Chapter 4

After a breakfast of eggs and bacon (much to Ben's delight), they had all refreshed themselves and packed up, ready to set out. Gwen expressed her concern over only having one spare set of clothes, but Elina dismissed her fears, saying that she planned to get the cousins and Kevin some traditional Osmosian clothing. More butterflies filled Gwen's stomach. Elina had been nice and friendly, but she didn't dare assume all of Kevin's family was like that. There was every chance that they would hate her.

But she tried not to think about it.

Rather, she focused on the fact that they were walking back to the Rustbucket III across the sand, Elina and Kevin leading the way. It wasn't as hot in the morning as it would be later. The sky was bright blue with nary a cloud, and it was still quite early. That did nothing, however, to deter the traffic in the city. It was a right nightmare to maneuver, and Gwen had no doubt that if Kevin were driving they'd have broken every driving law known to man.

Kevin wordlessly but heartbrokenly handed the keys to his sister. So Elina was driving the ship as well, Ben and Gwen mused. They tried to hide their amusement, though Ben didn't try as much as she did. Kevin shot him a glare - the only look he seemed to be giving to the teen lately. Obviously he was regretting bringing him.

Ben rode shotgun with Elina so Gwen and Kevin could sit beside each other. Elina took a moment to familiarize herself with the console, then ignited the engine. She squealed as it hummed to life, looking quite pleased. She turned and said something in rapid Osmosian to Kevin, who smirked proudly.

"Next stop," Elina said, flipping several switches, "Osmosia, Enchplashshil! Will drive maybe three hours, yes!"

With that, the Rustbucket III lifted unsteadily into the air, then straightened out and zoomed upward. Gwen's stomach flipped, and she suddenly felt grateful for the other times when Kevin drove. At least his ascent was gradual. She cast a look up to see Ben was feeling the same dizzying sickness as she was, but Elina and Kevin both seemed more excited than anything. Gwen resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

It was indeed about a three-hour flight to Osmosia. They spent most of that time talking about anything that came to mind, much as they had the night before. Eventually, though, they had fallen into a comfortable silence. Elina didn't seem to find it that comfortable. Another flip was switched, and the hologram projector blinked into existence. She spoke to it in Osmosian, and it did whatever she had told it to do.

Both Ben and Gwen watched in interest; they hadn't known there was a hologram device there. The one they were aware of was used to make intergalactic calls. They wondered if Elina was calling someone, but when music began to blare from invisible speakers they realized that it was a radio.

Elina spun a floating dial with her finger, apparently changing the station. "You want to hear D.D.?" she asked.

"As in your older brother?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"On the radio?"

"Yes."

"He's on the radio?!"

"Yes."

Elina gave Ben a long look, and he gaped back at her. After a moment, a voice came on the speakers, apparently singing in Osmosian. It was deep and smooth, and went well with the fluttering piano beneath it. The song wasn't mournful, or even happy, but seemed to resonate hope and harmony.

Gwen rather liked it. A glance at Kevin showed that he did as well: He was listening as though enraptured, the way she and Ben had once listened intently to their grandfather's stories. She nearly slapped herself when she remembered that Kevin could understand the lyrics, and they probably really were a story.

She knew the song was coming to an end when it began to crescendo. D.D.'s voice, sweet and rich, rose in both volume and pitch. The music faded, but his clear voice still cut through the air in a ringing note, then immediately dropped in volume as he sang the last few words softly. The rendition was over, leaving a moment of silence before the next began.

This one was began with an instrument Gwen was quite sure she'd never heard before. It was smooth but brassy, and low-pitched. Elina turned in her seat and grinned at Kevin, who looked a bit uncomfortable and shook his head slightly at her, pleading with his eyes. She turned back around. Gwen gave him a questioning look, but he only shrugged half-heartedly.

D.D. began to sing in a soft tone not unlike he had in the first. Elina cast a short glance over her shoulder at her brother again, still looking delightedly mischievous, but she still did not comment. Gwen felt annoyed, as she usually did, when she was left out of the loop. Was this song special somehow? Embarrassing?

Her green eyes studied Kevin for any reaction, but his face was demure. She scowled a bit, but then refocused on Elina, hoping to get some sort of explanation - be it facial expression, body language, or words. The music began to swell as D.D.'s voice faded out, going into an emotional instrumental. The music was coming to an end, apparently, but with one last devious look directed to Kevin, Elina leaned forward and flipped a switch.

