White Sheets - 16. And still more is about to change

Remy set Sarah's coffee down in front of her and tried not to let on that he was very much aware of the cool mood in the dining room. Before turning and heading back to the kitchen, he caught Joy's amused grin, and in the kitchen he rolled his shoulders uncomfortably.

"You look like someone suggested a deal with Marmion," Flavius remarked far too good-humoredly for Remy's taste.

Cain snorted before Remy could even get his mouth open. "Have you looked at the girls, Fla? Or better yet, did you look at Remy?"

"Cain..." Remy's face was really a grimace now. Keira had left a clearly visible red mark on his neck, and over the very same Anduin now stroked, giving him goosebumps.

"Someone had fun, huh?"

"And it wasn't Bella... was it?" Flavius' brows moved up, then he laughed, but Remy sighed.

"Keira. What's the problem?"

"The problem is called jealousy, Remy, plain and simple," Cain said with a shrug. He closed the first lunchbox and the click sounded far too loud. "Bella may live in her own little dream world most of the time, but she's pretty fond of you." The undertone said enough.

"There was Mary until a few weeks ago, if I may remind you, and that was never a problem," Remy returned with a frown. What was between him and Bella was more than just sex, but she knew full well that it couldn't and wouldn't be anything exclusive.

"Mary can hardly be called competition, though," Marc, who was bottling smoothies in the background, now interjected. "Neither visually, nor in bed."

"You can compare?" Remy asked in surprise.

"Are you getting jealous now?" Marc asked back critically.

"No. I just wasn't aware Bella had ever asked you over."

"Was only once, when I was all new here." He shrugged.

"Okay, fine, Bella's jealous because Keira snagged her favorite. So?" As good-humored as Flavius was, as bad-humored seemed to be Anduin, who was still standing far too close to Remy.

Cain sighed. "If this lasts longer than just the morning after, it's going to be messy. And I'm serious, women fighting over a slave can get pretty damn dangerous."

Flavius chuckled in amusement, and Anduin wrapped an arm around Remy as if to suggest the problem could be solved in another way, but Remy's response to that died on his tongue as Bella entered the kitchen.

Whereas, she strode along rather majestically, head held high, and stepped right up to Remy. "Good morning..."

"Good morning, Miss Bella..." Remy's smile didn't quite succeed, and he was uncomfortably aware that the others were watching them.

Bella, however, ignored the onlookers, ignored Anduin's arm around Remy, and put a hand to his neck, right on the hickey. She pulled him to her and kissed him, as if to make her ownership clear.

Had Anduin not been holding him, Remy might well have lost himself in the kiss, but so he quickly pulled away and cleared his throat a little sheepishly, his cheeks growing warm.

"Are you coming over tonight?" she asked without letting go of him. As confident as she seemed at that moment, there was a little too much hope in her voice.

Gently, Remy took her hand from his neck, breathed a kiss on the back of it, and smiled apologetically at her. "Mistress Therese needs me tonight. I don't know how long it will take, but afterwards..." He broke off as the hope in her face turned to disappointment.

"Okay." she said simply, jutting her chin and marching out.

"Uh... yeah. Well, Remy, this doesn't look good.", Flavius remarked a bit flippantly, and Remy turned to him with a sigh.

"So, what am I supposed to do now? I can't do more than going to her afterwards."

"You could go to her before, Riri, you know. Sex has nothing to do with darkness and bedtime after." Anduin sounded like a lecturing big brother and Remy gave him a scowl. As if he didn't know himself.

"Thank you for the kind advice, Anduin, but I can't provide any quickies." And because there were too many idle hands at the moment, he added: "Get the lunch boxes ready, I'll take breakfast up to the mistresses."

Flavius chuckled, Marc sighed, Cain snorted.

"Was Keira good at least?" Was there a twinge of jealousy gnawing at Cain because Keira had turned him down?

"You're pretty nosy." Remy dodged a reply, but under Cain's gaze, his face warmed.

"And you don't even have to answer me. I know you too well by now." A mocking half-smile twisted Cain's mouth, and Remy's face grew even warmer.

"Shy as ever." Anduin remarked amused and gave him a pat on the shoulder before disappearing.

Although Cain had just said he already knew the answer, he maintained his scrutinizing gaze, and Remy cleared his throat sheepishly. "I'm very fond of Bella-"

"-but Keira is better. I see." Cain winked at him, and Flavius chuckled again.

