Valentine's Masquerade

[Kurogane]

Valentine's Day has arrived and the masquerade is here.

At 7:00 pm sharp guests were invited and everything was set up.

The lavish Hotel Nikko Tokyo was decorated in a romantic, yet classy style.

[Lamperouge Lelouch]

Grabbing a flyer on the way out of the school, it wasn’t difficult for Lelouch to efficiently navigate them to the hotel and designated reception hall for the upcoming dance. Apparently Lelouch had been too efficient though. There were only a few people wandering around and he wasn’t sure if he recognized them from their school or not. It was disappointing but not entirely unfortunate. Perhaps he could save some time and start Suzaku’s dance lessons a little early if they were going to be stuck waiting for the rest of the committee to show up with decorations and refreshments and what not.

Leisurely he began strolling around the wide, elegantly designed area that would soon be filled with swarms of students parading around in masks and expensive costumes. While he usually tended to avoid silly school functions like dances, Lelouch couldn’t help but be somewhat impressed by the classy choice in setting, even if it did remind him of equally silly family functions he was forced to attend from time to time.

“Rather fitting for a masquerade, hm?” Lelouch ended up idly commenting over his shoulder to his friend as he wandered further in and eventually stopped before the sound station. He tilted his head up at it, obviously interested but holding himself back from inspecting it closer for the time being.

If he was going to be giving Suzaku dance lessons, he was going to need music, right?

[Kururugi_Suzaku]

Suzaku tagged along after Lulu, having literally no idea where they were going as he hadn’t been particularly interested in the dance prior to today. He knew it was off-campus, because he heard gossiping about hotels, but he hadn’t heard about which hotel was finally picked, or even if they had settled on a hotel at all. But as Lulu guided them forward, he became acutely aware of the fancy hotel they were entering, and how much he felt like he really, really didn’t belong.

Had there been more students, already, he might have felt better. But as it was, he was very isolated, with only Lulu beside him, and Lulu looked ridiculously at home in such a rich, fancy place. That just made Suzaku all the more conscious of how much he stuck out.

As Lulu began to wander, Suzaku trailed after, never letting him get too far away. Even if Lulu was part of all this and Suzaku was all alone in the lower-middle-class, his friend accepted him and, in many ways, totally overlooked his status. Suzaku wasn’t going to let that sort of shield from reality walk away without a fight.

Though Suzaku had been doing his best to remain totally quiet and thereby completely out-of-the-way and unnoticeable by the well-to-do other guests of the hotel, he decided it would be rude not to speak up and answer Lulu. He did so with a quiet little, “Mmhm,” trying to pretend he knew anything about formal masquerades and their traditions past masks and dance steps he didn’t know. If lulu thought it fit, it probably fit, and that’s all Suzaku cared about.

He stopped behind Lulu at what looked like a pile of speakers and honestly had to wonder why it held his friend’s interest at all. …Could Lulu possibly be inventing a hint toward his valentine in the thin screens that covered them? That was a little too much, even for Lulu.

…Right?

[Lamperouge Lelouch]

Not thinking much of his friend’s response, Lelouch took a brief scan of the people around the room for anyone he thought might scold them or kick them out for interfering with the equipment. After determining that it was safe enough, he stepped into and ducked behind the sound station to snoop around for some appropriate audio, as well as quickly try and establish just how these massive speakers might work.

While Lelouch quickly located the proper input and output devices, as well as the volume control, it became apparent that the dance committee would be supplying the music for the dance as well, since he found nothing he’d be able to project sound from.

Not one to be slowed down so easily however, the resourceful teen slung his bag to the floor and began digging through his things to find his digital music player, then went about searching for the proper cords and auxiliary functions in the sound station to make his sudden desire for music a reality.

A connected cord here, a flip of a switch there, a press of a button, and the selection of a classical music playlist and soon, the familiar sounds of violins began to gently trickle from the speakers, Lelouch, of course, making sure that the music was quiet enough that it wouldn’t disturb anyone.

But it would be perfect for the pair that would soon be engaging in a little educational dancing.

Emerging from the mess of technology looking smug and triumphant, Lelouch, after dropping his bag at the base of the sound station for now, approached his friend and held out his hand for the added affect of a classic “shall we dance?” pose.

“Since I did promise you, and we don’t exactly have anything to do now but wait, what do you say to getting a head start on those lessons?”