Kevin started to protest, but then resignedly buried his face in his hands.

D.D. began to sing again, but much to Ben and Gwen's shock, it was in English: "Brother, you and I / Brother, you and I / We'll sing our lullaby / Hush, my dear, sing sweet and low / Kevy now to rest will go. / Hush now, hush now, / Singing soft and low."

The voice faded, as though D.D. really were singing the lullaby to Kevin, who had yet to move. Gwen blinked in surprise, then smiled warmly. It was a song for Kevin; it even had his name in it.

"How did you do that?" Ben asked, unable to register the fact that D.D.'s song had been translated without losing the beat or rhythm. Elina winked at him and flipped the switch again.

The music that began to play was still D.D.'s singing, but it was back to Osmosian. Ben turned to look at Kevin, who was glaring at the back of his sister's head. His cheeks were tinged pink with humiliation, which was all the more endearing to Gwen.

"Your brother is an amazing singer," she said, already planning on how she would tease him about it later.

Kevin's obsidian eyes flicked toward her, but instantly went back to Elina. "He is," he muttered in agreement.

A comfortable silence once more lapsed over them as they listened to D.D. He sang in a variety of styles, and used all sorts of instruments. Some sounds Gwen could recognize, others she couldn't, but it was all truly awe-inspiring. Some of the notes D.D. could reach left her breathless, and the emotion behind his words invoked her own feelings. Not many artists could pull off such a feat to that extent.

Gwen suddenly found herself contemplating whether or not Kevin could sing like that, too. She'd never heard him sing, now that she thought about it. She made a mental note to ask him to, and placed it with her other note to hear Kevin play piano and violin.

"Finally," Kevin muttered under his breath, startling Gwen out of her musings. She blinked and glanced at him, and saw that he was staring ahead. Shifting her gaze, she saw Osmosia. It was still pretty far off - so far that it was about the size of a baseball in her view, but it was still beautiful.

Rather than the green, brown, and blue to which they were so accustomed, there was a vibrant purple hue dappled with silvers and browns and yellows and blues. It was almost a kaleidoscope of colors and landmasses. Gwen belated realized that Osmosia was probably, like Earth, mostly water. It was speckled with islands, and she knew it would be impossible for her to ever remember which was which, there were just so many!

"Our sun is a different color," Kevin piped up.

"Huh?" Gwen looked at him.

He gave her a sidelong look. "The water is purple here. It's because the light from our sun is a different color, so everything you see will be altered accordingly."

"Right," Gwen nodded. Her green eyes strayed to the planet, then narrowed as she turned back to him. "Does this mean we'll be different colors, too?"

Kevin's lips turned up in a smile, effectively answering her question. "Just a bit," he said after a moment. "Not inverse, if that's what you're thinking. That'd be scary."

She chuckled. "It would be, wouldn't it?"

"Your hair will turn dark blue," he said.

"Will it?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "What about yours?"

"It won't change. Black hair is predominant in Osmosians, anyway. Plus, black is just the absence of color."

"Right," Gwen said, nodding. She'd already known that, but it had escaped her memory for a moment in her excitement. "What color will Ben's be?"

His lips twitched. "Yellow-green."

Gwen stifled a giggle. Ben Tennyson with yellow-green hair! She wished now more than ever that she had brought a camera. Kevin, as though reading her mind, pulled a small one out of his pocket. They shared a mischievous grin.

When they neared their destination, Elina turned off the radio and pulled up the other hologram, the one for making calls. A faceless entity appeared. Since it had a universal translator built into it, Gwen and Ben could understand the other person's words quite well, though Elina's side of the conversation completely escaped them.

"What purpose have you in Osmosia?" asked the official.

Elina replied smoothly.

"Very well."

The hologram disappeared, and Elina slowly pressed the ship forward. The Rustbucket III accelerated. In a matter of moments, they had broken through the atmosphere. The transition had been completely smooth, and Gwen wondered whether Elina was just the best driver known to man or if Osmosia's atmosphere was different. Probably both, she decided.

"Enchplashshil," Elina said, pointing ahead.

Gwen looked and saw that a yellowish fang-shaped island surrounded by purple waters was looming up. A closer scrutiny revealed that the upper half looked cleanly cleaved, as though an artist had drawn a perfectly-manicured line across it. She could easily imagine that the top half was still intact, undamaged by the meteorite years ago. The island was once crescent-shaped.

