It was yet another day like the rest, you running late for your ballet lessons for the umpteenth time in the past month. You couldn't help, having been bombarded with endless assignments by your college, you rarely found time to sleep properly. Even the consumption of large amounts of caffeine didn't seem to be of any help. The large pile of assignments was, of course, due to your inadequacy in keeping up with said assignments.
You always postpone them until the very last minute, and now here you are barely staying conscious mind wandering to your precious bed sheets. Your desire increased more so if you took into account that you were in the middle of winter, where you wanted nothing more than to sleep snuggly under your thick sheets blanket as the heater emitted warmth your way giving you the sense of absolute paradise.
But alas, life couldn't two cents about your need for comfort, cold wind striking your face as your scarf was on the verge of flying away as you questioned your life choices up to now. Seeing the building in your line of sight you almost sighed in relief, you would be only three minutes late instead of twenty like last time, but as soon as your worries were about to be washed away a figure emerged from behind a wall. Eyes widen and mouth agape you failed to stop in time fully crashing into the person.
From an outsider's perspective, the way you both crushed into one another would have been comical if it weren't for the fact you both fell to the ground with you on top of the person's head above their firm chest. Groans and moans rushed from you two as you slowly lifted yourself offering your hand to the person as the other held to your head.
''A-ah, I'm really sorry about that...'' you apologized regaining your composure as you opened your eyes and gazed at the person in front of you.
Your eyes locked with their appearance, and your breath got caught in your throat. You couldn't help but stare shamelessly at the person who readjusted themselves, absolutely enamored by their beauty.
The way their once styled hair short dark hair swayed in the wind as their cheeks flushed by the cold temperature, or perhaps the aura they exhibited was what astonished you the most, you couldn't figure out what exuded such strong emotion out of you.
''...'Tis alright, it vas mein fault for not paying attention'' They spoke in a somewhat thick Austrian accent which had you melting, they glanced at you now fully recovered by the whole impact. ''Are you alright?'' They asked in concern before noticing their disheveled hair in front of their face.
Huffing they groaned at the fact that their hour-long preparations were ruined. You blinked at their question finally coming to your senses. ''Y-yes! I'm sorry once again, I should have been more careful!'' you begged for forgiveness embarrassed by the whole situation.
''I-'' Before the man in front of you could even form his sentence you gasped immediately remembering where you were supposed to be and as much as would want to keep talking to this handsome guy, you had somewhere else to be. You didn't wish to anger your teacher any more than you might have already had, so without much thought, you left the man alone.
The man stunned by the sudden change of course looked back at your running form unsure what could have caused this reaction, since before leaving you didn't seem burdened with time. Whatever the case may be, Roderich, dismissed the whole ordeal seeing as he was already late due to his, unfortunately, lack of any coordination skills, he knew he had to hurry to his destination.
You arrived, much to your astonishment, your instructor wasn't here yet, which means you are in the clear. About to let a breath of ease, however, your short-lived moment was cut when the older instructor spoke from right behind you in a strict tone.
''Late once again, L/c...do you even care for the arts of dance or are you here to waste my time?'' You gasped at the sudden appearance of their voice and turned around a hand over your racing heart, they simply stared at you in pure disappointment with their arms crossed.
Realizing, you are highly unlikely to get out of this one you didn't even give up a fight knowing it would be futile in the end. Hurrying to the rest of the girls waiting impatiently for the lesson to start, you situated yourself next to one of the girls you can proudly say is your friend. With one hand hovering over the barre, you straightened your posture all while your muscles were slightly aching from running before arriving.
You cursed your incompetence.
The teacher was about to go on with their daily yelling, you mean, lecture which would take most of your time but was interrupted by the sound of someone huffing behind her. The person held onto the frame of the door and bent over trying to catch their breath before realizing the countless eyes on them, quickly they composed themselves and fixed any traces of exhaustion.
You take this opportunity to sneak a whisper to your friend cursing the teacher for having out on you every chance she got, mind you she had every right to, however, you still didn't think you deserved to be the reason your lessons ended later.
Speaking of said teacher they cleared their throat and gestured to the gentleman who now stood beside them. ''Ladies, before we begin, after being delayed once again by...Ms. L/n'' You huffed at the name-calling. ''I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Roderich Edelstein, one of the most noteworthy and well-versed men in the arts of not only music but a variety of other things, he will be providing us with his pieces for the upcoming performance. Please treat him with respect''
The entirety of the room was filled with girls stunned by the news, many if not all fawning over the man. Your attention was also drawn to him and as if he read your thoughts his eyes slowly crept into yours, both staring at each other. An embarrassed blush formed on your cheeks as you averted your eyes from the man. Although, stealing another glance his way you couldn't help but feel as though something was missing on his face.
