Jack and TJ - Backdated
Dec. 29th, 2017 02:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ax_nocturne posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ax_mainImpromptu dance party!
Busy, busy, busy. He was envious of the kids who could teleport. He at least wished he could try to jump as far as he could to cross the city to save time, but no, it was all car rides and mundane means of travel for him.
At least here, he could be himself. Barefoot, black suit, listening to ballroom music in the empty dance room. His eyes were closed, and he moved about the floor in a one-man waltz, moving his arms, not like he was holding someone, because he wasn't, and he was under no illusions about whether or not he could find a willing dance partner if he so chose. There were plenty of girls, he knew, who loved to dance, here; it wasn't a statement about himself. But he was alone for now, and for now he wanted to be alone, so his arms moved in an interpretive, emotional way as he turned and his feet moved with the rhythm of the dance and music. It was peace, more than it was practice.
Still, Jack was a social creature, always had been, even before the mutation. Part of him was wondering, by the time he was finishing up his little routine and the song changed, if anyone was around for him to dance with.
Jack was in luck, as a blue-furred, yellow-eyed girl was watching him with amusement, arms crossed under her breasts, tail swinging along to the languid tempo of the music. TJ was wearing as little as she usually did: a fake leather skort and a "Cardio Queen" cropped tank top. Anyone who had a problem with her style could just get out of her face.
She waited until the piece was done, then spoke up from where she stood, leaning in the doorframe of the studio. "Y'know, ballroom dancing is so much more fun when you don't do it to the appropriate music."
"Well, how'd I miss a pretty girl like yourself come in?" Jack asked, grinning just a little at her. He wasn't put off by her appearance in the slightest. "And also, in my experience, ballroom dancing is more fun when you have a partner," he added.
"I think that depends on the partner," TJ remarked with a sharp smile, staying where she was for now.
Oh, okay, he liked that. He grinned. "Give me a try, then, beautiful," he said, offering her a hand. "You can pick the music. Maybe you can teach me some moves," he said.
TJ grinned when he said she could pick the music, and ignored his hand to head for the phone plugged into the speakers. She did a quick YouTube search, then let out a happy exclamation when she found what she wanted. "Yes! It exists here too." The music started with just piano, and she bounced over to Jack, smile wicked.
Okay, definitely intriguing. Not in the same way Jeanne-Marie was, flying angel that she was. TJ had something... unrestrained about her, he could already tell. He kept his hand extended, simply turning to her. "May I have this dance?" he asked, putting on his best air of charm.
"Try and stop me," TJ replied, putting her hand in his and moving into the circle of his arms, her second hand ending up on his shoulder as the drums and guitar joined in. She gave him a daring grin, waiting for him to lead.
"I wouldn't dare," Jack said, his other hand going to a daringly low place on her hip, not hesitating at all to lead her, though he wasn't insistent about it; he wanted to get a sense for her skill level, which was quickly becoming apparent as 'probably better than him.' Which he liked.
Ballroom dancing was mostly boring, if you asked TJ, which meant that she wasn't all that good at it. Now, throw her into a mosh pit and she'd really shine. But waltzing around for the fun of it, to some heavy metal? That she could get behind. Her tail swung to the beat of the music as they moved, and after a little while, she didn't need to count off the one-two-threes in her head anymore, and could relax into the music. "This is way better than whatever you were listening to."
"It is nice," he said, enjoying the tempo it was taking, and the energy. "I'll remember it next time I need to blow off steam with a little dancing."
TJ couldn't help but laugh. "This is nothing like blowing off steam in my book." It was, possibly, a warm-up, but nothing so rigid could ever let her blow off steam. Give her a Danger Room session or a nightclub, and you'd be talking.
"Having a pretty girl in my arms is certainly relaxing," Jack returned, smiling at her. This girl, he could tell, was nothing but fun. And he liked that. Fun was, well, it was great.
"I'm rarely called relaxing," TJ stated with a sharp grin, and rolled out of his arms, hands still linked, before twirling back into them.
When she came back to him, he bent over with her, supporting her back gently as he leaned her back, as per the dance, of course. "How about enchanting?" he asked, grinning. "Because that's coming to mind."
TJ's unbound hair brushed the floor as he dipped her, her back arching naturally - mutant flexibility for the win. Then she looked up at him. "You're laying it on thick. Does it usually work on girls?"
He grinned just a bit wider as he brought her back up. "You'd be surprised," Jack said, smoothly.
"Probably," TJ admitted, laughter woven through the word, as they moved back into the regular steps of the waltz.
"The real question is, is it working on you?" he asked, smirking just a bit.
