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 Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 8:58 pm
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
 Rufus chuckled softly. "Meme, have a private word with Martha or Kuro. Talk to Sarah. Ask them how often I got beaten up, scraped or forgot to eat for nearly a week. This is nothing new - if I had lessons, I tried to skip out on them; if I was supposed to listen to some boring old sermon, I fell asleep and snuck in cookies that I wasn't supposed to have. I've climbed out of windows, fallen off horses and carriages and lived on nothing but biscuits and water for weeks on end!"
He paused. "Alright, so the living on biscuits and water thing was my punishment for ditching my duties, but I still did it." He held out his hands for Meme's. "If we divorced and I married Helena because we were forced into it, do you think she would notice if I didn't eat? Kuro, Martha and Sarah are wonderful, but they all have their own duties, so how would they notice?"
Twenty-one.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped.
Liam took a deep breath. "I have two new siblings! But Akito didn't look happy when Julian told him - I don't know why though, since they're so cute!" He was genuinely confused. "Julian likes them too, but he's been worried ever since and I wasn't supposed to hear him arguing with Dad, but they were so loud!"
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 9:15 pm
** Meme Pear **
Meme gave him a small stab of a glare. "Your the one who's supposed to notice when you haven't eaten." He grumbled softly, but Rufus did have a little bit of a point. "I still.....I still think this would have gone more smoothly if we hadn't met...." he said softly. "But I guess me leaving now would complicate things even more...and there isn't anything I can do to help." he thought out loud, starting to feel a little stuck.
}{ Kuro Suji }{
Kuro gave a soft sigh, Akito had so many siblings and now his father just adopted two more. "I'll go look into it. Go keep Martha company alright?" he asked softly, pointing the boy in the right direction. Kuro grumbled and made his way to the stables. He would borrow a horse for a minute or two and ride to Akito's home just to check up on the boy. Kuro kept the horse tethered just outside the home and made his way inside without knocking, unsure of whether this would be an emergency.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 10:01 pm
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
Rufus leant closer to Meme. "Tell me, Meme: who is Helena in love with?" He asked softly.
Twenty-one.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped.
Liam watched Kuro leave, hoping he'd done the right thing. Still, food awaited him, so he ran off when Kuro went out of sight and helped Martha pack a basket to take home with him.
Muted shouting could be heard from upstairs as Julian sat in a rocking chair by the fire, holding two small bundles in his arms. He looked up as Kuro came in, trying to indicate a need for silence by shaking his head.
A moment later, however, Akito came flying down the stairs, clearly infuriated. Joshua, younger than Liam and Julian, followed after him. Without spotting Kuro, Akito whirled around and went back up the stairs to swoop Joshua into his arms. As he carried the boy down, he smiled reluctantly. "You're nearly big enough, Joshy, but not yet." He murmured, looking up just as he reached the last step. His eyes widened in surprise and he blushed slightly. "Kuro?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 10:08 pm
** Meme Pear **
Meme blushed, he knew Helena was in love with someone else but it didn't stop him from feeling stuck. "I-I know who it is....But I still feel like we're in a rut of some kind." He said softly, keeping to himself as he tried to figure out a way to help.
}{ Kuro Suji }{
Kuro looked into Akito's eyes, the boy looked as though he had been caught doing something he shouldn't. "Is everything okay? Liam was really worried about you." he said softly, noticing the two bundles in Julian's arms. "What's going on Akito?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 10:20 pm
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
Rufus nodded. "We are. But if we'd had to marry, we'd have been miserable, and if I'd refused because she's in love with Troy, Lionel might have started a war. So really, it's almost the same rut, with one difference: I can't get married twice." His eyes glittered and he smirked as he winked at Meme. "And the church really disapproves of bigamy, as well as a man marrying a man!" He paused. "Well, I'm guessing our vicar does anyway."
Twenty-one.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped.
Akito hadn't wanted to tell Kuro or anyone at the palace; they didn't need charity, they needed a father who had some sense of reality! But he didn't want Kuro to think they'd kidnapped the babies, so he turned to Julian. "I'll be outside, alright? Could you watch Josh?"
