A/N: Just a quick note, any OC introduced in this story is going to be given next to no attention. They're just there because they need to be there, maybe used for a joke or two. I'm not terribly great at introducing OCs into fandoms and I'm not about to start now.

The mashing of several keys at once could be heard throughout the backstage, followed by a heavy sigh. Anyone could be mistaken in believing this was someone's first time learning the piano, but it was far from it.

"Johnny dear, are you feeling alright?" Miss Crawly asked.

Johnny looked down at his hands resting upon the keys of the piano. He was currently being taught how to play something that was of a slightly different style than he'd learnt before, but that wasn't the reason he seemed to be struggling so much. "I'm sorry Miss Crawly, I'm jus' distracted. I can' focus."

Miss Crawly nodded in understanding. "I heard you would be taking extra classes to help with your nervousness when dancing. Is that today?" Johnny only nodded in response. "And that's why you're feeling distracted?"

"Yeah. I'm really sorry, I don' mean to waste your time."

"Oh, it's not a waste, Johnny. You're good company, especially when I have no paperwork to do. How about I fetch you a cup of tea?"

"That would be lovely, Miss Crawly."

The elderly lizard slowly made her way to the kitchen to do just that. The first few times she had offered when they began piano lessons in the old theatre Johnny had actually told her he preferred coffee. She never seemed to remember that fact and Johnny didn't have the heart to correct her any more. It had gotten to the point where he probably did prefer tea now, if only out of habit.

After just a moment of trying to calm himself, Johnny began to play again. However, he saw no improvement in his ability and decided to stop. Perhaps today wouldn't be the day to learn this new song.

Miss Crawly returned only moments later carrying a tray, atop which was a teacup and saucer, a mug and a plate topped with a few cookies.

"Here you are, Johnny," she said, holding the tray out to him.

Rather than taking just his cup he took the whole tray from her, setting it down on a table to the side of the piano and offering the coffee mug back to Miss Crawly, taking care to hold it from the bottom so that she could take it by the handle.

"Oh, thank you dear." It wasn't anything new, Johnny had always done this for her, but such a gentlemanly action could never go unthanked in her opinion.

"No, thank you Miss Crawly," he replied, taking a sip of his tea. It burned his tongue and throat, being entirely too hot, but it was a habit Johnny would never seem to break. The taste was sweetened to his liking and it was neither too milky nor too strong. Despite never remembering his preference for the actual beverage, Miss Crawly had a knack for always getting his tea just right. He held the plate out so that Miss Crawly could also take a cookie before placing it back on the tray and taking his own.

"I think we should call it a day with the piano," Miss Crawly said. "But that doesn't mean we can't have a little chat. I still need to thank you for setting me up with that… that dating… thing." She gestured with her hands as though that would help explain what she meant.

"Oh, the online dating profile?" he said, visibly flinching. He'd already heard the horror stories she called dates that resulted from that fiasco. But, something good did come of it, if completely by accident. "How are things going with Herman?" he asked hopefully, dunking his cookie into his tea before taking a bite of it.

"Oh, just wonderful, Johnny. He's ever so romantic. He wants to take me on vacation some time this year."

"Yeah? Anywhere nice?"

"Well, we haven't decided yet. We don't want it to be somewhere too hot, but we would like it to be somewhere with a beach. Oh, the sound of the waves would go so well with a night of moonbathing."

Johnny still couldn't wrap his head around this 'moonbathing' business. He couldn't see what kind of benefit it could truly have, especially for one's complexion as Miss Crawly had insisted. Perhaps it was an old animal thing?

"That sounds great Miss Crawly. Once you've both decided where and when, I hope you both have a good time."

"Thank you Johnny, I'm sure we will. Now what about you? Are there any ladies you have your eye on romancing?"

"Oh, um, no Miss Crawly." He didn't feel comfortable with where this was going and decided to stuff the rest of his cookie in his mouth, hoping not to receive any further questions. This didn't work, however.

"Or perhaps any gentlemen? I'm not one to judge, dear."

