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They found themselves in the dead space between events and practices, school and work, wakefulness and sleep, where seconds stretched into hours and nights passed in a blink.
When they were lucky, they spent this time together. Hand in hand, perhaps lazing on the couch with the fireplace running and the cats trapping them where they lay, or maybe spending the night in bed, tangled in a mess of heated affection.
Tonight, they were in their shared bedroom in the back of Weekend Garage, with tons of time and nothing to do. Toya was flipping through a book, and Akito was lazily scrolling through his phone.
Toya really, really loved nights like these.
He was invested in his detective novel at first, but at some point Akito decided his face was more interesting than whatever he was scrolling through and was now staring at him instead.
His attention span shrank. The book wasn’t so captivating anymore.
He slid the cat bookmark Akito had made onto the page and set the book aside. Akito whined in protest.
“Nooooo…”
“I’ve had my fill for now, love.”
“But you look cute when you’re reading.”
“Mm, I’m sure I do.”
He pecked him on the lips in lieu of an apology. It seemed to appease him for the time being, though he kept his pout.
He grumbled his dissent while pulling himself up from where he was sitting and collapsed into his now book-free lap.
“Now I get to see you the same way a book does. ‘M still mad you took my view from me, by the way.”
“Was one kiss not enough of an apology? Here, I’ll give you another one.”
He let the kiss deepen this time, letting a few seconds pass before pulling away.
And then something apparently clicked in Akito’s head, because his pout melted into a more thoughtful expression.
Huh.
“Hey Toya,”
“Yes?”
“So I was thinking…”
Oh dear, was this one of his ‘ideas’?
“Should I be scared?”
Last time he heard him out, they ended up playing “smash-or-pass” over some truly suspicious characters, and needless to say he could do without a repeat.
“Not… necessarily…”
“That is hardly reassuring-”
“You were raised really fancy, right?” Akito interrupted, ignoring his worry.
Oh boy.
“Depends on how you define ‘fancy’, but sure.”
“Well, I was wondering if-” —he blushed rather violently—“-if you maybe possibly might know how to waltz?”
He paused. And then burst into laughter.
“Is that it?” He gasped, mid-laugh.
“No- wait- don’t laugh at me-”
He tried to stop, but he ended up doubling over instead, leaving poor Akito even more flustered.
The ginger was approaching the appearance of a ripe tomato.
Cute.
“Sorry, sorry, it’s just-” —he stopped to catch his breath and wipe a stray tear— “-I just expected something more outrageous, that’s all.”
“Well,” he grumbled, turning his face away, “do you? Know how to waltz, I mean.”
He giggled. “Yes, Akito, I do. Would you like me to teach you?”
“Obviously.”
“Alright, let me put some music on.”
He found a playlist of slower waltz pieces and pressed play.
“Alright, I’m leading so my left hand goes out, you’ll take it with your right…”
“Uh huh…”
“Mmk, so now you put your left hand just off my shoulder…”
“Uh huh…”
“And then I…”
He finished the thought by placing his right hand where his shoulder blade met his back. Where it should be.
“Uh… huh…”
Temptation got the better of him, though, and he let his hand slide down his back until it rested just above his waist. It would make things harder, but since when did that matter?
Akito shivered from the touch, cheeks pink.
He’s so beautiful like this.
They stared at each other, and Toya’s mind felt more like spaghetti-
“So- So what next?” Akito stammered, shaking him out of his jumbled thoughts.
“Uh, I’ll either push or pull against your right hand and back to move us. It’s in three, one step and then the other two kind of catch up.”
“Um, what?”
“It’ll make sense in practice.”
“Wait, I don’t get it-”
“Just try, I’ve got you.”
Without giving him a chance to hesitate, he found the beat and pushed them into it.
Step-2-3, Step-2-3
3/4 would’ve been his favourite time signature, if not for 6/8.
Step-2-3, Step-2-3
Akito clumsily tried to follow, trodding all over Toya’s toes.
He laughed.
“Akito, if you need to look down to see where my feet are you can-”
“I am looking down!”
“Right, well by the time you react it’s already the next step.”
“Hmph! Cut me some slack here, I’m just starting!”
“It’s not because you don’t get it, love. You’re panicking and getting to the beat late.”
“I just kinda suck.”
“No you don’t. Just trust yourself, you’re the best dancer in VBS.”
“That’s not tr-”
“Shhh.”
They started over.
Step-2-3, Step-2-3
Over and over, gently swaying to the beat.
Step-2-3, Step-2-3
And repeat, with more confidence.
Step-2-3, Step-2-3
Akito understood the movement within a few more tries, so he started adding in a turn.
“What are you doing?”
“You’ve got this.”
“That doesn’t answer my question-”
He gently tugged against his back to get him to spin with him.
They slowly turned in a circle, Toya especially careful to keep Akito balanced.
And repeat.
Their surroundings seemed to blur. If he squinted, he could almost imagine them in a ballroom.
And repeat.
Time was warping, too slow and too fast all at once.
And repeat.
Step-2-3, Step-2-3
“Okay. Okay, I think I got it. Yeah.”
“Told you you were the best dancer in VBS, it took me so much longer to get the hang of it.”
“Shuddup.”
He laughed,
They kept going for a while, the forward motion of the pieces letting them get lost.
Toya shifted his attention to the song playing at the moment. He knew this one. It was building up here, which means…
As the music slowed to a pause, Toya dipped him.
Akito let out a high-pitched “eep!” of panic, hastily wrapping his right hand around his neck for support.
“Toya! I just stopped tripping over my own feet!”
“You’re fine, Akito.”
Impulsively, he loosened his grip just slightly, letting Akito slip a little more.
Akito squeaked again, tightening his grip on his neck.
He’s so much fun to tease…
He giggled, coughing lightly. “Akito, if you squeeze my neck any more I’ll choke.”
“Quit tryna kill me then.” He mumbled back, beet red. He loosened his hold, though.
As if on cue, the music picked back up, and Toya gently guided him up, letting his hands wander along his waist.
If Akito blushed any harder his face would likely catch fire.
“Stop that, unless you want me to crush all of your toes.”
“Alright, alright.” He returned his hand to (almost) its rightful spot on his back.
Moonlight began to filter in through the half-open blinds, and everything seemed to glow.
And so they danced, slowly traveling across the room, barely avoiding tripping on the art supplies and sheet music strewn across the floor.
And repeat.
They relaxed into each other, just letting themselves get lost in the song and each others’ arms. It was as if their room sparkled, some inexplicable magic making everything shine, and if they waited long enough, perhaps some fairy would make them a pumpkin carriage or the birds outside would start speaking a language they could understand.
Time became a figment of their imagination.
When the playlist finally hit its end, he pushed Akito into a twirl before pulling him close by the waist.
Naturally, Akito wrapped his hands around his neck and leaned in for a kiss.
Is this what our wedding night would be like? I certainly wouldn’t mind.
The cool metal of their engagement ring pressed against his neck made him shiver, and he closed the distance.
They took their time, relishing the moment. After days, months, years, or maybe a few seconds, they broke apart for air.
“Toya, I- That was fun. Start it over, I wanna do it again.” Akito babbled breathlessly.
“Okay. Okay, I’ll start it over.” He breathed, just as breathless, pressing play with his free hand still resting on Akito’s waist. He couldn’t bring himself to let go, even for a second.
And repeat.
Step-2-3, Step-2-3,
d.c. al fine.