I have come and cannot wait to see what is in store for me these next 16 months!

Eight months with the gang

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magicalrocketships · 6 years

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you got to see judge louis!!!!!!!! i would just love for you to please share with us some things you particularly loved when you have the energy :) everyone's reports have been amazing to read

SO… YES. On Monday my friend offered me her second ticket to go and see the X Factor auditions, so I merrily baked myself to death on an oven-like bakerloo line at rush hour (LOUIS THE THINGS I DO FOR YOU). At least I got to finish it off with a spot of air conditioning on the metropolitan line, which was a London miracle.

Firstly, I spend a lot of my working life banging on about process management, and the fucking process to get inside and queue and get tickets and get scanned and whatever is RIDICULOUS AND STUPID OH MY GOD, so I spent some quality time in the queue whining over text about systems and processes and organisation, so BE GLAD YOU KNOW ME.

I was hoping for some kind of ridiculous terrible awful expensive leisurewear from Louis, and we got some nonsense trainer bootees and frankly horrifying gucci tracksuit bottoms, so ALL MY WISHES CAME TRUE, thanks go to Louis for this feat of majesty.

So, the set up is weird - you only get about half of Wembley Arena, and we were kind of just straight on to the side of the screens and the stage, so our view wasn’t great. Also, the set up for this series of X Factor is a bit weird - they’ve got rid of bootcamp, so the contestants who get a Yes go straight on to six chair challenge, which does mean you don’t have to see anyone who’s truly terrible.

You get a little tiny bit of Dermot (yay) and then the judges. Louis got the biggest cheers. Ayda is super hot. Simon looks like he’s been inflated, like an air bed. Robbie was wearing a floral suit that looked like beautifully expensive pyjamas. Do approve.

It’s a little weird. Louis is taking it seriously, and is being thoughtful but honest in how he speaks to contestants, and I think he’s got a strong interest in being a genuine mentor for people, which is exactly what we all believe, and he showed that. He’s constructive but honest.

Ayda and Robbie obviously already have that duo-thing going, and Simon and Louis obviously know each other pretty well, but I’m not convinced they’re entirely gelled as a panel yet. But that might just be because it’s the auditions, and I’m going to admit something: I literally never watch the auditions stage. The earliest stage i ever come in at is bootcamp. I hope they don’t get panned because I really like the way Louis is growing into his mentor role, and being constructive and thoughtful and kind of measured too.

The structure is odd. You see a couple of people sing, then there’s a break, then another couple, then another break. I left at 10.45 because that was the latest I could leave and still get home at midnight, and we’d seen about six contestants.

The first contestant was a zumba instructor, and Louis admitted he didn’t know what zumba was, so had to have it explained (cute)

The second contestant finished and Louis darted off stage. I like to imagine he was nipping for a wee, because that’s the way I like to think.

Louis is fairly open to photos and hugs and autographs, within reason, and he was good at finding the kids who wanted his attention and giving them a hug or an autograph or a picture. He’s also good at not being intimidating and sizing down to their level, which was nice to watch.

Louis continues to get the biggest cheers.

I’ve always liked Robbie - he was my first arena gig ever, years and years and years ago - but I’m not sure he’s got into the right groove yet. He reminded people once or twice that Louis wasn’t the only member of a boyband on the panel, but in comparison with Louis, he’s less removed, and much more likely to play up being a performer. In one of the breaks they played Rock DJ and he got up on stage and strutted his stuff and fucking loved being in the limelight. Louis is a bit more distant, and seemed content to wave at his fans and to talk 1-1 with a few people, and disappear off stage a bit when not required.

In conclusion: weird as fuck night, really appreciated those terrible shoe bootees, I think Louis will continue to offer constructive and thoughtful comments as a mentor, and I hope X Factor works out for him.

#x factor #1D #Louis #radiating light #a Louis Appreciation Life #given a chance #Louis: [as a villainous evil cat]#well well well

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emilyjunk · 6 years

Note

In addition to the Bellas, Emily plays intramural volleyball against other barden university teams. She tries to hide it from the other girls, but when moms bechloe find out they bring the whole Bella fam to cheer her on?

this is sort of not really what you asked for but anyway...

Chloe has often been told she’s the Mama Bear of the Bellas. Notjust because she’s older than the rest of them, but she has a tendency to worrylike a mom.

Perhaps it’s hernatural disposition, or maybe it’s just that her own mother’s habits instilledthemselves in her during her upbringing, but Chloe’s always reminding theBellas to bring their jackets places, asking them if they’ve eaten and havebeen drinking enough water. She checks in on their grades and their homework,makes sure they’re getting enough sleep and practicing safe sexual habits.

Sometimes they teaseher about it, calling her Mom and rolling their eyes, but it doesn’t botherher. Being the motherly one is just part of who she is and that’s never gonnachange. In fact, it’s probably just gonna grow stronger over time.

Such is the case whenEmily joins the Bellas.

For all her flaws, herquirks, her infuriating ability to completely ruin a riff-off, Chloeloves Emily.

Emily is cute andoptimistic, talented and fun. She makes Chloe’s motherly instincts light uplike a pinball machine. She finds herself constantly watching to make sureEmily’s handling the transition into college okay.

She asks Emily abouther classes, takes her out for ice cream, and makes her tea with honey in theevenings after intense vocal practices. Emily seems to take it all in stride,happy if not confused at Chloe’s tendency to hover.

“Yeah, she does thissometimes. You get used to it,” Stacie tells her the first time Chloe handsEmily a packed lunch on her long day and stuffs a pastry in her hand before sheheads off to class, telling her that breakfast is the most important meal ofthe day and don’t forget to turnin that essay.

Chloe just wants herfriends and family to be their best and succeed and most of all, be happy,safe, and healthy.

She loves them! Isthat such a crime?

Like, that’s why she’sstuck around all this time, right? Who else is going to make sure these girlsdon’t eat pizza for every meal?

So she watches, andshe worries, and she reminds them to take care of themselves.

It’s just who she is.

The first time sheworries more than usual about Emily is when she notices Emily has bruises allup and down her legs one day at rehearsal.

“Emily, what are thosefrom?”

Emily follows Chloe’sgaze to her legs, her cheeks pinking when she sees what Chloe’s looking at.“Oh. Nothing. I’m clumsy. Fall down a lot, you know? My mom says I neverproperly grew into my legs and that’s why I can’t walk across flat surfaceswithout tripping.”

“Legacy, you talk toomuch,” Amy murmurs behind a yawn and Chloe scrunches her nose when Emily justnods.

“Yeah. I gotta pee,”she blurts out and makes a beeline for the restroom, almost like she’s avoidingChloe. Chloe’s pretty sure that’s what happening anyway. Emily is a littleweird and kind of spontaneous like that, but she seemed a little evasive.

Chloe notices thesethings because she’s the mothering type. Thems just the facts.

She decides to keep aneye on her.

She notices that Emilyis constantly covered in bruises. Like, Emily is clumsy, but nobody is thatclumsy. And she always seems to avoid Bellas stuff on Tuesdays specifically.

Chloe notices thisbecause she cares.

Not because she’screepy.

Emily’s weird behaviorcontinues. Like when Chloe asks her to get dinner with her and Stacie one nightand Emily’s eyes go wide.

“Uh. I can’t. I have…a thing.”

And then she promptlyspins around to loudly ask Jessica if she has a hair tie.

Like??

It’s not that Chloecares if Emily has a thing, but why does she have to be so suspicious about it?It makes Chloe, well… suspicious.

