For a_doctor_not_a
Leonard thinks it's amusing as hell the way the kid dances around the situation. He's not going to press, though. He doesn't want to push him away. Besides, Leonard isn't even sure why he did it, himself.
Well, Jim has no damn idea. He's freaking out in his head and trying real damn hard not to, but it's making even his kind of dancing hard. Even after spending most of his days uptown training, he spends his weekends downtown at Club 0, and lately, it just hasn't been much fun. There are girls he doesn't enjoy dancing with. He bails early and goes to practice earlier. His life is steadily turning on its head.
Leonard wasn't doing it intentionally...honestly. But, intentionally or not, he's not complaining with the results. He starts to expect him early, ready for him with a new music piece and dance step, sweeping the kid into a dance position as soon as he could. Part of it was honestly just the time constraints of having the Fall Showcase so soon...and Jim being so new to the floor. But there was the part that simply wanted to make an excuse for how good the kid felt in his arms. And everyday he's dancing more, his smile reappearing more often, and eventually, one day, he meets Jim at the door with a wrapped box. A large wrapped box.
Which he eyes a little warily as he slips his bag off and drops it on the floor. Bones doesn't have to warn about his shoes anymore; they come off at the door. He's already tugging off his over sized shirt before addressing the instructor in his wife beater. "What's that?"
Wary? Seriously? It's a box Jim. Have an eye roll. Holding the box out at the kid, Leonard waited until he opened it before he stepped back, arms crossing. "Just open it. And no complaining, either." Inside, nestled in tissue paper and foam padding, was a pair of shoes. Black jazz dance shoes, to be exact. In Jim's size, even. They weren't cheap shoes by any means, since the soles were a combo rubber and hard sole, meant for the grip and slides of a jazz dancer, but the sound and stability of a dancer in general. They'd be perfect for Jim's style of dancing, too....
Yeah, they would. He picked them up and put the box down, confusion on his face. For a minute, he stared at the shoes before looking up at the older man. Hell, nothing made much sense anymore, why should this be any different? "How come?"
"Because you can't dance the Showcase in your socks, Jim. Speaking of socks, here." He reached behind his desk and pulled out a bag, tossing it at the kid. Ankle socks, with extra padding in the toe and heel.
He caught the bag, and his frown deepened. For a moment, he just shifted his weight, silent, bu the finally dislodged his pride from his throat. "I can't pay for this."
He snorted, pushing off the wall and strolling into the studio proper, his own shoes clicking soothingly on the hardwood. "Did you see a price tag? It's a present, kid. For all your hard work these past couple of weeks."
Well, fuck. He wasn't used to presents. Jim sat and opened the socks, tugging on a pair, and then the shoes. Okay, fine. Cool, even. McCoy wasn't the hard ass he'd thought. "And I didn't get you anything."
Safely turned away so that Jim couldn't see it, Leonard smiled. Good. He'd been worried that the kid was going to throw the things at his head when he'd first ordered them. This was obviously a better option. Heading over to the stereo, he glanced over his shoulder. "Sure you did. You're a hell of dancer, Jim. Besides, I need your help with something. But you may want to walk around for a while, a single man Waltz to get used to those shoes. Find out where your grips are and where your slides are, otherwise you'll break your ankle." He hit play....and a whole new music poured out of the speakers.
Whole new music indeed. Jim had just started walking when those sounds reached him, and his whole head perked up as he turned toward Bones. This was kind of cool, he decided. Yeah, definitely kinda cool. "What is this?" Easy to move to, that was sure as hell. So much for a one man waltz, he was back to his old style, finding the grips and slides easily.
He watched the kid's reaction, grinning when he started to move to it without being directed. "This, is a rock band. By the name of Apocalyptica. They make their music with nothing but four cellos and a drum set, and this piece in particular is done with two well defined and dueling styles. One is a more traditional, classical. The other is rougher, louder. I want you to focus on that part." A battle of sorts....only it wasn't.
Well, Jim knew battles pretty well. He didn't bother to just stay on his feet, a large portion of his dancing was on his hands or forearms or - well. Every part of his body, really. He was breathing a little harder when the song slowed down again, and he automatically moved his body into slow motion. Didn't stop him talking, though. "I like it."
