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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STOP DISSING TIDUS'S MUSICAL PREFERENCE WHERE HE CAN'T FIGHT YOU ABOUT IT, BRO.

Tidus, at least, isn't worried or thinking about anyone or anything else. Before or after the whole overthinking thing comes up. Curious about what exactly Inigo's going to try and teach him, how are they going to move their legs? He stands in place - or thinks he is - with about as much patience as... well, he usually has. Which, he's got some. For now!

"Right. Just like with training, huh? Blitzball's like that too." Sword practice, ball practice - that was pretty much the basic of basics. "Alright, I got that down. Then what?"

HE'LL SAY IT TO YOUR FACE TOO, BRO, NO PROBLEM. BRING IT!!

"Well, the second most important thing is moving. But you've sure got that mastered." Yes, that is being said with a hint of a tease, despite how flustered Inigo feels right now. Teasing Tidus is one way to get this jittery energy out, after all. And it's also just true - the guy is like an idle animation come to life.

But maybe that might actually help him here.

"And the rest comes fairly naturally to me. It's hard to explain, since it's so ingrained for me.." His voice trails off, thinking for a moment. Trying to find the right words. "But you just.. have to feel the music. Not just hear it, but feel it in your body, if that makes sense..?"

He tilts his head, wondering how much that explains it.

"I kind of feel it around the base of my stomach. And then I let that feeling guide the rest of my body into the moves I make. But it all starts right there."

"...

...Um..."

Feel in around the base of my stomach. Okay. Tidus can...somewhat understand. He knows what dancing is, knows the way a rhythm can get to the bones and make you want to move, but that doesn't mean Tidus can comprehend the how. It's the missing element, even as he listens to the beat coming from the speakers of the train, tries to think and... feel it?

Tidus even looks down at his feet, waiting for them to do something, some magic spark and understand to appear. Looks back up to meet Inigo's face, his own blank. Lost.

"Maybe... you can show me?"

Is that an alright idea?

This is so hard. Inigo understands what he means to explain entirely, but there's some sort of missing link for him too - the missing link between how he knows it's supposed to happen and how he could put that into words. It feels like something intangible.

"W.. Well, if I'd show you, I'd just be dancing!" Which is what Tidus already witnessed a moment ago, and clearly that didn't help!

So Inigo frowns, closing his eyes for a moment, thinking. Thinking really hard.

"Alright. Here."

He's still holding the one (1) Tidus hand, but now Inigo is moving his other arm too so it's on Tidus's shoulder.

"I'm going to dance. Well, as much as I can like this, anyway. And you just.. try. You don't have to make any special movements, just.. try to move along on the rhythm." That's basic, right? Anyone could do that! "Don't think too much about it. Just move along with me."

"Okay..."

The uncertainty continues to linger in Tidus's responses, in the way he regards the pair of them, the plan. But it's not deep-rooted, an acceptance, willingness that straights Tidus's back and makes him put on the air of being ready.

Except- A thought, and now he's lifting up that hand of his that has nothing to do.

"Should I-" showing it "-put this somewhere?"

Like - the back of Inigo's shoulder? No, Tidus quickly takes it back, and... settles it on his collar bone!

...

His side? No, wait, that's way too feminine! Where should it go, where should it go...!

Inigo really shouldn't tease Tidus at a moment where the other is unsure.

Inigo really shouldn't tease Tidus at a moment where the other is unsure.

Inigo really shouldn't tease Tidus at a moment where the other is unsure.

But it's so tempting. Especially when it's about this of all things. Inigo can feel it, like a tickle inside of his chest, and he wonders if this is exactly what Tidus feels whenever he's being cheeky.

It ends up being too strong to resist. It's light, not wanting to fully break the mood - and though it's obviously teasing, there's something close to that Inigo brand of reassuring in it too, like he does mean it as well.

"You can touch me wherever you want, you know."

"But where!?" It's not particularly loud, defensive or shy; and though it colours close to embarrassment, it's more along the lines of baffled and bewildered. Like there's a great puzzle before him but he's the only one who sees it.

Because Inigo is the dancing guy, Tidus isn't, so where is this hand supposed to go?! He doesn't know! He doesn't see the very obvious answer that's very obviously there!

He pats the hand twice on Inigo's shoulder. Here?!

"Anywhere is fine!"

