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shadowcat238
Author of 22 Stories |
Take the Lead
Summary: SOMEONE HAD TO DO IT SOONER OR LATER! Dante Basco, AKA Zuko's Voice Actor, AKA Ramos in the movie Take the Lead, is one of the kids who has to go through detention while learning to Ballroom dance. Dances such as the foxtrot, waltz, and TANGO! It's one of Iroh's crazy ideas that is so nuts and infuriating to Zuko, it just might work.
"NO!" Zuko snapped at his uncle.
Out of all the crazy schemes his uncle had to raise a bit of money for food; dancing, singing obnoxious songs, and even trying to charm women, this HAD to be the craziest. He didn't do that anymore. Sure, he learned the art when he was younger and had to do it often while he was in court, Zuko always sulked and didn't want to dance when his uncle pushed him into the light and forced him to do it like he was a simple pet to be shown off. Which was basically nearly all of the time, so he stopped altogether after he turned 14.
Not long after that, he was banished. At least at sea, he didn't have to act like a total idiot and his uncle never asked him to until now.
"I know that girls don't want to take them from me." Iroh said.
Zuko snorted; that WAS true.
"I don't care. I will NOT Ballroom dance!" Zuko snapped at his uncle, who was pleading for him to teach dancing for money.
"But dancing is so much fun. You spin, and dip, and—!" Iroh began.
"And get nauseous and want to throw up a thousand times after a song is over!" Zuko spat at his elder.
"Oh, Zuko. Do you want to starve? And besides; your hair has grown out so no one will recognize the new you besides your scar." Iroh said.
Zuko wanted to beat his uncle's brains out right now; it was infuriating enough that Iroh had suggested it, but also reminding him of back then.
Zuko sighed unexpectedly; knowing he would never win and his uncle would bug him even more if he refused.
"Fine." He told his uncle.
Iroh perked up; clapping his hands like a happy child in a way that scared Zuko more than anything else in the world.
"Alright. We'll need a place to demonstrate, some clothes, and—!" Iroh began; dragging Zuko to town.
Zuko growled; already knowing that it was a mistake.
2 Weeks Later
"And that is the Foxtrot." Zuko finished; bowing to his partner and lightly kissing her hand and easing her back into the crowd of his 'students'.
Women and girls along with men and boys applauded for him as music came on courtesy of Iroh and the partners began to imitate his steps as much as they could.
For little more than a week the 'dance lessons' were started, Zuko and Iroh were practically drowned in gold as more and more people came to learn the art of the dance.
Of course, Zuko himself was still sulking time to time, but it was better than robbing people as the Blue Spirit.
At least now, he was somewhat giving back to society what he'd taken from them earlier.
Of course, his uncle had coaxed him to be a team again and now, he was teaching dance classes now. Maybe it would have been better if he'd just gone by himself like he once did.
'Maybe…' Zuko thought silently as he corrected a boy's steps and spun his partner around twice.
'Maybe…' he decided as he moved on and let the pair continue.
After the lesson
"Thank you, Li." A girl said to him; bidding him farewell until the next time she came and blowing him a kiss with her red lipstick-covered mouth.
"My pleasure, Jojo." Zuko replied calmly; silently gagging at himself for being so sappy and also the girl for being so giggly and approaching around him.
Iroh came up to him.
"She seems to be a nice girl." He said to Zuko.
"She is." Zuko said simply.
"And pretty." Iroh pressed.
"I don't judge by appearance." Zuko replied.
"And seems to like you." Iroh said.
Zuko didn't say a word. He just marched right back into the studio and tried to remember the steps to another dance.
When the situation was this bad, it was always better to not choose the worst path. In this case, it was talk to Iroh about the single girls and women he taught daily or prepare for the next lesson he taught.
Obviously, he picked preparing the next lesson and walked with an imaginary partner the steps to the Waltz.
Iroh silently watched his nephew. If only he had a partner to dance with.
"I guess so; the raw dough was kind of gross." Aang agreed; reining Appa to land.
As they approached the market, they saw various groups of girls giggling and whispering amongst one another.
"Sokka?" a voice asked from behind him.
Turning, he saw Suki.
"Suki!" he exclaimed; meeting her with a light hug.
Aang and Katara joined the 2; expressing their joy of seeing her again.
"What is everyone whispering about?" Katara asked her; looking around at the girls.
"You haven't heard?" Suki replied questioningly.
The trio shook their heads.
"Well, remember Prince Zuko?" Suki asked them. They all nodded; how could they forget him?
"It seems that here, he's taken a new name, Li, and is giving dance lessons." Suki said.
The 3 burst out into laughs.
Prince Zuko? DANCING?
