Meisa let out a soft sigh of relief. Plane tickets back home were expensive, changing them even more so. And she was determined to spend this Christmas with her family after missing out on the last two. She would have shelled out the cash to rearrange her schedule, but preferred not to if she could help it. Most, if not all, she made went to paying her tuition. "I will," she nodded with a smile, about to crack a joke about revealing their 'relationship', but the door opened before she could.
The twins were gorgeous and Meisa wondered if they had been models themselves at any point. They were smiling at her during Jun's introductions and she could feel herself smiling back. "Hello," she said brightly, bringing her hand up for a handshake as she stepped forward. Over her shoulder, she shot an arched eyebrow at Jun then turned back at the twins."I don't know what Jun's told you, I'm not perfect. But, I am someone who would work my butt off to give you perfect."
Aleix laughed. He had a hearty laugh, one that belied his lanky frame. "Jun, you were right," he said as he stepped up to grip her hand, giving it a firm shake. Meisa was surprised to see that he was wearing cat-eyed contacts. "Polite and professional." He stepped aside to let his sister through. Meisa thought she heard him chuckle "and fiesty" under his breath.
"What do you study?" Aina's voice was light and airy but not at all ditzy. There was a sharpness that peeked out from behind the fashionable nerd frames she sported. Her question was painted with a hint of amusement, as if she was sharing in her brother's sentiments, but also genuine interest.
"Art History." Meisa found herself liking the pair very much and hoping that they liked her too. Jun's hand, subtle pressure on her lower back, lent quiet support throughout the exchange. She grinned. "I just finished today, so there was no abducting, not really. Just Jun surprising me out of nowhere."
Watching the twins with eyes like a hawk, Jun could see that they at least liked Meisa. Who wouldn't? But liking her personally wasn't quite the same as liking her professionally, though it helped. Too, it helped that Jun had brought her up to them--he'd been with them almost from the start of their 'face' advertising. They knew he was invested.
Just as he was invested in getting Meisa in. "Hush," he said to Meisa, moving his hand from her back to her shoulder and giving her a gentle push to the side. "You'll make me sound un-mannered." Both twins snickered and Jun smiled. "So...?"
Aleix laughed again. "So we had Cosimo send us the shots he wouldn't use in the catalog, since Renee told Aina about them..."
"...we like the look of them," Aina said, nodding to her brother even as she steepled her hands together under her chin, studying them as she stepped back.
"But we'll of course want to see you together ourselves."
"On an indoor set, in motion. Stills can be too easy."
Jun looked between them. "Towels?" he asked with a roll of his eyes.
Meisa playfully wrinkled her nose at Jun. Despite the easy-going nature so far displayed by the twins, it wouldn't do to be childly sticking her tongue out at him in the middle of her impromptu interview. She smiled at the memory of the shoot with Cosimo. It had been fun, mostly because she was with Jun and together they were able to play around and still give Cosimo what he was looking for. It sounded like the twins liked that aspect of partnering her with Jun.
Towels. Jun was right. Aina looked at her. "Are you comfortable with that, Meisa? May I call you Meisa?"
"It's fine, to both," Meisa nodded, watching twin beams grow slightly bigger at her response.
"Alright then, follow us." Aleix motioned, turning in time with his sister to lead them out of the room, the pair of them talking quickly in a language Meisa couldn't place.
Tugging at Jun's sleeve as they made to follow, she waited until he glanced her way to speak. "This may be an interview, Jun-pon," she deadpanned quietly, "But I still expect some dancing lessons."
Jun could see the wisdom in what both Aina and Aleix were doing--being comfortable with being under-dressed and with another person was going to be important here. For himself as well. He should have had breakfast.
Which was right when Aleix took a break from chattering in Catalan to look back at him questioningly. Jun shook his head minutely. The twins knew what he was--the only people in the industry who did and only because Aina's former assistant had been the one to hit him with her car. "You could use English," he invited as they stepped through to the tiny in-house studio. It was big enough to hold a full bathroom (though there wasn't a toilet on-set--just the fancy sink, shower, and tub) and camera. There were minuscule changing rooms to the left and right of the set.
