<span style="color: #FF0000">A week went by and Colt had managed to not drive Tempest too crazy with his early mornings and lack of sleep. In fact he had gone out of his way to make sure he did not disturb her and even made it a point to have breakfast waiting for her whenever she did get up. As of yet, none of the competitions had been done, but he had the next week’s tournament planned out and posted on the fridge so that she would be aware.  Today was the first day back at the dance studio and would also be the first day that either of them had seen Athan. <br/><br/>The door was held open for her before he followed after into the building and the first person to meet them in the hall was Athan. His tall frame leaned in the most casual manner beside the doorway and it was only when he seemed to “hear” them that his gaze shifted to them. Piercing blue eyes filled with an as of yet unknown emotion regarded them first each alone and then together. The smile that came to his lips then sent a chill even up Colt’s spin and made him move just a bit closer to Tempest out of an instinctual need to protect her. <br/><br/>“No need for that, Colt,” he said coolly as he pushed up from the wall to stand before them, his hand tucked into his pants pockets. “I am not here to fight or hurt anyone,” he added for extra assurance. Then his gaze shifted to Tempest and it softened, just a little, “Hello, Tempest.”</span><br/><br/>It was weird, living with someone. While she and Athan dated, they’d never even broached the subjected, flitting back and forth between apartments depending on who’s was closest or what their needs were that day. With Colt, she made the decision to move into his apartment rather than the apartment below him. Something about having him so close, after learning what she had, felt safer, felt nicer; Not that she’d admit that, but it was in the back of her mind. When they lapsed into accents, it felt almost like home, even if home suddenly had a leprechaun creeping around the apartment at all hours.<br/><br/>And, with Colt around, she felt more comfortable than she’d started to get back to her old self. Dancing didn’t feel like a chore, though her spark wasn’t wholly back. She was smiling more than she had been, slowly but surely. Things were beginning to look up and there was no trace of the “broken” girl that Colt had brought up a week before.<br/><br/>The only time that her demeanor changed at all was that day. They were going back to the dance studio and her entire being was filled with dread. Two weeks. It’d been two weeks. Part of her hoped that Athan wouldn’t be there as it wasn’t his day to dance...but no such luck. Colt opened the door and she stepped through, steps slowing to a near halt at the sight that met her eyes.<span style="font-style: italic">Athan…</span>her mind seemingly breathed, her breath rushing from her lungs as she saw the look in his eyes, a look that she couldn’t place, but it wasn’t Athan. He was...different. Murderous binges changed people, or so she assumed.<br/><br/>His smile, though. It had her eyes widening, her body seemingly closing off as her hands clutched at her bag a little tighter, as her body tensed. She felt Colt move closer and silently thanked him for it, gaze not leaving Athan’s. He greeted her and it took her too long to find her voice.<span style="font-style: italic">Speak, Tempest,</span>her mind coached her.<span style="font-style: italic">You need to speak.</span>“...Hello, Athan,” she greeted him, just barely managing to pull off the same cool tone he’d used. “Did you schedule an extra practice with the other dancers today?”<span style="font-style: italic">That’s it. Small talk. You can do that.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Not exactly,” he said with a small smirk. “I stopped by your place a bit ago, to return the key and was told that you had moved out,” his gaze shifted to Colt. “Now I know where,” he said with an arched brow. “How is that going? Well I would assume?”</span><br/><br/>The smirk had her brow raising a touch, her lips setting in a thin line. Rather than answer right away, she dug into her own bag and took out his key. “Well, then looks like you came to the right place,” she replied, barely maintaining her cool tone as she walked forward and held it out. “Because I’ve been meaning to return yours.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Without his eyes leaving Colt’s he held out his hand for her to drop his key into his hand, “I guess it is just my amazing timing. And since I am here, I might as well see just what the two of you have been up to while you were secreted away together, right?”</span><br/><br/>She dropped the key into his hand, and let out a light sigh. “Are you going to look at me or continue to stare Colt down while half talking to me and half talking at him?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He smiled and looked to Tempest, “You are right, that is rude of me.” The look in his eyes warmed a touch as he lifted his hand as if to touch her face, only to change his mind at the last minute and instead run his fingers through his hair. “I look forward to what you guys have managed to come up with after all this time,” he smiled and even grabbed the door to hold it open for her.