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“Ugh. You’re doing it wrong.”
Daffy muttered, one hand on Bugs’ hip and the other intertwined with his paw.
“No I’m not, Daff. I’m doing it exactly how you taught me.”
Bugs retorted back, giving the duck a deadpanned stare. The hare’s paw laid on Daffy’s shoulder, his other paw of course held by the other’s hand.
“Here, i’ll go over it again. Make those giant rabbit ears useful this time. Okay, step forward, then backwards…”
Bugs rolled his eyes In annoyance as Daffy babbled on how to perform the dance. Music played from a record, sitting on a chair on the stage. The two had been working on this for hours, mandatory for Bugs’ role in his newest movie. However, he’d dance with a beautiful mistress in the scene instead of a self absorbed duck. Why hadn’t he known the dance before? He wasn’t quite sure why. But somehow the lunatic found out he couldn’t exactly dance and, well, here they were.
“Hey, Bucktooth! Did you hear any of that!?”
Daffy snapped, startling the rabbit out of his thoughts and back to the stage. He attempted to step backwards, but his big rabbit foot slipped on a loose ribbon that laid on the wooden stage, causing him to yelp in a not-so-manly-way and embarrassingly tumble backwards. His mistake also led to yanking the duck down with him as well, the music in the background conveniently coming to a stop.
“Ow! Aghh.. you’re supposed to stay on your feet for the dance, not the floor you dumb—“
He stopped mid way through his rant, the duck now realizing the awkward position they were in. His eyes trailed from the fluffy chest inches from his beak, to his hands lying on either side of the rabbit’s head, then finally to his eyes. Bugs’ eyes were wide like a deer in headlights, a soft, barely visible pink on his fuzzy cheeks.
Daffy’s eyes snapped open in an instant.
He was pinning Bugs down on the ground, and they had just been staring at each other for at least a minute and thirty seconds.
His rival was literally fucking under him, blushing.
“OHHhhh.. hohoho-nooo...”
Daffy stumbled off of him, snapping out of his trance. His face, too, was dusted in a light pink.
Bugs laid there for a minute, before also sitting up slowly, and for the second time they made eye contact again, unable to rip away from each other’s captivating eyes.
Daffy would’ve laughed and snorted at the way Bugs looked. His ears were all bent up and his whiskers were crooked, zigzagging in all different directions. It was hilarious, contrary to his perfect appearance and confident attitude, but right now Daffy could assume he likely looked the same, making it hard for him to make fun of the rabbit.
“D-daff, I—I didn’t mean to trip, heheh. Accident, r-really.”
Bugs stuttered uncharacteristically, breaking that long eye contact to look ANYWHERE but the duck. Shockingly, Daffy had no words to sputter out. No sharp retort or sassy remark. Nothing. He just sat there with his mouth slightly agape.
“Daff, I—“
“It’s okay. This time… this time let’s just take it slow. Slow and steady.”
The two looked at each other again, but now with a hint of something else. Not shock, but more of a calmness.
Bugs slowly nodded, shaking his head and regaining his composure.
The two stood up, and returned to their original positions. Two hands intertwined, one hand on a shoulder and the other on a hip. The music returned and they soon began to move to the rhythm.
The two stepped forward and backwards, keeping their movements steady and in sync with the other. Bugs was actually surprised at how quickly he was catching on especially without Daffy’s constant pickings at his every move.
“I’m doing it!”
Bugs exclaimed softly with a genuine grin, looking at Daffy in excitement.
“You’re actually not that bad of a dancer, bugsy-pal.”
The duck said in a half attempt at mockery, but it came out without any bite. Daffy was actually proud of the rabbit.
The two danced to the music flawlessly up til the last note, where Daffy raised both of their hands, letting go of the rabbits hip, and twirling him like a ballerina. Bugs, being caught off guard, yelped, until he was caught in Daffy’s arms, where the music gracefully stopped and so had their dance.
Both were out of breath, but a soft smile spread across their faces, and they burst into giggles.
“Didn’t take ya for a gentleman, Daff.”
Bugs joked, brushing his ear aside like a strand of hair.
“Whaaaatt? Gotta get into the groove, Bugs. Especially since you’re going to be the gentleman.”
The two laughed hard for a bit. This had been the first time in a while they had genuinely gotten along. It felt nice.
Then, the two’s eyes opened, half lidded gazes just staring. Daffy couldn’t help but stay like that for a second, the goofy smile still plastered on his face. It was when Bugs was about to comment on it when the doors to the theater slammed open, startling the two for the second time.
“It’s 6:30! I need my stage time you varmints!”
Yosemite’s voice rang through the room as he made his entrance as loud as ever. The two sighed in annoyance, letting go of each other reluctantly.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever, Sam.”
Daffy waved a hand at the short man, emphasizing the “S” in his name. Bugs followed Daffy off the stage, brushing his fur off and straightening his ears. His constant need to look perfect really intrigued Daffy.
“Hey, rabbit. 4:00, here, tomorrow?”
Daffy whispered to the hare, avoiding eye contact.
Bugs’ smile returned, a little bashful this time.
“Sure.”