XXx Aya xXX
Élise led us through the main entry way and through the wide halls of the ship that Honey and I walked last night. Everyone keeps pretty close on her tail, looking anxious not to get lost. All the halls look the same in this ship with only slight variations on the art hanging on the walls and the occasional entrance to some restaurant or game room.
Eventually we come across the same lounge we ate at last night, and Élise herds us over to an area where four tables have been squished together near the center of the room. They've done their best so that we're all facing each other yet everyone has a good view of the stage.
Christian stands up as he sees us, taking his hands out of his pockets so that he can pull me up into a hug that leaves my feet a good distance from the ground. He places my back down as soon as everyone has had a good laugh at me and faces the group behind Élise.
"Wow," he muses as he does a quick head count. "Impressive."
"I already stuck my foot in my mouth so there's no need for a repeat," Élise laughs as she pulls him down into a couch seat with her. "Come on, sit down. I wanna meet you all."
Everyone slumps down awkwardly onto the seats. By the looks of it, no one is used to sharing any kind of seat. Except of course for Tamaki.
He lounges out in the dead center of the couch opposite of Élise and Christian. With a flick of his wrist, Haruhi and Kyoya are pulled down on either side of him. Both don't look particularly pleased about it.
Hikaru and Kaoru sandwich Akina between them, causing Setsuko to bristle. Aiko wordlessly yanks Setsuko down next to her on a loveseat sized couch across from the three of them. She can at least keep an eye on them from there. But you can see panic surfacing in Akina's bright green eyes that she's desperately trying to smother.
Since we're all pretty small, Shiori yanks me down next to her on the seat she's sharing with Mori. There's enough space for Honey to squeeze in on my other side, but our knees are brushing, and every move he makes brushes some part of my sides.
I allow myself a small smile as I nudge him in the ribs softly. At least this way I can sit close to him without making it look weird. I have no idea if that's what Shiori was planning when she dragged us over but I give her a silent nudge of thanks that makes her laugh softly.
"Well, I dunno when they'll be back," Christian says as he glances to the empty loveseat on his right. "But why don't we get introductions stared then?"
XXx Honey xXX
"Come on!" Aya whines as she buries her face in her hands. "You guys promised me you wouldn't bring this up again!"
It's like a déjà vu of last night. Élise and Christian are all but cackling over the sound of the pianist on stage, leaning over each other as if that's the only thing keeping them upright.
"Sorry, sorry," Christian managed between gasps for breath. "We're enjoying ourselves way too much. We have to make up a lifetime of funny stories in one night."
"So senpai really hasn't had any friends before?" Haru-chan asks.
"No," Aya mumbles from my right. "I went from being a spineless coward that was always taken advantage of to being a frigid bitch. That's one end of the spectrum to the other…I can't think of many people would want to cope with that."
There was a pause as her words hung in the air.
"But its fine," she finally continues. "I wanted a better life here and I have one. So I don't care about not ever having friends. I have all of you now, and that's more than I ever thought I'd get."
I can see Tama-chan blubbering in his seat, and even though I was sitting next to her, he somehow beat me to hugging her.
"Daddy is happy his daughter is happy!" he wails as he swings her around.
Aya has a distressed look on her face as she reaches out for someone to save her. Christian and Élise whip out their phones and start recording it, unable to hide their glee.
Eventually Takashi gets up and helps release her. When her feet touch the ground it's obvious she's dizzy and she staggers, falling into Hika-chan. He catches her and Kao-chan joins in an awkward hug over Kina-chan. Aya lets out a groan but doesn't even try to release herself from their arms.
"Crap," Élise suddenly groans as she stares at her phone screen. "We need to get backstage for our act. Go ahead and get some food. It's already six-thirty."
She stands up, her dress like a disco ball in the low lights of the room, and pulls Christian along with her.
"See you soon!" he calls over his shoulder as they head through a staff only door and vanish behind a curtain.
XXx Akina xXX
As we all get up and make our way over to the food and bar area, Setsuko keeps me close to her and as far away from Hikaru and Kaoru as she can manage.
My heart is still beating in my throat, and not calming as quick as I'd like.
I've never been this scared before. I was pretty sure that both of them could hear my heart beat echoing in their own ears. Waiting was excruciating. I really didn't know what I was expecting. A snide remark, a whisper in my ear that would shake my spine so bad I'd fall into a puddle on the floor, or any number of things that they could possibly think up.