</span><br/><br/>Now that she had the full of his attention, she wasn’t sure she wanted it. Sure, his eyes had softened a bit, and he was no longer smirking, but it didn’t feel right. So, when he opened the door for her, her mind still pondering the movement of his hand to his hair (as it’d felt forced), she hastily walked through it without looking back, making a direct line for the bar to start warming up on.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">So, he’ll be watching...no big deal...none at all...It’s not as though I shouldn’t have expected it. I’ll just...dance and we’ll call it good. I hope.</span><br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Before Colt could enter, Athan stopped him at the door with the flat of his palm against his chest. The look Colt gave him was anything but friendly, as he growled low in his throat, “Remove your hand…unless you don’t mind losing it?” <br/><br/>The look was more than enough to cause Athan to drop his hand, though he still stood in a way that would block Colt from proceeding past him. “How is she?” <br/><br/>“Fine, happy and living a human life,” Colt remarked simply. <br/><br/>“A Human life? With you?” he asked with an arched brow and a smirk. <br/><br/>“Better than the ghostly undead one you had been living with her,” Colt shot back. <br/><br/>To that Athan only glared and ran his tongue over his fang, before he stepped to the side and Colt entered. <br/><br/>Right away he removed his shirt and tossed his bag before he went into one of the storage closets to get one of the old tables there. <br/><br/>“What’s with the table?” the director asked from his seat. <br/><br/>“We worked out something new for our dance that I think you are going to enjoy,” he winked and then went to Tempest. “You ready?” he asked her softly.</span><br/><br/>Stretching was hard to do with the new tension, with the way she was hyper aware of her surroundings. Every little sound pulled her focus and made it hard to get into the mindset she needed to.<span style="font-style: italic">This shouldn’t be this hard,</span>she thought at herself, exasperated.<span style="font-style: italic">You’re angry. Channel the anger, the hurt. It shouldn’t be any different than dancing with him at the apartment, even with Athan watching. Use that.</span><br/><br/>It took a swift mental kick to the ass, but she limbered up, a loose-fitting off-one-shoulder sweatshirt was over her bra shifting with each move. The shirt was more than she would normally have worn, but she wasn’t about to strip that off if Athan was going to watch the performance; She felt naked enough as it was.<br/><br/>By the time Colt had come over, she was limber, fluid, channeling her anger to the best of her ability as her stormy gaze met his. “As ready as I’m going to be,” she replied, glancing around briefly before her eyes reconnected with his. “Everything alright? You didn’t follow right after me like I’d expected.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">He cupped the side of her face so that she held his gaze, “We got this, ok? You got this.” A smile then a kiss on her forehead and lowered his hand, “As for what took me Athan just wanted to know what we had been up to while living together. I told him none of his business,” he shrugged and went about doing his own stretches. <br/><br/>“Ready?” he asked her a final time before the music began and he got himself into position. Whatever it was about today that was different he was not entirely sure though he had an idea as to why. Tempest felt more on point; he could feel her passion and especially her anger. When it came time for him to be slammed into the table, against she needed no help to get him up high enough for the force needed to slam into the table. The gasp that went up from those who watched made the slight pain in his back more than worth it. <br/><br/>As they neared the end he felt her give him more and more of herself. Their bodies had always been close in this dance and his lips trailed tiny kisses along her form, but as the dance progressed the contact lingered for longer. Her lips parted more than once as if to return his attempts at a kiss that the dance hinted at but had not as of yet happened.</span><br/><br/>Had his hand not cupped her face, she’d likely have diverted. With his word and his smile, she relaxed a touch more and nodded. But...it was his next words that held her attention most. Her blood began to boil and her eyes hardened just a bit more as they got ready to dance. If he were still wanting to know about what she was doing...and the look he’d given when he pegged they were living together… her mind churned as the emotions were falling into place, an idea in the back of her mind to capitalize on the moment.<br/><br/>After that, it was like every worry she had went out the window. Her motivation was sitting right there, watching this dance and she wasn’t about to let this moment slide. Everything felt better, more organic. She didn’t have to force her actions, her passion, as it came freely and without end. Even lifting him to throw him down onto the table was easier, no working up needed.