#or he's not happy about being distracted from his work of a pageboy

[cfffrk]

What if Jeeves had worked as a page boy at a private boys' school in his youth?

[twilightmalachite]

Altered - Angels and Devils 7

Author: Akira

Characters: Hiyori, Nagisa, Tsumugi

Translator: Mika Enstars

EN Proofer: PitXRoxas

"It’s so messy for the season anyways, how about you shave it all off? That’s an order! ♪"

Season: Spring

Location: Downtown

⚠️ This is an import from a unproofed Twitter Livetweet!

One hour later, at the downtown area near Yumenosaki Academy…

Hiyori: —You’re late, Tsumugi-kun!

You’re slow to answer the phone, and you’re slow to pick me up! Hey, aren’t you aware that you’re an errand boy? What a useless servant you are!

Tsumugi: I’m neither an errand boy or a servant, um~…?

If anything, I’m technically the leader of fine, which makes me a higher position than you on paper.

Hiyori: Hah? You’re in a position above me? I can’t accept that, so it can’t be true!

Tsumugi: What an insane ego… Do you see yourself as a king or a god or something, Hiyori-kun?

Hiyori: A noble being of that sort! Heheh. ♪

Tsumugi: Noble beings don’t skip scheduled lessons and hang out with their fangirls, though.

Behind the glory lies hard work. A swan’s feet are paddling madly underneath the water. Attend practice properly, at the very least!

Hiyori: All you do is whine and nag! Are you our guardian or something?

Tsumugi: Well if you want, I can be you guys’ mama or papa.

That is my role.

Hiyori: Hah? You, our papa? Could you not say creepy things like that?

Nagisa: …Yeah. Only my father is my papa.

Hiyori: Oh, it’s Nagisa-kun! I only asked the pageboy to come, but you came too?

Tsumugi: I’m not a pageboy~, I’m the leader~…?

Nagisa: …Fufu. Because Tsumugi-kun, he said he was going to pick you up, Hiyori-kun.

…I wanted to see Hiyori-kun too, so I went with.

Hiyori: Wow, I’m so happy! What goooood good good and faithful dog! You’re so cute!

…That part of you hasn’t changed at all.

Nagisa: …I’m not a dog though. But if Hiyori-kun likes them, then I hope I can become one.

Hiyori: Good boy! ♪ If you wanna be like a dog, we have a good example here! Here, leader, act like a dog for Nagisa-kun!

Tsumugi: I don’t have any willpower left to fight back. …Why do you hate me so much, Hiyori-kun?

Hiyori: Well I hate Eichi-kun more than I do caterpillars, but I don’t exactly like or hate you? It doesn’t matter! So I treat you like whatever. ♪

Nagisa: …Tsumugi-kun, he is, a good person.

Hiyori: Oh, you’re getting defended by someone unexpected! Just when did you trick my Nagisa-kun?

Nagisa: …Tsumugi-kun, is kind to me, which I like.

Hiyori: You can’t let yourself be tamed so easily. That is what’s endearing about you, though, Nagisa-kun.

But the reason this mophead is so nice is so he can get us in a good mood and get us to do his bidding, ‘kay?

Tsumugi: “Mophead”… I’ve never been called something like that before.

Hiyori: It’s so messy for the season anyways, how about you shave it all off? That’s an order! ♪

Nagisa: …I think that my hair is even messier than his, though. Should I shave my head? Would you prefer that, Hiyori-kun?

Hiyori: Ah, I didn’t mean to inspire that! Never mind, never mind that!

Gosh, I always have to watch my words with you around…

Nagisa: …Hm. I’m, sorry?

Hiyori: I don’t mind. I’m the absolute happiest when I’m with you.

I felt it’d be a lot more fun than practice that’s nothing but bothersome, so I hung around with some girls who had the same hobbies as me instead.

It distracts me from my loneliness and boredom, but it’s not truly fulfilling.

Tsumugi: Is it alright to say within earshot of those girls that they were just tools to kill time?

See, they’re all looking over here~…

Hiyori: They’re just messing around too. It’s a give-and-take sort of compromising relationship, y’know!

I get to kill time. The girls get to enjoy being in pretend-love and go on a pretend-date with me.

That’s all our relationship is, there’s no love in it. It’s all practical.

Pretty dull, huh.

Tsumugi: Even if it is all just for practicality, though careful watering and nurturing, love can still bloom though, right?

Hiyori: What a poetic thing for you to say. It’s impressive, but I don’t have the energy for that.

These girls and I just wanna have a good time and dream a little bit. Anything just a little more of that is too much a bother.

