Polka - Fireproof - Strictly NRC Dancing
Author Notes: I never knew until know, but Polka's are actually quite fascinating and even have there own vocabulary verbs that pertain to the action of dancing the Polka. This was written to “Feuerfest! Polka francaise, Op. 269” by Joseph Strauss and the dance was inspired by the Bohemian National Polka which is danced in a ring with multiple people. A 2019 performance of this classic dance can be seen on Youtube. The performance took place in Ufa, Russia. Just like the rest of this AU/series the reader is female for this fic. I hope you enjoy!
If you would like to read more this AU/series, the fics can be found here: Strictly NRC Dancing AU Master-List
Type: Dance AU/ female reader/ fluff/ can be taken as platonic or romantic
Word count: 1294
I joined Idia in the middle of our makeshift ballroom, taking up my spot next to him before glancing his way. He already looked nervous in the impressive ring of students that made up our polka group.
Across the ring from us stood Trey and Ace, both of whom waved at me. Ace throwing me a thumbs up from across the room, that Trey seemed to very strongly doubt.
Even during the practice session, there had been some very… Interesting motions coming from Ace.
At the very least, polkaing with them ought to be amusing.
Not as amusing as watching the two leaders of the polka ring, who were intended to keep everyone in time, would be though.
Sam and Trein both stood at the forefront of our ring. The older of the two already looking considerably more unhappy with his situation than his partner.
Normally, a polka wouldn’t have leaders. But Crewel and Trein had both already stated that, after practice, they could stand no more of people stomping their feet off beat, and since no one could seem to stay in time with each other, our polka would receive a leader pair. Sam and Trein just ended up being the lucky, or perhaps unlucky, duo.
Judging from their positions, Sam was going to be the follower in this sequence, which somehow made the situation all the more delightful. The very thought of Sam getting to sashay daintily around the history teacher was enough to put a smile on my face.
I leaned over, whispering quietly to Idia, “You and Ortho did practice the Bohemian National Polka, right?”
Yellow eyes snapped over to me, and for a brief second, there was only mild annoyance on Idia’s face rather than the anxiety that a crowd such as this and performing typically brought him, “Of course we did.”
He twisted to face me and inclined his head like a perfect gentleman as the music began, and I curtsied in response as he continued to whisper his words to me, “Now pipe down before someone hears you. Ortho downloading your motions and practicing with me definitely counts as cheating.”
I fought the urge to make a face at him as we began to skip forward step by step, “You’re the one who said ‘cheating,’ not me.”
It was almost funny to begin twisting along our considerably large circle. Changing into an odd half-open, half-closed position where he had one hand on my back with the other on his hip, we began to swirl around the floor, occasionally dipping into the middle of our ring and then back out right back out as the entire group polkaed around and around like an odd little carousel.
Idia was painfully awkward the whole time, muttering what seemed to be the steps we were doing to himself even as we were dancing. No doubt in an attempt to both calm and distract himself from the group that we danced with and the crowd that watched us via recitation.
But even with his nerves, Idia had thus far managed to time each foot stomp perfectly, which was more than I could say for a large number of the other leads.
Idia wasn’t the only one I felt bad for though. After all, there were also Trey and Trein.
Trey, who was stuck with Ace, was having to do his very best to ignore whatever it was that the red-haired first year was doing.
Trein, on the other hand, was having to put up with the all-too-pleased-looking Sam, who I could tell, even from a distance, was persistently harassing the older teacher.
My view of the other couples was broken when I was released to twirl freely, with Idia mirroring my motions perfectly. When I completed my twirl and was facing him once more, I was able to confirm that yes, this poor awkward boy was indeed mouthing the steps of the polka to himself.
“Idia,” I whispered his name, as the music’s tempo greatly increased and strange bell-like chimes filtered their way into the tune. From the way his eyes darted to my face in a questioning fashion, I got the distinct feeling he’d barely heard me, despite our close proximity, which, now that I thought about it, probably wasn't helping with his nerves.
I had to do something. He was going to end up going into a full-blown panic attack at this rate if I didn’t.
And what better way to distract someone than by teasing? At the very least, I knew the flighty housewarden of Ignihyde could handle that, “Don’t you think it’s kind of funny we're dancing to a song called Feuerfest?”
The confusion on his face was obvious as he released his hold on me and put his hands on his hips, lightly stepping forward as I danced backwards with my hands out and flat at my sides like I was acting coy. A single glance to the side showed a very done-looking Trein and an absolutely elated Sam.
“It’s German for fire-proof Idia,” My comment came when we swept back into hold and began polkaing once more.
His eyes widened as he spun me around, causing my skirt to swing wildly out to the side simply due to the sheer speed of our motions. I’d successfully gotten his attention off our fellow dancers, though.
“I shouldn’t have taken this class… It’s like a whole huge joke directed solely at me,” I cringed in sympathy because I knew exactly what he was talking about. Especially since I was the one that brought it up.
His swathe of fiery blue hair that was currently pulled back in a style not unlike what he wore during the ghost bride fiasco was definitely an interesting match for our song.
Idia released me, skipping sideways into the center as I went the other way. We met back up in the middle, with him beginning to clap as I twirled to the beat and calmly continued to speak to him, “I don’t know, I think it’s kind of fun.”
I grinned at him as we skipped back away from one another, “It’s not everyday I get to dance with you. And Ortho is so enjoying filming us.”
The lament in Idia’s voice was clear when he responded as he began walking alongside me as I spun freely with him clapping as he followed along behind me yet again, “I told him not to film this….”
I let myself laugh as Idia was forced to rapidly kneel, perfectly matching Trein’s timing, so I could skip gaily around him, “Embarrassed?”
He stood, accepting me back into hold as he all but scowled at me. Totally at odds with the cheerful music and dancing, “More like mortified, dancing isn’t my thing. Especially not social dancing….”
I couldn’t keep the grin off my face as we re-entered the far calmer section of the dancing, with us just skipping in a simple little ring along with everyone else, “But I thought you held the high score on Boogie Boogie Riot?”
Idia’s mouth twitched into the wide grin of his as he led me into the center of our ring, stomped his foot, and marched me back out, “That’s a little different, Y/n.”
“But maybe it’s why you’re so good at timing those stomps,” My comment was accentuated by yet another resounding foot stomp that was belatedly echoed throughout the room.
He stayed silent this time, but I could still see the slight smirk on his face.
If nothing else I’d learned that pretty much everyone in this school liked to be praised. And that included the socially anxious hermit who was surprisingly good at dancing, that was Idia.
Luckily, that dancing prowess showed in his passing grade.
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100% unironically, I think the moment Ren realized his feelings for Akechi were more than just a celebrity crush or a friendly rivalry was right here:
He’d gone most of his life surrounded by people who clearly don’t care about him at all, but won’t actually admit it. Teachers just don’t want to deal with him, but it’s their job, so they have to at least try to hide it. His peers will act like they’re his friends just long enough to get him to get him to do something for them before going back to ignoring him, if they don’t think he’ll shank them behind the gym. And his parents... yeah, the less said the better there.
So Akechi just coming forward and saying, to his face, that he hates him, was more meaningful to Ren than a love confession. That someone could feel something, anything, strongly enough about him to admit it like that, felt good. And while someone might lie about loving him, no one in their right mind would express their hatred so openly unless they really felt it. So he knows that he’s telling the truth there.
He’s just so starved for real, genuine human connection, that even something negative makes him happy. And here’s Akechi, who’d otherwise been very polished and kind of artificial, taking off that mask for a moment and being upfront in a way Ren’s never experienced before. It’s a lot for him to process.
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