#two step dance

I tapped the edge of my duster against a shelf lightly as me and Thoma both took a break from cleaning. While he was the main housekeeper of the Kamisato estate, I often came by to help out since the place was beyond large. Too large, really, to be cleaned by one man.

Or at least that was my excuse, considering there were other folks who cleaned the Kamisato estate as well. In reality, I just enjoyed hanging out with Thoma, and the Kamisato family were nice.

I twisted with mild amusement to look at the young man next to me, who never had been good about taking breaks, even when it was his scheduled break time. Even now, he stood off to the side, sweeping and humming some sort of perky little melody that had me smiling to myself.

“Do you like that song?” At my words, he twisted, looking over my way with widened eyes before laughing slightly.

“I guess so. It's a tune from my hometown that everyone used to dance to. I haven’t actually heard it since then,” He smiled as he explained, propping on his broom and causing my smile to widen at both the idea of him dancing and his slightly nostalgic tone.

At least I’d gotten him to finally take a break, but if I didn’t do something soon he’d be right back at working.

I laid my duster down, abandoning it on the shelf, and walked over to him before holding out my hands and smiling at him, “Show me?”

He blinked at me, his green eyes wide, before the full meaning of my words seemed to register, and he jolted. Immediately chuckling with a slight flush appearing on his face as he shook his head, “Oh, I was never much good at dancing. If you want to spare your toes, you probably don’t want to dance with me.”

I felt my grin spread teasingly as I took his hands in mine, swinging them lightly between us, “I can lead then.”

He laughed at my teasing words but grasped my hands in return, “If you’re that determined, we can dance, but I have to tell you, it’s nothing impressive.”

I shook my head slightly, half amused by his determination to warn me off dancing with him when he should’ve known he wasn’t getting out of this now.

I rested one hand on his shoulder and tilted my head to the side as I held his gaze with a smile, “I’ll be the judge of that, so lead on.”

He snorted, already swaying with me slightly as he rested one hand on my waist but continued holding my hand with his other one.

“It’s not really that hard, stepwise. You just step together like this,” He spoke quietly, looking down at our feet as he explained. And, with only his words as a warning, he shifted forward with two short little steps, starting with his left foot, before stopping with his feet side by side.

And I obediently shifted backwards with him, starting instinctively with my right and stopping just like he did. With my feet side-by-side.

He bobbed his head with a smile, looking back up at me, “Yep, just like that. And now you just go like you're walking backwards for two steps.”

He bounced our joined hands as a signal and started guiding me backwards at a steady walking pace as he looked down at our feet once more, “And one, two.”

He nodded, letting go of my waist and stepping backwards, “Yeah, like that. Easy. Now you know the two-step.”

I grinned, keeping his hand in mine and tugging him back towards me, causing him to stumble forward with a surprised, laughter-filled, “Woah,” as I tilted my head at him.

“And now we can dance since you’ve taught me how,” I couldn’t keep the amusement out of my tone, and he laughed lightly. Not surprised in the slightest by my antics, even as he shook his head slightly.

I squeezed his hand slightly, my voice taking on a more wheedling tone, “Come on, Thoma. It’ll make for a fun break.”

He grinned then, amusement creeping into his eyes as he shook his head slightly before meeting my gaze, “I’d wondered what this was about. You’re just wanting to make sure I take my break.”

I almost pouted at how quickly he figured out my scheme, “You never do take breaks like you should, and you work so hard.”

He tilted his head, still amused even as he looked at me with an expression that told me he had no intention of giving way to my pleas, “I’m not tired, though, so there’s no need for me to take a break. If I get tired, I’ll rest. If not, I’ll just keep working.”

I sighed, letting his hand drop in slight defeat, “Fine. I really would like to dance with you some time, though. It sounds fun.”

I stepped back, smiling at him slightly as I turned, even though I knew there was no way I was getting my way. After all, there were few as devoted as Thoma was to his employers, and his housekeeping job was just one of his ways of showing that devotion.

I didn’t get to walk very far away though, as my hand got caught in his warm grasp, causing my eyes to widen in surprise before I looked back at him as he sighed with a smile on his face that told me he wasn’t upset with me in the slightest, even as he pulled me back over to where he stood, “Since you really do want to, just one dance.”

