A Promise Of Romance (MewGulf AU)

🌞Chapter 15🌻

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The next morning, Gulf was woken up by a call from Mew. The contract had been drawn up, and the man wanted Gulf to come as soon as he could. Mew sounded unusually excited.

The clock said it was only 8:00 am. Gulf would have liked to sleep in since there was no school, but once he was up, he could never go back to sleep. He give up and got out of bed to get dressed. Then he took the subway to Mew's apartment. The man appeared when he pressed the bell outside the door on the fifth floor.

"Come in, Gulf." Mew put a hand on Gulf's shoulders and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

It was a common gesture in England, not just between lovers. But Gulf was not at all used to it. But, as if demanding a kiss in return, Mew presented his own cheek to Gulf, and he was forced to comply.

Entering the living room, he saw Mild lying on the sofa. The man was wearing the same clothes as last night---he must have stayed the night.

"Mild, Gulf's here," Mew said, rousing him.

"Here so soon?" Mild stretched as he sat up. "I'd like a cup of coffee. Where's the maid?"

"It's her day off," Mew explained. "I suppose I'll have to make it myself." He disappeared into the kitchen.

"Good morning," Gulf greeted Mild, supposing there was no need to kiss and embrace him.

"He must have forced you to come here this early," the man remarked.

Gulf nooded.

"The upper-class is used to issuing orders," the man added. "They don't think about the trouble involved for everyone else."

"It certainly seems that way," Gulf agreed.

"If you want out, now's the time to say so." A meaningful smile crossed Mild's face.

"You tried to stop me before too," Gulf said. "Why?"

The man shrugged. "Because you're going to become a plaything for the rich."

"But I need money," Gulf said. "This is all very well-timed for me"

"Then there's nothing I can do," Mild remarked.

"Nothing you can do about what?" Mew asked as he reappeared.

"I was asking Gulf if he was ready for this." Mild stood up and brought over a bundle of papers from a table. "This is your contract."

"It's pretty thick," Gulf commented.

He had been the one to ask for clarification, but now that the job was becoming real, he was getting a little intimidated.

"It's just for reassurance. We didn't get an actual lawyer to make it." Mild said, spreading open the document.

Gulf picked up a part of it and looked it over, but couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Mild saw Gulf's distress and explained, "The first part is the preface. It's chock-full of legal terms, but don't be too scared. The rest of it describes the job duties and pay. The most important part is the job duties. First of all the duties is that you'll act as Mew's fiancee. Next is that you'll appear at the engagement party in May to be recognized by everyone. And the final objective is to have a marriage within the year."

"A marriage?!" Gulf shouted in surprise.

"Are you a practicing Christian, Gulf?" Mew asked with concern.

"No, I'm a Buddhist," Gulf replied.

"Then that's not a problem," Mew said with relief.

Mild grinned. "Yeah. That was the biggest obstacle, but you being Buddhist knocks it out of our way"