A/N: Response to the tumblr prompt, "We were dancing but all of the sudden it's a slow song and we're standing here awkwardly staring at each other."

Took me a while with this one, but I finally came up with something! I wish I could've thought of a better title, but honestl all I could think of was that song from the bloody "The King and I" musical. XD Enjoy!

Shall We Dance?

For the first time in months, Alma wasn't dreading his mission.

This wasn't because Alma always dreaded his assignments – he actually didn't mind certain things about them. The traveling was something Alma found he was able to look forward to as a sort of positive. Getting to see different places he hadn't even been able to imagine as a child…places Alma couldn't have imagined when he was back in that horrible, dark, skyless place the Order called a lab. Even if Alma wasn't really free to do as he wanted, at least he could lie to himself for a few moments, and pretend he was moving of his own free will. That was a nice illusion.

It didn't entirely make up for the cons, though. The assignments could be grueling, and encountering akuma was never a pleasant experience. Even with his regeneration seal to assist his stamina, Alma was often left feeling weak and tired. He suspected this came from something more psychological rather than physical, as Alma's mind would frequently be plagued by memories from the lab, where he was angry and without control (and covered in blood – God, how could Alma forget that?).

Then, there was the separation. The separation from Kanda.

For Alma, that was the most difficult part of any assignment: being away from Kanda. Alma didn't like being out of contact with the one person who truly understood him, and the one person who actually mattered. And Alma certainly didn't like it when he was on an assignment, and Kanda was left at Headquarters; Alma didn't trust the Order. He hadn't trusted them ever since they tried to put Kanda back to sleep all those years ago.

So, when Komui told Alma and Kanda that they would be taking this assignment together, Alma felt relief. Alma didn't have to leave Kanda by himself.

As childish as it was, Alma had found it difficult to contain his joy at not having to be separated from Kanda. He had thankfully managed to remain composed throughout the briefing Komui gave them, in which he explained that the two exorcists would need to attend a formal gala in Vienna, where the family hosting the event may have been involved in some kind of activity regarding innocence. Alma and Kanda made note of all of this information, before being told they would be leaving first thing the next morning. Alma and Kanda were then dismissed.

Once they were out of the head chief's office, a smile broke onto Alma's face. He turned to Kanda. "Are you excited, Yuu?" He asked lightly. "We haven't been on an assignment together in forever!"

Kanda didn't even spare Alma a glance as he kept walking. "I don't know what you're so happy about," He responded flatly. "It's just another mission. It's nothing to get wound up about."

Alma's smile didn't waver, and if anything he had to bite back a laugh. "You're such a downer sometimes. I'm only trying to be positive," He pointed out. "Besides, I know you're happy too."

"Tch. Sure you do," Kanda murmured.

"Uh huh. Anyways, now I get see you dressed up," Alma added. His tone was somewhat playful, and he leaned over to nudge his nose against the side of Kanda's face.

"Stop that, you idiot – we're in the hallway still," Kanda hissed, as he (gently) pushed Alma back a little.

Alma faux pouted. "Fine," He sighed, before he perked up again. His blue eyes appeared a shade brighter than normal. "You'll save me one dance, right?"

Kanda seemed to tense a little, but quickly recovered. "Just focus on the mission," He replied, his words terse as he briskly walked on.

Alma paused, blinking. He was somewhat surprised by Kanda's abrupt change of subject, as well as by how quickly Kanda seemed to be brushing him off. Yeah, Kanda brushed people off, but he normally didn't brush Alma off. Not unless…

A small theory popping into Alma's head, he quickly caught up to Kanda so that he was again walking beside him. Inquisitively, Alma eyed Kanda. "You….do know how to dance, right?"

Kanda ignored Alma.

Alma's eyes widened slightly. "Wait, can you really not dance?"

Abruptly, Kanda stopped and turned to Alma sharply. "Does it matter?" He snapped. "We're going there for a mission. Not for a party."

The harshness of Kanda's words took Alma aback slightly, but it didn't faze him for long. "Seesh, calm down," Alma urged, his voice closer to a murmur. He normally was used to Kanda's abrasive behavior with others, but had forgotten what it felt like to have the agitation directed at him. Kanda had somewhat softened toward Alma in the past few years, and admittedly, Alma had gotten spoiled from it.

Fortunately, Alma was able to recover somewhat quickly. He had to remind himself of it, but deep down he knew what Kanda was like, and that Kanda only got this way when he was frustrated about something (especially something that perhaps Kanda couldn't help). So, another idea forming in Alma's mind, he took Kanda's hand.

Kanda stiffened a little, thrown off by the physical contact. "Alma, why are you-"

"Yuu, come back to my room with me?" Alma suddenly pleaded.

Kanda was completely thrown off by this. He stared at Alma with a slightly dumbfounded expression.

Alma made a sad face. "Pleeeeaaaase?"

That snapped Kanda out of it. Gathering himself, Kanda scowled, pulling his hand away from Alma's. "Fine – just…just don't do that. We're in public."

Alma grinned triumphantly.

Within a few minutes, both exorcists had returned to where Alma's room was. Unlike Kanda, who kept his room without pretty much anything that could be considered personal, Alma's room was a little more cluttered with objects and books that he found of interest. Kanda seemed to think a lot of it was pointless, but he never bothered to say as much to Alma anymore.

Once they were inside, Alma went over to his closet. After taking a few moments, he pulled out a weird looking box with a metallic, cone-like piece coming out of it.

Kanda looked at the object with a disapproving look. "What's that?"

