A/N: Hello my lovely readers. First I must apologize for the late upload, this week has been fairly rough for me personally, and this chapter was a serious struggle for me to write. I couldn't even hit a thousand words for most of the week. The majority of this chapter was finished last night and this evening.

That being said I must inform you guys that I probably won't be able to upload on Tuesday next week because I have family coming into town and won't have much time to write. Again I apologize for this, but it will be the first time in over five months that I didn't hit my deadline so I hope you can understand.

Next, the first and largest chunk of this chapter is the Battle of Brooklyn. It's a dance battle scene and I don't know if everyone will enjoy it, but I had to devote at least a decent amount of time on it since this fic is based on dance movies. However I hope you do enjoy what I've shared even if it is boring to you.

Lastly, yes there is slightly more sexual content in this chapter without being overly graphic. I don't think it's easy to do that with this adorable couple.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Step Up characters or the Step Up movie franchise.

Chapter 26: Battles Won, Battles Lost.

Moose PoV

I hated seeing her cry, it nearly broke my heart to find her the way I did. I was just happy that I was the lucky guy who could make her smile again, and ease her fears. Camille's smile meant the world to me, and I was going to do anything to keep her smiling.

Although I hadn't planned on telling her about our trip just yet, it seemed like the perfect thing to get her mind off the stresses and anxiety she was having lately. And I was right, she had been so excited about my surprise that all the tension left her body until she realized we were going to be alone together for a whole week. ALONE alone, for the first time as a couple.

I could tell the implications had run wild in her mind as I watched her. She knew what this could possibly mean and I knew it freaked her out a little no matter how much she had told me in the past she was ready for this. Once I reassured her that I would follow her pace, she made sure I knew that this was something she wanted too.

Curled up with my sexy, sweet, and happy girl it was easy to find sleep and have good dreams that night. Even if I was nervous about tomorrow's battle, just knowing I had succeeded in making her feel better made my own worries fade.

"One down, two to go guys!", Luke shouted to us from the sidelines where he and Natalie were sitting to support us.

We all put our attention back towards the fourth battle which was about to begin. We were taking the opportunity to watch each crew closely, discover their strengths and weaknesses. Now that we won our first, and were in for the next round we may just be facing one of these crews next. During the two battles before us, we watched Bed-Stuy beat Crown Heights, and Red Hook murder Coney Island.

The Mercenaries from Cypress Hills stepped onto the stage to massive applause, it seemed they brought their whole neighborhood with them. I could tell the Gravesend Gravediggers were extremely rattled by this.

"Watch out for them", Jason leaned into the huddle. "They've been gaining a huge reputation around Brooklyn for destroying any crew in their path. The two captains, there", he pointed to a man and a woman. "That's Jord and Freyja, they're a married couple who absolutely kill the floor together. He's a master krumper and he's most likely going to be gunning for me if we face them. Moose, Kido?", Jason called out to us.

"Yeah?", I looked him directly in the eye.

"Yes?", Kido huddled next to me.

"You watch out for Freyja, she's got great b-girl skills but what she is really known for is her crazy slick and original freestyle flow and locking style".

"Got it", we answered in unison.

True to Jason's warning we witnessed a massacre. The Mercenaries destroyed the Gravediggers so badly that their captain just stood in the middle of the floor, absolutely stunned by what just happened. Glancing over at Red Hook I saw they were also watching The Mercenaries, and that a few of them looked ruffled.

Grabbing Jacob's arm I pointed over to Red Hook so he could see what I had seen. He smiled at me and laughed.

"Seems someone didn't do their research well enough", he spoke to all the Pirates. "Looks like Red Hook just got a shock, they weren't prepared for this. We've just gained the advantage".

The smirks of triumph spread around our huddle. Every single Pirate could feel the wave of confidence this had given us all. We were prepared on every level possible, and if by some reason we didn't win at least we know we truly gave it everything.

The fifth battle was seriously impressive and rough. Flatbush and Brownsville were going toe to toe, head to head, and leaving their everything on the floor. The tension could be felt throughout the entire theater, this was going to be a really tough decision for the judges. We all waited patiently as we watched the judges deliberate, every crew, and every person in the crowd was completely silent. It took them a full five minutes to figure this out, but in the end Flatbush went on to the next round. In the sixth and final battle of the first round East New York eliminated The Associates from Flatlands Brooklyn.

