Work Text:
ONE-TWO-THREE
By Yingfei
© June 2021.
I.
“NO, NO, AND DEFINITELY NO,” Lili shouted as she pulled Asuka backward, “you are too aggressive with your turn and not agile enough with your leg lift!”
Asuka scowled. “I am confident that just now I was as gentle and fast as you told me I should be the last dozens of times—I’m a martial artist, not a dancer. Do you seriously expect me to be doing these positions like a professional in my third lesson?”
“No, I just expect you to not dance like a clueless gorilla.”
Asuka took one look at the Monegasque girl before she pushed her aside, grabbed her bags, and tsked loudly.
“Find someone more suited for this crap like Christie or Eddy to torture with your useless dance moves!” the Japanese teenager screamed as she stepped out of the studio.
Lili laughed before she responded in a condescending tone, “You’ll come back tomorrow and attempt to fix your foolish errors as always, tu bouffonne.”
(Asuka hated that she was right.)
II.
“When you’re doing the second arabesque, make sure not to push your right knee too back so you don’t sprain or tear anything,” Rochefort told the other female as she watched carefully. Asuka straightened her right leg.
“Is...this better?”
“Oui, parfaite!” Lili noted in French, and Asuka sighed in relief—this position was tiring as hell, and she needed to save her energy for the pirouette.
Lili did a few steps backward and performed a croisé devant. “Try to repeat what I just did now, okay Asuka?”
Asuka did just that, though she wobbled at the end. She was expecting Lili to yell at her, but she simply gave a slight sigh and a small smile.
“You need to work on stabilizing yourself without shaking, but that was a really good attempt.”
“Did you just give me criticism that wasn’t insulting or mocking? The great heiress Rochefort? You must be either sick or really dedicated to this fundraiser.”
Lili gave a slight glare at the brunette but responded in a surprisingly gentle tone, “This fundraiser will greatly help the orphans on Monaco streets. Each new dancer means each friend of my papa will faire un don aux précieux enfants de mon beau pays. Now, get into the position of the third arabesque, d’accord?”
I have no idea what the hell that “preseesh enfans” segment of her comment means—and I wish she would remember that I don’t speak a lick of French other than a few numbers and greetings—but it’s nice to see Lili actually be kind-hearted for once, Asuka thought to herself as she got into position for the third arabesque.
III.
“Now, one and two and three!”
The second Lili finished her sentence, Asuka leaned Lili backward. She had a tight grip on the blonde’s pink tutu, and despite the extra weight, managed to keep steady in her position—
A little too steady, perhaps. As Kazama locked eyes with Rochefort, she began to realize just how beautiful the other teen was when she dressed up and wasn’t making her life a living hell. She reminded Asuka of the girls in idol groups back in Japan...
“Bon travail! Now, I want you to lift me back up—yes, good job at raising me upwards swiftly—separate from me, and perform the—gah! ”
Asuka locked lips with Lili as quickly as she separated from her. Surprisingly, the vibrant Okinawan did not say anything, and just continued to stare at her frenemy, and just as surprisingly, the sharp-tongued blonde was also mute.
For a few seconds, only blinking at one another happened between the two girls. The sound of the fan in the back of the Rochefort studio was the only thing that could be heard.
When two minutes passed, Lili opened her mouth to say something, but Asuka placed her finger on the European girl’s lips.
“Say nothing. I want to enjoy this moment, Lili,” Asuka said before she kissed her again.
For once, Asuka gave an order and Lili was the compliant and bested one.