honestypolice (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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bakerstreet2017-11-24 03:06 pm
honestypolice) wrote in bakerstreet2017-11-24 03:06 pm
( slow dancing )
| slow dancing ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ a meme → COMMENT WITH YOUR CHARACTER'S NAME, FANDOM, AND PREFERENCE. → PICK A CHARACTER YOU WANT TO TAG AND GO FOR IT. → PLAY NICE; NO WANK, FLAMES, OR GENERAL HUMBUGGERY. ┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ the deal FORMAL OR INFORMAL, WITH MUSIC OR WITHOUT, YOU COULD BE AT A GLAMOUROUS GALA WHILE A SINGER CROONS SOFTLY OR IN THE SILENCE OF YOUR OWN LIVING ROOM. WHEREVER YOU ARE, YOU HAVE THE URGE TO DANCE. DID YOU ASK YOUR PARTNER OR DID THEY ASK YOU? HAVE YOU GOT TWO LEFT FEET OR IS THE VIENNESE WALTZ YOUR JAM? IT COULD BE AWKWARD, IT COULD BE ROMANTIC. EITHER WAY IT'S CUTE AS HELL. |
stolen from
the @ crypt.
HAVE A NERVOUS BOY
Barry doesn't know that yet. Right now, Barry is just nervous.
Because the crew of the Starblaster have been invited to a very fancy gala by one of the aristocrats of this strange world, after the search for the Light somehow ended up clearing the name of some government official's son of any wrong-doing. The party thrown in their honor is opulent, beautiful, and intensely formal. Everyone are dressed to the nines, red robes replaced with red sashes over stiff suits and flowing gowns - a strict no-jeans affair. There's tiny finger-foods and people wearing jeweled tiaras and an enormous ballroom filled with laughter and live music. Barry has spent the better part of the evening drinking port wine so old and expensive it makes him feel guilty even looking at it.
He's also been eyeing Lup all night. She looks so beautiful. Every time he catches a glimpse of her across the vast ballroom, every time he sees her stunning form in that gorgeous dress, her radiant smile, his heart flutters violently in his chest. It's only the port wine that finally spurs him into action, that gives him the courage after several hours of pining to rise from his seat and stride across the room, red in the face but determined nonetheless. He's gonna do it. He's gonna do the damn thing and just ask her to dance. They're co-workers. They're adults. It's just for fun. Just a fun, silly thing they can laugh about later.
No harm in that, right?]
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While the less social of her team drink in excess and try to find common ground enough to talk with the other party goers, the twins are shining and social and completely in their element. Which might be a little strange considering how far away they'd grown up from this kind of excessive wealth, but Lup knows all the right cues and charms her way through each guest, pink-cheeked from the flowing wine and her sweet laugh heard easily from everywhere in the room.
For most of the evening, Lup and her twin have been paraded around the party, arms linked while they were showered in praise and questions. Magic was a rare commodity on this plane and the two of them had never been shy about showing off their skills. But Barry steels himself and walks over just as the pair are finally in between conversations, the two lingering together in the corner, laughing and speaking in half sentences only they could complete.
Taako notices Barry first, elbowing Lup in the side, who quickly looks up and grins in the human's direction. Taako shifts to bump hips with her before wandering off, as if he knew exactly what was coming next and was giving his silent permission by just disappearing.
As Barry steps closer, Lup speaks before he has a chance to.]
Dance with me. [She isn't asking, nor is it a polite suggestion. Lup is telling him to dance with her, bright eyes dancing, just daring him to say no.]
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W-Wuhhgm. [That's as far as he gets before Lup's already beaten him to the punch. She didn't even ask, she just told him. They're dancing. That's that.
He makes a couple funny noises then, sputtering for all of a second before clearing his throat, adjusting his glasses. Her eyes look incredible in this light, the flickering candles from the chandelier above leaving little streaks of light dancing over her soft hair, her silky skin. Never mind how his face went all red. That's just the wine. Man, did. Did it get hot in here all of a sudden?]
Y-- Yes. Of course. [He takes a centering breath and extends a hand for her to take. Wouldn't want to keep a lady waiting.]
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And when he offers his hand, she slips hers into it, fingers curling tightly around his. Even if she's known for taking lead on everything, she gives him the chance to lead her to the dance floor. Just this once.]
You do know how to dance, don't you, Bluejeans? Cause if you step on me, I'm gonna have to cut out real fast.
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'Course I know how t'dance. What do ya take me for?
[And even though he's bright red and still a little shaky with nerves, he finds it in himself to turn and grin at her. Sure, it's been a handful of decades since the last time he'd danced with anyone, but his mother raised him right. He knows how to lead a lady on the dance floor.
Which he intends to show Lup when they get out there. She'll probably take the lead when she gets bored - he likes to think he knows her well enough by now to make such a claim - but he really wants to show her what he can do. He wants to impress.
