Chapter 4: Crashing the Party
Author's notes:
Hi there everyone, it's finally Christmas!:D And that means looots of eating, drinking and lazying about with family, but also extra writing time for me!:) So here's the next chapter, it's meant to be the climax of scandal in Eos :P My sincere thanks to loly66 from Livejournal for suggesting this great idea of Riki crashing Iason's Christmas party!:) So I hope everyone who reads this will enjoy this little extra present!:D
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opening theme: Chris Rea – Driving Home for Christmas
= the song Riki is singing an adapted version of
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How dare that pompous Tanaguran ass use Ceres' own customs against me like this! What the fuck's up with this anyways, I thought this sick bastard was done with me?! Riki simply did not know what to make of it, and despite his hostile line of thought a part of him could not help but be excited about this unexpected present. Never in all his life had he expected Iason Mink, of all people, to send him a Christime present or to even understand the concept of gift exchange. For someone like Iason Mink everything in this world was for sale and everything therefore also had its price. Meaning poor people owned nothing and rich people owned everything, including – if they so desired – the poor people apparently. A concept like owing somebody or giving somebody a present was completely foreign to him, that had been clear enough the first time Riki had met the cold-hearted elite. He had seemed genuinely surprised when Riki pursued him after he had neglected to sell him out to the cops. And later at the lovehotel he had expressed how he considered Riki's payment to be hush money, demonstrating how he did not understand that Riki's payment was more like a way of thanking him than shutting him up. Although arguably any opportunity to shut up the blonde obsessive freak had to be grasped with both hands.
So apparently he's been thinking about me all this time, why else would he have even bothered to come up with a stunt like this? Just you wait, you bloody blonde piece of elite! Truth be told, Riki had to admit that he had not seen this one coming, not in a million years. Somehow that beautiful, snotty bastard always managed to catch him off-guard, there was simply no telling what that devious, witty mind would come up with next. If that asshole thought he could keep on just harassing Riki like that and challenge him without a response he was sorely mistaken! So Iason liked Christime surprises, huh? Riki would give him one all right! The best way to fight fire… is with fire! I'll give his pretty, perfect ass a bloody inferno he won't forget in a long time! And while he was at it he might also try to figure out what in the hell was going on between the two of them. Was it merely the elite trying to pick on a lowlife nobody just for fun? The longer this whole thing with the elite lasted, the more Riki began to think that something other than just that had to be at work here…
While all of these confused thoughts flashed through Riki's head he was speeding along Orange Road at a mileage that was not acceptable even on such a huge and busy highway. He flew right past any red lights, almost causing an accident on several occasions and earning him a lot of angry honking and "Are you completely nuts, you stupid mutt?!"-exclamations.
All of a sudden, while racing through the overwhelmingly chaotic messy myriad of colours, sounds and other stimuli that was Mistral Park traffic, Riki was reminded of an old Christime song that he and Guy used to sing around this time of year. One they would race to each year when they were younger and more careless, and still a couple without complications. Almost without thinking, Riki started loudly roaring that song while the distant outer buildings of Tanagura came closer and closer. "I'm driving home for Christime, hell I'm moving down that line! And it's been so fucking long but I'll get there! Oooh I got the red lights on the run, but I'm driving home for Christime, yeah! Get my feet on holy fucked-up ground! So I sing for you, loud so YOU CAN HEAR ME! When I get through and…", Riki became a bit unsettled as he passed into Tanagura and could already spot the threatening sparkly peak that was Eos Tower in the distance despite the heavy snow-fall. "… and I feel you near me." It felt almost as if those icy arctic pools of bright blue were already resting on him and saw him coming from the heights of that cursed prison tower Riki had spent all those years in, all his humanity stripped from him along with his clothes and honour. I'll be damned if I let him degrade me like this again without serious "consequences"! I'm coming to bring you a present of my very own, Iason Mink, and you'll accept it whether you like it or not!