He takes his own hand off Tidus for a moment, just so - even if he has to kind of awkwardly bend his arm for it - he can grab that hand on his shoulder. He puts it down on his shoulder again: "Here's fine."

Then he picks Tidus's hand up again, moving it over to place it against his waist. "Here too." Then again, against his hip, letting it rest there for a moment. "Or here!"

Inigo lets go of the hand then, putting his own back onto Tidus, where it was a moment ago.

"It's about what you're most comfortable with. This isn't any kind of formal court dancing! Just do what feels best. I told you to not overthink it!"

What do you mean, anywhere!!

Inigo shows him exactly what he means, but Tidus isn't sure even towards the end. But he's not going to overthink it - more like, he doesn't want to keep on going with this, and so he lets his hand rest back on that shoulder. That seems like the most neutral spot.

"I don't know what a formal court dance looks like," he remarks a little flatly. He's not sulking...! Just making clear how very little he knows!

"All the kingdom movies I watched focused on the fighting and politics."

p boring after a while, honestly.

There's a moment of silence.

It's not awkward silence though. No, this is just Inigo's single braincell activating, processing all of this, whirring away as he's suddenly realising something.

"Hold on, maybe that's easier."

Sure, it may also be a little more boring by Tidus standards, which is why he didn't go for it at first. But maybe it's easier to get him into it, an easier first step. Giving him a bit less to figure out by himself, and instead time to get used to moving along with the rhythm. Even if the song.. may not.. be the most suited for this. But whatever, no time to sweat the details!

"Keep your hand there." And while he's saying that, he's moving his own hand - the one that isn't holding Tidus's own - to be on Tidus's waist. "I'll show you formal court dancing. I'll lead and use my hand here to nudge you in the right direction, so all you have to do is follow, okay? Just step in time with the music. I'll do the rest."

"Huh?"

'That's easier'? Tidus waits for Inigo to explain himself through either words or actions. Keeping himself in place, and now suddenly there's a hand on his waist. Tidus flicks his eyes to look in its general direction before raising them to Inigo properly in question - before finally, he actually tells him what's what.

Well. Technically.

"...Alright..." Again returns that slow confusion, if not as quickly made more certain, sure. But Tidus doesn't resist, questioning to himself how he's supposed to step in time with the music he hears playing. Step with every beat? His feet twitch below as if testing out how he'll be moving.

Please hurry and lead, Inigo. You might get dragged into a waltz if Tidus is left to his devices.

Well, a waltz wasn't too far from what Inigo had in mind..

But he does start moving pretty soon after, like he's sensing Tidus's anticipation, the way he's thinking about what's to come. Inigo makes sure to start a bit slow at first, just so the other guy can get used to it as Inigo drags him right along into the moves. It is a little like a waltz, or at the very least like ballroom dancing. Just the same pattern of steps repeating, Inigo gently guiding Tidus along when he steps forward or backwards, trying to nudge his body with the hand on his waist whenever he's about to change direction.

Still going slow too, just to make sure he won't walk directly into Tidus when they have to go backwards or forwards. But somehow it doesn't seem too patronizing. Something about Inigo's dancing ability and confidence makes it seem natural, like this is how he always does it, despite the slow speed. This may be the one situation where he's actually good at leading.

Sure, it all probably would look really stupid to any third party, considering the music they're dancing like this to. But Inigo doesn't care - even if someone would walk in right now, he might not even notice. He only has eyes for Tidus in the moment.

"What do you think? Is this manageable so far?"

Truth be told, Tidus doesn't know what a waltz is. Why would he, even if they did exist in Zanarkand? Those aren't the kind of balls Tidus is interested in!!

Regardless, it takes a while for him to recognise there might be a pattern involved here, except, he isn't too sure. Was there a pattern? Was this movement supposed to feel so stiff? Or was that because Inigo was leading him into a rhythm he wasn't yet getting the hang of?

He's doing his best not to overthink this. But that Inigo allows them to move at the slow pace they're going helps. Where he doesn't have to worry that Inigo's getting impatient, and he can figure out, try to get a feel for what they're doing.

But he absolutely jumps at the opportunity when Inigo speaks up.

"I-- think so. Does it get any better? My feet," he tries to explain, unsure if he can make any sense. "I feel all stiff. Is it supposed to be like this?"

Even if Inigo's tinier movements seem so natural, it doesn't feel that way to Tidus. He wants to moooove....!

