#elking

“Ehh??” El stumbled backwards as if she were physically struck by a blow, “ T-third -rate? No way!” her tail hung limply behind her.

“If you can’t do a simple box turn without stepping on my feet then that’s what you are.” King crossed her arms and sighed in disappointment, “I suppose I’ll have to ask Sky instead… She is annoyingly lazy but at least she doesn’t think this is a wrestling match. Maybe I can get at least one practice session out of her before she makes up excuses to escape.”

“Hey hey heyyyy!!” interrupted El with an overblown objection, “I can dance better than Sei! Just watch me! One more time, uno más!” she clenched her fists and squared up her shoulders, she really did act like this was a wrestling match if no one knew they were actually trying to practice dancing. “I’ll show you waltzin’!”

King uncrossed her arms and dismissively waved a hand, “Very well, I suppose I’ll permit you one last chance to show you’re not an oafish gorilla when it comes to dancing.” she thrust out that hand towards El, palm upward, “Come then. Prove me wrong.” A smile crossed her face adding to the challenge against her bumbling dance partner. There was no way either of them were going to give up that easily.

El took a step forward closing the gap between them and accepted King’s hand, but not in a forceful grappler’s grip. It was a gentle caress of her rougher calloused fingers along King’s soft palm, guiding it upwards, then her fingers curled over the side of King’s palm to complete the connection as she felt King’s fingers hold her hand in return between her thumb and forefinger. Next her other hand gently rested upon the side of King’s upper back. King replied to her dance partner’s connection by softly resting her own arm upon El’s with a hand holding her upper arm, where a bit of bicep could be felt underneath the sleeve of the training uniform.

Another half step forward closed any remaining space between her and King, the right half of El’s body softly touching King’s own. A deep breath was drawn in by El, pressing her chest just a bit more against King’s for a moment. The closed position was complete.

“Don’t disappoint me.” King looked slightly up at El and watched as she physically and mentally prepared herself to lead the dance once more for King. She saw a cocksure smile from the masked umamusume. If there was one thing El had more than enough of other than passion, it was confidence.

El slightly bobbed her head and swished her tail to the slow and steady triple-meter beat, then started the first step with her left foot forward. King followed in mirror steps to El as their bodies flowed and slid gently in a waltz box. The most basic step was nothing to be too proud of accomplishing, but it was only the beginning. Not missing a beat, El led King forward in musically timed steps dancing alongside the large wall mirror. Her hand dropped away from King’s upper back in midstep while her other rose above both their heads, signalling for King to take an underarm turn with the tips of their fingers caressing each other loosely with a gentle hook to keep contact in King’s stepping spin before her. King was honestly surprised at the delicate lingering caresses of El’s fingertips in the elegant twirl. It was nothing like the tighter or rougher grasps from earlier. It was… sensual.

As she faced El once more, rather than clasping their free hands together and embracing, their palms met with a step of open space between their bodies. King looked up at El’s face, seeing that assured smile grow even wider when King was caught staring. They took a step forward together with El leading the way, returning the way they came across the mirror with a step that changed it up from their usual facing together position. The pair both turned away from each other, standing back to back in sync. Their hands broke away from each other to reach out as their tails gently swayed across each other. Another turning step brought El and King back to facing each other to bring their once outstretched arms to meet palm to palm again. El and King repeated this traveling step, watching each other dance in the mirror when it came into view— a confident smirk planted on El’s face and a surprised rosy flush on King’s cheeks. Then their bodies pressed back together in the tight closed position they started from,their hands back to gently clasping each other’s.

“So, how was that? Pretty first-rate dancin’, huh?” El beamed with smug pride after completing the short routine that was their wall for the past hour. From the other side of the dance studio, the pair from King's retinue gave a round of applause from the flawless performance.

King blinked in astonishment. It was almost as if she was dancing with a completely different person just now. There were no missteps, no aggressive holds, no bumping into each other. It was loose, gliding, dare she even admit— elegant. Everything a waltz represented. “...Were you always able to do this!?”