"Damn. When Remy dethrones his Bella it's serious."

"Then it's not serious, it's good." Cain returned, now winking at Flavius, and Remy sighed, rolling his eyes.

"I hate you. All of you."

But when the other three laughed, he laughed along.

~

There were moments when Mistress Therese relaxed. They were rare, but they did exist. This was not one of them. The water had just reached the right temperature and Remy had just opened his mouth to tell her so she could lie down on her special wooden lounger and have her hair washed when her phone started ringing and she left the bathroom to get it.

"Harlaney." She almost barked into the phone, but came back into the bathroom. "Yes, I requested general sales records-" After a nod to Remy, she lay down. "No. No, I've never handled it that way before."

While Remy helped her sort her hair so he could wash it for her without submerging the bathroom, her words sank into his brain. Sales records? For whom?

"No, I said general. Any additional paragraphs and clauses will be drawn up by my notary."

Gently as ever, Remy set about washing her long hair, not thinking too much about who these papers might be for. Especially since it was already well past the usual closing time, and on top of that, it was a Fifth-Day. What agency was still working now?

"... no. No, I never said that.", Mistress Ellen's voice sounded from the adjacent room, shortly after Mistress Therese had finished her phone call.

Remy looked up briefly, but immediately turned back to the foam in Mistress Therese's hair as Mistress Ellen strode past the doorframe, her face contorted as she listened to her conversation partner. Apparently his mistresses were not having such a pleasant start to their well-deserved weekend. He just hoped the girls knew how to behave the next night when the mistresses were out.

"No, I don't know anything about that. I mean, yes, I'm aware of the forms, but- No."

Mistress Therese sighed. "It's a mystery to me why some people love paperwork so much."

"Don't you always say, Mistress, that people need structure and guidelines?" Remy ventured to say quietly, ducking his head a bit as she gave him a upside down look complete with frown.

"That's quite true. Even free wild minds need structure, though many deny it. And the larger a society is, the fuller those guidelines are. But unfortunately, some areas are so bureaucratized that you can't even sharpen a pencil there without having to fill out a form."

"That sounds... awkward," he murmured, carefully wringing out her hair. "And not very effective."

"No." she agreed, falling silent for the moment as he set about kneading the conditioner into her locks.

Mistress Ellen, meanwhile, had changed who she was talking to and now sounded much more relaxed. "Of course, you can come by anytime. Face-to-face conversations still work best."

"My master's thesis made some bright minds in the military curious at the time," Mistress Therese suddenly began.

"The military?" Remy asked in surprise. Not that he had any idea at all about what she was doing, but mechanical engineering and the military...? He got goosebumps.

"M-hm. They offered me to write my PhD as part of a research project. The documents they handed me in the preliminary interview, with all the confidentiality clauses and guidelines and such, were already as thick as an average novel. And it wasn't even clear what kind of project this was even supposed to be. So... I politely declined and did a very civil PhD." With an unexpected and highly uncharacteristic giggle, she downright startled Remy. "They tried again afterwards, but I stayed at the dry dock for the time being."

"Did you ever regret it, mistress?"

"No. The military pays its researchers and developers well, and an educational institution doesn't, but I certainly want to be able to talk with my wife about my work, I want to come home predictable, and I even if it tickled my pride to develop new things- no, I don't want any part in lethal machinery."

"That's decidedly reassuring..." he murmured uneasily, and she laughed softly.

"I mean it. Besides- what would have happened to the traditions of the house then? Being a professor gives me a special bond with the girls, don't you think?"

"Yes, mistress, it does." He rinsed the conditioner out thoroughly and was wrapping a towel around Mistress Therese's head when Mistress Ellen came in.

"So, dear, what's the news?", Mistress Therese wanted to know.

"There are a few interested. Tomorrow night and next week we'll talk to some of them."

Slowly, Remy rose from his position at the edge of the bathtub and bowed- a silent request to leave, for he didn't want to verbally interrupt the conversation.

Adjusting her towel turban, Mistress Therese sighed. "These sales talks are the worst part. Thank you, Remy."

Uneasy curiosity glowed in his belly, but he bowed again and was about to leave when he caught Mistress Ellen's gaze.

"Remy darling, you don't have to make that face. It's about Flavius."

