"Mother nature is a ." 

"You're just upset there won't be any air conditioning at the festival." The man who speaks is tall and willowy with piercing blue eyes. 

"Exactly!" Poking her thumbs into her own chest, Lisa frowns, "Do I look like a lizard to you?"

"You are literally from Texas where there are as many lizards as there are guns."

The banter carries back and forth, echoing off the exposed ventilation ducts and hardwood floors. The studio is an older industrial building with the characteristic exposed brick and towering windows. In the winter it is a pain to heat and in the summer it is a sweatbox. 

“Soo, back me up,” the pout on Lisa’s lips is over exaggerated. “They’re picking on the tall kid again!”

In her own world, Soojin sits propped against the wall tapping away on her phone. 

“See? Even Soojin thinks you’re being—”

“Soo!” Lisa whines, blocking out the voices of her teammates with hands over her ears. 

“Huh?” Soojin looks up when the weight of Lisa’s head settles on her thigh. Her nose scrunches and her brows pinch. “Why are you so sweaty?”

“Soo!” Affronted, Lisa pinches at the skin beneath her cheek. “You’re even gross-er-ly!”

Phone in one hand, Soojin whacks Lisa with the other. “I know! So stop cuddling up to me and making it worse!”

The half dozen dancers left in the room chuckle, amused by the softer, almost childlike, side to the disciplined dancers. 

“Give up, Lis, Soojin doesn’t bat for our team.” The woman is taller than Lisa by an inch and the living embodiment of an Amazonian warrior. Hand settled on one hip, she flippantly flicks her hair back over her shoulder. “I’ve tried.”

Popping up to her feet like it isn’t the end of a gruelling eight hour practice, Lisa fires back, “Hey! I’m everyone’s type!”

The group whoops at the chase that ends in a dance off that is far less technical and all too chaotic, driven by the fatigue of the day. When it’s done, and Lisa is a heaving mess in the middle of the floor, the other dancers bid their farewells. 

“See you tomorrow!”

“Better luck next time, Lis!”

“Later Lizard!”

Lisa groans. “I’m dead.” 

“Serves you right.” Soojin remarks.

Rolling onto her side, Lisa pouts. “Is all your love only for y Eyes?” The hand to her forehead is theatrical. “Have you no love left to give?”

Bag slung over her shoulder and Lisa’s in hand, Soojin walks to the middle of the room. “Not for you,” she teases, offering her hand to help Lisa to her feet. 

“So cruel,” Lisa groans as she tugs on Soojin’s hand and stumbles to her feet. “I suppose I won’t keep you from your destiny—” she waves her hand dismissively, “—Let me wallow in my— Oomph!” 

“Hurry up,” Soojin calls from the doorway.

“Well fine, ignore my dramatic confession.” Shouldering the bag Soojin swung into her side, Lisa shuffled into the hall, locking the studio door behind her. 

In the sanctity of the elevator, Soojin confesses, “You know I’m grateful for you, right?” Her features are focused, eyes boring on the elevator doors with ferocious intensity. 

The doors slide open to an empty lobby and, as she leans into the front door, Lisa nods. “I gotcha, Soo.” With a gasp, she gulps in the night air. Her gaze settles on the woman waiting a few steps away, “She’s all yours, y Eyes. Be good to my girl, ‘kay?” 

With drooping eyelids, Shuhua gingerly bobs her head. “‘Kay,” she parrots back, voice thick like molasses. 

Lisa leaves with a wave, hopping into the cab without any additional fanfare. 

“I’m okay to take a cab, Shuhua,” Soojin starts as her eyes drink in the exhaustion in Shuhua’s frame. “Or even just Ren.” She whispers as she brushes several flyaway strands of hair back behind Shuhua’s ear. 

“I know.” The admission is soft yet encumbered by weariness. Leaning into the warmth of Soojin’s fingers, Shuhua admits, “But I miss you.” 

“Come on.” 

Shuhua’s steps are unsteady as Soojin tugs her along, but she remains upright and in enough of a forward direction. At the crosswalk, when Shuhua stumbles on even ground and nearly faceplants when she steps off the curb, Soojin stops. 

“Get on,” She orders, her bag pressed against her stomach as she crouches