flatteries: (i'm just trying to stop the bleeding)
a man for flowers ✿ ( INIGO ) ([personal profile] flatteries) wrote in [community profile] voidtreckerexpress2020-12-11 11:10 pm

(open) my heart is about to jump out of my chest

Who: Inigo and you!
Where: The upper level of the music carriage
When: Imagination 19/20
What: Inigo thinks he's having a private dance practice moment. Thinks.
Warnings: Probably nothing, will edit if necessary.

---


(open to all)

If you happen to pass through the music carriage today - as people usually do when moving through the train - you may notice something. Either you can hear music coming from the upper floor, drawing your attention, or if you have a good heart, you may instead see an odd little creature sitting on the stairs, swaying from side to side along with the music.

If you decide to go upstairs, the creature certainly won't do anything to stop you, if you can see it. In fact, it seems to happily bounce right after you, following you up.

And upstairs the carriage is mostly empty - except for Inigo standing on the stage, dancing. The music is even more audible now. Inigo is dancing along to the beat, eyes closed, yet he doesn't seem to even come close to falling off the stage, as if he knows exactly where to place his feet. Which he probably does, considering his movements seem to be very fluid, practiced. It's a pretty captivating dance, honestly, and it's easy to just keep watching it without realising the time is passing until the song stops.

It's then that Inigo stops moving too, finally opening his eyes..

.. and therefore finally noticing that he's not alone. He lets out an absolute shriek, staring you straight in the eyes, before his foot slips and he finally ends up falling on the stage.

Temporary elegance gone. There is only a miserable little pile of Inigo on the stage now.

(closed to taiki)

Okay, okay. Maybe he just needs to get used to dancing in front of people. He danced in front of Tidus before, and that was only.. only mildly mortifying, so maybe that's what he should do. Make sure to dance in front of people he feels a bit more comfortable with.

Hence why Inigo gently dragged (read: made puppy eyes at until he gave in) Taiki along here. He said it was fine if Taiki would just sit there and paint or something, do whatever he feels like doing! It's just that Inigo has to get used to having an audience, okay! And Taiki is just about the most gentle person Inigo can think of for this sort of thing.

But thinking of that is one thing. The actual execution of this plan is another thing.

Which is why they're both here now, but rather than dancing, Inigo just sitting there on the stage, slumped over, groaning. His face is buried in his hands.

"Why is it so hard to get started when someone else is looking.." Is he whining to Taiki? To himself? Who knows.
subcircuits: (inquiring)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2020-12-15 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
"What, a fall?" Devero slows as he reaches the stage, stopping at the end of the aisle. "Happens to the best of us, right? I've had my fair share of wipe-outs too. You're not hurt, are you?"
subcircuits: (run that by me again)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2020-12-17 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
'Milord'? Really? But Devero lets that pass without comment, since the rest of what Inigo's saying is even more baffling. The performance he describes definitely does not match the performance Devero just saw.

"Subpar?" He actually mounts the stage in a leap and reaches down to offer the other man a hand up. "Have you seen yourself dance, man? You were mesmerizing!"
subcircuits: (spoiler i'm actually a huge dork!)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2020-12-20 06:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh. Oh kid. His self-consciousness is blazingly obvious to Devero, who actually steps back a little to give him space.

Well, physical space, that is. "You're right, I have," he says. His voice is kind, but definitely relentless as he continues, "So you can trust me when I say I know good dance when I see it. Your grace, your form-- are you professionally trained?"
subcircuits: (definitely like what i'm seeing)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2020-12-22 11:58 pm (UTC)(link)
Goodness, he really is embarrassed about this, isn't he? Devero feels a little bad, for flustering him so thoroughly.

When Inigo mentions his mother, though... There's a distinctly wistful expression that comes over his face. "You have a mother?" he asks. "And she taught you how to dance like this? Oh, how wonderful!"
subcircuits: (interface)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2020-12-25 08:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh. His face falls. "I'm sorry," he says quietly. If the kid weren't so obviously uncomfortable he might have reached out to squeeze his shoulder, but as it is, he keeps his hands to himself.