And Chloe does notlike to be suspicious.

She’s not crazy, okay?

She’s motherly.

That’s why she’screeping behind Emily, effectively stalking her. Because she’s worried.Not crazy.

Anyway, she’s notreally creeping. She’s walking in plain sight. Emily has headphones in and isheaded toward the Barden rec center, oblivious to the world and therefore alsoChloe.

So, yeah, she’s totesnot creeping.

She waits about fiveseconds after Emily enters the building to follow, swiping her card at the doorto be let in. Emily’s long stride is taking her around the corner toward thebasketball courts.

Chloe doesn’t get it.What’s so suspicious about going to the gym?

Maybe Emily has asecret weekly kinky bruise evoking hookup in the locker room? Or maybe she’s aZumba instructor and doesn’t want the Bellas to know? But why? The Bellas loveZumba.

(Well, okay, Chloeloves Zumba. And Ashley loves Zumba. So like? Close enough.)

Chloe leans her headaround the corner and sees Emily start to jog across the basketball court.Small groups of people are littered here and there on the court, stretching andtalking. There’s a net set up mid-court and a few people are split up intopairs, hitting balls back and forth to each other.

As Emily jogs up, aball comes zooming her direction and Chloe instinctually braces for impact, butEmily lifts her hands up and taps the ball with her fingertips so it soarsdirectly overhead. Then she slides to the left as another girl runs up andjumps toward the ball, spiking it into the ground. The two of them high-fiveand laugh, Emily throwing her drawstring bag over on the sidelines.

Chloe scrunches hernose in confusion.

Volleyball?

That’s Emily’s secret?

Chloe drifts to thebleachers and discreetly climbs to the top. There’s a few other peoplelingering on them, either socializing, watching their friends play, or justwaiting around.

Emily stretches andafter a few minutes, starts warming up with another girl. They bump the ballback and forth until a ref steps forward and calls for the match to start.

For the next hour,Chloe watches as Emily spikes, bumps, and sets ball after ball. She covers hereyes in horror as Emily slides and dives into the floor. She cringes every timeEmily’s bony knees hit the hard ground and breathes in relief when she getsback up with a laugh.

She seems to genuinelyenjoy this hellishly painful sport and for the life of her, Chloe can’t imaginewhy on earth she was keeping this a secret.

Chloe manages to gothe first two matches without drawing any attention to herself.

The third match,however, really grinds her gears.

Chloe’s not really asports person, but she thinks they’re fun enough, and she’s kind of gettinginto it simply because it’s clear Emily loves it.

Also Chloe is damncompetitive and she wants Emily to win.

It’s coming down tothe wire, a really close match, when Emily spikes the ball on the other side ofthe net. It just barely catches the line, staying in bounds, but the ref, likesome blind moron, blows his whistle, calling it out.

“THAT WAS IN!” Chloescreams, because she can’t help herself.

The ref pays her noattention, but Emily’s head whips around and even at a distance, her gaze glomsright onto Chloe’s, her mouth widening in shock.

Chloe waves.

Emily, in confusion,waves back.

Play resumes and Chloehas the urge to bite her nails the longer it goes on. Finally, it’s match pointand if Emily’s team scores, they win.

There’s a really goodvolley back and forth a few times until the ball soars a little too close toEmily. Chloe holds her breath, but Emily springs off her feet, her hand arcingdown and connecting with the ball in the air. It darts down like a laser and…

Slams into the ground.

“WOO!” Chloe screams,jumping to her feet and clapping as the ref calls the game.

The other people inthe stands glance at her kind of awkwardly, but she doesn’t care. That’s her babyand she’s proud!!

Okay, well, not reallyher baby. But like, her little duckling. Or… something.

Whatever, GO EMILY!

Chloe hangs aroundwhile Emily shakes hands with the other team and grabs her stuff. She waves toher teammates before heading over in Chloe’s direction, her face all read andsweaty.

“You were sogood,” Chloe gushes when Emily reaches her.

Emily beams. “Thanks.”Then she tilts her head to the side. “Umm, what are you doing here?”

Chloe shrugs. “Ifollowed you here.”

“You… followed mehere?” Emily blinks slowly. “Well, that’s a little creepy, but okay.”

“I was walking inplain sight. You didn’t even notice.” Chloe puts her hands on her hips. “Youreally should be more observant, Emily. It’s a scary world out there. You needto be aware of your surroundings. Do you have pepper spray?”

“Uhhhh. Yes?”

“Good.” Chloe huffs alittle. “I was worried about. You have bruises and you were soevasive. Why didn’t you tell us you play intramural volleyball?”

Emily averts her gazeguiltily. “I just…” She shrugs as she looks back at Chloe. “I didn’t want youor the Bellas to think I wasn’t one hundred percent dedicated to the Bellas. Iam. It’s just I also like to play and I promise I’m committed and if there everwas a major conflict I would definitely choose the Bellas, I swear.”

She pouts cutely andChloe places her hands on the girl’s shoulders. “Emily, you can be involved inmore than one thing. We understand.”

“Oh. Really?”

“Totes,” Chloe nods,stringing her arm through Emily’s and leading her toward the gym’s exit. “Infact, we’d love to come watch you. The Bellas would love it. Stacie would makea sign.”

“Uh, I mean… um” Emilystammers, but Chloe’s already imagining how loud the Bellas would cheer and allthe fan signs they might make.

Being your friendgroup’s Mama Bear isn’t all worries and nurturing. Part of it is embarrassingyour friends with your love.

In fact, Chloe thinks,that’s probably her favorite part.

#inquiries #chemily #chloe beale #emily junk #otp: jump then fall #pp fic #minifics #my writing #crazy chloe makes an appearance and i love it #Anonymous

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hookedonapirate · 6 years

Note

Hello love, how about F, H, M? 😘😘

F: Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

For me, dialogue and knowing what the characters will say and respond in a way that’s believable is the most difficult part about writing. Feelings and thoughts are easy, describing things or actions can be tough, but anyone who knows me knows communication isn’t my strong suit. This is one reason I love writing so much because it’s my own way of communicating. With that said, this one shot I wrote is some of the best banter I’ve written and maybe because it was a Secret Santa gift and I was trying really hard not to f***k it up. Here’s a little snippet of Give Me Some Sugar. I had fun with all of the dialogue in this so its it was hard to pick just a small section.

“Evening, lass. You must be the new manager I’ve heard about.” His Irish accent caught her off guard, sending shivers down her spine as he approache. And somehow she found it difficult to breathe and was absolutely certain that she was having heart palpitations.

She shifted a bit and folded her arms, attempting to hide the smirk threatening her lips. “And how did you ever come up with that conclusion, mister perceptive? The nametag that says ‘Store Manager’ on my shirt? I mean I could have stolen this and locked the actual manager in the back room and instead of stealing money from the till I decided to stand behind this counter just to appear to be working. I bet you were too busy trying to come up with something oh so clever and crafty to say that the thought never crossed your pretty head.” Her voice was thick with sarcasm, but the broad smile it created was well worth the effort that she put forward given her exhausted state.

His eyes drifted to said nametag and reverted back to her gaze. “Honesty, though I am quite perceptive, I didn’t even look at your nametag at first. I saw you working from the window.” The man casually leaned on the counter as she held her sarcastic glare. “And I should be offended that you think I’m just a pretty face but I can only imagine that a woman as beautiful as yourself is used to being hit on by handsome men so I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt.”

