About damn time, amiright? I smoked a shit ton today for the first time in like forever which is why I was so productive. thank the lord too bc this needed to be updated.
Also in writing this I've realized that I don't know how dancers work? Like how the get jobs and work on things and like what their job actually entails aside from the actual dancing. I tried to do some research but im easily confused by everything so I'm 1000% bullshitting everything on how dancers get jobs and interact and shit. Sorry?
———
Normani took a deep breath before knocking on the closed door in front of her.
It sounded loud in the otherwise empty hallway, amplified by the fact that the only other noise in the building was coming from soft trap music playing from behind the door she was trying to get into.
She heard a few muffled cursing past the beat, along with the sound of the scampering of paws.
"One sec!" A woman's voice called out before the music stopped.
Normani shuffled her feet nervously, thinking over the words she's been practicing all day, prepping for when Nicole, her choreographer, opened the door.
The sound of dog nails on wood got louder and when Normani looked down two tiny white paws were peaking out from under the space in the door.
Before Normani could bend down to play with the excited tiny paws like she wanted, they disappeared and almost as quickly the door was opened.
The redhead's eyes widened slightly in surprise.
"Hey I thought you left," Nicole said, adjusting her grip on the Shih Tzu in her arms that was now squirming even more.
"Not yet. You busy?" Normani asked, forcing her voice to stay calm. She really shouldn't be this nervous, but she couldn't help it.
Nicole chuckled.
"Always," she said, though she stepped back to give Normani space to enter the tiny office. Nicole shut the door behind them and wordlessly handed the wiggly ball of fur over without warning.
Nicole crossed the tiny space easily and unceremoniously threw herself in her office chair, riding with the seat when it went spinning. Normani watched with amusement.
Of every choreographer she's worked with Nicole took the cake for the most fun. The woman's "all good vibes" (her words) attitude made every day enjoyable. And even when she was being hard on them she always followed it up with a good laugh.
Even her office, a clutter of papers and books, was a reflection of her fun-loving nature. There were stuffed animals, (plastic) plants, anime posters, a bowling pin that always has a different story on how it got in the office, a traffic cone Normani's pretty sure is stolen and an entire section of wall tapped over with Yugioh cards.
"So what's up?" the woman said, leaning back against the back of the chair once it stopped spinning. Normani frowned slightly, remembering why she'd come in.
"I have to tell you something and I don't think you're gonna like it," Normani said hesitantly. Nicole frowned
"Uh oh, who's dead?" she asked seriously.
Hopefully not me when you hear what I have to tell you.
"No one, yet. But the group you put me in charge of? It sort of...fell apart," Normani explained. Nicole looked at her obviously confused.
"What do you mean 'fell apart'?"
"I mean too many people dropped out because of personal issues and we can't compete anymore."
The woman threw her head back and groaned out loud.
"Fuck," she said, dragging out the word as she looked up at the ceiling. Normani recoiled further the longer the woman held the sound. Nicole looked up at her and sighed before shrugging and reaching to take the dog, uttering a simple, "oh well."
Normani blinked at her blankly while the woman focused on the dog, unaware of Normani's reaction. Normani's eyes widened even further when the woman asked, "Since you're here you wanna show me that spot you were talking about? I've been craving jerk chicken like a bitch."
Normani's jaw slid open without her notice as she stared at the woman in front of her. She waited for a punchline or catch but as she watched the women get lost in cooing at her dog she realized, none was going to come.
"Wait one fucking minute," Normani said eventually. Nicole looked up from where she'd been readjusting the dog's collar. "'Oh well'? That's it?"
Nicole looked at her confused and shrugged.
"Yeah. I mean it sucks, but so does life," she answered simply as if that explained everything.
"So you're not mad?" Normani asked incredulously.
"Not even. I'm actually pretty impressed you pulled it along this far. Props," Nicole said leaning back in the chair and holding the dog above her head.
"Impressed?" Normani asked. The longer this conversation continued it seemed, the less Normani understood what was happening. Maybe this is what Ally felt like all those times they were up to no good.
She made a note to apologize.