"Take a wild guess," TJ encouraged him. Giving him a straight answer would be no fun.
"Are you this wonderful with everyone you talk to, or are you making an exception for me?" he asked, in return, smiling. He'd never had the charm turned on him before, and he was, frankly, loving it.
That took TJ by surprise, since she hadn't been anything of the sort on purpose. She fumbled for an answer for a couple of seconds, her feet showing no such hesitation as they kept moving to the rhythm, but her tail flicked through the air in surprise. And in the wake of her hesitation came the question, was he being honest, or was it just more of his charm? She ended up blurting out, "Do you ever quit?" before the silence could stretch on for too long.
He chuckled. "Only if you want me to," he offered. It was only polite, after all.
"Kinda," TJ admitted, because she was nothing if not blunt. "I like a bit of flattery as much as the next gal, but a lot is too much."
"That's fair," he said, gently. "Does it change anything if I tell you that I'm sincere about it?" he asked.
TJ couldn't figure out whether that made it better or worse, so she answered with a simple, "Nope."
"Fair enough." What a disappointment. Ah well, his usual style didn't work on everyone. She was, still, someone who'd truly caught his attention, and he wasn't quite used to that. Jack was an affectionate guy, by nature, but she wanted him to rein it in, so he'd rein it in. "I have to admit, I'm wondering if you've met any other of me, before," he said, remembering her post on the journals.
"I don't think so," she replied, shaking her head slightly. "What do you do?"
"Well, other than what you've seen and heard," Jack began, "I have urban adaptations. I get stronger the more people are around," he said.
"Huh," TJ let out, very eloquently. She shook her head again after a moment. "No, I don't even think I've met anyone with that power before."
"Well, good to know I'm at least unique," he said, as the song died down. "You dance very well," he added.
"Meh," she answered with a shrug. "Just means you're good at leading. Waltzes are really not my thing."
"No, I could tell, you're flexible, too," he said, smiling a little. "You've got a good sense of rhythm."
"Mutant flexibility," TJ assured him with a grin, and moved out of the circle of his arms. "Try and beat that." She was proud of every aspect of her mutation, yes. Even the possession, given what she had achieved thanks to it.
"I doubt I could," Jack said, earnestly. It sounded very useful and very... fun. "So, care for another dance? It's your pick of style, this time." Honestly, he didn't want to let her go. Jesus, was this what having a crush was like? He'd never experienced it before, but damn, he really liked this girl. She was obviously the kind of fun he would love to have.
"How d'you feel about moshing?" TJ asked, fangs bared in another smile. "Kidding." She headed back towards his phone, pondering what to put on, then grinned and went for - yes! this too existed here - Uptown Funk. She turned back to Jack with a daring smile. "Now show me how you really move."
Hey, maybe this white boy could actually really dance! It wasn't a complete trap. But this was definitely more her thing than ballroom dancing, and she started moving to the beat.
Jack was already moving toward her with the beat when the song started. "I love this song," he said, grinning. He wondered, for a few moments, how close she wanted him. Jack could dance, sure, and maybe this style of dancing wasn't his strongest suit, but he could still do it and do it relatively well. Hopefully, well enough to impress her. Which was funny, considering Jack had never felt the need to impress anyone in his life, unless he was just showing off for his own amusement. But this wasn't like that. So strange...
"It's the best," TJ agreed, losing herself to the music - and appreciating that he wasn't dancing like too much of a white boy. He definitely got points for that.
He let himself get close to her, but not so close that it was inappropriate. If she wanted to get closer, she could. "You've got some seriously good moves," Jack said, smiling.
This was about as close as TJ was going to let him get, and she was keeping an eye on it, after how strong he'd come on earlier. "Years of having fun dancing," she told him with a smirk.
"Seems like," Jack said, grinning just a bit. "Must be nice, in those other timelines, being able to be out and proud," he said.
"This world is terrible," TJ confirmed with a grimace. Seriously, ugh.
"I'll take your word for it," he replied, amiably. He didn't think it was so bad, but he knew well enough that he was in a position, several positions, really, of privilege above her.
That was an odd answer, but then TJ figured he probably meant in terms of comparing it to other worlds, and that made sense. And when she thought about it like that... "Well, okay, it's not that bad. No one's being enslaved, for one. It's just - really frustrating."
"I guess we'll just have to work to make it less frustrating," Jack said, simply, though of course he knew it wasn't nearly as simple as what he was saying.
"That's the idea," TJ confirmed, the swing of her tail belying irritation. But she shoved those thoughts away. "That's way too heavy conversation for an impromptu dance party."
"Fair enough. Excited for New Year's? I hear there's gonna be plenty of dancing there," he said, moving easily to another topic.
