It don't mean a thing...

[maniccat]

Who: Anybody who wants a good time
What: Party Time
Where: The newly bent bandstand
When: Tonight!
Warnings: Alcohol?

Comments

[agentminiskirt]

Dancing was no stranger to Aya. The night life of New York had typically a been vigorous one, even during her years spent as a police officer and government agent. Her home and social life had been pretty much next to nonexistent outside of her work. (The only thing that had drawn her to the opera house on Christmas Eve twelve years ago, ironically, was a nagging instinct and a pestering guy convinced he was her boyfriend.

Graham at least was an idea of a date that she didn’t expect to be running out of a scene of mass destruction, and peeing his pants while running out the door. Honestly, she didn’t know what she’d expect, and it was the unexpected that made things interesting. Her pursuit for normalcy had been a vain and purposeless one, so she might as well embrace this fact.)

The sudden grip on her hand delivering her to the dance floor occurred too fast for her to even reflect a previous social life, if one ever existed.

She glanced over at Eve’s table, and figured she’d be fine on her own for the time being. Aya would rather keep Graham’s interest from the girl, and if this was what she had to do, then that was fine by her.

Besides, what else was there to dancing? She patted his shoulder to simmer any notions of fighting her instead.

“That also won’t be necessary. I can dance just fine.” What she learned from clubs and such from the nights in New York had been enough, anyway. Her practice was limited outside of that. But she could move. “Let’s stick to a happier story this evening, then.”

Eve was here. For now, she’d rather humor him than test to see how sincere he was on the fighting part.

this is much shorter than I thought it would be.

[storybreaker]

Unfortunately, the type of dancing Aya might assume he meant was far different from what he had intended. The two of them were from near opposite ends of the 20th century after all, and the Lindy Hop had become near extinct by Aya's time. The series of fast, quick-stepping movements were no problem for Graham, given how often he ran about.

But fortunately for Aya, a good majority of the routine didn't require much knowledge of how to do the dance itself: so long as she knew how to dodge.

Graham took her right hand in his left, rapidly tapping his feet to the ground and spinning the two of them in circles. Swinging her closer and then further away every few seconds, Graham finally pulled her into a twirling jump, followed by yet more spinning. This was not a dance for those who dizzied easily.

don't worry about it bb.

[agentminiskirt]

The unexpected and very sudden jive nearly threw Aya off. With her luck, she was able to manage enough symmetry to keep up. As for dodging... she knew how to do that, too. What Graham was doing, on the other hand, was something she didn’t know all too well... but not impossible to work with.

The actions involved very little calculation that it was combined with randomness. However, the lively beats barely allowed her to choke out in only a brief second’s pause: “What the hell are you doing?” This type of dancing, she began to realize, she’d only seen in older movies.

Come to think of it, though, Aya had never really bothered to ask what kind of place Graham was from. In Nautilus, everyone had come from so many different places and eras that it just stopped mattering to her after awhile.

In spite of everything and the fact of who she was dancing with in the first place, the lively movements had been-dare she ever confess-fun. Even the spinning didn’t bother her so much, as she was able to pick herself back up and carry on the almost uncoordinated footing once again.

[storybreaker]

"The Lindy, Miss Brea," he says simply and evenly, whilst swinging her around once again. It's very plainly that, isn't it? It doesn't take more than a few steps into the dance for him to realize she's never done this before. At least it was to him. Then again, it wasn't too popular a dance with people his color. That might be why Aya doesn't know of it.

Despite her naivety to the style, she seemed able to keep up. The request for her to dance was impromptu, as is the style, which suited Graham perfectly. That's just how he preferred things: disorganized, and fast-paced.

And following through with that thought, he hoists her over his back, letting her roll off and gather her wits for a split second, before returning to the pace of the dance.