Aleix held up a thick, white towel. "Jun, I have your special towel!" he hummed. "We monogrammed it," he explained, smiling wickedly at Meisa. "White on white but it says..."
Jun held back a long-suffering sigh. He liked the twins but there was only so much of them he could honestly take. "Prince."
Aina brought Meisa a second towel, fluffy and white and possibly also monogrammed. Jun grabbed his towel and went into the closet-sized room to 'change'. "I loaded my mp3 player with the Blue Danube in the six seconds I took between the end of the phone call and the start of the search," he promised as he shut the door.
Meisa caught Aleix's wicked grin and knew that whatever he was going to say, it was going to be good. And it was. When Jun told her, she burst out in delighted giggles. She was only able to nod and giggle through a grin at his promise to dance.
"No monogram, not yet," Aina too, was chortling as she handed Meisa a second towel. "We need to get to know you better before saddling you with a nickname."
Well that made sense, Meisa thought. She didn't have the job yet after all. But things were looking good. "Why, Prince?" she asked, stepping towards the second changing room.
Aleix laughed. "For that, you should ask His Highness."
With a nod and a smile, Meisa ducked in to change.
Fortune was favoring her today. It was a lucky thing the only clean bra she had left to wear was the nude bandeau one that she could leave on underneath the towel. She changed quickly and stepped back out. Jun was already speaking to the twins on the set. Sidling up next to Jun, she switched to her easy-going professional mode. "So, what do you want me to do?"
The towel was fairly comfortable, for a towel, and Jun was comfortable in it. He leaned against the edge of the sink and eyed the twins. "You know she's perfect," he told them.
The twins shared a smile. "You certainly are certain of it," Aina practically twinkled at him.
"Passionately so," Aleix added.
Jun eyed them, wondering what they were getting at but before he could ask, Meisa came out. Towel-clad and slightly tousled from changing. He couldn't imagine a less proper look for learning to dance. "Excuse me," he said to the twins. Ignoring Meisa's question to the twins he held out his hand to her. "I'm sure they want to see us in action so...may I have this dance?" He bowed.
"But of course." Meisa raised her eyebrow in bemused amusement at Jun as she reached for his hand. She looked at the twins, only to see them trying to hide matching grins. However, they couldn't hide the twinkling in their eyes. "Excuse us."
Aina waved her hand at them in a shooing gesture, and Meisa let Jun sweep her away.
"So," she said, her own eyes full of mirth, once he twirled her into position. "Why Prince?"
He glanced at the screen of his player and selected the song, fishing out the earbuds, on in his ear and the other in Meisa's. "It's not too hard, the hardest part is remembering the order of the forms and keeping the space between you and the other couples." He counted beats in his head. "Normally we start across the room from each other, girls on one side, boys the other and then there's the crossing. We're going to start with the first formation, though."
He set her hand on his shoulder and then his to her waist. "This is the grand cotillion waltz, the granddaddy. Your hand never drops below your waist unless you're on the outside square without a partner." The music was so familiar and though it had been years, Jun could do it in his sleep. "It's waltz time, in the circle not the box." It was easier to lead her in the dance than explain. He lifted his arm and spun her under it.
"And they tagged me with it after one of the first commercials. They asked for me to be like porcelain and instead I apparently gave them 'regal'. No matter what I did. For two solid days." He'd been driven nuts by it--they'd started teasing him just to make him relax, he was now sure. "I'm sure they'll stick you with something."
Meisa adjusted the earbud, tucking her hair behind her ear. The soft melody of the Blue Danube played in her ear. "Da-da-da-da-duh," she hummed as Jun positioned them into the proper position. "First formation, is this?"
"Is that so there's no hanky-panky?" She looked from where he placed his hand to give him a teasing expression. "Not that you would ever, Jun-pon."
Circle? Box? There was a difference? He was leading them effortlessly through the steps and all, but Meisa needed to look down so she wouldn't trip over her feet. "I bet that drove you crazy," she told their feet, biting one side of her lip in concentration. "Well, let's not count our chickens before they hatch. I'm not even hired yet. Nicknaming will have to be put on the backburner until then."