"If her dancing was better than yours is now, she must have been truly sublime," he says instead. "How lucky you were to be able to learn from her."

subcircuits: (hunted)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2020-12-26 08:09 pm (UTC)(link)
"Devero," he says, kindly but firmly. "I'm no one's lord."

He laughs, a little self-consciously. "I mean, I'm just a hobbyist," he says. "I do it for fun. I haven't had any kind of training like yours. I don't mind showing you, though." He wouldn't have volunteered at the big meeting if he hadn't been willing to share.

"--Oh. But all the dances I know require a partner."
subcircuits: (frustrated)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2020-12-27 11:34 pm (UTC)(link)
The prospect of finding a partner immediately makes him think of Koumyou Sanzo, with whom he'd had such an electrifying encounter in this very car. Sanzo, with whom he absolutely wanted to dance again, but had been studiously avoiding because of the conflicting feelings that desire dredged up in him.

So to divert his mind rapidly away from that discomfiting subject, and since it sounds like the possibility hasn't even occurred to Inigo, he says, "How are you at following?"
subcircuits: (frustrated)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2020-12-29 05:00 pm (UTC)(link)
Devero is quick to put up his hands in the face of Inigo's startlement. "Only if you're comfortable with it!" he demurs quickly. The last thing he wants to do is cross any boundaries. "If you're not, we can figure something else out."
subcircuits: (250 pounds of adorable)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2020-12-30 02:02 am (UTC)(link)
Devero waits in patient silence while Inigo thinks about it. He's definitely not going to push the kid one way or the other, and he doesn't mind that it takes him a minute to figure out his mind about it.

He does smile pretty happily when Inigo agrees, though.

"I was thinking I could show you one of the ballroom dances from my world," he suggests. "One of the basic ones. That sound okay?"
subcircuits: (Default)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-01-01 02:37 am (UTC)(link)
"It's one of my favorites," Devero says. "Let me go pick out some music?"

Without waiting for an answer, he hops lithely down from the stage and dogtrots up the aisle to the ICP at the end of the carriage. He spends a moment flipping through suggestions until he finds something he likes, then returns to the stage.

He holds out his hands in invitation. "Shall we?"
Edited 2021-01-01 02:38 (UTC)
subcircuits: (interface)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-01-01 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
Devero grasps Inigo's outstretched hand in his own, then lays his other gently on the younger man's waist. "Just follow my feet," he says, and starts into the opening steps of the dance.

This is apparently not the first time he's led someone who doesn't know the steps. He goes slow and choreographs his movements pretty obviously. And this waltz is a simple one, just a step-step-turn, step-step-turn that should be very simple for Inigo to pick up. Regardless, Devero leads conscientiously, and if Inigo shows any signs of extreme discomfort he'll stop and step back.
subcircuits: (appealing)

[personal profile] subcircuits 2021-01-02 09:52 pm (UTC)(link)
He's a natural. He's as much a joy to dance with as-- never mind. Not dwelling on that.

Devero does keep the lead, though he gradually stops lead-leading and starts just, well, dancing. As Inigo picks up on the steps and his awkward sort of hesitation fades, Devero starts to step it up a little. See, this waltz can be performed staying in one place, turning and swaying in little circles. But performed properly, it swoops and whirls, describing great graceful arcs across the dance floor.

Once Inigo's into it, Devero's steps start to lengthen and his turns become sharper and more energetic. They're no longer two people trying to move with each other but two tidal bodies locked in celestial orbit, gravitational as they map out elegant trajectories.

Of course, that kind of rapport can't last forever, at least not without being explicitly nurtured. The song Devero picked winds to a close, and the ICP automatically starts playing something else, something that starts with a blare of brass. Devero actually startles a little bit, lifting his head and blinking like he's just waking up from a dream.

"Wow," is all he says as he steps back from the younger man. "Wow."

(no subject)

[personal profile] subcircuits - 2021-01-06 00:11 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] subcircuits - 2021-01-08 02:24 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] subcircuits - 2021-01-10 18:44 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] subcircuits - 2021-01-15 00:01 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] subcircuits - 2021-01-16 17:59 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] subcircuits - 2021-01-20 23:11 (UTC) - Expand