<br/><br/>As the dance progressed, though, something else felt different. She was so in the moment, in character, that all of Colt’s kisses along her form were noticed more. It had each time they were closer, barely a breath away, a time where she considered kissing him, considered crossing that barrier. Sure, it’s something that would fit the dance, but it also had an added benefit, a benefit of making someone a bit jealous; You don’t inquire into what they’re doing when living with someone else if you don’t still have<span style="font-style: italic">something</span>lingering.<br/><br/>So, as the dance came to a close and Colt’s face was closer to her again, she let go, lips touching his in a kiss. It was as passionate as she dared, without being a full makeout session on the stage as they had other moves still to do before the dance ended, but it lingered. Then, without warning, she was pushing him back away and continuing on as though nothing had happened.<br/><br/>Once the dance ended, the dancers watching erupted in applause, some gawking with their lips parted in happy shock for the finished product. The Director, on the other hand, let out a louder sound of approval as he approached the pair, smiling from ear to ear. “Amazing!” he remarked. “You took what I gave you and brought it to life tenfold! A few areas that still need a bit more ironing out, but that table? I had no idea what you were going to do with it, and that she, you, could lift him up to pull it off!” A hand clapped on each of their shoulders. “Bravo!”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">Athan had been watching the dance with little investment to what they were doing, until he took close note of Tempest. The passion, the emotion, it was as if she were liquid feelings and each movement was another means of expression for what was contained within. That expression seemed to be focused on her feelings for Colt and Athan could not help the tinge of anger that began to cloud his mind. When they kissed, or more that she kissed him, he noted how she had been the one to start it. <br/><br/>When the dance concluded he stood there in a weird mix of shock and simmering anger. On the side lines his gaze practically burned into Colt’s back before he left without another word. <br/><br/>The look of pleased shock was practically etched onto Colt’s face. He took the praise with a smile, but his eyes could not stop how they darted to look at Tempest. Now, he was not completely dumb to think she had kissed him just because. It had never gotten that close even back home when they practiced and the only difference was the addition of Athan; which, to some degree, cheapened the experience, but not enough to stop him from smiling. <br/><br/>“Nice addition with the kiss,” he whispered to Tempest.</span><br/><br/>Her eyes weren’t focused on the director, merely smiling and nodding as she tried to wind down some, but she still felt tense. She felt like the dance had only made it worse by bringing it closer to the surface, in fact, rather than relieving it. As her eyes tried to find Athan, she found no one; Uncertain of how she felt about it, she turned her attention back to the conversation.<br/><br/>A conversation that was now reminding her of the kiss she’d taken.<br/><br/>In the moment, it’d felt right. It’d felt like an opportunity to make Athan jealous while still fitting in with the theme. Now that she had time to think back on it, she wasn’t sure how she felt. And, Colt’s whisper, along with the way she felt his eyes looking at her, she thought it might have made things a little more complicated.<br/><br/>“I’m not sure it was the right moment, though,” she whispered back. “Or maybe it lingered too long; I almost felt I was rushing.” A quick glance over at him as the director wandered away while she stretched back out to cool down and she asked, “I didn’t catch you too off guard with it, did I? I didn’t really...decide to do it beforehand, so I couldn’t warn you prior.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“No it was fine,” he said as he stretched out. “Was that just a one-time thing, or are you going to do that from now on?”</span><br/><br/>“I’m not sure,” she answered honestly. Her motivations may have started off selfish, but she didn’t want him to think that she’d only used him to that end. It could legitimately work in the dance, but perhaps not where it’d been. “Maybe? I’d have to figure out where it may fit better, though. I don’t want to detract from the dance as a whole, but with the kisses that were already there, it felt like a shared kiss, even if it edged on one-sided, fit. We’d have to figure out the timing a bit more, but I don’t see why it couldn’t be in it? What do you think?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I’m perfectly fine with working a kiss into the dance,” he said as he stood from stretching. “I mean it didn’t feel bad or anything, so I would not mind trying to figure out where it would better fit,” he walked over to his bag to grab them each a bottle of water. “Want to practice here or at home?”