middaeg | Intro Log: February Overflow

[[From here.]]

[That's definitely one way of putting it, and Momo laughs, waving his free hand with a fond sort of look on his face.] It's busy, but a lot of fun. I wouldn't give it up for the world.

[He's had his struggles and been torn up in ways by the requirements and the long haul to pulling his partner up to where he thought he deserved to be, but Momo's reconciled himself with that much more now. And talking about the downsides definitely isn't a fun spin to take on the conversation, so he stands up with that, starting to lead her a little closer to the dancers.]

Can you show me what you're used to first? I know you said "ballroom", but I just wanna make sure it's the same as what I know. [Since he's pretty sure she's not from Earth, so he's not disregarding the chance that his concept of ballroom and hers might be two different things.]

[She nods, releasing his hand to stand up straight. There’s a moment of hesitation, and it’s hard not to feel a little out of place with everyone else dancing nearby, but they’re far enough on the outskirts and now that she’s up here it’s easier to see that there’s not just one style of dancing going on here. Instead it seems to be a blend of people and cultures – it makes sense, given the number of mirrorbound here.

And, with as serious a look as ever, she starts going through the motions of one of the court dances she’d learned as a child. It’s slower than the beat of the music around them, but not too different from what Momo should be expecting. Very proper, and where there might be a partner, there is minimal contact, Allura pantomiming her hand in an imaginary parter’s hand as she slowly circles around, free hand going through the motions of holding up an imaginary long skirt. Her movements are fluid and practiced, and her eyes shut at one point, pretending she was back in the ball room of her castle.

After a second she pauses, looking sheepish,]

It’s a little tricky, without the music.

[It's a tiny bit more proper than Momo is used to, though he supposes he sees ballroom less in the context of people doing it in actual ballrooms, so that probably explains the difference. Still, there's an obvious place to start, and he offers his hand to her again in lieu of the imaginary partner.]

That's fine, I have the idea of it. How about we speed it up a little to match the music first? We can start adding things once we have the beat in order.

[He can already think of a couple of things that tend to come up in more competitive ballroom dancing that might be fun to try, since as far as he's concerned, elegant dancing doesn't necessarily mean it has to be prim and proper the whole way through.]

[She pauses mid dance when he offers his hand and there’s just a touch of warmth to her cheeks when she takes his hand. It’s been a long time since she’s danced like this, and despite the fact that they were around a bonfire instead of under a chandelier, it was undeniably nostalgic. The last time she’d been asked to dance was on Altea, she’s certain.

Nodding, she looks down to watch his feet, making sure not to step on them when she goes back through the motions. She’s doing her best to lead him in the same steps she’d been doing earlier, but he’s picking it up quickly.]

You’re a fast learner, [In fact, she feels like she’s the one trying to keep up with him.] Like this?

[Momo is nothing if not a showman, so when he notices that very slight flush, he lifts her hand delicately and bows his head over it, miming a kiss without actually doing it just in case it makes her uncomfortable. He's a lot more ready to press comfort zones back home, but here he's still parsing out the kinds of social norms people from different backgrounds are coming from.

Momo's very sure-footed in his dancing, in line with what he'd said earlier about it being part of his job. It's that balance where someone's so practiced in something that it wraps back around to looking natural, and he's starting to shift the lead a little bit so he can more easily spin things in new directions.]

That's it. I have to learn new dances pretty often, so it's all experience. [And also the fact that almost 15 years of soccer club prior to that made it so he's always been quite good at picking up physical things.] Have you done a lot of twirls or dips before in your ballroom dancing? I dunno if they're considered that courtly, but they're fun.

[That just makes her cheeks turn pinker, but it's a relief he doesn't go the rest of the way as it would likely edge past her comfort zone for the moment. She's focusing on the dance and keeping up with him, as it turns out. Letting him take the lead reveals that she's probably used to stepping on a few feet in the ball room. Though she's been formally trained in dancing like this, it's her nature to take control where she can, and relaxing that part of her is difficult.]

