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They have performed this dance hundreds of times. A fishtail into a rumba cross here. A reverse pivot that swiftly transitions into a progressive chasse there. Claudine knows this dance inside and out: every beat is committed to her memory; she doesn’t miss a step. She might as well be walking; her movements are so practiced and precise.
And yet, for all her practice, she will never get used to Maya staring right at her, their faces so close that she can see those purple eyes drilling deep into her psyche, unearthing all the weaknesses and faults she would prefer to keep a secret. She would have no such luck hiding anything from those eyes. Under the gaze of Tendou Maya, she is revealed—Claudine feels like her knees will buckle at any moment—and does that woman really have to grip her waist so tightly? That wasn’t necessary. That wasn’t necessary at all!
Everything that infuriating woman does is, at once, purposeful and extravagant. Even if she had a hundred years to study, Claudine will never understand how Maya manages to be so insufferably smug as they dance across the practice room. The stereo blares music from the swinging 60s. Claudine can barely concentrate because her partner’s smile is louder than any trumpet. Why is Maya so confident? How can she be so sure of herself?
Claudine can barely think but her body reacts immediately when her dance partner dips her. She lifts her right leg. Her balance shifts until the only thing that is preventing her from falling is the stability she gets from that girl. That Tendou Maya.
The same Tendou Maya who easily pulls Claudine back towards her. Claudine’s jaw clenches when she suddenly feels her body pressed against the taller woman’s. They fit so comfortably together they may as well be interlocking pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. She can hear how fiercely her dance partner’s heart is beating and knows she’s in no better state. Scratch that. She’s in an even worse state because, as they ready themselves for the next movement, Claudine feels a hand languidly run down her spine until it rests against the small of her back.
The tempo increases. Maya is still smiling her winning smile when she pulls them even closer together. Claudine can feel the swell of the other girl’s chest against her own.
Their feet shuffle to the beat. The rubber soles of their shoes squeak against the polished wooden floors. Their breathing becomes more and more labored. Claudine feels herself tiring but she is held captive and spellbound by this treacherous woman. Her pride would never allow her to stop; she has something to prove. She must prove that she is the most beautiful. Saijou Claudine is not a burned-out, washed-out former child star. She still feels the allure of the stage. She still has radiance to offer. She still has the capability to shine.
More importantly—and more immediately—she always finishes what she started, and she was the one who started this entire, this entire…thing between her and the other girl. Sometimes she wishes she never reached her hand out to Tendou Maya. But that thought never gets her far. After all, if she did not have this, who would she be?
“Something the matter?”
“Hah?”
“You’re making me a little self-conscious, staring at me like that,” her rival teases. Claudine hates how Maya modulates her voice so masterfully. She sings soprano but still manages to pitch her voice lower in a breathy lilt that does little to hide her mischievous intentions. Who even does that? Who spends so much effort performing outside the stage?
“You’re one to talk,” Claudine blusters her way into a haughty cadence and a smirk. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed how your eyes have never left me since we started.”
“Indeed. I prefer it this way with your eyes on my face rather than my back.”
“Seriously, you vexing woman.”
Maya chuckles at this in a way that makes Claudine tremble. Or maybe it’s just the way she is spun around, away from her. Claudine arranges herself into an artful pose. She extends her legs and raises her free arm up with graceful poise. The other is still in contact with her rival; the rest of her traitorous body misses the connection until she is pulled back into Maya’s personal space. Their forms are compressed together once more.
Claudine can’t stand this. This dance of theirs is making her head ache. She pushes away and part of her savors the look of shock in Maya’s eyes. However, it’s the flash of hurt not quite hidden successfully that draws Claudine back. She grabs Maya by her waist, changing their positions, and begins their dance again. She is now leading.
Claudine watches as Maya’s wide-eyed shock melts into her usual self-satisfied smile. The brown-haired girl effortlessly matches her beat-for-beat, step-for-step. Claudine isn’t pleased. She isn’t pleased at all! She knows that Maya is only humoring her, and the girl says as much:
“You could’ve just asked.”
“Would that have worked?”
“You’ve improved,” Maya remarks, elegantly sidestepping the question. Claudine is happy with the praise but also annoyed. She’s annoyed at how easily her rival is keeping pace with her. Leave it to Tendou Maya to be perfect in any role. How is Claudine ever to catch up if that woman keeps raising the bar? She once again hides her insecurity with false bravado.