Setsuko nudges me with a menu and I take it from her with trembling fingers.
My eyes skim over the contents before flickering back up to Setsuko, my anxiety sparking again. Will she even eat anything here?
But she's already leaning up against the counter, chin propped in her hands and chatting up the chef.
He's handsome in a boyish way, with large brown eyes and shaggy dirty blonde hair and a few freckles here and there.
They converse in English, and Setsuko wastes no time showing off her bilingual abilities when she turns to ask what everyone wants. There is a chorus of everyone's orders and she relays them perfectly in English. He looks impressed.
Everyone begins to drift back to their seats, but she stays there, sitting in the nearest bar stool and ordering something that either doesn't required her to be carded, or the bartender is too eager to please that he completely forgets that she might be underage.
I hope it's the former.
They sit chatting a while and then the chef disappears into the kitchens and returns with a shrimp cocktail. He sets it down in front of her, and to my surprise, she eats. And she even uses the dipping sauce. Her face and actions betray nothing, and I can only guess how tomorrow will be in the aftermath.
It's only when he vanishes into the back again that she has any look of worry or concern on her face.
"She'll be ok."
I glance over to see Aiko step up beside me.
Her eyes are like liquid bronze in the light of the lounge, and they wash over me, taking in all my panic. She grabs my shaking hands and leads me back to the seats. I see her lips become a thin line as she catches me glancing back at the bar. The chef is back, seemingly on break now, and Setsuko is shamelessly flirting, her inky black hair falling in just the right way and her blue eyes glowing mischievously in the low lights.
I'm sat down albeit a bit roughly on the couch next to Aiko. Hikaru and Kaoru are glancing between me and the bar, the flickering of their eyes almost perfectly in time. Kaoru is a little bit slower. His seem to linger on me for a second or two longer than Hikaru's.
That observation is enough to send my heart into my throat again.
XXx Shiori xXX
Élise saunters onstage as if she owns this entire ship, her sliver dress reflecting all the lights like a disco ball. Two women, who Aya explains to us are her back up vocalists Jaqueline and Henriette, are flanking her in identical dresses made of tight black satin, their sleek dark hair and pinned into large voluminous princess poofs.
Christian takes a seat on the bench of a blindingly white piano, his long slender fingers caressing the keys. He has wonderful artistic hands.
Élise makes eye contact from over the piano and nods at him. He returns it and begins to play a melody I've never heard before. I can swear Tamaki isn't even blinking as his hands fly about gracefully, coaxing a haunting but slightly uplifting song from the ivory and ebony keys.
She sings, and her voice is low and sultry, rolling and flipping the words from her lips in a mesmerizing way. She sings in English, and I don't know enough to follow the lyrics. But it sounds nice, so I hardly care that I don't know what she's saying.
I bring my feet up on the couch and tuck them under my body. The slow tempo has me feeling almost a little sleepy, and I find myself leaning over on the arm rest.
Élise looks so passionate when she's singing.
I almost jealous.
"Of what?"
My eyes flicker over to see Mori sitting on the other end of my couch. This is the first time I've ever heard him say anything other than 'Yeah,' since the showdown between Honey and Chika, and the deep rumble of his voice is an oddly relaxing sound.
"I wish I could be this passionate about something," I sigh with a nod towards the stage, not really feeling bothered that he caught me thinking aloud.
"What about your art?"
I glance at him curiously. Everyone else is either completely riveted by the performance or the large plate of appetizers that was set in the middle of the table. We're the only two on this couch, farthest away from the stage. And now that I do a double take, the distance between us isn't a large as I first thought.
"It's complicated," I reply cautiously, a harsh pang rocking my chest. "It's a family thing that I'm expected to be good at. It ceased to be fun a long time ago. I don't paint because I love it anymore; I paint to other people's tastes to make money. It makes me sick."
"Ah."
I glance over into his calculating grey eyes, a small smile slipping onto my lips.
"I don't think I really have much to worry about," I say quietly. "But could you not tell anyone I said that please?"
He nods and I allow myself to return to watching the show. Still feeling the look he gave me long after he turned his focus away from me.
XXx Aiko xXX
Christian moves from his seat on the piano bench to a stool away from center stage half an hour later. He props a glossy black violin on his shoulder and positioning the bow atop the strings. His playing is effortless and beautiful.
"His family owned a music shop back in Paris," Aya explains as we load up our tiny plates with potato skins and shrimp. "He can play almost anything."
