{"sf1_id":566300,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Two-Step (Step Two)","author":"DarkSoulsSauron","words":3948,"posted_at":"2013-07-22T04:55:00.000Z","tags":["Classic Jazz","M/M","Melodic","Smooth Jazz","Swing","ninetales"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/566300-two-step-step-two","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/566300","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=566300\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Two-Step\nStep Two.\n\n\nWeeks\ndrifted by, starting at a blazing pace and slowing down to a crawl as\nNovember came closer to a close. Soren equated this convoluted flow\nof time with how confident they were in their abilities. Soren was\nenthusiastically sponsored by the lab. His boss even hinted at a\nraise if he got far enough into the competition. Eli was keeping up\nto Shadows and Electric Daisy Violin with ease, and Soren was\nactually enjoying the dancing. There still wasn't a good place to\npractice in public, as no one really wanted to go outside in\nNovember. People could only take so much of overcast skies and\nalmost-freezing temperatures, so Soren was worried that they both\nmight cave under the pressure of hundreds of people watching them.\n\n\nToday\nwas rather nice though. The temperature was higher than 55F and the\nsky was cloudless on a Saturday afternoon. Soren and Eli had been out\nat the park since eight in the morning. It was approaching four o\nclock and neither of them had taken a break from the dancing. For the\nlast few days Soren was coming home early so he could build up his\nendurance. His boss was actually OK with this, as long as Soren put\nhis nose to the grinder while he was at the lab.\n\n\nIt\nwas five to four, and there was actually a crowd of curious onlookers\nthat were watching for the last fifteen minutes. The shuffle pulled\nup the final song, the 6u5\nremix of Communications.\nIt was a fairly easy dance. It wasn't too fast, though it retained\n6u5's habit of putting elements in the middle of measures. They kept\nstep despite their exhaustion. As the song wound down, they finished\nthe final step and collapsed on the bench beside them. The crowd\ndispersed as it was clear the two foxes had finished dancing.\n\n\n\"Whoi,\"\ngasped Soren as he released an exhausted sigh. \"I think we got the\ndancing down. We should be able to get to the routine at any rate.\"\n\n\nEli\nwas panting too. \"And there were so many people watching us today.\nIt didn't phase you at all.\" The beige fox grabbed an apple out of\na bag and took a bite. They hadn't eaten or drank anything at all\nsince they had started. \"At least at the contest they give you\nwater every half hour.\"\n\n\nSoren\nswigged from a can of coke. In reality he should have gone for water\nfirst, but coke was much more refreshing to him, even if it\ntechnically was dehydrating. \"You said that they give us a half\nhour before routines start?\"\n\n\n\"Yeah,\"\nsaid Eli after he took a swig of water. \"They make you go one at a\ntime too, so sometimes you can get a longer break. I've done this\nfour times. I got to the routines all four times, but when I went\nlater in the queue I did so much worse. It's better to keep momentum.\nI want us to volunteer to be first. You OK with that?\"\n\n\n\"I'll\ntrust your judgment,\" said Soren, now starting on the water. He\npulled up his computer and plugged in his portable speakers. He kept\nthe lid closed. Both of them had stopped needing the sheet music\nweeks ago. They managed to keep their exhaustion at bay as they went\nthrough both Shadows and Electric Daisy Violin three times each. They\ndidn't miss a note or a step.\n\n\nPacking\nup the violins and equipment, they walked back home. Their paws were\nthrobbing and sore, their tails drooping, their limbs like lead. Eli\nwent to take a shower while Soren went to make something light to\neat. Just a tossed salad and some fruit.\n\n\nEli\ncame out of the master bath as Soren finished the last of the\nchopping. They sat and ate, chatting about inconsequential stuff.\nThey both had the competition on their minds, both secretly hoping\nthey wouldn't disappoint the other. Soren finished his food and went\nto shower, letting the hot water ease up the tension in his limbs.\nSoren worked a little on his dubstep project as Eli finished off a\nfew paintings, but they went to bed around eight. They were just too\ntired. They massaged each other for a while as they lay folded in the\nsheets, letting their hands and mutual affection ease the last of the\ntenseness out of their bodies.