Fully dressed in a sea of naked people, he caught Knight’s gaze and it was obvious that he was in fact walking Knight’s way. His face was dark in the red glow and that made Knight smirk. There had to be a good reason for Laurent to drag his genteel soul through all this debauchery.
When he finally reached Knight, he was exasperated. “Knight, can we speak man to man?”
Knight snorted, unable to keep a straight face when he heard such formal language in a room full of bouncing bodies that smelled of sperm and sweat. “Err, sure? Here?”
“No! Goodness no!” Laurent rubbed his forehead and pointed to the nearest door.
Knight gestured at it. “After you.”
Laurent led the way, and Knight wondered whether he wore his cut to scare off people who could potentially approach him. The patches at the back read ‘Property of Beast’, so no one sane would as much as touch Laurent’s hair. Then again, Laurent wore the vest all the time anyway.
They entered a corridor where the music wasn’t as loud, but that didn’t seem to be enough for Laurent, and he turned into the billiard room where they found two guys making out in the corner.
Laurent cleared his throat, but when that didn’t work, he approached the two hangarounds and patted one on the shoulder. “Excuse me? You need to leave. This area is not available for guests.”
The man turned around with a groan, clearly intending to tell off the intruder, but once his eyes settled on Knight, any and all ideas of protest were over.
Laurent closed the door behind the couple, and the tension in his movements made Knight wonder whether the devil was making some impossible new demands, or if somehow Laurent had found out about tonight’s murder and had issues with it. Beast wouldn’t have told him about that though… would he?
“What’s up? You’re acting weird,” Knight said, drinking more of his beer.
Laurent leaned against the door and exhaled, looking so appropriate against the wooden panels that remembered the mid-1800s. “Because this is a very delicate matter, and I need to be sure it will stay between us, lest it brings shame on me. You need to promise me absolute discretion.”
The tone with which Laurent spoke had Knight worried, but despite his interest in history, hearing such language in this setting really didn’t help him keep a straight face. “Just tell me what happened. We’re family.”
Laurent took a deep breath and hugged himself. “I’ve found out I can’t afford to get married.”
Knight frowned, and the damp bottle almost slipped through his fingers. “What? What are you talking about?”
Laurent started pacing in front of him, so nervous some of his usually perfect hair was out of place. “I had believed I earn a reasonable amount of money, and I have been researching the modern rituals to make sure I get things right, but just today Nao showed me that diamonds have plummeted in value in the past few years and are not considered a worthy jewel for an engagement ring anymore. Rubies on the other hand are what is pretty much expected if the man is serious in his intentions. But they are so scarce one would have to sell their own mother to purchase an appropriate ring.” Laurent clenched his fist with a scowl, but Knight’s brain was still frying with this onslaught of useless information.
“I just don’t know what to do anymore.” Laurent turned to face Knight, and the look of pure despair on his face shut down all of Knight’s jokes.
Laurent was completely serious about this.
“You mean... you and Beast want to marry?”
Laurent’s shoulders slumped. “Well, I should hope so. But how would I dare even ask for his hand in marriage without any proof of my means? I know he is wealthy in his own right, and it would not matter to him, but I cannot be a beggar in this case. I need to show that I am a man who stands on his own as well. I want to show him that I will treat my fiancé to the things he deserves more than anyone.”
Knight cleared his throat, wondering if Beast was aware of Laurent planning this. Those two have known one another for less than a year, and on top of that, while Knight was totally fine with men getting married to each other, he kind of never expected any of his friends to do it.
“Aren’t you a bit young for this?”
Laurent’s eyebrows arched up. “Excuse me? I’ve turned twenty years of age just last month, it’s about time to think about these matters. And in complete confidentiality, Beast isn’t getting any younger.”
“Wow, I’ll be sure to not repeat that to him. Poor old man Beast,” Knight said, amused. Laurent’s perspective on the world was a perpetually turning wheel of hilarity.