Log: Charm School Pair [Thread] [Fuuta, Uni] [Closed]

[onlyluminous]

WHO: Fuuta de la Stella scarfyoutodeath, Uni Giglionero onlyluminous
WHAT: Two not!scheming strangers meet. A series of exercises in manners.
WHERE: A shopping complex near Namimori that may or may not be Omotesando Hills.
WHEN: February 21, 2009 (YES, WE ARE FUTURE-LOGGING TO THE EXTREME.)
RATING: Very G.
WARNING(s): Excruciating politeness and various attempts at (politely

Comments

[scarfyoutodeath]

The staff at Yves Saint Laurent were not like any other. Fuuta moved into the accessories section, smiling politely at the ones who greeted him as soon as he was close enough. That was what he liked about them; they made him feel welcome first and left him alone after that. Even he found it mildly irritating when a shop assistant followed him around while he browsed.

[onlyluminous]

Uni wandered the stores of Omotesando Hills, bodyguards trailing a discreet (if still annoyingly short) distance behind. There had been nothing so far, nothing she really wanted or saw Gamma wearing; there were some very good designs, of course, but this was for Gamma. Nothing but the very best -- the most fitting, whatever looked like it had been made solely for him to wear -- would do.

She slipped into a store -- YSL, hmm? -- and tried to smooth the frown from her forehead. From what she saw everything wasn't...masculine or sharp enough, but Uni was nothing if not thorough. She would go over this place with the proverbial fine-toothed comb until she saw something that might, however vaguely, echo what she had in mind - or until she saw everything the place had to offer.

[scarfyoutodeath]

Now all Fuuta had to do was to choose - between the black YSL scarf and...the black YSL scarf. He stood in front of a full-length mirror, holding a scarf in each hand because he could not decide. There was also a grey woolly one draped over an arm but he wasn't looking at that yet.

Halfway between thinking he would go with the one on the right and return to reconsider the grey, Fuuta lifted his eyes and saw something in the reflection that made him stop. And stare.

It was a girl he had never seen before, not in person at least, but he had memorised her face from the fateful day he and Sawada chased one another all over town. Even now, when he didn't need to remember how she looked like, Fuuta could easily recall her features from memory. There was not a lot he could not remember with ease.

"Giglionero Uni," he said to himself quietly.

[onlyluminous]

Was that...her name? Uni had been preoccupied with browsing through their selection (what was wrong with cut and drape nowadays? was it too much to ask that a certain style be cut faultlessly and be in the right colour and material?) when she heard the sound of a voice softly pronouncing syllables that, for some reason, sounded like her name. In full. Granted, she could just have been imagining it, but in this case the sin of omission would be the worse crime.

Uni turned away from the saleslady and found herself facing a mirror - and a tall young man standing before said mirror. His eyes, oddly enough, met hers.

"... Yes?" Uni said, before she could stop herself. The next moment it was all she could do to keep herself from clapping a hand over her mouth in dismay and embarrassment. Never mind that she knew few enough people who frequented such places at such times; but this man was a complete stranger.

[scarfyoutodeath]

"No, perhaps not," Fuuta conceded, putting back the blazer. Perhaps Uni hadn't noticed, but her colour suggestions gave him a good deal more to work on than she had thought. After all, if it was navy blue or black....there was an eighty-three percent chance that her recipient was fair, not dark. Maybe even blond. Possibly much older than she was.

In that case... "You should go somewhere else," suggested Fuuta, brown eyes making one clean sweep of the store. "I doubt there's anything here that would suit someone like him."

[onlyluminous]

"Perhaps," Uni said, nodding in agreement. She paused mid-nod just in time to catch the look of horrified realization from sweeping over her face. He wasn't planning on accompanying her, was he? True, she had (somehow) managed to justify not backtracking from whatever uncharted direction this conversation was taking, but she was only now coming to grips with the fact that she was going to end up shopping with this young man. Who was not only a stranger -- who somehow mysteriously knew her name -- but also a Vongola employee.

Across the Rubicon, then, Uni, she sighed to herself. She had probably condemned herself to this the moment she had missed the opportunity to (very politely) take her leave, anyway. Which had been several minutes ago, a conversational exchange after he had said her name.

"The first floor might have some more shops?" she suggested.

[scarfyoutodeath]

It was the tone of her voice that stopped Fuuta mid-step as he turned to head for the counter. He wasn't sure what to do next, he hadn't counted on accompanying her beyond this store but then, she must have misunderstood and assumed he would be stalking her wherever she went for the rest of the day. Fuuta sighed and straightened up, still holding the scarves in one hand. Might as well play the part properly...

"Sure," he answered, with a tone that suggested he was going to follow her wherever she went. He turned to the saleslady. "I'll come back for this another day," he said, passing her the scarves before turning to go. "Shall we then, Giglionero-san?"