"Yeah, that group was a time bomb. I put it together because we had the dancers and Christina insisted but I wasn't expecting miracles. I couldn't be bothered with that nonsense but I figured if any rookie could do it you could," she explained, once she put the dog down on the floor. Normani folder her arms across her chest.
"You never told me that," she said simply if a bit irritated. Nicole rolled her eyes as if there was some obvious point that Normani wasn't getting.
"Duh, I didn't want you to sabotage yourself with that kind of thinking. I wanted to see how you'd do with them. Consider it a test," Nicole explained. Normani frowned and sighed.
"One I didn't pass," she said mostly to herself. Nicole looked at her confused.
"Are you kidding? Flying colors, Mani. Flying colors," she explained and okay now Normani was back to being confused. Nicole chuckled at the exaggerated facial expression.
"Everyone in that group has slept with at least one other person in the group of the same gender and you're all under twenty-five," Nicole explained. "You of all people should know: gay drama is messy drama. Always. Especially at that age. You kept that together longer than I probably would. You did your best but some things just aren't meant to be."
Normani looked away a bit embarrassed. Nicole never asked for her side of the Camila incident (another reason she liked working here so much), which she was sure was what Nicole was referring to. Not like Nicole didn't already know. Anyone who googled her name, or Camila's, could find out. Having it brought up still wasn't something she was super proud of.
Normani rolled her eyes as she thought about everything Nicole said.
How very Nicole to stick her in on a sinking ship just to see how well she could swim. Honestly, she should have seen this coming from her.
"Okay, fine. I guess," Normani conceded, leaning back against the door. If Nicole wasn't mad she had no reason to drag it out really.
When the fluffy pup came back to her, after realizing his owner wasn't going to give him the level of attention he wanted, and she picked him up off the floor. She held the excited ball of fur in her arms, avoiding the tongue that was dead set on finding out what her foundation tasted like.
"Whoa wait excuse you?" Normani said as she held the dog at arms, catching Nicole's attention, "Since when am I a rookie?"
Nicole chuckled.
"Since always. You're like eighteen," she said with a smirk.
"Twenty-two," Normani corrected. Nicole waved her off.
"Tomato, potato. Get back to me when the number starts with three. Now, are you taking me to get this chicken or not? I'm starving," Nicole asked as she stood from her chair. Normani simply shook her head and rolled her eyes.
———
She walked into the apartment almost an hour later.
"Mani!" She was met with immediately. Normani looked to where Lauren was smiling at her over the back of the couch and smiled back.
"Hey you," she greeted as she slipped off her shoes. The acknowledgment seemed to make Lauren even happier because the smile intensified.
"Whatchin' Lions," Lauren announced as Normani approached.
"Really?" Normani asked, putting more enthusiasm into her words than necessary. As she stepped closed she could spot Dinah laying on the same couch and chuckled at the blonde scrolling through her phone with a grimace on her face. The expression probably had to do with Lauren's knees which were using her crotch and stomach for perch.
Lauren nodded frantically and Normani couldn't help but smile. Without her (always impossibly perfect) makeup and with her hair pulled back Lauren always gained a level of innocence that was amplified by her childish behavior.
It was cute. Adorable actually.
And somehow it managed to consume her with the urge to simultaneously whisk Lauren away and protect her from anything that could hurt her, and scream because damn if she wasn't a little jealous.
She glanced at the kitchen where the sounds of someone, Ally, rummaging through cabinets could be heard. A small smile tugged at her lips as she thought, for once she kind of doesn't need to be jealous.
The smile brightened when Lauren reached out for her, pulling her into a hug over the back of the couch and burying herself in Normani's shirt.
As she returned the hug, squeezing the girl to her tightly, Normani glanced at the TV. It must have been paused when she came in because it was stuck on a screen between shots that was nothing more than green lines.
"The Lion King or the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe?" Normani asked Dinah who looked up from her phone and toward the screen she seemed to have forgotten she'd been watching. Lauren looked up too from her hiding spot in Normani's cleavage and Normani pulled Lauren's face into her hands pinching her cheeks playfully.
"Discovery Channel on Demand," Dinah answered as if it pained her, which considering how Lauren was still using her body as a spot to kneel on, it might. "Lauren found a four-hour documentary series on 'the lives of lions in Africa'."