"Is he the one who taught you to play the flute?" Honey-senpai asks curiously.
Aya looks confused for a minute before recognition dawns on her face. Then she laughs as she falls back into her seat.
"I can't actually play the flute," she giggles. "He tried teaching me and it failed pretty badly. I don't really have any talent for any instruments. I was just put on the spot and that was the first thing that came to my mind."
I have absolutely no idea what they're talking about.
I return to my seat to find Akina still staring over at the bar, worry etched into her face. And when I take another glance, I can see why.
Setsuko's just finished her fourth shrimp cocktail. And she had three potato skins, and even a few chicken tenders and deviled eggs. That's more than she's ever eaten in a day. And now she's trying to make up for it by eating a mountain of celery sticks for negative calories.
Not good.
"Maybe we should go bring her back now," I whisper as I set my plate down on the table.
Akina nods vigorously as she springs to her feet. We're about to leave when we're stopped by Hikaru and Kaoru. They have a devious smirk on their faces.
"We can take care of this," one of them, I'm guessing it's Hikaru, says. "Go sit back down."
And with that, he takes off, leaving the other one to sit me down onto the nearest couch and bringing Akina down onto the seat next to him. She looks more distressed than ever. Neither of the twins understand how serious the situation their trying to deal with is right now.
"Excuse me, do you mind?"
I glance over to see Kyoya holding a small book with one hand while the other is holding onto half of a dark jacket. I'm sitting on the other half.
"Sorry," I reply as I shift to the side and free the material.
He takes the jacket and set it in his lap, his eyes never leaving the book. Yet he continues the conversation as if the book isn't even there.
"I'm surprised you came along," he says as his eyes skim the pages. "We have a test tomorrow. Are you finally deciding to give up your goal of being first in our year?"
"I've been cramming for that for two weeks," I snap as I pull my plate towards me again and try to ignore the pang of hurt that hits me in the pit of my stomach. "It's not like the material is hard to understand anyways."
"The same could be said for every test we've ever had," he replies. "So why now?"
"I could be wrong, but I thought you didn't concern yourself with such trivial matters."
"Fair enough."
"Besides, it's not like it matters," I sigh. "I've been studying all my life, but that doesn't mean I'll ever get to use what I know."
He raises an eyebrow but doesn't take the bait. Instead, a silence falls over us as Élise changes her language from French to German. The next time he speaks again, she's shifted to Italian.
"So a housewife then."
It's not a question. My throat tightens at that single word, and I glance down at my feet.
"Yeah."
XXx Setsuko xXX
His name is Andre.
He had just graduated from culinary school and had been on the ship for five months. His English is almost on par with his French, and he was impressed at my bilingual skills as well as the handful of French phrases I'm managed to keep on hand since Aya-chan started to tutor us.
He's a real sweetheart, but just a little too innocent for my personal tastes. But that doesn't mean I'm not enjoying myself. Andre is really easy to talk too.
"So where are you from?" he asks, taking in my mix of European and Asian features.
"Wales," I reply. "We had a countryside manor all to ourselves when mum wasn't doing any major works. But she did take me on location with her whenever she did have a role that had her busy for a long time. I got to see all kinds of places."
"You like to travel?"
"I did, but I haven't done it a lot recently," I sigh as I gnaw on my thirteenth celery stick. "I'd love to do it again though."
"Then you should look into some jobs like this," he says as he gestures around the ship. "It's a great way to see the world. You get to go around the world a few times a year, and you get paid for it."
"That's still a long ways off for me," I sigh as I swirl my drink around inside my glass. "Besides, I'm not sure there would be a place for me on a ship. Unless of course you just happen to have a small acting troop on board."
"You'd be surprised about what we do have here," he chuckles. "I'm sure you'd find something here you'd enjoy."
"Looks like she already has."
My eyes flicker over to see Hikaru standing a small distance away from us. I can feel my eyes widen and flicker over to the remains of my plate of food.
"Can I help you?" I groan as I try to avoid looking at him directly.
"She's getting antsy waiting for you to get back," he sighs.
I don't need an explanation. My eyes flash over to our table, and the first thing I see is Akina sitting still as a statue and trying not to make eye contact with Kaoru. Aiko tries to pull Akina towards her, but to all of our horror, Kaoru puts an arm around Akina and she freezes solid.
"Excuse me," I mumble, trying to keep the panic out of my voice as I stumble out of my bar stool.
