The presenter shuffled on stage to thank everyone for coming and the curtains close, leaving Daphne, Tony and Art Class on stage, cut off from the audience.
"So, Daph, kid, whaddaya say?" There's a sparkle in Tony's eyes and he looks at her with a smug smile. Daphne stares at him wide eyed. Tony snorts and pats her shoulder. "Yeah, no need to thank me, I know I'm awesome." Daphne sputters, taking a step towards him.
"Bu-"
"And there's nothing to forgive." He interrupts her. "I also know I'm an asshole." Daphne shakes her head and scoffs with a chuckle.
"Asshole with a heart." Tony looks at her surprised and presses his lips on top of each other. He's used to being showered with compliments, but this one somehow hits differently. Maybe because the heart thing is Pepper's and his gag.
One corner of Tony's mouth curls up and he collects himself, rolling his shoulders and clapping once. He rubs his hands together and looks around the group.
"So, who am I seeing at the gala tonight?" Realization finally hits the other performers backstage that none other than Tony Stark is on their stage. Within reach. They all rush to get to him. His face lights up in feigned surprise and he looks at Daphne.
"Help me!" He mouths as an ambush of students washes over him. Daphne's eyebrows raise as she laughs and moves to take a few steps away from him.
"Sorry, asshole," she mouths back, making him laugh until he realizes there's no way out of this mess.
"Daph, need Happy, stat!" He shouts over the crowd. However, he does give all the teens his undivided attention afterwards.
...
Daphne ignores her old classmates when they call her back on stage as she rushes to the exit of the backstage area towards the foyer. Where the hell would Happy be? She's only met the guy once and that was super brief! Shouldn't he be with Tony at all times?
Daphne pushes to open the door with force, but just when she rushes through, she accidentally runs into someone. She's bounced backwards against the door and she looks up shocked.
"Happy!" she exclaims as she recognizes the man in front of her.
"Where's Tony?" is all he asks. He's slightly bent forward and he's holding out his hands as if he's going to catch a football. It looks rather amusing. Daphne glances back at where she came from.
"On stage," she replies quickly. Happy nods once and pushes past her, leaving her stunned. That happened a little too quickly for her to process.
Just when Daphne's about to walk back to the backstage area, she's stopped by a gentle hand on her shoulder. Daphne jolts and looks back at the person who's touching her. It's a woman. Beautiful. She has a chiseled jawline, black hair and bright blue eyes. She seems familiar.
"Hey," the lady says softly. Her grin gives away her identity. Daphne relaxes and smiles back as Loki's hand leaves her shoulder.
"Hey." Daphne eyes Lady Loki's entire appearance and gestures at her. "Isn't this a little obvious?"
"Perhaps," Lady Loki chuckles. "I have caught your boyfriend staring at me a few times." She leans in with a smirk. "Jealous?"
Daphne scoffs.
"Ha! Funny," she says as she cocks her head. "He could probably smell your Asgardian ass the second you walked into the building." It's Loki's turn to laugh now.
"My 'Asgardian ass' smells very nice, thank you." Daphne rolls her eyes.
"You're unbelievable."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Loki smiles wide. There's a short, pleasant silence.
"So," Daphne says, raising her eyebrows. "Did you enjoy the performance?" Before Loki speaks, Daphne makes a little jump with a grin, and adds: "And don't lie, I know when you do."
"This might have been the longest afternoon of my life, I have to say," Loki scoffs. "Did not care for most of it." Daphne's shoulders droop slightly, so Loki continues quickly, not wanting to make Daphne feel bad. "However, I greatly enjoyed every second you were on stage."
Daphne looks back up at Loki with a soft expression.
"You did?" Loki nods.
"I believe you even did a Firebird, correct?" Daphne nods quickly, her excitement returning to her.
"Yeah!" She says with a bright smile. She cocks her head at Loki. "Though, that was already in the choreography. Don't think I put it in for you!"
"I would not dare," Loki chuckles. "However, there is a slight tingle in my stomach. You're not lying, but you're not saying the truth either." Loki playfully cocks an eyebrow, making Daphne go red.
"Well, I-" She pauses. "I did think about you when I did the Firebird."
"Ah, how sweet," Loki coos. Daphne waves her hand.
"Oh, fuck off," she laughs. Loki wiggles her eyebrows once and gives Daphne a kind smile.
"Thank you." Daphne looks up confused when Loki says that.
"Wha- why?" Lady Loki takes a small step forward and pushes a stray strand of hair from Daphne's half up-do behind Daphne's ear.
"For everything."
"Don't get sappy with me, Loki," she laughs, but it dies down when she sees how serious Loki looks.
"I mean it," she says quietly. "It means a lot to me that you invited me here. To see how beautifully you dance."
"Thank you," Daphne mumbles, unsure of how to reply. She just got a compliment from a 1500-year-old god. How do you respond to that?
"I did not know it is custom to gift a flower to the performer when they're done. I did not bring one." Lady Loki looks at her hands apologetically and fiddles with her fingers. "Is there any other way I can show you how much I enjoyed your dancing?" Daphne smiles and looks Loki in the eyes.
"How about a hug?" She asks.
"That would be nice," Loki admits. Before she knows it, Daphne has already wrapped her arms around her. Loki looks down at the small teen and gently embraces her back. Daphne looks back to the dressing rooms when she lets go of Loki. People have already started getting changed to leave the theater.
"I should probably get going," Daphne mumbles. Loki nods and smiles.
"Probably," she replies. Loki looks in the direction of the foyer, which is now filled with the audience members, and frowns slightly.