"It's true! I've even taken a lesson from him!" Suki said in his aid.
Sokka stopped.
"You?" he asked.
"Yes. He's very graceful and kind once you get to know him. And he isn't his father." Suki said with a small flush creeping over her face.
"How many people know of him?" Aang asked her.
"Possibly the entire Earth Kingdom knows of him or has seen him in a poster or something. Girls all the way from Bah Sing Sei have come here to see him in person." Suki replied.
It had been only 2 weeks and his popularity had spread. At this rate, he would've been known throughout the world by the next week or so.
"I'd like to see him." Katara said with a laugh.
Suki smiled and pointed to her left.
"The studio is over there. Make a left at the second row and then go past 4 doors on the right side. I'll take you there if you want." Suki suggested.
The 3 decided to go. What better way to take a bit off their minds than to watch their supposed enemy twirl around like a…well, a fairytale prince should?
As they neared a wooden hut, a quick, yet rhythmic melody of music flooded from an open window.
Peeking in, the 3 saw Zuko stepping with a girl in a circle; his hands clasping hers. Letting go of one of her hands, he spun her 'under the bridge' and brought her back to him so they were somewhat close and gracefully dipped her.
The crowd around them applauded and the girl returned to her partner.
"Remember. Do not look at your feet; it will only make you more likely to falter." Zuko said and signaled his uncle to start playing again.
Iroh carefully began plucking his pipa again with the same melody and the men and women, boys and girls began to copy Zuko's steps.
"He can…dance?" Sokka asked incredulously.
"Yes." Suki answered simply with a light sigh in her voice.
Katara watched as Zuko told a boy to stop looking away.
"We can go in if you want." Suki said.
"We can?" Aang asked.
"Yes. You only need what's equivalent of a gold piece." Suki replied.
Katara pulled out a coin.
"Do they accept Water Tribe money?" she asked.
"They probably accept any kind of currency." Suki answered as she opened the wooden door.
The 3 stepped in; watching as the people executed steps to a dance they didn't know.
"Li, there are some new students." A girl called.
Was that truly Zuko?
The music ceased as the people parted; revealing Prince Zuko coming from the other side. He'd changed from the last time they'd seen him; his hair had grown back and he was wearing a black shirt, pants, and knee length boots.
They saw that he lightly tensed at the sight of them, but he stopped.
Zuko knew who they were, he'd been chasing them relentlessly for over 3 years, but he knew that he couldn't just grab the Avatar and run out in front of all of these people.
"Welcome. My name is Li, and I will be your dance teacher for this lesson." He said kindly to them and smiled at Suki.
"Back for another one?" he asked her with a small smile.
An old man came forth.
"Partner up. And it will cost you one gold piece for every person." The old man said.
Katara reached for her bag; drawing out a Water Tribe coin.
The man examined it for a minute.
"I'm sorry, but this…" the man began, but Suki reached into her pocket; taking out 4 coins for him and handing it over.
"Where'd you get that kind of money?" Sokka asked.
"When I came to the Earth Kingdom, I, and some other warriors, worked for money." Suki answered and she began removing her armor.
"What—?" Sokka began.
"You can't dance in heavy armor. The clothes have to be lightweight." A voice answered from behind him.
Sokka saw that it was Zuko answering for him.
Just then, there was a cry.
"I can't do it! I'm just not made dance!" a shrill voice said tearfully.
Everyone saw a girl with upturned hair, a gap tooth, and a pink and purple robe too big for her small body.
Zuko stopped and walked towards her; kneeling down and lightly wiping away a tear that had cascaded down her cheek.
"Meng, do you like to dance?" he asked her gently.
Meng wiped her nose.
"Yes. It's really fun." She said softly.
"Then you were made to dance." Zuko said; taking her small hand within his and pulling her into a formal dance position.
Out to the side, he nodded to the old man as he began strumming his pipa; creating a slow yet quirky tune as Zuko stepped forth, to the side, back, stop, then spin Meng as the strumming became somewhat faster, he stepped while turning (A/N: Just like in Beauty and the Beast during that ballroom scene) her and stopping after the song was done.
Applause and light cheers filled the air as Zuko bowed to Meng and coaxed her back with her partner.
He turned to the trio and Suki.
"Pair up." He said simply and turned away.
Suki took Sokka as her partner; now decked in only a simple black dress and small brown ankle boots.
Aang saw that there was no one else but Katara to partner up with.
Discreetly, his heart brightened at the thought of learning to dance with her. When Zuko moved with any woman or girl from his students, it seemed that he'd enchanted them and they fell in a small spell under him. If that happened, maybe Katara could see that they were somewhat meant to be.
