"Slow Burn" (def.): an attraction for someone that is not instant, but grows over time.
-x-
Chapter Six: Dance, Dance (These Lies You Love to Lead)
-x-
Matt walked out of his bedroom, wanting nothing more than cup of coffee to cure the hangover that was pounding behind his ears and in his head. What he got, though, was a half-naked Taichi, dressed in a button up collared shirt, pair of boxers and white socks. He was fussing with a tie around his neck, giving the mirror a particularly disgruntled look.
"Mind telling me why you're stripping in our living room?" Matt drawled, entirely unamused by the show.
Tai turned around, "Fucking banquet." He muttered.
"And, jeez, Tai. Why the hell are there so many shirts everywhere!" Matt took in the scene, articles of clothing draped over all their furniture.
"Mimi has been harping about color schemes and matching and stripes and solids and God knows what else." He complained, annoyance seeping into his otherwise carefree tone. "She is seriously a monster."
Matt just went over to the kitchen in silence.
"And she's being so difficult about the whole thing." He continued, as he pulled the tie from around his neck. "I mean she's coming over here anyway, would it kill her to pick a shirt and iron it." He said as if the request was more a favor to the brunette than himself.
Matt chuckled, "What color is her dress?" He asked absently.
"God only knows, I mean that's another thing. She couldn't stick to simple shit, right? Like blue or green—hell, even red would suffice." He griped on, "Instead she sends me the word "obsidian"—tell me, what the fuck is an obsidian!" He threw his arms up, gesticulating wildly at the perceived ridiculousness of it all.
"Black."
"What?"
"Obsidian—it's a shade of black." Matt shrugged.
As if a lightbulb went off in his head, a grin spread across Tai's face at lightning speed. "Matt, I could kiss you!" He yelped happily.
"Please don't." Matt said flatly.
Tai practically skipped around the living room, picking up his discarded dress shirts. "I can wear a white shirt." He announced. "No one wants a black on black combination, it would look too funeral-y." He had his white dress shirts hanging in his closet, pressed and neatly arranged on hangers.
Something his mother had done for him when he had moved in, and he hadn't touched that side of the closet since.
Thrilled at having his tiny workload cut in half, Tai sanctimoniously plopped down on the now garment free couch, still clad in just boxers and a wife beater, before turning on the T.V. "Mind grabbing me a bowl of cereal while you're in there." He called to Matt, flipping to a sports show.
Matt sighed loudly, "So when's Mimi supposed to get here?" He asked, internally marveling at Tai's ability to drink like a fish & still be annoyingly chatty the next morning, as if he hadn't swallowed his weight in tequila the night before.
"Beats me." He shrugged a shoulder, "Hopefully she's not one of those girls that takes forever to get ready." He said instead, "Looks like the type, though." He added as an afterthought.
"Shouldn't we at least, clean up the place or something?" Matt asked, coming into the room with his coffee mug in one hand and Tai's cereal in the other.
Tai looked at him as he had sprouted a second head. "For what?" He asked. "It's just Mimi, dude. She practically lives here half the time anyway." He laughed. "Thanks." He said with a nod, taking the bowl from the blonde.
Matt decidedly said nothing else on the matter, considering it would fall on deaf ears. Tai didn't care about anything, he imagined that even if Tai's fiancé's parents were coming to visit (though this scenario was so far in the future it was hard to even fathom) the brunette wouldn't be bothered to make the place look presentable.
He made a mental note to tidy up as soon as he was feeling less dead, Tai may not worry about what people thought but he could certainly do without Mimi thinking he was a slob.
"You know, it's really annoying how they make these things intercollegiate athlete only." He rambled distractedly, a spoonful of cereal shoved into his mouth. "Half the guys on the team are such lames, too scared to even sneak a flask in." He let out a snort of disbelief. "The other half of them are in relationships." He spat the word out like a bad taste.
"How long do these things run, anyway?"
Another shrug, "Too long." He said. "But hey, there's gonna be an after party—we're going to some club downtown so you have to come." He left no room for argument, it was non-negotiable.
His head was throbbing far too much for him to think about another party or another night of drinking.
"I'll see." He answered quietly.
"No way, dude. You haven't wingmanned for me in so long!"
"I don't really like wingmanning for you at all." He pointed out.
"You need to get laid, bro." Tai lamented. "Tonight!"
