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missjanjie · 5 years

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Branjie Fic - Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer (5/?)

Title: Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dancer Summary: Brooke Lynn is a graduate student anxiously embracing her new position as her favorite dance professors’ new TA. Vanessa is a sophomore dance major who just might make her way into being more than the teacher(assistant)’s pet. (lesbian/university AU) Word Count: ~2.5k (this chapter)/~13.4k (total) Relationship: Branjie (Vanessa ‘Vanjie’ Mateo/Brooke Lynn Hytes) Rating: E

Read on AO3 | Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4

At nine-thirty on Sunday morning, the alarm Brooke Lynn set on her phone went off, jerking her awake from her peaceful sleep. She untangled herself from Vanessa just enough to shut it off, fighting the strongest urge to fall back asleep. It was too cozy, even if they were both sweaty and still smelled vaguely of sex. It was much more difficult to push herself up this time, grunting softly as she rubbed her eyes. “We have to get ready,” she finally announced.

Vanessa groaned and hit her with a pillow. “Like hell we do,” she retorted, rolling over and burying her face in the pillows.

Brooke rolled her eyes and yanked the blankets off of her. She looked down at her for a moment – her naked body sprawled across the bed a vivid reminder of the night before. She didn’t quite know how she was supposed to feel in the wake of that – there wasn’t regret, which is what she expected. Maybe it was some sort of tentative hesitation, an uncertainty of what was to come next. “The bus is leaving at eleven whether you’re on it or not. Now, I’m taking a shower, you should start packing,” she instructed before exiting into the bathroom.

About five minutes into her shower, Brooke heard the bathroom door open. At first, she figured Vanessa was just going to brush her teeth while she showered, then she felt skin brush against her own. “May I help you?” she chuckled and glanced down at her.

“Only if you want to,” Vanessa winked and leaned over to kiss her shoulder. She lathered up her own hair with shampoo, then squirted shower gel into her hands before rubbing them up and down Brooke’s body.

“Baby, we’re on a schedule,” Brooke said in a half-hearted attempt to dissuade her from continuing. She rinsed out her hair, still not doing anything to deter Vanessa’s wandering hands.

“Exactly. Saving time this way. Plus, we’re being like, environmentally friendly and shit, conservating water,” she reasoned, tilting her head and kissing at her neck.

Brooke smiled and rolled her eyes. “Fine, but keep it above the waist,” she relented, cupping her face to kiss her properly. She turned Vanessa around and rinsed her hair out, a tender affection in every touch. There was a peacefulness between them, a calmness that outweighed the potential sensuality. There was beauty in the simplicity of just enjoying the feeling of each other’s hands against their skin.

“Alright, let’s get going,” Brooke turned off the water and playfully smacked Vanessa’s ass as she stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a hotel towel, knowing they had to get ready a little faster, because one long shower was just as time consuming as two short ones, if not more. “Besides, don’t you have that competition coming up?”

Vanessa nodded as she blew her hair dry. “Aren’t you going? I thought you’d know all about it,” she remarked offhandedly. When she saw the confusion in Brooke’s expression when she looked up in the mirror, she followed it up with “Aren’t you doing like…a paper or whatever on it? I heard a bunch of TAs’ were invited to write it up,” she explained.

Brooke frowned with her brows furrowed. “No, I don’t actually know what you’re talking about…” she would have to ask Katya about that, she decided. She had been doing so well in her classes, shouldn’t she have been invited too? “But I’ll come and support you either way,” she offered.

“Shit, I didn’t wanna make drama or hurt your feelings,” Vanessa frowned. “I’m sure they just fucked up, don’t sweat it,” she assured as they both finished getting ready.

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“Aha!” Brooke held up a sheet of paper and slammed it down on Katya’s desk.

“Okay, so, why are you in here going through my papers? Did we plan for this? Because this feels like something I would forget,” Katya remarked, having spent the past five minutes watching her assistant rifling through a stack of papers.

Brooke tapped at the page to draw her attention to it. “Why didn’t I know about this competition? Vanjie said a bunch of TAs’ were invited to it.”

Katya exhaled deeply. “First of all, your girlfriend got some exaggerated information, because like, two were picked,” she told her. “Second, I did nominate you but…some allegations were made that your interpretations could be skewed with a certain bias…”

The flyer crumpled in Brooke’s fist as her gaze narrowed at Katya. “How many people have you been calling her my girlfriend around?” if her career wasn’t on the line, she could have strangled her.

