Welcome to SweetTooth Week 2016! From Monday 13th to Sunday 19th, we all gather to celebrate the greatness that is SweetTooth :D

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DAY 1: Dance

Enjoy!

A DANCE FOR TWO

"Where is the boy?" North's brows furrowed while checking his watch for the hundreth time. "He was supposed to be here 15 minutes ago."

The artistic director was right. They had to rehearse the Pas de deux and the Cavalier was missing.

Nicholas St. North, muttered something and tried to call Jackson Overland once more.

In all his years in this profession, he had been put to extreme situations and he had easily solved them, making the productions continue without a hitch. But now complications seemed to be popping out of nowhere. First the choreographer had simply up and left after a confrontation between them - but he didn't regret that, it was alright to be strict but not to bully the dancers when they were clearly doing their best to do things right into a crying mess-, his wife Natalia (ballet mistress and also first choreographer) had to take over the children's classes since their teacher was on maternity leave, the prop makers where buggering him non-stop because there were no materials for the Christmas tree, and the segment of the ballet they were now working on was far from finished.

To summarize, North was this close from just losing it. But he couldn't, he wouldn't. A whole ballet company with 200 dancers (including the children that formed the junior classes) depended of him and he didn't have the habit of dropping projects he had taken, and he wasn't going to start now.

But Norh wasn't the only one that was worried.

At one of the barré, Toothiana's mind was racing while doing warm-ups. Her partner wasn't exactly known for punctuality, but he always let know if something had detained him. The recent events had put an enormous pressure on her too.

Not only had she finally gotten one of the most important roles of the ballet as the Sugar Plum Fairy, but this was also her first gig as the new principal dancer of the company and all eyes were on her.

Her character had a special place in the hearts of many and her piece was one of the most well-known and loved.

Were she to fail, not only her career was at risk, but also the reputation of the company and the love of many of the Nutcracker's fans would be lost. Or at least that was the scenario that kept replaying in her head.

She exhaled as her legs flexed almost mechanically into a plié. She also felt a little bit guilty. She had begged North for another practice on a Saturday afternoon and things were not going well. If only she could get things right...

Doing the Pas de Deux was not easy. Although she was used to dancing within the corps and even as a soloist, now she had been assigned a partner and it had thrown her into uncharted territory. Now she had to coordinate her body and movements with someone else's' to create a harmonic and synchronized dance piece. It was harder than it looked. The both of them had to deal with matching their tempos and speed, developing the necessary trust that ballet partners needed from one another (because when you throw yourself in the air, you have to be certain that the other will catch you), and fully immersing themselves in their respective characters. It was hour after hour of strain and hard work, while still trying to not create any animosity that might hinder them.

A door opened, but only felt half-disappointed since it was the music director and not Jack.

E. Aster Bunnymund entered with to steamy cups of coffee in his hands, handing one of them to North who seemed to need it the most.

"I'm sorry, Bunny." North sighed. "Jack is not here, so we can't begin practise."

"Don't sweat it, mate." The aussie placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, trying his best to ease the tension. "I'm sure he'll get here."

Even though, his words couldn't shake the heavy feeling of North's spirit.

Aster gave Toothiana a quick nod and took his place at the front of the piano, opening one of his folders and going over his notes.

The music sheets, once bear at the beginnig of the season, where crammed with notes into every available space in red, bue and black ink (he apparently had his own color code) or with post its and highlighted sections. He did this with every new production, and although he never threw any of the sheets in case he needed them for reference, no piece of music held the same notes - making the final resoult a new experience everytime, even if it was for the same production.

Each dancer was different; they had their own signature and style and Aster devoted himself into making the music highlight the dancer while at the same time respecting the spirit of the original music and plot.

"He finally answered. His metro line was stopped due to suspect package and they were held up." North leaned against the piano, pocketing the phone. "Reception was bad, but he said he'd be on his way as soon as they let him go. I'm sorry, Tooth."

Bunny flipped to another page and added a small note in red.

"Are those my dance notations?" North cocked his head to the side for a better look.

"Yeah, I copied them. It helps me synchronize the music to their steps." He said while flipping another page. The music sheets were mixed in with the notations and North wondered what else hides in those folders of his. That's when a small idea surged.

"Bunny, you can partner up with Tooth!"

Both looked at him like the Russian went bonkers. "Say what now?" Aster asked.

"Yes, that's good idea! She can practice while Jack gets here and we can iron out the kinks with her part."

"Mate, I don't think I can."

"Of course you can!" North interrupted him. "You know the choreography?"

"Like the back of my hand but..."

"And you've been taking classes, right?"

That definitely caught Tooth's attention. "You take ballet classes?"

A slight tinge of red appeared on his face. "Well yeah, I have but..."

"Then there's nothing to worry about!" North patted him loudly on the shoulder, already making him get up from his seat and steering him towards the center of the room where she was standing.

"Wait a moment, why don't you dance with her? You're the director after all."

"I work better from a bird's eye view perspective." He said as if it was obvious. "How can I fix what is wrong if I don't see the whole picture?"

"But what if I drop her? Or step on her toes?"

North sensed it was something else that made his friend refuse, knowing that the aussie would never let either of those things happen.

"Leave it, North. We'll wait till Jack gets here. We shouldn't force him, if he's so scared." She said in a light teasing tone, putting special emphasis on 'scared'. If she had learned something in practices was how easy it was sometimes to lead Bunny by the nose when pressing the right buttons - technique she had learned from the constant bickering between both the music director and North.

