20. "You smell fantastic."
"Dancing is like making love. It's emotional, it's sexy, it's passionate!" Vlad exclaimed, ignoring the bright red faces staring back at him.
Anya and Dmitry were learning, correction, attempting to learn, the waltz. Anya had managed to ace her ancestry tests that Dmitry and Vlad had fabricated for her and was now learning ballroom etiquette. Yesterday she had surprised Vlad and Dmitry by displaying a nearly perfect curtsy. Today, she and Dmitry are to dance the waltz together, much to their disdain. Both couldn't understand why Vlad wasn't dancing with Anya, but he insisted that his bad back wouldn't do Anya any good. Therefore, he served as their dancing coach, yelling commands without any positive results.
"No, no, Anya. You do not lead. Let Dmitry lead," Vlad scolded, readjusting their hands so that Dmitry was the lead.
"I only lead because he cannot," she spit back.
"If you weren't so stubborn and let me lead, we wouldn't have this problem," Dmitry fired back.
"Alright, enough you two!" Vlad shouted, making one final adjustment, pushing them closer together.
Anya and Dmitry both grunted in disagreement, turning to face each other. Both turned red once they realized how close they were. Despite the height difference, their faces were still incredibly close.
Breaking the silence, Anya said sarcastically, "You smell fantastic."
Scrunching up his face, Dmitry said flatly, "Well fuck you, princess."
"Good suggestion, Dmitry. Maybe then, you two will get along," Vlad said bitterly.
Anya and Dmitry's faces showed looks of disgust. Despite butting heads, they both silently agreed that Vlad was currently not their favorite person.
"Alright, now that I've got your attention. Let's try again," Vlad commanded.
As Vlad counted out the beats, Anya and Dmitry awkwardly moved back and forth, attempting to fall into a rhythm. Maybe it was because of their height difference or their unwillingness to work together that they failed to dance smoothly. After a mere thirty seconds, Dmitry stepped on Anya's foot, earning him a loud squeal and a kick in the shin.
Already extremely frustrated with them, Vlad stood behind Anya, held Dmitry's hands, and began to move with the pair. Eventually, Vlad let go and Dmitry and Anya were able to dance by themselves.
Anya at first refused to meet eyes with Dmitry, but as their movements became more comfortable, she allowed herself to look up at him instead of at the floor. She noticed him do the same. As quickly as their eyes met, Dmitry just as quickly looked away and clenched his jaw. With that they began to move across the room, instead of stepping back and forth in one place. She was surprised by his movements at first but followed his lead and the pair moved as one. Her subconscious felt a certain comfort from his hand on her back and the feeling of strong muscles tensing and relaxing under her fingertips. When he twirled her around and spun her around, she let out a squeal of delight. She felt like she was flying, even if it was for less than 3 seconds. After landing on the ground, Dmitry tried to slow down their momentum. They continued to spin in place, decreasing their speed.
Anya couldn't contain her smile and found herself staring into Dmitry's eyes as they spun. She was lost in his eyes, completely trusting. Time seemed to freeze, and they stopped moving. The moment frozen in time. Suddenly, she felt herself spin out of Dmitry's arms and into Vlad's for the polka. The polka was a completely different mood, tone, and style. She found herself giggling uncontrollably as she is playfully danced across the room.
"My back hurts" my ass. She thinks.
Later, Vlad revealed to Anya and Dmitry that he initially regretting letting them dance, unaware of the effect the waltz would have on their feelings for one another. However, as his two friends celebrated their wedding and danced together in the middle of the room, he took back what he said. It felt almost like déjà vu, watching Anya and Dmitry dance. They initially started off awkwardly trying to find a rhythm. However, instead of frustration and anger, their faces were etched with goofy smiles and their laughter filled the room. After a few minutes, they found their rhythm and fell into harmony. Even when everyone else joined them on the floor to dance, Vlad couldn't stop watching them. He noticed the way Dmitry leaned into Anya's ear and whispered something to her. Vlad's keen senses could make out, "You smell fantastic." Vlad chuckled softly and saw Anya do the same.
Pulling him out of his thoughts, Lily asked him, "What are you laughing at?"
Vlad only smiled and replied, "Just a fond memory of the bride and groom when they danced together for the first time. Who knew we'd end up how we are now?"
"What's meant to be, is meant to be," Lily states.
