Secret Santa for Mew: Dance With Me
Tuesday, December 24th, 2013 08:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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mindcracklove(I’m posting this from an alt account because I don’t really want to be associated with this fic for reasons, but I figured there could be a few people out there who might enjoy it. Many of you probably already know who this is, which is fine, just don’t tell in the comments ;) Merry Christmas, Mew... and everyone else!)
Kurt never thought he would see the day when Zisteau forgot about him, but here it was. Of course, it was possible that something else was keeping his partner away from him, but Kurt preferred not to let his mind wander in that direction. As much as he tried to stop himself, though, Kurt found his thoughts getting more and more morbid with every location he searched. He had checked every place Zisteau had ever built, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Kurt had even mustered up the courage to ask a few people in town if they knew where he had gotten to, but still no luck. What if he was hurt… or worse?
As a last resort before going into a full-on panic, Kurt had decided to check Vechs’ base for his missing pigman. The two were pretty close friends, so it was not unlikely that Zisteau was over at the map maker’s place doing something reckless and stupid. Kurt admitted grudgingly to himself that he probably should have checked Vechs’ place earlier; the only reason he hadn’t was because the thought of Zisteau forgoing their date to hang out with Vechs made his heart ache with sadness and jealousy. But the feeling of betrayal was nothing compared to how he would feel if it turned out that Z was injured somewhere, so he had to keep looking even if the outcome was unlikely to be in his favor.
Kurt didn’t actually know how to get to Vechs’ secret base… obviously, or else it wouldn’t have been a secret. However, he did know that Vechs had a temporary above ground shack and, if Zisteau was indeed with him, that was where the two would have been. Darkness was beginning to fall as Kurt approached the wooden shack, and a feeling of foreboding crept into his stomach. He stood on Vechs’ doorstep, nervously wringing his hands. The introverted man had a hard enough time talking to people normally, but Vechs was ten times worse. He was not looking forward to attracting the playfully evil attention of Zisteau’s friend. As he tried and failed to muster up the courage to knock, Kurt’s eyes wandered to the right of the front door where he noticed a single window. Maybe it would be easier if I just had a peek through there… Vechs probably doesn’t want me to bother him anyway, and it would only be for a quick look… That was all Kurt needed to convince himself of his idea. After looking around to see if anyone was watching, he side-stepped to the right and, trying to look as casual as he could manage, stole a glance at the scene beyond the window.
The atmosphere inside was cozy, to say the least. The room was small and flooded with the flickering light of a fireplace, making the two living figures in the room cast long shadows over the wooden floor. At first, Kurt had mistaken the two shadows for one, as they had been locked together as though in an embrace. Dreading what he might see, Kurt slowly looked up from the floor of the room to examine the things casting the shadows. It was as he had feared; a tall, burly-looking man with intricate tattoos that resembled a zombie pigman and a short, petit man with green goggles. The two were standing in the middle of the room with no regard for who might have been spying on them. At first, Kurt had thought they were hugging, but from the way their arms were placed and the way they were moving around the room, he guessed that they were dancing. The scene made him feel colder than ever before.
It was like witnessing a train wreck; Kurt knew that he shouldn’t watch but was somehow frozen in place, unable to tear himself away. He looked on in silence as Zisteau and Vechs circled slowly around the center of the room, Zisteau staring at his own feet as though deep in concentration and Vechs gazing intently at his dancing partner. At some point, Zisteau fumbled and stumbled over his own feet, causing Vechs to tip back his head and roar with laughter. The break in monotony snapped Kurt out of his trance. He jerked away from the window and began to run back the way he came, almost tripping in his haste to get away from that scene of betrayal. Eyes damp with salty tears, he ran back to his own cold, empty house.
~~~
It had been over a week since Kurt had found Zisteau dancing with Vechs, and still he hadn’t been brave enough to confront him about it. Of course, Zisteau had noticed something was wrong, and of course not a moment would go by when he wasn’t trying to coax the information out of Kurt. But really, Kurt just wanted to forget that he ever went to Vechs’ place that night. Unfortunately, the image seemed to have been burned on the inside of his eyelids, always there whenever he closed his eyes. He was never happy anymore, always sick with paranoia every time Zisteau was not by his side. It was unhealthy, he knew, to have placed so much trust and importance in one man. Had he been more guarded, he would have never gotten hurt in the first place.