"I would apologize for noticin', but since it contradicts what you told me, I'll point out that you've lied. You don't know how to dance, even if you are currently pretendin' you can, and I will admit it's a very good show of it," Graham begins, even tone breaking only for dramatic importance, not due to shortage of breath. That would be one thing the mechanic never seemed to have a problem with.

"An amazin' one really, if I was to give it a word more worthy! Although, I would have preferred you hadn't lied. Then again," he pauses to join his other hand with hers, breaking from routine and dipping her, before jolting her upwards again, "if you hadn't lied, I would have started to fight you instead, so I see why you have chosen the actions that you did! To protect little Eve, it really is the kind of story I don't hear so often! I could describe how stirrin' this kind of thing to the souls of men and woman, but how sad it is that it wouldn't evoke my own emotions into action!"

Oh yes, all of this is still said while dancing.

[agentminiskirt]

Lindy Hop?

Damn, it really was something she’d only seen in movies.

Footing composed as she rolled over Graham’s back and landed right onto her feet again, it took Aya an extra moment to collect what he was saying more so than it keep, keeping up with his routine. Even the dipping, the spinning, and his long-winded speeches didn’t throw her off as much as it would for most people. Probably because, by now, she was used to it coming from him.

“I never lied to you. And though, yeah, I would go an extra mile-several, in fact-to protect Eve, I’d still have no reason to make up such a lie. So your emotions have my condolences.” Two could play at that game, and it wasn’t like her stamina wasn’t enough to keep up. She’d had more than her fair share of field world to handle vigorous exercises.

Conversely it felt wiser to avoid the subject of Eve for now when around Graham, so as not to test him to see what lengths he’d have to go to push her. He didn’t have to know what she had to sacrifice in order to get Eve to where she was today. Old history book that didn’t need to be opened anytime soon.

Besides, it was rather difficult to even contemplate such an old history book when you’re being dipped and spun about with jovial music in the background.

“Sorry to tell you this, but Lindy’s pretty dead and gone where I'm from, and swing dancing’s never exactly my thing. Salsa, tango-even ballroom dancing, but, those may require more coordination for someone like you.” She just kept dancing, until the song was over. Sure as hell beat drawing her gun in the middle of a party, and in front of Eve.

Then, just before the song ended, one second Aya was standing there, the next-

She dropped into the right splits, and stayed there for a few seconds before swinging herself back up to her feet in front of Graham again with a grin.

“Like I said. I have no reason to lie.”

[storybreaker]

He never heard of Salsa before, while tango and ballroom dancing, they just were far too slow, monotonous, really just boring for a more simple use of words, why would Miss Brea even want to know a dance like that? They were so simple for a woman like her, a waste of time is what they were. Just similar step after step, a dance celebrating the humdrum of everyday life, something not at all worth celebrating if one experienced it everyday.

Soon, too soon, it seemed that the song was ending. He'd keep to his word at least, he wouldn't bother Eve nor Aya for at least the rest of the night. She had gone ahead and let this be a happy story, and happy stories were what he likes best, after all. But before he could get in his last words, Aya seemed to beat him to it, pulling a split, leaving Graham in more than a little bit of awe. The expression quickly morphed to a wide-spread grin, and if she weren't a lady, he'd probably have wrapped an arm over her shoulder by now. But that'd be real impolite of him, way too casual for a woman.

"Now that was exhilaratin', Miss Brea! Not better than a fight, that's not possible, but certainly on par with one, for someone like yourself who hasn't even heard of it! We could be a great pair, y'know, both of us."

And then he's suddenly turned his back to her, strolling back over to where his wrench was. "Whatta shame the likelihood of it all so slim, our senses of the world differ into separate realms! But our opposites aside, I will compliment you on your abilities where they are due, especially since this is the type of story I'd like tellin' again!" The wrench is pointed at her as he pauses, along with, (if she noticed,) a glint in his eye. "If you're still alive."

He turns to leave once again, wrench draped over both shoulders, and arms looped over the back.

"I'll be seein' you, Miss Brea."