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And I'm back with another fic! It's been awhile, but yeah...it's been a busy time for me ^^;; Nonetheless I'm trying to get back to writing more often, so here's a short little Viktuuri fic for you all :)
Tango Terms
Milonga: Technically a Milonga can refer to a couple of things but for the purpose of the story it's a party/social event where people go to dance tango and socialize.
Leaders: They are responsible for guiding the dancing pair. They decide the dance steps and are responsible for guiding the Follower through the dance floor safely. Their role is to show off their dance partner to the best of their abilities while keeping in mind musicality and spacial awareness.
Followers: While the Leader is in charge of deciding the steps, the Follower is in charge of breathing life into the steps. A Follower must have a good sense of balance and be a good listener. Being a good Follower is a careful balancing act of surrendering trust to the Leader but still maintaining their integrity and artistry as a dancer. They are the ones to execute the flashy leg embellishments and adornments that the tango is best known for.
Milonga Etiquette
1. Dress code: Usually semi-formal or formal wear. The key is to dress to impress. Personal hygiene is also a given since tango dancing usually involves close contact.
2. Leaders must use the cabecco when interested in asking a Follower to dance.
The cabecco is a nonverbal gesture a Leader uses (ex: a tilt of the head, a nod towards the dance floor, a raised eyebrow) and the Follower will then respond yes with a nod or a smile. Or they can decline by not making eye contact and ignoring the gesture. It's considered rude to go up to someone and verbally ask them for a dance.
3."Thank You" is what is usually said when someone wants to stop dancing with their partner for whatever reason. "Thank you" is usually taken as a form of dismissal, not a compliment. Usually someone says "Thank You" after dancing a tanda with their partner.
4. It's common practice to dance a full tanda with a partner. The tanda is a music set (typically 3-5 songs in a set) Dancing multiple tandas with a partner back to back is usually a sign of two people showing romantic interest in each other or they're a couple. The first and last tanda of every Milonga is usually reserved for dancing with your significant other. Or if you're single, to dance with your favorite dance partner or someone you have an romantic interest in.
By most people's standards, it was late. It was well past midnight, but the party was far from winding down. Within the dimly lit dance club, none of the patrons inside showed any signs of turning in for the night.
This was the time to socialize.
This was a time to lose yourself in the arms of a stranger.
This was meant to be a night of enjoyment to be have by everyone.
Well, almost everyone.
Victor had only been at the club for a few hours and, to be honest, he was bored. He had thought coming here would reignite his passion for dance. The competition scene no longer provided him with the challenge and excitement Viktor once felt.
He still loved to dance, but Victor felt stagnant. All he wanted was a partner that made him FEEL something. Sadly, he had yet to find a partner up to his standards. Call him picky all you want, but he wasn't a World Champion for nothing. He had the pick of the litter when it came to asking willing Followers to dance. But as he watched everyone move on the dance floor, no one stuck out to him.
The tango was suppose to be all about passion and spontaneity. Was it so hard to ask for a partner that made him feel both?
As Viktor continued to nurse another drink, he could hear his friend and companion next to him sighed for the umpteenth time. It had been his friend, Chris’ idea to come out to this Milonga. Considering it was to be held at Chris’ club, who was Viktor to refuse?
"Victor how long do you plan to sulk at the bar? I thought you came here to dance?" Chris asked with a put-out expression.
“I danced with you didn’t I?” Victor responded wryly.
“And no one else since then," Chris frowned. "Honestly Victor, brooding is not a good look for you my friend."
"I’m perfectly fine with my vodka tonic and just watching Chris," Victor said with a placating smile.
Chris seemed like he wanted to argue further, but stopped. His gaze seemed fixated at the entrance as he grinned to himself. "Well, look who decided to show up fashionably late," Chris purred gleefully.
“Hm?” Out of curiosity, Victor followed his friend's line of vision. From what he could make out, the newcomer was male and of Asian descent. His attire stood out among the crowd. While wearing all black to a Milonga wasn't all that surprising, his asymmetric half skirt attached to his pants definitely called attention to his lovely, shapely legs. Victor couldn't help but to whistle in appreciation, especially after he saw the 5 inch stiletto comme il faut heels the man was rocking.
