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The following is a fan-based
FICTION
Las Lindas and other products set in the same universe are all owned by Chalo/Chalosan and SoulKat.
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Chapter 14: (Re)Meeting
~Matt's POV~
I was pretty much clueless about how I was supposed to spend my time in town as I left the farm.
The market was close for today, something about some quick rebuild of a section of the road that had started to show some signs of serious damage.
The mayor himself had dismissed the usual activity meant to happen there for the entirety of the day as the time required to fix such a problem would take too long to actually just delay the functions happening in that square.
Nothing truly worrying actually, but the first citizen was quick to spread the full extent of the situation with moderate and calm words, the inhabitants understanding the importance of such reparation without the spark of some collective panic.
And while I was glad that the man was genuinely concerned by this issue, this unexpected predicament sure was going to create some problems for my little pace with my work.
I was going to recover from this little pause if I worked a little harder than usual as to bring even more products at the following market's session, but I wonder if that would be excessive or not.
The pace was still draining on my body and mind, something I did agree when Diana and Randal pointed this out, but it was something I've been long accustomed too even in other kind of jobs.
Tiring hard labor that required long amounts of time and provided little assurance of success? I've done pretty much everything that required physical strength with some lengthy shifts.
It wasn't the worst situation I've ever dealt with, but it did certainly highlight some concerns over the chances of bringing a good turn by the end of the third week.
With the current sum we started to acquire ever since I began working at Las Lindas, we have already start to pay a minor fraction of the debts looming over the lands and that was something Randy had decided to go and do just the day before while I kept an eye to Diana as he was away.
The bank accepted a restructuring of the total interest as a portion of the collective debts was dismissed with the new coin, said interest offering some more opportunity for the complete clearing of the economic issues if things continued like this.
I was in a good mood. Actually, it was excellent considering how positively things were going for us all.
The talk I had with the Collie did leave something meaningful behind and I felt even lighter than usual as I went for my usual walk to town.
My mind almost devoid of the past days' worries as I ended up encountering someone by the entrance.
Miles looked a little happier than before, it was evident from his standing and expression.
Gone was the usual gloom that used to be part of this overall posture, the shoulders slouching and his face seeming like he had been sleep-deprived for some time, instead the Cat Prime looked finer than his previous drunk state.
And by fine I was referring to the fact 'he still looked tired, but he doesn't seem stuck in some perennial state of drunk from inner struggles or issues', which was quite the improvement as he had indeed began avoiding alcohol by the pub during early morning.
It had been a surprise that I had been told by Minos, the taller Prime having saved on his own phone my new phone number and he didn't spare himself from describing what had happened the day before just a few hours after dinner.
Miles had gone to the bar, greeted the patrons around and then took a seat by one of the stools near to where the Bull. The young man was then approached by the bartender and he was quick to give his order in a clear tone of voice.
"A glass of water."
A simple request that was followed through when the owner passed to the counter the glass filled with the transparent beverage, the Cat quickly giving a sip or two before beginning some discussion with Minos about simple topics..
From that little tale, I could only guess that whatever had followed the discussion we had two days ago ended up bringing some positive change to his current life's outlook.
But it was just that, a possibility that lacked much foundation at least until I finally had the chance to see this unexpected development with my own eyes and…
He looked much better than before, there was no denying of that.
The young Prime was the one that started ensuing conversation by greeting me, to which I replied with a nod as we started to made our way through the settlement.
People were already filling the streets, more than usual as the major square where the market was sited was closed from the public, and I was quick to notice that we were making the usual walk to the bar.
I blinked and glanced at the Cat Prime, curious over this very predicament.
Miles looked immersed in the discussion, something about the different kind of coffees offered by the menu of the local saloon-bar and the kind he had wanted to try the next time he visited the place.
"So… where are we going?" I interjected in the midst of the subject, catching the young man off-guard. "This certainly isn't the usual path to the bar."
He hummed at this, instantly taking a more nervous expression as we continued to wander seemingly aimlessly across town.
Looking around as if to try and find some distractions of sort to divert the attention away from that curious situation.
Sadly for him, there was nothing that could have worked and in the end he merely sighed before explaining.
