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tdalejandro · 8 months

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Bonsar Ballroom dancing fic

Ambiguous setting, but I had ttwt in mind while writing this. Some point post merge, hence why they're in pairs.

Word Count: 3049

Bonnie and Caesar are quick to pair together, to no one's surprise.

They don't know the challenge yet, but Bonnie just hopes that it isn't something too bad. Most partner challenges don't really call for much, and doing it with Caesar just means that they're going to have a blast doing it.

But as Chris leads the group towards a large building, something grows in Bonnie's stomach that the challenge is going to be something they don't like. Something that they don't want to do. People talk amongst themselves, trying to figure out what the challenge is.

Caesar walks beside Bonnie, and Bonnie can't help but keep track of the way their hands ever so slightly brush against each other as they walk. Why do they care? It's an action so miniscule that they shouldn't be noticing it. And yet, with each brush of their hands, Bonnie grows even more nervous for the challenge.

They reach the building, and the grin on Chris' face just makes them even more nervous. More scared. What is inside that building? What does Chris have in store? Why are they even feeling like this in the first place? They're usually fine with whatever the challenge is.

"Alright guys," Chris starts. His eyes pass through the group, and Bonnie notices the way they stop once he gets to them. "Today's challenge? It's something easy. Something that's been done for centuries. Something that is one of Chef's favorites."

Chris places his hands on the door, pushing it in. "Today, we are ballroom dancing!"

The announcement of the challenge and the sight of the ballroom makes Bonnie's stomach drop. Their heart begins to race, their mind thinking too many things at once. But, they all center around one topic.

They have to dance. With Caesar.

"Isn't ballroom dancing a little tame for a challenge?" Someone asks. Michela, Bonnie thinks.

"Well, seeing as the group we have left are people who are popular in Total Takes shipping, we decided to change up the challenge. And wow, you guys did the job for us! You all paired up perfectly! Our ratings are about to go crazy for this episode!"

Bonnie looks over at Caesar, who in turn has a smile on his face. There's a light in his eyes that Bonnie's seen before. Pure excitement. Seeing him like that. The smile on his face, the pure happiness. It makes Bonnie feel bad. Guilty. Shame.

Bonnie looks away, turning their eyes back on Chris. He gestures his arms inside the ballroom, and everyone trickles in. Bonnie is quick to notice the makeshift changing stalls towards the back of the room, a clothing rack that holds different dresses and suits.

Oh. Chris is going to make them wear a dress.

“Alright guys! As I’m sure some of you have noticed, we’re setting the mood! While some of you might be dressed for the occasion, a lot of you aren’t.”

Bonnie raises their hand.

“Yes, we have taken into account what you would prefer to wear. I’m not a monster, Bonnie,” Chris says, rolling his eyes. Bonnie breathes out, feeling just a bit more relaxed for the challenge.

The group murmurs once again, and Chris claps his hands. “The challenge is simple! Ballroom dancing! A dance between two partners, where the two of you have to at least look like you’re enjoying it!”

“What’s the twist?” Julia, from behind.

Chris’ grin somehow grows even wider, “You’ll find out. For now, get changed! We already set everything up, so we’re waiting for you slowpokes!”

Everyone makes their way towards the back of the room, where interns hand everyone either a dress or a suit. One of the interns hands Bonnie a simple black suit, a pair of dress shoes, a white dress shirt, and a dark purple tie. Bonnie takes it, looking it over. Off to the side, they see that Caesar is handed a dark purple dress. Bonnie takes a look at the dress and realizes that the color of their tie matches the color of Caesar’s dress.

They really planned for this…

Bonnie sighs, making their way into the stall to change. They quickly change, and once they have the suit on, they take a good moment to look at themselves in the small mirror that Chris provided.

The suit fits good, which doesn’t surprise Bonnie given how the interns took measurements just a few days ago. The tie somehow stares at them in the reflection, and Bonnie can feel their face burn as they think of Caesar.

Oh. Caesar.

Dancing with Caesar. Being close with Caesar. The constant touch from Caesar. Caesar.

Bonnie looks away from the mirror, their heart racing. They should’ve been eliminated. They wish they got eliminated. So then they didn’t have to do this. But why are they so nervous? Why is Caesar making them so nervous?

