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ghost-town-story · 3 years

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FebruarOC Day 16: Percy

Percy took a deep breath, then crossed the lunch room and approached his target. “You’re Summer, right?”

Summer blinked and looked up at Percy. “Yes,” she said hesitantly.

“I’m Percy,” Percy introduced himself. “Can I talk to you for a second? Alone,” he added, glancing around at the table full of people. He noticed her boyfriend’s arm wrapping around her waist and barely refrained from rolling his eyes.

“Whatever you have to say, you can say it here,” Summer said dryly.

Percy leaned back for a moment with a sigh, glancing around yet again. He wasn’t sure how many people he wanted to share his theories with, but he knew that number definitely didn’t include the crowded lunch room they were currently in. “It’s about Aydan,” he finally settled on.

Summer exchanged a look with her boyfriend, then she stood. “Okay. We’ll go somewhere quiet. But Will’s coming with.”

“Really?” Percy said before he could stop himself. “He doesn’t trust you that much?”

“It’s not a question of trust,” Summer replied, rolling her eyes. “You’ll understand in a bit. Come on.” With that she passed by Percy, heading out of the lunch room. Percy hesitated, then followed with a huff, Will close on his heels.

Summer didn’t slow down until they left the school building, emerging onto the frost-covered athletic fields. “Alright,” Summer said, turning to face Percy again. “Shouldn’t be anybody else out here, so we should have the privacy this discussion needs.” And suddenly, Summer’s gaze turned sharp. “What do you know about Aydan?”

Percy held her gaze steadily. “It’s more of a theory than anything,” he said. “But my sister, Sora, went missing yesterday afternoon, and I think her disappearance and Aydan’s might be linked.”

Summer exchanged a hesitant glance with Will. “If she’s barely been gone a day, then what makes you think—”

“Don’t you pull that shit with me too!” Percy snapped before she could finish. “The police refuse to look for her just yet because it’s too soon, but I know my sister! She’s not lost, and she wouldn’t just disappear without a trace! Not to mention Seanna and Calder—” He cut off, wary of revealing too much.

“Seanna and Calder?” Will asked.

Percy shook his head. “I need to know you believe me first.”

“Then tell us why you think they’re linked,” Summer said.

“A while back, I caught Jay talking to Sora,” Percy explained. “She said it was homecoming committee stuff, but he was acting way too shifty for me to believe that.”

Summer let out a heavy sigh. “Of course Jay is the common factor in everything,” she muttered.

“Everything?” Percy questioned.

To his surprise, Will was the one who answered. “There’s something going on here Percy, something that could potentially be dangerous. If you want to get involved, that’s your choice, but it’s only fair you know the risk involved first.”

“What do you mean, dangerous?” Percy asked.

“Dangerous as in we’re apparently poking our noses into government business, and we’ve been warned to stop doing that,” Summer spoke up.

Percy narrowed his eyes at the pair, but ultimately, if the information they apparently had could help him find Sora, then his choice was easy.

“I’m in.”

“Okay.” Percy finished clearing off one of his old bulletin boards and took a step back. “Let’s consolidate everything we know.”

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to put everything out in the open like that?” Will asked.

“My parents don’t look close at what I have hanging up here,” Percy replied. “But if you’re that worried, I’ll take it down when you two aren’t here.” Will didn’t look entirely appeased, but he conceded the argument.

“So we have Aydan, Sora, and Jay.” Percy scrawled each of their names on notecards, which were then pinned up on different corners of the board.

“I can start with Sora. I know she and Jay were talking about something they wanted kept secret from me.” Percy strung a piece of yarn between their names with a little note about their discussion. “And, before you guys came over, the police were here. They’re finally starting to take this seriously, and they had a picture of the last person Sora was seen with. I snagged it and said I would ask around school, since the guy is around our age.” Percy pinned the picture to the board under Sora’s name.

“And then Aydan and Jay,” another length of yarn connected those two, “were friends, and disappeared around the same time.” Percy took a step back. “And that’s what I have so far.”

