La Cumparsita

Posted on Sun Mar 10th, 2024 @ 11:19am by Lieutenant Gunnar Arnason

4,035 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: What Lies Ahead, Between, and Behind
Location: Starbase Aeon
Timeline: a number of years ago

Arnason had been putting Tango's leg through its paces, checking range of motion, strength, and weight-bearing ability. As he worked his way through the checklist on his PaDD, as well as the one in his head, he was nodding along. After all the surgeries and PT, he couldn't help but smile as he delivered the results. "It looks good, Tango. I'm going to have to say your leg's as good as new."

"You and Divash are miracle workers, Arnason!" the Dosadi exclaimed, nearly ecstatic, impulsively putting her arms around him and rubbing the top of her head under his chin. Pulling back, she looked at him with a mischievous smile. "There's only one way to find out though. To be sure."

He gave a puzzled look. "If it weren't for the 'let's torture Gunnar' look on your face, I'd think you meant a scan of some sort. But..."

T'Ango laughed. "Not really torture... Well, I hope not. I've heard you know how to dance, and I haven't been dancing since before..." she shook her head, shying away from that topic, "For a long time. There's a dance club on the promenade. Would you please go dancing with me? Maybe Divash would want to come too?" She grinned hopefully. "I'll show you how I earned my nickname."

Gunnar grinned in returned. The thought of an evening dancing with friends surely sounded like more fun than one spent catching up on medical journals. "I think we can manage that."


=/\= later that evening =/\=


The Tropicana Star was a popular dance and music club, famed for having a live big-band orchestra and an Earth-Latin flair. They prided themselves on being able to play music from any species in the Federation and not a few from outside it. The drinks flowed freely, the food was good, and the music and dancing lasted long into the early morning hours. The Shore Patrol knew it well.

The trio had arrived dressed for a real night out. T'Ango was wearing a skin (or at least fur)-tight black dress with a straight, slit skirt while Divash was in more traditional Orion garb, which is to say, barely clothed at all. Gunnar was in a suit considerably more black-tie than he'd normally wear to a dance club, but when a gorgeous Orion picks out a suit and says 'You would look so hot in this', a smart man says 'Thank you' and puts it on.

By a couple hours into evening, the three of them had already worked through several dances, and partners. Divash, of course, was an expert dancer, and Tango's grace and balance weren't far behind. Arnason was not an expert, but he'd taken an interest in dance since it was integral to so many cultures and a natural athleticism had made him a quick study. The fact that women like Divash appreciated a skilled dance partner had only increased his enthusiasm for the topic. However, tonight he'd spent more time watching than dancing, the mix of species and intermix of styles presented a spectacle hard for a xenophile to resist. Besides, he needed to watch to make sure T'Ango's leg was okay.

After T'Ango finished a Paso Doble with a very young and slightly drunk Andorian Ensign from the Engineering department, she returned to their table, laying her hand on Arnason's shoulder.

He looked up with a smile. "You two are definitely attracting your share of attention."

"Then let's really have some fun. Come on my friend, let's see how well you tango with..." She struck a pose, smiling broadly. "Tango!"

Rolling his eyes, Gunnar stood and took her hand. Walking over to the band-leader, he whispered in his ear. The man's eyebrows went up and he nodded quickly, then spoke to the eclectic mix of races making up the band this club was known for.

Moments later, Arnason wrapped an arm around Tango's waist and took her free hand, pulling her tight with a fierce gaze as the first notes of La Cumparsita begin to play. Tango's ears and whiskers flicked forward as they began to dance.

It was impossible not to notice the pair. The Icelander was almost a foot and a half taller than Tango, with blond hair and pale white skin, while Tango was covered in cream and tan fur, her tail providing an emphasis to the sensual movements of the dance. Both were quite skilled, and the tango was, obviously, Tango's dance. When Gunnar spun her away, her tail spiraled tightly around her and her feline feet, appearing more graceful than any heels, stopped on a dime and then stalked back to him in time to the beat. Before the song was half over, the floor had largely cleared except for the two of them, providing ample room for the spins, lifts, and separations that make the tango so dramatic. And as the song ended, there was barely a pause as the band shifted to a much more modern, faster paced dance, tango de fuego, finally cutting off with Arnason holding Tango in a deep dip.

Upon being helped back onto her feet, Tango quickly nuzzled his cheek and gave him a fast kiss. "You are an awesome friend, Arnason."

"He certainly is," Divash agreed, coming up to them. "Now, how about an Orion tango?"

T'Ango's whiskers perked forward. "Oh yes, I'd love to see one."

Gunnar grinned, extending a hand to Divash. "Then I can hardly refuse, can I?"

