"Arabesque, and...yes! Beautiful!" The music swelled and ebbed like ocean waves as the danseur noble and prima ballerina waltzed across the wide expanse of the stage. "Piqué, piqué, chaîné..." the choreographer trailed off, his words unnecessary for the two whose bodies were already so familiar with the movements (each other) from the weeks of late night practices (rendezvous). With the beginning of a softly melodic piece, the two slowed together smoothly into the final section, a lyrical bit relying on expression and the ability of the danseur to show off the elegance and beauty of his danseuse. He gently supported her, his hands only barely brushing against her sides as necessary to hold her in place as she tilted into an impossibly long penché that seemed to extend to the ceiling. He straightened her back up, slowly turning her en pointe to face him, her arms softly curved over her head. Her hands drifted down to settle on his shoulders as they held each other's gaze. Then, silence as the music came to a conclusion.
"Bravi! Bravi! That was wonderful!" The choreographer launched into applause. "The emotion was extraordinary! I'd say this was your best one yet, despite a brief absence." He gave Touya a meaningful look, and the two relaxed from their ending pose, each sending the beaming man a smile. "So strong, Touya! And such an exquisite little flower you are, Touko."
"Thank you, Wallace," the young man returned politely as his partner gave a small curtsy in obeisance. "I still could use some work on that tour jeté combination, however."
"So modest," Wallace gushed. "Stay and practice some more if you like, but don't overtire yourself or my prima." He pressed his lips chastely to Touko's outstretched hand before checking the watch on his wrist. "I'll be taking my leave now. Farewell!" The dancers waved a goodbye to him until he was out of sight and they could hear the backstage door shut with the familiar bang.
Hardly a moment had passed in the ensuing silence when Touko felt herself get swept away by strong, familiar arms. They twirled, faster and faster while she let out a tinkling laugh, their eyes locked on each other's, across the grand wooden floor until a collision with the curtain seemed inevitable. At the last moment, Touya swung his partner into a dip so low, her bun nearly touched the ground. He lowered his face to touch his lips to the hollow of her collarbone, tracing up her chin until he could meet her eyes once again. His heart must have been hammering against his ribcage loud enough for Touko to hear, his breath quickened like her own.
"Good evening, princess."
"You felt tense today," Touya said offhandedly as he supported Touko in another pirouette turn.
"Wallace didn't seem to think so," she replied, extending a leg out of the turn to step out into a graceful lunge. She pulled her feet together to come en pointe with his arms resting on her waist. As she drifted a hand down the side of her partner's face, he grabbed it and held it to keep her from pulling away.
"I think," he breathed between kisses pressed to the tips of her fingers, "that you...have been...feeling lonely...without me for the past few days." He smiled at her averted gaze. They returned to the duet for their eyes only, and Touko suddenly felt as though every move, every sensation was amplified - his fingertips brushing lightly against her torso sent chills up her spine, his cool breath raised goosebumps on her neck, his brown eyes issued an unspoken challenge. The week-long withdrawal from him seemed to have that effect; she wondered if she had slowly become accustomed, desensitised to him over the course of months of trysts. There was a difference between familiar and mundane, after all. Perhaps his absence had been a blessing rather than the curse she's originally claimed it to be.
It was like a rebirth.
To shed the layers and old skin of before, to expose the new, to continue to grow. He lifted her in a sort of sit on his shoulder, one of his hands firmly holding her by the thigh draped over his chest, the other supporting her by the curve of her back. Was it only her, or did his hand seem closer than she remembered? Yes, certainly he wasn't supposed to...!
Touko's fall in her surprise was stopped by the same digits that had caused it with their intimate proximity in the first place, gently placing her down on solid ground. His fingertips skated up from her waist to rest at her cheeks, and Touya tilted his head in to kiss her on the lips for the first time that evening, a sweet, chaste, young kiss.
"What are you thinking so hard about?" he asked, letting his thumbs slide over the rise of her cheekbones.
"You," she admitted, half-truthfully. Us was more accurate. Touya chuckled, pulling her in for a simple twirling waltz.
"Only good things, I hope?" Touko's mind was wandering again, however, leaving his question hanging in the air between them. Was he this handsome before leaving? When did his eyes become so warm and chocolatey? Had she forgotten already? There was one thing she knew for certain.
She needed a drink.
"My replacement, what was his name?" Touya wondered aloud after taking a sip from his glass. "Liam? Luke?" He laid comfortably on his bed, Touko's head resting on his solid chest as she traced morose circles on her bare abdomen. The two had exchanged their practice attire for something more comfortable, namely, their undergarments, upon entering Touya's flat.
"Lucas," she answered glibly. "He doesn't like Luke."
"What else does he not like?"
"Lazy people. Entrance exams. Those biotin supplements, he thinks they taste like dog food. And being seen as a replacement," she added after a moment's pause.
"You seem to know a lot about this Lucas guy."
"You can learn a lot when people get drunk with you." Touya didn't know how to react. Drunk, she hadn't said anything about a relationship... Why was he even fretting over this anyway? He'd been gone (left her) for a week; their own relationship was hardly anything official; the replacement was gone. His fingers absentmindedly ran through her thick, brown hair, tangling in an occasional knot. She needed to pick it up so often into a bun; he hadn't even realised it was getting so long.
"You're so quiet," Touko noted, tilting her head up to look at his neutral expression. The sapphire blue of her eyes just made him want to melt.
That had been the first thing he'd noticed about her.
The day he'd met his partner under the watchful eyes of Wallace, he didn't believe in love at first sight. It was childish and unrealistic. As he pressed his lips to her knuckles in the gesture he'd picked up from his dance master, he met her gaze and his heart stopped with an audible thump. He hid the attraction well, though he sometimes wondered if she only pretended to ignore the flush, the heat, of his skin when he would look at her in his arms during rehearsals. They reached another milestone when he'd offered to take her out for a friendly drink after a successful final performance of the season. He learned to love her, actually love her, when her speech became frank from the alcohol and she answered questions he'd never even posed. That had been the first night they'd slept together.
Now, as he looked at her, cradled in his arms, he wondered if she loved him as well, despite his faults.
A/N: Absence makes the heart grow fonder, I suppose. Also debated whether to name this one "Pas de Deux" or "Renaissance", the latter meaning literally "rebirth" if you didn't realise it (it took me a while). So I was in ballet class, and I'm just like, Wouldn't it be swell to write something dancy? First I was thinking ferriswheelshipping, but then I'm like, Nah, this is my OTP for Touko.
OH MY GOSH So many words in italics. Sorry, people reading this on a 3DS. I know your plight only too well.
This could not have been completed without unending support from Spotify and the classical ballet music available on it.
