There's only an hour before the party starts and I hadn't seen Brahms all day. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure if he came to bed last night either. After he finished taking my measurements, I went straight to the upstairs bedroom and fell asleep. All the while, it seems Brahms had been busy working on this costume for me. As much as I didn't want to disrupt him from his work, I couldn't help but feel worried so — I decide to check up on him. I enter the walls and when I reach his room, I give the door a light knock with my knuckles, " Brahms?" I call him, " How are you doing in there? Everything okay?"
With a muffled reply, he responds back, " Yes, Y/n. I'm nearly finished."
" That's good," I say, " But, I wasn't talking about the costume. I wanted to know if you were doing okay. I know you've been working on it since yesterday..."
" I'm... a bit tired," he answers, " But, I'll be fine. If you want, you can meet me in the entrance hall. I shouldn't be long."
" Okay... Can't wait to see how it came out," I reply.
After a few minutes of waiting in the entrance hall, my ears pick up the sound of shuffling coming from the walls. It was Brahms making his way out. As I hear him approaching closer, my heart starts pacing rapidly in anticipation.
" Turn around," Brahms orders as he is just around the corner, " And no peeking."
I do as he tells me. Spinning myself in the opposite direction, even putting my hands over my face to cover my eyes fully.
" I'll give you a count down from 3 and on 3, you can turn around," his voice becoming more clear as he creeps closer — stopping until he's standing directly behind me now, " Are you ready?"
I give him a quick nod and shortly after, he begins, " 3...2..." As I await for the last count, my body eagerly sways back and forth. But, right before calling out the last number, Brahms intentionally pauses. As the anticipation grows, my patience begin to lessen until finally, "...1."
I remove my hands from my face and swiftly turn myself forward. Displayed on the mannequin in front of me, the most adorable, preppy, yet sophisticated looking dress I'd ever laid eyes upon.
The top half looked like a blouse. It was a creme color that had long sleeves and was cinched at the wrists and waist. The rest of it was a chocolate brown color. The skirt of the dress was flowy with music notes going around it. There were also many detailed accents like; the black bows, lace, buttons, jewels, etc.. It was unbelievable that something of such high quality could be made in so little time.
Taken aback, I was at a loss for words.
My silence makes Brahms worry, " Do you like it?" He asks, shyly.
" This... I'd wear this everyday if I could," I say, " I love it, Brahms. I can't wait to put it on."
" Not without this," Brahms says, pulling out a black box from behind his back, " It isn't complete without it."
I take the box from him, " Is this what I think it is?" I ask.
He nods.
I remove the cover to reveal the final piece of what I was missing. The thing that makes my costume, a costume — the doll mask.
It was similar to the one Brahms wears except, the porcelain was so polished and free of any cracks and stains. There were eyelashes painted on, the lips were plump, and the cheeks were tinted a light pink.
I glide my hand over top of it, feeling the smoothness underneath my fingertips, " You know, you didn't have to make everything so perfect," I say.
Brahms looks to the floor, " It was for you so... It absolutely needed to be," He picks his head back up and locks eyes with mine, " Only the best for my sweet, Y/n."
Getting shy and flustered, I put a hand over my mouth to hide my smile, " I'm flattered that you'd spend so much time on my outfit but, what about you? Do you have anything to wear?"
" I'll take a look through my father's closet and see what I can find," Brahms says, " Now, let's get dressed shall we? So we can make it to this party on time."
I nod, taking the dress and mask with me as we both head upstairs. We split off into different rooms to get ready. Brahms in his parents' old room while I was right across the hallway — in the bedroom I had already been staying in.
" See you in a bit," I say to Brahms before shutting my door.
Since I'm going to be wearing a mask, I didn't see the point in wearing any makeup so, all I have to do is style my hair. I decide on loose curls, tying half of it up and then clipping on a black bow. I remove my clothes and apply lotion to smoothen out and soften my dull looking skin. When slipping on the dress, I'm pleasantly surprised by the way it fit me. I always found it hard finding clothes that fit my body type. I think I should have Brahms make clothes for me more often.