Matt failed to mention that the reason he didn't get "laid" was by choice, not because he couldn't. Truthfully, it was easy—girls didn't really turn him down if he tried. He just wasn't the type to go around nailing down anything with a pulse.
He craved substance and depth, one night stands had never been his style.
He had gotten pretty good at filtering when it came to Tai's rambling, he was always saying something or other though ninety nine percent of the time, the things that came out of the soccer star's mouth were utterly useless. The guy just liked to hear himself talk.
"It's weird though, because you would think Rye wouldn't complain so much that he was stuck with Taylor for this thing."
Matt barely nodded, eyes on his phone screen.
"I mean, at the very least he knows she'll probably go home with him tonight and I don't see anything wrong with that. Taylor is probably the hottest girl I know, and I think we both can agree that's saying a lot."
"Definitely." Matt wasn't sure what he had agreed to, as he scrolled through his Instagram feed.
He stopped at a picture Mimi posted, a bouquet of ornately colored and expertly arranged roses—they looked expensive. He felt curiosity bubbling in his stomach as he looked at the caption which gave no indication of who they were from, just a solid red heart emoji.
"But he's been talking about Mimi a lot. So maybe that's why."
At the sound of her name, his eyes snapped up. "Akiyama better not be trying anything with her." The words came out more aggressively than he had intended.
Mimi was one of his best friends, he wouldn't let anyone take advantage of her. Especially not someone like Ryo Akiyama, whose track record with girls was probably more sordid than Tai's.
Tai gave him a borderline confused look, "Who cares, not like Mimi can't take care of herself." He said honestly.
"She's not that kind of girl and besides, wouldn't you care if it were Kari and Ryo was—
"Don't."
Matt didn't push it, for everything Tai didn't give a shit about, it was made up for tenfold when it came to his baby sister. She was his proverbial Achilles Heel.
He focused his attention back on his phone, where he read through Mimi's comments.
Kasumi204 commented: Omg M, gorg flowers! New beau?!
Mimi_tkwa: Kasumi1204 Afraid not, Kas! They're from the only man in my life… Daddy. Lol! Miss you xo
Feeling a little bit less anxious, as the knot in his chest uncoiled, he closed the application entirely. He felt silly for investigating, even sillier for getting worked up over it. He was sure that if Mimi was to get a boyfriend, he would know about far in advance. After all, didn't she call him her best friend?
Tai was still talking here and there, the remnants of his cereal now discarded on the coffee table. "Well, I'm going to shower. I'd suggest you do the same at some point before your banquet."
-x-
Mimi burst into the loft like a tiny Tasmanian tornado, with a bunch of bags slung over her arms and shoulders. "Hello, can someone help me!" She called out in exasperation.
At the sound of her voice, Matt headed out of his room. "How do you keep managing to get in here?" He asked genuinely concerned, taking more than half of her things with ease.
Mimi rolled her eyes at him, "Hello to you too, friend. What a lovely way to greet someone." She said, kicking her shoes off at the entrance.
"Seriously, are you a professional cat burglar? Did you take locksmith classes in America… what's the deal?"
"No, Yamato. I just watched enough after school specials to know that just about everyone puts a spare key under the welcome mat or in the mailbox."
"So which is it, welcome mat or mailbox?"
Mimi gave him a side eye scowl, "Keep being a jerk, I hope you really do forget one day and you're locked out of your own apartment." She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Are you going to tell me?"
"Welcome mat, be a little more creative next time."
Matt nodded, "I'll be sure to relay the message to Tai, considering he's the one that probably placed it there. Since it wasn't me." He didn't need to even think about it to know the brunette had done it, considering the amount of times he would find Tai's actual set of keys laying untouched in various places around the loft.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Well, now you know."
"Where do you want me to put all this stuff?" He wanted to ask her why she brought enough things to last her a week, but decided against it.
He was sure the explanation wasn't going to clear things up since it would be in "girl-speak" anyway.
"Could you maybe put it in your room?" She requested sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
Matt gave her a weird look, "Yeah, I guess. Just quit doing that thing with your eyes." He said with a shrug.
Mimi laughed, "I thought maybe it would be convincing or something."
"Not even in the slightest." Matt said with a chuckle.
"Well, it's a good thing for me that you didn't need much convincing, then." She smiled.
