Danza!

[From the Perspective of Rush & Heidi]

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[Dance] | At first, the mission sounded simple enough.

Step One: Split into two teams.

Step Two: Play the games.

Step Three: Distract any prying eyes.

Step Four: Get the requested item.

Step Five: Leave.

A short and sweet operation.

Sounds easy enough… right?

And yet, the way in which those two got themselves dragged into such an embarrassing mess is certainly beyond me…

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“We’ve got a job.”

“From…?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Is it from NZ?”

“Shut up.”

“What does she want from us this time anyway?”

“Document retrieval.”

“Oh? I never took her as the type to have skeletons in her closet. What else she tell you?”

“To be discreet. And—”

“PFFTTTT, there’s no way! She should know damn well that we’re the absolute WORST people for this kind of thing.”

“…”

“…”

A tense silence passes between the two boys. After a minute goes by, one of them lets out a heavy sigh.

“Despite what you may think—” Rush cuts himself off, the words stuck in his throat. He wonders if he should really be giving Red, of all people, anything remotely close to praise when all he does is destroy everything in his path without any regard for his surroundings.

“Ah, forget it. Just worry about the location.”

“And that is…?”

Rush let out another long, tired sigh.

“I hope you like to gamble, so bring your best suit. A visit to The Scent of Love is in order…”

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The faint, rhythmic impacts of djembes, castanet claps, and bass drums gradually grow louder as the casino’s jazz-band-now-turned-percussion-ensemble takes over one corner of the floor, overpowering the faint chimes of a clock somewhere striking ten. An entirely different instrumental ensemble consisting of blues harps, saxophones, trumpets, and other acoustic instruments conquer another corner of the currently emptying casino hall as Scent of Love dealers and butlers wheel off the Blackjack, Roulette, Poker, Craps, Texas Hold’em tables, and even the slot machines to other neighboring areas in order to make room for the newly prepared—and transformed—dance hall.

Ten o’clock here at The Scent of Love signified two highly important things: One, the night was in no way over; far from it in fact. Two, that this sudden dancing event, along with any and all on-the-spot whims that “she” so wishes to have, was actually requested by Honey, the Lady of the House. Why she did such a thing was anyone’s guess, but nobody—except for Rush and Heidi—really minded whatsoever.

“Wha- What’s going on!? This wasn’t in the plan!!”

“Tch. Damn it all. Hey. Heidi.”

“Y-Yes!?” She was startled by Rush’s sudden glare and then at the crowding, chaotic scene unfolding before her. She quickly turned to look at him. Discontent was written all over his face. Heidi was unsure of what to do next.

“…Don’t hate me for this.”

“…?—!!!”

In an instant, Rush grabbed her left hand with his right. The way he began to move reminded her of the most basic of basic dance moves that she, at one point, tried to learn but ultimately failed at: a box waltz. It took a solid minute for Heidi to fully realize that not only was she holding Rush’s hand, but that she was dancing with him.

“The floor is imbued with a power belonging to some kind of niche. I dunno the logic, but as long as you can mentally follow the beat, you should be able to dance fine even if you don’t know how to. So, seeing as I’m here with you, everything should work out… I think.”

“Well,” Heidi paused, hesitating for a moment before continuing, “Y-You seem awfully accustomed to this.” She said, puffing her cheeks out angrily.

“Not like I wanted to. These guys make such a show with every new hire, critically evaluating how well they dance and all. Jeez…”

“WAIT, YOU WORK HE—” Rush cuts Heidi off by suddenly grabbing her waist; which, in turn, makes her blush furiously. Being forced to pull her in close, the swift motion brings their lips dangerously close to touching. Heidi, now trapped in Rush’s unexpected embrace, closes her eyes in eager anticipation(!?). Everything was moving so fast she couldn’t make heads or tails of anything. She’s even lost sight of the mission at hand.

I-Is-Is it finally time!?!? Is Rush finally making his move? Ohmigosh, ohmigosh!! This is way too much for my heart, I think it’s about to explode!!!

“H-Hey R-Rush, why don’t we just—”

Before Heidi could say anything more, Rush leaned his head over to her right ear and whispered something that she hardly paid any attention to because, at that exact moment, she noticed the way in which she automatically adjusted her stride to match Rush’s wide steps.

Despite the fact that Heidi didn’t know the first thing about dancing or how to even properly move with a partner, this revelation was truly shocking to her.

“I told her—and these were my exact words by the way—that these hands are for one girl only; certainly not you, but the one who I’ll hold during my first, ahem, proper dance.”