He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say- especially since Mistress Ellen was looking at him affectionately-amused- folded it back shut accordingly and bowed again. "Good night, Mistress." he murmured softly as he closed the door- it was more of a formality, as the two women were already bending over something on Mistress Ellen's Phone.

Flavius would be sold. Soon, it seemed.

A certain regret replaced the uneasy feeling in Remy's belly, for he had always gotten along well with Flavius. He had no idea why Flavius had been deemed problematic and it was none of his business, but the average three years at Harlaney House had passed for him and if the mistresses felt he was stable and ready, he would move on.

Unlike me. Do they think I'm not ready or even unstable? Not that I want to leave, but why am I still here after ten years?

And there they were again, those critical, anxious thoughts that would haunt him until Flavius left and a new slave arrived. Already Anduin had awakened a faint reflection of it, but now Remy glanced over his shoulder back to his mistresses' rooms and shuddered. Did the mistresses expect him to be appealing to the young girls for all eternity?

Flavius, coming out of his room, interrupted his thoughts rather effectively.

"Hey, Fla..."

"Remy... what's up?" Flavius nodded at him and strolled in his direction, meeting halfway.

Suddenly Remy wasn't sure if he should say something or not, but he gave himself a push- Mistress Ellen had spoken out about who it was, and said nothing about keeping his mouth shut- and besides, he had already addressed Flavius. "Have the mistresses spoken to you lately?"

The relaxed expression on Flavius' face became a frown. "Mistress Therese wanted to talk to me, but she said that a few weeks ago already, and so far nothing has come of it. Why?"

"They're looking for prospective buyers." Short and sweet, yet Remy felt bad.

Flavius opened his mouth, but said nothing for a moment.

"I'm sorry.", Remy mumbled sheepishly, wondering briefly what hadn't actually gone wrong for him lately. "I shouldn't have-"

"Yes, you should, thank you." A thin smile appeared on Flavius' lips and he nodded. "Thank you, Remy. I didn't realize that... it was faster than I thought." He nodded again and slapped him amicably on the shoulder. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Sure." Remy nodded too, forcing a smile onto his face as well, but the regret grew stronger.

"Well..." Flavius sighed. "At least this will give me in the morning an acceptable reason for not going to see Claire now."

That made Remy's smile become much more genuine. "Sounds like you weren't thrilled from the start."

"Not really, no. Then again... I guess I should take my liberties while I have them, huh?" With a wink, Flavius grabbed his privates and Remy chuckled- Flavius was just too much of a womanizer. He refrained from remarking, however, that Flavius might well end up in a place where sex was pretty much the only thing expected of him.

"I'm not going to stop you from anything. Good night, Fla."

"Good night, Remy."

It wasn't until Remy closed his room door behind him that he remembered he'd actually wanted to go see Bella. But he really wasn't in the mood for that now. He swallowed his guilty conscience with difficulty.

~

Remy stirred in his latte, opposite him Cain did the same; Marc's spoon hung half in the air, lost in thought. The silence in the kitchen was comfortable. Sixth-Days were rarely this quiet, but Remy certainly wasn't going to complain. He took a sip of coffee and had just set the cup down when the ringing from the garden gate made all three of them wince.

Cain cursed under his breath and Marc was already at the intercom before Remy could react.

"Yes?" Even that one word sounded terribly grumpy. "Yeah, just a minute." Marc pressed the door opener and sighed. "Package for Keira. Is she even awake yet?"

"She has to leave for training in less than an hour, so I'm assuming," Remy replied calmly, raising his cup for another sip.

Marc made a disgruntled sound and hurried out.

Remy and Cain exchanged a glance, and Remy was glad that Cain continued to remain silent. It would have been easy to address Flavius' silence from breakfast or Marc's changeable mood, but even easier- and more pleasant- was the shared silence.

Not much later, Remy had finished his coffee and went into the foyer to see what was going on- he found a Keira vibrating with excitement and an amused Marc.

"Oooooooh Remy!" Keira squealed with delight.

"Yeah?" He couldn't help but laugh.

"I won! I won... I won!" She squealed again and waved a long document tube around, holding an accompanying piece of paper in her other hand.

"Are you revealing even what it is?" he wanted to know, looking to Marc, who shrugged with a grin.

"She can't do more than squeak right now - ow!" He promptly got punched in the arm for that, but Keira seemed to calm down a bit.

"I won a poster of Luna-Light."