Matt set her things down on his bed, "Mimi, I've learned the hard way that it's usually best to give in early when it comes to you."
"Quick study."
-x-
For four hours, she had taken over his room and after the first fifteen minutes, he left to the living which was the only quiet place he had found to be able to study. By the time she emerged though, he had nearly lost his balance.
She was stunning.
Absolutely magnificent.
And there was nothing he could do about the stupid look he had on his face as his eyes travelled the length of her. Drinking in her appearance like expensive wine, feeling himself getting lost in the caramel curls of her perfectly flowing hair and the soft contours of her face and the low plunging neckline of her dress.
It was simple enough, the dress that had caused Tai many outfit changes. Black, nothing flashy, no sequins or glitter, floor length with a large slit on one side, showing off a perfectly toned and blemish free leg up to the thigh, looking miles long extenuated by the strappy heels she had on her feet.
"You… you look." He swallowed thickly, automatically getting to his feet.
With no explanation for the sudden movement.
She felt a blush creep up her neck, "I mean, it only took four hours, right?" She tried playfully.
Matt shifted his weight from foot to foot, trying to find something redeemable to say.
But he couldn't think of a thing—except for how beautiful she was and how much he hated this foreign feeling that was gnawing in the pit of his stomach, like a creature trying to escape a cage.
"Are you going to come to Aurelia's tonight?"
"Hmm?"
"Tai made plans to go to this club—Aurelia's?" She tucked a loose curl behind her ear. "He said you would come."
Matt hadn't planned on going, but seeing her right now, immediately he said "Yes, I'll be there." Before he could even control the words coming out.
Mimi nodded, "Great." She smiled.
Tai came out at that moment, fussing with the tie around his neck and furiously checking his phone for the time. "We're going to be late, Mimi!" Without so much as looking up, he went over to bang on Matt's door.
Mimi swallowed her laugh before clearing her throat. "Already out before you, princess Taichi." She giggled.
Tai looked up from his half tied tie. "Oh wow, look at you!" He grinned enthusiastically. "Having you on my arm might not be so bad after all." He winked.
Mimi rolled her eyes, "Let's get a move on, diva. We're going to be late." She prompted him.
Tai pulled the knot tightly around his neck, "Did you bring your stuff to change? I think Ryo has a suite at the Imperial."
"Yeap, all in here." She tossed her duffle bag at the brunette.
He caught it with ease, slinging it over his shoulder. "Alright, man. See you tonight then?" He gave Matt a handshake-hug.
Matt's eyes fell on Mimi once more, as she looked up to meet him through an array of thick brown lashes and a bottomless hazel gaze. "Yeah." His voice caught in his throat.
Mimi put her arms around him cautiously, and suddenly he was acutely aware of the heat radiating off her body. He loosely wrapped an arm around her slender waist, careful not to touch any bare skin.
As he watched them leave out of the door, he struggled to ignore the feeling that everything was changing.
And fast.
-x-
The Imperial Hotel was every bit as extravagant and gorgeous as she had been expecting it to be and Mimi briefly registered how highly athletics was valued at Tokyo University, that they would spend so much money to have a banquet here.
Tai was greeted by almost every single person on their way in, from coaches, to teachers, to other athletes and she spent most of it introducing herself and accepting compliments.
He led her over to the table, where she took a seat beside Zoe by default. Not that she was complaining, she and the blonde may not see eye to eye about much, but it was a hell of a lot better to sit with her than anyone else.
She was glowing and flawless, not that anyone could have expected any less from a girl who had the face for paintings and a body made for the runway. Clad in a classy seafoam gown, a jeweled strap over one shoulder and cinched at the waist, bringing out deep green flecks in her otherwise cool blue irises. With her glittering hair parted down the middle and falling pin straight down her back.
"You look gorgeous, Mimi." The blonde beamed.
Mimi smiled back, "As if you have any room to talk." She said honestly. "You're perfect."
"Are you coming out tonight?"
Mimi nodded, "As soon as this thing is over." But she had a feeling it was going to drag.
She hated these kind of events.
"Me Rye both have rooms here, so if you want come up to mine if you want to get ready and stuff because lord knows it's probably going to be tough to do with them." She jabbed a thumb at Ryo and Tai who were discreetly passing a flask back and forth.
Mimi gave her a grateful look, "Definitely. So what's going to happen tonight anyway?"
