we'll go dancing in the minefields [hugo]

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One of the best things about being sick? Xan had had a lot of time to plan new art projects. It was more time than any one person should ever spend on planning art projects, really, but when there was little else to do but study and read, art was a welcome escape. Some of the projects she had planned Xan had been able to complete while in the hospital wing, but others had been too large of a scale to so much as consider doing while in the hospital wing. This particular one had been something that Xan had conceptualized even before she was sick, but hadn't ever had the chance to do. Now that she was feeling better, though, Xan had wanted to start working on her project as soon as possible. Even better, this piece of art would look even better with two creating it, which meant that she had an excuse to spend time with Hugo - not that she needed one, but after so long laying in bed, it was nice to be able to be with him and to move. Standing in the room of Requirement, Xan looked at the piece of thick white paper she had put on the floor. It was about twice as large as the average portrait piece, so still not very large at all, but it was also surrounded by plastic wrap, since Xan was certain that things were going to get very, very messy. There were pans of paint waiting to be used, and all that Xan needed before beginning was her boyfriend.

@hugo

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Hugo made his way to the Room of Requirement, hoping that Xan was already there and not someone else. Sure, arriving with someone was fine, but whenever he met someone there it felt awkward. What if some random person was in there and he interrupted them? Or a couple. He shuddered at the thought of running into people who were snogging ... or worse. So he opened the door to the room cautiously, smiling when he saw Xan on the other side of the room, looking at something intently. He had no idea what that was, but he moved over to her quickly. "What are you up to Xan?" he asked curiously as he looked around. It seemed like some sort of art project, but he'd let her explain before jumping to conclusions.

@xanthippe

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Xan hadn’t been waiting in the Room of Requirement long when Hugo entered it. It had been long enough, though, that she had divested herself of her shoes, and pinned her robes up so that her legs were bare beneath her knees. Xan grinned at her boyfriend when he asked what she was up to. “I had this idea when I was in the hospital wing, but never enough time or space to do it.” She explained, though she hadn’t mentioned yet what her great idea was. “Take off your shoes!” Xan squealed. “We’re going to dip our feet in paint.” She said, finally getting into the actual project that she wanted to do. “And then we’re going to dance on that piece of paper.” She continued, pointing to the paper on the ground. Hugo and Xan had danced together before, but that had been more ballroom dancing. Xan wanted them to dance like they were crazy, and they were happy, and they were having fun. Really, it was just an excuse to look ridiculous without being self-conscious, and then have something beautiful to show for it.

@hugo

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She looked so cute, barefoot and with her robes all pinned up. Hugo couldn't stop himself from smiling widely as he watched her. Seeing her like this, happy and free, was exactly what he missed all year. She mentioned having this idea a while ago and Hugo would have asked what it was, except he was sure that she would explain herself soon enough. Xan never left him in the dark for long. He laughed when she told him to take off his shoes and then explained what she had planned, obvious excitement in her tone. He bent over, taking his shoes off quickly. "How much dancing do you have planned, Xan?" he teased as he looked at the large piece of paper. This was definitely going to be fun. "Do you have music?" Hugo asked curiously.

@xanthippe

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Hugo obeyed her command to take off his shoes easily, which was good, because this entire project was going to be so much more fun with both of them participating. Hugo asked how much dancing she had planned, and Xan shrugged. “Enough for it to look pretty?” She said with a laugh. Xan had planned the logistical side of it, like how to do it without getting messy, but that actual artistic part was all up in the air. Normally Xan just kept painting until she felt like a piece was done. It was just a gut feeling that she had, and most of the time it worked out pretty well. Hugo asked if she had any music, and Xan shook her head. “If we had music, then we’d be dancing to the music.” She said, though that was obvious. “And then the piece would represent the music.” She added, since that was the important part. “I don’t want it to represent the music. I want it to represent us.” Xan said firmly. They both were capable of making something beautiful out of nothing but their own imagination, and Xan wanted to prove that one more time. She walked over to where she had set out the pans of paint, putting her right foot in red paint and her left foot in orange paint. She didn’t move out of the paint, though, wanting to wait for Hugo before actually beginning to dance.

