Disclaimer: The characters are not mine. However, the plot
of this particular yarn is because it came from my brain;)
Author's Notes: My second attempt at an alternate universe. Anyone
who knows me knows that the standard couples apply (1xR, 2xH,
3x4, 5xS, 6x9). And, despite the story's subject matter, Quatre
and Trowa will be the only yaoi couple in this entire fic, all
the way through. Ballet is something that was important to me
for nine years. I just never realized it until I quit. Writing
this story is bringing it all back to me. Whether or not you like
it or think that male dancers are fruity or whatever...I hope
you'll read and enjoy. And perhaps relieve some memories of your
own, or commiserate if you're a dancer now;)
Dedication: To Melissa, one of the truest and dearest friends
I have ever had. As long as you have a song in your heart and
your old jazz shoes in your closet, you will always be a dancer
****
To Dance Beneath the Diamond Sky
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
Dance isn't something that can be explained in words; it has to
be danced. -Paige Arden
To dance is to be out of yourself, larger, more powerful, more
beautiful. This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours
for the taking. -Agnes de Mille
****
"Hi everyone!" Hilde Scheibeker strode into the open
practice studio with the confident grace of a modest queen.
"Hi!"
"Hey there!"
"Hi Hilde!!"
Amidst the greetings from her fellow students, Hilde tossed her
exercise bag against the mirrored wall after plucking her pointe
shoes from it, and started for her usual place at the barre. He
was already there, waiting for her.
"Saved your spot, gorgeous." Duo Maxwell winked at his
girlfriend. "You're late."
Hilde gave him a quick kiss. "My mom is making me go to tutoring
in the one free hour I have left in my life." She sat on
the wood floor to lace up her shoes. "She says that I'll
never get into a good college if I don't."
Duo plopped down beside her. "You did tell her you weren't
planning to go, right?"
"Of course." Hilde looped the pink ribbons around her
ankle. "She has selective hearing. It didn't register."
He reached for her other foot, to help speed up the process. "New
shoes? It's gonna be a bitch to break them in this late, babe."
"Should I have let the other pair fall apart on me in the
middle of the pas de deux?"
"Well..." Duo flexed her foot with his strong hands.
"I would've paid to see the look on your partner's face,
anyways."
Hilde poked him with one satin pointe. "Speaking of Heero,
where is he?"
A loud eruption of giggles and high-pitched greetings from the
other girls in the company gave Hilde her answer. She looked at
the double doors in time to see Heero Yuy enter, wearing the same
black shirt, black tights combination as Duo. He ignored the simpering
girls and went to his own place at the barre.
"And he's off." Duo shook his head as Heero began his
warm-up routine. "He's such a tight-ass. Even for a dancer."
Hilde laughed and stood up. "Better not let anyone else hear
you talk about his ass." She winced as she raised up onto
her toes. Duo grabbed her waist for support. "I'm okay,"
she assured him.
He gave her a doubtful look. "I think I'll be making a midnight
trip to Brooklyn with bandages and antiseptic."
"Why don't you just make the trip...?" She used the
extra height being on pointe afforded her to kiss his forehead.
There was a glint of promise in her blue eyes that Duo picked
up on immediately. He returned the kiss just as the double doors
opened again. Their instructor and choreographer entered with
a young, blond girl in the standard black leotard and pink tights.
A girl next to Hilde sighed. "Mr. Treize gets better looking
every day." Hilde wrinkled up her nose. Their instructor,
Treize Kushrenada was many things...the son of a rumored Russian
defector, an accomplished cavalier dancer, a disciplined teacher
and a notorious ladies man...but she wasn't quite sure she'd ever
add "sexy" to his list of qualities.
The class continued to chat as Treize said a few words to their
choreographer, Lucrezia Noin and the new dancer. Hilde found herself
admiring the girl's honey blond hair, pulled into a thick knot
at the base of her slender neck. Her own hair was short, black
and curly and could only be held off her face by several clips.
Her eyes drifted over to her pas de deux partner as he continued
his pre-class exercises. She smiled in exasperation. From the
moment he entered the studio to the moment he left it, Heero's
focus never wavered. Of course, that's what it took to be the
best dancer at the Ballet Conservatory. She should know. They
were partners for a reason.
At the front of the room, Treize clapped his hands for his classes'
attention. Even Heero lowered his leg and listened. "Good
afternoon," he greeted them. "Before we begin today,
I have some good news and some bad news. First, the bad news."