"There will be if I have a say in it," TJ confirmed with a grin. "I'm helping organize it."
"Shame I have to miss it," he said, smiling at her. "I'm expected to make appearances." Despite his semi-exiled status, Jack's family was apparently testing the waters reintroducing him to their social circles.
"Appearances?" TJ echoed curiously.
"Parties," Jack said. "But the kind of parties that aren't fun," he said.
"Blow them off?" TJ offered. He probably couldn't, or wouldn't anyway, but hey.
"If I could, I would. But this is a step toward maybe mending fences," Jack said, shrugging though he made it look like part of the dance. "And what can I say, I'm too amiable."
There was clearly a lot going on there, and TJ barely knew him; she wasn't going to pry. She wasn't sure she wanted to, anyway. "That you are," she confirmed with an amused smile. "Or seem to be, anyway."
"I try," Jack said, cracking a bit of a grin.
TJ was beginning to relax into the moment, tail swinging more easily to the music as she danced. She met his small grin with a smile of her own, and was glad to let the conversation lapse into silence filled by that fantastic song. Dancing was enough on its own; no need to be making conversation all the way through, if you asked her!
Jack knew when it was time to shut his trap, so he kept his mouth shut and just kept pace with her, though there was no way in hell he could match her moves in terms of quality. Still, he didn't care. He was having fun, and he loved it. It was good to cut loose a bit before having to act all prim and proper for the high-class folks later in the week.
Eventually, the song came to an end, and TJ smiled at Jack. "Better than a waltz, am I right?"
"Gotta admit, there won't be any dancing like that at my dad's parties," he said, chuckling just a bit. "Thanks for opening my eyes."
"Wait until you see me in a mosh pit," TJ told him with a sharp grin.
"I can't wait," Jack replied, grinning a bit wider. "So, shall we do another?" he asked. "I'll let you keep picking."
"I should get going, actually," TJ answered, fishing her phone out of her bra to check the time. "Yeah. But it was nice dancing with you!"
"Fair enough," Jack said, smiling at her. "Nice dancing with you, too. We should do it again sometime."
"Be around for the next party," TJ suggested playfully, as she stepped backwards towards the door. "Good luck with those appearances."
"Thanks. I got a feeling I'll need it," Jack said, easily, giving her a small wave. He'd do some stretches and relax, and then be on his way, too. He had places to be, as well.
Busy, busy, busy. He was envious of the kids who could teleport. He at least wished he could try to jump as far as he could to cross the city to save time, but no, it was all car rides and mundane means of travel for him.
At least here, he could be himself. Barefoot, black suit, listening to ballroom music in the empty dance room. His eyes were closed, and he moved about the floor in a one-man waltz, moving his arms, not like he was holding someone, because he wasn't, and he was under no illusions about whether or not he could find a willing dance partner if he so chose. There were plenty of girls, he knew, who loved to dance, here; it wasn't a statement about himself. But he was alone for now, and for now he wanted to be alone, so his arms moved in an interpretive, emotional way as he turned and his feet moved with the rhythm of the dance and music. It was peace, more than it was practice.
Still, Jack was a social creature, always had been, even before the mutation. Part of him was wondering, by the time he was finishing up his little routine and the song changed, if anyone was around for him to dance with.
Jack was in luck, as a blue-furred, yellow-eyed girl was watching him with amusement, arms crossed under her breasts, tail swinging along to the languid tempo of the music. TJ was wearing as little as she usually did: a fake leather skort and a "Cardio Queen" cropped tank top. Anyone who had a problem with her style could just get out of her face.
She waited until the piece was done, then spoke up from where she stood, leaning in the doorframe of the studio. "Y'know, ballroom dancing is so much more fun when you don't do it to the appropriate music."
"Well, how'd I miss a pretty girl like yourself come in?" Jack asked, grinning just a little at her. He wasn't put off by her appearance in the slightest. "And also, in my experience, ballroom dancing is more fun when you have a partner," he added.
"I think that depends on the partner," TJ remarked with a sharp smile, staying where she was for now.
Oh, okay, he liked that. He grinned. "Give me a try, then, beautiful," he said, offering her a hand. "You can pick the music. Maybe you can teach me some moves," he said.
TJ grinned when he said she could pick the music, and ignored his hand to head for the phone plugged into the speakers. She did a quick YouTube search, then let out a happy exclamation when she found what she wanted. "Yes! It exists here too." The music started with just piano, and she bounced over to Jack, smile wicked.
Okay, definitely intriguing. Not in the same way Jeanne-Marie was, flying angel that she was. TJ had something... unrestrained about her, he could already tell. He kept his hand extended, simply turning to her. "May I have this dance?" he asked, putting on his best air of charm.
