Two dull rings from the door announced her friend's arrival. "Speak of the devil…" she said, then winced at her choice of words. "I'm coming, hold on…"
The sight on the other side of the door surprised her. To anyone who didn't know the dragon, nothing would seem unusual about the young man. Momo, on the other hand, did notice that Ryu slouched slightly, unusual because he normally carried himself with perfect posture. His face seemed to droop as well. It was as though he had just awakened. "Are you all right, Ryu?"
Ryu ran his fingers through his hair, stopping to scratch at his neck. "I didn't sleep well, something kept me up just long enough, I guess." He gestured toward her with his free hand. "How about you? You don't look too good, either."
Normally Momo would have taken offense to a comment like that, but she was too tired, and this was Ryu, Mr. Innocent Honesty himself. So she settled for "Thanks, I think." She self-consciously probed her dark circles with her fingers. "I didn't sleep very well, either. Come on in."
Ryu wordlessly entered her workshop. Momo shut the door, absently rubbing the back of her neck.
Ryu noticed her self-inflicted massage. "Hey."
Momo recovered from her distraction to look at Ryu. "What?"
"If you want to call tonight off, I'll understand." He smiled wryly. "After all, Nina didn't say we had to do this twice."
Momo chuckled softly as she started rubbing her neck again. "Thanks Ryu, but I'll be fine."
The dragon shook himself, and seemed to gain a sudden surge of energy. "Okay!" He offered her his arm, bent at the elbow. "Shall we go, then?"
Momo blinked, then broke out in a smile as she accepted the proffered arm. "Yes!"
Ryu didn't see her subtly pinch herself as they left the tower.
Ryu watched his friend pick at her food. "I thought you liked fish."
Momo jumped slightly at the sound of his voice and set her fork down. "Sorry." Regaining her composure she looked at him and said, "I have a lot on my mind."
"No kidding." He set his elbows on the table and rested his chin on clasped hands. "You want to talk about it?"
For one insane moment she considered telling him about her dream, but decided that telling him what he did to her might make him uncomfortable, not to mention apologetic. "No, thank you. I'll be okay."
Ryu unclasped his hands and reached across the table to take one of hers. "If you ever want to talk about it, I'm here for you."
The engineer froze, noticing only two things: One, the warm pressure of the dragon's hand on hers, and Two, an odd sensation in her stomach.
Ryu saw her stiffen. "Momo?"
Her face was blank, her voice monotone. "You're holding my hand."
He quickly withdrew the offending hand. "I'm sorry!" He watched his friend slowly relax again. "I didn't know…I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
Momo looked into Ryu's regret-filled face and smiled slightly. "It's okay Ryu, I know you didn't mean any harm. I guess you surprised me." She paused. "I'm not used to being touched."
Ryu watched her squirm in her seat and suspected that there was more to the story than what she had told him, but kept his suspicions to himself. He would respect her, as he always had. "I'll be careful."
Momo vigorously shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Like I said…what?" she asked as she saw Ryu's eyes focus on something behind her.
She watched in surprise as he suddenly bolted from his chair to stand near her. "What do you want?" she heard him demand.
"Wait! I come in peace!" she heard a male voice reply. The voice sounded familiar…
"Stay away!" Ryu's voice replied. "I won't let you hurt her again!"
From her makeshift hiding place behind Ryu, Momo put two and two together and came up with 'Roy'. A glance around her friend's midsection proved her correct. "I think it's okay Ryu, he appears sober."
Ryu glanced down at her, and she caught a comet's tail of a glare. She would have hated to be on the receiving end of the full-blown version. "Are you sure Momo?"
Before she could answer, she heard Roy's voice. "Miss? I've come to say 'I'm sorry'."
Ryu looked at her one last time before returning to his seat, gesturing for the man to pull up another before crossing his arms.
Roy studied the wringing hands in his lap. "I…" He looked up at Momo. "This may be more than you want to hear, but after what I did…you deserve a damn good explanation." He punched a cupped hand for emphasis.
"I won't argue with that…" Ryu started.
"Quiet," Momo snapped at her friend. She softened as she turned her attention back to the very distraught Roy. "Go on."
"The…missus and I…kinda had a falling out last night, and I felt like the mayor of Loserville. I thought maybe hangin' with my friends would help. But…"
"…your friends brought you to this bar, got you drunk, and watched you make the proverbial ass out of yourself, resulting in an unsuccessful flirtation with me, and a bar fight with Ryu." Momo instinctively adjusted her spectacles.
Roy sat wide-eyed and open-mouthed for a moment before turning to Ryu. "She doesn't miss anything, does she?"
"No, she doesn't," Ryu agreed, relaxing his arms. "In fact, she's the smartest person in the world."
Momo's face reddened at the sudden and unexpected compliment. The odd sensation in her stomach also decided to make a repeat appearance. She glanced shyly at Ryu. "Thank you."
