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

Entry tags:

(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.

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(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.

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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!"

There's definitely something odd about the way the other is asking that question. Who asks someone 'you have a mother' as if that's not a default thing, like it is in the world Inigo comes from!

.. but at least before he can open up his dumb big mouth, Inigo realises that the other may just come from a world where that isn't quite so standard. So thankfully he manages to not say anything about it out loud.

(Though he thinks it's a little sad, not having a mother. Mostly since he's so fond of his own.)

".. Had," he corrects, though not in any biting way. If anything, he sounds a little shy about it. "B-But yes, she did. Her own dancing was much better than mine though, I still have a lot to learn before I could ever reach her level."

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."

"Thank you."

It's hard to say what he's thankful for. Maybe it's the compliment for his mother - because Inigo always appreciates anyone saying anything kind about her - or maybe it's the other's understanding, his quiet comfort as he apologizes.

Inigo sure doesn't seem to elaborate which it is. It's not what's important here, anyway. He'd rather not linger on himself, but focus the attention on anything else - anything that'll keep him from feeling so shy by being in the spotlight.

"I.. If it's not too hard for you, would you perhaps mind demonstrating some of your dancing, milord..?" Inigo has been rather curious ever since the other brought it up at the meeting, after all. Though the way he asks Devero about it sounds rather cautious, like he doesn't want to put pressure on the other to have to do it now. "It sounded like you are very skilled as well."

And Inigo does like watching other people dance as well.

"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."

"Ah!" As kind as Devero brings it, it's hard for Inigo to not feel scolded when he's already stuck in his shyest mode possible. "F-Forgive me, m--"

There's a small, but frustrated sound as he realises he almost said it again out of nothing but sheer habit, and he quickly shuts his mouth to prevent more dumb things coming out of there. Come on, Inigo, get it together!

"D.. Devero." Better.

"And.. erm, I wonder if we could find a partner for you to dance with.."

Does Inigo not realise he could just literally do it himself? It doesn't sound like he's saying it to avoid bringing that up or anything, he more just sounds straight up oblivious.

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?"

"Me? Well, it's not that hard for.. me.."

Inigo's tone starts out pretty normal.

It's halfway through that it slowly starts to break down as he speaks more slowly. With pauses between his words. As if something is slowly, very slowly, starting to hit him over here.

"A-Ah, wait, you want to do it with me?!"

If his jaw would start to hang open any further, it may just end up on the floor.

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."

It's a good question, honestly. One Inigo isn't too sure of either. Is he comfortable with that? Well, it's not like Devero seems like a bad guy or anything, and he did compliment Inigo's own dance..

But it's hard for him to get over his shyness about dancing. It makes his initial instinct to say that he isn't comfortable with it, but that thought makes him bite the inside of his cheek for a moment. What if he's missing out on something good here, just because he was being a baby? And he really does want to see other dance..

The thinking process leaves a few moments of silence, but then Inigo nods. It's very, very shyly, but he's nodding.

"I-- I think I can do it." He'll just have to be brave here! "What should I do?"

He's not sure what style of dancing Devero had in mind, after all.

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?"

Oh, phew.

A quite literal phew too, since Inigo actually lets out a relieved sigh at those words. Sure, it doesn't make the mortifying ordeal of being known while dancing any easier on him, but at least that sounds like something he knows. Unless ballroom dancing has an entirely different meaning in Devero's world than it does in his own.

"T-That sounds fine. I'm used to that style." It's kind of what you have to learn when you're a prince, after all.

"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)

Thankfully the music isn't too weird for Inigo. He's completely prepared to hear something that's just going to confuse him, considering the majority of the music he's heard so far in this place, but this piece? It's not exactly like what they have back home, but it's close enough that he can grasp it.

Which is a good thing if he wants to keep up with the dance, even if he isn't the one leading!

So Inigo nods, taking the extended hand. Though it's a little gingerly, matched by the pink on his cheeks, like he can't help but still be a little shy about it.

"Of course. I-- I'll keep up."

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.

There's a slight nod at the instructions. Right. Following feet. That much he can do at the very least, right?

And it's true. Once he starts dancing, that part is pretty easy. The dance isn't too complicated, and after it repeats a few times, Inigo has already picked up on it. Of course he lets Devero keep the lead, but even if he stops choreographing the moves to Inigo, the boy manages to keep up and follow naturally. Listening to the music, following the rhythm in Devero's steps.