Summer hopped off of Percy’s desk to take a closer look at the picture, then swore softly.

“What?” Percy asked.

“I know that kid,” Summer said. “I don’t know his name, but he’s connected to Jay somehow. He picked Jay up from school that one time, and one night I found him and Aydan getting coffee together, so Aydan knew him through Jay.”

Will joined Summer in investigating. “His name is Baz,” he said. “Or at least, that’s what Jay called him the one time I ran into the two of them.”

Percy didn’t know whether to be elated at the new information or uneasy about how tangled this web was getting as he scrawled the info on a series of notecards. “Okay. One piece at a time.” He tacked up the new notes: Baz’s name, the connection between him and Jay, and the one between him and Aydan. “First, anything else to put on this card?” Percy tapped the note between Baz and Jay.

Will hesitated. “They’re dating, as far as I know. And Aydan knew.”

“I thought she and Jay were dating?” Percy carefully asked, eyeing up Summer.

Summer threw up her hands. “Fuck if I know!” she exclaimed. “She stopped telling me shit when he showed up.”

Percy shrugged, not wanting to poke that nest any more than he had to, and added Will’s comment to the notecard. “Anything else?” he asked.

Will and Summer shook their heads.

“Okay. And anything else about how Aydan and Baz are connected?”

Summer huffed again. “All I know is that she trusted him, apparently more than she trusted me. She wouldn’t even tell me why they were getting coffee.”

“Do you think there was a reason?” Percy asked. Summer shot him a glare, and Percy held up his hands. “I’m trying to put together what happened, chill.”

Summer sighed heavily. “It looked like they were having a serious discussion when I found them, but she never told me what it was about. Kept refusing no matter how much I asked.”

“Okay.” Percy carefully added that to the board. “And Aydan and Jay?”

“They kept to themselves a lot,” Summer said. “Aydan didn’t like to talk about him to me. She thought I was being nosy.” Summer scoffed.

“We’re pretty sure Jay is behind Aydan’s disappearance though,” Will added. “They were at Ben’s party together, the night she disappeared, and when Ben left to take her home, Jay left right afterwards.”

Percy paused in the middle of writing this new information on a notecard. “You don’t think he’s the one who caused that explosion?” he asked.

“Maybe,” Summer sighed. “It depends. If he was okay with Aydan hating him, then he very well could have. But if he didn’t want her to hate him, then I doubt it. Ben was Aydan’s best friend, before Jay showed up. She would never forgive Jay if he… did something like that to Ben.”

“Okay.” Percy finished up the note and added it to the board.

“What if he didn’t have a choice though?” Will suddenly spoke up.

Both Summer and Percy shot him a confused look.

Will blinked as if realizing he’d spoke out loud. “I—never mind. Just a thought.”

“Okay.” Percy kept his eyes on Will for a moment longer to see if he would change his mind, but Will just shook his head and focused back on the board of information they now had. “So what are we missing here?”

“Why did Jay and Baz target Aydan and Sora,” Summer said. “Because right now, I can’t see any connection between Aydan and Sora other than the ones Jay and Baz made.”

“So we should find out more about them,” Percy decided. “How do you two feel about digging through databases?”

Summer let out a soft groan, closing her eyes. “For Aydan, I’ll do it, but I won’t enjoy it.”

Will nodded in agreement, though Percy noticed he still had a thoughtful look on his face. Percy had to wonder if he knew something that he hadn’t even shared with Summer.

“You know, if it wasn’t so annoying, I’d be flattered by your obsession with me.”

The three teenagers jumped at the unexpected voice and whirled to face it. Jay was leaning against the door to the study room they’d borrowed, his expression unreadable behind his tech goggles.

“You have a lot of nerve coming back here after you kidnapped my cousin,” Summer hissed, leaping to her feet.

“That’s a bold accusation my dear.” Jay shifted in the doorway to let the door swing shut behind him.

