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"This is terrible, Hilda, I keep stepping on you." Caspar complained as she led him through the steps of the dance again. The tips of his ears were red, but Hilda couldn't tell if he was angry or embarrassed. He puffed his cheeks out in frustration as he stumbled tp try and avoid her feet again.
Hilda smiled and gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "Don't be silly, Caspar. You're doing great! It's only your second lesson, stop worrying."
He gave her a half-hearted smile, and Hilda returned her best, "We'll have plenty of time before the ball to practice. Your dance partners will be so impressed with you."
"Easy for you to say, you already know to do this." He tightened his grip around her waist as he straightened himself back up to follow her lead again, but dropped his gaze to the floor. For all of Caspar's confidence, dancing seemed to be a point of contention for him.
Hilda tipped his chin up with the hand that had been on his shoulder. "Look at me, stop staring at the ground. You'll move better if you're paying attention to your partner instead of trying to predict where your feet will go." His bright blue eyes met hers and she felt her heart hammer against her ribcage.
Ordinarily, Hilda would have grown tired of teaching someone how to dance by this point, but Caspar was different. He was brave, strong, funny, and Hilda was absolutely smitten with him. She felt his shoulder relax underneath her hand as he kept his eyes locked on hers and followed her lead. He preened as he began to hit his stride and his grip on her waist loosened naturally as he became comfortable enough with the steps to start guiding her.
Hilda switched her stance as she allowed him to take the lead, "Look at that, Caspar! I told you that you could do it!" He flashed her a smile and Hilda felt her heart catch in her throat.
He cocked an eyebrow and met her eyes again, "It helps that I have a good teacher."
Before she could stop herself, Hilda's lips were on his cheek, and he broke away from her as he began to stammer an apology. His face had gone crimson, and Hilda felt an unfamiliar blush creeping up her neck.
"H-Hilda! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to -"
She had been the one to kiss him, what did he have to apologize for? Unless she'd misread him. She held her hands up in mock surrender, "N-no, Caspar, I started it. You don't need to apologize."
She felt her face go hot as she fixed her eyes on the ground. Hilda had never been shy, but at that moment she understood why Bernadetta always stayed in her room. She liked Caspar, and she was not ready for his rejection. She blamed the dancing. She let herself get too close and she'd misinterpreted Caspar's kindness for -
His hand tipped her chin up and he kissed her softly, it lasted no more than a couple of seconds. She could feel the heat of his own blush as he pulled away.
Hilda blinked at him, "R-right. Um, should we continue?"
Caspar smiled and pulled her into his arms, touching his forehead to hers before relinquishing her space so they could keep dancing, "I guess this isn't so terrible."
For the first time since they'd started their lessons, Hilda was the one to stumble, and Caspar caught her swiftly. He pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth as she righted herself, and Hilda wanted to stay with him forever.
On the night of the ball, Hilda and Caspar only danced with each other, neither of them worried about impressing anyone else.