This Story was adopted from Glaux Bryonia. Thank You for the story and I will do my best!
The soft murmurs of the small groups of businessmen quietly drifted up to the balcony where a young man was silently watching the people beneath him.
Hao sighed tiredly as he ran his hand through his hair.
Up until now everything went as planned; everyone was relaxing and enjoying themselves as the personnel worked to make the meeting run smoothly. Tonight was a very important night for those that had gathered in this luxurious Grand Hotel. It was a night to create new friendships and build connections between the many different enterprises whose representatives where all gathered here, in the large meeting room of the gigantic building.
Tonight was also the beginning of one week of Hell for the personnel and one week of Heaven for the people downstairs. Why? Because throughout the week dozens of meetings, congresses, lectures and presentations would be held in nearly every corner of the building.
He sighed again. Really now, don't they have anything better to do? He looked down on the small crowd, bored and lost in thought. Soon the dinner would be served which the kitchen personnel had slaved on since early morning and Hao would be one of the hosts that would interact with the ridiculously rich guests and make sure nothing ruined the pleasant evening.
Absent-mindedly he let his eyes wander through the large, lounge-like hall in which the gathering was held. The hall itself was about eight meters high and was decorated in a style that was a mix between Modern, Renaissance and Victorian; a strange blend that surprisingly worked very well. The entire room breathed an air of luxury and comfort. The floors made from cream-colored marble, covered with expensive rugs and the walls where a mix between rich cream and dark sienna, decorated with a delicate golden pattern. Now normally Hao found such patterns distracting and annoying but whoever designed the room had known what he was doing; the gold blended in with the sienna and cream in a way that the designs where only clearly visible when you really looked at them. The mystery designer had also used expensive artworks to break up the otherwise monotone planes. Halfway the gigantic walls and on the same level as the balcony, ran a golden band that split the impressive height in two; the upper part of the walls was a soft pastel variation of the sienna which went well with the decorated lower half.
In the corners of the grand room stood large pillars that connected the floor to the ceiling while similar pillars supported the balcony he stood on. Each pillar consisted of a base, a shaft and a capital; every piece beautifully crafted and made out of the finest marble. The base and capital of each column was made out of the same creamy marble as the floor; the shafts however were made out of a beautiful red marble and consisted of several thinner shafts, which twisted elegantly around each other. While the shafts where smooth the bases and capitals were decorated in the style of the Greek Corinthian columns; where the capitals met the ceiling the decorations blended in with the Corinthian columns; where the capitals met the ceiling the decorations blended in with the extraordinary decorations on the ceiling. From said ceiling hung an enormous glistening monster, known as the chandelier.
Hao always pitied the people who had to clean it. It was five meters wide and just as tall; an absurdity made out of silver and gold ornaments and crystal, that scattered hundreds of tiny rainbows across the walls. One might expect such decorations to clash with anything modern but then again, the modern elements didn't lay in the decorations. Rather is lay in the clean design of the room, in the dark wooden saloon tables with glass tabletops, in the lighting and, of course, in the beautiful bar from which the drinks were served. The balcony he stood on was on the right side of the large double doors that led to the entrance hall and could be reached by stairs on both sides. On the other side of the room similar doors led to the dining area.
Right across the room was a gigantic fireplace around which most of the ridiculously comfortable armchairs and sofa's were gathered. The fireplace was another horror for the cleaning personnel since they burned a real fire in it instead of those cheap electrical fake fires that where so popular these days. The soft, clear sound of a silver bell pulled the brunette out of his musings and drew his attention to his colleague who was announcing the start of the seven-course dinner.
As the crowd slowly disappeared into the other room he stretched and checked if his uniform was still in order. He was wearing a suit with a deep red jacket and black pants with a white dress shirt and a black tie. The jacket was embroidered with the logo of the hotel, which resembled one of those old family emblems, with elegant curls surrounding a mansion. It was the standard host outfit but somehow whenever he wore it, it looked ten times better than normally.
Walking past a mirror on the way down he checked his appearance once more; his dark hair cascaded over his shoulders down his back to end at his waist in an alluring way that always had the girls sighing in awed envy. Not a single strand was out-of-place.
He smirked.
Showtime.
XXX(xxxx)XXX(xxxx)XXX(xxxx)XXX
Yoh sighed.
He was quite sure he had never been this bored in his life. He leaned back in the big armchair with a groan but couldn't suppress a smile at the wonderful feeling of the soft cushions. At least I'm comfortable.
It was true. The armchair was the epitome of luxury; made out of smooth, deep red leather and dark wood it was the kind of chair you could spend your entire day in. It was the perfect chair for Yoh. Maybe he could catch some sleep he mused. But then again, his father would kill him if he discovered his son was slacking off while he was supposed to pay attention to everything around him.