"Don't worry about the Avengers," Daphne says. "They won't be coming here. They know they're not allowed back here."
"Just them?"
"No, everyone, actually. Including you." Daphne smirks.
"Well, then I should really be making my leave then." Loki turns to walk away, but Daphne stops her by grabbing her arm.
"Thank you," she says shyly. "For coming."
"The pleasure is mine," Loki replies politely.
"We'll talk some more next month, 'kay?" Daphne bites the inside of her cheek. "There's some stuff I want to discuss." Loki cocks her head at Daphne.
"Oh? What kind of 'stuff'?"
"If I told you, you wouldn't leave." Loki's face contorts for a split second and Daphne could punch herself for being so obvious. Now Loki knows she knows.
"Indulge me," she says rather dark.
"I think it's better if I don't." Loki grabs Daphne's arm. She's still gentle, even though that doesn't match the way she looks right now.
"Liar," she hisses.
"Loki, please." Loki collects herself and lets go of Daphne. Daphne frowns and has to do everything she can not to burst into tears right there. "I want one normal day. Please, Let me have this day. I'll worry about all the other shit tomorrow, okay?" Loki takes a breath and sighs.
"All I want is for you to be safe, Daphne." She sounds pained. Tired. She turns away from the ballerina, letting her shoulders hang. "I will be back soon," she says monotone. Lady Loki walks away, leaving Daphne in the door opening that separates the backstage area and the foyer; between two worlds.
...
Daphne makes her way back to the stage, where Happy has seemingly saved Tony. All the students are in their dressing rooms now.
"Back already?" Tony says sarcastically.
"Sorry," Daphne apologizes as she glances back once. "Got held up."
Daphne and Tony briefly discuss the practical side of merging Art School with Tech School and she thanks him again. She walks Happy and Tony back to the exit of the backstage area and lets them know she's going to get her stuff from her dressing room. Most people have already run out of the backstage area to their families, so it's a little quiet in the back. Daphne's dying to get the pointe shoes off her feet. She leaves the door opened and drops herself on the chair, tugging at the ribbons. She tosses the first shoe away from her and is halfway through untying the next one when there's a knock.
Daphne looks up at the stranger in the doorway. Brown hair, dark eyes, short beard. She feels like she's seen him somewhere before, but she's unsure. The man is holding a few roses and he smiles kindly.
"Can I help you?" She asks as she pulls the second shoe off her foot. His smile grows a little wider before he takes a breath and replies.
"Maybe later." Daphne frowns as she turns in her seat to pick up both her shoes and put them in her bag. What does he mean with that? He clears his throat and cocks his head. "Someone who is very dear to me performed tonight and I brought some extra roses to give to people that stood out to me."
"Oh, that's nice of you," Daphne says sheepishly as she stands up to shuffle around some things on the vanity, not really looking at the man.
"May I come in?" Daphne turns her head to look at him and swiftly decides she doesn't want a stranger in her dressing room.
"Nah, I'm not allowed to let anyone in here, sorry," she says quickly, hoping that'll make him get on with it. She didn't notice the man's face contorting with frustration for a second.
"I'd like to give you one of the roses." His voice is calm, collected. Daphne looks up at him surprised.
"Oh?" She finally makes eye contact and goose bumps spread over her entire body. His eyes draw her in.
Before she realizes what she's doing, she's standing opposite him, taking a rose from him. He presents it in a way she wouldn't touch him as she takes it. She studies the rose from up close. It's already a deep red, yet it's still just a bud. Fresh and new, seemingly ready to grow big and bold.
"Thank you, sir," Daphne says politely. He laughs softly, seeming content somehow.
"You dance beautifully." He scrunches his nose slightly. "Your... stage presence captivates me." The way he emphasized the word 'stage' makes it sound like he didn't want that word to be there. Daphne takes a small step back, creating distance between the two of them.
"A-alright," she replies awkwardly, ready to turn back to her vanity. Something's holding her back, though.
"I hope you never stop dancing," he says, showing his teeth as he smiles. Daphne chuckles softly, indulging him with a conversation.
"I'm not planning to," she laughs sheepishly. "Though, I won't be able to dance professionally forever. Age gets in the way of things." The man scoffs and shakes his head with a grin.
"It always does, doesn't it?"
The man sighs audibly and rolls his shoulders as he re-positions the rest of his flowers in his arms.
"Well, I suppose I should get going now." Daphne looks back up at him from the rose when he says that. She absentmindedly caresses the red bud.
"Y-Yeah, I gotta get changed... So... Yeah-" Daphne presses her lips on top of each other. She should stop talking now. Why is she feeling so weird? Flustered? The man smiles triumphantly and turns away, walking towards the backstage exit.
"May you bloom like that flower one day." His voice echoes through the now nearly empty hallway and Daphne can't help but stare at him. Right before he leaves her line of sight, he turns her head to look her in the eye one more time. "Zephyr." Panic rises in Daphne's chest when his eyes light up. Her breath gets stuck in her throat and her muscles tense. Sorcerer. Before she can act upon her realization, the man waves his hand once, in her general direction and for a split second everything goes white.
Daphne blinks a couple times and stares into the empty hallway. The vinyl flooring is cold under her feet and she shivers as she looks down. She's surprised to see she's gently holding a rose in her hands. It's fresh and new, seemingly ready to grow big and bold. She frowns, experiencing the annoying feeling of a déjà vu. She turns back into the changing room and closes the door behind her. She places the rose on the vanity before she continues packing. Her pointe shoes look dead, so she makes a mental note to order a new batch, as her stock at home is running low. She sneaks glances at the rose a few times while she's moving around the room, wondering where she got it from.