"The President of the college is going to give a speech. Then he's going to hand out the awards from last season for all the sports teams and players." She explained. "We're going to have dinner and then Mrs. Lee will probably get up there and give some long monologue about fundraising and charity." She rolled her eyes. "And then there might be a brief dance before dessert."
Mimi sighed, it was going to be a long night.
-x-
A slow song began to play, and Tai came over to her, offering his hand to her with a bow. She put a delicate hand in his open one, allowing him to lead her on to the dance floor. She properly placed her other hand on his shoulder, sending a practiced but dignified smile around to the onlookers.
Mimi followed his lead as was customary, pleased at how easily he moved to the music, just as coordinated off the field as he was on.
He expertly twirled her, before bringing her back to him, Mimi, who hadn't be expecting such proficiency from the goofy brunette, landed against his chest with a soft thud. "You're good." She noticed.
"I suspected you'd be a bit surprised."
"Do you blame me?"
Tai shook his head, "Not at all, I aim to impress." He told her, his lips almost brushing the tip of her ear.
Mimi gave a half smile, as she confidently fell into step with him. "Well, then I suppose you aren't the worst partner to have at these things, huh?"
"I wouldn't think so. Though, I don't think I can say the same."
Mimi lightly smacked his shoulder. "We both know that's not true." She took a step forward as he took a large step back.
"You're so sure, huh?" He raised his brows. "Why? Because you're easily the most beautiful girl here?" He asked earnestly.
She couldn't help the blush that rose in her cheeks then, "Your words, not mine." She said, still maintaining her composure.
He chuckled, "Careful now, watch the dip." He said, as he smoothly brought her into low dip, his face inches away from hers before bringing her back up.
"You certainly are a paradox, aren't you." She said pensively.
Tai just shrugged a shoulder, "If you say so." He said. "Closed change." He took a long stride forward and she deftly shifted her weight to her back foot in allowance.
By this time, she knew there were quite a few people mildly mesmerized by their ability to maintain a relatively complex dance structure with such ease and fluidity.
"Everyone's watching." She mentioned quietly.
He spun her out, hand still in his, as her other arm outstretched in the opposite direction. "Really?" He brought her in, an arm wrapped around her torso with the other around the front of her waist, "I hadn't noticed." He whispered into the soft skin of her neck.
She felt every hair on her body stand up, as she gracefully fell back into step with him. "I'm not one of those floozies whose panties you can charm off." She quirked an eyebrow at him, letting him know she was onto his game.
Tai chuckled, "Charm?" He asked innocently. "I would never. Besides, you're spoken for."
"Am I?"
"Yes, and I've never been one to interfere with destiny." He winked.
Mimi rolled her eyes, "And apparently I'm dramatic." She drawled.
"Anyway, I need you to level with me here, Tachikawa." He said evenly.
Mimi raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in his tone, "Alright."
"This thing with you and Ishida, what is it? And don't say nothing." He cut her off as she opened her mouth to give her knee jerk reaction.
Mimi furrowed her brows, "We're friends, you know we are." She insisted.
"Yeah, but there's something else there." He wasn't the most perceptive, he didn't care to be. But Matt and Mimi's chemistry was practically bludgeoning.
It didn't take detective like prowess to pick up on it.
Mimi tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "I don't know what you want to hear, some deep unrequited secret about undying devotion or something equally as cliché." She said quietly. "But it's just not there, Tai." She sighed.
He surveyed her intently, "You're sure?" Brown eyes bore into her hazel ones, hunting them for the hint of a lie.
But Mimi didn't break at the contact, "I'm sure." She lifted up her chin. "What is this all about, anyway?" She looked at him searchingly
"Ryo's my boy." He started. "And he's got a thing for you—I don't know how deep it is but it's something." He shrugged indifferently. "But in order of importance, he's always gonna be second to Matt." And it was without any ill intent that he said it.
Mimi nodded slowly, but remained silent.
Tai gave her an agile turn, "So my point is, I don't want to be the middle man in this situation—at all. And I definitely don't want things to get messy." He clarified. "If you and Ishida have something going on, or there's potential or even the slightest chance, just tell me."
Mimi opened her mouth to answer in the perfunctory manner she always did, but something about the intensity of his gaze made her promptly shut it.
"Say the word, Meems. I'll tell Akiyama to back off."