 I felt myself brighten at his words, and I chuckled slightly as we both reentered our starting positions before we started rotating across the floor with those simple steps he’d taught me, “You said you weren’t good at this dance, but you seem to be doing just fine to me.”

 I eyed him closely, still smiling as he shook his head slightly, pulling his gaze up from our feet and to my face with a slight smile, “Yeah, but these are the simplest steps there are, and they’re the only way I can do this dance.” 

He fell silent as we continued at the simple steady beat before he let out an almost sheepish chuckle, “It is kind of weird dancing without any music, though.”

I lifted one shoulder in a half-shrug, having already relaxed into the simple steps of our dance, “You could hum that tune you were humming before. It’s nice.”

He chuckled again, amusement flickering in his eyes at my words, “Dancing and now humming, you’re full of ideas today.”

I grinned at his words but shook my head, “Humming shouldn’t be embarrassing, though. You hum all the time while you work.”

His eyes widened at my words, and he blinked slightly before tilting his head quizzically, “I do?”

I laughed slightly, nodding as I answered, “Yeah, you hum all the time. In fact, that tune you were humming earlier might as well be our song with how much you hum it when we’re together.”

“I-” His voice died as he let out a flustered sound, and I laughed at his reaction. He shook his head though, meeting my gaze once more, “I didn’t realize I hummed it that much. It must be starting to get on your nerves if that’s the case.”

He gave a nervous chuckle, and I shook my head, “Not at all. I like it. It’s a nice song, but what’s it called?”

He blinked at me, and I felt a smile creeping across my face as I realized that, if his expression were anything to go by, he didn’t actually know the name of his song. But then he smiled, surprising me with the grin that curved across his face.

He lifted his hand, an obvious cue for me to spin, which I obediently did, only to get stopped with my back to his chest as he stopped moving us progressively across the floor. I glanced up at him in confusion, only to see him grinning at me as he answered my previous question with a single word, “Ours.”

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I stepped out of the dressing room, glancing over towards Crewel, who, after giving me a once over, gave me an approving head bob. 

I didn’t receive any compliments on how I wore the dress he designed, though. Instead, I was met with his own personal prayer regarding Ace’s development as a dancer, “Let’s pray he actually passes this one.”

I smiled slightly at his long, suffering sigh before reassuring him, “Oh, come on. It’s a two-step. Surely he won’t start jirating or dancing like he’s at a club this time.” 

My teacher rolled his eyes before looking down at his clipboard and shooing me off to the dance floor, where my less-than-pleased partner awaited. I didn’t miss the final jab the instructor tossed in Ace’s direction, too quietly for the redhead to hear but loud enough to make me smile, “At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised by anything.”

Rather than clue my friend in to our instructor’s commentary, I merely greeted Ace with that poorly concealed amusement. But, in my own defense, it was hard not to laugh at him with his crossed arms and petulant frown that told me exactly what he thought of his hat and boots before he ever opened his mouth, “Cowboy get-up…. Was this really necessary?”

I grinned at him, snickering slightly at his petulant frown before lifting one shoulder in a half-shrug, “I thought you could make anything look good?”

His eyes met mine, a faint glimmer appearing in them at my teasing, “Sure I can, but the hat and boots are a bit much.”

I laughed aloud at his half-joking, half-serious, sullen words that did nothing to hide the sparkle in his eyes. I reached up, tapping the brim of his hat playfully before responding, “Well, it does fit the vaguely country dance, doesn’t it?”

He let out a very fake laugh with an annoyed smile, “Mhm. Very. I’m beginning to think these dance classes are just so Crewel gets to play dress-up with the students.”

I snorted, casually slipping into our starting pose, my hand in his while the other rested lightly on his shoulder, “You’re just salty because you keep failing.”

He shot me a dirty look, but before he could retort, Riddle’s serious voice rose from the crowd, “Remember what we talked about Ace.”

The red-haired housewarden in the crowd was staring directly at the two of us, a pointed look on his face, and I watched as my partner lost his previous bluster, “That bad, huh?”

 Red eyes met mine, and Ace pulled a wavering, very nervous smile before attempting to shrug off Riddle’s pointed warning with Ace’s usual airiness, “Well, we are talking about the teapot tyrant.”

 I smiled reassuringly at the young man since I figured I knew exactly what the Heartslabyul housewarden had been talking about.