“Sí, I just wanted to enjoy dancin’ all close to you longer! If I landed it on the first attempt, practice would be too short.” El let out a cheeky laugh that got a groan out of King. “But mi rey,” her voice was a low simmer. El intertwined her fingers with King’s, lowering their hands into a more relaxed position now that their dancing was over. She looked over her lover’s face, cheeks slightly colored, mouth agape in wonder, those coppery eyes staring straight into her own blues, “Dónde está la pasión? I'm about to fall asleep with this waltzing! There's no fire, no conflict— no excitement in this!"

And the wonder instantly vanished from King’s face. The earlier exasperation returned as her ears flattened against her head, and her tail drooped limply, “Conflict isn’t the point of a first-rate ballroom waltz, you overenthusiastic grappler— it’s unity! It’s how the two dancers flow together with elegance and grace. Not a challenge between rivals!” She broke the intertwined grip of their hands to throw her arms up in frustration. “We’re dance partners !”

“Sí, sí. I know all about how waltzes are supposed to go… but we could be enjoying something with more fun and life!” El stepped back with a spin, throwing an arm up into the air and swayed her hips to a rhythm only she could hear, “Ah, we could kick it up with the rumba,” El’s arm then lowered to the middle to sway back and forth and her knees bent slightly as she increased her grooving hip gyrations with an excited grin,  “Or spice it up with the salsa,” Finally came powerful footwork from El with intense body gestures while dancing in a spin around King finishing with a dramatic outstretched hand towards her baffled dance partner, “Or the explosive pasodoble! Ayyy, I love to dance, mi rey, but my feet and hips are itchin’ for some oomph! Just thinkin’ of those burnin’ hot styles has got me wantin’ to move it!” She whirled through the powerful steps and arm movements of the pasodoble until she suddenly gave a powerful single clap that brought everyone’s ears to attention.

“King!” El placed her hands on her hips, brimming with overflowing energy, her ears perked and tail swiftly lashing, “Lemme show you one of mis bailes favoritos! I’m all fired up and gotta let it out!”

King blinked in surprise as she was suddenly addressed after the rather distracting display of latin dance styles El performed in sequence. It certainly didn’t help the fact that she was only slacking off with her terrible performance earlier and then she pulled out— this. But this was no time for distractions! “F-fine, fine,” she quickly recomposed herself with the usual air of prideful elegance, “I’ll permit you to give me a demonstration of your favorite dance if it’ll help you concentrate later.” She flipped a lock of her wavy rich brown hair with a hand and smiled back at her bright shining partner, “What was that word you used? ‘Adelante’?”

“Si, perfecto!!” If her previous state was believed to be the brightest El could glow, she kicked it up another notch with a double thumbs up and a fiercely wagging tail. “Adelante! Lemme go get the music started!” El spun about on her heel and quickly jogged to the stereo setup. Her toe was tapping and hips swaying as she pulled out her phone to establish a connection.

King brought a half closed hand to her mouth, elegantly shielding her bemused giggle as she watched her over enthusiastic lover shine and dance about. El really was the embodiment of the sun when displaying her burning passion on those crimson sleeves of hers. Whatever dance El was going to perform, King was sure it was going to be one to remember. She walked over to join her two groupies, who wore expressions of intense curiosity, and shared guesses of what El could be bringing to the dance studio.

On the other wall of the dance studio, El’s light training jacket was now resting on the table next to a vase filled with roses. Next she was rolling up her sleeves, looking at the screen of her phone. Whatever she had planned, El was making quite some preparations for it. She gave her phone a few taps and the waltz music ended, shortly replaced by the strumming of a guitar. It was familiar to King’s ears; she remembered El playing her own guitar with a similar rhythm out in the school’s courtyard.

“Bien!” El beamed at the start of her song playing through the speakers of the dance studio. Then she turned about facing the trio of girls who were watching with apt curiosity. A grin flashed across El's face when she dramatically pointed a finger at them announcing, “You’ll be joinin’ in with the music!”

