La Mia Bella Luna (Papa Emeritus IV x Reader) (HIATUS, read desc.)

Chapter 12: Whispers in the Dark

Rain and I shuffled over to the lounge where the others had already sauntered up to the liquor shelves. Papa was leaned against the wall, idly looking around the room. When his eyes connected with mine, he smiled softly and took my hand in his. He must have gotten a bit wet from the rain outside, because his hair was damp and the black paint on his face was running down his cheek, his skin showing through the sheer white paint remaining.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning, I'll be retiring to my quarters for the night, (Y/N)." He squeezed my hand gently, and released it, turning and walking away. I watched as his coattails swished behind him. 'Maybe I need a drink or two before talking to Rain tonight. Hopefully it will calm my nerves...' I gulped and set off for an already opened bottle of wine from the cabinet. I was about to pour myself a glass, before hearing music beginning to play from the record player in the corner of the room.

"Hey, (Y/N), you want some?" Swiss waved around a brown bottle of whiskey in the air, motioning me to come over for some. I frowned slightly at the thought of trying to drink whiskey straight, like the rest of the group. He saw my hesitant expression, handing the bottle to Aether on his right. "What do you feel like having then?" His fingers tapped on the counter.

"Maybe something less... harsh?" I giggled, squinting at him. He nodded, thinking for a moment. His eyes lit up, searching through the back of the cabinet below and retrieving a bottle of vodka that was almost empty. He grabbed a carton of orange juice from the mini fridge under the sink and poured a shot of vodka into the glass, pausing.

"That's a good amount, right?" I asked. He glanced at me for a moment and poured another shot or so into the glass, the bottle glugging a couple times. He topped the rest off with orange juice. I watched him stir it a couple times and slide it across the counter to me. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to taste it. I held the glass to my lips and took a sip, realizing that I couldn't taste the bitterness at all.

"You like it?" He asked expectantly, putting away the bottles.

"I do, thank you, Swiss!" I took a seat on the couch, enjoying the music. I took a bigger sip and made eye contact with Rain for a moment, but he quickly looked away as if to not draw attention.

A new song began to play from the small gramophone in the corner of the room, presumably played by Cirrus, who was cranking up the volume. Cumulus was shaking her hips to the beat and was steadily sauntering over to me. I took a quick gulp of my drink and set it down on the coffee table. She reached her hands out in front of me for me to take them and stand up with her. As soon as I was standing, she pulled me over to the platform in the corner of the room and began waltzing to the beat, egging me on to do the same with her. I couldn't resist leaning into this chaotic dance, trying to follow her lead. She spun me around by my hand, twirling and dipping me back, her strong hand supporting me by my waist.

"Slow down! I can't keep up!" I said through a giggle, trying to regain my balance.

The song was over as soon as it started, I returned to my seat to finish my drink as the next song began to play, Cumulus opted to continue to dance with Cirrus, who was clutching her empty glass as she swayed back and forth to the music. The room stunk of whiskey, and a little bit of wet dog, which was probably mostly because of Dew and Swiss, who tripped in the same puddle on the way to the car earlier. I noticed that Aether, who was sitting next to me was mysteriously closer to me on the couch than he was when I first sat down. I could see Dew staring at me intently out of the corner of my eye. He was sitting on the other couch, leaning forward in his seat. I gave him a warm smile and he looked away bashfully. I finished my glass and got up, glancing over at Rain to let him know I was ready. He nodded and I placed my glass in the sink, rinsing it off.