paradisalogs | It's all too sweet to last

Entry tags:

It's all too sweet to last

Who: Cass, Joshua, Lucrezia and Spike
What: the aftermath of a slumber party
When: Nov. 5
Where: The creepy mansion
Rating: PG for now

It was all a labor of love done in relative secrecy.

The earthquake narrowed down their options considerably, with nearly half the mansion in rubbles and leaving only a few rooms untouched. At least two of these, neighboring ones, have excellent views of the town, though knowing their guests' strange sleeping schedules (and perhaps their own), Joshua and Lucrezia have put up blackout curtains to shut out the rest of the world when the need arises. Not that it makes them the most considerate hosts when there is also a large grandfather clock installed at each room with an obnoxious cuckoo popping out every hour. Be grateful, if you can still hear its cooing then the host must still like you.

The rest of the rooms are finely but differently decorated. Cassandra's is mostly in shades of purple, with a glittering knight's armor standing in one corner complete with a wooden lance. If anyone can lift that thing, it's probably her. Her bed is tall and big enough for two or three or four, because there will be occasion for her to share the space (most likely with the hostess). There is also a chess table by the window (this one to share with the host). Lucrezia may have snuck a few dresses and shoes similar to her own into the closet, which is otherwise empty for her to fill as she pleases.

Spike's has been done up in darker shades, nearly monochromatic if not for the occasional brown and gold, also with a bed big enough for an entire family. You never know. The rest of the space has been left relatively empty, because he strikes her as rather spartan in taste except for when it comes to steak. There is one decoration though, set aside to a corner like a side table if one knows no better: a plush coffin for when he feels the urge. Whether it was just a gag or something darker is a mystery.

The mansion might feel unnervingly quiet throughout the night, more so than the sentient castle and its intelligible whispers, but the morning might prove to be otherwise. The sun is already high in the sky, though the curtains might make it hard to tell, and there is the sound of cutlery on plates rising from the dining room just below the guest rooms, accompanied with the occasional laughter. Anyone stepping into the room will find Lucrezia in a particularly chirpy mood, dressed in a light purple robe over her white chemise and seated on Joshua's lap at the end of the table. She has a spoonful of practically crunchy pancake in hand, daring him to test her cooking mettle this good morning.

"It tastes decent with the honey!"

Cass and Spike are probably set to suffer the same fate, but the maids are cooking the bacon as they speak.

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The decision to invite Spike and Cass to have rooms hadn't come about suddenly, though it may have seemed that way when he first brought it up. But it isn't as if he's locking them in behind that busted gate. They have their own strange little homes... This is just a refuge, like it was once for Lucrezia, and even once for Joshua. Now it's something more, but that's of their making; the little world of theirs in which they allow so few.

The decorations had mostly been left up to her and her whimsy, but Joshua's touch lingered here and there without a word said. The clocks, for one (as he wouldn't understand why they'd be annoying), and the chess set in Cassandra's room, along with several vintage and home-made ashtrays scattered about Spike's room. There will be magazines in both, of course, and the maids will refresh them periodically each month whenever they find more for Joshua. In Cassandra's room there is a small bookcase with only two shelves and two books in it: a lesson book to help with reading and writing the alphabet that she can write in directly, and a comic book featuring mutants. He has learned to like those a lot and they're easy. For Spike there's a dart board, and pinned to the center of that is not a dart, but a pin. A hair pin, to be specific, with dark onyx and amber swirling the center. Probably the most puzzling of any of the gifts, but he shouldn't need to explain. Spike had asked for something. Anything.

"It tastes like something I ate in Tokyo that I couldn't pronounce."

Which isn't necessarily an insult, but as usual he's vague on that. Truthfully he doesn't mind at all, even if it's not something Fiore would have made, but while Joshua may nitpick this and that every which way, he's surprisingly easy to please. It's more about the package offering the pancakes-with-way-too-much-egg, although even Lucrezia's features can't be fully appreciated by him yet as he is still lingering in sleep and dreams from moment to moment.

Although if she's not careful she's going to ruin her nice robe. Joshua's clothes are hardly worth note, dark slacks and a button up shirt; easy enough to replace.

After eight months of sleeping either in the same bed as Steph or Tim or at the very least under the same roof with them, it's kind of odd to be sleeping on her own. She isn't used to things like this though, to people making a place for her and help her feel welcome, cared for. It means a lot, so of course she stays the whole night.

