#( shes a very talented dancer let her twirl u )

[bikerjongho]

santiago | choi san

genre: realistic fiction, humor

characters: restaurant waiter!san ft dancer!wooyungi and dancer!stray kids 

description: San is a charming and popular waiter at his local Mexican restaurant. But when a rival Mexican restaurant opens nearby and steals many of his customers, San finds himself needing to expand his talents in order to keep his beloved workplace in business.

word count: 6.9k

warnings: N/A

author’s note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAN!! you’re atiny’s stage demon and sweetie pie. I hope you have a lovely birthday and have lots of fun on your special day <33 also this post was inspired solely by this deadly post so thank u for sending me into outer space with your charisma mr choi

taglist: @itsapapisongo​ @mangomingki​ @irehlevant​ @blueprint-han

Once San had heard the giggling from the front of the restaurant, he knew that his shift that day was going to be substantially more exciting.

Dressed in a long-sleeved red button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and straight black slacks that matched with his polished and shiny black shoes, San was the perfect waiter at El Diablo Caliente, a local Mexican restaurant in his town. He sauntered over to the welcoming podium and gave a blindingly charming smile to the four girls that had just arrived.

And the smile did not disappoint. One of the girls burst into giggles while the rest of them managed to keep their blush to a light pink. "A table for four lovely ladies?" He said, and their blush increased as they nodded. "Wonderful." He slipped four restaurant menus under his arm and motioned for them to follow.

The restaurant interior, like San's shirt, was a wonderful ruby red. The lighting that casted over the booths and wooden chairs gave the restaurant a cozy and comfortable vibe. San enjoyed the vibe, it was one of many reasons why he loved working there. The other reasons were more superficial: his black hair matched perfectly with the color palette of the restaurant and he could swoon and charm as many customers as he liked as he worked. These girls were no exception to his magic and not immune to his allure.

"I'm San," he said as the girls sat down at the table he assigned them. "But you ladies may also know me as-"

"Santiago," a girl breathed, finishing his sentence for him. She looked a minute away from passing out onto the floor. San thought a beverage could fix that.

"Santiago," he nodded, and it was true. He had been working at El Diablo Caliente for so long that he had forgotten where the nickname had come from, but it was a nickname that was bestowed on him nonetheless by a few of the regulars. It had caught on, and he was then known as both San and Santiago. He quite enjoyed the name.

"You can call me either," he said, then took off the cap of the pen he was holding with his teeth with a flourish and quirked an eyebrow. "And what refreshments would you ladies like to start off with?" He asked, hovering the pen over his notepad.

The girls whistled off drinks, and when San went away they began to giggle. San smiled knowingly as he walked away from them and checked in on other tables that he waited for. His charm was something he was able to exude easily while at work, and the age of the customer didn't matter. San charmed older couples with his perfect manners and sweet smiles the same as he did with sugary compliments and alluring looks for younger crowds.

San finished up a humorous conversation with an older woman and her husband before strolling back to the girls with their drinks in hand. Once he was in sight, they sat up straighter and put on smiles. He returned them. He wondered if his presence or the food that would soon come would make them happier.

"Ladies, are we ready to order?" He asked as he dished out their beverages. "And let me know if there's anything I can help with regarding the menu."

"How hot is the habanero salsa?" One of the girls asked, looking up at him with curiosity and a little bit more.

San whistled and twirled his pen in his hands. "One of our hottest," he said, pursing his lips. "It's good, though. Quite delicious. Do you think you could take it?"

"I think I could," she said, staring through his eyes with a grand smile.

"As you wish," San murmured and scribbled it down with the rest of her order.

He finished taking the orders of the rest of the girls, all of whom had many questions to ask San about the menu. He theorized they just wanted to talk to him. He saw their faces fall in the corner of his eye when he walked away to place their orders.

"Santiago!" A familiar voice called out to him, and San turned to it with an enormous dimpled grin.

"María!" He returned and gave the older woman that was approaching him an enormous and warm hug.

María, or Tía María to San, was a long-time customer to El Diablo Caliente and an even longer friend to San. But despite their age and cultural differences, they found great joy and solstice in spending time together.

"¿Cómo estás, mijo?" María asked with a soft smile after they had broken apart. "Is the restaurant treating you well?"

It was a question that Tía María asked almost every time she saw San at the restaurant. San returned the smile and nodded. "Por supuesto, Tía María." He led her to her favorite spot in the restaurant, a window seat where the sun hit the vase of the flowers on the table and refracted a perfect rainbow onto it. San immediately pulled the chair back for Tía María to sit in, which caught the attention of the group of girls he was serving. He could hear them swooning from halfway across the restaurant.

"Those girls certainly love you," Tía Maria murmured as she settled herself in the seat and eyed the girls.

San shook his head with a smile. "They all love me, you know that. Everyone that walks into this restaurant does."

"Well, because you're charming," Tía María complimented. "Y," she continued, "guapísimo. You're a rare treat for them to be both kind and good-looking."

San felt a small blush creep up on his cheeks, something that only a few people could do to him. "Thank you," he murmured, then gave her his signature smile that he reserved for older crowds. "The usual, I assume," he said, tucking his pen behind his ear. There was no use for it when he knew Tía María's order better than his own. She nodded with a hint of a smile, and after a few more minutes of conversing, San went back to satisfy other customers and their orders.

It was finally time to deliver the group of girls' food when the cook signaled to him that the food was ready and neatly arranged on his serving tray.

"I suppose I'm not the only thing that's sizzling hot, eh?" He joked as he approached their table with the food, one of the items, a fajita, literally smoking.

"Oh, truly," the one that ordered the habanero sauce said, trying to stifle a smile. He gave her a captivating stare as he slid her food in front of her.

"Enjoy your meal, ladies," he said, adjusting his red collar as he said it. As he walked away from the girls and turned his attention to other customers, he watched the girl that had ordered the habanero sauce out of the corner of his eye. Focused on the food and not him for once, she spread it generously over one of her tacos. San had to bite his lip to keep from saying anything. He watched her, in slight amusement, as she took an enormous bite of the taco stuffed with the spicy salsa from hell.

The expectation San had for her reaction was fulfilled. Her eyes got incrementally bigger as the spice danced on her tongue, and her friends giggled as she began fanning her mouth and taking a large sip of her water beside her. "Perhaps it was too hot for you, after all," San murmured to himself with a smirk. "That's why we're called El Diablo Caliente."

And that day was not unusual of how San's waiter shifts usually went. While sometimes busy, San found happiness and pride at his job.

But that reality had all been turned upside-down when Ana's Taqueria surfaced.

Ana's Taqueria had snatched El Diablo Caliente's customers with a flourish of its hand even though it was only a few days old. With its lavish green walls and modern interior decorating, El Diablo Caliente customers flocked there like a moth to a flame. San's busy days as a waiter dropped dramatically, which meant that the lavish tips he had once received downsized dramatically. The mood of the restaurant dropped with the amount of customers as well, and San was plagued with the wistful thought that things would go back to normal. But it had been almost a month, and El Diablo Caliente's best days seemed to be behind him. All of the employees saw this. Tía María saw this. But most importantly, San's manager saw this.

"San," his manager began, sitting across from San in one of the restaurant'c chairs. She had called him to talk during an hour that wasn't busy - which was turning into most hours at El Diablo Caliente. Her hair being pulled back into a bun only accentuated the stress and tightness on her face as she spoke. "You obviously have seen and felt the effect of Ana's Taqueria. I've been thinking, and we have to make a few changes as to how we market ourselves if we want to gain back some of our customers." She sighed and shook her head.

"The restaurant owner, Ana, runs a tight ship. But it's effective, obviously. Their waiters are all just like you, bursting with charisma and passion. The place is cleaner than a biologist's laboratory. Their food, of course, is good. I tried it a few days ago." San's manager rubbed a tired hand over her face. "But," she said, raising her eyebrows, "it's not as good as ours. It's not as authentic. We still have a chance at coming back."

"That's all very hopeful," San said, "but why are you telling me this? Alone?"

"I'm telling you this," his manager smiled, "because you are our customer favorite. If anyone knows how to keep customers, it's you. Would you look at a few ideas I have for improving business?" She pushed a piece of paper in front of him.

San scanned the paper. His manager had certainly thought out of the box - from a an inflatable dancing balloon parked out in the front to weekly mariachi bands, San was thoroughly impressed. But the mariachis were expensive, and the balloon could only satisfy so many children. San read through the rest of the options and stopped at a dance team.

"A dance team?" He pondered, looking back up at her.

His manager smiled. "Just dancers from the town. We could ask the high school's dance team to perform every now and then."