Bonnie exits the stall, and they look around at the people who are ready. A few pairs are already together, talking as if this is something completely normal for them to do. Why aren’t they freaking out? Why aren’t they nervous?

Maybe it’s just Bonnie. Is Caesar nervous? Why is Bonnie overthinking this? It’s just dancing. Bonnie has held Caesar’s hand before. They’ve been in close proximity before. They’ve done so much before. Why is now any different?

“You okay, Bonbon?” Bonnie hears off to the side. They look up, and immediately freeze at the sight of Caesar.

The dress he wears. The deep purple color, yes it does match Bonnie’s tie. It’s strapless, the dress hugging his chest tight to stay on. It continues to hug against his body until his waist, where it begins to flow out, hiding the rest of his body under the clothes. It stops just before it touches the floor, probably due to Caesar’s height. He wears small earrings, probably cheap ones from a local mall. But the way he wears them, Bonnie isn’t entirely sure.

“Bonbon?”

Bonnie looks away, hiding their face in their hands. They wish they could sink into the ground. Float away into the air. Disappear from the moment.

“We’re in this together. I got you. I’m here for you,” Caesar says, noticing the way Bonnie is freaking out. “Remember what I told you? I want to help you. I’ll help you through this.”

Bonnie breathes out, closing their eyes. They remove their hands from their face, looking back up at Caesar. “Yeah. Thank you, Caesar.”

Caesar smiles at them, and Bonnie smiles back. Yeah. They can do this.

Then, Chris. “Alright! Everyone ready?”

Bonnie looks around, seeing everyone paired together. God. They’re about to dance. Bonnie is about to dance with Caesar.

“Make your way onto the dance floor!” Chris says. Everyone walks together, splitting off into pairs. Each group distances themselves, and Bonnie finds them and Caesar more in the middle of the group. They stand across from each other, and Bonnie stares at Chris, trying to ignore the way their heart is racing.

“Chef will be the one judging your dancing! He will determine if you guys could be doing better! If not, you’re out! Then, we move on to the second part of the challenge, and the winning group will get an advantage!”

Chef walks out from one of the stalls, wearing a dress and a wig. His face is blank, staring at the group as he makes his way towards the floor. He stands next to Chris, not saying a word.

“Okay guys! Get ready, and the music will start as soon as I say so!”

Bonnie turns away from Chris, looking back up at Caesar. He looks back at Bonnie, and the two of them make eye contact for a moment before Bonnie breaks it, looking down at the floor.

“It’s okay, Bonbon. I’ll lead the dance. I am a phenomenal dancer,” Caesar comforts. Bonnie nods, closing their eyes and breathing out for maybe the millionth time in the last hour.

Caesar holds out a hand, and Bonnie stares at it. “Are you ready?”

Is Bonnie ready? God no. They are nowhere near ready.

Bonnie brings a hand out, and places it on top of Caesar’s own hand. The warmth of Caesar’s hand almost makes Bonnie jump, and the two of them stand like that for a moment, unsure what to do. Caesar moves his hand around, and closes his fingers over their hand. Bonnie follows, and Caesar right away places his other hand on their hip. This time, the contact makes them jump. Caesar immediately pulls away his hand from their hip, and a look of concern overtakes his face.

“You okay?” he says, his voice quiet, loud enough only for Bonnie to hear.

Bonnie nods, “Yeah. Yes. I am. Sorry, I’ve never done this before.”

“I know. It’s okay, Bonbon. I’ll lead the dance. It’ll be a simple one. Nothing fancy.”

Caesar places his hand back on Bonnie’s hip, and Bonnie breaths out. With their own free hand, they place it on his shoulder. Bonnie is quick to notice how warm it is, somehow even warmer than his hand. This slightly strengthened their grip on his shoulder, being sure not to squeeze so hard to hinder him.

Caesar takes a step forward, closing the distance between them.

“Alright campers! Start dancing!”

A waltz blares from the speakers, and Bonnie can feel Caesar readjusts his grip on Bonnie’s hand. He begins to step in time to the music, pulling Bonnie with him as he does so. Bonnie, unprepared, still trying to cope with the fact that they’re dancing with Caesar, steps out of time.