“What can I say, Futaba is a great partner. She lets me practice leading and is much more agreeable than you.”
“Is that so?” Maya says. Claudine can feel the jealous woman’s muscles tense despite her airy inflection. She leans into this weakness.
“Of course. Who wants to be constantly faced with overbearing pressure every time they’re partnered together? Or be constantly looked down upon. Or be treated as second best. Or—
They are off beat. Claudine isn’t sure what happened—who made the mistake—but when she begins the next twirl their limbs are tangled together. She falls. In those stomach-churning seconds, she feels the pangs of failure within her. The same failure she felt in her ungainly middle school years when her growing pains were dwarfed by the gnawing realization that she was getting less and less callbacks until they ultimately stopped. And so came the end to Saijou Claudine the genius child actor.
“Are you hurt?”
Claudine reorients herself to the sound of her rival’s voice. She finds that, despite her fall, she is uninjured. Her descent has been cushioned. Maya looks up at her with a grimace on her face and one eye still shut from the pain.
“Ça va. You should worry more about yourself,” Claudine snaps though her retort lacks any bite due to her concern. She finds that Maya’s hands are encircled around her waist. She had been protected from the fall. Even in failure, Tendou Maya remains ever-so gallant. How utterly…vulgar.
Claudine seethes. She notices then how intimate their pose is as they now lack the dance’s propriety. Her cheeks flush an even darker shade of red. She doesn’t move away.
The space between them decreases even more when Maya sits up. They are face-to-face now; they’re both breathing so fast; she can feel Maya’s breath on her face. Claudine didn’t think her pulse could be any quicker but then Maya reaches up to gently wipe the sweat from Claudine’s cheek with her thumb.
Claudine is infuriated; she must be infuriated. How else is she to describe being the victim to Tendou Maya’s full charm? She tries to ignore the hand cupping her cheek by glaring hotly at her rival. That's a mistake. She is met with the full force of Tendou Maya’s sincerity as the confounding woman somehow manages to strike the perfect balance between handsome and beautiful, innocent and knowing, prideful and yet humble. And she’s not even acting.
“I don’t look down upon you. Or treat you as second best. To be honest, I admire you a great deal. I always have, Claudine.”
Her name spoken by that melodic voice sends a shiver down Claudine’s spine. “Jeez you…you,” she complains, not knowing what else to say. “That’s too familiar!”
Maya chuckles at this before she pulls Claudine forward and into an embrace. “What about this?” she teases.
The stress that’s been building in Claudine finally snaps. She can’t take anymore; she can’t stand this deceitful, this…this dance of theirs any longer. When she is freed from the hug she grabs two fistfuls of Maya’s track jacket and smashes her lips against her rival’s. Oh how freeing, oh how victorious she feels when she finds the body below her unresponsive. She savors the dumbfounded look on Maya’s face before she stands up.
“What about this?” Claudine mockingly repeats, flipping her blonde hair back in triumph. She turns her back on her dazzled partner and goes to retrieve her belongings. Never mind the fact that her panicking has only gotten worse once she realizes what she has done. Her lips are burning. So are her ears.
Claudine does not dwell on this. Rather, she cannot: she is suddenly spun around and slammed against the wall. A hand is pressed dangerously near her left ear, trapping her in place. Looming over her is Maya, red-faced but resolute.
“We are not done,” is the only warning Claudine receives before she is captured in a kiss so searing that her knees buckle immediately. That’s when Maya’s leg finds its way between both of Claudine’s, serving both as a support and something…more. Trapped and completely engulfed by the contact, the only thing Claudine can do is moan. Instantly she feels Maya’s tongue invade her mouth with every intention to conquer. She tries to weakly protest with her own, but that just gives the industrious Maya another target for her affection.
Claudine is bristling from all the new sensations she is experiencing. Their tongues swirl together. Maya then courteously allows Claudine to return the favor and Claudine responds with her best. She explores the roof of Maya’s mouth; she runs her tongue along the surface of that girl’s perfect teeth and she delights in hearing Maya sigh in response.
While she did take pride in her lung capacity, her rival’s is, frustratingly enough, better. Claudine is thus the first to draw back. As she struggles to regain her breath, she feels Maya press feather-light kisses on the side of her cheek, then her chin, before traveling down to her neck.
“J'arrive pas à le croire,” she mutters between pants. Maya leans back; her eyes are glimmering with affection. And, ever affected, Claudine can’t help herself from reacting. “You’re staring at me again.”
