me me, posting yet another wip: oh honey

Truth be told, I wanted to write something for this AU the moment I saw it! It wasn't until I was trying to sleep and failing because I kept creating a cool storyline for this that I decided to actually do it. This story made me rediscover my love for Lady Gaga's first two albums tbh, and I got Paparazzi stuck in my friend's head. Let's play a game of how many Gaga songs I can use for titles

On my tumblr, you can find the link to the house I used as reference. I spent some time reading about it, and in the end I added a sauna for certain purposes /eyes emoji

Admittedly, I don't know anything about haute couture, but luckily I got a friend that's interested in it (also thank god google exists)

Enjoy!


i. beautiful, dirty rich


The folder on top of his kitchen table demands his attention. It's nearly impossible to ignore the bright purple logo of Marmora Services on faded black, but Shiro does it anyway in favor of pressing the buttons of his microwave to get it working. He already knows what's in there waiting for him, knows his boss won't like it if he doesn't review his new employer before he shows up for work.

Shiro turns to make himself a cup of tea instead.

It's been a long, long day and he wants the chance to wind down before he's reminded that he'll have to leave his apartment for an indefinite period of time. At least his best friend is also his neighbour, who promised to come around and water his plants, so the apartment won't lie abandoned until Shiro returns from this epic journey. Plus, this job pays better than previous ones given the circumstances, so he's paying Matt to look after his cat, creatively named Black, given that neither human or cat is a fan of one another, but Shiro can't take his pet with him.

After making his tea and sipping it while looking at nothing in particular for fifteen minutes, Shiro retrieves his meal from the microwave, picks the folder up and heads to the living room.

He briefly entertains the idea of watching some silly cartoon on Netflix, and then daydreams of a hot shower, his bed and a peaceful night of sleep, all of which last about fifty seconds before the responsible side of his brain kicks in and decides he's ignored it for far too long. So with a resigned sigh, Shiro balances the folder on a thigh and flips it open.

KEITH KOGANE (22, M)

Below, his address in Beverly Hills is stated along with some personal info. To the right, a picture of Shiro's employer in question, printed so finely he can almost see the specks of color in Keith's eyes and the tint of lipstick on his mouth.

He's heard of Keith before, but not from other employers or the press. Shiro tends to avoid tabloids and anything that runs on gossip, the chit chatting of two people sitting in a studio, discussing and dissing celebrities as they wish is too inhumane in his opinion. In addition, his previous jobs as a bouncer and a security guard in events didn't grant him with the opportunity to get acquainted with every famous face there is out there. He can probably name one or two of his favorite action and rom-com actors on a good day.

Rather, he's heard of Keith at the Marmora HQ, when both his superiors are in the same room and the older of the two is looking particularly stressed, face pinched more so than usual. And Thace will ask Keith? to which Kolivan will only reply with a grunt, and his brother will laugh and shake his head and recite some old memory of when Keith was much younger.

Shiro never pays too much attention to these bits of information, but he's heard enough to know that Keith Kogane is part of their family, son of their youngest and only sister, a fashion mogul named Krolia. If Shiro's being honest with himself, he feels some pride that Kolivan picked him of all people to look after his nephew.

The bright side of moving into Keith Kogane's house as his bodyguard, Shiro muses as he stabs a soggy broccoli, is that he won't have to rely on his pathetic meal prepping anymore.

He reads the profile once again only to find that he knows most of it by heart. Thace made sure that Shiro would leave HQ that day being able to recite Keith's entire psychological and behavioral description, and Kolivan had to actually tutor him in the arts of being a bodyguard, because he simply to follow some random minor YouTube celebrity around the few times he had been assigned as bodyguard before.

Now, protecting the son of a renowned fashion icon really is something else, and it makes him hesitant. Shiro can't say he's qualified for this job and sometimes he wonders if he should've turned it down, but Kolivan said he has the most required trait for this task: patience.