Johnny's face suddenly felt very hot and it took all his willpower not to either spit out the remainder of his cookie or choke on it. Miss Crawly's perception had always been up for debate, but she did seem to have a keen eye for certain things. He hadn't been giving off any signals, had he?

"N-No, Miss Crawly. There's no-one I'm tryin' to, uhh… to romance righ' now."

"Oh, don't worry Johnny, you'll find someone soon enough. A handsome young man like you is bound to have a long line of… whoever you'd like, just waiting for you."

His face only became hotter. She definitely seemed to be suggesting something, though her expression looked completely innocent as she finally tucked into her own cookie. Johnny supposed she really did hold no judgement towards him, whether she knew his sexuality or not. Much like the cup of tea in his hand, Johnny felt no need to argue it.

"Thank you, Miss Crawly. I hope so."

The elderly lizard simply nodded as she finished her cookie before pointing at the plate that held two more of them. "You help yourself to those now, one will be enough for me."

Johnny nodded, helping himself to another. Since the conversation hadn't started back up he took the last one and ate that too before drinking his tea. Miss Crawly simply sat there drinking her coffee in silence, staring off into space. Johnny had come to realise that as much as she liked conversation, she was also just as content to share a moment of silence with whoever she may be with. It didn't happen often with as busy a place as the theatre could be, so he never felt the need to take that away from her. The silence was always comfortable anyway.

"Oh goodness, look at the time!" Miss Crawly finally spoke up. "It seems I've kept you longer than I should have, Johnny. You have a class to get to."

Johnny looked up at the clock, noticing it was now a quarter past six. He still had plenty of time to get to the studio, since it was only on the other end of the street, but now would be a good time to leave.

"I s'pose I should go then," he said, placing his now empty cup onto the tray. "Thanks again for the lesson, Miss Crawly. I promise I'll be less distracted next time."

"I'll hold you to it," she smiled.

Johnny took her empty cup and the rest of what was on the tray and, despite her protests, gave them all a quick wash before bidding her farewell, grabbing his gym bag and leaving the theatre. At the entrance doors stood his red and yellow skateboard, scuffs showing its age but still as reliable a mode of transport as it was when he was a kid. He grabbed it and made his way down the steps to the street, stepping onto the board and kicking off the sidewalk a couple of times. The studio was less than a five minute walk away so the skateboard really wasn't necessary, but since he'd be heading straight home after the class there was no sense leaving it there.

The entrance to the building, smaller than Johnny had expected, loomed into view. It looked fairly simple, and were it not for the large, garish neon sign that read 'Gunter's Dance Studio' he probably would have skated on past it. Johnny had to have a small chuckle, the name wasn't very creative but the presentation was certainly very… Gunter. As he approached he could hear the unmistakable beat of the pop music Gunter loved to dance to so much, slightly muffled by the closed door but still most certainly distinct. He noted that there was another, smaller door to the side, which he figured must lead to the apartment above. He almost felt sorry for whoever lived up there, knowing full well how loud a class with Gunter could be, and briefly wondered how someone could put up with several every day. Unless it was Gunter himself who lived up there. The possibility lingered on Johnny's mind, he would have to ask him about that.

He picked up his skateboard and opened the door, making his way into the reception area within. Johnny noticed that the impression he got from outside was right; it was rather small, with three doors leading off from it, not including the entrance behind him. One was marked with a symbol for female animals and one for male animals, so he figured those would be the changing rooms. The unmarked door had a small window in it, through which the studio could be seen.

The other thing he noticed was how new everything seemed. His nose picked up the faintest smell of fresh paint, although it did seem overpowered by the musky scent of sweat. There were no windows to be seen and the place didn't seem well ventilated, so he could only imagine how hot the studio must get with multiple animals performing a high level of exercise such as dance.

And that was another thing he noticed. As soon as he stepped foot into the building he almost immediately felt the need to shed his jacket. Now that he was done taking everything in he did just that, making his way over to the male changing rooms. He found a spare locker fairly easily, in fact there seemed to be far too many available, more lockers than animals they could even fit in the studio. Unless they were all the size of Mike. Then perhaps there wouldn't be enough, though there would then be the separate issue of the lockers being too big. He briefly wondered if there were any smaller animals in the class. He'd probably soon find out.

