"Rin-senpai?" Aiichirou calls out as soon as he enters the room.

From his mattress, Rin raises an eyebrow and hums in acknowledgement as he places his book to rest on his chest. "What's up, Ai?"

Feeling his heartbeat quicken in pace, Aiichiou approaches the bunk and looks down to his feet. "I have a question for you."

Rin stares at his roommate for a moment before pushing himself up and placing his book aside. "Sure, ask away."

Aiichirou opened his mouth to speak, but then Rin cut him off. "And don't hesitate, I won't judge you for whatever it is." He reassured him.

The other blinked, still not used to the fact that his senpai could tell when something was wrong or he was nervous. "Right. Well… You know how the winter ball is coming up, right?" He asked as an intro to the actual question.

Rin tilted his head a bit, furrowing his eyebrows in curiosity. "...Yes, I know. Is that your question?"

"Huh? Oh! No. No… Actually. I wanted to ask someone."

"Ai, if you're planning on asking me then I-"

Suddenly, Aiichirou's cheeks were burning and he raised his arms to flail them around, causing Rin to stop mid-sentence. He really didn't want to hear Rin's answer, but instead he wanted to start with Nagisa's plan as soon as possible.

"I wanted to ask you if you will teach me how to dance?!" He exclaimed, his nervousness making his voice raise.

Rin blinked, taken aback by the sudden increase in volume. "...Is that is?" He said after a few seconds of silence. "That's all you had to ask, I told you not to hesitate. Alright, tomorrow we'll start."

And with that, Rin closed off the topic and laid down again to resume reading his book.

Confused, Aiichirou brought back the subject and asked, "Wait, so does this mean you will teach me?"

"I did say we'll start tomorrow, didn't I?"

A huge grin suddenly came across the young swimmer's smile and he perked up noticeably. "Thank you, Rin-senpai!" He chimed.

x X x

"Before we start, I have to make sure I know a few things." Rin said.

The two were standing in the middle of their dorm room, almost an hour after their swim practice. They were both tired, but a promise was a promise.

Aiichirou looked up at Rin and tilted his head. "What is it that you need to know?"

"Is your partner going to be male or female? Tall or short?" He paused before leaning over a bit. "Are you leading or are you willing to let the other lead?"

From being towered over, Aiichirou couldn't help but let out a small squeak. "A-Ah… Well, I haven't asked anyone yet."

"Do you have someone in mind then?"

"...Yes."

"Then give me the details."

"But what if I get rejected?"

After the words left his lips, his shoulders slumped. Rin was about to snap at him for thinking so negative, but he figured that wouldn't be best. After all, he wouldn't want the same thing to happen to him. Instead, he placed a hand on his shoulders and gave it a pat.

"I'm sure whoever this person is, they'll say yes. Don't think so low of yourself, you're a great guy."

Aiichirou looked up and blinked at Rin. He smiled softly. "Thank you. ...Well, its a male and he's taller than me. ...Around your height actually."

"Around my height? That's fortunate then." Rin said, though now he was curious as to who this person was. "Who will be leading?"

"Since I won't be that good at dancing, I think he would lead."

"That's easier to teach considering our heights." Rin mumbled under his breath, though it was clearly audible in the silence of the dorm room. "Very well. Considering the idea this year is Heat meeting the Cold, the committee is making it Latin America themed." He stated as he propped a hand on his hip to ease his back. "You know what that means, right?"

The silver-haired male thought for a second. "There will be a lot of dance songs?"

"Yes. But, more specifically, there will be a lot of body to body dance songs." He walked away from the other and went over to the table where his laptop was. Rin grabbed the CD case that was next to it and opened the DVD player to place the CD inside. After closing it, he looked over to his roommate. "One of the guys on the team is working on decorating. I threatened to make him swim 100 laps per practice if he didn't manage to get me a copy of the playlist they'll be using."

"That's devious!" Aiichirou said, though he laughed in amusement. He really did appreciate Rin went through the small struggle to get it.

Rin shrugged and smirked. "Tonight, we'll listen to the songs. Tomorrow, and every day after that until the ball, I'll teach you what I can."

x X x

The first few days were hard for both Rin and Aiichirou. At first, it was a problem with Ai being too stiff. Rin swore he was dancing with a cardboard cut out rather than a human being. Eventually, much to both their fortune, he managed to loosen up. But that lead to the next problem of Aiichirou constantly stepping on Rin's feet every other step. Rin's patience was wearing thin with that one and he had to end their practice sessions early for a few days.

But Rin was not disappointed when he saw that he was improving with the simple parts rather easily. He was loose, he [for the most part] stopped stepping on his feet, and he managed to follow the beginner steps with ease. A week pass and Rin felt he was ready to teach the next step. This included actually being chest to chest with his dance partner. When the day came, he explained and told Aiichirou that they had to make sure the semi-thick magazine he had stood held between their chests. If it slipped, they weren't close enough.

Of course, being so close to Rin and feeling his hand in his own and around his waist was driving Aiichirou crazy with hormones. This caused him to taking the wrong step for a gap to open up between them. Each time the magazine fell, he was sure to apologize but each time Rin waved it off.