Mimi looked over at the boy in question, at the exact moment his jade eyes snapped up to meet her own.
She shook her head, "No, you don't need to." She decided. "Matt and I, we're stable. And yeah, maybe there's chemistry but that doesn't mean we aren't better off as friends. Sometimes, it's best to leave well enough alone."
Instead of in ruins.
-x-
He felt horribly out of place, silently thankful that he had somehow managed to get Ken to come with him. If he knew Taichi half as well as he was sure he did, he was positive the brunette would be half way to incoherent by now
Trying to catch up would be stressful at best.
And he knew that in order to be in this environment, he couldn't be sober.
Sora had accompanied them as well, but he knew it was only because the redhead didn't want to show up alone. The second they would spot the group, she'd make a beeline for Mimi then most definitely Sam.
The goalie's texts had been incessant up until the moment Sora had confirmed she was in the cab and on her way.
Ken, who didn't really like to pry into his older brother's business in any capacity, even admitted that Sam was smitten.
And the grin that followed after that emission never left Sora's face.
The club was dim, with practically blinding strobing lights and pulsating music. He knew that hearing outside of a five inch vicinity was futile at this point.
But it wasn't hard to find them, Tai still audibly boisterous even given the loud atmosphere. His chocolate eyes lit up at the sight of his best friends. "Yamato!" A grin split his face practically in two as he came over to them.
Mimi, who had not heard anything Tai had said all night, happened to hear that one word, and shamelessly scrambled to her feet. She hadn't texted Matt all night to make sure he was coming, afraid of coming off too clingy or annoying (which was so weird because she never really cared about that sort of thing before), so aside from the confirmation he had given her back at the loft, she actually had no idea if he would really show up or not.
She had changed out of the classic black gown, into a sinfully tight dress and Matt was forcefully reminded once again that red was her color.
Her lips were stained ruby, from wine or lipstick he wasn't sure, but they looked heavenly. Her ringlets had long since fallen into the cool waves he was used to and the smile she was sending in his direction was practically illuminating.
Fucking hell, she was devastating.
Even in a peel on dress that had practically molded itself to every curve of her body, exposing legs a mile long—she was ethereal.
But amidst the haze of appreciation and enchantment clouding his mind, Matt could hear the alarm bells sounding off, alerting him. He was getting too close, moving too fast, they were one wrong move away from a crash.
He would do well to avoid her tonight, there was no telling where things could go once his self-control was compromised.
"Sora, you're in a fucking skirt!" Tai hollered and it snapped the blonde right out of his thoughts.
"Oh, well spotted." She said with a roll of her amber eyes.
Tai, who was now visibly drunk, only laughed. "It looks good on you." He enveloped her in a friendly hug.
And even though he was irritating at best, no one could stay mad at Tai very long (least of all Sora) so after a few seconds of the bear hug, she grudgingly reciprocated, allowing Tai to litter a few kisses into the side of her hair.
Slowly, Mimi bridged the gap between herself and the the pair of boys, knowing that Tai and Sora would be involved in a conversation for at least the next five minutes.
They had a way of tuning everyone else out, and it probably came from knowing someone for as well and as long as they had known each other.
"Hey." She raised a hand, feeling the fuzzy effects of alcohol in her brain.
He looked different, maybe it was the lighting (or lack thereof) or maybe it was her state, or maybe it was the aftershocks of the conversation she had breached with Tai. But something was just…
Different.
She got a funny feeling in the bottom of her stomach, as she took in his carelessly perfect appearance. His tousled blonde hair and those cloudy cobalt eyes and penetrating gaze.
Matt had moved closer to her, opening his mouth to say something, when he was interrupted by Tai's sudden turn to him. "What the hell are you guys just standing around for, come on—we're here to fucking party!"
And with that, he led them over to the VIP area where the rest of the group was. Zoe's greedy cerulean eyes soaked Matt up instantly, not that that was a surprise, but the fact that her eyes shifted to Ken—was.
She hurriedly whispered something to whichever blonde was on her left, and the girl agreed, nodding her head vigorously.
An unabashed smile crossed the goalie's face at the sight of a pretty redhead, standing up instantly to greet her. The easily fell into a conversation, as he poured her a drink.
Tai gave Matt a stiff drink, that was all gin and barely anything else, and even though it was foul to drink—the blonde knew it would get the job done.