The key was already inserted into most of the lockers and the one he chose was already unlocked. He neatly folded his jacket and placed it inside along with his skateboard. He then took his gym bag off his shoulder, setting it down on a bench and pulling out the tracksuit Gunter had provided him. He paused briefly, looking over the garish yellow outfit. If dance classes were going to be a more regular thing then perhaps he could invest in something he would enjoy wearing more. Preferably something lighter considering how warm he already was. Perhaps if he earned enough money over the coming weeks he'd think about it.

He quickly changed clothes, thankful that nobody else had entered whilst he did so. Now in the tracksuit he threw his clothes into his gym bag, much less diligent than he had been with his jacket. He placed the bag in the locker, closed it and turned the key, struggling a moment to pull the key out. The lock was a little stiff, probably another sign of how new everything was. Johnny had to wonder how Gunter afforded all of this, it couldn't have been cheap to furnish an entire studio and since they were between shows they weren't earning any money from the theatre currently. Perhaps it had taken a lot of saving. This did seem to be his passion after all. One that had evidently worked out.

Johnny was happy for him.

The opening of the changing room door broke him from his thoughts and he saw a few animals entering. He also noticed the music had stopped, so they must have just finished a class. Johnny excused himself as he made his way past them, exiting the changing room and making his way into the studio. His eyes were assaulted with how brightly the room was lit in comparison to the rest of the building and he almost felt the need to shield them, instead looking to the floor and blinking a few times until his eyes adjusted. He also noticed there was a strong scent of vinyl, explained by the landing mats scattered around some of the wooden flooring. There were also… a lot of mirrors. Johnny could see himself from almost every angle as he looked around the room before he spotted the one other animal still in the room.

"Ah, Johnny, you have arrived early!" Gunter said, spotting him as well.

"Yeah, I figured I'd, y'know… check ou' the place before we start."

"And what do you think? It's nice, no?"

Johnny gave the room another scan, nodding his head. "Yeah, it is. Bit warm, though," he said, shaking out his jacket as though trying to fan himself.

"Ah, yes, I was hoping for a studio with windows, to let ze air in more, but this one was looking much cheaper than ze others, so…"

Johnny couldn't help but notice Gunter's eyes flash with disappointment at the criticism and he was hit with a pang of guilt. "I-It's still really nice, though! And everything looks so new! It musta cost a fortune to ge' it all."

"Ja, it was costing a lot of money, but it was all worth it!" he said, his enthusiasm coming back in full force. "It has only been a month, but I am doing what I love, and teaching lots of animals to do what zey love too! But do not worry, there will be air conditioning soon. It is just taking them a while to set it up. I do not know why, they say all of these technical words I do not understand, but it should be done by next week they say."

Johnny nodded in agreement. "That's wha' a lot of animals in the trade like to do when they don' wanna give themselves a time limit on a job. I ge' it, since I… kinda do it too sometimes, when I'm workin' on a car with a difficult problem."

Gunter gasped, looking horrified yet also amused at this. "Vat? You are also frustrating customers with zis? But it is so… evil!"

"Eh, not really, sometimes it's just necessary."

Gunter put the back of his hand to his head, pretending to feel faint. "No, do not tell me our good boy Johnny is actually one of ze devil's minions?"

Johnny shrugged. "What can I say? He likes to come an' play poker on the weekends."

Gunter snorted. "Ah, you are quick with the wits, no?"

"Get it from my dad. Gotta stay sharp when you're surrounded by…" He trailed off, eyes going wide when he suddenly realised what he was about to say. He saw Gunter looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish, so he had to quickly think of something to say. "Well, uhh… see, dad always had his mates 'round, so a lot of the time I was around people older than me. Had to be able to keep up with the banter." It wasn't technically a lie and Johnny hoped it would suffice.

"Ah, I see. I am learning more about you," Gunter said, nodding with satisfaction. "But, it appears the rest of the class is beginning to show."