“Did someone hurt you?” Kurt was startled by the voice of the other man behind him. He’d been zoning out, staring at the white walls of Zisteau’s base as the man with the pigman tattoo made coffee for the two of them. He spun around to see his partner holding two cups with a concerned yet determined expression on his face. This was Zisteau’s most recent tactic for getting Kurt to tell him what was wrong… catch him off guard. But Kurt wouldn’t let that happen again. He shook his head deliberately, even though it was a blatant lie. Zisteau let out a frustrated huff, but pushed on stubbornly. “How about Wolfie, is he alright?”
“Wolfie’s fine. Can we just… not talk about it?” Zisteau flicked his hand as though to wave away Kurt’s request.
“Is Vechs making you uncomfortable again? I swear, I told him to stop bothering you, but you know him, he just doesn’t -” Kurt cut him off abruptly, not wanting the conversation to turn to Vechs.
“It’s not Vechs, now just stop asking me!” Now it was Zisteau’s turn to be startled. Kurt never raised his voice, and even that brief outburst left him embarrassed. After getting over the shock of hearing the reserved man shout at him, Zisteau set down his cups, shuffled forward, and wrapped his arms around his partner’s waist. In spite of himself, Kurt leaned into the warm touch. The other man’s voice was a soft whisper in his ear.
“Alright, I’ll stop.” Kurt’s sigh of relief was audible. Zisteau backed away a step with a mischievous grin on his face, a look the Kurt knew all too well. “Hey, I have to ask you something.” Kurt straightened up, hoping this wasn’t something silly. He wasn’t much in the mood for joking around. “Have you heard about that Christmas dance? The one Bdubs is putting on in the Town Hall?” He had heard talk of it but, assuming he wouldn’t have felt like going, hadn’t bothered to ask about the details.
“I’ve heard about it…” Kurt thought he knew what Zisteau was going to suggest next, and was scrambling to think of an answer ahead of time. He did not want to go to the dance, especially if Vechs was going to be there, which he undoubtedly would. But he didn’t want to hurt Zisteau’s feelings either…
“Well, do you want to go with me? I know you don’t like crowds, but it’ll be fun, I promise!” Something about Zisteau’s innocent smile set Kurt off. He replied angrily,
“Why don’t you just go with Vechs, instead?” Immediately regretting what he said, Kurt clasped a hand over his mouth. This was not at all how he’d wanted to confront Zisteau about Vechs. In fact, he hadn’t wanted to confront him at all! What was he thinking?! Zisteau backed away, looking a little hurt and very confused.
“What do you mean? Why would I go with Vechs?” His feigned ignorance only served to make Kurt even angrier with him, but this time he did not verbally lash out. Instead, he thought desperately about how to defuse the situation that he had created, but to no avail.
“You know why… I saw you, with him… dancing. You don’t even like to dance!” Kurt stammered and stared at his feet, hoping beyond hope that this was a dream and he would wake up any moment. His insecurities were forgotten, however, when he heard the sound of someone chuckling. Surprised, he looked up to see Zisteau laughing. “It’s not funny!” Kurt’s renewed anger shut the other man up. Z’s expression turned serious as he held out his hand the the slim man before him.
“Do you trust me?” Kurt stuffed his hands in his pockets stubbornly. What kind of question was that? Of course he trusted Zisteau, but he couldn’t ignore what he had seen.
“Yeah…” Even to himself, Kurt sounded insecure. Zisteau frowned and dropped his outstretched hand, realizing that he had vastly underestimated the seriousness of the situation.
“Well then trust me when I say that it’s nothing. Whatever you’re thinking, you’ve got it wrong.” A tentative smile crossed his face. “Can you do that for me?” Kurt felt like screaming, No! No I can’t!, but he held back, as usual. He could not help but to feel as though he was being taken advantage of, but he was far too weak to stand up to the one person he loved. So, instead of pressing the issue, Kurt nodded half-heartedly and forced a smile onto his face. Zisteau’s grin widened when he saw his partner give in. “Thanks Kurt... you won’t regret this, I promise.”