Hiyori: We both feel the same way in that respect, we consent, and benefit mutually.

We cast our burdens aside, become birds in the sky, and sing a song that resembles love. We can forget ourselves as dull, dirtied human beings for just a moment.

And that much is fine.

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[callsign-bunnie]

And i'm Back, asking for the next part of the Phantom of the Opera AU

Please?

I am hoping I am finally getting back into the swing of things, soon, but i have 2 asks that are going to be at least 12k words (the one I'm working on rn is already 15k) because I'm trying to cut down on how many series I do

--

Gaz wasn’t sure he liked this pageboy costume as he did rehearsals. The role required he pull most of his hair up and it tugged uncomfortably at his skull due to the pins he kept in it. The role was that he was an alpha, disguising himself as an omega in the service of a Countess who was cheating on their husband.

Valeria Garza was, of course, playing the count, and Rodolfo was radiant in his dress, not wearing the wig which looked so ridiculous that he could tell Rodolfo was unhappy every time the other omega saw the wig. It was tall and white, meant to emulate the ones from France.

Soap had… heartily made fun of it. 

Back to Gaz’s role, it was meant to be played by an omega, the thought being that an omega could play a fake omega convincingly but… Gaz found that to be entirely ridiculous. If the role was meant to be an alpha disguising himself as an omega, why not just have an alpha play the role and pretend to be an omega? Did that not make more sense?

The whole joke of the play was that Serefimo was not convincing as an omega… Why have an omega play him? Hell, they had betas in production, why not have one of them play him?? It was hard enough for betas to get roles, perhaps it would be better?

Price had decided Gaz had the role, however, and so he was doing his best to perform it, just glad it was a silent role. He had no want or mind for singing, he was quite happy with ballet. 

A light caught his eye and he quickly turned to it, flushing as he saw a reflection of sunlight coming from the backstage, peeking around to make sure no one was watching him, before rushing to the source.

Thankfully, everyone else would be warming up and so no one would see him leave. When he got to the back, he ventured carefully, peeking around stage displays and then gasping as he was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled behind some curtains. He whipped around to be greeted with Alex, who grinned at him. “Alex!” He hissed. “You shouldn’t interrupt practice!”

“But you were so pretty and I couldn’t resist…” Alex teased, leaning over and kissing under his jaw softly. “With production starting, I get so little time to see you. Can you blame me for taking what I have?”

“What if Price or Laswell see? Price will have your knot.” Gaz murmured, but already he found himself melting into the alpha, more so when his scent suddenly washed over him. 

Alex shook his head. “Farah has them distracted for me. Apparently Phillip Graves has sent another letter and they are displeased with it.”

“What do you mean??” Gaz immediately pulled away, terror striking his heart. Had Phillip Graves found out the truth?? About why Shepherd was gone?? “Alex, what do you mean?”

Alex’s face went grave and Gaz knew then that he must have. “The letter is filled with threats… over… Telling everyone what happened to Shepherd.”

Flashes of that night came back. The sickening scent of alpha, hands grabbing his arms, bruising him, and then Price and blood… Alex, holding Gaz while he trembled and tried to make sense of what was going on. “Price will be ruined…” Gaz murmured and then covered his face. 

“That’s not going to happen.” Alex shook his head. “No one is going to let that happen, I assure you. Baby, please look at me…”

Carefully, Gaz uncovered his face and Alex smiled. “It’s not going to happen. Price will be alright, you will be alright.” 

Gaz wasn’t sure he believed Alex. “If Phillip could find out… who else could? This could ruin him… I’m terrified…”

“No one is going to find out.” Alex promised and then he was cupping Gaz’s face, gently. “I will die before I let anyone hurt you. Not again…” 

Gaz believed Alex, melting as Alex leaned forward and carefully brushed their lips together. “How will we get rid of Graves? He needs to be gotten rid of or… he could destroy everyone.”

“Don’t worry about that.” Alex touched his head and then smiled. “I’ll talk to Farah. Something can be done. Something will be done.”

Gaz decided to trust him, softening and closing his eyes. “Do you promise?”

“I more than promise.” Alex murmured. “Go back to practice, I will try to talk to Farah. We have connections, I will… figure something out.”

Gaz hesitated before nodding and pulling away. “I will come find you, tonight… On the roof, right?”

“Always.” Alex half grinned at him and then he was leaving and Gaz heard his name being called, recognizing Jen’s voice, so he quickly went back to the stage, seeing Rodolfo was in his dress and now warming up with Valeria, who was playing the count, though she was also not in her makeup or wig. French fashion was… not to anyone on that stage’s taste, Gaz was sure. 