"Minos invited Taffy to his house and… the girl got all flustered when this was mentioned yesterday at the bar," The Cat Prime huffed with a suspicious tone. "I think there is something going on with those two and… I wanted to understand what."
"Any particular reason for snooping around about this?" I decided to inquire, drawing a confused look from him.
"I mean, aren't you and Taffy-"
"We are not in a romantic relationship," I quickly interrupted, kind of prepared nowadays to remind people of this specific detail. "We just had a particular experience that many friends usually don't have."
He blinked at that.
"You mean that you are still friends after 'that'?" There was some surprise within his tone, but I merely nodded at him.
Then he sighed. "I guess you don't mind if there is something going on with them, right?"
The sudden inquiry caused me to half-stop, surprised by the unexpected query as I decided to probe for more info about the matter.
"I would be elated if such thing was possible," I admitted quietly, hiding a little bit of annoyance at that eventuality as I couldn't just see Taffy and Minos together. Maybe it was… jealousy? No, it was… something different.
"But I don't think they are doing anything that should warrant some investigation, or at least not one this serious."
"What do you mean?" Miles asked.
"I'm referring to the fact that Minos and Taffy barely showed any sort of interactions that would make it seem like they are trying something that important," I explained carefully and thoughtfully.
"And if something did happen while I wasn't around, I would have noticed something different in the last few days."
The Prime sighed. "I guess then that you don't want to check on them, so we should take this corner to go to the pub-"
"But I guess we can give it a look," I jumped in before he could finish. "Now I'm curious about what could have gotten Taffy flustered in spending some time with Minos."
Yellow eyes widened at that.
"You sure about that? What if it's something actually 'that awkward'?" The Cat inquired, gaining a blink from that.
"I've already said that I wouldn't mind if it was, Miles," I repeated calmly. "I also think it will not be any of that. I can even bet on that."
I concluded by pulling out fifty cents off from my pocket.
"Fifty to you if you are right," I offered with a neutral tone. "Fifty to me if you are wrong."
His jaws dropped at that, but then Miles gave a slow nod to agree to such offer.
"I sure hope you are right then," He commented with a soft tone, then he cracked a smile. "Still, I bet it will be fun to see your face without that little coin."
I scowled at him, but I could help but smile at the cheek coming from the young man.
Ah, it's been a while since I had to have such a sarcastic fight with someone and Miles sure knew when to poke around to draw some fun teasing from people.
Sadly, I wasn't certainly someone that backed away from such predicament, actually loving some fierce 'head-butting' during conversations.
So we ended up giving each other some relentless remarks about our respective lives, turning the walk even more livelier than I thought it possible to have.
It took us some time to reach the outskirts of the town, Miles' memory of where the place was sited quite impressive considering how the first and last time he was there it was while he was facing some drunk walk to it.
Still, we were slow in reaching the porch as the Cat decided to take a slower pace as we started to approach the place, something that certainly didn't went missing to me but I decided to keep quiet until we were there.
I was the one to ring the doorbell and we both waited for someone to come to open the door.
It was a brief wait, one that culminated with a certain Bull coming to open to his own door.
Minos looked surprised to see the two of us here, but my attention was quickly taken by the fact that 1) he was still wearing some clothes, a half-sleeved light-blue shirt and a pair of baggy black pants, and 2) there was a small towel over his right shoulder.
Why this simple piece of pristine white cloth was that important to gain my sudden interest? Well, considering that it was stained with paint colors all over it, I can say that it was difficult to just ignore this unexpected detail on the owner of the house.
"Matt, Miles?" The tall dude finally replied in visible surprise. "I-I didn't expect you two to visit-"
"It's a surprise visit," Miles pointed out with a careful voice, still smiling and nodding at the fellow Prime. "But yes, I guess that we came here uninvited and all of that."
"Just coming around to see you, Minos," I decided to speak up. "Miles here told me that Taffy came for some activity and we just wanted to check if-"
"So you came here for… Taffy."
The sudden interruption was met with a blink of an eye as I found Minos leaning by the doorstep, giving me a strange look as I tried to make sense of what I've just heard from him.
