Chapter 3
There wasn’t enough room in their tiny living room so they moved the dance lesson outside. Thankfully there were large hedges, so the neighbours wouldn’t be able to see what they were doing, and a large area of grass that would be useful to practise on. Ward had already mentioned there would be lifts involved so the softer a landing area the better. As he had played a record so they could get a feel of the music and speed of movement needed Fitz knew he was going to be in trouble. Although he had been part of Shield for a while he wasn’t required to undergo the fitness trials like the specialists. This dance was fast moving with lots of hops, twists and lifts. It was going to be hard enough keeping up that energy for a long period of time, without having to lift someone else for parts of it. All forms of the dance involved some lifting of the girl, whether it was a simple swing either side of the body or a full twist overhead. He had watched May and Coulson demonstrate with increasing horror. He was going to drop Jemma. He couldn’t do that. He would hurt her. Noticing his increasing distress, Ward motioned him to one side.
“It will be fine. I can teach you simple steps and lifts.”
“But what if I drop her?”
“It happens unfortunately, especially when you’re learning. But you are forgetting one thing.”
“What?”
“That you aren’t in your own body. From what I can tell swing is very popular in this time. Whoever you have taken over has probably done this before. Even though this is your first time doing this, it is likely that you’ve got some muscle memory.”
“That… What… That actually makes sense. Thanks Ward.”
“Are we going to practise or not? You can’t get out of this Robot.”
“He isn’t trying to. He was just giving me some advice.”
“Robot is being comforting. Way to go Robot. We’ll make a human out of you eventually.”
“Funny. Come on, let’s get started.”
Ward let her over to one side of the garden to give them more space. He was to teach her, while Coulson helped Fitzsimmons. May kept coming back to give advice around sorting out the outfits for the dance. Apparently skirts had to be a certain length, not something Ward really knew about.
It quickly became apparent that although Ward was extremely tall he was graceful, being able to move his arms and legs in time. Skye was thankful that she had some rhythm and could dance, but this was different to what she was used to. It was faster than she expected, with the jumps and hops tiring her more quickly than she expected. The lifts were fun though, but the spinning made her dizzy and she often ended up in a heap, she wasn’t expecting the ground to be that close. Ward frequently held her up so she didn’t end up sprawled on the ground quite as often.
She had definitely got the better part of the bargain. Coulson had been trying to teach Fitzsimmons the kick step that made up most of the dance. Though Coulson was currently lying on the floor with Fitz and Simmons lying in a tangled mess. Skye went to help Coulson up, while Ward untangled Fitzsimmons. They were attempting the kick when Fitz had overbalanced and kicked Coulson sending him to the floor. He had then stumbled into Simmons and pulled both of them onto the ground.
“OK. Let’s try something different. Ward you work with Simmons. Fitz you work with May and I’ll dance with Skye. Then everyone has somebody who knows what they are doing.”
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A couple of hours later they had all improved. They could now all at least look like they knew what they were doing. Skye and Ward could do more elaborate steps than Fitzsimmons but May and Coulson were clearly the best.
Aching from all the dancing they had been doing, the girls were then pulled upstairs by May to check her handiwork. May made some simple alterations before sending the girls to bed. They had a long day ahead of them tomorrow so they needed all the sleep they could get.
Thankfully the night had passed without any bombing attempts, so they had all managed to get a night of unbroken sleep. They had a quick breakfast before heading out to the venue for the dance. It wasn’t due to take place until the late afternoon/evening but they wanted to get there early to set up. Decorating the room didn’t take long as there were plenty of volunteers to help. Refreshments had been set up to one side include plenty of tea, much to Simmons delight. The stage was set up as they were having a live band play. There was plenty of chatter as this was the event of the year. It was going to be a big night; Skye hoped that they would be able to pull it off. She didn’t want to let the people who they had taken over down.
She couldn’t help but keep spinning around. She loved this outfit. It was all very simple colours, as the more complex dyes weren’t currently being made. It was a navy blue dress with a cream bow at the neckline with cream trimming. The best part about it was the bottom, with a full circle skirt finishing just above her knee that span out when she turned. Simple pumps were on her feet, normally she would wear heels, she needed the extra height especially when stood next to Ward. But as there was going to be a lot of jumping about she couldn’t wear them, she could injure herself so flats it was.
Initially she had been nervous about this dance, but now music was playing and the room was filling up. The room was almost jumping. She watched as May and Coulson moved onto the floor. As the music started and they began to dance it became very clear just how good they were. They were perfectly in time, kicking above their waists. May twisted beneath Coulson’s arms before she bounced in front of him and then he rolled her over his head. Swing their arms they danced opposite each other before stepping closer once again. Skye sighed with envy. She wished she was as graceful as May.
“May I have this dance?” Ward was stood beside her, holding out his hand.
Skye glanced at the dance floor, reluctance in her eyes. Only May and Coulson were the only ones dancing. She was nowhere near as good as they were, she didn’t want to show herself up.
“Trust me.” Ward whispered.
Taking her hand he pulled her onto the dance floor. Before she could even think about it, he picked her up and tossed her in the air. She landed lightly before moving into the kick step. As he pulled her close he muttered so only she could hear him:
“See. It’s easy. Nothing to worry about.”
They continued dancing, managing to keep in time and mirror each other. The more she danced the more she enjoyed herself. They had quickly been joined on the floor by other couples, meaning there was less room. She might actually have to take this up when they got back to themselves. It was definitely a better way to keep fit than doing the pull ups Ward normally set her. Though she might just be enjoying herself because she was with Ward. He was a good dancer, keeping her up when she stumbled, gently pulling her close to him. Besides it was a good excuse to be close to him, held in his arms.
After a couple of dances Skye decided she needed a break and headed over to the refreshments. Normally she wasn’t a big fan of tea, coffee was her drink, but she had to admit it was refreshing after dancing. Jemma and Leo were dealing out refreshments to people, as they wanted them. Seeing Jemma’s wistful look, Ward glanced at Skye before grabbing Jemma’s hand and pulling her onto the dance floor. Skye grinned at the look of shock on Jemma’s face. The Robot had good ideas once in a while. She took Jemma’s place, helping Leo.
“Seems like a good turn out.” She commented during a lull at the table.
“Yeah. Everyone looks like they are having a good time. Good job there hasn’t been an air raid.”
“True. I wanted to ask a question. Why do you think you and Ward are here? The people you have taken over I mean.”
“I think we might be miners. They were exempt from being soldiers.”
“That makes sense.”
A slight commotion over by the doors caught her attention. There appeared to be a fight on-going. At first she wasn’t sure why it kept her attention. It just seemed like something was telling her to watch. Then she realised she recognised one of the people.
“Skye!” Ward was shaking her gently to get her attention.
“I just saw him. He’s here. Charlie is here.”
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