It was the middle of the night and crickets were chirruping into the hush of twilight. Time seemed to stand still under the blanket of darkness and the whole world seemed to sleep.
But one particular room in one particular house was still alit with light, keeping the shadows at bay as Freud toiled the night away scribbling notes and shuffling pages of old, complicated texts, sharp, oceanic eyes focused and mind working rapidly through the complex information even in the late hour.
A faint noise.
Freud made an annotation in the space next to one particular paragraph of interest and marked the page.
A sound.
Freud barely noticed it.
A strum.
Freud's busy fingers faltered for a second before resuming their previous pace.
Intermittent notes.
Freud scrunched his brow and pursed his lips.
Music.
And finally, Freud's previously intense concentration on his work was shattered.
He sighed in displeasure but resolved to try to ignore the music outside but then smooth lyrics sung in deep, soothing dulcets followed, interrupting the lull of darkness.
He recognized that voice. He could recognize it anywhere but he refused to play Phantom's game tonight.
He set his mind and tried to regain his previous level of concentration again and had almost succeeded if it weren't for the lyrics that had managed to drift into his ears.
Turning red, he slammed the quill he had been using back onto the desk and marched over to the window, throwing it open to glare at Phantom, who was down on one knee and strumming a guitar, grinning brightly upon catching sight of him.
"Phantom, what are you doing?" he half grumbled and half hissed, running a hand across his eyes.
"Serenading you of course," Phantom chirruped happily in reply, giving his guitar another strum in emphasis.
"Well can you please stop? It's disrupting my work."
"Aw you don't like it?"
"It's not that I don't like it," Freud replied slowly. "But I believe you can… serenade at another time when it won't disrupt sleep."
"Well if you like it I don't see a reason not to continue," Phantom said happily.
"That's not what I—"
"—The moon to my sky—"
"Phantom…"
"The stars in my night—"
"Phantom."
"Wherever the wind may blow—"
"Phantom!"
"Whenever the heart may grow—"
"Phantom, listen to me!"
Freud was getting progressively redder and redder the further Phantom proceeded into the song until a lovely scarlet hue had settled nicely over his face.
"Phantom!"
"Freud? What on earth is going on here?" came the sleepy voice of Mercedes a small distance away.
"Phantom, please stop!" Freud pleaded almost frantically.
"Phantom? Freud? W-what?" Mercedes asked, snapping out of her drowsy stupor and looking bewildered between Phantom, who simply continued singing and playing on his guitar despite her presence, and an embarrassed-looking Freud, who had one hand covering his eyes as though doing so would make the problem go away.
"What's all the ruckus?" a yawning Aran asked, walking up beside her.
"I… think Phantom is serenading Freud," Mercedes answered, brow furrowing slightly, unsure whether to laugh or swoon at the scene in front of her.
On one hand, it was dreadfully romantic. The moon was full and white, a radiant orb among the black satin of the sky bejeweled with scatterings of diamond dust hanging below which were fireflies decorating the air with dazzling speckles of yellowish light. It was the perfect atmosphere. But on the other hand, Freud's reaction to the whole thing and the fact that there was now an audience made what should have been a very heart-stealing moment sort of comical.
"If the fool had not created such a spectacle of this, mayhap it could even be considered proper courting." Luminous snorted from Mercedes's left, arms crossed over his chest as he watched the scene.
Mercedes glanced towards Luminous, trying not to laugh but her eyes sparkled with her mirth. "Well Luminous, no one is forcing you to watch."
Luminous didn't answer but he continued to observe the sight before him.
"So when do you think Freud will finally have enough and roast Phantom alive?" Aran asked, snickering.
"I don't know. Maybe he won't. I think it's kind of sweet what Phantom is doing," Mercedes said slowly.
"What constitutes as 'sweet' is very subjective," Luminous rebutted dryly. "I for one would not be very receptive or appreciative to this variety of humiliation."
"It's not humiliation! Phantom is simply expressing his love and devotion and taking advantage of the perfect atmosphere to do so. It's thoughtful and… romantic."
"Thoughtful and romantic in so far as to how? I fail to see the appeal or thought of having someone caterwauling in the mid of night underneath my windows."
"Oh you wouldn't get it would you Luminous?" Mercedes sighed in frustration.
"I believe I understand this perfectly well and the fact that the thief has attracted an audience does not benefit his case."
"So we should leave? I kind of want to see what happens though," Aran said, eyes darting between the still-singing Phantom and Freud, who was trying to convince him to stop again but all in vain.
