Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)

If We've Got Nothing, We've Got Us

Day 12 – Teaching The Other How To Do Something

"Please don't ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognise anywhere."

XxX

'Oh man, don't tell me you're the kind of person who just sits around the whole time at a party.'

Zero raised an eyebrow at Vin's statement, before rolling her eyes. 'I'll sit around if I want to, thanks.'

'C'mon, at least say you'll dance. Everyone dances at weddings.'

'It's not a wedding, moron.'

'Same difference. Come on, dance with me!'

No, it wasn't technically a wedding, though it might as well have been. Trixie's parents had chosen to renew their vows, and because of the high-class lifestyle they led, they also wanted to make a big deal of it. Hence, the reception that followed. Trixie had begged for Vin, Zero and Newton to come, mainly because she didn't want to spend a whole night swamped by people she didn't know, and also because hey, it's a party.

A party, Zero could live with. But this was the sort of occasion where one had to be "gussied up", as Trixie said, and hence she had been subjected to the horrors of curling irons and makeup brushes. Also, since Zero probably hadn't worn a dress since she was six, she was loaned one of Trixie's that was slightly too long in the leg. It was all a bit much, really, but she'd been comfortable enough once she found the buffet table.

'I don't dance,' she told Vin petulantly, folding her arms.

'Is that because you choose not to, or because you can't?'

'Both? I dunno, whatever.'

He tilted his head slightly, a rather odd look on his face. It seemed almost . . . fond, with something else underlying it that she couldn't quite decipher. 'You know,' he said quietly, 'you look so damn beautiful right now, and I think it'd be a real shame if you didn't let me have at least one dance.'

She fidgeted uncomfortably. 'I actually think I'm wearing ten pounds of makeup right now. I feel like a Barbie or something.'

'And while it's different,' he agreed, 'you still look great. Where'd you get the dress?'

She quirked an eyebrow. 'Trixie. What, you actually thought I'd own something this nice?'

'True. But back to my question.' He offered a hand with an affected air, the corner of his mouth pulled up in a grin. 'Will you dance with me?'

She watched him for a moment, chewing her lip as she ran through the pros and cons in her head. Eventually, she was won over by the fact that learning to walk in heels without falling over was probably a useful asset to have. And hey, if it went badly, she could always stab Vin through the foot with one of them. That was definitely a perk.

'Alright,' she said eventually, taking his hand and getting to her feet. 'But I can't walk in a straight line whatsoever. On your own head be it.'

'I'll keep you upright, then,' he replied easily. 'And maybe you can learn to dance while we're at it.'

'I mean it when I say I don't know how. I've never done it before in my life.'

'That's really not an issue,' he said again. 'They taught us at the orphanage.'

Of course Vin would know how to dance – he was the biggest goddamn romantic she had ever met. He loved the idea of flowers and dancing and just being a freaking gentleman. It was a little hard for her to wrap her head around it sometimes, considering she was so crass and rather rough around the edges. Not to mention she literally came off the streets. She was about as feral as a kid could get, and next to Vin . . . well, sometimes it really showed.

He led her to the throng of people in the middle of the room, before coming to a stop and turning to face her. 'First lesson,' he said simply. 'Hands on my shoulders.'

She did that, feeling slightly disgruntled at how he much taller he was than her, even with the heels she had reluctantly worn at Trixie's insistence.

'Now you're gonna step forward on your left, then back again on your right . . .'

Later, she realised that this whole dancing thing really wasn't so bad. Sure, she was so awful that Vin only taught her the most rudimentary form of waltz, which was little more than some sort of backward-forward shuffle, but it was alright. Somehow she found herself staying for more than one song, happy enough to awkwardly fumble around on her lanky legs and roll an ankle or two. She knew she wouldn't have done it with anyone else – really, she wouldn't have even considered dancing with anyone else. Because while Vin could be a bit of a tosser sometimes, he was her tosser, and she found that had a rather substantial effect on her decision-making process. She really didn't mind, because those feelings had been something she'd never really been able to get rid of.

So it was okay. She could let herself have this; keep it while it lasted, however long that would be.

However, she could never really shake the nagging feeling that it wouldn't, and she knew it. It was something she'd come to terms with over time, but it didn't change how she felt about it.

She was snapped from her thoughts as Vin raised an arm to spin her around, and she awkwardly fumbled around on her heels, making them both burst into a fit of laughter.

Whatever might come of it, whatever may happen – right now, this was good. And that was all she needed.

XxX

Chapter Title: "Something I Need", OneRepublic

Quote: "New Year's Day", Taylor Swift