With both her words and her face Dinah was barely able to hide the disdain for this new facet of Lauren's Lion fixation. Normani couldn't blame her. The Lion King, Lion King 1 1/2, Lion King 2, The Lion Guard, Madagascar, The Chronicles of Narnia and countless hours of nameless Lion documentaries had them all a bit lion sick.
Dinah looked at Lauren, who was still watching Normani with a smile, and then back at Normani.
Normani could practically hear the gears in her mind moving.
"You know you could come watch—"
"I have to go put this is the fridge. Have fun," Normani said quickly, bopping Lauren's nose as she made her escape into the sanctuary of the kitchen. There was a slight groan, for the fact that she had to finish the documentary or because Lauren was shifting around on top of her Normani will never know, before the sound of the documentary's narrator resumed.
"Hey, you're back late," Ally greeted her as she entered the kitchen.
"Nicole was last to class, again. As if she doesn't live ten minutes away," she said as she made her way to the fridge to place the to-go container she'd been keeping in her bag on a shelf. "Plus I stayed after to tell her about the thing with my dancers."
"How did that go?" Ally asked, turning away from the stove to give Normani her undivided attention.
"Good. Actually more than good. Nicole kind of just said she didn't care."
"Really?" Ally asked, and Normani nodded. Ally nodded thoughtfully before adding, "And that's a good thing right?"
Normani nodded, leaning back against the now-closed fridge.
"Yeah, it is. She said she was disappointed in the group members but proud of me for keeping it together for as long as I did. Especially after I told her what happened with Beca and then with Troye. It's weird but moral of the story, I don't have to worry about it," Normani said and Ally nodded, satisfied before turning back to the stove briefly.
"Well I'm happy for you. That group was stressing you out too much," Ally said over her shoulder and Normani nodded. She shuffled on her feet looking down at her socks against the kitchen floor.
"I actually feel kind of ridiculous for getting so worked up over it honestly," Normani added quietly after a beat. Ally stopped and turned to Normani, her face shifting from confusion to sympathy.
Ally placed her hand on Normani's arm, pulling the woman's attention to her.
"Just because it ended well doesn't mean you didn't have the right to be upset it was happening. What you felt is still valid," Ally said seriously. Normani smiled softly and Ally smiled back before having to turn back to what she was making.
After taking a moment, Normani looked over Ally's shoulder at what was cooking.
"What are you making?"
"Mac and cheese. Lauren's been begging for it all week," Ally explained. Suddenly, a head popped up over the back of the couch as if summoned by Ally's words.
"Mac and Cheese?" Lauren asked looking at Ally hopefully.
"Yes, baby its coming" Ally said. Lauren nodded before settling back into her seat. Ally chucked, shaking her head fondly, "Dinah and I are having the leftovers from last night though. It's up to you which one you want."
Normani opened her mouth to answer but paused. Mac and Cheese was one of Lauren's go-to meals when she felt little. They all knew the copious amounts of Kraft boxes were only there for Lauren.
The question really shouldn't be this hard but something in Normani's gut told her Ally wasn't really asking her about what food she was craving. From the look Ally shot her over her shoulder she had a feeling it was more about which side of the table she was eating on, the adult side of the little side.
Normani thought about it for a moment.
"I already ate actually," Normani answered eventually. Ally glances at her before smiling with a brief nod. Before the woman could turn away Normani added, "But maybe—"
She cut herself off, losing her nerve before glancing at the always reassuring smile on Ally's face. She took a breath.
"Maybe me and you could cuddle after dinner?" she asked.
She knows, in the intellectual logical region of her brain that she had no reason to be as nervous as she was. She's cuddled with Ally a million times before. And even though it might be a little different now, a shift in their relationship that made cuddling less (or maybe more?) innocent, Ally had said she wanted this if that's what Normani wanted. She really had nothing to worry about. And yet she held her breath as she waited for Ally to respond.
"That sounds like a great idea," Ally said, the every present smile on her face widening and Normani signed in relief. "Do you want to pick the movie too?"
"Would that be okay?" Normani asked slowly, glancing quickly to the living room, "Lauren always picks when she's little."