Luminous snorted. "I doubt that will elicit any differences. Whether we are present or not, it changes not the fact that Phantom's advances are unwelcomed."
"So how would you have done it Luminous?" Mercedes huffed.
"It depends on who it may be. What one may be partial to varies from one person to another. I would do my utmost to align my actions according to what pleases them most rather than to employ such cliché and unoriginal methods of wooing, which demonstrates true thoughtfulness. In Freud's case, I would assist him in any way possible with his research and to ensure his good health but not in a way that would border on suffocating."
"But that just sounds like what you and Phantom usually do," Mercedes remarked, frowning. "No one would notice you're trying to court them. It's too subtle."
"Subtle it may be but their appreciation for my deeds would go far."
"I don't know. I think it's better to just let the other person know how you feel," Aran added. "That way, there could be no confusion and no doubts, kind of like what Phantom is doing now. But I still think it's better if he just tells Freud how he feels directly or else Freud might think it's all some kind of prank."
"See? Aran agrees," Mercedes pointed out triumphantly.
"But did it ever occur to you that admitting such things is difficult? Aran might be capable of such forthrightness but for the rest, it is a challenging endeavor," Luminous refuted but then paused. "I am not defending the thief by any means, to clarify, for he is doing something his beloved clearly does not wish for. Yes, he may not be able to be forthcoming with his feelings but I believe he should not approach the situation in such a fashion as to embarrass his beloved."
"Are we really going to argue about this?" Aran sighed. "Look, if this is Phantom's way of doing things then that's fine. There's no one right way to court somebody anyway."
"Maybe…" Mercedes agreed reluctantly. "But it doesn't hurt to be romantic."
"I did not contend that it does," Luminous replied shortly. "But I do wonder why he chooses to do this now."
Mercedes looked over at him, incredulous. "It's Valentine's Day! Or at least, technically it is since it's past twelve…"
"So he chooses to serenade in the dead of night and wake everyone around him as opposed to waiting until the night of?" Luminous asked distastefully, scowling. "How discourteous and inconsiderate. How very like him."
"Well… Maybe he could have picked a better time…"
"Huh well, he should know this is bound to get Freud mad. Why'd he do it anyway?" Aran asked.
"Who in Maple could know what goes on in the mind of that thief," Luminous grumbled.
"Maybe Freud actually likes it?" Mercedes suggested, voice doubtful even as she glanced over the scene. Freud looked rather aggravated by that point.
"Or mayhap the thief has a death wish," Luminous stated dryly, noticing how Freud suddenly fell silent.
The Dragon Master had just about had it up to here by that point. Although Phantom's voice, music, and efforts weren't actually bad, he had just about enough with this farce he was making this out to be. It was bad enough that Phantom had interrupted him during work in the middle of the night but he didn't need a peanut gallery commentating on their business to add to it.
Freud lifted his head, a distinct glint in his eyes, and the audience of three and Phantom seemed to hush at the sight.
"Phantom," he began calmly, lifting a hand. "Run."
Phantom didn't need to be told twice before he jumped back onto his feet and started dashing from the scene, dodging the fireballs and bursts of flames that followed after him.
Freud watched him go for a few more moments, satisfied, before turning to his small crowd of onlookers with an appropriately unimpressed expression. "Suitably entertained? Good. Then please, do return to your previous activities."
And the three spectators hastily dispersed at the hidden threat in his tone, Mercedes giggling to herself, Aran looking duly amused, and Luminous shaking his head.
Freud sighed and closed the windows again before wandering back to his desk, wondering why he had to be subjected to this kind of embarrassment. He resolved to express his displeasure to Phantom again when he sees him next just for good measure.
Of course, he couldn't say that Phantom's antics hadn't lifted his mood somewhat and he could see at least a little humor in this despite the embarrassment. Nor was it to say that he burned down the beautiful arrangements of flowers and expensive chocolates Phantom had cleverly and craftily inserted throughout the day of Valentine's to try to worm himself back into his good graces. But well, he'll leave him hanging for a little while longer as he struggles to get him out to dinner tonight after all, he couldn't let Phantom go around thinking he could simply buy him over or that he could get away with a stunt like that now could he?
I made up the lyrics for Phantom's song to some kind of vague tune in my head but his lyrics do have some amount of symbolism. The moon represents Freud as a quiet but important presence without which there would be no light to see by at night and the moon has traditionally symbolized knowledge and magic. The stars represent the hope Freud gives in an otherwise dark world. I think Phantom is very sweet towards those he cares for so he would have put some thought into the song he wrote even if it might sound a bit corny… I feel as though I could actually finish it as a poem.