InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

runs_the_show (runs_the_show) wrote in doorslogs,
@ 2012-09-08 23:08:00

Entry tags:

pepper potts, prince charming

WHO Justine & Charming
WHAT The perfect afternoon
WHEN Before she meets with Rose
WHERE Passages
WARNINGS None!

Amongst his many flaws, there were a few things that Charming was good at. The little girl on the journals had said how much she missed dancing and from there, it was easy enough to suggest that he'd like to see her dance. He might be able to come across the door, but he could certainly open his to watch her through it. And so he did, after giving her directions on how to get to his particular door.

It opened to his private quarters in an extremely opulent apartment. One crystal wine glass dangled from his loose grip as he sat, draped over a chair, one leg dangling off an artfully crafted wooden arm. He would have poured two glasses and would have even offered her one if he was sure that he could give it to her, but he doubted it would make it past the door. A pity, really, it was an excellent vintage, bright and sweet on his tongue, expertly chilled to something very close to perfection.

Justine was excited to meet the Prince Charming. It seemed like some of the princesses didn’t really like him but then, all the fairytales seemed to be a lot more realistic instead of happily ever after. That was disappointing because happily ever after was her favorite. Maybe the good prince would give her some of that faith in fairytales back. Regardless, she was excited to dance for him even if it wouldn’t be in a studio or with a real music system. She’d downloaded Three Sugar Plum Fairies on her phone so that she’d have something and it was probably one of her favorite pieces. She was dressed in her typical skirt and leotard combination (with a hoodie for a jacket), the white of the skirt and dark blue of the leotard complementing her lightly tanned complexion. Her brown hair was pulled back into a tight, perfect ponytail and she wore flats with her stockings, her ballet shoes in her hands.

His door wasn’t hard to find considering he’d told her, but she hadn’t prepared herself for what it might look like past the door frame. Her mouth dropped, shocked at how beautiful and obviously expensive it looked. Justine desperately wanted to go exploring, looking at every exact detail, but she knew she couldn’t. That thought sobered her up and reminded her of her manners, so she offered him a bright, warm smile and immediately noticed that he was quite attractive. Of course he’s attractive, he’s Prince Charming, Justine, she chastised herself. “Hi! It’s really nice to meet you,” she greeted, waiting only a moment before taking a seat on the floor, switching her shoes out. “I’m so excited to dance for you. I actually just got a job teaching ballet to younger children with one of my friends from back home.”

"A pleasure to meet you, as well, Justine," he said, giving the bright eyed girl a warm smile. "Please forgive me for not offering you refreshment." The wine really was fine, but he was sure that it wouldn't make it. If it did, what was to say that it would taste nearly as good on that side as it would on this one? Another time he might try to find out, but not now, not when she was going to be moving -- dancing. He was curious to see what that would entail from her side of the door. Perhaps it wouldn't be that different from his own, perhaps it would.

"Is that what you want?" A job, teaching children. Charming could not imagine a more boring job, or a more hideous one. Children were well and good and one day he knew he would have to his own heirs to the kingdom, but he planned on putting an army of nanny's and caretakers between himself and them. Of course, it also meant having a wife, and he was going to put off that particular choice for as long as he could. The last two had not ended well.

“Oh, it’s okay. I don’t drink all that much. Thank you for offering though!” Justine was doing her very best to be polite because she really wanted him to like her dancing. She couldn’t really dance professionally at the moment, something she wasn’t okay with, but there wasn’t much she could do. Ainslie was too sweet for giving her a job at her dance studio, but she promised herself it was only temporary. Justine desperately wanted to be on stage, dancing to show the beauty of ballet to everyone because that was how she saw it and everyone deserved to see it that way. This could be a stage though. She’d make it a stage for Charming. Which reminded her. “Is your name really Charming? Or do you have a name name, like Justine or Mike or Silver or Benji? I was just wondering. I don’t mean to be mean or rude. I hope I’m not coming across that way.” She looked up at him from her seat on the floor, pausing what she was doing.

“Teaching isn’t exactly what I want, but it’s certainly something to do! They’re really young and kind of cute, but what I really want to do is dance in front of a huge crowd of people. I love ballet so much and I just want to share that with as many people as I can. It might inspire someone else to become a dancer and I know it’s done so much for me already.” Justine was hugging her knee by the time she was finished, lost in the feel good emotion dancing always inspired in her.

Could she be any sweeter? The good was practically coming off her in waves, sweet as candy and all he wanted was a little part for himself. It wasn't selfish to want, everyone wanted, it was acceptable to want. "It's really Charming. Not Alexi, or Tristan, or Justine, or Mike, or Benji, or Silver." What kind of name was Silver anyway? Would it be better to be Silver or to be Charming? He rather thought that he would prefer to be Charming and not Silver, or Gold, or Platinum.

He watched as she pulled her legs up to her chest, smiling and hugging them close. Sweet. Such a sweet girl. "Then let me be your audience. I may not be a huge crowd, but I promise that no one will love seeing you more." The lies came so easily to his lips. it was hard almost to tell which was false and which was true. "You should share it, if that's what you have a passion for. You are so beautiful, you should do everything that you love."

She probably shouldn’t have been surprised that it was really Charming. It was an odd name to her, but he wasn’t from recent history. Justine just nodded, smiled, and finished lacing up her shoes. The hallway was blessedly hardwood so she wouldn’t have a problem dancing and she was eager to dance for him. She believed his words with all her heart, allowing them to wrap around her like a warm blanket. He was so perfectly wonderful that she didn’t understand why Cinderella didn’t like him very much, or Snow White for that matter. “You’re very charming,” Justine teased shyly as she stood and unzipped her hoodie, taking her phone out before draping the fabric over her other shoes. It took her a moment to set up the music and then she was dancing.