"Try and stop me," TJ replied, putting her hand in his and moving into the circle of his arms, her second hand ending up on his shoulder as the drums and guitar joined in. She gave him a daring grin, waiting for him to lead.
"I wouldn't dare," Jack said, his other hand going to a daringly low place on her hip, not hesitating at all to lead her, though he wasn't insistent about it; he wanted to get a sense for her skill level, which was quickly becoming apparent as 'probably better than him.' Which he liked.
Ballroom dancing was mostly boring, if you asked TJ, which meant that she wasn't all that good at it. Now, throw her into a mosh pit and she'd really shine. But waltzing around for the fun of it, to some heavy metal? That she could get behind. Her tail swung to the beat of the music as they moved, and after a little while, she didn't need to count off the one-two-threes in her head anymore, and could relax into the music. "This is way better than whatever you were listening to."
"It is nice," he said, enjoying the tempo it was taking, and the energy. "I'll remember it next time I need to blow off steam with a little dancing."
TJ couldn't help but laugh. "This is nothing like blowing off steam in my book." It was, possibly, a warm-up, but nothing so rigid could ever let her blow off steam. Give her a Danger Room session or a nightclub, and you'd be talking.
"Having a pretty girl in my arms is certainly relaxing," Jack returned, smiling at her. This girl, he could tell, was nothing but fun. And he liked that. Fun was, well, it was great.
"I'm rarely called relaxing," TJ stated with a sharp grin, and rolled out of his arms, hands still linked, before twirling back into them.
When she came back to him, he bent over with her, supporting her back gently as he leaned her back, as per the dance, of course. "How about enchanting?" he asked, grinning. "Because that's coming to mind."
TJ's unbound hair brushed the floor as he dipped her, her back arching naturally - mutant flexibility for the win. Then she looked up at him. "You're laying it on thick. Does it usually work on girls?"
He grinned just a bit wider as he brought her back up. "You'd be surprised," Jack said, smoothly.
"Probably," TJ admitted, laughter woven through the word, as they moved back into the regular steps of the waltz.
"The real question is, is it working on you?" he asked, smirking just a bit.
"Take a wild guess," TJ encouraged him. Giving him a straight answer would be no fun.
"Are you this wonderful with everyone you talk to, or are you making an exception for me?" he asked, in return, smiling. He'd never had the charm turned on him before, and he was, frankly, loving it.
That took TJ by surprise, since she hadn't been anything of the sort on purpose. She fumbled for an answer for a couple of seconds, her feet showing no such hesitation as they kept moving to the rhythm, but her tail flicked through the air in surprise. And in the wake of her hesitation came the question, was he being honest, or was it just more of his charm? She ended up blurting out, "Do you ever quit?" before the silence could stretch on for too long.
He chuckled. "Only if you want me to," he offered. It was only polite, after all.
"Kinda," TJ admitted, because she was nothing if not blunt. "I like a bit of flattery as much as the next gal, but a lot is too much."
"That's fair," he said, gently. "Does it change anything if I tell you that I'm sincere about it?" he asked.
TJ couldn't figure out whether that made it better or worse, so she answered with a simple, "Nope."
"Fair enough." What a disappointment. Ah well, his usual style didn't work on everyone. She was, still, someone who'd truly caught his attention, and he wasn't quite used to that. Jack was an affectionate guy, by nature, but she wanted him to rein it in, so he'd rein it in. "I have to admit, I'm wondering if you've met any other of me, before," he said, remembering her post on the journals.
"I don't think so," she replied, shaking her head slightly. "What do you do?"
"Well, other than what you've seen and heard," Jack began, "I have urban adaptations. I get stronger the more people are around," he said.
"Huh," TJ let out, very eloquently. She shook her head again after a moment. "No, I don't even think I've met anyone with that power before."
"Well, good to know I'm at least unique," he said, as the song died down. "You dance very well," he added.
"Meh," she answered with a shrug. "Just means you're good at leading. Waltzes are really not my thing."
"No, I could tell, you're flexible, too," he said, smiling a little. "You've got a good sense of rhythm."
"Mutant flexibility," TJ assured him with a grin, and moved out of the circle of his arms. "Try and beat that." She was proud of every aspect of her mutation, yes. Even the possession, given what she had achieved thanks to it.
"I doubt I could," Jack said, earnestly. It sounded very useful and very... fun. "So, care for another dance? It's your pick of style, this time." Honestly, he didn't want to let her go. Jesus, was this what having a crush was like? He'd never experienced it before, but damn, he really liked this girl. She was obviously the kind of fun he would love to have.