Zoe had quickly accosted Mimi for information of the raven haired boy who was hanging with Matt, and Mimi (all too eagerly) supplied her with any information she had, insisting that Zoe talk to him.
Initial awkwardness to the side, with enough alcohol flowing, it didn't take long for everyone to get comfortable. And after a drink or two, Mimi could spy Matt loosening up from the corner of her eye.
He actually even chuckled at something Ryo said and it was enough to elicit a giggle from her own throat.
She had no idea what had been said, but he looked absolutely irresistible when he laughed.
And even though his brooding mystery had always been emphasized as the credit to his appeal, in that moment she was sure she had to disagree. Because a smiling Matt Ishida was a thing worthy of exaltation.
He was transcendent.
Mimi knew it was the alcohol to blame, otherwise her gaze wouldn't have lingered on her best friend for so long. She had become increasingly impatient to see him as the night went on, and now that he was finally in front of her, she could hardly keep her eyes off of him. It didn't help matters any that he wasn't giving her the time of day, hardly even turning in her direction all night.
It only made her crave his attention even more.
If she was sober, she knew she would have been confused by this. But right now, she couldn't care less.
When she finally averted her gaze, she caught Sora's eye, as Sam effortlessly pulled the redhead onto his lap, and she looked genuinely happy.
And Mimi couldn't be happier for her.
Now if only they would finally kiss, it might just seal the deal and almost Doctor Jyou Kido might actually be left in the past for once and for all.
After her fourth (maybe more like fifth) drink, Zoe perked up the courage to go sit by Ken and Matt and it didn't take much for the alluring blonde to engage them in conversation. She was, after all, Izumi Orimoto, not only one of the most beautiful girls at Tokyo Univerity but one of the most popular.
There was seldom a time where she didn't get her way.
"Can you please go work some Mimi magic on Ryo so I can get Tai alone." One of the blondes huffed in her ear.
Mimi shook her head, "No way." She nodded her head towards the girl who was perched on the top of the seat right beside Ryo Akiayama. "I am keeping my distance tonight." And she had been, all night—from the very beginning.
At the beginning, she had been visibly irritated by the fact that she couldn't get a second alone with Ryo. She had genuinely wanted to be in the green-eyed defensemen's company, especially after the other night. But for some reason, he was quickly forgotten once Matt had gotten to the club.
It was strange and she might have dwelled on it, but tonight, she just wanted to enjoy herself.
It was well past midnight when Mimi had dragged all the girls onto the dancefloor, knowing it wouldn't be too long before the boys followed. She was happily inebriated and now all she wanted was to feel the music and move her body.
A hip hop song with a fabulous beat began to play and let herself move on her own, feeling everything all at once.
It was a stark juxtaposition to the music she had been dancing to earlier, but she had fell in sync with it just the same. Relaxing her limbs and allowing herself to get lost in the sound.
Sam slunk an arm around the back of Sora's waist. Sora, punch drunk and seemingly love drunk, didn't waste any time turning around and placing her arms around the goalie's neck.
What happened next was foreseeable to just about every single person with half a teaspoon's worth of sense. Sam leaned in, covering the redhead's lips with his own.
Mimi knew Sora wouldn't be returning back to the girl dance circle that had formed.
Mimi swayed her hips to the beat, singing along to the song with Zoe as she and blonde began to dance with each other in a tastefully provocative manner. There were a few hoots and hollers, and a voice that had sounded a lot like Tai's yelling, "Now, kiss!"
Which was followed by, "Shut up, bro. That's my sister!" Inevitably coming from Ryo.
"Not my sister, though." Tai shrugged.
Mimi rolled her eyes, "You've got moves, blondie." She giggled over the music.
"Right back at ya!" Zoe hip-bumped her.
Taylor had forcefully gotten Ryo on the floor, Ryo who looked a little less sullen, halfheartedly allowed Taylor to dance against him as he remained rooted in place sipping a beer.
Tai caught one of the blonde's wrists (probably Catherine, but who could ever be sure with Tai), leading her over to him with a smirk. The blonde, who looked as though she had been waiting for this moment her entire life, practically jumped at the chance to gyrate against him, thrusting her hips backwards and around.
By the time Zoe had coaxed Ken into a dance, Mimi was twirling alone—but she didn't mind in the slightest.
She felt good, really good.
And the music was practically empowering.
