A Tea Party with the Devil
"More tea, Darling?" Mieru asked.
There was no reply but most of the time, when she asked a question or said anything, she would be ignored so this was no different than usual. So, she picked up her teapot daintily and poured out tea into her precious china; the ones patterned with different constellations. She glanced around and smiled once her eyes fell back upon her beloved. He groaned. Finally, a reply. It may have been a rude reply, but it was a reply nonetheless.
"Oh please," she huffed, "I am a very good hostess. I mean, had it been up to say, Reiji, you would have been tossed into the nearest incinerator."
Mieru pushed a saucer closer to her doll. She smiled blithely. "Please, for me? I promise you'll like it. It's Lady Earl Grey, everyone loves the Earl Greys."
The liquid inside of the tea cup began to disappear. Her eyes brightened. She laughed, a few notes, and then picked up her teacup. She pinched the handle carefully and sipped from it. she inhaled the fumes and enjoyed them.
"Would you like any biscuits?" she asked. "I have shortbread creams on the table."
"I know." he said. "I have eyes."
Mieru blinked. "Well, I just wasn't sure if you could see them, after all. I can't imagine buttons make for good eyes."
He didn't reply to that but Mieru had the sense that her Darling could see perfectly fine. Mieru placed her teacup back on top of the saucer it belonged with; Pisces on Pisces. She then reached for one of the shortbread creams.
As she ate, a few crumbs scattered over her mouth, but she thumbed at them, wiping her mouth.
"I won't lie," she began, "they don't taste as nice as the ones you can buy from the bakery. But I made them so they're full of my love. My love for you, Darling."
Her companion groaned again.
"Hey," she snapped, "don't be rude. I don't like this either but it's a better compromise than what could have happened."
She shivered. She always did whenever she thinks of how things could have been, and they could have been very strange. Stranger than right now wherein she was having a tea party with the Devil. After all, that poor little child Reira could be the one hosting it. It was better than someone occultic like Mieru had been dealt the responsibility of hosting it. though, their hosts were very different.
Had it fallen to Reira's responsibility, things would have been very strange. It was bad enough the child had to host Ray's soul. To have to host Zarc's as well would have been very strange. Mieru had even glimpsed that future, not even just in idle musing but through her crystal Apple and what a strange timeline that would have been. Reira would have reverted back into an infant. How strange. It was better this way.
After all, the Devil made a rather intriguing partner in tea parties. Mieru more than found it amusing to rile him up. Especially now that he was mostly weaned of his more genocidal ways. But he had his moments every once in a while, in which he expressed rather violent wishes but generally a turn in the washing machine would scrub out such nasty things.
The only problem was, Mieru thinks, is that is very unfortunate that it had to be her Yuya plush to be the vessel. It was really disconcerting to have to reconcile her tomato-headed ex-crush with her current crush, Zarc.
Still, it was better that it was the Yuya made of cotton and felt who had to home Zarc and not the flesh and blood Yuya. The flesh and blood Yuya had made an excellent home for the spirit of Zarc but that had caused the conniption of multiple dimensions and resulted in a lot of collateral damage. So, it truly was for the best that it was the cotton and felt Yuya who was the vessel for Zarc.
"I know I didn't make them the nicest, but would you at least humour me by trying one of the shortbread creams?" Mieru asked. "I did your tarot reading this morning and it advises that you open yourself to new experiences and to stop dwelling on the negative."
Zarc huffed.
"Darling," Mieru whined, "we really need to learn to get along. Otherwise, I might end up letting Reiji put you through the incinerator after all."
The plush moved stiffly. Almost jerkily.
"I knew you wouldn't like such a solution." Mieru said.
One of the shortbread creams on the plate began to disintegrate and crumble. Mieru's spirits lifted and she beamed.
"How do you like it, Darling? I made them just for you after all." she asked excitedly.
"They're okay." Zarc huffed and the plush doll crossed its arms. "I think they could be sweeter. Maybe more vanilla essence in the cream."
"Duly noted for next time, Darling!" Mieru enthused.
Zarc groaned again but the Devil still made for an excellent partner to hold a tea party with. So, Mieru could be satisfied with that as she allowed the conversation to drift to other topics between them.