~~~
In a corner far removed from the party, Kurt raised a glass of scotch to his lips. The party was still young, but already Kurt had managed to subconsciously back himself into a corner in order to avoid the huddled mass of people in the center of the town hall. He wasn’t normally this antisocial at gatherings, but he wasn’t in a very cheery mood today, either. It was probably best that he remove himself from the party as much as possible so as not to bring everyone else down with his presence. It was only because of Zisteau’s incessant pleading that he came to this dance in the first place.
Speaking of Zisteau, Kurt’s date was currently chatting with Bdubs and Generik on the outskirts of a crude, temporary dance floor that Bdubs had put together last-minute. If it was any consolation, at least Zisteau was keeping a fair distance between himself and Vechs, who was on the other side of the hall joking around with Paul. Kurt sipped his scotch again and looked up at the Christmas baubles that decorated the ceiling absent-mindedly. It was strange... after their confrontation, Zisteau hadn’t acted any different that he would have normally. He still visited Vechs as often as he had been, still continued to show affection for Kurt and, most annoying of all, never apologized. Being as passive-aggressive as he was, Kurt hadn’t brought up the issue again.
As he sat in his corner, Kurt observed the people on the dance floor, careful not to make eye contact with any of them. No one was being very serious about their dancing; they were mostly just contorting their bodies in a silly way and then laughing about it with their friends. Guude and Pause, who both already seemed drunk, were causing the most ruckus. It was funny, Kurt had to admit, but he also wished that someone would go up there and do an actual, proper dance. He would have done it himself, if he had someone to dance with and wasn’t so cripplingly shy.
Just when he had finished his drink and was about to go buy another, Kurt noticed Zisteau walking toward him. A new song began playing, different from the previous melodies in that it was slower and more soothing. For no apparent reason, Kurt felt his heart rate increase to a flutter in his chest. With one hand behind his back and the other reaching out to Kurt, Zisteau said with a grin on his face,
“May I have this dance?” Kurt was baffled. He stood there stupidly for a moment, his mouth open slightly.
“But, you don’t like to dance!” Zisteau chuckled softly.
“Maybe I’ve changed my mind.” Seeing Kurt look nervously at the crowd of people on the dance floor, Zisteau added, “We don’t have to go over there, we can dance just fine in the corner if you’d like.” Kurt beamed and nodded, taking Zisteau’s offered hand. With one hand around Kurt’s waist and the other intertwined with his partner’s, Zisteau began to lead him in a perfect waltz. Kurt’s eyes widened, hardly believing what he was seeing.
“But… no offense, but you were horrible at dancing! Where did you learn to…” Zisteau raised his brows as they glided around in their corner, just waiting for Kurt to make the connection. Finally, after giving it a moment of thought, Kurt understood. “OH! Oh…” His eyes wandered over Zisteau’s shoulder to settle on Vechs, who giggled and waved enthusiastically in his direction. Kurt blushed a deep red, embarrassed by the misunderstanding. “Vechs was teaching you how to dance, wasn’t he?”
“There it is!” Zisteau chuckled and spun him around sharply, blocking Vechs from Kurt’s view. “It was supposed to be a surprise for tonight.” Suddenly it all made sense. Zisteau hadn’t betrayed Kurt at all… in fact, he had been trying to do something romantic for him! Kurt felt horrible for having doubted his partner’s intentions and bowed his head in shame, still mindlessly following Zisteau’s flawless lead. They danced in silence for a minute, gliding gracefully around the dusty wooden floor. Eventually, Kurt muttered,
“I’m sorry, I should’ve trusted you.” The song began to wind down, and Zisteau pulled Kurt in closer. The tattooed man took his hand off of Kurt’s waist for a moment to gently lift his chin up, forcing his dancing partner to look into his eyes.
“You did trust me. You stuck around, didn’t you?” Kurt didn’t have the heart to tell him that the only reason he didn’t leave was because he didn’t have the nerve, so instead he just mimicked Zisteau’s infectious smile. As the mellow tune faded to silence, Zisteau stopped dancing and leaned in to brush his lips against Kurt’s in a soft kiss.
Around the pair there erupted an explosion of applause. Startled, Kurt jumped and looked around. He had been so consumed with dancing that he hadn’t noticed when the partygoers had quietly started to congregate around his corner to watch the pair dance. Pause even wolf-whistled, which enticed a laugh from the audience. Kurt blushed and buried his face into Zisteau’s shoulder, glad to have his favorite shield back once again.
