100 Stories of Pokemon

Dance - CarbonGameShipping

Brendan had always loved dancing. The opportunity didn't come up very often, but he would dance for hours when it finally did. Once Brendan became Hoenn's Champion and sought to diversify his abilities, dancing was one of the first lessons he picked up. Since then, he had danced both for show and for his own entertainment. It had never become an everyday activity for the boy, but he made sure to keep up with it enough to avoid getting too rusty. It wouldn't be charming to step on a future partner's toes, after all.

Calem learned about Brendan's love for dancing a couple of years ago, long before they started dating. At the time, Calem had a chuckle at it. He could hardly see Hoenn's fabled child Champion as anything more than the hardy, unyielding, calculating trainer that tore through any challenges that dared to stand in his way. Now, Calem struggled to see Brendan as anything other than his goofy, playful, and loving boyfriend.

Two years later, they still hadn't had their first dance. Thinking back on it, Calem blamed himself for that fact. Their first and only conversation on the subject ended with him dismissing Brendan's invitation, laughing and remarking on his own complete lack of skill and experience. Calem could count on one hand how many times he'd been dancing, and he hadn't realized that Brendan's invitation was genuine. Brendan probably still remembered that conversation, too.

Calem couldn't change the past, as much as he wished he could go and change his answer. That wouldn't stop him from giving Brendan that part of his life back, though. One of Calem's many New Year's Resolutions was to give Brendan the perfect dance night. He spent many nights at dance class and many hours picking the perfect music and their order until, finally, the night presented itself. Calem wasn't expecting to put his plans into action so quickly, but one look at the low hanging moon and the feeling of warm, spring air finally setting in, he knew he couldn't pass it up.

The Kalos-native let out a long, slow breath to calm himself. He could feel his body trembling as the nerves set in, but he fought to keep them away. He couldn't permit doubt to sing in now. Once Brendan excused himself to take a shower, Calem went to work. He pulled out two glasses of wine and set them outside on the balcony, cleared anything that might get in the way, set his phone up, then waited.

"Calem?" the voice finally called, bringing a small smile to the man's lips.

"I'm out here."

It took only a moment for Brendan to step on the balcony and just a moment more before he realized that Calem was up to something. "What is all this?"

"It's a nice night. I thought we could spend it out here," Calem explained. It wasn't a lie, but Calem still found himself unable to make eye contact. Instead, his gaze found their way to the moon.

Brendan followed his partner's gaze as he stepped up beside him and wrapped one arm around the other's waist. "It is a nice night. I am so ready for spring."

Calem giggled as he leaned into the other man. "I know, I know. I've heard this all winter. 'Hoenn boys aren't made for cold' or something, right? Aren't you a Johto boy, though?"

Brendan snorted and turned to look at the other, only to find him holding a glass of wine up for him. "Here. Your favorite non-chocolate drink. Please save me from your complaints about snow and drink this."

There was a pause before Brendan rolled his eyes and accepted the drink. "You sure thought of everything," he remarked before taking a sip.

"Or maybe you're just predictable," Calem teased. He waited until Brendan set the glass down before wrapping his arms around the other and pulled him into a hug. As soon as Brendan returned it, Calem pulled a hand back to retrieve his pocket from his phone, pressed play, then set it on the railing.

"Music?" Brendan asked as he started to turn away, only for Calem to reach up and take one of Brendan's hands.

"Yeah. It's hard for me to keep pace if I'm not dancing to music," Calem admitted.

A small look of confusion spread across Brendan's face, followed by a broad, childish grin of realization. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Calem said as he took the first step.