The emcee stepped into the middle of the floor once again, his voice boomed over through the mic to announce the lineup for the second round.

"BROOKLYN!", he screamed to the crowds crazy cheers. "The best of Brooklyn have all thrown down once, and the finest have risen to the top. Although they all went hard only six crews have proven they have what it takes to move on to round two. Red Hook, The Bed-Stuy Butchers, Flatbush, The House of Pirates from Greenpoint, East New York, and The Cypress Hills Mercenaries. Make some noise!"

The crowd erupted in screams, they were stomping and the whole theater seemed to be shaking with excitement. Every member of each remaining crew began to size each other up. Who were we going to face next? The tension was so thick around the stage it could be cut with a knife. I saw Freyja eye me with a smug look on her face, I knew in that moment she had been warned of my freestyle skills, just as Jason had warned me of hers, and she saw me as a challenge. I sent a smile of confidence, and a nod back at her; I wasn't going to let her try and shake me.

The presence of unease crossed Camille's face which then morphed into a protective glare. She had seen the look Freyja had given me and she didn't like it at all. Leaning close so she could hear me over the loud crowd and music, I calmed her the best I could.

"You look really adorable when you want to protect me", I kissed her cheek.

It worked because the fire left her eyes immediately as she turned to look at me.

"Moose stop", she whined in the cutest way. "I'm trying to stay tough and pumped up for the battle".

Cam then tried to prove this by making a mean mug but that only made me find her even more adorable.

"Okay, baby", I kissed the tip of her nose and chuckled. "Keep working on the 'tough' part though", I teased.

She rolled her eyes at me in annoyance, and I bust out laughing. The girl couldn't look tough if her life depended on it. I've seen her look pissed off before but her face was just too sweet to pull off a tough look. Just then Kido grabbed my arm to get my attention.

"Mooskie, that girl look at me nasty, the one Jason tell us about".

"Me too, Kido. She's trying to psych us out, don't worry about it. Don't let it get to you, like my good friend told me once, 'We gonna kick they ass'".

She smiled her big adorable smile up at me. "Hey, I said that".

"Exactly", I hugged her. "We got this".

Camille giggled at us. "Don't worry Kido, you and Moose together that girl won't know what hit her".

Hugging my two girls close we turned our attention back to the battles. It seemed East New York had picked our crew out of the bag and they were our next challenge. We huddled together and Jason threw out their strengths and weaknesses. It was time to put everything on hold and focus again.

At the end of the second round the three crews standing to go on to the final round were us, The Mercenaries and Red Hook. Looking around at my fellow Pirates, I noticed none of us were surprised by this at all. This was going to be rough, we had known that from the beginning, and we had all our bases covered as well as they could be.

"BROOKLYYYYNNNN!", the emcee shouted once more to the loudest cheers yet. "This is the moment you've all been waiting for, the main event. Your final three crews have impressively battled their way through the most talented crews in all of Brooklyn. And now here they stand ready to face off in a fantastic three way dance battle. In the end there can only be one. That one will be your new KINGS….OF…..BROOKLYN!"

The crowd grew frantic and the energy could be felt throughout the entire theater. Every crew was feeding off the positive vibe, as we all stood there witnessing the insanity of the audience.

"Go House of Pirates!", Natalie yelled hyping us up even more.

"This is it, leave it all on the floor. Give it everything you have, no fear, no thought, all heart, all emotion, all love", Jacob hugged each one of us as he offered his words of encouragement.

All three crews were introduced one last time, and we all stepped out to form a large circle surrounding the stage. The DJ started the first track and Red Hook stepped up bringing their deft and almost feral moves onto the floor, the fans yelled their excitement as they watched things pop off. Immediately The Mercenaries fired back showing they may not have been known before this event but the would be known after, this swayed the the cheers in their direction.

We were watching every move intently just waiting for our opportunity to jump in when Jord switched his attention from Red Hook to come right after Jason, just as he predicted. Jord's jabs and stomps were served with such intent that there was no question he was calling Jason out. All the while Jay just stood there watching, his face impassive, not reacting to Jord's display at all, and we could tell it was starting to piss him off. That's exactly what Jay wanted, sensing he was about to flip the script the shouts of support started up.

