Disclaimer: Oh how I wish I owned this fine manga. But I don't.
Note: Sorry if the whole no-romance-in-this-oneshot thing bores you. I was going to put it in but as I was writing I remembered exactly how much I dislike JeilexLei pairings and couldn't bring myself to!
Lei was feeling the strain today. He had been on his guard all day, constantly having to rebuff Nakaoji's advances, and now when he got home the phone was ringing so he had to keep up his Airi pretence a little longer while he spoke to her parents and reassured them that everything was going as usual. The irony did not escape him. But at last he could become himself again.
He fetched himself a glass of water and drank it greedily, then sat down and did Airi's homework with one hand and brushed his hair with the other. Neither of the two activities were particularly taxing. Maths... easy. Some type of science... pretty obvious. Japanese... easy. But what devilry was this? English? Some uncouth language with ridiculous verb conjugations. Well well. He'd have to use magic for this one, which irked him a little. But never mind. Putting the books away Lei pushed open the wrong cupboard. As usual. He wasn't used to this strange little house, nor putting things away in this manner. But this time he chose the wrong one to open. A cascade of video tapes seemed to leap on him eagerly, their sudden slither and clatter making him almost leap out of his skin. He stepped backwards, arms flailing to protect himself and uttering an involuntary cry that sounded suspiciously like fear. Eventually the videos stopped falling. Amazingly, there was still about a quarter of them still in the cupboard. All the tapes read "Tales Of Marriage On The Plains" along the side. Then Lei gave a groan of unadulterated despair. The tapes were all in order of series and episode. No, please. Mercy. Don't make me put them all back in order. But he knew there was nothing else to do; magic didn't exactly cover replacing things carefully in strict order. That's not what it was for. Cursing like a commoner he bent to pick up a tape, disregarding for the present the books he had originally been carrying and which were now also on the floor at his feet.
It was into this disarray that Jeile presented himself.
Lei didn't even notice he had a visitor, at least not for a few moments. Jeile had been about to say something, but had bitten his lip and stared as he took in the scene. Slowly a disbelieving smile took over his face, which became a snigger and then a loud peal of laughter. Once again Lei jumped, wheeling around though it only made him trip slightly on more tapes.
"Your Highness. I'm very sorry, I didn't know you were coming." The slight tilt of Jeile's left eyebrow rendered the word 'obviously' unnecessary. He was still smirking in a way that tested Lei's royal etiquette training sorely. To distract himself he spoke again. "Can I offer you... er... a drink? There isn't much to eat here, but I'm sure I could find something." Jeile couldn't help admiring the man's fortitude. Faced with at least a night's work ahead, and he could still put on the passive servant act. Remarkable.
"Thank you, but no. I rather think you'll need a little help with that, though." Jeile ignored Lei's – admittedly very quiet – denying noises and waded into the pile of cassettes.
Six hours later and Jeile was holding the last tape in his hand. He slotted it into place and slid the door shut, then put a locking spell on it. Wouldn't want this buffoon to go through all this again. Jeile surprised himself. He retraced his thought in his head. No, it had definitely been referring to Lei. Hmm. That was unusual. After an ordeal like that, (and they'd had to start again twice) he'd thought of Lei before himself. He mentally shook himself. Must have been a slip of the internal monologue. He heard a sound behind him and turned to see Lei standing with two large mugs of tea, offering him one. He took it and they both flopped down onto the couch, drinking silently for a full minute. Lei felt rather silly. No, very silly. No, in fact there was no other word for it: he felt a complete idiot. Just to add to this feeling he asked Jeile why he had actually come to see him, assuming the main purpose of the visit had not been to spend 6 hours helping to clear up. A faint blush spread over Jeile's face and for some reason he didn't seem to be able to meet Lei's eyes. He cursed inwardly; he had completely forgotten what he had come for. He made a casual, indefinite gesture with his hand and said something under his breath. The cupboard door opposite flew open and the bookshelf emptied itself all over the floor. Jeile tried not to look too self satisfied. Diversion created successfully. But to his horror he felt a tiny pang of guilt at the dismay evident on his companion's face.