\n\n\nSoren\nwoke up around nine thirty, his arms and tails snaked around Eli's\nsmooth back as the beige fox still slept. He rubbed his cheek against\nEli's velvety beige chest tuft and slipped out of the bed. He snooped\naround the fridge, thinking of something good he could make them for\nbreakfast. \"we\nreally need to take a trip to grocery store,\" he\nthought as he stuck his head farther into the fridge. He pulled out\nsome eggs, cheese, sausage, and bacon that were all dangerously close\nto their expiration date, and got to work.\n\n\nEli\nwalked into the kitchen, his nose preceding him, drawn by the smell\nof bacon. Soren deftly served them up a healthy sized omelet. They\ndidn't want to eat right\nbefore they started, but they needed something that would last from\nnoon till nine. They discussed the contest, going over things that\ntended to trip them up, the steps in the routines, the harder dances,\nand the like. For once in his life, Soren was actually excited to go\nout dancing.\n\n\nThe\ntwo foxes walked towards the event, dressed in tight black tank tops\nand slightly loose fitting shorts with firm black belts. They wanted\nsomething comfortable that didn't get in their way. The people\nrunning the event had commandeered the local athletic center, rolling\nup the curtains that normally separated the basketball courts. Tape\nwas laid out across the sprawling wood floors, the same 6ftx10ft\nsquares that Eli made them practice in, numbers placed in the middle\nof them. Pokemon of all types were milling about.\n\n\n\"We\nneed to grab a number,\" said Eli getting in a long line that\ncircumnavigated the dance floor. \"If they see someone screw up they\njust call them out.\"\n\n\nSoren\nlooked up and down the line. The attendees ran the gamut. There were\nsome who were there to honor loved ones lost to cancer, others who\nwanted to socialize, and more who looked like they were here to kick\nass and dance swing... and they were all out of ass. The line moved\nrelatively quickly, and it didn't take long for Eli and Soren to grab\na number and move to their spots.\n\n\nThe\nopening ceremonies were pretty standard for a cancer charity event:\nthe national anthem, heartfelt stories of survivors and victims,\nannouncements. Soren normally paid at the very least respectful\nattention to such things, but right now he was too anxious. He wanted\nto start dancing before he lost his nerve. There were a\nlot of\nbodies packed into this gym, and while many would be occupied with\ntheir own dancing in the beginning, Soren know many, many eyes would\nbe on him as people started dropping out. Soren also tried not to\nthink about how many spectators were looking down on them from the\nrunning track one floor above.\n\n\nThere\nwere four large displays, each placed on a wall. Each screen\ndisplayed the next three songs on the line up as well how many\nparticipants were left. Right now the count was over 150 pairs. Eli\nand Soren were pair number 76.\n\n\nThere\nwas a 60 second count down. Soren was starting to get nervous. They\ndidn't even show the starting line up of songs. It was clear the\nadministrators wanted to surprise them, as dancers had only five\nseconds to find a beat for each song. His disposition significantly\nimproved as the first song began to play, a snazzy tune with upbeat\nclarinet and percussion. Both Eli and Soren recognized Geraldine's\nRoutine by\nTape Five. This was a personal favorite, and it conveniently happened\nto have a dance routine right in the lyrics. The two foxes started in\na Charleston step. Eli smiled and said, \"let's show off. We'll do\nthe whole routine.\"\n\nSoren\nthought perhaps this would be a bad idea, but he would protest later.\nHe trusted Eli's judgment, as this was the fifth year he was doing\nthis. So the two foxes shook their tails as they waved\ntheir paws in the air, spun about like Fred Astaire, slipped them\nfive as they could jive (that's Geraldine's routine)...and\nso on.\"\nSoren\nwas keeping up and was really enjoying himself. The song was rather\nfast but he wasn't phased at all. He took that as a good sign.\n\n\nGeraldine's\nRoutine was short, just barely over three minutes. The play list\nmoved to Pirates\nby\nCaravan Palace. It was a medium speed song, and the two foxes clasped\nhands and stepped together, taking a short break from the fast dance.\nSoren looked around at the other contestants. Two Gardevoirs were\ndancing together, bobbing to the music and hovering with telekinesis.\n\"Lucky bastards,\" muttered Soren, \"floating like that should be\nagainst the rules.