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It was nearing the official starting time of Iason Mink's renowned annual Jupiter Mass party and while Cal was running around like a nervous flurry of champagne flutes and tasteful, delicate-looking appetizers, the first elite guests were already arriving. After doing a final inspection of all of the celebration preparations – including several huge, loaded banquet tables and a shining pyramid of champagne-filled crystal glasses – the elegant host started moving towards the hallway to welcome his guests. He did not move in a hurry of course, as Iason Mink was never in a hurry, he was always perfectly calm and composed and nothing unexpected ever occurred during his decadent yet elegant, perfectly organised party. As he approached his guests, Raoul noticed how Iason had dressed rather unusually colourful for the occasion. Rather than his usual snowy pristine and therefore cold aloof white ensemble, Iason was wearing black close-fitted rather sexy leggings which truly showed off the slim shape of his long legs, shiny gold nearly knee-high boots that accentuated the golden shine of his divine blonde hair and an almost painfully bright red open tunic, under which he wore a white classy shirt with an elegant sash. Of course each and every item Iason's outfit consisted out of was not only perfectly acceptable for an elite of his class in Tanagura but also of the finest quality. However the way Iason had combined the different items of clothing and the unusually bright colour of the tunic – especially as opposed to his usual all-white look – made him stand out even more than any one of the artfully decorated pine trees in the room.
After Iason had graciously and politely greeted his esteemed guests – all Blondies like himself although several prominent elite from slighty lower classes would also be attending this gathering – Raoul discretely gestured that he would like to speak to him alone for a moment.
"Are your best wishes of such a personal kind that they require such a private setting that you would take me away from my newly arrived guests, Raoul?", the icy yet vibrantly coloured host of the party inquired with a slightly arched perfectly fair eyebrow. "Honestly, Iason, I do realise that your young furniture is under a lot of pressure during these busy days, especially with his limited experience in the organisation of high-class events as your annual party. However I do feel the youth has been rather haphazard and not very tactful in his selection of items of clothing for this evening…"
As Raoul spoke Iason's bright blue gaze moved back towards the snowy window, almost as if a sixth sense had informed him that there was something worthy of his notice to observe in the direction of Orange Road in Mistral Park. "Iason?", Raoul tried again.
"I apologise my friend, I am afraid I was temporarily distracted from your undoubtedly very interesting line of conversation. You were saying?"
"About the rather extravagant clothing your furniture has selected?" Iason looked towards Cal, who almost tripped over one of the decorative trees while running around balancing heavily-loaded trays when he noticed his Master's eyes on his form.
"I do not see anything even remotely reminiscent of such a terminology, Raoul. My furniture has not seen fit to wear anything out of the ordinary for this event, I believe. Do you perhaps feel he should have made himself appear more aesthetically pleasing?" Iason had always considered functionality and loyalty to be more important than looks in a furniture, but he knew that Raoul – being a pet geneticist – paid more attention to such matters with his own furniture.
"That is not what I meant, Iason. What I meant to say is…", all of a sudden those bright green eyes slightly widened and he seized his speech mid-sentence at the realisation that his questioning of style did not in fact apply to his friend's furniture but rather to his friend himself.
Iason caught on quickly to what it was Raoul was implying, having known the rather facially expressive elite for a long time and following the direction of his gaze towards Iason's own form. "Why Raoul, such a questioning is truly unusual. Is it not you who always has such a preference for rather extravagant colours, my friend?", Iason chuckled while gesturing to Raoul's current lilac and gold ensemble.
"What I mean to say is that it is not in your habit to display yourself in such a fashion, Iason. Probably also because there is no need at all for it, as a more modest style serves to better accentuate your natural features", Raoul turned his aristocratic face – which would be blushing had that not been impossible for an android face - slightly away from Iason's and lowered his voice in an attempt to make his statements sound less probing.
"Why seeing as how tonight's party is supposed to be a celebration, it seemed only fitting to me that I would wear something a bit more… lively… for the occasion", Iason responded, as he managed to grab a flute of champagne from the wildly moving tray Cal was still carrying around while looking around, worrying that he had forgotten to attend to an important last-minute preparation for the party.
"Surely more lively does not necessarily imply less… Never mind. I apologize, my friend, it is not my place to question such matters", Raoul used the opportunity of observing another group of newly arrived elite to temporarily turn his gaze away again from Iason's supposedly too-extravagant outfit.
"Less…? Please, Raoul, if you actually bother to express any such personal concerns regarding my appearance, do see it through all the way", Iason responded, a wickedly witty twinkling appearing in his bright blue eyes, making them appear more like a restless ocean than a serene glacier. But this apparently escaped Raoul's notice, as he continued to apologise without actually stating what it was he had almost said and thus needed to apologise for.
