Chapter Text
The clock ticks down into the night as Remus carefully glides around the desolate studio. He tries to focus on his routine as the light outside starts to dim. He steps into a pirouette with the music. He hums, side-stepping into his finale: a 540 Battement en Rond paired with a double fouette.
Remus puts his left foot forward and pushes himself off the ground with the other. He soars through the air, arms outstretched. He gracefully lands and spins into a double fouette. He ends with one arm raised above the other way. Someone claps in the shadows, making Remus’ head turn.
The person emerges from the darkness and waves at Remus. He has burn scars across half of his face, mismatched eyes, and an overall dark wardrobe, golden accents laced throughout.
Remus smiles at the person and pulls him into a tight hug.
“I can’t believe you’re here! I thought you’d miss this year’s performance, Dante!” Remus exclaims. The person, Dante, chuckles.
“Are you kidding me? I’m just here to get back that DVD of “Just Like Heaven” that I lent you like two years ago,“ Dante replies. Remus frowns dramatically, making Dante smirk.
“You totally knew I’d be here. I would never miss one of your performances!” he says.
“You would totally miss this if you could! You missed it last year and the year before, and even the year before that! But since you’ve managed to make it this year, I might even be able to win this time,” Remus comments, tapping Dante’s nose. “You’ll be my good luck charm!”
Dante smirks.
“More like bad luck charm,'' he quips. Remus pouts at that.
Dante saunters back to the exit, and Remus skips after him.
“What’re you doing tonight? I mean, besides skulking around in the dark like a villain of an old-timey movie,” Remus teases. Dante rolls his eyes.
“I’m not going to hang out only with you. I have other friends, just so you know.”
“Oh really? Name one.”
“Virg-”
“He’d rather fall into a pit of snakes than be around you.”
“Fine. Logan.”
“Yeah, right! He’s not your friend, he’s just scared of you because you’re the only one brave enough to call him out on his bullshit!”
“Roman.”
“Roman? My own brother? You’re kidding me, right? He wouldn’t dare be friends with you when you’re my best friend. And don’t even think about saying Daddy Pat’s your peppiest pal. He’s so passive-aggressive towards you that it puts Virgil to shame!”
Dante smiles.
“Okay, but you’re not the only friend of mine. If you were, I’d become Van Gogh faster than you can say something incredibly not family-friendly,” he says snarkily.
Remus smiles and slings his arm around Dante’s shoulders.
“Gory today, aren’t we? You want to grab a bite to eat? That overly hipster cafe, the one you’re so fond of, is open late tonight,” he chimes.
“Since my schedule is so wide open, according to you, I wouldn’t mind taking a quick stop while I’m here.”
---
“I cannot believe that you, of all people, are actually working with the hottest dancers in the world. You’re going up in rank, Dante! I’m so proud of you!” Remus exclaims, breaking the calm atmosphere of the cafe. Dante shushes him, smiling.
“It’s not a big deal, Remus. I’m not actually working with the ‘hottest dancers in the world’. I’m still just a costume designer from Florida.”
“But you’re a famous rich costume designer from Florida!”
Dante shushes him again.
“You know I’m neither of those things. I’m not even able to get five feet close to my clients because of this,” he says, gesturing to his face. Remus nods.
“You may not be able to do that, but you can make the most amazing, extravagant, delectable, juicy-”
“Remus!”
“Sorry, I’m a bit hungry. By the way, any new scandalous relationships? I’m dying for some juicy gossip.”
Dante shifts uncomfortably. Remus leans closer.
“C’mon, what’s the juicy goss’?” Remus presses on. Dante grumbles.
“What was that? You found a dashing, breathtaking person that swept you off your feet and sailed with you across the seas until the kraken itself burst out of the water and left you as the sole survivor, leaving your only choice as to come back to your dearest friend, who has been training for an important competition that you missed last year by the way, but is nevertheless excited and content with soothing an old friend’s woes instead of probably sitting at home, isolated from the world around him. Am I close?” Remus teases. Rolling his eyes, Dante pulls out his ebony-covered phone.
“You’re not going to let that go, are you?” he says.
“It was a very important event and you weren’t there! But that’s not the point! You’ve got a secret and you gotta spill it,” Remus complains.
“What if I don’t want to spill it? It is my life, after all,” Dante says, checking his phone. Remus pouts, and then, smirking, yanks the dark phone out of the owner’s hands. Dante scoffs.
“And what are you going to do with that? Make me bargain my secrets away? I'm not that easy to win. You've learned that lesson before. Now you should give up and give me back my phone!" Dante grumbles, reaching for his phone. Remus holds it out of his reach.
"Yes, I have failed in the past many times before, but this time I have something that will en-!"
Dante slaps his hand over Remus' mouth before he can cause more of a ruckus.
"Monologue quietly or we're going to get kicked out of here," Dante whispers. Remus glares at him.
"You know what? Fine. Be quiet and give my phone back and I'll tell you what you want to know," he gives in.
Remus nods excitedly, and Dante takes his hand and his phone back.