"I mean, Miles told me that you two were doing some private stuff and I just wanted to see what's going on." I tried to explain, the strange look didn't waver not even once.
"Well, Taffy is here, but we weren't doing anything private," The Bull replied with a calm tone. "It was more that she was embarrassed to bring this up to anyone. It isn't anything truly worth your worries."
...What was he talking about?
"I wasn't worried about anything," I huffed tiredly, trying my best to hide my annoyance. "The market is closed and I wanted to see what was going on, nothing else."
Even though I was certain to have driven my point across as there was an understanding glint on the Bull's red eyes… his smile widened and he nodded.
"Maybe you should show us inside, Minos," Miles said with a teasing tone. "Wouldn't want Matt to get even more worried-"
"You owe me fifty cents," I said sternly at the smug Cat and then I looked at the other Prime. "And you better expect some payback in the future, mister."
They foolishly ignored my demands, if only they knew whom they were stepping upon with their cheek and irking amusement.
Them fools!
Still, we were invited inside as Minos led us to the living room where… a curious scene was developing.
Looking tensely by the sole entrance to that room, Taffy was sitting by a wooden stool close to a standard painting canvas… while holding a color palette with her left hand and a brush with her right one.
I noticed the ongoing project, my eyes fixing briefly at the half-done painting about the small bowl sitting on the table a few meters away from the canvas.
There were two bananas and a single apple, which were styled onto the white surface of the special paper.
Her face reddened as our presence became clear to her and she tensed up even more as I tried to awkwardly wave at her.
"I-I can explain!" The bunny suddenly exclaimed, almost tripping on the stool while saying so.
"T-There is no need to-" I tried to assure, but the girl was far from over.
"I always wanted to try and paint-"
"I understand and-"
"He told me that he was quite experienced about it so I asked him for help-"
"Taffy, you don't need to-"
"A-And I wanted to do something about it for a gift-"
...What?
"Taffy, I understand what you are trying to tell us," I finally pushed some more on my voice to avoid any further interruptions. "You don't need to overreact this much about it."
"B-But I-"
"Look, we are not overthinking over this matter. You want to learn how to pain, nothing wrong with that," I continued, ignoring her little stuttering as I approached her and looked at the canvas from a closer perspective and…
"This is you first work, right?" I suddenly asked, my tone now showing some slight surprise coming from my immediate reaction. "Like, you didn't do any previous attempts at this?"
"Last time was back in elementary school," The young woman admitted with a sheepish voice, her green eyes displaying some curiosity. "Why do you ask?"
"It's brilliant," I bluntly commented, rightfully so as I started to point out some impressive details I could spot from some look. "The shades, the light and the little reflection spot here on the apple… this is beyond mere beginner level."
She was stunned by the sudden praise, mouth open a little in shock, and just as she prepared to deny such 'kind words', Miles joined in with his own compliments.
"This looks like how some of the Art students back at Prism Uni would do. Even more if you consider that this is your first day giving it a serious try."
With those new praises, Taffy's face reddened again, her hands letting go of the palette and brush by the canvas to reach up and cover the blush now spreading all over her head.
"See? I told you that you were doing well, Taffy." Minos mused out-loud, giving the final blow for the girl to ultimately understand that her first attempt was going well to the three guys' eyes.
"Y-You aren't just telling me to make me feel happy, right?"
I swear, she looked so much awed at this much positiveness and… I went for a hug.
The young woman looked surprised, but didn't tense much at the sudden contact.
Actually, she slowly leaned on and sighed. "So it's really good, I suppose."
Taffy sighed and nodded, the Bunny Prime nuzzling a little in the embrace before actually stopping to look up with a curious expression plastered on her face.
"By the way, why are you two... here?"
Panic surged as I remembered the teasing happening back then and, unwilling to let this escalate right now, I tried my best to answer…
Only to be interrupted by Minos.
"Matt came to visit because Miles told him you were here, Taffy," The traitorous Bull replied with a faux-neutral tone.
Jerk!
"Yeah, he seemed quite interested once he heard you were supposed to do something here with Minos, I might have made him worried and all but it was his intention to come here ultimately."
