You will lead, then. Your right hand must be on your partner's back, while your other hand is holding your partner's.
[ He demonstrates this with Kise, with him assuming the leader role for now. It's a mistake, though, because even holding the blond's hand seems to colour his face a pale red. He's doing his very best to ignore it and pretend he's not at all affected by the slow trickling of Chroma. ]
If you're comfortable with your partner, your hand may rest closer to their waist. If not, then just here would be fineโ [ As he speaks, the hand on Kise's back goes down closer to Kise's waist. It's much more intimate, but it only lasts a few seconds because he brings his hand back up to the middle of his back. ]
... Hm. I've never danced with anybody taller than me before. You understand though, don't you?
[So far so good- the instructions don't seem hard to follow. One hand on the back, the other holding... okay- why is he feeling so nervous all of a sudden? He can feel tingles go down his neck.
And they intensify when Akashi's hand moves to his waist. He can't tell if his face is showing anything, but he does feel as if the back of his neck is burning. What did he say again? Ah- hand on the middle of the back.]
Yes! Yes, I understand. So it's like this-
[-Kise shifts, stepping closer a tiny bit, shifts his hand so that it's holding Akashi's, and palm of his hand pressed against Akashi's back, right underneath the shoulder blades.]
-Right?
[...he never thought ballroom dances involved people being so close like this...]
[ Ah... Akashi doesn't even have to use his Emperor Eye to notice. This is affecting Kise, too. He'll have to be careful from now on. ]
Relax a little. [ But even Akashi does not sound relaxed... God help them both. ] The dance is supposed to be romantic and fluid. Being stiff doesn't help.
[If what Akashi said was supposed to be relaxing, it really didn't help much. So now they are both tense and Kise feels like a plank that has two cement tubes for legs.
Breathe, Kise, breathe, you can do this... Just think about death and you won't be tempted to randomly hug Akashi. His fingers shift on Akashi's back in an attempt to get some feeling into them and relax as advised.]
I-I'll do my best! So-! What are the beginner's steps?
[ Akashi takes a deep breath. Kise can't relax because of him, probably. His own body's a little stiff, too. He may have done the stretches already, but he just feels a little uneasy.
He pulls away from Kise and heads over to where the speakers are. There should be a wire to connect his device to the speakers.. once done, he opens up the Lunatian-Spotify app and picks a random song to play. He's back next to Kise after that, retaking the position they once had with Kise as the leader. ]
Waltz follows a 3/4 time signature. That means three beats in each measure, with quarter notes having one value. One-two-three, one-two-threeโ [ With the song already playing, of course, they should be moving to the beat, but Akashi waits until Kise understands and starts to move his feet. ]
Let's see what you can do first. This should help us both relax a little, too.
[When Akashi steps away to turn on the music, his hands feel cold as if something's missing. Thankfully, the scent isn't so overwhelming as it can be; it mixes with the smell of the room and rubber and floor cleaners so Kise has an easier time focusing on the actual task at hand.
He cracks his neck before Akashi returns and takes the same position again- he has no idea what he's talking about, however, the terms flying over his head. But he can kind of understand what one-two-three means, having watched movies and now listening to the ticks of the song.
Nodding, he glances down at their feet briefly and then looks at Akashi-]
[He's not sure, he doesn't remember. Learn definitively isn't one of the things.
Kise laughs a bit,] Haha, I won't, I won't! I promise.
[Well, it would depend on the type of stepping- still! He's going to be very careful as he dances. No stepping on the feet, that's not romantic, he knows.]
[ He punctuates his reassurance with a chuckle. He waits for a few good measures in the song, before another part starts. That's when he begins to move, carefully and gracefully leading Kise as his partner.
Admittedly, it's a little odd to have a taller partner, but Akashi's able to work with it, as he does with everything else.
