Chapter Four
"Spend the night? Gamzee I don't know…"
"Come on Tav, my parents are out for some social shit licking thing in Europe! Come over and keep a bro company." He lowered his voice a bit on the end, trying to guilt his lover into spending the night. The Makara mansion was three stories high and had more rooms than Gamzee cared to count; and it was all empty save for him and the staff.
"I guess…alright fine I'll head over in a bit. Just let me ask my parents."
"Fuck yes I'll see your ass soon!" Gamzee hung up and grinned at his phone, delighted he would be having Tavros over for the night. It sort of sounded like his best bro needed it too—Tav had sounded a little down over the phone.
Gamzee looked around his room and bit his lower lip; maybe he could tidy up a bit before Tav came over…
He contemplated calling one of the maids up, but in the end opted for shoving everything into a pile off in a corner somewhere. Just as he was finishing the door bell rang, its deep chimes echoing throughout the empty house.
Gamzee ran out of his room and down the hall, sliding down the banister just as Equius opened the door.
"Uh, hello. I'm here to see Gamzee." Tavros said as Equius stared at him like a tarnished piece of silverware.
"Tavbro!" Gamzee thrust his thin body in front of Equius and yanked his friend inside; ignoring the butlers protests about parents and rules and other stupid shit he didn't give a hoot about. "About fucking time you showed up, ready to get your slumber party on?"
"Yeah." His lips quirked upwards in a grin at Gamzee as he followed him up the grand staircase, glad to be leaving the judgmental stare of the butler behind. He personally didn't like Gamzee's house all that much. It was too big and cold, like a museum. Very beautiful; but not allowed to touch. It made Tavros feel small and clumsy, afraid of touching the delicate furniture for fear of it breaking. And the servants, bowing at him and asking to take his coat, just made him even more on edge. He felt out of place and everything about the Makara Manner screamed you don't belong here, peasant! Get out! The house even had its own elevator for crying out loud. Even Gamzee's room felt a little awkward, with the large double doors leading inside, the four poster bed, more space than Tavros' own living room, expensive furniture and a door leading to a rather impressive bathroom for a teenager.
But Gamzee was there. Which made it a little easier to handle.
The door was shut behind them and Gamzee immediately turned to him, all smiles, "Bro I have the most wicked night planned! We can watch movies and eat popcorn and get our snuggle on and nobody will bother us."
One of the plus sides about Gamzee's house; nobody dared walk in on the younger Makara. The staff never interrupted them, which made it a bit safer for their relationship.
"Sounds great." Tavros grinned and followed Gamzee to his bed, both of them curling up together under the fluffy covers and turning on the TV that hung from the wall in front of them. Gamzee had already put the movie in previously, so they leaned back and started it.
Gamzee wrapped his arms around Tavros and settled in for their movie.
Nepeta smiled as she inhaled the scent of freshly washed sheets and resisted the urge to bury her face in the mound of warm purple in her arms. She was still learning, but Equius seemed to think that she was capable enough to make the Makara's beds. These sheets were for Gam—the Young Master. It was improper to call him by his given name…She liked the Young Master, even though she'd barely met him. He had interesting sheets, unlike his parents boring (but expensive) Egyptian cotton sheets with a thread count so high it made Nepeta's head spin.
Humming, she made her way up the polished marble staircase, her little black shoes tapping away cheerfully. The standard issued maid uniform was a little strange, but it was a lot better than what her last employer had forced her to wear. This uniform was clean, ironed, and covered everything.
Smiling, she walked along the hallway to the Young Master's room, her small hand wrapping around the handle and pushing the door open.
The Makara's were on vacation, Equius had said.
Apparently he hadn't meant the Young Master.
The Young Master was on top of another man, their mouths firmly locked together as the other man's hands were deep in the Young Master's pants. A low moan came from the youngest Makara, and he broke the kiss and pushed his hips down eagerly into his friend's hands. They didn't seem to notice Nepeta, who was frozen in place, as the stranger in the Young Master's bed did something unseen that made the Young Master arch his back and cry out softly, his body trembling as his hands gripped the stranger's shoulders.
Nepeta swallowed and took a step back, then another one, only for her shoe to hit something that let out a rather affronted 'HONK!'.
Instantly the two young men's heads snapped up, lust clearing from their faces as they locked eyes with the maid. The stranger yanked his hands out of the Young Master's pants, his expression horrified. The Young Master stared at Nepeta, and then slowly got off his friend, "Nepeta?"
He moved towards her, and she reacted.
Turning around sharply, Nepeta bolted out of the room, tearing off down the hall with a speed even she didn't know she possessed. Footsteps came from behind her, gaining fast, and she dropped the sheets in favor of leaping down the polished marble steps. Her foot slipped and she fell, stumbling down the last two stairs and hitting the ground hard. Looking up, she saw the Young Master hurrying down the stairs after her.
Fear rose up inside her and a sob caught in her throat. The marks from her last employer, unseen beneath this modest uniform, stung in memory of the last time she'd walked in on something she wasn't supposed to see. Scrambling to her feet, she took off once again, panic making her run faster as she streaked through the halls. He was still behind her, gaining, she could practically hear the sounds of him striking her for her insolence.
Someone was at the end of this corridor, someone Nepeta's mind instantly associated with protection. With one last burst of speed she flew down the hall, her arms stretching out desperately towards the startled Head of Staff.
Equius barely had time to brace himself before the newest maid slammed into him, surprisingly solid for such a petite woman. He stumbled backwards as she twisted herself around him, placing him between her and whatever was chasing her. Equius looked up, ready to give quite a lecture to however was chasing this woman around, only to balk when he saw who it was, "Young Master?"
