I know I said I'd wait until I got 5 reviews but the few reviews I got were so wonderful and made me so happy that I'm updating anyway.
And I know it's been quite a while since I updated. But with the holiday season here I've been a little busy and pretty soon I'll be in Florida for Christmas and New Years, so I won't be able to update while I'm there.
Anyways, enough of my rambling, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Welcome to the Moulin Rouge
Once Arthur woke up again, he was feeling as good as new, like the fainting incident never happened. So Kiku brushed it off. For now. While the party still raged on in the grand hall, the small Asian man was in Arthur's private dressing room helping the star get ready for his meeting with the Duke.
"The Duke seemed to really like you. With a patron like him, you could be the next Sarah Bernhardt."
Sarah Bernhardt was a famous French actress, said to be the most famous in the entire world at the time. Arthur even had a picture of her in the corner of his vanity mirror. She was a more than worthy role model for any aspiring actor or actress.
"Oh Kiku, you really think I can be like the great Sarah?"
"Why not? You've got the talent and with the help from that Duke, you'll be lighting up the great stages of Europe."
The thought that this could be his big chance to become a great actor like that made him the happiest he thought he could be. His time was finally coming, he would be a real actor on stage and not a night club entertainer. He would soon fly away from it all.
For the first time since Arthur's accident earlier, Francis came backstage to see how his little sparrow was, his face full of concern.
"Angelterre, is everything alright?"
"Oh yes, of course. Just a little fainting spell, that's all." Arthur glanced at Francis in the mirror while he finished his make-up.
"Excellent!" It didn't take much convincing for him to trust the other was alright. Besides, he looked fine now, not pale or wobbly at all. "You certainly had that Duke wrapped around your little finger on the dance floor."
Arthur finally turned around to face the Frenchman, hands on his hips. "How do I look?"
Francis had an inner battle going trying to keep his own hands off his star all the time, and this time was no different. "How could he possibly resist devouring you at the sight? Everything's going so well!" The Duke was practically in the palms of their hands.
In the garden of the Moulin Rouge stood a huge wooden elephant, inside of which Alfred stood waiting for Arthur to finish changing. He fidgeted in his spot, facing the window and trying to enjoy the wonderful view. But his mind was elsewhere. He was no longer worried about Arthur's well-being, if he was coming to meet with him still then he must be alright, but now he was more nervous than ever about winning his approval on his poetry. He was pulled from his thoughts when a voice spoke up from behind him.
"This is a wonderful place for a poetry reading."
Alfred turned around to face his host. He went red-faced, surprised by his ensemble. Alfred took in his appearance starting at his feet and slowly his eyes worked their way up. Arthur wore silver heals and fishnet tights, black panties with a matching corset, and a long black lace robe with angel sleeves. "Don't you agree?"
For the second time that night Alfred was so dazed by the courtesan that he barely heard what he had said. So just like last time he breathed out a "yes". But no matter how much he enjoyed Arthur's outfit, he couldn't help but think it was a little strange for the occasion.
Outside, Gilbert and company decided to look in on their new American friend. They climbed up one by one up the elephant's rope tail.
"Would you like something to eat? Or some champagne?" Arthur asked as he walked to the table with the food and ice bucket, turning his back to the other. Arthur wasn't just a common whore, he wasn't one to fuck and be done. He liked to set up the mood, work his way into the sex, treat it more like a date than just a booty call. But this time, even though he had done it plenty of times before, he was a little anxious. This was a big client and his whole future depended on how well he 'performed' tonight.
But Alfred was too nervous to take things slow. Especially since he didn't know what Arthur's intentions were. "I'd rather just get it over and done with."
"...Alright." Looks like the Duke didn't need to create a mood to get himself going. At least Arthur hoped that's why he was in a slight rush instead of it being something he was doing wrong. So Arthur sat on the bed and leaned back on his elbows, dropping his voice down to smooth and seductive. "Then why don't you come down here and we'll get it over and done with?"
Alfred, still oblivious as to why Arthur was acting so...sexy, stayed where he was. He stood awkwardly and wrung his hands together. "I prefer to do it standing," he said, still referring to poetry reading. Arthur of course thought that 'poetry reading' was some sort of code he was using for fucking, since there were so many people around when they were talking earlier. Now, he had had sex standing up before so it wasn't really anything new to him. But when he started to stand back up, Alfred interupted him. "You don't have to stand, too. It's pretty long and I want you to be comfortable."