"That is so like him," Duo snorted.
Treize continued. "Mary Backer has been moved from this class
to one more...suited for her abilities."
Duo's head shot up from readjusting the strap on his soft, black
shoe. "What about Mary?"
"They've moved her." Hilde bit her lip. "I'm sorry,
Duo."
"Great!" he whispered harshly. "Nice of them to
tell me I'd be losing my partner!"
"Well....I mean, she wasn't exactly..." Hilde phrased
her thoughts carefully. "She was a little...okay, *way* behind
on technique, Duo."
Duo scowled. "Don't pull the prima donna stuff, babe."
She bristled. "I'm not! I'm just saying that..."
"Miss Scheibeker, Mr. Maxwell." Treize folded his arms
over his broad chest. "Do you have something you'd like to
share with the class?" Both teenagers shook their heads,
but only Hilde felt the sting of the reprimand. Duo's violet eyes
were still narrowed.
"With Miss Backer's departure comes the good news,"
Treize went on. He put a hand on the new girl's shoulder. "Class,
I'd like you to meet Relena Dorlian, our new student."
****
All twenty-nine members of the prestigious Ballet Conservatory's
most advanced class watched her with cool, curious stares. Relena
swallowed and fought to keep her hands from trembling. She'd never
been very good in front of a crowd; it was for this exact reason
that her mother had pushed her into ballet at an early age. But
she felt none of the grace and presence that dancing was supposed
to have given her. Rather, she felt extremely out of place. A
duckling amongst the swans.
Relena searched the room for a friendly eye. She saw aloof detachment
or vague resentment in most of the girls; a few arched eyebrows
and interested once-overs from some of the guys, but boredom from
the male dancers who had their arms casually slung over another
male dancer. There was a flash of sympathetic violet in the back
of the room. It prompted at least a smile from Relena.
Her smile fell when her gaze settled on a hard glare of Prussian
blue. The dancer behind the stare looked away, not too quickly
to denote shyness, but not slow enough to indicate that he enjoyed
looking at her. Relena picked up nothing from him beyond a physical
description. Of course, when she took into account his great physique,
it didn't seem to really matter.
She found herself blushing in front of the entire class. Behind
her, Lucrezia Noin patted her arm in reassurance. Relena was intensely
grateful for the presence of her brother's fiancee.
"Miss Dorlian comes to us from Theatre Ballet in Paris where
she has been studying for the past year," Treize announced.
There were no sounds of awe, only eyes rolled skyward and faint
snorts. "She will take Miss Backer's place as Mr. Maxwell's
pas de deux partner."
The dancer with the violet eyes grinned at Relena. The petite,
dark-haired girl beside him crossed her arms over her leotard.
Relena felt Treize push her forward. "There's plenty of room
on the back barre with your partner," he told her.
A red-haired girl on the barre in question raised her hand. "Actually
Mr. Treize, we're cramped as it is back here. Maybe you could
find another place for her?" There was the slightest hint
of a sneer in her voice.
Relena looked down at her pink satin pointe shoes. A hot lump
settled into her throat. Moving from an entirely different country
wasn't nearly so hard as starting over in a new dance class. Fortunately,
Treize had no intention of allowing the students to run his class.
"In that case," he began. "Miss Scheibeker, move
up to the front barre and take the empty space next to Mr. Yuy.
You two really ought to be stretching together, anyway. Miss Dorlian,
you take Miss Scheibeker's place."
The dark-haired girl threw the boy beside her, who had a long
braid of hair trailing down his back that Relena could see when
he turned, a mournful look, but did as the instructor asked. Relena
passed her on the way to the back barre and received a rather
cold look. Doing her best to ignore it, Relena took her place
beside her new pas de deux partner.
"Hey," he greeted her with a wink. "I'm Duo."
Relena shook his hand with great hesitation. "It's a pleasure
to meet you."
"All right everyone. We'll begin with the usual routine.
Two demi-plies and a grand in first, second, fourth and fifth.
Full port de bra forward, sideways and back." Treize pointed
to the pianist and light music filled the room.
Duo's muscled back faced Relena as they started the stretches.
"So, Paris, eh?"
She waited until she was well into her grand plie before replying.
"Yes. I miss it." As she rose back up, she frowned at
his thick braid of hair. "Doesn't that get in your way?"
