Author's Note: Inspired by the Musiq Soulchild song of the same name, and an eternal love for '90s-early '00s music. Set a few years after Dance Central Spotlight. I'll leave the amount of years up to you because we might be waiting until 2020 for someone to mention Dance Central 4.
Tiny backstory: Mo and Coy were the best of friends for ten years before they agreed to start dating. Relationship started off explosive in the best way, then quickly became explosive in the worst ways imaginable. Mo broke it off six months later, barely surviving the relationship with wounds from physical and emotional trauma. The breakup sent him into a coma-like state, but his friends and finding an abandoned, homeless street dancer he named Glitch slowly brought him out of it.
Thank you for being here!
A discovery was about to be revealed, and Bodie was about to bear witness to it.
They tried to let Winter's bright, jubilant rhythm play upon their shoulders, but the weight of the world prevented even a single note from slipping into the day's music. Every day had been nothing but a roller coaster ride, and Bodie was on a ride that promised to be particularly rocky. Why? Judging from the look on Moliah's face, he was seconds away from what he believed to be the worst part of the ride: the drop. There was a tie between that slow, excruciating ride up the slope and going down it, but the tone of his friend's voice had Emilia's partner leaning towards the latter.
It was in their favorite café they sat, morning's calm passing by them as the world grew heavier on their shoulders. The clamor of an unseen future rang in their ears, blocking out the warm, fragrant melody of morning chatter. Every day in the wake of the Spotlight season had been nothing short of agonizing, with what seemed to be a billion questions hanging in the air: would Tan break out of the timestream? Would it be such a bad thing if he did? The way things were going, none of them were certain if they even feared Tan breaking out any more-including the Dance Central Intelligence officers. So onto more pressing questions. Would they ever see Oblio again? What about Kerith and Jaryn? The last time any of them saw Kerith, he was busy planting a kiss on Mo's cheek. It had been eons since any of them had seen the notorious twins.
And of course, there was the forever-elusive D-Coy. One half of the crew still being the bane of Mo's existence, even after so many years.
Mo had been confiding in Bodie a lot lately, being one of many to see Emilia's partner as a counselor. An astoundingly easy friend to talk to. The greatest worry on the shoulders of the other crews was the increasingly tense relationship between the Brea and his other half-a prodigy that had grown into a blockbuster beauty. While Glitch, no longer tiny and eager but fearless and so cute, everyone just called him 'beautiful', remained calm and confident about Hi-Def's partnership, Mo wasn't so sure about it. Mo even wasn't remotely close to the confident, valiant young man they all knew during Dance Central 1, and none of them hesitated to blame the loss of confidence on Coy. In the wake of the (abysmally short) Spotlight season, the breakdancer's absence of confidence was like a brick to the head.
That morning promised to usher in a glimmer of hope, but Bodie couldn't help being nervous.
Glitch's partner stirred his hot chocolate without paying the slightest attention to it. His eyes, forever gentle and kind, were heavy with thoughts lodged in another galaxy. Mo always had a divine aura about him, but that morning, Bodie couldn't help but notice just how far away Mo really was. Still there, of course, always happy to be with a friend, but lost in memories. Thoughts, visions all focused on one young man. "It's like I'm watchin' a flower blossom, bro," Coy's ex-boyfriend said, melancholy notes mingling with his cocoa's rising steam.
"He ain't cute, cuddly 'n pocket-sized no more. Lookin' at him's like bein' hit by a bus and comin' up outta the darkness, after being locked up for so damn long. I'm caught like a bug in a web and I ain't even tryin' to be. It just happens. Not sayin' I wanna get out of it, because bein' in it feels so damn good, but at the same time…I dunno. I'm, for the lack of a better word, scared."
It was coming. Bodie took a sip of his apple cider but kept his eyes on Mo, heart racing, emitting concern so powerful it could move mountains. Mo bowed his head, his face a portrait of excitement and fear, then-
"I think I've got it bad for 'im, B."
Spit his cider out, painting Mo's face and the table in the process.
Totally not in sync with his character. The eyes as wide as saucers complemented the abnormal picture. Bodie was abhorred by leaving his used napkin on the table, believing he desecrated holy monuments by doing so. So ejecting his cider all over his friend's face? Definitely not something the Brea expected. And that only served to deepen the curiosity that came with something wonderful, something that was frightening and uplifting all at once.
Something that was apparently 'love'.
Which wouldn't be too much of a problem if Glitch hadn't sworn off Mo, I don't know, ten thousand years ago!
Chuckling, not at all aggravated but brotherly, Mo took to wiping off his face with a napkin. "You all right there, B? Didn't mean to give you a heart attack," Hi-Def's founder apologized, his voice as soft as his cocoa's rising steam. Bodie noticed the heavy flavor of sadness lodged in his friend's voice, and definitely noticed the complete and utter disconnect between Mo's confession and Glitch vowing to leave his feelings for Mo at the end of Dance Central 3. Bodie remembered the day it happened. He was there. He held a much younger Glitch as he wept into his chest. Watched as Mo's junior smiled, telling the Riptide crew he'd be all right with what must've been a thousand tears in his eyes. Fast forward to the end of January, 2017, and-
Mo was infatuated with the young man that had grown into quite a beauty, while Glitch was kinda not on the same page.
Great! Couple of years too late, Mochi! Why do you ALWAYS have such lousy timing?! I know he was kinda puny during Dance Central 2, and back then I think it was just a REALLY big crush but you couldn't have said something to him during the Spotlight season?!
"Oh no," Emilia's brother chuckled, nervousness plastered all over his face, offering Mo another napkin. "I'm cool! No worries, bro, everything's good here! Just peachy! Couldn't be better! I'm just over here, y'know, kickin' it with you and everything. Not at all weirded out by anything, oh no."
Which proved to Mo that Bodie was, indeed, the exact opposite of 'peachy'. The Brea had known him long enough to be (spiritually) intimate with the lifeguard's mannerisms and lingo. Saving the world from darkness and devastation usually did wonders for a friendship, and Dance Central 3 had Mo falling madly in love with his friends all over again. Unfortunately, Mo extended that love to Maccoy, which was why a weeping Glitch was like 'never mind, I'll just move on', but-
Evidently, Mo's feelings for Coy were no longer an issue.
The breakdancer beamed at him, amused, affectionate, even more worried than before. "Kinda outta the blue, huh?" he asked, turning his hands into a ball on top of their table. "Yeah, kinda hit me hard last night, with my dreams 'n all. Is there somethin' I should know, B, or are you just that happy for me?"
"Oh no, nothin' you need to know at all! Nothing to see over here, nope, nope, nope!"
Mo leaned in, smiling, mischievous, loving and most definitely concerned. "Kinda findin' that hard to believe."
"Mo, you're always so focused on finding something! Relax, everything's cool! I'm just totally psyched that's all. Really! Psyched about you finally leaving behind Coy and moving on and you're in love with Glitch. That's just super awesome. I mean, he has become quite the stud, hasn't he? Fashion savvy, too. What is he into now, the steampunk look?"
The only problem being that Glitch probably won't return your feelings because he totally shut himself off to you because you were stuck on Coy so he swore to leave his feelings for you behind but HEY totally shouldn't be a problem. Not at all.
Great. Can't wait for Emilia to find out. And of course-
Glitch.