"It's fine," Andre replies with a sunny smile. "It's about time for me to get back to work anyways."
I'm about to walk away when he slips a piece of paper into my hand. I don't need to look to know what it is.
"Maybe I'll see you before the ship leaves port tomorrow," he says as he ducks under the bar.
I nod and smile in return, giving a small wave over my shoulder before walking back to the table.
"Classy move there, but really cliché if you ask me."
"Well I didn't," I snap at Hikaru as I lengthen my strides.
"What did he put in your drink? You're in a worse mood than usual."
"It's none of your business," I growl.
When we arrive back at the table I pull Akina out of Kaoru's embrace and pull her onto the empty loveseat across from him. Her shoulders loosen as Hikaru collapses next to Kaoru and they begin one of their silent twin conversations.
"You ok?" I whisper as Akina leans on me.
"Fine," she replies weakly.
XXx Aya xXX
By the time the act is over, a huge Baked Alaska is set down on our table.
Honey and I share an amused glance as the chef smiles at Setsuko as he lays the dish out. She gives him a flirty look in return, and I feel Honey's hand squeeze mine affectionately. That's one less problem to worry about tonight.
But before he can leave he's caught by Jaqueline and Henriette, who have darted ahead of Christian and Élise. The two of them have their hair extensions out, their makeup off, and are strutting their stuff in their comfy 'after show' sweats. Somehow they seem to make even that look effortless and glamorous all at once.
They don't seem to realize everyone at our table is staring at them.
The chef makes his way back to the kitchens with a few orders for drinks, and they flop down into an empty love seat. It isn't until they begin helping themselves to large slices of the Baked Alaska that they seem to notice the atmosphere of the table.
"So, I don't mean to be rude," Tamaki ventures. "But who exactly are you?"
"I'm Jaqueline. But I'm offstage right now, so you can just call me Jaq. And you can call him Henri."
The table goes quiet for a moment before Setsuko makes a low noise of distress in her throat and sinks deep into her seat. She covers her face in her hands and kicks her feet under the table.
"I never thought I'd wish I was as pretty as a guy," she wails.
Jaq and Henri glance at each other and burst out laughing. They are soon joined by Christian and Élise, the latter nearly falling over the back of her seat in hysterics.
"So senpai," Haruhi asks calmly as she observes the Jaq and Henri. "This is how you knew I was a girl?"
"More or less," I confess as I cut myself a piece of the Baked Alaska. "I think I've gotten pretty good at telling. I've only been wrong a few times."
We enjoy some more stories for another hour.
I'm back to being squished on the same sofa as Honey, Mori, and Shiori, but I'm not feeling so awkward about it anymore. Everyone else looks slightly more relaxed than when they first walked in, and I wish we could do this all the time.
I've never felt more at home before.
"Well, we don't want to keep you out too late," Élise finally sighs as she puts down her glass of iced tea. "But we wanted to ask you something before you all leave."
She gets a weird sort of look on her face. It's almost as if she's nervous or something. But she doesn't get nervous. This is Élise. She was born with no shame or fear of anything. But her hands are visibly shaking right now. It's kind of scaring me.
'Well, tomorrow night this ship takes off from this port, and we won't be back for a few good months," she says. "But I was hoping you'd all do us the honor of attending a very special wedding."
My heart stops beating for a second. But it's jump started again as Élise raises her hand so a simple wedding band catches the dim light of the lounge. It's studded with three small diamonds, but otherwise plain.
"You mean you finally proposed?!" Henri gapes as his eye dart between the ring and Christian. "I thought you didn't want to get married?"
"It's a bit complicated," Christian says with and embarrassed smile on his face. "But I decided it would be worth it if it was Élise."
"Sure as hell kept me waiting long enough," Élise complains as she whacks the top of his head. "But I knew what I was getting into a long time ago, so I'll just say this is just icing on the cake."
She look over to me and grins, a soft blush high in her cheeks.
"So will you all come? We wanted to do a short and sweet ceremony with just a handful of people."
"I'd ditch and just come straight here tomorrow morning if I could," I sigh.
i leave my seat and throw my arms around the both of them. Arms hold me tightly but tenderly, like I am something that should be handled with great care. This is what a hug between a family should feel like. Now Christian is finally going to be part of our family. My real parents are finally going to get married.
All I know is that I wish my own wedding could be as simple as theirs will be.
XXx Author's Notes xXX
It's time for some long overdo interaction...thoughts?
lotsa love, Krystal