"And the college students, since it's summer and they're home," San felt the need to note, being a college student himself.

His manager nodded. "Precisely." She then looked at him closer, like she wanted him to say something. San had a feeling she knew what she wanted him to say.

"Yes, I danced competitively in high school," San said after a minute. And though he was in college and wasn't a dance major, San was a part of a non-competitive dance team that did flash mobs in festivals and parades in the town.

His manager leaned closer to him. San leaned away from her, giving a nervous smile.

"You could really bring a lot of business if you danced, Santiago," his manager grinned. "I'm not trying to force you. But I've seen how you light up when you work with the customers. I've seen how customers light up with you. And if it doesn't work out, we'll come up with something else. But it's worth a shot, isn't it?"

San pondered his options. Accepting this would mean being around the restaurant a lot more. And although it was true he enjoyed working there, he found equal satisfaction in relaxing by himself at his home or walking around the town in the evening. It would also mean recruiting other members of his dance team. A few of them did live nearby, but it would still be work nonetheless to get them to cooperate.

But San thought of Tía María and the giggly girls he had served only a week before Ana's Taqueria had opened. He thought about the older couples that couldn't stop fishing bills out of their pockets for San after one of his usual waiter performances. This restaurant wasn't just a restaurant. It was important to both him, the other employees, and the customers that frequented there, even if they had found a new love as of late. San could have refused, but Santiago had an obligation to his place of work.

"Then let's do it," San said, and the manager's face erupted with joy.

"Thank you," she sobbed, and San smiled with the obliviousness of a person that had no idea what they had got themselves into.

Within a few days, San had contacted three dance college friends that lived close by to set up a few performances. All three of them were a part of the dance team at his college and seemed eager to get out of the house to do something fun. Yunho, San's friendly and sweet as sunshine friend from college, accepted with no problem. Mingi, another college friend, was just happy to not be cooped up in his house anymore. Wooyoung, his final dance friend from college, was eager to accept on the term that San provided them with food from the restaurant during their practices.

So when he met up with them outside the restaurant for their first practice, he had a bag of takeout containers filled with fajitas, tacos, and enchiladas. Wooyoung scurried up to San when he was in view and took the bag from his hands. "Thank you," he said cheerfully.

"Nice to see you too," San said and rolled his eyes good-naturedly. But Wooyoung simply put the bag of food on the ground and bounced back up with the energy of a newborn kangaroo. "Hello, Yunho, Mingi."

Both of them waved back, Mingi with his eyes wide and an even wider smile, and Yunho, who laughed as he waved. "So, what's on the agenda?" He asked while Wooyoung eyed the bag of food he had placed on the floor. Although San had briefed them all with the basics, none of them knew exactly what they were doing.

"This is dance for a Mexican restaurant," Wooyoung said logically. "We could salsa dance with each other." Mingi, who was standing next to him, took a few steps away from him.

"No," San laughed, and then pulled out his phone from his back pocket. "I was thinking of something a bit more... exciting." The three of them had their eyes on him while San scrolled through a playlist he had created a few hours earlier. "We can do a few songs that we already know from dance team, but like Wooyoung said, this is a Mexican restaurant. So I think it's only fair that we dance to some Latin artists." He clicked the song, and the sound of acoustic guitars filled the air.

Mingi began to nod his head and tap his foot. Wooyoung had gotten himself into the tacos and was eating one while swaying to the music.

"Oh, this is groovy," Yunho smiled. "What's the song?"

"This is La Camisa Negra by Juanes," San said with such a perfect pronunciation that the three of them whistled in awe.

"Ah, so this is why you're the hot and popular waiter," Wooyoung grinned and wiggled his eyebrows. "You really know how to get them-"

San turned up the volume of the music to drown out Wooyoung. "So I was thinking we could dance to this song in black shirts. And perhaps we could have roses in our mouths to make it a little sexier."

"Business is going to boom," Mingi surveyed, and Yunho nodded in agreement.

"And a few more songs by Juanes and other artists as well. We can definitely don't have to do all of them, but we can survey them tonight and think of some light choreography. These will just be fun interludes for our practiced dances."

He must have looked optimistic, because the three of them smiled back. Mingi now had an enchilada on a plate. "Excelente," he said and raised his fork with a smile as if he was toasting them. "Let's do it."

Their dancing experience was an asset for the choreography. It didn't take long to come up with a small dance routine, and before San knew it, the sun was setting and all of the food was eaten.

"Thanks for making this easy," San said gratefully as the other three of them packed up their things. "And fun."

"No problem," Yunho smiled. "It will be a lot of fun. Especially when we pick up Wooyoung and shove a rose into his mouth."

"I will be incredibly sexy," Wooyoung chimed in, completely serious.

"And hopefully that will be promising enough for customers to come," San laughed, but he couldn't ignore the knot that was in his stomach. Despite their preparation and his confidence for himself and his teammates, he couldn't help but worry that they weren't doing enough. What if the restaurant had to close?

"I'm sure people will come," Mingi reassured. "And if they don't, then we can burn down the other restaurant."

"I don't think we'll need to do that," San laughed, but Wooyoung seemed more intrigued in this idea than San would have liked him to be. Even if business only increased by a little, San was certain that the business would at least be able to stay afloat for a few more months.

So two weeks later on the small outdoor stage of El Diablo Caliente, endless amounts of hungry audience members sat in front of the four of them. Dressed in black shirts that would come in handy for La Camisa Negra later, hair slicked back to give a more flattering and attractive look to the audience, and hidden roses in the corner of the stage, they were ready to completely rock the stage with their performance.

In the back of the audience stood San's beaming manager. San returned a smile to her, which caused a large group of girls to swoon.

"His smile simply makes me melt," one of them said, and Wooyoung snorted beside him.

"Let's not keep them waiting," Wooyoung then whispered to San with his eyebrows raised. "We've got an audience to entertain."

And entertain, they did. The customers of El Diablo Caliente were satisfied by the food that was brought to them and the incredible performance that the four of them displayed for their viewing. The crowd, mostly younger people, erupted when the roses appeared on stage and San felt the spiritual need to wink to them. The amount of tips and phone numbers that the four of them received was insurmountable. The show could confidently be marked as a success.

San was beaming at the end of their performance. Because even if this didn't change their business, they had still raked in a hefty amount of money from this night. Subsequent nights would only be bigger.

But across the street, Ana's Taqueria was taking notes. Sitting at a comfortable distance from El Diablo Caliente was Ana herself. She was only a few years older than San, but she had the drive and determination of someone that had 40 years of entrepreneurship under her belt. A mischievous smile danced on her lips as she pressed her phone against her ear and let it ring. The recipient picked up after a few rings.

"I'm going to need a favor from you," Ana said softly as she watched San saunter off of the stage and into the crowd of customers with a rose in his mouth and a smile on his face. The smirk struggling to appear on her face broke through onto her features. "You know how to dance, right?"

If the drive home from the dance concert was exhilarating, the drive into work the next day was unparalleled. San walked into El Diablo Caliente feeling like he had just won the lottery.

"You were spectacular," San's manager said as greeting. He hadn't seen this big of a smile on her face in weeks. "The other three were also amazing. But San, you were truly possessed with some kind of dance God." She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to him. "These are the earnings from last night."

San's mind bobbled at the number. It was bigger than what they had received in a week ever since Ana's Taqueria opened. "That's phenomenal," he said breathlessly.

"You're phenomenal," the manager countered. "San, you saved the restaurant."

Needless to say, it was one of San's best days as a waiter. Customers that had fallen in love with his performance appeared today to have more of their delicious food and see the handsome waiter and dancer.

"Do you still have the rose?" A young man asked with stars in his eyes around midday. San was more than happy to oblige - when he brought the food over to him, a rose hung in his mouth. He was then subsequently tipped almost half of the meal price.

But San's good day, no matter how good it was, didn't last forever. Walking out of the restaurant to go home, San noticed a new sign on Ana's Taqueria's wall. His stomach dropped to his feet.

The sign advertised a dance night with "four phenomenal men" in two weeks from today. San read through the sign again and again. Each time, it sounded more and more like the exact show that he and his friends had put on the night before. He whipped out his phone and took a picture of the sign and sent it to his manager, his head swimming with thoughts and worries.

They couldn't do that, not when El Diablo Caliente had just hosted a dance night. San strapped on his seatbelt and started his car, but sat in the parking lot, staring at the rival restaurant. There wasn't much he could do. They hadn't trademarked or claimed dancing as their own original thought - Ana's Taqueria could do whatever they wanted to do. But that still left the knot in San's stomach unresolved, and he was filled with a sudden burst of anger and resentment for the restaurant.

