[ With the weather in Duplicity getting colder by the week, and having remembered what Clary said about the dress code, Finn shows up to the Scratch in a slightly nicer outfit than he’d wear if they were hanging out together — a dark blue dress shirt, collar unbuttoned since he isn’t wearing a tie, over a pair of black slacks. It’s not as dressed up as he might have been the first time he came to the club, but he won’t stick out like a sore thumb by comparison to the others here.
He shows up a couple minutes before the agreed-upon time, and spends enough time by the stand that he starts to wonder if he should just order something for himself to drink while he waits. Clary’s text had mentioned her being here already, but maybe she’d gotten held up somewhere first, so he decides not to abandon this spot immediately in case she comes looking for him here.
His gaze casually scans the lounge again, drifting over to the club next door where he notices one dancer stepping off the stage and the lights changing in preparation for another performance. Although the name announced through the speakers is a little muffled from where he’s standing, the sight of red-gold hair tumbling down the shoulders of the dancer who takes the stage next gives him pause — so much so that he finds himself drifting in her direction until he’s close enough to see her face. ]
[ Clary manages to spot Finn literally seconds before she's to step out on stage, the previous dancer breezing past her without any sort of interaction. Which is fine; she's pretty focused on Finn, noting the color of his shirt with a wide and pleased grin. Unable to linger, she lets the smile shift into something a bit more coy and flirty as she steps out onto the stage, though the curtains aren't pulled apart until she's in place in the middle, back to the audience.
Having had time to prepare and practice, unlike the opening night of the club, means that Clary actually put some thought into her performance this time. Erring more on the side of burlesque than full-on stripping, her outfit has a distinctivelyvintage feel to it, though her hair is curled in loose, tumbling waves that spill down her back. As the music begins she sways her hips in time to the beat, slow and purposeful, and lets her hands glide slowly up her sides.
Only when she catches her hair between her fingers, bunching it to reveal more of her back as she dips down to the floor does she look over her shoulder. Since he's moved closer in the time it took her to start, it does take a second for Clary to spot Finn again. When she does, it's entirely instinctive for her teeth to catch against her lower lip. Letting go of her hair, she moves her hands back to her bottom, helping draw the audience's attention there as she stands again, bending seductively as she goes, surprisingly sturdy in her heels. ]
[ It's subconscious instinct, mostly, that leads him into this space; she hadn't mentioned anything about being over here specifically, but now he can't help but have the feeling like he was supposed to be in this spot all along, and it's a suspicion that manages to hold a lot more weight when he finally gets a good enough look at the woman standing on the stage as the spotlight hits her from behind.
The thing is, it's not like he's never seen her in a state of certain undress before; he's even seen her with a lot fewer clothes on, but there's something about everyone else in this room also being privy to the view that makes the back of his neck, the tips of his ears go hot. He doesn't know if this is the first time she's ever gone up on stage like this before, but based on the way she moves, it's impossible for him to tell; he wouldn't be able to say definitively because she looks so confident from where he's standing.
When she glances back over her shoulder and makes eye contact with him, he knows he's not imagining the look that passes between them, the brief sink of teeth into her lower lip — and he blindly plops down into the closest chair, hard, his mouth suddenly going dry. It feels like she's dancing just for him and for everyone else here at the same time, but she looks phenomenal and in control of everything she's doing, and his fingers curl against the armrests of his seat, subconsciously holding the desire to touch her even from here. ]
i've never been good at writing strip-teases so just... scooting this along lmao
[ Clary, of course, sees the way Finn sits, notices how sudden and hard of a landing it is, and that as much as the way he seems incapable of taking his eyes off her makes a similar heat crash through her, leaving the curve of her cheeks a little pinker than they have been before. But she doesn't let it distract her from dancing, her movements slow and seductive, obviously meant to encourage the imagination to all sorts of different avenues. And while she's not able to maintain eye contact with Finn the entire time, he's certainly the audience member that her gaze lands on more often than not.
The rush of knowing people are watching her — are being turned on by her — is as exhilarating as it was the night of the opening, solidifying the reason she decided to make it a more permanent thing. Feeling the weight of Finn's attention is better than all of the rest combined, leaving her almost anxious for the song to finish so she can better gauge his reaction off stage.
As the song comes to an end, Clary once more finds Finn in the audience, catching his eye before nodding slightly towards the side of the stage. Then the curtains close, cutting him off from view entirely but also letting her exit quickly, heading to where she'd silently invited him rather than backstage to change into something more audience-appropriate. ]
[ At least he hadn't completely missed the chair and fallen onto the floor — although considering the view in front of him, would it have even been surprising if he had? It's as if the rest of the club ceases to exist in his view, once he realizes it's not just any girl up there but one he knows moving like that, and all he can do is sit and stare without trying not to openly gawk, held fast in a combination of admiration and maybe a growing evidence of arousal. He knows he can't possibly be the only one she's performing for, but now it's all starting to click into place — she'd invited him here, on purpose, to see this, and mostly he just feels incredibly flattered that she'd want him here, although he does find himself curious about how long she's been doing it or if this was something she wanted to try out for her own sake.
There'll be time to ask her, because the song ends — almost too quickly for his liking — and he's sitting there a little dazed afterward, so much so that he almost misses her subtle invitation to come around to the edge of the stage and join her there. He can't even pretend he's not ready to see her after that, scrambling up from the chair and carefully trying to navigate his way around other seats to get to where she's directed him.
