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“Say, Aoi-kun, do you know how to dance?”
Akane looked up from the stack of paperwork piled high on his desk. A certain someone had neglected his duties and left him to do all of his busy work for him like he was more a secretary than an assistant manager.
“Not particularly,” he said, giving a disinterested wave in his direction to shoo him away before returning to his work.
Teru raised an eyebrow at him. “So, you’re telling me that you spend all of your free time watching that one ballerina and you haven’t picked up at least a little bit from her? Surely, you must know some things.”
“So what if I do? What’s with all the third degree?” Akane asked, trying his hardest to still keep up his pace and get through as much work as he could despite the distraction.
“You see… I have a formal event to attend in about a month’s time,” Teru explained, “Our opera house has seen great success in the past year but it’s important to always be promoting ourselves. Making a good impression at this event could be a big break for us and so… I need to learn how to dance before I leave.”
“...And out of all of the talented performers we have here, you decide to come to the one person who has never danced a day in his life? You would come to me over—I don’t know—the opera’s dance instructor?”
Akane would have said he was surprised, in awe even at that logic but it was what he had come to expect working with Teru. Such drastic leaps in thought were par for the course. Hell, that was why they were there running the opera house together in the first place.
“Don’t think me so dim-witted that I would not have already asked Nanamine-san. She is quite a busy person. As for the others, I would rather not interrupt the troupe’s practice with their next performance being so soon. They’ll need to be on top of their game especially with our star singer out of commission. It’s better to not trouble them with such trivial things, wouldn’t you agree?”
“So you’ve decided to trouble me with them?” Akane asked although he already knew what the infuriating answer would be. He gestured to the stacks of paperwork littering his desk. “Do you see how much work I have to do? I’m a busy person too, you know.”
“I know. You poor thing. How will you ever survive such cruelty?” Teru said teasingly, “Besides, you’re the perfect stature to be my dance partner.”
“...”
“...”
Akane swore he could feel a vein pulsating in his forehead then. “Is that a jab at my height? I’ll have you know that I’m perfectly average height for someone my age-!”
“I don’t know if being average is exactly something to brag about but if that’s your prerogative, Aoi-kun!”
“Oh, be quiet. I’m convinced this opera house would burn to the ground if I wasn’t the assistant manager for you. I’m the only one that seems to be concerned with keeping this place running. Surely, you wouldn’t think to pull me away to dance with you while taxes are due in a few months.”
“An assistant manager must be flexible in all of their duties.”
“That’s funny. I don’t recall “the manager’s personal dance tutor” being in my job description…”
“Oh? I can amend that for you.”
Teru dug through one of the many filing cabinets for a few seconds, carefully sorting through the different tabs until he found what he needed. He pressed the paper down on Akane’s desk and slid it in front of him. “This is your contract, correct? And this is your signature?”
Akane only needed to look at the paper for a few seconds to confirm that it was indeed the contract he’d signed with the opera house. He nodded reluctantly. “...It is. I don’t see where you’re going with this though.”
“Yoink, I’m just going to borrow this for a second,” Teru said, grabbing Akane’s pen from his hand as he was still writing with it. “What was it you said again? ‘The manager’s personal dance tutor’? Right, let’s just find it here.”
He sat down on the desk and trailed down the paper with the tip of the pen until he found the clause stating all of his expected duties. Carefully, he wrote down exactly what Akane had said in red ink and then handed it back to him.
“There you have it,” Teru said proudly, “Now I expect there will be no further issues?”
“You can’t just change the terms of my contract without my consent. This isn’t legally binding-” Akane protested.
Teru sighed, jumping up from where he was seated on Akane’s desk. “If you won’t indulge me, then maybe I really will be forced to interrupt one of our troupe members. What about that one ballerina you’re so fond of? She’s kind of cute, isn’t she? I wonder if she might like to join me in a slow dance.”
Akane stared blankly at him for a few moments, his brain not fully processing the thinly veiled threat in his words. “H-hey! That’s underhanded! Do you really want to dance with me that badly!?”
“Yep! So are my terms agreeable enough to you?”
“...Fine! I can’t say I’m excited to see what you have in store for me considering how far you’re going for this… And you better not still plan on aiming for her!”
Teru ignored him and walked calmly to the door of their shared office. “The main opera hall will be empty tonight. I expect to see you then.”