Kurt never thought he would see the day when Zisteau forgot about him, but here it was. Of course, it was possible that something else was keeping his partner away from him, but Kurt preferred not to let his mind wander in that direction. As much as he tried to stop himself, though, Kurt found his thoughts getting more and more morbid with every location he searched. He had checked every place Zisteau had ever built, but there was no sign of him anywhere. Kurt had even mustered up the courage to ask a few people in town if they knew where he had gotten to, but still no luck. What if he was hurt… or worse?
As a last resort before going into a full-on panic, Kurt had decided to check Vechs’ base for his missing pigman. The two were pretty close friends, so it was not unlikely that Zisteau was over at the map maker’s place doing something reckless and stupid. Kurt admitted grudgingly to himself that he probably should have checked Vechs’ place earlier; the only reason he hadn’t was because the thought of Zisteau forgoing their date to hang out with Vechs made his heart ache with sadness and jealousy. But the feeling of betrayal was nothing compared to how he would feel if it turned out that Z was injured somewhere, so he had to keep looking even if the outcome was unlikely to be in his favor.
Kurt didn’t actually know how to get to Vechs’ secret base… obviously, or else it wouldn’t have been a secret. However, he did know that Vechs had a temporary above ground shack and, if Zisteau was indeed with him, that was where the two would have been. Darkness was beginning to fall as Kurt approached the wooden shack, and a feeling of foreboding crept into his stomach. He stood on Vechs’ doorstep, nervously wringing his hands. The introverted man had a hard enough time talking to people normally, but Vechs was ten times worse. He was not looking forward to attracting the playfully evil attention of Zisteau’s friend. As he tried and failed to muster up the courage to knock, Kurt’s eyes wandered to the right of the front door where he noticed a single window. Maybe it would be easier if I just had a peek through there… Vechs probably doesn’t want me to bother him anyway, and it would only be for a quick look… That was all Kurt needed to convince himself of his idea. After looking around to see if anyone was watching, he side-stepped to the right and, trying to look as casual as he could manage, stole a glance at the scene beyond the window.
The atmosphere inside was cozy, to say the least. The room was small and flooded with the flickering light of a fireplace, making the two living figures in the room cast long shadows over the wooden floor. At first, Kurt had mistaken the two shadows for one, as they had been locked together as though in an embrace. Dreading what he might see, Kurt slowly looked up from the floor of the room to examine the things casting the shadows. It was as he had feared; a tall, burly-looking man with intricate tattoos that resembled a zombie pigman and a short, petit man with green goggles. The two were standing in the middle of the room with no regard for who might have been spying on them. At first, Kurt had thought they were hugging, but from the way their arms were placed and the way they were moving around the room, he guessed that they were dancing. The scene made him feel colder than ever before.
It was like witnessing a train wreck; Kurt knew that he shouldn’t watch but was somehow frozen in place, unable to tear himself away. He looked on in silence as Zisteau and Vechs circled slowly around the center of the room, Zisteau staring at his own feet as though deep in concentration and Vechs gazing intently at his dancing partner. At some point, Zisteau fumbled and stumbled over his own feet, causing Vechs to tip back his head and roar with laughter. The break in monotony snapped Kurt out of his trance. He jerked away from the window and began to run back the way he came, almost tripping in his haste to get away from that scene of betrayal. Eyes damp with salty tears, he ran back to his own cold, empty house.
~~~
It had been over a week since Kurt had found Zisteau dancing with Vechs, and still he hadn’t been brave enough to confront him about it. Of course, Zisteau had noticed something was wrong, and of course not a moment would go by when he wasn’t trying to coax the information out of Kurt. But really, Kurt just wanted to forget that he ever went to Vechs’ place that night. Unfortunately, the image seemed to have been burned on the inside of his eyelids, always there whenever he closed his eyes. He was never happy anymore, always sick with paranoia every time Zisteau was not by his side. It was unhealthy, he knew, to have placed so much trust and importance in one man. Had he been more guarded, he would have never gotten hurt in the first place.
