Noa Scoffs Lightly, Her Hand Flicking Through The Air As If Ushering The Thought Away. Sure, He'd Make

noa scoffs lightly, her hand flicking through the air as if ushering the thought away. sure, he'd make a great addition in that sense, but deep down she truly believes most people deserve and are capable of love, and so she simply cannot help herself. " hmm, so what are you implying here, that my only desire is to make money and that i don't actually care about my clients ? because that's pretty much an insult to my entire existence. i've been setting people up since i was like, eleven. " insult is long forgotten when she earns a laugh, even if she isn't sure it comes from amusement. but his words sadden her, just a little. " that's because unlike the tin man, you already have one. even if you try to hide it. i mean, i'm assuming you're named after apollo, the greek god of light ? do you happen to know what his one weakness was ? " she asks, taking a step closer with a proud smile. " one word, four letters. l-o-v-e. " and sure, history would have it that most of his affairs ended in disaster, but she's, like, totally sure it'll be different for him.

"something tells me i'm JUST A NUMBER to you... like, you don't want me, you want another success story... and if that's what you're after, i'm definitely the worst person for the job." he hopes warning her that he's a lost cause will get her to finally take the hint. it's just about all he can do without explicitly telling her to piss off, which he knows is a bad move. one, he'd never speak to a woman that way. never has, and never will. two, palmview seemed to be working out for him. the last thing he needed was an enemy. especially one that was this well connected. "okay, well don't say i didn't try to save you some time." there's a slight irritation when noa refers to him as just any man, but he chooses to ignore it. it's easier for him to stay silent on the topic of nova. "the grinch of love?" a laugh escapes his lips as he looks at the other. it was just the last thing he was expecting her to say. "well, braunstein, good luck with that. unlike THE TIN MAN, i'm not actively searching for a heart."

" twice ? damn, winnie, you might even have me beat there. " she jokes about killing him and he can't help the smirk that flickers. he leans in, voice low, and with a familiar sardonic humour that not many could handle says, " eh, you'd be doing me a favour. " but as she continues, he stays quiet, let's her talk. isn't quite sure what he's expecting. then it comes and he smiles and it isn't teasing or sarcastic or anything in-between. it's genuine, soft, so unlike him some might never believe it. " that's cool, " he responds, and in a weird way he feels . . . proud of her ? knows all too well how coming out can feel. " we're a pretty decent club. i mean, there's the occasional asshole, myself included, but overall it's not too bad. " grin grows briefly, then fades. a moment of quiet before he asks, “ how long have you been out for ? ”

"well, luckily for you, i've actually done that TWICE. there's so much for you to learn about me," she jokes, pushing herself back on the swing. there was comfort in kai and the park-- the need to be young and innocent again. it seemed kai needed that just as much as she did. "well, that is good news. otherwise, i'd have to kill you." a funny statement, coming from winnie of all people. the girl couldn't even kill a spider. "i guess an ear for now. maybe advice if you think i'm stupid or whatever. which, would be a very valid response." something she wouldn't have agreed with back when everything was fresh. "so, i'm..." the word gets caught in her throat. she's been out for three years, but hasn't really talked about it. at least not verbally. it's almost as hard to say it to kai as it was to say it to her parents. "bisexual," she finally gets out. "but, that's new. well, not NEW, but, like, new, i guess... it took a long time for me to be okay with saying that."

kyro chuckles, smile growing wider as he takes note of her enthusiasm. he's a clean person, likes to be tidy, but his biggest problem is time and his often lack of it. " ah, well, according to my mother i've got quite the reflection, " he jokes with warmth, playful glint in his eyes. " what a shame i can't admire it on my countertops. " he leans in, lowers his voice as if she's about to let him in on a big secret. " are these special ingredients something you're willing to share, or is it a top-secret recipe ? "

maya watched as the crinkle of his brows gave away a slight sense of confusion. maya's lips then curved into a very knowing smile. she had seen that puzzled look before. especially because of the fact that it wasn't the first time she had ever mentioned it. " well. " she began. " maya clean is like over the top clean. you could scrub a countertop so much that you can see the light and your own reflection coming off of it. not a singular bit of dirt in sight! that kind of clean. " she responded with a shrug of her shoulders. " it's certainly not that hard to achieve. especially with my special cleaning ingredients! a little bit of maya clean magic will certainly do the trick! "