As the Rustbucket III descended closer and closer, they could make out the landscape. The island was encircled by a bar of white sand, and toward the middle of the island was a clump of orange, which Kevin said was a forest. Dappled across the rather large island were several cities and other communities of closely-packed homes. Once they came even closer, Gwen saw that the silver buildings were very nearly skyscrapers, all with columns of windows. A series of what looked to be railroad tracks spiderwebbed across the island, connected the communities. Gwen spotted a flash of gold, but it was gone too quickly for her to get a good look.

Elina guided the ship down to a clearing that was apparently a huge parking garage. She expertly brought the ship to a rest, and then tossed the keys back to Kevin. He caught them effortlessly and pocketed them, and they all unstrapped and stretched. It had been a long three hours.

Kevin, Gwen, and Ben followed Elina out of the ship and into the cool air. There was a distinct smell of iron and copper in the air, Gwen immediately noticed. Metal was probably quite abundant here. Ben gave a small shriek of surprise, and Gwen turned to see him staring at her.

Kevin and Elina watched the two them, obviously amused.

As Ben stammered out that Gwen's hair was blue, she struggled (and failed) not to laugh at his yellow-green hair. Ben looked down at himself to see why she was laughing, and noticed that his green jacket was now orange, and that his skin had a bit of a grayish tint to it. Gwen's skin was the same, and her blue shirt was a bit more purple than anything else. Both of their eyes had turned a dull orange, almost gold.

Kevin and Elina's eyes were both a lighter gray than usual. It was almost startling, but Gwen managed to reign in her surprise.

"Ready?" Elina asked, tilting her head in the direction they had been heading before Ben and Gwen discovered their newest differences.

The cousins agreed with varying degrees of truth, and they all set out. Kevin and Gwen walked side by side behind Elina, while Ben trailed behind, struggling to cope with the fact that his favorite jacket was orange.

They didn't walk far at all when they came across a sort of bus stop. Elina pressed a button on a pole that looked suspiciously like a street lamp, and then turned her head to watch the golden speck rapidly approach.

It was almost instantly upon them, seeming to manifest itself in the time it took Gwen to blink. The golden train car rolled seamlessly to a stop directly in front of them, and a door silently slid open. Elina and Kevin stepped inside, followed by Gwen and Ben.

"You might want to sit," Kevin said, plopping down on one of the benches that lined the otherwise empty car.

Gwen and Ben hastily followed example. They'd both seen how incredibly fast the car had been. It had been so quick that even from above Gwen hadn't been able to follow it with her eye. Elina was standing at the front, where a large, glowing grid-like panel was displayed. She pressed a pulsating yellow dot, which instantly turned green. Then Elina took a seat beside Ben and crossed one leg over her knee.

"Here we go," Kevin murmured.

Just as he said so, the floor beneath their feet thrummed. Before Gwen could fully comprehend that feeling, she suddenly felt herself being flung to one side. She might have fallen over had Kevin not been there to steady her, and she in turn pushed a bewildered Ben upright. (Gwen was quite surprised that Ben's brain had not bled out of his ears yet.)

There was a light "ding" that resonated slightly through the car, and Gwen looked around for its source.

"Here we stop," Kevin announced.

But before she or Ben could brace themselves, they found themselves being flung in the opposite direction. This time, Elina stopped Ben's flight, and he in turn saved her from spilling onto the floor. Kevin, unlike his grinning sister, had the decency to look apologetic.

Once the car had fully stopped, the door from which they had entered slid open, and Elina and Kevin at last stood. Gwen stood warily, half expecting the car to jolt forward once more. Needless to say she stuck close to Kevin. She most definitely did not want to get lost on a strange planet.

When they stepped out, Gwen and Ben gaped around in awe. Only moments before they had seemed to be in a mostly abandoned lot, but now they found themselves in the midst of a city. There were no vehicles (except for the golden car behind them, but when Gwen turned to look it had already thrummed to life and gone again), and people were milling about and running errands. It reminded them a bit of home, only the people wore vibrant, colored clothing. Most had dark hair and shining eyes, like Elina and Kevin, but there were several with purple or fiery orange hair, and various shades between. The buildings, which appeared to range anywhere from apartments to shops to grocery stores, towered like skyscrapers.

Elina and Kevin gave them a moment to soak in their new surroundings.