\"\n\n\"Not\nreally,\" smiled Eli. \"Endurance contests are as much about mental\nfortitude as well as physical strength. When they dance by floating,\nboth the physical and the mental stress is consolidated into their\nbrains. We're better off on our paws.\" Eli smiled and moved their\narms between them, swaying a bit to the music.\n\n\nHours\nflew by in weird stints. Some times the dancing seemed to last\nforever while other times it slipped by in a flash. Soren equated\nsuch anomalies with how much he liked the music. It was three hours\nin, and a song he vaguely recognized started to play. Soren read the\nname off the display one of the walls. La\nVoix Humaine by\nG-Swing. It had a slow-medium pace, which suited him as his paws were\nstarting to get sore. Eli looked like he was hurting a bit too, but\nhe had done this before. Eli grasped Soren's hands and began to move\nthem between each other. \"You need to do something to keep your\nbrain in the game,\" he said. \"Sing the scat with me.\" Soren\nlistened to the scat on the first part of the refrain, and by the\nsecond repetition he had it down pat, letting his experience with\nbrass instruments help him maintain the rhythm.\n\n\nAs\nthe sixth hour passed by, Soren saw many of the other contestants\ndrop out over the past hour and a half. The display showing the song\nline up and the number of pairs remaining said that less than 50\npairs were left. Soren was feeling the pressure of all the eyes of\nthe former contestants raking the dance floor, looking for\ncontestants showing signs of weakness. Soren was on the point of\ndropping too, but he was determined to go to the end with Eli. He\ndidn't want to disappoint him.\n\n\nThe\nnext song up gave them a bit of a breather. City\nof Lights by\nTape Five. Eli grabbed their hands and held their bodies close\ntogether, swinging and stepping to the slow music. The physical\ncontact was a wonderful pick-me-up. He smiled as they swung and\nrevolved within their allotted space. Enjoying the sweet, sad, and\nromantic lyrics and melody.\n\n\n\"Get\na room,\" hissed an Electabuzz dancing with a Jynx. \"How dare you\ndisplay your deviance in public?!\"\n\nSoren\nand Eli responded in the standard fashion. Keeping in step, they\nleaned in for a passionate kiss. They abstained from raising their\nmiddle fingers, as such responses may have angered the judges. To the\nfoxes glee, the two dancers looked horrified. A minute later, they\nlost step and tripped, and the judges called out that pair number 73\nwas eliminated.\n\n\nLater,\nas the 7th\nhour came to a close, Eli and Soren were doing fairly well. They were\nable to filter out the physical stress as they danced, and they found\nsmall things to do to keep them mentally engaged. Small spins and\nother dance elements that weren't too strenuous but kept them from\njust mindlessly keeping step. The current song was another breather\nsong, Jazzhole\nby\nFree the Robots.\n\n\n\"See\nthe next song on the lineup,\" whispered Eli to Soren. \"the Tape\nFive remix of Dixie\nBiscuit?\" \n\n\n\"What\nare you planning,\" asked Soren shrewdly.\n\n\"Let's\ndo a Lindy Hop routine. Show them we've got energy to spare,\" said\nEli with a devious smile. \"Psyche out the competition.\"\n\n\nSoren\naccepted the water being passed to him by a judge and took a swig.\n\"Do we have energy to spare?\"\n\n\n\"Let's\nfind out.\"\n\n\nThe\nhard and heavy clarinet and trumpet opened a brisk and jazzy tune,\nthe two foxes snapping their fingers to the new beat. Eli and Soren\ndanced hard and fast to the lyrics, Eli even doing an incredibly good\nimitation of Tape Five's singer. He had the lyrics, pitch, and timing\ndown to a 'T. They started with a hard and fast Charleston and then\ngrabbed hands as they swung each other, taking advantage of their\nextra space left by dropouts. They spun each other fast and kept in\nstep to the quick pace of the clarinet leading the melody. They\nfinished with a quick step that mirrored the scat that ended the\nsong.\n\n\nEli\nand Soren were pleased to see jaws drop at the extreme amount of\nvigor they displayed, even if they themselves was close to collapsing\nthemselves. Two pairs dropped out at the sight of their competition\nseeming to be filled with limitless energy. The next song was I've\nGot that Tune by\nChinese Man, which gave the two foxes time to recover.\n\n\nThe\nnext hour was difficult, the judges playing upbeat and fast tunes\ndesigned to be danced to at a fast pace. Soren was almost regretting\nthe Lindy Hop routine, but he lost himself in Eli as they used each\nother for a reference point. Soren looked up at the board and noticed\nthat there was only one song left in the queue.