Chapter 25: Unexpected Arrivals

Mini-Colonello grinned inside her pocket, happy to help out his mother. Before entering the café, Lal put a hat on her head, hiding her hair and put on sunglasses. Then, they entered the café, sitting at one of the many tables in the shop.

A waitress approaches them, smiling a beautiful smile. "Welcome! My name is Yuni! How may I help you today?"

Lal stared at Yuni in semi-shock. It seemed like déjà vu all over again.

"Hello?" the waitress asked, noticing that her customer wasn't answering her. "Are you ok, miss?"

"A-Ah, sorry." Stammered Lal, remembering to use her manners around the current Arcobaleno boss. She opened the menu, scanning the contents inside. "I-Is it ok if you come back later?"

Yuni nodded and walked off, helping another customer.

As soon as Yuni walked away, Lal gave out a sigh of relief, shoulders relaxing for the time being. She began to worry if Yuni would figure out it was her.

"Mom?" Mini- Colonello peered at Lal curiously from her pocket. "Is something wrong, kora?" he asked worriedly.

Lal gave a faint smiled, despite how she was feeling. Illusion or not, mini-Colonello was really sweet and caring, like the real Colonello.

The blue haired woman shook her head. "I'm fine." She opened the menu in front of her, showing mini-Colonello the entire thing. "What do you want?"

"…" small blue eyes wandered around the pages, wondering which one to eat. "This one." He cutely points at a picture of a Strawberry Yogurt Parfait.

Lal nods, selecting her order before calling Yuni back to the table. "I want a Strawberry Yogurt Parfait and an Appleberry Blast." (I'll have the recipes on the bottom of this chapter)

Yuni scribbles everything down and gives off her signature smiles. "Coming right up!" She bustles towards the kitchen, calling out Lal's order.

The blue haired woman sighed, rubbing the side of her head. She still needed to find three more former Arcobaleno before sundown. Finding 4 (including Yuni) in the last 2 hours is a pretty good start. And since it's summer, sundown isn't until 6:00 – 7:00 (After all, they just celebrated Colonello's birthday not long ago).

"Thanks for waiting~" says Yuni cheerfully as she places the orders in front of Lal. She gives a slight bow before walking away again.

"My parfait's here, kora!" cried mini-Colonello, jumping out of his mom's chest pocket. He lands gracefully on the table but pauses as he looks up, the parfait towering over him. (Haha, I laughed when imagining a small parfait towering over mini-Colonello.)

"…" Lal watches her figure in amusement, watching the different expressions crossing his face. "Want me to feed you?"

Mini-Colonello shook his head, "N-No, I could do it, kora!"

Lal chuckled. "Trust me, you're better off with me feeding you."

Mini Colonello started mumbling something softly.

"…What?"

"Carry me." repeated mini-Colonello. Lal obliged, lowering her hand down to the table. She then brings her hand back up.

"Where?"

"…" He doesn't answer. Instead, he jumps from Lal's hand, kissing her on the lips. Suddenly, indigo whips of smoke shrouded him.

The next thing Lal knows, Mini-Colonello was now the size of a first grader. What's more, he's in her arms, clutching her….chest.

The blue haired woman's eyebrow twitched irritably. Mini-Colonello, feeling the aggressive aura, quickly took off his hand.

"S-Sorry Mom." He looked at the ground, ashamed and embarrassed. "I-I didn't mean to do that."

Lal bopped the figure on the head. "Just don't do it again. Understand?"

The small blonde gulped. "Understood, kora."

Lal sat mini-Colonello next to her and handed him the parfait. His eyes lit up as he picked up the spoon, taking a bite of his snack. He looked at his mom, offering her a bite. She shook her head, letting her "son" eat the snack by himself. Lal took a sip of her drink, enjoying the sweetness with a hint of sourness. She smirked as she wiped off some yogurt from mini-Colonello's face. There was a peaceful air around the two, making them look like a real "mother and son".

"Yuni, kora!" called a voice.

The peaceful air around Lal shattered immediately. She tensed up as she slowly turned around, hoping that it wasn't who she thought it was. Her hopes fell as she glanced at the tall male blonde, with a green bandana tied around his head, and a wedding ring around his middle finger. Yup, this is no doubt the REAL Colonello, her husband.