As the heir of an extremely influential, multinational enterprise he was expected to hold his own in similar meetings within a few years time and therefore his father decided this event made a perfect learning experience. While Yoh debated with himself whether or not the risk of getting caught was worth a few minutes of sleep he was pulled out of his dilemma as one of those dressed up penguins asked for attention. With some difficulty he suppressed a giggle at that thought.
Hmm, seems like diner is ready.
A soft rumble from his stomach prompted him to get up and move along with the crowd to the dining area and see what kind of food was being served. When he walked through the door he gasped. He had been speechless when he entered the other room for the first time, but this one was just as magnificent. The ceiling wasn't nearly as high as in the other room but that wasn't necessary because this one was entirely constructed out of glass, along with two walls; the one on the right and on the opposite side of the room. It was fashioned in the style of a Victorian greenhouse, with vine and leaf-like decorations on the dark metal frames.
On the floor was a soft sand colored carpet and the other two walls were a light reddish-brown,decorated at the top and bottom with golden plant-like designs. Scattered al over the place where large round tables, each capable of holding about twenty till thirty people. The tables where covered with white linen and all that was missing where the actual dishes.
Yoh looked around.
His father was nowhere in sight so he assumed he was free to sit wherever he liked.
In no time he spotted the perfect place: a smaller table in the corner that gave a good view of the spectacular garden. Since it was already dark outside the garden lighting was illuminating the well kept paths and the sculptures that where tastefully hidden among the green. Seconds after he sat down he was joined by a group of elderly men who were discussing something in a foreign language; they took place on the opposite end of the table and ignored him completely. He made a face. Since they hadn't even bothered to greet him he knew they were going to ignore him the rest of the evening as well.
Oh well, thank goodness for the garden.
Already resigning himself to a lonely diner, he was shocked when someone addressed him.
"Is it alright if I sit here?" a clear, melodic voice asked.
Quickly he looked up, only to be shocked again as he laid is eyes on the most gorgeous person he had ever seen. Intelligent onyx eyes looked back at him with polite curiosity. The young man was dressed in the uniform of the hosts which meant that he would be joining them in their meal to explain what the different dishes where, answer questions and generally make sure everyone had a good time. His hair was a deep, shiny, dark brown color and longer than Yoh had ever seen on a man, and his skin was lightly tanned and absolutely flawless. The eyes where two pools of darkness framed by long eyelashes, which stood in a stunning, almost aristocratic face, with thin, elegant eyebrows delicately arched above them.
Simply said, he was the kind of guy that girls dreamt of while he easily surpassed them in both beauty and looks.
Yoh suddenly remembered the stranger's question and blushed.
"Y-yeah, it's fine." he stammered.
Hao smiled at him as he sat down next to him. He had caught the young teen's staring and found it terribly amusing to see him so flustered already. He studied the youngster while the other was still looking away in embarrassment. Their resemblance had been the first thing that had caught his eye as he had approached the other. There where quite a lot similarities in their faces although the other's face was far more childlike, with big innocent eyes and a peaceful smile, while his own face resembled that of a (young) adult. The younger boy had soft, slightly tanned skin and hair also very much like its own; the main difference being the length of the dark tresses. Where his fell past his waist the others hair merely brushed his shoulders. The only other difference was that the boy's hair looked incredibly soft where his own was rather slippery instead of soft.
The young male was dressed in a dark grey three-piece-suit with a dark blue tie and he was obviously uncomfortable in the formal attire; not because of bad craftsmanship but because it clearly didn't fit the kind of person he was. As their eyes met again he noticed the boy couldn't keep his eyes of him . This time Hao captured the gentle eyes of the other.
Yoh blushed a bit more but couldn't break free from the steady gaze that was sent his way. In his mind he tried to guess the other male's age and decided he couldn't be much older than him, probably besting him with a few years.
"May I ask your name?"
Yoh blinked at the sudden question. "I-it's Yoh… Yoh Asakura."
Gods how he hated his stammering right now. Hell, this guy was just being nice and he was stuttering like some little kid!
A gentle smile turned into a grin. "Well hello Yoh, pleased to meet you. My name is Hao Douji. As you probably already guessed: I will be your host tonight."
The slightly formal introduction only seemed to fluster the younger boy more. On the inside he was laughing at the boy's nervousness, it was funny how he was already captivated by his looks. He definitely needed to tease Yoh a bit more, that blush looked cute on him!
Pushing his mirth aside he remembered his duty. After introducing himself to the other people at the table who immediately dismissed him and ignored him as well. Hao glanced towards the personnel entrance. When the chef gave the sign 'ready' he would have to announce the first course. As if on que the chef appeared in the doorway and gave him a nod. By tradition the man would stand near the entrance to make sure only perfection was presented to the guests.