Roy shook his head in amazement. "Brains and beauty…WHOA!" He stood to run as Ryu suddenly moved toward him. "It was just a compliment!"
Ryu was about to throttle the man when Momo's voice stopped him. "Sit down, Ryu." To his surprise, he found himself obeying, wondering how she had done that.
"So, Roy…" She paused to structure the rest of her thought. "…how are you and the 'missus' doing now?"
Roy sighed, blowing air noisily between his lips while arching his eyebrows. "I dunno…yet. We're gonna see a priest to talk about our problems, see if we can fix them." He grinned sheepishly at her. "And I never drank much, but after last night, I'm never touching alcohol again!" The trio shared a friendly chuckle.
Ryu shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Roy, I…hope I didn't hurt you too badly."
"Not at all! Hell, even if you had, I had it coming anyway. In fact, I should thank you!" An expression of gratitude could be plainly seen on the man's face.
"Thank me?"
"Sure! See, I got to thinking, after I sobered up that is, about what was wrong with me, figured out a few things." He looked directly at Ryu. "I don't think that would have happened if you hadn't done what you did."
Ryu looked to Momo, then back to Roy, breaking out in an awkward grin. "You're welcome, I guess."
"Good." He looked back at Momo. "Forgiven?"
Momo extended a dainty hand. "Forgotten."
Roy suddenly looked as though a heavy weight had finally been removed. "Great!" He stood to leave. "I don't get to meet people like you two very often, if at all. See ya!"
As their new friend departed, Momo turned back to Ryu, blinking several times in analysis. "Wow. That's…never happened to me before."
"Me neither." Ryu agreed. "He's a good guy after all."
"Yeah…" Momo continued to muse.
Ryu drummed his fingers on the table, then stopped, his face scrunched in confusion. "What's that?" He turned to look behind him.
"What's what?" Momo looked past him to see what he was referring to. "Oh, the band's warming up!" Smirking, she added. "The faeries aren't the only ones who can play."
"Oh, I know," Ryu replied, straight-faced. He stared at the group a moment longer, then smacked his forehead. "Of course! That's the group that King Wyndia hired to travel around and play." He turned and half-smiled at Momo. "Wanna dance?"
Momo opened and closed her mouth several times. "But…but you don't know how to dance…" She leaned forward, studying him. "Do you?"
Ryu's half-smile turned to a sheepish one. "Not very well. Nina taught me some ballroom stuff." He suddenly couldn't look her in the eye. "I made you uncomfortable again, didn't I?"
"Well, sort of." Momo shrugged her shoulders self-consciously. "What the heck, I don't get out much, and if we make fools of ourselves, well, we just won't come back here anytime soon!"
"All right," he chuckled. He rose from his seat and offered her his hand. "I'll try not to step on your toes."
"How reassuring," she teased, as she let him help her to her feet and lead her to the dancing floor.
"Let me see if they know any Wyndian ballroom pieces." He intercepted an amused look with one of his own. "Hey, it's all I know, okay?"
When Ryu returned, he found her staring intently at the floor. "How big is it?" he asked with an amused smile.
Her response was immediate. "Two-hundred and forty square feet." She looked up at Ryu and smiled self-consciously. "Give or take six square inches."
Ryu looked around in wonder, then back at Momo. "How do you do that?"
Momo's cheeks started to redden. "I…had a good teacher."
"No doubt." Ryu looked around again, apparently attempting the calculations himself.
Momo decided to save him potential embarrassment. "So do they?"
Ryu, still looking, furrowed his brow. "Do what…? Oh! Uh, yeah. Just one, though, they mainly play…play…" he snapped his fingers a few times. "Folk music!" He shook his head with a frown. "Looks like I need to get out more, or something."
Momo laid a reassuring hand on his arm. "It's okay, Ryu, you're willing to learn, that's what's important, right?"
Ryu nodded, a smile playing at his lips. "Yeah, that's true."
Momo withdrew the reassuring hand, only to bop him gently on the same arm. "And I'm willing to learn, which is a good thing, because you need to teach me how to ballroom dance."
Ryu smoothed his vest. "Right! Now first, you need…" He trailed off with a look of concern. "You know this means I have to touch you-- All right, all right, I just wanted to be sure!" he finished, throwing up defensive hands after receiving a dirty look.
It took several minutes and a few blushes, but Momo was a fast learner, as expected.
It didn't stop Ryu from being surprised, though. Pausing during a slower part of the piece, he commented, "Just so you know, you've picked up in ten minutes what took me a month to learn."
Momo's face showed genuine distress. "I'm sorry, Ryu…"
"No!" Ryu paused to twirl his partner. When they were face-to-face again he continued. "I just wish I could learn things half as fast as you."
"Well…" she waited until he finished his bow, "…the key, really, is to learn how to learn."
