A/N: I was so overwhelmed by the response to Wordplay that I felt I had to write something else to get the itch out of my fingertips :). This one isn't nearly as good, but frankly, I don't care xP. Thanks so much to all of you!
Shall We?
They hesitated. "Shall we?" Giselle heard him say. She said not a word, instead giving her response by placing her hand in his. Somehow, it did not occur to her that she was dancing- truly dancing, not just being lifted for a few second's breadth, twirling a dummy, or moving back and forth across a New York park with its various occupants- for the first time in her life until her hand was already secure in his and they were nearing the middle of the dance floor, the rhythm of the soft music beating a tattoo on her racing heart, startling her nerves, fogging her brain, numbing her feet, and exciting her senses. Her hand, which had been so cold and dry from being whipped by the harsh New York winds mere moments ago, felt sweaty and far too hot as it slipped into his, the other slinking to perch precariously on his jacket, and she imperceptibly swallowed her nervousness down as her gaze locked with his.
And they floated. A faint smile graced her lips as she remembered him claiming he didn't dance; that had obviously been a lie. He had far more elegance than he gave himself credit for. He must have seen her smile, for his lips slowly turned up as well, and she felt her heart flutter, all thoughts of princes and Andalasia dulling like an old memory. There was no way she could think of Edward as her one true love when Robert was staring at her like this, tentative and wan at first, but growing more secretive and coy with each passing moment. It was as if their eyes were locked in place, unable (or unwilling) to look anywhere but straight forward into the other's eyes. His eyes were smouldering, and the barely repressed sadness and longing Giselle saw reflected in them made her stomach turn over. Her smile slipped for a fraction of a second as she forcibly recalled that she was leaving as soon as the ball was over. She pushed the thought away, reinforcing the smile, the barrier that kept her happy for this moment.
And they moved. The music became imperceptible, the singer's voice fading into obscurity, only the impression of the lyrics' meaning remaining as her heartbeat thudded louder than she could have ever thought possible in her ears. 'True love, true love, true love, true love,' it sang to her, a mocking edge to the ringing in her ears as her pulse gradually sped up and slowed down with their movements. 'Good-bye, good-bye, good-bye, good-bye.' Giselle let her smile falter as she finally stopped caring about the façade she had meant to keep up, her eyes straying from Robert's for the first time as he gently spun her around. 'So close, so close, so close, so close.'
And they pretended. Giselle re-tightened her grip on his hand, staring at the oddly beautiful spot where his jaw met his ear. She had never imagined that her first real dance with another human being would be anything like this. She had more or less dreamt her youth away, growing up in forests and meadows, dancing with fake princes and chipmunks, singing about the day her prince would come and they would ride off into the sunset on a beautiful white horse. Her first dance, she had known, would be beautiful; she would be in a wedding gown, her hair would be done up in gentle ringlets, and tears of joy would be running down her face. She hadn't believed that that might not happen. She never imagined that her first dance would be at a fake ball in a distant land that was decidedly not Andalasia. She never thought she'd be wearing anything quite like this odd, form-fitting purple gown, her hair straight as twigs, feeling as though the only tears she wanted to cry, even as Robert spun her across the floor, were tears of sorrow. She wasn't quite sure as to when she had stopped thinking of Robert as a cynical but kind man and when he had become something more… when he had become a horrible, wonderful man, someone she finally, finally realised she could fall in lo-. She stopped in mid-spin, and her shock must have shown, for Robert frowned slightly as he stepped back towards her.
And they knew. Fall in love with? Giselle thought weakly, completing the thought she hadn't meant to form. Love? And then he, softly at first, but eventually gaining strength, started singing, and she fought her hardest to back the tears that welled in her eyes, the sob that threatened to escape, and the words that threatened to form on her tongue. She loved him. Why did he have to make this so difficult? She loved him. She leant in, laying her head on his shoulder if only to conceal the melancholy smile that suddenly formed on her face from his heartbreaking blue eyes. She loved him. Somehow she was afraid he would know- and yet somehow she wished it at the same time. She loved him.
And they existed. The music swelled, mirroring the sudden uplift in their breaking hearts. They knew that each belonged to another, that said others were probably watching, that each second that passed was one less second they had together until they were parted forever and ever, that true love really didn't matter in this world, and that happily ever after didn't exist, but they didn't care. In those few precious moments, they flew, they sang, they screamed, sobbed, breathed, smiled, loved, hated, wished, betrayed, whirled, and froze. They weren't and they were. They simply existed, each only for the other, seeing, knowing, and caring about nothing and no one else.
And they danced.