"Kill it Jason!", Luke yelled.

"Get it Jay", Anala encouraged.

"You got it", Marcos added.

Just like that Jason went off. Jumping straight up and landing not even an inch from Jord he went straight into some buck arm swings and stomps showing Jord up in every way possible. The fans roared loudly, Jason took the beating and came back swinging, and the crowd was eating it up.

"Pi-rates, Pi-rates, Pi-rates!", the chants grew louder. It seemed our fanbase grew a lot larger since winning the World Jam.

Knowing they needed to stay in the game, Red Hook fired back again with synchronized stunts and raw footwork. The Mercenaries came prepared for this as well and they quickly took over again as they showed they too could kill the footwork. Not wanting to lose the momentum they just gained, Pandora from Red Hook popped out to throw one of her sick signature tutting sections, but we had a surprise for her and everyone there that day.

"Get her", I laughed as I leaned in to whisper to him.

Tevin's smile lit his whole face as he stepped right into her space mirroring every single hand move she made almost as fast as she made it. The stunned look she gave was almost laughable and the fans were freaking out. Tevin's evil grin spread further as he sped his movements up to the point where she couldn't keep up and then he went into his own section showing just how intricate and fast he could maneuver his hands and arms.

Everyone had been stunned, they didn't know anything about Tevin's tutting skills and his ability to pick up the patterns of movement in the blink of an eye. Even if they did their research on our crew this was a heavily guarded secret and there was no way they would have known. Red Hook pulled Pandora back and tried to come at Tevin as he stood alone but that's when our ladies stepped up. Anala, Kido, Stix, and my Camille flanked Tevin and went to work on that section that had Cam freaking out last night. Just as I suspected she had nothing to worry about her arms and hands were tight and sharp as a tack. I was so proud of her.

Red Hook having only one lady in their crew wasn't exactly prepared for the mass appeal of a group of sexy women adding a seductive flair to the floor. The looks on their faces told us that they felt nearly defeated at this point and it was time to gun for Cypress Hills. As if they could read my mind, The Mercenaries spread out surrounding us almost on cue, coming at us from all sides.

This was a very smart tactic. We knew no matter what we did most of the crowd wouldn't be able to see us, how could we win them if The Mercenaries were blocking us in?

"Stay focused", we heard Luke shout.

It was just what we needed. Almost as if being shot out of a cannon, Radius and Jacob flipped through the mass of Mercenaries creating a path for Marcos and Martin to go off; no one could move like these two. Two members from Cypress Hills tried to keep up with them to show just how fast and in-sync they could move but nothing beat the Santiagos, their twin bond and groove was just too strong. As their feet flew over the floor the cheers grew to a deafening roar.

The Mercenaries countered with their b-boys, Freyja at the center showing her b-girl skills, to the delight of the crowd. They were really good, but we were not going out like that. Legz grabbed Monster and flung him around his body, only to slam him down on the floor and he went straight into elbow hops. Mohawk and Spinz flanked Monster in matched flares. As they flipped out of their moves, Legz slid in front showing off his jackhammers.

Sensing she was going down Freyja narrowed her eyes straight at Kido and I. Her freestyle flow was not to be messed with, it was even, neat and fantastic. Freyja kept eye contact with us, almost daring us to step to her, as her feet shuffled, and her arms waved. I had to give it to her the lady had style and skill. As she began her locking section her gaze shifted solely to Kido calling her out, before she glanced right at me spinning on her heels before dropping down to her knee and popping back up like I often do.

Oh it was on she called us both out and it was time to finish this once and for all. I heard the crowd begin to chant for her until they saw my smirk. They knew I was going in and my name was being shouted all over the theater. The Pirates all started to yell support to me and Kido but only one voice mattered, hers.

"Moose, baby kill it", my Camille shouted in the fiercest way her sweet tone could muster. "You got her baby".

Kido flew past me putting her face right in Freyja's she gave her absolutely no personal space at all, her arms were fluid and light locking just perfectly to the beat. Faster and faster she sped, her body flowing and locking at all joints in time with the music. She was beasting and I was standing there grinning at the expression on Freyja's face. Never underestimate or piss off sweet little Kido, my sis could wreck you on the floor without a doubt.

