InsaneJournal

Log: May & Phil
WHO: May Parker & Phil Coulson
WHAT: A dance lesson
WHERE: A studio
WHEN: Early into Hallmark Plot
RATING: Low



May loved teaching people to dance. There was just something magical about leading someone to their full potential. However, she wasn’t looking forward to her next appointment. She didn’t know what to expect of Phil, a former most eligible bachelor. Would he be cocky? Would he take the lesson seriously? He was getting married, after all. She hoped he’d be nice and take the lesson to heart for his partner’s sake.

“Hello,” she greeted when she spotted him in her waiting area. “Come in, come in. You must be Phil. I’m May. We spoke a little, but it is lovely to meet you in person.”

Phil was a bit nervous about the dance lessons. It wasn’t that he was scared of new things, more that the expectation was that his wedding would be the event of the year and that meant dancing. And when you were named Most Eligible Bachelor, you couldn’t half-ass the first dance at your wedding. The nervousness came from the fact that he knew himself to not be much of a dancer. He’d skipped his prom and the last time he’d slow danced had probably been in 7th grade.

He got to his feet, smiling confidently at May and extending his hand. “Pleasure to meet you. I’ll warn you right now, two left feet might be an understatement. Pretty sure I have four.”

May laughed and shook his head. “Oh, Phil, we’ll make a proper dancer of you for your wedding, I promise.” She gestured for him to follow her inside the studio. “Tell me, how do you envision your first dance? Slow? Fast? A show or something intimate?”

“Not a complete and total mess?” he answered with a laugh as he followed her into the studio, shrugging out of his blazer. “Nothing insane - no flash mob or Argentinian tango. But something more than that awkward middle school rocking back and forth awkwardly.”

“Fair,” she said, grinning. She put on some music. It wasn’t super slow, but it wasn’t fast either. It was just the right tempo to get the heart pumping. “Come on, get the blood flowing. Move around a little,” she instructed as she showed him a few moves. “Just a warm up,” she promised. “Your wedding dance will be different. Speaking of, do you know the song you are using for the first dance?” They would work their way up to using his choice of music; for now, she needed to get a sense of where his rhythm was.

Phil moved to the music, but it wasn’t the most graceful thing in the world. He had some rhythm, he was just … awkward.. Like he hadn’t danced in decades and never as an adult. “Still deciding between ‘Unforgettable’ and ‘It had to be you’. I tend to favor the classics. There’s going to be a live band at least, so I don’t know if that affects things…”

He swayed somewhat awkwardly to the music. “You’d think with all the charity events I go to, I’d have learned, but I tended to just stay off the dance floor.”

“Good choices,” May praised. She noted his stiffness and gestured to the mirror. “Take a look and just let loose.” She moved to put her hands on his hips. “Move these more,” she commanded before adding, “and let your shoulders relax. You can do it.”

Phil chuckled. “I think you’re confusing me with someone else. These hips don’t move like that,” he teased. “I’m not exactly gumby..”

He glanced at himself in the mirror for a moment before his eyes fixed on May. “My body does not move like that.”

“Good reference,” she told him. “Gumby is exactly who you should aspire to be like. Channel him. Move.” She took his hands and placed them on her hips. “Feel that,” she said, moving her body. “You’ll want to move with your partner. Go on, you can do it.”

His hands settled on May’s hips. She made it look so easy, the way her body moved and flowed. He tried to follow her examples, but his hips moved a bit jerkily, not able to match her grace and smoothness. “How do you make it look so easy? I feel like the tin man who needs oil.”

“It is just your first lesson,” she assured him. “You’ll loosen up, Tin-Man.” A new song started and she encouraged him to move with her again. “Tell me about your partner.”

Phil did his best to move with May, trying to mimic the way her body moved. “She’s the founder and CEO of a company here in the city. Met at a networking event last year and well sort of just fell together.”

It was a good match. They were both successful business leaders with bright futures. “How long have you been teaching dance?”

“Sounds nice,” May replied as she guided him through the moves. “I’ve been teaching for over twenty years. I love helping people reach their potential.” She beamed as he moved with her. “See, not so bad?”

“Now you’re just flattering me,” Phil teased, following her guidance and narrowly avoiding stepping on her toes. “Did you always love dance?”

“I’m encouraging you,” she corrected. “And, yes, I did. My parents put me into lessons early and I just loved moving my body and letting myself get lost in the music and movement. It is very freeing.” She moved her feet easily, quietly urging Phil in the direction they needed to go.

The way she talked about dancing was almost enchanting and Phil found himself focusing more on her face and what she was saying than how he was supposed to be moving. One foot caught another and he tripped, stumbling against her. Worried they might fall, he tightened his arm around her, pulling her close against him in an attempt to keep them both upright. “Sorry…”

“Oops,” May said, laughing. “It happens.” She gently disentangled herself, ignoring the slight uptick in her heart rate. “Don’t be discouraged. We have more time.”

He certainly didn’t let his hands linger a moment too long as they disentangled. “Right. I think we might need all the time we can get,” he smiled, flushing slightly.

“You did well for your first lesson,” May assured him. “Check your calendar and let me know when you want to get together again. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.” She would too. She really enjoyed their little time together.