Disclaimer: Oh, yes, I bought a few people and I keep them in my closet. Unfortunately, I don’t own anyone who was in Malice Mizer. >_<
Puff: I’m going to go get Mana some fresh tea. Be back in a few minutes. *leaves*
Gackt: *runs and locks the door behind her* Now, you can have some peace and quiet.
Mana: Thank you. *wearily turns off the radio*
Gackt: Try and get some sleep while she’s gone. When she gets back, she probably won’t be that happy with us.
Mana: I know. But, then again, she has keys to all the rooms.
Gackt: That’s true.
Playing House
Chapter Seventeen
“Our guests should start arriving any minute now,” Mana said, glancing at a black and white clock that was hung on a wall, “Make sure that the dining table is perfectly set and that the table in the kitchen is child proofed. We don’t want any dishes getting broken in there.” The trio of servants looked up, careful not to glare at their employers who were calmly watching them work. Mana smiled softly, his blue eyes following each of the three as they walked past him.
“Adam really should be waiting at the door, to answer it and take everyone’s coats,” Gackt stated suddenly, fighting to not laugh when the butler’s eyes grew to the size of teacups with happiness. Practically bouncing, Adam ran to the dining room and noisily set down the covered platter he had been carrying from the kitchen.
“Well, all of the dishes haven’t been brought out yet. He ought to do that first and, when someone comes to the door, he can get it,” Mana countered quickly, only speaking up to tease Adam. The butler stopped in his tracks at Mana’s words, his confused green eyes darting from musician to musician.
“I’m sure Britney and Allison can handle everything that’s left,” Gackt responded as the two women walked into the hallway, pausing when a light knocking sound came from the heavy wooden front door, “Not that there’s any time left for discussion. Adam, get the door and greet our guests. Allison and Britney, you two hurry up and get everything ready. Mana and I will entertain the visitors in the living room until everyone has arrived.”
“May I take your coats?” Adam asked politely, even bowing slightly as he stepped back to allow the people to walk past him. The neighbors, whom he knew for most of his life, looked at him with slightly shocked eyes before they removed their coats and handed them over. Adam had been well coached that morning and was trying to act like a proper butler should. He quickly hung the coats in the closet and was about to continue speaking when someone else spoke up.
“Where do we go first?” Melissa inquired softly, holding tightly to her son’s hand, “And do the children wait somewhere else?”
“Gackt and Mana are waiting for their guests in the living room. When all the guests have arrived, dinner will be, hopefully, served,” Adam explained quickly, gesturing for the four people to follow him.
“If Mana and Gackt are in the living room, how is the food being prepared?” Melissa questioned even more quietly, practically speaking straight into Adam’s ear. The butler looked over at Scott, who had been over just a few days before hand, with shock that the man hadn’t told his wife about the fact that Gackt and Mana had hired servants.
“The chef is making dinner,” Adam said quickly, smiling quickly, “I’m the butler, Allison is the chef, and Britney is the maid. You know those two, don’t you?” Before the shock set in completely for Melissa, Adam hurriedly shepherded the family into the living room and rushed back to wait to answer the door.
“So glad you could make it tonight,” Gackt said immediately, blinking his blue eyes confusedly at the sight of Melissa looking so utterly stunned. Scott, realizing that his wife was in no position to be speaking, smiled and responded.
“It’s just so nice of you two to invite us over,” Scott said brightly, patting his two children on their shoulders, “And you even said it would be alright to bring the children along. Usually, at stuff like this, people prefer others to leave their kids with a babysitter at home.” Mana and Gackt both smiled enigmatically, not revealing the real reason they had told everyone that it would be perfectly fine for their children to come over with them.
“We thought it would be nice to get to know our neighbors better,” Mana said flatly, his sapphire eyes blank as he spoke, “You never know how long they’ll be around and it’s best not to make enemies so soon.” Scott stepped back discretely, slightly uncomfortable with the guitarist’s cool eyes fixed on him. Needless to say, he was very relived when the next family was ushered in and he had a few more people he knew with him.
“I thought you said this was going to be casual dress,” Helen said uncomfortably, eyeing Mana and Gackt’s seemingly formal outfits, “If I had known better, I would have put on a nice dress.” Mana smiled vaguely and waved her off with a pale hand that was, for once, ungloved. His perfectly painted black nails glittered in the overhead light, a light that also was caught well by the pair of rings he wore.
