AN: Revised Chapter 9/7/2016
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Aimeric eyed the plate of celery as Maddie placed it down in front of him.
"That's it?"
The maid and long time friend folded her arms. "You asked me to help you watch what you eat."
He sighed. "I did." He took a bite of his celery. "Did ma and pa leave already?"
"10:00 AM, sharp."
"And Leon?"
Maddie shrugged. "He woke up early and ate, but then went back into his room."
Two mornings ago, Leon had gotten out of his room in the late afternoon. Aimeric figured that he was adjusting to the time difference so he had not thought much of it. But it was half past four already.
What could he be doing?
On the window seat of his room, Leon comfortable sat with the phone to his ear.
He let out a small smile as Sora stammered on the other end.
"You're even worse over the phone," she chided in response to his not so subtle flirtation. He heard the clatter of a pan and some cracking noise as she moved about.
"What are you making?"
"Well, Mr. Chef," he heard the light tinking of something repeatedly hitting glass, "seeing as it's not even 8 am over here I thought some breakfast would be good." The tinking sound paused for a moment and then it started up again. "Guess what I'm making."
He half smirked at the challenge in her voice.
"What do I win if I guess correctly?"
"Let me think..."
"I can offer some suggestions."
"Shush!" she tutted. "My challenge, my prize." Pause. "Ok, if you can guess what I'm making, I'll make it for you when you return."
He hummed as he tapped his knee. "Temping, but not quite." With a full out smirk, he asked, "What are you wearing?"
"...Why?"
His eyes lidded a little. "The visual might persuade me to agree."
There was a loud clatter and he heard her squeak, though the sound was faint. She must have dropped the phone. He chuckled to himself as he waited for his fiancee to pick up the phone.
"Worse. Every. Day!" she hotly retorted.
He laughed a throaty sound. Right now she might be chiding him, but later on...Well, he just might be able to convince her otherwise. But for now he'll relent.
"I'll accept that prize on one condition."
She waited for him to continue but he did not. "What's the condition?"
"I'll tell you later."
"Tell me now."
He chuckled. "You're not ready to hear it."
He heard her sputter and he could imagine her cheeks turning red. Ah, he missed seeing that in person. That was probably one of the first things he was going to do when he saw her again.
"Fine, you flirt. But you have to win first."
"I intend to."
He leaned back against the wall of the window seat as he thought about what he heard. The tinking sound is most likely her stirring something in a glass bowl. But before that, I heard some cracking which has to be eggs...
"Omelette au fromage."
"Hah!" she crowed. "You didn't get it all!"
"You didn't let me finish," he drawled as he quickly thought of what else she would be cooking. Her statement told him that he was correct and she was indeed making the French omelet. But what else would she make as she talked to him, hearing his voice and thinking of him?
He smiled as the answer came.
"You are making an omelette au fromage, along with sausages cut like octopuses." Her silence made his smile grow. "Did I get it?"
He heard her mutter something in Japanese.
"I know what that means," he chided. "And I don't think your mother would approve."
Maddie came back into the kitchen.
Aimeric had a chocolate truffle in his hand, but when he spotted her black and white uniform he quickly put the treat down and wiped the powdered sugar off of his fingers with a nearby napkin.
She shot him a stern look. He gave a guilty smile.
"The doctor said to watch your sugar intake," she reprimanded.
She walked over and took the plate of newly made truffles away from him. His mother liked those treats which is why he asked Maddie to make them.
Madeline! He just couldn't get out of that habit.
"So," he cleared his throat. "Is Cousin Leon still here?"
She had left to check his room. "Yes, though..."
"Is something wrong?"
"No," she wistfully started. She just couldn't get his laughter out of her head. "I think he's on the phone with someone."
"Really now? Do you know who it is?"
"How would I know?" Friends they may be, but how was she to know things that Aimeric didn't? She withheld the urge to roll her eyes. "But by the way he was talking I would say it's someone close."
"Close as in..."
"Intimate," she cut in. "Close to the heart, if not the soul."
Aimeric sat back at that. "Au oui?"
