I Just Dance [2/?]
Title: I Just Dance [2/?]
Author: ifeelbetter
Pairing: Kirk/Spock, Kirk/smiling roguishly, Chekov/pirouettes
Word Count: 2,951
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Don't own, won't ever, wish I did.
Summary: AU So You Think You Can Dance. Kirk is a tapper and everybody keeps telling him tappers don't win. Insert reference to no-win scenarios here.
Notes: So I have no idea how epi-pens actually work or if that's even how you spell it. I also only know what a Pirouette piquée because of the American Ballet Theatre website.
The only music reference this time is Looking for Donna from Hair.
Part I
IV. Vegas Callbacks, Part Two
The hip hop day was hilarious. Spock almost got cut and Jim tried very hard not to rub his face in it.
"Almost got cut, huh?" he said, failing.
Spock scowled at him.
"They ripped you a new one," Jim clarified.
"I am aware," Spock said.
"They said they wanted you to emote more," Jim continued.
"I was there," Spock said, his jaw clenching. "If you'll excuse me." He stood up from where he had been sitting on the stairs.
Jim grabbed his wrist. "I was trying to help, man! Anger is a totally valid emotion."
Spock looked down at his wrist, still wrapped by Jim's hand. Jim slowly uncurled his fingers.
"Thank you for your misguided attempt at assistance," said Spock carefully. He put the hand Jim had just grabbed into his pocket.
"We have jazz next," said Jim. "Bet you'll kill in jazz."
Spock raised an eyebrow. "I am intrigued to observe your progress as well." He quirked his head to one side. "You have shown remarkable versatility up to this point."
"Are you giving me a compliment, dude?" Jim grinned.
Spock shook his head. "I am merely making an observation."
"So am I."
Spock did the eyebrow thing again--hadn't his mother ever told him his face might freeze that way?--but seemed more cheerful. He didn't smile but the corner of his mouth seemed to twitch upwards momentarily.
They did the jazz thing. Laurie Ann Gibson was like a demon choreographer. Jim would not have been surprised at all if she slept in a coffin and drank virgin's blood for breakfast.
Pavel raised his hand at one point. His question was technical and a bit banal but inoffensive.
Laurie flipped out. "That question is absurd. Act like you're actually trying to stay!"
Pavel took a deep breath, like he was holding back a sob.
Her attention shifted to another hapless victim. Jim reached out and squeezed Pavel's hand briefly. When the kid turned his head to look at Jim, his eyes were indeed filled with tears.
Jim winked at him. Pavel gave him a shaky grin in return.
They both turned their attention back to Laurie but Jim noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Spock was watching him.
When it came time to perform in front of the judges, Jim felt all sorts of nerves clench in his stomach. He saw Cat coming from across the room and didn't have time to duck behind a row of seats before she caught him with her camera.
"You nervous this time, Jim?" she asked. Some guy hovered a boom mike over his head. He looked up at it before answering.
"Yeah, this time, yeah" he said. He shrugged. "I can only hope, right?"
Cat said something encouraging and squeezed his shoulder, moving on to more vulnerable people who might cry at the camera. She didn't have to go far. Jim saw her find a sobbing b-boy dancer a couple rows down.
Spock appeared at his elbow. "You are nervous," he observed.
"Yeah." Jim rubbed his face. He jumped a couple of times, trying to get rid of the nervous jitters.
"I believe that is unwarranted."
Jim blinked. "Wait, what?"
"Your nervousness. I believe it is unwarranted." Spock's face didn't budge an inch. Jim would know, he was watching it closely.
Something did settle in Jim's stomach, though. When he performed, he nailed it.
V. Vegas Callbacks, Part Three
They were assigned groups at random and given a mystery song to choreograph a routine to. Pavel and Spock were both assigned to Jim. There was also Nyota, a stunningly hot ballroom dancer, and Sulu (who everyone called by his surname), the crying b-boy from earlier in the day.
They had all night to come up with the routine, practice it, and get some sleep. They'd be performing first thing in the morning.
They did a hasty series of introductions since most of them hadn't worked together yet. Then the practically raced into one of the corridors to listen to their mystery song.
Jim recognized it by the end of the first chord. It was "Looking for Donna" from Hair.
"Oh my god," said Sulu. "This is the hippie musical, isn't it?" He turned to Pavel. "I have to dance like a hippie." He sounded like he might be hyperventilating a little.
