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Rick stormed into your shared office and threw a pile of paperwork angrily on his desk. You startled awake from where you had been dozing off in your chair in the corner. He shot you a quick apologetic glance before shifting back into full pissed off mode. You yawned and stretched before asking, “So what’s got you in such a bad mood?”
“Waller just told me I have to go to this banquet for some of the top military bigwigs up in DC.” He crossed his arms across his broad chest and pouted slightly.
You smirked at his expression as you leaned back in your chair. “So? She’s always showing you off at these sorts of events as the commander of Task Force X. What’s new?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “This one is more formal than usual. It’s less of a banquet and more of a….. ball.”
“Oh.” You understood his concern immediately. You had seen Rick try to dance before and if it was anything more than gently swaying to the music, he was completely hopeless. The man could sneak silently through any terrain imaginable but place him on the dance floor, and he became an uncoordinated idiot. To say he had two left feet would be a compliment.
“I don’t know what to do!” he said frustratedly as rubbing his hand over his face.
You shrugged nonchalantly. “Let me teach you.”
His head shot up. “What?”
“I’ve offered before. Maybe now this will be enough of a motivation to actually let me show you a thing or two.”
“I don’t need you to teach me-”
“Yes, you do.” He looked miserably down at the floor as you cut him off. “Listen, it doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Just a simple slow dance. I’m sure you can pick that up in no time!”
He hesitated then mumbled, “When would we do this?”
“How about now?” you said. “It’s either this or I go back to my nap.”
“But we don’t have any music.”
You chuckled as you stood up from your chair. “One step at a time, Colonel. Let’s just see what I’m working with.”
You grabbed his hands and placed one on your hip. Rick immediately slid it up so it rested on your waist, but you rolled your eyes at him before repositioning it back at your hip. Then you placed one hand on his shoulder and linked your other hand with his.
For the next hour, you did your best to teach Rick the most basic of moves, but it was pretty much a disaster. Whether you had him try leading or you lead, he was constantly stomping on your toes. He refused to look at you, instead leaving his eyes glued to the floor. And the one time you attempted a dip, you ended up flat on your back.
Groaning, you took his hand as he sheepishly offered it to you and pulled you back to your feet. “Stop getting in your head, Flag! You are so focused on what you are supposed to be doing, you overthink it and screw everything up. I’ve seen you dodge bullets, dive for cover, and move as lightly and gracefully on your feet as any dancer. You can do this!” He blushed deep red as you thought for a second. Finally, you came up with a different approach.
“Close your eyes.” Rick started to protest but you glared at him so fiercely, he shut up and did what he was told. You returned to your starting position before saying, “Now, I’m going to lead. While I do, I want you to mentally take apart your gun and reassemble it as quickly as you can.”
He opened his eyes to stare at you in confusion. “What?”
You slapped his shoulder roughly. “Just do what I say!”
Reluctantly, he closed his eyes. As soon as you saw his brow start to furrow as he began thinking about his assigned task, you started moving. Gracefully and elegantly, you lead him all around the small office. Without Rick being in his head and worrying he was going to mess up, he followed your lead perfectly. And just as you saw his face start to relax and his eyes begin to open, you leaned back into a low dip so the perfectly executed move was the first thing he saw.
As you straightened up, you pulled him into a tight hug. “That was great! I knew you could do it! You just need to stop focusing so much and just go with the flow of things!”
Rick chuckled as he returned your embrace. “I don’t know if I can spend all night at the event with my eyes closed, thinking about disassembling my gun, but I get your point. Thank you. I… I do strangely feel better about this.”
You both stood in each other’s arms for a moment before Rick pulled away and glanced at his watch. “Well, that killed the rest of the day. Looks like it’s time to head home.” You both started to gather your belongings but just as you were headed to the door of the office, Rick called after you. “Hey, do you want to get a drink? I’ll buy. It’ll be my way of saying thank you for today.”
You smiled at him. “Thanks, but I’ve already got a date with Emilia tonight.”
Rick groaned. “I still don’t know what you see in her. Harcourt’s a bitch.”
“And maybe that’s my type.” You teased playfully. “Besides, I could be saying the same thing about you and June.”
“Hey! She’s not that bad!” Rick countered. “You’ve never really given her a chance after the whole Enchantress thing.”
“Yeah, well, that tends to happen when someone tries to kill you, possessed or not.”
“So, agree to disagree. Neither of us can stand each other’s girlfriend, but we’re both happy. Right?” He asked.
“Right.” You nudged him as he joined you at the door. “And that’s all I want for you. So, if that means you’re going to keep dating that witch, fine by me.”
“And if you’re happy dating that bitch, then I’m happy for you.” Rick nudged you back.
The two of you laughed and continued playfully shoving each other as you walked down the hall, reveling in the fact that at the end of the day, no matter who you were dating, at least you each had a best friend who would always have your back.