Once again, it only took a few days for the shorter of the two to get the hang of things. By the end of the week, he was able to keep close to Rin and dance the beginner steps without a problem. Rin raised his eyebrows and figured they would be done just in time for the ball at this rate.

Time went by and two more weeks past. The ball was next week and Aiichirou was growing anxious.

Figuring that they have been working themselves to the bone, Rin told Ai that they could take a day off. They were beginning to dance smoothly and all that was left to teach were a little extra, flirty moves. Rin only thought that was necessary because he knew that a dance shared between Latinos was a dance of passion and almost like sharing one breath of fire. Or at least that's how he pictured it from what he read one boring afternoon.

The two were currently sitting on Rin's mattress; Saturday night, a week before the ball. They had been making small talk about their classes and the swim team, but they both know they were ignoring the one subject they felt needed talking about. A moment of silence grew between them and Rin was the first to speak up with the obvious question that should have been asked by now.

"Did you ask that guy to the ball yet?"

Aiichirou tensed up at the mention. He let out a deep breath and shrugged. "No. I probably won't ask him at this point."

"How come?"

"...Not sure. I just feel I shouldn't ask him anymore."

The response was honest and Rin could feel it. He almost felt the disappointment in the air, but he ignored it. It wasn't his disappointment.

"Sorry you feel that way."

"It's fine." Ai chimed softly. "How about you, Rin-senpai? You've been so busy helping me, have you asked anyone?"

Rin looked at him from the corner of his eye. He took a deep breath and shook his head. "No. I'm going alone just to see how it is. I didn't go last year, it might be a good experience to add to the list."

"Oh. I heard that Samezuka has a reputation for throwing extravagant dances. It certainly would be an experience." Aiichirou agreed.

Rin hummed softly and silence quickly took its place between them again. The only sounds that entered the room were the sounds of ice beating against the window, people talking a little too loud in the hall, and a yawn that escaped from Ai's mouth.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now." He said as he pushed himself up to stand. "Good night."

"Good night." Rin responded before getting up to turn off the light as the other climbed up to his top bunk.

However, even though they ended the conversation and said their good nights, there was still a single question that neither of them had bothered to ask.

'Will you go to the ball with me?'

x X x

The night before the ball, Rin told Aiichirou that it was time to run through all the dances for each song. Aiichirou was nervous as can be because up until then, he ran through each song separately. For him to suddenly go through all of them back to back, he felt as though he would run out of energy and fail miserably before the last dance. And Rin told him that the last dance was the most important one. Nonetheless, he took on the task with all he had and found that his stamina was keeping him on top of things.

The dances ranged between being upbeat to being slow. It was a constant alternation between just standing in front of Rin to being pressed against him. Each time, he couldn't tell if his heart was beating fast because of the dancing or the physical contact. But the shivers down his spine as he felt Rin's fingers crawl along his back was enough to tell him which was which.

A handful of hours went by with breaks every other song. They knew they wouldn't be dancing to every single song, so what was the point in killing themselves that way. During that time, they used it to get something to drink, use the bathroom, or even steal glances at each other. Rin felt so frustrated with himself that he was holding back from asking that one question. But he gave his answer about going, and that was that apparently. He almost wished he never said anything or that he asked, yet he realized this gave him the perfect opportunity. And that was something he wasn't going to miss.

After their break for the second to last song, the last one finally played and the two teens got into position. Rin moved a hand to rest on Aiichirou's side as his other hand took his hand into his own. Ai placed his hand on Rin's shoulder and they waited for the lyrics to begin. Once they heard the smooth voice of the singer, their feet automatically moved. Little did they know that with dancing, its about compatibility with a partner. From the way their feet follow each other instead of one leading the other, their compatibility was noticeable beyond what words could describe.

x X x

Saturday night approached much quicker than anyone thought it would. The whole day vanished and night was exposed in, what felt like, record time. Aiichirou and Rin were currently taking turns styling their hair in the bathroom. Both had similar hairstyles, in which their bangs were combed back, save for a few extra hairs coming down along the sides. Rin, however, also had his hair tied in a ponytail. He was wearing a white vest with black slacks, shirt, and shoes, along with a red tie. Aiichirou, on the other hand, was dressed with a similar but opposite color scheme and sported a blue tie instead.

After deciding they were ready to go, they walked out of the room and trailed through the halls of the dormitory to get to the door that opened up to the school. Samezuka was just one of those prestige schools that was prepared for any situation or event, which meant it even had its own ballroom thanks to donations.

Upon entering the ballroom; they were greeted with loud, upbeat music and a wave of chatter in the air. Aiichirou smiled brightly as his eyes darted around to take a mental image of the room. Rin, on the other hand, calmly looked around and raised his eyebrows in impression. The decorating committee went all out with making it feel like a royal dance in Spain at most.

"Rin-senpai?" Aiichirou piped up.

"Yeah?"

"I'm going to go over with my friends now. ...Thank you again for teaching me. I might just get on the dance floor!"

