Disclaimer: No, no, I’ve already told you that I don’t own anyone in Malice Mizer. *sigh*
Puff: Maybe some nice loud music would cheer you up. *turns on radio as loud as it could go*
Mana: *desperately trying not to scream*
Puff: ^_^ Is something wrong?
Mana: No, nothing at all, Puff.
Gackt: Puff, I think that some soft classical music would be more soothing for him.
Puff: Nonsense! This music is much more upbeat and energetic.
Playing House
Chapter Sixteen
“I wonder why those neighbors haven’t come back over,” Gackt said with a hint of curiosity, watching Mana curl his midnight blue hair, “They left in such a hurry and it’s already been about a week. I hope I didn’t offend them.” The guitarist set down the curling iron on a small folded towel, his azure eyes flicking toward Gackt with a splash of amusement and shock.
“If you don’t mind me asking, why are you even letting this bother you?” Mana asked, returning his attention to the mirror so he could separate more sections of hair to work with.
“We don’t know how long we’re going to be here, besides the little trips back to Japan to get stuff done, and it wouldn’t be good to make enemies this quickly,” Gackt explained as he mindlessly handed his friend a tiny rubber band, not even realizing that Mana hadn’t asked for one yet. Without pausing to think, Mana bound the strands of hair together and proceeded to divide the soft locks into even pieces.
“I suppose you’re right,” Mana stated, sighing with frustration when his hair wouldn’t go where he wanted it to.
“I can help you,” Gackt offered immediately, sliding quietly off of the white countertop, “I’m pretty sure I know how much hair you like to have in each curl.” He snatched the slender comb from Mana’s fingers and quickly finished separating the silky strands into even chunks.
“You have too much time on your hands here,” Mana teased, smiling gratefully at his friend, “Either that, or you have a fixation with my hair that I never knew about until now.” The vocalist paused to think about what Mana had said, grinning amusedly after a split second.
“I have to say that I just have too much free time,” Gackt said brightly, settling back onto the marble countertop, “It’s a lot more interesting to watch you do your hair in the morning than to go downstairs and have Adam try to carry on a conversation with me.” Mana giggled softly, sliding a rubber band off a lock of hair so he could lightly curl it.
“You know, I think we ought to find something to do,” Mana said suddenly, releasing the perfectly coiled strands from the heated metal, “Just something small to add a little variety.” Nodding as he looked around, Gackt began to brainstorm all the activities he and the guitarist could do in such a tiny town.
“Maybe we should ask the neighbors if they know of any thing we could do,” Gackt began to say, stopping when Mana held up a small hand to silence him.
“We should have the neighbors over for a dinner party!” Mana exclaimed brightly, clapping his hands cheerfully, “The planning will take a day or so. It’s nothing that big, but it’ll be fun. We’ll get a chance to really put our hired help to use to. What do you think?” The guitarist was walking out of the bathroom, gesturing for Gackt to follow him when the vocalist reached out and caught the hem of his white skirt.
“I think you ought to finish your hair before we start planning anything,” Gackt said as he pulled Mana backwards, ignoring the semi-shocked looked that bloomed on the guitarist’s face as he realized that he had forgotten about his hair in his haste, “You just have to curl the hair in the back, so I can hurry and do that for you. Sit here.” He lightly pushed his friend down onto the marble countertop, plucking the hot curling iron from its resting place.
“Thank you, Gackt,” Mana said softly, his sapphire eyes flicking around. His pale face stained a very soft pink, barely noticeable even to Mana as he stared at the mirror. He was carefully watching the vocalist’s hands in the reflection, trying to make sure that Gackt wouldn’t mess up a ringlet.
“For curling your hair?” Gackt questioned, feeling Mana nod while he gently teased a rubber band away from the black-blue lock it held, “It’s not a problem. I’m glad to help.” The next few minutes were passed in silence, ending with Gackt smiling brightly as he handed Mana a silver hand mirror so the guitarist could see how the curls turned out.
“My hair looks great,” Mana chirped, angling the mirror so he could find a better view, “I may just have to have you help me every now and again.” He lightly sprayed his dark locks with liquid pomade, gently pushing each ringlet into place before the pomade set up completely. Mana ran a comb softly over his straight bangs, checked to be sure that his make-up hadn’t gotten messed up, and smoothed down the front of his blouse.
“Now we can go plan whatever we have to plan,” Gackt said, gesturing Mana out into the hallway.