Once he finds the break in the curtains on the side, it takes a second for him to take in what he's seeing; it's a lot busier back here than he realized, other dancers hurrying around, one preparing to take the stage next now that Clary's vacated it, and he stands off to the side so he doesn't get in anyone's way, brightening when he spots a flash of red hair that heralds her heading over in his direction. ]
You were... [ He shakes his head, words failing him in the moment but hoping she understands the sentiment with the smile growing on his face. ] Wow.
[ It takes longer than she'd like to spot Finn once he ducks behind the curtains but she's still flushed with adrenaline and, admittedly, a fair bit of arousal herself when she finally catches sight of him and makes her way over. Perhaps the thrill she gets from dancing on stage shouldn't surprise her considering how many times her and Poe have skirted close to or teased about exhibitionism, yet it does.
Though dancing for a room full of people is nothing compared to the rush she gets at Finn's reaction, the smile on his face mirrored in a bright, wide one of her own. ] Yeah, you think so? [ Tonight's only the second time she's done this and while she had more time to prepare than the first, she's still uncertain about her performance, never mind how well the audience seemed to react.
Someone rushes past them, prompting Clary to step further into Finn's space, her hand instinctively finding his wrist as she does. Her gaze drops to his lips briefly, almost subconsciously, as her smile softens — still bright and undeniable, but gentler now. ]
I'm really glad you came. I wanted you to see my first official dance here.
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no subject
He shows up a couple minutes before the agreed-upon time, and spends enough time by the stand that he starts to wonder if he should just order something for himself to drink while he waits. Clary’s text had mentioned her being here already, but maybe she’d gotten held up somewhere first, so he decides not to abandon this spot immediately in case she comes looking for him here.
His gaze casually scans the lounge again, drifting over to the club next door where he notices one dancer stepping off the stage and the lights changing in preparation for another performance. Although the name announced through the speakers is a little muffled from where he’s standing, the sight of red-gold hair tumbling down the shoulders of the dancer who takes the stage next gives him pause — so much so that he finds himself drifting in her direction until he’s close enough to see her face. ]
no subject
Having had time to prepare and practice, unlike the opening night of the club, means that Clary actually put some thought into her performance this time. Erring more on the side of burlesque than full-on stripping, her outfit has a distinctively vintage feel to it, though her hair is curled in loose, tumbling waves that spill down her back. As the music begins she sways her hips in time to the beat, slow and purposeful, and lets her hands glide slowly up her sides.
Only when she catches her hair between her fingers, bunching it to reveal more of her back as she dips down to the floor does she look over her shoulder. Since he's moved closer in the time it took her to start, it does take a second for Clary to spot Finn again. When she does, it's entirely instinctive for her teeth to catch against her lower lip. Letting go of her hair, she moves her hands back to her bottom, helping draw the audience's attention there as she stands again, bending seductively as she goes, surprisingly sturdy in her heels. ]
no subject
The thing is, it's not like he's never seen her in a state of certain undress before; he's even seen her with a lot fewer clothes on, but there's something about everyone else in this room also being privy to the view that makes the back of his neck, the tips of his ears go hot. He doesn't know if this is the first time she's ever gone up on stage like this before, but based on the way she moves, it's impossible for him to tell; he wouldn't be able to say definitively because she looks so confident from where he's standing.
When she glances back over her shoulder and makes eye contact with him, he knows he's not imagining the look that passes between them, the brief sink of teeth into her lower lip — and he blindly plops down into the closest chair, hard, his mouth suddenly going dry. It feels like she's dancing just for him and for everyone else here at the same time, but she looks phenomenal and in control of everything she's doing, and his fingers curl against the armrests of his seat, subconsciously holding the desire to touch her even from here. ]
i've never been good at writing strip-teases so just... scooting this along lmao
The rush of knowing people are watching her — are being turned on by her — is as exhilarating as it was the night of the opening, solidifying the reason she decided to make it a more permanent thing. Feeling the weight of Finn's attention is better than all of the rest combined, leaving her almost anxious for the song to finish so she can better gauge his reaction off stage.
As the song comes to an end, Clary once more finds Finn in the audience, catching his eye before nodding slightly towards the side of the stage. Then the curtains close, cutting him off from view entirely but also letting her exit quickly, heading to where she'd silently invited him rather than backstage to change into something more audience-appropriate. ]
no worries at all!
There'll be time to ask her, because the song ends — almost too quickly for his liking — and he's sitting there a little dazed afterward, so much so that he almost misses her subtle invitation to come around to the edge of the stage and join her there. He can't even pretend he's not ready to see her after that, scrambling up from the chair and carefully trying to navigate his way around other seats to get to where she's directed him.
Once he finds the break in the curtains on the side, it takes a second for him to take in what he's seeing; it's a lot busier back here than he realized, other dancers hurrying around, one preparing to take the stage next now that Clary's vacated it, and he stands off to the side so he doesn't get in anyone's way, brightening when he spots a flash of red hair that heralds her heading over in his direction. ]
You were... [ He shakes his head, words failing him in the moment but hoping she understands the sentiment with the smile growing on his face. ] Wow.
no subject
Though dancing for a room full of people is nothing compared to the rush she gets at Finn's reaction, the smile on his face mirrored in a bright, wide one of her own. ] Yeah, you think so? [ Tonight's only the second time she's done this and while she had more time to prepare than the first, she's still uncertain about her performance, never mind how well the audience seemed to react.
Someone rushes past them, prompting Clary to step further into Finn's space, her hand instinctively finding his wrist as she does. Her gaze drops to his lips briefly, almost subconsciously, as her smile softens — still bright and undeniable, but gentler now. ]
I'm really glad you came. I wanted you to see my first official dance here.