Her skin felt slick, as she tossed her hair into a pony tail.
Through half lidded eyes, she caught a familiar glint of blonde hair, following it to where Matt stood, drink in hand, shoulder against the wall.
In a moment of poignant bravery that could only be classified as liquid courage, she made her way over to him.
Wordlessly, she grabbed his hand and if he was stunned, she didn't know it, only that he was following her. She moved along to the music, inching closer and closer to him, until her backside was right up against his groin.
It took him a minute, but he put his hands on her hips as she swayed them against his pelvis. In a half drunk daze, he barely registered the fact that Mimi's glorious behind was pressed up against an easily excitable appendage—and if she kept rolling her hips like that, it wouldn't be long until she felt it.
He knew on some level, he should stop this. But she felt so good in his arms and she smelled like heaven and she was moving in a way he wasn't even sure was possible.
His hands traveled down her sides, travelling over the cut outs of her dress, feeling the smooth skin over her ribs under his fingertips.
She sucked in a sharp breath at the contact of his his skin against hers, his fingertips leaving a trail of embers behind them, setting her entire being ablaze.
She felt him beginning to move with her, falling into a steady rhythm behind her and it was a complete body high.
Without warning, he turned her around in his arms, and she was face to face with his stormy blue eyes like turbulent waves breaking. She felt him pull her up against him, and she couldn't stop herself from grinding her hips against him.
She saw his eyes darken with something she had never seen in them before…
Desire.
And it sent a shiver from the top of her spine down to her toes.
Mimi felt her hands moved of their own accord, travelling the hard planes of his chest, then over his strong arms.
A gasp escaped her as she felt something hard pressing into her, flooding her entire body with pulsing temptation, pooling at the center.
Her tongue darted out of her mouth to moisten her lips and Matt stifled a groan, because in this alcohol induced state, all he could think about was wanting to—
"Mimi." Sora's voice distinctly called out from behind them.
They jumped apart like pieces of shrapnel, feeling a surge of sobriety wash over them like a bucket of ice water.
Mimi managed a smile, "Details, S. Now." She demanded in a carefully concocted cheerful manner.
Sora looked between the brunette and blonde carefully, before nodding.
And as Sora led her away to the girls room to undoubtedly tell her everything, Mimi couldn't bring herself to manage a backwards glance at Matt.
None of it meant anything.
It was just a dance.
They were just drunk.
They were just friends.
-x-
(The personal thank you's which you guys totally deserve & I have been slacking on are at the end, so if you want to skip to it, you can)
A/N: SUCH A LENGTHY SEPERATION. I'M SO SORRY TO ALL YOU WONDERFUL PEOPLE WHO ARE SO GOOD TO ME AND I TOTALLY DON'T DESERVE ANY OF IT.
Alright, so once again—This was actually pretty much done three weeks ago, it just needed tweaking. But I had such serious writer's block about how to fix it or where to cut and what to keep. And it's such tedious work just editing and revising that I have no excuse for not doing except that my lazy ass just couldn't find the motivation to do it. I honestly agonized over whether or not I should keep the bit at the end (Matt and Mimi's salacious grinding) because I just wasn't sure if I was ready to do it—but I chose to keep it in because the chapter felt super incomplete without.
Thinking about investing in a Beta, because it might help. So if anyone's interested, has the credentials and has the time, feel free to PM
So, what'd you guys think? Was it at least kind of worth the wait? Any suggestions or critiques? I'm open to it all.
Also, 10 points to anyone who can figure out where I got the "Oh, well spotted" line from (or who I was channeling)
Exit Poll: So out of general curiosity, which pairing do you guys prefer?
Sam/Sora
Jyou/Sora
Tai/Sora
And if you have anything other than the three mentioned, feel free to let me know as well.
To My Reviewers:
Tarts Wardrobe: Thank you for the review! So happy to see you're still interested in my work even after all these years, I remember interacting a few years ago, always super nice to hear from a familiar face :)
Mingming08: I haven't watched Tri bc of Sorato either, I really just can't stomach it in any form to be honest. Thank you so much for the review and I'm so glad to hear you're liking the story so far. I was tentative about putting it up (still am) because I've been out of the Mimato game for so long, I was completely unsure if I would still be alright at writing them.