“Did someone hurt you?” Kurt was startled by the voice of the other man behind him. He’d been zoning out, staring at the white walls of Zisteau’s base as the man with the pigman tattoo made coffee for the two of them. He spun around to see his partner holding two cups with a concerned yet determined expression on his face. This was Zisteau’s most recent tactic for getting Kurt to tell him what was wrong… catch him off guard. But Kurt wouldn’t let that happen again. He shook his head deliberately, even though it was a blatant lie. Zisteau let out a frustrated huff, but pushed on stubbornly. “How about Wolfie, is he alright?”
“Wolfie’s fine. Can we just… not talk about it?” Zisteau flicked his hand as though to wave away Kurt’s request.
“Is Vechs making you uncomfortable again? I swear, I told him to stop bothering you, but you know him, he just doesn’t -” Kurt cut him off abruptly, not wanting the conversation to turn to Vechs.
“It’s not Vechs, now just stop asking me!” Now it was Zisteau’s turn to be startled. Kurt never raised his voice, and even that brief outburst left him embarrassed. After getting over the shock of hearing the reserved man shout at him, Zisteau set down his cups, shuffled forward, and wrapped his arms around his partner’s waist. In spite of himself, Kurt leaned into the warm touch. The other man’s voice was a soft whisper in his ear.
“Alright, I’ll stop.” Kurt’s sigh of relief was audible. Zisteau backed away a step with a mischievous grin on his face, a look the Kurt knew all too well. “Hey, I have to ask you something.” Kurt straightened up, hoping this wasn’t something silly. He wasn’t much in the mood for joking around. “Have you heard about that Christmas dance? The one Bdubs is putting on in the Town Hall?” He had heard talk of it but, assuming he wouldn’t have felt like going, hadn’t bothered to ask about the details.
“I’ve heard about it…” Kurt thought he knew what Zisteau was going to suggest next, and was scrambling to think of an answer ahead of time. He did not want to go to the dance, especially if Vechs was going to be there, which he undoubtedly would. But he didn’t want to hurt Zisteau’s feelings either…
“Well, do you want to go with me? I know you don’t like crowds, but it’ll be fun, I promise!” Something about Zisteau’s innocent smile set Kurt off. He replied angrily,
“Why don’t you just go with Vechs, instead?” Immediately regretting what he said, Kurt clasped a hand over his mouth. This was not at all how he’d wanted to confront Zisteau about Vechs. In fact, he hadn’t wanted to confront him at all! What was he thinking?! Zisteau backed away, looking a little hurt and very confused.
“What do you mean? Why would I go with Vechs?” His feigned ignorance only served to make Kurt even angrier with him, but this time he did not verbally lash out. Instead, he thought desperately about how to defuse the situation that he had created, but to no avail.
“You know why… I saw you, with him… dancing. You don’t even like to dance!” Kurt stammered and stared at his feet, hoping beyond hope that this was a dream and he would wake up any moment. His insecurities were forgotten, however, when he heard the sound of someone chuckling. Surprised, he looked up to see Zisteau laughing. “It’s not funny!” Kurt’s renewed anger shut the other man up. Z’s expression turned serious as he held out his hand the the slim man before him.
“Do you trust me?” Kurt stuffed his hands in his pockets stubbornly. What kind of question was that? Of course he trusted Zisteau, but he couldn’t ignore what he had seen.
“Yeah…” Even to himself, Kurt sounded insecure. Zisteau frowned and dropped his outstretched hand, realizing that he had vastly underestimated the seriousness of the situation.
“Well then trust me when I say that it’s nothing. Whatever you’re thinking, you’ve got it wrong.” A tentative smile crossed his face. “Can you do that for me?” Kurt felt like screaming, No! No I can’t!, but he held back, as usual. He could not help but to feel as though he was being taken advantage of, but he was far too weak to stand up to the one person he loved. So, instead of pressing the issue, Kurt nodded half-heartedly and forced a smile onto his face. Zisteau’s grin widened when he saw his partner give in. “Thanks Kurt... you won’t regret this, I promise.”
~~~
In a corner far removed from the party, Kurt raised a glass of scotch to his lips. The party was still young, but already Kurt had managed to subconsciously back himself into a corner in order to avoid the huddled mass of people in the center of the town hall. He wasn’t normally this antisocial at gatherings, but he wasn’t in a very cheery mood today, either. It was probably best that he remove himself from the party as much as possible so as not to bring everyone else down with his presence. It was only because of Zisteau’s incessant pleading that he came to this dance in the first place.