Emma felt blush creep into her cheeks and the smile she had been holding back pulled at the corner of her lips. “Ah, peeking through shop windows. So you’re a stalker? Got it.”

He chuckled. “Sorry, I should have clarified. I own the cupcake and candy shop across from here.”

Emma gave a nod, reluctantly accepting his answer. Ever since the day she started, she had been curious about the place. She often caught the waft of wonderful smells when she passed during the day and got a peak of the delicious looking chocolates and cupcakes through the window. “So you’re Killian?” The name of the shop was ‘Killian’s Candies and Cupcakes’ after all.

“Aye. Killian Jones. You’re quite the perceptive one yourself,” he taunted and she responded with an eye roll.

“Well, you never know. You could have just locked up the actual owner and stole his shop like a pirate and are just posing as him.”

He gave her a bemused expression. “You’re right, lass. Between the two of us, we could start a fraudulent managers club.”

“You know, that’s actually not a bad idea. Free cupcakes and cards for everyone.” They both laughed. “So what is it I can do for you, other than entertain your muse after you felt the urge to come over and pester the new fake management?” she asked, the laughter still lingering in her throat.

He offered a charming smile, his light features never fading and the lilt in his accent and the sarcasm in his tone never letting up.

“I actually came here as a potential customer seeking a card, if you’re still up for pretending to work. I wouldn’t want to interrupt your little scheme you’ve got going on here.”

Emma pursed her lips in thought. “Well, I might be able to help you with that, seeing as the selection is plentiful and stocked full of cards with sayings and poems that hold a certain cheesiness that matches your pickup lines,” she teased playfully. There was no harshness to her words, but she figured this was the best route to take to cover up the effect he had on her.

He chuckled, suddenly appearing to be a little shy. “Well, now that we’re on the same page… I was wondering if you had a card for a lass who I’ve just started dating. It’s our one month anniversary tomorrow and I’m not even sure if she’ll like my gift but I wanted to get her something and express my affections without being overzealous.”

Emma was a little disappointed if she were being honest, but quickly convinced herself it was a good thing and reverted her attention back to the problem at hand, making her way around the counter. “Let’s see… I think I might be able to find something.” She quickly transformed into customer service mode and carefully looked through the selection of cards in the for her section of the anniversary cards. She found something within minutes and handed the card to him. “How’s this? It’s simple and expresses your interest without being overly romantic.”

His eyes lit up as he read the card. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

“Not a problem. Why don’t I pretend to ring you up, unless there’s anything else you need.”

“No, that’s it. I already got her a necklace and was dreading getting her a card because I didn’t want to scare her off by being too sappy.”

“Well, unless you got her a heart necklace and confessed your love in the card, I think she will like them both. And that’s coming from a woman who has a fear of commitment, so I think you’re safe,” she assured him with a laugh, hiding the regret of her words. God, why did she have to tell him that?

Killian lifted a brow, his expression full of intrigue as she rang up his purchase. She was hoping he wouldn’t elaborate as he stood at the counter, running his hand through his hair. He started to say something but then paused briefly before saying something else. “Good to know that you approve then.” His voice was light and playful as he smiled and handed her cash to pay for the card.

Bagging up his purchase, she smiled back warmly, relieved that he didn’t press her further about her confession.

“Thanks again, Emma.”

“You’re very welcome. I hope you enjoy your anniversary.” It took her about five seconds to realize he had used her name and her face contorted in confusion. “How did you-?”

“And here I thought we agreed that I was quite perceptive.”

She looked down at her nametag before lifting her eyes to his again and gave a soft shrug. “It’s not really my name but I kind of like it.” she joked as he handed her cash for his purchase and she put the money in the drawer. “It was very nice to meet you, Killian Jones… or whoever you really are.”

“You as well, Emma…”

“Swan,” she finished.

“Emma Swan. It suits you,” he smirked and gave her a parting nod. “If you’d ever like to stop by the shop that I pretend to own and try some of the chocolates that I pretend to make, you’re more than welcome.”

Her smile was beaming as she finally released his hand. “I will definitely keep that in mind.”

H: How would you describe your style?

I always have an image in my head when I write scenes and they never turn out the way I envision, I’m not as good at intricate descriptions of the physical pieces of what I imagine or describing what could be said in one sentence, in three paragraphs, but I think one thing I am good at is describing feelings and emotions, tuning into the characters and what they are feeling.

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you’d care to share?

There is one story I’ve started that was also inspired by True Blood, but it’s not about vampires or nearly as dark. And I made @onceuponaprincessworld promise me she wouldn’t let me post it until I finish it lol.

So in this story, Killian and Emma are pining for other people - Milah and her cousin Neal. Milah and Emma are best friends (don’t ask why I’ve been pairing these up a lot lately because I have no clue) and Milah persuades Emma into taking a Zumba class, using Neal as bait because he goes to the same gym to work out. It turns out Killian is the Zumba instructor and one night Emma and Killian get snowed in at the fitness center and that’s all I’m gonna say ;)

Thanks Tori : D

#tumblr games #resident-of-storybrooke

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haru-desune · 6 years

Note

A hayaryuu dancing fic?

Okay I love a good dance AU. So let’s pretend that rather than beingschoolmates, the members of the babysitting club and their friends are all partof the same dance studio.I played with the timeline a bit too, in this storythe Kashima brothers have been living with Morinomiya for a few years, and areslightly aged up. I should probably clarify that I have two left feet irl andall my dancing knowledge comes from Wikipedia and ‘So You Think You Can Dance?’Hopefully this is still good! This one got a little (a lot) out of hand, so you can read it on AO3 or FF.net if you prefer.

Kashima Ryuuichi was a dancer down to his very soul. Heloved letting the music wash over him, envelop him and guide his fluidmovements. His classes at the local studio were the highlight of his week, andhe took any chance to practice. Saikawa-san, the family butler-secretary-person(after all this time, Ryuuichi was still not entirely sure of the man’sposition) had a video of him dancing around with a mop while he was helpingclean the kitchen which his Obasan would never admit to watching when sheneeded to lift her spirits. The style didn’t matter to him. He’d try anything,practice until he dropped, so long as he just got to keep dancing. He neededdance like other people needed food or sleep. Sometimes it was the only thingthat kept him going.

Ryu’s class was labelled ‘versatile’ on the studio pamphletsince it consisted of people who either didn’t have a preferred style or simplywanted to experience as many different dance forms as they could. Lead by thestrict but kind Yamamoto-sensei, it was every bit the grab-bag of lessons thename suggested. Sometimes it was a formal class with guest instructors whofocused on one particular style, a new one every month. Other times it became apeer lead lesson, with the students trading tips on the styles they werefamiliar with. Still, other days, Yamamoto-sensei would play a song on repeatand let each student choreograph their own routine, mixing and meldingdifferent styles to their hearts’ content. Ryu loved every minute of it.

Ryu dashed into the studio locker room, his heart thrummingwith excitement. He was fifteen minutes early, but he doubted that he would bethe only one. Today was a pretty important day, after all. He quickly shovedhis outdoor shoes into his locker, pulling on his preferred slip-ons. His bagquickly followed the shoes, and he hurried to the studio room.

The members of Morinomiya dance studio’s versatile program(someone who probably thought they were being clever had started calling themverses, and unfortunately the name stuck) were a diverse bunch, coming fromvarious dance backgrounds and each with their own way of expressing themselvesthrough the music. Ryu grinned at his classmates, most of whom, true to hisprediction, had already arrived. Inomata Maria, a rigid, rule conscious girlwith a background in ballet was warming up by the barre. She had joined theverse class on the recommendation of her ballet instructor, an effort to loosenher up. With her came Ushimaru Yuki who was listening to something with heavybeats on her phone. A little shy and easily flustered, it had been quite asurprise when the girl had taken to hip hop like a duck to water. She pausedher music to give Ryu a small wave, which he returned.