"Yes, really," Maddie dryly confirmed. "He's a human being and humans tend to want some sort of connection."
Aimeric had the decently to look abashed. "I wasn't suggesting that it wasn't possible." He looked at his hands in thought. "I just hadn't really considered whether he had a beaux or not."
He folded his hands together, frowning at the mess of fat fingers merged together. If there was one thing he wanted that Leon had, it was his body type. His cousin looked strong and lean - just so in shape - while he was this fatty blob of diabetes and high cholesterol. Now with the information that Leon had some girlfriend or lover, Aimeric felt a little envious of that too.
"I do want to get to know my cousin," he murmured, "but I don't know where to begin."
The kitchen was quiet except for Maddie putting in a tray of something chocolate in the oven. She turned on the timer and then sat down at the table across from Aimeric.
"Talking would help," she suggested.
He nodded absentmindedly. "Yes."
She took a look at her forlorn friend and then sighed. "It takes time. Just stick with it."
SL
The great estate of the late Francois Dubois, aka, Grandfather Dubois, was nothing like Aimeric's parents' house. Leon noted the vibrant flowers in bloom around the two story house, the stained glass windows and the intricate wall mural of the Eiffel tower at sunset.
In short, it screamed money.
Leon refrained from scoffing. The old man had this huge place, but no one lived in it except for himself and the servants. He was aware that his late grandfather did not help Sophie and him because of his father, however, as he walked down the hall with its many doors and priceless pieces of art on the walls, he wondered what could make a man turn a blind eye to two orphans, only to suddenly add one of them to his will. And the deceased sibling was the one added.
It was a curious and frustrating situation.
"...and here is your grandfather when he was a young man..." his aunt rambled off with her arm stiffly looped through Leon's.
His aunt continued to have some contact with him even though it was obvious that she was forcing it. He made his arm not stiffen when she initially put her arm around his. Only Sora had looped her arm through his. He wasn't comfortable having his once-distant aunt being so familiar with him when they've never been close to begin with.
But he had vowed to try for the sake of his soon-to-be-wife.
The idea had started when his aunt hugged him and then further cemented as he talked on the phone with his fiancee. He knew that Sora accepted him as he is, including the fact that he didn't have family for her to bond with. But the truth was that there are family members on his side, however, he had not been putting much effort in connecting with them.
His lack of trying was not solely affecting him anymore.
He needed to try in the off-chance that he could reconcile with some of his relatives, if not all of them. Realistically, he was not expecting to suddenly become friends with an entire family that had avoided him for many years, solely on the fact that his mother married his father.
Sora could probably win them over with just her smile.
He had been completely taken by her and he hadn't thought himself to be easy to sway. A faint half smile started to appear, but then it waned. It is only me here. He will be lucky to befriend just one of them...
His aunt tugged his arm, drawing his attention to the left wall. He didn't catch what she had said but he looked at what she was pointing to. There were several black and white photographs of a family of three. Then, in another, the woman had a baby and the young child in the earlier photo was slightly taller. Leon looked through the pictures, seeing the baby grow and another one appear, except this time being held by the man.
As the third child grew, Leon recognized the youngest as the little girl from the old photo in his uncle and aunt's house.
"Your uncle was the second eldest," his aunt murmured beside him, tapping a manicured finger on a photo.
Leon stiffened. The little girl that looked familiar to him...
She was his mother.
His eyes avidly took in the photos with renewed interest, idly detaching himself from his aunt to follow the wall of old photos. The little girl grew and went through that awkward phase of adolescence with pimples and frizzy hair, but always with that achingly familiar smile on her face. Then she morphed into a young woman, her wild hair tamed with time but the ends still curling with the hints of that unruliness.
He felt strong nostalgia for the mother that was no longer here, the melancholy even more sharp with the reminder of how much his sister resembled their mother. The sadness faded as he caught the hand of a man on his mother's shoulder.
"Who's this?" Leon asked without turning his head.
His uncle and cousin had gone on ahead, leaving only him and his aunt.
"Oh him," she murmured on instinct, "He's no one to be worried about."