"Nah, I just tuck it under my shirt after warm-up,"
he replied, bending over backwards in the required port de bra.
"What about during performance?" she asked when they
both moved into second position.
"Well..." Duo completed his plies and stretched forward
until his head nearly touched the floor. With his legs in second,
he could see her behind him, in the same position. "I'm not
a cavalier, so it doesn't matter. I play the character parts."
They straightened up and bent sideways. "Like last Christmas,
I played the Rat King in *The Nutcracker*. Not in the big company
production, of course," he hastily added. "Our class
just put it on with the next level down for one of the children's
centers in Harlem."
Relena closed her eyes, feeling the familiar stretch up and down
her side. The school might have been new, but the comfort of dancing
made the awkwardness fade away. "Still...that's a great part.
So, who in here was the Nutcracker Prince?"
"Wait until we get into real practice..." Duo adjusted
his feet into fourth position. "And then you can figure it
out for yourself."
****
Thirty minutes later, they had moved from the barre into floor
exercises. Now paired up with their partners, the class had been
instructed to perform a fish dive move. When Duo put his hands
on her waist, Relena instantly tensed up. She wondered what her
old pas de deux partner was doing right then. It was much later
in Paris, but Quatre Winner was probably still rehearsing.
Duo seemed to sense her hesitation. "Hey, it's okay."
He took her hand. "I haven't dropped a girl yet."
She relaxed a bit and let him lead. He lifted her up into the
air; she curved her back, bending one leg at the knee slightly
more than the other. For his part, Duo supported her with one
hand on her stomach and the other curled around her inner thigh.
She aligned her arms at a paralell with her body and they held
the position until Treize made his way to them.
"Good. Miss Dorlian, relax your fingers...." Treize
looked them over critically. "Mr. Maxwell, you need to support
her more; she looks like she's about to fall."
Duo grimaced. "All right." The only way to follow Treize's
instructions was to get his hand even higher up on Relena's inner
thigh, to the point where he might as well be copping a feel.
Relena jumped even at the expected movement of his hand. Somehow
having Quatre hold her in the exact same position had never made
her feel uncomfortable. Perhaps because of his relationship with
Trowa Barton... A sudden wave of panic hit her.
The slight jerk of her body knocked Duo off balance. She almost
fell onto her face, but managed to catch herself by pulling one
leg of his grasp and landing on it. She stumbled forward too quickly
for him to hold her in place. Every eye was suddenly on her.
"Nice move," someone snickered.
Treize frowned. "Miss Catalonia, keep your comments to yourself."
He looked at Relena. "You have to trust your partner, Miss
Dorlian or else you might as well quit now."
Relena released a breath when he continued on, inspecting the
other dancers. Duo approached her. "Sorry about that,"
he apologized.
"It's not your fault." She wiped a bead of perspiration
off her forehead. "I won't let it happen again."
Across the room, Treize suddenly called for everyone's attention.
"Class, I want you to watch Mr. Yuy and Miss Scheibeker execute
the fish dive." The partners moved into a perfect example
of the supported adagio position. "Look at the lines of Miss
Scheibeker's body. This is what you should be trying for, ladies.
And gentlemen, watch how Mr. Yuy supports her. Try to do the same."
Relena watched the pair for a long minute. "She's really
good..."
"Hilde's the best." Duo grinned. "She's also my
girlfriend," he continued, proudly.
"And her partner?" She licked her lower lip when the
dancer with the Prussian blue eyes released Hilde.
Duo moved behind Relena to try the fish dive again. "Heero
Yuy." He lifted her up.
Her eyes were still on the other boy. "The Nutcracker Prince?"
"You got it."
****
"Great class everyone. See you tomorrow at four sharp."
At Treize's dismissal, the entire class relaxed and headed for
their abandoned exercise bags. Relena followed Duo when he went
to pick up his. "Wasn't bad for a first class together,"
Duo told her.
"I nearly toppled over, landed wrong on my grand jete, flubbed
up my foutettes...."
"Don't beat yourself up." Duo grabbed his bag. "There's
always tomorrow."
Relena tucked a few sweaty strands of hair that had worked loose
of her bun behind her ears. "I suppose."
Just then, they were joined by Hilde who immediately claimed Duo's
arm. He kissed the top of his girlfriend's head. "You looked
good today, babe."
