#007 The Roaring Twenties

[hosting]

[It's that time of the month again! The Host Club is once more opening its doors for business, this time with a couple of new additions and a couple of losses... The ballroom has been completely transformed into a 1920s style speakeasy.

A few hosts are serving behind the bar, namely Allen, Maladict and Cole, all of them dressed in this bartender outfit. The rest of the hosts are dotted around the room dressed in this attractive outfit, complete with the hat. There are two notable exceptions to this - one of which is Haruhi, who is dressed in a flapper dress, and Tamaki who is dressed in a white suit.

There are tables for playing poker, chips provided, as well as three American Pool tables to have a go on. By the door, there are racks of dresses and suits in 1920s style, in case any of the guests wish to take part in the theme themselves - manning the racks is Delta, instructed to persuade the guests to take part and compliment them on their new look.

Come on and all and enjoy the club!]

[ooc: Please wait for the sections THE SECTIONS ARE UP - one for host club members to mingle and discuss the theme, and one for guests. Feel free to threadjack around in both sections, talk to your fellow hosts, your fellow guests, and everyone in beteween!]

Comments

[eternityalone]

Well, I am glad for that. It would be a shame to allow you to go without.

[impetuous]

Your concern warms my heart.

[ He unlaces their arms to raise her hand to his mouth. He presses a chaste kiss to it. ]

[eternityalone]

[At his gestures, she drops her chin. Old habits and all.]

Still with such kindness. [Her head cants slightly, trying to catch his line of sight when he draws back up from the offering to the back of her hand.]

You must steal a great number of hearts.

[impetuous]

[ He meets her gaze, a ready smile on his lips. ]

All but the one I desire most of all.

[eternityalone]

[Her gaze narrows a bit, curiosity on her features.]

I fail to believe there is a woman that could resist such charm. Who is this woman, I should see about having a conversation with her.

[impetuous]

[ He points behind her to a mirror set behind the bar. ]

There she is.

[eternityalone]

[She glances behind her, then smiles, turning to face him again.]

You and I both know that is hardly true. Gwaine, I am touched, but I know there are far more worthy women.

[impetuous]

Not to me.

[eternityalone]

[To say that his words give her pause is an understatement. They give her pause and make her steps beside him slow. It isn't as though she doesn't hear compliments like that in her day. It has been a while since she has heard them to this tone - from this sort of courtesy, but she has heard them before. It still brings something different, lifts a piece of her out of the ashes that she has long since tried to forget.

Her hand reaches for his, taking hold of one and placing her other atop his.]

Sir Gwaine, you do flatter me with your words, but you should take care to keep them guarded. Emotions, love especially, can wound as easily as they can endear. [She can't even help her tone, feeling it sliding backwards through the centuries.]

It is such a promise to make to someone, to care without conditions and it takes much more than simple walks or time spent with someone to truly trust in such feelings.

[It's a rare moment, so rare that it is even startling Katherine herself -- being so vulnerable, so exposed as to let someone actually hear what she truly believes. Something she's kept buried beneath layers of protecting herself above all else and discarding the emotions she once favored to isolation.

She can't help but see herself, see her past in him and maybe that's why it's so simple to forget the years of running, the lies and manipulation.

Her hand releases his and she takes a small step away.]

You should find someone that can give you all that you require, Gwaine, not just some of it. [She's not intending to make it seem as though his words hold weight, that he's not simply following his own code of honor - but she knows what awaits him if he did mean these things and she can't allow that.]

[impetuous]

[ A touch of a frown knits his brow. The frankness of her words catches him off guard. For a moment, the rakish persona fades and something of the sincere knight of legend peeks through. ]

I have never been one to require much, my lady. A kind smile from someone to return to when the day is done is more than I could ever wish. Your favor alone would make me the most blessed man in all the worlds.

[eternityalone]

[ Her manner of dress is suddenly something she recognizes, the light clicking of the beaded fringe suddenly catching to her hearing as she shifts uncomfortably. Her lips purse slightly, unsure of what she can say. ]

I'm no one worth waiting on, Gwaine. [ The tone has definitely slid forward through the decades, though it pains her to do so, she knows that she can't let herself be taken in so easily. With the training and experience of her years, she's slowly but surely pulling in those emotions, trapping them behind those walls she knows she needs. Swallowing thickly, she exhales through parted lips, an almost cold edge to her words. ]

To wait for my favor would be a curse. [ He doesn't know what she is. It's something she has to remind herself of when she deals with those that are here. They don't know of her true nature, of the way she's killed and not cared of those bodies she's put to the ground. If he knew, he would not think so fondly of her and maybe she should tell him, but it seems hardly the place here.

Of course, part of her would sooner keep her secret in order to keep him in her company.

Which is the difficult part. It's the part that makes her not turn and leave. Which she should've done much earlier. ]

[impetuous]

[ A curse? Katherine a curse? Were it someone else speaking of her in that manner, he would have punched them already for such disrespect. With Katherine herself saying it, he is at a loss. Why would she ever think of herself that way? Concern lines his eyes before he masks it behind the small crinkling from a smile. ]

With all due respect, I would prefer to be the judge of that myself. [ He sounds almost apologetic when he speaks next, but sincerity lines his words. ] Besides I am not one to tolerate such words pronounced against a woman. Not even the woman in question herself.

[eternityalone]

[ God, how is this guy even real? Katherine knows the tales of the knights, but truly - he's actually a real person and he's gorgeous. Frowning, she shakes her head. ]

Gwaine... [ Katherine can't even figure out how to dissuade him and part of her doesn't actually want to. ]

I would be the expert on myself, in this case especially.

[impetuous]

[ He arches an eyebrow. ]

Is this your way of dismissing me?

[eternityalone]

I believe it would be best if I take the rest of this walk alone.

[ It actually gives her a moment to think, to realize that she can't just let his charm and compassion get to her this way. She has other things to think of, priorities here in the castle and, although charming and endearing - not to mention attractive, Gwaine is not part of those priorities. ]

Your company was appreciated, but it is no longer needed.

[impetuous]

Ah, my wounded pride. [ He clutches his heart dramatically. ] You leave me a desolate man. [ He bows his head respectfully. ] Until the next time we meet.

[eternityalone]

[She watches him, the dramatics, and the kindness -- it's almost as if all that emotion she tried to reign in was for naught. In another life she would've been confused, but now she simply just bows her head and leaves his side. It's unsettling how one man can push her to those limits so easily -- and it makes her think, just for that moment, how little she's been doing in this place to keep herself guarded.]