"Hello Colonello." Replied Yuni cheerfully, taking a little break from her "job".

Mini-Colonello turned towards Lal. "Did the waitress just say my name?"he asked, cocking his head a bit.

Lal gave out a nervous huff but didn't answer.

"…" The small blonde stared at his mom for a few minutes before shrugging, turning his attention back to his parfait.

Lal tuned in to the conversation behind her.

"So, what are you doing here, kora?" asked Colonello. He crossed his arms, leaning against the wall of the café.

Yuni smiled. "I've always wanted to have a job before, and being a boss all day isn't all fun of games. So, I decided to take a little break, and get a small job as I go in to hiding." She twirled around. "And this outfit is cute, too!"

Colonello gave a little chuckle. "I guess, kora. It does suit you."

Yuni blushed a little. "No, I bet Lal would look better than me." She replied modestly. "Maybe I should buy this outfit and give to her as a gift."

'No! Don't buy it!' Lal silently begged in her head.

"Haha, sure kora!" grinned Colonello. "I bet she'll love it!"

The blue haired woman mentally face-palmed and groaned inwardly.

"Mom, you ok, kora?" asked Mini-Colonello.

Colonello suddenly stopped his conversation with Yuni, looking at mini-Colonello curiously. He took a few strides over to Lal's table, making her heart beat faster.

"Hey, kora." Greeted Colonello. Mini-Colonello just gazed at the taller one, not saying a word.

"Is this your mom, kora?" asked Colonello, trying to start a conversation.

Mini-Colonello just nodded. The taller blonde grinned. "Cool, kora! You look just like me when I was younger."

Colonello thumped Lal on the back… A bit too hard. Her glasses and hat fell off her face, revealing Lal's blue hair and attractive maroon eyes.

"…" Colonello's mouth opened and closed, eyes wide in surprise at the woman in front of him. "L-Lal?"

He stared back and forth between Lal and mini-Colonello, his mind processing what just happened.

"Lal?" Yuni approached the table. "I didn't recognize you!"

"Mom?" Mini-Colonello grabbed on to Lal's arm, a bit timid with the new people in front of him.

Colonello snapped out his daze. "Mom?" He turned to Lal with curiosity and confusion written on his face. "He calls you mom?"

Lal sighed. "It's a long story. Now stop staring at me like that!" she yelled, blushing a bit.

The tall blonde just grinned. "If you're the mom, that means I'm the dad!"

The blue-haired woman just kept her piercing glare on Colonello. Mini-Colonello crawled on to Lal's lap, leaning his head on her chest. He blinked his blue eyes up, meeting with the other pair of blue eyes.

Colonello gave a smile and slid in to the seat next to Lal. He reached out his arm, ruffling the little kid's hair gently.

Mini-Colonello gave a small smile, then grinned as he started to talk to the other blonde. After a while, the small blonde summoned his courage and crawled out of Lal's arms and on to Colonello's lap.

"Dad, kora!" he cried, a smile on his face.

The older blonde grinned also, ruffling the little one's head again. "Yes, I'm your dad, kora!" Soon, there was a friendly conversation going between the two blondes.

Lal watched her husband and "son" from the corner of her eyes as she sipped her smoothie. Even though she has been with Colonello for a long time, she was always amazed on how her husband could attract people to him without even trying. Maybe it was cheerful personality or his trademark grin/smirk.

Lal smirked as she watched mini-Colonello accidentally spill some yogurt on to Colonello, making them both erupt with laughter.

'Is this how Colonello would act if we had a child?' Lal thought as she stared at the pair. Then, a second thought flashed in her mind. 'WHAT…DID…I…JUST…THINK?'

"Lal, kora! You there?" Colonello teasingly waved a hand in front of the blue haired woman's face. Lal scowled, brushing her husband's hand out of her face.

"What is it?" she asked briskly.

"Our son is finished with your parfait and you seem to be done with your drink, too." Said Colonello. "Don't you want to finish looking for the remaining two Arcobaleno, kora?"

Lal sighed. She knew that Colonello was right. She had less than 3 hours to find the remaining two Arcobaleno.

The blue haired woman stood up and walked out of her seat. Then, she crotched down, looking at the small blonde in the eye. "Mom is going to find her other friends so you're going to stay with Dad."