Caesar immediately takes notice, and they somehow pull Bonnie even closer to him, despite being in the middle of a dance. Bonnie’s eyes widen as they watch as Caesar leans down, setting his head right next to their ear.

“The secret to dancing to waltzes is to count to 3,” he says, his voice tickling Bonnie’s ear. Bonnie can feel themselves begin to sweat, but they try to focus on his voice in their ear.

Caesar continues to talk, “The music is made in a way where the first beat of every measure is long, so you can tell which is the first beat. When dancing to a waltz, you always step on one.”

Bonnie nods, listening to the music from the speakers. It’s a familiar tune, something they’ve definitely heard before, but not enough to know it by name. They try to listen for the “long” first beat, but nothing.

“Listen to me count,” Caesar says. “ 1 2 3. 1 2 3. 1 2 3.”

Sure enough, everytime Caesar says 1, they take a step. Bonnie counts along, not as loud as Caesar. More for themselves than anything. Caesar nods, and stops counting. The two of them continue to dance, more in step as Bonnie counts. They eventually stop, listening to the music and counting along in their head.

“Thank you,” Bonnie eventually says, moving in step with Caesar. While it isn’t confident, it’s a lot better than they did at the start. “I can hear it now. Thank you.”

The two of them continue to dance in relative silence, Bonnie still counting along in their head. They ignore the way their hand is sweating in Caesar’s hand, the way Caesar leads by slightling pulling their hip with each step, the way their hand is still on his bare shoulder.

Chef comes up, watching the two of them as they dance. Bonnie’s shakes as Chef watches, his face blank as he stares the two of them down. Caesar squeezes their hand, “Ignore him.”

But Chef doesn’t let it go, stepping closer to them. “You two could do better. When I come back around, it will be better.”

Chef walks away, leaving the two of them alone to stare down another pair. Bonnie gulps, “What does he want? We’re doing the challenge.”

Caesar shakes his head, “No, we could be doing better. But in order for us to do that… Bonbon, we need to talk about it.”

What.

“Talk about what?” Bonnie says, trying to play dumb. Do they have to talk about this now? In front of the cameras?

“Bonbon, trust me, I would rather do it in private. Away from the cameras,” Caesar says, gesturing his head towards the cameraman that records the two as they dance. Bonnie gives him a side eye, and the cameraman only shrugs his shoulders his response, taking a step back from the two.

“But if we don’t bring this up now, I’m afraid we’ll never get our chance again. Please, Bonbon.” Caesar says.

The two of them dance in silence, waiting for Bonnie to say something. Bonnie doesn’t even know how to respond. Talking about their emotions has never been their strongest suit.

“Okay. We can talk about it,” Bonnie eventually says, their voice quiet. They look back up at Caesar, and Bonnie notices the way his face has a pink shade to it. Bonnie can feel their own face burn in response, and they try to look away from him.

“Look at me,” Caesar says, and Bonnie does. The two of them make eye contact, and Bonnie’s heart feels like it’s jumping out of their chest. Why now? In the middle of a challenge, in front of a camera that is going to be shown to millions of people.

But, Caesar does have a point. If they don’t talk about it now, they’ll never talk about it ever again.

“I do like you,” Bonnie eventually says. “I’ve never… Caesar. The things I feel about you, I’ve never felt like that about anyone before. Never.”

The piece ends, and the new piece that plays is a tad bit slower. The two of them are able to adjust to the new tempo rather quickly.

Caesar continues the conversation, “We’re… more than friends, right? I’m not the only one who feels that?”

Bonnie’s face burns at his words, “We are. We are more than friends. You’re not the only one who feels that. But, we aren’t exactly… lovers.”

Saying the word out loud feels weird. Lovers. The word doesn’t feel right. It’s not enough to describe them.

“Bonbon, I love you,” Caesar says. Bonnie almost freezes at his words, and Caesar has to pull them along to keep dancing. They’re out of step for a few moments, Bonnie taken aback by his words, but Bonnie begins to count once again in their head, getting back in time with Caesar.

“The love that I feel for you, it’s something more than platonic love. More than romantic love. It’s something that I’ve never felt before. Do you understand what I mean?” Caesar says once they’re back in step.