With his meal done and dishes washed and put away, Shiro goes to his bedroom to pack his bags.


Like any other house in Beverly Hills, Keith Kogane's mansion is a display of wealth and power. Shiro has seen bigger mansions with an useless fountain on the front, full of guest bedrooms that would never be used all at once and other pointless rooms, but this house is on a different level. It's all sleek lines and glass, neatly trimmed bushes, each piece of vegetation carefully chosen and placed. He got a nice view of an infinity pool as his taxi drove closer, and he's glad he left his sedan at home. It would look ancient close to the gates alone, and sorely out of place in the garage likely filled with sports cars.

After a few seconds of waiting, the man speaking with him through the intercom confirms with Kolivan that yes, Shiro indeed is a new employee, and the gate opens smoothly to an entrance portico. The quartz stepping stones reflect his shoes, but his attention is caught by the running water feature cascading from the ceiling, trickling down a silver wall.

The familiar, yet not so friendly face of his boss Kolivan appears from behind the black tempered glass door. He steps aside to allow a butler to fetch Shiro's bags and retreat quickly, his steps barely echoing as he walks through the ground floor and up floating walnut stairs. He's gone before Shiro can even see his face.

An open floor plan, a dynamic mix of textures and neutral colors, and incredible fleetwood windows that make it seem there is nothing standing between outside and inside. This mansion is truly something else. Shiro quickly turns his attention to Kolivan, who's watching him as serious and grave as ever.

"Thank you for being so prompt as ever, Shiro." He follows Kolivan through various sitting and dining areas until he settles for one. "Krolia is ready to meet you."

"I hope she hasn't waited for too long."

"Not at all." Kolivan sweeps a hand towards a laptop perched at the head of the dining table, so shiny and thin Shiro wouldn't have said it was an actual device. "As you have been informed, she's currently in Milan. The event she was attending to just wrapped up, so you may speak with her now."

With a tap of his finger, Kolivan starts a video call and it's answered shortly after. The setting sun paints Krolia golden, the feed made slightly blurry due to the moving car she's in. He can spot every trait Keith inherited from her just from looking at that picture in the folder provided by Marmora Services, from the purposefully messy hair, to the shape of her eyes and face. Without even seeing them side by side, Shiro can tell Keith is almost a perfect copy of his mother, with few traces taken from a father Shiro never heard of.

She smiles at him warmly, and he's dumbstruck for a second, having expected to be met with the same stone-faced seriousness Kolivan wears on a daily basis.

"Good evening. Oh, it must be morning to you." From her voice alone, it's clear Krolia is a fierce woman. "You must be Shiro, right?"

"Yes, ma'am. Nice to meet you." Under Kolivan's observant gaze, Shiro dips his head in greeting.

"Thank you so much for accepting the job." She continues, lights and shadows dancing across her face as the sun sinks lower, the cityscape of Milan moving behind her. "I'm hardly ever home and I'm a mother, so it's only natural that I worry for my only son."

"I'll take good care of him, Mrs. Kogane."

Her gaze softens, the love she feels for her son displayed clearly in her blue eyes. "If anything were to happen to him, I'd never forgive myself." She pauses, closing her eyes briefly. A bejeweled hand comes up to play with the pendant hanging from her neck, indiscernible in the blurry feed. "He can be a bit of a handful, but I hope you two become comfortable enough around each other, and maybe then he will…"

She leaves it at that, swallowing down and dropping her hand as her eyes open. He wonders what she meant to say, but Krolia quickly changes topics and tells him to make himself at home, listing off various places and activities he can enjoy within the mansion's premises. All the while, Kolivan is watching and gauging his behavior, and Shiro feels a little like a lab rat. It doesn't help with his nerves at all.

"I'm afraid I'll have to disconnect now. I just got to the hotel." The dim glow of streetlights just barely illuminates her shape as Krolia reaches for something to her left. "Please, keep him safe, Shiro. And Kolivan, you know the drill. Call me if anything happens, emergency or not, at any time of the day, anywhere."