Ally chuckled and pat her arm reassuringly.
"Lauren will live without watching something with lions in it for one night. I think we could all use a little break actually," she said close to a whisper, most likely to prevent the little one in the other room from hearing.
Normani nodded and the two turned back to simple conversation before Ally summoned the other two to eat. Since Normani had eaten with Nicole she chose to take a shower while the others finished their meal.
When she was done stood in her room, wrapped in a towel, staring at the arrangement of pajamas in front of her. She ignored the frillier sexier side of the selection and focused on the, smaller, selection of plain pajamas she never really got the chance to wear.
She picked up a light purple oversized sweater that she stole from Lauren, who she's pretty sure stole it from Ally, who she knows stole it from Dinah.
She's not sure where Dinah got it from but the thing is huge. Normani was practically swimming in it. The sleeves fall well past her hands and the bottom ends off midway down her thigh.
She grabs a pair of boxers next with cute little monkeys on them and after looking over herself in the mirror she smiled. She rarely ever wore anything other than nothing to bed but she honestly liked the outfit. The boxers were loose and made of a fabric that felt so fucking soft every time she touched it and the sweater was comfier than she ever remembers it being in the past. And both of them made her look...small.
They made her feel kind of small too.
She smiled again.
Glancing at the closet she briefly entertained the thought of pulling the box down and taking Olly out to come watch the movie with them. Her smile slowly fell as she thought about it.
She only used him when she was feeling super little. And, although the clothes made her feel small, she wasn't sure she loved the idea of broadcasting her little-ness to the whole apartment. Ally and Dinah knew it was a little comfort and Lauren wouldn't take too long to figure it out, she's sure, and having everyone know about this part of her she didn't even really know about made her feel that tightness in her chest she hated.
So she decided against taking him out, even if it would be nice to have him, and walked out of the room.
Scrolling through the menu on Netflix, Ally sat in the middle of the living room couch, wrapped in one of the throw blankets they usually kept over the back of the couch. Hearing her enter Ally looked up, her face immediately melting into something softer.
"You look so cute," she cooed. Normani froze, a sudden wave of embarrassment washing trough her. That voice was usually reserved for babies and Lauren and she wasn't sure how she felt about about it being used on her as well.
"Thanks," she answered without looking at the other women.
"Sorry, sorry," Ally apologized quickly realizing the affect her words were having. Normani shrugged it off but didn't move from her spot, awkwardly standing at the end of the couch. Ally faced melting into something softer in understanding. She shifted on the couch before patting the spot beside her, "Come here."
Normani stepped forward suddenly feeling very unsure of herself
After a bit of shifting around they found a comfortable position with Ally laying back against the arm of the couch and Normani cuddled up to her chest.
Ally handed Normani the remote tilting her head toward the TV, signaling for her to pick something.
She was about halfway through the list of options under the Powerful Female Leads category when a pair of legs stepped into her line of vision.
"What are you doing? That's my spot."
Normani looked up at the blonde she hadn't heard enter, Lauren right behind her.
"Why's Mommy an' Mani cuddling? Me 'n Mani a'ways cuddle," Lauren asked looking first to Normani and Ally, then to Dinah in hopes of answer. Before Normani could even think to respond, Ally was doing it for her.
"Tonight you two will have to cuddle with each other," the oldest of the four said firmly.
"But—but," Lauren said sounding heartbroken, "But mama's boobs aren't as nice as Mani's."
Normani's looked at Lauren then Ally and Dinah and back at Lauren, unsure of how to respond. Was she supposed to say thank you...?
"Whao, my boobs are amazing," Dinah said turning to Lauren in disbelief.
"Yeah, but Mani's are better," Lauren whined.
"I'd beg to differ," Dinah argued growing even more defensive.
"Okay that's enough you two," Ally said though it was more directed at Dinah. She directed the her words at Lauren next when she added, "You'll just have to settle for Mama's boobs this time, baby."
"'Settle'?" Dinah asked incredulously. She scoffed before adding under her breath, "I'll show you 'settle'," before grabbing Lauren's hand, perhaps a little harder than necessary and dragging her towards the other couch.