San turned off his car and hopped out. He made his way across the street and walked into Ana's Taqueria.

"I'd like to speak with the manager," San said as greeting when he threw open the door. He must have looked odd still dressed in his work uniform. The restaurant wasn't too busy, but a good amount of customers still stared at him as he strode past the welcome podium and headed towards the cashier.

"Is Ana here?" He asked as evenly as he could to the young girl that was seated at the cashier with wide eyes.

"She is," the cashier said slowly to him, her eyes flickering around the store. San felt bad for a minute - perhaps he was being too harsh to a poor girl that had no decision in the dance night - but then someone that only could have been Ana appeared behind the counter, and the rage settled comfortably back into his chest.

She couldn't have been much older than him. Ana had curly blonde hair that was pulled back into a carefree low bun on the nape of her neck and had piercing eyes. She grinned with an alluring smile when she saw him and San's anger flared up.

"Hello," he said, giving her a small nod. "I'm San. A waiter from El Diablo Caliente."

"Your performance last night was truly something," Ana said softly and gave him a sweet smile. San wanted to punch her in the face. "I didn't attend, but I could see you and your friends performing from over here. You're all very talented."

"Thank you," San managed to say. "I noticed you're also having a dance night."

Ana's smile widened. "I do hope you don't mind," she said. "We're friends, are we not?"

San's mouth twitched. "Not just because we both work at Mexican restaurants that are close by," San said, trying to prevent any sort of emotion from appearing on his face.

Ana frowned. "Well, that's not very sportsmanlike, is it?" She said, resting her elbows on the counter. "We're simply hiring dancers as your restaurant did. There's nothing stopping me from doing this. It's simply a good idea."

Not when you're tearing our business to the ground, San wanted to say. Not when you're stealing and profiting off of our idea just because we thought of something better than you did.

"It is a good idea," San said instead. "But we thought of it first. It's abundantly clear that you copied us rather than simply taking inspiration. Four dancers? You at least have been subtle."

Ana's eyes shimmered with something that made San's stomach flip. "Well, I've already hired the dancers," she shrugged. "They're professional, actually. We paid good money for them."

San thought about how El Diablo Caliente's dancers were just college students and his blood boiled. "We're both Mexican restaurants, yes?" He started, not sure of where he was going with this. His emotions were driving this talk. Ana watched him in amusement like this was some mildly entertaining comedy show.

"Then let's have a dance competition," San offered. "If we're as good as you said we were, and your dancers are professional, it should be fun. Just some friendly competition."

Ana's eyes were shining now. "Sounds like a wonderful idea. At our restaurant? Our stage is much bigger than yours."

"Sure," San said evenly. "And also on the night that your poster says on your wall. Think of it as a community event."

They both knew that this competition wasn't just against the dancers - it was a competition against the Mexican restaurants. Ana had made this competition personal by twisting El Diablo Caliente's unique ideas into her own. San was ready to run her into the ground.

"I'll have the sign changed by tomorrow morning," Ana said idly. "It was truly a pleasure meeting you, San. Train hard. You'll need it." He could swear that he saw fire flare up in her eyes. She gave a goodbye wave, then disappeared into the back of the restaurant, her curly hair bouncing against her neck as she trailed away.

When San unlocked his phone in his car only minutes later, his phone was blown up by texts from his manager.

Copiers! She had texted. The nerve. What the hell?

San quickly texted the deal he had made with Ana to his manager, who responded with excitement. You four will destroy them, she said, and San could only hope she was right. In actuality, he had no idea how he was going to pull this off. But luckily, he wasn't alone.

"They sound awful," Yunho said during their second practice. Now that it had rolled into July, the sun beat down on them harder than ever. All four of them were sporting muscle t-shirts to feel more comfortable, but it was still sweltering.

"Right?" San could only agree. "They saw how well we did and decided to copy our idea."

"Do you have any idea who the other four will be?" Mingi asked, and then took a long drink of water. Wooyoung was crouched next to him, listening intently.

San shook his head. "I just know that they're professionals," he sighed. "Ana contacted my manager and said that there will be judges. I don't know exactly what will happen if we win or lose."

"It sounds like we just need to please the crowd, though," Wooyoung pointed out. "If it's just a dance-off, there's nothing that's directly on the line for the restaurants themselves. If I enjoy a performance enough, I won't care what the judges say."

"But we still should win," San said. "If we want to knock down Ana a few pegs." San crouched down and turned on his phone. The familiar sound of Juanes blasted through the speakers, and the rest of them stood up straighter.

"Let's kick ass, shall we?" San said while stretching his arms, and the others nodded with vigor.

The days flew by. Between waiting tables and practicing with Wooyoung, Mingi, and Yunho for the competition, San was booked. More than once he had collapsed onto his bed after he got home from his shift and fell asleep immediately. When he was awake, he spent most of his idle time worrying about the dance battle.

He was confident in their group. He admired and respected the other three tremendously and felt pride in his own abilities. But there was still that fear and that unknown element of the professional dancers. How good would they be? San imagined them wiping the floor with his team and his stomach did a backflip. They had to win. He had to win.

The days ticked down to the competition, and soon the four of them were entering Ana's Taqueria on the night of the competition. They wore clothes similar to they had in their first performance, but instead had matching shiny red vests. "They match with the roses really well," Mingi had said with his rose in between his teeth.

Once they were inside, Yunho scouted the restaurant and spotted Ana's professional group of dancers. He nudged San and nodded his head towards them.

The first aspect of them that San noticed about them was how young they were. The group seemed the same age as San's group, perhaps even younger than them. On the back of all of their black shirts in shiny lettering was Stray Dancers.

"They're not professional," Yunho hissed. "They're just another college group. I know them. Did Ana just tell us they're professional dancers to scare us?"

"Felix!" Wooyoung cried, oblivious to their nervous chatter, and clapped the back of one of the rival dancers. San, Yunho, and Mingi tensed.

"He knows one of them?" San asked to no one in particular.

"Wooyoung knows everyone, it seems," Mingi said as Wooyoung began to laugh with Felix and the other three dancers as if they were best friends.

"I guess it will be good for us if the tension isn't there," Yunho said, and they all nodded. "It's more of a friendly competition that way. We just need to beat them for Ana."

San let Wooyoung fraternize with the enemy for a while longer before he walked up to him and pulled on his shirt. "Woo, let's get ready," he said cheerfully, though his insides were starting to swim.

"San!" Wooyoung cried. "Meet the Stray Dancers. I've worked with them before." San opened his mouth to stop him, but Wooyoung had already started his extroverted spiel. "This is Felix, this is Chan, this is Hyunjin, and this is Minho," he said, pointing to each one of them, who waved kindly to San in return. San didn't love the idea that Wooyoung was friends with their opponents, but it helped ease the anxiety in his stomach.

"Hi," he said to each of them and nodded. "Nice to meet you guys," he said quickly, "but Wooyoung, we have to go." Without waiting for a reply or protest, San snagged Wooyoung and dragged him away from the Stray Dancers before he could strike up more conversation.

"I was having a nice time," Wooyoung whined when they were a good distance away and back with Yunho and Mingi.

"You can talk to them after the competition," Mingi said wisely, and San was relieved that someone felt similar to him. "The show starts soon anyway. We should stretch now, even if we're not the first ones on stage."

That was at least one good aspect of it all - San could at least gauge how good the Stray Dancers were before they took the stage. "Right, let's find a place," Yunho agreed, glancing around the restaurant to find a place to stretch. San was about to point out a room that seemed to be unoccupied when he saw Tía María in the crowd.

"Go on without me, I'll be there in a minute," San said, and rushed over to her. "María," he said, the happiness in his voice not unnoticed. "I'm so glad you're here. Thank you for coming here to support me."

"Make sure to wipe them to the floor, Santiago," Tía María said as greeting, and San was surprised at how upfront she was. She must have noticed the shock to cross his face, so she continued to speak. "I dislike Ana. I just want to see that smile gone from her face." She nodded over to the other side of the restaurant, and Ana was there. She was casually chatting with a customer, but San felt the resentment bubble in his stomach regardless.

"We will, Tía," San said, even if he didn't quite believe it himself.

Tía María smiled. "It's just like being a waiter, Santiago. You are here to cater to the public. You've already proven yourself to be wonderful to people - full of expression and charms. But you also are humble and kind. This competition is no different. Show them Santiago and they will come back to El Diablo Caliente in no time." She stood up and wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

"Estarás asombrando, mijo," she said, and San's heart filled up with love. He was ready if Tía María believed he was ready.