Okay that worried Arthur a little. He briefly glanced down to Alfred's crotch, trying to imagine just how big he was. Was it really so long that he had to warn him? Had it been a problem for him in the past?
Alfred continued, "What I do is very modern and it may seem strange at first, but I think that if you're open then you might enjoy it."
Alright Arthur was a little scared now, but he didn't show it on his face. He let out a slightly awkward laugh. "I'm sure I will..."
Alfred paced around the room a little, trying to shake off his nervousness and wracking his brain for the right words. "The sky is...is..." It wasn't helping that every time he looked over at Arthur on the bed he was posed just about as sexily as he could be. So he turned his back to him and tried to concentrate. "Come on, come on," he whispered to himself.
Arthur arched his back and let out a couple moans trying to catch the American's attention. But when that didn't work he sat up. "Is everything alright?"
"Um...I'm just a little nervous...Sometimes it takes a while for...inspiration to come."
It seemed to Arthur that Alfred was having a little trouble getting it up. He appeared to be a bit too young to have that kind of problem though. But Arthur knew how to handle such a thing. He stood up and moved over to the 'Duke'.
"Oh, I get it. Let me help you with that~" The Englishman took hold of the slight bulge in the other's pants, eliciting a gasp from him. "Does that inspire you?" Without waiting to hear the answer, Arthur pushed Alfred onto the bed, deciding to take things into his own hands. Literally. "Let's make love."
"Make love?" Alfred was so confused. When did a poetry reading turn into sex? It just seemed so sudden and out of nowhere to Alfred. Before he knew it, Arthur had climbed on top of him, straddling his waist.
"You want to, don't you? You couldn't take your eyes off me while I performed."
"Well...yeah, but..." Alfred believed that sex should be reserved for those in love. And well...Alfred had never been in love. "I came to-" Arthur didn't let the other finish speaking and instead ground against him, drawing out moans and gasps. Arthur ran his hands down Alfred's chest and stomach until he reached the top of his pants.
"No, tell the truth. Can't you feel the poetry?"
Gilbert and the others had climbed to the top of the elephant. Vash, Feliks, and Antonio held the albino by his feet and lowered him hanging upside down by the window. When Gilbert was able to see the couple inside he held a thumbs up to his friends hanging him down.
When Arthur got Alfred's pants open, to the writer's horror, he gaped for a few seconds at how huge the American really was. "Big boy..." It was wasted on a virgin, really.
Gilbert covered his mouth in shock before looking up at his friends and yelling, "He's got a huge talent!"
Arthur moaned out as he rubbed against the other. "Give me your poetry, now!"
"Alright!" Alfred pushed Arthur onto his back and quickly rolled off the bed himself, fixing his pants before standing up. "It's a little bit funny."
Arthur raised an eyebrow in confusion, sitting up and pushing his hair back as he panted lightly. "What?"
"This...f-feeling inside. I'm not one of those who can easily hide. Is this...is this okay? Is this what you want?"
Oh. By poetry he must have meant some sort of dirty story. "Ohhh, yes. Yes, this is what I want, naughty words." The Briton laid on his back again and giggled.
"I don't have much money..."
Arthur ran his hands down his own body and let out little laughs and moans as Alfred spoke. "Oh yes!"
"But boy if I did, I'd buy a big house where we both...could live."
"It's so good!"
"If I were a sculptor...but then again, no. Or a man who makes potions at a traveling show."
Arthur rolled onto the floor and wrapped himself up in some blankets. "Yes, don't stop! Give me more!" Arthur knew it was ridiculous and that what the other was saying wasn't dirty at all. But he thought this was what Alfred wanted.
However, Alfred was having a hard time concentrating with the way Arthur was acting. He was wondering what mental problem the courtesan had. "I know it's not much...but it's the best I can do."
"Oh naughty! Don't stop! Yes!"
Alfred couldn't take it anymore. He wasn't even sure the other was listening to what he was saying anymore. So he turned to the window. Just like before, when no one would listen to him, when speaking failed, he sang.
"My gift is my song!"
Immediately Arthur stopped and sat up, looking at Alfred with surprise. On the roof, Gilbert and the others, who were all having a drink, stopped to listen as well. Alfred, happy that there was finally some silence, turned back to the Englishman.
"And this one's for you. And you can tell everybody that this is your song."
Arthur's act crumbled and he was stunned by Alfred's voice.