“Don’t you “my dear” me!”

“But it’s true, isn’t it,” Percy backed up Summer. “You kidnapped Aydan, and Sora.”

“I didn’t kidnap either of them,” Jay said, his voice level.

Percy was about to argue but was cut off as Will put a hand on his shoulder. “Why are you here?” he asked Jay.

“You three are poking your noses where they don’t belong,” Jay said. “I’m here to tell you to stop.”

“Why? Because you work for the government?”

“What?” Percy hissed, turning to look at Will. Will kept his eyes on Jay though.

“What makes you say that?” To his credit, what they could see of Jay’s face remained impassive, and his voice stayed steady.

“I know what that scar on your arm means,” Will said.

“You’ve never seen my arm.”

“I don’t think I need to,” Will countered. “It’s too convenient to be a coincidence. So tell me Jay, who sent you? My mom? Myles?”

“Neither.”

“Bullshit!” Will hissed.

“I am telling the truth.” And for the first time, Jay’s mask cracked, a flash of anger showing through. “And you’re damn lucky neither of them have noticed what you’re up to yet. If they had, they would be a lot more forceful about stopping you. I’m merely here with a warning. Quit while you still have a chance. Cause if you keep going, you will attract the wrong sort of attention. And I might not be able to save your asses.”

“Why would we want your help?” Summer snorted.

“Oh, trust me.” Jay gave her a humorless grin. “When faced with the alternative, you’ll be grateful for my help.”

Summer scoffed.

Jay shrugged. “Well, that’s my message delivered. Keep your noses clean kids. Hopefully I won’t need to see you again.”

“Hey, wait just a second,” Summer started, but Jay pressed a button on his goggles and disappeared in a flash.

“Motherfucker,” Summer hissed. She turned to look at Will. “You okay?” she asked lowly.

Will sighed, pressing his hands against his eyes. “I don’t get it,” he said. “You and I basically confirmed Jay has the same scar on his arm that James did, and Myles told me it meant he worked for the government. Why would he lie about that?”

“To cover his ass?” Summer suggested.

Percy shook his head. “He didn’t look like he was lying though.”

Will groaned. “I hate running into dead ends!” he growled. “Every single turn we take, somebody is trying to stop us and I’m sick and tired of it!”

An idea popped into Percy’s mind, and he spoke before he could think it all the way through. “I might have an idea.” Two heads snapped around to look at Percy. “Your mom works for the government, right Will?” Percy started hesitantly.

Will nodded.

“So, if Jay is to be believed, she’d try to stop us if she knew what we were looking into,” Percy continued. “Which stands to reason, why stop us unless she, and by extension, the government had something to hide?”

“I’m following you so far,” Summer said carefully.

“And what better way of unearthing government secrets than by looking for them in a government database?”

Will blinked. “I’d be so dead if we got caught.”

“Then we don’t get caught.” Percy faked confidence he didn’t quite feel. “What other leads do we have?”

Will let out a heavy sigh. Finally, he spoke again. “Only if you’re absolutely sure we won’t get caught.”

“Give me twenty minutes alone with your mom’s computer, and I can guarantee it,” Percy responded.

Will groaned, then sat up. “Okay. Fine. But only because I’m so sick and tired of hitting dead ends.”

Percy nodded, hoping that this chance would be worth the risk.

Percy sighed, taking a few steps back from the bulletin board to take it all in. The information they’d gotten from Will’s mother had answered some of their questions, but it had also brought up a lot more for Percy. He was hoping that when Will and Summer took a look at what they’d found, they would be able to help him make some more sense of it.

There was a knock on Percy’s bedroom door, and he opened it to find Summer standing there. “Hey,” Percy greeted. “Where’s Will?”

“I don’t know.” Summer fidgeted nervously with her phone. “He hasn’t been answering his phone all afternoon.”

“Huh.” Percy frowned. “That’s weird. He didn’t say anything had come up when we planned to meet.”