Bonnie thinks for a moment. They’ve never really been in love before. Whatever that feeling is. Bonnie has always been alone, before coming to this show. But now, they have friends. Friends in Courtney and sometimes Michela and Patrick. A friend in Caesar.

No. Friend is definitely not the word to use to describe Caesar. But lover isn’t either. Partner doesn’t describe it.

“I get it,” Bonnie says. “I… I love you too Caesar. And hearing you put it into words, I feel the exact way. I was scared of talking about it, because I think I’m scared of putting a label on our relationship. Because none of the words feel right. The things I feel about you, I can’t find the right word for it.”

“Did you ever end up watching the episode where you got eliminated back on Island?” Caesar asks.

Bonnie grumbles, “No. I didn’t want to watch you all vote for me.”

Caesar chuckles, “I don’t blame you. But then that means you missed the things I said about you. I called you my soulmate.”

Soulmate.

Maybe that’s the word.

No, it’s definitely the word. Not friends. Not lovers. Not partners. Soulmates.

“Soulmate,” Bonnie repeats. It feels right to say. Yeah. Caesar is Bonnie’s soulmate.

“The way that I love you is something much, much more than just platonic. More than romantic, even. It’s its own thing. And I just need to know that I’m not the only one who feels like that,” Caesar says.

“No. No, you aren’t,” Bonnie confirms. Bonnie can feel the way his shoulders relax immediately as their words. Has he been tense this entire time?

Bonnie continues. “I was never good at talking about my emotions. I think I was scared that I was… getting it wrong? The way people talk about love, yeah, it’s there when I think about you. When I see you. When I talk to you. But also, there’s just something more. Something a whole lot more. Something more than just love.”

Caesar rubs his thumb over Bonnie’s hand. Oh yeah. They’re still dancing. Bonnie takes a quick glance, and they notice that the number of pairs have gone down.

“We don’t have to put any labels on what we have. I just wanted to talk it out. Not leave it in the air. But I do know one thing for certain. Bonbon, you are the person meant for me. That day, I was correct to call you my soulmate. We are destined to meet in all of our lifetimes.”

Oh. Oh God. Bonnie can feel themselves tearing up at Caesar’s words. No one has ever said anything like that to them. Never. And the fact that they met on this stupid show? Who would’ve known that it was good for one thing?

Bonnie takes a step closer towards Caesar, and they place their head on his chest. The material of the dress he wears is rough against their face, but they don’t care. They can hear his heartbeat, and Bonnie takes note of just how fast it is. God, he was nervous too. Bonnie wasn’t the only one.

“You mean so much to me, Caesar,” Bonnie says, loud enough only for him to hear. “Soulmate is the right word. That’s what we are. Soulmates.”

Caesar chuckles, and he lightly places his chin on top of their hair. They continue to dance like that, taking little steps. They don’t need to talk about anything else to enjoy the moment.

The music continues on, and the word echoes in Bonnie’s mind.

Soulmates.

#mod fnaf bonnie #mod caesar #bonsar #sorry for being insane. i will do it again #tti #total takes island #tts #can we all write tti couples ballroom dancing fics to pair with this one #thatll be so awesome #mine

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anthroparis · 7 months

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little bonsar fic river commissioned. it turned out well so I thought I'd post here too! word count is around 1k.

(comm info is here)

It had been a long night.

The sound of the morning crew in the studio next door was Caesar’s cue to finally close the laptop and stow it away until he’d gotten enough sleep to bear gazing into that uncaring white light again. It took a lot of effort to hit the save icon in the corner of the program and let the file go dormant for the evening.

This- Aftermath, that is- was so much different from his little bedroom studio back home. He had a crew of thirty people at his disposal, international airing time, and a dedicated fan audience that rivaled his original following by tenfold. Caesar could, quite frankly, do nothing. Just sit back and enjoy his limelight- let the paid professionals take care of the gritty details while he lounged with little imported cucumber slicers over his eyes to give him that fresh “good night’s rest” look.

