Work Text:
“Riddle…are you sure this is necessary?”
“Of course it’s necessary! You are expected to attend the celebration, and as Heartslabyul’s Vice Housewarden you’ll likely be asked to dance. It wouldn’t do for you to make a fool of yourself and your dorm. Now come on, we go again.”
Hand in hand, their waltz began anew, shoes clacking audibly against the tile of the courtroom floor as Riddle led. Trey tried to smile. “I know there’s always the possibility, but…I’m just not good at dancing. Compared to some of the highlights at our school, I’ll probably get glossed over.”
Riddle shook his head. “Nonsense. You’re not bad at dancing, you’re simply unpracticed. Take right now for example; when we started, you weren’t able to follow these steps without standing on my foot, but here you are conversing without issue.” He smiled, earnest. “You’ve improved.”
“That’s only because—”
“Spin.”
Trey lifted his arm, guiding Riddle through. “—you’re such a great teacher.” He paused, eyes grazing over Riddle’s form, the way his coat fanned and wafted with every move. His mouth suddenly felt very dry. He resisted the urge to lick his lips. “And a great dance partner, to boot. All of your movements are so elegant and fluid.”
“The product of hard work. My mother went to great lengths to teach me these dances. If I were to try something like, say, the kind of dancing Cater tends to engage in, I’m afraid I’d be terribly awkward and stiff before learning the proper steps.” He huffed a soft, amused breath. The sound almost made Trey miss a step. “If you were to apply yourself to it, I’m confident you could become just as fluid.”
Trey couldn’t help but join in with a chuckle. “I’m not so sure about that—”
Right on cue, he stepped forward when he should’ve gone back and practically kicked Riddle in the ankle. Both of them flinched one after the other, Riddle with a yelped “Ow!” and Trey with a subsequent “I’m so sorry!” They broke apart in an instant.
Sighing heavily, Trey grimaced as he watched Riddle roll up his pant leg to assess the damage, and ran his fingers up into his hair. “Ugh, this was a bad idea,” he muttered under his breath. His frown deepened when Riddle pulled the sock back to reveal a red mark left behind, stomach swooping.
Riddle waving it off so nonchalantly, a mere cluck of the tongue at the sight, only made it worse. He almost wished he were angry instead. “It’s fine. Accidents happen. But we’ll need to put more focus on that part especially. I can’t have you punting me like that at the celebration.”
“Do you want me to get some frozen peas or—” Riddle’s words sunk in. Had he not been so distracted, he might’ve turned red from the sound that escaped him just then. “Wait. ‘Punting you?’ You intend on dancing with me at the celebration?”
“I do.” An eyebrow rose. “Is that a problem?”
He ended up turning red anyway at the thought. “N-no, I just…wasn’t expecting that. I thought you were teaching me this on the off chance some guest asks.”
“And I am. But I also intended on requesting a dance myself.” His eyes darted away, then fell back to the bruise beginning to bloom on his ankle. “If you’d rather not, then—”
“I’ll do it.” The words escaped before they even crossed his mind, left him floundering and scratching the back of his neck anxiously when Riddle’s head snapped back up to look at him. His cheeks burned darker. “It’s just…kind of embarrassing. Not being seen with you specifically, before you misunderstand! But, um…” His grasp on language as a whole failed him, every word ever known vacating his head all at once.
All the while Riddle watched, adding to the weight. “Is it the crowd that bothers you?” he asked suddenly.
Wishing the floor would open and swallow him up, Trey fought the urge to sink into himself and nodded. “It’s incredible watching you dance, so you’re likely going to garner a lot of attention. Being under that kind of scrutiny makes me really nervous just thinking about it, especially when there’s a direct comparison to someone so stunning. So I’m bound to make a complete buffoon of myself.”
“True, you’ve never enjoyed having the spotlight on you, even if you deserve it more often than not.” Humming, Riddle set his pant leg and sock back in place and stood up. “Very well, I shall take that into account and be sure to find an opportunity when we’re less likely to be observed. Now then,” he held his hands out for Trey to take, “once more.”
Trey hesitated. “Are you sure your leg’s okay?”
“When have some minor bruises ever stopped me?” Smirking, Riddle gestured with his fingers in a ‘come on’ motion.
His eyes flickered down to his hands, then back up again, brow pinching anxiously. Then, with a sigh, Trey managed a smile and slipped his hands into Riddle’s.
With the clack of Riddle's heel, the record player's needle plopped back into place and the song began again. “If you're amenable to it, then perhaps I could teach you how to sing next,” he said completely out of nowhere two steps in.
The abrupt suggestion caught him so off guard he really did stumble that time. It took Trey a couple seconds of fumbling to get his footing back in order. “Not for this event, I hope.”
“No, no! I wouldn't impose such a thing on you without ample warning unless it were an emergency. But sometime in the future.”
Trey shrugged. “I don't really see the point. I mean, you've heard my singing.”
“That I have. I've also seen your dancing prior to these lessons, which is why I'm confident you'd be able to learn.” Riddle lifted one finger from their hold to point at him. “I know you're not tone deaf, Trey.”
He bobbed his head from side to side, mulling it over. Singing wasn't really his thing, far from it, but if it meant he could hear Riddle’s voice then… “I'll think on it.”
