The Title Will Go Here - 1. Chapter 1

- I -

“Promise me that you are going to spend the rest of today doing all the things that you usually don’t have the time for...! No practicing!”

“I don’t know... I mean...”

“No, no, no! Promise me!”

“Loreya...”

“One evening is not going to change anything and you know it! Your concert is not until three weeks from now, and you are in the best shape of your life... You will be brilliant...! Ah! Don’t you dare saying ‘I don’t know’ again!” A brown-eyed brunette with red streaks in her hair warningly raised her forefinger, her thin eyebrows forming into two perfectly-shaped arches.

“You are good at this, you know... I mean, frowning is something that most people don’t usually...”

“Don’t change the subject!” The brunette impatiently shook her head, making her dark hair bounce off her shoulders. “Promise me!”

The man with startlingly-bright blue eyes sighed in defeat.

“Fine,” he muttered and spread his arms slightly apart. “I promise... Happy now?”

“Very!” The brunette smiled and stepped closer. “Give us a kiss!”

She planted a big, somewhat sloppy kiss on the man’s cheek, and he winced.

“Not so good at this though...” he muttered, and the brunette slightly pushed him away.

“Shut up!” she laughed and grabbed his hands. “My little brother is growing old...” she sighed in mock sorrow, and the man rolled his eyes and pulled his hands away.

“I am going to go practice now,” he grumbled, and the brunette laughed again.

“Kidding,” she planted another kiss on his cheek, and her expression became more serious. “Happy birthday, Stratos!”

“Thanks,” he gave her a quick smile and sighed. “Feels weird,” he muttered. “I feel the same as I did before, but at the same time, I feel weird...”

“It’ll pass,” Loreya nodded and let go of his hands, taking a quick step backwards. “I have to run now,” she threw a quick glance at her watch. “Have an appointment I can’t miss... But...” She threw a sly glance at the man, whose expression was mildly curious by now. “Not before I give you your present!”

“About time,” the man nodded energetically, shoving both of his hands into his pockets. “There is only that much of your saliva on my face that I can handle!”

“Just for that...” she slightly narrowed her eyes. “...I should go right now...”

Stratos laughed again.

“Kidding,” he gave her a nod. “I love your saliva, you know that!”

“Right,” she hemmed and turned towards the door. “Stay here!” she threw him a warning glance over her shoulder. “I’ll be right back!”

“Mmm,” he said seriously. “A surprise. You didn’t lick it much, did you?”

“No,” she answered as seriously. “However, I did shove it up my...”

“Just go get it,” he interrupted her with a small grimace, and she let out a snort.

“Stay here!” she said again and pulled open the front door, letting sunshine to sneak inside the house.

The man watched her leave, and then he switched his gaze to the flickers of sunlight dancing on the floor.

“Sun bunnies,” he muttered thoughtfully.

“Close your eyes!” A sudden demand made him blink in surprise.

“That was quick,” he turned towards her.

“Close your eyes,” she repeated impatiently. “Stratos, I really can’t miss my appointment!”

“All right,” he sighed and obediently closed his eyes.

“...and...” she said slowly a few seconds later. “...happy birthday!”

Stratos opened his eyes, and then blinked several times as if trying to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, which was probably the case.

“Ummm...” he said a silent minute later. “Loreya...?”

“Yes?” she replied in a low voice.

“Ummm...” he said again. “It’s a person... I thought we established that rule a while ago – we do not give people as birthday gifts, remember?”

“He is not quite a person,” Loreya said in the same low voice.

“Really,” Stratos cocked his head slightly to the right, his expression thoughtful. “Well then, I must say that he looks unbelievably advanced for an android...”

Loreya gave him a small smile.

“He is not an android,” she seemed completely calm.

“Really,” Stratos said again. “Then I am at loss...” He paused for a few seconds. “Complete loss,” he nodded finally, and the brunette gave him another small smile.