“That’s what’s got me really worried,” Summer admitted. “Usually if he goes radio silent, he warns me about it before hand. This time, nothing.”

A soft cough from behind Percy startled the both of them. Percy spun around to find Jay standing in his room, studying the bulletin board.

“What are you doing here?” Percy demanded.

“Woah, chill out, I know it’s bad form to teleport directly into a building but I couldn’t exactly just waltz in here,” Jay defended himself. “Shut the door Summer, there’s a dear.”

“I’m not your dear!” Summer snapped, but she complied.

Jay pulled up a screen from his tech goggles, pressed a few buttons, then closed the screen. “There. Nobody should be able to listen in now.”

Summer and Percy exchanged a nervous glance.

“I’ve already said, I’m not the one you should be worried about,” Jay said with annoyance. “I’m here because congrats, you’ve poked too far, and Will’s already paying the price.”

“What? What happened? Where’s Will?” Summer demanded.

“According to security footage,” Jay said, pulling up a screen and flicking it over to Percy and Summer, “it looks like his mother found out, and confronted Will about it.”

Percy watched as the screen showed silent footage of Will standing in his mother’s office, his face pale and fearful as his mother spoke forcefully to him.

“Just a few minutes ago, she took Will and left the house. I haven’t been able to track them, the traffic cam system is a mess to hack into, but if I had to bet, she’s either taking him to a government facility, or they’re coming for you two. We don’t have much time.”

“Why should we believe you?” Percy demanded.

“Because Sora and Aydan did,” Jay replied. Percy choked on his next words.

“Like I said, we don’t have much time,” Jay continued. “Summer, you’re probably in the most danger, since Allison would be able to recognize you in the security footage. Do you two trust me?”

“With what?” Summer asked.

Jay sighed. “If the government gets their hands on you, it won’t be good,” he said. “I can’t be 100% sure what they’ll do to you, but I do know that they don’t want their secrets getting out. I can guarantee they’ll try to silence you, one way or another.”

Summer paled considerably. “And if we go with you?”

“Then we’ll hide you and keep you safe,” Jay replied.

“Is that what you did with Sora and Aydan?” Percy asked.

“More or less,” Jay said with a shrug. “They’re a slightly different case, but essentially yes, we took them to hide them from the government.”

“Because of this Nova thing.”

“Yes.” Jay glanced at his watch. “We should get going if you’re coming with me. I don’t know how much longer we have.”

Percy glanced at Summer, waiting for her to make the first move. After all, she had known Jay better when he’d gone to school with them.

“Fine,” Summer decided. “I’ll go with you.” Percy nodded in agreement. “But I want to see Aydan when we get there,” Summer continued.

Jay let out a heavy sigh. “I’ll let her know you want to see her,” he replied. “But I won’t force her to do anything.” Summer bristled, but Jay ignored her and held out his hand. “Come on then,” he said.

Percy carefully took it, and Summer put her hand over his, though she was glaring at Jay. Jay continued to ignore her as he pulled up another screen from his goggles and pressed a button.

Their surroundings disappeared in a haze of teleportation, and when Percy’s vision cleared, it was to find themselves in a strange room.

“You two good?” Jay asked, taking back his hand.

Percy and Summer nodded, though the latter looked decidedly more queasy about their method of transportation.

“Come on then,” Jay said, turning on his heel and opening the room’s door. “I’m taking you to Boss now,” he added over his shoulder. “He’s the guy in charge down here, and he’s also the best at explaining everything to newcomers.”

“Down here?” Percy asked, looking around as Jay led them through a series of hallways.

“Yup.” Jay popped the p. “We are currently in one of the abandoned underground cities. Well, not quite as abandoned as most people would think. It’s one of the safest places for Novas though. GPS signals don’t work down here, so we can’t be tracked.”

“Huh,” Percy said, filing that information away for later. He almost wished he had grabbed his notes from his bulletin board before they’d left, because it would be so satisfying to see the pieces click together.