[Kururugi_Suzaku]

Suzaku watched as Lulu snuck into the sound equipment, wondering what he could possibly be doing in there. In an inane effort to remain out-of-trouble, Suzaku refused to go into the maze of speakers, and instead listened intently for sounds that might clue him into Lulu’s actions, sounds that were mostly the shuffling of heavy items on carpet and the soft click of wire ends being stuck into their sockets.

…Should Lulu really be messing with all that?

But when the music started up, Suzaku felt minor relief wash over him. Even if Lulu wasn’t supposed to be in all that, they couldn’t really blame him for making it work.

…

Lessons? Already?

But he had wanted it, and Lulu’s logic was flawless. Suzaku was going to look impressively idiotic in about five seconds, but he couldn’t find a reason to say no.

And Lulu was looking so good, all gentlemanly the way he was posed, that Suzaku thought he’d suffer infinite humiliation if only Lulu would continue to perform so well where he could watch. And with that in mind, the green-eyed boy slipped his bag off his shoulder and set it aside, in front of a large speaker, and set beside it all the chocolate boxes that hadn’t fit inside.

Then he bravely made his way back to Lulu, and convincing himself that everything would be alright, reluctantly took Lulu’s hand, “Sure.”

[Lamperouge Lelouch]

Smiling charmingly just as he would have felt compelled to do so had he asked any other person to dance with him, Lelouch almost automatically began positioning their arms properly given the tempo of the music, their joined hands extended outwards while his other hand came to rest on Suzaku’s back, just below his arm.

“Since this song happens to be in three-quarter time, we’ll begin with the waltz,” Lelouch informed as a start while glancing between their hands and feet and pondering what would be the best way to teach Suzaku without missing any vital information, “The waltz is rather simple once you can get the rhythm down. I’ll show you the basic steps required to lead, then we’ll switch and you can practice on me.

“For starters, your partner should be on your right hand side in front of you,” to where Lelouch gently nudged Suzaku with a few tugs on his school uniform, “and your right foot should be pointed between your partner’s feet, just as your partner’s right foot should be pointed between yours,” which he then demonstrated by sliding his correct foot between his friend’s, bringing their bodies that much closer with the half-step forward the action caused him to take, “Of course you won't actually be standing quite this close. This is just to help remind you where your feet should be so it will help prevent you from stepping all over each other.” Something he thought Suzaku should know from the very start. Not only was it a great beginner’s tip but, it wouldn’t exactly due if the both of them ended up injured somehow before the dance was even set up…

“As for your arms, your hand should be on your partner’s back about here,” he patted Suzaku’s back, “and your elbow should always be extended outward like so for your partner to rest their arm on.” This required him to pull away from their joined hands so he could take Suzaku’s arm and place it over his own, then guide his friend’s hand to lie on the dark-haired teen’s closest shoulder, “Your other hand should be at about your shoulder level and evenly between the two of you,” he concluded as he took Suzaku’s free hand back up and held them out to their original position.

Inclining his head, Lelouch gazed into familiar green eyes curiously as if asking “Understood?” without actually saying anything, giving the other boy a few more minutes to study their positions before he pulled away altogether, taking a step backwards and crossing his arms over his chest.

“Your turn. Show me how you would get into position to take the lead,” he commanded firmly, a small smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

[Kururugi_Suzaku]

Suzaku paid little attention to Lulu’s actions as the other went about positioning them, more concerned with the smile he was being shown. Suzaku was sure he would be blushing if his thoughts weren’t filled with doubts about its origin. Was Lulu only smiling at him because it was proper? Suzaku didn’t remember doing anything that would have earned him a smile, already. Unless taking Lulu’s hand counted? Maybe. But it just seemed far more likely that Lulu was smiling because he should.

He liked the previous triumphant look, better.

Lulu always looked good when he was winning and knew it.

Suzaku wasn’t paying much attention as Lulu described what they would be doing, either. He heard it, but it didn’t make any sense. What did three-quarter time mean, anyway? And what rhythm does this song even have?

His attention suddenly snapped back when Lulu’s body came within inches of his own. What was this about? Oh. Feet. After that, he decided to listen pertinently, deciding it would be a bad to be caught so off-guard, again. His hand twitched uncomfortably on Lulu’s shoulder, partly because he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to grip or not, and partly because the position was just weird.

He stared up at Lulu when he stopped talking, wondering if that meant they were going to dance, now. Was he letting Suzaku get used to this position, or?...