"It may be quite simple, but now that it's done. Hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is now you're in the world." Alfred turned back to the window, walking closer to it. Behind him, Arthur stood up from his spot on the floor. "Sat on the roof, and I kicked off the moss. Well, some of these verses, well, they...they got me quite cross." He turned back to Arthur and smiled. "But the sun's been kind while I wrote this song. It's for people like you that keep it turned on." And Arthur couldn't help but genuinely smile back.
"So excuse me forgetting," Alfred took Arthur hand and led him to the window. "But these things I do. You see, I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue. Anyway, the thing is...what I really mean...yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen!" Alfred spun the other around, leading him in a dance.
Alfred's song seemed to paint a picture. They were dancing on clouds and it rained glitter. The moon shone down on them like a spotlight and the stars twinkled brightly. Alfred jumped onto the top of the Eiffel Tower, singing out loudly.
"And you can tell everybody this is your song! It may be quite simple, but now that it's done."
Gilbert and friends howled at the moon and raised their glasses, feeling quite successful with the way things are going.
Arthur spun back to Alfred, his long robe swirling the clouds around him.
"Hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind that I put down in words how wonderful life is...now you're in the world!" He held the last note as he and Arthur spun in the clouds together.
"Looks like he got the job!" Gilbert yelled.
When Alfred's song finished, they were back in the elephant. Alfred held Arthur in his arms, dipping him back. Said Briton had his arms wrapped around the taller one's neck, a dreamy look in his eyes. "I can't believe it...I'm in love," Arthur whispered. "I'm in love with a young, handsome, talented duke."
The smile on Alfred's face didn't move. He just enjoyed the feeling of bliss around them. "Duke?"
"Mmm, not that the title is important, of course."
"I'm not a duke."
"Not a duke?"
"I'm a writer," Alfred said, slightly confused. Didn't Arthur know that's why he was here?
Arthur had just been about to kiss Alfred. But hearing Alfred's words, the mood around them suddenly turned sour. "What? A writer?" The Englishman frowned.
"Yes, a writer."
"No!" Arthur pulled himself from Alfred's arms, dropping his act completely now that he knew this man wasn't the duke he was trying so hard for. "Bloody hell, a writer?!"
"Gilbert said-"
"Gilbert? Oh, no...You're not another one of Gilbert's oh-so-talented, charmingly bohemian, tragically impoverished proteges?"
Alfred chuckled a little. "You might say that, yeah."
"Oh, fuck!" Alfred's smile dropped. "I'm going to kill him," threatened Arthur. "I'm going to kill him!"
Gilbert had been watching from the window again. He looked back to his friends holding him up. "I think there might be a small hitch."
"How small?" Antonio questioned.
"I might die."
"Gilbert told me-"
Arthur made his way to the door. "What about the Duke?" He opened the door. And right outside was Francis talking to Ivan, the real Duke. Arthur panicked and shut the door again. "The Duke!"
"The Duke?" Alfred hadn't a clue who the Duke was or why Arthur was so hysterical.
"Hide!" Arthur ordered, making his way back to the confused writer. "Out the back-" But before Alfred could leave, the door opened again. Arthur quickly shoved Alfred behind him, the American getting down on his knees and hiding under the courtesan's robe. Because that totally wasn't obvious. But somehow their new guests didn't notice him, so it would do for now. Arthur took a second to compose himself.
"My dear? Are you decent for the Duke? Where were you?"
When Alfred tried to take a peak at the Duke, Arthur smacked his cheek with his thigh. "I was waiting." Arthur backed up to the table so Alfred could hide behind it instead.
"My dear Ivan, let me introduce Mademoiselle Arthur Kirkland." Arthur always hated when Francis called him that, but he had to suck it up in front of the Duke.
"Mmm, how wonderful of you to take time out of your busy schedule to visit." Arthur turned his head slightly to see Alfred had hidden behind the table like he wanted.
"The pleasure is all mine, da?"
"I'll leave you two to get better acquainted," Francis said before leaving.
Ivan took Arthur's hand and kissed the top. "A kiss on the hand may be quite continental," he quoted Arthur's song.
The Briton giggled. "But diamonds are a girl's best friend."
Ivan couldn't help but laugh, too. Arthur took the Duke's top hat and sat on the bed. "I'm sure after your performance you must be thirsty." Before Ivan could turn to the table Alfred was hiding by, Arthur jumped up and yelled, "DON'T- you...just...love the view?" He tried to save himself, gesturing to the window.