Remy had heard the band name before, of course, but it surprised him to see Marc's amusement turn to glowing enthusiasm in the blink of an eye.

"Which one?"

"I don't know, I'll have to look inside. There were several on display as prizes.", Keira replied and her oversized grin returned. "Don't tell me you like the music."

"I love Luna-Light!"

Remy laughed to himself, while now Marc almost squealed.

"Open it! Come on, open it!"

"Slow down, will you? Wait- will you help me hang it right up?"

Marc nodded hastily and began enthusiastically, though probably not particularly musically valuable, singing a Luna-Light song; Keira fell in tune as the two reached the stairs.

Remy's renewed giggle turned to laughter as Flavius emerged from the basement, his face contorted as if in agony. "What's wrong?"

"Has anyone ever told Marc he can't sing?"

"Probably not. But even if, he probably doesn't care." Remy shrugged, and Flavius sighed.

"Not that I speak Rivan, but that"- he gestured vaguely behind him and upward- "sounds awfully wrong."

For a moment Remy was confused, then he remembered that Luna-Light sang in both Yorkish and Rivan. "Wait, you don't speak Rivan?"

Annoyed, Flavius rolled his eyes. "Just because I have a Rivan name? Really?" He shook his head and then they started moving toward the kitchen. "My grandmother is from Riva. She wanted to be a teacher and studied languages and came here as exchange student. Well, she fell in love and stayed." He paused. "Or at least that's what my grandpa told me. She died in a car accident just before I was born. Her name was Flavia."

"Oh..." Remy made, half concerned, half embarrassed.

"I think even my mother has only a very superficial knowledge of Rivan."

"I'm sorry, that was-"

"It's okay. Most people react that way." Flavius shrugged and gave Remy a wry smile. "But like I said- Marc messes up the songs tremendously, no matter the language."

"Oh Great Mother, has he started singing again?" Cain, who had apparently heard the last part, seemed horrified.

"Looks like it." Remy grinned knowingly. "He and Keira share a passion for Luna-Light." If he thought about it right, it could be quite fun. At least from his point of view.

With a disinterested shrug, Flavius reached for Marc's untouched-looking coffee and grimaced when he realized after a sip it was cold.

Cain, meanwhile, shuddered. "Music in all honor, really, but can you really call it music when there's someone rhythmically moaning into the microphone?"

Involuntarily, Remy chuckled, though it seemed a bit childish to him.

"Seriously, Cain?" Flavius seemed incredulous. "Then what are all those girls you sleep with doing? Silently pray it's over in a minute?"

That didn't make Remy's silly reaction any better, especially since Cain seemed genuinely offended now.

"Excuse me, but what does this have to do with music?"

"Well, if rhythmic moaning bothers you that much..." Flavius shrugged skeptically and Remy chuckled some more.

"Maybe they're just screaming his name."

"That doesn't weaken my suspicion that Cain is bad in bed at all."

"Okay, you know what? There's the fridge, Flavius. Don't expect me to cook for you for the next few days." Hands on his hips, Cain glared at Flavius, and Remy struggled to get a grip on his laughter as quickly as possible so as not to be hit by Cain's wrath as well; Flavius, on the other hand, merely grunted.

"With material like that, you can't complain if someone jumps on it."

"Yeah, jumping is the right word for you. You'll jump on anything with boobs," Cain returned venomously.

"That's not right. I don't like man boobs.", Flavius corrected majestically and Remy giggled again.

"Sorry.", whispered and immediately regretted it because Cain gave him a somber look.

"My dear Remy..." he began coolly, but then broke off when Flavius raised a brow expectantly. "Oh you know what? Fuck you. Both of you."

Flavius promptly made a jerk-off gesture, but Remy laughed and winked at him.

"You want to fuck?"

"You? Nope."

Remy looked back at Cain, who rolled his eyes, and shrugged himself. "You heard. Nothing to be done."

"I give up..." Resignedly, Cain threw his arms in the air.

"Does this mean I get to eat?" Flavius ventured to ask and Cain sighed as Remy laughed.

"Better not provoke our cook too much. But don't worry, in case of emergency, I'll take care of you."

"That's our Remy, nurturing as always." But suddenly Flavius became serious. "I'm going to miss you guys, you know that?"

The good humor, the sweet-natured banter was gone.

Remy choked on his giggles; Cain, however, twisted his lips into a thin smile.

"We you too, man, we you too."