“Can you blame me?”
“Won’t the stage get jealous? I thought you only had eyes for it.”
Maya actually giggles at this. Claudine is so astonished by the uncharacteristic outburst that she uncomfortably shifts. When she does, the friction between her core and Maya’s leg causes her to involuntarily moan. Instantly Maya’s maidenly visage changes to that of a ravenous prince and she descends once more upon Claudine’s lips.
“With you, I want to go even higher. I can go even higher,” she huskily whispers into Claudine’s ear. A kiss is then pressed against it. Another falls upon her forehead. When Maya draws back, Claudine half expects that her hand would be kissed next. That woman does have the disposition to do something that exasperating.
Oh to hell with this, Claudine decides. They have gotten this far together. Neither one of them were the type to stop short of any challenge. “So I will take you there,” she promises. She flips their positions so now it’s Maya’s back against the wall.
They kiss once more. Maya’s expressive eyes are sparkling with mirth as her fingers play with the edges of Claudine’s sleeves. Claudine, however, has no time for games. Without breaking their kiss she impatiently tears open Maya’s jacket and quickly discards it. Maya responds by pulling both Claudine’s jacket and the T-shirt underneath it over her head.
She gasps when she feels Maya’s hands on her bare skin. Her dance partner happily hums as she runs her fingers up Claudine’s waist. Before she can travel even farther, Claudine stops her by trying to remove her shirt. She would have succeeded had it not become tangled with the bow in Maya’s hair.
“Merde! What is with you and bows? Isn’t the one on our uniform enough?” Claudine says, throwing her hands up in exasperation to hide her embarrassment. She separates herself from Maya, putting distance between them. “You also have the blue one in the back that clashes with the red. Then there’s our revue uniforms! Don’t you think that’s excessive?”
She crosses her arms protectively across her chest as she watches Maya untangle herself. Along with her bow and shirt, Maya thoughtfully removes the hairpins she’s clipped onto her bangs.
“I am excessive,” the girl with the impeccable pedigree declares. “What would the theater be without theatrics? When the spotlight is on me, I will hold nothing back.”
Claudine groans. She would’ve rolled her eyes, but her rival captures her attention with a single tilt of her head. Their gazes are locked on to each other’s faces. Claudine’s expression is defiant compared to Maya’s amused challenge. With Claudine’s eyes upon her, without looking away, Maya then removes her bra. The rest of her remaining clothes soon follow. Her unwavering smile is ever-so serendipitous.
Now Claudine couldn’t look away if she even wanted to. Jaw agape and feet frozen in place, she could only stare dumbly at the sight before her.
There’s no other way to describe the detestable woman’s movements than to compare them to a large cat slinking towards her prey. She’s all soft curves and toned muscles. There’s an almost hypnotic sway to her bare hips as she approaches; a bounce to her breasts. Claudine stumbles backwards in self-preservation yet she is still unable to look away. Before she can take another step back, Maya grabs hold of one of Claudine’s forearms. Her grip may as well be steel; Claudine has no strength to remove it.
“I will hold nothing back,” Maya repeats. “So look at me. Look only to me. Tonight, I shall deliver all of myself unto you.”
Claudine find herself guided to the floor. And as the ceiling lights shine brightly above her, so does Tendou Maya. Infuriating, annoying, and utterly ridiculous Tendou Maya, the one who now straddles Claudine’s lap in all her naked glory. Oh how Claudine hates how much she is enamored by this resplendent girl who has taken hold of both her hands and placed them on her breasts. She can barely process any of this, but she allows Maya to lead their way.
Maya unhooks Claudine’s bra and then throws it aside with a flourish. Claudine feels how the expanse of her now uncovered chest is meticulously explored as if they were lines in a play. The sensation sharpens when Maya’s hands run up to Claudine’s shoulders and she then feels nails dig deep into her flesh. Her eyes widen.
For the second time tonight, something within Claudine breaks. She surges forward, matching Maya’s intensity with her own ferocity. She takes possessive claim over Maya’s lips as she gropes her breasts and hisses when she feels her rival’s nails drag down her back. She feels the heat pulsing from the trail as Maya sucks her bottom lip. She breaks free.