Yagi Tomoya and Nezu Chuukichi were off to the side helpingeach other with stretches. Yagi liked to call himself a contemporary dancer,which apparently meant he mixed and matched his favourite parts of differentstyles into every one of his choreographies. Nezu on the other hand was a tapdancer who picked up other dance forms with annoying ease. Both of them noddedin his direction. Ryu also spotted Usaida Yoshihito lurking in a corner. Whilehe wasn’t an official member of the verse class, Usaida tended to sit in on thelessons more often than not. He claimed it was to give his mind a break fromthe housewives that attended the Zumba class he taught in the afternoons.

Then Ryu spotted him. Kamitani Hayato. Stoic, frank, andjust really cool, Kamitani was abaseball player who took the dance class as a way to stay in shape during theoff season and just stuck with it. He and Ryu didn’t speak much, though theyknew each other peripherally, since both their younger brothers were in thesame grade school as well as the kiddie-choreography class the studio offered.Kamitani was intimidating, to say the least, but Ryu found himself drawn to theother boy regardless. He swallowed as he watched the boy limber up. No one hadany right to look that attractive in an old sweatshirt and track pants. Ryushook himself out of that (useless) train of thought and moved to start hiswarm ups. He traded a nod with Inui Hiroyuki, who had joined the class becauseSawatari-san had taught a ballroom class in May and was too embarrassed to quitafter her lessons were over, before shrugging off his jacket and launching intohis warm up stretches, resolutely looking in any direction but Kamitani’s.

10 minutes into his warm-up the last few of his classmatestrickled in, followed by Yamamoto-sensei, clipboard in hand. Her entrancecaused the entire energy of the room to shift to one of nervous anticipation,and she beamed at them all, gesturing them to gather around.

“As you all know, the Annual Programme is coming up soon.”she said, her soft voice spreading through the room.

There was a hushed murmuring among the students. This wasit. Every year the studio put on an Annual Programme to show-off the skills ofthe various students. Each class had a series of paired or group performancesthat showcased the talents of all the students. But what was really excitingwas the opportunity to perform solo, an honour that was only given to fourstudents from each class. The verse students, more than those from the otherclasses, coveted the opportunity. Most of the more… focused dance classesconsidered them to be flaky since they didn’t stick to one particular style,and the annual programme was a chance to prove them wrong. Each year the versestudents came up with choreographies that were increasingly complex, both physicallyand emotionally, to fight their undeserved reputation.

Yamamoto-sensei smiled kindly, sensing the determinationthat radiated from her students. “So first,” she said “Let’s talk pairs. I’vechosen your pairs and the style you’ll be dancing keeping in mind your variousstrengths and weaknesses. I hope you’ll find this experience both challengingand rewarding. I want you all to try your best, and show everyone at Morinomiyastudio what this class is made of.”

“Yes Sensei!”

Sensei looked down at her clipboard “First we have Inomataand Ushimaru. Girls, you’ll be doing a contemporary routine.” Both girlsnodded, though Inomata looked nervous. Ryu figured she would have been morecomfortable with some kind of waltz.

“Yagi and Nezu, you’ll have a Broadway routine.” Yagi beamedand Nezu inclined his head in acknowledgement. Part of Ryu was curious as tohow the steady and solemn boy would do with the lively dance.

“Inui and Nekota, the Viennese waltz.” The two refused tolook at each other, despite nodding at sensei.

“Usokawa and Honda, Jazz.” Usokawa stole a glance at thepetite girl he’d been paired with. She grinned at him mischievously, and hegulped nervously.

As sensei went further down the list, Ryu mentally crossedpeople out in his head. Finally, she came to his name, and he gulped. There wasonly one person left to pair with.

“Kashima and Kamitani, Salsa.” Ryu felt himself flush. Latindances were something very new for him, and he was just getting the hang of it.Plus they felt so… intimate. He might not survive prolonged exposure toKamitani in such close proximity. He heard Kamitani grunt in acknowledgement,so he quickly nodded.

“Now,” said Yamamoto-sensei with exaggerated solemnity “forthe moment we’ve all been waiting for.”

A nervous chuckle spread through the crowd. Ryu crossed hisfingers. Being the adopted grandson of the studio chairman didn’t guarantee himanything after all. This would be his sixth Programme, and he had yet to have asolo performance.

“This year, the solo performances for our class are going toNezu, Ushimaru, Kamitani and Kashima. I think that the four of you have reallyput your all into your work this year, and I’d like others to see what you cando.” Ushimaru looked shocked, and evenNezu and Kamitani seemed pleased. Ryu thought he was going to faint. He felthimself tear up a little at the pride in her voice, and resolved to justify herpraise.

“Now,” sensei said clapping her hands “I want you to takethe rest of the day to discuss your partnered routine. Try to get to know eachother better if you don’t already. I want each pair to meet me individuallybefore they leave so that we can talk choreography and song choice.”

“Yes Sensei!” said the class in unison, before breaking intotheir designated pairs. Ryu found Kamitani and gave him a hesitant smile.

“So salsa, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“Ever done it before?”

“No. You?”

“Um… briefly? I get a little self-conscious…”

“Okay.”

Ryu groaned internally. So much for getting to know yourpartner. This would probably end in disaster.

“So boys,” Yamamoto-sensei looked between the two standingin front of her. “Any idea what you want to do for the Salsa routine?”

“Well… not really.” Said Ryu sheepishly.

“A song, at least?”

“Not Despacito.”said Kamitani firmly.

Sensei laughed. “Well that’s a start.” She hummedthoughtfully. “Well I think I’m going to assign you to Usaida-san.”

Ryu’s mouth dropped open, and he was sure his surprise wasmirrored on Kamitani’s face.

“Close your mouths boys, Yoshihito may be a Zumba teachernow, but he was a junior Latin dance champion. I think he’ll be the best personto help you out.”

Ryu and Kamitani traded a dumbfounded look, making senseilaugh again. “Alright you two, get out of here! And practice hard. I expectgreat things, you know.”

“Yes sensei!”

“We won’t let you down.” Kamitani added, a determined glintin his eye. Ryu had to look away, and tell himself that the fluttering in hischest was purely nerves.

Six weeks until theAnnual Programme

Usaida was surprisingly not useless. He started by sittingthe boys down and having them listen to a variety of songs, helping them narrowdown on one they both liked.

“If you can’t decide, I’m making you dance to Copa Cabana.”He warned, before starting the playlist.

Ryu had liked the first song with its slower, guitar basedmelody, but Kamitani had vetoed it, claiming it was too boring. He liked thenext one, but Ryu could already hear the sensual undertones in the song andthere was no way he was doing that on stage. Like this they vetoed song after song,and Copa Cabana was soon three songs away from becoming a depressing reality.The next song came on, and Kamitani got a strange glint in his eye and a slowsmile spread across his face. Ryu could feel his head bopping along to thestaccato beats, and his foot began to tap on its own accord.

“This one.” They said together as the song neared its close.Usaida grinned, as though he’d guessed this would be the one they choose.