Twirls. Sometimes. [A sheepish laugh escapes her,] But that was when I was a child.

[Back then she did a lot more dancing on feet.] I want to try.

So a while ago, huh? That's a shame. [He can tell Allura is younger than him, but he'd probably put her at about the age of his younger juniors - in the eighteen to twenty range - which is more than long enough to be going without that kind of fun flair.]

I'll show you one first. But brace yourself, Momo-chan's heavier than he looks. [Muscle mass and all - he's still wearing the hoodie he showed up in, so it's hard to tell his exact build on the top half, but the shape of his legs is definitely fairly defined.

That said, she seems like she's decently strong and he's not going to go too wild anyway, so without further ado, he spins outwards until it stretches both their arms to their full extent, the slight pull of his weight explaining the need for the warning. He extends one leg and his free hand in a deceptively delicate motion as he comes out to that full extension, then brings it back in and swirls back towards her until they're face-to-face again.] Like that. Though you might have to twirl back in a little closer than I did if you want me to show you a dip.

[It's a little hard to dip someone if they're not close enough to easily transfer their weight to you.]

[He tells her to brace herself and she nods, a small rush of insecurity where normally there would be none. She’s already discovered that a lot of her Altean strength had disappeared from her when she arrived on this planet and while she wasn’t weak by any means, she certainly was adjusting to a body that could no longer, say, pick up a man twice her size anymore.

She steps wider when he spins out, bracing her weight on her back leg and just kind of, lets him twirl in. Not so much dancing here but going through the motions, trying to remember what he did so she could replicate it.]

Alright… I think I can do that. [And once they’re standing normal again, she mirrors his movements, stepping wide and then, allowing the way he tugs her to bring her back in, spinning dizzily back into him.]

[Momo nods approvingly when she mirrors him, pulling her back in and moving very slightly himself to guide her into the right position to dip. It's a subtle thing, making sure they meet in the right place, and once her back makes contact with a waiting arm, he curves it under the small of her back and puts his weight to that side, bending his knees to lower himself.]

Now lean on my arm and bend back as far as you can. Doesn't matter if you put your full weight on me, I can take it.

[He wants to see how far she ends up going given the option, but either way, the arm he's using to support her waist is solid and braced to take her full body weight if he needs to.]

[She swallows hard, feeling his hand and forearm curve against the small of her back. But she puts her full faith in him - after a few seconds of stiff awkwardness - letting out a small noise when she dips past the point of no return and she feels the world go a little bit sideways.

Her free hand has found the front of his shirt, fisting there, just to make sure she doesn't fall, and when he lifts her back up to her feet she clears her throat.]

Apologies. It was a big of a surprise.

[His grip remains firm through the whole maneuver, though he doesn't look too surprised when she grips his shirt, instead grinning a little apologetically. He could've tried more to ease her into it, but he's not sure how much that would've helped.

He doesn't keep her dipped for long regardless, and his little grin widens at her remark, baring one of his canines as he waves a hand.] It's fine, I should've tried to ease you into it more. But I thought it would've been easier to get the fun of it across if I just jumped right in. Was it a good kind of surprise?

[If it was, then he'll at least take solace in the fact that it was fun and thus totally worth the surprise.]

[She’s still holding onto his shirt when he brings her back to her feet, and she nods.]

It was. It was… fun.

[Certainly something she’d be willing to try again. Here she realizes she’s wrinkling his shirt and she releases her hand, smoothing the fabric out a little.]

Shall we continue?

[At least Momo's wearing clothes that aren't really a risk for permanent wrinkling, so he just grins at the gesture.]

Of course. I couldn't just dump a dance partner halfway through, that'd be cruel of me.

[And he still has some more fun takes on ballroom to show her, so they can't end it here. They've got a few songs to go yet...]

Intro Log: February Overflow

>Allura

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