With a quickly goodbye, Krolia ends the video call, and Shiro gingerly turns the laptop around, only slightly afraid it'll snap under his touch. Having expected to hardly - if ever - see or hear of her at all, he's impressed that she made some time to talk to him, and that Krolia clearly cares for her son. He doesn't know why he had thought Keith would be another case of a neglected kid - er, young adult, especially when both his uncles expressed concern within the walls of Marmora Services.

Kolivan takes the laptop in hand, flips the screen around until it turns into a tablet, and speaks over the quick, soft taps of his fingers over the screen. "We have to register your fingerprints in the house's biometric security system. That's the only way you'll be able to interact with the gates, the front door, and the garage." A small device taken from his pocket is connected to the tablet. Kolivan sets it down in front of Shiro again. "All ten fingerprints."

"I'm right handed." He replies, staring down at the red light of the fingerprint reader. "Wouldn't the right hand only suffice?"

"All ten fingerprints, Shiro." Kolivan repeats and points a finger at the small device for good measure. "We never know what might happen."

That sounds ominous to say the least, but still Shiro presses his fingerprints to the reader until the picture on the screen turns green, and does it again when Kolivan isn't satisfied with the accuracy percentage. His boss opens up a floorplan of the house, talks him through every bit of security, from cameras that can be easily spotted outside to hidden ones in every room. Kolivan teaches him how to use the security application on the laptop to monitor the entire house in case Keith decides to throw a party, which he does sporadically, and walks him to a kitchen that can easily belong in an interior design magazine.

"We have a panic button." As requested, Shiro runs his fingers along the underside of the caesarstone countertop until he feels the metallic coolness and circular volume of said button. "It sends a warning to my phone, Thace's and Krolia's, plus another one directly to Marmora HQ. They will hack into the cameras and call the police if they deem necessary. Only use this for emergencies and situations you can't control by yourself."

Other buttons are located around the house, shown in green on the floorplan that Kolivan lets him analyze. Shiro gets to keep the laptop during the time he stays here as Keith's bodyguard and follows his boss around as he gives him a quick tour of the ground floor. Kolivan mentions that the butler can do it thoroughly once he leaves.

The mansion is fully automated. Shiro can control all 11,000 square feet of it from his laptop-slash-tablet, plus his own phone that Kolivan now returns after having left it on Marmora HQ the day before. Windows open and close at will, lights can be turned on and off in whichever room he wants, the brightness of the bulbs can be set to fit the desired atmosphere he wishes to achieve. It feels like the pinnacle of technology is here just within his reach.

"Tell me Xi didn't wake me up for this."

Shiro and Kolivan turn as one to face the floating staircase. Standing there on the landing, Keith Kogane glares down at them, hair tousled and skin marked by his bedsheets, sleeping mask still hanging around his neck. His pajamas - if it can be called that - is as flimsy as it looks silky and likely worth the sedan left back home. Beside him, a dark Siberian husky watches them with cool light blue eyes before it darts down the staircase to sniff at Shiro's ankles, likely catching the lingering scent of Black.

"It's almost eleven in the morning, Keith." Only months of working with Kolivan allow Shiro to catch how his voice softens in the tiniest bit, though the hard lines on his face and rigid set of his shoulders stay the same.

Keith only bats a hand dismissively as he climbs down the steps. "What are you doing here? And who's this fine specimen of a human being?"

Shiro is used to appreciative glances people shoot him as bouncer, but there's something almost predatory in the way Keith's gaze roams up and down his body. He tries not to squirm, the hairs on his arms standing the more Keith watches him hungrily. It all vanishes when Keith's blue eyes settle on the nametag pinned to his suit jacket, his name written in purple on black to match the aesthetic of Marmora Services.

"No." He says as he comes down to the bottom floor, right foot stomping down. "No."

Kolivan ignores his protest entirely. "Keith, this is your bodyguard, Shiro."

