[C] The Show Starts Now

Unfortunately Daji had no money to pay for snacks, but they had brought along some grapes in a bag. Grapes were probably not the most conventional of snacks, but the fox was bored of the conventional after only a week of staying at the mansion.

They were sat in the theatre now, unfortunately next to a stranger since it seemed to be packed. They were there to watch Ti's performance.

The atmosphere of the place was slightly intimidating, dark and claustrophobic (well, not as much as their dorm room, and not as gross-smelling either). Hopefully when the show started they would have that to concentrate on.

Ti was nervous as he primped himself in the mirror, waiting for his cue to high-tail it on stage with the rest of the dancers.

This was the first time he was playing moore than a simple background dancer. He actually had a role in this.

The boy chewed his lip and ran his hands over the front of his costume, pausing atop his breasts for a moment. When dacing he didn't get the luxury of his binder. Which meant his breasts were quite obvious to see.

He chewed on his lip harder.

A muscular body pressed up against the boy's back and a chin rested on his shoulder. Strong arms weaved around the boy's small waist. "Keep chewing and there won't be a lip there for your lucky boyfriend to kiss."

To huffed, giving his friend a good natured slap as he pulled away from him. "You kno-"

"Up to stage. You're on soon."

Ti darted away before he could finish what he was saying. Score. He hated the awkward boyfriend talks like that. They happened far too often.

"Gogogo."

With an excited smile on his lips, Ti almost pranced onto the stage.

As the theatre erupted into claps at the newcomer, Daji stayed silent, shoving grapes into their mouth.

They almost choked when they realised that the newcomer was in fact their friend, dancing as if he was a feather on the wind. The fox thought they were light on their feet.

Though usually obnoxious and self-important, Daji watched with a sense of genuine admiration. Upon realising the true nature of his body, also, they realised how brave he was to get up on a stage in front of all of these people.

They almost felt a little ashamed over how little they had thought of him previously. Perhaps they shouldn't tease him so much...

... Nah.

Ti enjoyed the way his hair whipped raound his face with each sure movement.

He got lost in the feeling of hardwood under his slippers and the whipping of cloth against his skin.

And when a firm body pressed against his own, he smiled a dazzling smile, falling into the intricate duo dance with ease.

He loved ballet. It was so freeing.

Daji was quite jealous of the dancers. Perhaps they would be good at dancing if they gave it a try.

They didn't really have any conceivable talents like that, except maybe pranking people.

Leaning back in their seat, they popped another grape in their mouth. They didn't really get the story of this ballet, unfortunately.

Despite Daji not following the story, the ballet continued on. The intermission came and went.

Ti enjoyed every moment he was on stage.

Too soon, though, the show came to a close.

Ti leant against another dancers vanity mirror as he dabbed at his sweaty neck and face with a towel. "That was incredible," he murmured.

"I have to shoot off soon. I had friends watching."

Daji wished that they had brought a few more grapes along, since they ran out at the intermission. They almost got trampled in the crowd going to get more snacks.

Even though they didn't understand the ballet, they could understand that Ti was enjoying every second of it. Either that or he just had a really good game face.

They tried to clap as loudly as they could at the end, almost backhanding their neighbour in the face. Then when the commotion died down the fox slipped out of their seat and headed over to the door that lead backstage, waiting beside it for their friend to appear.

After such an exhausting show, Ti wasn't up to forcing himself into his binder right now.

So when he changed out of his stage clothes, he just pulled on a hoodie he had borrowed from Rai who had borrowed (read: stolen) from Liq. He swam in the hoodie, but it was comfortable.

A pair of leggings completed his 'too comfy to care' look.

He was pulling his hood over his sweat-drenched blond hair as he pushed open the doors to get out into the main theatre.

Once Ti appeared from the door, Daji clapped their hands enthusiastically, jumping around like a spring.

"WOOOO! You did it! That was so cool! I love the way you did that big jump, you know, that one."

The fox smiled, hoping that their praise was equal to the quality of his performance.

"Wow, you look a mess. Want to go home now, or should we eat?"

Ti jumped at Daji's enthusiastic greeting.

