AN: Sorry about the wait, but next chapter is here! It's a short one, sorry again - but I'll make the next one extra long to make up for it! Seeing as Bloom had to learn to dance at all on the fly during that party in the dorm, I figured why not have Sky teach her to slow-dance with a partner? Kind of cute, no fluff, hope you all like it.
Stella and Musa got everyone to go out to a club in Magix city, Bloom didn't even find out the name of the place before she was trapped in her and Flora's room with Stella to pick out a dress to go in. Honestly, Bloom is convinced she's never seen, much less worn, less practical - or comfortable - clothing than the dress and heels Stella made her wear; her feet are killing her, and she feels extremely ridiculous.
Now, she's sitting at a table with Techna, and Timmy with a lemonade and seriously hoping Stella doesn't come over and try to drag her onto the dance floor - she's convinced she'd never find her way back out of the dance floor, both from getting lost in the crowd and from falling on her face from getting crashed into. Her balance improved some when she started using her wings more, but she doesn't currently have them to rely on.
Sky comes over to the large table they all filled up and sees she's still sitting there. "Thought you'd be out on the floor, Bloom."
Bloom's traitorous face goes its usual bright red whenever Sky talks to her, and she says "Um, yeah, about that…"
"What's wrong? Break a heel or something?"
"No, it's just…I can't. Dance, that is."
Sky's look turns worried, and he asks "Why not? Something wrong?"
"No, I…don't know how." Bloom waits for the sarcastic remark to come, like it did from Thor whenever she couldn't do something that was so obvious to everyone else. Sky looks a lot like Thor, but he doesn't act much like the Thor she's used to - but she's long since learned people can be very deceiving, and not to trust first appearances.
Instead, Sky says "Well, I'll show you." He grabs her wrist and manages to pull her out onto the dance floor as the song changes to a slow-dance.
Perfect, how am I going to get out of this?!
Bloom doesn't have any time to panic as Sky guides her hand to his shoulder. "Okay, your hand goes here, and I put my hand on the same side on your waist. And then our other hands go together."
Before Bloom knows it, she and Sky are swaying together and maybe an inch apart - something entirely new to her. "Um…this is-"
"Dancing. You've really never danced before?"
"Not…not like this. Nobody's real big on dancing back home."
Bloom blushes and looks away, and Sky curiously says "But they teach you how to defend yourself."
"Yeah, they teach you that." Mostly for men, most women never learn to fight. Mother thought I should know though, and so I did.
Bloom doesn't say the thought, but Sky seems to read something in her face. "Something wrong Bloom?"
"Hm? No, just thinking. About home, my mother mostly. I…I miss her."
The song suddenly ends, and Bloom realizes with a start that the entire song passed and she didn't trip once - quite a feat for her, honestly. She also doesn't remember the dance itself, she was talking to Sky during most of it.
After a few more dances, Bloom's convinced that she's pushed her luck far enough with her feet - it's a miracle she hasn't fallen on her face yet, considering all the spinning, dipping, and other dance moves she's been shown.
Wow, I'm so very glad I've been in combat training since I was five - because dancing is a workout! A weird one.
Bloom goes to sit down back at the table, and finds Timmy and Techna engrossed in a game together - and then the thought of what Loki would think of all this pops into her head and ruins her whole night. Bloom can feel her happiness turning into despair and sorrow like someone put a spell on her, and hastily scrawls on a note that she's headed back to Alfea for the others to find. She gets out just before her tears escape her eyes, and she teleports back to Alfea before anyone can notice her.
The rest of the girls get back about an hour later, but Bloom's already back in the dorm and fast asleep. She was crying over the picture of him it took a straight week to make right - she kept breaking down in tears every time she got any work done on it, unsurprisingly. By the time all her friends got back to the apartment, the sketchbook was lying cover-up on Bloom's stomach and she was laying back on the bed.