</span><br/><br/>Sitting down on the floor, she laid herself out, lifting one leg from the floor and pulling it as close to her body as possible. Then, she did the same with the other, before rolling over and getting into child’s pose to stretch out her back and neck. “Home might be better,” Tempest replied. Though she didn’t add the reasoning, something about how Athan had vanished, she didn’t think was a good thing. At least, at home, she’d feel a bit safer.<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Alright,” he asked as he handed her some water. “In the meantime is there anything you want to work on?”</span><br/><br/>Taking the water, she took a few healthy hauls off of it while mulling over his question. “Hmm...I could always use some help with the lifts, to make sure my lines are right,” she mumbled while thinking. “Though, what are we going to do for costuming? Do you have any ideas of what you want for a look for this? The director’s mentioned a few ideas of his, but they don’t feel right yet.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“I was thinking I would be shirtless,” he said with a wink. “Honestly, that is so that when you slam me down on the table everyone can see it and know it is real and not some trick, you know?” he said while he took a drink and paused to think. “For you, something that is two piece, but has a layer over it that I can tear away. There is a lot of definition on your body that you should show off and there is a part of the dance that I think would work with me tearing a bit of the material away,” he took another drink while he thought some more. “And…colors…like colored dust or something being thrown at us would be cool too.”</span><br/><br/>Another sip of water was taken as he spoke, nodding at his reasoning for being shirtless. But, when he mentioned tearing something away from her, that the definition her body held should be shown off, her mind wandered.<span style="font-style: italic">Where does he think that’d fight?</span>she wondered.<span style="font-style: italic">And why am I overthinking that?</span>Visibly shaking her head to get her train of thought back where it needed to be, the colors were what held her attention. “So, you mean colors like the Color Run? Powdered colors thrown or shot at us that we’d be dancing through? I think that having different colors at different moments would make for an even more interesting dynamic, definitely. And we’ll need an actual break apart table...How’s your back?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">“Yeah, colors like that for sure and well,” he turned his back to her. “How does it look to you?” When she looked it would be red in some places, but otherwise it did not appear to have anything wrong with it.</span><br/><br/>As he turned around, she searched for anything more than some red, and was thankful when she came up empty. “It doesn’t look bad at all,” Temp replied with a smile in her words. “A little red, but nothing apart from that; it almost looks like you just were laying down, and are just now moving.”<br/><br/>Standing up, she did a quick backbend, spine satisfactorily popping as she rolled back up. “But it felt good,” she added. “The dance, I mean. I think that was the best we’ve done it yet. Unless you think I still can’t keep up…” Her tone turned teasing at the end, with a raised brow. “I mean, you with all your ‘experience’ (since you’re old and all), I’d hate to drag you down.”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">At the old comment he merely leveled a gaze at her, before he stepped into her space so close that with each breath his body brushed lightly against her own. With a slow determination he leaned down, so that his lips were just out of reach of her own, “I don’t think I seemed too old when you were kissin me a bit ago…” his accent thick and rich as he held eye contact with her before he turned away and went back to stretching.</span><br/><br/>She hadn’t expected him to step into her, to the point of having looked away for just a moment as something else caught her eye. But, his body was then stepping into her, his breath mingling with her own. Her heart skipped a beat or two, her eyes locked with his, the entirety of her being seemingly trapped by his, despite all of the room surrounding them.<br/><br/>But, in that next moment, he was back to stretching and she was catching her breath. “Maybe you<span style="font-style: italic">were</span>too old,” came her delayed reply in offhanded manner. “It’s called…<span style="font-style: italic">acting</span>.” Sneaking a glance in his direction, she went back to stretching out, lowering into a split. “So? Best one yet or was there another time we danced that went better?”<br/><br/><span style="color: #FF0000">The reaction he got made him feel a bit better about the whole being used thing. “I definitely felt and saw that Tempest that I remembered fondly,” he replied with a smile. “I look forward to having more of that from you,” he walked over to her and held out his hands. “So, the lifts?”</span>