His cheeks flushed bright red and his eyes dropped to the floor. "Th-thank you." He had never had such an enthusiastic response to his dancing. His mother had died before he could get anywhere impressive with his dancing, his father didn't give a shit, Rai and Liq really didn't get ballet.

Daji's excitement was very new and very very strange.

Ti's eyes flickered up again and he gave a look, like he had been suffering and Daji was offering him freedom. "I'd kill for one of Don's pizza's right now."

Ti's blush was as adorable as always, almost as entertaining as the ballet they had just watched.

"Let's go get a pizza then." They were more than happy to; after all, they had no money so they wouldn't be the one paying.

They headed down the aisle, towards the exit. "How many times are you performing this show?"

Ti was more than happy to follow Daji out of the theatre.

"I'm only doing it once a week for the next three weeks." There were others filling in for him on days he couldn't do it.

He'd been doing ballet for sixteen years, but he wasn't used to doing a full show just yet. He could seriously hurt himself if he pushed too hard. Now that he had started getting larger roles, he'd be practising more and building up his endurance.

"My feet are killing me."

"That's cool. Not too many times then. You've got that tattoo job as well."

Daji didn't know much about ballet or the impact it could have on your health. "No shit, that looked pretty tough," they mused. "I hate wearing shoes."

Once they reached the street, the fox looked to the boy for guidance. They didn't know where the pizzeria was.

"I'll be training every day now, though." He had to train so he could be at his best for his performances.

Ballet was beautiful, but it was a painful career.

"I'm still an apprentice artist. I pierce, but I haven't tattooed a person yet."

Ti made his way to the edge of the pavement and thrust his arm out to catch the attention of a cab driver.

"Ah right. An apprentice, like a wizard's apprentice."

Daji followed behind Ti as if they were stuck to him like glue. They almost jumped when he stuck his hand out.

"Who are you waving at?" they asked, confused.

"If you could call Rai a wizard."

Not a minute later, a cab pulled up besides the two. Ti opened the door for Daji and gestured for them to get into the car.

He followed Daji into the backseat.

"To Don's Pizzeria in town, please."

"Ah, no, Rai is more of a witch." They cackled.

Daji stared at the cab. So that's what he was waving to. The fox smiled graciously and entered the vehicle. "Such a gentleman."

They put on their seatbelt. They had only been in a car about four or five times before, but they knew seatbelts were needed.

"What kind of pizza are you thinking of getting?"

Ti burst into a peal of tinkling laughter.

It seems Daji had already fallen into their little group's tradition of picking on each other. They were going to fit in with them all just fine.

The Shifter smiled as he was complimented.

"I don't know. Maybe Sicilian." He wasn't fancying cheese at the moment.

Daji liked making people laugh. Well, they liked making people scream in shock more, but that kind of lost its edge after a while.

"Sicilian?" The fox had no idea what that was. "I just want something with meat on it. And no more goddamn vegetables."

Daji was clinging onto their seat, as if the turns on the road would be enough to send them flying out the window.

"Don makes the best Sicilian. No cheese, some meat, some salad, this really good sauce."

The cab driver shook his head. "Sicilian has to-a have cheese. Strong cheese," he argued in his thick Italian accent.

Now this was a big argument between locals. Did Sicilian pizza have cheese on it or not. It was a common thing to be divided about. And Ti puffed out his cheeks and got ready to fight out his corner. "Sicilian's best without cheese. Then you can realy taste the sauce."

Daji's gaze flicked between the two of them. They really had no opinion on cheese, so they had no comment to make.

"Unless you're going to have pizza with us, Mister Driver, I don't think it really matters."

They had the feeling they should just keep out of this argument that they knew nothing about, but they were far too anarchic for that.

Ti's puffed out cheeks deflated when Daji joined the frey.

Apparently they thought that this was a real big argument. Ti held up his hands in a sign of surrended. Directed, rather than at the cab driver, at Daji.

"It's okay, Daji. We do this a lot. It's just a little fun."

Nothing was meant by the little argument. In fact, the cab driver still had a little grin on his face, and Ti's lips were pulled into a nervous little smile.

"It's just a playful little tiff."