Shortly after his warmup with the other three dancers, they situated themselves at a table to watch the Stray Dancers perform. While Ana walked up on stage and introduced the Stray Dancers, San glanced around and found the judges near the front of the stage. They didn't seem particularly uptight or fancy - all three of them wore casual clothing. It was odd how laid back Ana had staged this. Did she really think this competition would be easy to win?

And then the Stray Dancers began to perform. Unbeknownst to San before, their black Stray Dancers tshirts had little pins of the Mexico flag above their heart, and they danced with castanets that made pleasant clicking noises. San was impressed with their ingenuity. The clicks frequently matched up with their footwork and gave the illusion that they were tap dancing. Not only that, all four of them were equally mesmerizing and pleasing to watch.

Minho was frequently in the center and made most of the crowd members swoon. Hyunjin did a move with his legs that caused someone to whistle during their performance. Chan had wondrous arms that were mesmerizing to look at each time he raised them and clicked his castanets. Felix was more fluid than a river and made his intricate dance moves look easy. But as good as they were, San felt pride in himself and his teammates. He thought they could win.

The crowd burst into applause once they were finished. "It's time," Yunho whispered and stood up, the rest of them following suit. Wooyoung sauntered up to the stage first and high-fived all four of the Stray Dancers as they descended from the stage. San risked a glance at Ana and found her eyes already on him. She had a sinister sort of smile that, to a random onlooker, looked like she was amused. He looked away and tried to shake her steel eyes from his vision.

Ana, like she did with her own group of dancers, introduced San's group to the audience. "And San Choi," she finished, and the crowd whooped and cheered as he gave a bow and smile to the crowd. As Ana walked off of the stage, she glanced at San. However, this time, he was looking at her already. San raised his eyebrows and smiled a devious smile. Then, Juanes began to play, and San's body was taken over by the dancing demon that he had cultivated dearly in their weeks of practice.

The performance was exhilarating. It was a mass catharsis of the tension and stress San had built up from this competition, and the audience only saw it as marvelous stage presence. He took the time to do certain moves with more fluidity and sensuality. The rose was in and out of his mouth. He managed to fit in multiple winks, smirks, and run his hands through his gelled and dark hair. Every movement from the first chord of the song to the last made the entire culture of Mexico smile down on him. He knew this because when the music ended and the clapping started, Tía María's eyes were shining with a fondness and pride that could only come straight from the heart.

"San, you were insane on stage," Yunho commented when they walked off of the stage amidst the cheers and clapping. "What possessed you?"

"Spite," San said. He had found Ana's eyes once again. She seemed calm, as though San had not just delivered a show-stopping performance in a tiny Mexican restaurant. He gave her a wink and did not give any more attention to her. The judges may have had the final say in the competition, but San knew that customers would flock back to El Diablo Caliente regardless of the outcome. Their cheers were more like roars and were infinitely louder than the ones that the Stray Dancers had received.

"That was sick," Chan said to San as he passed them by. The rest of them gave smiles.

"Thank you, you four were also amazing," San said idly, thinking about the results. They reached their table and sat down.

"I think we won," Wooyoung whispered to them immediately after they were situated.

"No doubt," Mingi agreed.

"I hope," San said to them. He watched the judges shuffle around in their seats and finish taking notes. Then, one of them stood up and began to walk towards the microphone. San's stomach became a gymnast.

"Here we go," he whispered, his heart rate picking up. "Hey, wait a minute," he said, turning to Mingi. Mingi was the one that had told the judges their team name, like how Ana's group was called the Stray Dancers. "What exactly did you name us?"

Mingi smiled at him.

"Both performances were spectacular," the judge said into the microphone, surprisingly jovial. The Stray Dancers and San's group snapped their heads to the stage to listen. "But we think this group did an exceptional job of pumping up the crowd while also keeping the integrity of Mexican music, and therefore deserves the win. Congratulations to Santiago and his Rosy Men, you're our winners."

"Santiago and what?" San gaped at Mingi while the restaurant exploded into cheers. "Mingi, you-"

"We won," he said, clapping him on the back. "Go and celebrate. Don't think too much about it." He was smiling so wide. San sighed and matched his smile. They had won.

Tía María was glowing as she approached their table. She promptly went over to San and kissed his cheek before giving him the biggest hug he had ever felt from her. "Maravilloso," she whispered while she rubbed his back. San felt tears touch his eyelids and he hugged her tighter. They had done it, and had made one of San's most beloved people happy.

After Tía María left San's embrace, Ana approached them with a stiffness. "Congratulations," she said, giving them a smile. But San had seen Ana smile before, and this was not her usual snarky smile. This was a fake smile, a smile that had been punched with the loss of her dance team. San relished in her discomfort.

"Thank you," San said, giving her a smile that was genuine and a little bit more. "Maybe next time, don't try to copy us at our own game." He smiled as her face contorted with anger and frustration. She stormed off away from them, and the four of them high-fived each other.

The next day. business didn't just boom, it exploded. San walked into El Diablo Caliente the next day and it was like Ana's Taqueria had never opened. The restaurant was packed and the other servers were happy to see him. The customers were especially happy to see him. The girls that he had served months ago waved at him. "You were so cool on stage!" One said as he passed by, and San took the opportunity to give her a wink.

"I know."

He left their gasping expressions for the back of the restaurant where he clocked in and got ready to work. As he rolled up his sleeves, he couldn't help but look at how much more alive El Diablo Caliente was now. Although the store hadn't had a paint job recently, the red walls glowed with newness. People in the restaurant smiled extra widely as they feasted on their meal.

But that was not what tickled San the most about his restaurant. The icing on the cake was the amount of cars in the parking lot. Less than half of the amount of cars that they had were in the lot of Ana's Taqueria. Everything, finally, had fallen back into a blissful harmony, and San was elated to be a part of the melody of the restaurant once again. San let his charming façade wash over him like a waterfall and felt the tingling warmth of a new day in the restaurant he appreciably called home.

[nctsjiho]

Will You Be My Friend?

warnings: none

❀ Jiho had a hard time finding friends outside of her company (2015)

The classroom slowly started filling with chatter that got gradually louder as the end of the last period was nearing. The teacher did everything not to show his mild annoyance at the children who stopped paying attention to him, but he also remembered that it was indeed a Friday and he wanted to go home just as much as the children that sat in front of him.

Jiho’s focus was still on the teacher as she jotted down extra information about their assignment due for next week. History was probably one of her least favourite subjects, but teacher Kim made it more than bearable. He found ways to keep things entertaining and even though his assignments were a lot of work, there was always a creative part to it. This time they were free to choose whatever medium they wanted to use to present a certain historical moment. Jiho hadn’t made her mind up yet on how she was going to present her moment, but she was kind of excited to be working on it for the next few days.

Once the bell rang, indicating that the last class of the day was over, all the kids jumped up on their feet ready to run out of class. Jiho who was following the class diligently until the bell signal started putting her stuff away calmly. She didn’t notice the pair of footsteps coming closer until she heard a chuckle. It didn’t sound like an amused chuckle though.

“Aren’t you training to become an idol?” Jiho looked up to see a bigger guy standing next to her desk with crossed arms. She locked eyes with him for a few seconds before letting out a hum confirming his statement and then continued putting her notebook in her bag. “Wow~ The nerve of this girl.” Jiho didn’t have to look up to know those words came from one of her classmates that stood next to the boy that spoke earlier. “Just because you are a pretty foreigner girl doesn’t mean you will become an idol. It takes actual talent you know?” Her voice was laced with pure annoyance. Jiho looked up to the girl and nodded. “Hmm. I know.” She kept it short and with her bag completely packed, Jiho stood up. The smaller girl scoffed at Jiho and looked at her friend. “All she does is study the whole day, this nerd doesn’t even have any friends and yet here she is acting like she’s everything.” Jiho rolled her eyes at the comment and made her way out of the room, but the girl halted Jiho by grabbing her wrist.

“Why are you here even? Don’t trainees usually study at SOPA? Are you actually even a trainee?” Jiho’s classmate kept firing questions at her not giving any time to answer. Not that Jiho was planning to answer anyway. The boy started laughing turning to his small friend. “You’re probably right Eunjae, with the way she’s always paying attention to class and has her nose buried in her books, I think this girl is way more likely to become a scientist nerd than an idol.” The weak insult had Jiho trying to hold back a laugh. The small girl scoffed as she heard the giggle leave Jiho’s lips. “What?! What’s so funny huh?” “Nothing. I have to get going though, thanks for the little chat.” Jiho smiled before pulling her arm free of Eunjae’s grip and leaving the room. She heard the 2 bullies yell out to her but she ignored it. “Doctor Jiho? Being a scientist? Doesn’t sound too bad right?” Jiho laughed to herself.

