Jade woke up in the wee hours of the morning, as he usually does, a bit before sunrise. He got up, took a shower, ate a small breakfast, and went to his study to plan for the day. They couldn't just laze about; that wasn't something Jade was fond of. There wasn't any food for dinner, Jade had noted when he acquired his breakfast, so they would go shopping. Hopefully they wouldn't run into Peony today.
Saphir, on the other hand, was planning to sleep--or look like he was sleeping--until Jade came to bother him. There was absolutely no thought as to what would happen that day. He was simply hoping Jade would let him go.
After the sun came up, Jade decided to pour ice water on Saphir to rouse him. Good for a laugh, anyway. He filled a bucket and went into Saphir's room. He slipped in and watched the other man for a moment. Lying on his stomach, his hair all over the place, Saphir actually looked quite peaceful. It was almost a shame to have to do this.
The pale haired man heard Jade's entrance and simply waited for whatever it was that he was going to do. Not that he thought it was going to be pretty, but he might as well start his day by yelling himself hoarse.
From a distance Jade threw the water onto Saphir who, after a nice sounding splash, sat up and spluttered angrily. "Augh! Jade, what was that for?!" he exclaimed hysterically, even if he did know what it was for. Sadly, Jade couldn't keep himself from laughing at his companion. "You look like a wet cat," he said, smirking. Saphir huffed and stood up, frowning at his damp clothes which were now clinging to his skin. "Jade, you're awful and I hate you." Jade's smirk twitched faintly. "Master, you mean, right pet?" he asked teasingly.
"Whatever," Saphir breathed, waving a hand dismissively, "do you at least have some clothes for me to wear? I'll freeze if I keep these on." The brunette pondered for a moment before saying, "all I own wouldn't be in your size. Not that I can have you wandering about naked…" he trailed off. They couldn't go outside, if that happened. "But maybe I have one of my old uniforms. Your scrawny body might be able to hold it up."
"Where is it, then?" the fon machinist asked quietly. Jade swiftly left the room. Blinking in confusion, Saphir decided to at least take his top off. His petals were wilted at any rate. Soon after, Jade came back with an old and faded military uniform that looked just about the same as his own. "Oddly, I was able to find it rather quickly," he stated. Saphir rolled his eyes and snatched the outfit from him.
They stood for a moment. "Well? Are you going to leave?" Saphir asked impatiently. Jade gave him a blank look, "why should I?" "B-because," he stuttered, "I'm going to change." "Yes, I realize that," Jade said calmly. Silence for another moment. Saphir waved his hand in a get-out-of-here motion, "go away for a minute." The colonel shrugged and exited the room. Breathing a sigh of relief, Saphir changed into Jade's stupid uniform.
It is always so easy to fluster Saphir, Jade thought, I should have stayed longer. To make him uncomfortable, of course, not to watch him change… Who would want to see Saphir naked, anyway, right? Right.
Stepping out of his room and closing the door, Saphir crossed his arms over his chest. His hair was still wet, but otherwise he was perfectly dry. Jade grinned when he saw the other. "You don't look hideous!" he exclaimed, feigning shock. "Shut up," Saphir weakly replied. Jade shrugged.
"Now, pet, we have to leave the mansion today." "Why?" Saphir asked curiously. "We don't have anything to eat for dinner. You, of course, will be making it, so choose wisely," Jade finished in a sing-song voice.
"Joy," the smaller man mumbled. "Let's go then, shall we?" Jade asked, grabbing Saphir by the collar of his uniform and dragging him towards the door. Squeaking, Saphir didn't try to resist him. Jade opened the door and pushed the other outside. "Such a good boy, not fighting back like that," the colonel sarcastically praised him, patting Saphir on the head.
After giving Jade a deadpan look, Saphir waited until he locked the entry. "Loyal, too," Jade continued, "waiting for me like a good pet." "Just shut up," Saphir whined. Really, though, he could make a break for it. But… he would lose his opportunity to be close to Jade, even if the man was utterly condescending and annoying.
