Though We May Fall {An Aphmau AU}

Aaron's Losing Battle

**Aaron's POV**

      A week later, I was once again walking up the steps to the Phoenix-Fyre Household, but this time with a certain bag swung over my shoulders. I don't care what she says. I'm not letting her give up this easily. I barely heard my knock, the sound becoming so familiar after several days of the same routine. Today though, today I was going to make Aph do something different. And she was going to do it, like it or not.

     "Aph! Aaron's here!" Eric's voice sounded through the door even before he opened it, and I couldn't help but smile. He opened the door a few seconds later, greeting me with enthusiasm that he never seemed to be without. "Aaron! Good to see you son!" I greeted him, stepping inside the foyer and pulling my bag closer to my chest. "Whatcha got there?"

     I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. "I figured that Aphmau needed to get back to dancing. And since we have the whole summer ahead of us, I thought she might want to start getting over her fear now." Eric nodded, mirroring the doubt that I felt deep down.

     "You know that's going to be hard. Whenever her mother or I even bring up dancing again, she just clams up. Even trying to convince her to go to Giselle this weekend has been hard." I sighed, shoving my hands in my pockets as I shrugged.

     "I have to try. She's the most talented dancer I know. I can't just let her throw that away out of fear." Any other thoughts were cancelled as Aph herself came down the stairs, short braids draping over the front of her tank top. The smile she wore so brightly began to fade into a frown as she noticed the bag slung over my shoulder.

     "Aaron," She started, the placating tone almost making me put down the bag and forget about my plans. Almost. I smiled, striding forward and grabbing her arm to pull her back up the steps. "Aaron," She tried again, but she didn't try to pull away. I had to take that as a good sign.

     "Look, I know that dancing scares you now. Trust me, I completely understand. But Aph, you can't just give in this easily. You've been through so much, more than anyone should ever have to. But you have a gift. You're talented and strong and beautiful, and the best dancer I've ever seen. What kind of best friend would I be if I let you throw all of that talent away?" We had reached her door now, and I saw Katelyn lounging on her own bed through the open door. She quickly spotted us, blinking quickly as she tried to understand what we were doing upstairs rather than outside.

     "Umm, what's going-"

     "Aaron's kidnapping me and making me dance." Aph flopped over the end of her bed, groaning and refusing to look at me. I shook my head, and my eyes met Katleyn's. She smiled and gave me a wink before standing up.

     "Well then, I'll leave the two of you alone. And Aaron," she paused at the door, looking me squarely in the eyes, "get her to dance. She won't admit it, but she really does miss it." With that, she shut the door soundly behind her, leaving me alone with Aphmau.

     "I won't do it." I turned back around to see her sitting up on her bed, playing with the end of her braid. "Listen, I've done a barre warmup, and I tried some center work. I just... I can't... I don't move the same. My back's so tight that I can barely get my legs above 90 degrees, and, I'm just, I'm so scared to do anything that will let me fall." She took a deep breath before plowing on. "If I'm constantly scared of doing anything, how can I be graceful or fluid? It just doesn't work, Aaron. I don't, I don't think, I don't know if I'll ever be ready to dance like I used to. I'm sorry," she whispered, ending her speech.

     I didn't know what to say to that. I wanted her to dance, but... maybe pushing her was the wrong approach. Maybe the best thing I could do for her now was be a shoulder to lean on and a hand to hold.

     I sat down on the bed next to her, letting my dance bag slide to the ground. We spent the next few minutes just sitting there, as I thought of the right words to say and Aphmau closed her eyes and breathed.

     "I'm not going to force you to do anything," I began. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her head shift ever so slightly to face me. "If you want to just keep walking and never do any dancing, I'll forget about the whole thing and never mention it again. But," I turned toward her, taking her hands in mine. Her eyes locked on our hands, and I couldn't tell if she couldn't look away or if she couldn't look at me. "If you want to take baby steps, I'll be here the whole time. Here's my plan: we do barre a couple, maybe twice, times a week, just to get you back into shape and more flexible. And, if you want to do center, I'll stand right beside you the whole time in case you need me. Aph, promise me you'll at least give dance a shot again."

     She sighed, pulling her hands out of mine. "Let's go on a walk, shall we?" Aph stood up stiffly, picking up my discarded dance bag to hand it to me. "Come on, let's go."

     Together we left her room, and I couldn't help but feel defeated. Will she never try? Is she just going to let this gift she has die? Irene, help her to see reason.