The thought of home cause a flash of guilt in Percy’s chest though. He’d just left without even a note for his parents, who would now have to deal with both Sora and Percy’s disappearance.

“Will we ever be able to go home?” he asked Jay.

“Maybe,” Jay replied. “Maybe not. I honestly don’t know.”

Percy nodded, biting his lip.

They soon reached their destination, as Jay opened a door and ushered Percy and Summer through.

There was a guy working at a desk within, and he looked up as they entered. “Got that bad?” he asked with a wince.

“Yeah,” Jay sighed. “Boss free?”

“Yeah, I’ll just let him know you’re here.” The guy stood and disappeared into the inner office, leaving the three of them alone.

“Feel free to ask Boss whatever,” Jay told Summer and Percy. “If anybody would have answers, it would be him.”

Summer finally spoke up again. “What about Will?” she asked.

Jay paused before responding. “I’ll see if I can track him down,” he said. “And when I find him, I’ll give him the same choice I gave you two.”

“You mean you’d leave him?” Summer demanded.

“Only if he felt he was safe enough to stay,” Jay replied. “I won’t leave him there if he wants the safety we can provide.”

Summer looked about to argue more, but she was cut off by the return of the secretary. “Boss will see you now.” He glanced at Jay. “Gonna go in with them?”

“Not if I don’t have to,” Jay replied.

The secretary nodded. “Boss said you’re free to go if you wish.”

“Okay. If he asks, I’m gonna be tracking down Will.”

“Alright.” The secretary turned to Percy and Summer. “You two can head in.”

Percy grabbed Summer by the arm before she could continue her argument with Jay and pulled her into the inner office. There, they found a man sitting at a desk, obviously waiting for them.

“Summer Rivers.” He looked at Summer, then shifted his gaze to Percy. “And Perseus Reyes.”

“Just Percy,” Percy muttered.

“Take a seat,” the man said with a smile. “As you can guess, I’m Boss.”

Percy and Summer took a seat in front of the desk, but before Boss could say any more, there was a knock at the door.

“Yes?” Boss called.

The door opened to reveal Baz, and on his arm was—

“Sora!” Percy breathed. He glanced at Boss, who nodded at him. Sora said something in a low voice to Baz, and Baz nodded and pulled away, disappearing back into the outer office.

Percy hardly cared about him anymore though, as he leapt to his feet and swept his sister into his arms. “You’re alright,” he muttered into her hair.

Sora let out a soft laugh, nestling into his embrace. “Yes, I’m fine,” she replied.

Holding his sister once again, Percy knew that no matter what, it was worth it to know that she was safe.

#writing #in which i write #snippets #nova #februaroc #februaroc 2021 #bad ending is bad but i'm tired lol #i might fix it in the morning but for now it's finished 10 minutes before midnight #rip me lol

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elyssebeeart · 6 years

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Save the Last Dance For Me

A writing commission for @spottedwings-psychicdreams (PDF on dA)

Series: Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go Pairing: FandomxCanon (MhairixGibson) Word count: ~2.6k Rating: G

“What is that noise?”

A faint musical rhythm could be heard echoing through the Super Robot. Gibson tilted his head, his audio receivers calibrating to pinpoint the source of the noise. Identifying which direction the music was coming from the robotic blue monkey made his way towards it, curious as to who was playing such a beat.

He followed the noise down the corridors, passing each member’s quarters that apparently were not the source. The music was growing louder as he continued his way down, finally locating the room where the sound seemed to be emitting from. Reaching up he pressed the button that caused the doors to slide back.

In the room was a yellow furred biped creature covered in black spots with feathers on its arms and a long cat like tail tipped in black that wore a light teal dress and brown leggings. Its clawed black hands were posed as if holding onto something, someone as the creature moved back and forth in the room to the music’s slow beat.

It seemed like the team’s resident archeologist, Mhairi, was dancing.

“I didn’t know you could dance.”