“El Albanil it is.” He gathered up his belongings. Give me aday or two to figure out a choreography. Until then, maybe you both should givea thought to your solo routine.” The man shot them a thumbs up, which they tookas their cue to leave. He was already humming the opening notes of the song andmoving his hips in a speculative manner. Ryu nearly skipped out of the doorwith a renewed excitement towards this routine.

Five weeks and fourdays until the Annual Programme

For the next two days Usaida texted both the boys with aseries of slightly worrying questions such as Can you do a split?, On a scale of 1-10, how easily do you get dizzy?, andWhat’s your shoe size?, which inRyu’s opinion was the most bizarre of all. By the third day, he was itching tosee the finished routine, so he was delighted when Usaida texted: It’s done, come to studio C at 12:30.

Ryu thanked his lucky stars he didn’t have any afternoonclasses on Wednesdays, and was quick to respond with a series of exclamationpoints and emojis.

When he arrived at the studio, only Kamitani was around. Hegave him an excited smile, and was pleasantly surprised when the other boyreturned it. Ryu had to calm the flush that tried to rise to his cheeks.Kamitani had a really nice smile.

They started their warm-ups in awkward silence, and Ryucould feel Kamitani’s eyes on him as he stretched. Just as he was about to askhim what the problem was, Usaida hurried into the room, Sawatari-san hot on hisheels.

“Sorry I’m late, someonetook an hour and a half to get ready.” he said, shooting Sawatari-san a playfulglare.

“Not everyone can just roll out of bed and head to work likeyou, Yoshihito.” she said sweetly.

“I came out to have a good time, and honestly I’m feeling soattacked right now.”

Sawatari-san smirked at him, and he rolled his eyes beforeturning to the boys.

“You two know Sawatari-san. I borrowed her from Inui andNekota to help with this routine.”

“We negotiated a trade. Borrowed implies that you’re notgoing to be helping me teach my pair.”

“Fair enough.”

Ryu swallowed a smile at their antics. “So does this mean oneof us will be taking a female role in the dance?” he asked instead.

“No we’ve choreographed this keeping the two of you inmind.” said Sawatori-san “It’ll be best if we show you. We can alter it as wego along, make it simpler if we need to.”

“We won’t need to.” said Usaida confidently, hooking up hisphone to the speakers. He and Sawatari-san stood next to each other, bothfacing the right-side wall of the studio.

“Kamitani, start the music, and pay attention to me. Ryu,focus on Yukari.”

From the very first beats, Usaida was moving, undulating hisbody and stepping out towards the imaginary audience, Sawatari-san just behindhim. From that moment on the two were in sync. Usaida grabbed Sawatari-san’shand and pulling her into a dip. They spun, and twisted and jumped, notstanding still for a moment. Ryuuichi watched them move, eyes wide, afraid thatif he blinked he’d miss something important. They finished the routine with aflourish, Sawatari-san facing the audience, connected to Usaida only through theirlinked hands.

“So,” said Usaida, sounding casual despite his heavy panting“that’s basically it.”

Oh my god. thoughtRyu There are so many spins.

“Are you sure we can’t make it simpler?” asked Kamitani, andRyu was gratified to see that he wasn’t the only one intimidated by theroutine.

“You’ll be fine!” said Usaida with a grin. “You’ve got ushelping you out after all!” He clapped his hands.

“Okay, Kamitani you’re going to be doing what I did, andRyu, you’ll be doing Yukari’s part. We’ll start from the top and take it slow,don’t worry.” He pulled something out of his bag. “Here, both of you put theseon.” He handed each of them a pair of formal-looking shoes.

“It’ll help if you practice while wearing the rightfootwear, so you can get used to it. Ryu, I’ve given you a bit more of a heelto make up for the height difference between you and Kamitani.”

Sure enough, upon further inspection, Ryu’s shoes did have aslightly larger heel.

“Thanks I guess.” he said pulling on the shoes and trying tofind his balance.

“Great!” said Sawatari-san with a grin “Let’s take it fromthe top.”

Four weeks and threedays until the Annual Programme

“Kamitani you’re too stiff.” said Usaida with a sigh “moveyour hips more, like this.” His body moved as though a shockwave had passedthrough him. Kamitani mimicked him.

“Looser.”

Kamitani tried again.

“Looser.”

Kamitani glared and tried again.

“Good, now keep that up for the rest of the song. Let’s takeit from the top.”

Ryu moved back into position.

“Oh, Kashima!” called Sawatari-san before Usaida could playthe music “try to stay on your toes while you’re spinning or you’ll trip overyour heels again. And keep your leg higher on that one spin, it looks moredramatic that way.”

Ryu turned red at the reminder of the last three times he’dtripped, but nodded nevertheless. Usaida started the music once more and theywent through the routine again. When it was over, they glanced at Usaida forfeedback.

“Better, but still room for improvement.”

Both boys groaned.They took a small break to grab a drink of water.

“Kamitani-kun” said Sawatari-san suddenly “could you maybesmile more?”

“I am smiling!”

“Hmm… there needs to be more expression on your face. Maybeinstead of smiling, try for a smoulder.”

Kamitani looked bemused “Smoulder?”

“Just imagine you’re trying to seduce the girl of yourdreams.”

Ryu choked on a mouthful of water, and noticed thatKamitani’s ears turned bright red.

“I- I can try.”

“Great!” she said with a smile.

“If Kamitani goes with a smoulder, then he and Ryu will bemismatched though.” said Usaida “No offence Ryu, but I don’t think that you cansmoulder to save your life.”

“None taken.”

Sawatari-san looked thoughtful “Ryu, try look a little moreshy maybe?” the she shook her head. “Shy isn’t the right word. You need to be abit more… coy.”

“What does that mean?”

“For now, try making your smile smaller and look up throughyour eyelashes once in a while, we’ll go from there.” She looked suddenlyinspired “Or even better, just imagine Kamitani is seducing you and you’replaying hard to get!” she said, sounding delighted.

Ryu thought he could power a small village with the force ofhis blush, but he nodded, refusing to meet Kamitani’s eye.

“You know,” said Usaida speculatively “that could work.Let’s take it from the top.”

Three weeks and fourdays until the Annual Programme

“Something’s off.” said Usaida looking and both boys, whowere lying flat on their backs, panting. They’d improved a lot since last week,with only a few stumbles in their steps, which, considering the speed at whichthey were dancing, Ryu counted as win.

Sawatari-san nodded in agreement with his statement. “It’slike you two don’t know each other well enough, so you’re putting up a wallbetween yourselves and it’s coming through in the dance. The steps are mostlyright, but there’s no feeling behind them.”

“Right.” said Usaida, sounding exhausted “Take the rest ofthe day off. You two are going on a date.”

Ryu shot up into a sitting position, and stared at him. “What!?”

“A date. You two. Now. Go down to that family restaurantdown the road and have a cup of coffee or something. By tomorrow I wantwhatever awkwardness is between you two to be gone.” He pulled them off theground and practically shoved them out the door.

The walk to the family restaurant was awkward, to say theleast. Ryu longed to break the silence, but his mind was blank. They chose aquiet booth in the back, and Ryu picked up the menu, just to have something todo. It was nearing lunch-time anyway. Kamitani started tapping his fingers onthe table. The waitress was with them within a few minutes, and the coffee waspoured soon after, and then Ryu had no excuse not to look at Kamitani.

“Nice shirt, where’d you get it?” said Kamitani suddenly,referring to his faded rainbow unicorn t-shirt. The unicorn was wearingsunglasses, and the words “Can’t touch this” were stamped across the top.