“We’ll want to discuss the menu with Allison first, so we can know how long she’ll need to prepare and cook the dishes,” Mana stated cheerfully, obviously enjoying the planning of the small party, “Should we serve mostly Japanese food, to introduce them to something new, or food that the neighbors would be more accustomed to?” Gackt shrugged, currently more worried about Mana tripping down the stairs because he wasn’t watching where he was going.
“I think that asking Allison would be the best idea. I mean, she’s known these people a lot longer that we have,” Gackt suggested, his blue eyes washing with relief when Mana reached the bottom step. The guitarist smiled and grabbed at Gackt’s wrist, dragging him quickly into the kitchen. Three pairs of eyes shot toward the musicians, each set laden with varying degrees of worry and guilt at having been caught lounging around.
“What can I do for you?” Allison asked quickly, sliding her crossword into a shadowed corner.
“We’re going to have a dinner party and we’d like to put together the menu with you,” Mana explained, ignoring Adam’s eager look at the mention of food and Britney’s sigh as she realized that they’d be catering to the whims of people they had known for years. The chef, however, took it upon herself to set her co-workers back into line, glaring fiercely before she redirected her attention to her employers.
“That sounds like it will be fun,” Allison said cheerfully, praying in the back of her mind for them to just want something simple to be served, “Do you have a general idea about what kind of food you want me to make?”
“We were thinking of having you prepare traditional Japanese cuisine,” Gackt said deviously, his eyes flashing with amusement as he watched Allison try not to wince, “But we thought the guests wouldn’t take to it. Perhaps you could compile a menu that would be more suited to their tastes.” Allison sighed quietly, her deep blue eyes lighting up. She quickly fought down her happiness and nodded zealously.
“You are absolutely right. Your guests will definitely prefer to eat things that they’ve been fed all their lives. Like fried chicken or barbequed steak,” Allison stated unequivocally, waving her hands around a bit, “In fact, I think that some food that they can recognize would surely be the best way to go.” Mana and Gackt looked at each other, both slightly confused at Allison’s somewhat rude comment.
“Allison, you should just go ahead and plan a meal you the think the neighbors would most appreciate,” Mana said, his sapphire eyes slightly cooler than the moment before, “You can just give it to us in a few hours.” The chef nodded feverishly, even more pleased at the fact she got to choose everything that she would be making. She paused for a split second, noting that a very important detail had been left out of the conversation.
“How many people are you planning on inviting over?” Allison asked suddenly, nervously playing with the ends of her flame hued hair. Mana paused to think for a moment, mentally arranging all of the people he had previously thought of.
“The neighbors on either side of us, the ones across the street, and that one lady with the two little girls,” Mana said brightly, flipping a shiny ringlet over his shoulder, “And all of their children, of course.” Two pairs of previously uninterested eyes darted up at the mention of children being in the house. Britney gulped, knowing quite well that the dining room couldn’t hold all the adults and the children as well.
“Are you sure you want the children over as well?” Britney inquired, forcing her tenseness out of her voice, “I mean, they’d just be making a lot of noise, getting in the way, and generally making it hard for all the adults to enjoy themselves.” She smiled fretfully, discreetly signaling for Adam to force a smile so she wouldn’t seem like she was just looking out for herself.
“Oh, they won’t be in the way at all,” Gackt said darkly, letting a few locks of auburn hair fall forward to shade his cerulean eyes, “The children will be eating in the kitchen with you three. After they finish eating, you’ll baby sit them until their parents are ready to leave.” A trio of stunned and horrified faces suddenly appeared, the three servants lamenting what they’d be forced to do.
“I think that’s all that needs to be explained,” Mana said, a faint smile turning up the corners of his bluish lips, “We’ll be waiting for the menu, Allison.” He turned and walked out of the room, with Gackt right behind him.
“You know, I think that they just want the children to be over to torture us,” Britney sighed after she was certain that her employers wouldn’t hear her, letting her head thump down onto the wooden tabletop.
“Don’t you dare complain,” Allison snapped, tearing a sheet of paper out of a notebook that she had by her crossword puzzle, “We’re getting paid very well to be tortured and I won’t have you ruin it for me. I don’t know about you, but I rather like my job despite its oddities.” She waited for her coworkers to signal their half-hearted agreement before she began to rapidly scrawl out a meal plan for the dinner party.
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