"This way," Kevin said at last, leading them both by their elbows into the crowd. He didn't release them, and though Ben had a sour expression Gwen was sure he was as grateful as she was. She wasn't about to ask him to hold her hand, but she definitely did not want to get lost. Elina abruptly stopped, causing Kevin to stop short, and the cousins walked right into his back.

Kevin asked her a question in Osmosian, and Gwen was sure it was something like, "What are you doing?"

Elina replied in a short but chipper tone, and pointed at the door beside them. Kevin turned his head and looked, and then asked another question. His sister nodded with a laugh and entered the store, and he reluctantly dragged Ben and Gwen in after him.

They both immediately recognized it as a clothes shop. Multitudes of fabric hung from the walls, from shelves, from racks, and were piled onto nearly every surface. A few people were browsing or bargaining with the owner to the right of the door, who appeared to be a very animated, portly old man. Elina pulled a small slip of paper out of her pocket and handed it to Kevin, who took it and stared at her exasperatedly. She told him something, and then motioned for Gwen to go with her.

She parted from her boyfriend, albeit reluctant, and trailed after Elina. She led her to the back of the store, while Kevin dragged Ben over to the other side. It was then that her fears were realized: Elina was going to dress them in traditional Osmosian clothing.

But what to do? She couldn't very well refuse. Besides, for all she knew it could be that it was required to dress according to some lawful standard, and that they were all breaking it in their "human attire." Gwen quickly resigned herself to her fate, but all the same she felt a bit excited for it. She resisted the urge to reach out and feel the fabric of the cloth beside.

Elina, once she reached the end of the store, spun on her heel and dragged her eyes down Gwen's figure. Gwen watched her expectantly as the older woman turned her attention to the clothes hanging on the wall. She pulled down several selections - long drapes of vibrant green, of yellow, and of sky blue. Then she pressed her palm to wall and ushered a gawking Gwen into the room that seamlessly opened.

At first Gwen was a bit uncomfortable with undressing in front of a stranger, but then she realized that she had no idea how to dress herself in the new clothing, and Elina did not seem bothered at all. So she removed her outer layers, standing self-consciously in her undergarments. Unfazed, Elina had Gwen stretch out her arms to either side, and she began to wrap the green, satin-like cloth around Gwen's torso like a toga. Then Elina took both ends of it and tied them like a snug sash around her waist. Only Gwen's calves, neck, and arms were visible in the wrap. Elina then took the light blue and loosely winded it around her neck once, leaving either end hanging to the floor. The yellow cloth turned out to be a sort of hemmed jacket, which was slipped over her arms. Several loops wound down the sleeves, through which Elina fed the ends of the blue scarf. Once the blue cloth had made it down to her wrists, Elina tied them into a loose, small bow, keeping the ends of the sleeves in place.

Finally, Elina stepped back and nodded in satisfaction. Then she turned Gwen by her shoulders and revealed the mirror that had been behind her. Gwen stared at her reflection. She looked so strange, but so - dare she say it - beautiful and exotic.

"You like?" Elina asked.

Gwen chuffed. "Yes, I do," she smiled, smoothing the front of her wrap. "Thank you."

"Not a problem," Elina said. "Now I will change, and then we get shoes. And then we go and wait for boys, yes?"

"Okay," she agreed, gathering her clothes and following Elina out of the room. Elina went a little ways back to the front and selected a red wrap with an orange scarf and black jacket. Gwen trailed after her as she returned to the room and then stopped outside of it to giver her privacy. Elina, when she realized this, gave Gwen a questioning look and ushered her in with her.

"You do not need wait alone," Elina said kindly.

"Oh," Gwen blushed, unsure of how to reply.

Elina smiled and began to strip. Gwen wondered if Elina expected her to help her dress, and she hoped not because she wasn't so sure she could do it. But Elina was a native and perfectly capable of dressing herself. Without even checking her movements in the mirror, she expertly repeated the process she'd gone through with Gwen, and in no time at all she was ready.

"Let's go shoes!" Elina chirped, bundling her own clothes up in her arms. Gwen followed after her like a lost puppy, wondering what kinds of shoes they wore. She didn't see any on the way in. Elina went to the front desk and dropped her Earth clothing on the table top. The old clerk glanced up and took them both in.

He and Elina spoke in Osmosian for a bit, apparently haggling for something. After a few moments, the old man relented, and Elina motioned for Gwen to leave her clothes on the desk. She placed them besides Elina's and followed her to the other side of the store. There she saw the shoes. They were all a uniform black, and were sandals not unlike the ones worn in ancient Greece back home. But they were obviously well-made and very beautiful.