Leonard remembered. Which was one of the reasons he picked the piece. It suited both of his dancers very well. Moving out onto the floor, Leonard shook his head. "As nice as that is, I need the focus to shift from you to Pavel at that point." Nothing was planned out, which was a first. He wanted Jim's input, needed his eye on how the dancing would look when paired together. "The shoes look good." And maybe he liked throwing him off balance. Just a little.
A little? Jim paused to glance at him and shrugged his thanks. He stopped moving to lace his hands in his hair, feet moving minimally as he thought. Under his breath, he mumbled to himself, envisioning their positions, until he finally waved a hand at the stereo. "Wait, back it up, let me try something."
Maybe more then a little. But only a smidgen more... Nodding, Leonard pulled the remote out of his pocket, grateful for the money he'd put into system as it allowed him to skip backwards by ten second intervals without harming his CDs. "Here. When the music shifts back to classical, I want the spotlight to be on Pavel, as that's his part." Damn it, he needed the Russian there, really...but he'd make due for now. The kid deserved a little down time. He was here more then Jim....
Then there was the fact that they always seemed to be at odds. Jim waved at McCoy to rewind further, another twenty seconds. It gave him enough room for a maneuver that had him turning, jumping, and landing in a crouch - which would let the spot shift off of him easily.
Oh, but that almost playful pushing they did at each other would look great on the dance floor. Especially if Jim kept pulling moves like that out of his ass. Leonard arched a brow at the display of physical ability, clapping as he moved forward. "Jesus, Kid...perfect. You keep that up and you two will be dancing your way to the winner's platform with no trouble. Now...I just gotta find something that will keep his energy just as high as yours...Hmm...Wait, back up. Set up for that jump, I want to try something." He rewound, and set himself up just a foot in front of where the kid would land...and as soon as Jim hit his crouch, he spun out of his position, his body twisting to face the crouching body, using Jim as a focal point to judge by during a rather complicated looking series of leaps and twists...
The second Jim landed, his attention was off himself and on McCoy. And it didn't leave him, either. He kept watching, cheeks warming from exertion and pride and more than a little embarrassment that the guy's opinion mattered so much. But he watched McCoy move and had to wonder why he didn't dance anymore..."Yeah. Yeah, that's good."
The music geared to change again, and Leonard swung around so that as the music shifted, he all but threw himself at the ground, catching himself on his hands and toes in an exaggerated kneeling bow, just as Jim's music took the reins and took off. The man was panting a little, but he was grinning a mile wide, eyes shining as he met the kid's gaze. "Thanks. You need to come up there, and come up with a bang. This whole dance should leave the audience covered in sweat, alright? High energy all the way..." And maybe because these two would look so good tangled up like that on the floor....
Jim nodded quickly. That enthusiasm was catching, and he couldn't avoid being taken by it. He waved his hand again. "Back it up, back it up." He was a dancer, but he had to know how to choreograph moves, too. That's what battling was all about - improv, but preparation, too. Jim already knew what he'd do, and when his music started again, he was up and turning, dancing a circle around where Pavel would be, a circle full of leaps, jumps, and a lot of break dancing.
He could hold this position amazingly easily, actually, and all he did to break it was reach back and pull the remote out of his pocket. Rewinding, he watched the man leap up, his breath catching in his throat at the sheer amount of energy. "Perfect. Fucking perfect. Umm...back it up. Start about where you were at my knee, and when you come up, I'm going to reach out and pull myself up with your hip. I won't actually put any weight on you, but try to make it look like I did, alright?" It was a sudden change in the music, a blend of the styles and they needed a counterpoint to each other. At least the 'fighting to his feet' would get them both standing....
Jim got into position and nodded, though he glanced a little awkwardly at Bones. It was fast forgotten for the sake of the dance, though, and he allowed that fake pull, making it look like Bones actually used him to stand and easily sliding it into a move that had him stretched out almost parallel to the floor, held up on one strong arm, leaving it open for Bones to do something to cover his rise back to his feet.