While Saphir was pondering, Jade made his way towards the street. Saphir eventually realized this and went after him. Ah, Jade thought, perhaps I should buy a leash. At the very least, his reaction would be classic.
In no time at all, they made it to the market. Jade gave Saphir some money and sent him off to get what he needed on his own. Pondering upon what to do at this time, Jade went over and sat on a bench to watch the people of Grand Chokma walk by. After a while, he saw a head of red hair bopping through the sparse crowd. It took Jade a second to realize that it was Luke. Jade stood up and called out to the replica, who stopped bopping and went over to where the voice came from.
"Hey, Jade. Just sitting around? I never knew you were so boring," Luke said cheerfully. Jade, of course, grinned and rose to the challenge. "Why, you know how boring old folks are. After a while, sitting is not only relaxing, it's exciting," he said, sounding equally as cheerful. Luke frowned, since he didn't have a comeback, "yeah, yeah, whatever."
"What are you doing in Malkuth's capital, Luke?" Jade asked politely. This brought the smile back on the young man's face. "I'm here to see Guy. He's always complaining about Peony in the letters he writes, so I thought I'd come and cheer him up!" Jade thought of something malicious to say, but he substituted it with something vaguely less so. "Everyone complains about the Emperor. Are you going to cheer them up, as well?" "But... I don't know everybody…" Luke said, sounding a bit confused.
Chuckling, Jade patted Luke on the shoulder. "Just cheer Guy up, then." "Oh, I will!" Luke exclaimed, nodding to himself, "I have it all planned." Jade raised and eyebrow and then shrugged. "If you say so," he said.
It was during this time that Saphir was wandering about trying to decide what he wanted to make. Eventually, after a few dizzying minutes of running back and forth, he decided on spaghetti. He bought the ingredients, with money to spare, and returned to where Jade had left him. Saphir spotted his captor with that Asch replica--Luke or whatever--and wondered if he should intrude on their meeting. When Jade seems nice to someone, it's a little confusing.
Sadly, Jade seemed able to detect Saphir's presence anywhere. Turning towards his charming pet with a smirk, he said simply, "why, there you are Saphir. I've been waiting." Frowning, Saphir went up to the other and handed him the change. Luke, seemingly forgotten, eyed Dist with dislike. An enemy is an enemy, really, even if Jade seems to have some odd control over him. And if he was strangely wearing one of the Malkuth military uniforms.
"What's this?" Jade asked when presented with the leftover money. "Change… I didn't have to use all of the money," Saphir replied quietly. "Oh, no, keep the change, my dear Saphir, I'm sure you need it," Jade replied, grinning still. Saphir huffed and shoved the money into a pocket of the uniform. "Like I'll ever be hard pressed for eight gald," he mumbled.
"Jade?" Luke queried. "Yes, Luke?" Jade answered without looking at him. "Why is Dist the Reaper listening to what you say? Did you buy him or something?"
Before Saphir could yell at the replica for calling him the Reaper, Jade put a hand on the Rose's mouth to keep him quiet. "I didn't pay for him, Peony gave him to me," he responded.
"Why?"
"Because he thought it would be a good idea for a birthday present."
Luke had to shut his mouth before he asked why again, and Jade was glad for it, as glad as he could be, anyway. "Well," he began instead, "I'll just leave you two alone and go see Guy. Bye, Jade. Bye, Dist the Runny." Jade waved him off, but kept his other hand firmly on Saphir's mouth. No one wanted to hear that stupid rant.
After the redhead had left, Jade took his gloved appendage off of Saphir. "I hate your friends," he said, still seething a little. "And I'm sure that I would hate yours, if you had any. Come along, let's go back to the mansion," Jade said, tugging on the collar of Saphir's uniform.
"It's not even close to dinner, yet," Saphir grumbled, following Jade obediently. Jade shrugged and replied, "there are other things we can do."
Yeah, right, Saphir thought, I'll just be back to cleaning.
Jade, on the other hand, had strikingly different ideas.