@hugo

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Hugo laughed when she basically said she didn't know how long they were going to dance. That was just fine with him, he just thought her excitement was adorable. This was more like the old Xan, the Xan he knew from before she got sick and he was glad to see her. "Sounds like a plan," he answered her cheerily. Then she explained why she didn't want to use music while they danced. Hugo smiled and nodded. "Ok, so we'll do this without music," he agreed. "That way it will be all about you and me." He followed her over to the pans of paint and put his right foot in blue paint and his left in the green. He winked at Xan, "I'm ready when you are," he told her. Sure, he could just start, but this was her idea and he wasn't going to do it without her.

@xanthippe

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Hugo seemed to be going along with her plans quite beautifully, and that just made Xan more excited. It was like she had always dreamed their relationship would be when it first started, before her being sick was in the picture. And that was how it could still be – how it was going to be – now that she was better. Hugo stepped into paint, too, and Xan smiled when she saw that he was using cool colors. That would help balance the warmth of her red and orange perfectly. “One more thing.” Xan said, bending down to scoop some of the paint onto her fingers. She put two lines of orange under each of her eyes, and then reached over to put paint in shaky lines on Hugo’s face, too. “So that we remember to be a little wild.” She explained. “Now let’s go!” Xan explained, jumping onto the canvas and sending small splashes of paint in every direction on the impact. She began to move slowly, stepping in a box formation as she gestured with her paint-covered fingers for Hugo to join her.

@hugo

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Hugo watched as Xan bent down and got some paint to put on her face before reaching toward him and doing the same. "No fair," he teased. "I should get to paint on your face," he added, making a face at her as he got ready to "go wild" as she said. "I'm ready to go now, I guess," Hugo answered, excited at the idea of dancing around with Xan. Sure, they spent time together while she was in the hospital but she hadn't really been able to truly be herself there and the few times they'd left she had to be more careful not to exert herself too much. This was more the way things used to be. She jumped on the canvas and started moving around swiftly and Hugo followed her almost instantly. Moving on the canvas easily, but trying not to copy Xan. He didn't really know what he was doing because he wasn't watching his feet. He was watching her. 

@xanthippe

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Hugo insisted that her putting paint on his face was no fair, and Xan smiled at him – though not before sticking out her tongue. “You know, Hugo, just because I already have paint on my face doesn’t mean you can’t put more on.” Xan replied cheekily. She certainly wasn’t opposed to the idea – it wasn’t like they didn’t have loads of paint to spare. That idea was put on hold, though, because they were dancing, and Xan didn’t have any intentions of holding still long enough for someone to put paint on her face if she could help it. She didn’t stop moving until the bottoms of her feet were no longer coated in paint, at which point she also remembered that she wasn’t the only person in the room. Oops. When Xan jumped off the edge of the canvas, she dipped her feet in yellow and purple paint, and then stepped back on, offering her hands to Hugo. Just because they weren’t going to dance in a formal manner, like they had the night of the Yule Ball, didn’t mean that they still couldn’t dance together.

@hugo

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Hugo made a face at Xan when she smiled at him and stuck out her tongue. He should have known she'd just tease him and continue on. That was just the way she was and he loved her for it. At her comment, he smiled wryly. "Well, you'd better prepare yourself then, because I'm going to get you when you least expect it," he wagged a finger in warning at her. This was going to be fun. Then again, he already knew that. As they danced, Hugo couldn't take his eyes off his girlfriend. She looked so happy dancing there with her feet covered in paint. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her and did his own dance as he did so. Then she was back in the paint and Hugo re-dipped his own feet, coming back to her to take her hands. He spun her in a circle, laughing. He didn't really have a reason to laugh, he was just happy. "So is this as good as you thought it would be?" he teased as he tugged her hand to try and pull her close if she'd let him.

