A/N: Wooo! So I finallyyyy finished chapter two! I'm so proud of myself lol. Well, I hope you all enjoy it, and pa-leeeease REVIEW IT. I feed of reviews, so the more I get the more inspired my writing will be. ^.^
Chapter Two: In Which They Go To Paris
Ding dong…Ding dong!...Ding dong! Ding dong! Ding dong! The door bell rang throughout the apartment of the great lord Usami Akihiko. It was 7:00 in the morning, which meant Akihiko was still asleep and it would be best for him to remain that way. In short, he was not a morning person. Not a morning person what-so-ever. And frankly, whoever was ringing his door bell at this time of day, will most likely face his morning wrath.
Akihiko pulled the covers off from over his head and grumbled, looking at the clock on his night stand. He took his time at getting up and dressed, completely ignoring the repetitive ringing of the door bell. As soon as he finished adjusting his usual yellow tie, he dragged himself over to the front door emitting a black aura. The drowsy author fumbled with the lock for a while before opening the door. There Hiroki stood. With frown, suitcase, and all. Before Akihiko had the chance to even invite Hiroki inside, he walked passed him into the large penthouse.
"…Oh, yeah. Why don't you come in?" Akihiko said sarcastically.
"Don't piss me off! You made me wait at the door for practically twenty minutes, you baka," Hiroki barked back.
"It's 7:00am. Why are you here?" he asked, the end of his question turning into a yawn.
"No it's not! I checked the time before I got here. It's 8:00," Hiroki said matter-o-factly.
"No Hiroki, it's 7:00. Just turn the news on and see for yourself," Akihiko walked to the T.V. pressing the 'power' button. "Look," he commanded.
Hiroki grouchily walked over to the T.V. just to be proven one hundred percent wrong. At the bottom right corner of the screen it read '7:26am'. He turned a bright shade of red and sputtered in embarrassment, "well, how was I supposed to know my clock wasn't set on the right time! I'm already here, so you'll have to deal with it. Plus, it's almost 7:30…"
Akihiko chuckled at his friend's embarrassment. "Yes, it's quite alright. Your red face is amusing. It makes up for you awakening me at this hour," he said jokingly, with his signature smirk plastered on his face.
At this, Hiroki's face turned even redder. But not red from embarrassment, red from anger. "Shut up, Bakahiko!" he yelled as he sat himself down on the couch.
"Yeah, yeah. Well, would you like some tea? We can't leave to the airport until Akaiwa gets here."
"Sure," Hiroki muttered, slumping into the couch.
About thirty minutes passed of silent tea time between Akihiko and Hiroki before they heard a key being put in the front door and the sound of the door opening followed. "Ah, that must be Akaiwa," said Akihiko. Shortly after speaking, the devil herself walked into the living room rolling a small suitcase.
"Okay we're all here! Let's go find Usami-sensei a new lover~" Akaiwa squealed looking at them with the eyes of a fangirl.
"Good morning to you too, Akaiwa," Akihiko mumbled.
"Can we stop wasting time here and just go…before Nowaki changes his mind about letting me go and runs over here to get me," Hiroki whispered the last part to himself. Although, Akihiko heard what he said and would have normally taken it as a chance to tease him, Hiroki was right. They needed to leave so that they would not arrive in Paris too late.
"Well, let's go. Akaiwa, we'll put the suitcases in your car since they won't fit in mine, and I'll drive Hiroki," and with that, they were off to the airport.
"The waiting area for our flight is at B5," Akihiko told Hiroki and Akaiwa.
"Oh! I see it! Over here…" Akaiwa said while leading her two companions to where they were to wait. The waiting area was devoid of people, other than the three who had just walked to it.
"Ah, Usami-sensei. It is nice to see you again," a middle aged man who looked to be the pilot said while walking in their direction. "Your jet should be ready to board now, so if you and your guests would please follow me," he said while leading them to the entrance.
"Yes, thank you, Hatori-san," Akihiko replied, following him along with Hiroki and Akaiwa.
