Oooh, could I please request #1 - Introduction for Katya & Tab? 'Canon' or an AU!:) <3
You certainly can, my friend! And, hey, @mercurygray has affected me once again because that ballet AU? Rent-free in my brain, baby. I could think of no better way to say âintroductionâ than to have the longest sentences known to man ramble about Tab/Katya until I ran out of air/permitted sentences, hahaha.
The first time he sees her, really sees her in everyday life as opposed to seeing some introduction to her on some screen somewhere, is when he catches her filming the pliĂŠ et relevĂŠ of her friend Lena while laughing up a storm with their other friend, Tati, who he only knows on sight because she owns that modern dance studio on the shadier side of town next to Toyeâs boxing gym.
Sheâs even more radiant out here, all smiles and bubbly commentary in a language he doesnât think heâll ever master, directing Lena through the paces with the air of a dancer who never has to think twice about her footwork, shouting at Tati when the blonde performs a handstand thatâs got her top slipping down over her face until everybody in the vicinity catches an eyeful, and he almost laughs out loud when he spies on her Instagram feed later that evening and sees her dance a pirouette with only a stuffed teddybear for company.
Katya is like that, he finds, as Kitty from wardrobe remarks on that ânice Russian filly whoâll talk your ears offâ, as she ropes Babe Heffron into doing all sorts of wacky stuff to her hair that she promises her viewers âwill wash out eventually before I dance Odile and need to look like grrrrrarghhâ, as she talks Toye into showing her how to hit a man but winds up laughing and shouting sheâs not made for pain even when she posts a picture of her battered feet the next day that seems to belie that entirely.
He doesnât know she knows him, too, until heâs done filming this section of Dick and Lew and Speirs conferring over drinks while Guarnere drunkenly shouts that the best espresso in town is to be found at Basiloneâs, until he sees her cheeky smile and wave in the background of the video thatâs got his feed in a tizzy about her, what on earth is he doing with her, sheâs such an airhead in a way that makes him grit his teeth and close comments for the first time in forever.
An apology from airhead to airhead, he almost says when he bumps into her after rehearsal the following night, because he knows a thing or two about being seen a certain way by this world until youâre nothing but the punchline to some joke, but what he says is âhey, have you tried that new bubble tea on the north side of town yetâ and what he gets is âhave you tried new swimming pool at Kolyaâs yetâ and he thinks thereâs something in this no camera can capture when she leans in close and says ârace you to carâ in the conspiratorial way that screams theyâll do both and so much more.
