RECAP:: "Alita." whispered Usopp, grabbing your shoulder and yanking you closer to him, "I can't dance."
"You lie!" you whispered back, "Are you serious!? What do you mean, you can't dance!? Anyone can pick up dance steps, I'll teach you!"
"No, really, it's bad." he sad, visibly starting to sweat, "My mother tried to teach me when I was younger, and I broke her toe. What am I going to do?"
You were at a loss for words, so you said the only word that you thought was fitting for the moment.
"Fuck."
Oh shiz. ----->
"Get in your places, you two!" snapped the lieutenant, shoving you forward. You found your place easily, in the open space near the middle, and you pointed at a spot for Usopp, as he looked rather lost. Before the music could even start, you took note of the large drums, trumpets, acoustic guitar player... The tango!? Maybe belly dancing!? Why!? Why would a naval officer need to tango? Before you could even think of how you could get out of this mess, you were given a quick four beat count-off, and the music started. You started slow, just keeping up with the beat with the basic steps you knew, but you were soon able to keep up with the group as you picked up new steps.
"Stop, stop!" shouted the choreographer, halting the music and the dancers, "You. Are. Lost!" He pointed an accusing finger at Usopp, and you cursed inwardly, rushing over to defend him.
"Apologies, kanchou." you said, bowing, "He fell and hit his head a while before we came here. Maybe if you could give us the steps again, and we could practice together?"
"Fine, fine, but get it down before the performance tonight." he said, throwing his hands up and tossing you the written choreography, "If it's not perfect, your heads are on the chopping block. If you ruin my production, so help me..."
"We'll get it down, I promise." you reassured him, before shoving Usopp backstage and out of earshot, to a private place where you could practice. "That was close." you said, breathing a sigh of relief, "Okay. So. We are going to teach you how to dance."
"Thanks for that save back there." said Usopp, shaking his head, "I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't cut in."
"You would've lied your way out of it." you grinned, clearing a space for you to dance in, "Okay. Basic steps. I think that your problem is that you're over-analyzing it. You have the potential to be good, but you're just thinking too hard. You said that your mother tried to teach you?"
"Yeah, but that was years ago." he said, "I must have been eight years old!"
"Tell me about your mom." you say, moving forward and taking both of his hands, leading him through basic steps, "What's she like?"
"She died when I was a kid." said Usopp, reminiscing while you walked through the dance, "I was nine, I think. She just got sick and didn't get better."
"I'm sorry to hear that." you frowned, popping out, and then back close again, "I know how it feels to lose your mother. I'm sure she was a wonderful person."
"She was." he grinned, "When my dad still lived with us, before he went to be a pirate, they liked to dance together. I guess she thought that I would take after my dad, and she was kind of diasppointed when I couldn't do it."
"Your dad's a pirate?" you asked, picking up the pace a bit, "Wait, hold on, you're Yasopp's son, aren't you?"
"How'd you know!?" he exclaimed, twirling you out, then back in, "Have you met him before?"
"Yeah, a few months before I left with you guys." you grinned, "He's a really cool guy. Funny as all get out. You look just like him, really, you do."
Usopp grinned at this, clearly elated that someone thought that he resembled his father, and you brought the dance to a close. "You dance like him, too." you grinned, stepping back and giving him the thumbs-up.
"Bloody Hell..." you mumbled, trying to fit into the miniscule red dress that the costumer had assigned you to wear. It was more skimpy than anything you had ever worn while working at the Sparrow, and tight as all hell.
It had been several hours since you had first been sucked into doing this dance thing, and it was just a few minutes from the performance. You had contemplated ducking out on it several times, but then you would be letting down the rest of the crew, leaving them without a distraction. And you weren't a deserter.
"Oi, Usopp." you said, pulling on your shoes and walking out of the dressing room and backstage to check on him, "How does your outfit-- Holy shit."
You nearly fell over and died when you saw the sniper standing there, self-consious as ever, shirtless and wearing the tightest pants you could have ever thought existed. "Don't you say a word." he warned, a light flush creeping to life on his cheeks. You snorted, and, not able to control it any longer, burst into hysterical laughter, falling to the ground onto your backside and clutching your stomach in absolute glee.
"It's not my fault!" he whined, "That costumer threatened to break my legs if I didn't wear this! I look ridiculous, don't I?"
"Can't talk..." you choked, wiping a tear away, pounding the floor with your palm, "You've just killed me. My god, I wasn't expecting that."
"You're so going to get it when we get out of here." said Usopp, puffing out one of his cheeks in annoyance, "And these pants are cutting off the circulation in my legs."
"Yeah, now you know how my boobs feel." you grinned, clambering to your feet and brushing yourself off, looking him over again, "Not half bad, Pinocchio. Didn't know you had some muscle underneath those overalls." You gave his stomach an experimental poke, extremely satisfied. "Ready to dance?"
"I've got no choice." he sighed, shrugging his shoulders in defeat.
"You'll do fine." you smiled, clapping him on the back, your attention drawn to the choreographer, who was hollering for the cast to take their places on stage, "Just don't drop me when you do that lift."
"Oh, you make me feel so good about this." said Usopp, "Don't you worry, Captain Usopp, the manliest of men, has--"
"Liar." you smirked, shoving him to his spot next to you on the stage, "Just relax. Listen to the music, you'll get it just fine."
Before you could say another word, the curtains were drawn, and the music started up, and all of your energy was focused on the dance. You had to admit, the dance was creative, a cross between belly dancing, a stomp, and a tango, but you liked it none the less.
But soon, the tempo slowed, your cue to begin the tango, and you rushed into the lift, helping a bit by bracing yourself on his forearms. You were surprised that he could support your weight, but then again, you were small to begin with, and he was stronger than he looked, as he had proven earlier.
Regardless, he had gotten better, now that he wasn't trying too hard. His dance steps were smoother, better than any of the drunken pirates that had stumbled into the bar, looking for a dance. And you never imagined that you would have so much fun just being a distraction.
You knew the song was coming to a close, and with the last beat of the drum, there was a loud explosion from backstage, nearly blowing your eardrums out. You shook your head and took this as a good time to leave, taking off into the smoke with Usopp.
Onward ----->
Weeeeell, that's all for now, kids. Thanks for reading. ^^
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Look out for 29 coming soon!
