Third Person
Paris, France: Bar Haven
Dione woke up with the folder Raine gave him in his embrace. He couldn't believe that he will meet two successful gallery owners in their country. Next to Leonardo Da Vinci and all the other painters, they were a deity in art. Her mother was on vacation for a week, and he was sure he would enjoy every second of it.
The bar is closed.
The fridge was fully packed.
And his mother hired a babysitter for his siblings.
What could go downhill?
Then he came downstairs to hear news from a black-haired female.
"You agreed?!"
And now, he is staring at a business card with the motivation of ripping it if only it wasn't hard metal. Sending Raine a disturbed look, Dione knocked gently on her head with his knuckles. The girl flinched and giggled before the white-haired boy started lecturing her. It was followed by Raine justifying her actions.
Tossing the card aside, he shouted, "Raine Aksenov! You're witnessing for the enemy!"
"I know..." the girl sighed and stood up to get the card before staring at the shiny surface, "I just thought-"
The kitchen door busted open and came inside a drowsy-looking blonde boy. Phoenix has his usual sweater on, and his hands were kept warm inside the pockets of his skinny jeans, "I could hear you from the entrance, Blood Shit!" he exclaimed.
"Phoenix!" Raine and Dione both greeted him. The white-haired boy decided to accept the partnership to save their boss from jail, but his trust must remain inside a small array.
"What happened with you being an early bird?" Dione teased as the blonde boy sat on the table with them.
"I woke up late. I don't have my phone with me," Phoenix answered, still remembering how the crocodiles feasted on his electronics. But that was the least last night event he was bothered by. For now, he was called by the girl to talk about something.
"I'll get you something," offered Raine before picking up the kettle from the table and proceeded to the stove.
Phoenix just nodded and smiled gently, then rode back on his cart of thoughts. Noticing that he was spacing out, Dione smirked, "Hey, you're unusually late-" he stated, "I thought birds were supposed to wake themselves up every morning!"
Emerging from his sulking mood, Phoenix looked up and smirked back, "Don't look at me. You have that kind of bird too," He celebrated in success when the white-haired lad blushed before looking down on his pants.
Dione cleared his throat and faked a laugh, "HAHA Hilarious! Now, put your bird instincts to use and scare that raven away. It's been staring at me the moment I adjusted the blinds," he pointed outside of the blurry window, and a raven was tapping on the glass.
Its beady eyes looked innocent as black pearls under trenches.
Its beak and claws looked sharp that it could tear anyone who gets near it.
Its black feathers masked the beauty of its pure nature of flying and standing by the window.
Phoenix smiled and ignored how Dione tried to scare the bird away by making goofy faces and knocking on the glass. But no matter how much he tried, the bird stood still while goggling directly at him. If he was crazy, he'd think it was his mother who visited him from whatever realm she ended up.
The door opened again, and a decent woman entered with a big smile on her face. Carrying in her arms is a heavy-looking bag that made a crashing sound once she dropped it on the floor before catching her breath after a long walk from the parking space she found.
The raven finally flew away from the noise made by the door...
Raine turned around with a tray full of snacks before her eyes lit up at the woman's sight. She immediately put down the metal tray and greeted Mrs. Baernaise, "Auntie!"
"Oh, you are a gentlewoman, my dear!" the woman said after Raine took the heavy equipment from her hand and tried heaving it up while wincing to the weight. The girl tried her best to lift it, but she looked like someone stealing Thor's hammer from his nightstand.
Mrs. Baernaise's eye twitched as she tried to stay calm at the sight of two men sipping their tea, not giving any help to the young lady.
"And I see you have two handsome lads here, enjoying a cup of tea with their cute pinky out."
Dione smiled and looked up to her, "This is actually cof-"
...
"What the f-"
It was so quick.
She casually strode to Raine and lifted the case off the ground and on the table with her first try. The case she dropped made the table quake and trembled the apathetic men drinking coffee, spilling the hot sweet liquid on the table.
Shocked, Raine ran to grab a towel, "Oh my, let me c-" but she was stopped by the woman who made her sit and relax.
"I think the lads here get to clean this, Raine," she eyed both Phoenix and Dione with her mocking fixated smile.
Phoenix simply zipped his mouth and asked Raine to tell him where the kitchen towels were located. At the same time, the other male chuckled and remained seated, "You gals are so confusing! You long for gender equality, and when you have the opportunity to prove yourself, you whine and make complaints," he pinpointed.
Raine's jaw dropped at his statement, and she immediately felt the pissed aura emitting from the woman after she sat on the other side of the male, ready to burn the cockiness out of his system. The black-haired girl backed away slowly and feigned Phoenix's call to her so she could get out of the battlefield.
"Boy, having gender equality doesn't mean you have to stop helping people in need," debated the woman with her usual smile, "Regardless of their gender, you have to help. There's a difference between giving opportunities and being an ass who uses crucial topics like as an excuse for bitching around."
Dione opened his mouth, but there are no words he could possibly match her wisdom so, he stood up and joined Phoenix, picking up towels to wipe the spilled coffee on the wooden table. The image of the boys being domestic made Raine smile. She looked at Mrs. Baernaise, who winked at her.
The wise woman mouthed, "You got a lot to learn, dear..."
Minutes later, a heavily bandaged Aquilla entered the room while twirling a keychain around his finger, "Guys! I just saw this- Oh, I see you met the blooming sunflower," he smiled as he saw the brown-haired woman.
"You're such a delight," giggled Mrs. Baernaise and acquired her keys from the boy before thanking him for finding a parking spot for her.
"We are now complete!" cheered Raine. At the exact same time, Phoenix and Dione emerged from the other side of the room.
That's when a sudden silence enveloped the room.
Phoenix's concerned eyes met Aquilla's shocked ones.
Time froze with them.
"Tch! Here comes the fags!"
It's only a matter of time when Dione grunted and rolled his eyes in disgust resulting in Aquilla's cue leaving the room with his head down. Raine was amazed by how fast he limped towards the door while she had to spend at least 15 minutes helping him down the stairs.
"Go, Phoenix..." she nodded a sign to the blonde boy, and immediately he went after Aquilla.
"Glad that's outta here," Dione smirked and flopped down on the chair.
"So what are you arguing about? I am a kilometers away and still heard you shouting to each other," the woman diverted the topic's attention and opened her briefcase.
Raine gulped and looked at Dione's judging looks, "Well, Prosecutor Marshall Lux came here, and we talked about-"
Surprised, the woman stopped organizing her papers and crumpled one file, "That old man came here..." she mumbled, still maintaining her smile.
Bluntly, Dione revealed, "Raine accepted being a witness against Saccharide!"
Raine kept a disappointed face while she waited for the woman to scold her for her rash decision. But the quiet woman turned to her and sent her a sly grin before playfully hitting her shoulder, "Smart move, Raine!" she praised.
The white-haired boy almost threw himself on the floor after hearing the three words, "Am I legitimately the only one who thinks this isn't something we should be calling smart?" he slipped between the two females and asked.
Until Mrs. Baernaise pushed his face out of context and hugged the black-haired girl while stroking her frazzled hair.
Shocked but ecstatic, the girl hugged back and asked, "You think it's right?"
"I would've done the same! I'm so proud of you!" complimented the woman.
While they continued having a good time, Dione was at the back staring and thinking how he ended up in this kind of situation, "This is not cliché, but another level of dumb!"
He's starting to think that maybe too many plot twist is not suitable for his mental health.