For some reason Jiho’s dorm was a bit further from SM than most of the other trainees’. She lived with two very nice girls. One was in her mid twenties and the other girl was 3 years older than her, being 17 (Jiho is 14 international age at this point in time). The oldest was an SM employee and the 17 year old was another trainee. She got along well with them, but they were always busy so she didn’t get to see them too often.

Because she lived a bit further away from the company, Jiho had decided to find a dance studio closer to her dorm so she could practise their on week days after school or whenever she couldn’t go - or is to lazy to go - to SM. So on her way back from school she went to check out the dance studio she saw online. With her headphones playing some of her current favourite songs she made her way to her destination. A few minutes in she felt her phone buzz.

From Doyoung oppa

“Are you finished with school? Will you be heading to the company now?”

To Doyoung oppa

“I’m going somewhere first. It might be too late to come over afterwards.”

“But I’ll be there tomorrow.”

From Doyoung oppa

“Okay, be careful and go home before it get’s dark outside. C U tomorrow.”

Jiho smiled at the message and then pocketed her phone, picking up the pace to reach the dance studio faster.

The dance studio was bigger than Jiho imagined it to be. That was her first thought when she entered it. Of course she was using it alone, so size didn’t really matter in the first place but having a bigger room that could easily fit a small group of dancers all for herself was a plus point. Jiho threw her bag to the side and twirled around in the middle of the room until she heard someone push against the door. “Oh- I’m sorry, I didn’t know anyone was using this room.” The girl said. Completely flustered at the sudden appearance Jiho bowed and apologised. “No I’m sorry. I was just checking out the room. I messaged the owner and asked if I could use the studio after school every once in a while...” The two girls stared at each other for a second before they both spoke up at the same time. “Wow~ You’re really pretty.” Their eyes widened and after a few seconds they both start laughing hysterically.

After finally catching their breaths both girls sat up from where they fell to the ground laughing just a minute ago. The were sitting just a meter apart and Jiho held out her hand. “My name is Jiho.” The girl smiled and took her hand, shaking it firmly. “I’m Ryujin. It’s nice to meet you.” “It’s nice to meet you too.” The girls talked for a bit and Ryujin invited her to dance with her.

They bonded over dancing to some kpop group songs and a lot of their other interests. “Hey Jiho?” Jiho’s head swiftly turned to the girl - who she learned was one year younger than her. “You’re really good at dancing. Are you perhaps an idol trainee?” Jiho gasped, shocked by the question. “Oh, yeah I am. I actually kept wondering if you are a trainee too. You’re a really great dancer as well.” Ryujin nodded her head excitedly and began to share how she got in to JYP after attending a GOT7 concert. Jiho shared her own story which Ryujin was so amazed by.

It was about 2 hours later that the girls decided to call it a night. It was already getting darker and it would be a good idea for both of them to head home. The girls waved their goodbye’s to the owner of the studio who was cleaning up the reception area and then they left the building. Jiho was only a  5 minute walk away from her dorm while Ryujin had to take a bus so Jiho offered to wait for the bus with her.

“I had a lot of fun today.” Ryujin beamed and Jiho nodded. “Actually Ryujin-” “Everything alright?” Ryujin’s tone sounded a bit concerned but Jiho gave her a quick laugh to assure her she was alright. “Yes, I just- See I don’t have many friends outside of school. Well I don’t have any friends at school at all and in my company I’m only friends with one other girl trainee and some of the boys as well. But I would love it if you’d become my friend... You know, so that I have more friends that are girls.” Ryujin smiled brightly at the cute confession. She pulled Jiho into a side hug. “Of course! Here save my phone number so we can hang out and dance more often.” The girl both eagerly grabbed their phones, happy that they found a new friend.

Jiho always had many friends when she lived in France. She was never the type to be shy around people, but for some reason when she moved to Korea things were drastically different. The girls she trained, even though they were friendly to her face, weren’t actually her friends. They were all training to be the best female trainee of the month, it was some kind of competition and even though Jiho tried not to be bothered it was a bit sad that the girls couldn’t seem to push their competitiveness aside to become actual friends. The only girl trainee she was friends with was her roommate. As for the boys, she seemed to get along with them better. It may have been because she had gotten to know and befriend Doyoung so early on, but she had already gotten closer to a few more of the boys in her company because of her outgoing nature.

In school most of the kids either looked at Jiho funny because she was a foreigner or because she wasn’t a very feminine girl. Doyoung had called it jealousy, but Jiho didn’t think their was anything to be jealous about over her. She stopped paying any mind to it though because she still had friends outside of school and she only came to school to study anyway. Well that’s what she made herself believe to not become to sad over the lack of friends. But now she had met Ryujin. A girl she genuinely clicked with so well. Their personalities matching almost perfectly, just being different enough to not get bored with each other but similar enough to not clash. She was so excited to tell her roommates about it when she got home and tell Doyoung that she “had found a replacement for him” already on the next day. That clearly being a joke because no one could ever replace Doyoung who had almost become like a brother to her already.

[emeraldwaves]

Title: Dance With Me (It Won’t Kill Ya) Epilogue FINAL CHAPTER Pairing:  Kacchako (side Todomomo, side Kirimina) Dance/College AU Rating: E Word Count:  2,182 Read on Ao3 Summary: When Bakugou damages university property, he’s forced to take dance lessons with the best dance student at the school, Uraraka. There’s no way he’ll actually enjoy learning to dance though… right?

Absolutely not…

Thanks to @its-love-u-asshole  and @miqitten for reading this!

"Katsuki!" Uraraka hissed, her fingers curled in her own hair. "I can't get it!" she whispered, her knees bouncing as she struggled with the small hair clip.

Rolling his eyes, he made his way to her and gently pulled the rose clip from her hair. His hand gently brushed the brown pieces back and he clipped it into place. "There you go, idiot."

She giggled, and stood on her toes, giving him a small kiss. "Thank you, Katsuki. Do you need help with your tie?"

He didn't, but something about the idea of her tying it for him made him blush. "Go ahead," he said. Her fingers held the tie in place, wrapping it around as she tied it tight, smiling as she did.

"Are you nervous?" she asked.

Glancing out at the stage, Bakugou couldn't see the audience, not with the bright lights. He wasn't nervous though, not at all. Uraraka was going to be there, and when they were together, they were absolutely unstoppable.

What he didn't like was knowing Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero and the rest of his rugby idiot friends were all sitting in the audience.

"No," he said, turning back to look at her.

"I hope you're ready," Todoroki hummed, adjusting the cuffs on his shirt. "This reflects all of our work for the semester."

"Shouto, I'm sure Bakugou-san will do fine," Momo said, gently hitting her boyfriend.

"Oi, Half and Half, shut your damn mouth or I'll make sure to sabotage you and your grade only," he snarled as quietly as he could. Currently, people were performing, and it would probably be frowned upon if he was just yelling backstage. He didn't give two shits about Todoroki, but the last thing he wanted to do was get Uraraka in trouble.

"Ah yes, I'm so concerned," Todoroki sighed.

"Don't provoke him on purpose Shouto," Momo said softly. Instead, she brushed by the two boys and took Uraraka's hands. "Thank you, Ochako-chan, for creating this dance and so many this semester. I know how hard you've worked for yourself, Bakugou-san... and Shouto and I," she smiled, pulling her friend into a hug. "I'm so happy to be showcasing your work tonight."

"O-Of course Momo-chan!" she giggled softly, hugging her back. "You and Todoroki-kun deserve the best choreography. You deserved your amazing waltz win!"

"We couldn't have done it without you," Todoroki nodded.

"Thanks you guys," she smiled.

"Let's all have a good performance tonight!" Momo smiled, looking at them.

"Yes, of course!" Uraraka said, bowing her head to them.

"Up next we have a dance from choreographer Uraraka Ochako! She will be dancing with her partner, someone from a separate department, Bakugou Katsuki, as well as Todoroki Shouto and Yaoyorozu Momo from our department." Their teacher started clapping after her introduction, welcoming them all onto the stage. Bakugou could hear Kirishima's loud hollering coming from the audience. It pissed him off, he wished his stupid friends had never found out about this.

It was the last place Bakugou ever expected to find himself; standing atop the dance department stage, holding hands with Uraraka Ochako.

But dammit if he didn't love her. He would stand on any fucking stage if it made it her happy.

Uraraka turned her gaze to him, her lips pulling into a smile. She stood next to him, hand wrapped in his. On the other side of her he could see Todoroki and Momo standing in the same starting pose, and he waited for the upbeat music to start.