“No one! I don’t think I did, anyway. Listen, I got shitfaced at the dinner and—”

“You got drunk and outed me?!” Brooke started pacing back and forth across the office, grinding her teeth to keep her mouth shut, otherwise she just might have screamed. “Oh, I’m gonna fucking kill you. You better fix this. Fix this or I swear to god I will not let you hear the end of it.”

Katya got up and tried to steady Brooke to get her to calm down. “Listen, I’ve got this. Reel in the mental breakdown. I’m sure it’s nothing serious, or someone would have said something outright. It’s all rumors,” it took a few moments, but she did finally get her to take a few deep breaths and de-escalate the situation. “Wait, so did you guys—”

“Yes! Okay? I wouldn’t be freaking out if there was nothing to freak out about,” Brooke let out an exasperated sigh. “So, fight your natural instincts and keep your fucking mouth shut, and maybe I’ll actually tell you the dirty details. Are we good?” she waited for Katya to confirm with a nod before she fully relaxed. “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

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At two in the morning, Brooke was fast asleep. That was until she heard a knock at the door. Sleepy and confused, she haphazardly tied a robe around her waist and opened the door. “Vanjie? Are you okay?” she gently ushered her inside and shut the door behind her. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

“This competition got me fucked up, that’s what’s wrong,” Vanessa replied, walking right through the apartment and flopping down on Brooke’s bed. “Some of these hoes been dancing since birth or got that classical training you’re so proud of. I don’t know if I can compete with that,” she was shaken, doing her best to avoid being on the verge of tears. It was finally hitting her how intense the competitive world could be, and it was a lot to take in.

Brooke was quick to rush to her comfort, getting into bed and pulling Vanessa close, cradling her in her lap. She placed gentle kisses over her head and forehead, rubbing her back soothingly. “NYU hit an all-time low acceptance rate this year. That means only the best of the best were accepted – they chose you out of thousands of dance students across the country. If that doesn’t prove you belong here, I don’t know what does,” she cupped her jaw, making their eyes meet. “You, Vanessa Mateo, are talented, smart, beautiful, and if whoever’s judging this competition sees half of what I do in you, there’s nothing stopping you,” she saw a single tear slip down Vanessa’s cheek and kissed it away, then pulled back to gently run her thumb across the spot. “Do you want to stay here tonight?”

Vanessa nodded sheepishly, shifting so she and Brooke could both get under the covers. “I’m sorry for waking you and whatever,” she mumbled, face buried in the crook of her neck. “I know I’m a lot to deal with, plenty of people say so, that I’m too messy and extra,” there was a pang of guilt in her voice. Just because she wasn’t the most well-spoken didn’t mean she was stupid – she knew how people saw her – someone that was loud and brash, that didn’t know when enough was enough. While she often wore it as a badge of honor, she didn’t want to scare off people she cared about – people like Brooke Lynn.

“You are, but that’s what makes you the Vanjie I’ve grown so fond of,” Brooke tilted her chin up and pecked her lips. “You’re unpredictable and over the top, but sometimes people need a little spice in their lives. I know mine would be far too boring without you in it, and as fucking crazy as you are, you still manage to win over everyone around you. Not a lot of people can do that,” she told her, kissing her once more.

“How d’you always know what to say to get me outta my head?” Vanessa asked. Her fingers aimlessly twirled around the strings of Brooke’s robe, occasionally pushing the fabric to the side to let her fingertips run across the exposed strip of skin that went from her navel to between her breasts. Even after finally knowing her body intimately, she still savored each and every time she got to touch her.

Brooke beamed affectionately, laying back onto the bed, allowing Vanessa to lay on top of her. “Because I want you to know that I’m in your corner, even if it’s us against the world,” with the exchange she had with Katya earlier in the week, she worried that might be the case, but she didn’t want her to see her sweat. The girl on top of her, who had come to her in distress in the middle of the night, didn’t need to be burdened with the potential damage their relationship could have on her own future, she had so much on her plate. “Now, do you think you’ll be able to get some sleep tonight?”

Vanessa looked up at Brooke and puckered her lips expectantly. After receiving another few kisses, she nodded. “I can now.”

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With October in full swing, a gentle chill had made its way through the New York City air. Gone were the sweaty afternoons and the bug-filled nights, and the rooftop track on top of one of the many NYU buildings was significantly less populated than it was only a week before. It was, however, occupied by Brooke and Vanessa, who took advantage of their down time to take a stroll, arms linked with their hands shoved into their sweatshirt pockets.