Realizing Kido was not backing down, Freyja raised her brow to me, and that was when I stepped in. Sliding backwards on one foot into the fray, I spun to face her smiled and dropped down to spin on my knees bent myself backwards before tugging my shirt as if I were trying to raise my body that way. Using only the power of my own legs I pushed up from the floor to keep the illusion, and began my freestyle arm section flowing back and forth to the beat, locking my arms and hips into place before sliding right at her, on my knees, hand on my junk just like MJ.

The fans erupted in a chorus of "OOOOOHHHHHHHH!"

Before they could recover The Pirates slid over the floor in one of our fastest footwork sections. Everyone in step with the other as Legz stepped into the middle of the crew, grabbed me and flung my small frame around him until I landed on my feet and spun out onto my knees once more. The Mercenaries tried to counter but even their best efforts couldn't beat our display. There was no denying Cypress Hills came at us real hard, but today we were the better crew. We knew it, they knew it, the crowd knew it.

The emcee stepped onto the stage as the music stopped. "That's a wrap ladies and gentlemen. These three crews threw down strong, but only one crew was ruthless enough to be the best. Your new Kings of Brooklyn, are …..The World Jam Champion House Of PIRATES!"

His shout reverberated through the theater, combined with the cheers, and stomps from the crowd the volume of noise was ear-popping. Luke and Natalie rushed the stage in excitement. After we hugged, jumped and celebrated, my eyes searched for the one person I wanted to hold most. Finding my beautiful Camille laughing with the Santiago's, Legz, and Tevin I slid up behind her and waited patiently for her to figure out I was there.

"Hey, Cam", Legz teased. "Don't look now but there is a total creeper behind you".

"Yeah, he looks like un hombre sucio", Martin added with a smirk on his face.

"Definitely a pervert, he's staring at your culo", Marcos laughed.

"What?", her alarmed tone upsetting me as I watched her spine stiffen.

She began looking around, and I knew she was searching for me. I scowled at them in disapproval for making her worry.

"They were just teasing you, Cam".

At the sound of my voice she visibly relaxed and turned to give me her biggest smile before jumping into my arms excitedly. Catching her, I held her close.

"We did it Moose!", she squealed.

"I didn't doubt it. I didn't doubt you", I gave her a small kiss.

"And I didn't doubt you. I knew you would take that Mercenaries, woman", she growled.

She was too damned cute when she was trying to protect me. I kissed her again and squeezed her tight. These were the moments I always felt the most amazing satisfaction. I was doing what I loved to do, dancing. I was doing it and winning with people who were family to me now. And I was doing it with the girl I loved more than anything in this world. Holding her even tighter if that was possible I swung her around causing her to giggle and she buried her face into my neck. As I let her down the crew came in for a group hug and the chant began.

"WE BE THE PIRATES, WE BE THE PIRATES, WE BE THE PIRATES!"

The Pirates were on top of the world, and there was no bringing us down tonight. We'd definitely be partying late at the Vault, thank goodness Cam and I had finished whatever coursework we needed to before the battle. Sure enough it was about three in the morning when I finally found myself in B.'s old bed, that had now become ours, curled around the incredible sexy form of my girl.

The both of us were extremely exhausted but for some reason we didn't fall asleep right away. My left arm ran under her pillow, my right arm wrapped around her waist pulling her as close to me as possible. Camille's hands held onto mine as it rested against her middle she was playing with my fingers. Her back pressed into my chest my legs curved underneath hers; we lay silent and awake just listening to each other breathe.

Perhaps it was the euphoric feeling of winning the Battle of Brooklyn; perhaps it was due to our talk last night; or maybe it was the fact that this feeling had been looming between us for quite some time, but the strain of holding back was wearing on us both. We were losing the battle against control tonight, and I couldn't explain exactly why.

My face nestled into the back of her neck taking in the scent of her skin. My breath set her skin to goosebumps, her body shivered in my arms, and a low whimper escaped her lips.

"Camille", I groaned low into her skin before kissing her neck.

Gasping at the feel of my lips, her skin grew hot beneath my mouth. Slowly I let my lips drift down her neck further until I reached the spot halfway between her shoulder and ear and nipped at it gently.