"Since you said I could ask any question, your words, not mine, why are you here? It's so much like you to show up out of the blue like this, but this is different. Like-"
"No twisted examples. We're already on thin ice with your volume alone," Dante sighs. "It's a long story."
---
The apartment looks destroyed, a different type of mess on every surface. Hardly the apartment that you'd expect a famous costume designer to be living in. There are papers scattered around the main living area, dishes strewn about the kitchen, and colored button-up shirts hung up on just about every type of slight ledge.
Dante glides around the cramped apartment, grabbing clothes as he goes. He shoves them into a barren closet. He slams the closet door closed before they can fall out again. He quickly tosses a few empty coffee cups into a trash can before opening the door.
“Come in,” Dante greets his guest in the doorway. The guest looks like he walked straight out of an 80’s greaser movie, except for the gelled hair and the coffee cup in his hand. His eyes were hidden behind shades that looked as if their only purpose was to hide the wearer’s eye bags, courtesy of too many all nighters, from the sight of his friends or co-workers, in this case. Not to mention his accent seemed to be from California more than from New York or Brooklyn.
“And I’d thought that we’d have to postpone our meeting again! I already have an appointment booked with a photographer this afternoon,” he whines sarcastically as he walks into the apartment. He takes a look around and whistles. Dante closes the door behind him, rolling his eyes.
“Wow, I dig the place. Gives off a real ‘I have no life outside of work’ vibe,” the guest teases. Dante glares at him.
“I was on short notice and my office isn’t even open today. You’re lucky that I’m letting you conference with me this late in my schedule,” Dante says, grabbing a sketchbook and a pencil.
“That’s only because your schedule was totally booked today!”
“I have clients other than you, Remy. I’m not always going to be at your beck and call, and you have to learn that.” Dante scribbles on a blank page.
“But I’m not like other clients,” the guest, Remy, smirks. Dante glares at Remy.
“You are a client as of this moment. Can we get on with what new ideas you have? I have to get whatever you want quickly if you want them to be added to your outfit in time for the competition.”
Remy leans closer to Dante, making him look away from Remy’s face.
“Tell me what you want to add or get out. I don’t want to, but I’ll stop being your designer if you keep insisting on getting back together. I’m giving you an ultimatum,” he says.
Remy scoffs.
“If you don’t want to, then don’t. You’re the top designer and I’m the top skater. We’re the perfect power couple. We’re on magazine headlines everywhere! ‘The Romance of A Lifetime’, they called it. We’re special and you know it. It was just a little mistake, and I promise it won’t happen ever agai-”
“You cheated on me behind my back. You really think that I’m going to get back with you after you broke my heart just so we can be the ‘perfect power couple’? Our relationship was built on your desperate grasp for fame. You never cared about me in the slightest, and at the first opportunity, you ran as far as you could into someone else’s arms. Get out of my apartment. We’re done. For good.” Dante cuts him off. He stands up, walking towards the door. Remy runs after him and grabs his arms.
“I don’t even talk to them anymore! I was celebrating after my competition, and I had too much to drink. You can’t seriously be thinking of breaking up for good. We’re at the top of our game and we can’t stop now!”
Dante pries Remy’s arms off of him.
“You really are so self-centered that you made up a fake story. It wasn’t just that one time and you know it. I’m not going to get back together with a liar. Now get out.”
“You’re saying that as if you were the victim. I knew about the money, Dante. You took from me just so you could use it for your own good. And don’t get me started on how you were always busy when I needed you."
"You only needed me to boost your ego. I didn't want to be there because I didn't want to be your accessory anymore. I'm a person, a successful designer that made a life for myself, and everyone only knows me as that one guy who slept with a famous skater. Do you know how much I was hated? Fans came after me for being with you and I couldn’t stand it. When I stopped being with you in public, there was less hate than before. I never stole anything from you, but if you check with your boy-toys, you'll most likely find where it went. Now get out of here and don't come back."
Remy stiffens with anger. He opens the door.
"I'm the only reason why you're a ‘famous designer’ in the first place and you know it. And you also know that I can ruin your whole career with anything I say." Remy pulls the door closed on his way out as he finishes. "You're going to come back to me once you've realized your mistake. And until you do, I'll be waiting."
---
Remus stares in shock at the man across from him. Dante shifts uncomfortably.
"I had to get away from him, and I didn't know where to go. I lied about the part about having a place to stay,” he admits. Remus opens his arms to Dante.
"You can always stay with me! I might have to clear off my couch, but there's no way I'd say no!" he reaffirms. Dante moves out of his chair into his arms. Remus pulls him further into a bone-crushing hug.
After a few moments, Remus chuckles.
“Now I feel like shit for saying that I’m your only friend,” he comments. Dante smiles.
“Well, you didn’t know',” Dante says as he pulls away from the hug. “I think that’s enough sappiness for today. We should go before we get permanently banned from this place.”
“There’s always other places,” Remus chimes. Dante places his phone in his pocket.
“Yes, but I actually like this place,” Dante replies, leaving the deserted café.