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"Oh, do stop embarrassing me. Johnathan is simply a dear friend of mine now, and I enjoy his company immensely. He can sleep all through the night should he wish. I... I think you both should help out, but gosh, you're free to relax, of course! You've just come in off the streets, right? Then... Then just relax for today, pay no attention to Anna," smiled Montague in an effort to appear cool and relaxed about the whole thing, even if he had grown increasingly fidgety at the mention of even seeing John again. Given he lived with him, it was inevitable they would see one another-- but after the flirty comments from earlier, Montague was as bashful as a schoolgirl with his growing crush.

Nevertheless, he did decide Anna had a good suggestion, taking the hot milk and honey beverage into Johnathan's room with as calm a smile as he could manage-- while gesturing in Anna close behind him. After the nervousness he had been hit with earlier on, having his closest friend beside him felt like a wise option. He adored Adalius just as much, but... he was hardly the sort of person to take advice from.

"Johnathan? I... hope we're not disturbing? We brought you a yummy drink, as an apology for the noise earlier. Anna and Adalius... it's awfully complicated," laughed the ghost as he set the mug down, surveyed the messy unpacking and, forcing back a grimace, stood opposite him with his hands wrung together. "Are you settling in well?"​
 
Jonathan, in that moment, was buried under blankets, obviously exhausted after being disturbed form his nap. He let his eyes lazily drift towards Montague, only to offer a sleepy smile. He observed the steamy cup curiously, having never had a proper cup of milk, let alone one heated up.

"Oh, hey, thanks." He murmured, before taking the cup carefully, eyeing the antique cup and saucer warily. "... What is this? It smells really nice, to be honest. Look, Monty, you didn't need to do this for me." He reassured, though dared to take a curious sip nonetheless, only for his eyes to grow wide from the pleasant taste. "Damn, this is pretty good! What is even in here?!"
 
"I... well, to tell you the truth, I don't quite know. It's Anna's speciality. Whenever Adalius is sickly, she always heats up a cup of it for him and it shuts him up, which is hard to do. Anna always cares for me when I'm sick, too-- just drink up. I wanted to come and apologise for the noise, and see how you were, really. Your sister is chatting up a storm with Adalius, and I don't... really want to be around. It's awkward, for one," sighed the ghost as he, in typical fashion, strolled lightly to the bed to take a gentle seat at the very edge - as far away as he could manage to show he was respecting his space, though the fact he went as far as to sit on the bed spoke volumes in his eyes. He didn't just hover about awkwardly in the corner.

"You're a member of this house now, and i feel obligated to settle you in. This place belonged to my ancestors, you know. In respect of them, I feel I ought to at least attempt to maintain the standards in hospitality. There's absolutely nothing wrong with making someone a hot beverage, Jon. You... don't need to act like I have gone out of my way. I didn't even make it... I-If you like, you can always pay me back by making me a nice cup of tea at some point~? M-Maybe, if you're not busy..."​
 
"... I don't really know how to make tea..." he admitted, while taking another sip of the milk. He didn't much mind the other taking a seat on the bed, having shared beds full on with other people he had no contact with. In fact, Monty's weight only made him spread out more with a casual smile. The only thing that really made him a tad bit uncomfortable was Anna, and that was simply because of her eerie ability to seemingly become a statue, not even moving to breathe.

"Look, want some? The stuff is pretty good - thank you, Anna. I, uh... Is it okay if Monty and I are alone? I mean, no off"se, but you paint, right? Go, uh... paint, or something? I always wanted to be creative and shit, but that ain't my style." He murmured, while casually dismissing the former maid.

Said woman seemed to jolt to attention upon hearing her name, and forced back a scowl. Not only one of these snobby kids were being rude now? Granted, Jon wasn't intentionally trying to be rude, like his sister might be. He wasn't the type. Instead, he simply wanted to be with his landlord alone, genuinely. With a curt nod, she simply left on a heel, only really showing her scowl once leaving the room.
 