He does end up letting out a heavy sigh at some point, finding the Chroma being generated from merely holding hands and with one hand on Kise's waist to be a little too distracting. Chroma always leaves you wanting more, after all. ]
[Akashi's chuckle only makes Kise's grin become wider.
There's no doubt Akashi can handle someone taller than himself, and he does it with ease too. Kise does his best to follow his steps, finding himself a bit clumsy when he misses the direction in which Akashi wants to go to, but he quickly fixes his mistakes- without stepping on toes. That's important.
Kise's never been focused a lot on how it feels to get chroma, but whatever this tingling warmth is that's dancing over his neck and down his back means it's that? Or maybe that's because Akashi sighed like that? He certainly felt his ears twitch at the soft sound.
Surprisingly, it only got him to relax even more as they glided over the floor, his hand pressed firmly to Akashi's back.]
It's easier to follow on your first time. Leading becomes a lot more natural if you're in tune with the music.
[ Dancing is an art, after all. There's a lot of self-identification with it. Akashi doesn't do any of that, but he knows and has danced enough growing up that this becomes easy for him.
Because Kise is bigger though, Akashi only does the basic steps and turns. He doesn't try dipping Kise or anything. That's... far more difficult at this time. When the song comes to a close, Akashi pulls away to bow, one arm in front and one at the back. This may just be practice, but he's as extra as he can be. ]
[Art isn't what Kise does either, but dancing has a physical aspect to it so learning the steps to it is rather easy? If it's ballroom dancing; freestyle is something he can't do but would have to improvise.
Kise didn't expect a bow though, so he fumbles to do the same. Damn that song was too short, he was just getting the hang of it too!]
I don't know why some complain about these dances, [Kises muses as he straightens after the bow,] it's kind of fun.
[When the song changes to something screechy, Kise jumps a bit in surprise, ear twitching (that was unpleasant).] Ah! [He rushes over to the music player and fiddles around to return it to the previous song, then goes back to Akashi. With a grin on his face, one hand on his back, he offers Akashi his free hand-]
[ The very same bow gets Akashi's ears on his face again once he stands up. It's annoying, and Kise will be able to see his former team captain pout and wrinkle his nose in annoyance before fixing them again with a sigh. ]
I'm sorryโ these are always so inconvenient.
[ With Kise offering, though, Akashi assumes that he is ready to take the lead. ]
[Those ears, man- they seriously need to stop making Kise's stomach drop through the floor from how cute they make Akashi look. He almost reached out to move them away from Akashi's face himself.
Instead, he just bites his lip briefly, thinking a bit.]
Maybe... a headband? There are soft ones that keep bangs out of the way during training, I have one! I can lend it to you.
[He's not sure how good he will be as a lead, but he'll give his best!]
Yup! Let's try it out! I think I have the basics down.
If you worry how [cute] bunny ears will fit, I'll make it work! If I can fix my hair from looking like cotton candy when I blow dry it, then I can find a way for this too!
[Is he? He never thought of it that way. The only reason why he knows about all this modeling stuff is because his sister wrangled him into it.
Although maybe he should chat less and focus more on his feet- he's dancing a half waltz, half normal, slow dance in between chats. It's a bit off in tempo, but he's really trying to keep up with it.]
Aha, well... it's just that headbands aren't my style. Don't you think?
[ Kise would look good in one, for sure. Maybe even Takao... but Takao isn't here. He tries to imagine Midorima or Kuroko in one and he looks a little horrified. ]
No? I just think you need to find the one that suits you, that's all.
[Kuroko could use some hairclips for his wild morning hairdo. But Kise seriously thinks Akashi would look decent with one.]
Ah. Then- [Kise makes a pause in the dance, waits a few beats and then picks up again to it, this time more fluid and moving over the floor more easily.]
[ Akashi's a decent follower. He's already a good observer, though it's probably obvious that he's being very, very careful with how he's looking at Kise. Their eyes meet briefly, and Akashi never knew what it felt to be weak in the knees, but there's a second where his grip on Kise's hand gets a lot tighter becauseโ ah...
