Shall We Dance?

"What's that?" Edward demanded.

"It's a tie; put it on," Christin replied briskly.

"What for?" he asked.

"We're going out," Alphonse grinned, fixing the collar of his jacket. "You gotta dress nice for where we're going."

"If I'm going to be seen in public with you, you can't look like a slob," she added, shoving the tie into his hand.

"Did you get a reservation at a restaurant or something?" the blond inquired as he fumbled with the strip of fabric.

"Or something," she snickered. "I'm gonna go change real quick. I just finished fixing my dress," she chattered before skipping down the hall and into her room.

"Allow me," Noa said, gently pushing his hands aside. In a few seconds the tie was fitted snugly around his neck. He felt like he was wearing a dog's choke-chain and loosened it a bit.

"I'm afraid to ask where we're going if we have to dress nicely," he muttered to his brother, who was raking his fingers through his hair to comb it. "Especially if she is getting us in. Tell me honestly, did she seduce someone to get in wherever we're going?"

"Not that I know of. She went out to the library for a while and came back happier than a schoolgirl who had been humored by her crush," Alphonse replied. "She's been running around like a miniature whirlwind all afternoon. There have been scraps of fabric flying from her room for the past hour, literally."

"I don't like the sound of this. I admit I like her more than I used to, but she doesn't exactly fit in with this kind of culture. I'm still embarrassed to show my face in some places," Edward grumbled.

"I know what you mean," the younger brother nodded, fixing his collar again.

"Brace yourselves," Noa warned, pressing their overcoats into their arms. "I can't believe she's going out in public like that. And she wants us to look nice..." she muttered.

"Are we all ready?" Christin asked sweetly, buttoning up the top two buttons on her dress. The boys shared a confused look. What had Noa been talking about? They had a feeling they'd find out sooner or later.

"It's pretty nice out here tonight," Noa commented as they walked down the street. A warm spring breeze drifted between the buildings lining the streets, tugging playfully at their clothes and hair. The light slowly faded as they walked deeper into the city.

"Where are you taking us?" Edward asked, doing his best not to growl.

"Londinium," she replied.

"You're taking us to England at this time of night?" he ground his teeth.

"Don't be stupid," she replied curtly, pointing at a red neon sign flashing 'Londinium' down the street a ways.

Alphonse thought he heard music as they approached the doors. A group of boys close to himself and Edward in age hovered by the doors like they were waiting for someone. Their faces lit up as the two groups met.

"You came. I didn't think you would," one with wavy black hair said, flashing a charming smile at Christin.

"Well, I wasn't going to be rude and decline your invitation," she tittered. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought some friends along. That's Edward, Alphonse and Noa." She pointed to each person as their name was said and Alphonse felt himself blush. He snuck a glance at Edward; he seemed ready to bite someone's head off. He stifled a snicker at his older brother's discomfort.

"Well, the more the merrier, right?" he replied, sneaking a sneer at Noa. She stiffened in response. "The party's inside." He offered his arm and Christin took it.

"So let's go instead of standing around doing nothing outside," she smiled.

"Who are those guys?" Edward hissed, grabbing her shoulder as they entered the building, the sound of the music getting louder.

"They're just some friends I made at the library today, sheesh!" she hissed back. "Oh, and try to act like you're having some fun."

Alphonse had to blink a few times when they were inside. It was so bright compared to the dimly lit streets, and it was so loud. It felt like a trumpet was blaring right in his ear. And no wonder, there were five of them in the band at the far end of the room. The tables surrounding the dance floor were jam packed with people, while the floor itself was its own ocean of bodies. He felt a smile break out on his face. It was a swing club. All the adults he talked to said it was just a place for people to gather and listen to good German music. Nothing had been said about the vibrant atmosphere and sheer liveliness of the joint. Then again, these sorts of places weren't really supposed to be around right now. Just the other day he had read an article about a club that had been busted and how over fifty people had been arrested. He was soon nodding his head in time to the beat.

"Oh, fellas, I'm Dietrich. Thanks for coming down," the boy with wavy black hair grinned as he shrugged out of his overcoat. Edward grunted in reply, but the sound was lost amidst the loudness of the music.

"Hey out there, welcome to Londinium! We're playing nothing but the latest and greatest direct from America, so don't be afraid to get your groove on and show us all what you got!" someone barked into a microphone.

"Shall we?" Dietrich asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Hell yeah," Christin grinned, setting her overcoat on the table they had snagged. Edward slumped gloomily into a chair, already brooding.

"Quiet, quiet!" the man at the microphone barked.

The band stopped playing and everyone let out sounds of disappointment. People and musicians rearranged themselves until they were prancing around the room to a German tune. A small unit of uniformed men strode into the room. Alphonse stiffened where he stood. The HJ weren't the nicest people in town and the rumors he heard at work only fueled their bad reputation. And it wasn't just him; Edward and even Christin felt pointedly uneasy around them. Noa preferred to avoid them as often as possible.

"She's not half bad," Edward mumbled. Alphonse looked towards the dance floor, where Christin and Dietrich were skipping around in circles like everyone else. "For only being here a few months, she picked up on those German dances pretty quickly." He blushed when she caught his eye and waved.

The officers, after confirming there was nothing bad going on here, marched out like the toy soldiers they were. People jeered and taunted them when they were gone. "Alright hep cats, we're cool. Hit it!"