Some other time she would have felt guilty by it, but not now. Not only were they running out of time, but hearing that the cute pianist could actually dance ballet had definitely caught her interest. Now she definitely wanted to see this.

"I ain't scared" Aster almost looked offended. "Fine. Lets do this. C'mon." He started to roll up his sleeves, almost looking like getting ready to fight and not to dance.

Toothiana looked at North and he chuckled, winking to congratulate her on such clever strategy.

Soon the artistic director was giving both of them pointers on how Tooth should watch her foot work in the soutune since she didn't seem stable enough during her spins and reminding Bunnymund where exactly to place his hands on her waist for maximum support and safer grip.

Then North prepared the audio equip next to the piano, thanking that he had asked Bunny to record himself playing since it had helped him to come up with their current choreography.

"You think you can keep up the pace, piano man?" She challenged with a small smile and looking up at him through her long eyelashes.

"I think I'll manage, sheila."

Tooth had to admit that for having such talented fingers, the pianist was also quite light on his feet.

Bunnymund truly knew all he steps and had no problem to catch up the pace after stretching his muscles a little bit. Of course, he was no match to someone who had spent their lives practicing and practicing, but for being an amateur he was really good.

North had decided that they would practice the adagio of the Pas, since it was one of the easier instances when they had to dance together that Aster could perform, and as the music from the piano accompaniments traveled through the room, the both of them found their own rhythm.

The Pas a Deux was one of the main pieces of the ballet; visually stunning and musically moving. In it, the Sugar Plum Fairy and her Cavalier danced as a closing act to the celebration of the return of the Nutcracker Prince before Clara had to return to her home.

The characters had the stage for themselves and it was a moment when the dancers shone for their impeccable technique, the communication of emotion, and the almost synchronic back and fro of the partners.

The adagio started with the dancers entering to the stage on each side and then meeting in the middle of it to dance at a more slow and soulful pace, not as two individual elements but as a single force that flowed into graceful shapes, lifts and balance, and repetitions.

Pirouettes, correct arm position, distance between the dancers, leg positioning, North made them work through them all. Despite originally being worried at her performance, the proximity and intimacy between her and the pianist seemed to constantly slip into her mind. On one of her solo moves, Tooth snuck a glance to Bunny (whose eyes were trained on her) and couldn't help to think how handsome he looked before she glided back towards him. His eyes attentive to her every move and his shoulders thrown back, giving him a regal air worthy of the Cavalier. There was no denying that he was good-looking and Tooth marveled at the strength he seemed to posses whenever he slightly lifted her. Jack was strong enough to hold her while in mid-air while they danced, but dancing with Aster made her feel tiny and seem more graceful - which were not sensations she disliked in the least.

Her thoughts would have continued down that line if it wasn't that it made one of her pirouettes lack speed, which North quickly pointed out, bringing her back earth.

Counting off the pace of the melody, she matched her twirls to the rythm. Aster's hands on her waist spun her with dexterity as he admired the way her body languidly matched up to the increasing speed of the music.

Lifting Tooth had been something that worried him a lot. She looked so small and fragile, he almost was afraid to touch her in case she would break. The aussie kept repeating all the right steps he had been taught on how to lift her and his heart almost leapt out of his chest when he did. His hands found her waist easily and rose her, feeling her light weight in his arms and how he was the only one controlling the movement while she glided still in the air until her toes reached the floor once more.

When first entering the world of ballet, he taught that the man had to do all the work when lifting, catching, and guiding their partner. But now he realized that it was just as hard for women since it required quite the bit of upper body strength to be in the correct angle in order to help him keep the balance point.

Toothiana was tense as a string during the various set of lifts they had to practice, her muscles taut and her back straight while coordinating the adequate position of her arms and legs with North.

Aster's mistakes, although quite a few and also common since he was no professional, were promptly marked and he was quick to correct them. He had always been a fast learner, but he didn't want to mess something up and make things harder for the other two. Because he wasn't dancing on his own now. Tooth and he had to work together to get it right. At first he thought North only needed him to hold the ballerina, while she twirled and looked pretty. But now he felt he truly grasped the true dynamics between dance partners.

A male dancer in this role not only had to make the ballerina look great and feel safe, he had to standout in his own downplayed way. He was the frame that held her together and her support while she performed steps that would be impossible with only one person. Without the Cavalier, there could be no Sugar Plum Fairy.

This discovery wouldn't have occurred to him from his seat at the piano, and if this petite woman hadn't challenged him to dance.

He lifted her once more when the crescendo was about to come to its highest peak, using her forward momentum to hold her and twirl her body so she would perch up on his shoulder, then bringing her down with a swift fish dive that sent a rush of adrenaline coursing through her blood.

They continued to dance through the last part of the adagio, and as the tempo slowed down so did their movements. As the music ends, she was in his arms once more.

A small clap interrupts their concentration. Tooth looked up to find Jack at the door, coat and hat sprinkled with snow from outside and a big smile on his face.

The true Cavalier had finally arrived and Aster could resume his post at the piano.

And to her, the dance for two they had shared was over too soon.

Hope you liked it!

It came in handy that sweettoothforever asked for a fic with ballerina!Tooth and pianist!Bunny. ;)
I hope that you participate too :3
Bye!