“Thanks, Saikawa-san and Obasan got it for me when I cameout to the family in high school.” He replied absently as he stirred sugar intohis drink. His eyes flicked across the table and he noticed that Kamitani hadfrozen. His mind chose that moment to replay what he’d just said, and he had toresist the urge to face-palm. “Nice goingRyu.” He thought to himself “You canbarely have a conversation with the guy and you’ve already outed yourself.”It wasn’t like he was closeted, he was wearing a rainbow unicorn t-shirt forcrying out loud. He just wasn’t explicitly vocal about it.

“This… isn’t going to be a problem, is it?” he askedtentatively, taking a sip of the hot coffee in front of him in an effort tohide his face. If the routine got scrapped because it turned out his hotpartner was a homophobe, Ryuuichi was going to actually cry. Kamitani shook hishead hurriedly, looking flustered.

“Not at all.”

“Good. That’s… good.”

“Me too, by the way.”

Ryu choked on his coffee. “I’m sorry, what!?”

Kamitani’s lips, quirked upwards.

“I too am incredibly gay.”

“Oh.” OH. Ryuthrew his head back and laughed.

Three weeks and twodays until the Annual Programme

The rest of their date, as Usaida insisted on calling it,had gone well. They spoke about how they got into dancing (“It seemed like a good idea in between baseball seasons. I liked it, soI stayed.”), their college classes (“Advancedorganic chemistry is honestly the best class I’ve ever taken, but the modernlit class makes me want to shoot someone”), and their younger brothers (“Yeah, he’s kind of an idiot, but he’s notso bad I guess”), and by the end of the afternoon, the stilted awkwardnessbetween the two had disappeared. Usaida claimed it made a noticeable differencein their dancing. There was just one small problem.

If Ryu had thought knowing Kamitani better would makeplaying coy easier, he was sadly mistaken. Justimagine Kamitani is seducing you and you’re playing hard to get! The wordstended to pop up in his mind at inopportune moments. It was much morecomfortable playing the role when he thought the other boy was straight.Sawatari-san had been right in saying that Kamitani would be better off“smouldering” than smiling, and it was suddenly too easy to get his hopes upwhen Kamitani looked at him with a heated glance.

“Much, much better boys, I think we’re done for today.” called Sawatari-san, looking at Usaida for conformation. He nodded and shebeamed. “Looks like the coffee worked, huh?”

“What can I say, I’m a genius.” said Usaida with grinning atthe boys.

Both Ryu and Kamitani rolled their eyes at that, and Usaidalet out a mock offended huff.

“Rude.” He turned back to Sawatari-san “Do you think it willwork with Inui and Nekota?”

She shook her head in exasperation. “With those two, wemight have to lock them in the studio until they sort themselves out.”

Ryu heard Usaida laugh in response as he left the studiowith Kamitani, who gently bumped his shoulder.

“Any idea what you’re going to do for your solo?” he asked

Crap. Ryu had been so busy working on the salsa that hehadn’t even given a thought to his solo. He shrugged sheepishly.

“Nothing yet. You?”

“Probably hip hop or street funk.”

Ryu glanced at him in surprise. While Kamitani wasn’t bad athip hop, there were several other styles he was stronger in. He noticed thelook, and twitched his shoulder upwards.

“I wanted a challenge. Figured Ushimaru could help me out.Besides,” he coloured a little “Taka’s been going on and on about these hip hopvideos he’s been watching on YouTube and I couldn’t get it out of my head.”

Ryu smirked at him. Whether he’d admit it or not, Kamitanireally wanted to look cool in front of his brother.

“Kamitani, you’re really just a big softie, aren’t you?”

“Shut up Kashima.”

Two weeks until the AnnualProgramme

The good news was they had finally perfected their pairsroutine. Usaida had taken their measurements and muttered something aboutsequins, before flipping open a sketchbook to work on their costume designs.This now left their afternoons free to work on their solos.

The bad news came in two parts. First was that he still hadno idea what he wanted to do for his solo. He knew Kamitani was leaning towardsstreet funk, and Ushimaru and Nezu would likely stick to their preferred stylesof hip hop and tap. Ryu wasn’t sure he wanted to choose a style. He reallydidn’t even have an idea behind the routine. He wasn’t sure what he wanted toprove. The second part was that he’d been seeing a lot less of Kamitani. Mostof his time not spent in classes was taken up in the small apartment he sharedwith his younger brother, either trying to figure out his routine or catchingup on coursework. They did meet occasionally for a meal or to accompany theirbrothers on a playdate (“Ni-chan it’s nota playdate, we’re in second grade now, we’re just hanging out!”), but itwas a far cry from seeing each other nearly every day.

Ryu had gotten so used to Kamitani’s presence that meetinghim so rarely made his chest hurt with a kind of hollowness, as though a pieceof him was missing. When they did get together, their meetings often ended fartoo soon for his liking, a stab of disappointment piercing him each time. Hedidn’t know if Kamitani was equally effected, but a small, selfish part of himreally hoped so.

One week and 6 daysuntil the Annual Programme

“Can I ask you something?” Kamitani was playing with thestraw in his iced tea.

“You just did, but I’ll let it slide.” said Ryu, grinningwhen he groaned in response.

“How come Usaida calls you Ryu when he calls me Kamitani?Were you and he-” he trailed off awkwardly, and it too Ryu a moment to reallyunderstand where he was going with that thought. When the penny dropped hegagged a little.

“What! God no. He’s some ten years my senior! I’ve justknown him for a while. He’s worked for Obasan for as long as I’ve known her,and he used to babysit Kotaro sometimes. Plus he’s sort of friends withSaikawa-san, which technically makes a friend of the family.”

“Oh, I just figured you guys had some kind of history,sorry.” If he didn’t know any better, Ryu would say Kamitani sounded relieved.Before he could stop himself, he opened his mouth again.

“If you want, you can call me Ryu too. A lot of my friendsdo.” he said casually. It wasn’t exactly a lie. He was technically friends withUsaida and Kotaro. He risked a glance at Kamitani, and found him lookingsurprised but pleased.

“Then call me Hayato”

Ryu grinned, and the answering smile, small and shy as itwas, nearly made his heart stop.

One and a half weeksuntil the Annual Programme

“Ryuuichi have you decided what you’ll be doing for yoursolo?”

The piece of steak he’d been eating went down the wrong way,and he began to cough. His brother passed him a glass of water, which he tookgratefully.

“Thanks Kotaro.” he gasped before glancing at his Obasan,and quickly looking away. He loved her a lot, and after he and Kotaro moved outafter he found his apartment she made them promise to come around for dinner atleast once every two weeks. It was a promise he was more than happy to keep.Despite her kindness however, she was still as crotchety as she had been whenshe’d adopted them in his eighth grade, and he was certain he was about to getanother tongue lashing.

“Not yet, Obasan.”

“Hmph. You’d better get a move on, there’s not much timeleft.”

“I know, Obasan, but I just don’t know where to start!” Heran a frustrated hand through his hair, not able to stop speaking once he’sstarted. “There are just so many things I’ve learned, and so many things I wantto do. I don’t want to let sensei down, and I want the other classes to seethat Verse students are just as good as them. I want to impress Haya- I mean, Iwant to impress the audience I-”

He was cut off by a sharp pain in his leg. Obasan had pokedhim in the thigh with her cane under the table. He gulped.

“Ryuuichi have you learned nothing in all these years in mystudio?”

“Umm…”

“What’s the most important thing about dance? It’s nottechnique or even talent in the long run, is it?”