"No!" Like a petulant, spoiled child, he stomps his foot down again. "I don't need a bodyguard."

"You know how much your mother worries."

"Yes," Keith hisses the word as he stalks closer. "I am aware of that, but this-" he makes a wide gesture in Shiro's direction "-is ridiculous."

"Just last week you were groped in public, Keith."

"I can protect myself, thank you very much." He counters back with a sniff, sticking his nose high in the air.

Shiro doesn't know Kolivan well enough, but he can't fathom the man admitting this kind of treatment and behavior from anyone, but maybe Keith is the only exception there is, being the man's nephew and all. Kolivan would have already reprimanded anyone that disagreed with him, but seems he hardly bothered by it at all. Given that he doesn't get exasperated, Shiro guesses he's used to this kind of thing. And Shiro will have to get used to it, too.

"You can't go around punching people, Keith. We've talked about this already." Kolivan fixes him with a look. "If you won't do it for your own image, then do it for your mother's sake. She doesn't want you to get hurt. Moreover, you won't stain her name by punching fans and paparazzi."

Keith snaps his mouth shut with an audible click of his teeth. They stare at each other for a long time, long enough that Shiro wonders if he should leave them alone and go to one of the other many sitting rooms so they can sort it out by themselves.

"Low blow, Kolivan." Keith says at last and, oh, mentioning Krolia is the one thing that gets him to behave. Shiro wonders if it'll work if he uses that in the future. Keith deadpans, "Alright, then. I got a bodyguard now. How exciting."

He steps right into Shiro's space, peering up at him with that same hunger in his eyes again. Shiro holds himself still as Keith's hands wander up the length of his arms, squeezing his biceps and humming in appreciation, fingers gliding and working on the few buttons of his suit jacket. He had never thought he'd find the sight of lithe fingers popping buttons open with practiced ease to be sexy, and it leaves Shiro mildly concerned for his own mental health.

Keith opens the jacket and splays his hands on Shiro's taut stomach. Shiro wonders if he's imagining the way his pupils dilate, and Keith licks his lips, catching the bottom one between his teeth as his fingers map every dip and curve of the muscles beneath the pressed shirt and, holy shit Keith's hands are so warm even through the fabric.

"How exciting indeed," Keith murmurs, purrs really, pushing himself on his toes and closer to Shiro's face. His hands brush over solid pecs, over nipples that harden under his touch and Shiro can't quite keep his shiver to himself this time. "I'll admit. You have good taste, Kol."

"Please, don't grope your bodyguard." Kolivan chides gently and Keith pouts before pulling away entirely. Shiro clears his throat and tries to button his jacket closed as smoothly as possible, thoroughly embarrassed that he let Keith feel him up right in front of his boss.

Keith waves him off again as he returns upstairs. "I'll send Xi to speak with you. I don't have time to tell you the rules." The husky follows him dutifully, trotting away as elegantly as the way Keith climbs every step.

They wait until they hear the distant noise of a door closing before moving again. Shiro tugs at his jacket, and Kolivan clasps his hands tightly behind his back. "That went well." He can't really say if Kolivan is being truthful or not. "I have spent too much time away from HQ. Should anything happen, you can call me."

Kolivan pauses his walk to the front door to wish him "Good luck, Shiro", and he watches in silence as his boss leaves the house for good. Alone on the ground floor of the mansion, Shiro comes to some conclusions:

Firstly, he'll need all the patience he can get.

Secondly, Keith is prettier in person.

Thirdly, if Keith doesn't keep his hands to himself, Shiro will be fucked.


Xi is the only butler of the Kogane Mansion. He keeps his silver hair tied back on a low ponytail at the base of his skull, his skin crinkles around his eyes and shows his age, and he's easily half Shiro's size in height and one third in bulk, but he's a nice man that smiles at Shiro easily, pats him in the arm gently and calls him "son" within two minutes of being formally introduced to one another.

