mnt_raph | (no subject)

"Why thank you, Raph."

The door somehow opens onto the roof of the bar. It's probably best not to think of how that worked.

"You mean this roof?"

showoff.

*he walks out onto the roof, there is an oversized hiking backpack already up there.*

You think anyone will mind me livin' up here?

"As long as you don't bang stuff too loudly, I wouldn't imagine so."

She squats down next to the backpack and starts unzipping things. "So this is the one you got from Diagon Alley, right?"

*He looks around. It's not the same as his old rooftop. Truth be told, he preferred that, but this will do. It's better than the alternatives.*

Hmmm? Yeah. The guy tried to sell me a two bedroom model, but I didn't really have the money. Charity'll only get you so far, you know.

"I like it, though. It's cozy."

She's already pitching the thing, with her typical unhurried efficiency.

"You gonna help me with this?"

*he smirks*
Why, you seem to have a good handle on things.

She shrugs.

"You go ahead and be that way. Tell me, do you like motown?"

*Raph blinks*
Right then, lemme help you out with that.

*He picks up where she's left off and begins to zip through the set up process*

She sits back for a moment, and laughs. Then she goes back to helping him set up. And most definitely, she doesn't have a look of 'happily plotting' on her face.

*Raph happens to catch this "nonlook of happy plotting", it makes his skin crawl.*

An'....I do believe...that this...
*He stands back, and the structure doesn't collapse*

Is it.
Sweet.

She dusts her hands off, then rests them on her hips, looking at the tent with a small, satisfied smile.

"Very nice."

She turns to look at him.

"So. You wanna do this outside, or inside?"

*The looks says, "Why god why?"...or maybe it says, "What do you mean Christmas is Cancelled?"...it really depends on the situation. He swallows hard, and again resigns himself to his fate, and without further fanfaire heads into the tent*

She steps into the middle of the room, and faces him.

"Let's start with something simple, okay?"

She takes his hands and places them on her hips, and reaches up to put a hand on each of his shoulders. Somewhere, there's music.

"Now. For the moment, just... sway. Until you find the rhythm."

*Raph is totally dumbfounded, yet he follows direction.

It's not that he can't dance, it's that he doesn't dance. Dancing requires one to relinquish just a bit of personal control. An act that Raph has never gotten the hang of.

None the less, he finds the rhythm easily, and the proximity to Death is distracting enough to keep the embarassment at bay*

"Good. Now, step where I step."

One step forward, one step back... it's like a parent teaching a child.

The way she moves is fluid, like a force of nature. An extraordinarly patient and gentle force of nature.

*He's finally decided that the easier he makes this for himself, the sooner it will be over. He tries to follow instruction, but his army boots keep getting in the way.*

She laughs a little at him and his army boots.

"That's right. Just move."

It's hard not to move when someone in such close proximity is moving. It's not like it matters if he's clumsy, as she's all sorts of effortless grace.

"You see, the secret is not to try too hard."

*He's getting frustrated with the boots. Yes, it's all the boots' fault. Finally Raph has found something to hate. This makes him happy.*

i think the secret is to just never dance

"Would it make it easier if you took the boots off?"

It would...but then I wouldn't be able to hate the boots.
*this seems to him to make all the sense in the world*

"You could try to enjoy yourself, you know."

She's bouncing a little by now, and she takes his hands and manages to execute a sort of spin.

Can't. I'll lose my Jerk of the Month club membership.

*he catches her in a spin and dips her*

She grins up at him.

"You're getting the hang of this, I think."

*He smirks*
I'm a quick study.

*He gets her back to her feet.*
now what?

"Now..."

She presses him forward a few steps.

"...play."