“You have to admit, competing on the roof is pretty cool,” Brooke remarked. It was only three days before Vanessa’s competition, and working through her nerves and her own frustration hadn’t been easy, but they liked to believe they had finally gotten to a point of comfortably coping.

“I could knock one of those other bitches off the ledge when no one’s looking,” Vanessa mused, looking out at the city skyline. “We’re pretty high up, you never know.”

Brooke sighed and let out a soft chuckle. “I don’t know how many times I’ve got to tell you that sabotage isn’t the answer,” she cooed. “Can you promise me you’ll be on your best behavior until this whole thing is over?”

“Absolutely not.”

That was what Brooke expected, if she were being honest with herself. “Alright come on, let’s get inside before it gets too cold,” she shifted and got Vanessa on to her back, piggybacking her until they reached the main level of the building, giggling the whole way down. She carefully placed her back on the ground, holding her hand as they started towards the door.

That was, until, a girl crossed their path out of seemingly nowhere. “Hey, you’re Vanessa, right?” her gaze was fixed squarely on her with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m Lily, we’re in the same competition on Friday,” she told her, holding her hand out.

Vanessa looked her over – ginger hair, cerulean eyes, a light dusting of freckles on particularly pale skin – she recognized this girl instantly. She had watched her performances online, and already considered her stiff competition. But she swallowed her anxiety and shook her hand. “Yeah, think I saw your name on the list or something. This is Brooke, she, uh, has been helping me practice,” this was technically true, and covered her ass, still unsure of how public to make their relationship.

Not that it mattered, apparently, as Lily hardly acknowledged Brooke’s existence beyond an “Oh, hi,” without taking her eyes off of Vanessa. “Anyway, I wanted to wish you good luck! Also, I’m having a party afterwards to celebrate, win or lose, you should come,” she then added “Your friend can come too,” with disinterest.

“Uh, yeah…” there was hesitation in Vanessa’s voice, glancing between Lily and Brooke. “We can stop by for a few. I love a good party,” that was a satisfactory answer, at least that’s what she concluded when neither of the other girls had a change in facial expression.

“Cool! See you at the competition, unless you’re practicing here before then, I’ll be around,” her voice was almost cloyingly sweet, but she hugged Vanessa before walking off.

Vanessa scratched the back of her head with her free hand, looking sideways as the girl left. “Huh, usually my competition’s a lot bitchier but she seemed pretty—ow! Are you trying to break my hand?” she asked, suddenly becoming aware of the death grip Brooke had on her.

“I don’t like her,” Brooke said flatly. It was the first time she had verbalized a negative opinion towards anyone to Vanessa, and her tone was devoid of any humor or sarcasm.

“Well shit, if she bothers you that much, I won’t practice here,” Vanessa shrugged. There were other gyms, and it was an easy choice between location and Brooke’s comfort as far as she was concerned.

There was a beat of tense silence, Brooke’s lips pressed into a thin line as she seemed deep in thought. “Oh no baby, you’re practicing here…but not til I’m done with you,” her stoic expression cracked into a smirk, bringing a sense of relief to Vanessa.

And when Vanessa found herself pinned to her dorm room wall, her head pressing firmly against the wood, she was much more than relieved.

Brooke was attacking Vanessa’s neck, leaving hickey after hickey on every clean spot of skin she found, moving from the edge of her jaw to the base of her collarbone. One hand kept Vanessa’s shoulder pinned to the door – as if she would’ve gone anywhere – and the other pushed haphazardly into her yoga pants, thrusting and scissoring two fingers inside of her and using her thumb to stimulate her clit. She didn’t breathe a word until she knew she had gotten the other off, then everything slowed to a halt. Brooke released the hold she had on Vanessa, then placed a chaste kiss on her lips – one that had felt so out of place after what had taken place. “Let’s see her try to ignore that,” she said out loud to herself, admiring the handiwork she’d completed.

“God damn, Brooke Lynn! You came outta left field with one, I love it,” Vanessa remarked as she caught her breath, padding after Brooke, who had already made her way on to the bed. She would have never anticipated such jealousy out of her, but if that was the result, she didn’t mind it one bit.

#branjie #branjie fic #branjie fanfic #branjie fanfiction #rpdr rpf

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