It wasn't often Victor got to see a male Follower. The competition scene tended to be quite conservative in their opinions about men being the Lead and women being the Followers. But really he shouldn't have been so surprised. Chris was a progressive, open minded person. If there was anyone who would open their doors to cater to dancers from all walks of life, it would be Chris.
And it appeared Chris seemed well acquainted with this particular individual. "You know him?" Victor asked as he watched the two greet each other with a brief wave.
"One of my dance students," Chris informs him with a salacious wink. "Yuuri is one of my best students if you want to give him a try."
Victor rolled his eyes. "Well someone is certainly not being subtle."
"Fine suit yourself," Chris said with a careless shrug, leaving Victor to his sulk.
He had made a beeline for his aforementioned student to ask him for a dance. Victor had to give it to Chris, he certainly had one of the best cabeceos in the business. Even in a crowded club, his intended partners always knew when Chris was singling them out.
As Victor had predicted, the man named Yuuri had agreed to dance with Chris. Victor knew from personal experience that Chris was an amazing dancer. It was too bad that the two of them both preferred to lead or they would have made great partners.
With Chris in his element, it made Victor wonder if Yuuri was as good as Chris claimed. Within the first few eight counts of their first song, Victor had his answer. Yuuri wasn't amazing.
He was downright breathtaking.
The sensual back and forth between teacher and student, it made Victor wondered how Chris had managed to keep this gem of a dancer hidden from him for so long.
'This is what I was waiting for...' his mind was telling him. This was what he had been missing. It wasn't even their seductive steps that mesmerized him. Oh no. What excited him the most was how Yuuri actively took part in shaping the dance. He wasn't a mindless robot who followed Chris' every command.
He teased.
He questioned.
He was quick to switch gears at a moment's notice.
It made Victor finally want to get off his seat and dance.
All too soon their tanda ended. As Chris left his student, another Leader took his place. A young boy, who couldn't be no more than 16, was now dancing with Yuuri.
The blonde was clearly still a novice. He kept his movements simple and followed the basic formation pattern every new tanguero first learned. But even still, Yuuri's musicality shown through. None of the steps he was doing were overly complicated, but the way his body moved to the music spoke for itself. It was magical. Yuuri just doing a simple side-step made Victor's heart flutter.
One thought was firmly solidifying in his mind. He wasn't just feeling inspired. He was feeling the need to take action.
'I need to dance with him.'
At the start of the next cortina, Victor made sure to position himself within Yuuri's eyesight. Sure enough, the brunette spotted him and smiled shyly in his direction.
Spurred on by Yuuri's receptive body language, Victor nodded his head towards the dance floor. His eyes never left Yuuri's as he watched the man blush before nodding his head in consent.
As Victor took Yuuri's hand to escort him to the dance floor, he felt it. He had felt it as soon as he held the Japanese man in his embrace. The instant chemistry between them. As Viktor moved, Yuuri reacted with a flirty flick of a heel. His body shifted and moved in sync with Victor's with just a subtle shift in weight.
Yuuri responded with the smallest of leads, even surprising Victor when he brushed his leg back into a gancho in-between Victor's legs. The little vixen even went so far as to slowly drag his foot against Victor's thigh before coyly waiting for Victor's next move with his foot crossed over the other in a crusada.
Every movement felt spontaneous, exciting, and Victor had never felt so alive. Before he even knew it, the tanda had quickly come to an end. The music swelled to a close as Yuuri leaned back into a dip, his left leg wrapped around Victor to draw him in close.
The tanda finally came to an end and another cortina began. An upbeat pop song played through the speakers as couples left the dance floor to rest their tired feet or to find a new dance partner.
Victor reluctantly helped Yuuri back up, taking in his face flushed in exertion. 'I think I'm in love.' Victor sighed dreamily to himself. He was just about to ask Yuuri for another dance, when he heard two words he wasn't expecting.