"Hmm, that's normal."

In fact, Inigo is pretty sure that it's even more normal for Tidus. Considering just how animated the other constantly it, it's no wonder that he would instinctively feel like making bigger or faster movements. But at least it's not going terrible so far. Inigo can tell that it's still a little unsteady, a little unsure - but who could blame the other for it when it's probably his first time doing anything like this at all?

"I felt so awkward about it at first too when I was younger. When I first learned." It's not often that Inigo shares something from his past, but it feels appropriate here. Maybe it'll make Tidus feel a bit better about all this, Inigo figures, still moving even as he talks. Though definitely making sure to keep going slow now, since he's technically distracting Tidus with his talk. "I figured I looked ridiculous to anyone else. That I'd never get the hang of it, the way everyone else did. But it gets easier!"

At least, in Inigo's experience. But he likes to think it must be universal.

He smiles, hoping it's encouraging.

"I mean, this is so different from blitzball or anything else you're used to! Of course it'd feel more stiff."

Bro, please, you got to make him think about blitzball? Because that's more distracting than listening to Inigo talk. Wondering about what he struggled with as a kid that stood out (other than a good relationship with his dad - let's no go there), a vague memory of movement creeping up from somewhere.

But now with his mind having any excuse to think about blitzball, the kicking of feet to swim, the quick moves one might have to make in the water-

"Mmm...oh!"

Thoughtfulness leads to his feet kicking into Inigo's, where he doesn't check or guess where they are correctly, a small but stumbling thing. Chests near about bumping into each other, but Tidus manages to catch himself with that hand on Inigo's shoulders, takes a few steps back and looks up at Inigo sheepishly.

"Whoops!" Whoopsy daisy, silly him, what a klutz. But his mind hasn't been disrupted from the waves, and that look washes off him easily quick- an eagerness coming to his face, like he's suddenly been reminded of a thought.

"Hey - you still wanna go swimming next chance we get?"

Do you, Inigo? Do you, do you?? We totally discussed this, right???

Inigo really ought to know Tidus's mind better at this point. Or maybe he does, but he's just so bad at controlling his mouth, at checking out what he's saying and its potential consequences before he's saying it. Because otherwise he could have seen it coming - Tidus getting distracted like that, resulting in them nearly knocking into each other mid-dance.

Thankfully Tidus catching himself and Inigo being a good enough dancer to react quickly as well keeps them from ending up on the floor, but Inigo's cheeks still light up with the faintest pink, if not just from how close that contact was just now, Tidus's chest near-pressed up against his own.

"Wha--, t-- How is this suddenly just about swimming?!"

Mentioning anything remotely water-related near Tidus is apparently dangerous, huh. It makes Inigo look flabberghasted for a second before he can speak on.

"I mean, sure, but.. is this payback for me making you feel awkward now or what?" Since Tidus may be the fish out of water right now, but in the water Inigo is.. the fish out of water.. look, the metaphor works somewhere.

"No," Tidus answers humouredly, a chuckle in the end of it. "We talked about it, back in that jungle mission! Remember? You said you wanted to! Didn't know if you were feeling any different, now it's not so late."

Because is Inigo getting cold feet over the idea? Even though he's agreeing to it, it doesn't sound very confident for all that talk before! That talk that Tidus is sure that happened- whether or not it was actually Nion debatable, but also not the important part here.

Wow, Tidus, didn't he warn you that he might not remember half of what they talked about, back there in that tent?

Not that it means it's completely gone from Inigo's memory. He has to stand there, think about it for a moment, the dance completely (though perhaps momentarily) forgotten as he really has to put his one braincell to work on this task.

.. then it slowly starts to come back.

"Ah." Looks like he's remembered. "Yes, I still want to. I mean.. It's nice to share our hobbies with each other, right? That's why I was trying to dance with you too, even though I'm--!"

Inigo cuts himself off mid-sentence, as if it wasn't really obvious that he was about to say shy. Instead he nudges his head to the side, as if to say 'you know'.

Even though-? Oh, oh.

"We're still dancing! It's good. It's good!" Encouragement, encouragement. Tidus lifts out their held hands as if in gesture to themselves, can't really do anything with the other. "Get us moving again. I'm ready!"

Nevermind that small bump, it's over with, and Tidus isn't going to be shy about resuming. Following is easy enough, so long as restarting is for Inigo. Tidus wearing a smile, feeling as his feet get into that good ol' stiff-shuffling. okay, no, it'll get better. some time.