''Now, now, ladies please compose yourselves and let us begin our lesson without further disturbances''
Everyone got into their positions as the Austrian man sat comfortably on the piano chair. Though he seemed slightly nervous, his eyes narrowed as if he held a personal grudge against the piano keys, he gulped struggling to keep himself collected. You found that rather strange.
Of course, your eyes shouldn't be focused on him, but can you blame yourself? The moment you saw him it felt like a flame had ignited within you.
The sound of the piano keys loomed as your teacher's voice hit the walls loudly. Although the graceful notes were occasionally disturbed by the wrong ones, you grimaced when the man unintentionally placed his finger on the wrong note. It continued like that for about a few minutes before Roderich stopped altogether aware of his mistakes.
''I-I'm sorry...it seems I've lost mein glasses which prompt me to make these childish mistakes'' Although there was no need for him to apologize he made sure to do so prompting the teacher to immediately shut them down.
''It is alright! We completely understand you mustn't apologize!'' It appears as though your lovely teacher has also fallen into the man's charms.
Your eyes immediately widened at the information. Now that you think about it when you and Roderich both crashed into each other you spotted something in the corner of your eyes, his glasses.
''I'm sure a break will suffice!'' The man, however, didn't seem pleased ''Nein, please you've only just begun it would be bad if you stopped on account of me!''
''Nonsense!'' Who knew your merciless instructor would be easily tamed?
And just like that you were all free until told otherwise, you took this opportunity to leave excusing yourself with a pitiful lie such as the bathroom. Quickly grabbing your jacket you went to the location where you first met with the man.
You knew you wouldn't benefit from going out in the cold in your thin layers of clothing and only a jacket to keep you warm, but you felt the sudden urge to do so, albeit you soon found to regret the decision once struck with the cold wind to the face.
Searching around the area you managed to spot the spectacles lying on the ground, crouching down upon further examination it turns out they had gotten damaged. You contemplated as you held onto them. Should you be doing this for a stranger? You suppose it wouldn't be harmful, so with that, you got back on your feet and ran back in the hopes you hadn't wasted too much time searching for them.
Entering the practice room as if you hadn't previously run outside in the cold you took position beside your friend and smiled at her. Glancing over at the Austrian man you decided it would be best to give him back his glasses after class.
The lesson soon came to an end with the piano left alone as the man was told that he could simply watch until he could find his once abandoned possession. The room had been left empty by now, you bid your friend goodbye and went to retrieve his glasses and give them back to him before it was too late and late were you. You came back only to see not a single person in sight.
Tomorrow it is then!
The next day, although another hectic day full of strenuous lessons and late-night assignments you made the best decision in your life, to skip a lesson to arrive early for once. You burst in without a second thought in fear of arriving late only to come to the realization you were, in fact, extremely early. Not a soul in the vicinity.
Approaching the middle of the room, with nothing left to do until the rest of the girls made their appearance you thought it would be a good opportunity to practice for the upcoming play. Getting in the starting position, you hummed the melody of one of the scenes. Body gliding graciously, movements in sync with the melody, the world around you seemed to have stopped as you danced to your heart's content.
So far into your act, you failed to notice the figure standing at the door whose gaze followed your movement, utterly captivated by every gesture. They opened their mouth about to speak when they quickly decided against it leaving you to your fantasy. They approached the piano silently and inhaled listening in on the tune of the melody familiarizing themselves with it.
Fingers atop the keys they, although rather hesitantly, played along with your humming in an attempt to replicate the correct sound. Caught off guard, due to the sudden appearance of noise in the room, you opened your eyes which went straight into the direction of the sound. Your breath hitched at the realization that Roderich was feeding into your act.
You supposed it would be awkward if you merely stopped and allowed yourself to be embarrassed by the whole situation, you continued to dance until the very end. The sound slowly faded as you ended with an elegant pose. Turning towards him you bowed in hopes of lightening the situation.
Clapping filled your ears, lifting yourself you stared at the man who stood tall beside the piano applauding your performance as if it were the best thing in the world. Heat emerged in your cheeks as you smiled at him.
''Wunderbar Derbietung!'' he exchanged with a small yet warm smile. As if his voice was an alarm to wake you, you without a word ran out to find your bag and grab the spectacles.
''I found your glasses...although they're a little damaged'' You chuckled nervously as you boldly placed the glasses on his face.