After flipping through the books - she vastly prefers the comic book, even if she can't read it - she makes her way to the kitchen at the sounds of them talking, all that laughter. Plus she smells food, of course she'll follow those things to find them.

Lucrezia has seen the scars that cover her shoulders and back, so Cass doesn't bother to cover up her pajamas, just pads in barefoot with her hair tied back and smiles when she sees Joshua and Lucrezia so close. It's nice, seeing people so happy.

"Hi," she says to both of them as she comes over, claiming a chair across from them. "Been up long?"

Everything seems like a fine idea until you have time to reflect on it. How Spike wound up here was a subject he had been debating since the previous night, and revisited again when he woke up in a room that was as unsettling as it was thoughtful. It doesn't help that he can't quite pinpoint their motives behind putting him up, or that he's at fault for encouraging them.

Despite being the last to venture from his room, he's been awake for longer than he usually would be at this hour. Already dressed, only without the jacket, he proceeds down the hall with his head bent and his hands deep in his pockets to keep himself from lighting a cigarette. When he hears voices, he's tempted to slip past them while they're distracted and right out the front door. -- But they must have anticipated that reaction when they started the cooking. The lure of a hot breakfast is too much of a draw for him to at least stay long enough to eat. (The fact that he had nowhere to go aside from an equally-mocking castle is only a minor note.)

Reaching the dining room, he hesitates by the door frame, partly because of their other guest, and largely because it's still awkward to see how affectionate their hosts are. Part of him believes that it'll only get worse if they see his reactions, so he walks in without a word, glancing discretely away like he's searching for a coffee mug.

Not everyone is a morning person.

The bacon is a trap. One of the maids now come bearing the large plate piled with bacon goodness to set at the center of the table, a smaller one than the long table in the formal dining room. This one is for those who might call this home.

"Udon. Ramen. Takoyaki?"

As if she remembers what those even are when she butchers the pronunciation too. Lucrezia grins at the sight of Cass despite the reminder of the girl's terrible scars, even if she can't help but think Stephanie was the one who introduced her to the idea of slumber parties. This isn't quite that, lacking as it is in donuts and cuddling, but if she comes around often enough then that must happen. Seeing both Spike and Cass in the same room just gives her weird ideas. What if. Her cheeky grin probably shows it too.

"Ah, the guests have arrived."

If she is at all aware of how uncomfortable she's making Spike, she seems not to care. With Joshua's plate of crunchy pancakes nearly done, she sets the spoon on the table and leans in for a kiss first before she goes back to her seat. It does taste good with the honey.

Joshua's head shakes in response to each of her suggestions, but it's not like he would recognize any name, anyway. The few strange asian
'friends' he had only introduced him to a few things. Ramen's perhaps the one thing that sticks out, but definitely not this time.

Oh well, it's easy to forget about with a kiss and then oh yeah guests talking. Well, one of the guests. The other one doesn't seem very talkative, but that's not unexpected in this case. At least he didn't hear any angry gunshots fired earlier that morning.

He responds to Cass. "A bit. I usually like to sleep in more...but Lucrezia is very happy you two stayed."

The addition of Spike is a bit unexpected, but not unwelcome. He doesn't seem ready to socialize though, so after watching him for a few moments longer, she turns to Lucrezia just in time to see that grin she's got going on.

Eyes a little wide and cheeks a little red, she starts to pour herself a cup of tea. Far too much sugar and milk go in and then she uses her foot to push a chair out for Spike, a silent invitation for him to come sit at the table too, if he wants to.

"Easy decision, to stay. It's nice here."

The quest for a coffee mug doesn't last long, and he has the unfortunate timing of looking back to catch sight of that kiss. Luckily, there's other distractions at the table. And not just the bacon.

Spike eyes the chair, and the girl who pointedly pushed it towards him, but takes it before his hesitation starts to give off any weird vibes. Or any more than being a silent guest who can't muster up a simple 'thank you' does anyway. This is a first impression, and at the moment, he'd rather be pegged as rude than interesting.

He has no idea what her relationship is with the other two. For her sake, he hopes that it's less complicated.