Mimatotrash: I loved your review! It was super insightful and very helpful, thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement. I agree with you that just about anyone is shippable out of the dd's and I am really liberal about side pairings—I love unconventional (though I do love Taiora a bit more sometimes lol) Tai being a soccer stud with a frat boy mentality is the most fun to write because I honestly feel like his character could have gone this way had there been a college counterpart to teenage Tai. LOL, Sam and Sora happened on a whim, but people seem to be liking them so far so I'm really glad that worked out. I honestly really love that song, I'm glad you thought it fit well with the scene because I was literally going for that exact angle, ambiance and nostalgia. A big thank you once again, hope to hear from you again sometime!
Sincere Friendship: You know I love you and your stories and everything you write ever so the shout out was totally necessary, practically mandatory. Thank youuuuu for everything you said in your review, I honestly value your opinion SO MUCH because of how long we've known each other on the site as well as because of how great your writing style! I'm glad the wait was worth it (hopefully it was worth it this time too) I feel like Mimi is so easy to write you can kind of write her shipped with anyone and it comes off cute, because she's so damn cute. As for Ryo and Mimi… I have plans (maniacal laugh) Once again, thanks so much for taking out the time to review and for the love of everything holy UPDATE FUKUSHUU.
Guest (1): Thank you! I appreciate that so much
Supernaturalfan17980: Thanks for the review and for taking the time out to read my work, hope you enjoy this chapter!
Cancercute: YOU'RE TOO KIND (a million crying emojis) I'm glad you liked the beach scene, it was a personal fave—it really just wrote itself. P.O was totally my baby and the support I received for it was enormous and incomparable (especially from you) but I've been thinking about revamping and editing it for a while, so maybe over the summer I'll give it a shot! The review you left for it recently literally warmed my heart so much, and to be honest, it's very much part of the reason I decided to come back to the Mimato community—so thank YOU, because I probably wouldn't have even written this had you not said such touching things. I hope this chapter was worth the wait and thank you for always supporting my work, it means the world to me.
OnceUponAnOriginal: Thank you so much for the review, really appreciate it. Hope this chapter was to your liking and I hope to hear from you soon! Let me know what you thought.
Angelic Moonlight: Thank you so much for reviewing! I loved hearing from you. I agree that the mimato shippers/writers have gotten to be few and far between but I'm also super excited and really happy about the high caliber of writing that this fandom is seeing now. I feel like most of what I've read as of late has been relatively well written and hasn't lacked depth—though I do wish more people wrote chapter stories. I recently read your work "An Unexpected Change" and I'm so glad you got back into writing! I'm honestly really loving it so far, it's really cute and light hearted. I'm so glad you're writing a multi chapter fic because like I said, we're definitely lacking in that department, can't wait for you to continue it! Hopefully this chapter was worth the wait, let me know what you thought of it!
NarutoBaby22: I like Takari, but I also find them boring from time to time (don't kill me—they're still so sweet and cute!) and I always end up writing them super one dimensionally. As it is, I think Davis is really fun and I wanted to explore their relationship because I've never actually wrote them as a couple before. Mimi is super shippable, agreed. I think I mentioned the Taiora thing in the PM I sent you, nothing's changed! Thanks a bunch for your time, hope to hear from you soon!
H0neybunny16: I love Mimato and Michi too, they're def my top couples (but taiora definitely ties with Michi)—there was a pseudo-michi moment here so I hope you liked it :) thanks so much for your kind words and support, means a lot! Hope to hear from you soon!
Guest (2): Yes, the consensus definitely seems to be that Mimi is super shippable, she's just so darn cute! I do have an affliction for the Mimi-Matt-Tai angle (see: the train wreck Bermuda love triangle from hell that was Polar Opposites) but it *probably* won't go that way here (key word: probably, mwaahahahhha) AWWW THANKS FOR SAYING THAT! Its such a huge compliment when anyone tells me that my work impacted the Mimato community, I literally feel the warm and fuzzies in my whole entire being so many thank you's.
OVER ALL I have so much love for everyone who reads and reviews my work, it means the most to me and I will never be able to convey it with words (ironically) but I try. You're all so amazing! You guys make my day! I could cry.
Until next time!
P.S: Chapter title is from the Fall Out Boy song Dance, Dance—I'm also very well aware that the words in the parenthesis are not the actual lyrics but a.) that's honestly what I thought he said for a really long time and b.) it fits better with the theme of this chapter.