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He didn’t want to be here. However, one does not simply refuse an invitation from Morality, lest you hurt his feelings. And so, here Anxiety found himself: Sitting on the stairs, watching an impromptu dance party, which consisted only of Roman and Mo, through the bars of the railing. Occasionally, he’d catch a nervous glance from Princey, who’d immediately turn back to the other, plastering a smile back onto his face.
“Angel!! Why aren’t you dancing? This song is great!” the father figure called from the center of the living room, which had become the dance floor. Meanwhile, the TV had been connected to somebody’s laptop using an HDMI, serving as a makeshift speaker for any music they could find on YouTube. Luckily, there was no need to search for specific songs - Dad had already planned this out, and made an entire playlist, full of a wide variety of music so that nobody felt left out. There were even a couple Evanescence songs in there, just for Anx.
“I don’t dance.”
“Whaaat? You can’t not dance, it’s a dance party!” Morality called back over the loud music.
“Yes I can,” Anxiety began, “And it’s not a dance party. It’s you and Roman flailing around and flaunting yourselves in our living room.” Angel realized then that he hadn’t seen Logic at all that day, but the thought was quickly resolved when he heard his frenemy’s voice from the kitchen, which Anx couldn’t see from his current position:
“I agree with Anxiety on this, Morgan. This engagement seems pointless. Perhaps a better activity to aid in ‘friendly bonding’ would be to watch a documentary together? Or perhaps do a puzzle? Maybe you would enjoy playing Yahtzee.” Logan distracted himself, trailing off into thought about other bonding exercises.
Mo interrupted the teacher’s train of thought, “But Logaaaan! This is so much fun! And dancing is healthy! Oh, please join us?”
Logic sighed, and adjusted his glasses, considering the matter. “Yes, I do suppose it technically counts as an athletic activity… alright, I concede. I’ll join in the activity for a short while, just long enough to get my heart rate up.”
Dad cheered, and Roman beamed at the chance to see Logan dance, which was an incredibly rare, unique sight, to say the least. However, his attention was quickly drawn back to where the youngest facet sat on the stairs. Anxiety noticed him turn to Morality and whisper something before approaching the stairs, where Anx sat calmly.
Princey stood near the stairs, quiet for a few moments, his hands held at his sides, gently fingering the cloth of his jacket, and sash. He and Anxiety quietly looked on as Logan trap danced, and Dad broke out the sprinkler and running man, before the royal boy finally worked up the courage to break the silence:
“Hey, Angel?” he began, his voice cautious and smooth.
Anx suppressed a shiver, his heart swelling at the way his true name sounded on Roman’s lips. He coughed, and responded: “Yeah?”
“Well, uh,” Princey said, casting his gaze downward as he fumbled with part of his sash nervously. “I was just wondering… why don’t you like dancing?”
Anxiety sighed, and rubbed at his temples. “I never said I don’t like dancing.”
Roman’s head whipped up, staring at his crush in surprise.
Angel looked him in the eyes for only a moment before turning his head away, feeling blush growing under his makeup, and rubbing his forearm. “Don’t look at me that way… it’s not that I don’t like dancing, it’s that I don’t like dancing in front of other people. You know me, I’m Anxiety for a reason. Trust issues, and all that.”
In the background, the music suddenly shifted in tone as a slow song came on - everybody knew Dad was a total sap for slow dances. Princey noticed it first, and he felt his ears and cheeks become hot. It wasn’t until after he spoke that Anx noticed any change:
“Well… do you trust me?” The prince held out a welcoming hand to the fearful bystander, praying that his offer would be accepted.
Angel blushed profusely, his pale foundation barely able to hide his reddening cheeks anymore. He stared at the hand, finally realizing how the music had changed. Glancing over to the “dance floor,” he saw Logan and Morgan dancing together calmly, both smiling pleasantly, and that sight alone allowed Anxiety to push through the apprehension, reaching out a careful hand and taking Roman’s into his own.
Much to the surprise of the other couple, and even Princey himself, the two opposites finally reached the center of the room, gently placing their hands on each other. Although Anx was admittedly rather new to the situation, his movements were relaxed, and he felt secure in the embrace of his crush.
The prince’s heart was bursting, and his cheeks were hot as he gently swayed with Angel. He pulled him in a few inches closer without much resistance, and spent a few moments focusing on every sensation: how the fabric of Anxiety’s jacket felt, how he smelled, the faint pink that shone through his foundation; wait, was that blush?
Roman pulled Anx even closer, until he could nearly feel his breath, and searched his face carefully. The quiet counterpart had his head turned to the side, tilted down as to avoid looking at the royal boy, so Princey reached a hand up slowly, and lightly gripped Angel’s chin, turning his head so that they were forced to stare into each other’s eyes.
“Angel?” he began, his voice nearly just a whisper.
Anxiety gulped, and his breathing hitched, making it difficult to speak, so he instead hummed a quiet sound of questioning, “Mm-hm?”
“I’m proud of you for trusting me, and dancing with me. Thank you,” he resigned, the song nearly at it’s end.
That was it. Anx couldn’t take it anymore; the pain of holding in his emotions was even worse than the possible risks that he’d take by showing them, and he felt like he was suffocating. Quickly, just as the song reached it’s last few bars, he leaned forward into Roman, and planted a swift kiss on his lips before backing away, shoving his hands in his pockets, and nearly sprinting back to his room.
Although Roman was left flustered and confused, Logan and Morgan both knew that this had to be the beginning of something.
~END~