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[ He is mom, after all!
With his stretches done, he looks back at Kise with both hands on his hips. ]
Are you ready to go?
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[He turns towards Akashi and just... uh- how do they do this again.]
Um, so how do we do this? Do you show me steps or we just [he waves hands around a bit-] 'wing it' and we get to dancing instantly?
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[ And just so he knows how Kise should stand and hold his partner, he figures to askโ ]
What sort of dance will you be doing? I suppose in a gown, waltz is better, although I don't know what is preferred in this world.
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Ah, they said I need to know waltz. They didn't specify I needed to know anything else.
[So he's really banking on it. If Akashi knows it, then he's probably amazing at it because he's Akashi and he'll be able to learn it from the best.]
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[ He demonstrates this with Kise, with him assuming the leader role for now. It's a mistake, though, because even holding the blond's hand seems to colour his face a pale red. He's doing his very best to ignore it and pretend he's not at all affected by the slow trickling of Chroma. ]
If you're comfortable with your partner, your hand may rest closer to their waist. If not, then just here would be fineโ [ As he speaks, the hand on Kise's back goes down closer to Kise's waist. It's much more intimate, but it only lasts a few seconds because he brings his hand back up to the middle of his back. ]
... Hm. I've never danced with anybody taller than me before. You understand though, don't you?
[ He lets go after that. ]
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And they intensify when Akashi's hand moves to his waist. He can't tell if his face is showing anything, but he does feel as if the back of his neck is burning. What did he say again? Ah- hand on the middle of the back.]
Yes! Yes, I understand. So it's like this-
[-Kise shifts, stepping closer a tiny bit, shifts his hand so that it's holding Akashi's, and palm of his hand pressed against Akashi's back, right underneath the shoulder blades.]
-Right?
[...he never thought ballroom dances involved people being so close like this...]
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Relax a little. [ But even Akashi does not sound relaxed... God help them both. ] The dance is supposed to be romantic and fluid. Being stiff doesn't help.
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Breathe, Kise, breathe, you can do this... Just think about death and you won't be tempted to randomly hug Akashi. His fingers shift on Akashi's back in an attempt to get some feeling into them and relax as advised.]
I-I'll do my best! So-! What are the beginner's steps?
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He pulls away from Kise and heads over to where the speakers are. There should be a wire to connect his device to the speakers.. once done, he opens up the Lunatian-Spotify app and picks a random song to play. He's back next to Kise after that, retaking the position they once had with Kise as the leader. ]
Waltz follows a 3/4 time signature. That means three beats in each measure, with quarter notes having one value. One-two-three, one-two-threeโ [ With the song already playing, of course, they should be moving to the beat, but Akashi waits until Kise understands and starts to move his feet. ]
Let's see what you can do first. This should help us both relax a little, too.
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He cracks his neck before Akashi returns and takes the same position again- he has no idea what he's talking about, however, the terms flying over his head. But he can kind of understand what one-two-three means, having watched movies and now listening to the ticks of the song.
Nodding, he glances down at their feet briefly and then looks at Akashi-]
I think I got it. Let's try it!
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Don't step on me.
[ Lbr, Kise can... Akashi is just a wuss, though. ]
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Kise laughs a bit,] Haha, I won't, I won't! I promise.
[Well, it would depend on the type of stepping- still! He's going to be very careful as he dances. No stepping on the feet, that's not romantic, he knows.]
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[ He punctuates his reassurance with a chuckle. He waits for a few good measures in the song, before another part starts. That's when he begins to move, carefully and gracefully leading Kise as his partner.
Admittedly, it's a little odd to have a taller partner, but Akashi's able to work with it, as he does with everything else.