I then put on the only appropriate choice of footwear to go with my dress — white ankle socks and brown Mary Janes. To finish of this costume, I take the mask out from it's box as carefully as I can. I place it over my face, securing it with the thin elastic band. As expected from being made out of thin porcelain, the mask was lightweight.
So...this is what Brahms feels on his face everyday — I thought to myself.
Beside feeling my warm breath brush against my skin every time I breathe, it wasn't too uncomfortable. It fit my face quite well and wasn't too loose but, also didn't feel suffocating.
After a few spritz of perfume, I then go across the hall to see if Brahms was done. I lift my hand to the door but, before I could even knock, it swings open. I immediately catch a whiff of his cologne, sweet like apricots and with the pleasant hints of bergamot. The alluring smell of Brahms and the way he was dressed had me head over heels. Without speaking a word, our eyes gloss over each other's bodies — taking in all the details. I can tell he tried to color coordinate with me. He wore a brown plaid coat, a brown knit sweater with a white button up shirt beneath it. He accessorized it with a few rings and a fancy watch. For pants, the typical black trousers he usually wears with brown socks and oxford shoes. His thick curls sitting in neat, yet wild waves over his forehead.
" Wow," we say in unison to one another.
" Brahms," I speak, " You look..."
He nervously runs a hand through his tumble of hair, " It's been awhile since I've dressed up," He tugs at the collar of his sweater, " Is this alright?... I can change if you want me to."
I lay my hands over Brahms' torso, letting them roam over his coat to smooth out any folds and creases. Shaking my head, I tell him, " Everything about this outfit suits you perfectly. No need to change."
I then look around the inside of his parents' room. Pointing to the dresser along the wall, I ask, " Can you... Sit down on that dresser for me? I want to take a photo of you."
" — Of me?"
" I promise, it'll be for our eyes only," I beg, " We can leave right after... It'll be fast."
Before getting an answer, I leave to quickly fetch my camera. Brahms was about to go out for the very first time in years, I just had to capture this moment. When I come back, camera ready in one hand, I turn Brahms around with the other and push him over to the dresser. He doesn't refuse or resist so, I take it that he's alright with getting a photo taken. Willingly now, he climbs on the top but — when he sits down, his body is sluggish and his back is hunched over.
" Can you... Maybe pose a little less like gollum and fix your posture for me a little?" I chuckle.
Brahms moves around a bit before finally finding a pose he was comfortable with. He's sat up straight, back against the wall, keeping one leg bent with an arm laying atop his knee.
" That's much better," I say, " Now, hold still.... and..."
*click*
With the snap of my camera, I capture the photo.
" What a handsome...Doll," I show him the display screen, " My handsome doll."
Brahms looks at the photo, not saying anything.
" Well, what do you think?"
" I think," he begins, "... The picture came out quite nice..."
I nod, " You would make a great model, Brahms. You're tall and slim. I can definitely see this photo being on the cover of a magazine," I tease.
Brahms shakes his head, " Enough about me," he says, getting off the dresser, " Why don't you take a look at yourself?"
He slowly makes his way over to me, stopping when he reaches the back of my heels. Brahms then places his hands over my shoulders, gently squeezing as he turns my body to face the mirror standing a few feet away from us. He takes his arms and wraps them around my waist, pulling me in close.
" ...That dress," He speaks slowly, " looks absolutely gorgeous on you and... I already can't wait to get you out of it."
Brahms' hands slowly slide from my waist, down to my hips. And then, with an unexpected slap on my ass, I let out a yelp.
" Let's hurry up and leave before we end up having our own fun and miss the party," he says, exiting the room to head downstairs.
I follow suite, rubbing a hand over my behind. The night hasn't even started yet but, I could already feel that it was going to be an interesting one.