Hi everyone! This is the long awaited sequel to Leap Towards the Future! It's probably more a drabble than anything else, but hopefully it meets your expectations? If you don't know what is going on, you may want to read Steps Towards Love and A Leap Towards the Future first. Enjoy the story!
I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin, nor do I own its characters.
Petra snuggled up against her husband. It had been a whole twelve years since they had first danced together. Now, they were happily married and...
"Mama! Papa!" Two little figures leaped onto Petra and Levi. Their arms automatically circled around the two bigger human beings and their faces popped out of their parents' chests. Both had warm amber eyes and dark hair, although one had much longer hair than the other.
Levi's arms automatically curled around the children and he pulled them close. Petra did the same, but one hand reached up to stroke their hair.
"Hey Emma. Hey Ian," Petra said softly, her hands running through the children's hair. The twins' gleaming amber eyes sparkled and they smiled. Levi stared fondly at his family, noting the extreme resemblance between the twins and their mother. Same face, same smile, same eyes, same everything. They had inherited his dark hair though.
Emma and Ian had been born five years ago, a year after Petra and Levi had gotten married. Petra had gotten pregnant at the beginning of the repertory season, so she had taken a maternity leave and skipped the season. She had gone to the practices and watched Levi dance. Since his wife was not dancing, he didn't want to be put in as the main character. Therefore, they had put him into solo positions. After the twins were born, Petra waited until they were a little older before dancing again. She had attended the required classes and gotten back into shape within two months. She participated in some of the programs, but opted out of the others to take care of the kids. Now that the kids were old enough to go to school, both parents could dance full time. Petra's parents would take care of the kids if they were to be working late.
"Mama, no one in our class appreciates ballet. Why is that?" Emma asked.
"I think it's because they don't know how hard ballet is," Petra replied softly.
"The boys in our class made fun of Papa and me. They said that ballet is for girls and that we're sissies," Ian sulked.
"Oh Ian, just ignore them. You love ballet don't you? If you love it, then they have no right to say anything to you. If they say that, they're just disrespectful. Don't worry about it," Petra reassured.
"Don't pick fights though, Ian," Levi said, sipping his tea. Levi knew his son wouldn't do that. Ian had inherited his mother's gentle nature.
Ian shook his little head. "I won't, Papa. You and Mama taught me not to."
Levi ruffled his son's hair and Petra smiled. Emma patted her brother's shoulder and he smiled.
"How about you Emma? How was your day?"
Petra sat on the bed, while Levi turned down the covers. He looked over at his wife. Even while sitting there contemplating something, she still looked like a ballerina. One straight leg was stretched out to the side and her toes were pointed. He nudged her with his finger, signaling her to get up so that he could turn down the covers on her side of the bed. After, she snuggled into his arms, but still thought.
"What are you thinking about?" Levi asked.
"Just what the kids said. I had to go through that too, actually. When people asked me what sport I did, I would say that I do ballet. Then, they would say that ballet isn't a sport. I bet it was even harder for you though," Petra said.
"Yeah. People called me a sissy. Only Mike, Moblit, and Erwin knew how it felt. Mike and Moblit went to high school with me and we were known as the "sissy gang." It was pretty damn stupid. Erwin knows how it feels," Levi explained.
"Is that why the three of you were never friends with anyone else?" Petra halfheartedly teased.
"Yeah. If they called me a sissy, I would call them a damn fucker and then they would back off. It was pretty great."
"Wow Levi. But good job containing your language around the kids. They don't know swear words yet." Petra nuzzled his cheek with her nose.
"But I have to say," Petra whispered in his ears, "you've been a good boy with keeping your language clean."
They snuggled under the covers and talked for a while. Then, all of a sudden, Petra went silent.
"Petra?"
A smile slowly creeped up onto her face.
"I know what we can do."
The little children in Emma and Ian's class oohed and aahed at the San Francisco Ballet's building. Since they were small, the building seemed super tall to them. Emma and Ian smiled too. As many times as they had been here, the place never ceased to amaze the two.