Rush’s tuxedo and Heidi’s red flower-embellished, draped-satin midi dress outshone everybody in the evening’s newly established dance room.

As the high-energy, Middle Eastern-sounding piece reaches a crescendoing climax, Rush moves his left foot backward in a smooth motion, sliding across the smooth, carpeted floor. Heidi follows in a hot pursuit, her right foot quickly sliding forward. Like a fox on the hunt, Heidi actively chases Rush’s retreating feet across the dance floor.

Not one to be forever on the losing end, Rush resists Heidi’s advances by tightening his grip on her ribs. He, with the single, powerful motion of a single step, changes the rhythm of their entire dance by moving forward with his left foot and sweeping her off her feet.

The action surprised Heidi, but she was enjoying herself nonetheless.

Upon being placed back on solid footing, Rush and Heidi dip dramatically forward, the pair having a front-row seat to each other’s eyes. Rush, being the first to break eye contact—mostly due to him wanting to hide his own blush—notices the conductor signaling the Da Capo al Coda—the final repeat. After lifting Heidi back into a standing position, the two of them stop, toe to toe, and without saying a word, whether it was due to the influence of the niche or of their [unsaid] mutual feelings for each other, Rush, completely taking Heidi by surprise for a second time that evening, dramatically pushes her away as if he were undeserving of dancing with her. Interestingly enough, and as he continued to hold Heidi’s left hand, he timed this overly-dramatic gesture with the last note of the song, reeling her back in for a dramatic finish.

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“Hm, so that’s the girl he oh-so-boldly declared that his hand was waiting for. Very interesting…”

▓

The evening’s festivities, having now finally quieted down, allowed for the audible sound of a clock striking one. When the concluding note of the “Shamar” played, Scent of Love dealers and butlers once-again rearranged the casino floor back to the way it was. As everyone tidied themselves up and gathered their belongings, Rush and Heidi, having stolen the spotlight not too long ago, received an embarrassingly generous standing ovation from everybody inside. As they regain their senses by drinking some much-needed water, offered by Sebas, the male managerial overseer of the butlers and dealers, Rush, being unable to look at Heidi’s face, asks a question.

“H-Hey, Heidi?”

“Yeah…?”

“D-Did you— Uh— God, how do I say this? Ummm…”

“Yes?” She said earnestly.

“Ah, damn it, I just wanted to ask if you—”

BOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

A sudden explosion. The sound of fire alarms. And… smoke.

Smoke suddenly enveloped The Scent of Love.

And the sprinkler system went off not even 5 seconds later.

If it wasn’t obvious: a fire broke out. From where? The kitchen.

What. Did. Those. Idiots. Do!?!?!

Rush and Heidi had thought that at the same time.

Red and Cutie, the two aforementioned idiots, had to have blown their covers. And yet, this actually worked in Rush and Heidi’s favor. It was just about time to get the hell out of here.

Wasting no time, Rush grabs Heidi’s hand and beelines it for the front entrance. Heidi, despite understanding what Rush initially wanted to ask, blushed at his quick wit as he grabbed her hand and ran off, smiling the widest smile she’s ever had that evening.

Meanwhile, Rush, holding a smart-phone with his available left hand, yells at the two “idiots” in question, reprimanding them for their carelessness.

“I hope you two were successful in getting what we came here for… BECAUSE THIS BAD OF A FUCK-UP WILL BE NEXT-TO IMPOSSIBLE TO COVER UP!! NZ SAID TO ‘BE DISCRETE’ YOU FU—”

“We’ll see you guys back at home base! We’ll be taking the long way around so don’t wait up for us~”

“Ohoho, did something nice ha—” Without so much as a second thought, it was Heidi, not Rush, who hung up on Cutie.

“Damn them. Look at this mess…” Rush said angrily as he looked back at the aflame casino.

“The place had it comin. I don’t think NZ would mind. Soooooo~” Heidi’s tone, nonchalantly changing out of nowhere, returned to her playful and teasing tone, “What were you trying to tell me earlier? You don’t usually stutter, so it’s really got me thinking—Whatever could it have been about?”

“Hell if I know…” was all he said, hiding a pout as he looked straight down.

Heidi kept teasing Rush about "it" until they made it back to home base, which consisted of one of NZ’s secret throwaway underground bunkers. Somewhere along the way, Heidi casually kissed Rush on the cheek, effectively shutting him up as they trekked through the empty 2 A.M. Arcadia streets.

End