"Thank you," Yuuri murmured as he graced Victor with a stunning smile.
Victor tried his best to return the smile, but inside he was panicking. Thank you? Did Yuuri not feel the same connection Victor had? As much as he wanted to protest, he didn't make a scene. Instead he nodded to his partner and reluctantly escorted him back to his seat.
For the rest of the night, Victor wasn't ashamed to admit he spent it watching Yuuri dance tanda after tanda with other men. He never seemed to dance with the same partner twice.
'But that's a good thing right?' Victor tried to reason. It meant, despite all the competition vying for Yuuri's attention, he still had a chance. Surely Yuuri had felt that same spark like Victor did? Right? Right??
Tango etiquette be damned, Victor was half tempted to forgo being subtle and just directly ask the man for a dance. But he refrained. From what little he knew of Yuuri, he seemed like a reserved individual despite how assertive his dancing was. The last thing Victor wanted to do was scare him off.
He wanted to dance with Yuuri again. And maybe more than that, if Yuuri would let him. Maybe it was the hopeless romantic in Viktor, but surely if they were so compatible as dance partners it would go without saying they'd be compatible in other areas too right? He had to make it clear to Yuuri how much he meant to him. And Viktor knew exactly what to do.
It was a tortuous wait as Viktor watched as Leader after Leader had a turn with the new love of his life. Until finally, it was the moment Victor had been waiting for.
Over the speakers Chris's soft baritone voice filtered through. "Ladies and gentlemen this will be the last tanda of the night. Couples, this is you last chance to take to the dance floor."
As dancers around him started to break off into pairs, Victor made his move to catch Yuuri's attention once again. He was not the only one though. He saw the dark haired man reject a few interested partners. When Yuuri finally made eye contact with Victor, his heart leapt in joy.
He smiled a genuine heart shaped smile as he once again motioned with his head towards the dance floor. A blush appeared on Yuuri's face. Viktor’s confidence only grew as he felt getting the follower’s consent to be an almost guarantee.
It was subtle, but Viktor could make out the slightest dip of Yuuri’s head, his eyes never wavering from breaking contact with Viktor’s.
Despite his calm suave facade, Viktor’s heart was pounding loudly in his ears. With Yuuri now back in his arms, Viktor was more determined as ever to impress the man that had so easily stolen his heart in the span of a few hours.
Dancing with Yuuri felt effortless. He could feel Yuuri’s passion, he could feel the gentle push and pull between the two of them. It was as if they were having a conversation with each other through their bodies.
‘Stay close to me,’ Viktor would call out.
‘Give me a reason to stay,’ would be Yuuri’s quiet response.
By the end of their tanda, both of them were out of breath. Even with the other couples slowly making their way off the dancefloor, the two of them were still in a world of their own. If Viktor had his way, their tanda would never end.
As Yuuri was about to pull away and end their interaction, Viktor panicked and blurted out, “My name is Viktor!”
Yuuri’s eyes widened at the sudden exclamation. Viktor wanted to kick himself in the head for being so tongue-tied. But Yuuri did not seem put off by his blunder and merely chuckled before introducing himself as well. “Yuuri. But I’m sure Chris had already told you that.”
“R-Right…” Viktor chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. Grappling with his nerves and excitement, Viktor decided to take a risk and do something he normally didn’t do at milongas. “I know it’s late, but...would you like to go out to grab a drink before calling it a night?”
It felt like an eternity as he waited for the follower’s response. Yuuri mulled over his proposal before nodding with small smile. “I guess I wouldn’t be opposed. Lead the way.”
Offering an arm, Viktor and Yuuri walked out of Chris’ club together. What should have been just a simple date had stretched on well into the next morning. As one date lead to another and another, the two men danced in and out of each other’s lives. Their lives were full of highs and lows. But if there was one thing Viktor and Yuuri could agree upon, it was that they couldn’t have chosen a more worthy partner to dance through the challenges life threw at them.