Gamzee, panting loudly, had his gaze fixated on Nepeta.
She was shaking violently, clinging to Equius and barely visible from behind his muscle. But when Nepeta risked a glance at the Young Master, she was shocked to find his expression neutral—if a little winded.
"What's going on here?"
Silence followed Equius' question, and Gamzee's expression morphed into a silent plea.
Why was he looking at her like that? Nepeta stared blankly back at him, her shaking slowly ebbing away as she realized her terror had been unnecessary. Gamzee wasn't going to beat her. He rather looked like he thought she was about to beat him!
"Nepeta?" Equius asked, trying to twist around to see why she was still cowering behind him.
"…I…I dropped Gamzee's sheets." Nepeta said in a small voice.
Gratitude bloomed over Gamzee's face before he carefully schooled his features, "Yeah, I was just trying to help her get that shit sorted. Gave me and Tavbro a motherfucking heart attack when she walked in."
"That's what this is about?" Equius asked, looking at the fear slowly draining from Nepeta's wide eyes.
"Yep." Gamzee said, straightening up and shoving his hands in his pockets with a lazy grin, "Well I best be off. Sorry I scared you, Nep." He smiled apologetically at her and then walked off quickly, glancing over his shoulder once before disappearing around the corner.
Equius waited until he was gone before turning to Nepeta, "Are you alright?"
"I…yes." She said in a small voice.
"…would you mind releasing my jacket?"
Nepeta looked down and realized she had her hands balled up in Equius' tailored black jacket. She quickly released it and clasped her hands together, trying to hide the tremors. That…that had really scared her. Not so much what she'd seen just…the Young Master coming after her had reawakened some less than pleasant memories.
Spotting Nepeta's trembling hands, Equius sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder, steering her further down the hall with him, "Come along, I'll take you to the kitchens. You can have a hot drink and settle down. I'll deal with the sheets."
His broad hand on her shoulder helped calm her down a bit; the warmth was strangely reassuring. He took her to a room filled with gleaming silver appliances and sat her down at a small table. "Ms. Paint?"
Nepeta frowned in confusion, and then looked around as a woman emerged from the cloud of steam by the stove.
"Yes deary? Oh hello Equius! It's so rare to see you down here!" Ms. Paint turned out to be a short, plump cook with big dark eyes and a small round face. Her hair was golden and framed her face in a neat bob. Instead of wearing a simple white cooking uniform, hers was an eclectic collection of pink, blue, yellow and green strips of fabric, all sewn together to create a rather bright, cheery apron.
"Hello, Ms. Paint. This is Nepeta." Equius said briskly, and Nepeta smiled from behind him.
"Oh yes the new girl! Hello sweetie, how're you settling in?" Ms. Paint asked, smiling warmly at her.
"Oh, fine. Thank you." Nepeta said, shuffling her feet under her chair.
"A cup of tea, Ms. Paint, if you don't mind." Equius asked, though there was a level of politeness in his tone that Nepeta hadn't heard before when he addressed other servants.
"Of course deary, wait just a tick!" She then was off, bustling about merrily as she put the kettle on the stove and picked up a box with strange marks on it. It turned out to hold tea leaves, and soon Nepeta was behind handed a mug of freshly brewed tea.
Equius made his excuses and left, but not before giving Nepeta a once over to make sure she was really alright. Once he left, Nepeta felt rather small in the big kitchen with her cup of tea.
"So sweetie, you like it here just fine? Everyone been nice to you?" Ms. Paint asked, settling down in a chair across from Nepeta and smiling at her.
"Yes, it's a lot nicer than where I used to work." Nepeta said softly, taking a sip of her tea and finding it delicious.
"If you don't mind me asking, sweetie, what's your last name?"
"Leijon."
"Leijon…" Ms. Paint frowned slightly, "that's a rather nice family name, deary. I hope you don't think I'm too forward, but what's a middle class girl like you doing here? It's a lovely place to work, but except for Equius, it's mostly served by the lower classes."
Nepeta swallowed another mouthful of tea and set her mug down, "My family…has money troubles." That was the way she crafted her answer each time someone asked. Ms. Paint was right; it was weird for a middle class girl to be working in an upper class home. Not unheard of, just not common. What was common was for the lower classes to be the servants and have one or two upper middleclass servants to flaunt before your guests. But, money troubles were also a common thing. So nobody would ask twice if Nepeta said her father had a gambling problem and she was trying to support his habit. It wasn't necessarily a lie. It just wasn't the whole truth.
"Ah, I understand sweetie, say no more." Ms. Paint replied sympathetically, and Nepeta gave her a tiny smile.
See? It worked every time.
By this point Nepeta was feeling fine again, if a little embarrassed about her little episode, and she set down her empty mug, "Ms. Paint, do you mind if I ask you about the Young Master?"
"What about him?" Ms. Paint asked, her tone neutral.
Nepeta chewed on her lower lip, "I only met him once, and I was just wondering…" she trailed off. She couldn't just ask about something like that. So she chose another question off the top of her head, "How is he? As a Young Master, that is?"
Ms. Paint chuckled and stood, taking Nepeta's mug to the sink and washing it out, "Oh he's a lovely little boy. He used to play in the kitchens when he was a wee thing. Used to hide in the cupboards and scare the soul out of me. Sometimes he'd sit with me, between meals, and we'd play a game of cards or have tea. He's a very kind boy, Ms. Leijon, treats everyone as though they're equal to him. That's why it's good to work at the Makara Manor, Ms. Leijon. But take my word of advice; stay away from the Heads of the Family. Some apples don't fall far from the tree, but in the Young Master's case he isn't even an apple."
"Then what is he?"
But Ms. Paint just smiled mysteriously and winked at her.