Mini-Colonello's eyes grew wide and soon filled with tears; tears that were threatening to spill out any moment. He couldn't bear being away from his mother. "I-I want to go with Mommy." Cried mini-Colonello.

Lal eyed Colonello for help. Her husband caught her eye and thought for a bit.

"How about this," suggested Colonello. "You could follow Mom after we find someone but after that, you'll be coming with Dad." He smiled at his son. "Deal, kora?"

Mini-Colonello pouted a bit. "Ok." He said finally, agreeing with the terms.

Lal sighed as she stood up, reaching in to her bag to pay for the snacks.

"WAIT!"

His wife froze. "What now?"

Colonello smirked. "You can't pay!"

"Why?"

"Because this is MY treat." He put emphasis on the word "my" to get the point across.

Lal opened her mouth, ready to fight back. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her arm.

"Mom, don't fight." Said mini-Colonello, looking at his mom with his blue eyes. Colonello did the same, looking at his wife with his baby-blue eyes. Both of their eyes were begging Lal.

'Urk…' Lal was weak against Colonello's begging looks. But with two Colonello look alike, she was almost vulnerable.

"No." replied Lal, still standing her ground.

Mini-Colonello's eyes filled with tears, making Lal's heart soften even more. She sighed, giving in. "Fine, you win Colonello."

Both blondes perked up almost immediately. Colonello held out his hand and his son slapped it, giving each other a high-five. Lal gave both of them an amused look as she helped her son on to the ground. Colonello paid for the check, giving them a large tip. The entire family said "good-bye" to Yuni and headed out the door. Yuni was about to wave good-bye but then gasped.

"Wait, Lal!"

Lal paused, facing Yuni again. "Yes?"

"Before you go," Yuni strolled back in to the kitchen, only returning with the café's female outfits in her hands. She hands the clothing to Lal, smiling a bit. "This café has two female outfits, one that is a dress/skirt and the other one is a cute top and shorts. I couldn't decide between them so I bought both."

Lal's eyebrow twitched as she gave Yuni an awkward smile. "T-Thanks?" she replied. 'I'm going to make Colonello see hell if he makes me wear this.'

Yuni smiled again, holding Lal's hand and walked her out the door. "Bye Lal! Hope to see you soon!" Then, the turquoise colored boss waved the couple and their "son" goodbye before walking back in to the café. (I think Yuni's hair color is turquoise…)

Lal slowed down a bit, looking back as the café soon disappeared from her sight.

"Mom, let's go! You don't want Dad to prove that you're slower than him!" called mini-Colonello. He turned back to Colonello and grinned, who grinned back to him.

The blue haired woman gave a slight smiled as she continued onward, ready to find the second-to-last Arcobaleno with her family.

Aww, this story is about to end. I predict about a few more chapters (3-5 more chapters).

I found this chapter to be pretty cute. Expecially where both blondes were begging Lal. I almost had a giggle attack when I typed out this part of the story. I hoped you enjoyed the scenes I added to this story :D The original story was kind of...bland. So I spiced it up a bit :)

Anyways, the next person to be found is going to be Fong. It will be a chapter that will make Lal, Colonello, and Fong to reflect on the past.

Thanks to all who read/reviewed my story so far :D I love you bunches! 3

Please Review :)

Recipes:

Strawberry Yogurt Parfait (Recipe from: – Cooking for Kids)

Ingredients:

1 cup low-fat or non-fat vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup granola

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 Tbsp. maple syrup

Preparations:

Place 1/4 cup of the yogurt in the bottom of two glasses or parfait dishes.

Top with one tablespoon of granola.

Top with 1/4 cup of the sliced strawberries.

Repeat the layers. Drizzle 1/2 tablespoon of the maple syrup over each yogurt parfait.

Makes 2 yogurt parfaits.

Appleberry Blast (Recipe from: Cooking in Style – the Costco Way)

Ingredients:

1 cup of frozen strawberries or frozen mixed berries (raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries)

1 ½ cups of Apple Juice

½ cup vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt, or vanilla yogurt

¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon (optional)

Preparations:

Combine all ingredients in a blender.

Cover and blend at high speed until smooth

Makes 2 servings.

~Hope you enjoy them~