Shiro decides he likes this man, and if he's still working for Keith and hasn't gone insane yet, then Shiro has hope.

The ground floor is mostly sitting and dining areas, the kitchen and an adjoining ensuite bedroom that works as a home office. An elevator encased in a sophisticated resin chamber can be found too, though it's an unnecessary item in a house that has only three floors. So far, the most eye-catching thing is the infinity pool, plus a glass-enclosed fire pit in one of the lounges.

Entertainment is held on the bottom floor. A fully equipped home theater with plush, velvet seats, a large screen and soft yellow lightning. A sitting room with elegant mobilia and a beautiful living green wall. The wine cellar has more bottles than he can care to count, some of which seem suspended in the air by a see-through support that he nearly overlooks, and the bar has a drinks selection just as expansive, a pool table set nearby. The wellness center is everything Shiro wishes his gym was, with equipment ranging from pilates to a sparring mat, and an adjacent sauna. A room where they keep power generators and equipment for pool maintenance, among other things.

Last but not least, the garage. Sports cars of blacks and reds parked on both sides, shining brightly under the artificial lights, tires reflected on the polished dark floor. A beautiful matte black Ferrari is the center of attention, easily Shiro's favorite car in the room. Xi taps at the screen of his own tablet, and as the lights flicker and change colors, Shiro learns the room can be turned into your own private night club.

The top floor is reserved for sleeping quarters, five of them. Xi informs him that the master suite is Keith's, and Krolia sleeps in the second biggest room whenever she's around. He leads Shiro to his own bedroom, ridiculously large for a guest room, complete with a walk-in closet and his own bathroom. From the balcony he can see the infinity pool below plus the sprawling sight of Los Angeles and, further ahead, the ocean. It's a beautiful sight. If Keith really wakes up around noon every day, Shiro can take the time to sip coffee on the balcony and appreciate the sight to start his day.

"I am so glad Mrs. Krolia has finally hired a bodyguard for Mr. Keith," Xi says, depositing some hangers on the bed. Shiro, kneeling by his bags and taking out his suits before they wrinkle further, asks him why. "I work for them for years, you see, and Mrs. Kogane never required me to stay the night. So Mr. Kogane spends the nights alone. Sometimes I offer to stay with him, but he declines. Even with all the cutting edge security, sleeping alone in a house this big feels unsafe."

It's only Keith, his dog, and his live-out butler in a mansion during the day, and only Keith and the dog at night. Not only does it feels unsafe, but the house will be horribly empty. Doesn't he ever feel lonely, locked here with no one else to live with? Maybe not if his uncles visit frequently, but having so much space for a family with only two people and a dog and their occasional employees is a waste.

Rich people.

"Don't worry about it, Mr. Xi. I'll make sure he stays safe."

Xi smiles as he pats down some button up shirts. "Mr. Keith is a good boy. I hope he opens up to you soon."

"I have no doubts that he is a good man." The first impression is that Keith looks a lot more like a child crying in a shopping mall because his mom doesn't want to get him a new toy, but Shiro's not going to tell Xi that.

They finish hanging his clothes quickly, sorted by color and type, filling the closet with mostly blacks, whites, blues and greys. Shiro takes his toiletries to the bathroom and leaves them on the marble counter to set aside at a later time. He spies inside the shower quickly and comes to the conclusion he'll have to learn how to use so many faucets.

"I will explain our usual schedule now." Xi says from where he's occupying the only armchair in the room. Shiro sits on the edge of his bed and unlocks his tablet too. "The cleaning ladies come twice a week, more if we need to. Miss Florona and Miss Plaxum are in charge of the entourage. You can tell them apart from the others by their navy blue uniform." The calendar shows Monday and Friday marked in blue.

"Mister Hunk is our cook. Celebrity chef, they call him, works for renowned Chef Sal. He's a really nice man that's always making guest appearances in MasterChef Junior. The kids love him." Xi laughs gently, likely tapping the same yellow spot Shiro is eyeing now. "He should be arriving soon. And finally, Mr. Keith's personal trainer and his yoga teacher, Miss Zethrid and Miss Ezor, respectively."