It was a good thing they were barefoot. Had she been in heels, she would have tripped by now for sure.
No hanky-panky? Jun snorted. "The hanky-panky happens in the bushes outside, providing you're not in a skirt that could shelter a family of six comfortably." He twirled her under his arm again, careful not to raise her arm too high due to her towel. Instead of tucking his free arm behind his back as he should have he reached out and nudged hers up a fraction.
He also nudged her chin up. "Up here, Boo," he instructed. "I've got you." He was pretty sure she barely knew how to waltz and so he slowed it down. Heh. Slow down. "Oh, I'd never," he said dryly. Not now, but he certainly had. There was a reason he knew about the bushes, after all.
Just like he knew they'd want Meisa. He gave her a lazy smile. "They'll stick you with something," he assured her. "Something embarrassing, I'm sure."
There was only one way Jun would know where the hanky-panky happened. Meisa snickered as she brought her gaze up.
"Never Jun-pon?," she repeated archly as he led her through the waltz. It was disconcerting not to look at her feet and make sure she was doing the steps right, but Jun knew what he was doing. It did leave her able to focus on their conversation properly so she quipped, "And why wouldn't a skirt housing that family of six be an excellent place to conduct some hanky-panky? The girl could just disappear into her skirt and the guy could meet her in there somewhere."
Meisa had seen those skirts. All frills and fabric spilling all over the place. And weren't those girls covered up all over? Well, anybody would be more covered up than her at the moment.
"I'm pretty sure they're cooking up something right now," she said, catching a glimpse of the twins over Jun's shoulder. "They keep pretending to not be looking at us and smiling."
"Of course never," Jun said, still dry. But he had to laugh at the image of a woman popping down inside her skirt as though it was some sort of parasol. He nearly dropped to his knee for her to do the walk about and then realized that they were still in towels and it was going to be something more than awkward if he did.
So he stopped, taking out his earbud. "And if I did meet a girl under her skirts I'd never say a word." He let go of her waist and stepped back, bowing a kiss to the back of her hand--she'd need full length gloves eventually--like a proper gentlemen. He gently tugged his earbud free of her ear before turning to the grinning twins.
"Don't stop on our account!" Aleix called, waving.
"We're quite busy!" Aina agreed cheerfully.
Jun sighed deeply. "You might fool Meisa now but you've never fooled me."
Meisa chuckled at the image of Jun trying to swim through layers of fabric just to meet a girl. Him with the proper manners now kissing the back of her hand? Probably not now, but teenagers followed a different code of conduct.
She would have dropped into a curtsy when they finished, but for the fact that she was in a towel and there really was no way to do so without embarrassing herself. Gathering her hair and twisting it to the side, she looked at Aleix and Aina curiously.
"You two are gorgeous together," stated Aina, a slight teasing tone to her voice. Curious.
"Really, we think it's a very good match." Aleix winked.
That was a weird way of saying that they worked well together, thought Meisa. She spoke to Jun out of the side of her mouth, smiling and nodding at the twins. "Does that mean I'm hired?"
Jun knew the twins and that was weird even for them. They were twinkling suspiciously, too but to what end he couldn't tell. He gave them a strange look before switching his look to Meisa. "Yes," he told her, giving the twins a challenging look.
"Yes," Aleix laughed heartily. "If you're asking if you're hired..." he looked at his sister.
Aina beamed, spreading her hands. "Yes. How can we pass up the chance to show the two of you together to the world?"
That was just...weird. But the twins were chattering in Catalan again. He looked back at Meisa and shrugged. "We can probably get dressed again." There wasn't anybody around for filming and while it was possibly to do a print shoot, he knew the twins were going to want to plan out introducing Meisa as a face for their products.
The twins were gorgeous and Meisa wondered if they had been models themselves at any point. They were smiling at her during Jun's introductions and she could feel herself smiling back. "Hello," she said brightly, bringing her hand up for a handshake as she stepped forward. Over her shoulder, she shot an arched eyebrow at Jun then turned back at the twins."I don't know what Jun's told you, I'm not perfect. But, I am someone who would work my butt off to give you perfect."