With a smile, Divash twirled into his arms, sliding a leg halfway up his thigh. She pointed at the band leader, who seems to know exactly what she intended and began to play. The beat was what made it a tango, but there were elements of jazz and flamenco and something uniquely Orion in the music. And in the dance as well. The tango is passionate; the Orion version is the very embodiment of 'the vertical expression of a horizontal desire'. In fact with the sensual entangling moves in holds so close the two appear a bare breath away from kissing, if Gunnar had been dressed in as little as Divash they might have seemed awfully close to making that horizontal desire happen vertically. In several different stances.

T'Ango watched, tail swishing. Wow, humanoids are creative. Of course, if they don't have any problem with *three* ...hmm, I wonder if that dance could work with three...? she thought as they both stretched a leg behind in a deep lunge. It was a tango move she recognized, except that Divash clasped his head in her hands and arched backward nearly pressing his nose into her chest, then continued the backbend so that his face to traveled down her torso. Okay, that would be hard to manage with three ...I think...

When Divash rose with a belly dancer undulation and wrapped a leg around his neck, rolling her hips practically in his face, someone in the watching crowd - which was most of the club at this point - hooted and whistled. Divash flashed sultry grin before swinging around his back and running her hands up his chest as he straightened and pulled her back around into a dance hold.

T'Ango couldn't help chuckling at spotting a flush on Arnason's cheeks. I'm surprised he didn't blush until now. He must have been too focused on the dance...

Gunnar seemed to refocus quickly, but on Divash, eyes locked on her as though completely mesmerized. After a moment, it occurred to T'Ango that that may be the same thing as focusing on the dance. Just as there had been a story in the mirror dance Divash had taught her, there was one in the Orion tango. At the beginning the man was in control, a strong lead with the woman moving in response to his moves, but as the dance progressed, she became more assertive, creating a back and forth as to who was leading whom. Now, she was in control.

At the very end of the dance, he seemed to realize his predicament and tried to spin her away, but she fell to the floor and flung herself back, clinging to his leg. There was a moment of tension as they locked eyes, then he swept her up in an embrace that became a dramatic dip.

Divash smiled and gave Gunnar the kiss they've been so close to through most of the dance. As the on-lookers applauded, he helped her upright and they crossed back to T'Ango.

"What did you think?" Divash asked with a big grin. "Would you like to try it?"

"Are you kidding? I'd LOVE to try it!" she exclaimed, then added teasing. "Can you do that dance with three as well?"

"Of course! It only adds to the variety."

Gunnar seemed a lot less certain about that. "With both of you? I'm not sure how that works..."

"You'll figure it out." Divash patted his cheek, and smiled. "You always do."

"Yes, well," he ducked his head, cleared his throat, "not on the dance floor."

"Oh, you just have to play along," Divash insisted lightly and turned her attention to T'Ango. "We need to decide how to play it though. What do you think: we start together, which attracts him, but we resist and tease him a bit, then pull him in, or we begin by competing for him, then decide to cooperate and overwhelm him?"

T'Ango glanced at Arnason to see if he had a preference, but he was studying his shoes, doing his best to be noncommittal while firmly reminding himself that both of those options were fictional scenarios for a dance routine.

That made the decision easy. Tango loved competition, and though she was a bit intimidated by the voluptuous doctor - she knew most human males' preferences - this WAS just a dance and the idea of play-fighting over him sounded fun. Plus, it would certainly tease him mercilessly. And that was something that had become a sort of hobby...

"Competition always brings out the best in anyone," she said with sly grin and a quiet involuntary purr. "Especially with such a prize," she added, giving Gunnar a teasing tap with her tail. "And I like the idea of everybody winning in the end."

Divash grinned back. "Absolutely." She took Gunnar's arm as the band began a Caitian tango. "Shall we?"

T'Ango took his other arm, beaming at both of them. "Let's go."

They moved out onto the dance floor getting not a few stares. Three people dancing a tango is unusual enough, but a tall Nordic human male paired (tripled?) with a petite athletic felinoid in body-hugging slit-skirt sheath and a curvaceous sensual Orion wearing essentially a handful of scarves tends to draw attention. Not all of it merely curious; there was some frank envy from the men watching the trio, and from a few of the women as well.

T'Ango, Divash and Arnason were largely oblivious to it though. Gunnar had had a moment of discomfort when T'Ango took Divash's lead and stalked around him, actually out-doing Divash in giving the impression that he was prey to be seized from a competing predator, but once they'd begun dancing, he'd gotten lost in an improvised tango with partners playfully displacing one another or pressing him from each side to make him choose. And Divash was right; he'd worked it out. After playing at appearing torn, he started switching as he chose but trying to keep both. Shortly after that, Divash reached across him to T'Ango, an exaggerated wink and smile signaling that they were about to begin double-teaming him.