“Huh?” Confused glances were shared between the girls, who lacked any sort of instruments at hand.

“King! You gotta clap! It ain’t flamenco without the clapping!” She began with a short series of strong loud claps that matched the beat of the guitars. Then loud short quick stomps that made a sharp strike from the soles of her shoes on the wooden floor joined in, “C’mon! With me!”

“Flamenco?” King arched her brow and joined in the clapping, still slightly confused but the combination of quick steps and the clapping from El was certainly an interesting leadup. Soon the three of them were clapping in a brisk loud rhythm, excited to see what was next for that rapid footwork.

El lifted her arms above her head, twirling her wrists and snapping her fingers as her heels stamped out a growing crescendo of quickening strikes. Then a sudden forceful strike and dramatic throwing down her arms capped off the build up causing a chorus of gasps from El’s private audience. She smirked at them as she began a circular traveling step, dancing with the graceful swings of her arms and powerful turns. She strode past the table where her jacket rested folded next to the flower vase and pulled a single rose out during her pass, not missing a single beat or step. She turned once more to face her audience, now with a rose held in her teeth.

“O-oh my goodness…!” King couldn’t help but giggle at the sight before her. El was an entertainer and there was no doubt about it. Especially right at this moment looking more like an exotic latin lover than a fellow racer. Well, both of those facts were completely true. A cheeky masked wink made King’s heart skip a beat as El showed off exactly how much she lived and breathed her role. “Oh, you !”

El’s feet attacked the floor with rapid staccato strikes, in speeds twice as fast as the clapping all while her arms contrasted with gracefully flowing from her hips and above her head until powerful swings joined her critical steps. Her body twisted and turned, going from close short steps to dramatic kick outs. A spin of sharp steps swiftly turned into a kneel to give a moment’s pause in the intense dance to give El time to look at King while she slowly rose back up with a sultry gaze, then her pace picked back up, the stamping echoed in the dance studio along with the loud rapid clapping and cheering from the trio of girls watching her performance.

The dance was a display of absolute raw passion and power from El, showing off her skill and stamina to keep up such rhythmic form as her quick footwork took her around the floor. Slaps to her high stepping knees and strikes from her shoes added to the persistent clapping, turning her own body into a multi-layered percussive instrument as she danced. Her expression was pure bliss, as if she was on the Winning Live stage itself instead of a humble dance studio.

El paused her stepping for a few moments to clap at a faster speed as the tempo of the music picked up, “C’mon! C’mon! Sigue !” She called out between the rose held in her teeth to goad her small private audience to clap louder and more swiftly. Once the right tempo hit her dark bay ears, she nodded and twirled to kick it up even one more notch. El tossed an arm into the air, elegantly twisting her wrist and fingers while her feet stormed and thundered below in aggressive kicks, alternating one leg out and the next. Brief poses were struck with accented claps until there was one final thundercrack of a stomp and El stood still with her arms in the air, body twisted, panting, but with the biggest grin on her sweat coated face.

Applause rang out starting from King’s followers at the end of the powerful performance. Followed by cheers and soon King was also clapping, giving more measured praise. But her expression and swaying tail showed she was just as hyped as her excitable girls.

“Th-that was so cool!”

“Wow! I… I’ve never seen flamenco dancing before!” King’s followers exchanged words of awe of the performance.

“Goodness, what a first-rate performance. I dare say that deserves a standing ovation!” King rose to her feet to clap for her dance partner, smiling proudly at the inspiring display of skill and technique. The other two girls quickly stood up to cheer and clap in excitement for El, who bowed down with extra flair and pulled the rose from her mouth to hold between her fingers at their cheers. King continued, “Truely a fine display of your burning passion, I can feel the heat from here.” King lightly fanned her hand towards her face to accent her words of praise.