His eyes narrowed on how close the man stood to his younger mother's form. Was it just him or was his mother's smile a little strained here...?
"All the same," Leon said, turning to look directly at his aunt, "I would like to know, seeing as he has a hand on my mother."
She pursed her lips a little, but then sighed. "He was a suitor of your mother's, from what I've been told," she fixed her pearl necklace as she spoke, though the necklace was fine already, "Grandfather Dubois liked him, but your mother hadn't been too thrilled. She refused the suit altogether when she met your father."
"...Is that why Grandfather was upset with my mother?"
"It was the beginning of it." She sighed again, letting her necklace rest where it was, "The suitor ended up dying some seven or eight years later of illness; your parents had been married and you were a child already." Seeing that her nephew was still staring, she uncomfortably added, "He had been considerably wealthy which would have left your mother well off upon his death."
Leon nodded, inwardly wondering if the time his grandfather had come to their house screaming and yelling had been when the rich suitor died. With only one daughter, Grandfather Dubois relived the loss of an opportunity with the man's death. He was starting to see why no one would comfort him after Sophie's death given the way they treated the suitor's death.
Loss was measured in terms of money.
He took one last look at the photo and then continued down the hall, his aunt close behind him. As he heard his aunt's steps, he wondered why there was suddenly an old photo of his mother in Aimeric's parent's house. It hadn't been there before and he didn't think it was for sentimental reasons, seeing as his uncle never said anything about missing his sister or how striking a resemblance Sophie had to his late sister.
Their behavior was strange.
If Leon thought he felt out of place with Aimeric and his parents that had been nothing to the "black sheep" feeling he was currently going through.
The other members of the Dubois family were already seated at the long dinner table when he came in.
Conversations ceased, following the uncomfortable staring.
Everyone had either dark sandy blonde hair or brown hair. The relatives he could see had light brown eyes, hazel eyes, or stunning green eyes. He was aware that he stood out with his light colored hair and grey eyes. I wouldn't be surprised if they do not know who I am.
It was most likely the case.
"Corinne, how are you?" He heard his aunt call out as she came in behind.
Corinne turned her attention away from Leon, but the young woman with curly chestnut hair continued to stare. Leon arched a brow as Corinne greeted his aunt with an enthusiastic, "Monique! It has been too long!" yet the younger woman did not look away from him. He had a sinking feeling about this, but hoped that he was incorrect. However, when Corinne placed a hand on the young woman's arm, snapping her attention to his aunt with a flustering blush, he withheld the urge to sigh.
Like he needed a second cousin developing a crush on him...
"Cousin Leon," Aimeric called out and gestured to the empty seat next to him. Leon was surprised by the aid, but did not question it. He walked out of the doorway and to his cousin's side. Another young man was on Aimeric's other side and to him, Aimeric started the introductions. "Marc, this is my cousin Leon, on my father's side."
Marc blinked as he looked over the two cousins.
"I take after my father," Leon dryly explained, knowing where the confusion stemmed from.
Sheepish, Marc replied with an "Ah," and then extended a hand. "I'm sorry, it's just that you don't look related." Leon looked at the outstretched hand and took it. "I don't think I've seen you at any family gathering before, but you look familiar..."
"He lives in America," Aimeric jumped in to explain, "he's staying with us during his trip here."
"Hmm, America..." Marc nodded as if that explained everything.
The dinner went by much too slowly and quietly for Leon.
After being used to conversing with Sora he found the low murmurings of speech to be too dull. He idly listened to Marc and Aimeric speaking and nodded his head a few times for things directed at him. He looked at his ring as he felt the absence of his fiancee's spirit, wondering if he should have asked her to join him for this trip. He took a look around, seeing the stiff backs and fine clothing. She'd be afraid to breathe, lest she break some etiquette rule. He wouldn't care if she did - he probably broke a bunch of them already - but he would not wish her to be stuck in this awkward situation.
"How long have you been married?"
Leon snapped out of his daydream to look at the older woman to his left, his cousin Aimeric being to his right. He did not see anything on her face that made him think she meant ill, so he responded.