Rodolfo appeared to almost float around stage and Gaz found himself so happy for him. He deserved to be in this role, belting notes and dancing with Valeria Garza. He went over to Jen, smiling brightly and trying to hide just how his conversation with Alex had affected him. “Mama-”

“Kyle! There you are!” Jen fussed and shook her head. “I swear, Soap has had such a bad influence on you! You wander far too much!”

Gaz flushed, now sheepish, and he glanced to see the mentioned omega was also practicing. He was a maid which was also having an affair with the Count, which was meant to show the Count’s rage over their wife’s affair to be hypocritical. 

Gaz made a face when Valeria was a bit too well rehearsed with a smack across Soap’s ass, but Soap did not seem to mind, though Gaz saw an omega which was on production turn red and look deeply unhappy.

Roach… 

Well, they seemed to be rehearsing just fine without him, so he carefully went across the stage to the other omega, watching him duck his head as Gaz approached. “Roach-”

Roach turned and went to walk away, but Gaz stopped him, shaking his head. “I’m not going to scold you…” 

Roach seemed to hesitate before his shoulders dropped and he shook his head. ‘I… I’ll get over it.’

“Oh, Roach, you don’t have to.” Gaz softened and shook his head. “Soap is just… he’s just…”

‘He doesn’t like me. I get it.’ Roach shook his head. ‘We’re both omegas, it wouldn’t work out, anyway… I just… Why does it have to hurt?’

“No, Roach-” Gaz shook his head and touched Roach’s arm. “It’s not like that at all. I will talk to him, I promise. Don’t give up, it’s just- He’s just doing practice.”

Roach didn’t look convinced, hugging himself. But, he ended up nodding and Gaz relaxed, not wanting to see either Soap or Roach heartbroken because neither could tell the other their feelings. Or rather, because Soap was dense and couldn’t hear Roach’s. 

Gaz pat Roach’s shoulder and turned, again, to finally join in practice, hearing Jen proclaim “finally” even though she’d never told him to join in, anyway. 

Rodolfo wiped his forehead, feeling uncomfortably hot. He hoped it was just from the weight of the dress and the heat of the opera house. He knew it couldn’t be his heat, he was positive, and it felt different. Like he couldn’t get enough air. 

Panting, he had to stop dancing, waving off Gaz and Valeria expressing concern for him, and trying to ignore when Alejandro seemed to climb up on stage. “I’m okay! I just- I just need a break…” He stumbled and held his sides. 

Rodolfo tried hard to breathe properly, taking in deep breaths and squeezing his eyes shut, but it was like his body wouldn’t let him take in a full breath. Like something was stopping his lungs. He stumbled forward and then he was falling, light headed.

“Rodolfo!” He heard his name cried, but he couldn’t place the source, only feeling that he had been caught by Alejandro, recognizing his scent, and then he was being lifted and carried off the stage, hardly able to keep himself conscious.

Rodolfo awoke in a cold sweat, his entire body aching. He could hear soft arguing outside of his door and he tried to listen to it, but there was a sound of water rushing in his ears and he couldn’t.

“Oh, my sweet dove…” Cold hands touched his face and he whimpered, relief flooding him at recognizing his Angel’s soft voice. “My poor darling dove…” 

“Angel…” He cried and looked up at him, meeting his dark eyes. “I’m dying…”

“I know, dove… But I’m not going to let it happen…” His angel’s voice was low, dark, and it was threatening but Rodolfo wasn’t afraid. “You’ve been poisoned…”

Poisoned?? Why?? What did he do to deserve that?? He cried as more aches went through his body and then he was suddenly moving to the side to puke, the action making his veins feel like they were on fire. 

A cold hand cupped his face when it was over, relieving against the heat of his skin. “I have to leave… The Viscount won’t be happy if he sees me here, but I’ve given you the antidote… I’m going to make sure whoever did this pays for it…”

“No, Angel, please don’t leave me…” Rodolfo begged and tried to sit up as his angel pulled away, but nausea overwhelmed him and he puked again. “Angel, please…” He begged when he could, but he realized he was all alone.

He tried to fight against sleep, but he couldn’t, and he ended up falling back into the bed, lulling his head to the side and falling unconscious again.

“Rodolfo was poisoned… We are unsure how he received the poison.” Alejandro listened to Price explain. Immediately, he was enraged, but Price held a hand up before he could speak. “Please, my lord, we know. We should have been watching him more carefully.”