The Russian Duke raised an eyebrow. "Da." When he went to turn again, Arthur tried to distract him by dancing. "Actually the performance just got me excited, I feel like dancing!" Instead of finding a way to get out, Alfred poked his head out and watched Arthur dance. Ivan started to turn for a third time. "I'd actually like a glass of-"
Arthur stopped his show and reached a hand out to stop him. "No!" Startled by Arthur's cry, Alfred ducked down again. "It's...it's a little bit funny."
"What is?" Ivan asked, generally curious.
"This..." While Ivan's back was turned, Alfred peaked up again, mouthing the words to Arthur. "Feeling...inside...I'm not one of those who can easily...hide!" At this moment Alfred accidentally knocked something off the table. He quickly ducked down before Ivan could see him when he finally turned to see what the crashing noise was.
"No!" Arthur yelled, diving down to his knees by Ivan's feet. Ivan turned back to Arthur, surprised by him hanging onto his legs as if he were begging for his life. "I don't have much money! But if I did, oh, I'd buy a big house where we both could live." Arthur glanced over to Alfred then at the door, silently telling him to go now. He looked back up at Ivan.
"I hope you don't mind," Arthur sang. "I hope you don't mind that I put down in words," He slowly made his way back up, his hands running up Ivan's body as he went. Behind the Duke, Alfred slowly rose, too.
Arthur looked into Ivan's eyes, glancing to Alfred only once. "How wonderful life is...now you're in...the world."
Something in Ivan sparked. "That is very beautiful," he whispered, feeling that bliss that Arthur felt when Alfred sang it to him.
"It's from Spectacular Spectacular. Suddenly with you here, I finally understood the true meaning of those words." Arthur wrapped his arms around the Duke's neck, pointing to the door for Alfred to see. Alfred carefully made his way to the entrance, opening the door as quietly as he could. But to his horror, he saw a tall and scary looking Swedish man standing in the hall.
"And...what meaning is that?" Alfred decided he couldn't go out that way and closed the door not so quietly. "No!" Arthur cried out, trying to cover up the sound of the door shutting. Alfred was so startled that he made a dive for a corner of the room, partially hiding behind some drapes. Ivan was going to look at the door, but was quickly distracted by Arthur's outburst. The courtesan fell onto the bed, hiding his face in a pillow and making weeping sounds. Before Ivan could question why he was crying, Arthur sat back up and pointed an accusing finger at him. "Duke! Don't you toy with my emotions! You...You must know the effect you have on me!"
Ivan was highly confused. He was happy Arthur felt so strongly about him, but also surprised at the same time. Surprised he was being so open about it so quickly that is. He was even more surprised when Arthur pulled him down on top of him. "Let's make love!"
Alfred was surprised to see that Arthur's act was just like when he was in Ivan's position. So Arthur really was just acting before.
"Make love?" Sure that's what Ivan came here to do, but he didn't expect it to happen so fast. Arthur pulled him close, his arms around him. Behind Ivan's back Arthur was waving at Alfred to get out. Arthur moaned out loudly. "Oh yes! You want to make love, don't you?" Alfred made his way to the back but stopped near the window. He looked back at Arthur, jealousy filling him. Arthur looked over and mouthed to him, "Get out of here or he'll kill you!" But when Alfred didn't make a move to leave, Arthur rolled his eyes.
"Yes, you're right. We should wait until opening night!"
"Wait?" Ivan didn't like that idea. Alfred however nodded in approval at the idea and hid behind the curtains. Arthur sat up, pushing the Duke up as well, pushing him to the door. "But I just got here."
"No no, we must wait. I'll keep in touch." Arthur opened the door and pushed Ivan out, shutting the door behind him. With the Duke now gone, Arthur turned back to Alfred who came out of hiding. The Briton was panting from the exertion of his performance, trying to take calming breaths.
"Do you have any idea...any idea what would have happened...if you were found?" Arthur breathed heavily, finding it difficult to take in air. He felt dizzy and light headed, the room began to spin. His vision blurred until everything went black.
Yay! Finally done with this chapter! I was going to make it longer but I really wanted to get it out before Christmas and I wasn't so sure how much time I'd have with holiday baking and packing for travelling would take up.
Well I didn't get into the college I applied to. That was pretty upsetting. So I'll need to take remedial classes to get my GPA up and try again. Stay in school kids, don't be stupid like I was.
Anyways, I know I'm updating this one kinda slow, but stay with me on this! I will finish it no matter how long it takes. Till next time!
Review please!