Aleix laughed. He had a hearty laugh, one that belied his lanky frame. "Jun, you were right," he said as he stepped up to grip her hand, giving it a firm shake. Meisa was surprised to see that he was wearing cat-eyed contacts. "Polite and professional." He stepped aside to let his sister through. Meisa thought she heard him chuckle "and fiesty" under his breath.
"What do you study?" Aina's voice was light and airy but not at all ditzy. There was a sharpness that peeked out from behind the fashionable nerd frames she sported. Her question was painted with a hint of amusement, as if she was sharing in her brother's sentiments, but also genuine interest.
"Art History." Meisa found herself liking the pair very much and hoping that they liked her too. Jun's hand, subtle pressure on her lower back, lent quiet support throughout the exchange. She grinned. "I just finished today, so there was no abducting, not really. Just Jun surprising me out of nowhere."
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Just as he was invested in getting Meisa in. "Hush," he said to Meisa, moving his hand from her back to her shoulder and giving her a gentle push to the side. "You'll make me sound un-mannered." Both twins snickered and Jun smiled. "So...?"
Aleix laughed again. "So we had Cosimo send us the shots he wouldn't use in the catalog, since Renee told Aina about them..."
"...we like the look of them," Aina said, nodding to her brother even as she steepled her hands together under her chin, studying them as she stepped back.
"But we'll of course want to see you together ourselves."
"On an indoor set, in motion. Stills can be too easy."
Jun looked between them. "Towels?" he asked with a roll of his eyes.
The twins beamed.
Weird, but solid.
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Towels. Jun was right. Aina looked at her. "Are you comfortable with that, Meisa? May I call you Meisa?"
"It's fine, to both," Meisa nodded, watching twin beams grow slightly bigger at her response.
"Alright then, follow us." Aleix motioned, turning in time with his sister to lead them out of the room, the pair of them talking quickly in a language Meisa couldn't place.
Tugging at Jun's sleeve as they made to follow, she waited until he glanced her way to speak. "This may be an interview, Jun-pon," she deadpanned quietly, "But I still expect some dancing lessons."
Who knew when they'd get another chance to do so?
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Which was right when Aleix took a break from chattering in Catalan to look back at him questioningly. Jun shook his head minutely. The twins knew what he was--the only people in the industry who did and only because Aina's former assistant had been the one to hit him with her car. "You could use English," he invited as they stepped through to the tiny in-house studio. It was big enough to hold a full bathroom (though there wasn't a toilet on-set--just the fancy sink, shower, and tub) and camera. There were minuscule changing rooms to the left and right of the set.
Aleix held up a thick, white towel. "Jun, I have your special towel!" he hummed. "We monogrammed it," he explained, smiling wickedly at Meisa. "White on white but it says..."
Jun held back a long-suffering sigh. He liked the twins but there was only so much of them he could honestly take. "Prince."
Aina brought Meisa a second towel, fluffy and white and possibly also monogrammed. Jun grabbed his towel and went into the closet-sized room to 'change'. "I loaded my mp3 player with the Blue Danube in the six seconds I took between the end of the phone call and the start of the search," he promised as he shut the door.
FIRMLY ignoring the chortling twins.
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"No monogram, not yet," Aina too, was chortling as she handed Meisa a second towel. "We need to get to know you better before saddling you with a nickname."
Well that made sense, Meisa thought. She didn't have the job yet after all. But things were looking good. "Why, Prince?" she asked, stepping towards the second changing room.
Aleix laughed. "For that, you should ask His Highness."
With a nod and a smile, Meisa ducked in to change.
Fortune was favoring her today. It was a lucky thing the only clean bra she had left to wear was the nude bandeau one that she could leave on underneath the towel. She changed quickly and stepped back out. Jun was already speaking to the twins on the set. Sidling up next to Jun, she switched to her easy-going professional mode. "So, what do you want me to do?"
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The twins shared a smile. "You certainly are certain of it," Aina practically twinkled at him.
"Passionately so," Aleix added.
