They were barely moving. Slow…so slow. The conversations that had carried them through their dance had dwindled to a few words. Barely a sentence to each other. Barely a step closer.
And that night…that fateful night in the jungle…they separated. Left each other's arms, halted their dance entirely. To run.
They both danced with another partner now. Sawyer. Ana. New rhythms to follow, new steps to learn. They followed. They learnt. Because they knew that might slow their return to each other, something they both knew was inevitable. Something they both wanted. Something they both dreaded. But something they both needed.
Struggling, they fought against it. Clinging to the arms of another, they fought. But it was like fighting against a current. No matter how gently you struggle, you tire. A current never tires. And when they tired, they slipped. And the current took them.
Crash. They collided. In a net; on a dancefloor. Pressed against each other, they struggled; they danced.
They needed no music. They danced to the rhythm of their racing hearts.
His body against hers. His hand on her waist. His face on hers, their lips brushing…
Bang. The shot of a gun. And once again, they fell…
"What did you say before?" He stepped out of the net, having finally disentangled himself from it. She was standing in front of him, re-adjusting her ruffled clothes. She let go of her hair, the band sliding off her fingers and settling itself in a tight coil around her unruly mass of curls.
"What?" She said through a breath, settling her hand on her hip.
"In the net, before."
"Oh." She turned her head away slightly, her eyes darting over the net on the ground. He waited patiently, as he always did for her. Fixing took time. And he was going to fix her.
Her startling green eyes flicked up to him, shining unusually brightly.
"I'm not sorry"
He watched her eyes, seeing them fill slowly with longing desire. He wasn't sure if they were her eyes, or just a reflection of his own.
The space between them suddenly seemed too far, he had to hold her; he had to…
Their lips met as they spun around, again and again, neither getting dizzy by the new thrills they were feeling. Around and around, again and again. Perfectly in time, they danced together. He held her close, his hand behind her head, the other around her waist. Arms around his neck, she rested her forehead against his as they danced.