Shiro perks up. "Zethrid as in - the Zethrid, everyone's favorite fitness trainer?" He's hopeless when it comes to fashion icons and movie stars, but damn if Shiro doesn't know the name and faces of his role models and inspirations, and she's got some abs to die for.

"The one and only." Xi gently taps the screen with his stylus. "They come five days a week, usually from three to five in the afternoon. If there are any changes, I'll update the schedule and you'll know." He stands up, the soft clicking noise of the screen being locked sounding in the bedroom.

"By the way, Mr. Xi." Shiro begins before the man can leave, rising to his feet as well. "Mr. Kogane mentioned something about rules?"

Xi looks confused for a moment, then his face lightens up and he chuckles softly like Shiro just said a joke. "House rules are: one, wait for Mr. Keith to invite you into his bedroom. If after the third time you knocked he hasn't answered yet, leave him alone." He lifts a second finger in the air. "And two, Kosmo is allowed on the furniture."

With a pat to his bicep, Xi takes his leave, closing the door in his wake. Shiro is left alone again in this foreign house and he stands there wringing his hands, feeling much like he's in a room full of strangers, all of them looking at him. He should probably visit all the rooms again and look for the hidden cameras, get used to this new place. For now, though, he retrieves his phone from his pocket and checks the few new messages he got. Under a picture of Black glaring at his friend's phone, Matt wishes him good luck in his new job. Shiro smiles and types a quick reply, skims over other texts and emails, but nothing does a good job in distracting him.

He turns to the doors leading to the balcony, certainly a beautiful sight at nighttime with all the city lights glimmering. A press to the button beside the door and it opens smoothly, the gentle breeze playing with the rich fabric of the beddings.

Shiro leans onto the glass railing, allows himself to appreciate the view before he tackles on his duties. To his far right there's a sitting area, connected to the room belonging to Krolia as stated on the digital floorplan. To his left, the balcony connects to the living room of Keith's master suite, and the balcony of his bedroom is only accessible from the inside.

Keith is there, he realizes, curled up on a chair with sunglasses perched on his nose bridge, each tiny jewel on the studded frame reflecting the sunlight. A good deal of naked skin is displayed, from his thighs to his arms, as he looks down at the tablet in his hand, seemingly unimpressed that what he sees. Kosmo - the dog, Shiro thinks - is tucked beneath the chair, sleeping.

"Why don't you snap a picture, Shiro?" Keith asks, and Shiro realizes he'd been staring for longer than acceptable. Even worse, he couldn't even tell Keith had noticed because of the sunglasses. "That way you can look at me all day long." He does lift his head then to blow him a kiss, lowering the glasses to add a wink.

"Apologies, Mr. Kogane." Shiro straightens and turns fully in his direction. "I did not mean to stare."

"Aw, look at you being all polite and stuff. Don't give me that Mr. Kogane shit, though, it makes me feel old, ugh." His voice is so overly sweet and mocking it makes Shiro's mood sink. "But I do like the idea of posing for a picture. Just for you." Keith taps his fingers on the arm rest to punctuate the last words, a flirty smirk on his lips. "Maybe it could fuel some fantasy, don't you think?"

Shiro looks away as Keith unfurls from the chair, catching a glimpse of a strappy sleeve and shapely collarbones before his eyes settle on a tall building in the distance. "Please, don't say things like that, Mr. Keith. It's highly inappropriate."

Keith clicks his tongue and huffs. "You looking like that is inappropriate. You're a walking wet dream."

From the corner of his eye, Shiro watches as Keith retreats into his room and Kosmo scrambles to follow him, nails scratching on the ground. He tilts his head back and squeezes his eyes shut before going inside to do what he was hired for. This job will be one major test of strength. His friends say he's got the patience of a saint, so maybe Shiro can make it through.

Maybe.