“Wha-?” Mhairi uttered in a half shriek that was very bird like, a red color spreading over her yellow features as she spun around to see who was addressing her. Immediately she sputtered, “O-of course I can dance!”

“To be precise I didn’t know you would dance.” He corrected, as the Grypherian was a rather private person who seemed more into pastimes such as reading or going out exploring for an archeological find. “Sorry to startle you.”

“You didn’t startle me, you just broke my concentration.” She hastily tried to cover her obvious startling, folding her arms. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard the music and wondered who was playing it.”

“If it’s too loud I can turn it down, you just had to ask.”

“No, no it’s okay. This was purely an inquisitive venture, not one of complaint.” The simian assured, holding up a hand and smiling. “I honestly thought it was perhaps Otto trying out a new, what does he call it…. ‘Inspirational fantastical grooving beats of mental and energy stimulation.’”

“You mean a playlist of motivational catchy songs?” Mhairi translated, raising an eyebrow, not sure if she caught the lingo correctly.

“Ah yes, I suppose that was it.”

Mhairi suppressed a laugh though the corners of her beak turned upwards. She was still a bit flustered and her feathers literally ruffled as she hadn’t expected anyone to come walking in on her while she was practicing—a soft blush began to form in place of the red embarrassment—especially not Gibson.

“Might I ask the occasion?”

“Occasion?” She was called back to reality, “Why do you think there is an occasion?”

“For you to be listening to such music purposely composed to be a slow dance in the company of another. Plus you were acting like there was another person with you rather than solo dancing.”

“Oh… Well, see back home there’s this event that I have to attend…” She began, twiddling her talons, “And it’s this big fancy thing that will be food and dance and I’ll be expected to attend and take part since I’m a representative of the museum.”

“Sounds like a rather immense and significant event. Congratulations.”

Mhairi nodded as she moved across the room to get a drink, needing refreshment after all her private dancing and to cool her nerves over Gibson walking in on her. “Yeah, so there’s going to be all this dancing and I figured I’d best practice so I don’t make a fool out of myself when I attend. It’s awkward enough; I don’t want to look bad while having to dance with people I barely know or rather keep at a professional arms length.”

Gibson bobbed his head with understanding, watching from across the room. He was rubbing his chin now, clearly thinking about something, which wasn’t odd given his high intellect.

“Would you like me to dance with you?”

Mhairi just about spat out her drink, choking. “Wha-what?” She quickly wiped her beak as the liquid dribbled out of her mouth, her blue eyes wide. She had half a mind to stick a talon in her ear to make sure it wasn’t physically filled with desires of her heart or her mind simply playing tricks on her.

“To practice. I assure you I can dance better than a mere shadow partner.” He defended, mistaking her reaction as one of disbelief at his abilities. “If you’d rather decline it’s no trouble, I won’t impose on you any longer. I just wanted to offer my assistance since your invisible partner seemed to be a tad flatfooted.”

“No, no. I… You can dance and you want to with me?” That fact coupled with the unexpected joke had her reeling even more, confusion crossing her face. Gibson had made a joke and suggested being her partner? Her heart was thundering in her chest as she stared at him, speechless.

“Why not? Besides at its core it is based on theory and understanding of the fundamentals of body movement that relies on atmospheric rhythm and one’s brain relaying that information for your body to respond. Besides you dance rather nicely and-”

“Okay, okay, just stop. Come over here and show me what you can do.” She gestured, shaking her head with mild amusement over the scientific babble. The last part of his statement however had her heart pounding in her ears and a fresh wave of blush threatened to surface. The music was still playing on loop in the background, having never been turned off since Gibson had arrived and ready to be performed to.

He complied, taking her talon as she extended it, slipping the other on his arm to complete the hold. He shifted his hands to their proper placements, holding her talon in one and his other hand against her back; the contact on her back made the fur on the back of her neck stick up as a tingle went up her spine, threatening to cause her to blush at the intimate touch.

