A/N: This was supposed to be part of Chapter 11 for the "The little things…" but it got too long, so I'm posting it separately. Besides, it was too good to clip, in my opinion. The girls never get any attention.

Read it and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own KHR!

Mannequin

Haru clutched the thick stack of folders and loose papers tighter to her chest as she came to yet another stop. Perhaps it would have been in her best interest after all to have one of the guards escort her to the main conference room, like Levi had offered.

The brown-haired woman frowned in frustration, blowing an errant strand of hair out of her face. The mansion didn't seem all that confusing when she had Squalo and Levi walking her around before. But then again, Haru thought as she sighed and continued walking, she had been too busy listening to Squalo talk about all of the updates that needed to be made on their main firewall, which was the reason for Haru's visit in the first place, to pay attention to her surroundings. It wasn't like she really had the opportunity to memorize the labyrinth of hallways in the three story mansion anyway.

After several minutes, the woman came to yet another junction. It felt like with every step she took in the elaborately decorated yet eerily silent mansion, she was getting farther and farther away from where she was supposed to be. She knew Xanxus and Squalo, along with several of their top technicians, were waiting for her, and they were probably spewing acid right about now. The meeting was supposed to be at three. She glanced down at her watch. It was nearly a quarter past three already.

Down the left hall, there was a rythmic sort of pounding, like someone was blasting very loud music. Haru nearly sighed in relief. At last, another human being. She felt like it had been days since she last saw another soul. Haru steeled herself determinedly before turning and walking down the hall, towards the music, which was growing louder and louder. Finally, she came to a halt in front of a gaudy-looking set of double doors.

"Should I knock?" She asked herself aloud. Would they even hear me?

After a few indecisive seconds, Haru finally made up her mind and turned one of the handles. A wave of fast-paced techno immediately assaulted her ears, but she walked in anyway. The room was large and vibrant with color, from the thin blue, purple, and pink drapes that hung down from the ceiling, which reminded Haru of the room of a Turkish harem, to the black, glitter-encrusted tiles on the floor. There was even a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, spinning slowly.

In the middle of the room, she found none other than the man that greeted her at the door, the one with the Mohawk. Somehow, she thought, it wasn't very shocking that this was his bedroom. He was working on what appeared to be a rather adorable sundress, from what Haru could see. Lussuria, as she remembered his name to be, was sitting on a stool, hemming the bottom.

She walked over to him shyly, not wanting to scare him. He was so focused that she was not at all surprised that he hadn't noticed her. As her form came into his peripheral view, Lussuria stopped and looked up at her.

"Oh, hello there." He said amiably. She waved back with a pleasant smile. With a slight grunt, the martial artist stood up from the stool, turning off the blaring music with the small remote in his coat pocket.

In the now deafening silence, Haru suddenly felt a bit rude for walking in so brazenly. But Lussuria didn't seem to mind at all. On the contrary, it seemed that he was a bit happy to have company. Haru guessed that not many people, especially the other members of the Varia, dared to venture into the flamboyant man's personal quarters.

"Um, Lussuria-san, am I right?" She asked pleasantly. The tall man gave her a teasing smile. "That would be me, darling. What can I do for the lovely flower gracing this charming abode of rude, sweaty bachelors?"

Haru blushed at the strange yet oddly flattering compliment, looking away awkwardly. "Well, I'm…a bit lost, you see, and I- Lussuria-san?"

Lussuria was looking at her quietly, if not a bit unnervingly. Haru clutched her notebooks closer to her chest. The martial artist was circling her inquistively, tapping a gloved hand to his lips as he regarded her.

"Lussuria-san?" She squeaked nervously. At that, the man stopped circling her, instead coming a bit closer, and…

…immediately whipped out a measuring tape and slung it around her waist.

"Ah…" She started with a gasp. Lussuria pulled the tape tight against her body, contemplating the numbers on the tape for a moment before looking up at her and smiling.

"You have such a dainty waist, Haru-chan." He began, an oddly mischievous little smile plastered to his face. Another bright red blush erupted over Haru's cheeks. "Hahi! Err, um…thank you? But really, I'm already very late, would you direct me to the main conference room-"

Lussuria held up a hand, silencing her yet again. "Not to worry, dear, I will happily walk you over. If…" He trailed off, his smile growing as he edged closer.

Haru instinctively backed away. "If?" She repeated cautiously.

Lussuria backed off a bit, laughing amiably. "Oh relax dear, I'm not going to do anything to you," he said with a dismissive wave, and Haru immediately felt bad for being so suspicious of him, "I just want you to try this dress on. I've been looking for someone to put it on besides this mannequin, and your proportions are simply exquisite! Not to mention the peach color will really bring out the color in your cheeks~!" He said, gyrating giddly around her.

