*I am not ashamed people! I just re-read the manga for the thousandth time so like, my ships are fresh again. Anyways, as usual, takes place after end of manga. One-Shot, cuz I can*
It was just a simple party, in honor of Kid’s new status as Shinigami. Well, he always was one but it’s definitely for sure now. It was supposed to be a small get together in DWMA, just the same friends from Stein’s old class but all of a sudden, word spread, and it became this massive festival. Maka seemed a little bothered by the fact but once they stepped inside the familiar checkered-floored room, covered in brilliant lights—giving it a dark yet mystical glow—no one could complain. They were all swayed by the music and by the nostalgia, and, particularly two people were very ‘swayed’ by the food.
She finally got BlackStar fitted into a good suit and it took all night just to make sure he didn’t go off and ruin it. It seems to work well for him, not that he notices, but plenty of girls were swooning after him. It was truly a good fit and it revealed the strength in his body, perfected and grown over the past year. Girls really seemed to like the “warrior” type of man, passionate and a bit oblivious. She’s sure once they saw him engulfing an entire plate, Patty at his side, they would no longer think the same of him. Tsubaki knows the truth though. That’s her partner.
The man singing, a stranger with a curled mustache and a purple suit, waves his arms in the air, everyone turns to look at him. The music pauses and breathlessly, he yells, although rather excitedly, “Weapons and Meisters, get together and dance with your partners!!”
Everyone laughed at first. But soon, when the singer seemed on the verge of tears, the idea wasn’t so uncustomary. Shrugging, in his usual nonchalant way, Soul suggested Maka dance with him. When she pouted and refused, lightly, he gave her that same smirk and said, “Of course, cuz you got two left feet.”
Her defiant and stubborn personality was easily manipulated. All of a sudden, meisters and weapons were dancing together. Tsubaki, a bit lost on what to do, decided to simply watch, with a happy smile. Beside her, three forms whisked by. They paused, turning towards her.
“Tsubaki, you aren’t dancing?” Liz wore a similar suit to her sibling while Kid still adorned the cloak left by his father, however the mask was elsewhere. Patty is already swaying to the music, in her giggly, unique way. It’s nice to see everyone so happy and peaceful. Her smile widens.
Kid chuckles, “With a partner like BlackStar, I doubt he’s much of an elegant dancer. He’s still scarfing down food over there.”
They all share a soft glance behind Tsubaki. At the table she awaits by, BlackStar is monstrously consuming what is left on the designated platters. He seems happy enough. Besides, with all the training he does, it’s no wonder he has such an appetite. That’s why Tsubaki is always sure to cook him the best meals.
Their partnership has become comfortable since the fight on the moon. She’ll still scold him for sneaking into places she bathes but even then, she isn’t unused to him seeing her breasts, or even her naked body. He’s seen it all and she’ll only scold him on principle but really, she doesn’t have as much an issue with it anymore. Maybe she’s too comfortable, being that they aren’t dating but...she puts that thought out of her mind. What can she do about it?
Liz sighs, “Tsubaki, you should dance with one cute guy tonight. You look so pretty! Besides, with BlackStar eating the whole buffet, you’ll have time to be with someone else.”
She doesn’t really want to be with someone else, the whole idea unsettles her. Still, she smiles kindly, “No, it’s alright. Besides,” she leans forward, her hand moving through her hair a bit nervously, “BlackStar likes to dance but he isn’t much of a ballroom dancer—“
“Hey! I can dance as well as the next guy!”
She squeaks as he appears at her side, his face a filthy mess. Kid grows pale with the sight and Tsubaki quickly takes the napkin she folded earlier into his shirt and wipes his face. He pays the action no mind but Liz and Patty laugh.
“BlackStar, we’ve never seen you actually waltz once in your life. Tsubaki would probably be leading you the entire way!”
That gets a rise out of her meister. He stands tall, his chest puffing, “What! I can dance better than everyone out there! Watch me! Tsubaki, lets go!”
She flinches and almost believes that she should turn into her weapon form. She’s so used to him simply calling her name and that being enough communication between them. She always knows what he needs of her and she always performs to the best of her ability.
She’s dragged to the dance floor and she can see him clenching his jaw. She tries to be soothing but when it comes to boasting and showing everyone he’s the best, BlackStar doesn’t back down.
