Delivery

(Note: Just a pre-dinner thread..)

Pausing by the Julian's door, Elise slightly struggled with the shopping bags that she took out from her crowded closet. Having bought a couple of items for Julian and her to wear for tonight's dinner party, Elise wanted to make sure her money gets reimbursed. And of course, to see if the things she bought for him fit perfectly.

The young woman was finally able to raise a hand to knock, but halted midway, wondering if Julian was even home. Where was he scheduled to perform again? Paris or Nice?

Elise barely raised her hand to knock on Julian's door when it opened by itself and bid her come in.

"Greetings to Mademoiselle Monticelli, on behalf of Monseiur Auriole," the door announced, with a voice very similar to Julian's but the way it formed words were far too formal and servile. "Monsieur is not yet at home, he is quite on his way back from a performance in Vienna. Mademoiselle is asked to wait for only a few more moments, for the master is expecting her most welcome presence."

"Wow, you can talk now?" was her rather improper reply, considering the syntax that the door was using to communicate with her. It was Julian's voice alright, but it wasn't his usually confident and commnding tone. The witch couldn't help but admire the magical set-up, nodding her approval despite being confused as to where to address the door, seeing that it doesn't have a face.

She set her bags on the floor beside Julian's coffee table and sat down on one of the armchairs. She was excited, but she was starting to feel tired, especially since music school required so much of her effort and energy.

"I was bidden to make Mademoiselle Monticelli feel free to use the comforts of the master's home," it replied. "He's prepared Mademoiselle's favorite pizza Margherita and a pitcher of iced tea just in case Mademoiselle have yet to take her lunch. He--"

The door suddenly opened and Monsieur Auriole walked in, his whole body; face, limbs, formal clothes and all, dusted with soot. "I thought I heard you talking, Ced," he said, coughing a bit as he inhaled the remnants of the Floo burn out he encountered from Vienna, "Is Faye--, oh, there you are," he said, trying not to feel to conscious with his less than standard appearance in front of her.

"Mademoiselle arrived just a few moments ago, Master," the door replied efficiently.

Elise was trying not to giggle as she listened; the voice was definitely Julian's but way more polite and subservient. If Julian was someone's butler, he might sound exactly like this. However, at the mention of her favorite pizza, Elise conveniently forgot about holding her laughter in. She practically jumped up from her seat and was about to bounce into the kitchen when the door opened and Julian walked in, with everything about him blackened with soot.

"Gabriel! What happened?" she changed the direction of her strides, going for Julian instead of the kitchen.

"I'm alright, just a little sooty, that's all," he said, backing off to keep the soot away from Elise. "Have you been waiting long? Did Cedric tell you about the pizza? I need to shower, go eat and just let me get back to you," he said rather hurriedly, taking off his tie and heading for the bedroom. He was itching to get out of the dirty clothing, still feeling sore that Vienna's Floo connection to his hometown had been overlooked by the Ministry.

"Oh, Floo," she nodded with understanding. Following his suggestion, Elise left the man to his vanity and went to answer her stomach's necessity. The pizza was perfect, and as always, Julian impressed her with his cooking.

Ah, if only she could marry this man!

After a several minutes, Julian emerged from his bedroom, sparkling clean and smelling fresh. His drying hair was tousled carelessly, and he had worn a pair of khakis and a plain white cotton shirt. His unclad feet strode across the carpet of the living room and into the cold marble tiles of the kitchen to check if Elise was already having her feast.

"So how is it?" he asked, referring to the pizza.

She didn't hear him finish, realizing it only when she heard his voice behind her. Turning around, she greeted him with a smile, only to feel her knees give way at the sight of him. Luckily, she was seated on a stool and her elbows were resting steadily on the counter.

"Delizioso," she said to him before standing up to give him her customary greeting. As she reached to kiss him on the cheek, Elise inhaled the scent of his cologne, sending her reeling with delirium and practically fainting on Julian. As a result, she ended up kissing him on the corner of his mouth.

"Faye," Julian half-exclaimed as he hurried to support her. "Are you alr--?" his question cut off by surprise from the feeling of her lips almost touching his. Almost. The corner of his mouth felt paralyzed with shock and fear, but the desire for the real thing was growing in his heart, that Julian thought of turning his face just a bit more to the side so he could kiss her where he most wanted to.

Don't do it, warned the voice inside his head, and reluctantly, Julian obeyed.

"Oh, my," Elise exclaimed, hastily pulling away from him. That was close, really close.

"That was clumsy of me," she said, chuckling nervously and trying to refrain from melting on the spot. "Uhm, anyway, I'm just too excited for tonight's dinner at Maria's house," she said to throw out the awkward topic from her mind. She started walking back to the living room.

"Do you want to see what I bought for you?" she then asked, gesturing to the cluster of shopping bags she had brought earlier.

Somehow, Julian felt disappointed that Elise had dismissed the accident already from her mind, proceeding to point them back to the matter at hand; Jacob and Maria's dinner party. He followed her back to the living area and stared idly at the many shopping bags she had brought.

"All these just for a small dinner?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Don't tell me you really went ahead and bought a lot of stuff for me," he demanded.

"Of course I did," she replied fondly, pulling out a blazer and holding it out to Julian. "I thought you'd look good in this, so I took one," she said. Feeling that she could no longer stay after that close call, Elise hurried her business inside Julian's apartment unit.

"Here are the rest," she said, then taking out a narrow strip of parchment, she read out the price for all the stuff she bought. "172 Galleons in all," she declared, placing the receipt on Julian's hand with an impish look and patting him on the cheek.

"You can thank me later," she said before retreating to her own house. "See you tonight!" she was last heard in the corridor.

Julian could only sigh.

"Fine."