"Moose", she whimpered so low only I could hear her.

Camille's back arched as my kisses to her neck grew more frequent and heated. Her round bottom pressed against my pelvis and I couldn't help it, I pushed myself up against her. She gasped again, and I knew she could feel how excited I was even through the fabric of my pajama pants and her leggings. Instead of pulling away she shifted, and wiggled her luscious booty against me, egging me on.

That little devil.

For some reason there was an unspoken understanding between us, that we were still going to wait for the real deal, but there was no stopping what we were doing right now. No discussion, no questions, no answers, just plain need and want. Camille took my hand and guided it over her leggings, down to where she wanted my hand. This was it, the last place I hadn't touched her yet.

Give me strength.

Taking a deep breath for bravery, I lightly pressed my fingers against the spot on her body that I knew would bring her pleasure. Oddly enough, in that moment I was really thankful to Sophie for teaching me about a woman's body when I was younger. As a result of the feel of my hands on her, Camille arched her back even more putting herself firmly against where I needed her most. She moaned so low and sexy, and I couldn't help but grind against her booty.

What? I'm a guy I really couldn't help it anymore.

I was always a gentleman with her but this time she put my hand where she wanted it, she knew what she wanted to feel. After last night when I told her to show me so I didn't make a move she wasn't ready for, I knew that was exactly what she was doing.

"Cam", I moaned at the feel of her moving against me.

"Yes", she mewled. "Yes, Moose".

Placing open mouth kisses down her neck, my fingers did their best to please her stroking gently. We were a writhing mess under the covers. Not wanting to draw attention to what we were doing we tried to remain as quiet as possible as we pleased one another creating the most amazing friction I had ever felt. Even actual sex with Sophie wasn't as good as this with Camille. My mind began to spin with the thought of how insanely amazing it was going to feel when Cam and I made love. Camille's muscles began to tense, her breaths were sharp and fast. She turned her face into the pillow to muffle her cries and moans. Moving my face to the nape of her neck to muffle my own groans. Her body shook in my arms, and mine followed suit.

That. Was. So. Hot.

As we lay there catching our breath I heard her giggle, and it was the sweetest sound. To our surprise the feeling surrounding us wasn't awkward or strange at all, in fact it was blissful. Camille turned to face me, something that was also surprising; I thought for sure she would hide from me, but she didn't. However her cheeks were flushed red and she was biting her lip.

"So freaking hot. So flipping cute", I grabbed her face and kissed her. "Love you".

"Love you too", she whispered against my lips and laughed at my reaction.

I excused myself because, hey a guy has to after something like that happens, can't help it. When I returned to bed Camille was sleeping soundly looking like a sweet innocent angel, but if what just happened was any indication she was far from it. Still that was a side of her only I was allowed to see, and the thought made me smile.

"Why are we trudging through the snow again?", I asked for the tenth time slightly whining.

New York got hit with about a foot of snow overnight and this morning blanketing the city in white. After having to brave the snow to get to our morning classes, I wanted to stay in the warmth of her dorm room cuddled up under her covers watching movies.

"Because Tevin needs cheering up and wanted to get out for coffee", she answered simply.

I couldn't argue with her no matter how grumpy the snow was making me. She was right as always. Tevin and Natalie's visit with Julien hadn't gone as smoothly as we hoped but it wasn't a total disaster either. Julien flipped out at first, and just as Tevin guessed, he accused them of plotting against him. After cursing them out he walked away for about ten minutes and came back a lot calmer and ready to listen. It seemed the treatment center really was helping him where his anger was concerned.

During their conversation he told Tevin he believed it was just a very odd coincidence, but he wasn't happy about the situation at all. Knowing he was the one who contributed most to the hatred that fueled the rivalry with the Pirates he didn't know if it was a good idea for them to date right now. It took a lot for Julien to admit that he didn't want to lose Tevin's friendship but he was definitely going to need time to figure out what his life was going to be like after he got out of the facility.

Of course Tevin was a little broken hearted and hurt, but the hope of at least keeping Julien as a friend in the future is what we were using to keep his spirits high. Cam, Nat, Luke and I had been making him smile for the past two days by any means necessary. However with the crazy snow he had begun a self imposed hibernation last night and skipped his morning classes today.