[onlyluminous]

How she had somehow managed to acquire a shopping companion when she had really just been planning to wander around the mall alone, Uni couldn't tell; but she smiled at Fuuta de la Stella as sweetly and politely as she could manage (which, all things considered, was very sweet and polite indeed) and accompanied him outside the store with the sort of easy grace that suggested she was used to meeting brown-haired strangers and going around shopping with them all the time. She did, however, take a moment to glance back at the saleslady and -- via a pantomime that consisted of the most miniscule nods and hand gestures -- indicate that the scarves -- yes, both -- were to be wrapped and handed to the dark-suited men who snapped to attention when she came into view

[scarfyoutodeath]

Uh oh. Fuuta made a show out of putting back the shirt properly - a tuck here, another there, and arranging the collar before placing it back on its shelf so that it looked as if it had just been handled professionally by a member of the staff. All the while giving himself time to think. That wasn't hope in her voice, that was....that was...

Somehow, Fuuta was having great difficulty putting a name to the sound he heard all too clearly in Uni's voice. "Wouldn't mind what, Giglionero-san?" he asked almost sweetly when he finally faced her again.

[onlyluminous]

He had been the first one to bring up the problem of physical presence (or, in Gamma's case, physical absence). Uni silenced the nagging voice of doubt by giving him a sweet, innocent little smile.

"Assisting, De la Stella-san," she said, continuing to beam at him as she piled the ensemble into his arms. "I certainly hope you haven't changed your mind."

[scarfyoutodeath]

She was either sweetly evil, or hired by his mother - or both. Fuuta could only watch helplessly as Uni stepped back and a saleslady (much larger than the one they encountered in Yves Saint Laurent) took her place and steered him forcefully in the direction of the fitting rooms. He didn't even manage a word until he reached the first stall, where he was gently shoved in (was that even remotely possible?), outfit and all. Fuuta whirled around just in time to see the saleslady closing the door of the cubicle on him with a pleasant smile (why was everything so ironic?) and heard a clicking sound which indicated that it was being locked from the outside.

So he was meant to try on the ensemble. Fuuta realised she must have misread one of his earlier statements but that was too late now. Right before pulling off his jacket, he rapped loudly against the door of the fitting stall. "It's Fuuta, Giglionero-san!"

[onlyluminous]

"Certainly," Uni agreed pleasantly from her spot just outside the fitting room. "I'm terribly sorry for forgetting, Fuuta-san."

Leaving the saleslady -- who gave her a conspiratorial wink just before she turned away -- to make sure everything went well with the fitting, Uni wandered through the store a little more, picking up a tie for Gamma, another ensemble, and a very heavy coat. Thankfully a saleslady rescued her from the pile of clothing before any of her bodyguards could even think of rushing into the store to help her. It would be rather inconvenient if any of those three interfered.

[scarfyoutodeath]

As he turned to glide back into the stall, Fuuta couldn't resist giving the saleslady a smile bordering on impish. It was expected, really, all these comments but at the same time, a part of him almost enjoyed seeing Uni gracefully dodge all their questions without so much as a hit.

It was ten minutes later when he finally re-emerged from the fitting room, dressed in his own clothes and twisting his crimson scarf carefully around his throat. "Did you get everything you need?" he asked, handing the clothes over to one of the salespeople.

[onlyluminous]

"I did, thank you," Uni said, gesturing at the...well, the line formed by a plethora of bags and boxes standing at the foot of a gleaming display. The suit, the coat, a tie... It would make a princely gift for Gamma, she knew. Which was exactly what she had wanted. He occasionally needed reminding exactly who he was (hers, she would have liked to say); he all too often underestimated the weight of his name.

There was another bag, too, that contained the dress shirt that had formed part of the first ensemble Fuuta de la Stella had tested out. It was to this bag that Uni's eyes turned, resting on it for the briefest of moments -- should she? should she not? -- before she looked back up at the young man. Dark blue eyes met warm brown.

"Thank you very much, again," she said. "Your help was invaluable."

[scarfyoutodeath]

She was thinking of him again, whoever these clothes were for. Fuuta's fingers paused in the tying of his scarf as he regarded her with genuine curiosity this time. It had to be said, he had always been interested in the group of people that she so clearly belonged to - the ones who led seemingly privileged lifestyles and unintentionally commanded attention the moment they walked into a room. And yet, Giglionero Uni was so very guarded. Private was a better word, perhaps.

Fuuta decided against insisting once again that he'd enjoyed her company - a fact, which he realised in any case, was not far from the truth. Instead, he dipped his head in another small bow, smiling warmly at her when he looked up again. "You're welcome, Giglionero-san."

[onlyluminous]

Inasmuch as her gratitude was genuine, so was his acknowledgment of it. Uni's eyes had not betrayed her throughout this morning, so she let them express, if only briefly, whatever esteem this Fuuta de la Stella had earned in her regard. Adaptable, exquisitely charming, and very, very quick. She was reluctant to think of him as an enemy or opponent, but he was an admirable foil.

Also...actually...really rather enjoyable to spend time with. If something like this happened again, she supposed she would not mind too much.

A cloud of salesladies and uniformed attendants surrounded them, sweeping up the bags and accompanying them to the door. The coat and suit were heavy, she knew, but Uni was not too concerned; as soon as the shop door opened and she set foot on the threshold, she was met by a trio of men in sharp black suits. The leader had a YSL bag slung over one arm. Uni smiled.