He 'pulled' himself up with ease, though instead of spinning away and taking the stage, he let himself be pulled down as well, their bodies tight together and Leonard's arm on the floor the only thing keeping Jim from just being laid on. He shifted his grip on the kid's hip, splaying his hand along his back to act as a brace as he pulled both of them upright again, his ballroom dancing training kicking in as he moved smoothly into a battling tango, faces mere inches apart....
His heart jumped into his throat and thudded there. The surprise was on his face, but Jim didn't falter. He got to his feet with Bones smoothly, and fell into that tango, barely breathing with their proximity. He was sweating, and parts of his tank top were damp, but hell, he couldn't stop even if he wanted to right now.
It wasn't dancing if it wasn't sweaty and it wasn't long before Leonard let his jacket slide off one arm at a time, never actually letting Jim go, just switching his grip on him as he flung the jacket off to the sidelines. It looked good, and if Pavel was a ballroom dancer, Leonard would have been sure to leave it in the act....but at this point in time, it was no longer about the Showcase. Pavel didn't Tango....but Leonard wasn't about to let Jim go now....
Jim was pretty sure Pavel didn't tango, but he wasn't sure he could breathe right, and watching Bones take his jacket off like that said that pretty soon he wasn't going to be able to move right. He swallowed hard as the song hit it's finial, letting the music press him closer to Bones, and oh hell, what was he doing.
He was dancing, that was what he was doing. Dancing and letting the music do with him what it wanted. Jim shifted closer and Leonard groaned low in his throat as he wrapped both arms around him, keep him that close as he led them. And as the last of the music guided them to a slow standstill, Leonard bowed his head against Jim's neck...and he didn't even think about his reaction as he ran his lips along the skin. Dance or freak out, Jim. The balls in your court.
Why can't he do both? His heart hammered hard enough to hurt, and Jim panted against Bones' shoulder, hands tight on his shoulders, his back. "What're you doin'," he started as McCoy's mouth brushed his neck. But he didn't pull away. Swallowed hard, but stayed right where he was, pressed against the instructor.
Because your feet need your brain to tell you where to go, and you can't do that when you're freaking out. The music was restarting, and Leonard didn't stop, panting against the kid's neck between light, almost teasing presses of lips. "Say stop and I will..." But until then, he was going to mouth the junction where throat met shoulder, surprisingly gentle as he guided them around the dance floor.
Well, Jim has no damn idea. He's freaking out in his head and trying real damn hard not to, but it's making even his kind of dancing hard. Even after spending most of his days uptown training, he spends his weekends downtown at Club 0, and lately, it just hasn't been much fun. There are girls he doesn't enjoy dancing with. He bails early and goes to practice earlier. His life is steadily turning on its head.
Leonard wasn't doing it intentionally...honestly. But, intentionally or not, he's not complaining with the results. He starts to expect him early, ready for him with a new music piece and dance step, sweeping the kid into a dance position as soon as he could. Part of it was honestly just the time constraints of having the Fall Showcase so soon...and Jim being so new to the floor. But there was the part that simply wanted to make an excuse for how good the kid felt in his arms. And everyday he's dancing more, his smile reappearing more often, and eventually, one day, he meets Jim at the door with a wrapped box. A large wrapped box.
Which he eyes a little warily as he slips his bag off and drops it on the floor. Bones doesn't have to warn about his shoes anymore; they come off at the door. He's already tugging off his over sized shirt before addressing the instructor in his wife beater. "What's that?"
Wary? Seriously? It's a box Jim. Have an eye roll. Holding the box out at the kid, Leonard waited until he opened it before he stepped back, arms crossing. "Just open it. And no complaining, either." Inside, nestled in tissue paper and foam padding, was a pair of shoes. Black jazz dance shoes, to be exact. In Jim's size, even. They weren't cheap shoes by any means, since the soles were a combo rubber and hard sole, meant for the grip and slides of a jazz dancer, but the sound and stability of a dancer in general. They'd be perfect for Jim's style of dancing, too....
Yeah, they would. He picked them up and put the box down, confusion on his face. For a minute, he stared at the shoes before looking up at the older man. Hell, nothing made much sense anymore, why should this be any different? "How come?"
"Because you can't dance the Showcase in your socks, Jim. Speaking of socks, here." He reached behind his desk and pulled out a bag, tossing it at the kid. Ankle socks, with extra padding in the toe and heel.
