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Bard could feel his heart pounding as he made his way from the dorms to the noticeboards in the main building. As part of their exams in their final year, they were all assigned partners and expected to choreograph a routine that they would be marked on, both on their performance and their choreography. He could be partnered with anybody in their year but he had the sickening feeling that he was going to be partnering the one person that he didn't want to be stuck with.

Thranduil Oropherion.

Thranduil was the darling of the Royal Ballet School and came from a family that was practically ballet royalty. His father was a choreographer who had made a number of works for the company that the school fed into and the school itself whilst his mother had been a principal with the company and had guested all over the world. With him having started dancing practically before he could walk, it was hardly surprising that he had walked into a place at the school. Then again, given his family name, Bard wouldn't have been surprised if he had still got a place even if the only thing he could do was move from side to side.

Bard was the complete opposite. His da was a miner and his mam was the local ballet teacher, giving lessons in the village hall. As a lad, Bard had been equally happy doing pirouettes as he was kicking a football round the pitch for the village team. But then his mam had taken him to Cardiff to see a touring company do Swan Lake and that had been it. They had been sat in the cheap seats right at the top of the auditorium but that hadn't mattered to Bard. He had been spellbound and had left that night wanting nothing more than to be one of those dancers on stage. Bard had worked as hard as he could and had won a full scholarship but, even so, his parents had still had to scrimp and save in order to help pay for his studies. He was inordinately grateful for their sacrifices because he had loved his years at the Royal and couldn't believe that their leaving gala performance was so close. This time next year, his class would be scattered to the winds dancing with companies the world over.

The closer that he got to the noticeboards, Bard started to see others from his year, clearly delighted with their own partners for the most part, all of them giving him sympathetic glances. His heart sank. One glance at the board told him what he already knew; he was partnered with Thranduil.

The problem was, as incredible a dancer as Thranduil was and as attractive as he was, Thranduil was also a complete cock. Bard invariably wanted to punch him as often as he wanted to kiss him. As he made his way to daily class, Bard couldn't help but wonder if his chances of graduating had now diminished. After all, surely they would expel him if he decked Thranduil Oropherion?

~*~

Two months later, they both stood at the side of the stage doing some final bits of limbering up before they went on stage. As Bard had expected, the first few weeks working together had been a nightmare. They hadn't been able to agree on anything; choreography, music, costuming, any of it. Hell, they had barely been able to agree on a time and place to meet for rehearsals.

Things had come to a head in their third week of rehearsals. Bard had waited for forty minutes in the studio that they had booked and, when there was still no sign of Thranduil, had gone looking for him. When he had found Thranduil, who had been practising one of his solo pieces in one of the smaller studios, Bard had completely lost his temper. Even now, Bard wasn't certain of what he had said but, whatever he had said, had worked. Ever since, Thranduil had been an almost completely different person. Oh, he could still be an arrogant, egotistical twat but Bard got to see a different side to him, a softer side.

Dancing together was a dream. Now that they weren't arguing every ten seconds, they were able to find a way for their styles to mesh. By the time that they entered the week of the gala, they both knew that what they had was good. There was only one thing that Bard was still confused about. Over the last few weeks, it had seemed as though Thranduil had been watching him, more so than normal. It was almost as though Thranduil was watching him as though he were interested in him as more than just friends or whatever they were calling themselves. Now, Bard was far from averse to being interested in the same sex and he was well aware that, given the close proximity you were often in to your partner given the nature of dance, people often became partners both on and off stage. Bard really wasn't against that happening with Thranduil – after all, the man was gorgeous – but he didn't want to ruin the working relationship that they had finally managed to develop.

As a result, he was in no way prepared for Thranduil to whirl around and kiss him just as their names were announced and they had to take their opening positions on stage. The second he saw Thranduil's face, Bard knew that Thrnaduil had timed it precisely and if Thranduil wanted to play games, Bard could play with the best of them.

Just as soon as they'd performed this pas de deux.