"Aw yeah," said Jim. It just so happened that he had hidden depths. Also, he'd always loved hippies. He could get down with a motto like "Free Love."
Nyota and Spock both gave him an eyebrow. He would have to practice that in his mirror later. No way he was taking that from two directions.
Nyota was one of the very few ballroom dancers to make it to Vegas. They were always under-represented but it seemed to be worse than usual this year. She wore red all the time, usually in the very tightest clothes. Even her rehearsal clothes were bright red. She had the shortest shorts Jim had ever seen and had tucked her shirt into her bra.
Mary Murphy had put her on the Hot Tamale Train two seconds into her first solo. She'd actually interrupted the music to say so.
Sulu, on the other hand, wore only the baggiest of clothes. He had to tie the legs of his sweatpants with a couple of Nyota's spare hair ties. He had been wearing a floppy, mostly shapeless hat. Nyota told him it was disgusting and that she wouldn't look at him, let alone dance with him, unless he lost it.
They all suspected that Nyota didn't make empty threats so he lost the hat.
The group coalesced miraculously. It was like magic, even. By ten o'clock, when all the other groups were still arguing viciously over choreography choices, their group had finished rehearsing.
They left to grab a couple of sandwiches from catering. Nyota made them all laugh with a story about how one of her shoes once caught in the skirt of her dress and nearly gave her a wardrobe malfunction worthy of Miss Jackson.
In the middle of her story, Jim started to have an allergy episode. He chocked a little but motioned for the rest of the group to stay seated, that he was fine, and went to find the medic. Pavel followed him with puppyish solidarity.
They found the medic outside having a smoke. The incredibly tall, dark, and handsome medic. With a cigarette.
"Aren't you supposed to know better?" Jim asked, pointing at the cigarette. The only problem was that his throat was swelling up a bit so it sounded more like a series of grunts and wheezes.
The guy snorted. "You having an allergic reaction?"
Jim nodded.
"My name's Leonard but people I am about to stab with epi-pens get to call me Bones," he said, rifling through his duffel bag.
Jim winced as Bones stabbed him with the pen. "Ow."
"Don't be a girl," Bones said with a snort. "I don't get paid enough to deal with prima donna dancers."
"Prima donnas are opera," said Jim, getting his voice back. He reached out a hand to Bones. "I'm Jim."
"Yeah, whatever, prancy-pants." Bones waved him off, puffing out a cloud of cigarette smoke. Pavel coughed. "We're done here."
Jim didn't leave. He perched, instead, on the edge of the stairway and grinned roguishly at Bones.
"Don't you wanna make sure I'm OK?" he asked. Roguish suited him best. "I might relapse."
"God save me from enthusiastic ballerinas," Bones said, tossing the cigarette stub to the ground. He had taken one last, hungry pull from it first though. That thing was dead when it hit the floor. Jim could recognize a chain-smoker a mile away. They always reminded him of his mom.
Pavel got bored and wandered back inside, seeing as Jim looked like he was recovering well. The rest of their group came out a few minutes later with all their stuff, ready to head back to the hotel.
If it was possible, Spock might have stiffened a bit when he saw Jim talking to Bones. Jim wasn't entirely able to tell, though, on account of how much of a tight-ass he normally was.
"Hey, I'll see you around, right?" he said, jumping off his perch. He didn't catch Bones's grumbled reply as he was already jogging over to the group.
"We are returning to the hotel," said Spock as Jim approached.
"Yeah, I can see that," he said.
"We do not require your company if you have more" he pursed his lips "pressing matters at hand." He looked pointedly back at Bones.
Nyota slid an arm through Spock's. "I'm getting this boy a drink," she said, territorially. "Don't wait up."
Jim rubbed the back of his neck. Sulu and Pavel looked at him expectantly.
"Oh, come on," he said, giving in to their obvious lack of gumption, "Let's go drink the minibar in my room." He turned back to Bones and shouted. "Bones! Do you want to drink my minibar?"
"That had better not be a euphemism!" shouted Bones.
"That's entirely up to you!" Jim shouted back, grinning roguishly again.
Bones scowled. "I happen to be on duty."
Jim shrugged. "Suit yourself."
The three of them did, in fact, drink Jim's minibar. At least, they drank what was left of it. It had been heavy on the "mini" to begin with and Jim was not the kind of guy to let a tiny Jim Bean go untouched.