“Gracias! Gracias!” El bowed once more, then strode towards King. In one swift sweep of her arms, she lifted her right off her feet getting a rather undignified yelp of surprise from King as her world became ungrounded. El only merely gave a hearty laugh at her surprise as she swung her girlfriend around in a circle, then tucked the stem of the rose between King’s emerald ribbon around her covered right ear, “I see you’ve been moved by my display of passion, mi rey!” The masked umamusume leaned in closer, bringing her face only a foot away from King’s. She was shimmering with a light coat of sweat, some of her long dark bay forelocks sticking to her cheeks, but she was as bright as the sun with her beaming smile and sky blue eyes. “Now— imagine rather than us doin’ that slow mirror walkin’ and huggin’ that I don’t actually mind, we’re out there on the dance floor blowin’ everyone away with a burnin’ hot pasodoble. Qué romántico, no?”

Color and heat immediately rose to King’s cheek at El’s bold action and even bolder words. There was a collective gasp behind her. But the proposed idea was quite a tempting one. She smiled at the thought— a grand and powerful performance with who apparently was a first-rate dancer when it caught El's interest. Goodness, it made her heart skip a beat.

“So how about it?” came El’s voice once again, bringing King back to the present.

“A-ah,” King took a moment to collect herself from her fantasies to recompose herself the best she could while held up in El’s arms. “I suppose I will permit you to teach me the pasodoble.” she answered with her haughty tongue. She never simply gave permission but granted the grace of entertaining her in a way that made it look like others were doing a favor for her. Not that she would ever say no to this, not in a hundred years.

“Fantástico!” El cheered and began swinging King around once more, holding her higher and closer to plant kisses all about her cheeks and sneaking a few off her lips. For someone who just gave an intense flamenco performance, El didn’t lack any energy at all. In fact, it seemed she had even more energy than she started with as she laughed in her assault of playful kisses.

Each of those kisses felt like soft warm tickles upon King’s skin, making her arms squeeze tighter around El’s shoulders as she was carried along the dance floor. Oh, she would have loved to stay like this yet… it wasn’t ideal. No— there was a slight flaw, “El! El, please stop for a moment!” There was a confused pause in her lover’s kissing and her steps slowed down, “You are absolutely drenched in sweat! You need to take a shower first if you’re going to keep kissing me like this.”

“Hmm….” a smirk slowly played on El’s face as her ears pointed forward, “But what if I kept goin’ and made you have to take a shower conmigo?” her shoulders shook with a cheeky chuckle when King’s followers audibly gasped at the quite forward suggestion. El certainly didn’t hold back even when she knew others were watching the two of them. Yet for King…

A new fresh rush of heat rose to King’s cheeks at the mere thought of the suggestion she just heard uttered from that serially kissing mouth. El clearly didn’t care if others were watching or listening: her passion knew no bounds and that was one of the many aspects she admired in El. Yet she had to reign her in. “Not yet… But I’ll take one more kiss.” She held El’s cheek with one hand and pulled her in close to enjoy a proper tender and lingering kiss. Enjoying that soft smouldering heat of El’s lips and the gentle parting of her lips to press just a bit closer. Then she pulled back with a smile to be rewarded with a rare silent El with a slightly agape mouth. King slid her hand from her girlfriend’s cheek to under her jaw to gently close her mouth that turned into a big smile.

“But!” King’s copper-red eyes stared fiercely at El. “As your punishment for not taking our waltz seriously, we’re going to continue practicing until it’s perfect !” King brought her hand up towards her own cheek and let out her signature laugh, “Ohohoho! We shall be the rulers of the upcoming ball!”

“Quéééé??” El blinked in astonishment, not expecting this at all. Especially after such a nice kiss! How could she have been betrayed like this?

“Come now,” King tossed her head with a haughty smile that made her locks bounce playfully, “It shouldn’t take long after displaying such a first-rate performance to burn that extra energy you have. Now, let’s begin!” she turned her gaze towards her followers who watched every moment of their exchange, “Ladies, music please!”

“Yes, King!”