Bakugou was by no means good at dance yet, but he had sure as hell gotten better. They'd spent the past few weeks working on this end of the semester performance, and though it was a different style than he was used to, he had caught on decently quick. Of course, it was slightly annoying that next to Todoroki he was probably going to look like a damn scrub, but Uraraka was happy, so he couldn't exactly complain.

The upbeat pop song began, and Uraraka swayed her hips, twirling into Bakugou as he dipped her down, leaning in closer. She was already smiling her goofy smile she always had when they danced together. Even when he asked her to stop distracting him with all her faces, she said she couldn't help but laugh.

Dancing with him made her so happy.

He wrapped his arm around her waist, and they began to follow Todoroki and Momo in a circle around stage. Uraraka would swish her hips, twirling out from him as she held her hand out, the heels of her shoes clacking against the ground. Bakugou took her hips and gripped her tight, lifting her up as he spun, setting her back down on the floor.

They moved rapidly through the movements, Bakugou taking her across the stage. It felt like a blur. The way their bodies moved closely together, her hips brushing against his own. It was so different from the competition, the lights shining in their faces. The only other people there were Todoroki and Momo, so they were surrounded by far less people, giving them space to move.

It was... fun. He loved seeing how happy she looked.

He spun her away from him, and she swayed her hips from side to side, the material of the skirt brushing across her upper thighs. He knew he shouldn't get distracted.

And yet, that was what Uraraka was best at. Distracting him.

The music picked up and she turned to him, reaching her hand out. He stepped forward, swaying his own hips from side to side before yanking her back and dipping her down. She placed her hand on his shoulder and they moved backwards, while Todoroki and Momo moved in the opposite direction, the group swapping positions. Bakugou picked Uraraka up, and spun her again.

From across the room, he could see Todoroki holding Momo up as they both slid into their final pose. The boys had their legs pushed out and the girls were pressed against them, arms wrapped around their necks. Bakugou was convinced he would someday be better than Todoroki. He would make Uraraka shine as best as he damn well could.

The entire audience erupted in a cheer; Kirishima and Kaminari yelling so loud the people in front of them were probably fucking deaf.

They stepped forward, taking a bow before running off the stage. Uraraka immediately tackled Bakugou with a hug. "We did it! That was amazing!"

"It did go well," Todoroki nodded and Momo pressed her lips to his cheek.

"It was amazing, Ochako-chan!"

"Yeah, yeah," Bakugou snorted, and pressed his lips to Uraraka’s. "Stop making such cute faces."

"I-I can't help it!" she giggled.

"We were happy to see Uraraka Ochako have the chance to show off her amazing partner choreography! She's shown exceptional growth over this semester and we're happy to see where she progresses in her coming time here. Up next..." The teacher continued to introduce the students, the performance flowing by extremely fast, especially after the adrenaline of their own.

After a final bow with all the students, Bakugou and Uraraka made their way to the lobby, where they were bombarded by friends.

"BAKUGOU!" Kaminari cheered, dashing forward to wrap his arms around his neck. He was quickly followed by Kirishima and Sero, who also pulled him into a hug.

"That was amazing, my bro! Who would've guessed you're a really talented dancer?!" Kirishima said.

"Oi..." Bakugou grumbled, especially when Kirishima rustled his hair which he'd taken forever to get somewhat flat.

"You really clean up nice my man," Kirishima smirked.

"Well, Todoroki was still better, but man, you were way better than I thought you'd be," Kaminari said.

"Do you have a death wish, Sparky?!" Bakugou hissed, glaring when Todoroki smirked in his direction. Of course the Half and Half idiot had heard.

"Ochako-chan!" Mina giggled, nuzzling her cheeks against Uraraka's. "You were so good! You always look so beautiful when you dance, but tonight you seemed genuinely so happy! It was incredible!" she said, hugging her so tight.

"Thanks Mina," she said. "I really am so happy!" She pulled her teeth across her lip, smiling at Bakugou.

"Y'know," Kirishima began, hooking his arm around Mina's shoulder, pulling his girlfriend close. "We were convinced that after you guys lost the competition, Bakugou was going to quit. You know how much he hates losing."

"Oi!" Bakugou growled.

"We did get an honorable mention!" Uraraka giggled. "They liked our performance, but technically we just weren't there yet."

"Right, but when you didn't place, I thought for sure he was gonna be too pissed to ever dance again," Kirishima teased.

Mina rolled her eyes. "But I told Eiji-kun, Bakugou's love for you is too strong-"

"OI-!"

"Kacchan!" Deku's voice cut through the crowd. Bakugou whipped his head towards the mess of green hair and his nerdy blue-haired sidekick.

"Deku-kun! Iida-kun!" Uraraka smiled.

"Excellent job as always," Iida said, bowing to her. "You two work very well together as a team!"

"'Course we fucking do!" Bakugou snapped.

"I'm really proud of how far you've come, Kacchan!" Deku smiled and Bakugou seriously wanted to punch his face in. "I'm happy to see you're such a good partner to Uraraka-san!"

"OI! No one asked you, fuckin' nerd," he hissed. "But of course I'm a good partner." He glared at the two boys.

"After all those study sessions, it's just... nice to see you looking happy," Deku smiled.

"Shut up..." he grumbled, giving Deku a single nod. "Let's go." Bakugou hissed and grabbed Uraraka's hand, yanking her away from the group.

"Katsuki!" she gasped, stumbling after him.

"B-Bakugou?! Where are you going!?" Kirishima yelled.

"I gotta talk to my girl in private, leave me the fuck alone!" he snapped.

"Bye Uraraka-san!" Deku waved, laughing at the two.

"We’ll see you guys at the after party!" she waved back, pulling her jacket tighter as they stepped outside. Winter was in full swing, snow covering the ground. Light snowflakes gently fell from the sky, decorating the earth with the frozen substance.

Their feet crunched against the snow as they walked in silence.

"I fuckin' hate the cold," he grumbled.

Uraraka couldn't help but giggle as she wrapped her arm through his, her hand leaning on his arm. "Then why are we outside?"

"It's only going to be for a minute okay?!" he snapped, and lead her back towards the gazebo.

Her cheeks flushed when she realized that was their destination. The gazebo was the place where they kissed for the first time.

"Katsuki... why are we-"

He paused, stepping under the cover of the gazebo, unhooking their arms. "I wanted... I wanted to fuckin..." He walked to the edge of the gazebo, looking out over the small lake. He ran his hand down his face and turned back to her.

"I wanted to thank you," he muttered.

"Wh-What?" she gasped, surprised by the gratitude laced in his voice.

"For... I dunno all this shit," he said, gesturing his arm out. "You fucking taught me all this shit even when I was a dick to you, and then... even though we lost, I just wanna get fucking better so we can win next time... so you can be fuckin' happy."

She couldn't help but chuckle softly, stepping forward to take his hands. "I was happy losing," she said. "But we'll win! We'll keep practicing together and eventually we're going to win."

"I want to be fucking unstoppable with you," he said, cupping her cheeks. He pulled their lips together and she melted into his warmth. His lips gently pressed against her own and she wrapped her arms around his waist. "I love you, Ochako."

She hated that she was starting to cry, but she was so overwhelmed by him actually saying these words again; she still couldn't believe it was real. A few tears slipped down her cheeks and she quickly brushed them away.

"Oi... why are you crying..." He wanted her to make the faces she always made when they danced; glowing, happy smiles which made her face look like an angel's.

"I-I just... I'm sorry! You know I cry when I get really happy!" she said. "I just... I want you to be my partner. Next semester too... for... forever!"

"I thought we decided this. I better be your fucking partner for forever!" he snapped, kissing her again. "If you replaced me now, I'd be fucking pissed. Besides we have to do better than fucking Half and Half and Ponytail!"

"I know, I know," she giggled, standing on her toes to kiss him again. "I love you, Katsuki."

She stepped back from him, smiling so bright, the snow sparkling against the cold night sky. She reached out her hand, holding her palm towards him. "Will you dance with me?" she asked.

His red eyes fell to her hand and he grabbed her, pulling her body close to his as he wrapped his arm around her waist. He never wanted to let her go.

"Fuckin' always."

[dreamss-of-boston]

Rise - ch4

A/N: theres a lot of backstory in this one im sorryyyysdjkfghdkg but it will all make sense i promise this is all going towards the bigger picture lmfao love u bye

link on AO3!

“Beautiful, girl,” He said dreamily, his cigarette dangling out of his mouth precariously. “Pirouette again-- relax your neck more, darling.”

Sonya did as he asked-- the man in question being Alexander. She knew him by no other name, but she didn’t need to. The mere mention of his name was enough to give her butterflies.