Then it was an early night for all of them. Pavel and Sulu were giving Jim a distinct third wheel feeling anyway. Pavel kept looking earnestly at Sulu as he told them stories about how he had learned b-boying on the streets (a lie, Jim had heard him tell Cat the truth earlier in an interview and he had learned in a studio in Miami).
VI. Vegas Callbacks, Part Four
Their group killed the next day. Mary Murphy hooted a lot. Jim wasn't entirely sure whether she was making train noises or going into an apoplectic fit.
Then he noticed that Mia Michaels was crying and felt more confident.
Nigel told them that they had never seen a group mesh so well so quickly. Adam told them that they had all gotten on his favorites list.
Lil C particularly liked the chemistry between Spock and Nyota. Jim got a bit sullen about that.
His sullenness lasted until the next group dance rehearsal when they learned Broadway. He felt pretty confident in Broadway and Tyce Diorio seemed to like him.
Sulu had to dance for his life at the end of that day due to a horrific performance in Broadway. The judges scowled and shouted for a bit in conference afterward but Jim was pretty sure they were just doing it for show.
Sulu scraped by with a strongly worded warning.
That left them with the last day. The only things on the docket were individual performances and waiting around for the final decision.
Jim was well aware of the improbability of a tapper making it into the Top 20. Sulu looked a bit green as well, knowing that only the most exceptional street dancers ever made it. His close scrape from the day before was hanging over him.
In the waiting room, after their final solos, they all sat on plastic folding chairs and stewed. Jim put his head between his legs and tried to breath evenly.
"You are nervous again," said Spock, sitting in the chair next to him. "You do not seem to learn from experience."
"I learn fine," said Jim, rubbing his face and leaning back. "And I'm not nervous. Just tired."
Spock was silent for a while. He sat with perfect posture, not slouching into the uncomfortable chair at all.
"Are you nervous?" asked Jim. He watched Spock's face closely, trying to find some code to the blank features. He was beginning to think it might be in the eyes.
Spock met his gaze and didn't look away. "Yes," he said simply.
"You want it that badly?" Jim wouldn't be the first one to look away. It didn't look like Spock was willing to be the first one to look away either.
Spock nodded. "I believe my mother would have wished it."
That broke it. Jim looked down, suddenly finding it hard to be under that gaze. Yeah, it was definitely all in the eyes. Jim wondered how he could have thought Spock's face was blank. His eyes were so full of emotion. It was a bit overwhelming.
"You'll get it," said Jim with complete certainty. "You're the best one here." He stared down at his hands, rubbing them together nervously. "You're the best I've ever seen."
"Thank you," said Spock quietly. He stood. "I believe you are also safe. It would be a ridiculous mismanagement of talent to cut you at this preliminary stage."
Jim blinked. "You complimented me again just there, didn't you?"
"I am merely stating fact."
"You think I'm good."
"It was an analysis of the available information. Don't let it go to your head."
"You like me, you really like me," said Jim, grinning.
That was when Cat called Spock. The camera guy had been hovering nearby Spock and Jim and neither of them had noticed. Cat and the camera followed Spock as he went towards the door. At the last minute, he turned to look briefly at Jim.
Jim winked.
Cat returned and sat next to him. "You and Spock seem very chummy," she said conversationally.
Jim shrugged. "A guy like me could learn a lot from a guy like him," he said matter-of-factly. "He's like a freaking genius of dance."
"You think he's better than you?" she asked, holding a mike towards him. It was only then that he realized he was still being filmed. He kept forgetting about all the cameras. "Do you think he's your competition?"
"I don't know about competition," said Jim slowly. He wanted to be clear about this. "It's not a question of competing when it's dance. Not for me, at least. It's, like--it's all about learning, right? And changing." He his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Even talking to Spo--someone like Spock, it opens your mind. I'm not competing with him. I'm just...I'm just here. With him."
Cat nodded. She put an arm around his shoulders. "I think you're his competition," she said, not understanding what Jim had been trying to get across. He shrugged.
"That would be nice," he said.
Spock returned absurdly quickly. He was in. Jim had been right.
Pavel also made it in. He did a pirouette piquée back into the room. Then he did a leap and landed in the seat next to Sulu, looking delighted with himself. Sulu pulled him into a tight hug.