---
After Akane finished up one stack of forms, he decided to pay a visit to the ballet instructor’s quarters. If he was going to be forced to play along with Teru’s games, he would at least want some sort of point of reference so he wouldn’t be going in completely blind. So he made his way to the lower basement of the opera house where all the living areas were. If he remembered correctly Nanamine’s was near the very end of the basement down several winding corridors.
After getting lost a few times in the labyrinth of poorly lit hallways, he finally found her secluded room. He was about to knock when the door suddenly opened and Nanamine almost rushed out of it, nearly slamming into him on her way out.
She smoothed her hair down and dusted off her dress, gracefully recovering in the way that she was known for. “My apologies, assistant manager. I was not expecting a visit from you. I actually have another arrangement to attend to shortly, so I would appreciate it if we could keep this brief.”
“No, my bad, Nanamine-san. I don’t mean to trouble you, but might you have some books on… social dancing?”
She paused and gave him a look over for a few seconds. “I didn’t think you the type that would be interested in parties and the like.”
Akane shook his head. “Oh, me? No, it’s not for me. The manager actually asked me to assist him with dance practice so I thought I would ask.”
“...He asked you?” she repeated with an air of suspicion to her voice, “Not that I undervalue your talents in keeping the opera house running, I always thought you were much more versed in the clerical aspects of it. If the manager needs dance lessons, I would be glad to be of service.”
“Huh? The manager said that he had already requested your services, but you were too busy.”
“No, I have never received any request either by mouth or in writing. There must have been some sort of error.”
Somehow Akane doubted that. Teru was a lot of things but careless wasn’t one of them. He wouldn’t have just neglected to remember to ask Nanamine for lessons. There had to be some sort of reason for it.
“Right… Well, no matter. Do you have any of those books I could borrow? I wouldn’t wish to keep you from your other arrangements any longer.”
“I do believe that I have some I could loan you,” she said with a nod. She briefly retreated back into her quarters and returned carrying a small stack of dusty books. “These are the instructional manuals I give to all of my students. Use them for as long as you wish, but do not crease any of my pages. I will be checking. Now, is there anything else I can do for you, assistant manager?”
He took the books from her arms, having to suppress a cough from all of the dust that covered them like snow. Clearly, they hadn’t been read in quite a while. “No. Thank you, Nanamine-san.”
“Of course,” she said, giving him a polite curtsy, “and please do tell the manager that if he needs my presence, I will be more than happy to oblige.”
And with that, Akane was left standing alone in front of her room. “I wonder why he lied…”
---
Akane decided to spend what little time he had remaining before he would have to meet up with Teru for the dance practice studying the books Nanamine had given him. As he did he started to realize how woefully underprepared for something like this. He barely had any experience with dancing yet was now being expected to instruct someone else on how to dance? He almost felt a bit bad for Teru. Almost.
“I guess this one seems simple enough,” he said, flipping through the pages of various dance routines, “He never did say what type of event he would be going to though… What if this is completely wrong? Well, he dug his own grave by asking me to help I suppose.”
The ballerina—Aoi as he had come to know her—had been kind enough to let him watch some of her routines. She even walked him through some of the steps when she had some spare time so he had some knowledge of the very basics. Yet social dancing and performance ballet were two very different beasts.
“I wonder if I should ask her for help… No, I shouldn’t bother her.” He sighed, burying his face in between the pages in frustration. “Just what did I get myself into?”
---
“So nice of you to show up, Aoi-kun,” Teru greeted him as he stepped onto the dim stage, “For a second, I was worried that you might not show. I thought I might have to drag you down here from your quarters.”
“I surely hope you were not just waiting for me here in the dark like some sort of cliche opera villain… Anyway, could we skip the pleasantries and just get started? I don’t want to be stuck here with you all night,” Akane said bluntly.
“Ah, right.” Teru clicked a button on his remote and the overhead lights switched on, lighting up the entire show stage in an instant. “Let’s begin then, shall we?”
Teru grabbed Akane’s hand and kneeled in front of him, bringing his forehead to the back of his hand. “May I have this dance, my good sir?”
“Is this really necessary?”
“Well? How about it?” he asked again, still kneeling in front of Akane.
“Yes, yes, now just get off the ground please.”
Satisfied enough with that answer, he stood up again. “Now, what should we start with?”
“...How about a waltz? That’s simple enough to begin,” Akane suggested.
Also it’s the only routine I had time to learn on such short notice so please just agree to it so we don’t both have to look like fools.
“Alright, sounds good.” With a quick click of his remote, the mood was set with music and they could finally begin.
“Will you be okay without your cane?” Akane asked, watching him set it down gently against the edge of the stage.
