The Search Is over:
Chapter 130, Master of the Manor
"Piper may show the others around the manor, and fill them in on everything that Kreacher has already told him," Kreacher announced. Piper stood between the parlor and the spot in the front hall where Kreacher and Regulus were gathered with the other elves. He wore a strained expression on his face as he looked from Kreacher and Regulus to the three new elves.
"Yes Master Kreacher. Do each of the others get their own room as well and should Piper help them to choose one or does Master wish to do that for himself?"
Regulus blinked. Master Kreacher? He and Kreacher had decided to free the elves once all four were chosen, so why? Before he could speak on the matter, Kreacher was already responding to Piper.
"Yes they should have their own rooms. Indeed Piper may show them the rooms available so that they might select their own."
Piper nodded, bowing before gesturing for the other three elves to follow him.
Regulus waited until the four were out of sight before speaking.
"Master Kreacher?"
He arched his brows.
"If you noticed, I didn't introduce myself as Master Regulus to Piper last week."
"Hm,"Kreacher murmured, putting on a distracted expression.
"Kreacher indeed did not notice."
"I did not present myself as a master because we plan to free them."
"Yes, yes," Kreacher murmured, gaze sliding away from Regulus in a disinterested manner.
"Kreacher simply feels they will respond to their training better if they are trained, then freed. Free elves do not take instruction well at all. Why that Mira was never receptive when Kreacher suggested improvements to her cooking or cleaning methods!"
Regulus laughed, shaking his head at Kreacher's comment concerning the Westcraven elf.
"I can't imagine why."
Kreacher nodded enthusiastically.
"Kreacher knows! He can't either."
Regulus wondered if Kreacher didn't understand the sarcasm or pointedly ignored it. Considering that the elf could be the king of sarcasm at times, he was guessing the later.
"So when does the training begin," Regulus asked, hoping to free the elves as soon as possible.
"Today," Kreacher said, an eager smile on his face.
"Kreacher wishes for the manor to run smoothly as quickly as possible, after all."
"Good," Regulus said.
"You are brilliant so training them shouldn't take that long, and they'll be free before they know it."
Kreacher frowned doubtfully.
"Kreacher may be a good teacher, but his charges must be capable at learning."
Regulus arched his brows.
"You chose these elves! Didn't you select those that you believed were the best and brightest?"
Kreacher shrugged, nodding.
"Well yes, but as Kreacher has already explained, no elf is going to be Kreacher, so they shall take longer to learn."
At that, Regulus remembered to ask the thing he'd wondered when Kreacher was summing up the new elves earlier. He hadn't wanted to interrupt the process then, or to ask Kreacher to explain anything in front of the newcomers, but now they were alone, so he was free to speak.
"What were you doing earlier, when you kept peering so hard into all their faces?"
"Deciding which elves Kreacher wished to have working here at 12 Grimmauld, of course," the elf answered, looking at Regulus as though he'd just gone mad for asking such a question.
"Yes, I understood that! But how were you doing it?"
"Kreacher was studying their eyes. He was interested in how long it took them to look away. Too soon indicates to Kreacher that they are too timid. If they stared back for too long, they may present difficulties following orders. Kreacher also applied his vampiric mind reading ability, though he is usually uncomfortable with seeing into the minds of others. If Kreacher must trust elves with the lives of himself and Master Regulus while we are sleeping, he must know their intentions."
Regulus nodded.
"That's wise, actually."
He hadn't thought of that himself. Perhaps because if one gave an elf orders, they had to obey, so couldn't act against them. Kreacher knew how to get around many orders as Regulus knew all too well, though. He'd simply kept himself on the sidelines of this one, leaving it entirely to Kreacher, so the idea of checking the elves more thoroughly, had not occurred to him. At least Kreacher was being extremely cautious.
"What did you see in their minds," he asked, curious.
"Orb was thinking, run, run, run," Kreacher said with a disdainful sigh.
"So Kreacher feared Orb would not work out here. Agrippa was thinking that the home was lacking. He thought far too much of himself," Kreacher huffed.
"And the others," Regulus asked.
"Jazz was wondering what in the hell Kreacher was doing, which Kreacher supposes is reasonable," the elf admitted, not quite grudgingly.