Lucrezia has even kept that kiss brief for Spike's benefit. Cass she thinks will not think much of it when she has probably seen far more than what she allows herself to act on. Slipping off the best seat in the room, she circles around the table so she can give Cass a similar kiss and more giggling, because why not. She is feeling particularly affectionate (and terribly mischievous) today.

"I hope that is on account of the hosts too, aside from everything else." She casts a weighted glance over at Spike even as she lingers by Cass's chair. Whatever could everything else mean?

"Good morning, Spiegel." It's rude to say nothing, you know.

Spike's discomfort has no affect whatsoever on Joshua's actions (right now), allowing Lucrezia to needle him as she pleases however. So long as she doesn't tread on certain territory, all of Joshua's ~~toys~~ friends are hers. Cass's blush is noted but ignored, because breakfast is more important.

After taking a drink from his coffee (black, with lots of sugar), he smiles to Cassandra and her compliment. So long as his memory is working, Joshua works to encourage the types of manners Aion did. Nobody ever said demons couldn't be polite (when they weren't burning your city to the ground).

"Ah, good, although the credit to most of the manor goes to Zelman Clock, who's no longer with us. ...Sit down and eat. Lucrezia tried cooking... And the maids fried up some bacon. They can make something else for you so long as we have the ingredients, too."

In the back of her head, a very small voice is reminding Cass that the number of people she's kissed in Paradisa is now two. First Tim on accident, now Lucrezia and she still isn't sure how that even happened. Eight months, two kisses. Weird.

But then things go on as usual, like it's nothing. Joshua isn't jealous, so it must really be nothing despite all the things Lucrezia's body language seems to be trying to say. But those are thoughts for another day, or at least for a time when she can really devote herself to trying to figure it out. They move on, so she moves on.

"Everything is good," is her answer, maybe not quite as cryptic as Lucrezia but still, it's a pretty good non-answer. See, she can be misleading too. She snags some bacon from the plate and takes a big bite, chewing thoughtfully. "What about waffles? Eggs, sausage, toast..."

It seems like she's forgetting something but she can't think what it might be...

Spike's eyes linger on Lucrezia as she greets the other girl with a kiss, he thinks because she knows he's watching, then he looks around for a maid like they would add any normalcy to their breakfast. He'd been hoping to be an invisible presence at the table, just a ghost who eats their bacon and disappears, so he only nods reluctantly to Lucrezia's acknowledgement.

He knows that was wishful thinking, since he's clearly gained attention enough to be invited. Still, he's considerably more distant than he had been before he came here, either because of his sleeping arrangements or something else.

"Coffee," he chimes in, clearly giving up on his original plan. His gaze flicks to Joshua, as if he's asking him to pass it over. Apparently he's not comfortable enough to think of himself as a roommate just yet.

All these cryptic crosstalk! If Lucrezia knew no better, she would think they are in the middle of a consistory with old men in red skirts waxing poetic about everything and nothing at all. Mostly nothing.

She gives them the benefit of the doubt and tells herself it must be too early for weightier conversations. She goes to her seat on her seat on the opposite end of the table from Joshua, like proper hosts, granting the maid a cheery smile when poured a cup of tea even as she drums her fingers against the table somewhat impatiently. Mostly at her guests' quietness. She wanted this to feel more like a party.

"Waffles should be no issue. Or eggs and sausages and toasts," she nods to the maid to confirm her order. Yes, that's a roundabout way of telling someone to do something for her. "What else would you like? Steak?" To Spike, of course.

Joshua can see Lucrezia's minor disappointments, but they're hardly any concern of his. She likes to meddle where he doesn't (unless it can actually be made fun), and besides, he knows Spike too well to ever worry about, well...certain things. If he did, he might be jealous, but Joshua's jealousy doesn't work that way.

"Steak is good with eggs, but we don't have any..."

Well sorry, Joshua eats the food that is bought and brought home! He idly watches the maid go about filling out the orders, first Spike's coffee and then the food, like a practiced cook. They get paid a lot, after all, but that might be for other less practical reasons.

When he looks away from the maid, it's like he has to force himself, a rip and pull of ancient memories that drift over Lucrezia with an affectionate smile and then stop on Cassandra, and focus. Not on her. Beyond.

"You...eat a lot."

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ermahgerd plz just skip me next time i'm so slow!!! joshua zones it's ic

shhh we love you

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Later; ( Spike and Joshua )

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