Rico, their teacher, had been convinced by Petra to take the kids on a field trip to the SFB. Although the building was usually closed off to visitors, the SF Ballet School had agreed, with some persuasion from Petra. As they approached the building, Anka, Petra's friend who managed tickets and that good stuff, came out to greet the kids and Rico.
"Hello guys!" Anka said cheerfully. "Welcome to the San Francisco Ballet! I'm Anka Rheinberger, and I manage all the ticket sales and advertising."
The children greeted her back and she took them inside. She told them to be quiet and surprisingly, they obeyed. Everyone in the building knew that the kids were visiting, so some of the dancers greeted the kids.
"This is one of our studios. We have the Ballet School and of course, the main ballet company. Here is a Level 7 class. The students who have been put into this level have the potential for a career in ballet," Anka explained. A kid raised his hand and Anka called on him.
"So, do you just go up a level each year?"
"Not exactly. The teachers give the students two written evaluations each year. They're kind of like reports. You all know what reports are right?" Anka remembered that she was talking to five year olds, not an adult. "Also, if a dancer doesn't have the kind of feet, body, or artistic talent required for ballet, then they might not advance to the next level. It also gets harder each year and the teachers expect even more."
The children were awed. They didn't think that ballet could get this hard! They continued through the building and met Erwin Smith.
"Everyone, this is Mr. Erwin Smith. He's the artistic director, who is in charge of managing the dancers, programs, and other things," Anka introduced him.
"Hi Mr. Smith." All of the kids were shy, but Emma and Ian smiled and waved.
"Ah! It's little Emma and Ian." Erwin bent down to their eye level and smiled. "Are these your classmates?"
The twins nodded and talked to him casually.
Erwin stood up again and asked, "Would you like to go inside the studio to watch the professionals?" and the kids nodded excitedly.
"You have to be VERY quiet and sit still okay?" Anka reminded. The kids nodded again.
Erwin opened the door to the studio quietly and ushered the children in. They sat in two rows in the front where the mirror was and watched quietly. The professionals continued with class and because the kids were so small, they could still see themselves in the mirror. The children were awed when they saw the high développés and grand battements. The dancers did pointe afterwards, and the kids were fascinated as the dancers rose onto their toes and moved around. When the class was done, Petra and Levi went to talk to the kids. All the kids knew the two as Emma and Ian's parents, but the children had never seen the two adults doing their jobs.
"Hi everyone!" Petra said cheerfully. The kids chatted with her and Levi animatedly and asked them questions.
"Does dancing on your toes hurt? How are you so flexible? Does ballet hurt? Can I see one of your shoes?" the kids asked.
Petra showed them her pointe shoes and explained how it worked. The kids watched the professionals rehearse after, and were extremely fascinated.
"That's so cool!" Ian heard a girl whisper.
"Isn't it?" A boy replied to the girl.
Hearing them say that made both Emma and Ian proud. As they watched their parents dance beautifully, they couldn't help but feel pride. The kids got the dancers' autographs after, including the famous Petra Ral and Levi Ackerman. Petra and Levi hugged their children before the class went back to school.
Back at school, Rico asked the kids, "How did you like that?"
One kid raised her hand. "It was so cool! They were so graceful and they made dancing on your toes look so easy!"
Rico continued asking the children and they all talked about how much they admired ballet. One girl said that she wanted to take ballet because she was so inspired. Rico, knowing that some boys had teased Ian, asked the boys.
"How did you like it?"
They reluctantly admitted their feelings about how cool and interesting ballet was.
Ian smiled to himself. No one would tease him now.
Thank you, Mama, Papa!
A/N: So yeah, that was pretty crappy. Sorry about that... School's starting (cries) and I might not be able to write too much... That's what I said last year, but it didn't work that way. Hopefully that happens this year too. Leave reviews and thanks for reading!
Sakura-chan