(Belly dancer AU because a friend of mine got me into Turkey/America. God forbid.)
The steady drum beat in the background wafted through the air like the powerful incense that also was currently being burned throughout the lofty club. The mood was sensual and almost curious, as each member of the audience was there for one reason and one reason only: to see the beautiful belly dancers shake. A certain man sitting in the audience was also there for the lovely dancers, although he was a little bit different than the rest of the dominantly white viewers. His name was Sadiq Adnan, a 30-something year old from Turkey that was recently vacationing in America to visit some friends. Personally, the man wasn't fond of odd Western interpretations of belly dancing, but he was informed that the certain group that was performing tonight was quite worth it, and also pretty impressive in worldwide terms. They were also all male dancers.
Sadiq gently sipped at a glass of some fruity alcoholic beverage and sat back in his chair, eager to watch the supposedly amazing belly dancers. His wait was short lived, as two lovely young men stepped out of the red velvet curtains, dressed in only long, flowing skirts and many pieces of fine jewelry, mostly gold and bronze. The smiling drummers seated on the ground at the back of the stage began picking up their speed, creating an interesting and fast rhythm that both of the dancers quickly picked up on. Their grace and flow was absolutely awing, as they seemed to nearly melt into the beat and sync with the chattering of the drums perfectly.
Sadiq was impressed, his eyes widening slightly at the movements of their hips, his hand loosening around his cup and jaw opening ever so slightly. He was particularly interested in the chubby blond dancer whose hips practically gyrated when the drums got faster. His bellybutton piercing was also really distracting, since the golden beads swayed.
The song suddenly took a sultry and slow turn, both dancers slowing their hips and taking to wiggling and rocking their backs in perfect arches, their stomachs making sweet slithering curves, and hands curling above their heads. They both were stunning, truly, but the blonde from before was looking positively radiant, his lips parted in concentration and the gentle curve of his belly quivering with every single fantastic movement. Sadiq was completely enamored. A single male, American dancer could almost completely capture the feeling of the Middle-Eastern art form, and the feeling of the region's dancing style as a whole. How he could dance so accurately and brilliantly was another question, but it was less relevant at the time. Sadiq was in shocked awe, and the luscious red skirts that hugged low on the blonde's hips were hypnotizing him.
After several long, beautiful phases of different musical tempos, the boys were done with their show, and another dancer came out. His skin was luminous and shiny, as if he were glazed with metallic gold paint. But that was not where Sadiq's attention was focused, as just minutes later he saw the beautiful blonde dancer from before emerge from a side door that connected to the stage, still shirtless but wearing a pair of low riding jeans in place of his skirts. Standing up quickly, Sadiq rushed towards the blonde dancer as said blondie sat down at a barstool across the room.
"Merhaba, hello. My name is Sadiq. Your performance out there tonight was amazing," Sadiq said, smiling genuinely at the dancer. He noticed that the boy was now wearing a pair of simple rectangular glasses that graced his nose. Said dancer chuckled a bit to himself, his smile wide and happy. He was still riding on the high of the audience's good reaction, and the large amounts of positive attention paired with the fantastic feeling of knowing that you did a really good job put the young dancer in a social mood. He was excited that a hot, older man like Sadiq was checking him out and would probably not be opposed to taking Sadiq home with him that night.
"My name is Alfred, and thank you for the kind words, Sadiq," the blonde dancer, or Alfred, responded, his voice happy and eyes half-lidded from the euphoria. Sadiq grinned a bit at the cliché American name, but nothing more, and, now interested, began asking him some questions that he'd been wondering for a while.
"So what made you want to start belly dancing, Alfred?" Sadiq asked, his low voice rumbling next to the steady drum beat that absorbed the atmosphere. Alfred hummed in thought, a hand resting against his chin and legs crossed at the knee.
"I really started dancing once I moved to California for college and saw a sign that was advertising a belly dancing class, but honestly, I've been interested in the dance since I was a little boy. That was about five years ago. During my first year of class, my teacher told me that I should join his group of touring performers, but I didn't think I was good enough at the time and only danced locally when someone else couldn't make it. After a while, the audience started requesting me to play and, yeah, here we are a few years later. I never thought I was going to become an actual belly dancer," Alfred said and chuckled to himself slightly. Throughout the course of the entire conversation, Sadiq's expression remained interested and eyes locked on Alfred's own. Obviously, he was pretty curious about the whole thing and afterwards he found himself even more attracted to the pretty young boy before him. It was too bad that he was a travelling dancer.
"Wow, Alfred. As a native Turk, I wasn't expecting to find an amazing dancer such as yourself in America. Actually, to say that you're just amazing is an understatement. You are possibly one of the best I've seen in my entire life, " Sadiq said, and yeah, maybe he was exaggerating just a little bit, but the boy seemed like the type to absorb compliments and he also kind of wanted to get in his pants, too. Alfred laughed, his voice boisterous and reverberating throughout the area, causing a few heads to turn.
"I think you're exaggerating," Alfred said, to which Sadiq merely noncommittally shrugged at. "Although, I do appreciate the compliment. I'm done for tonight, so how do you think about going back to my place, I can show you some recordings of my older performances?" Sadiq grinned, his shiny white teeth glinting in the dim lighting and eyes focused intently on the cute boy before him.
"Sounds perfect."