Tango was really starting to enjoy this dance. Probably more than she should. The spiraling track around Gunnar, doing her best to attract his eye from the sultry woman opposite her, was kicking her instincts into gear. At least, that's how she was explaining it to herself; if she looked at it closely – which she wasn't. Her eyes were focused on Gunnar while her ears tracked Divash as the two of them closed on the man with voracious intent.

Matching her moves to Divash's lead, Tango wrapped her arms around him from behind, her hands running up his chest, sliding up along his back, mirroring Divash's motion from the front, all three of them in close-contact with each other. A low growl rumbling in Tango's throat, she nipped at his neck briefly and then her ears flicked back in surprise at herself.

Still holding Divash's hand, the two of them spun opposite to each other, Gunnar's head turning from one to the other in time to the beat. He'd been momentarily surprised by the nip, but had only flashed a quick smile - it wasn't the first time he'd gotten that reaction from a felinoid and it was oddly reassuring to know he wasn't the only one trying not to get a little carried away here. Besides, now he had something to tease her about for a change.

Divash was just purely happy. She hadn't had a multiple partner dance since she left home and the sort of kinship she's begun to feel with T'Ango made this dance almost like sharing a man with a sister. The nip struck her as a promising sign in terms of someday taking that past 'almost'. Maybe the next time she had enough leave to visit home she could bring Gunnar and T'Ango...

She let the spin bring them to each side of him and he wrapped an arm around each waist, then extended a leg back. The two women did the same and each ran a hand through his hair, interlacing their fingers with at the back of his head. At a mischievous grin from Divash, T'Ango realized what sequence they'd reached and that you could do it with three! She arched backward with Divash using feline flexibility to compensate for her shorter spine as they pulled down, burying his face between their chests. Feeling particularly evil, T'Ango twisted inward, a move Divash decided to mirror.

Uncomfortable, on more than one count, Gunnar puffed fur from his nose. "You two are going to smother me..."

"You don't sound that unhappy about it," Divash chuckled, but she rolled up, T'Ango moving with her. Then they both swing a leg around his shoulders.

Both women look very pleased with themselves and Gunnar decided he'd better do something before this turned into a masochism tango. Shifting his grip on each, he slid forward as he rose. Divash, used to dancing with him, anticipated the move and let her leg straighten so that she was in a near split with an ankle resting on his collar bone. T'Ango, who would need longer legs to manage that, allowed herself to be lifted, posing briefly on his shoulder with tail wrapped around to drape over Divash's leg.

I bet we look good. Maybe I can get a picture to send to kala and tapa... Her thoughts were interrupted as Arnason wrapped his arm around her leg and did a lunge-step away from Divash, letting her leg slide down his angled arm. He then reached for Tango's arm and dropped her down, her body spinning to a centimeter above the floor while he held her right arm and leg. Her eyes were wide and her ears back, but the fundamental trust she has in Arnason held her still during the move. Setting her down into a split that matched Divash's, he strutted away, ignoring the two women.

Divash rolled to her feet with Tango mirroring her movement a moment later, the two coming together in a brief dance of their own, Divash leading in a blatantly erotic undulating slide that left Tango somewhat confused at her own reactions.

Gunnar, glancing over his shoulder at the two women he'd left, seemingly thought better of walking away and strode purposely over to the pair, placing a hand on each shoulder and peeling them apart, their eyes meeting his. He crisply slid his hands down each torso, collecting each woman with his arm around their waist and the trio danced in quick steps, legs interlocking. Just as the music ended, he lifted hands letting both women twirl and then stepped back, falling to a knee so that on the final note he was kneeling in front of them, hands lifted, holding one of theirs in each of his. Whether that looked like he was proposing to both or acknowledging his place as their joint possession would depend on whether one's viewpoint was closer to human or Orion.

However the trio themselves viewed it, they headed off the floor arm-in-arm, smiling. Feeling better than she had in a year, happy, centered and warm, Tango wrapped her arms around Arnason and kissed him, then did the same to Divash. These people were HOME.

Divash smiled at Tango. "Maybe the two of us should dance next." She placed a hand on Gunnar's chest with a teasing grin. "His heart rate is elevated a little more than I expected."

"My heart rate?" he laughed. "If you two do an extended version of that two-girl bit at the end, everyone in here will be in danger of cardiac arrest."

T'Ango's grin widened. "Is that why you got back between us?" She rolled hips, tail swishing. "Couldn't bear to just watch?"

Feeling himself flush with a little more than the exertion of the dance, Gunnar shook his head. "Hey, I was just trying to prevent a riot." He nodded toward the edge of the floor nearest their table, where a small crowd of people appeared to be jockeying for position to ask for the next dance. "How many do think you can manage to tango with at the same time?"

Divash turned an enormous smile on him in answer.

"Okay, stupid question," he laughed. "But you're both going to have to dance with at least two at time to get through that line up." He gave Tango a teasing wink. "Try not to nip too many of them."