Montague knew how irritated she probably was when she left, but he was hardly going to run after her. There was a difference, he felt, between Maddie's purposeful insults and Jonathan's more unaware, unconscious ones, so he simply smiled over at Anna as she left. He would talk to her later about it. Right now, with Adalius' childish flirting aimed to annoy Anna, the vampire probably needed some support-- but she could wait until he had finished chatting to Jonathan, at least.

"You want to talk alone? Oh, I... I'm not entirely a good conversationalist. I tend to ramble on. Adalius says I could talk for England, you know? My Mother, before she passed, would playfully threaten to sew my mouth shut," he -characteristically- began to babble, smiling and fiddling with his hands in his show of embarrassment. "A-Anyway! Will you be joining us for dinner? I've cooked up a lovely pork joint, and... I know you and your sister haven't had many hot meals, s-so I'd love you to come and join us later. I'll make sure Adalius and Anna behave..."​
 
"Sounds delicious," he cooed, while running his fingers through his maroon locks. "I wanted to talk to you alone because you seem so quiet, man. The other two, they're so... extreme? You seem quiet, and chill, and I like that. Not to mention, you're my landlord, and I'd like to get to know you." He admitted, before offering to move and fix the ghost's hair.

"Just want to be close, y'know? I don't know how you feel about weed, but you look like you'd appreciate a proper puff. I might be able to hook up some better stuff, too, if I make some extra dough."
 
Having to force himself to stay calm just so his physical form didn't glitch (because explaining that wasn't going to be easy), he managed to grin and coolly smile even if he felt like doing nothing but burying his face in his hands and bemoaning his severe lack of composure in the presence of Jonathan. He did decide that he had ac crush on him, definitively, when his hair was played with like that. In any other circumstance, someone talking casually about drugs would never be allowed even close to Montague, who freaked out the moment he realised Adalius and Anna had shared a cigarette once.

However, Jonathan was exempt from judgement. Montague's deep feelings for him apparently overrode his judgement on drugs and of the people that used them. "I... don't quite understand what you're saying, I-I'll be honest. Dough? Like bread dough? I-I can make fresh bread, from scratch. It's absolutely delicious toasted with some nice homemade raspberry jam," he innocently smiled, understanding nothing other than the mention of drugs, with Jonathan's colloquialisms being completely lost on the old-fashioned ghost. "I wouldn't want to smoke this 'weed', Jonathan. It isn't something that appeals to me-- b-but you go for it! Just... keep it to your bedroom, please? I can... cope with it if it's behind your bedroom door, I suppose."​
 
Jonathan stared at the ghost blankly for a moment, only to burst into snorts and giggles. "That's fine, but hey! I'd love to see you make some fresh bread and stuff, we've never had anything but store brand shit. I would help, but I'm terrible at cooking, like, at all. Hell, one time I was trying to make some ramen and I managed to cook it too long and melted the Styrofoam. Like, who does that, right?" He laughed casually, before groaning and rolling out of the bed.

"I mean, how about you teach me?" He offered, with a grin. "We could make a proper dessert together, huh? It would be cute~! I'm sure my sister would be glad, too."
 
"I'd love to teach you! G-Gosh, that would be... amazing, actually. Adalius isn't the baking type, and Anna prefers her art. I tell her that baking is an art in itself. Cakes, especially. Decorating a cake is as stressful but equally as rewarding as a piece of art is, but she laughs at me and calls me deluded. She's an artist," he drawled in a comedic impersonation of his close friend, rolling his eyes for good measure. In truth, he did adore his friend's art, and had often pleaded with her to allow him to put up one or two pieces on the walls around his house, which was the highest of compliments he could pay her. However, seeming cool to Jonathan meant a little more to him in that moment.

"I... well, you just say when, and we can bake a cake together~! I mean, yes, I'm your landlord, but we can be friends, can't we? Eve though I will have to ask for money from you and your sister-- can you manage that? If you both were homeless, how are you getting money? I assume you both have jobs? It's something Anna and Adalius should have asked you about, really."​
 
"... I don't want to talk about how we get the money, but I promise we'll pay up." He reassured, his usually loose and goofy vibe dropping, along with his smile. "Some things just aren't worth bringing up, y'know?" He asked, before offering his usually chill smile.