At Julian's nod, he sat Josh at his feet and gently disengaged himself from his brother's grasp, aware that Josh wanted to be carried some more. He went to Kuro and pulled him outside, not roughly, but he didn't want his father to come down.
He released the Butler once they were outside and went to sit on the low wall around the front 'garden', his head in his hands. "He's been doing this since Mum died." he murmured.
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Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2014 10:28 pm
** Meme Pear **
Meme couldn't help but laugh a little, sometimes he worried over silly things. He stood up and moved to Rufus' side, stuttering with his hands a little before pressing his lips to Rufus' for a few moments. "Thank you...." he said softly, pressing his forehead against his husband's and smiling a little. "I just...I really want to help and I don't feel like I am."
}{ Kuro Suji }{
Kuro gave a soft sigh. "Your father is adopting children huh?" he guessed, putting the two clues together and running a hand through his forehead. "Doesn't he realize that he's going to run his family into the ground? Is he mental or something?" Kuro wasn't angry but merely concerned for Akito's well being, as well as his family.
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Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 6:46 pm
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
Rufus patted Meme on the back. "No-one would have been with me today when I fell off my horse, if you weren't here." He murmured.
Twenty-one.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped.
Akito nodded, his fists clenching. "First, it was Liam, then Josh. Now the twins. He's named them already, Kuro. I haven't seen them, but already," he looked up, expression panicked, "already they're my sisters!" He jumped to his feet, pacing. "And it's not just baby humans; it's baby anything! We've had kittens, puppies and whatever else he could find."
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Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 7:01 pm
** Meme Pear **
Meme smiled a little, Rufus was right yet again. He couldn't see it right away but he was helping, if only a little bit. Meme took a seat on his husband's lap and grabbed the roll he was munching on earlier. "You need to eat....I...I can feed you." he said with a small blush.
}{ Kuro Suji }{
Kuro sighed heavily, he was afraid of this. He guessed that Akito was the only one working right now, all of his siblings are much younger than him and his father is probably busy taking care of everyone right now. He knew there was something he needed to do but Akito wasn't about to accept charity, especially from his job. Kuro stood up and placed his hands on Akito's shoulders. "There's not much you can do right now. Why don't you come back to the castle and we will figure something out together."
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Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:22 pm
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
Rufus blushed and gulped slightly, before smiling shyly and nibbling on the roll he'd been offered. Once he'd swallowed, he nodded. "Thank you, Meme." He gently lifted Meme off of his lap and set his feet on the floor, quickly covering his lap with his napkin. "But I think I'd better feed myself..."
Twenty-one.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped.
Akito smiled at Kuro, opened his mouth - and heard the door creak open behind them.
"Akito, I want you to meet - oh." Akito's father pulled up short, a bundle in his arms. He straightened his glasses and cleared his throat. "I'm sorry to interrupt."
Akito hid a groan; he knew what was coming. Still, there was a baby present, so he nodded at Kuro and turned around... only to be caught by the cutest pair of eyes he'd ever seen! Automatically, he reached out a finger towards the tiny grasping hand and smiled as he was caught.
"This is Melinda." murmured his father, smiling softly.
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Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:37 pm
** Meme Pear **
Meme was confused at first but once he saw the napkin across Rufus' lap he figured out why Rufus moved him off and blushed brightly. "O-oh...okay w-well.....just make sure to eat it all. I don't want you to.....to fall....a-again." he said softly, moving to his original seat to calm himself down a little.
}{ Kuro Suji }{
Kuro turned his back to the father, thinking it was a private matter until he heard a name. He turned back toward Akito's father and saw the small baby. He wouldn't tell Akito but he was going to try whatever he could to help his family out a little. "Where is her mother?" he asked cautiously, wondering if Akito's father waited for a baby need a home or if he was helping poor souls of abused or orphaned homes.
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Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 8:53 pm
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
Rufus nodded, pulling his plate to him and starting in on the soup. "I shall." He kept eating, trying to think of something to say... "So, what's happening with Akito?"
Twenty-one.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped.