Speaking of Zisteau, Kurt’s date was currently chatting with Bdubs and Generik on the outskirts of a crude, temporary dance floor that Bdubs had put together last-minute. If it was any consolation, at least Zisteau was keeping a fair distance between himself and Vechs, who was on the other side of the hall joking around with Paul. Kurt sipped his scotch again and looked up at the Christmas baubles that decorated the ceiling absent-mindedly. It was strange... after their confrontation, Zisteau hadn’t acted any different that he would have normally. He still visited Vechs as often as he had been, still continued to show affection for Kurt and, most annoying of all, never apologized. Being as passive-aggressive as he was, Kurt hadn’t brought up the issue again.
As he sat in his corner, Kurt observed the people on the dance floor, careful not to make eye contact with any of them. No one was being very serious about their dancing; they were mostly just contorting their bodies in a silly way and then laughing about it with their friends. Guude and Pause, who both already seemed drunk, were causing the most ruckus. It was funny, Kurt had to admit, but he also wished that someone would go up there and do an actual, proper dance. He would have done it himself, if he had someone to dance with and wasn’t so cripplingly shy.
Just when he had finished his drink and was about to go buy another, Kurt noticed Zisteau walking toward him. A new song began playing, different from the previous melodies in that it was slower and more soothing. For no apparent reason, Kurt felt his heart rate increase to a flutter in his chest. With one hand behind his back and the other reaching out to Kurt, Zisteau said with a grin on his face,
“May I have this dance?” Kurt was baffled. He stood there stupidly for a moment, his mouth open slightly.
“But, you don’t like to dance!” Zisteau chuckled softly.
“Maybe I’ve changed my mind.” Seeing Kurt look nervously at the crowd of people on the dance floor, Zisteau added, “We don’t have to go over there, we can dance just fine in the corner if you’d like.” Kurt beamed and nodded, taking Zisteau’s offered hand. With one hand around Kurt’s waist and the other intertwined with his partner’s, Zisteau began to lead him in a perfect waltz. Kurt’s eyes widened, hardly believing what he was seeing.
“But… no offense, but you were horrible at dancing! Where did you learn to…” Zisteau raised his brows as they glided around in their corner, just waiting for Kurt to make the connection. Finally, after giving it a moment of thought, Kurt understood. “OH! Oh…” His eyes wandered over Zisteau’s shoulder to settle on Vechs, who giggled and waved enthusiastically in his direction. Kurt blushed a deep red, embarrassed by the misunderstanding. “Vechs was teaching you how to dance, wasn’t he?”
“There it is!” Zisteau chuckled and spun him around sharply, blocking Vechs from Kurt’s view. “It was supposed to be a surprise for tonight.” Suddenly it all made sense. Zisteau hadn’t betrayed Kurt at all… in fact, he had been trying to do something romantic for him! Kurt felt horrible for having doubted his partner’s intentions and bowed his head in shame, still mindlessly following Zisteau’s flawless lead. They danced in silence for a minute, gliding gracefully around the dusty wooden floor. Eventually, Kurt muttered,
“I’m sorry, I should’ve trusted you.” The song began to wind down, and Zisteau pulled Kurt in closer. The tattooed man took his hand off of Kurt’s waist for a moment to gently lift his chin up, forcing his dancing partner to look into his eyes.
“You did trust me. You stuck around, didn’t you?” Kurt didn’t have the heart to tell him that the only reason he didn’t leave was because he didn’t have the nerve, so instead he just mimicked Zisteau’s infectious smile. As the mellow tune faded to silence, Zisteau stopped dancing and leaned in to brush his lips against Kurt’s in a soft kiss.
Around the pair there erupted an explosion of applause. Startled, Kurt jumped and looked around. He had been so consumed with dancing that he hadn’t noticed when the partygoers had quietly started to congregate around his corner to watch the pair dance. Pause even wolf-whistled, which enticed a laugh from the audience. Kurt blushed and buried his face into Zisteau’s shoulder, glad to have his favorite shield back once again.