He stops in the middle of the floor, where everyone is already swaying comfortable with their partners. He glances around, stubbornly, and lifts his hands, even a bit awkwardly towards her. He doesn’t meet her gaze for a moment, scanning everyone else still. Tsubaki chuckles and it makes him look up at her, a bit embarrassed.
“Here, let me help you,” she guides his hands towards the appropriate places on her body. He doesn’t seem very taken aback but it’s true, he’s never danced like this before. But he’s far too stubborn to admit that. She’s unaccustomed to dancing with him like this at all, much less when he feels older and mature. As mature as this goof ball can get though. His fight with Mifune definitely changed him. Granting her brother’s wish, was a big step in her admiration and love for him. Love him, of course she does, he’s her partner and more importantly, now he’s apart of her family.
“This is stupid, if I can’t do this then it isn’t even worthy of being a skill I should have,” he grumbles it, in his usual annoyance. She tilts her head, smiling.
“Don’t get upset. It’s really easy. Let me show you.”
His cheeks tinge pink for a moment as he allows her this one bit of dominance. Of all things BlackStar is, he definitely isn’t dumb. At least, not when it comes to learning physical things. He’s always been a fast learner and she expects him to take up the steps to the dance rather quickly. To her surprise, he doesn’t.
He stumbles uncomfortably and she can see the strain he’s putting in, the effort in his burning gaze as he tries to elegantly move. She laughs and that makes him even more frustrated.
She blinks and she squeaks as his grip on her tightens. Maybe she has to remind him that she’s a person and not a weapon at the moment, but, seeing him try so hard, she can’t help but allow him to simply be himself. He’s definitely stronger. Even she would swoon after him if she didnt know so much about it him. He once called her the stars in the dark sky and she teased him, admitting she believed he was both the stars and dark sky combined. He takes compliments boisterously but in that moment, of him being pensive and mature, he seemed flustered by her words.
She laughs at the memory now and hearing that, he scoffs, pulling her close to him, “Come on Tsubaki,”
She tries to follow his footsteps but he’s doing it all wrong, he isn’t even going to the beat anymore. At one point, he tries to spin her and fails miserably, resulting in her stumbling against him and his shoe stepping down on her toe.
“Ow!” She cries, leaning away from him. She can see the flush of color rising in his face. She shakes her head, sliding her feet back from him, “You know BlackStar, we don’t have to dance at all. Let’s just wait until the song is over.”
He pauses, his eyes flickering between hers and she can’t really distinguish, in the soft warmth of the lights around the room, how he feels. He extends his hand, jutting it harshly forward between them, “No, so you can go dance with some other guy? No way. I can do this, I’m the best!”
She sighs under her breath. He really can’t let things go. And what was that about some other guy. Maybe the food got to his head. She isn’t one to deny him though, so she gingerly places her hand in his. He tugs her unceremoniously forward, and she staggers into his arms. One slides in against her waist, the other towards her shoulder. At least he’s grown a bit taller so his face is no longer right at her breasts. That would be embarrassing because her dress is revealing a bit much of her assets. Not that she can help it. Or really wants to.
He tries again to move to the music, mumbling each movement beneath his breath, counting them out. He does well for the first part and then when they turn, she can tell he’s gotten all jumbled. His eyebrows furrow and he makes the mistake of looking down at their feet.
“Oh, look up, BlackStar,”
It makes his head whip upwards and that disorients him. He steps on her foot again and she cringes, this time, her eyes even watering. Why does he put so much force into stepping down? Maybe that’s why he’s been struggling? This time though, her toes really ache and she has to peel back from him. She shakes her head and looks around the heads of all their friends, searching for a seat, “I think I need to sit BlackStar.”
He shakes his head, adamantly, “Wait, Tsubaki, the song isn’t finished yet! I have to show everyone—“
She frowns, lifting her foot in the air but her shoes won’t allow her to wiggle her toes, “Sorry BlackStar but my feet hurt.” She turns away from him and she feels terrible for doing so. She isn’t one to ever deny him from getting his way or proving himself. This time though, she isn’t in weapon form and he stepped down on her toes so hard, she fears he could have bruised them. She really does like to dance but she can manage to refuse him for just one night.
