Masked Emotions // Dream6d

Chapter 8

Warning: Strong language, mentions of death, sexual innuendos

     Vincent left the room as soon as he could, finding it incredibly hard to breath. Dream came out a moment later, snickering quietly. Certainly that wasn't his real face, right?! Hitmen weren't supposed to be that... Vincent shook off the thought, disturbed by the strange heat in his face.

     " I told you not to fall in love," the man called from where he was leaning against the stone, hands in his pockets. The servant whipped around, still shocked to see his unmasked face. As if his smirk wasn't enough, now he had to deal with that glint in his eye and his raised eyebrow that would send any lady into a faint.

     " You're a bastard, you know that?" Vincent felt his heart skip a beat when the blonde let out another laugh, his eyes closing and the dimples on his cheek making their presence known. The servant hated himself for think Dream looked even better in the sunlight, rather than the light of a tiny match. To distract himself, he went back to work.

     Scrubbing furiously, Vincent ignored Dream's attempts at conversation. Eventually, the blonde gave up and sat on the windowsill, gazing into the distance. The wind blew his hair back and Vincent caught himself staring. He hated to admit it, but Dream hadn't been completely wrong in his warning; he certainly was stunning. It was only natural someone could love him for his looks.

     Frankly, Vincent was glad that Dream had shut up. He wasn't sure how many more pickup lines he could handle. All he wanted to do was finish his job so he could get paid and go to sleep. The blonde lounged like a lazy cat in the sun, stretched out with his eyes closed, but Vincent had a feeling that he wasn't actually asleep.

     Eventually, the sun sunk below the horizon, and Vincent lit the hallway's torches. He silently packed up his cleaning equipment and hid it behind the tapestry. He glanced over at the man, who may have actually slipped into sleep, wondering if he really cared enough to wake him.

     Vincent sighed, he knew the answer to that question.

     He dragged his feet to the window, tapping Dream on the shoulder. He was a bit surprised when the blonde sat straight up, a cheeky smirk dancing on his lips. Vincent was still taken aback at the sight of his face, unmasked and shining brightly. " Watching me sleep now, are we?"

     The brunette rolled his eyes. " No, I need you to move so I can close the window, it's dinner time."

     " Even better, a dinner date," Dream said, jumping to his feet and leaning closer to Vincent's face. " Afterwards, we can have some special dessert back in the room."

     Vincent's eyes widened and he shoved the blonde away. He felt heat creep up to his cheeks, making his ears nearly light on fire. " That's a little much, even for you."

     " My jokes evolve as our relationship does," he explained with a casual shrug. " But I guess I should wait until our first kiss."

     " Slow down," Vincent said, stopping him quickly. " You're going to have to be more than a pretty face to win me over."

     " You think I'm pretty," Dream declared loudly. " I told you this face was a burden." He ran a hand through his blonde locks, causing it to fall messily into his face, and Vincent couldn't stare for long.

     " Whatever, I'm getting food." Vincent turned on his heel and marched to the kitchen. This time, he knew Dream was walking close behind him. The man no longer had to hide his face from the servant, so he could walk freely.

     When they entered the kitchen, Vincent immediately noticed Darryl talking to Zak nearby. He practically skipped over to his friends, happy to escape the flirting. The two men incorporated him into their conversation easily and the servant almost recalled how much easier life had been just a few days ago. Dream did not join them, probably trying to blend in.

     However, the sound of that laugh, that damned laugh, drew Vincent's attention every time. It was clear Dream was just joking with his countless friends in the castle staff, but the brunette could identify that sound from a mile away. And his ears caught it every. Damn. Time. Zak waved a hand in front of Vincent's face, giggling at how he had zoned out. " You good, bro? You look a little flushed."

     " Yeah, just tired from work," he lied. Darryl raised an eyebrow, and Vincent felt a wave of... was that fear? Fear of his friend? No, fear of his friend's deep-rooted secrets. Vincent had to remind himself that Darryl was still the same guy he loved, and the 'relations-with-a-hitman' thing was not his personality. Zak giggled.

     " Whatever you say, dude," the apprentice laughed. " Darryl's gonna teach me how to make that special bread you like. I heard your birthday's coming up, wanna join us?"

     Vincent blinked. " Tonight? I wish I could, man, but I'm exhausted." He heard another eruption of laughter from Dream's direction and it look all his willpower to maintain eye contact with Zak. " If you couldn't tell, I'm a little... out of it."

Vincent saw Darryl's eyes flick over to Dream and then back to him. The chefs mouth twitched a bit, but he didn't say anything out of the ordinary. " That's fine, Vince! I'll bring you some, later. If everything goes well."

Zak buzzed with excitement. " Oh, can I come! I haven't seen your room yet!" Darryl put his hand on the apprentice's shoulder.

" You will he cleaning the mess that you'll inevitably have made," the chef corrected. " I'll bring you by his room once everything's quieted down."

" Aw, okay." Zak deflated like a balloon for half a second, before popping right back up. Vincent wondered at this young man's optimism. " Your portion of dinner is over on the table, Vince! See you later!"

The brunette nodded and headed off to grab the simple dish. He eyed his usual table, but knew that Finn wouldn't be there, and decided he didn't want to listen to Dream's laughter any longer. He trotted off to his room to finish his meal. He had just settled in at his desk when there came a knock at his door.

     He groaned and opened it, half expecting to see Dream and his stupid grin. Instead, he was greeted by the sight of his boss, looking a little shaken. " Hey, Vincent."

     Vincent knew by the use of his real name that his boss was not in a pleasant mood. The older man ran a hand through his thin hair. " The King is suspecting Zak as the person who poisoned the food."

     " What?! Why?!" The servant jumped to attention. His boss shook his head.

" He just got here and immediately the food was poisoned. Don't you think that's a little suspicious?" The boss said. " He was acting really weird after the whole thing, and it's suspected that he might even be the hitman."

Vincent shook his head. He knew it wasn't Zak, but how was he supposed to tell his boss that? How was he supposed to tell the King that?! " No... it's not him..."

" I know, it's a little shocking-"

" No! It's not him and I know it!" Vincent snapped. His boss blinked, surprised. " I never ate the food! I left to get those stupid eggs and I came back to when the hitman was sneaking in the window! Zak was asleep on the kitchen floor like everyone else!"

His boss slapped a hand over his face. " He wears this weird mask, so I didn't see his features! But he was tall, which Zak's not! And he's got this horrible voice that makes you think you're so inferior to him! And he threatens to cut your tongue off if you tell anyone!"

Vincent's boss nodded. " I'll go tell the guards to release Zak," he said quietly, leaving. The brunette pinched the bridge of his nose, ashamed that it had to come to this point. When he looked up, his eyes widened.

" I can't believe you," Dream whispered quietly, hurt covering his face. Vincent reaches out his hand, opening his mouth to explain, but the blonde had already taken off down the hall.

" What did I just do..."