Not expecting any of this the man stood there slightly frozen in place his cheeks flushed, he took the glasses off his face and examined them in an attempt to not only avoid your gaze but to also calm down.
''Das ist alright, Fraulein'' He sheepishly said as he tucked his spectacles inside his jacket.
''Y/n, you can call me Y/n, sir Roderich'' You smiled up at the tall man, who couldn't help but become slightly bashful with the interaction not used to such an exchange of kind words.
''A-ah, then please call me just Roderich'' He looked away. You found the way he's acting adorable, although he appeared strict-looking yesterday, you could tell he had a sweet interior behind the uptight exterior he portrays.
''I look forward to dancing to your composition, Roderich''
''M-me too-I-I mean I'm looking forward to seeing you...'' He said until his eyes widened at the realization of what he said. ''Dancing! I meant dancing!'' Your giggling didn't help his already embarrassed state.
The whole time during the lesson, Roderich couldn't help but have his gaze fixated on you as you listened to the teacher's instructions without fail. You were concentrated, movements were fluently followed without any mistakes. Even if he wanted to deny it, he couldn't simply brush past the fact that the moment you both had stumbled on each other, he couldn't stop thinking about you.
It was odd indeed, he had never felt himself this vulnerable to the point of blushing while talking. Once you spoke to him he could feel his chest hurt as his stomach filled with, what people call, butterflies. Of course, at first, upon the slight realization of the meaning of his symptoms, he was quick to dismiss them.
However, you soon began arriving an hour early to dance hoping to see him again and each time he did stumble on you he was immediately drawn to your aura to the piano, his music guiding you. Each time you regarded him with such respect, the way your sharp e/c eyes glimpsed at him. Oh has his heart become weak?
Months had passed since the development of such emotions, you had the time to acquaint yourself with the Austrian man. It was all friendly right until you could feel yourself wishing to be held by him. To be seen dancing only by his eyes. You had boldly attempted numerous times to have a morning coffee with him and each time he would bashfully glance away while declining, so you would bring him coffee. You had hoped that as time had gone on he would notice your subtle gestures of affection.
That he did, he noticed every single one of them, and he just wasn't used to them and didn't know what would be deemed appropriate for a reaction. His heart would melt every single time, not believing that anyone would ever take an interest in a man such as himself, however, whatever you did would affect him each time.
It was the day of the performance. The backstage was in chaos, everyone was overwhelmed feeling the pressure rise as each minute passed. The tension was strong, your mind full of anxious thoughts that clouded your vision. You, despite being deemed an irresponsible student, were given the main role in tonight's play, which didn't help your case of severe anxiety.
Taking a minute to collect your thoughts in a back corner somewhere, your hand clenched into the fabric over your heart, breathing unevenly and heavily. A hand was placed over both of your shoulders as you flinch from the contact eyes immediately locking with perfect violet eyes full of concern.
''I can't do it...'' You spoke nervously glancing at the ground.
Roderich albeit sharing the same nervousness as you placed his palm over your cheeks guiding your face so that you were looking at him. ''I'm sure you'll do just fine, mein Taubchen, you'll be perfect'' He said lovingly, despite his hand shaking.
You didn't understand the foreign word he spoke, however, you greatly appreciated his words of comfort, which you desperately needed to hear, especially from him.
''I-I can't...'' Just a few minutes and the show will begin. In the background, you could hear the instructor looking for you. You had to go.
''I will be cheering you on-'' He was cut off by you. ''I will most likely regret my decision, but if I don't do it now I might actually die on stage-'' You looked up at the man. ''I like you more than you can imagine, I want to dance for you to be with you-ah my time is up, but I wish for you to know!'' You hastily and reluctantly placed a quick kiss on his cheek and ran as if your life depended on it towards the stage.
Roderich's face resembled the color of a tomato, he touched the place where you kissed and his heart skipped a beat unsure of what had just happened, he quickly turned his head to call you but you were already gone. His body acted on its own, he ran after you and grabbed your wrist confused and feeling rejected you were about to push him away when he stopped you.
He grabbed your face with his other hand and kissed you. It was somewhat awkward and sloppy due to the circumstances, but you couldn't blame him. He let go of you, his face extremely red from the act he stared into your eyes.
''You've got it'' He whispered so that only you could hear. Your face went aflame but a smile crept into your lips as you hurriedly sprinted into position on stage with a newfound confidence. Roderich went to his position as a conductor and soon the curtains lifted and you began to dance across the stage effortlessly without a hint of doubt in your moves.
Tonight was a night to remember as the only thing on your mind was the kiss and the reciprocation of your feelings.