"How d'you feel about moshing?" TJ asked, fangs bared in another smile. "Kidding." She headed back towards his phone, pondering what to put on, then grinned and went for - yes! this too existed here - Uptown Funk. She turned back to Jack with a daring smile. "Now show me how you really move."
Hey, maybe this white boy could actually really dance! It wasn't a complete trap. But this was definitely more her thing than ballroom dancing, and she started moving to the beat.
Jack was already moving toward her with the beat when the song started. "I love this song," he said, grinning. He wondered, for a few moments, how close she wanted him. Jack could dance, sure, and maybe this style of dancing wasn't his strongest suit, but he could still do it and do it relatively well. Hopefully, well enough to impress her. Which was funny, considering Jack had never felt the need to impress anyone in his life, unless he was just showing off for his own amusement. But this wasn't like that. So strange...
"It's the best," TJ agreed, losing herself to the music - and appreciating that he wasn't dancing like too much of a white boy. He definitely got points for that.
He let himself get close to her, but not so close that it was inappropriate. If she wanted to get closer, she could. "You've got some seriously good moves," Jack said, smiling.
This was about as close as TJ was going to let him get, and she was keeping an eye on it, after how strong he'd come on earlier. "Years of having fun dancing," she told him with a smirk.
"Seems like," Jack said, grinning just a bit. "Must be nice, in those other timelines, being able to be out and proud," he said.
"This world is terrible," TJ confirmed with a grimace. Seriously, ugh.
"I'll take your word for it," he replied, amiably. He didn't think it was so bad, but he knew well enough that he was in a position, several positions, really, of privilege above her.
That was an odd answer, but then TJ figured he probably meant in terms of comparing it to other worlds, and that made sense. And when she thought about it like that... "Well, okay, it's not that bad. No one's being enslaved, for one. It's just - really frustrating."
"I guess we'll just have to work to make it less frustrating," Jack said, simply, though of course he knew it wasn't nearly as simple as what he was saying.
"That's the idea," TJ confirmed, the swing of her tail belying irritation. But she shoved those thoughts away. "That's way too heavy conversation for an impromptu dance party."
"Fair enough. Excited for New Year's? I hear there's gonna be plenty of dancing there," he said, moving easily to another topic.
"There will be if I have a say in it," TJ confirmed with a grin. "I'm helping organize it."
"Shame I have to miss it," he said, smiling at her. "I'm expected to make appearances." Despite his semi-exiled status, Jack's family was apparently testing the waters reintroducing him to their social circles.
"Appearances?" TJ echoed curiously.
"Parties," Jack said. "But the kind of parties that aren't fun," he said.
"Blow them off?" TJ offered. He probably couldn't, or wouldn't anyway, but hey.
"If I could, I would. But this is a step toward maybe mending fences," Jack said, shrugging though he made it look like part of the dance. "And what can I say, I'm too amiable."
There was clearly a lot going on there, and TJ barely knew him; she wasn't going to pry. She wasn't sure she wanted to, anyway. "That you are," she confirmed with an amused smile. "Or seem to be, anyway."
"I try," Jack said, cracking a bit of a grin.
TJ was beginning to relax into the moment, tail swinging more easily to the music as she danced. She met his small grin with a smile of her own, and was glad to let the conversation lapse into silence filled by that fantastic song. Dancing was enough on its own; no need to be making conversation all the way through, if you asked her!
Jack knew when it was time to shut his trap, so he kept his mouth shut and just kept pace with her, though there was no way in hell he could match her moves in terms of quality. Still, he didn't care. He was having fun, and he loved it. It was good to cut loose a bit before having to act all prim and proper for the high-class folks later in the week.
Eventually, the song came to an end, and TJ smiled at Jack. "Better than a waltz, am I right?"
"Gotta admit, there won't be any dancing like that at my dad's parties," he said, chuckling just a bit. "Thanks for opening my eyes."
"Wait until you see me in a mosh pit," TJ told him with a sharp grin.
"I can't wait," Jack replied, grinning a bit wider. "So, shall we do another?" he asked. "I'll let you keep picking."
"I should get going, actually," TJ answered, fishing her phone out of her bra to check the time. "Yeah. But it was nice dancing with you!"
"Fair enough," Jack said, smiling at her. "Nice dancing with you, too. We should do it again sometime."
"Be around for the next party," TJ suggested playfully, as she stepped backwards towards the door. "Good luck with those appearances."
"Thanks. I got a feeling I'll need it," Jack said, easily, giving her a small wave. He'd do some stretches and relax, and then be on his way, too. He had places to be, as well.
