Disclaimer: I'm not really the sort of person who'd want to own this sort of dance - not exactly clean is it? No, I definitely do not own El Tango de Roxanne . . . I am thinking about writing another story about it though - it's mentioned in passing in this chapter - about who Roxanne was and why the Argentinean sings so passionately about her . . .

Note: If you didn't notice, Nini has the tendency to give people nicknames - Satine has always been Sparkles, Christian turned into and will remain Shakespeare - so 'The Argentinean' (conscious or unconscious, narcoleptic or not) is much too long and just doesn't sound right in conversation, besides being impossible to spell consistantly. Seriously, would you like to have someone call you your nationality? Really? No. So Nini, being Nini, shorts it to Argie.

Chapter 5: Passion

"Why'd you tell him, Nini?" asked Mome Fromage after a few minutes of silence. Nini looked up, confused. "I mean, I don't approve of Satine's affair either, but what good did telling the Duke do? Now we have to learn a whole new scene in one morning – you might be able to memorize steps after trying them once, but the rest of us –"

"Don't you get it?" Nini snapped, cutting her off. "If Sparkles gets too attached to this boy – and can't go through with her promise to the Duke tomorrow night . . ."

"Attached? What are you talking about – she's just toying with him. She doesn't really care." Mome scoffed.

Nini sighed. "I'd agree with you, except – he doesn't pay her."

Mome Fromage – along with Arabia and China Doll, who were listening – gasped. "She's played with men before – we all have. They pay us to do it. Always, you know that. But Christian hasn't given her a cent. Which isn't surprising considering he does have one to give her. But he thinks it's real, that he's actually in love with her. And worse, so does she."

The four Diamond Dogs fell silent as the seriousness of Nini's statement finally got through to the others. "Whatcha gonna do about it?" asked China after a minute.

"Well, I've already done something, I've shown Sparkles what will happen if she doesn't do what she's supposed to," she gave them her one-sided grin. "But I don't think Shakespeare quite understands yet. So – I'm gonna dance the Tango for him tonight."

They all burst into giggles – the Tango was a dance Argie had learned in Argentina. He taught it to all the girls at the Moulin, dedicating it a young whore there named Roxanne who'd found it particularly fun to convince men that she loved them. Then one particularly hot-headed lover got angry when he realized she was cheating on him and broke her neck. As a tribute to her, the Tango always ended with a fake rendition of this – Nini prided herself on having one time completely convinced Arabia that Argie had actually killed her. Who was Roxanne's killer? He wouldn't say, but Nini suspected Argie himself.

It was not the sort of dance that a man in love with a courtesan would enjoy watching, but – he had to understand what he was getting into.

Nini went to talk to the Argentinean about dancing that evening, then returned to the others to get ready for it.

Then again, Nini thought as she pulled of the cumbersome red skirt that she'd worn to talk to the Duke. If Shakespeare killed Sparkles it would solve a lot of my problems. She sighed, knowing but not wanting to admit that she depended on Sparkles as much as anyone else at the Moulin and tied her shawl so that it would be out of the way, falling as a half-skirt to retain some modesty, if not much. She noticed some of the other girls losing clothes too. No one here cared what they wore and it was much to hot for anything extra.

Silence fell over the hall as Shakespeare reappeared from backstage and Nini settled down next to Arabia to watch him. She wasn't sure why she found watching him so fascinating, but she did. He looked strangely calm considering his lover was going to 'have dinner' with someone else. What had she said to him? Promises of undying love, perhaps? Nini wouldn't put it past her.

Finally, she could stand it no longer. Quietly, she stood up and crossed the room toward him. "Don't worry Shakespeare!" She crooned, sitting in his lap. He jumped and leaned away. "You'll get your ending!" She continued. "Once the Duke gets his . . . end . . . in."

Suddenly she found herself being flung across the floor. Argie caught her and she turned back as Shakespeare's assault continued "Don't touch me!" she yelled – to whom, she wasn't sure since she was fighting both Shakespeare and Argie. The Argentinean pulled her away and she calmed down somewhat. "Keep your hands off me!" she spat at Christian angrily. She took several deep breaths as Argie soothed her gently and barely listened as he began berating Shakespeare about falling in love with 'a woman who sells herself.'

While Nini certainly hadn't expected Shakespeare to take her clever pun well, neither had she expected him to react so violently. He just didn't seem like that type.

"Of a prostitute!" Argie announced. Suddenly a spotlight hit her in the face, pulling her out of reverie. Was it time for the Tango already? Nini raised her eyebrows, faking disbelief at the title of prostitute. She questioningly indicted herself, then walked down the steps toward Argie, laughing raucously at the stagehands' catcalls and wolf whistles.

She walked closer, forcing herself not to look at Shakespeare's reaction. "And a man!" Argie continued. "Who falls in love . . ." Nini spun slowly, and ran her hands over her own body suggestively. " . . . With her." He finished in a whisper, staring at her intently.

The music began and Nini lost herself in the dance. "Desire . . . Passion . . . Suspicion . . . Jealousy . . . Anger . . ." The mood of their Tango changed with each word Argie spoke. She forgot about Shakespeare, forgot that she was dancing to prove a point. This was what she lived for. It had been much too long since her last dance with Argie and she really felt each change as it came, letting her sincerity show through without discretion.

Argie, too, seemed more sincere this time and she knew they'd never Tangoed together so well. The twirled and spun, making up the dance as they went. It didn't matter, after all, what the steps were as long as they matched the current tone. Finally, Argie yelled, "Without trust there is no love! Jealousy," He let go of her wrist with a jerk, pushing her several steps backwards. "Yes, jealousy, will drive you MAD!" Nini stumbled into another man, holding her wrist. That part was supposed to hurt, but did he really have to –

There was no time for that. She raised her arms, readying herself for the second –much more fun – part of the Tango. Roxanne's affairs. "ROXANNE!"

She danced with the first man for a few seconds before she felt someone else behind her and she obediently went to him instead. "Walk the streets for money!" Argie sang and Nini went from one partner to the next, danced seductively with each one, then left them all disappointed.

"You don't have to sell your body to the night!" Nini's current partner lifted her into the air and they held the position for a long second, exhilaration coursing through her. As he slowly let her down in front of Argie, Nini heard something she hadn't expected. Shakespeare was singing.

He'd sung before of course – more than once, he'd taken over as the sitar player when narcolepsy overcame Argie. Nini realized his song was of the very jealousy that Argie had been singing of only minutes before – the kind that could drive someone mad.

A/N: So, Roxanne was not nearly as difficult to write as I suspected - the fact that I had large amounts of homework and needed a reason to put it off helped inspire me as well. The whole thing is written, but I wanted to keep the chapter lengths consistent, so I broke it in two. Right now, I think there will be eight or nine chapters total, unless some random scene appears between now and the end (I doubt it) to add in another.

Sorry about the random paragraph in which Nini changes clothes - in watching Roxanne's Tango again I realized what she'd done with the shawl in the scene before and I was so proud of myself that I couldn't resist mentioning it. Has anyone else noticed that in one scene (in the movie) Nini is talking to the Duke and going back to sit with the others, and then when Come What May ends not only are they all gone, but so are the chairs they were sitting in? I don't think there's any evidence that they were on stage either - and by rights they should've been there the entire time anyway (they are in the final scene, after all - why weren't they part of the dress rehearsal?) I didn't know what to do about this in my story, so I just ignored it - but for once, the inconsistancy is not my fault!