it's nice to hear, that someone thinks she's irreplicable in a sense, even if it is ( in her mind, at least ) only when it comes to dance. growing up it had never mattered how many awards she won, how man lead spots she landed, how many people she outdanced. nothing was ever good enough for her mother, and her father never said much of anything at all. simply nodded his head in agreement to everything his wife said, paying no real attention. she doesn't quite know what to say, feels a swell of emotion in her throat, always so quick to swallow it back down. " well, you have to say that— " he doesn't, and she knows fine well he doesn't— " but thank you. i know no one could ever take yours. " because it would never be the same, and she would never trust another dancer to handle her body the way he does. to move with her so in the way he seems to do so effortlessly. nova doesn't believe in fate, because to believe in it would prove the world to be rather cruel considering the fate of their pasts, but one thing that almost convinces her it could exist, is the way it feels like they were born to dance together. light laughter echoes, head shaking as she listens. " only you could try and make something better and somehow make it worse, " nova responds, but there's a softens to her tone, teasing weaved between. " no girl wants to hear that, trust me. even if it is friendship based. convenient implies it would also be easy to drop me if i no longer was easy to be around. " he grabs her hand, and she finds it rather silly how her breath seems to hitch in her throat, how overly aware she is of the fact he still hasn't let it go. they'd held hands at least a hundred times on stage, during practise, so why does it feel so different now ? nova blinks, does her best to keep her gaze on him, takes her a beat longer than it usually would to response. " no, " is her honest answer, and she shakes her head again, tender smile as her gaze softens. " and i don't want to tame the dancing beast, " tone playfully mimics, " i like it exactly as it is. " and she wouldn't be here, this version of her, without him.

"trust me, i don't think anyone is capable of taking your place." he doesn't find anyone to be comparable. maybe he's biased ( he's definitely biased ) but there's no one in nova's league. and, should any company or choreographer disagree, it's them with the issue. he thinks the world of nova, likely because he thinks the world of himself and she's the only one with the ability to keep up. plus, thinking of nova and her abilities distracts from the fact that he's only a few years from retirement. there's always teaching and choreographing to fall back on, but the thought of being done with all of this... it's dizzying.

apollo has become a creature of habit. wake up, train, dance, come home, go to sleep, do it all over again. he despised dance growing up, and still has complicated feelings about it to this day. still, how do you just walk away from something you've spent thirty years perfecting? he was a few years older than nova, so she still had that going for her. perhaps that's why he continued to push her. so, he'd still have a dog in the fight even after he was out of the game.

"you've seem to have taken offense to my use of the word EASY," he replies with a shake of his head. despite growing up surrounded by girls and women both at home, at school, and at dance, apollo was very bad at understanding them. "what's wrong with something easy and convenient?" nothing in apollo's life had ever been easy or convenient, so finding something that was both was a breath of fresh air. "trust me, i had plenty of other options. if anything, you're the only one brave enough to stick around." he grabs her hand off his chest, slowly bringing their hands down in between them, but hasn't let go. "and, yeah, maybe i didn't think you'd make it-- but that wasn't you, that was my history. but i'm glad you feel accomplished. do you feel like you've tamed the dancing beast?"

               he fucking hates being social, yet all too often he can be found at parties much like this one. usually on his own, one too many drinks in, five sheets to the wind. tonight is no different, though he's not quite at the point of no return just yet. eyes narrow when he hears the other speak, lips slightly pursed. there's a pause, another gulp of throat-burning liquid consumed before he shrugs. " 'm not sure whose conversation you're picking up exactly, but i sure as shit didn't say anything. " amusement soon curls lips, " that wasted you're imagining stuff now ? 'cause if so, i'll have some of what you're drinkin'. "

               the  red  solo  cup  is  within  her  grasp,  only  a  couple  sips  left  and  the  fuzziness  is  almost  beginning  to  take  hold.  standing  against  the  wall,  shes  barely  focused  on  the  conversation  at  hand  but  managed  to  butt  in  at  the  last  second  ...  simply  feeling  everyones  eyes  on  her.  “  hm  ?  oh  ..  i'm  not  hitting  much  of  anything  these  days.  ”  theres  a  silence  in  the  air,  clearly  not  listening  to  the  right  parts  of  the  conversation.  “  sorry,  i  heard  something  about  hitting  and  went  with  it  ...  i  haven't  been  listening.  ”     +     @palmviewstarters

he pretends to ponder, to humour her. “ hmm, let me think . . . maybe livin’ on a prayer, because something tells me you’d need one. ” kyro tries to hold back a laugh, but it still threatens to slip out. however, he still makes a point of exaggerating her strength when he fist meets the palm of her hand. “ unless you have any better options ? ” uses hands to encourage her to keep the hits coming, knows sometimes it just takes a little practise.

"i'm so glad you're finally starting to catch on," her pads are tossed to the side in the same manner as his, fists lifting as she circles him in the ring. "what do you think my walk in song should be ?" she questions, throwing her best version of a right hook to his left palm. "for when i make my debut as the next big boxer of the lee family."