Johnny noticed Gunter looking through the window in the door and followed his gaze, seeing a few animals making their way to the changing rooms and a couple approaching the studio. As they filed in they greeted Gunter, all taking notice of the new student who would be joining them.

"Hey Gunter, who's this?"

"Is this that Johnny kid you mentioned?"

"Oh, the one from the theatre right?"

"You never told us he was so handsome."

"Yeah, he pulls off those threads almost as well as you do."

Johnny averted his gaze, embarrassed at the sudden attention on him. Gunter was quick to diffuse the situation.

"Yes, this is Johnny, he is also from ze New Moon Theatre. He will be joining us on occasion and he is still new to dancing, so please be kind and do not watch him too closely. I am sure you are all remembering how embarrassing your first classes were, too."

They all mumbled in agreement, a couple of them apologising before taking their place in the room, forming a few lines. Gunter nodded before turning back to Johnny. "Find a place in ze back, where you will not be seen too well, and then we vill start."

Johnny nodded, taking a spot in the back row of animals. He took a quick look around, seeing that there were fourteen other animals there. It was quite amusing to see the variety of animals in the class, the largest two being a male rhino and a bull who Johnny suspected to be the clumsy student Gunter had mentioned before, the smallest being a couple of rabbits. Looking up he saw that the ceiling was somewhat low and he wondered if Gunter had ever taught a giraffe here, and how that would have worked out.

"Now, we vill begin with some stretches and a quick warm up," Gunter said, pressing play on the boombox placed on a stool at the front of the room.

Gunter began leading through some stretches and to Johnny this seemed no different from what he would have done at the theatre. That was, until Gunter instructed them to stretch their legs apart and touch their toes.

Thump.

Everyone looked over to see the bull had fallen to the floor. A couple of the students giggled at the sight, and Johnny felt the urge to do the same, only holding off because he knew that it had been him on the floor only yesterday.

"Dammit Carl, not again," the rhino said with a grunt, hoisting him off the floor.

"Whoops," the bull, Carl, said with a small laugh as he got to his feet. "Can't start a dance class without my ass hitting the floor, can we?"

"The day that happens is the day we all become stars," a female goat spoke up.

"Not you, though," one of the rabbits added.

All of the students, Carl included, had a laugh at the exchange. Johnny just watched, fascinated with how easily the situation was handled. Perhaps he could play it off like that should he make a fool of himself, too.

The rest of the class passed by without incident. Johnny was apprehensive at first, but soon got into it as he saw his own mistakes being made by some of the others. Occasionally Gunter would help them and Johnny would pay attention, taking the advice on board, other times he received help from some of the other students, including the rhino who he learned was named Aaron. It wasn't nearly as embarrassing making mistakes here as it was at the theatre and Johnny even found he was making far less of them. As soon as he stopped focusing on what he was doing and what people thought of him he began getting into the music and was just… dancing. It wasn't graceful by any means, but he wasn't falling over or losing balance and it certainly wasn't any worse than what the other animals around him were doing.

More than anything, Johnny had fun. Gunter picked up on this quite quickly, smirking in satisfaction. He knew this would be a good idea and was impressed to see how fast Johnny was in shedding his inhibitions. Not only did his technique improve, but the smile never left his face, even when he garnered the other students' attention. There was no hint of embarrassment because any mistake he may have picked up on, there were other animals making the same mistake, and yet other animals ready and willing to help them with it.

Once the class ended, Gunter put a stop to the music and bid everyone farewell. He earned a few hugs and high fives from the students, or else a cheery wave. Johnny earned a few high fives and waves himself.

"You'll be back again soon, won't ya?" Carl asked, giving Johnny a firm handshake.

"Yeah, same time next week I reckon," Johnny said.

"Glad to hear it," Aaron added, clapping a hand on Johnny's shoulder with a smirk. "Be a shame to meet a guy like you and not see you around after."

"Uhh, well, like I said, I'll be here next Friday," Johnny said, a little unnerved.

"See ya then," Carl said with a wink.