Riddle smiled wide. He hadn't said yes, but they both knew he might as well have. He'd felt the same way about dancing, yet for all of his anxieties and embarrassing flubs, he found himself getting lost in it as they fell into step. Maybe he'd come to enjoy singing in the same manner.
To Trey's credit, he lasted an entire hour longer than he anticipated before ducking behind the refreshments table. It wasn't really a necessary move—all of the attention had funneled elsewhere—but he'd still caught a glance or two being thrown his way from some of their visitors, and he figured it was better to be safe than sorry. Other than that, the night had been going rather smoothly. Just a little bit longer, and he'd have survived without making an utter fool of himself.
Gazing out at the dance floor from the comfort of his plate of finger sandwiches, he caught a flash of vibrant red amongst the twirling pairs. Riddle appeared wholly in his element as he danced with a girl about his sister's age, one who'd seemingly had a bit of experience with waltzing but was still clearly quite a novice. She stumbled, and he caught her easily, ever the perfect gentleman. Another spin and he'd transitioned into dancing with another boy, one Trey couldn't recognize from NRC, and figured he must've also been a guest.
He wasn't jealous of them, contrary to what some might've assumed; in fact, Trey was soothed by the sight of Riddle enjoying himself so thoroughly. He'd been so wound up in the days leading up to the celebration, it was nice to see him relax again. There hadn't been much of a chance until then, the last time being…
Well, when he was in the midst of teaching Trey how to waltz.
No sooner than the thought crossed his mind did the dancing conclude, and after saying farewell to his final partner, Riddle approached. With a sigh he fished out a handkerchief to wipe away the sweat beading on his brow. “I was beginning to wonder if that song would ever end.”
“That one went on for a while, yeah.” Setting aside his now-empty plate, Trey reached over to pour a cup of water for him.
“Thank you,” Riddle breathed, and downed the entire thing in one long, grateful sip before asking, “Have you been enjoying yourself?”
“It's been better than I expected, I'll admit.”
“Has anyone asked you to dance yet?”
He shook his head. “Nope, and from what I've seen I'm not the only one. Pretty sure they're all way too focused on Malleus to even think about asking the vices.”
Riddle’s brow pinched, and he cast his gaze off towards the doors where the crowd had promptly fled through in pursuit of the crown prince of Briar Valley. “That's to be expected, I suppose. Still, it's unfortunate to think our efforts might've gone to waste.”
“They haven't gone to waste, though.” He waited for Riddle to look back at him to smile. “You were going to dance with me, remember?”
In an instant his expression brightened. Trey's heart flipped. “Of course I didn't forget. In fact…” Riddle scanned the room. “There's only a handful of people left. Now would be an opportune time.” He turned just enough to peer from the corner of his eye. “If you're open to it.”
Trey gave the room a quick once-over of his own, counting heads as he went. Didn't even reach double digits. “If you're not too worn out, then I think I am.” Despite the giddy spark in his chest, he still had to breathe deeply and steady himself when Riddle took his hand and led him to the middle of the room.
Riddle gestured to the musicians at the far end of the room, and a new song began. They barely said a word. There was no need, save for Riddle’s quietly murmured “Spin” and “Swap” commands from time to time, extra reminders that Trey very much appreciated in the moment. The disquieting sensation of being observed melted away as Riddle pressed his body close; the only eyes he cared for were the silver ones gazing up at him so beautifully. Trey had half a mind to kiss him. Might've gone for it too, had they not been in public.
As their waltz neared its end, emboldened by the atmosphere between them, Trey brought his hand around Riddle’s back and dipped him low. Lower than he'd meant to, really, but to his surprise Riddle took it in stride and without complaint. He did, however, receive one heck of a raised brow for that. Trey shrugged, grinning. He'd have to find out how much trouble he was in for that later. Rising back up, they parted and bowed to each other as the song played its final note, only daring to lift their heads and exchange smiles when met with quiet.
Or, well, they expected quiet. What they found instead was thunderous applause.
Startling to the point of nearly toppling over and colliding head-first, they whipped around to face the doors where the previously-departed crowd had rapidly filled back in, with one Malleus Draconia at the helm. “Bravo Rosehearts, Clover,” he called over the roar, “a marvelous display.”
Once he'd recovered from the shock, Riddle cast a brief glance at Trey, cheeks pink, before taking Trey's hand in his own and bowing again towards the crowd. Trey didn't follow. Not right away. He was too stricken with the whiplash of the situation to realize, and once he eventually did his bow was hurried and clumsy. He was beginning to grow lightheaded.
“Take pride in yourself, you performed wonderfully,” Riddle said loud enough for only Trey to hear. “I'd be honored to take you as a dance partner any time.” Perhaps he noticed his mounting distress though, as rather than continue to heap on praise, he squeezed Trey's hand and released it, a signal that he was free to go.
With Riddle soaking up the attention, as was his wont, Trey took the opportunity granted and excused himself from the room entirely. Once alone in the hallway he heaved a massive sigh and dropped his back to the wall, head just barely missing one of the framed landscape portraits. A high pitched, anxious laugh escaped him as he caught his breath, lifting his glasses off to swipe a hand across his face. Never again, he was never doing that again.
But then his mind drifted back to those silver eyes watching him as they danced. The pleasant smile on Riddle's lips. The arch of his brow upon being dipped.
Well, maybe he could make an exception, provided they were well and truly alone next time.