Nyota was next and she was also in. No one really had doubted that. A little while later, Sulu made it too. He was crying when he came back in. Pavel looked torn between ecstatic happiness and trying to get Sulu to stop crying. He patted him carefully on the shoulder.
Jim started pacing. He kept fiddling with things and rubbing his hands together nervously. He jumped in place a couple of times, trying to shake off the nerves.
Spock was suddenly next to him. He started to say something but closed his mouth. Instead, he reached out and took one of Jim's hands. It was awkward and silly and very immature of him, but Jim really liked the way his hand felt in Spock's. He gripped it a little tighter.
Spock didn't look at him directly. But he kept holding his hand.
They called Jim's name eventually. Spock squeezed his hand once more and dropped it.
Jim risked a look at his face then. Spock's eyes were fixed on him and he could feel them on him even when his back was turned, even when the door had closed behind him.
The judges warned him that no tapper had ever won and that it was extremely unlikely that he would be the first.
He held his head high. "Nothing's impossible." He gave them his best rebellious look, daring them to call his bluff.
That seemed to be the right answer.
He made it through.
He may have cried a little. He denied it later though. He insisted that the footage was doctored.
When he returned to the waiting room, he exploded through the doors. Pavel did another spontaneous pirouette piquée in the corner. Sulu did a complicated high-5/handshake at his hand while he scanned the room for Spock.
When Jim finally found him--a lot of people were converging on him to congratulate him, making it hard to find anyone or anything--he pulled him into a tight hug. Spock struggled in the first beat but eventually settled his arms in the curve of Jim's back.
Jim pounded him on the back once before letting him go. It was the manly thing to do, after all.
Then he returned to the rest of the contestants, waiting out the final few people in the Top 20. Pavel did a couple more spontaneous pirouettes in his excitement. Each time he finished, he grinned broadly at everyone nearby, completely incapable of restraining his joy.
Jim found, eventually, that Pavel had the right idea. He did a couple of pirouettes with him. It started a Thing, with everyone in the room doing pirouettes like sugar-high children.
Even Pavel got dizzy eventually and they fell in a giant pile. Jim couldn't keep his face from grinning maniacally.
It was one of the best days of his life.
continue
Author: ifeelbetter
Pairing: Kirk/Spock, Kirk/smiling roguishly, Chekov/pirouettes
Word Count: 2,951
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Don't own, won't ever, wish I did.
Summary: AU So You Think You Can Dance. Kirk is a tapper and everybody keeps telling him tappers don't win. Insert reference to no-win scenarios here.
Notes: So I have no idea how epi-pens actually work or if that's even how you spell it. I also only know what a Pirouette piquée because of the American Ballet Theatre website.
The only music reference this time is Looking for Donna from Hair.
Part I
IV. Vegas Callbacks, Part Two
The hip hop day was hilarious. Spock almost got cut and Jim tried very hard not to rub his face in it.
"Almost got cut, huh?" he said, failing.
Spock scowled at him.
"They ripped you a new one," Jim clarified.
"I am aware," Spock said.
"They said they wanted you to emote more," Jim continued.
"I was there," Spock said, his jaw clenching. "If you'll excuse me." He stood up from where he had been sitting on the stairs.
Jim grabbed his wrist. "I was trying to help, man! Anger is a totally valid emotion."
Spock looked down at his wrist, still wrapped by Jim's hand. Jim slowly uncurled his fingers.
"Thank you for your misguided attempt at assistance," said Spock carefully. He put the hand Jim had just grabbed into his pocket.
"We have jazz next," said Jim. "Bet you'll kill in jazz."
Spock raised an eyebrow. "I am intrigued to observe your progress as well." He quirked his head to one side. "You have shown remarkable versatility up to this point."
"Are you giving me a compliment, dude?" Jim grinned.
Spock shook his head. "I am merely making an observation."
"So am I."
Spock did the eyebrow thing again--hadn't his mother ever told him his face might freeze that way?--but seemed more cheerful. He didn't smile but the corner of his mouth seemed to twitch upwards momentarily.
They did the jazz thing. Laurie Ann Gibson was like a demon choreographer. Jim would not have been surprised at all if she slept in a coffin and drank virgin's blood for breakfast.
Pavel raised his hand at one point. His question was technical and a bit banal but inoffensive.
Laurie flipped out. "That question is absurd. Act like you're actually trying to stay!"