When they stepped into the private jet Hiroki and Akaiwa's mouths dropped into an 'o' shape. It was an exact replica of Akihiko's apartment. The same size, same furniture, same teddy bears, and everything. The only things off were the few airplane seats, emergency exits, and the door leading to where the pilot was.
"My more luxurious jet is in repair at the moment, so we'll have to settle for this one," Akihiko said.
" You mean you have something more expensive than this?" Hiroki exclaimed while Akaiwa just gaped at how casual Akihiko was when it came to his riches.
"That's beside the point. Anyways, we'll be in Paris at around 10:00 to 10:30pm…in their time, that is," he replied, taking a seat next to a replica Suzuki-san. So the three of them sat in their places in the inhumanly large private jet owned by the great lord Usami Akihiko. The flight was long and overbearing. Seconds felt like minutes. Minutes felt like hours. Hours felt like days. If it weren't for the jet being designed to look exactly like a large penthouse, the three would have died of boredom.
About seven and a half hours had passed when Hatori-san's voice was heard through an intercom. "We have about twenty minutes until landing. All passenger's should be buckled in their airplane seats. If you are not, please do so at this time. We will be arriving shortly, thank you."
The plane started to lower. Not that they could see it lowering, but the feeling of pressure against their ears and bodies made it quite obvious. Almost as if being under water.
The plane lowering was the least of Akihiko's worries at the moment. Although he seemed to be acting calm and casual, he couldn't help but think about Takahiro. I mean, he still loved him, and he felt that trying to find another man to love would be like betraying his own love. If he could, he would run all the way back to Japan as soon as his feet hit land. But he knew that was not an option. Unfortunately. Either Hiroki or Akaiwa would drag him back and force him to fall in love again. What a nosey thing to do. He would have been fine. If only he could be left alone in his giant void of an apartment. If only he hadn't opened the door for Hiroki the day he found out about Takahiro's marriage. If only he hadn't agreed to this trip. If only…if only Takahiro had loved me back. But it was too late to regret his prior actions…or should he say, mistakes. He was to arrive in Paris in less than twenty minutes and find a new man.
A new man.
A new man…
A new man?
Now that Akihiko thought about it, it was disgusting what he was doing. Practically finding a replacement for the one he loved. How revolting. He couldn't just find 'a new man' to love when he was still in love with Takahiro. But for some strange reason, he would do it. Well, he would try. Somewhere deep inside his twisted mind, his belie conscience told him this was a good idea. Akihiko would never be the recipient of Takahiro's devoted love. It just wasn't possible. It never would be.
As Akihiko was in deep thought, he didn't notice the plane landing. His thoughts were so deep that he hadn't even felt the rumbling of the aircraft as it hit ground and rolled to its parking destination.
The intercom was heard again, "Hello and welcome to Paris, France! I hope you enjoyed the flight", oh it was great, Akihiko thought sarcastically to himself, "It is 10:14pm and about 83° farenheit. Please watch your step as you exit the plane, and don't forget your suitcases. It was a pleasure flying with Usami-sensei and his two companions. Please enjoy your stay in France. Goodbye now."
As Hatori-san hung up, the three passengers got up to get their suitcases and walk out of the beautiful jet. They each rolled their things over to security, and then walked outside of the airport where there were loads of people waiting for taxis.
"I can't believe we're in Paris!" Hiroki said with star-struck eyes.
"Calm down, it's just a country for God's sake," Akihiko sighed as he held his hand up, as to call for a taxi. He would usually have an expensive limo with a driver waiting, but he felt it not necessary. He didn't intend on spending a large amount of time here anyways.
A small average car stopped in front of them. Apparently it was a taxi. The only thing that proved it to be one was the little plastic sign on top of the car that read 'TAXI'. Akihiko looked at it with disinclination. What a shabby little thing, he thought, but stepped into it either way. Akaiwa followed him, and Hiroki came in after. When the taxi driver finished placing their luggage in the trunk he sat back in the driver's seat. "Where to?" the man asked in English with a thick French accent. He probably spoke in English because of all the tourists. Luckily though, Akihiko was fluent in English. And because he lived in England for ten years he spoke with a British accent.