Double jerks!
I am beset by dumb traitors!
My face gained a few shades of red, to not confound as a guilty response to such a shameless and baseless accusation.
Yet it was Taffy that got me to stop in my irritated mood as she let out a quick giggle.
"I see," A pretty smile perked on her face as she hummed and looked at me with an even more curious look. "Is that true?"
I blinked at that question and I replied with well-pondered words.
"The market is closed today and I didn't have anything planned to spend time before lunch," I glanced at a certain Cat Prime, trying my best and failing to not glare at him for his teasing attempt. "Miles told me that he eavesdropped you and Minos talking about something embarrassing to do today and he said that it had to be something perverted."
The bunny's stare widened in shock before she redirected it quickly at the white-haired dummy, the Cat looking uneasy under the combined glare.
"I-It was just a 'wild guess', you know?" He let out a nervous chuckle, but Taffy merely smirked sweetly.
"What happened next, Matt?"
I nodded before complying with her simple request.
"I already knew that if there had been something that could have suggested this development, I would have seen it happening way before now of all times," I proclaimed with a genuine and serious voice. "But I decided to visit to understand what could have gotten you so bothered."
"And it was nothing about being here with Minos?" The female Prime asked while lifting a curious eyebrow. "Or that it was something secret?"
"I know you two well enough to say that I was already certain it wasn't the case," I answered quickly, then a teasing smile appeared on my face. "Why? Is someone endeared by this possibility?"
She blushed, but puffed her cheeks in a pout at such 'vile accusation'. "No."
My smile widened. "Well, okay." I leaned forward and landed a peck on her cheek.
Blinking at the sudden intimate action, Taffy's blush spread even more but the girl was now sporting a happy smile on her adorable face.
"Dummy." She commented, but her reaction subverted any attempt to sound 'mean' with the word.
Just as I retreated away and softly released the girl, my attention was piqued by the lights coming from the… TV?
Miles noticed too. "Hey Minos, were you expecting for someone to call you right now?"
The Bull blinked in surprise at the development but then he froze as realization struck slowly but surely.
"Oh, I almost… forgot," He muttered nervously, causing a complete confused reaction.
"Everything's alright?" I asked, getting a quick glance from him before he gave a swift nod.
"Yes, it's just… the friends I've mentioned you," The tall Prime alluded quietly. "The ones you had me call after so long-"
"Because you didn't want to meddle with their lives?" At his nod, I continued. "Good, then why don't you introduce us to them?"
…
"I don't think it would be a good idea," The Bull mentioned carefully to which I frowned in utter confusion.
"Why? Is there something wrong about it?" I pressed on as I tried to make sense of the sudden refusal. "Maybe they don't want to meet us-"
"Oh no, they would want to meet you all," Minos admitted with a sigh. "Especially you, Matt, but I don't think-"
"Why not? I still have some time and I don't see any real issue with that?" I concluded with a nod.
The red-eyed Prime blinked at the question, spending a few moments of silence before he… sighed.
"Fine," He said with a defeated tone.
Soon we were all taking seats by the long sofa in front of the screen as Minos slowly reached for the device's controls and accepted the call.
I blinked and… I found myself staring at three individuals, two familiar faces and a young one that I was unaware who she was.
~Minos' POV~
Taking a seat by the free space left on the sofa, the Bull Prime turned to quickly look at the now-active monitor.
Specifically to the Crest of Love as the woman seemed to be missing her usual bubbly greetings, her attention fixed away from everyone but the only human in that room.
Her pink eyes were surprisingly narrowed in a curious and intrigued light, quite odd to see the Prime appear this much… distracted by the something or someone, surprise growing within Minos at such development.
It was the first time in years that he had seen the Gazelle react this much gloomy, her expression betraying something of a recognition over the features on Matt's face.
This very sight was also spotted by her husband.
Kayin merely gave him a nod as a greeting before he slowly followed to where the friend's stare ended and back to his wife, he too noticing the individual that had gotten Grace this much quiet and distracted.
Matt looked confused by the attention he was receiving, but he didn't seem to shy away from the intense staring, actually he started to look back at the woman with a confused yet intrigued expression.