Pavel took a deep breath, like he was holding back a sob.
Her attention shifted to another hapless victim. Jim reached out and squeezed Pavel's hand briefly. When the kid turned his head to look at Jim, his eyes were indeed filled with tears.
Jim winked at him. Pavel gave him a shaky grin in return.
They both turned their attention back to Laurie but Jim noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Spock was watching him.
When it came time to perform in front of the judges, Jim felt all sorts of nerves clench in his stomach. He saw Cat coming from across the room and didn't have time to duck behind a row of seats before she caught him with her camera.
"You nervous this time, Jim?" she asked. Some guy hovered a boom mike over his head. He looked up at it before answering.
"Yeah, this time, yeah" he said. He shrugged. "I can only hope, right?"
Cat said something encouraging and squeezed his shoulder, moving on to more vulnerable people who might cry at the camera. She didn't have to go far. Jim saw her find a sobbing b-boy dancer a couple rows down.
Spock appeared at his elbow. "You are nervous," he observed.
"Yeah." Jim rubbed his face. He jumped a couple of times, trying to get rid of the nervous jitters.
"I believe that is unwarranted."
Jim blinked. "Wait, what?"
"Your nervousness. I believe it is unwarranted." Spock's face didn't budge an inch. Jim would know, he was watching it closely.
Something did settle in Jim's stomach, though. When he performed, he nailed it.
V. Vegas Callbacks, Part Three
They were assigned groups at random and given a mystery song to choreograph a routine to. Pavel and Spock were both assigned to Jim. There was also Nyota, a stunningly hot ballroom dancer, and Sulu (who everyone called by his surname), the crying b-boy from earlier in the day.
They had all night to come up with the routine, practice it, and get some sleep. They'd be performing first thing in the morning.
They did a hasty series of introductions since most of them hadn't worked together yet. Then the practically raced into one of the corridors to listen to their mystery song.
Jim recognized it by the end of the first chord. It was "Looking for Donna" from Hair.
"Oh my god," said Sulu. "This is the hippie musical, isn't it?" He turned to Pavel. "I have to dance like a hippie." He sounded like he might be hyperventilating a little.
"Aw yeah," said Jim. It just so happened that he had hidden depths. Also, he'd always loved hippies. He could get down with a motto like "Free Love."
Nyota and Spock both gave him an eyebrow. He would have to practice that in his mirror later. No way he was taking that from two directions.
Nyota was one of the very few ballroom dancers to make it to Vegas. They were always under-represented but it seemed to be worse than usual this year. She wore red all the time, usually in the very tightest clothes. Even her rehearsal clothes were bright red. She had the shortest shorts Jim had ever seen and had tucked her shirt into her bra.
Mary Murphy had put her on the Hot Tamale Train two seconds into her first solo. She'd actually interrupted the music to say so.
Sulu, on the other hand, wore only the baggiest of clothes. He had to tie the legs of his sweatpants with a couple of Nyota's spare hair ties. He had been wearing a floppy, mostly shapeless hat. Nyota told him it was disgusting and that she wouldn't look at him, let alone dance with him, unless he lost it.
They all suspected that Nyota didn't make empty threats so he lost the hat.
The group coalesced miraculously. It was like magic, even. By ten o'clock, when all the other groups were still arguing viciously over choreography choices, their group had finished rehearsing.
They left to grab a couple of sandwiches from catering. Nyota made them all laugh with a story about how one of her shoes once caught in the skirt of her dress and nearly gave her a wardrobe malfunction worthy of Miss Jackson.
In the middle of her story, Jim started to have an allergy episode. He chocked a little but motioned for the rest of the group to stay seated, that he was fine, and went to find the medic. Pavel followed him with puppyish solidarity.
They found the medic outside having a smoke. The incredibly tall, dark, and handsome medic. With a cigarette.
"Aren't you supposed to know better?" Jim asked, pointing at the cigarette. The only problem was that his throat was swelling up a bit so it sounded more like a series of grunts and wheezes.
The guy snorted. "You having an allergic reaction?"
Jim nodded.
"My name's Leonard but people I am about to stab with epi-pens get to call me Bones," he said, rifling through his duffel bag.
Jim winced as Bones stabbed him with the pen. "Ow."
"Don't be a girl," Bones said with a snort. "I don't get paid enough to deal with prima donna dancers."