Jun eyed them, wondering what they were getting at but before he could ask, Meisa came out. Towel-clad and slightly tousled from changing. He couldn't imagine a less proper look for learning to dance. "Excuse me," he said to the twins. Ignoring Meisa's question to the twins he held out his hand to her. "I'm sure they want to see us in action so...may I have this dance?" He bowed.
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Aina waved her hand at them in a shooing gesture, and Meisa let Jun sweep her away.
"So," she said, her own eyes full of mirth, once he twirled her into position. "Why Prince?"
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He set her hand on his shoulder and then his to her waist. "This is the grand cotillion waltz, the granddaddy. Your hand never drops below your waist unless you're on the outside square without a partner." The music was so familiar and though it had been years, Jun could do it in his sleep. "It's waltz time, in the circle not the box." It was easier to lead her in the dance than explain. He lifted his arm and spun her under it.
"And they tagged me with it after one of the first commercials. They asked for me to be like porcelain and instead I apparently gave them 'regal'. No matter what I did. For two solid days." He'd been driven nuts by it--they'd started teasing him just to make him relax, he was now sure. "I'm sure they'll stick you with something."
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"Is that so there's no hanky-panky?" She looked from where he placed his hand to give him a teasing expression. "Not that you would ever, Jun-pon."
Circle? Box? There was a difference? He was leading them effortlessly through the steps and all, but Meisa needed to look down so she wouldn't trip over her feet. "I bet that drove you crazy," she told their feet, biting one side of her lip in concentration. "Well, let's not count our chickens before they hatch. I'm not even hired yet. Nicknaming will have to be put on the backburner until then."
It was a good thing they were barefoot. Had she been in heels, she would have tripped by now for sure.
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He also nudged her chin up. "Up here, Boo," he instructed. "I've got you." He was pretty sure she barely knew how to waltz and so he slowed it down. Heh. Slow down. "Oh, I'd never," he said dryly. Not now, but he certainly had. There was a reason he knew about the bushes, after all.
Just like he knew they'd want Meisa. He gave her a lazy smile. "They'll stick you with something," he assured her. "Something embarrassing, I'm sure."
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"Never Jun-pon?," she repeated archly as he led her through the waltz. It was disconcerting not to look at her feet and make sure she was doing the steps right, but Jun knew what he was doing. It did leave her able to focus on their conversation properly so she quipped, "And why wouldn't a skirt housing that family of six be an excellent place to conduct some hanky-panky? The girl could just disappear into her skirt and the guy could meet her in there somewhere."
Meisa had seen those skirts. All frills and fabric spilling all over the place. And weren't those girls covered up all over? Well, anybody would be more covered up than her at the moment.
"I'm pretty sure they're cooking up something right now," she said, catching a glimpse of the twins over Jun's shoulder. "They keep pretending to not be looking at us and smiling."
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So he stopped, taking out his earbud. "And if I did meet a girl under her skirts I'd never say a word." He let go of her waist and stepped back, bowing a kiss to the back of her hand--she'd need full length gloves eventually--like a proper gentlemen. He gently tugged his earbud free of her ear before turning to the grinning twins.
"Don't stop on our account!" Aleix called, waving.
"We're quite busy!" Aina agreed cheerfully.
Jun sighed deeply. "You might fool Meisa now but you've never fooled me."
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She would have dropped into a curtsy when they finished, but for the fact that she was in a towel and there really was no way to do so without embarrassing herself. Gathering her hair and twisting it to the side, she looked at Aleix and Aina curiously.
"You two are gorgeous together," stated Aina, a slight teasing tone to her voice. Curious.
"Really, we think it's a very good match." Aleix winked.
That was a weird way of saying that they worked well together, thought Meisa. She spoke to Jun out of the side of her mouth, smiling and nodding at the twins. "Does that mean I'm hired?"
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"Yes," Aleix laughed heartily. "If you're asking if you're hired..." he looked at his sister.
Aina beamed, spreading her hands. "Yes. How can we pass up the chance to show the two of you together to the world?"
That was just...weird. But the twins were chattering in Catalan again. He looked back at Meisa and shrugged. "We can probably get dressed again." There wasn't anybody around for filming and while it was possibly to do a print shoot, he knew the twins were going to want to plan out introducing Meisa as a face for their products.
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