When their shoes leave the plush carpet and clack against the glossy wooden floor where couples are dancing, Barry turns to face Lup. He lifts their entwined hands up to shoulder-level, his free hand reaching around her frame and settling on her back, and with her hand on his shoulder, he waits for the right measure before pulling her along, leading her into a gentle waltz in step with the music. It's formal, sure, like every other couple waltzing around them, but it's sweet too, slow and easy. Barry's so big they can't help but touch as they dance. He really likes how that feels.]
Told ya.
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Even though she'd teased, Lup's not nearly as practiced in formal dancing. A life on the road hadn't exactly prepared her for high society parties, fancy dresses, and perfect waltzes. As with anything in her life, she'd learned pieces of whatever was available to her, all of it between the day-to-day of her own basic survival. Cooking, magic, even a little dance, had all come when she'd access to it and had the energy to invest.
Still, what Lup lacks in actual practice, she makes up with sharp reflexes and the gracefulness that comes with being an elf. Barry's good enough at leading that he makes it easy for the woman to follow, Lup falling into step with him with only one or two missteps along the way.
They've been close together before, working side-by-side in the lab, but this kind of closeness is entirely different. Barry's adorably round and that means she can't help but be pressed up against him, no room for space between them while they dance. And even through his suit, he's surprisingly warm and soft, Lup not entirely minding the touch. She catches Taako making faces when she peers over Barry's shoulder and can't help but laugh as she's led into another graceful move.]
Not bad. Guess we know who the rich kid with dance lessons was now, huh?
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What? N-No, that's not-- [Barry hadn't been rich, not really. They'd been lucky. His mother had spent her whole life working, from childhood to middle-age when she'd had him, and while they'd lived modestly, he'd been fortunate enough to have access to food, a piano, and enough books to last him a lifetime. By the time his mother passed, Barry had options, opportunities, he could leave the countryside for the city, for work, for an education. He'd been twenty-two. He'd been lucky.
Of course, that must seem like wealth to Lup. What little he knows about her childhood has made him wary of how he speaks about his past.
The admission comes softly, accompanied by bright red cheeks and an averted gaze.] My, uh. M-My mother taught me.
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[Her voice is so soft, the sound just a puff of released air. If he wasn't pressed against her to where he could feel her speaking, Barry might have missed the exclamation completely.
Before the Starblaster, before establishing real friendships and learning to care for people outside of herself and her brother, Lup would have been too jealous to hear about anyone else's parents or their fond childhood memories. She would have sneered and rolled her eyes and quickly cut them down, assuming that they were weak after a childhood of coddling and parental affection. But she's changed. Instead of having one important person in her life, Lup suddenly has six of them, and unlike Taako who she could always count on having shared her same life experiences, all of her new friends had completely different upbringings.
It was so strange after a lifetime of just her and her twin, but it made life on the ship so much more interesting.
Lup catches onto the moves quickly enough, it helps that they are surrounded by plenty of other dancers she can watch if she forgets a step, but Lup just presses close to Barry and follows his movements, sweeping around the dancefloor, the skirt of her gown fanning out slightly with each turn.]
What was she like, your mum? Was she a nerdy necromancer too?
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[Marlena was the sweetest, most gentle, most wonderful woman he'd ever known. She taught him dance, she taught him piano, she taught him how to read between the lines and how to stay curious and always ask questions while still remaining critical of what others claimed as truth. She taught him how to treat others right, how to care for those around him, how to love and be loved. When he'd had no father to look towards, she took on that role as well and taught him what he needed to know, how to take care of himself, how to treat a lady. She'd been older, so maybe her advice was a little antiquated by the time he got to use it himself, but it never went unappreciated. He'd never gone a day in his mother's home feeling unloved. It was like love was woven into the carpets, draped over the walls, infused in every speck of dust lazily drifting in the rays of sun through the windows.
Barry has a little smile on his face when he starts speaking, his eyes still not quite meeting Lup's as he leads them over the polished floor. Her gown swishes beautifully around her legs. She's good at this.]
She was very kind. She'd, uh. Spent her whole life takin' care of other people. By the time I came around, it was like it was the only thing she knew how t'do. [He laughs softly, warmly.] She used to be a servant, then a bookkeeper. She, uh... She was a good woman.
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Whatever it is, she likes it. It makes Barry look happy and handsome, even as he averts his eyes. Which just makes Lup want to ask more about his mother, just to see that smile curl at his lips a little bit longer.
But unlike how quickly she picked up the dance moves, these kinds of conversations don't come nearly as easily to her. Emotional conversations are hard.]
Well, she sounds pretty baller. And I'm sure she'd be totally proud you haven't stepped on my feet even once so far. [She nearly adds that the woman would certainly be proud of him for all of this that they are currently doing too--outrunning the Hunger, putting everything they have on the line to save the whole planar system--but the words gets stuck in her throat. That's just too much for her. Way too much.
Instead, Lup tips her head to the side, still watching Barry's face even as he avoids her gaze.]
What else did she teach you? Any other good dances? If you've got like, a whole boy band-esque dance routine that you've been keepin' all to yourself, I'm never gonna forgive you, Barry Bluejeans.