"Prima donnas are opera," said Jim, getting his voice back. He reached out a hand to Bones. "I'm Jim."
"Yeah, whatever, prancy-pants." Bones waved him off, puffing out a cloud of cigarette smoke. Pavel coughed. "We're done here."
Jim didn't leave. He perched, instead, on the edge of the stairway and grinned roguishly at Bones.
"Don't you wanna make sure I'm OK?" he asked. Roguish suited him best. "I might relapse."
"God save me from enthusiastic ballerinas," Bones said, tossing the cigarette stub to the ground. He had taken one last, hungry pull from it first though. That thing was dead when it hit the floor. Jim could recognize a chain-smoker a mile away. They always reminded him of his mom.
Pavel got bored and wandered back inside, seeing as Jim looked like he was recovering well. The rest of their group came out a few minutes later with all their stuff, ready to head back to the hotel.
If it was possible, Spock might have stiffened a bit when he saw Jim talking to Bones. Jim wasn't entirely able to tell, though, on account of how much of a tight-ass he normally was.
"Hey, I'll see you around, right?" he said, jumping off his perch. He didn't catch Bones's grumbled reply as he was already jogging over to the group.
"We are returning to the hotel," said Spock as Jim approached.
"Yeah, I can see that," he said.
"We do not require your company if you have more" he pursed his lips "pressing matters at hand." He looked pointedly back at Bones.
Nyota slid an arm through Spock's. "I'm getting this boy a drink," she said, territorially. "Don't wait up."
Jim rubbed the back of his neck. Sulu and Pavel looked at him expectantly.
"Oh, come on," he said, giving in to their obvious lack of gumption, "Let's go drink the minibar in my room." He turned back to Bones and shouted. "Bones! Do you want to drink my minibar?"
"That had better not be a euphemism!" shouted Bones.
"That's entirely up to you!" Jim shouted back, grinning roguishly again.
Bones scowled. "I happen to be on duty."
Jim shrugged. "Suit yourself."
The three of them did, in fact, drink Jim's minibar. At least, they drank what was left of it. It had been heavy on the "mini" to begin with and Jim was not the kind of guy to let a tiny Jim Bean go untouched.
Then it was an early night for all of them. Pavel and Sulu were giving Jim a distinct third wheel feeling anyway. Pavel kept looking earnestly at Sulu as he told them stories about how he had learned b-boying on the streets (a lie, Jim had heard him tell Cat the truth earlier in an interview and he had learned in a studio in Miami).
VI. Vegas Callbacks, Part Four
Their group killed the next day. Mary Murphy hooted a lot. Jim wasn't entirely sure whether she was making train noises or going into an apoplectic fit.
Then he noticed that Mia Michaels was crying and felt more confident.
Nigel told them that they had never seen a group mesh so well so quickly. Adam told them that they had all gotten on his favorites list.
Lil C particularly liked the chemistry between Spock and Nyota. Jim got a bit sullen about that.
His sullenness lasted until the next group dance rehearsal when they learned Broadway. He felt pretty confident in Broadway and Tyce Diorio seemed to like him.
Sulu had to dance for his life at the end of that day due to a horrific performance in Broadway. The judges scowled and shouted for a bit in conference afterward but Jim was pretty sure they were just doing it for show.
Sulu scraped by with a strongly worded warning.
That left them with the last day. The only things on the docket were individual performances and waiting around for the final decision.
Jim was well aware of the improbability of a tapper making it into the Top 20. Sulu looked a bit green as well, knowing that only the most exceptional street dancers ever made it. His close scrape from the day before was hanging over him.
In the waiting room, after their final solos, they all sat on plastic folding chairs and stewed. Jim put his head between his legs and tried to breath evenly.
"You are nervous again," said Spock, sitting in the chair next to him. "You do not seem to learn from experience."
"I learn fine," said Jim, rubbing his face and leaning back. "And I'm not nervous. Just tired."
Spock was silent for a while. He sat with perfect posture, not slouching into the uncomfortable chair at all.
"Are you nervous?" asked Jim. He watched Spock's face closely, trying to find some code to the blank features. He was beginning to think it might be in the eyes.
Spock met his gaze and didn't look away. "Yes," he said simply.
"You want it that badly?" Jim wouldn't be the first one to look away. It didn't look like Spock was willing to be the first one to look away either.