"Thank you." Hilde wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Relena, this is my girlfriend, the greatest dancer alive,
Hilde. Hilde, this is Relena," Duo introduced the girls.
Hilde gave her a cool smile. "Did you really dance in Paris?"
Relena nodded. "At just what level?"
Duo shook his finger at her. "Quit being catty or I'll have
to pinch you."
A little bit of Hilde's initial jealous and hostility towards
the new girl faded in the light of her boyfriend's obvious devotion.
"Sorry. PMS." She gave Relena a genuine smile. "Duo's
a strong partner; you'll get better."
"Um...thank you. I think." Out of the corner of her
eye, Relena caught sight of Heero, returning to the barre. "Does
he take double classes?"
"No, he's just a perfectionist," Hilde replied, leaning
on Duo for support as she loosened the ties on her pointe shoes.
"He'll be here until he gets whatever he's working on completely
down pat."
"Whew! For a second, I was afraid he might have convinced
you to stay, too." Duo winked; it seemed to be his trademark
gesture.
Hilde removed her shoes and slipped on a pair of Keds before Duo
could see the bloody blisters on her feet. "I wish I could,
but I have to work tonight."
"Where do you work?" Relena asked, politely, as she
zipped up her parka.
"A dance supply store on West 23rd." Hilde reached into
her bag for her watch. "Actually, I've got to run if I'm
gonna catch the subway." She kissed Duo's cheek and tried
not to hobble out of the studio.
Duo sighed. "Her feet must be killing her. Damn, I wish she
wouldn't push herself so hard."
Relena placed her pointe shoes in her bag and pulled on her sneakers.
"She seems really nice."
"Yeah. She is." Duo smiled. "When she's not being
a prima donna."
Most of the class had left by then, with the exception of Heero
who was practicing at the barre. "Do you need a ride somewhere?"
Relena asked Duo.
"You have a car?"
Together, they walked out of the studio. "Well, not exactly."
When, after a short elevator ride, they emerged onto the busy
sidewalk of Broadway, he saw what she meant. A stretch limousine
waited for her at the curb. "Damn..." Duo whistled.
"Nice setup. So, just who are you, Relena Dorlian?"
****
Relena was, he learned during the twenty minute limo ride to his
parent's apartment in Chelsea, the daughter of Gerrard Dorlian,
Ambassador to France. Her parent's recent divorce had sent her
back to America, quite unexpectedly.
"So, you live with your mom on Park Avenue?"
She tore her eyes away from the bare, winter trees in Central
Park as they passed by. "Well, we live with my brother, Millardo."
Duo double-blinked. "Millardo? As in 'Peacecraft'? The Conservatory
company's artistic director, Millardo? Engaged to our classes'
choreographer, Millardo?"
Relena nodded to every statement. "He's only my half-brother,
actually. We have the same mother."
"Hey, that's cool, though." Duo settled back into the
leather seat. "Put in a good word for me with your brother
when he's casting the workshop next month."
"The workshop? That's the auditions for the company, right?"
Duo nodded. "And pretty much every other company that matters.
City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre. We're doing *Swan Lake*,
apparently. I'm bucking for the role of Baron Rothbart."
Relena smiled. "I'll drop Millardo some subtle hints."
"I think I'm gonna like you, Relena Dorlian. And not just
for that, I swear." Duo grinned. "It's a lot about the
limo, too."
She laughed, for the first time in weeks, although Duo wasn't
aware of that. "I suppose your girlfriend's going for Odette?"
"Hilde's been trying for that part since she was eight."
Duo scratched the back of his head. "She'd probably get it
on her own merit, but having Yuy for a pas de deux partner helps
her chances a hell of a lot."
"Is he really that good?"
Duo snorted. "He's fucking perfect." He glanced out
the window. "Oh, hey! Driver-person..."
"Miles," Relena supplied the driver's name.
"Miles-man." Duo pointed. "That's my building right
there." Miles pulled over and Duo opened the limo door. "Thanks
for the ride, princess."
The new nickname made her smile even brighter. "Wait,"
she called to him. "What school do you go to?"
"PS 156," Duo replied. "Why? Where are you gonna
be going?"
Disappointment flashed on Relena's face. "St. John's Academy."
"Ah..." Duo crossed his arms. "Well, you won't
be alone on your first day, then."
"I won't?"