Cam being the sweetest friend ever had been on her phone half the day trying to get him to come out, and finally he agreed to meet up with us at the nearby Starbucks. Even if my legs were sinking so far into the snow I couldn't see my Timberlands any longer I knew it would be worth it to make Tevin happy. Just then I heard my name shouted from across the park by a very familiar voice. As I turned a snowball whizzed straight at me slamming me right in the chest.

"Ha ha, gotcha little man", the voice rasped.

"ANDIE?", my voice went into an insanely high pitch and nearly cracked at my surprise.

Sure enough it was the best friend whom I considered my big sis, climbing over the mounds of snow towards us in her thick parka, beanie and snow boots.

"What are you doing here?"

As she neared me she held up her fist and smiled "Blow it up", she laughed before hugging me tight. "I heard from a little bird that my favorite dancing Moose missed me", she smiled.

"Oh really?", I raised my brow and turned to find Cam standing next to me with a huge grin on her face. "You did this?".

"Yup", she looked up at me proudly.

"When? How? Why?".

Before Camille could open her mouth Andie answered in her best sarcastic manner.

"When? When you weren't paying attention, which let's face it is often. How? Because she's smarter than you. Why? Because she loves you, you dope", she pulled my beanie down over my eyes and ran her hand over my head playfully.

"Damn I missed you, and your smart ass attitude", I laughed as I fixed my hat so I could see again.

"Thus proving Cam is smarter than you. She called instead of you. Next time tell me you miss me ya goof".

Okay I may have missed her dearly but Andie was going to pay for all these mean comments, oh and that snowball she caught me with as well. Throwing my arms out dramatically I gave her my sneaky grin. Recognizing it immediately she gave me a wary look.

"Moose, what are you planning?", I heard the suspicion in her tone.

"I missed you so much Andie!" I teased as I grabbed onto her and threw her down into the snow, before grabbing a handful and mushing it into her face.

"You jerk", she laughed grabbing some more and throwing it up at me.

Soon the three of us were in an all out snowball fight, and just when I thought I had them on both on the run I got caught in the back of the head.

"I got your back girls", Kido shouted.

Firing as I turned I caught her right in the chest but got hit in my shoulder by a snowball that came from Kido's right. Glancing over I saw Tevin laughing at the incredulous look on my face.

"Et tu, Tevin?" I joked with my hand over my heart feigning hurt.

Two snowballs hit me square in the back and I knew the Andie and Cam had seized the opportunity to nail me while I was distracted.

"No fair", I whined as I pouted at Cam trying to gain some sympathy. "It can't be everyone against the Moose".

"Why not?", Andie sassed.

I just gave her my best sad Moose look and for the first time in a long time it worked on her. I guess Andie missed me as much as I missed her.

"Fine, girls vs. guys then? Unless you two are too chicken to take on a bunch of sweet innocent girls?", she teased

"Sweet and innocent my butt", Tevin chuckled.

"I like him", Andie added as she smiled at Tevin causing his smile to grow.

After a good twenty minutes of dodging, launching, ducking, and chucking snowballs we were all freezing, and absolutely tired. Finally we made our way towards the Starbucks to warm ourselves with some coffee and hot chocolate.

"So the three of you planned to get me out into the snow, nearly freezing my family jewels off so that you could surprise me?" I glanced around at the three of them.

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy it", Andie mouthed off. "You know you love me, and your tiny, little family jewels will be just fine now that we're warming up".

"Hey lay off the size of my boys", I shouted in defense of my manly parts.

I really did miss her even if she was as rude as ever.

"Thanks guys", I gave my friends my biggest Moose grin.

"You're welcome", they all offered.

Leaning in I kissed Cam's delicious lips softly before I smiled down at her.

"Thank you, baby".

"You're absolutely welcome, Moose".

As the four of us sat laughing, joking reminiscing and making Tevin laugh with our crazy MSA stories I felt so damned happy. The Pirates were heading to the Battle of the Boroughs, I had my two MSA sisters, my best friend and incredible girlfriend with me. And together we were able to make Tevin, someone I considered a best friend now, smile and forget his troubles.

I'll say it yet again, I'm a lucky Moose.