The band changed tunes sharply with a loud trumpet blast. People cheered as they resumed their mad swing dancing. Before he knew it, Alphonse had been dragged out onto the floor with some dainty little blond and was swinging her around wildly as he grinned like an idiot. The upbeat vibe of the music was infecting him, putting him in a good mood.

Someone came by, motioning for him and the blond to make room. A couple took the spot in the center of the cleared area and danced their very best. Alphonse clapped in time to the beat as another couple took their place, occasionally banging his head and making his hair fly into his face.

"Hi, Al!" Christin chirped as she and Dietrich took the other couple's place. He waved and smiled wider, watching as they danced. He had never seen her look so happy: her eyes sparkled and her cheeks were flushed from the vigorous dancing. He envied Dietrich a bit. He wanted to dance with her too. He wanted to hold her close and toss her into the air so often she looked like she was flying, like Dietrich was doing. He saw flashes of dark red briefly when she was airborne. Did she have something else on under her dress?

"Believe it or not, I'm having fun," Edward shouted over the music. Alphonse grinned at his brother. Someone shoved them forward and into the middle of the circle. They shrugged and started dancing together, swinging their arms and kicking their feet wildly.

"Shall we dance?" Christin called, joining him in the circle as a brunette with ringlet curls joined Edward. He shrugged and took her hand, spinning her in a tight circle. When he stopped to pay attention briefly, he noticed she was undoing a few buttons on her dress. He couldn't blame her, though. He was getting pretty toasty himself, and yet he couldn't seem to stop. He practically jumped out of his jacket and tossed it aside to get a bit of ventilation. He watched, slightly shocked, as she took off her dress, revealing another one underneath. He glanced up sharply as the other guys made wolf calls.

"What the heck are you wearing?" he asked when they got closer.

"A dress, what does it look like?" she replied a bit breathily.

"Are you sure it's not a shirt?" he asked, glancing down a bit awkwardly at her skirt. "I've seen underwear longer than that!"

"I'll have you know, in America this is pretty common," she chattered, adding a lopsided grin. "Besides, I've been trapped inside those long dresses for too long. My legs need to breathe a bit."

"They go down to your knees," he hissed, lifting her into the air. "That isn't very long."

"Look, mister, you try on a miniskirt then put on something longer and tell me which you prefer," she snapped back coyly. "Miniskirts allow more movement than knee-length or longer. And although you can move perfectly well in those, the fabric bunches up strangely when airborne."

He sniffed. It sounds like she had done her research. The band stopped playing and people applauded. He set her down on the ground.

"Why did you bring us here?" he asked, glad to use a somewhat normal tone of voice to talk.

"I just wanted to go out and have a good time. I didn't think I'd get in that much trouble," she shrugged. "Besides, being a Swing Kid is fun. Now I'm like the kids in the movie." The band started again, playing another snappy tune.

"Movie?" he repeated as they wove their way back to the table.

"Where I'm from there's a movie about this sort of thing. Since I wound up here in this time I thought I'd try it and see what happened," she shrugged, sitting heavily in a chair. "Are you not having fun?"

"So much fun I could die," he admitted with a laugh.

"Even Ed's enjoying himself," she nodded towards the dance floor, where his older brother was twirling the brunette girl like a corkscrew. He caught their eye and flashed a smile.

"You're a pretty good dancer, even if you do dress weirdly," he complemented.

"Why thank you," she replied. "I knew this was a good idea. Let's go," she smirked, grabbing his wrist and dragging him out to the floor again. They flew across the floor like it was freshly polished, kicking their feet in time to the beat and tossing their heads. Another circle had been made at some point and they and Noa and Edward were in the center, spurred on by the claps and cheers from the crowd.

"Alright, that's enough!" someone barked. The band squealed into silence. A row of officers lined the entrance while more wiggled their way into the mobs, occasionally striking people as they mulled about like frightened animals. "Clear out immediately! Give your names at the door!"

"Shit!" Christin swore, stomping her foot in anger and disappointment. "There goes the evening."

"Come on, this way," Dietrich hissed, grabbing her arm. "We can escape out the back."

"Let's go," someone commanded, pushing Edward harshly from behind.

"Officer Hughes," the blond huffed.

"This is a one and only deal, got that? If I catch you again, I'm reporting you," the officer hissed. "Now get out of here."

"Thanks Hughes," Edward grinned.

"Was that just like the movie?" Alphonse asked wryly when the escapees stopped to catch their breath.

"Yep," Christin panted, pressing a hand to her throat. "Fun, huh?"

He just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Despite her strangeness, he was coming to like her very, very much.

A/N 11-14-10: I was watching the movie Swing Kids to get ideas for the DXM manga and this just sorta got spawned. I figured 'What the hell? It'll help demonstrate her (Christin's) mad dancing skills and how she's maintaining her modern style and outlook.' And I could see Ed totally head banging to that music while Al swung some poor girl around until she was dizzy.

I'm not sure what will come next, because these are random in-betweens that happen between the chapters of the story (bonus stories in the manga). Lined up, I've got an ice-skating one... an apple pie one...one where Christin gets homesick... a wedding... Ed being somewhat emo... I'll try to put them in the order they'd appear going chronologically, from the start of DXM to the end of the saga. This'll have bonus stories from all three books.

Please review and look forward to the next one! Sorry it took a while to post, but I totally forgot about this one for a while!

.:~*alchemicmonkey*~:.