Then he stepped away, and Suzaku almost freaked. He was supposed to remember all that, already? Lulu looked way too sure of himself. He was totally mocking Suzaku.

…So of course he was going to try his best. Stepping forward toward his friend, Suzaku unfolded his arms and placed the right on his shoulder before wrapping his left around Lulu’s back, fidgeting a bit before settling on a spot that felt right and panicking mentally about how he was touching Lulu and how easily it could be considered sexual harassment and how he hoped his friend wasn’t insulted so bad…

Pushing the thoughts from his mind, Suzaku took Lulu’s unused hand in his right and tried to remember how their hands were. Threaded together? Folded like a hand shake? After trying about five different possible positions and none of them feeling right, he simply took hold of Lulu’s wrist and pulled it out to the right spot and waited for correction.

…It’s not like he was supposed to get it all right on the first try… Right?

[Lamperouge Lelouch]

…

Oh dear.

The amused smirk on Lelouch’s lips faltered as soon as Suzaku stopped his clumsy attempts at imitating the position he’d just demonstrated. Was Suzaku paying any attention to his instructions? Or was the violet-eyed boy just explaining them poorly? Maybe he was going too fast?...

Sighing, Lelouch looked at his friend with whatever part of his smile still remained accompanied with concern, thumb tapping against Suzaku’s collarbone idly as he tried to determine where to begin correcting his friend.

“Ah…alright. Well first off, with our arms like this, it places me more towards your left, instead of your right. So…” he trailed off as he distangled his arms from Suzaku’s reversed posture then took Suzaku’s right one and guided it behind him to place on his back. He then used his fingers to carefully lift Suzaku’s elbow to a satisfactory angle before bringing his own arm to hover over the top of it, his hand now properly resting on Suzaku’s right shoulder.

“On this side, our hands should be joined like this,” he first directed their other arms out and up, then, with Suzaku’s fingers pointed parallel with the rest of his arm, curled his own fingers over his “student’s” pointer finger and the portion of skin bridging the gap to the thumb, expecting Suzaku in turn to fold his own fingers over the side his hand.

“Got it?” the teen inquired softly, tilting his head to the side where a few locks of dark hair fell from where they were tucked behind his ear and curled around his cheek, “Would you like to try again?”

[Fay D. Flourite]

Fay unloaded a few boxes from his car when he arrived at the hotel they had rented the dance hall in. The members of the committee were arriving, if not already there, and each of them had several boxes of supplies as well. Fay sighed as he removed the third, and final, box from the trunk of his car. How had he gotten roped into this?

He carefully stacked the boxes on top of each other and then made his way into the building, barely able to see and watch where he was heading. After several minutes of cautious walking he found himself in the dance hall. There was a dull murmur of chatter going on along with the quiet backdrop of classical music.

But, that was odd...the music hadn't arrived yet, so how was it playing? Fay blinked and set the boxes he was holding down by the door. Once he stood back up he glanced around, and the first thing to catch his eye were two students dancing...or...attempting to at least.

"Not to be one to interrupt your...unique take on the waltz, but would you two mind helping some of the students carry in a few boxes? There's quite a few of them..." Fay said, adding on the last bit as more of a comment to himself. Maybe the decorating committee had gone a little overboard.

"You may continue practicing your dance later, if you wish to do so...And, may I suggest, Kururugi-san, that you focus a little more on what Lamperouge-san is teaching to you. You never know when someone special to you is going to come up and ask for a dance."

[Kururugi_Suzaku]

A faltered smirk, a heavy sigh, agitated tapping on his shoulder; Oh God, he’d really screwed up. And here Suzaku thought he’d only missed the way they were supposed to hold hands. But no, he’d messed up the feet, the position, the hands, the… which hands…

This was not going to be easy.

“I’m sorry, Lulu,” He said quietly, staring at their hands, folding and unfolding his, trying to memorize whose hand is on top in which position and how they felt like that. Then he dropped his eyes to their feet and did the same, and was about to move on to the hands at their back and shoulder when Fai-Sensei approached them.

He didn’t want to stop their lesson, even if he was failing rather spectacularly. But Fai-Sensei was right, and they should be helping people carry stuff in, even if neither of them were actually on the committee. Without detangling himself from Lulu, Suzaku leaned his head back to look at his teacher and answered his last remark, “You would think that. But I’m not worried about it.”

