What do you do when you ship two characters and one of them gets a love interest in the sequel? You pivot. Yes, I have written fanfics shipping Johnny and Meena, and yes it's not entirely unlikely that I won't still write those fics from time to time but I saw the second movie and I agree that Meena and Alfonso were cute- this fic isn't about them though. This fic is about my new favorite background character- Ryan the Tiger. Of course, I immediately shipped him with Johnny and a brief glance at Tumblr shows I'm not the only one (though I am one of few)

I hope you guys enjoy this little fic about the two!

All Ryan had to do was walk right up to Johnny and ask him-

"Hey! Ryan, what are you doing after the show?" Or, alternatively, Johnny could be the one to approach him…

"Oh, uh! I was about to ask you the same thing."

Johnny laughed a little, rubbing the back of his head.

"Seems like we're in sync."

"Yeah, we are," Ryan was trying his hardest not to melt. Dancing with Johnny every night had been the highlight of his performing career and he wished it would never end. But this was their last performance, and so they were clinging to this one final thing, their plans for after the show.

"We were all gonna get milkshakes. All as in, Meena and her boyfriend, Ash, Nooshy, and I. You wanna come?"

"You want me to come? Ryan tried to hide his surprise and delight.

"Of course! You're my dance partner. I owe all my success to you. And Nooshy. And Buster. And my dad-"

Ryan held up a hand to stop him and then put that hand on Johnny's shoulder.

"I'd be happy to come. Thanks for thinking of me."

"Well," Johnny began, feeling flustered, "It seems you were thinking of me too."

"I just don't want it to end," Ryan blurted.

"I know what you mean. I always love performing with these guys and I'll keep on performing wherever we end up but this one was special."

"Getting to work with you was special," Ryan whispered.

Now Johnny was completely and utterly flustered. He had to focus to catch his breath, focus to not catch himself gazing up into Ryan's gorgeous eyes...

Crap. What was he doing? What was he supposed to say?

"I hope I get to work with you again." That wasn't what he wanted to say, though, and the rest slipped unprompted from his lips, "I hope I get the chance to dance with you again."

Ryan nodded, and they were stuck in the moment, transfixed.

"You ever wonder what it would be like if we were on the planet of love instead of war?" Ryan asked when he remembered they were still backstage.

"I think the two can coexist. There can be love on the planet of war." Johnny's hand found Ryan's, taking it without asking, not that Ryan minded at all.

"That sounds nice." Ryan for sure thought he was about to kiss Johnny right now, but the universe had other plans.

"Ready to go?" Nooshy asked, before spotting the two holding hands. She grinned and winked at Johnny.

"Alright, come on dancers, show me your tippy-toes out the door."

"Nooshy," Johnny called after her.

"Yeah?"

"Give us a minute. We'll catch up."

"You better, you're paying," Nooshy laughed before slipping away.

"Where were we?" Johnny asked before Ryan leaned down and captured his lips in a kiss. The kiss could have lasted for light years but it was still over too soon.

"We should go," Johnny said sadly when they pulled away.

"We'll do this again," Ryan promised in a whisper, taking Johnny's hand and walking out side by side with his dance partner.