As more elite came towards them to greet their Head of the Syndicate, Iason's eyes only sparkled with even more of such subtle mirth, as all of his fellow elites' eyes were immediately both drawn to and apparently slightly disturbed by the bright colour of his attire. After this a more thorough inspection of his appearance occurred, during which the combination of the tight black leggings and the not especially long tunic that only came about mid-thigh led to his guests stumbling over their words and in some cases even outright forgetting what it was they were going to compliment him on. Looks like this year's party is not going to be as boring as I was expecting after all.
If only he knew just how unexpected things were about to become during this elitist celebration….
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As Riki's hoverbike approached the monumental, marble staircase that led up to the main entrance of Eos Tower he did not even slow down and raced straight in, not bothering with the elevator and just ignoring the security guards that started chasing him, he aimed the nose of his bike straight up and flew vertically along the transparent glass elevator shafts until he reached the top floor, where his former Master's penthouse was located.
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As the evening proceeded and the conversations between the elite endlessly went on in a way that very nicely camouflaged how the conversations were really about nothing at all, Iason's attention continuously strayed from the speaker's utterings to his own thoughts on his mongrel. I wonder if he has actually understood what I am implying with the "present" I have sent him. Unless he has settled for selling it? Although I must wonder what Midas idiot would be stupid enough to purchase such an object.
"…. the whole notion of Jupiter Mass going back on any tradition other than the glorification of our great deity is simply preposterous. And an Earthen tradition to boot, well, the chances of that are close to nothing. Would you not agree, Lord Mink?", Gideon Lagat spoke while he turned towards his host and used the momentary moment of silence to elegantly nip at his champagne glass.
"Actually I have heard said rumour before on many a dealing with several of Amoy's other city-states, and I've recently come to believe that it must at the very least contain a partial truth." After that all of the elite in the group were momentarily tongue-tied, as Lord Lagat had been spending the better part of the last half hour building up his argument on how Jupiter Mass going back on an Earthen tradition was entirely impossible. But of course Iason, whose mind had been in Ceres with his beloved Riki that entire time, was not even aware of this.
"Why yes, the whole point of a rumour is of course that several independent utterances are made over a certain period of time. However that does not mean that there is any truth to the matter at all, probably someone who was jealous of Tanagura's thriving economy just constructed this out of his own imagination in order to make it appear as if we owed at least part of our great culture to such a backwater planet as Earth", Lagat continued as if entirely undisturbed by Iason's clear disagreement.
"I am positive that there is more at work in this case than mere rumour brought on by those among who Tanagura is unpopular, Gideon. Seeing as how Tanagura is not the only place descended from the original Abyss crew that still honours such a tradition at this time." Again all the elite in the room stared as if momentarily struck by lightning. What other place could Lord Mink possibly be referring to? Surely he must, as everybody else of any education, know that all of the other city-states except Midas, which was practically a part of Tanagura and had no celebrations that could in any way be distinguished from the Jupiter Mass ones in Tanagura, had been founded by off-worlders who had not originated from Earth?
"With all due respect, Lord Mink, but might I inquire which Amoyan city-state it is you are referring to, where there ought to be celebrations of this sort as well?" Orphe Zavi cut in, trying to resolve Lord Lagat's growing tension after being so bluntly disregarded in his well-constructed argument and being called by his first name at a public gathering at that.
"Why I would not go as far as to call it a city-state, for I do believe it is neither large nor economically prosperous enough for such a label…", Iason continued, purposely goading on his fellow elite, who were becoming more agitated by every second this near-argument with Lord Lagat went on. After having patiently taken the time to get himself another glass of champagne and calmly drinking approximately half of it, their host finally continued his clarification. "It has recently reached my ear, from a former household employee of mine, that apparently there is a celebration in Area 9 at the exact same time as Jupiter Mass that, by some residents there, is also believed to go back on the Earthen tradition. Therefore it would only be logical to deduce that both celebrations ought to go back on the same tradition."
"Area 9? You mean to say that this lowly scum have seen fit to just take a Tanaguran tradition and twist it to their own petty needs?"
"Oh no, quite the contrary, my dear Gideon. It seems to me that Ceres has continued the Earthen tradition for a very long time even after Tanagura had taken it and… How exactly did you put it just now?... "twisted" it to its own "petty needs" ", Iason finished while Raoul's mouth actually fell open and he stood there gaping like a goldfish on land for several seconds before having the sense to shut his mouth. He was thus almost grateful when Iason's young furniture rather rudely disturbed them with a clearly distressed look on his face: "Master! I.. I apologise for bothering you while you are obviously in conversation but… but there is a matter that I thought ought to be brought to your attention!", Cal continued and then waited for permission to continue speaking, nervously turning his eyes away from the group of now nearly ten elite that were currently crowding around Iason to hear what more insults he was about to hurl Gideon's way.