"How can you afford this house? How did you meet those two, when you're a lot younger? I ain't gonna poke or prod, I know that's personal. Like I said, I promise we'll be fine. Let's get dinner, eh?" He cooed, before offering another head scruff.
 
"I... Gosh, I'm not that much younger than them! Adalius looks older thanhe is because of that god-awful beard he's sporting, and Anna-- well, she's a tad older than I am, but I think she's very youthful for her age. We all are," beamed Montague, while hiding back a growing grin at his own words. He was hardly going to admit that they were all a good century or two old, and that, considering that, they were all extremely good looking for their true ages. He wanted to break into a few giggles, of course, but he didn't think of a decent excuse to cover them up, so he did his best to stifle them behind his bashful blush.

"Oh yes, dinner~ Well, I... your sister and Adalius are currently flirting downstairs, I imagine, so if that isn't too awkward to deal with, I'd appreciate the help setting it out, tremendously. You know, my family once had maids and servants to help us, when I was very young. Then father grew awfully sick, and our money went towards helping him. We could only really afford one butler, and he was so awful," he began to babble, growing more comfortable in Jonathan's presence, and so was developing a tendency to tell him about his life. Not all aspects, like being killed, but the more general parts of his early life.​
 
"That's pretty unfortunate," the man admitted, while trailing out of the room towards the stairs. "I mean, obviously my sister and I haven't had our parents for awhile. That's okay, though, you know? She's pretty much been my mom even before we had issues at home. She learned how to cook and clean before she was even ten, so I sort of clung to her when shit went down. I'm sure you know the feeling, right? Like, you seem to go to Anna a lot, so... It's whatever." He grumbled, placing his hands behind his head casually as he strolled down the stairs, acting as if the place had already been his home for years.
 
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"I, well... I was always Mother's closest friend, and she was mine, so after she died, I suppose I simply replaced her with Anna, as a maternal, feminine figure in my life. I do understand, on some level-- Oh, this is depressing, Jonathan. I don't... mind talking about my mother, or your life, but let's talk about them in a more upbeat manner, shall we? For example, my Mother taught me how to knit! I could knit you a lovely jumper now the weather is getting frosty outside, and you could do the same for me if I taught you the basics," he chirped happily as he strolled into the kitchen to get a start on preparing the meal-- though admittedly, he didn't expect the scene to be quite so boring as he had thought. He had set himself up with expectations of seeing Adalius and Madelyn flirting up a storm, so to see only Adalius sat there with a beer in hand was... surprising. "Where's that Madelyn girl, Adi?"

"The fuck should I know. God, I'm not the babysitter for these kids, am I?-- Oh. I see you are, though. Listen, mate, you fucking hurt Monty here, and Anna and I will hurt you back. Doubly as hard, actually. Monty's a sweet kid, he doesn't deserve to be around a druggie, to be honest. Why we even invited you guys to live here is beyond me--"

"You're an alcoholic, but you're a lovely person. If these two are... on drugs, it doesn't mean they aren't lovely people too. Don't be so judgemental, Adalius. Jonathan is a superb person, and I'm proud to call him a new friend of mine," boasted the ghost as he pulled the meat from the oven, purring happily to himself at how nice it both looked and smelled. "Do ignore Adalius. He's drunk, as usual..."​
 
"That can't be much good for his head, huh?" He replied, a subtle jab aimed towards the demon, before offering a wide grin. "My sister and I aren't druggies, you know. The occasional puff of a good roach hasn't hurt no one, has it? Besides, my sister has nothing to do with what I smoke... speaking of which, did she go out?" He asked, before shooting a glance towards the door.

He wasn't completely oblivious to Maddie's 'work', though not to the extend that she did. That was his first assumption, that his sister had gone out to make them some money, and genuinely frowned at the thought. The two were glued to the hip, and to think she'd be off in danger scared him.
 