"You better if you don't want my teaching to go to waste." Rin warned with a joking tone. "Alright, I'll see you around then. Have fun with your friends."

Aiichirou let out a small chuckle and nodded. "Will do. You too!" He said before turning to walk away.

However, just at he took a step forward, Rin placed his hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Wait." He said. Aiichirou hummed and was about to turn around when suddenly he felt Rin's presence closer to him. "Save the last dance for me." He murmured in his ear before letting his hand drop and walking away in the opposite direction.

Aiichirou could have sworn he felt his breath against his ear, but he just brushed that hope away. 'Save the last dance...' he repeated in his mind. 'Okay. I will.'

Time went by surprisingly quick. Both Rin and Aiichirou were having fun in their own groups and they even went to the dance floor with a few girls and guys. They danced one song together, but that was all they did beside catch glimpses at the other throughout the night.

From listening to the playlist repeatedly, Aiichirou heard a song and remembered it was the third song before the last one. He wondered if time really went by that quickly or if the DJ skipped a few songs. Nonetheless, he was eager for that last dance to come already. Even though he was enjoy himself with everything else around him, that was the one thing stuck on his mind. Not to mention the way it was said as well.

He decided to take a small walk around the room to try to find Rin so he wouldn't have a problem finding him for the last dance, but Rin was no where in sight. He couldn't even find a head of red hair aside from Momotaoru's within the mix of people. He was confused and ended up bumping into one of his teammates. Ai asked him where Rin went and he told him that Rin went back to his dorm room.

Aiichirou thanked his teammate before squeezing his way through the people to get to the exit. After practically popping out of the crowd and walking through the door, he began to head back to his room. Questions about how Rin was feeling or if he forgot something filled his mind, but he figured there must have been another reason.

He approached the door and opened it before walking in. The room was empty and dark. Rin couldn't have possibly been in there.

"Rin-senpai?" He called out softly.

A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder and he jumped automatically.

"Calm down, its me." Rin said with a bored tone. However, the look in his eyes gave away his amusement.

Aiichirou pouted and turned around to face Rin just as he walked over to the lamp on his desk to turn it on, providing a dim light that seemed to set a mood. "That was not funny." He said, having noticed the look and rolled his own eyes. "Why did you leave early? I thought you wanted to dance." His voice lowered toward the end of his sentence and he kept his eyes glued to the taller male.

"A last dance is special." Rin said as he walked back to Ai and took his hand into his own. "A last dance alone with your partner, is even more special." He continued as he reached over to press a button on his laptop's keyboard.

What played was the ending of the second to last song. Aiichirou felt himself begin to tense up as the atmosphere changed. But he wasn't about to let it get the best of him, so he played it cool.

Rin brought Ai's hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it. "May I have this dance?" He asked with a cool expression on his face.

"...Yes." Was the response given, reinforced by a gentle and flustered smile.

As though it was timed, the song finally ended and the next one began playing. Rin entwined their fingers and placed his free hand on the other's hip. It was a place much lower than all the other times, but it was also a sign for what Rin was going to do. Aiichirou realized this and that meant he had to be ready for anything. Rin warned him that people tend to change routines to intensify a dance. But that was just part of seeing how well of a partner a person was suited for.

Aiichirou placed his hand on Rin's shoulder and his fingers curled a bit to give him a light squeeze, a way of saying he was ready.

They looked at each other and locked eyes. Without any words spoken, without a hint, they moved the second the lyrics began. Rin started off by leading but Aiichirou was quick to follow. Soon, their steps molded together to form one being. There was no leading, no following, only dancing. Rin pushed him away, but just as quickly pulled him back in, the motions turning them into an ocean filled with waves being controlled by the moon. And just like the water that filled that ocean, Aiichirou moved fluidly with each new turn and gentle sway.

Rin suddenly let go of Ai's waist and used the other hand to spin him. Aiichirou turned and was stopped when Rin pulled him to press their bodies together entirely. Rin smirked down at him before dipping him over. Aiichirou's eyes widened, but he allowed his weight to shift and lifted one of his legs to keep his balance. Rin used his free hand to place on his waist again and slowly, very slowly, began to lift him up. While doing so, the hand traveled downward. It ran along his hip, his thigh, and left a burning trail behind that warmed all of his partner's body in a matter of seconds. He stopped after his hand hooked under his kneecap and he carefully pulled Aiichirou's leg to wrap around his hip.

"R-Rin…" Aiichirou whispered as he was met chest to chest with his partner again.

"A dance with your partner…" Rin started. He leaned his head over and whispered, "...is a dance of passion."

A shiver ran through the silver-haired teen's spine and his let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

Rin let go of Aiichirou's leg and the owner slowly began to lower it back to the ground. Rin let go of his hand next and brought both to rest on his hips. Aiichirou hesitated, but brought the other hand to the empty shoulder.

They stood standing still for a few seconds. The music filled the room, but all they could could focus on was each other. Without another thought, they closed the space between them and kissed. Even though their dance was engulfed by a passionate flame, their kiss was merely a small fire that warmed their bodies with gentleness.

It might have only been the last dance of the night, but it was not the last dance of their lives together.