"Then by all means, Cal, enlighten us…", the Lord of the House stated, after which his furniture had no idea what he meant by those words and visibly started wrecking his brain to figure out what it was that his Master was expecting him to do.
"By Jupiter, just tell him what the apparently urgent problem is, furniture!", Raoul burst out before he could get a better grasp on his emotions, which were definitely spiralling out of control after Iason's previous speech that had nearly bordered on sedition.
"I.. I.. I just had Eos security on the phone, my Lord. And… and apparently they spotted a… an ergh… uninvited guest heading this way…"
"Oh, honestly, there is nothing to worry about! Security keeps a very tight check on the elevators during this kind of event, don't they, Iason?", Raoul spoke while drinking some more champagne, perhaps in the hope of becoming drunk and thus ignorant to all the ruckus his best friend was causing on his own party. Not that it would be much good seeing as how his android body was perfectly capable of dealing with large amounts of alcohol that no human organic liver would be able to process.
"But Sir, they told me that apparently the intruder flew in on a hoverbike without even bothering to descend… what I mean to say is that he would not need to get into an elevator to…"
But they never found out what else the distraught furniture was going to add to his urgent explanations as the next moment everybody at the gathering was filled with utter shock and near-terror. Even to the extent where over one hundred elite were miraculously rendered completely speechless…
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After having driven his bike up to the top floor of the skyscraper, Riki finally descended from his vehicle in a cat-like jumping movement. The furniture standing at the door to receive potential late-comers did not even get a chance to forbid him to enter, as he was already strolling inside before they had had any time to get over their initial fright at the unexpected and entirely rude arrival of an ill-mannered mongrel, of all creatures!
As the mongrel, dressed in an old pair of worn jeans with several tears in them, rather dusty-looking heavy boots and black leather biker-jacket, simply barged into the elite-filled, extravagantly decorated room the entire crowd just went completely quiet in a matter of seconds. Ignoring the disapproving, extremely hostile looks he was receiving from the guests nearest the doors through which he had just burst inside, Riki walked right up to the middle of the room and even climbed on top of the low stage that had – unknown to him – been set up for the pet performance later that evening. The wild dog even had the audacity to take the microphone set up on the stage out of its standard and exclaim: "What the fuck is this, an elitist prick tea party of some sort? Where can I find the blonde asshole that usually resides in this place, huh? Iason Mink! Show yourself, you bastard!"
Everyone continued to look upon the uncouth scene in utter shock, to the point that even the security guards were hesitant to intervene even while this farce was going on. But not the host of the party, as he calmly and graciously – as if not perturbed in the slightest by this unexpected turn of events – strode towards the unwelcome guest and ascended the stage in order to face him directly, incidentally also in front of all of his elite guests' prying eyes. "Why Riki, how nice of you to attend our small celebration tonight. I suppose you are hardly to blame for your importune lateness and lack of sufficient dress, seeing as how indeed my invitation did not come with any further information or details considering this gathering. I do hope you will forgive my small slip in etiquette?", Iason spoke while keeping on his best pokerface – even a supposedly gracious small smile accompanying it – and maintaining a perfectly even and civilised voice.
"Yeah well you didn't give me much of a choice, did you, jerkface? Thanks a bunch for the present, asshole, although it was not exactly what I'd been asking Santa to bring me this year…", Riki responded, while still having the microphone switched on for all to hear. "But as you fucking well know, I don't have shit to wrap up all shiny 'n nice for you, so I'm just gonna have to settle for a lil' something I'll have to unpack for you then." After this Riki set the microphone aside and fearlessly, without even a trace of awe, walked up to Iason until they were standing only an inch from each other. Fortunately for Riki there happened to be standing an elevation of some sort right next to Iason on which he could step so they were actually nearly face-to-face without Riki having to strain his neck too much. "I suppose you did not put that up-step here with me in mind, huh? Or did ya now? You elite bastards always plan everything in detail, don't ya? Jeez, so sorry to mess up your planning but I've got some last-minute plans of my own…", Riki boldly spoke while staring Iason straight in the face, apparently not hesitant at all to speak in such a rude fashion to his superiors. Damn does he always remain so bloody calm whatever the situation?! How many times must I publicly offend this freak before he finally shows some fucking emotion on that snotty perfect face! Just wait, asshole, you're in for it this time! "So well here's your present, have a merry merry Jupetime or whatever the hell you call it around here, and I really don't give a shit whether you enjoy it or not, but knowing how deeply sick and perverted you are, I'm sure you will", the ill-mannered, audacious mongrel finished.