But this was dance and she was going to suck it up and not freak out for once.

“Okay on the count of three as the next beat comes; one, two…. Three.”

As they stepped Mhairi expected Gibson to follow her smoothly, her taking the lead in the dance as was per custom on her planet. But instead there was tension in her partner’s arms and suddenly he scooted towards her in a stiff step that brought him much too close, almost colliding.

Surprised she dismissed it as him getting his bearings, not expecting her to be leading. She took a step back again, gently pulling her partner with her, but once again the movement was stiff, almost mechanical.

Just because Gibson was a cybernetic monkey didn’t mean he had to act robotic; did he perhaps have a few tight gears needing to be oiled? Was it her?

“Are you okay with me leading?” She pressed, halting for a moment, wondering if she was giving wrong signals than what he was used to. She could hear him mumbling something, probably counting out loud rather than in his head.

“Certainly, carry on.”

As they moved forward and backwards and then side to side Mhairi found it was almost like dancing with a heavy cardboard box with no flexibility. She frowned slightly, glancing at their hand positions and at their footwork, wondering what was wrong; no way should the smooth slow dance feel like she was dragging a safe around, each movement jerky. Gibson said he knew how to dance, were they not on the same page?

“Now for maximum velocity to gain proper momentum I must apply…”

Though it was rather low she caught part of Gibson’s mumbling, realizing what she’d been hearing had not been counting at all; suddenly everything made sense. She placed her foot on top on his, pressing it down to keep him from sliding it and get his attention. “Stop.”

“What?”

“That’s not how you dance. Not this dance at all… or any other.”

“What ever am I doing wrong? I’ve calculated and formulated the right combo and timing for-“

“Shh.” She hushed him, placing a talon against his lips. “Just feel the music. Let the music guide you—carry you. With dance it’s about emotion. To do the right steps you have to know the music, feel it and your body will follow. Getting the correct footwork comes after you are able to know the beats, the rhythm. Your feet will follow once they catch up to your body and brain’s communication; or sometimes your feet simply carry you before your mind does.”

She released her hold on him for a moment, resuming her shadow partner dancing, showing how she moved as the music varied its notes, stepping back and forth depending on the tempo.

“When with a partner you have to feel their moments, become one with their moments so you’re dancing as one, not as a pair. Dance with a partner isn’t about being a pair; it’s about dancing as one. Being one with each other, with the music, the moment.” She let out a sigh at the romantic notion, her blue eyes shinning with admiration as she stopped.

“You certainly are well verse in the subject. I guess you are the expert with actual field experience and application of the art.” Gibson surmised, watching with an analytical but appreciative gaze.

“I, ah…” She let out a nervous cough as she collected herself, “have read up a lot on it. Also when I was younger my auntie enrolled me in some dance classes for a while until I showed I rather be in the dirt digging for treasure than tearing up a dance floor as a performer or rubbing elbows with important persons.”

“See you do have practical experience. When I implied I could dance I should have clarified I have the capacity to dance; I understand the science of dance and theories of such formulas though my actual application is rather diminutive.”

“How diminutive?”

“I gather only a few occasions, in private of course. The technique is perfect just the application… I need more trial runs. I assure you I am quite the dancer.”

“Well, I guess the only way to get better is practice.” Mhairi sighed taking note of the work they had to do. “Better get started.” She held out a talon, ready to take dancing positions again. “This time let me carry you and match you to my movements rather than you trying to follow my lead.”

Gibson gave a nod, getting back into position as the music continued its beats. “I appreciate it as I gather you don’t really need the practice. I’m certain many will be demanding a turn with you. They’ll come in droves for a chance.”

“Oh sure I’ll be beating them off with an irreplaceable vase because I’ll simply be the bell of the ball.” Mhairi rolled her eyes though the thought did please her at the complement of her abilities. “Every dance will have me switching partners at least five times.”