There he sat, perched among the dim candlelight of Genie’s Palace. They were closed for now, but were set to open for the night in about half an hour. Sonya glided across the floor, stepping obediently in time to his whispered counting: “One, two, three, four, five, six.” She spun, her gaze glued to the post by the door, whipping around to stare back at it again as she finished her turn. Her feet were bruised, calloused, but her poise was incredible. As she gently dipped down, her leg following in a sweeping motion, Alexander placed a hand over his heart, letting out a sigh. When Sonya came to her finishing pose, her fingers placed just so, he graciously applauded her. She beamed, her cheeks flushed and heart racing.

“Just exquisite.” He murmured, running a hand through his light brown curly hair as he put out his cigarette.

“Exquisite?” Sonya repeated. She was but twelve, and already in love.

“It means…” Alexander pondered it for a moment. “Divine.”

“Divine.” Sonya said, tasting the word with a smile. She knew what that meant-- he had used it before, the last time he had come to visit. The man before her had been visiting since she was about four years old. He himself was a dancer, and took a liking to little Sonya the first time they met. All she knew about him was that he danced, was a frequent customer of her mothers, and that she was madly in love with him.

She still did not fully understand what her mother's job was-- she knew that her mother and all the other ladies flirted with the men who came in, and eventually took them upstairs to flirt with them some more. Sonya was not allowed upstairs, under any circumstances.

“You’d better put all that back before we open.” Herschel said sternly from the bar. She was glaring something fierce at Alexander, referencing how the two of them had shoved all of the chairs and tables to the edge of the room in order to create a makeshift dance floor. “Sonya, darlin, you’ll break your feet, dancin’ on your tippy-toes like that.”

“Never.” Sonya said with a gleeful twirl.

“Is Maria feeling better?” Alexander asked quietly, putting his hat back on.

Herschel didn’t answer at first; it was clear that neither she, nor any of the other girls of the brothel enjoyed Alexander’s presence. “She’s getting better.”

Sonya nodded. “Every day, mother seems to get stronger.”

Alexander placed a hand on her shoulder with a smile. “That’s good. Let her know I asked about her, will you?”

“Alexander,” Herschel sighed. “It’s better if we don’t mention you… for now. Until the sickness passes.”

Alexander said nothing, though Sonya could tell that he was hurt.

“Come, Sonya, let’s put the room back together.” He murmured, giving her a gentle pat.

[-]

The town outside the Survey Corps HQ was bustling with activity; it was late in the morning, yet the smell of breakfast food from nearby restaurants steamed the air deliciously. Lining the streets in all directions were carts selling fruits, vegetables, textiles, anything anyone could imagine.

Sonya was unashamedly in love with the surface world-- she had been since she was first brought above for training. Once Captain Levi had given her leave to take the day off, Sonya had changed out of her uniform into her civilian clothes: a simple white top she had sewn herself, with the sleeves coming down just below her elbow, and a deep red skirt that came down just below her knees. She rarely got to wear normal clothes, and while she loved the official demeanor she fell into while in uniform, it felt incredibly freeing to walk amongst the civilians of Trost without their stares and glares influenced by the varying opinions of the Survey Corps.

A little stand featuring whittled figurines caught her eye, and a pang of guilt rushed through Sonya as she thought of Anna. While her friend was rotting away in the forest, torn to pieces, Sonya was enjoying her time in the city. She looked away, already feeling tears stinging the back of her eyes.

“Pardon me, young lady,” An old woman called to her from her stand. Sonya, a little startled, slowly went over to her. “I couldn’t help but notice you look a bit sad.” The woman said, and gestured to her wares. “Perhaps a nice ribbon for your hair will lift your spirits-- I have a red one here that will go wonderfully with your skirt!”

Sonya, a little annoyed that her grief was being exploited for profit, allowed herself to be wooed by material items for the time being, grateful for the distraction.

“It is pretty,” She commented, holding the soft, delicate silk in her hands. Herschel would use ribbons like these to wrap around the back of men’s necks, to lure them closer. She smiled a little at the memory of Herschel teaching her one night, while they were closing up-- it was a funny little gesture, and Sonya remembered pulling away in embarrassment, giggling behind her hand.

“Don’t be shy, dearie!” Herschel laughed. “You’re so pretty, it’s a privilege to look at you up close.”

“You were gonna kiss me!” Sonya had justified, turning scarlet red-- as red as the ribbon. “I don’t know how to kiss.”

“It’s real easy, honey.” Herschel tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Want me to show you?”

And that was Sonya’s first kiss. A little juvenile, silly-- but she enjoyed kissing someone she trusted, and someone who cared for her deeply. For a fleeting moment, Sonya wondered what Herschel was up to now; she hoped she was still alive, at the very least.

“I’ll take it.” Sonya smiled. The old woman was delighted, but as Sonya reached into her bag to pay, a certain something caught her eye. “Wait,” She said. “How much for that?”

[-]

Maria took a lazy drag of her cigarette, her head resting in her hand as she stared out the window of the kitchen absently. There she and Sonya sat, at the table after Genie’s Palace had just closed. The street lamp flickered outside, giving some sort of semblance of atmosphere to their world. Sonya’s hands were folded in her lap, looking down in shame, as her cheek stung red from the strike of the woman who sat before her.

“You should’ve known,” Maria said finally, tapping the ash off of her cigarette. “Men who come in here… none of them are good.”

Sonya said nothing; she just bit her lip.

“He tried to use you, make you seem like you were better than this place.” Maria shook her head. “Down here, nobody is better than anybody. Remember that.”

“He said he could take me up there.” Sonya muttered, glancing at her sack of belongings by the door. A symbol of her failure to run away.

“What you say?” Maria said sharply, hooking Sonya with her drunken glare. After a moment, Sonya bravely met the eyes of her mother.

“He said I could be a dancer up there.” She repeated. “He said I have talent.” At sixteen, Sonya had only gotten more beautiful-- a clear mark of danger, being where she was.

“Oh, is that what he said?” Maria nodded. “Well, he said he loved me, and look where that got us.”

“...What?” Sonya’s voice cracked.

“Got us nothin’ but what we already have. He’s back up there… wooing some other poor girl into his sack.” Maria took another drag. “Men like him, they don’t keep their secrets. They don’t tell the truth. They just look at ya for as long as yer pretty, and when they get bored…” She took a swig of her dark drink, “they leave.”

Sonya sat in silence. She looked down, at her bruised and calloused feet. Her sore legs, arms-- the scuffed floors, everything around her was a mark of Alexander. She loved him… she loved him. And as she sat, wondering where her identity was if not strapped to him, she slowly realized that he did not and never would love her back.

[-]

The sun was setting by the time Sonya returned to HQ-- just in time for dinner. She trotted up the steps that led to the dining hall, and once she was inside, she decided she might make a cup of tea before she went to eat.

Walking down the hallway towards the small kitchen area where the tea was housed, she noticed that the door to it was slightly ajar; and inside, a candle was lit. As she came closer, she heard familiar voices speaking in hushed tones inside. Curiously, Sonya pushed the door open slowly and poked her head in.

Hange, Erwin, Levi, Eld and Moblit all sat at the table, leaning in to each other intently. As soon as Sonya was noticed, they halted their conversation and stared at her in surprise.

“Oh,” Sonya said, surprised to find them all gathered in there during dinner. She suspected she had stumbled into a conversation she should not have. “Um, I’m sorry-- excuse me…” She turned to leave.

“I told you we should have moved to Erwin’s office.” Levi sighed.

“No, wait,” Hange said, “everyone will find out tomorrow, anyway. Right, Erwin?”

“She’s trustworthy.” Moblit said, and Sonya got the feeling that she probably didn’t want to know what they were discussing, anyway. “And Hange’s probably going to explode if she doesn’t at least tell someone.”

“Really, it’s fine; I can go.” Sonya insisted.

But everyone waited on Erwin. He was staring at Sonya, studying her, with his hands folded on the table, his back straight. His expression betrayed nothing, and the more he looked at her, the smaller she felt. She shifted her feet, and couldn’t help but steal a glance at Levi, ever the picture of relaxation.

After an eternity, Erwin nodded.

“Oi, just close the door behind you, would you?” Levi said. “And be smarter than Moblit this time, and lock it behind you.”

Sonya smiled at that, amused to see her squad leader shoot a glare at Levi. She obediently sat after closing and locking the door, plopping her bag of wares beside her. Levi’s gaze followed her as she sat, his arms folded over his chest comfortably while a cup of tea sat steaming in front of him.

“Enjoy your day off, did you?” He murmured, though he didn’t seem judgmental-- perhaps pleased with himself?