"Take us to the hotel closest to Moulin Rouge," Akihiko demanded expressionless. He would usually settle for the most expensive hotel, but he felt that he shouldn't randomly share luxuries with friends; Hiroki and Akaiwa. No. He wanted to share such things with someone special, so he would wait.
"Yes, Monsieur," and at that the driver swerved and started driving like a maniac to their stop.
Even though the drive was wild, no one could complain considering the beauty of Paris was surrounding them. The antique looking city was absolutely unique. From the buildings to the people, everything was different. Different in a very good way though.
"Ah, we are here Monsieur," the driver spoke with a smile, "the fare is €27.50."
As soon as Akihiko payed the taxi fare he got out with his luggage, along with Hiroki and Akaiwa. They looked up at the hotel to see a ten story, almost apartment looking, old and worn out building. On the hotel in big lighted letters it read 'Chambres a la Journee'. You could tell it was old, because the 'C' was hanging on a wire and the light looked like it would die out any second.
"Um, Usami-sensei, this place is kind of…disgusting," Akaiwa said.
"You're right, but it'll have to do I guess," he sighed, "Anyways, where's Moulin Rouge? He said this was the closest hotel…"
Akihiko looked around, just in case the Moulin Rouge was in site distance. When he turned away from the hotel they would be staying at, he saw a huge carnival-like building across the street. It was covered in blinking lights and painted in many different colors. Next to it, was a giant elephant decorated with Indian looking designs. It look to be a room, because it had a giant opened window where the eyes of the elephant should be. Below the almost balcony-like window, was the trunk of the huge fake elephant. It was truly a beautiful work of art. Beside the elephant was a flashy lit wind mill. In the middle of the wind mill it read 'Moulin Rouge' in bright red lights that rhythmically flashed. It was quite ironic how such a wretched hotel could be placed across such an ornate and sparkling club, such as the Moulin Rouge.
"…Hm, I guess that's it," Akihiko mumbled.
"Let's get a room so we can leave our suitcases and head to the Moulin Rouge," Akaiwa said, "Oh! And I brought you each a black and white suit with a top hat. I forgot to tell you the day we planned to come here that it's mandatory. So I just brought you both one. I'm pretty sure I got the sizes right," she said with a smile.
"It better fit me…" Hiroki growled.
"It'll fit, don't worry. I based the size on your petite figure," Akaiwa smirked.
"I AM NOT PET-"
"Would you two please continue this idiotic argument some other time?" Akihiko said while walking towards the doors of the hotel. The other two stopped what they were doing and followed suit.
After getting three rooms, they each went into their own to change into the proper attire. Once they all finished dressing they met in the lobby downstairs. Hiroki was the last to finish, therefore the last to come down to the lobby. When he arrived, Akihiko immediately started laughing. "You look like a penguin, Hiroki," Akihiko chuckled.
"Shut your damn mouth, Bakahiko! You're wearing the same thing, so you're not one to talk!"
"Hah, indeed, but I'm not short," he gave Hiroki an arrogant smirk.
At this point Hiroki's blood was practically boiling. If it weren't for Akaiwa pushing them out the door, he would have thrown any adjacent object at the conceited author. "Come on, you two. Let's just go now. The star courtesan, will be out soon! I'm almost sure you'll take him to your liking, Usami-sensei."
"Whatever," Akihiko said with no interest.
The trio walked across the narrow street to reach Moulin Rouge. It was like they stepped into another dimension. From an old, ugly hotel to an exotic French night club. They strolled past the immense elephant and blink windmill to the front doors of the Moulin Rouge. Crazy, blasting music could be heard through the doors, and a few barks of laughter and singing could also be heard.
"Well, this is it," Akaiwa said as she pushed the theatrically designed doors open.
The only thought cruising through the complicated mind of Akihiko was,
Oh boy…
A/N:
'Monsieur' means 'sir' in French.
'Chambres a la Journee' means 'rooms of the day' in French. It's the actual name of the apartment Christian stays at in the movie Moulin Rouge. I made it a hotel in this story though, because they're obviously not moving to Paris. :P
And once again, please review!