AN: Written because I adore Yang as a useless sapphic and I think Blake would kick butt with poi.
Performance
XX
"Oh come on, Yang, please!" Ruby stood in front of her sister, giving her the most vicious puppy eyes she could muster.
Yang looked up over her laptop, arching a thin brow. "You're old enough to go by yourself, you know."
"But I don't want to go by myself," Ruby whined. "I'll pay for your ticket. Just come with me so I'm not alone!"
The older girl groaned, rolling her head back to look up at the ceiling. "Seriously, Ruby, you're eighteen."
"It's only an hour long! Please please please, Yang! C'mon!"
"Ugh, fine. I'll go. But you have to listen to me tell you how much I hated it afterward." Yang leveled her little sister with a look.
"Fine! Deal!" Somehow, Ruby still felt like she was coming out ahead.
XX
Yang sighed, adjusting the scarf around her neck as she watched her sister get their tickets at the gate. The weather had decided to add its special flare to the event, with dark clouds and a fine drizzle that she knew was going to make her hair a beast to work with later. Despite the setting, she found herself entertained by how outwardly excited her sister was. There was something about people doing cool and unusual things that just seemed to captivate Ruby in childlike wonder.
Ruby wove her way around people back towards her sister, pausing twice to admire people in costumes walking by. "So, can we sit up front?"
Yang glanced at the rows of chairs arranged in front of the outdoor stage. "Yeah, sure. It's not like there's any cover out here anyway."
"It's a little bit of water; you'll be fine," Ruby insisted, grabbing her sister's arm and pulling her up towards the seats. "The program says there are fire performances, and there's acrobatics, and someone's doing an aerial dance…"
As her sister rambled on, Yang rolled her eyes skyward and prayed the next hour would fly by quickly.
XX
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls! Non-binary friends and everyone in between! Welcome to The Menagerie!"
Yang half listened to the introduction, watching the crew members set the stage for the first show. While the arts were not necessarily her thing, she did appreciate the work that went into the lights, the sounds, and the stage itself. Technology was great.
"Tonight, our first act brings you the sun you were hoping to see today! Everyone please welcome Sun Wukong!"
Yang arched a brow as a sculpted blond man hopped up onto the stage, holding a long, red baton on his shoulder. He grinned and blew kisses to the crowd, walking in a way that Yang would have called a prance. Well, it certainly seemed to catch the attention of certain parts of the audience, if the whistles were any indication.
Though, in all fairness, she was surprised when he took a lighter to both ends of the baton, setting them aflame. She knew Ruby had said there would be fire, but for the first act? Not bad. Nodding to herself, she folded her arms over her chest, and hoped this opening act would not disappoint her.
He twirled the baton slowly over his head, a finger to his lips and eyes twinkling. The audience quietened in response, waiting for him to begin. Then with a sudden, sharp introduction of music, he began to move in a powerful, purposeful way. The flames spun around him as he moved to the beat of the drums.
The movements were controlled, but well executed, creating a visual dance that Yang did find some measure of captivating. He was skilled, rolling the baton off of his shoulders or arms, and at one point spinning it over his chest in a movement that made the crowd erupt into applause.
The ending of his performance came with him tossing the stick into the air, letting it spin before he jumped up to catch, landing in a split. The audience broke out into cheers and applause. Nodding in approval, Yang clapped politely, though she did give her sister the side eye as Ruby stood up on her chair and clapped as loud as she could.
If any other performance was as decent as that, Yang would consider this hour not a complete waste of her time.
"Let's give it up for our next performance: the lovely Ilia with her aerial dance!"
XX
It was coming up on the last of the performances, and Yang rolled her neck, quietly pleased the show was coming to an end. Sure, they were all skilled and talented, but this kind of thing was not…her kind of thing.
"And now, for the final performance! Please welcome the lovely Belladonna!"
Yang blinked, then leaned forward to squint. "Is… that Blake?"
The person in question hopped up onto the stage, her outfit of black and gold glittering under the stage lights. She bowed to the crowd, before standing back up and walking to pick up two ropes with balls at the end.
Ruby looked over to her sister. "You know her?"
Yang tilted her head, before grabbing the program out of Ruby's hand and skimming the names. "Kinda…I matched with her on Hunter."
Ruby slowly looked over to her sister. "The dating app?"
"I was bored, okay?" Yang snapped, shoving the program back at her sister. "Shut up and just watch the show."
Ruby stuck her tongue to her sister, before settling back in her seat. "Ah, well, at least you have good taste. She's got poi!"
Yang did not know what poi was, but she did know she was two seconds away from knocking her sister off her chair. Slightly disgruntled, she turned her attention back to the stage as the performer set the balls on fire. Blake stood, head bowed and holding the poi at her sides. The music started moments later, and so did her dance.
While the guy named Sun was strong, with powerful movements, Blake had a sort of grace that he lacked. She moved fluidly, keeping both poi in sync as she spun them around. At no point did she stop, her movements seamless and flawless.
Yang found herself mesmerized. Maybe it was the music, maybe it was the cat-like grace, or the way the light danced off the sequins of her costume. Maybe Yang was just tired, but something about this entire performance made her unable to look away. Each flick of the woman's wrist, each twist, and each spin was… beautiful.
Towards the end, her tempo picked up, until the poi were simply rings of fire to the audience. With a twist, she brought them together in a clash, sending sparks and the music came to a stop. Blake Belladonna bowed deeply, as the audience stood to applaud. This time, Yang stood with them.
XX
"Aww! See, Yang, it wasn't that bad!" Ruby elbowed her sister lightly as they walked towards the exit. "You even got to see someone you know!"
Yang would have appreciated that statement more if it had not been accompanied by Ruby wiggling her eyebrows. "Ugh, you are such a pain."
"Well, this pain is going to go get cheesecake bites from that food kiosk. Be right back!" Without waiting for a response, Ruby zipped off towards her target, hopping in line at the thought of cheesecake.
Yang watched her, shaking her head and putting her hands on her hips. "I can't tell if you're eighteen or eight some days…"
"Yang…?"
Yang turned at the unfamiliar voice and found herself staring in a pair of golden eyes. Blake smiled shyly. "I wasn't sure it was you at first, but I heard your friend call your name."
"Oh yeah…my sister, actually. She was begging to come to this." Yang suddenly paused, thinking. "Wait, when you asked me on Hunter if I was free tonight…"
Blake glanced away, unable to make eye contact, although a smile played on her lips. "I was going to ask you to see my show, but when you said you weren't available…"
Yang reached up, putting a hand to her forehead. "Hah, who knew…"
Blake put a finger to her lips thoughtfully. "Well… what are you doing after the show?"
"What, like, right now?"
The performer smiled and shrugged. "In like, half an hour? I need to change and help break down the stage."
Yang glanced back towards her sister, who was approaching with a carton of fried food, before turning back to Blake. "Yeah, sure. Let me get my sister home. I'll send you a message when I'm back." She winked, and to her delight, Blake's face lit up.
Maybe the performance arts weren't so bad after all.
XX
AN: Feedback welcome.