@xanthippe

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Xan laughed when Hugo said that he was going to paint her face when she was least expecting it. “I’ll keep on my toes.” Xan said, raising onto the tips of her toes as she did so, throwing a teasing smile in Hugo’s direction. She didn’t really care whether or not Hugo got paint all over her – she was an artist, so of course she wasn’t going to get fussy over getting too dirty. After their feet were repainted, Hugo began to twirl her around, laughing as he did so. A laugh bubbled out of Xan, too. This was the sort of thing she had missed – being able to be goofy with her boyfriend just because, without worrying about how it would make her feel the next day or how badly the nurses would scold her. Hugo asked if this was as good as she thought it would be, and Xan beamed up at him, allowing herself to be pulled closer. “No.” She told him confidently. “It’s much better.” Everything seemed better now – the colors were more vivid and the air was sweeter and Hugo’s smile was so, so bright. It almost blinded her. “Now that I’m better, I can force you to do a hundred million more projects.” Xan said with another laugh. The rest of the school year would be good, and summer would be wonderful… and everything that came after that would come as it was. There was no point in worrying about changing it.

@hugo

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Xan seemed excited by the idea of Hugo taking her by surprise and he smirked. It was a fun idea to be sure and he wanted to make sure that he did it. As they danced with one another, Hugo couldn't help but grin. He loved spending time with her girlfriend, especially since it didn't have to be in secret anymore. He had too much fun with her and it was a good thing. He adored everything about her. Her laugh and smile, the twinkle in her eyes when she was happy. It was all wonderful to him and Hugo couldn't imagine his life without her. When he pulled her close and Xan told him that this was much better than she expected, Hugo wanted to kiss her, but the next thing he knew she was talking about art projects. He laughed and rolled his eyes at her, wanting to tease her. "Great. A hundred million art projects," Hu winked to show he was joking. He loved doing projects with her, no matter what they were. The idea of a hundred million ... well that was an intimidating number, but he was positive that with her they would all be fun.

@xanthippe

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Xan loved Hugo's laugh. She didn't think there was a way to dislike laughter of any sort, but she especially appreciated Hugo's. He had seen some horrible things - the deaths of the people he loved being the most prominent - and he still managed to find joy in the world. Xan hadn't realized how hard that was until she started facing horrible things of her own, and hadn't had as great of a reaction. Hugo made a joke about a hundred million art projects, and she scrunched her face up at him. "For you, I'll make it a hundred million and one." She teased. Xan walked off the edge of the canvas again, and observed it. "Something is missing." She said, all mirth gone as she studied her artwork. "What do you think, Hu?" Sometimes even inexperienced artists could offer amazing insight when it came to what was missing from a painting.

@hugo

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She made a face at him when he pretended to complain about all the art projects they would do together. Honestly, he enjoyed them. Any excuse to spend time with his girlfriend was a good excuse in Hugo's eyes, and since she loved art so much it was a doubly good excuse. He rolled his eyes, still smiling, when she said she'd add one more to all the art projects, just for him. Then she made her way to the edge of the canvas and Hugo followed her. He bent down, pretending he needed to tie his shoe when it looked like she was busy looking at their art. Then he subtly dipped his fingers in the paint. He rose to his feet when Xan asked what he thought was missing. He tilted his head, inspecting the artwork a little. "Hmmm ..." he stepped a little closer and then spun towards her, hoping to take her by surprise so he could go ahead and add some paint to her face. Payback! Not that he thought she'd mind. She would probably encourage it, in fact. Laughing, he looked at the canvas again, considering her question. "What about a signature ... of our handprints in one corner?" he asked, shrugging at her as he waited to hear the verdict. Other than that, he thought the painting looked amazing.

@xanthippe

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Xan was not looking at Hugo when he bent down to tie his shoe – she didn’t need to look at him, but her painting definitely needed her undivided attention. Therefore, when Hugo swung around and added some paint to her face, Xan was more surprised than she had been in a long, long time. She let out a shriek of shock, which quickly turned into long peals of laughter. Leave it to Hugo to take a semi-serious moment and turn it into something ridiculous. Xan stood on the tips of her toes to kiss Hugo on the cheek. Some of the paint that she had added to his face flaked off, and Xan rubbed her lips, slightly disgusted by the taste of the paint (even though she normally welcomed that sort of intimacy with her art materials). Despite the distraction, Hugo seemed to have genuinely considered her question, and his suggestion on how they could finish the painting was a good one. “You do red, and I’ll do blue.” Xan decided. They would do the signatures in the colors of their houses, and laugh when people thought that Hugo was the blue handprint because he was the boy. She crouched down to dip her hand in the blue paint, and turned to wait for Hugo, wanting them to add their signatures together.

@hugo