It may go a bit clumsily at first - though not in technique, that's what he picks up on - but more since there seems to be an odd hesitation about Inigo. Though that, too, seems to fade the longer he dances, the more he replaces the thoughts in his mind with the music. When he stops thinking, and starts moving.

The side effect of it though is that he doesn't speak up again while they dance, instead focusing on the dance itself. Enough so that he almost - almost! - forgets to pay attention to Devero's dancing, the very reason he agreed with this in the first place.

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."

There's something to be said about how much you can get caught up in a dance. Inigo is definitely incredibly caught up in it, to a point where it's not even the song change as much as it's the other's startled reaction that snaps him out of it.

But the moment he's snapped out of it, he seems to have a reaction very similar to Devero's own. Startled, surprised, but at the same time kind of amazed. Inigo's cheeks are rosy, glancing between the man and the scenery around them, as if he can't fully believe what just happened either. It's not as if he hasn't danced with anyone here on the train yet - but this is a totally different experience, obviously due to the other's skill level being much closer to his own than most people's.

"A.. Ah, you're.." Inigo sheepishly moves a hand up to rub the back of his head as he dares to slide his gaze back over at Devero. ".. You're very good."

That at least has to be said, no matter how dazed he is after that as well.

"Thank you," Devero says warmly, flush with pleasure himself. He puts a little more space between the two of them, if only because Inigo still seems so flighty and bashful. Still, he can't help but tease a little: "You're a joy to dance with, but I knew going in that you would be."

This is it. He is official Dying. Dying of bashfulness. Inigo literally has to shove his hands in front of his face here, because he can feel his cheeks heating up so much that one could fry an egg on them at this point.

"T-That's far too much praise for me!"

He's just a guy who dances! (And who vastly underestimates his own abilities, but that aside.)

"It's.. erm, it's all t-thanks to the quality of your lead.. But I enjoyed it as well..!"

"It's not." He's not teasing now. Devero actually turns back towards him, reaching out to clasp Inigo's shoulders. Whether or not the younger man looks at him, he tells him intently, "Please don't undersell your talent. It takes more than just a good lead to make chemistry like that happen on the floor. Trust me, I have danced with a lot of people in my time."

He releases him and steps back then. "I am glad you had fun though."

The stream of thoughts in Inigo's mind has pressed much changed into a constant 'AAAAAAAAAAAHHHH' by now. Especially when Devero is clasping his shoulders like that. It may be why Inigo doesn't say anything for a moment, instead just staring into his eyes like a deer caught in the headlights of a truck.

But then - maybe by the time the other releases him - he nods. Slightly, and awkwardly, but he's trying!

"I.. I'll try to remember that." Even though it may be hard, considering his low self esteem.

"Though.." Inigo starts, then stops. And hesitates. The shyness is visible on his face, but he'd feel incredibly rude if he didn't at least offer this much. Inigo may regret it too, if he didn't at least say this much. "I-If you want to dance again.. well.. erm, you can always ask me."

Despite how flustered he is, he did really enjoy it, after all. It's hard to find dancing partners this good on the train, if not virtually impossible.

"I would love to!" he says immediately. There's no mistaking the genuine delight in his voice that Inigo has offered. Hell, he'd take him up on it right now if the kid didn't look like he was about to pass out from sheer agitation.

"Maybe next time you can lead?" he continues. "Show me something else from your world, if you know any partner dances." ~~Dev, buddy, that's probably not going to help the fluster any.~~

Definitely not helping.

But what else can Inigo say in the face of that?

"A-Alright!" NERVOUS AGREEMENT. Go, go, go! Later Inigo will realise the implications of agreeing with this. Like the fact he'll have to dance again. With this guy. Who is also a great dancer. And he will have a mini freakout for sure.

Btu right now? He's just agreeing to anything. Sure, Devero, whatever you want. Inigo will just sputter some agreement.

"L-Let's.. do that then! Um, sometime soon."

"Sometime soon," Devero agrees. "We can figure out when later?" Especially since kiddo here seems to be getting more and more keyed up, instead of less.

"But for now, I can leave you to it. Thanks for the dance-- er. I don't think I caught your name?"

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

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