"Want to dance?" Katara asked with a light shrug.
Aang nodded; taking her hand lightly and leading her a bit out to the wooden floor.
The elderly man came forth.
"Wait. You can't partner up with someone shorter than you; it'd throw off the dance." He told the two of them.
"Oh." Aang said; feeling somewhat of anger towards the man. Did he truly lose his chance to try and somewhat impress Katara?
"Li, please come and take this lady as your partner." The man said; waving his hand.
Zuko, or 'Li', came over as directed by the man and took Katara's hand.
"Of course." He said, then turned to her.
"Would you let me have the honor of this dance?" he asked politely.
Katara, lightly choked with shock, nodded briefly and let him escort her to the center of the room.
"This is only a review for the waltz. Remember; it's a journey that you can choose to take either yourself, or let yourself be taken." Zuko/Li said. Resting his left hand on her back and lifting her right and to be on his shoulder, he propped her up onto the formal dance position he had learned when he was much younger. Katara stepped forth with her right leg; forcing Zuko to step back. "Stop for a second. In this kind of dancing, the male is to be the leading one. Now, rest your hand back up and position your feet back—there." Zuko said as he lightly gripped her hand. "Just step back with your right foot." He advised her; looking at her directly at the eyes. Slowly, she stepped back and felt him go forth. On a small instinct, she stepped back again with her left and walked.
"Dance in the old days was a symbol of spirit, freedom, and love. (A/N: I can't find the quote anywhere but this was the best I could remember! So please bear with me right now until I find the real one.) " He said; lightly dipping her backwards and bringing her up again.
"Even walking in a straight line is dancing. The next steps are a bit more complicated, but remember; Take the Lead. Never follow." Zuko said; nodding to the side.
A quick, yet sensual melody flowed from a pipa and Zuko leaned close to her ear.
"Trust yourself and look at me; I'll guide you." He whispered softly to her and Katara felt herself being swept backwards.
Hesitantly, she looked up into his eyes.
Instead of seeing hatred and contempt within them, they seemed kind and sweet; like he had freed himself of something and was relieved and happy for a new future of his own choosing.
But with a simple step, she seemed lost; she saw his eyes as if possessing her body to move in the way he wanted to and everything else seemed to fade away. It was as if they were intertwined; his hand sharing warmth and spreading it throughout her and she felt as if they were uniting despite everything else that has been said in the world about both of their sides and elements.
A sweep of air beneath her feet was barely felt and his hand detached from hers and just like that, it was over.
Zuko bowed to her and kissed her hand lightly.
"Thank you." He said and turned away to direct people to get into position and begin.
In the partner switches, she met many other men. Some handsome, and not so handsome, and young, also not so young, who seemed somewhat interested in her but she always felt herself looking in the direction of where Zuko was.
When the lesson was over, Katara saw Zuko walk through another door. She did not see him again for the rest of the day.
That girl—what was her name again?—that waterbending girl.
She was very graceful and light when she danced; and fit perfectly into his arms. He felt a bit of regret that he'd never come to reclaim her as his partner for the rest of the lesson. The sun was just setting and it was almost time to turn in for the night.
"Zuko?" Iroh asked; lightly yawning and rubbing his fingers.
"Turn in for the day, uncle. I have something important to do." Zuko suddenly said.
"Alright. But pray tell, what is it?" Iroh asked. Zuko was halfway out of the door.
"I owe someone something." Zuko said simply and closed the wooden door behind him.
The rest of the day seemed like a total blur and, up until now that she was in a circular area of the woods that was clear of any kind of shrubbery, trees, and vegetation, there were only vague images of what had happened in the day; some of them too blurry to even think of.
Closing her eyes, she let her memory take her and she began moving in the steps Zuko had demonstrated with her. She was back on the floor of the room again, Zuko was guiding her, but there was no one else; the entire room was empty save for the 2 of them.
A sudden rush of air and warmth like no other touched her. It seemed that another hand had taken hers and someone was pressed against her; leading her.
It was just like before; the same feelings, the same sensations, and the same breathtaking movement that seemed to take everything else in the world away from her mind.
How long did it go on? How long could it go on? If Katara had wished, it would have been an eternity. But the movements slowed and, just before letting go, soft lips descended on hers for a farewell, yet her first, kiss.
Within the moment, the warmth was gone. Just like everything else. Opening her eyes, she saw nothing but the forest around her. Katara sighed; was it all a dream?
"Katara!" a voice called in the distance.
It was her brother, Sokka.
"I'm coming, Sokka!" Katara called back; touching her lips and feeling the heat radiating off of their light swell.
"Take the lead, Katara. Never follow." He whispered and, jumping off the tree, began to walk away.