"Well, be sure to save the last dance for me." He joked, letting a playful smirk slip out. He had no doubt Mhairi would be attending the party alone or with one of her colleagues as it seemed like a rather big affair of an inner circle.

She seemed caught off guard, tensing as she held onto him, seeming as though she almost let go. "Of course! Though..." Her blue gaze shifted, unable to look him in the eyes, stuck in a dance hold she initiated.

"What? Afraid of my dancing abilities not being up to par to those of your Grypherian kin? I assure you with studying and practiced application of scientific method I-" He began to tease, not offended in the least.

"I was actually thinking of saving all my dances for you..." She interrupted, her talons gripping his metal arm tighter subconsciously.

“Bwha-?”

“I was going to ask if you wanted to be my plus one to the event.” Her face grew a deeper shade of red as she shifted her blue gaze towards the floor. She broke the hold and took a step back, looking rather self-conscious. “I wanted to practice a bit before though…”

“Your plus one?” He repeated slowly, his brilliant mind uncharacteristically processing the info slowly. Was there something on the fritz with his hardwiring?

“My date!” Mhairi blurted, her face an impossible shade of red now. “You know, because we’re…” She fidgeted a moment, touching the bell that hung around her neck. “Together.”

“Oh.”

Mhairi took a deep breath as Gibson stood there blinking bewildered, his processors whirling on overdrive to decipher what she’d said so plainly yet his mind demanded a complex explanation.

“After all the time we spent apart and finally are reunited again, I don’t really want to be apart when doing things when I’d rather…” She stopped, her heart thudding in her chest, “be doing those things with you than anyone else. I rather spend that time with you.”

“And I.” He spoke after a few moments, stepping forward and placing a hand on top of her talon that was over her bell. “I’m sorry I was just too caught up to get the hint.”

A laugh of relief escaped the Grypherian, all anxiety seeming to be washed away with those mere words. “You are one smart monkey, but I guess you can’t be perfect. I certainly am not.”

“No one is, though I like to think of us as getting better over time.” The simian smiled back at her. He then leaned forward and kissed her gently, catching her by surprise. However she relaxed and the two stood there for what seemed like forever as time stopped but only a few minutes went by, the music still in a loop.

Gibson was the one to break the kiss, but he took both Mhairi’s talons into his hands. He grinned at her still red face, something that never ceased to amuse or amaze him. She seemed less frazzled but still somewhat shy, but pleased. “So when is this dance?”

“Three days from now.”

“Three days!? Why such short notice?” He gawked, his mouth hanging open as his brain instantly began a countdown of how many hours and minutes they had.

“Because I was trying to practice ahead of time and impress you when I asked you!” Mhairi fussed, twiddling her talons bashfully, momentarily breaking Gibson’s hold. “It’s just… been taking me longer to get the courage to ask you, afraid you’d say no.”

“Now what in the universe makes you think I’d decline?”

She seemed to stall for a few moments, looking away before confessing, “Because you can’t dance.”

Awkward silence would have surely enveloped the room if not for the music playing in the background. The fact of her fear turning out to be true about Gibson’s dancing abilities despite his assurance was amusingly ironic at this point.

“Well now! We’ve got a lot of work to do until that party!” Gibson announced, smirking as he took a step forward, lightly grasping her talons once again. “Shall we dance?”

“Yes.” She smiled back, fixing her dancing position once again. The two were situated for the first steps of the song once more when she added with hesitation in her voice, “Just one more problem.”

“What is it?”

“I still have to get my dress.”

“Egad! That should have been first on the list! We have to remedy that at once!”

“Alright, but first let’s get through this dance. After all it is our first.”

“Right you are.”

“And Gibson?” “Yeah?”

“Just because you’re part robot doesn’t mean you have to dance like one.”

“Fair enough.”

#writing commission #commission #fandom #OC #commissioned #ElysseBee Writing #ElysseB writing #spottedwings-psychicdreams #srmthfg #Hal Gibson #Gibson #fandom writing #fanfic #fan fic #Mhairi

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