There Is A Dinner Party Right Across The Hall

[littlest_lord]

Who: Phancyhive and invited/close CR!
When: Wednesday Evening for supper
Where: Phancyhive
Summary: With so many new additions to the household, it's only proper to welcome them with a dinner party.
Warnings: A bunch of crazy people around a dinner table. What could possibly go wrong?

<sub>[Ciel hated parties. Really, he did. They were an unbearable drudgery of having to socialize but he could manage to endure for one night. It was expected of him to host such an event, what with the new additions to the household, so despite his desire to lock himself away in his office, he'd been dressed in lovely clothes and had the whole thing arranged.

The dining room itself was decorated exquisitely and the food that had been set out was unbearably tempting to anyone who'd glance upon it. Hopefully, the whole night wouldn't be an ordeal. The last thing needed was more stress.]</sub>

Comments

[jokesonthem]

[There are so many pins, Reim almost regrets obsessively sticking them in in the first place.]

He didn't give the order to spite you, you know. If word got out about March Hare's skill...

[maddeninghatter]

Yes, yes. I knooooooow. I'm only a little angry~

[ The facade drops: ]

Mostly, I'm glad.

[jokesonthem]

[He pauses, and his grip on the moment's pin tightens just slightly, before he hmms and continues.]

Good! Now you can quit moping around like-- [LIKE SOMEBODY DIED. Never mind. He hasn't yet reached his quota, so:]

I'm sorry.

[maddeninghatter]

[ What irony. Hadn't he been begging Reim's forgiveness, that night? ]

So - I'm a bit fuzzy on the details. You and I both survived that night?

[jokesonthem]

["A bit fuzzy" wow, understatement of the year following this evening.]

Yes... [Lamely:] Sharon said we were unconscious for days.

[maddeninghatter]

But how--

[ He had been wounded, and about to lose to the Baskervilles. And with Reim "playing dead," it's hard to see how he could have helped. ]

What happened, exactly?

[jokesonthem]

I don't know what happened after I was sent away, but...

[He is finished with the pins by now, and makes a neat little pile of them as he continues,]

March Hare's skill doesn't have a set time limit. When I woke up I didn't know where anyone had gone, but I found you fighting the Baskervilles. Lily--the little girl, she was going to kill you-

[With his gun! He pauses; remembering that night without the haze of agonizing pain is a little difficult. He even leaves out Gilbert being there, although that might be a conscious choice; something to save for a rainy day of blackmail. Er.]

Well, I called out to her, and you moved to strike- [and at this point he flopped uselessly into the grass, but] The other one got in the way; he died. A third escaped with Lily, and then Sharon and the others arrived.

[maddeninghatter]

[ He can't quite put his finger on what, but he's convinced there's some missing detail from this story...

Well, he'll sort it out later. He's tired. He runs his fingers through his now-unpinned hair. But there's one part of the story that he's got to comment on: ]

You're saying... you saved me. You saved my life.

[ He can't help smiling - incredulously - at that. ]

[jokesonthem]

[Reim pauses, as if that fact just occurred to him. It's very different, knowing it privately and hearing someone- hearing Break say it aloud.

Is this what it feels like to have pride in something besides desk work?? He is certain he is making an embarrassing face. Hopefully he can mask it in his voice-]

So I did. You don't need to sound so shocked.

[maddeninghatter]

Haha~! Good point.

[ He flops back on the bed. He's a mess. There's still blood on his face, and his clothes (including that lovely, uselessly-decorative jacket) are stained with it. ]

Because it's the second time, right?

[jokesonthem]

[Gross... Well, someone not Reim can handle that later, as Reim is quite done running around frantically this evening.]

Don't keep a tally... [There shouldn't even be a tally, reckless idiot!!]

[maddeninghatter]

Now, now. Don't get too full of yourself, it was a joint effort the first time.

[ Little Reim, little Sharon, and Lady Shelly... they'd saved him from himself. ]

[jokesonthem]

I'm not full of myself.

[Sigh. He finally decides he is tired enough to sit on the edge of the bed.]

You're impossible, Xerxes.

[But is he... endeared? Yes. For some reason.]

[maddeninghatter]

[ Reim will feel Break's hand, plucking at his jacket. ]

Only you, Mister Reim…

Only you could save the strongest man in Pandora… by calling out to little girls and playing dead…

And doing it all in big dangly earrings - and a dress! ♥

[jokesonthem]

That has nothing to do with it!

[Not a dress etc etc.]

You- you idiot!

[He raises his hand to whack Break, but-! Look at all that blood and mess. He drops his hand and just kind of... nudges disapprovingly.]

[maddeninghatter]

Mmmm... Hypocrite.

[ Exhaustion and pain are taking over. He closes his eye. ]

You're the one always telling me off... for making people worry...

[jokesonthem]

You do make people worry. Especially when you shouldn't!

[Oh is he going to pass out again. Reim stands up.

A thoughtful pause.]

What should I tell Lady Sharon?

1/2

[maddeninghatter]

[ Yes, he is going to pass out into sweet, sweet oblivion. Sleep and-- ]

2/2

[maddeninghatter]

[ HE'S UP! His eye springs open and he sits up, waving his hands frantically. }

Don't tell her anything!

[jokesonthem]

[That's... broad...]

She was there, Xerxes. She deserves to know you're alright.

[He wishes he had his notebook to fuss with right now!]

I'll keep her out of your hair until you're cleaned up.

[maddeninghatter]

I--

Fine. Tell her the eye didn't take, and I'm all right. But just... just... leave out the part where I...

[ ...wept over you in front of everybody? Break waves indistinctly, as it that makes his point clear. It's not nearly as effective a gesture with a closely-fitting jacket. ]

Er. Cleaned up. Right.

[ He'd been too shocked when it happened, too shocked and too much in pain and then too grateful, too happy to notice it, but now... shame is starting to set in.

He thumbs at the buttons of this jacket, which offends him now as much for its tightness as the fact that it's no doubt stained with blood, and starts to shrug it off. ]

[jokesonthem]

[Well, Reim certainly understands the gesture anyway, with or without the floppy sleeve.]

Sure. She doesn't need to know the rest.

[It kind of embarrasses him, too, his incredible obliviousness. Sharon is caught up- she doesn't think anyone's dead, so it's fine. Surely, this is the best possible way of dealing with the Sharon Issue.

He watches Break pull at buttons, considering the relative grossness of everything on him.]

I can take that with me. [...and hand it off to Gilbert!]

[maddeninghatter]

...

[ Thank you, Reim. ]

It was... too tight, anyway~!

[ Arranging his features into a petulant expression, he balls up the jacket and hands it to Reim. ]

[jokesonthem]

It looked fine.

[Like a real grown-up. Reim shifts the jacket so that the bloodiest parts are concealed in the middle and tucks it under his arm.]

Do you need anything else...?

1/2

[maddeninghatter]

Nope! That's all.

[ He's very far from "cleaned up," but taking off his jacket seems to be as far as he's going to move in that direction.

He turns his back on Reim. He bats at his pillow, fluffing it up. ]

Just...