"There's some places in Spira, or maybe there's only the one, but you can swim in it and move and breathe, easy. You don't need to know how to hold it in!" The smile lifts close to a grin, a show of teeth. "I bet you could even do something like this! Do that dance where you hold each other's hand and move in and out?"

Heheh. "You can get pretty romantic in the water."

And the knowledge - the thought, the memory - is keeping the smile on his face rather stuck...

He's already started to move again, dancing once more, the pace still slow enough for Tidus to keep up-- though he may be starting to gradually speed up. Just a little bit though. It happens so slowly that Tidus most likely won't even notice that they're moving faster, little by little, especially if he's distracted by their conversation.

But as they dance, Inigo is staring at that smile. Thinking about it. Pretty romantic in the water. Is Tidus thinking about Yuna? Is Inigo just reading too much into it? He isn't sure, but he wants to be careful all the same with such a delicate topic.

But finding the right words is hard, and so a silence falls for a few moments, only filled up by the song still playing in the background, even now, coupled with their footsteps.

"It sounds like a nice place," he settles on saying. Careful, but meant, because.. "I wish I could visit it."

Because it does sound nice, being able to be underwater without worrying about not having any breath left in your lungs. But also.. he wishes he could have seen Tidus's world. Zanarkand mostly, sure, but even just Spira. Seen the places he's been, the surroundings that made him himself, so very different from Inigo's own in every way.

Any increase in speed goes unnoticed by Tidus, not that keenly aware, and not bothering to be. Movement is movement, and he may be somewhat distracted by his thoughts again - by the waters of Macalania Woods.

"Yeah." And Tidus sounds so, when he first speaks. But his tone dips from the indulgent one that it just was with the reminder of where they were, how they were: stuck without choice, without the means to be free. Still, that didn't have to always be the case, did it?

"Would you? If you could? You have a lot you wanna do after this." Go back to his own world, help Roland with his...

Ah. He lifts his eyes to look at Inigo's.

"Maybe you and Roland could take a vacation there later on."

How about that?

You should be there with us.

It's the first thought that comes to mind, without hesitation. It's just there in his head instinctively, at the tip of his tongue. It just feels so natural to say, to think.

But it feels like saying it would overcomplicate things, would make this conversation go a whole lot worse. So even though it makes Inigo squeeze Tidus's hand a little as he still keeps dancing, he doesn't say it. Instead Inigo smiles thinly, thoughtfully, like he's at least trying to imagine it.

"I'm not sure if Roland would appreciate me dragging his ac--" Actual, he almost says, but despite that being true, it hurts his heart a bit too much, and Inigo quickly corrects himself. "His biological son around to different worlds."

If Will is even healthy by that point. But Inigo at least does intend on doing something about that too.. Tidus is right, huh. He does have a lot he wants to do.

"I guess I may have to settle for an Aremica beach. But they're probably a lot more boring, huh."

Tidus huffs a small chuckle. "You'd have to ask--..."

...but then he stops. A second spared to think, mouth open - a state that keeps even as the expression around his brow drops. He looks more puzzled, thinking.

"...Can Roland swim?" he asks dubiously, refocusing his gaze onto Inigo. Like, they should know about this, right? If Roland can swim or not? They saw him in the hot springs, Tidus saw him hanging around the beach......

is roland a shameful non-swimmer?

Don't think too hard, Tidus. Or at least, you can think hard, but keep moving those feet even as you're really using that one braincell up there! Overworking it!

"I mean.."

At least Inigo is thinking and dancing at the same time. Though it's a difficult thought! You can't really call what they did in the hot springs swimming, right, even Inigo could move around in there fairly easily.

"He doesn't.. seem like the type to swim for fun, right?"

He's moving, he's moving! More led by Inigo's movements than ever before when he has to chug this braincell into working, but-!

"Everyone swims for fun," Tidus says, somewhat defensive at the edges. But there's not much of a beat before he realises what he's said, face wrinkling sheepishly.

"Uh, no, that's not it... but the rich business guys swim in their own private pools and hot tubs. And there's some of the hostess bars..." ...but that definitely wasn't Roland's scene.

"He looks like the 'take it easy' kind of guy."

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flatteries - 2021-01-04 11:47 (UTC) - Expand

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