She takes a seat and pops her heel off, frowning down at her toes. Just a bit red and sore but nothing serious. She leans back against the table, sighing in relief.
He crosses his arms in annoyance.
‘What does Tsubaki know. I can dance.’
He thinks, his fingers squeezing his biceps. After being refused from his partner, he can’t help but feel a bit frustrated that he hadn’t been able to master the goddamn dance, nor prove to his friends that he was better than everyone else at it. In the back of his mind, the inkling of doubt that is attempting to get inside is immediately squashed.
‘If I just had more time,’
Then again, he had stepped rather hard on her foot. He shakes his head. No. He would have gotten it in a few more minutes if she stayed.
Maka situates herself beside him, leaning against the wall he’s against as well. She frowns, more so pouts, “Gosh, Tsubaki dances so elegantly. Her and Soul look so good together.”
BlackStar’s eyebrows furrow. He immediately looks up, scanning the dancers for his partner. He finds the shadow weapon swaying slowly and comfortably with Soul. They do look pretty elegant and correct. Tsubaki is still taller though, but Soul hasn’t stepped on her toes once throughout the dance.
Maka’s frown deepens, “Dancing is so dumb anyways.”
“Yeah, it is!” He agrees. If it was a fight, he’d beat everyone in the room, no contest. He doesn’t need to learn some ballroom dancing, no way. Tsubaki can go and dance with twenty other guys and he’d be completely fine standing here. Or eating. Yeah, he should just go eat. Actually, he should be training right now.
His arms tighten across his chest, a bubble of anger making him sink. Maka sighs, “I just can’t get good at this dancing stuff.”
Seeing his partner dance so well with another person doesn’t sit well with him. So he couldn’t do the dance and now she went off to dance with Soul? Come on Tsubaki!
They do make a good pair.
....When it comes to dancing!
Tsubaki is his weapon, and Soul isn’t even a meister. He doubts if he was, that he could even handle such an awesome weapon like Tsubaki. BlackStar scoffs under his breath, thinking about the image of Soul being a meister and attempting to wield Tsubaki. And failing.
He scoffs to himself. He could dance if he wanted. Some ballroom dancing isn’t even cool enough for a big guy like him.
Maka sighs, “Tsubaki’s gotten so pretty...”
BlackStar allows himself a bit of pride. Of course Tsubaki gets compliments, she’s his weapon and the best, suited for the man who will surpass god. His smile widens and he pays close attention as the song comes to a winding stop. The band bows and Tsubaki pulls away from Soul. They had been talking the entire time through the dance, clearly comfortable as friends. Tsubaki applauds the band, along with the rest of the people on the dance floor, with a soft, angelic smile.
Yeah, Tsubaki’s always been really nice. Really understanding. Soul shoves his hands into his pockets, glancing up at the shadow weapon. He says something and it makes her blush a bit, her hand moving to cover her mouth in, what BlackStar already knows, is her flustered chuckle.
He pushes off from the wall, striding towards Tsubaki, “Hey, Tsubaki, lets go.”
She blinks at him, a bit startled by his sudden approach, “Already?”
Soul glances around the room, searching for Maka who he hasn’t noticed still stands against the wall, “The party is basically over, the band is getting ready to go.”
Tsubaki’s shoulders sink, “I was having fun dancing. Thanks so much Soul,”
From behind BlackStar, Maka approaches, her gaze a bit shy. She and Soul make their way towards Kid, perhaps as final goodbyes. BlackStar lifts his chin up in the air, “So, got a new dancing partner?”
Tsubaki shakes her head, in that calm way of hers. She’s gotten annoyed with him before but never angry, so he’s so used to that happy little smile of hers, “Just for a bit. But I’m right back here with you.”
BlackStar clears his throat, “Good.”
Maybe he doesn’t appreciate her enough but for some reason, he expects her to already know that he admires her constant presence near him. He crosses his arms, eyeing her. They start walking towards Kid, joining the group.
Liz notices them, and she takes a light jog towards Tsubaki. Uninterested, BlackStar continues walking towards the rest of his friends, but he catches Liz saying, a bit enthusiastically, “Oh, hey I just heard someone cute say he liked you. I told him to ask you out on a date!”
BlackStar freezes, his head swiveling towards the two tall girls.
(Don’t worry guys, I promise we’ll get romantic on the second part.)
