Ballet Shoes: Encore

Nostalgia

No long intro note today but there's some important lore in the end notes. It got kinda long and I apologize in advance.

Key: 💚Scabiosa💚 = Kai

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Third Person's P.O.V.

Age: 29

Ben stared at himself in the mirror. His facial expression strangely neutral. However, his eyes said everything that needed to be said. In them, one could see immense happiness. It was the happiness that came with reminiscing some particularly fond memories. Those memories that positively impacted the brunette. Memories that filled him with complete and utter joy.

There was a twinge of something else though. Sadness. Not the type of sadness one experiences after a tragedy. No, this sadness was definitely not the type that followed a particularly triggering or mentally taxing event. It was the sadness that comes with missing what happened in the memories you're reflecting on. The sadness that comes with longing to go back to that time. To experience the feelings you felt in that moment once again.

In other words, nostalgia. But what for?

"You look great."

Ben turned his head to the side and smiled at who he saw. It was Kai. She was leaning against the doorway to their room. Arms lightly crossed and a smile of her own twitched at the corners of her lips. She walked into the room and stood next to Ben before piping up.

"What's this costume for?"

"Something fun," Ben replied, turning his attention back to the mirror before him.

"And the mask?" Kai asked as she nestled into Ben's side.

"For old time's sake," he answered as he wrapped an arm around her, "It's also a requirement."

"A requirement?" Kai inquired, raising a brow.

"You'll know what I mean soon."

Kai raised a brow. What did he mean by that? No matter, she'd find out soon enough like Ben said. As such, she tilted her head up and pecked Ben's cheek. Returning to her previous position right after. In response, Ben kissed the top of Kai's head before resting his own on top of hers. The pair were now both staring at their reflections in the mirror. Ben's eyes still displaying a nostalgic feeling.

"Okay Baby Wolf," Kai finally said.

-page break-

About a week later, Ben was in that costume again. Black, partially see-through asymmetrical dress, matching mask and all. This time however, he wasn't standing in front of a mirror. He was stood in the wings of a theatre stage. It was almost his turn to perform. His turn to perform for what? Well, Ben joined a masked dance competition.

This wasn't a typical competition though. First of all, this wasn't really a competition. It was only in the show's name to draw more viewers in. That means, this wasn't one of those contests where there was a panel of judges that gave a score to all the dancers and awarded the performer who garnered the most points. No, this was a show purely to display the talent of the participating dancers.

Second, everyone would remain anonymous until the unmasking at the end. Hence, the mask requirement. That's the other main driving factor of the show. No one will know who's performing until the very end. Frankly, it's quite genius.

The mask requirement is what drew Ben to participate in this competition in the first place. He hadn't worn one while performing in years. He didn't need to now that literally the entire universe knows he does ballet. Ben missed wearing one though. A lot. And this was the perfect opportunity to dance in anonymity again.