\n\n\n\"I\nknew it,\" gasped Eli, \"I knew they'd finish off with Douai\nCharleston.\"\nThe final song began to wind itself up, and the two foxes returned to\ntheir Charleston step. 30 seconds in they switched to a stationary\nshuffle as the musics rhythm dramatically shifted. The song then\nwound itself back up to the Charleston step, but now including new\nelements and dramatic pauses in the middle of the measures. Both\nfoxes were out of breath and panting, but they powered through the\nincredibly complex song. They alternated between the Charleston and\nthe stationary shuffle, and the song began to wind down. Neither fox\nmissed a beat.\n\nOnce\nthe music completely faded, both foxes flopped on their backs,\nlaughing faintly out of exhaustion and elation at getting this far.\nSoren saw only 3 other pairs left on the floor. The displays on the\nwall now showed a big clock marking 30 minutes to the routines. After\nfive minutes of lying stupidly on the floor, Soren got up and went to\nthe refreshments table. He found the coffee machine. Ignoring the\nbrew, he got two large cups of steaming hot water, and from within\nhis pocket he drew out his secret weapon, four packets of\nFukamushicha\ntea leaves. He put a packet in each cup and handed it to Eli. They\ndowned the scalding liquid in one gulp. It was a much better\npick-me-up than coffee. Their whole bodies were invigorated, at least\nfor now. That wasn't to say they weren't exhausted, but it did help.\nThey savored the next cup, letting the warm liquid fill them up. They\nspent the remaining time tuning their violins and drinking copious\namounts of water. Soren hoped that they had enough energy to get to\nElectric Daisy Violin, which would be the tie breaker if people still\nremained after Shadows.\n\nSoren\nand Eli volunteered to go first. They were both exhausted, but the\ntea and re-hydrating helped a great deal, and they still had some\nadrenaline in their systems. A good luck kiss from Eli behind the\ncurtain was probably the best pick-me-up for Soren. They walked on to\nthe stage, Eli holding the purple electric violin and Soren holding\nhis grandmother's acoustic. Soren actually felt confident. They had\npracticed relentlessly, and his grandmother's instruments had never\nlet him down.\n\n\nThe\ntwo foxes stepped onto the stage. There where whispers as the crowd\nsaw their violins. Soren and Eli bowed. As they straightened, the\nmusic began. The short introduction to shadows led right into the\nviolin. Eli started the first few measures, as both foxes moved their\nupper bodies to the flow of the music. Shadows really had a wonderful\nflow to it. At this point they really didn't need to concentrate on\ntheir movements, instead making sure they kept up with recording. So\nfar they were right on time and in perfect tune.\n\n\nAs\nthey moved through the song, they mirrored each others movements as\nthey became each others shadows, fitting considering the name of the\nsong. They always had their backs or faces to each other as Eli was a\nlefty while Soren used his right hand to move the bow. They moved\nabout the cardinal directions as they faced and backed up to each\nother, mimicking each others movements even if they were not watching\neach other. Every few measures they passed the melody to each other,\nallowing one to play and letting the other rest for a few bars,\nsometimes synching up together for particularly intense parts of the\nsong.\n\n\nSoren\nbegan to really appreciate how hard Lindsey Stirling worked to dance.\nThe Foxes need to focus an extreme amount of energy on keeping their\narms and upper bodies solid. If they lost focus it would ruin the\nsound of the violin. All the dancing was lower body and leg work, and\nit was intense.\n\nHalfway\nthrough the song they began the cross-ups, moving behind each other\nto switch sides, still not missing a beat. On the second cross up\nthey lifted their paws up to click them together, rotating on the\nother paw, sweeping their tails across each other to make them look\nlike a single living being.\n\n\nEntering\nthe most intense part of the melody, the two foxes stepped up their\ndancing, pirouetting on a paw as they weaved their music together.\nThen on the next cross up, Soren's heart stopped. In a moment of\nfatigued clumsiness, he had stepped on one of his silver tails, and\nhe was losing balance. Time slowed to an intense and painful crawl.\nThe ground was rushing up to him.