Elina sat down and picked up a pair that fit her own feet. She patted the floor next to her, inviting Gwen to take a seat. She did, and Elina studied her feet before rooting through the stacks for a pair that would fit. As she did that, Gwen turned at the sound of footsteps.

Kevin and Ben were approaching, Ben shuffling uncomfortably. The boys were dressed in a very similar manner, except rather than wraps they wore what appeared to be capris under a robe. Ben's jacket was green, most likely at his own insistence, and his scarf was white. His robe and pants were black. Kevin looked very good in his own wardrobe. His jacket was red, and the scarf was a light gray. Like Ben, his robe and trousers were black. She wondered if that was the only color men could wear, but then she figured it was just their taste.

Elina threw a pair of sandals at Kevin, who caught them effortlessly even as he was sinking to the floor beside Gwen. His sister then continued to search for a pair for Gwen. Kevin pulled the sandals on and then looked at Ben's feet the way Elina had looked at Gwen's. She thought it was amazing how they could just judge the correct size needed with a glance.

Elina made a frustrated noise. "You're feet are so small," she complained. "Like a child."

"Sorry," Gwen said, bewildered.

Kevin chuckled, removing a pair from the stack for Ben, who glared distastefully at them. "Just put them on, Tennyson."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, doing so.

"Ah," Elina said, pulling a pair, "here."

Gwen slipped her feet into them easily. They felt as though they were perfectly molded to fit her feet, and she wondered what they were made out of. Probably something not found on Earth, that was for sure. They were more comfortable than socks.

"Good?" Elina asked, addressing the question to everyone.

Once she received confirmation, they all stood and meandered back to the front desk. When they arrived, Gwen saw that their clothes had been neatly folded and bagged, including Ben and Kevin's. Apparently they had stopped by the desk before going to shoes as well.

Elina and the old man immediately broke out into a conversation, haggling a price. Her hand suddenly flew back as she spoke, extended to Kevin behind her, who casually returned the slip of paper she had earlier given to him. Elina thrust it at the clerk, who grumbled as he squinted at it. Then he nodded and tore it in half, handing one back to her and pocketing the other. With a short bow of her head, Elina snatched up the bags and went out the door. Kevin grabbed both Ben and Gwen and followed after her.

"Where are we going?" Ben asked, looking very self-conscious in his new clothes.

"My brother's house," Kevin replied, weaving to one side to avoid an old woman laden with a huge bag. "It's only a few doors down now."

True to his word, Elina turned into another building ahead of them. Kevin sped up a little to catch up, and Gwen and Ben hastened accordingly. When they entered not too far behind his sister, they found her waiting at a pair of golden doors for them, beaming broadly. As they neared, she pressed a button on a panel, and the doors slid open to reveal an elevator. They crammed themselves inside, and Elina dictated aloud the elevator's destination.

The doors slid closed, and the vehicle thrummed to life beneath them. Gwen braced herself for the sudden movement that was sure to send her to the floor, but surprisingly it glided smoothly, like a normal elevator. She exhaled through her nose slowly, more than a little relieved. Once it stopped, the doors allowed their leave, and they found themselves in a very tiny white room, about the size of a small closet. Gwen frowned in confusion.

Elina stepped up to the wall and knocked. The sound was solid, and Gwen was hard-pressed to believe that there was anything beyond that wall. There was no apparent reply, but Elina didn't seem to expect one. She waggled her eyebrows over her shoulder at Kevin, who smirked mischievously.

She tapped the wall in several places in quick succession, so fast that Gwen might have missed it had she not been looking. Another panel slid open seamlessly, and Elina went through it. Kevin went in after her, still pulling Gwen and Ben behind him.

Inside was a homely and clean living room, with a long red sofa facing a white wall, and a chrome kitchen area to the right. An open doorway led to a dark hallway that must have led to a bedroom and bathroom or something of the like. But Elina and Kevin ignored everything but the couch, and headed for it. As they crossed the room, Kevin relinquished his hold on them, and left them free to look around.

The walls were white, and except for the one in front of the couch, were decorated with what appeared to be photographs and drawings. Upon closer inspection, Gwen realized that the photographs and drawings were both of family members, and could distinctly make out a younger Kevin in several. She wondered whether D.D. drew the art.