"Ripper was wondering what his tasks would be and Kreacher appreciates an elf who is already thinking about precisely what Kreacher wishes him to think about."
He smirked in satisfaction before going on.
As always, Regulus couldn't help smiling at his friend's antics. There was no one in the world like his Kreacher, after all.
"And Stormy was thinking that Kreacher is strange...which he supposes he may be, so that's only fair."
Regulus nodded.
"We are all perhaps strange, but in the best of ways, of course. It is one of the qualities that puts us a step above the rest, if you ask me."
"All," Kreacher asked.
"You and I, the Lestranges, Blaise and Gellert, Severus and Mag, Kereston, Millicent and Wolfgang, even Albus and Doge...It's just the way of creative wizrds. We never quite fit into the molds formed by society and this causes others to believe us to be strange."
Kreacher looked thoughtful.
"Kreacher sees, and he agrees," he decided.
Leaning forward, he grasped the front of Regulus's robes, tugging him down. Then he slowly brushed his lips across Regulus's.
"Master Regulus is always the most brilliant, the most observant."
As Kreacher kissed him again, Regulus felt himself quite forgetting how to think.
"Master Regulus should find himself a good book and have himself a hot bath," Kreacher suggested as one hand dropped below Regulus's waist, causing him to draw in a sharp breath.
"Kreacher is going to begin training the elves, but he shall join Master Regulus within the hour. Do keep a warming charm on the water so that we may enjoy it together."
Within the hour, Regulus thought hazily. That sounded like a very long time.
"Perhaps you could train them after our bath," he suggested, his own hand dropping to below Kreacher's waist in kind.
Kreacher gave a soft moan, eyes sliding closed as he leaned into Regulus's touch.
"Kreacher must attend to the new elves," he said regretfully.
"He will hurry, though."
Regulus slipped a hand under Kreacher's tunic, slender fingers wrapping around the impressive package that practically begged for his attention.
"If you are certain."
"Bad Master Regulus," Kreacher said reproachfully.
"If Kreacher succumbs to his own needs, whatever shall the poor elves think of their lack of guidance?"
"There is Piper," Regulus pointed out dryly.
The extra help around the manor was intended to give Kreacher more time to pursue his own pleasures be they writing, studying enchantments or spending quality time with Regulus in any way they saw fit. Currently Regulus didn't feel it was working out as planned.
"What's another half hour? We can make it fast," he groaned.
Bending he raised Kreacher's tunic further, tongue flicking over the tip of his erection.
"MMMM," he said, drawing it into his mouth as Kreacher thrust his hips forward.
"Oh," the elf groaned, fingers tangling in Regulus's hair.
"Gods, Regulus!"
Regulus knelt, giving Kreacher's erection long gliding strokes of his tongue while drawing it slowly in and out of his mouth. Kreacher's groans became louder, his hip thrusts more vigorous. When Regulus grazed his fangs across the head of Kreacher's erection, the elf shouted, thrusting into Regulus's mouth and spilling forth his pleasure.
Causing Kreacher to come undone so easily never failed to enflame Regulus, not to mention filling him with a satisfied pride. It wasn't as if Kreacher didn't have the same effect on him, after all.
He rose, giving Kreacher a look that he hoped conveyed all the desire he felt.
"Come here."
Kreacher stepped shakily back, shaking his head. Though he was obviously still basking in his own afterglow, he wasn't intending to give Regulus the same satisfaction.
"As Kreacher said. Master Regulus should wait for Kreacher in a nice hot bath with a book that inspires that brilliant mind of Master Regulus's."
"But I gave you bloody yours," Regulus protested almost desperately.
Giving Kreacher (his) had enflamed Regulus to a point that was becoming painful.
"Kreacher didn't tell him to," the elf said with a slight smirk of amusement as he turned away.
"Kreacher said he had things to do. HE promises to join Master Regulus soon."
As he walked out, Regulus squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a sigh of frustration that may have been a bit of a growl.
Mortis gave an amused trill from his spot on the curtain and Regulus glared.
"Yes, Mortis, I am aware that we all know who is in charge."