He caught the bag, and his frown deepened. For a moment, he just shifted his weight, silent, bu the finally dislodged his pride from his throat. "I can't pay for this."
He snorted, pushing off the wall and strolling into the studio proper, his own shoes clicking soothingly on the hardwood. "Did you see a price tag? It's a present, kid. For all your hard work these past couple of weeks."
Well, fuck. He wasn't used to presents. Jim sat and opened the socks, tugging on a pair, and then the shoes. Okay, fine. Cool, even. McCoy wasn't the hard ass he'd thought. "And I didn't get you anything."
Safely turned away so that Jim couldn't see it, Leonard smiled. Good. He'd been worried that the kid was going to throw the things at his head when he'd first ordered them. This was obviously a better option. Heading over to the stereo, he glanced over his shoulder. "Sure you did. You're a hell of dancer, Jim. Besides, I need your help with something. But you may want to walk around for a while, a single man Waltz to get used to those shoes. Find out where your grips are and where your slides are, otherwise you'll break your ankle." He hit play....and a whole new music poured out of the speakers.
Whole new music indeed. Jim had just started walking when those sounds reached him, and his whole head perked up as he turned toward Bones. This was kind of cool, he decided. Yeah, definitely kinda cool. "What is this?" Easy to move to, that was sure as hell. So much for a one man waltz, he was back to his old style, finding the grips and slides easily.
He watched the kid's reaction, grinning when he started to move to it without being directed. "This, is a rock band. By the name of Apocalyptica. They make their music with nothing but four cellos and a drum set, and this piece in particular is done with two well defined and dueling styles. One is a more traditional, classical. The other is rougher, louder. I want you to focus on that part." A battle of sorts....only it wasn't.
Well, Jim knew battles pretty well. He didn't bother to just stay on his feet, a large portion of his dancing was on his hands or forearms or - well. Every part of his body, really. He was breathing a little harder when the song slowed down again, and he automatically moved his body into slow motion. Didn't stop him talking, though. "I like it."
Leonard remembered. Which was one of the reasons he picked the piece. It suited both of his dancers very well. Moving out onto the floor, Leonard shook his head. "As nice as that is, I need the focus to shift from you to Pavel at that point." Nothing was planned out, which was a first. He wanted Jim's input, needed his eye on how the dancing would look when paired together. "The shoes look good." And maybe he liked throwing him off balance. Just a little.
A little? Jim paused to glance at him and shrugged his thanks. He stopped moving to lace his hands in his hair, feet moving minimally as he thought. Under his breath, he mumbled to himself, envisioning their positions, until he finally waved a hand at the stereo. "Wait, back it up, let me try something."
Maybe more then a little. But only a smidgen more... Nodding, Leonard pulled the remote out of his pocket, grateful for the money he'd put into system as it allowed him to skip backwards by ten second intervals without harming his CDs. "Here. When the music shifts back to classical, I want the spotlight to be on Pavel, as that's his part." Damn it, he needed the Russian there, really...but he'd make due for now. The kid deserved a little down time. He was here more then Jim....
Then there was the fact that they always seemed to be at odds. Jim waved at McCoy to rewind further, another twenty seconds. It gave him enough room for a maneuver that had him turning, jumping, and landing in a crouch - which would let the spot shift off of him easily.
Oh, but that almost playful pushing they did at each other would look great on the dance floor. Especially if Jim kept pulling moves like that out of his ass. Leonard arched a brow at the display of physical ability, clapping as he moved forward. "Jesus, Kid...perfect. You keep that up and you two will be dancing your way to the winner's platform with no trouble. Now...I just gotta find something that will keep his energy just as high as yours...Hmm...Wait, back up. Set up for that jump, I want to try something." He rewound, and set himself up just a foot in front of where the kid would land...and as soon as Jim hit his crouch, he spun out of his position, his body twisting to face the crouching body, using Jim as a focal point to judge by during a rather complicated looking series of leaps and twists...
The second Jim landed, his attention was off himself and on McCoy. And it didn't leave him, either. He kept watching, cheeks warming from exertion and pride and more than a little embarrassment that the guy's opinion mattered so much. But he watched McCoy move and had to wonder why he didn't dance anymore..."Yeah. Yeah, that's good."