“He is a kelari,” she said calmly, and Stratos stared at her without blinking. “Owning a kelari is completely legal,” she finished a minute later, satisfied with his look.

“A kelari...” Stratos repeated very slowly.

“Uh huh,” Loreya nodded and turned towards ‘the present.’ “Open your eyes!” she commanded. “And do not make me repeat myself this time,” she added warningly.

Stratos finally blinked when ‘not-quite-a-person’ by the door slowly opened his eyes, and Stratos stared into two golden orbs.

“Holy hell...” he muttered without looking away. “Holy hell...!”

“You are welcome,” Loreya nodded with the same small smile and threw a quick glance at her watch. “I have to go. Have fun!”

“Wait!”

She was almost out of the door when Stratos called out to her. She let out a small, impatient sigh and turned her head, her fingers tapping an impatient rhythm on the doorknob.

“What?”

“How did you even find him?” It seemed Stratos was unable to tear his gaze away from the golden eyes.

“I have my ways,” Loreya nodded solemnly. “Stratos, I really have to go! Happy birthday!”

“Wait...”

“Stratos...!”

“What’s his name?” he asked quickly, and Loreya’s expression changed somewhat. Now it was thoughtful.

“I have no idea,” she said slowly, her forehead twisted with a small frown. She let out a small laughter and shrugged. “Never even occurred to me to ask about that!” She shook her head. “Ask him,” she said and opened the door. “He can speak, you know! I will see you tonight at the party?” She stopped briefly and threw another quick glance at her brother.

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said automatically, and Loreya smiled again.

“See you then... Happy birthday...!”

With that, she stepped outside and shut the heavy door, immediately cutting off all the noise that dared to sneak inside the house along with sunshine. Stratos stood in silence for a minute or two, studying his birthday present. He seemed to be in his early twenties, his entire frame slender and fragile, his skin pale and almost unnaturally smooth, his hair the same golden shine as his eyes. He wasn’t looking at Stratos right now; he was staring at the floor where sun bunnies were playing a few minutes ago. Stratos let out a small sigh.

“What is your name?” he asked in a low voice, and caught a quick glance of golden eyes hiding behind long eyelashes.

“Anything you want it to be...” The soft reply sounded like a shimmer of the wind through thick autumn leaves. Golden eyes returned to the same spot on the floor. “...master,” hesitation made the voice sound even more wind-like on the added word. Stratos grimaced.

“Okay,” he said and shoved his hands into his pockets. “A couple of ground rules... First, do not call me ‘master’...” He nodded when he caught another golden glance. “I hate that word,” he said without a smile. “Second...” Here, he did let out a small smile. “I hate lies,” he continued calmly, noting that this time, those eyes hid behind the eyelashes again without looking up. “I do not lie myself, and I can’t stand it when someone is lying to me... Just for the future,” he shrugged when the eyelashes trembled in a hesitant question. “So...” He leaned on the wall next to the mirror with one shoulder. “What is your name?”

The eyelashes slowly trembled upwards in a long, blink-like motion, and Stratos was surprised when that simple act made him shiver with something sweet. He swallowed rather harshly and squeezed his hands into loose fists in his pockets, taming that shiver. He listened to the silence patiently. Finally, there was a soft, wind-like response.

“Gemini...” the wind whispered, and Stratos blinked at that.

“Okay,” he said slowly, his hands relaxing somewhat in the safety of his pockets. “I am not going to hold this one against you... However, please try to remember what I just said about lying... Don’t do that,” he warned in a low voice, catching a quick, confused golden glance. “Now, let’s try this again... What is your name?”

This time, the eyelashes opened wider, revealing small, precise black pupils in the middle of the golden lakes. Now the eyes looked scared.

“Gemini...” the wind whispered again, and Stratos let out an impatient sigh.

“Fine,” he said somewhat shortly. “Fine... Now tell me your real name, will you? Not your nickname; you real name,” he repeated slowly without looking away, and the eyelashes trembled with scared confusion.