"Excuse me, I'll be back in a moment." Yoh looked startled but nodded anyway as Hao stood up and walked to the corner closest to the personnel entrance, where a big patch of space was reserved for speakers.
As Hao took his place in front of the audience he picked up one of the crystal wineglasses from the table with beverages behind him, along with a small silver spoon. Right now he was all business. Gently he tapped the spoon against the crystal, creating a bell-like sound that quickly drew everybody's attention.
"Lady's and Gentlemen, may I please have your attention." Hao paused to make sure everyone had stopped talking "The first course is ready to be served. Tonight we start with three small dishes: the first is a Carpaccio," as he spoke the waiters brought out the dishes and efficiently distributed them among the guests.
Yoh could only stare at Hao. He had walked away with such grace Yoh couldn't take his eyes off him. The sound of the glass dragged him out of his stupor. Hopefully this meant what he thought it meant… Finally! The moment he got his plate in front of him he no longer listened to what Hao was telling. He was hungry damn it!
Unfortunately proper etiquettes demanded that he'd wait until the host was done speaking and everyone had his plate, but he had a hard time controlling himself. Hopefully my stomach won't start protesting. That would be really embarrassing.
Lucky for him, Hao was done quickly and he could begin. He wasted no time and immediately dug in, nearly moaning at the sheer deliciousness of the dish as tears of bliss ran down his face. Soft, melodic laughter made him look up at Hao as he rejoined him at the table.
"My, My, you must have been hungry." A soft red graced his cheeks again at the teasing.
"A-ano…"
Hao smiled. "There's no need to excuse yourself; on contrary, the chef will be glad to hear his dishes were received so well." Leaving Yoh in stunned silence, Hao started on his own plate.
As the evening proceeded Yoh got more comfortable with Hao's presence and by the time the sixth course arrived he talked with him as if he was an old friend.
Hao was enjoying himself as well. Yoh was an easy person to talk to and he found himself charmed by the innocent teen. The boy still harbored many childish qualities that amused Hao to no end. Although Yoh was shy when it concerned something personal, he could easily chatter over an hour about all the amazing things he had seen in the hotel. Right now he was talking about how much he had loved the chair in the meeting area and how he wanted to take a walk through the huge garden. Yup, just like a kid.
A few seconds later he looked up, curious to see why Yoh had suddenly gone quiet and found him staring at the dessert in delighted shock; almost as if he hadn't know what was coming…which was probably the case since Yoh clearly hadn't been listening when Hao announced the course to everyone and explained what it was. He looked down on his own serving of the high-class clump of sweetness. Sure, it was trifle and sure, it looked good; still it was no explanation for Yoh's odd state of mind. Puzzled, he thought back on the things Yoh had told him about himself in the last two hours and tried to find an adequate reason for Yoh's odd reaction to the cold dessert.
Now let's see, it's trifle with firm, not to sweet, cake as the base; on top of that is an ample layer of thick orange curd with small pieces of orange in it. On top of the curd are blueberries and pieces of dark chocolate with a thick citrus syrup poured over them, topped of with clotted cream and, again, the citrus syrup… At least, that is the description the chef gave me. So what could be in it to make Yoh react like this…
The answer hit him with a resounding 'smack' and he could slap himself for not realizing it sooner.
Of course. The oranges.
Looking back at Yoh he had to smile at the childish glee with which he enjoyed the fluffy sweetness.
"Oh my God, Hao, you have to try this! It's sooo good!" Yoh squealed in delight.
Hao couldn't help but laugh at Yoh's antics. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It's the chef's specialty."
"What? So you've eaten it before already!… some people have too much luck" he mumbled. "Hey, do you think I can get the recipe?"
"Hmm, don't know. But if you want it, I'll ask" answered Hao sincerely. He was shocked when he suddenly found Yoh's face mere centimeters from his own.
"Will you do that? Oh, please, please, please, will you do that for me?" Big, pleading puppy eyes blinked up at him.
Sighing he pushed Yoh back a bit. "Alright, alright, I'll ask… now don't cause a scene."
"YAY, thank you!"
He smiled softly as he watched Yoh do a small happy-dance. He really liked this kid. He was so full of energy and bubbling happiness it was contagious. Absent-mindedly he wondered if Yoh would still like him after this night. After all, what he was planning for him wasn't something that made normal people like him.
Oh well, I guess we'll see…
I'll be posting this slow so Don't expect all four chapters to just drop out of the blue. Gloria had made changes that I want everyone to read through and have an understaning of everything thats going on. Thanks again Gloria, and I look forward to any stories you might be posting next!