-----------------

A short distance away, Sela sighed. "That was some dance." She waited several beats, but there was no response from her date - a 3-way tango had been a good show, but he'd been watching that Orion all night no matter who she was dancing with and it was getting under her skin. "Jared!"

"Huh? Jared blinked, torn from a fantasy of being the guy in the middle of a more private version of that dance, and noticed irate expression on Sela's face. "Sorry, yeah, that was something. I bet the Orion taught the other two." He glanced wistfully back at Divash. "Maybe if we asked her...?"

Now he wants me to be okay having her to join us? Fat chance! I'll show him! "Her?" Sela harrumphed and tossed hair. "He looks like a better dancer."

Jared was stunned, then appalled, as his date got up and stalked purposefully toward the tall blonde.

--------------------

At the edge of the dance floor, Gunnar was trying to head off a shoving match between three men, at least one of whom was drunk enough to think 'I saw them first!' was a cogent argument for claiming the next dance. "Gentlemen, please, let the ladies decide who's next."

"Exactly!" Sela said, coming up behind him and grabbing his arm. "Come on, handsome."

"Hey!" Jared objected, running up, angry. "That's my girl! You've already got two."

"Look, I - "

WHAM! The sucker punch hit Gunnar square in the jaw, sending him backwards onto a table.

"Gunnar!" Divash's eyes narrowed dangerously. "If you hurt him - "

"MRREOWL!!!"

"TANGO!" The Orion's eyes went wide as 65kg of pissed off Dosadi launched herself at the man, fangs bared.

It is simply not possible, in a crowded club, to have a simple fight. Even less so when passions were already running high. Gunnar had fallen backwards into a table with two Starfleet Marines and their dates, spilling beer, chips, and guacamole across all five of them. The Marines, focused on convincing their ladies that another drink or three was in their best interests hadn't seen the punch. All they saw was a large man landing on their table and they reacted predictably.

Tango, already riled up from the dance was enraged when some idiot punched Arnason without any warning or challenge. That was very dishonorable and there was no way in hell she was going to let that stand; Especially not since it was Arnason. There was no need to kill the guy, of course - it was just a bar fight, but she was going to make it plain to all that he was a dishonorable teeg. She closed on him with a leap, landing a knee to his side and an elbow to his skull, followed by a straight punch to his breastbone, sending him backwards into a table full of dilithium miners and their dates. Angry, they picked the dazed man up and threw him bodily back towards Divash, who nimbly dodged, allowing him to sail past into yet another table of patrons.

Sela jumped on Tango's back as the dance floor devolved into a free-for-all among the guests. Within seconds, a force field had dropped down around the band, who continued playing, while several private security men began using hand-stunners to clear the brawl. It was that sort of club.

Arnason, stunned by the punch and crash landing, lifted his head, confused. But before he could get oriented, two angry-looking men hauled him up and a woman smacked him across the head with her purse, yelling something about a ruined dress. He started to open his mouth to apologize and realized he was about get punched. Again. He tried to bring a hand up to block, but he was being held by the other Marine. Helvitis...

The man pulling a fist back suddenly froze. It wasn't just the feel of a steak knife at his neck; it was the mental dissonance of the person holding the knife barking an order to stop in perfect Starfleet command tone. His eyes slide to the side and meet a senior officer caliber glare, coming from a gorgeous scantily clad Orion. He wondered for a second if someone had drugged his drink, but a glance at his buddy's face showed the same mental disconnect.

"Are you alright, Lieutenant?" she asked in a pointed tone.

"Yes, ma'am." Slipping out when the Marines quickly drop their hands, Gunnar threw a brief apologetic smile toward their dates. "Sorry about the dresses."

Divash grabbed his arm - her first job had been dancing in a club and she knew that in this situation getting out is the best policy. She'd already identified the exit the waitstaff took. "Come on, we have to get Tango."

Seconds later, Divash closed in on the Dosadi, who was clearly having a great time. She was standing ON the teeg who had struck Arnason and was using several Hakkoryu techniques to fling people around the room, grinning like a maniac. The woman who had jumped on her back was slumped across a table her dress torn half-off. In fact, one shoulder of Tango's dress had been ripped as well and was, if the Dosadi had any real body-modesty taboo, about to be embarrassing.

Catching the felinoid's eye, Divash called out. "Let's go!"

With a laugh, Tango ducked under a Tellarite who was trying to jump on her and took two quick slide-steps over to Divash. With all the dignity of a cat who's been caught falling off their nap-spot, she joined the Doctor in collecting Arnason and making a hasty exit. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see the Station Patrol storming in the front doors, bosuns' pipes whistling loudly.

"I haven't had that much fun in forever," she exclaimed as the waitstaff door cycled behind them. "We have got to go dancing more often!"

"Maybe somewhere safer," Gunnar suggested, rubbing his jaw. "Like the Demilitarized Zone."

 

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