Author's note: I do not own Bleach or its characters. This is AU and in honor of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Do You Want to Dance

Nanao was rather torn between elation and melancholy. The reason for this was clear. At least to her. On the one hand, she had just won Nationals in ice dance and been selected for the Olympic team. And Nanao didn't think she would be able to forget the way Shunsui had kissed her and then spun her in circles when they made the Olympic team. On the other hand, she had also heard what the commentators had to say about her win. They were calling it "a fluke" and "highly surprising" and were completely certain that Nanao and Shunsui were destined for Olympic failure.

She wasn't entirely sure what to believe. Nanao knew that the commentators were supposed to be experts, but they didn't know her or Shunsui. And it could just be because they had been blindsided by the couple's performance. Nanao and Shunsui really hadn't attracted that much media attention before now. Still, Nanao couldn't completely dismiss the comments. She and Shunsui were relatively new partners, and they would be going up against the best in the world. Whatever happened, it would be an extraordinary experience, and Nanao was trying not to let the commentators' dire predictions bring her down. She wasn't entirely successful about that, but she was trying.

At least she had one major distraction: trying to sort out her reaction to Shunsui kissing her. It had been a very brief kiss, but it still had Nanao reeling to some extent. What Nanao didn't know was if it meant something. It could have just been a spontaneous gesture of excitement and happiness; they had just made the Olympic team after all. Yes, Shunsui flirted with her and gave her pet names, but he flirted with most women. It didn't typically mean anything. What had surprised Nanao was the fact that she rather wanted it to. She would admit it, at least to herself, that she was very attracted to Shunsui Kyoraku. The idea that he might be interested in her too both thrilled her and scared her.

"You're fretting again, precious," Shunsui's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Let me guess. You watched the coverage of Nationals."

The two of them were waiting for the zamboni to finish resurfacing the ice before their practice session started. Jyuushiro was busy chatting with Retsu. Shunsui reached over and took her hand, squeezing it gently.

"Ignore it. They always hate it when they get blindsided by the unpredictable. It's not our fault that they failed to take a good look at our previous history. Our scores over the season pretty much matched the other top couple's. They've just been around longer than we have. Now, come dance with me."

Then he grinned at her and pulled her to her feet. The zamboni had finished its work. Shunsui fiddled with the stereo before stepping onto the ice. As Nanao joined him, the opening strains of Dancing Queen began to play. Nanao couldn't help laughing and letting the music and her partner sweep her away, leaving her worries behind for now.