“Gemini...” Now the wind sounded even softer than it did before, a shadow of desperation coating its shimmer. Stratos frowned deeper.

“Gemini...?” he repeated slowly, and got a quick, uncertain nod in response. “That’s your actual name...? Gemini...? Like in Zodiac...?”

Another nod made a long strand of golden hair to slide over one of the eyes, and Stratos blinked when all of a sudden, he felt a desire to reach out and tuck that strand behind the small, pink ear. He curled his fingers into firmer fists instead.

“That’s what it says on your birth certificate?” he asked evenly, and cursed silently when that sweet shiver returned as soon as the eyelashes repeated their slow blink-like rising.

“I have never seen my birth certificate, mas...” The wind cut off in the middle of the forbidden word, fear splashing across the perfect features, making the mesmerizing mouth twitch in a quick apology. “I have never seen it,” the response came back quicker than Stratos expected.

“You have never seen your birth certificate?” he frowned, getting a small head shake instead of windy voice in response. Golden hair shifted slightly, sending another strand to tangle up in the long eyelashes. “Dammit,” Stratos thought when the same desire to reach out immediately came back, making his fists a little stronger. “He is perfect...!” He slightly shook his head.

“Does it even exist?” he asked out loud without looking away from those long strands.

“Yes,” the wind shimmered again. “My uncle has it... I have never seen it; he wouldn’t show it to me...” The wind sounded firmer now.

“Uncle...?” Stratos thought, his frown somewhat confused. “Doesn’t matter,” he straightened up after a few seconds. “His birth certificate is the last thing that should interest me, really...”

“Okay,” he was finally able to relax his hands completely and to pull them out of the prison of his pockets. He looked at his watch. It read 17:35. “Okay,” he said again, thinking that the party Loreya was expecting to see him at, started in less than two hours. “Come,” he said shortly and turned away without making sure that the golden perfection followed him.

He made his way through the peculiarly-shaped corridor with several bizarre pictures grimly looking down from the walls; Stratos liked the design of his house. He wasn’t a great architect (in fact, he wasn’t one at all – he was a musician, a famous one for that matter; a celebrity, if you wish), but he knew a couple things about designing and drawing, so when he started building the house a few years ago, he spent several sleepless nights drawing sketches and feeling overwhelmed with sudden inspiration. He blinked when those unexpected memories made fingers of his right hand itch in anticipation of a pencil.

“Here,” he said a few seconds later, pushing open a tall door on his right. “In here.”

He walked into the room and turned around, watching his ‘gift’ hesitantly step onto the thick dark carpet. He let out an inaudible sigh, trying to figure out whether he was grateful to his sister for this unique (“perfect”) present or strangely irritated, and jerked the curtains apart, letting the sunlight to flirt with the walls and high ceiling.

“I am going to...” He turned away from the window and stopped talking. “What are you doing?” he asked after several long seconds of stunned silence, watching long, almost transparent fingers slowly undoing the buttons on the light-blue shirt.

Golden eyes splashed with quiet panic and both hands immediately fell down.

“I am sorry...” the wind sounded quicker now. “I didn’t know you didn’t want me to do this myself... I am sorry...!”

“To do what...? Stratos muttered dumbfoundedly, looking at the smooth skin of the shallow breathing chest underneath the light-blue shirt.

“To get undressed...” the wind whispered, and Stratos finally tore his gaze away from the sharp collar bones.

“This is not why I brought you here...” he said slowly, noting another wave of confusion shadowing the perfect features. “This is where you are going to stay for the time being,” he finished with a small, slow nod, figuring that it would probably be at least several days until he decided exactly what to do with this strange, perfect gift. “I am going to leave soon,” he continued evenly. “I won’t be back until later. You can do whatever you want.”

He turned around and headed towards the door. Then he had another thought.

“Are you hungry?” he asked shortly, half-turning his head.

“Ummm... No...” Slow, hesitant answer made him roll his eyes.

“Are you hungry?” he repeated impatiently, aware of a quick, sharp exhale.