“I won’t lose to you,” Claudine growls before she bites hard into the junction between Maya’s neck and shoulder. The cry she receives is sweeter than any song. She licks the wound in hopes of prolonging the sound. That’s when she finds herself slammed into floor. Maya forcefully pins her arms over her head with enough strength to bruise. Despite her position, Claudine has to smirk at the sight above her: all traces of Tendou Maya’s good humor have been wiped away. What’s left in her rival’s dilated eyes is unbridled hunger and desire; her lips are curled into an aggressive snarl. Her Maya has never looked so alive.
All breath is knocked out of Claudine when Maya sinks her teeth into her collarbone and proceeds to leave a series of possessive markings across her chest. She gasps when she feels Maya’s lips encircle her right nipple. She cries at the wet sensation when Maya licks it and she buckles helplessly when that too is bitten. Her legs flail uselessly between Maya’s; she is still trapped. Her reaction elicits a chuckle before her other nipple is then similarly claimed.
Maya then takes the opportunity to re-adjust herself. Still pinned against the floor, Claudine can do nothing as her rival shifts so she is sitting on Claudine’s stomach while still hunched over her. She can’t even see—Maya’s unpractically long hair is covering her eyes. All she can do is feel is the wetness that’s now pooling in and around her bellybutton as Maya grinds into her. She tries to buck the girl off but that seemed to only increase Maya’s enjoyment. Claudine feels so pathetic and yet she is so turned on by all the pants and gasps that Maya is making above her.
“Y-You really are cute when you cry, my…my Claudine.”
“Shut up and let me go you, you méchante—ah!”
Claudine’s loudest cry yet interrupts her tirade. Maya has taken advantage of her bucking to tear off her shorts and panties. Claudine feels, only for a brief moment, exposed to the cold air until her partner’s talented fingers dance upon her most sensitive spot. All her tense muscles slacken; all the fight leaves her. Even her vision blurs as Maya rolls her fingers around and against her tightest bundle of muscles.
“Yes…yes,” she moans, thrashing against that skillful hand. Something is building inside of her. With every movement it ventures nearer. Claudine can feel all her nerves bunched and scrunched together. That’s when she feels Maya’s fingers enter her. “Merde,” she curses. Everything suddenly snaps into focus. She shoots up so quickly that she catches Maya off guard. She instantly breaks out from the hold and the speed of which causes her headband to fall to her neck. She’s too wired to really care. There’s only one thing in her mind.
She shoves Maya to the floor and tangles her fingers in the brunette’s hair. Using that as leverage, she pulls Maya’s face towards her hypersensitive center. Only when she feels that clever tongue upon her does she sigh in relief.
Of course, when Tendou Maya is involved, nothing is ever simple. The prodigy is too capable for her own good; Claudine screams when she feels herself penetrated again as Maya simultaneously sucks on the hood of her clit. Both of her hands shoot up to brace against the wall to prevent herself from falling.
She shakes; she trembles; she babbles and cries nonsensically as she is drowned in the pleasure Maya submerges her in. It is in this position that Claudine’s vision goes completely white. It reminds her of the first time she stepped onto the stage: everything within her, everything inside her seems explode, overflowing from her container. With tears in her eyes, Claudine reaches completion as her partner—her Maya—continues to express the full extent of her love. The last thing Claudine is cognizant of is Maya catching her in her arms as she slumps forward. She decides she really likes the feeling of their bare skin against each other’s.
When her senses return to her, the first thing Claudine notices is the pleasant vibrations against her chest. Maya is humming to herself as she cradles her. When Claudine opens her eyes, she is greeted by the sight of the bruised neck she has been resting against. She sits up so she can sheepishly face Maya.
“How long was I out?”
“Not that long. Merely a few minutes.”
“How uncool.”
“Indeed,” Maya giggles softly. Claudine decides she likes the sound despite the circumstances. “You were quite cute. Are you all right?”
“Hmph. Never better. What…what about you?”
“I enjoyed myself immensely. However, you never—what did you call it? Ah, ‘took me there.’”
“You’re unbelievable, you know that?” Claudine complains. She shivers from the cold. Before she can react any further, Maya has draped one of their jackets around her. At that point, all she can do is sulk. “And I’ll make it up to you next time. Definitely.”
“And what shall happen to you then, my Claudine?” Maya replies playfully, toying with the headband that is now around Claudine’s neck.
“I’ll be right there besides you,” she mutters and nestles deeper into their embrace. While this dance between them may had ended, she is already planning the next one. And the next one. And the next one after that.
Tendou Maya may be able to fool everyone else into believing she is completely devoted to the stage, but Claudine knows better. Only she can compete against her. Only she can complete her. And she would have it no other way.