Ryu's face showed deep thought as his body continued through the motions of the dance. When the dance finished, he turned to his 'partner'. "Momo, could you…teach me how to learn?"
Momo was caught completely off-guard. "Well…I could…I mean…that is, I-I could probably…well, I'm not really…"
Ryu watched in concern as his friend verbally stumbled along.
"…see…m-maybe I should…" Her eyes finally settled on his, her face the picture of calm. "Yes, I don't see why not."
Ryu, still trying to figure out what had just happened, could only say, "Great! …I think."
The next tune started, and Ryu noticed the couples standing sound them. "We'd better give up the floor."
Momo nodded and allowed herself to be led back to their table.
Ryu sat and watched the other patrons dance to the bouncy tune, dreading the idea of taking another month to learn another style of dancing. Not that he had any need to, but the idea of taking a month to learn something and then have someone else learn it in no time flat bothered him.
It took Momo four taps to his arm to get his attention. "Okay, I think I've figured it out."
"What, the dance?"
"Yeah." She gestured toward the stage where the couples were starting the dance again. "See? Watch that one couple." Momo was definitely in her element, figuring something out and sharing it with someone else.
Ryu looked up to see a couple in the center of the stage, but back toward the band. "The one with the man with the green shirt and suspenders?"
Momo nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, and only watch them. If you try to watch all of them, you'll get confused. See? He bows to her as she curtsies, then they take hands, and…"
It took three explanations and three couples for Ryu to understand the pattern, but he finally understood. "Want to try it out?" he offered.
Momo's hand flew to her chest. "Try it…out?"
Ryu expression was pure innocence. "Sure, why not? You understand how it works, and I seem to get it, so why not?"
"W-well, okay…" She still wasn't sure of herself.
"Okay!" The young dragon took the engineer's hand and led her back to the dance floor.
Several bows, curtsies, and foot-stomps later, Ryu and Momo applauded the band along with the rest of the crowd. A slower song started, and they looked around, confused, as the other couples put arms around waists, interlinked fingers, and held each other close.
Ryu was the first to speak. "I've seen ballroom dancing, I've seen folk dancing, but…this is new." He looked to his left. "Momo?"
The engineer adjusted her spectacles as she took in the…spectacle? "Sorry, I've never seen this before, either." She shifted uncomfortably. "It would be rude to return to our seats since the music has started, so…"
"My thoughts exactly," Ryu agreed, examining the men on the floor.
"O-okay, Ryu," Momo stammered, "p-put your arm around my waist like this." Ryu found his right arm around her slim waist, his hand resting on the small of her back, bringing them very close together. "A-and your other hand…"
"I-I see," Ryu interrupted, equally unnerved and trying to interlink his fingers with hers.
When they finally settled down, Ryu had one arm around her waist, and his other hand holding hers, the back of her hand to his chest. The hand he wasn't holding rested on his shoulder. "This is a little awkward." He swallowed hard while observing the other couples.
Momo nodded. "All…" she squeaked, then cleared her throat. "All they're doing is shifting their weight from foot to foot."
Ryu studied them a moment. "Hey, you're right."
They turned their heads to each other—and found themselves nearly nose-to-nose.
Ryu found himself unable to look away, as he became lost in the flame-colored eyes that looked back. Eyes full of curiosity, intelligence…
Momo found herself unable to look away, as she became lost in the ocean-blue eyes that looked back. Eyes full of strength, innocence…
Self-consciousness eventually won out, as they looked away in opposite directions. Simultaneous apologies turned to embarrassed chuckles.
"Ryu, we may as well make the best of it, right?" Momo adjusted her hold on his hand so she could rest her head on his chest. "Like I said, we don't have to come here again." He grunted an agreement, causing her to smile ruefully. "Wake me when the song's over, I'm tired." She closed her eyes and could hear the soft chuckle rumble through Ryu's chest.
"Before you conk out, Momo…" she heard Ryu say.
"What?" she asked. She then felt something tilting her face up and realized it was Ryu's hand.
"What's the matter?" she asked as she studied his expression.
"Nothing," he said—and then ducked his head toward hers.
Momo had no time to react as he gently pressed his lips to hers. Fear gripped her stomach, and she started to panic. But Ryu was insistent, not demanding, and she began to melt into the dual embrace…
When the young dragon finally relinquished her lips, a sudden sense of loss overcame her and she stumbled.
Ryu caught her before she could fall. "Momo! Are you all right?"
Momo put a hand to her forehead. "I think so. That…that was some kiss!"
Ryu looked completely lost. "What kiss? You suddenly stumbled, so I caught you." He looked at her eyes. "You look really tired. Did you fall asleep or something?"
"I think so," she repeated. "I…really need to sit down…"
Ryu helped his friend to her seat. Noting the empty water glasses he said, "I'll be right back." After making sure she wouldn't fall from the chair, he left.
Momo let her head fall back as she put her hand to her chest and said, "Please God, let him forget what I said…"