“Of course. Surely, you don’t think me that infirm yet, Aoi-kun.”
“Right, of course not. So, uh basically we’re going to be moving in a box-like shape… That’s why it’s called a box-step.”
“I never would have guessed. Please enlighten me further,” Teru said sarcastically.
“Alright, so you’re the leader so you step forward with your left foot and I’ll step back with my right to start. I’ll show you as we do it, okay? Now give me your hands.”
Akane interlocked their palms and placed Teru’s other hand on his shoulder blade. Their sudden closeness was unfamiliar but nothing Akane couldn’t handle. He told himself that it would be over before he even knew it.
“Okay, now one, two, three. One, two, three,” Akane guided him through the basic movements, “One, two- Ow! You stepped on my foot!”
“My apologies,” he said, although the grin on his face betrayed him, “Have you considered not putting your foot there?”
“Oh, yes, of course. Why on earth didn’t I think of such a brilliant idea?”
“Nevermind that. From the top again?” Teru asked, putting his hands back into position.
“Fine. One, two, three. One, two, three. One- Ouch! I’m starting to think you’re doing this on purpose.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“You’re not even trying to match my movements at all,” Akane said with a huff.
“Did you forget who’s the one that’s supposed to be leading?”
“Did you forget who’s supposed to be teaching you this?” Akane retorted. He paused and took a deep breath. Teru wasn’t worth getting so heated over. “Okay, listen, this isn’t going to work unless we work together. You’re trying to take control too much.”
“Well, you are my subordinate,” Teru said, “Doesn’t it only make sense that I should be the one to take the lead and guide you?”
“I think that’s the issue. You’re thinking about it as an exchange of power when it’s not. It’s… like a balance I guess. Yes, you might be the leader, but the dance doesn’t work if I don’t match your steps. We both need each other for this to work. So let’s try it one more time and then we’ll break for the night, deal?”
“...I suppose that’s acceptable.”
---
And so after that night, they continued to meet up during the late hours of the evening every day to practice. Slowly but surely, Teru began to improve or at least manage to not stomp on Akane’s foot every few steps.
“One, two, three,” Akane said as they moved through the waltz one night.
“One, two, three,” Teru continued for him.
“One, two, three. Hey, you’re really starting to get it! Good job.”
“Hearing such words from you is something else,” Teru said, looking quite smug, “Are you sure you’re not feeling under the weather today?”
“Very funny. I’m perfectly fine. Thank you very much,” Akane said.
After a few more minutes of dancing together, Teru finally brought them to a stop. “I think we’ve pretty much exhausted the waltz, don’t you think?”
Akane nodded and pulled his hands away from Teru’s. “I suppose we have practiced it a lot. Does that mean I’m free to go now?”
“Not quite yet… There’s one more thing I want to try.”
“And that is?”
“Slow dancing.”
“You want to slow dance… with me?” Akane repeated in disbelief.
“Yes,” Teru said like it was the easiest thing he’d ever answered, “Why wouldn’t I? Is there an issue with that?”
“...You know if you keep this up people will talk.” He wanted to add about us but he decided not to at the last moment. “Surely you’re aware of just how quickly rumors spread in this place. If someone saw us-”
Teru waved him down with his hand. “Let them talk. It matters little in the long run. I didn’t think you the type to give meaningless rumors such weight.”
“Let’s just get it over with,” Akane said.
“Right then. Put your arms on my shoulders.” Teru grabbed Akane’s arms and guided them into place before he placed his hands on Akane’s waist. “There.”
They swayed together like that for a while. It was like Teru’s arms fit perfectly around Akane almost as if that was where they were always supposed to be. Teru thought he could just stay like that forever, not wanting to interrupt the perfect closeness they had.
And Akane wondered if Teru could hear just how hard his heart was pounding in his chest. He held onto him a little bit tighter without meaning to.
“This just looks like we’re hugging to music,” Akane said finally.
“And? Is that an issue?”
Akane considered it for a moment. No, if you asked him, it wasn’t an issue at all. Despite his initial reservations, he didn’t want the moment to end. If only he could stay like that in Teru’s arms while soft, calming music played around them.
“Well, it’s not much of a dance.”
Teru paused although he didn’t break his hold around him. “I suppose you’re right. It can hardly be called a dance. Hmm.”
“Wait, here. Move your right hand up a little bit and give me your left hand.”
They interlocked palms again like they had when they were doing the waltz but they were much closer this time. Time seemed to almost stand still as they danced across the show stage.