Normani looked up at Ally, grateful she didn't have to explain herself. Ally winked at her when she caught her eye before signaling for the girl to go back to picking a movie.
Normani scrolled through the list going over every kid's movie available. (She tells herself she's only picking a kids movie because she's already seen most of them and she doesn't want to have to pay attention to follow along to something new tonight). (She doesn't really believe herself).
When the screen passes a documentary on wild baby animals (one of which very noticeably being a baby lion) Lauren perks up.
"Lions?" Lauren asked.
"No lions tonight baby," Ally responded quickly but firmly, "Mani's picking the movie she wants."
Lauren huffed.
"This sucks," Lauren muttered, leaning back heavily against Dinah.
Normani continued to scroll not really finding anything of interest. She looked up when she felt Ally pull on her hand.
She looked up at the woman quizzically.
"Don't suck your thumb, it's bad for your teeth," she said and Normani looked at her confused before realizing that, without meaning too she'd pulled her thumb into her mouth. She apologized sheepishly before turning back to the menu.
After a few more minutes she paused on a movie, hovering over it before looking up at Ally again. The woman unfortunately was now preoccupied with her phone and Normani frowned before tugging on her shirt lightly.
Ally looked down at the unsure look on Normani's face and shot her a questioning look.
"Is this one okay?" Normani asked hesitantly. Ally looked up at the screen seeing the girl had chosen The Prince of Egypt as her movie of choice.
"I love this movie," Ally said with a nod and Normani smiled proudly before clicking on her choice and handing the remote off to Ally.
Ally, after dropping the remote and her phone off on the table beside the couch, pulled the trow blanket around the two of them, pulling Normani closer.
It was right at the point where Normani was certain that this time baby Moses couldn't possibly survive the trip down the river that she felt Ally tug at her hand again.
She looked up, this time a little offended the movie was being interrupted at such a critical part. Ally looked at her amused and it was then that Normani realized she had been sucking on her thumb again.
She pouted a little before turning back to the TV, this time without apologizing.
And it was during Moses and Rameses' destructive chase that Dinah, out of the corner of Normani's eye sat up, sat up forcing Lauren up as well.
"What?" Lauren asked at Dinah's sudden move to stand.
"I gotta get up babe I'll be right back," she said trying to wriggle our from under the girl. Lauren groaned loudly as she rolled off the woman, leaving her face first against the couch.
"This sucks," she grumbled into the cushion. Normani wasn't sure she if she should laugh or feel bad.
Eventually she decided to just pay attention to the movie and let Dinah and Ally deal with the beginnings is what she had a feeling would become a temper tantrum if not addressed
A few minutes later Dinah returned and squat in front of Normani blocking her view.
Normani made a sound that definitely wasn't a whine as she tried to look past the head of blonde blocking her view of the screen
"Open," Dinah instructed gently, holding up one of her pacifiers. Normani looked at it, then at Dinah, then at Ally.
"You keep sucking on your thumb," Ally explained, "These are the same as Lauren's right? They're designed to be better for your teeth than thumb sucking."
Normani furrowed her brow. It's not like she meant to suck on her thumb, it just kept happening.
She looked at the pacifier, opening her mouth slightly before closing it and looking up at the woman holding it. Dinah smirked wiggling it in front of Normani's face.
"Oh come on, I know you want it," she sing-songed. Normani continued to look between the pacifier and Dinah without moving. After a while Dinah's confidence faltered so Ally held out her hand for the pacifier. Dinah handed it too her as she stood and Ally held it in her hand where Normani could reach it if she changed her mind later.
Immediately Normani looked up at Ally before tugging on the pacifier in her hand. Ally and Dinah looked at each other, their confusion obvious, before Ally held it out for the girl to take. Normani did and settled back into cuddling with the woman easily.
Dinah shrugged before heading back to Lauren's couch.
The rest of the movie continued without any further interruptions
"Bedtime baby," Dinah announced.
"I don't need a bedtime, I'm big," Lauren said confidently. Dinah cocked and eyebrow at her.
"Are you now?" she asked, obviously in disbelief. Lauren nodded.
"And big girls don't need bed times," Lauren said matter-of-factly. Dinah hummed thoughtfully.
