Chapter Two: Whiskey and Scotch

"Tell me I'm, like, getting paid overtime for this Laura!" Feliks demanded as he barged through the storage room door, almost knocking down a stunned Italian. "Oops, didn't see you there Feli. Sorry!"

Feliciano Vargas shook his head, the ever-present smile on his face growing wider by the second. "No, no. It's okay, Feliks. Laura just told me about the whole dinner thing. I can tell you're upset so you can slam every door in this entire place as long as you don't break them. Or maybe you can break them. Laura will have to pay for them anyway and I guess that's punishment enough for setting you up with Lars. But, Lars isn't such a bad man so maybe he'll treat you better that Toris did. Oops, sorry, I shouldn't have brought Toris up. Did I upset you, Feliks?"

"Wow..." was the only thing Feliks could say. "Ludwig was right. You can talk faster than me!"

Feliciano nodded. "Ludwig said I could talk faster than anyone in the world. I should probably go for a world record. Hmm, I wonder how world records work. Do you just call them or do you-"

"That's okay now, Feli. I don't think Feliks has all night to listen to the wonders of world records..." Laura interrupted, holding Felik's baby pink coat over her shoulder. "We've got dinner reservations after all."

Feliks rolled his eyes. "You know I'm not going, right?" he briskly walked towards the slightly shorter woman, only to grab his coat and turn back. "This isn't in my job description, Laura. I, like, knew there was something going on when Elizaveta offered me this job. I'm, like, not doing this... I'm not ready, okay?"

Laura carefully placed a hand of Feliks shoulder, gripping it tightly. "Feliks, relax. I'm not setting you two up. It's just dinner."

Feliks let out a silent hmph. "You, like, have to swear you won't do anything to get us alone. Nothing Laura. You totally have to swear!"

Laura giggled, raising her right hand in the air. "I swear by everything fashionable I won't ever leave you two alone together!" she smugly declared, her left hand carefully hidden behind her, two fingers deviously crossed.

Feliks nodded. "Okay, I'll go."

"If Laura doesn't come out of the restroom in, like, five minutes I'm going to assume she's dead and, like, go home!" Feliks grumbled as he poked at his vanilla ice cream. His boss had excused herself from their accompany earlier on to go to the restroom, and after an entire three-course meal, she still hadn't returned. Feliks felt a little irratated. "How could she break her solemn oath earlier?! Hmph!"

Lars swished his whiskey around in its glass, stealing glances now and again at the pink-face Pole sitting across him. "Solemn oath?" he finally said.

Feliks spared him a glance, one perfect eyebrow raised. "Yes. Solemn oath. Like, I-swear-by-my-life-I-won't-break-this kind of solem oath..." he explained, angrily stuffing his face with vanilla ice cream.'

Lars could feel the corners of his mouth twisting up at the thought of his sister ever swearing anything. Breaking promises had always been a van Rijn curse. "If I can't keep my promises, neither can she."

The Dutchman had to down his glass of whiskey to avoid laughing at the Pole's face as it got redder than any of his Antonio's tomatoes. "I knew it! This is some sort of family thing, right? First, you like, blow up Laura's plans for the opening of Belle and now she blows up this entire dinner thing! Ha! I'm just this innocent civilian, like, caught between two warring countries!"

Lars shrugged, still amused at the Pole's slightly cute reactions. "You got free dinner. You should be happy. This place is expensive."

Feliks eyebrow raised a notch higher. "Like, excuse me?" his voice was high, sharp. "I didn't, like, even ask for dinner. You could, like, say I was forced to go to this stupid dinner when I could just cook something up at home. Sure I'll probably be crying over having to eat dinner alone in an apartment that used to be occupied by Toris but it's better than having to, like, eat it with a total stranger..."

Feliks crossed his arms over his chest and pouted. "Dinner wasn't even that good..." he mumbled under his breath, still not looking at Lars. "If you, like, ask me I could have cooked something even more delicious."

Lars raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked, tone slightly amused.

Feliks finally looked at him, a tiny smile playing on his face. "Really..."

Lars downed the last of his drink in one gulp. "Then you should try cooking for me sometime."