"I'm not your sister's fucking friend, I don't know where she's popped off to and I don't particularly care, either. She went out, like, ten minutes ago? Does it really matter? It just means more food for me, to be honest-- though you guys shouldn't be given generosity like this from us. You should earn it--"

"I'm keeping her meal in the oven, she can have it when she comes back," the ghost snapped back in return, giving his friend a slight nudge and satisfactorily sat at the small table as the demon heavily sighed, and obediently moved to carve the meat. "We'll carry all this into the dining room, and... well, your sister can at least make it back for dessert? I... can't expect you to stay in the house all day, I suppose. And we've just met, so I suppose it's understandable that she doesn't feel obligated to stay for dinner..."​
 
"No, no. My sister always eats with me. You must've said something pretty harsh to make her that upset," he murmured, while beginning to chew on his lip hard. "Did... She actually leave the house? For fucks sake... I just... A-Aha! Everything is alright! I'm sure she's just going out, working on a job..."

His change in attitude was indicative of just how nervous he actually was, In all honesty, he wanted to bolt up the stairs and do something to relax himself, preferably some weed, though the needles he stashed were proof that he wasn't too picky. Pacing a tad, he dared to shoot a glare towards the demon before hurrying besides Montague.
 
"Hold up-- What makes you think I did anything to her? I mean, maybe I called her a bitch, but she said the same to me. I didn't take her for the sensitive type. Why am I always demonised in this house? I'm always blamed if something goes wrong 'round here. She left, dude, I had nothing to do with it," answered Adalius, hiding a smirk at his very deliberate choice of words, which he hoped Montague would notice and share a smile with him over. Apparently, though, the ghost was much more concerned with comforting Jonathan and ushering him around the kitchen even more to get his mind off his sister.

"Here, you fetch some glasses out-- in the top cupboard, see? I can't reach that far up," answered Montague, gesturing to the top of the cupboard sheepishly. He could reach by simply hovering, but even if Jonathan was high, it would be difficult to explain. "Your sister must have her reasons-- I'll keep her a nice big plate of food back, alright? She won't go hungry, I promise."​
 
Glancing over at the ghost, he carefully grabbed the glasses, before setting them down just as carefully. After all, he had never worked with such fancy glasses before, and the sight of the elaborate patterns and gold trim fascinated him. Despite his easily short attention span, that didn't mean he forgot his sister.

"Yeah... Look, this means a lot. I'm probably going to head out and look for her after dinner, if that's okay. I'm sure you'd be upset if your friends had suddenly left, you all seem pretty tight. I'll... I dunno, pick up dessert? As a gift for all of this?" He offered quietly, while stepping back to observe the cozy sight.
 
"...Have I been too forthright? Is that why you want to leave? You will come back, won't you? Because I can definitely be less intrusive and less... in your face, I suppose. Anna warned me about this, she said I'd get too possessive, and I didn't really... think it would happen, but you were so nice to me-- I can stop talking to you, if that helps you stick around? I-I'll pretend you're not even here!" He frantically babbled, placing the plates down in the large dining room next door to the kitchen and appealing nervously to the human. He knew that, at some point, he would grow protective over the guests and, when they inevitably left the house together for whatever reasons (to work or just to hang out), Montague realised he would fear they didn't return. He just didn't think he would feel this anxious so soon into their arrival.

Seeing his best friend's paranoia, Adalius calmly strolled over to help take food into the dining room, arriving back with a cool smile towards Jonathan. He would, for Montague's sake, change the focus of the conversation, even if he wanted to exchange no words with the human opposite him. "He's just paranoid-- ironic, really, given you're the one that smokes weed. I've heard paranoia is a consequence of that stuff, isn't it?"​
 
"Look, don't worry. I'm not gonna stroll out into the unknown and never return, if I can help it. I know that some people aren't fans of it, but this is my home now. Hell, you'll have to force me to stop living here. It's the fact that I have to leave for a few hours now and then, yeah?" He reassured carefully, after the initial shock of the other's reaction wore off. In a way, it was nice to know someone was so worried about him, at least. He offered a brief, reassuring smile, until Adaluis return.

"I do the things I do to deal with shit. I'm not going to play armchair psychologist and have to explain myself if it isn't hurting you. Let's just eat, yeah?"
 
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