"Then I guess you don't need Nala tonight either," she said. Immediately Lauren's face fell and she held a hand in front of her in offense.
"I'm never that big," she said, looking genuinely fearful of the idea of being without her favorite stuffed animal. Dinah chuckled.
"But then you have to be big enough to not need your pacifiers?" Dinah asked again. Lauren frowned.
"Not that big either," she mumbled. Dinah hummed knowly.
"Sure," the blonde said smugly. She grabbed Lauren's hand as she added, "it's bedtime for you babygirl."
Lauren pouted but stood, knowing inwardly that she probably wasn't going to get away with her little plot. Dinah turned to Ally and Normani on the other couch, facing the latter.
"You too kid, don't think I forgot about you," she said waving the girl over to where's they were standing. Normani pulled the pacifier out.
"I'm fine," Normani responded.
"Yeah, I've heard that one before. Come on," Dinah said with another smug smile, encouraging Normani to stand.
"I don't need a bedtime Dinah," Normani said more firmly, seeming almost irritated by the blonde's insistence.
Dinah's smile fell and she deflated once again. She stood there for a moment in shock at the slight outburst.
"Yeah. Sure. No problem Mani," the blonde responded eventually before slowly turning back to Lauren and leading the girl toward her bedroom. Before heading into the hall Dinah looked back at the darker skinned room mate over her shoulder, watching as she stretched, before shaking off the encounter and walking out.k you
"You should probably head off to bed soon," Ally said once the other two where gone. Normani continued to stretch without answering, a yawn escaping the younger girl as she did so.
"I know," she admitted finally. Ally squinted at the girl at that, thinking back to the hint of attitude Normani had given Dinah for expressing the same thing.
"Are you okay?" Ally asked eventually as Normani stood. Normani looked at her quizzically.
"Yeah, of course," she said obliviously. She opened her mouth before shutting it and looking away sheepishly, "Tonight was really nice actually. I liked it."
Even though that wasn't what Ally meant to ask about she smiled regardless.
"So did I," she admitted. If she was being honest she'd spent most of the movie watching Normani distractedly play with the hem of her shirt as the younger let herself get entranced by the movie.
There were a few times where she had to force herself to pay attention to the movie actually because she knew watching Mani was too cute to not make her coo out loud. Like when Mani would ball up her first and hide behind her when something scary was happening, even though Ally knew she knew how the movie ended. Or the way the girl mumbled the words to almost all the songs into her pacifier, too entranced by the animation to realize she was doing it. Or, her favorite, when Mani had suddenly look at her for no particular reason, smile up from behind soother, and cuddle back into her and sighed contently before turning back to the movie.
Ally wanted to melt just thinking about it.
"Want me to come tuck you in?" Ally offered. She felt a little guilty asking knowing, she was asking more for herself than for Normani. But she was addicted to the sweet little girl her roommate was showing herself to be and she couldn't help it.
"I'm good I think," Normani answered. The girl held the pacifier out for her older roommate unsure of what else to do with it. Ally accepted it wordlessly and after standing awkwardly for a few seconds Normani dismissed herself
Ally watched Normani disappear into bedroom before looking down at the pacifier in her hand. She's almost gotten so caught up in her thoughts as to have forgotten about Normani and Dinah's little exchange. Almost being the key word.
Eventually, when she could come up with no answers, or at least not any that she liked, she got up and headed for Lauren's bedroom to see Dinah's progress on getting their little one to sleep.
A riddle to be solved another night, she supposed.
———
IF YOU'VR NEVER SEEN THE PRINCE OF EGYPT YOU ARE MISSING OUT MY FRIEND LET ME TELL YOU. That movie is a M A S T E R P I E C E. You don't even have to be religious to appreciate how bad moses fucking OWNS this nigga ramses stg. And the soundtrack???
Also the Nicole in this is based on Nicole Kirkland who is a choreographer on YouTube who is truly👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾 pls go enlighten urself if u've never seen her videos bc it will make you at least x15 gayer (you straighties too, go)
Anywayssss, thoughts on the chapter? Mani opening up to Ally? Mani not opening up to Dinah? Lauren's obsession with Mani's boobs? Ally's obsession with little Mani?