All the elite in attendance were gazing upon the spectacle by now and even the security guards who had entered in the mean time were just standing there watching intently rather than doing their job and removing said mongrel from the stage and the penthouse. Just as the audience thought things could not get any worse, the mongrel went to stand on tiptoe and moved his head towards that of their host and Syndicate Leader while simultaneously grabbing several strands of long, shiny blonde tresses by which he was apparently trying to pull Iason's head towards his own. After that the piece of street scum managed to bridge the distance between them and placed a long, fierce and dirty kiss unto Lord Mink's perfect, pretty elite lips.
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All of the elite attendants at the Jupiter Mass party of Iason Mink gasped in utter shock and disbelief as they stared at the entirely unbelievable scene that was in front of them. The security guards took the simultaneous gasping all around the room as their cue, and moved in to ascend the stage and rescue Lord Mink from the unwanted attentions of that filthy cockroach that had somehow found its way inside Tanagura's centre of propriety.
But just as one of them was about to grab the disgusting mutt by the hair, they all stopped in their tracks as Lord Mink's perfectly elegant, pale hand moved up in a universal gesture the intent of which could not possibly be misunderstood. Stop. Everyone continued to look on, the amazement at this entire situation so extreme that even the usually stoic and distant elite had no choice but to display at least some of that inner shock on their perfect faces. Several of them even started whispering comments along the lines of "How dare that stinking mutt even enter this place and gaze upon Lord Mink, let alone dare to assault him like that?!" and "Why does Lord Mink not have this piece of scum thrown out straight away? He ought to be shot on the spot for a disrespectful, lowly act such as this!"
After a short moment of silence, the serene and powerful voice of Iason Mink echoed through the room without even the slightest trace of anger or dismay in it: "Honestly, Riki. Surely you must know the value of what it is I have bestowed on you? You are going to have to do much better than that if you wish to present me with anything of near equal value."
"Is that right, you sick piece of shit? Well what the fuck else have I got to give, huh? You should've thought of that before you sent your crap my way!", the offender shouted in the direction of the supreme head of the Tanaguran government while making wild, threatening gestures only inches from his face.
"Oh my objection is not related to the nature of your gift, but rather to the extent of it. Do such innocent, chaste pecks really make for good entertainment in Area 9, then? If that be the case, please at least have the decency to allow me to show you how it is far more properly done in Tanagura…", Iason graciously spoke. Before Riki even had a chance to register the meaning behind his fancy wordings, the blonde had grabbed him by his wild black hair with his right hand while simultaneously wrapping his left arm around the young mongrel's small waist, pulling him closely against his own bigger artificial body. After this swift but well-calculated move, Iason proceeded by giving Riki the kiss of a lifetime: he hardly held any of his ardent passion back while plunging his adept tongue into his lover's mouth and stared into Riki's black obsidian depths as if a blue, raging hellfire would burn straight out of his irises and consume his prey alive.
After which the entire party almost literally came crashing down while both havoc-wreckers had become completely unaware and uncaring about what happened in the world outside of their partner…
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ending theme: Lady Gaga – Christmas Tree
Light me up put me on top let's falalalalalalalala
Light me up put me on top let's falalalalalalalala
The only place you wanna be is underneath my Christmas tree
The only place you wanna be is underneath my Christmas tree
Ho, ho, ho, under the mistletoe
Yes everybody knows, we will take off our clothes
Yes, if you want us to, we will
You – oh oh ah – Christmas
My Christmas tree's delicious
You – oh oh ah – Christmas
My Christmas tree's delicious
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To Be Continued…
Author's notes:
Merry Christmas everyone!:D I hope my gift was sufficient at least, even if Riki's supposedly wasn't :P
Mistletoe's featuring in the next chapter (sorry to keep you all waiting, just had to make this as scandalous as possible lol) :D If you guys leave me alive in your reviews after this totally shocking Christmas event, that is ;)
Reviews pls!:D