Fandom: Dance Central Couple: Mo/Glitch, Bodie/Oblio Disclaimer: I don't own a sliver of Harmonix, let alone the Dance Central franchise.
Warning: MALE/MALE ROMANCE ABOUNDS. IF YOU'RE ALLERGIC TO MALE/MALE ACTION, STEER CLEAR. DO NOT PIN YOUR INABILITY TO READ ON ME.
It is a well-known fact that Glitch is one of Dance Central's youngest characters. He has been reported to be 15. While the following text concerns romance, the young character is in NO WAY involved in sexually explicit situations. IT CONTAINS NO PORNOGRAPHY. This is written as a celebration of love, and my favorite Dance Central 2 crew.
Special notes: This was inspired by thepurplequeen24's DC horror fic, AcDc125's Dance Central fanfiction, HiLuKi's 'Thank You' piece, and the Halloween season.
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Halloween had gotten way out of hand.
Glitch was all for Halloween fun, but that particular wasn't exactly a night in Knott's Scary Farm. It sure the Hell wasn't a stroll through Disneyland, that was for sure. His last couple of days had been Hell on Earth, but someone out there was determined to destroy whatever remnants of sanity he had left. Destiny had already been horrific enough, slaughtering his ties to Mo. He had been immeasurably close to Hi-Def's superior, but recent events tore them apart quicker than hyenas could go through steak.
Just thinking of those events tore Glitch's heart in half. His heart had actually transformed into a piece of paper, easily shredded by a pair of trigger happy hands. Mind-numbing, deafening darkness had replaced invigorating starlight. Mo's presence, once a source of stimulating magic, took his heart and cast it into a sea of pirahna. Hi-Def's young mate grimaced as bloodthirsty fish tore him apart, laughing while they caught a few bites to eat. For what seemed like an eternity, the young one suffered because of Mo's refusal to love him. Devoting his every breath to the amber-eyed dancer, Glitch believed Mo would serve him the world on a silver platter.
But that was not the case.
Glitch recalled the pain in amber moons. He saw and felt that pain clearly, as if it belonged to him. As if it had been transformed into a thorny rose, beautiful but far too prickly to touch. Mo had been on edge, practically standing on glass shards for hours on end. The younger dancer had desperately tried to reach out to him, noticing how Mo's heart had fallen apart-but unable to see how or why it had been torn apart. But just when Glitch managed to get close, Mo pulled away.
"I can't do it, man. I'm sorry."
"Why? What's wrong with me?"
"Can't do it, man. Glitch...you're just...I...you're just a kid."
"Is that IT? After everything we've been through, you wanna toss me aside 'cuz of that?"
"Hey-"
"Get the hell away from me! If you had said somethin' else, I woulda understood, but that's just low!"
Mo tried to stop him from fleeing, but Glitch was hellbent on shutting his partner down. After giving the amber dancer a good, hard punch, the younger mate vanished into...wherever it he was he went. Recalling trivial details was pretty close to impossible, considering the weight of the world. Ignoring the resonant pain in Mo's eyes, the fifteen year old prodigy felt his heart shatter. Memorizing his environment wasn't particularly important, because he wanted to abandon everything that had given him life. Wanted to leave behind security, warmth, kindness and light. He abandoned everything that had led him through the night, because it all slapped him in the face.
Or so he thought.
"You wanna know why Mo turned you down? It's because he's going through a lot, and didn't wanna drag you down!"
Ah, Bodie. Emilia's crew mate, dazzling dreamboat of Riptide, and all-around nice guy. Not a single person on Earth even thought of hating Bodie, because it was pretty much impossible. Who could possibly hate someone with such a sugary sweet pair of blue eyes, and an equally sweet heart? Certainly not Mo, who had done a lot of Bodie bonding. The two of them clicked right from the get-go. The hospital must've torn them apart, either by accident or with complete knowledge of the future. And apparently, Bodie and Mo bonded over a lot.
"It's his family! His mom passed away last night, and it's been killing him! He hates it 'cuz he couldn't do anything about it! Couldn't do anything to save her! She was the only family he had left, and now she's gone!"
"Get it? He shut you down 'cuz he didn't want to bring you down!"
"He doesn't think he deserves you. Said you'd be better off with someone else, either now or in the future!"
Bodie had been through wringers himself. Even though Dance Central was in its second Summit, Oblio (affectionately known as Obi) was more than delighted to tag along with the new team. He and Bodie clicked like nobody's business, as soon as they laid eyes on each other. Just like moonlight and rain. And at one point, Emi's happy-go-lucky crew mate rescued Obi from a band of ruffians. Whether they were affiliated with opposing dance crews, or just obsessed over a particular dancer, no one knew. Whatever the case was, Bodie saw fit to open a can of whoop ass on them-therefore saving Obi from a night of violent humiliation.
Bodie considered his reward to be pretty awesome. No fireworks went off, and there wasn't any confetti, but Oblio gave him something far more amazing than both of those put together. The corners of his lips slowly curled up, his eyes adopted a beautiful glow, and he gave his rescuer two words:
"Thank you."
Bodie hadn't seen Oblio in a good minute. No one had seen Mo, either.
Pondering the absence of both dancers, Glitch and the others found themselves backed into a corner. The Dance Central Committee had done wonders, setting them up in Embassy Suites, but the luxuries of their suites paid them no current favors. The last attempts to contact Mo had fallen flat-flat into voicemail oblivion, to be precise.
