Work Text:
Martha liked ballet just fine, but everyone knew she attended classes because Tish had wanted too, and she’d just sort of been bundled along. Still, she enjoyed dancing. It was a good hobby, and a nice distraction from the stresses of school. The system put a lot of pressure onto 13 year olds, which Martha felt was distinctly rude. And, based on her own research, it caused very unhealthy symptoms. Stress could kill. It seemed that no one really cared about that.
Still, she enjoyed dancing, especially at the barre. Tish had moved up to working on pointe, and she was overjoyed, planning a future at the Royal Dance Academy and everything. Martha mostly just plodded along.
Then, her class got a new student. Admittedly, that itself was not too rare, but something about this girl just drew her in. She was pretty, a bit older than Martha, with a kind smile, and dark hair that fell into bangs that made Martha’s heart flutter. She wore glasses, too.
They got paired up. That wasn’t a surprise to Martha, since she’d been in this class the longest.
Toshiko was good. Like, really good. Like, she should be on a stage, good.
The first time she danced for just Martha, Martha started crying. She looked even more beautiful, twirling in the tiny practice room they had sequestered in.
That was their first kiss. It was slightly awkward, in the way that two teens having a first kiss always was. But it was beautiful.
It reminded Martha of dancing. She started to love ballet. Because ballet meant Toshiko.