The two left the studio and Johnny noticed them linking hands with each other on the way to the changing room. Slightly confused, he turned his attention to Gunter, wanting to thank him for the class. Gunter was frowning down at his phone and typing furiously, so Johnny made his way over and waited for Gunter to finish rather than interrupting him.

"Oh, sorry Johnny," Gunter said, finally looking up from his phone.

"S'alright, ya looked kinda frustrated there."

"Ah, yes, I am having a date tonight and it seems zere was a change of plans. He will be coming much later now."

"Oh, I see." Johnny almost cringed at how disappointed he sounded and hurried to say something else, trying to sound happier. "Was there, uhh… trouble with booking a table or somethin'?"

"Oh, no, nothing so fancy," Gunter laughed. "He is just coming to my place. I am not expecting much to come of it, however." His smile fell and he lowered his voice to nothing more than a mutter. "Nothing ever does."

Although he didn't hear the last part, Johnny didn't like Gunter's change in mood, so he decided to try and lighten things up. "So, I really wanted to thank you for the lesson. I had a lo' of fun."

"Ja, I was seeing this," Gunter beamed. "Ze other students love you, too! And they were all trying to help you, I see."

"Yeah, they were. Well, most of them anyway."

"Ah, you see vat I was saying about Carl then?"

Johnny chuckled. "Yeah, I don' think I could embarrass myself half as much as he did."

"But you see that nobody is making fun of him, ja? Well, not too much, but it is all in good fun."

"Yeah, I did. I really don' think I need to worry."

"Good, good. I am happy to hear zis."

"Oh, speaking of Carl," Johnny said, quickly looking over his shoulder to make sure no-one else was within earshot. "Are he and Aaron a thing?"

"Ja, but they are always looking for one more, so you should be careful," Gunter said with a knowing smirk.

"Yeah, I kinda go' that impression..."

"Oh, so they are already trying to put ze moves on you?"

"Well, not really, but they looked at me kinda…"

"Hungry?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that."

Gunter snorted. "Do not worry, if you tell zem you are not interested they will not bother you."

Johnny nodded. He meant to say he wasn't interested, but looking back at the door where he last saw the two men he couldn't help briefly thinking about it. It was the first time he'd ever attracted any male attention to his recollection and it was oddly flattering. The silence that followed as Johnny thought about this made Gunter a little uncomfortable and, if he was honest, a little jealous. Though for what reason, he couldn't say.

"So, um, I am perhaps needing to leave, unless you were needing something else?" Gunter spoke up.

"Oh, no, sorry," Johnny said, turning back to Gunter bashfully. "Just, uhh… thanks, for all of this. It was a big help and I really appreciate it."

"You are welcome, Johnny."

"Righ', uhh… I'll quickly get changed and I'll get going. Don't wanna make ya late."

"No, I do not think zis would be a good impression to be making, but there is no rush. He will be the one being late, it seems," he said, waving his phone for emphasis.

"Well, still, I don' want to keep you if you wanna go prepare."

"There is not much need to prepare, just a quick shower. I am perfect already," Gunter added with a small laugh, though it seemed a little hollow.

Johnny didn't notice though, instead hurrying to get changed and gather his belongings. Nobody else was in the changing room so he decided to skip the shower, not wanting to be the only one keeping Gunter waiting. As soon as he left the building Gunter locked up behind them.

"Well, see you at the theatre on Monday," Johnny said, offering his hand to Gunter.

"Ja, I vill see you then," Gunter said, taking Johnny's hand and shaking it.

Johnny placed his skateboard onto the ground and hopped on, kicking off the ground a few times.

"Good luck on your date!" he called to Gunter.

"Thank you!" Gunter called back, offering a smile and a small wave.

As the young ape disappeared from view, Gunter's smile dropped and he heaved a heavy sigh. He knew it was a bit of a stretch, calling what was going to happen a date, but Johnny didn't need to know that. He spun a few keys over on his keyring and inserted one into the side door of the building, trudging his way up to his apartment. Judging by the messages he had been receiving, this was a song and dance he knew all too well, it wasn't going to be anything more.

Tonight was only going to be another disappointment.