"Oh...um, alright, sure." She said, still blushing quite heavily.

"Right behind that curtain over there~! Just wave a hand out when you're ready!" He said, practically radiating glitter at her in his overwhelming joy at having a real model. Haru couldn't help but laugh as she nodded and accepted the admittedly lovely garment from Lussuria.

His enthusiasm was absolutely infectious.

Haru stood in front of one of his many full length mirrors a few minutes later, her mouth hanging open in shock at how right he was about the dress complimenting her pale, Namimori skin, as well as how well-tailored the garment was.

"How do you like it?" He asked from the other side of the curtain. Haru turned and pushed the thick, velvet drape back, and Lussuria's face was immediately glowing with pride.

"It's really beautiful, Lussuria-san." She said timidly, brushing down a few imaginary wrinkles in the skirt of the flawless little sundress.

"Now to add the finishing touches." He said as he walked towards her, twirling his finger. Haru turned around accordingly and lifted her arms. Lussuria produced a thin strip of black lace from somewhere in his coat, and tied it around her waist, directly under her breasts.

"The high-waisted sash really accentuates your enviable figure, Haru-chan. All you need is a killer pair of black pumps and the boys will be positively throwing themselves at you!" He said giddily, tapping a finger to his lips as he stood back to admire his handiwork.

Haru giggled as she twirled on the ball of her foot, feeling much like a little girl playing dress up in her mom's closet. It reminded her of when she used to play in her mother's closet when she was small, stumbling around in her high heels and tripping over the fabric of her favorite designer dresses. They all smelled like the sweet perfume her mother loved. It was Haru's favorite perfume too.

The spinning came to a halt.

Lussuria watched curiously as Haru walked closer to the mirror, a thoughtful look on her face. She raised her hand to the glass, staring at her reflection, her eyes suddenly watery.

"Haru-chan?"

The young woman started, a lone tear sliding down her flushed cheek.

"Dear, are you alright?" Lussuria asked worriedly.

Haru nodded quickly as she wiped her face. "I'm fine, I'm fine. It's just…this dress, it reminded me of my mom. She died when I was little, so it's just me and my dad now. But I remember, she used to have so many sundresses. She had one that looked a bit like this."

"Oh, Haru…" Lussuria started, brushing another stray tear from Haru's cheek. Haru felt so silly, suddenly crying like this, but as hard as she tried to blink away the tears and painful memories, they just kept coming.

"I'm sorry to be such a bother,"She said, laughing in embarrassment through her tears," it really is a beautiful dress."

Lussuria smiled kindly. "Would you like to try another one on, Haru dear?"

Haru turned to him in surprise. "You have more?"

Lussuria's smile widened. The man disappeared in a large walk-in closet for a few minutes before finally returning, several dresses slung over his forearm.

"All of them are my own designs." He said proudly.

Haru wiped her now dry eyes one more time, shaking her head. "I don't get it, Lussuria-san," she began, "what is a man as talented as you doing in a place like this? You should be standing backstage at a fashion show, with world famous models wearing your dresses, not caged up here in this stuffy mansion huddled over a mannequin."

It was Lussuria's turn to smile sadly. "That's very kind of you, Haru-chan. But, well, it's complicated." He said as he walked over to her and knelt down to adjust the bottom of the skirt. "Killing is what I'm good at; what we're all good at here. But we all have our vices and secret pleasures that keep us grounded. Making dresses is relaxing for me. Besides," he trailed off forlornly, "my mother would never have approved of it."

Haru looked down at him sadly, understanding the unspoken story behind the solemn statement. "Well then, for what it's worth, I think you're amazing." She said with a kind smile.

Lussuria's face was glowing with happiness at the compliment. He stood up and offered her the dresses still cradled tenderly on his arm. "Then would you do me the honors of taking these with you back to Japan? I'm sure Kyoko-chan would be quite jealous when she sees you in these." He said with a chuckle.

Haru could only manage an enthusiastic nod as she accepted the dresses.

"Try the black cocktail dress on next. A strapless dress would look incredible on you."

Haru nodded and pulled back the curtain. After a few minutes, she stood in front of the mirror, smoothing down the soft chiffon ruffles. Lussuria was right again. The short black dress hugged her petite body like a glove, and yet when she turned, the flouncy chiffon ruffles that layered the dress slinked about, giving the dress a sort of twenties-era style to it.

And Haru absolutely adored it.

She danced about the room, humming a jazzy tune to herself. She shimmied flirtatiously when she threw the curtain back, laughing shamelessly as Lussuria twirled her around and around on the ball of her foot.

The meeting, she decided, could wait for a bit.

She still had a handful of dresses waiting for her behind that heavy velvet curtain, and she felt like playing dress-up for just a little while longer.

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