He does end up letting out a heavy sigh at some point, finding the Chroma being generated from merely holding hands and with one hand on Kise's waist to be a little too distracting. Chroma always leaves you wanting more, after all. ]
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There's no doubt Akashi can handle someone taller than himself, and he does it with ease too. Kise does his best to follow his steps, finding himself a bit clumsy when he misses the direction in which Akashi wants to go to, but he quickly fixes his mistakes- without stepping on toes. That's important.
Kise's never been focused a lot on how it feels to get chroma, but whatever this tingling warmth is that's dancing over his neck and down his back means it's that? Or maybe that's because Akashi sighed like that? He certainly felt his ears twitch at the soft sound.
Surprisingly, it only got him to relax even more as they glided over the floor, his hand pressed firmly to Akashi's back.]
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[ Dancing is an art, after all. There's a lot of self-identification with it. Akashi doesn't do any of that, but he knows and has danced enough growing up that this becomes easy for him.
Because Kise is bigger though, Akashi only does the basic steps and turns. He doesn't try dipping Kise or anything. That's... far more difficult at this time. When the song comes to a close, Akashi pulls away to bow, one arm in front and one at the back. This may just be practice, but he's as extra as he can be. ]
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Kise didn't expect a bow though, so he fumbles to do the same. Damn that song was too short, he was just getting the hang of it too!]
I don't know why some complain about these dances, [Kises muses as he straightens after the bow,] it's kind of fun.
[When the song changes to something screechy, Kise jumps a bit in surprise, ear twitching (that was unpleasant).] Ah! [He rushes over to the music player and fiddles around to return it to the previous song, then goes back to Akashi. With a grin on his face, one hand on his back, he offers Akashi his free hand-]
One more?
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I'm sorryโ these are always so inconvenient.
[ With Kise offering, though, Akashi assumes that he is ready to take the lead. ]
Are you ready now?
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Instead, he just bites his lip briefly, thinking a bit.]
Maybe... a headband? There are soft ones that keep bangs out of the way during training, I have one! I can lend it to you.
[He's not sure how good he will be as a lead, but he'll give his best!]
Yup! Let's try it out! I think I have the basics down.
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[ He's never worn a headband before... He will probably look good though, but it just doesn't fit his style.
In any case, once he's ready, he takes the offered hand and waits for Kise to help him get into position. ]
The playlist is automatic. It should play a new song soon.
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[............he should really stop talking sometimes.
Clearing his throat, and with cheeks flushed a bit, he gets in the proper position to lead the dance this time.]
Please don't laugh if I embarrass myself...!
[No, Akashi should laugh. With that, and a brief squeeze of Akashi's hand, he starts off the dance as he remembers Akashi starting it earlier.]
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[ Because Kise is the most handsome of them all?! ]
You needn't worryโ whatever happens will be a learning experience. And I won't laugh, I promise.
[ Following Kise's lead isn't that difficult. ]
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[Is he? He never thought of it that way. The only reason why he knows about all this modeling stuff is because his sister wrangled him into it.
Although maybe he should chat less and focus more on his feet- he's dancing a half waltz, half normal, slow dance in between chats. It's a bit off in tempo, but he's really trying to keep up with it.]
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[ Kise would look good in one, for sure. Maybe even Takao... but Takao isn't here. He tries to imagine Midorima or Kuroko in one and he looks a little horrified. ]
You're moving off beat.
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[Kuroko could use some hairclips for his wild morning hairdo. But Kise seriously thinks Akashi would look decent with one.]
Ah. Then- [Kise makes a pause in the dance, waits a few beats and then picks up again to it, this time more fluid and moving over the floor more easily.]
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[ Akashi's a decent follower. He's already a good observer, though it's probably obvious that he's being very, very careful with how he's looking at Kise. Their eyes meet briefly, and Akashi never knew what it felt to be weak in the knees, but there's a second where his grip on Kise's hand gets a lot tighter becauseโ ah...
He's slipping. Seijuro, you gotta stay calm!! ]
Sorryโ that's on me.
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