“Yes, you should have.” Alejandro answered and nodded before then sighing. “Who do you think could have done it?” He had a suspicion. Two suspicions but… the second one made no sense. The first was Phillip Graves. 

Rodolfo had replaced him and Price had ignored Phillip’s attempts at coming back. He didn’t know what the omega was capable of and so he had no way of saying if this was out of the question for him, or not. He had come into the opera house with a lot of accusations aimed at Alejandro, so Alejandro was hoping this was a case of his anger clouding his judgement.

However, the second… This mysterious Ghost. But, if Rodolfo were to be killed, then he obviously couldn’t sing. Hell, Alejandro didn’t know what poison had been used, but it could ruin his voice. He didn’t trust this alpha who allowed Rodolfo to call him Angel but… him poisoning Rodolfo made no sense.

The man had connived and tricked his way into making Rodolfo the lead… why would he throw that away? What reason would he have? 

No, Alejandro decided it had to be Phillip Graves, and the dark expression Laswell and Price shared between themselves confirmed his suspicions. 

Price shook his head. “I should have known. I should have known he wouldn’t go down without a fight. I just… was optimistic.” 

Laswell touched Price’s shoulder and shook her head. “Phillip is throwing a tantrum.”

“With all due respect,” Alejandro spoke up, putting his elbows on his knees and leaning forward. “This is more than a tantrum… He poisoned Rodolfo. He tried to kill him.”

Price seemed to nod in agreement. “What shall be done about him? He’s blackmailing me, I will be ruined if I do not make him the star, again.”

“What does he have on you?” Alejandro furrowed his brows. “What could he be possibly be using against you?”

Both alphas seemed to hesitate and Alejandro sighed. “I need to help. I need to keep Rodolfo out of harm’s way and I can’t do that, unless I know…”

“He’s right, Kate.” Price murmured. “He needs to know. He can help us.”

Laswell was quiet for a moment before nodding. “I know… If Graves finds out the full reason why, he could hurt Kyle… He needs to be dealt with.”

“Then tell me what it is, so I can help.” Alejandro pleaded and then relaxed when they both nodded.

Price sat in his chair and took a deep breath, sitting back before starting to explain. “Two weeks before I came to you, asking you to help me keep the opera house open, Phillip threw another tantrum and quit. Shepherd was in a bad mood that day. Well, I noticed, later, that Kyle hadn’t come to bed. 

Rodolfo was actually the one to tell me, expressing worry for his brother. I didn’t think much of it, I know he’s sneaking around with an alpha behind my and Kate’s back, I assumed he might be with him. Then, Farah informed me that Shepherd hadn’t left to go home, yet. So, I went to speak with him, to ask him what he wanted me to do about Phillip. I considered, perhaps, that he may want me to go and plead for him to return, as I’ve had to do, before. 

When I got to his office, I found he was… cornering Kyle, trying to force himself onto him. Kyle is like a son to me… I saw red, I just…” Price took a deep breath. “Laswell helped me cover it up, afterwards, and we made up the story of Shepherd selling the opera house. I bought it and then we made it look like he’d run off to France.”

Alejandro furrowed his brows, surprised by the depth of the story. But… he didn’t blame Shepherd or Laswell. He wasn’t sure what he would do in that situation. He didn’t think murder might be a too far off option. “And Phillip has found out?”

“We don’t know how, but yes.” Price ran a hand down his face. “He’s using it to threaten me.”

“Make him the star, again.” Alejandro said, looking up. “Give him what he wants. But make Gaz the pageboy, still. I don’t want Rodolfo anywhere near that omega.”

“If Ghost finds out…” Laswell suddenly said, turning to Price. “You know his attachment to Rodolfo, there will be bloodshed.”

“Ghost won’t find out.” Price promised and then sighed. “He won’t.”

Alejandro refrained from asking about Ghost and stood. “I will see what I can find to get rid of Phillip. We will fight fire with fire… In the meantime, I will… propose to Rodolfo. I think the talk about it will be a good overshadow if Phillip tries to release anything at the moment, or at least… it won’t be the only thing anyone is talking about.” Maybe this came from a small selfish desire to get Rodolfo fully away from this mysterious Angel and… all to himself.

Price and Laswell looked to him for a moment before they both nodded. “Alright. We will make him the star. Let me take care of Ghost… I can handle the boy.”

Laswell didn’t look convinced and Alejandro didn’t feel convinced. But, he decided to at least let him try, sighing. “Alright.”

So, Alejandro stood and went to see Rodolfo, hoping he was recovered enough to be awake, soon.

--

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