Riddle had probably threatened Ace with having to do some sort of unpleasant job or something should he fail this dance class like he had the past ones.

But, to be fair, I was beginning to think almost everyone’s patience with the boy was waning. He had failed at least three classes already, after all.

My personal feelings about  Ace’s success, or lack thereof, were a little more muddled. In a small way, I almost felt bad for the boy. But, in another way, I was equally desperate for him to finally pass a class since I’d been the victim of his dancing several times myself.

It wasn’t that Ace wasn’t exactly a bad dancer, per se. In fact, his sense of rhythm was wonderful, and he let loose enough to actually get with the general feelings of dancing. But Ace enjoyed himself a bit too much and often lost track of himself.  He would stop following the rules of the dance and instead go to doing whatever he liked in a sort of freestyle performance.

Despite all of that though, I found myself attempting to reassure my friend, “Hey, don’t worry. The two-step’s easy. Quick, quick, slow, slow.” 

He snorted as I listed the incredibly simple tempo, but, despite himself, I could see him visibly relax at my words.

I grinned slightly, giving his hand a slight squeeze and receiving a pointed glance, our eyes meeting briefly. It wasn’t long, though, before his gaze darted away from mine once more as a grin spread across his face, making me wonder exactly what he was thinking.

 I didn’t ponder what was going on in Ace’s head long though, since I could see Sam walking over to the radio. Giving  me a thumbs up just before he hit play. 

I leaned forward, offering one last shred of advice to my long-time companion, “Just remember to have fun with it. It’s just you and me dancing in Ramshackle. No one watching, and no grades.”

“Sure, if that were the case, I can guarantee we wouldn’t be dancing two-step, and I wouldn’t be in this get-up.” There was a mischievous glimmer to his eyes, but as the guitar set the pace and music flowed into the room, he began to steadily maneuver me backwards.

 Watching us now, I doubted anyone would believe that Ace’s usual mode of dancing was that of a stripper whose rent was due tomorrow. But then, a two-step was about as far from that as one could get. And he was concentrating—that much I could tell from the slight frown on his face.

When his eyes finally met mine, he made a face, no doubt restraining himself from doing anything too childish, lest it ruin his grade. 

Whatever threat Riddle had over him, it must be bad if Ace was holding himself back this much.

We pivoted across the floor, me twirling whenever Ace guided me to do so with a slight push of his hand on my upper back. 

The longer we danced, the more he relaxed until we had a slight sway to our upper bodies that paired well with the music. Looking at the slow grin starting to spread on his face, something told me Ace was steadily forgetting about both the exam and Riddle’s threat.

His gaze now held mine, his eyes sparkling as his grin managed to spread just a little more, “Hey, don’t go getting all dreamy-eyed on me.”

I snorted immediately at his teasing, letting him twist me so that my back was now to his chest and we were both headed the same direction, “As if, you aren’t exactly prince charming, Ace.”

He smoothly twisted me back around, amused as ever, when he responded, “From what I’ve seen, princes aren’t usually charming. I mean, look at Leona.”

I barely stifled a giggle but shook my head slightly at his antics. Somehow managing to keep from glancing towards the no doubt bored prince who was being forced to watch every performance along with the rest of the student body.

All too soon, we pivoted to a stop, and he twirled me out so that we were both facing our judges, namely the staff. 

We were both grinning, partially due to his sarcastic comments and partially due to our dance. Because despite the simplicity of the motions when compared to other dances, there was something enjoyable about the two-step. It made plenty of room for the spiteful remarks Ace so loved to make under his breath so that only I could hear them.

Even Crewel was grinning, likely because he realized he had at long last escaped attempting to teach Ace to dance in any more styles. Ace had finally passed, though admittedly not with full marks.

I turned to go and change into whatever new outfit Crewel had laid out for me to wear for the next dance, only to be stopped by Ace’s hand curling loosely around my wrist.

I looked back to see him grinning at me, eyes sparkling like rubies under the bright lights overhead, as he looked at me with a pride that came from his success, “We’ll have to dance again later. Just the two of us. At Ramshackle.”

Ever the teasing flirt, his grin turned slightly mischievous, and he winked as he let go of my wrist, “Though maybe not the two-step next time…..”

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