Hallways of Rain
Author's Note:
I write this as a trade with Werewolf of Fire. Hope you'll enjoy it! Please forgive the OOC-ness T.T
Disclaimer: I own MAR as much as I own the world's richest company a.k.a. impossible.
It was a rare chance, Peta decided, to meet Rolan in the hallways.
Most of the time it was caused by the boy's favourite hobby: tailing Phantom-sama to wherever he went, wherever the number one Knight allowed Rolan to follow. Which could mean anywhere in the castle. Phantom disliked having companions during his outside trips, at least companions that tailed him. 'He has his own eccentric hobbies,' Peta's mind reminded him.
Therefore, Peta decided that he had to be having an illusion, or perhaps he ought to have his eyes checked, when heor so he thoughtsaw Rolan waking down the long, long corridor, alone, and looking rather concerned. Peta had to say that the boy looked to be as close to tears as one could be. Not to mention that Rolan was utterly drenched, starting from the strands of the golden brown hair to the pale shoes. Vaguely Peta's mind registered the sound of the falling rain echoing softly in the walls of the dark, dark castle.
They were alone in the corridor, both appearing from the different ends. When Rolan saw him, his reddish brown eyes lit up, and he called up, chattering, "Pe…Peta-san!"
He stopped, waiting for the boy to reach him, acknowledging the boy with a tilt of his head. "Is something wrong?" he asked, eyes narrowing. "Phantom-sama will not be delighted if you fall sick, Rolan."
Rolan wrung his hands nervously. "Bu…but, the kittens…. I am searching for Phantom-sama…."
The sentence was wholly unexpected, and Peta could not help but quirk an eyebrow. What, in the name of God, was the connection between Phantom and kittens? "Phantom-sama just left half an hour ago," he informed the boy, whose expression deflated far faster than a balloon with a nail piercing it. "He is attending on an inevitable business." 'Yeah, probably pretending to be Tom again. Phantom-sama does have his own quirks.'
"Pe…Peta-san…," the boy whimpered, looking down, still wringing his hands. Peta could not help but wonder what was troubling this kid. "Can you…please…keep…eh, this a secret?"
XXX
Soon Peta found himself staring into thirteen pairs of green eyes and thirteen sopping and rather dirty white balls of fur, running and scampering around Rolan's dark room.
"A…aren't they cute, Peta-san?" Rolan asked, giving him a hearty (and rather wet) smile. "I… found them crying just outside the castle in, eh, a carton box. I planned to show them to…to Phantom-sama."
"You…," Peta started, staring at the kittens in unreadable expression, "want me to keep them as…a secret from others. Why?"
Rolan looked around nervously, and then spoke up embarrassedly, "I…want it to be a surprise for Phantom-sama and the others, Peta-san. But, but the kittens are rather energetic and they will make a lot of noise. I am afraid I cannot leave them for a bath…. Previously I wanted to ask Phantom-sama for a silencer ÄRM, or the permission for using the dungeon, but since he was not here, I… I wanted to ask for your help, Pe…Peta-san."
'What surprise?' Peta somehow had the impression that he would not like it at all.
"Uh, could, could you please look after them while I am taking a…a bath, Peta-san?"
XXX
Thirty minutes later, Rolan returned with his hair wetter than ever (also wetting his new shirt, as what Peta noted in slight dislike), yet also with the fume of jasmines dipped in warm water. "A…arigatou, Peta-san!" he said rather thankfully, smiling his sweetest smile at Peta. The older man grunted from his position sitting on the floor, three kittens on his lap, one clawing and mewling as it attempted to climb up to his shoulder. His hat was now tattered pieces of clothes scattered all over the room, six kittens munching and pulling the last bits off. Two kittens were biting his cape, apparently already losing interest toward his hat. While another kitten was sleeping tangled in Peta's long hair, which seemed to reach the floor just in the length enough for a small bed for the kitten.
"You look cute together with them, Peta-san," Rolan commented, blissfully oblivious to the utter humiliation and suppressed rage already boiling within Peta's mind. "Here, let me free you from the kitten tangled in your hair."
Peta refrained himself from shouting: "That little beast should have been demolished!" 'This is Rolan,' he told himself. 'You will probably make him cry.'
Peta hated tears. As much as he loved blood.
Rolan knelt next to him, brown bangs slightly brushing Peta's cheek as his deft fingers began to disentangle the still-dozing kitten. 'Wet,' Peta thought when he noticed that the small contact had left moisture on his cheek. Yet he knew he did not mind. He would never mind.
"Your hair is…is soft, Pe…Peta-san," Rolan laughed, and Peta had to suppress a shiver crawling upon his spine as Rolan ran his hand through Peta's long, long hair. "And they are very long too."
Peta had no idea how to react.
"I am…really fond of your hair," Rolan chuckled, continuing his task upon freeing Peta and the kitten. "I like entangling it with my fingers." Rolan gently twirled a strand of Peta's hair around his index finger. Peta grunted, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with his act. "O..oh! Sorry, Peta-san."
"There is no need to apologize," Peta half-grumbled, standing up. "My hair is not at all as what you described earlier, Rolan. Do you get it?"
Rolan looked particularly dejected, yet he managed a smile and said, "Yes, Peta-san. I understand."
'I doubt it highly.' Peta eyed Rolan's still-soaked hair and grabbed Rolan's leftover towel from the chair. Rolan stared at him questioningly, and gasped when Peta knelt behind him and started drying Rolan's hair with utmost gentleness Rolan could not comprehend. "What surprise are you planning, Rolan?"
The sudden question took him off-guard. "Uh…. I planned to give each Knight a kitten, Peta-san! You…you see, there are thirteen of them…. One for each of us. I…I am sorry for your hat, cape and hair, though. If, if you, you do not want one it's okay…, I guess." His sentence ended in a sigh, and Peta wondered whether it was a delighted sigh from his hair being dried or a sigh of dejection. He feared that it was the latter.
"They are quite adorable when sleeping," Peta coughed, half-forcedly.
Rolan's whole expression immediately lit up. "So…, will you want one, Peta-san?" he questioned, relishing within the way Peta seemed to be so engrossed in drying his hair. He did not dare to ask about the Knight's sudden and unexpected act.
"Yes," Peta sighed, running his hands through Rolan's golden hair. 'It suits him,' Peta mused, merely half aware of his own thoughts.
"Do you really not think that your hair is beautiful, Peta-san?"
"No."
"…."
"Rolan."
"Ye…yes, Peta-san?"
"Is it still raining outside?"
"Yes, Peta-san."
XXX
Err, that's all. Yay or nay, people? I know I suck.
For Werewolf of Fire: If you do not like it, it's okay! Just tell me if you want something better and I'll try to do a better fic! Thanks a lot!
Aqua Alta