Alma sat the strange object down. "A record player," He answered with an enthusiastic smile. "Komui said I could keep this one. They're supposed to play music on these large discs called records, so you can listen to music whenever you want!"

A wary look appeared on Kanda's face. "Okay..." He murmured, before eying Alma questioningly. "Why do you need that?"

"So I can teach you to dance," Alma said simply. "It'll be hard to do that if there's nothing to listen to – wait, Yuu!"

Alma quickly grabbed Kanda before the other exorcist could swiftly walk out the door. Alma held onto him. "Yuu, it's not going to kill you."

Kanda exhaled in exasperation. "Alma…" He muttered, before shooting a frustrated look in Alma's direction.

Alma looked flatly at Kanda. "I bet Allen knows how to dance."

Kanda's posture immediately went rigid.

Glaring at Alma, Kanda decidedly ceased trying to leave the room. "Fine. You can teach me for a few minutes, but then I'm leaving."

Alma was satisfied by this, and smiled in his small victory.

Before Kanda could change his mind, Alma went to turn on the record player. He had used it only a few times before, considering he'd only recently acquired it from Komui, but Alma was able to get it turned on fairly quickly. Soon, a somewhat fast-paced melody was playing.

Alma turned back to Kanda. "Okay, so this is a quicker dance. But it's really easy – Lenalee taught it to me," He explained, before he started to show a few steps to Kanda. "You just move your left foot this way, and your right foot that way! Then every five beats your turn to the side – but it gets easier once you get into the rhythm of it."

Arms crossed, Alma watched Kanda. He made no effort to move though and instead opted for observing.

Alma noticed this, and paused his dancing. "You know, it would probably be helpful if you actually tried the steps."

"I'm watching. That should be enough," Kanda clipped back.

Alma sighed. "Whatever you say," He spoke, feeling a small twinge of disappointment.

Before Alma could resume his dancing, the music slowed to a stop before it shifted to a different melody. Alma instantly hesitated, suddenly appearing unsure.

Taking note of this, Kanda looked at Alma with a raised brow. "What is it?"

Alma glanced at Kanda, then looked away. "Oh. You need a partner for this one…"

Kanda blinked, averting his gaze somewhat sideways. "Oh."

Eyes flickering back to Kanda, Alma looked at him questioningly. "So...I need you to be my partner. If you want me to show you how to do this one."

Kanda didn't respond right away. Alma thought he caught a hint of color on Kanda's cheeks, but with how the lighting was in his room he couldn't tell for certain. "Um. Sure," Kanda finally spoke, though his answer came stiffly.

Nodding, Alma again hesitated before taking Kanda's hand. He felt a little shaky as he did this, though he wasn't sure why – Alma wasn't sure what it was about this motion that made him feel so oddly nervous. He tried not to think about it too much though, and focused on what he was supposed to do in this dance. "So…I'll take your hand like this, and then put my other hand on your waist. So your other hand will go on my shoulder."

Kanda scowled slightly. "Isn't that what the girl is supposed to do?"

Alma shrugged. "Well, yeah – but the guy is supposed to lead, and you can't lead if you don't know how to dance," Alma pointed out, before a small smile played on his lips. "Besides, you have longer hair. Being the girl suits you."

Kanda shot a slightly incensed look in Alma's direction, but didn't comment further. "Tch. Whatever. You're girlier than I am."

Alma rolled his eyes, ignoring the childish comeback. He took a small breath before he glanced down, and started to move to the tempo of the music.

At first, it was rather awkward; Kanda didn't really know how to let Alma lead. He almost stepped on Alma's foot a few times, and actually managed to look rather abashed when doing so. Alma only laughed quietly. "Try not to move so fast – it's a slow song, and you're supposed to trust your dance partner."

As Alma said this, he kept his eyes downcast. His cheeks felt a little warm, and it was strangely challenging to look Kanda in the eye.

Soon, they were both moving more in sync with each other. It was far from perfect, but the movements were a little smoother and less rocky. Alma was surprised with how well Kanda was starting to do, and Alma's heart seemed to lighten when he realized that they were both slow dancing in his bedroom.

The music slowed a little more, and Alma realized it was ending. He felt somewhat disappointed by this, but slowed to a stop anyhow. He still wasn't looking at Kanda directly though.

Kanda let go of Alma's shoulder when they stopped. Gently, he placed his free hand beneath Alma's chin. "Hey," He spoke, before gingerly shifting Alma's face so that their eyes met. "You said dance partners were supposed to trust each other. So you should be looking at me, right?"

Alma was briefly at a loss for words, his eyes fixated on Kanda's. They were dark, and inky in their coloring – like an endless void of indigo Alma could have easily gotten lost in.

Seeing Alma's dazed expression, Kanda smirked. He then pressed his nose against Alma's lightly. "Stop spacing out, idiot," He murmured, words soft.

Snapping out of his trance, Alma laughed gently. "Sorry," He apologized, blushing lightly. "You're a better dancer than I thought you'd be."

Kanda scoffed. He then brushed the side of his face against Alma's, before running his hand through Alma's unruly hair. "I had an annoyingly decent teacher."

Alma knew it was meant as a compliment. He laughed again. "It wasn't terrible, then?" He asked, before brushing his lips against the corner's of Kanda's mouth.

Kanda's lips quirked upward, and a glimmer of warmth broke into his gaze. He didn't answer Alma right away though, and instead pulled the other exorcist close as he pressed his lips directly onto Alma's. He let them rest there for a second, before pulling away. "No. It wasn't."

Smiling, Alma said nothing. He simply allowed himself to remain there in Kanda's arms, silent as the music finally came to a stop.