The music geared to change again, and Leonard swung around so that as the music shifted, he all but threw himself at the ground, catching himself on his hands and toes in an exaggerated kneeling bow, just as Jim's music took the reins and took off. The man was panting a little, but he was grinning a mile wide, eyes shining as he met the kid's gaze. "Thanks. You need to come up there, and come up with a bang. This whole dance should leave the audience covered in sweat, alright? High energy all the way..." And maybe because these two would look so good tangled up like that on the floor....
Jim nodded quickly. That enthusiasm was catching, and he couldn't avoid being taken by it. He waved his hand again. "Back it up, back it up." He was a dancer, but he had to know how to choreograph moves, too. That's what battling was all about - improv, but preparation, too. Jim already knew what he'd do, and when his music started again, he was up and turning, dancing a circle around where Pavel would be, a circle full of leaps, jumps, and a lot of break dancing.
He could hold this position amazingly easily, actually, and all he did to break it was reach back and pull the remote out of his pocket. Rewinding, he watched the man leap up, his breath catching in his throat at the sheer amount of energy. "Perfect. Fucking perfect. Umm...back it up. Start about where you were at my knee, and when you come up, I'm going to reach out and pull myself up with your hip. I won't actually put any weight on you, but try to make it look like I did, alright?" It was a sudden change in the music, a blend of the styles and they needed a counterpoint to each other. At least the 'fighting to his feet' would get them both standing....
Jim got into position and nodded, though he glanced a little awkwardly at Bones. It was fast forgotten for the sake of the dance, though, and he allowed that fake pull, making it look like Bones actually used him to stand and easily sliding it into a move that had him stretched out almost parallel to the floor, held up on one strong arm, leaving it open for Bones to do something to cover his rise back to his feet.
He 'pulled' himself up with ease, though instead of spinning away and taking the stage, he let himself be pulled down as well, their bodies tight together and Leonard's arm on the floor the only thing keeping Jim from just being laid on. He shifted his grip on the kid's hip, splaying his hand along his back to act as a brace as he pulled both of them upright again, his ballroom dancing training kicking in as he moved smoothly into a battling tango, faces mere inches apart....
His heart jumped into his throat and thudded there. The surprise was on his face, but Jim didn't falter. He got to his feet with Bones smoothly, and fell into that tango, barely breathing with their proximity. He was sweating, and parts of his tank top were damp, but hell, he couldn't stop even if he wanted to right now.
It wasn't dancing if it wasn't sweaty and it wasn't long before Leonard let his jacket slide off one arm at a time, never actually letting Jim go, just switching his grip on him as he flung the jacket off to the sidelines. It looked good, and if Pavel was a ballroom dancer, Leonard would have been sure to leave it in the act....but at this point in time, it was no longer about the Showcase. Pavel didn't Tango....but Leonard wasn't about to let Jim go now....
Jim was pretty sure Pavel didn't tango, but he wasn't sure he could breathe right, and watching Bones take his jacket off like that said that pretty soon he wasn't going to be able to move right. He swallowed hard as the song hit it's finial, letting the music press him closer to Bones, and oh hell, what was he doing.
He was dancing, that was what he was doing. Dancing and letting the music do with him what it wanted. Jim shifted closer and Leonard groaned low in his throat as he wrapped both arms around him, keep him that close as he led them. And as the last of the music guided them to a slow standstill, Leonard bowed his head against Jim's neck...and he didn't even think about his reaction as he ran his lips along the skin. Dance or freak out, Jim. The balls in your court.
Why can't he do both? His heart hammered hard enough to hurt, and Jim panted against Bones' shoulder, hands tight on his shoulders, his back. "What're you doin'," he started as McCoy's mouth brushed his neck. But he didn't pull away. Swallowed hard, but stayed right where he was, pressed against the instructor.
Because your feet need your brain to tell you where to go, and you can't do that when you're freaking out. The music was restarting, and Leonard didn't stop, panting against the kid's neck between light, almost teasing presses of lips. "Say stop and I will..." But until then, he was going to mouth the junction where throat met shoulder, surprisingly gentle as he guided them around the dance floor.