Feliks could feel his eyes widen. "You're, like, joking!" he finally let himself smile, his hands now placed firmly on his hips. "Have you, like, seen your kitchen? Everything's practically shining! I can't, like, touch that!"

"I didn't ask you to cook in my kitchen." Lars dead-panned, smirking. "It would be easier if you invited me over to yours. It's an equal deal, really. You've been to my apartment, you invite me to yours."

Feliks shook his head. "Like, no!" he giggled, "You, like, wouldn't even step foot in my apartment. It's super, like, cramped. Plus, it's pink!"

"I won't mind." Lars replied.

Feliks felt himself blush, Lars thought he looked cute. "W-Well, whatever. We'll be, like, super busy next week. So you, like, won't have time to remember this promise."

Lars shrugged. "We'll see about that."

Lars van Rijn hadn't believed that Feliks would be busy. After all, who could be busier than himself? He then realized he was so wrong when he stopped by the boutique one day after lunch, tugging along an excitable Spaniard.

"Wah, this place is so big!" Antonio Fernandez-Carriedo exclaimed as they walked through the huge double doors of Belle. "I never thought I could see so many clothes in one place before! This is even bigger than Feliciano and Arthur's closets combined! And there's so many people!"

Lars kept a neutral expression, eyes scanning the black-suited men and women for a familiar face. He quickly found Laura; with her blonde hair and ever-present red ribbon she wasn't a hard find. He was just about to push through the crowd to get to her when he head a familiar voice.

"You should choose this color, Sir. It, like, suits you a hundred times better!" Feliks high-pitched voice resonated in the room.

Before he could stop himself, he wound up looking for the adorable Pole. The moment he caught sight of him, his heart skipped a beat. Feliks was smiling. Not just the usual shy smile he gave, but probably the brightest smile in the entire world. The sun couldn't even compare to how Feliks' was shining right now. Then and there Lars realized... Feliks was enjoying himself.

Propping himself up against one of the walls, Lars ignored Antonio's antics and watched Feliks work.

Feliks couldn't help himself. He was enjoying this job better than he initially thought. As if floating on a cloud, he ushered one customer after another, never getting tired of bringing them suit after suit. He knew his smile was a little bit wide, but he didn't really care.

"You would look totally fabulous in a red suit, sir!" he suggested to a green-eyed man.

"You think so, amigo?" the man answered. "Are there any red suits left? What fabric would you suggest?"

Feliks thought for a while, examining the man in front of him. He could tell the man was well-built underneath the plain white button-down. His tan skin was also a wonderful asset. "Velvet..." he smiled. "Like, red velvet would be perfect for you!"

Spinning around, he grabbed the red velvet suit in Laura's Personal Selection and quickly brought it to his waiting client. "This was designed by one of Miss Laura's friends. I think his name was like, Frank or something?"

The man's eyes twinkled. "It was designed by Francis Bonnefoy?"

Feliks nodded.

The man laughed. "Ha! If he saw me wear this he would gloat so hard! Hahahaha! I'll take it, just to see how my old amigo would react!"

Feliks was a bit confused about the man's reaction, but was nonetheless happy for another sale. "Thank you very much for the purchase, sir!" he chirped, taking the suit from the man and making his way to the counter. A figure leaning by the wall caught his eye, and when he turned to look... His heart almost jumped out of his chest.

It was Lars. He was watching him work. God damn it, his eyes are hot!

Feliks gave him a shy little wave, and Lars nodded in recognition. Feeling an awkward air brewing around him, Feliks returned his attention to the counter before he embarrassed himself even more.

Lars was sure Feliks saw him. The Pole even gave a shy little wave. Lars couldn't help but think of how adorable that was, knowing the Pole's bark was worse than that of a hellhound. To see Feliks react like that, to stop in his tracks and just be dumbfounded... It made Lars feel inexplicably warm. Running a hand through his spiky blond hair, he swore to himself he'd come to the store more often.

Silver's Note: The long awaited continuation of my Crack Pair Dare. To be honest, no one actually won yet 'cause everyone went on hiatus. That includes me, hehehe. I'll be updating Matthew's Mysterious Diary next week... That is if I can get it finished on time. Sigh. Time keeps running away from me I'm tired of chasing after it. Well, whatever. Comments are forever welcomed! See you again next time!