Of course, if he did have other people working for him, he could actually get a good night’s rest. Truthfully, Caesar couldn’t stand having people he barely knew impose their own conflicting visions over his. He was beginning to lose track of how many times he yelled at a production assistant for moving a potted plant, or argued with a producer over SFX. It was beginning to exhaust him- in a depressing way, he was starting to understand why Chris McLean turned the way he did.

Half of the next Aftermath episode was edited on his own personal computer, by his own two hands. It felt good, having that authority. That control over his work. Besides the conflicts with the studio heads, he was admired for his talent- “Caesar Flickerman, the man who can do it all!”

He pushed his desk chair back and let it roll a few feet before finally getting up. Truthfully, there was a lot he couldn’t do. He couldn’t flip a pancake in a pan. He couldn’t cut his own hair. He couldn’t resist adding a little dash through his written sevens.

The catering table was empty, of course, only a stark white cloth covering its surface. In a few hours, it’d be covered in finger sandwiches and donut holes for the next crew. But for now, it was empty, perfectly empty, and Caesar enjoyed the feeling of putting his computer bag on it. Across from the white table cloth was a dark form lying awkwardly on a black couch, each side of the room contrasting each other like Yin and Yang.

He didn’t want to wake them. Not yet.

In the periwinkle light of dawn, everything seemed so normal. If Caesar closed his eyes, he could pretend that they weren’t in a film studio in Toronto in the naught hours of the morning. No, there was nothing quite beautiful about that- they were in his grandmother’s basement, years before she passed and her beautiful home was repossessed and bulldozed. Lying on the soft green floral couch, watching old romances from the ‘50s on the box TV set atop a stack of New Yorkers. The smell of rosemary and thyme coming from upstairs.

Oh, how he wished he’d met Bonnie some other way.

There was a kind of mourning between them that neither wanted to speak about. It was a silent funeral of “what if’s” and fantasies of a world in which their lives were much different. Where they could have sleepovers in the attic and bake cookies for trips to the park on warm days.

But here they were, anyway. Backstage, where only hours ago they had been cornered into sharing their feelings to millions of apathetic viewers over a screen. This was life for them. Nothing could change that now.

Sometimes, he felt as if Bonnie could’ve saved him if the two met sooner.

If he’d had them all those years ago, when he felt alone in the way that makes you dizzy and disoriented, even when you’re surrounded by people. The way he felt when he passed the supermarket that was built over his grandmother’s house.

Maybe he wouldn’t have to be so charming. Maybe he wouldn’t have to have become Caesar Flickerman, the man who can do it all, as a means of survival. Maybe he wouldn’t have discovered the truth about the world so quickly, that it doesn’t matter how smart or talented you truly are, success is achieved through charisma. And in most cases, charisma and lying are one in the same.

Because, and the truth was, that no matter how “talented” people thought he was, Bonnie made him feel stupid.

They just had a way of stripping away the layers and layers of lacquer he’d coated himself with over the years, as if they didn’t matter to them at all. As if Bonnie could see right through him and grasp the lonely little child he’d spent so much time and effort trying to bury, and hold his hand while they crossed the street. They made him feel stupid. Weak.

And he liked that about them. No, loved that about them. Loved how they made him see things so differently. Loved how they made him question himself. Loved how they made him think about silly things like the couch in his grandmother’s basement.

He sometimes wondered how just one person could be all that. How they could be everything.

Caesar tried not to dwell on it too much. He didn’t want to ruin a good thing by overthinking it, after all. No, he wanted to stay in this little bubble forever, where life was just about him staying up ‘til five in the morning and Bonnie waiting for him outside.

“You stress yourself too much,” They said that a lot. Caesar was always tempted to chide them- he knew that Bonnie was just as, if not more stressed than he, they just stowed it away until they could handle it on their own time. Caesar took out his worries on DaVinci Resolve, Bonnie tapped their feet and chewed their nails and checked the time on the big white clock in the production meeting room.

But, all the same, he wanted to say “You’re right. Let’s go,” and disappear with them into the early morning Toronto fog, and never come back. He wanted to build a house with them, brick by brick, with a basement and a green sofa and a box TV, and fill it with the smell of rosemary and thyme.

But neither of them could do that.

So, instead, Caesar laid his coat over Bonnie’s shoulders and fell asleep next to them.

#tti #total takes island #tts #bonsar

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