"Nope." He started to close the door. "Yuy goes
there, too." The door shut. Duo waved and bounded up the
steps of his apartment building.
Relena closed her eyes as Miles started off towards Park Avenue.
She'd be going to school with Heero, the Perfect Dancer.
Somehow, she had a feeling that wouldn't prevent her from being
lonely on her first day of school.
****
"Relena, you haven't touched your creme brulee." Lucrezia
Noin gave her fiancee's half sister a puzzled look. "I thought
it was your favorite."
"It is," Relena assured her. "I'm just not very
hungry."
Across the table, Relena's mother, Helen Dorlian, touched her
linen napkin to the corners of her tight mouth. "Don't push
her, Lucrezia. She needs to watch her weight."
"There's nothing wrong with her weight," Millardo Peacecraft
said, firmly. He lifted his coffee cup to his lips and smiled
at Relena.
Helen gave her oldest son a look. "A few extra pounds can
count for a lot when someone has to lift you everyday. You should
know that better than anyone, Millardo."
"A few extra pounds also keeps her from looking emaciated,"
Lucrezia added in a quiet voice. "But if she's truly not
hungry, she's not hungry."
Relena pushed back from the table. "May I please be excused?
I have a lot of homework."
No one objected, so Relena started out of the dining room. A servant
gave her a curtsy in the hallway before she escaped to the luxurious
haven of her rooms. Her bed had already been turned down; not
an article of clothing lay on the floor and nary a knick-knack
was out of place. Relena stifled a small scream. She had very
purposefully left a uniform skirt and blouse in a messy pile on
the oriental rug.
She flopped onto her bed. Her own room and she couldn't control
how it was kept. As she lay on the soft down comforter, her thoughts
drifted back to class. The fish dive. The horrible feeling of
panic when Duo's hand came into contact with the inside of her
thigh. It was way too much like...
Relena shook her head. The past was a bad place in which to dwell.
She turned her head after a moment and her gaze fell on the princess
phone beside her bed. Without hesitation, she pulled the receiver
from its cradle and dialed a long string of numbers. After a moment
of ringing, she heard the voice she had been longing for.
"Hallo?" Quatre Winner's sleepy French was like music.
Relena bit back tears. "Quatre...il ist moi, Relena."
"Relena!" He sounded overjoyed, not giving any indication
that he cared that she had woken him up at four AM, Paris-time.
"Oh, cheri....it is so good to hear your voice."
"Quatre..." She lost the battle with her tears. "I
miss you so much!"
"Bebe..." His sympathy floated to her from across the
Atlantic. "Everyone in class mourns now. Relena is gone.
I think we do not go on much longer."
Relena twisted the phone cord around her finger. "I think
I do not go on much longer, either."
"Do they not treat you well in America?"
"I suppose. But it's not Paris, Quatre. It never will be."
"Of course not!" He paused. "Today began your new
class?"
"Oui."
"Et..." he prompted.
Relena sighed. "I have a very nice pas de deux partner. You'd
like him, Quatre. He's a bit of a rebel." She described Duo's
braid, to Quatre's amusement. "But," she continued.
"In class today, when he had to touch me..."
"Vous etes devenus fous?"
"Oui. I completely freaked out." Relena sniffed. "I
thought if I got out of Paris....even though I'd be leaving you
and the company....I'd be getting away from..." She swallowed.
"From him."
"You do not leave behind all bad thought because you run,"
Quatre said. "It will now follow you until you say, 'Alles
vous en! Laissez-moi seul! Be gone! Leave me be!' Only then do
you forget."
Relena looked down at her lap. "And then I'll stop having
nightmares?"
Quatre made a noise in the back of his throat. "You do not
sleep, cheri?" He emitted several French curses. "When
I see him, I spit on him. Remember this, bebe...he is one man.
The men you meet in America...some different. Give them a...a...merde!
What is the word?"
"A chance?"
"Oui! A chance. But trust carefully. Do you understand?"
Relena nodded. "I understand. Merci, my dear friend. When
you see Trowa, tell him I miss him."
"I tell him when he wakes," Quatre promised. Relena
laughed. Twice in one day; it was a record. "Bonsoir, petit
mademoiselle."
"Bonsoir," she whispered before the click of his phone
hanging up. She left the phone at her ear for a long time, as
if it could keep Quatre with her.
And keep the bad dreams away.
****
To Be Continued