He slowly shook his head, feeling a weight lift from hisshoulders at her world.

“Try to remember why you dance, Ryu, and everything willfall into place.�� She went back to cutting her steak.

Why did he dance? Because he had to. Because his skin felttoo tight if he didn’t. Because it reminded him of his parents. Because hisObasan had given him a chance. Because of the look of quiet awe Kotaro wouldgive him when he practiced in the apartment. Because of the way Sensei smiledwhen he got a particularly difficult step right. Because of how Usaida andSawatari-san had pulled him into a group hug at the end of every practice.Because of the way Kamitani looked at him when the moved perfectly in sync.Because he loved to dance. It hit him all at once what he was going to do. He’dneed to call Ushimaru after this.

He was pulled out of his train of thought by a light tug onhis sleeve. He turned to see Kotaro looking up at him with a smile.

“Don’t worry Ni-chan, I’m sure Kami-chan will like yourdance no matter what.”

Ryu could feel the heat creeping up his neck, and had tostifle a groan when Obasan perked up at Kotaro’s words.

“Thanks Kotaro.” He said weakly, patting his beaming brotheron the head, mentally preparing himself to deal with the interrogation thatwould surely follow.

6 days until theAnnual Programme

Their costumes were ready and they were gorgeous. Hayato’sshirt was a glittery royal blue that shined silvery under the light, pairedwith dark grey slacks that flared outward at the bottom. The shirt was a deepv-neck that left part of his chest exposed, with long sleeves that also flaredout slightly. Ryu’s was a deep crimson long-sleeved shirt with a false vestcreated with gold sequins. Like Hayato’s it was also a deep v-neck, and waspaired with similar pants, though his were white in colour.

Usaida had insisted that the two try them on and go throughthe routine once to make sure everything fit properly and was comfortable.Ryu’s mouth had gone dry when he saw the way the pants hugged Hayato’s muscularlegs. The routine had gone off without a hitch, and the costumes fit like adream. Usaida looked beyond pleased as he made them pose so that he could clicksome pictures.

“Okay you two, I’ll be back soon. Get changed quickly. I’llhave the costumes dry cleaned and ready to go for the big day.” he said, beforeleaving the room, cell phone pressed to his ear, letting the door swing shutbehind him.

Hayato immediately began stripping off his shirt, and Ryusqueaked and turned away before he could get distracted by the way the musclesin his back moved as he pulled off his shirt. He quickly changed out of hiscostume as well, realizing only after he’d removed his clothes that while hisjoggers were neatly folded on the bench next to him, he’d forgotten to take hist-shirt out of his bag. Which was currently next to Hayato. Too afraid to turnaround, in case the other boy was still changing, he inched his way backwards.It was a brilliant plan, and would have worked if he hadn’t tripped over hisdance shoes on the way there. He fell backwards, closing his eyes and bracinghimself for impact, when his back collided with something firm, and warm andvery much not the floor, stopping his descent. He tentatively opened his eyesto see a very worried Hayato. A distant part of his brain told him that theymust look like the cover of a cheap romance novel, Hayato clad only in hiscostume pants holding Ryu, dressed only in his joggers, in a dip, but most ofhim was focused on the face in front of him; the way his eyebrows were furrowedin worry, and how his eyes seemed to be made up of a kaleidoscope of greens andyellows.

“Are you alright?” Hayato asked, still making no move to sethim back properly on his feet.

“Y-yeah, I’m okay. I just need to um, grab my shirt.” hesqueaked.

“Oh, right.”

Hayato pulled him into to a standing position, and Ryuhurriedly grabbed his t-shirt from his bag.

Oh my god. hethought as he pulled it on I am soscrewed.

On the day of the Annual Programme, Ryu couldn’t eat. Eventhe thought of eating made him want to vomit. Both his and Kamitani’s soloswould come before their Salsa, and he wasn’t sure whether it was a good or badthing. In addition their routine would be the one that ended the show, whichdid nothing to sooth his nerves. He forced himself to drink half a bottle ofPocari Sweat, made sure Kotaro had packed the costume for his group routinewith the Kiddie Choreography class, and headed to the studio.

After dropping Kotaro off with Taka and his other friends,Ryu began hunting for Hayato. He found his partner in a green room, listeningto something on a pair of large headphones. He smiled when he saw Ryu.

“Ready for today?” he asked

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Ryu replied, pushing down anotherwave of nerves. Hayato stood, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

“Let’s go grab a seat in the front. Taka made me promise towatch his group dance.”

The Programme started on time, because Obasan, if nothingelse was a stickler for punctuality. First went the casual classes. The kidshad put on a performance to a mashup of cartoon openings, which was so cutethat no one minded the few missteps that occurred. Ryu clapped until his handssmarted and Hayato gave Taka and Kotaro a thumbs up. Taka was so overwhelmedthat he burst into tears on stage, much to his brother’s embarrassment. It wasfollowed by a small performance by the Zumba class which made Ryu marvel at howUsaida had managed to handle three separate choreographies in the last sixweeks. The senior ladies followed it up with a traditional fan dance, beforethe hip hop class took the stage. They were followed by Jazz, Contemporary,Ballet, and Folk. Ryu watched the performances in awe. He had to acknowledgethat they were all excellent, but the idea of practicing the same style overand over again just didn’t sit comfortably with him. All too soon it was timefor the Verse performances to take the stage. Hayato grabbed his arm and jerkedhis head towards the green room. Ryu smirked. It was time to show these peoplewhat the Versatile Class was made of.

Inomata and Ushimaru were the first to take the stage. Theircontemporary dance was powerful yet sad, and as he watched from the wings Ryucould see the way they worked to blend the grace of Inomata’s ballet backgroundwith the staccato movements of Ushimaru’s hip hop as they became puppet andpuppet master on stage. The performances seemed to pass in a blur. Inui andNekomata’s elegant Viennese Waltz managed to move some of the audience membersto tears, and Ushimaru’s solo combining ballet and hip hop got a standingovation and made Inomata turn scarlet. Then came Hayato’s solo. Ryu slippedinto the auditorium so that he could watch it up close.

Tinny beats played as Hayato walked on stage dressed in ablack tank top and ripped jeans, with a plaid shirt tied around his waist andbaseball cap jammed on his head. The beat became heavy, followed by violins.Ryu remembered him saying that he had to go with the instrumental version ofsome English song because the lyrics were questionable. As soon as the violinsstarted, Hayato was moving, each motion quick and sharp as though he waslocking himself into place, yet fluid in transition from one step to the next.He had control of every part of his body, from head to toe, as he danced withhis eyes blazing and a smirk playing on his lips. He caught Ryu’s eye andwinked. Ryu thought he might faint. The song came to a close, and Hayato walkedoff, popping the collar of the shirt he’d put on at some point in the routine. Acheer came from the audience, and Ryu was sure he could hear Taka screamingabout how cool his big brother was. He dashed backstage and caught up withHayato outside the green room.

“That was amazing! You were amazing!” he yelling, pullingHayato in for a hug. The boy froze for a minute before hugging him back tightlyand whispering a gruff thanks.

“Ryu I-” Hayato started to say, and Ryu was hit with asudden panic. The atmosphere was too serious, and he just knew Hayato was goingto say something that would make him cry, though whether it would be out of joyor sorrow was under debate. Ryu was too scared to find out.

“I need to change.” he blurted out “for my solo.” He slippedinto the green room, shutting the door on a very confused Hayato.