The space was much smaller than a studio but she simply watched her steps and adjusted. She remembered to elongate her limbs as much as possible and to smile, but after the first thirty seconds, Justine stopped thinking and just danced. This particular piece had been her favorite and although it was broken out into three parts, she knew each one and the entire choreography blended seamlessly as she moved. It lasted only two and a half minutes all told, but she was positively glowing as she came to stop in front of the door again. She straightened out and looked up at him expectantly, all hope and dreams that he could either raise up or crush quite brutally.

As always, Charming knew the part he was supposed to play and applauded her, loudly. Setting down his wine glass, he picked a perfect white rose out of a nearby vase. There were always flowers in the rooms, never roses in his own private rooms though. The sitting room where he was though? They were definitely there and he turned to present it to her. He was sure it wouldn't pass through the door, but it didn't stop him from going to the very edge and setting it down for her.

"Beautiful. You must have practiced for some time." He'd been expected to know dancing since a child and been rigorously trained for the ballroom, but this was something different entirely. Solo dancing. Charming was always going to prefer a partner, but he could still tell that she had worked hard at what she did. He knew he'd never be able to get on his toes like she had and knew only a few women that could possibly do the same. "You're quite elegant, Justine. Thank you."

The applause made her blush crimson and she curtseyed with obvious joy on her face. This was why she danced. He had taken the time to watch her and seemed to appreciate her dancing. The compliments and the rose, symbolic though it was, made her beam and it was honestly the happiest she’d been in a long time. Performing was really what she wanted to do, but teaching was what she had to do. Anything to keep dancing. “Thank you, Charming. You’re very kind,” Justine replied, toeing the floor for a brief moment before mustering up the courage to offer another dance. “I don’t have any more music, but I could try and download some to my phone if you’d like another dance? I’m sorry I can’t dance with you. That would be fun, I think.”

While marriage and monogamy had never been strong suits of his, this very much was: making a pretty girl smile and blush. He smiled with her and shook his head. "No, not unless you would like to, sweet Justine." Charming's interest caught on her mention of dancing together. Those extra keys, could they be a way? "It saddens me that we cannot. Not unless you would like to try one of those other keys. Then we could have as many dances as you like." They could dance until she was drunk with it, as many dances as she liked and once they were done, he would do as he always did.

Justine wasn’t sure if he really wanted her to dance more or not, but that uncertainty was gone as soon as he mentioned the other keys. It took her a minute to figure out what he meant, but then she remembered the new keys that were behind the front desk and how she’d wanted to see what they did. “Will they let us be together? In the same place?” She didn’t even wait for him to answer as she started to move toward the stairs. “I’ll be right back!” And then she was gone, moving as quickly as possible down to the front desk. It took her less than a few minutes to return with the keys, but she didn’t know what to do next so once she was in front of him again she asked, “Now what?”

It had taken a lot of trial and error last time until he figured them out. Jack had been just as curious and rarely was the other man ever curious about what he did. It'd been an interesting experience. "Sometimes it doesn't work, but you have to hand me one. I leave my door, you put your key in the door, and sometimes we meet there," Charming explained and held out one hand expectantly. "If it doesn't work, we can meet back here." The evening would not be entirely lost that way and if they managed to make it to the same room together, all the better for him. "Are you ready to try?"

Justine eagerly handed one of the keys over to him and nodded obediently. “I’m ready! I think there’s a new room just over there,” she explained, pointing to a door just down the hallway. “I’ll see you on the other side!” She gave him a wave before scooping up her things off the floor and heading toward the door she was supposed to go through. If willpower alone was enough to get the keys to work, Justine had plenty for both of them. The key was slipped into the lock and she closed her eyes, wishing with all her heart that Charming would be on the other side of the door so that they could dance together. She didn’t quite have the right shoes, but that was okay. Justine was more than willing to dance in just about anything, so long as she had a partner. It was a shame he wouldn’t know any ballet, but she knew enough about a few other styles of dance that they would certainly have a good time of it. Plus, she could sing for him! This was turning out to be the best day she’d had in awhile. The door opened and she carefully stepped inside, all without opening her eyes. “Did it work?” she asked, opening one eye slowing in the hopes that she would see him.

It was a matter of concentrating, not just hoping and wanting, but thinking about where he wanted to end up that got him into the room. He smiled as he saw her open the door, eyes shut from where he stood in the center of it. "It did," he laughed as one of her bright, beautiful blue eyes opened up. Yes, this was much better. The room was hardly anything, little more than a room with a working bed, but he didn't need much more than that. Charming could do much more with much less and he was still smiling as he held one perfectly manicured hand out ot her. "May I have this dance?" There was no music, but he didn't require that either.

She only opened one eye at first, wanting to make sure it was really him before she reached down to unlace her shoes and slip out of them. Doing anything else but ballet just wasn't a good idea. She could dance barefoot, in a hotel bedroom, with a Fairytale prince she could reach out and touch. The idea was so overwhelming that Justine needed a moment to process that she was standing in a room with Prince Charming. She definitely wasn't telling her brother about this. "I'd love to," she replied, dipping down into a curtsy before stepping forward to take his hand. Her free hand rested on the outside of his shoulder and she gave him a genuinely happy smile. Today was perfect.