\n\n\nSoren\nsaw only two options. He could take the fall and eliminate them both\nfrom the competition, or he could attempt to throw out an arm and leg\nto save himself. But that option had a dire potential consequence. If\nhe failed to save himself, his grandmother's antique violin would be\nat serious risk for damage.\n\n\nBut\nto Soren, that violin wasn't an instrument. It was memories, love,\nand beauty solidified into spruce and maple. It was a legacy of\nsomeone who cared about him when he was struggling through life. If\nhe damaged the beloved instrument, he would never forgive himself. It\npained him to let down Eli, but he shifted to land upon his back,\nbanging his head hard against the wood floor, keeping the precious\ninstrument cushioned in his arms.\n\n\nThe\nbuzzer rang, and Eli slowed to a stop, less than 30 seconds from the\nend. He offered a hand to Soren and picked the silver fox up. They\nembraced and walked off stage. They sat down and let exhaustion over\ntake them. Soren put the violins in their cases and then embraced\nEli. \"I'm so sorry, Eli. I failed you tonight.\"\n\n\nEli\nshook his head, but was alarmed to see that Soren's eyes were leaking\nas he dug his face into his shoulders. \"I saw how you fell. You\nwould've crushed that violin if you tried to save yourself. That\ninstrument is much more precious than winning a contest. I can't and\nwon't begrudge you for that... we made it so far.\" The beige fox\nsqueezed tighter, rocking their bodies a bit. \"You wanna go home?\nGet something to eat?\"\n\n\nSoren\nnodded, his head in Eli's arms. Soren wasn't mad that they didn't get\nthe prize. He just felt terrible that he and Eli got so close. It was\nentirely his fault that Eli didn't get the victory he deserved,\nespecially after he poured so much effort into his violin. They\nwalked home, exhausted and beaten, barely staying conscious from the\nintense day of swing. Five minutes into the walk it started to rain.\nIt was the kind of rain that only November could deliver: the\nfreezing, whipping, and harsh wind and rain that chilled not to the\nbone, but to the very soul. Soren and Eli didn't mind frigid air or\nwind, but rain was one of the few things that made a fire type truly\ncold.\n\n\nSoren\nwas reminded of their first night together as they staggered through\nthe rain, arms around each other. He smiled. At least they weren't\ndrunk, though they felt the so called runner's high from all the\ndancing, and the heavy fall still left Soren a tad punch-drunk. They\nstumbled out of the elevator and into their apartment. Shivering,\nthey forwent food and moved into the master bathroom, letting the\nwater run to scalding as the scent of nectarines wafted through the\nroom. They undressed each other and Eli got in first.\nEli\nmassaged Soren as the silver fox slipped in after him. Eli wasn't\nangry at all. But he was distressed. He could tell Soren was beating\nhimself up on the inside, and that was completely unwarranted.\n\n\n\"Are\nyou glad we did this,\" asked Eli, rubbing his hands on Soren's\ncollarbones. He gave the silver fox a light kiss.\n\n\n\"It\nwas fun while it lasted,\" sighed Soren, \"I'm sorry I couldn't\nkeep up with you. It's my fault we didn't win.\"\n\n\"It's\nno big deal. You were great. You got on my level in three weeks and\nyou were such a good teacher. We learned so much from each other.\nWinning would have just been icing on the cake.\" Eli raised his leg\nout of the water so Soren could wash it. He knew that would make the\nsilver fox feel a little better.\n\nSoren\nmood improved a fraction as he savored Eli's short, soft fur running\nthrough his hands. He still felt bad that he chose a violin over Eli.\nBut Eli clearly wasn't mad. Soren finished with Eli's legs and\nstarted on his chest. He just couldn't get enough of that tuft of\nvelvety beige fur. Somehow it was a talisman against any bad feelings\nthat plagued him.\n\n\nEli\nand Soren were both feeling hungry now, but they didn't want to leave\nthe warmth of the tub or the embrace of the other fox. Soren broke\ndown and got out. He quickly toweled himself and went to search for\nsomething easy they could share. He came back with some crackers,\ncheese, fruit, and a bottle of dessert wine. It felt luxurious to sit\nthere with each other as they enjoyed the taste of the wine, despite\nhow cheap the snacks were. Soren felt the sting of his failure fading\naway as his limbs loosened up, thanks to the hot bath and Eli's\ngentile touch. They went to bed in each others arms, letting\nexhaustion overtake them, content with each other, even in defeat.\n\n\n]\n\n\n\n"}