The last time Glitch saw Mo, he was too busy slugging him.
Oblio wasn't answering his phone, either. It was as if Mo and Oblio had fallen off the face of the Earth-and on Halloween night. Midnight was approaching, but none of them could even think of sleeping. Glitch was on the bed, frozen solid and clinging to his IPhone. Not only was Mo M.I.A, but Bodie had just delivered the all-intensive 'Mo really WAS in love with you' speech. Glitch wanted to talk to Mo so desperately, he would've torn out his own heart to speak with him.
But Mo wasn't even answering the phone.
"Nothing on my end, either," a particularly worried Latino said, after calling both of his missing friends five times. "Oblio made it out of the cafe, but they have no inclination as to where he has gone. It's the same for Mo, amigos."
The guys and gals were separated into their own luxurious suites, but the night demanded unity. Taye, who was affectionately known as Mama Bird to her sister, couldn't sit still-especially since her normally talkative sister had fallen silent. Her arms were about Lil T in a protective shield, keeping her close.
"If this is some kind of Halloween joke, it sure the Hell ain't funny. I don't give a rat's ass who's pullin' it. Just know it needs to stop, now."
Glitch was currently occupied with repeating the words 'please be all right'. Not out loud, but in his mind's eye with eyes closed. "We've gotta get out there 'n start lookin' for 'em," Emi put in, sitting by Mo's crew mate. Emilia had been the mother Glitch had never known, and was visibly uncomfortable with the stress he was drowning under. Her voice, as always, was firm and passionate-but on that particular night, it had an extra dose of lightning.
"I mean, this is kinda funny, right? Both of our guys are outta the picture? On the same night, at the same time? Somethin's up."
"I'm with Emi," Angel's crew mate said, hands clasping her heart. "My foul play senses are tingling like nobody's business. We've gotta get out there!"
Just when the united team saw fit to concoct a new action plan, a phone began to ring. The particular phone belonged to Glitch, and-
The ringtone belonged to Mo.
Unfrozen, Hi-Def's young mate answered it in a heartbeat. His heart was in his ears as he spoke, beating like a madman trying to escape his demons.
"Mo! Momo! You okay? It's almost midnight and-"
Emi gripped the young dancer's arm. All eyes turned to Glitch, waiting on the future with bated breath. The face of Mo's partner had gone whiter than a sheet, listening not to Mo's voice, but to complete and utter silence. Then-
Laughter struck his ears.
It was distant at first, but quickly grew in intensity. Gently, a stern faced Bodie deprived Glitch of his phone and set it to speakerphone. Bodies were chilled by the sound of icy laughter, which was cold enough to freeze the sun in a heartbeat. "Who is this?" Hi-Def's young mate demanded.
"What in the hell are you doing on Mo's phone?"
"Sweetie, I'm sorry. I'm borrowing your caramel god's phone for a moment."
"Give it BACK! Put Mo on the phone, right NOW!"
"Sorry, darling, but...I'm afraid your Mo's...shall I say...unavailable at the moment. Things got a little out of hand, and...well...he had to be dealt with."
Bodie's face went whiter than a sheet. "I know that voice! Jaryn! What do you think you're doing? Is this some kind of game? Where is Mo?"
"With ME, lovely. He's...asleep...right now, but our little Halloween party will continue soon. Oh, and I think I should tell you that your boyfriend's here too! Oblio, isn't it? He sure is a cute little thing!"
"You...you cold-hearted BITCH!"
Nice one, Glitch, the entire room thought, but Emi conveyed it by patting her friend on the back with a weak smile. "Whatever you're doing isn't funny," the youngest crew mate snarled, hands balled into trembling fists.
"Where are you?"
"You'll find that out in a minute, sweet pea. But if you really wanna drop a line to Mo, well...here he is."
Everyone's hearts flew into their throats. Glitch picked up his phone, sent it into a death grip, and-
Coughs met his ears.
"...Glitch...'m s-s-sorry...sorry, man..."
"There. NOW do you see? We're having Halloween fun!"
"Listen," Emi's crew mate roared, snatching Glitch's phone from his hand. The young mate would've continued with his show of bravado, if he hadn't gone stone cold paralyzed from fear.
"You tell us where you've taken our friends, right here and now!"
"That's simple, my darling. Be outside in thirty minutes. Take a ride. Refuse it, and you'll lose both of your precious lovelies. Now I've got to go. Mo's awake, and it's time to play even more games."
"Thirty minutes," Aubrey said breathlessly, as Bodie was forced to hang up the phone. Damn Jaryn and the END button. "That's 11:30! Those freaks want to draw this out 'til midnight, I know it!"
"They won't draw out anything," the blonde, blue-eyed stud growled, balling his hands. Seeing such a sweet, cheerful guy in such an intense state was disorienting, but invigorating all at once. Well, Mo was like a brother to him, and-
He was in love.
"We're gonna put a stop to this, whatever this is! There's no way in Hell they're getting away with this!"
Thirty minutes. Thirty long, agonizing minutes.
Bodie clamped his hands onto Glitch's shoulders. He peered right into his eyes, telling him everything would be all right. He'd take everything upon himself if he had to, no matter what. He would save both Oblio and Mo. But-
Glitch gazed right into Bodie's eyes, telling him he would save Mo-at any cost. Even at the cost of his own life. Seeing the silent exchange of vows, Angel found himself grinning.
"This should be interesting."