“This might be the last time we get to dance for a while,” Teru said.
“Why’s that?” Akane asked, trying to hide the disappointment in his inflection.
“Did you forget that my event is next week? I’ll be leaving the opera house in your capable hands while I’m gone.” Teru raised their interlocked hands up together suddenly and spun Akane around gently before drawing him back into his waiting arms. “Very nice. Beautiful!”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to leave the opera house as it is?” Akane lowered his voice to a whisper, “With the phantom still running amok and the star singer out of commission?”
“No need to concern yourself with such a trivial mystery. I’ll solve it in due time. Consider it already done.”
“If you’re so sure…”
“Of course I am. Would you doubt me?” Teru unlocked his palm from Akane’s and rested his hand on the back of his head. Carefully, he dipped him downwards.
“If you drop me, I will hit you.”
Teru laughed, pulling him back to his feet. “Such little faith.”
---
Akane decided to return to the empty main stage the next night even though he knew that Teru wouldn’t be there for their lesson. He was set to leave for his event the next day so he was probably packing and finishing up any pressing unfinished work.
He turned on the music that they had been listening to the other night and went through the motions of the dance by himself. Somewhere along the way, he stopped consciously thinking about the movements and just went along with the rise and fall of the music in the way that he had practiced before. Something about it just felt natural like it was something he had always done.
After a few minutes, the song did end and slowly faded into silence, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the stage. There was something intimidating about being so centerstage even if all of the rows of seats in the audience were empty.
Someone started clapping behind him. “What an impressive show, Aoi-kun,” Teru said.
“Why are you here?” Akane asked, meeting his gaze head-on, “Shouldn’t you be getting ready to leave?”
“I still have plenty of time before dawn. I thought that I shouldn’t leave you without one final dance. And I should say that you look decent tonight.”
“Your praise warms my heart,” he said sarcastically, “Might I add that you look quite passable today as well.”
Teru bowed slightly. “Only the best for you.”
“You must be thinking of me quite often then if that’s the case.”
Teru paused and if Akane didn’t know any better he would have said he was blushing too. “You don’t know the half of it. Well, will you grant me this last dance, Aoi-kun?”
“Akane is fine,” he said, “...If you want to of course.”
“Akane-kun, hmm? Yes, I like that. A name befitting of its owner, don’t you agree?” Teru brushed his bangs from his face and focused only on him.
And so they slow danced together, making their way across the entire stage. Even after the song ended, Teru held him there as they swayed together. It was like they were off in their own little world. Akane pulled him even closer, resting his head against his shoulder.
“This is a far cry from when we first started, isn’t it?” Teru asked, his voice barely higher than a whisper.
“I’m trying to forget about that,” Akane said, his voice breaking into a breathy laugh at the end, “You were so bad at it.”
“Your coldness wounds me,” Teru said, laughing along with him as well.
“Well, I still enjoyed it anyway. I thought I wouldn’t, but… you surprised me. In a good way.”
“I enjoy dancing with you as well. I would spend the entire night like this if I could,” he said, raising their hands up together for a twirl.
“Unfortunately, you have other plans,” Akane reminded him. He didn’t doubt that Teru would put off his other responsibilities for such frivolous things.
“That is very unfortunate indeed. So we’ll just have to make this one count then.” He lowered him down into a dip once more and gazed intently into his eyes. “May I?”
Akane didn’t have to ask what he meant. He nodded breathlessly and Teru pressed their lips together as soon as he did. The kiss only lasted for a second, so chaste yet sweet.
“Was this your intention all along?” Akane asked when the kiss broke.
Teru didn’t say yes but the answer was written in the smile on his face. “That’s quite a theory. What makes you think that?”
“You never asked Nanamine-san for lessons. She told me so herself and that makes me think you had an ulterior motive. You could have just come out and said it from the very beginning.”
“I could have, but then I wouldn’t have gotten to see the look on your face every time I held your hand. And what fun would that have been?”
---
“I should thank you once more for being such a great tutor,” Teru said as he stood on the steps of the opera house the next day with his suitcase at his side. “I’ll return at the end of the week, but until then I leave it to you.”
“Would you like to… continue our lessons once you return?”
“Oh, and here I thought that you were far too busy for such things.”
“...I can make time if I work efficiently,” Akane said.
“Then I shall look forward to it when I return.”
Akane waved him off, watching as he walked into the distance just until he was out of sight. And for once, he was excited for when he would return.