"I am affianced," he corrected, "but will be married in the spring."
"A spring wedding," the older woman smiled, "how romantic."
His cousin Aimeric cut into the conversation, having caught what the woman said, "You're getting married?" he asked none too quietly and with shock in his voice. His friend Marc nudged him with his elbow, quietly telling him to watch his volume.
"Aimeric," the woman scolded, "that's highly offensive."
Aimeric's chubby cheeks reddened, recalling that Maddie had scolded him earlier for reacting a similar way some hours ago. "Sorry, Cousin Leon. I didn't mean that you couldn't be engaged, I just - well, you know -" he stopped, gathered his thoughts and then spoke again, "Congratulations."
Leon was amused, and his voice betrayed some of it. "Thank you."
"Let's toast to that," Marc suggested, lifting up his wine glass. Aimeric and the older woman did the same and waited for the words. "May the wedding be good," with a half grin to Leon he finished, "and the honeymoon fruitful!"
Before they toasted each other, Aimeric added, "To Leon and..."
"Sora," Leon filled in.
"To Leon and Sora!" the three said in unison.
As their glasses lightly tapped one another's, Marc's brows furrowed. The name of the bride-to-be was tickling his mind, especially with both of the names together, but he couldn't recollect from where.
"That's an Asian name," the woman responded as she clinked her glass with the groom-to-be.
"She's Japanese."
"It sounds nice."
A shadow of a smile appeared on his face. "She is."
For some reason, that made Marc remember. "Monsieur Leon Oswald of Kaleido Stage!"
A few moments before Marc's response, the nannies were bringing in the children from the other room. The "Kaleido Stage" rang out in the dining hall and like a dog whistle it brought the heads of half of the kids to look up and around for someone from that stage. When they spotted the familiar silver hair, their faces lit up.
Some kids squealed in place since the nannies had their hands.
The others ran over, fancy clothes and all.
"Could I have an autograph?!"
"Are you doing a show in France?!"
A little boy tugged the sleeve of his dress shirt. "Is Mademoiselle Sora with you too?"
That set off a whole other slew of questions and an increased volume of the speech in the room. Leon was at a loss, not knowing how to get them to settle down. Sophie had been energetic as a kid, but she knew when it was time to talk quietly and when she could babble as loudly as she wanted to. He looked over at Aimeric and the young man shrugged.
Great.
"My friend did a piece about your stage!" Leon heard Marc proclaim. "You're famous!"
That got some of the adults' interest.
Leon inwardly sighed as he grabbed the pen enthusiastically offered to him. He inwardly cursed himself for being more lax about his autograph rule - yet another influence of a certain redhead.
"What's your name?"
After five autographs from the kids and six from the adults, the nannies came over and calmed the children down.
Though, after getting two autographs.
"I knew you are a skilled acrobat, but I thought it had been from earlier in your career," Aimeric said.
"He's even more famous than before, Aimeric!" Marc excitedly informed his friend. "Ever since the Angel's Maneuver some years ago, the name of Leon Oswald has held the circus world captured!"
Aimeric turned to Leon, feeling impressed but a little envious.
"It is not my name that has them transfixed," Leon quietly corrected. "My partner is the true star."
"Oh?" Aimeric had expected Leon to puff up at praise.
"Yes," Leon murmured as he looked at his wine glass. "Without her, I would not be where I am today." His red wine swirled as he slowly rotated it. "She has accomplished the impossible, time and again."
"Careful now," the old woman teased, "if your fiancée heard you talking, she'd get jealous."
Leon chuckled, unable to help it. "She would go red, for they are one and the same."
"You're marrying your partner?" Marc asked, a hint of appreciation coloring his voice. He had seen some photos of her before in the papers. He wouldn't classify her as an extreme beauty, but she had this something that made a person look at her again, this energy and light that made her glow.
"Careful," Leon stated, half in seriousness, "that's my fiancée."
"Duly noted," Marc said with a swallow.
Aimeric listened, seeing his cousin in a new light.
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AN: It's still a little slow, but I still need these chapters for later on.