“It is casual. Gackt and I figured everyone would be more comfortable if they wouldn’t feel pressured to dress-up,” Mana explained, his dark blue lips turning up just a fraction of an inch more when Helen quickly nodded and backed off. He blinked, slightly confused over her reaction, and his long black eye lashes fluttered prettily, catching the attention of the two neighbor men who had already arrived.
An ecstatic blonde little girl, noisily banging her tiny hands on the door until Adam opened it, heralded the next family. She sprinted down the hall as soon as her light jacket was removed and hurried into the living room when she spotted Mana.
“Dolly!” Eliza yelled in a sing-song style, throwing her arms around the guitarist’s legs, “I found you again.” Her mother and sister were seconds behind her and immediately unfastened the child, each quickly scolding her in their own manner before turning their apologetic eyes towards the oddly amused Mana who hadn’t even had a chance to fully comprehend what had just happened to him. Eliza was near tears as she was kept from her ‘dolly’, firmly locked into her mother’s secure arms.
“I’m sorry she did that. I told her that she couldn’t before we left the house but she must have pushed to the back of her mind,” Miriam apologized softly, her face lightly tinted pink. Her older daughter laughed cynically, crossing her arms as her blue eyes washed over with annoyance. Her mother glared at her, once again apologizing to the hosts, though this time, silently.
“It’s nothing. She’s so little, she didn’t even mess up my dress,” Mana said sweetly, gently patting the top of Eliza’s bright blonde hair, “Besides, it’s not like it’s the first time I’ve had people jump at me like that.” Gackt, pretending that he was simply pulling Mana closer, pinched the underside of the guitarist’s wrist as a warning not to continue speaking on that particular subject.
The neighbors all smiled forcibly, each trying not to think about what Mana had meant. A heavy silence settled over the group as they waited for the last family to arrive. Awkwardly, everyone stood around and pretended to be interested in the décor that filled the room.
“This is going nicely so far,” Gackt whispered sarcastically in Japanese, leaning softly on the guitarist’s shoulder as he spoke, “Everyone seems to be very relaxed.” He gestured towards the children, whom were all sitting quietly on the floor in a tight circle. Even Eliza was in the circle, though she had begun to stare openly at Mana.
“Maybe things will go better once we sit down to eat,” Mana said hopefully, praying that the last three guests would show up soon, “I mean, how bad can dinner conversation be?” Gackt shrugged and straightened his back out, noting that everyone in the room had been trying to understand the softly spoken Japanese or they had thought they were straining to hear whispered English.
Ten minutes later, the last family had shown up and quickly apologized for their lateness, explaining politely how an elderly aunt had called and wanted to talk. Mana and Gackt silenced them, just happy that the three had shown up and they could finally usher the adults into the dining room and the children into the kitchen.
“This is lovely,” three women chimed in unison, their eyes wide as they looked over the meticulously arranged table and the decorations placed through out the room. They, and their husbands, swiftly settled themselves into the black velvet covered chairs. Gackt set himself down at the head of the ebony table, while Mana situated himself in the end chair at the vocalist’s right hand.
“Everything, except for dessert, is on the table,” Allison explained, pushing her fiery hair over her shoulder, “If you need anything, just call out and someone will come to help you.” She winced when she heard Britney and Adam struggling to control the children, resigning herself to her duty as she slowly walked out of the room. A yelp of shock echoed into the dining room as Allison went into the kitchen and a pile of fiercely mumbled sentences instantaneously followed.
“Are you sure the children are going to be okay with those three?” Terri asked worriedly, hearing things hit the wall that was shared by the kitchen and the dining room. She and the other two mothers were flinching at all the bad sounds emanating from the other room.
“Sure. Allison has children and she can take charge of a situation rather well,” Gackt said brightly, brushing an auburn lock of hair out of his azure eyes, “Besides, they can’t complain with what we pay them.” As the neighbors were nodding their agreement while fighting down their urges to ask for an exact number, all of the noises fell silent. All the people, except Gackt and Mana, looked nervously around at one another.
“As you can tell, things have quieted down and we have nothing to worry about,” Mana stated, sipping from his wine glass, “Now, everyone should eat.” The sound of dishes being passed politely and requests for them echoed briefly around the room, only to be replaced by the soft chinking of the silver utensils on the black china plates. A few moments passed before the dinner conversation was struck up.
“Since you two are new in the neighborhood, you should tell us more about yourselves,” Miriam suggested, pushing a piece of chicken into a river of gravy as she spoke, “Why don’t you start with how you met one another?”
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