With that, he stepped back and away from Lulu, then turned toward the entrance to the room, “I’m afraid Lulu won’t be very useful when it comes to carrying boxes in, but if you can tell me which way to go, I can fetch a few.”

[Lamperouge Lelouch]

While Lelouch was not pleased at being interrupted, he smirked at his teacher’s last comment and was about to agree when his jaw dropped hearing Suzaku blatantly insult his physical prowess, or lack there of. What a low blow! And here he’d been so graciously offering the green-eyed boy knowledge on elegant ballroom dancing when he could have been spending the free time formulating new schemes to lure his mystery Valentine out into the open.

“I am perfectly capable of carrying boxes in!” Lelouch insisted proudly as he trailed after his athletic friend, not wanting to miss any information Flourite-sensei might divulge about the location of said boxes so he could prove Suzaku wrong. He knew he wouldn’t be able to win a physical challenge of any kind against the other but he could at least demonstrate that he could hold his own.

[Himura Rikuo]

He came alone.... Though why he didn't know. Himura thought it was pathetic to come now, knowing that there was no one here for him, nor would there ever be. He considered why this was... Was it because it was weird to be attracted to the same sex? Or was it his quiet nature of keeping to himself until now? He sat down off to the side, removing his mask... What was the point in taking part anyway? When no one gave a fuck about him? Was he really that bad of a person that no one ever responded to him? He wondered if anyone really could love him? Surely, his parents didn't. Otherwise... He took a drink of his punch, surely.... Surely, this wasn't the only thing getting him down. There were bigger problems in life other than his own. What had he been doing last night? All that he remembered was waking up on the bathroom floor, blood, obviously his own. His clenched the bandaged hand inside his pocket. Surely... Fading away would be less painful. But pain was all that was left to help him realize he was alive. He was part of the planning committee, but he was positive that no one would notice his abscence, or the fact that he was here even if standing right in front of them. He pushed off from the wall deciding to be of some use... He helped with the higher up decorations, being somewhat taller than many there. But he kept quiet, kept to himself.

[Suzuhara Misaki]

Misaki had been running around doing random chores here and there, making sure that things were where they were supposed to be, and taking orders from whoever needed assistance. Finally, her last job was to bring some of the last decorations over to the hotel. The box of decor items wasn't heavy, but akwardly large, and from time to time, the small-sized girl almost toppled over. However, she wouldn't ask anyone for help, for everyone around her was just as busy with their own tasks and chores.

As she finally made it to the oversized hotel, Misaki gently put down the box, and leaned on the side. This was after apologizing to many people on the bus for accidentally smacking them with the giant cardboard cube. It was about half her size, so it made a good resting place. after a couple of minutes, the girl picked up the box, and continued her trek inside of the hotel.

The size of the building was astonishing to Misaki, and only made her feel smaller than she was. The ballroom was as equally as baffling, with its grand entrance way and ornate wall designs. In her daze, she almost ran into Lelouch, and came close to falling over yet again. "S-sorry, there!" The girl apologized, and attempted to continue walking (Although tripping over her own feet many times) towards the large table which was going to hold food and assorted snacks, and also where she was instructed to put the box.

[Fay D. Flourite]

"I'm sure that Lamperouge-san will be helpful carrying in the boxes. The more arms the better." Fay said with a grin, inwardly laughing at the quarrel/competition going on between the two friends.

"Ah, be careful, Suzuhara-san!" Fay said when the girl tripped across the room. After making sure that she was okay Fay looked back at the two boys. "There should be several other boxes out in the parking lot. The members of the decorating committee and quite possibly some student council members should be out there."

[Kururugi_Suzaku]

His automatic “protect Lulu” reflex activated as the… gigantor box came altogether too quickly toward Lulu’s person. Suzaku stepped forward and held his hands out to catch the box, but it thankfully never got that far before the… poor, overwhelmed girl righted its path. Someone should be helping her, really, but by now it seemed too little too late as she was already putting it where it needed to go.

So Suzaku looked over at Lelouch with an obvious challenge in his eyes, “You’re perfectly capable of carrying yourself in, and maybe a feather fan.” He grinned, knowing it wasn’t true at all but determined to get the most out of the one thing he could up Lulu in. “Which would look good on you,” He continued, allowing his eyes to fall over and scan Lulu’s body as if he was actually trying to imagine his overall look paired with a fan. He followed the probably disconcerting gesture with a playful, hinting wink, then thanked Fai-Sensei and headed toward the parking lot.