Akito took Melinda from his father and sat on the wall, watching as his father led Kuro a little away.
Wesley looked at Kuro, assessing him. "Her mother didn't want them. She came to me a month or so ago, claiming she was pregnant and that she'd heard rumours that I adopted unwanted babies. She'd met Akito and Julian in town, I'm guessing when they went to buy groceries, and she said she could see they were well brought up. She didn't look pregnant, but she said she was sick in the mornings. I told her to see a doctor.
A couple of days ago, however, she came to my work carrying a covered basket." He took off his glasses and wiped them. "I promised not to ask questions of her, but I can describe her for you if needs be. We don't want trouble."
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Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 9:05 pm
** Meme Pear **
Meme shrugged a little. "I'm not sure. I haven't really seen him since Kuro woke up." he said softly. "Have there been any developments with the rest of the kingdom?" he asked curiously, trying to keep his mind occupied for the moment.
}{ Kuro Suji }{
Kuro gave Akito's father a reassuring pat on his shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm not here to arrest anyone. Adopting children is your own business. I will try to help out as much as I can." he said softly, moving away from the father and tapping Akito on his shoulder. "We must be heading back to the castle Akito. We have our own duties to perform. I'll let you come home early tonight."
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Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 10:03 pm
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
Rufus shook his head. "No, they were all happy to let me answer the press' questions about the funeral and such." He took a bite of his roll, spreading butter on the rest of it while he chewed... then he dipped the bread in the soup, taking a bite before looking at Meme guiltily.
Twenty-one.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped.
Wesley nodded to Kuro. "Thank you." When he held his arms out for the baby, however, Akito shook his head and took her inside. Wesley sighed. "He's going to be angry for days."
Akito handed Melinda back to Julian, picking up Josh for a cuddle as he turned to Julian. "You don't let him work you to exhaustion, Julian." When Julian nodded, Akito kissed Josh on the forehead and put him down again. He waved bye to them, then left the house. He turned to Wesley. "You have to be responsible. If you knew about them, why didn't you plan anything? Nevermind, I have to go to work."
Without waiting for a response, Akito strode to his horse and climbed up.
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Posted: Sun Mar 16, 2014 10:23 pm
** Meme Pear **
Meme caught Rufus looking over at him and gave his husband a little smile to try and cheer him up a little. "I'm glad they didn't give you too much trouble." he said softly, knowing his husband was getting the nutrition he needed but the man still looked tired. "Why don't you have Kuro create the funeral? You look like you could use some rest." After all, wasn't that the best thing about having a personal butler?
}{ Kuro Suji }{
Kuro sighed heavily, Akito's living situation was more difficult than he thought. Of course Kuro had some ideas about how to help the boy but he couldn't bother Rufus with such matters. Perhaps it was time to collect taxes from the villagers again, but one thing was for sure, he was going to make sure that a carriage came to Akito's home every now and again with some groceries. Maybe create a place where the villagers could get food without having to worry about expenses. Those plans will be revisited after the funeral, however. Once they arrived at the stables again Kuro came up to Akito's side right away. "Are you okay?" he asked softly, helping Akito from his horse.
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Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2014 6:11 pm
~~~ Rufus Arthur Rayne ~~~
Phew. He doesn't realise I wasn't acting at all 'Princely' in the way I eat. Rufus kept eating, until Meme mentioned about Kuro taking over. "I'd love to, but it seems cruel to make Kuro plan that specifically. Instead, I'll ask him really nicely to organise the whole household and update me on anything he thinks I should know about. It'll be fine."
Twenty-one.
Prince.
Next In Line.
Soon-To-Be Wed.
Trapped.
Akito held onto him as he was helped down. "No. We have rent, taxes and food to find. A wet nurse to pay. Julian says he's not working - he's barely sixteen! - but I know he has to be, whether it's delivering papers or something else. I already owe someone money - which I'll have by my next pay day in a couple of days' time, and they're fine with that, but repaying them means we're down on funds. Again. Father has a job, but Joshua was sick recently, just a cold, but it meant he's been at home for a few days!" Akito realised he was hyperventilating, so he closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath.
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