[ If you're not taking that scoff, sir, then he will, with an unrestrained snort to brush off that minor detail. Who cares about dancing experience? He's got more life experience, and as long as they both know the basics, shouldn't the older guy lead? Not that this has ever been a problem for him before-- the only lady to accept his offer of a dance was happy to follow his perhaps less ballroom than swing-appropriate sense of time, giggled if he fumbled with his feet, almost led him with her words and her touch if he started making excuses about how this really wasn't his kind of thing and she oughtta find a guy who can dance.
Naturally he can't expect the same breaks from his partner now, but at the very least his displeasure is an insult to his own faith in his skills. He isn't an expert by any means, not the way he assumes Barnaby sees himself, but he knows the basics, is so damn intimate with the basics he once practised over and over to be nothing short of decent on that special day that repeating the pattern with such a sense of disharmony in his partner and the surroundings only makes his temper flare. So at the nitpicking orders he grimaces, jerks his chin up with the energy behind a newly-straightened posture to look down his nose at Barnaby, dropping his hands to his sides. For the moment, physically, he doesn't want to have anything more to do with this. ]
Wha-- If you weren't stopping every two seconds I wouldn't be doing any of that stuff! [ -He isn't exactly going to defend each individual point because hell, he's right, but trying to lead Barnaby is like dancing with a store mannequin. What can he do if the resistance is enough to drag on his hands that it's become awkward pulling, that he has to visually pinpoint what Barnaby's doing with his feet so he doesn't unexpectedly trip? Running through these thoughts with a scowl, it-- it feels just like when they first paired up. The arguments are almost similar. But he has to keep trying. That vivid lack of teamwork between the two still fresh in his mind is what stops him snapping his locked gaze away from Barnaby's, immediately at least, his voice lower when he speaks again; after all, they've probably got at least a few onlookers after having raised the volume. ] Can't just stand there and expect dancing to happen just 'cause you're not leading. C'mon, let's give this another shot.
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Naturally he can't expect the same breaks from his partner now, but at the very least his displeasure is an insult to his own faith in his skills. He isn't an expert by any means, not the way he assumes Barnaby sees himself, but he knows the basics, is so damn intimate with the basics he once practised over and over to be nothing short of decent on that special day that repeating the pattern with such a sense of disharmony in his partner and the surroundings only makes his temper flare. So at the nitpicking orders he grimaces, jerks his chin up with the energy behind a newly-straightened posture to look down his nose at Barnaby, dropping his hands to his sides. For the moment, physically, he doesn't want to have anything more to do with this. ]
Wha-- If you weren't stopping every two seconds I wouldn't be doing any of that stuff! [ -He isn't exactly going to defend each individual point because hell, he's right, but trying to lead Barnaby is like dancing with a store mannequin. What can he do if the resistance is enough to drag on his hands that it's become awkward pulling, that he has to visually pinpoint what Barnaby's doing with his feet so he doesn't unexpectedly trip? Running through these thoughts with a scowl, it-- it feels just like when they first paired up. The arguments are almost similar. But he has to keep trying. That vivid lack of teamwork between the two still fresh in his mind is what stops him snapping his locked gaze away from Barnaby's, immediately at least, his voice lower when he speaks again; after all, they've probably got at least a few onlookers after having raised the volume. ] Can't just stand there and expect dancing to happen just 'cause you're not leading. C'mon, let's give this another shot.