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Gabin gets on the plane to New York with one thought, and one thought only: He will make Tobias proud.
And when Tobias comes back from France at the end of the swap, he will want to cast Gabin. Not as a lead, and probably not in the first thing he does, maybe not even the second, but perhaps the third. But he will wait for the fourth, the fifth, the sixth piece if he has to, he will wait however long it takes for Tobias to trust him again, and he will not ever slack off.
He throws himself into class with all he's got. He is punctual and motivated for every rehearsal. His warm-ups and cool-downs are textbook perfect. He takes his physiotherapy seriously and religiously does the prescribed exercises in his spare time. He observes the recommended rest periods. He perfects his nutrition plan and consequently spends most of his money on food.
He actively tries to understand how the MBT works compared to Le Ballet National, what's different and what's the same. He makes an effort with the other dancers. He helps them with their Duolingo French lessons when they get stuck, and he signs birthday cards and chips in for gifts for baby showers, which are apparently a thing.
The dancers are friendlier than in Paris. From day one, there is always someone who invites him to sit with them for lunch. They seem keen to welcome the newbie rather than distrustful of the competition. There are a few other people in the company who came up through outreach programmes; not many, but certainly more than in Paris. So when the others ask how he ended up dancing and his explanation makes it clear that no, he doesn't come from a typical ballet background (well-off, cultured), they are impressed rather than confused. When they want to know why his English is so good and he tells them that he knew that to work internationally he would need to be fluent, so he practised by watching endless YouTube videos and reading the news in English and just generally trying to get his hands on as much English-language stuff as possible, nobody makes fun of him. The whole Charlie and the Chocolate Factory thing really does seem to hold weight in the US.
Nicholas checks in with him regularly to see how he is settling in, and when Gabin mentions that while he is beyond happy to be in New York, it has been a lot of change, the next thing he knows he's booked in for half a dozen sessions with the resident 'mentality coach', who is really just a therapist. Gabin uses the sessions to tentatively start addressing his issues about not being good enough ever, regardless of what he does, simply because of who he is. It helps a bit.
He misses Tobias. Badly.
He obsessively checks Le Ballet National's social media, just in case. One day, he finally lucks out and there is a photo from an after-show reception, with Tobias looking uncomfortable - though stunningly attractive in an artfully rumpled linen suit - in a group shot. Gabin prints out the picture and sticks it up next to the front door in his stamp-sized studio apartment. He looks at it every time he leaves, and every time he comes home (and more often than he would care to admit in between).
Eventually, he plucks up the courage to send a thank you card. He knows he has disappointed Tobias badly (that much was pretty clear from their last conversation), but he figures it's the least he can do. He wants to make sure that Tobias knows that he is grateful, that he knows he owes this opportunity to him. So he writes, but he doesn't expect to hear back.
And then Tobias starts texting him.