Nochelle - Our Stories

T O U C H

~Season 6~

I took them a couple of months to fall into a deep sense of intimacy.

They had been dancing together for a long time, they'd rehearsed together for countless hours, competing together and learning choreo. Being in a relationship with someone you work so closely with wasn't easy. It was one of the many doubts Richelle had at the beginning. What if they broke up? What if their relationship imploded and they were forced to still be duet partners? Would Noah be able to look past that? Her dance career was too important to her. She didn't want to lose the opportunity to be a featured dancer.

Her fears and doubts slowly faded as time passed. Although their personalities were poles apart, they fitted very well together.

Quite some time after they started dating, Richelle had a sudden realisation that left her pondering. It was stupidly weird that she hadn't noticed it in all the years she had danced with him.

A couple of months after their first kiss, she was sprawled on his couch watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine reruns and it felt like a light bulb had turned on in her head: Noah was a physical person.

Let me explain. They were sitting on the couch in his room, Noah's legs on the coffee table while Richelle had hers wrapped in a blanket, her knees almost touching his thigh. They had been sitting in that position for quite a while and from the first second they sat down, Noah had had his hand gently resting on her thigh, sometimes stroking it with his thumb.

Had it been someone else, she would have found it irritating. She wasn't that keen on PDA and constant touching. She had always had a constant need of independence.

Her mum always said: "Two people might be in a relationship, but they are still two separate people."

But with Noah, it didn't feel suffocating. She felt wanted, she felt like, even if the TV was on, Noah was focused on them. She smiled and let her head fall back on the back of the sofa, closing her eyes for a moment. Noah turned to her, a smile on his lips.

"You tired?" Richelle just nodded. She didn't even have the strength to respond vocally. "Do you want to say here? I have some pyjamas you can sleep in." he whispered close to her ear. She nodded again, turning around to find a pillow to rest her head on.

"Do you want to go to bed?"

"Noooo... Imma stay here..." she managed to say.

"M'Kay, Richie." Noah stood up only to then put his knees on the couch and his hands on either side of Richelle's head, slowly leaning in.

"If you stay here, you'll wake up cranky, in a bad mood and they you won't be able to bend your neck right and then your acro..." He rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly. Her eyes shot open and looked at him. "Richelle, how will you be able to do your tricks if you can't even see two feet in front of you!" She frowned, her eyes glassy and then she somehow managed to lift her hands up and lock them around his neck.

"Help." she whispered. A tired and sleepy Richelle was something he hadn't seen in a while, not since they were kids. Despite the long nights spent together at the studio, she rarely let her guard down. But at home, she was refreshingly relaxed. He smiled at her. He couldn't believe how happy she made him.

"Ok. Let's get you in bed." She let out a small laugh and whispered: "Title of your sex tape". Noah buried his face into her neck, a giant smile on his face. Gripping so tight that he almost felt like she was strangling him, Richelle finally got up and wrapped her legs around him, like a koala. With one arm under her butt and another keeping her steady against him, they moved to his bed and he tried to lay her down as gently as he could.

Of course he didn't make it and they fell onto the mattress. He was on top of her, their bodies pressed together. Noah freed his hands to wipe her hair off her face and kiss her. He pressed his lips to her cheeks and then smiled, looking into her eyes. She looked back at him and it was clear that she was just as happy as him but also just as tired.

"Goodnight, Rich."

"Gots to brush my teeth." she finally said as soon as he rolled off of her and onto his side of the bed. She stood up and disappeared in the bathroom, eyes still closed. Noah chuckled. She was too tired to walk to bed with her own feet, but could do her nightly routine.

~~~

After that night she kept an eye on him and the level of physical contact that went on between them. And it was a lot.

She had never realized it before. He often brought her a juice in the morning and lingered around her. He either rested against the locker next to hers or sat crossed-legged on the bench beside it. He played with her hand, tugging her fingers and always smiling at her. He dropped it as soon as anyone entered the room, but never made a move to distance himself from her. Something else she noticed he did, was extending an arm around her back when they sat together in team meetings. Even when in public, he couldn't help but show some kind of affection towards her. She would discreetly lean into it, turn her head to him and give him a smallest and yet loving smile.

Whenever Emily or Michelle weren't around and the conversations had turned dry, he would sneak his hand under her hair and massage the spot where her neck met her shoulder. The first time he did it, she swatted him away with a deep blush on her cheeks.

"Noah..." she whispered. "We're at dance!"

He responded by biting his lower lip and giving her a mischievous look.

~~~

At least when they were awake, they had control of their bodies and amount of touching that was involved. But when unconscious, it was beyond them. That week had been particularly tough. Since Davis left, their entire group routine had to be rechoreographed in a matter of days before competition, the pressure on them had been unbearable, especially on Noah. They had been working non-stop for 3 days and the Studio was full of tension and exasperation.

They were starting to snap at each other and one late evening, said snapping became a full-on shouting match between Noah and Richelle. About a stupid drink order from the juice bar. They stared at each other with daggers in their eyes until Emily came out of her office and ordered them to go to the locker room to get some rest. For at least an hour. She yelled at them until Richelle had tears in her eyes. Her tiredness, exhaustion and the overall knowledge that she had disappointed Emily made her want to sob for days.

She saw Noah's head turning slightly towards her and the anger and frustration vanished from his face. As Emily retreated herself back into her office, Noah took her hand and lead her to the new sofa in the locker room. They sat together shoulder to shoulder. Richelle breathed in and out, blinking rapidly so that the tears wouldn't fall on her face. She let her head rest on Noah's shoulder.

"I'm sorry I said you're a useless, disorganized man-child." she whispered. She lifted her head, her nose touching his jaw line. He wrapped an arm around her.

"I'm sorry too. You're not a manipulative control freak. I love you."

"I love you too."

Next thing they knew, they were lying on the couch. Richelle's back against the cushions, Noah sprawled almost on top of her, his head buried in her hair, his nose touching her neck. She had her arms about him, gripping his t-shirt and pushing him towards her. Even in her sleep she was protecting him from falling off.

~~~

The ever present physical contact between them became a pillar of their relationship. Richelle understood that it was Noah's way of expressing his feelings. His love for her, but also his fears and his doubts. Most of the time, they tried to keep things professional at the Studio. They still sneaked it a kiss on the forehead or a hand running through his hair every now and then, but nothing else changed much, and that's how they liked it. They were both focused on their career and didn't want their relationship to interfere with their development.

~~~
This was hella fluffy but idc