Spock nodded. "I believe my mother would have wished it."
That broke it. Jim looked down, suddenly finding it hard to be under that gaze. Yeah, it was definitely all in the eyes. Jim wondered how he could have thought Spock's face was blank. His eyes were so full of emotion. It was a bit overwhelming.
"You'll get it," said Jim with complete certainty. "You're the best one here." He stared down at his hands, rubbing them together nervously. "You're the best I've ever seen."
"Thank you," said Spock quietly. He stood. "I believe you are also safe. It would be a ridiculous mismanagement of talent to cut you at this preliminary stage."
Jim blinked. "You complimented me again just there, didn't you?"
"I am merely stating fact."
"You think I'm good."
"It was an analysis of the available information. Don't let it go to your head."
"You like me, you really like me," said Jim, grinning.
That was when Cat called Spock. The camera guy had been hovering nearby Spock and Jim and neither of them had noticed. Cat and the camera followed Spock as he went towards the door. At the last minute, he turned to look briefly at Jim.
Jim winked.
Cat returned and sat next to him. "You and Spock seem very chummy," she said conversationally.
Jim shrugged. "A guy like me could learn a lot from a guy like him," he said matter-of-factly. "He's like a freaking genius of dance."
"You think he's better than you?" she asked, holding a mike towards him. It was only then that he realized he was still being filmed. He kept forgetting about all the cameras. "Do you think he's your competition?"
"I don't know about competition," said Jim slowly. He wanted to be clear about this. "It's not a question of competing when it's dance. Not for me, at least. It's, like--it's all about learning, right? And changing." He his eyes with the palms of his hands. "Even talking to Spo--someone like Spock, it opens your mind. I'm not competing with him. I'm just...I'm just here. With him."
Cat nodded. She put an arm around his shoulders. "I think you're his competition," she said, not understanding what Jim had been trying to get across. He shrugged.
"That would be nice," he said.
Spock returned absurdly quickly. He was in. Jim had been right.
Pavel also made it in. He did a pirouette piquée back into the room. Then he did a leap and landed in the seat next to Sulu, looking delighted with himself. Sulu pulled him into a tight hug.
Nyota was next and she was also in. No one really had doubted that. A little while later, Sulu made it too. He was crying when he came back in. Pavel looked torn between ecstatic happiness and trying to get Sulu to stop crying. He patted him carefully on the shoulder.
Jim started pacing. He kept fiddling with things and rubbing his hands together nervously. He jumped in place a couple of times, trying to shake off the nerves.
Spock was suddenly next to him. He started to say something but closed his mouth. Instead, he reached out and took one of Jim's hands. It was awkward and silly and very immature of him, but Jim really liked the way his hand felt in Spock's. He gripped it a little tighter.
Spock didn't look at him directly. But he kept holding his hand.
They called Jim's name eventually. Spock squeezed his hand once more and dropped it.
Jim risked a look at his face then. Spock's eyes were fixed on him and he could feel them on him even when his back was turned, even when the door had closed behind him.
The judges warned him that no tapper had ever won and that it was extremely unlikely that he would be the first.
He held his head high. "Nothing's impossible." He gave them his best rebellious look, daring them to call his bluff.
That seemed to be the right answer.
He made it through.
He may have cried a little. He denied it later though. He insisted that the footage was doctored.
When he returned to the waiting room, he exploded through the doors. Pavel did another spontaneous pirouette piquée in the corner. Sulu did a complicated high-5/handshake at his hand while he scanned the room for Spock.
When Jim finally found him--a lot of people were converging on him to congratulate him, making it hard to find anyone or anything--he pulled him into a tight hug. Spock struggled in the first beat but eventually settled his arms in the curve of Jim's back.
Jim pounded him on the back once before letting him go. It was the manly thing to do, after all.
Then he returned to the rest of the contestants, waiting out the final few people in the Top 20. Pavel did a couple more spontaneous pirouettes in his excitement. Each time he finished, he grinned broadly at everyone nearby, completely incapable of restraining his joy.
Jim found, eventually, that Pavel had the right idea. He did a couple of pirouettes with him. It started a Thing, with everyone in the room doing pirouettes like sugar-high children.
Even Pavel got dizzy eventually and they fell in a giant pile. Jim couldn't keep his face from grinning maniacally.
It was one of the best days of his life.
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