“I am... I don’t... I...”

Stratos closed his eyes for a second.

“When was the last time you ate?” he asked after he opened them. “For the love of God, just tell me the actual time!” He turned his head all the way and stared into the golden eyes without blinking. The hesitant perfection immediately shifted its glance to sun bunnies on the wall. Stratos felt tired all of a sudden. “Gemini...” he said and blinked, realizing that the name left a strange flavor in his mouth. He couldn’t figure out whether he liked that flavor or not. “Gemini...” he repeated slower, noting that the golden glance was reflecting in his own eyes right now. This time, he definitely liked saying the strange name. “When was the last time you ate?” he asked, ignoring the desire to say the name again.

He listened to the silence semi-patiently, the weird name soundlessly rolling on the tip of his tongue, when finally, there was a hesitant response. Stratos frowned and narrowed his eyes when he couldn’t hear a single word of the whispering wind.

“Speak up, would you?” he said with less patience.

“Yesterday morning,” the wind traded places with a louder murmur.

Stratos let out a deep sigh and turned towards the door once again.

“Come then,” he said and was surprised when the words didn’t come out as short as he intended. He thought that he sounded strangely gentle instead. “Dammit, Loreya...!” he thought and pushed the door open all the way. “Come,” he said again, and this time, his voice didn’t betray him.

The slender perfection (“Gemini...”) slowly walked out of the room, following him into the large kitchen. The housekeeper, who was rearranging something in one of the cabinets, turned towards the sounds of footsteps and straightened up, her eyebrows creeping up in immediate surprise when she saw the strange pair.

“Rose,” Stratos watched her to wipe her hands on one of the towels. “This is...” He swallowed a brief hesitation. “...Gemini,” he continued, noting a confused frown on the housekeeper’s face. “Feed him,” he finished, and Rose blinked and nodded, her expression returning to its usual professional self. Stratos hemmed silently at that.

“Right away, Stratos,” she said mildly, and turned around, reaching for a plate.

Stratos shot a quick glance to his right.

“I hate the word ‘master’,” he said in a low voice, expecting another blink or gaze shift. To his mild amusement, there was neither this time. Instead, the golden eyes held the stare without blinking. Stratos let out an inaudible sigh.

“Is this all right?” Rose’s voice made him blink and turn around.

He looked at the plate without really seeing what was on it.

“I am sure anything would be fine right now,” he said in the same low voice. “He hasn’t eaten for almost two days.”

“I see,” Rose nodded seriously without saying anything else.

Stratos sighed once more – this time, more audible. He liked this woman. Rose has been his housekeeper for the last eight years and he couldn’t imagine anyone else in her place. He looked at the blond kelari, who carefully sat on the edge of the chair, looking at the food on the plate with a strange expression. Stratos slightly frowned when he saw those bizarre eyes widen just a bit and thin nostrils flutter for a second or two.

“Just eat,” he said evenly, noting the suddenly-locked jaw and a quick swallow.

The blond (“golden, really...”) ‘present’ on the chair blinked without looking at him this time, and slowly picked up the fork with his left hand. Stratos considered taking another sigh, but at the last moment, he decided against that. He looked at the clock.

“I need to get ready,” he said shortly. “I believe, you remember the way to the room I showed you.”

He looked at Rose, half-noting a slow nod with the corner of his eye.

“I’ll see you Monday, Rose,” he gave her a quick smile, which the woman returned in her usual professional manner. “It’s almost six in the evening.”

The housekeeper would always leave at six sharp. Stratos didn’t have any other members of the usual staff – no cooks, maids, or a butler. He didn’t need anyone else – Rose always has been the only one, whose presence he felt comfortable with; he didn’t even consider her a stranger anymore.

“Happy birthday, Stratos,” Rose said in her typical throaty manner, and Stratos gave her another quick smile and a small nod.

He left the kitchen without looking at his birthday present again, concentrating on the party that was looming on the horizon.