There isn't exactly a school for artistic direction, Axel discovers. Leon fell into it because his dad had been one before, and bringing Leon along to rehearsals had generally led to new ideas – let it never be said that nepotism wasn't alive and well in the arts. So Roxas was to be Leon's protégé; a position for which he was well suited, and Axel is happy that he's worked out what he wants to do. What he hadn't realised was that Roxas was going to work with a younger, less experienced choreographer than Cloud – Leon couldn't always spare him. And so Roxas is partnered up with Reno, a long-limbed and flirtatious redhead whom Axel hates on sight. Unlike Cloud, Reno has never been a dancer, never been good enough, it is said, and so he's directing those more talented than he is, but that isn't what makes Axel hate him. What makes Axel hate him is that Roxas looks at him like he's hung the moon. It makes Axel's blood boil with rage. After all, it's been a week since the impromptu blowjob, and whilst Roxas might be getting more pliant in public, he's not giving them much time to be alone – and when he is, he's talking about Reno and how flexible he is, how inspiring, how strong, how good to work with, how much he's learning from the other redhead. When Axel hears that Reno used Roxas to demonstrate a lift, even though Roxas will never have the proper form, he snaps the concealer pencil he's using to cover his tattoos before class. Roxas doesn't seem to notice.

Axel excuses himself from evening class to watch Roxas and Reno practice with some of the lower school kids. Ienzo is there, which is a waste, in Axel's very definite opinion; the kid has talent, but then, Rox might just be more fun to work with. Axel keeps to the back of the room, behind Roxas, who is shifting his weight irritably whilst Reno takes the kids through their steps. Kids, again, Axel thinks, but I don't think of Rox as a kid. He shakes that thought off, and just watches Reno for a bit, trying to see what Rox sees in him. Not bad on the eyes, certainly, and Axel's worked with him before and knows he's a fair taskmaster, but he does tend to be a little…

"That wasn't the full turn I wanted, Ienzo." Reno's voice drawls, although it's not his job to do that, not whilst Roxas is in the room, and Axel's just about to say so when Roxas cuts across the muttering of the dancers.

"That's up to me, thank you. Not bad, Ienzo, keep the weight off that ankle for a little bit longer, until the sprain's fully healed."

Axel smirks. Now that's his boyfriend, alright, a gentle rebuke which hurts more than a shout. Roxas shoots him a look over his shoulder which says he knows he's been there all the time, gestures to a seat, and dismisses the dancers. Ienzo lingers, as does Reno.

"Don't try to undermine me when you haven't bothered to remember who has injuries." Roxas says, bluntly, and Reno takes it for the dismissal that it is. Then it's just Ienzo, Roxas, and Axel.

"Leon's got me planning something – not a whole ballet, obviously, that's his territory, but he's letting me do a couple of dances…. I'm not explaining properly."
Axel keeps proper distance from Roxas, aware that he's a dancer now, not a boyfriend, and waits for Rox to get his thoughts sorted out.

"It's a ballet in tiny scenes, sections, all with the theme of love, the way love runs through lives. And I want you two to dance a scene for me, the fire spirit and the ice spirit – both ien pointe/i."

Axel shakes his head.

"I haven't danced ien pointe/i for years, not since I got tall enough to get male roles. I'm not sure I can anymore."
"I'm used to playing the woman." Ienzo says, mildly, "I can give you some help, maybe, when my ankle's healed up. No offense."

"The point isn't to be feminine characters – in fact, the way you've danced is perfect, Axel, that's why I had this in mind – it's about being disconnected from the world, masculine and yet apart from the real, as it were. I've watched you ien pointe/i, and that's how it felt, and Ienzo, the same is true of you when you're not dancing a character piece. And you're both grown up enough to know it's not about feminising you."

Ienzo smiles.

"Thanks for the chance. I need to go ice my ankle," he rolls his eyes, and Axel chuckles, "But I'm interested. It would be really nice to work with you, both of you."

Axel watches him go, then turns his gaze upon his boyfriend.

"You really remember what I was like?"

"I was obsessed with watching you, you were everything a dancer should be. I think I was possessed by the idea of you before I knew your name." Roxas says, and he's stemming the blush because it's true, and Axel deserves to know.

"Sounds like someone needs to come back to mine, then, and show me just how interested they are." Axel says, waggling his eyebrows, but isn't surprised when Roxas just raises one of his in return, and gathers up a few papers. It's a no, but it's not particularly unpleasant, or strongly-worded – it's just an easy out Roxas has built for himself.

"If you… I mean… I could." Roxas says, hesitantly, and Axel could punch the air, he really could, "Just…."

"Come on, it's starting to get cold, and I need a hot water bottle. You're about the right size."

Roxas makes a face at that, but doesn't turn away from the hand in his. Axel counts it as a win. They sleep back to back, but the silence and warmth is far from awkward.

Axel admits that he might have forgotten what it's like to start learning to be ien pointe/i; he's still got his regular classes and rehearsals with Leon, and now he has after-hours practices with Ienzo. The kid's much more fluid that he is, much more skilled, but as he says, he's only been out of the damn shoes for a couple of months, whereas Axel hasn't used them for maybe a year and a half. He's glad Roxas doesn't come to watch, because not only does he threaten to topple, but he peels the shoes away, bloody and raw, and wants to sob with the pain. In rehearsals, he expects Larxene to tell him to suck it up and deal, but she just gives him a couple of tips to reduce the pain, and looks sympathetic. Her feet are calloused and rough, gnarled from use, and his were fresher, cleaner lines – but she understands his pain, and she is silent when he missteps in rehearsal, letting him know that she is sympathetic. Ienzo makes up ice baths for his feet and watches him hiss as he attempts to place them into the tub, the raw, bloody pieces of meat on which he has to dance tomorrow. He's not sure he can do this, but when Roxas asks to see how he's getting on with the shoes, he can't deny him, going through some basic steps with Ienzo – it's not the first time he's done this, remember, he has been trained before, enough to dance a little of the ipas de deux/i, to show Roxas how they are interpreting his vision. Roxas stops them the second he realises there's blood soaking through Axel's shoes.

"You don't have to do this. It can be done without you needing the pointe shoes." He says, quietly, and Axel bites his lip as he shakes his head.

"I did three years of pointe, that's more than most male dancers would do – I can do this. It's just hard to get back into it."

Ienzo nods, too.

"He's pretty good – you should see if Larxene will give us some lessons, if she'll talk us through some of her moves. We're not going to be able to jump, most likely, but we'll get elevation in arabesque well enough."

"That's all I want." Roxas says, quietly, "One scene ien pointe/i, another with your usual shoes, as the same characters, only earthbound, leaping to attain the heady delights of the spirit realm."

"It's the male Odette, right?" Ienzo asks, and Roxas smiles at him, sharply, giving him that credit, "The desire to fly."

Axel kisses Roxas' head, because it's not like Ienzo doesn't know, and eases the bloody shoes off his feet. He takes it as a compliment that Roxas doesn't leave.