"He's at work," Kevin explained, making a detour around the sofa to go into the kitchen. He immediately began rooting through the cabinets and fridge, pulling out ingredients at random. Gwen was a bit shocked that he was so blatantly going through his brother's food, but then she was hungry and so didn't hold it too much against him.

"Where does he work?" she asked lightly.

Ben had already made his way over the couch and sat down, exclaiming how soft it was. Elina laughed at him and laid down, stretching. There was plenty of room for both of them to lie down, so long the crescent-shaped furniture was.

"He's at the recording studio," Kevin answered. He shook an unmarked box, frowning at it. Then he cautiously opened it and sniffed its contents. Making a face, he replaced it. "It's two floors up. He should be back in a few minutes, actually."

"Oh," Gwen said.

"Next week he's got to go to the other side of the island every day to film his new movie," Kevin said absently.

Gwen blinked at him. "He's an actor, too?"

"Yeah."

"That's really amazing," Gwen said. "Did he draw these pictures on the wall?"

Kevin looked up at her, then at the drawings. "No, his boyfriend did."

Ben bolted upright on the couch and looked at Kevin in alarm. "Boyfriend?" he repeated.

Kevin made a face at him not unlike the one he'd given to the unknown contents of the box. "Yeah, you got a problem, Tennyson?"

Ben gave him a strange look. "No," he said faintly, sinking back down.

"He won't be attracted to you, loser," Kevin uttered, rolling his eyes. "Not even girls like you."

"Hey!"

"What's his boyfriend like?" Gwen asked, trying to change Kevin's mood.

Kevin blinked and regarded her for a moment. "Um," he said, frowning thoughtfully. "He's, uh, sort of...dead."

"Oh," she said. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't -"

Kevin smiled. "It's fine, Gwen. It was a suicide, maybe three years ago. But it's all right, really."

He seemed eager to let the conversation drop, so Gwen let it. Luckily, her scramble for a new topic was cut short as the entrance slid open. They all turned to the sound of someone bustling inside.

A tall, dark-headed man entered, wearing a bright blue robe and pants underneath a yellow jacket and orange scarf. He stopped short as he noticed his company, silvery eyes going wide in shock and a high-pitched yelp escaping his throat. He stumbled back into the wall, grasping it as though it were his life-line.

"D.D.!" Kevin and Elina sang cheerily.

D.D. immediately went into a rant in Osmosian, voice still pitched in the upper scales. His voice lowered as he ran out of breath and he straightened and relaxed. A good-natured twinkle came into his eyes, and his lips turned up in a smile.

"No one tells me when they're visiting," he moaned dramatically. "So you two must be Ben and Gwen, yes?"

Gwen blinked in surprise. "Yes," she said, extending her hand to shake his.

He looked down at her hand, and then grasped it gently with a kindly smile. "It is nice to meet you. I have heard much about you from Kevy."

Ben snickered quietly at the name.

"It's nice to meet you, too, D.D.," Gwen said politely. "I've heard a few of your songs, and I think you have an amazing voice."

"Ah, thanks," D.D. said. His eyes trailed over to Kevin. "Hm?" he said, looking at him expectantly.

Red blossoms appeared on Kevin's cheeks. He muttered something in Osmosian, busying himself with the food in front of him. D.D. rolled his eyes, and pulled Elina into a one-armed hug as she sidled up beside him.

"I can bet we later can give Ryan a heart attack," Elina said mischievously.

D.D. smirked wryly. "Yes, and she will die. And then Kevy and Gwen and Ben will die in her strong hugs."

Kevin gave his brother and sister a sour look as they laughed, but Gwen could tell there was no real anger behind it. She and Ben had taken to standing awkwardly aside, unsure of how to include themselves. But it seemed that they had no need to bring themselves into it, as D.D. turned on them and gestured for them to join him on the sofa.

"Let us talk, yes?" he said. "Kevy can make food for us while we tell you all the embarrassing things about him!"

"Hey!"

"Hello, yes," D.D. said, waving dismissively. The cousins leaned forward, showing him the utmost attention - blackmail was hard to come by when it came to Kevin. "Now, first there is the time when..."

A/N: YES, I KNOW. I'm so sorry it's taken so long! But college and writer's block together has never been a good thing, has it? I know I told one of you I was going to wait to post until I had it all written out, but it's taking so much longer than I thought it would, and I know I hate waiting, so I won't keep you any longer.

Again, I'm sorry, and I'll try to get the next two out ASAP. (There are only two more chapters until completion, so...yeah.) *fingers crossed*

Thanks for reading!