Midnight Sparkle

Chapter 7

I was not happy with this chapter at all... so many drafts. I still hate the final product. 

"Where's dad?" Ciel gives Adrian a deadpanned stare. They realised today was a write off when they return to the mansion after school and saw not their father awaiting their return with warm smiles and hugs but this nervous wreck wringing his hands shaking with nerves. He's sitting on their couch, eating their biscuits and drinking their tea. Neither twin is impressed and they exchange looks of vexation at the odd man who's just taken over their house. Junior is especially irked, clenching his fist and glaring at Adrian with a dark shadow looming under his fringe and over his one working eye. He looks like he might explode. 

"Oh! Um..." Adrian jumps like he wasn't prepared for the question and they caught him off guard. He's sweating and tapping his foot on the ground. His should be helping his nerves according to every anxiety coping mechanism ever but it isn't working. 

"Your father 'ad a meeting with an investor - y'know, being a businessman an' all..." he trails off, eyes darting every which way under his fringe. Lying sucks, he hates it just because he's terrible at it. He hopes his hair conceals his panicked stare like a deer caught in headlights. He's usually great with kids but these are Vincent's kids and are a Hell of a lot higher on the social hierarchy of this house than he is. Additionally, having been talking to Mey-Rin all day the children are more ruthless and terse than their father and certainly not what he's used to dealing with. So far her warning is frighteningly accurate. 

The twins scowl. They know what this is and aren't fooled by their father's pitiful attempts at sneaky parenting. Vincent is giving them some 'quality time' with his new toy to get them acquainted and see if they can't find some common ground to bond over while he fucks off to the arcade, his favourite place to go to skip parenting. Good luck getting them to find common ground with this guy, the man is a quivering mess and is so far removed from the twins he might as well be an alien. Junior crosses his arms over his chest. "Well? Are you going to do our homework then?" he asks as if such a thing is expected of Adrian. 

"What?" 

"If dad isn't here you have to do our homework instead," he explains like Adrian asked a stupid question "Dad always does our homework," 

Ciel gives his brother a disapproving look but doesn't say anything against it. He deserves this person to have to work to win him over - this man thrown randomly into his life he's supposed to just welcome for no reason. No. Just like respect, acceptance is earned. "Yes, you do that while we play chess," they rummage through their bookbags and procure notebooks bound in leather held closed by metal-buckled straps. Junior's is blue nd Ciel's an off-putting army green. They hold the notebooks out to Adrian in unison, the illusion of seeing double with twins. Like creepy robots each minute action is mirrored. 

Adrian sits there staring, not taking the books. He leans back and as he does the hair falls from his face and reveals his eyes, bi-coloured and dancing in anticipation. Adrian is a master actor, he has to be for certain clients. His grin forms crooked and twisted. Time to let The Undertaker out to play, his performance skills are about to pay off. "Did you really expect me to fall for that one?" his long arm shoots out with impressive speed and force. He slaps the books from the twins' hands. Thick pages pressed in leather casing crash onto the carpet with a low thud. The twins' eyes lock onto the books for a moment, then their hands and then him. Shocked - did that really just happen? - they squirm uncomfortably in their seats. 

Adrian's exterior is cold, confident and intimidating. On the inside he's just hurt. He didn't expect the twins to be happy to see him but he expected a better reception than randomised threats of 'do our homework or we'll hate you forever'. He has to commend the boys - he can see Vincent doing that in a business negotiation. This isn't a business negotiation and he isn't going to demean himself to beg for the acceptance Vincent's kids. He isn't that desperate to win anyone over. "You're both smart and ruthless - those are things about your father that I just can't get enough of. But you're both also childish. You realise I'm not your enemy and want to get along - I genuinely want to be friends!"