“Very much.” Sonya nodded. “Thank you, again.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “Don’t mess up your uniform on purpose in the hopes I’ll give you another day off.” He warned.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, sir.” Sonya couldn’t seem to stop smiling.

Hange cleared her throat, her eyes darting between the two of them excitedly. “All right, can I tell her?”

“Hurry it up.” Levi scoffed.

“Sonya,” Hange said, almost buzzing with energy. “Our next expedition, which will take place in two weeks’ time, is going to be… historic.”

“Okay…” Sonya said cautiously.

“In two weeks, Sonya…” Hange clasped her hands together. “We will set out on an expedition to capture a titan!”

[ffxvthingies]

how the chocobros dance

ignis

NEVER dances in public!

the only exception is citadel events

and even then that’s only if he MUST

It’s to no ones surprise that he’s really good at waltzing and slow dancing

move smooth and percise

but that’s the only time people have ever seen him dance

until Noct came home early and saw Ignis dancing while he was cleaning

to say surprising would be an understatement

Noct just stood there, jaw to the floor, watching silently

iggy was doing a ballet routine with some hip hop mixed in.

the music was some Kpop type group (they’re actually his guilty pleasure)

He looked beautiful dancing!

all flowy and elegent

Noct couldn’t get enough of it (was quickly getting a hard-on due to the beauty)

Then the song ends, Iggy does his final pose

Noct is clapping

Ignis shrieks and leaps back

he crashes into a book case

comics and games are crashing onto him

“what are you doing here, highness!!”

“uhh, i live here? Why did you never tell me you could dance like an actual angle????”

iggy his tomato red with embarrassment

Noct feels bad and helps him up

cleans up the mess while iggy is just standing there too horrified to move

“apologize Noctis, I did not mean for you to see me doing such... things.”

“you’re shitting me right?? Specs you were so good!!”

Noctis demands iggy dance for him more now

it gives him an excuse to go home on time quicker in the hopes of seeing iggy dance

Noctis learns that iggy is the best at both ballet AND hip hop!

which is totally unfair because he looks so good doing both!

Iggy has begun to dance for/with noctis when he knows he had a hard day

he puts on some toons  (which is how Noct learned that iggy not only loves classical music but also rap??? iggy stop having so many interests!!”

depending on the song he’ll dance accordingly to cheer noct up

classical? twirl around and leap while putting stuff away

rap? do some sick fuckin moves while cooking and raps along with the music

kpop? Those are special occasions, where he’ll do a routine from the song

he does it as a birthday present for noct every year

it may be Nocts favorite present ever!

Noct appreciates it always

prompto and gladio are finally allowed to see iggy dance while they’re on the road

each one has their jaw dropped to the floor getting boners

iggy learns to open up around them and becomes comfortable sharing his interests!

Noct

Like iggy, he’s not a big fan of dancing in public

but him being the prince means he got all the lessons in ballroom dancing and waltzing

not as good as iggy

but is still up there in talent

it’s a bit hard for him to do it with his leg

but with Gladio’s PT and Iggy’s magical hands

he’s able to dance for a couple of songs before his leg starts to give out

whoever he’s dancing with is always surprised by his talent

he’s graceful and strong when he dances, strict in his movements due to years of training

When Iris came to her first Gala, gladio made noct dance with her

outstretch his hand and ask her like a prince

it was the damned cutest thing!

she was giggling and dancing (poorly) with the prince who was smiling because he’s happy for her!

They dance every gala now

it’s not the best dancing

it’s two kids doing some slow dance at an adults party

but they make the best of it

Noct will expertly spin her around and she’ll giggle

they’ll pretend they’re some long lost lovers and run away hand in hand to the gardens (as an excuse to get away from everybody)

then they hang out and eat fancy foods

Noct likes it when he dances with Iris

but that’s gross boring people dancing

when he’s out with Prom (at the arcade, at home) he turns into a goofy dancer

he moves with the music

bouncing up and down and pumping his fists

hair flapping

its kinda funny to see the prince do this

he also totally dances like an old man

doing some dumb ass dance moves thinking he looks cool

he doesn’t

doing the sparkler and lawn mower

he looks so stupid but they love him all the same

he’s more reserved when he’s around people who are not prompto, gladio, or iggy

claims its because he’s the Prince and it would be a bad image to see the prince dance such a way

it’s because he’s emberassed

but the bros always find a way to bring noctis close and dance with him

Gladio

People assume he’s not the best dancer due to his size

and they’re right

this boy is too big for most dances

his leggys are too longg and they can’t get the movements right with fast pace music (hip hop, ballet, you name it)

but that doesn’t mean he  has two left feet per say

this boy can waltz like a mofo

he made a deal with lil noct to learn along with him after Noct refused to learn

Clarus and Regis were proud of him and told him as much

that it was good that he was willing to learn and stay with his Prince

but he just REALLY wanted to learn how to waltz!

He’s seen the princess movies

and goddamn did he want to dance with a princess when he was little

he still does

the dork

but he didn’t let anyone know that

they just thought he learned so that his Prince would agree to learn

but that didn’t mean he had to dance well!

he does

he’s incredible

while Iggy is fluid and light on his feet

gladdy is strong and percise

the women who dance with him are amazed!

He’s lifting them and twirling them around like they’re nothing

ALL of the women (some of the men too tbh) are begging to dance with him!

but he can’t share the same enthusiasm

“they don’t even know the basic travel movements! Let alone know what to do to make a lift look GOOD and not just me lifting up a person while the cling to me!!1″

if he’s gonna dance, he’s gonna make it good!

No half assing it!

it makes him not want to dance anymore

they just don’t appreciate the art!

When Iris starts coming to the events, gladio dances with her because he knows its been her dream to dance like a princess

and he does

he spins her around and they dance around the room with her on his feet

everyone’s getting pics because its SO C U T E

Clarus is getting a picture

it  hangs up in his office now

Gladio holding Iris up on his hip, one hand on her back like a gentlmen

the other holding her hand out as he dances around, their smiles bright and carefree

but then he realizes that she’s the perfect excuse to not dance with anyone else!

“Lord Amicitia, would you care for a dance?”

“Apologize, but I already promised my little sister this next dance”

take THAT unappreciative dancers!

Then noct makes him and iggy dance together at a gala

and it’s straight up like in the movies when a circle forms around the main character and love interest

they’re like the perfect match

they’re taking turns leading

the transition is seemless

when gladio lifts iggy continues to dance and its honestly mesmorizing

they get a huge applause when they’re done (gladio is dipping iggy who has a leg wrapped around him, head tilted back and arched beautifully)

but that’s all dancing within gladdy’s element

outside of that

it’s... not the best

again he can’t like do some sick moves because of his size

so he sticks to bouncing on his feet and letting the music guide him

Prompto

D E S T R O I E S at Dance Dance Revolution

don’t event try

you will lose to this man

no one is sure how he does it

Noct is a close second to his talent

but he just can’t compete with Proms quick reflexes

it is a sight to see him on that thing

he always gets a crowd

always gets money too??? but not like he’s complaining

the most open w/in the group with is dancing

will gladly bounce around to a beat and do some goofy dance move

he’s not very good at just dancing

if there’s no strict dance moves or arrows showing him where to put his feet

he just looks a bit like a drunk college student dancing at all times

but it’s still cute

out of the four he’s the worst at waltzing

he just can’t get the movements down

he goes to quick, mixes his feet up, just not a graceful dancer when it comes to it

“buddy you fucking crush it at the arcade! Why can’t you do a simple box waltz?”

“Because I wasn’t born doing a stupid 1 2 3 box movement noct D:”

he’s not really upset

he knows he’s the best dancer out of them all (at least he likes to think so)

the amount of times both him, noct, AND gladio have tried to convince iggy to do a dance competition with prompto is like... so many

he finally agrees when they’re on the road

it’s at a Haven

away from all signs of civilazation

even then iggy’s bright pink as he’s dancing

Prompto’s just having a great time

but it is a close call

they do a number from the Kpop group (for while iggy is shy about his appreciation for their music, prom absolutely LOVES it!)

it really is a close call

they’re both so concise and fluid

Gladdy and noct call it a tie

until gladdy sends the video he managed to take to Iris

she declares Iggy the winner

amongst ignis being utterly BETRAYED that his bf would do such a thing!

he’s a smug little shit

Prompto just shrugs and congratulates him

but now he tries to make iggy dance whenever he can

he’ll put on some music and challenge iggy

“c’mon iggy! you gotta defend you title as best dancer of the group!!”

slowly iggy starts to open up about dancing

he does a lil jig when driving (safely of course!!1!)

He’ll dance almost always now when he’s cooking dinner

prompto will always dance with him!