He could hear the audience clapping along to Usokawa andHonda’s jazz routine as he leaned his head against the cool doorframe. Next wasNezu’s solo, and then his own. He gulped. He’d put everything he had into thisroutine. Practicing for hours in his apartment and in the studio with Ushimaru.Each movement had to be deliberate yet fluid and natural. He needed to be calm.By the time he left the green room, Nezu had started his solo performance. Ashe had expected, it was a tap routine, but it was far livelier than his usualfare. Ryu could see Yagi grinning in the audience while he recorded the act andknew who pushed the quiet boy out of his comfort zone. The song drew to a closeand Nezu stripped off his jacket, throwing it into the audience and dancing offthe stage even as small tussle broke out between several girls who were vyingto catch it. The fight was broken up by Yagi, who simply picked the jacket outof a girl’s arms with a smile, and it was suddenly Ryu’s turn.

He walked on stage as the first few notes of the pianobegan, standing at the centre with his hands clasped and his head down. He’delected to wear an oversized long sleeved white t-shirt and his favourite pairof black joggers. He knew he probably looked small standing in the centre ofthe stage, but that didn’t matter. He was here to show everyone why he danced.

The lyrics started and his hands shot upwards on their ownaccord. He’d practiced this so many times that his body was moving onautopilot. He found Kotaro in the audience, who, despite seeing the routine amillion times while Ryu was practicing, was watching with his eyes wide asthough it was the first time. His little brother had always been his anchor,his motivation to get up in the morning and keep getting up no matter how manytimes he fell.

He kept dancing, his arms and legs, fingers and neck movingin sharp staccato, in position for only a second before moving on to his nextstep. His father used to dance his mother around the kitchen at dinner, both ofthem laughing, and used to clap and cheer when he used to make up his ownroutines as a little kid. They were rarely home but when they were the housewas always filled with music and laughter. When they died, dancing became a wayto keep them in his memory.

He folded his hands in prayer and gave a short sharp bow,before opening out into a spin. He spotted Obasan off to the side, withSaikawa-san sitting behind her, video camera in hand. It was her first timeseeing the routine in full, and she had a handkerchief pressed to her eyes.Obasan who had taken in two boys who had no connection to herself. Who’d madehim work in the studio after classes and signed him up immediately for lessonswhen she caught him practicing alone in an empty studio. Saikawa-san who wasalways there with a hot meal and an encourage word, who had accepted himwithout question. They had become his family.

He dropped to the floor, using his momentum to keep rolling.He caught sight of Usaida, standing with Sawatari-san and the rest of hisclassmates. Usaida had had his back ever since he started at the studio. Evennow, he shot him a quick thumbs up, despite the fact that he was blinkingsuspiciously often. His classmates looked equally proud, and his heart swelled,thinking how lucky he was to have friends who were always ready to pull him up.

He jumped forward, tuning in the air as he did. There, rightin front of the stage, was Hayato, already dressed in costume, watching himwith his mouth open and a strange expression on his face. The boy who’d becomeone of his closest friends in only six weeks. Who’d worked with him, laughedwith him, and on one memorable, alcohol infused occasion, cried with him. Theboy that he wanted something more with, if he’d have him.

The song drew to a close, and he moved backwards, staring upat the ceiling with his hands clasped in front of him as the song faded out.There was a beat of dead silence, before wild cheering broke out. He heldhimself together long enough to give a deep bow, before making his way back tothe green room and promptly bursting into tears. He felt a pair of strong armsenvelop him and heard low, choked voice in his ear.

“You were so good, Ryu.”

He wrapped his arms around Hayato’s waist and sobbed intohis shoulder while the other boy just held him. When the tears stopped flowing,they reluctantly broke apart. Hayato handed him a bottle of water.

“Drink this and get changed, we’re up after Yagi and Nezu.”He started out the door, before pausing, hand on the door frame, and leaningback into the room.

“Remember how Sawatari-san told me to practice my smoulder?What she asked me to pretend, I mean?”

“How could I forget?” asked Ryu, pleased to hear his voicewasn’t choked up anymore.

“Well, I’ve always been thinking of you, from day one.”

With that Hayato left, closing the door behind him, andleaving Ryu alone with his thoughts.

Just imagine you’reseducing the girl of your dreams. Ryu slammed a palm to his forehead. Theywere both so stupid. He put on hiscostume as quickly as he could and made it back to catch the tail end of Yagiand Nezu’s Broadway routine. Nezu was dressed like a delinquent and had abasket on his head, Yagi was wearing a suit and bowtie with a towel around hisneck, and both were in the middle of a very impressive tap routine. Ryu decidednot to question it, the audience was cheering and that was what mattered. Hestood with the rest of his classmates, most of whom patted him on the back andtold him great job, and when Nezu and Yagi took their bow, Usaida and Sawatori-sanclapped them on the back, and practically pushed them on stage.

Ryu’s mind was churning as his body moved on its own accord.He was dipped backwards, spun foraward, and braced for a split all in the firstmoments of the routine, yet his mind was replaying every interaction betweenHayato and himself since the day they began working together. Hayato’s intensestare bored into him, and Ryu looked away, suddenly having no trouble playingcoy. He clasped Hayato’s hand tightly ashe spun with one leg lifted high. He was going to kill the boy for droppingthis on him just before they had to go on stage. And then he was going to kissthe daylights out of him.

The routine finished with him facing the audience, connectedto Hayato by their linked hands. The audience was cheering, but his heart waspounding too hard for it to register. They bowed and made their way into thegreen room.

As soon as the door shut, Ryu grabbed Hayato by the collarand pulled him down to meet his lips in a kiss, distance lessened by the danceshoes Ryu still wore. Their noses bumped and their teeth clacked awkwardly, butit was forgotten after a little adjustment. Hayato melted into the kiss,letting out a low groan, his hands moving to fist Ryu’s hair. They finallybroke apart when the need for air became too much.

“By the way, you stupid string bean,” gasped Ryu “me too.”

“What?” asked Hayato, genuinely confused.

“I too have been incredibly gay for you since day one.”

Ryu could see the exact moment he remembered theirconversation during their “date” at the restaurant. A slow smile spread acrossHayato’s face, and he met it with one of his own, before pulling the boy backdown for another kiss. Later, they’d go out and give congratulations and receivesome as well. They’d hug their classmates and shake hands with well-wishers. Obasanwould insist they all go out for dinner, Usaida and Sawatari-san included, andRyu would ask Hayato and Taka to come along, and it would be wonderfullyawkward, filled with exhilarated laughter, pointed questions, and tentativetouches under the table. But that would come later. For now, he was happy tohave the echoes of applause in his ears and the taste of Hayato on his lips.

A/N- My goodness this wasn’t supposed to be this long, the idea justran away with me. I may continue it with the other couples at some point. Nodisrespect to Copa Cabana, but I’ve had that song in my head all week and Iwould like it to stop pls and thanks. As always, I’m taking prompts.The usual terms and conditions apply (no adult/minor,no smut). It may take me a while to get to them though since I have a bit ofqueue and college work is picking up.

If you want to see the routines that inspired this, they’re here:

Hayato and Ryu

Inomata and Ushimaru

Yagi and Nezu

Inui and Nekota (With Hikari no Hahen as the score)

Usokawa and Honda (With Tank! as the score)

Ushimaru’s Solo

Hayato’s Solo

Nezu’s Solo

Ryu’s Solo

#Gakuen Babysitters #School Babysitters #HayaRyuu #Kashima Ryuuichi #Kamitani Hayato #Dance Au #Long post #mmota525

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