It was Joy that brought an end to this strange predicament, the girl smiling brightly at her uncle, blissfully unaware of the anomalous development, that actually decided to give a proper greeting as the call truly began.
"Hiyah, Uncle Minos!"
The chirpy tone seemed to be enough to bring almost everyone out of this trance, even the human was quick to break the staring contest and only this action ended up getting Grace to realize what had just happened.
Giving a simple smile with a sheepish look plastered on her face.
"O-oh, hello Minos."
'What is going on with her?'
Her husband continued to frown about this curious behavior but nodded again.
"Minos, it's good to see you."
"Grace, Kayin and… little Joy, hello!" The Bull answered with a big smile, amused by the annoyed reaction from his surrogate niece.
"I'm not little!" She huffed, a pout emerging on her face… before it quickly deflated as the girl noticed the rest of the people sitting by the couch. "And who are they?"
"Joy," Kayin chided the teen about her bluntness.
Before the youngest child of the couple could have the chance to apologize over the matter, Matt decided to jump in.
"I guess she was just surprised by seeing quite the few unfamiliar faces," The human commented with a tiny smile. "Still, I guess we should introduce ourselves."
"My name is Matt, Matt Newcastle." The young man started with a quiet tone.
"I'm Taffy," The bunny prime followed quickly and then it was the turn of the Cat.
"Miles."
Grace hummed quietly and nodded at the introductions, but it was his husband to begin as she still seemed distracted by some thoughts.
"I'm Kayin Ravenhurst," The Coyote Prime replied with a calm tone, a small smile on his face.
The tomboyish girl smiled widely. "I'm Joy!"
The boisterous greeting made her father groan quietly at such loud display, meanwhile Minos was smiling at such comedic scene.
Yet the fun side of such development crumbled the moment there was silence from the Crest of Love.
The Gazelle Prime seemed to be lost with her thoughts completely and didn't give any hints of reaction as everyone was now looking at her.
"Is she… alright?" Miles asked quietly.
Taffy looked uncertain herself over the conditions of the mother and wife, something feeling wrong about it all.
Matt… merely blinked quietly at her.
And then he spoke.
"Your name is Grace, right?" He asked carefully. "Is everything alright?"
The second query managed to get a greater reaction, the woman's pink eyes lifting away from a simple spot in the wall back to the human. She blinked and seemed to realize that she had been silent for too long, a little blush appearing on her face.
"Oh my," The married woman said softly before nodding. "Forgive me, I was… thinking about something… not much important."
Then she stared back at the human. "I wish to apologize, I didn't mean to appear like you did something or that you caused something."
"It's fine," The young man quickly replied, Minos deciding to step in before anything weirder happened.
"Those are the good people I've befriended in the last few weeks," The Bull announced with a tiny smile. "They are the ones that I've spoken about."
Grace seemed to finally grasp back to reality as a teasing frown appeared on her face.
"Oh? So this is the Matt Newcastle that urged you to finally call us?" The woman mused quietly as she turned to glance at the human.
Once again she tensed up a little, but the Gazelle Prime seemed to hold much better than just a few moments ago.
"It's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Matt, and once again I wish to make it clear I'm sorry for having caused this little awkward moment," The woman nodded while excusing herself, to which the young man sighed and nodded back.
"Ma'am, it's alright. I know you didn't mean anything ill about it… but can I guess it was because I looked like someone you knew."
…What?
"Something similar, yes." The Crest of Love replied with a hint of awe.
Matt cracked a small smile and sighed at her surprise.
"I've heard people back home confusing me for someone else," He admitted sheepishly, tilting his head to the side and almost leaned on Taffy's shoulder. "It's kind of a normal thing for me, my appearance does remind people of someone else from my family even those distant in terms of blood-relation."
"I think that is something usual for… Italians?" Kayin mused quietly and the human nodded, now sporting a stunned expression at that comment.
Even Minos felt like something was going on with the head of the Ravenhurst family, something that matched partly with Grace's unexpected reaction.
"Y-Yes, my parents were both Italian and my birthplace is in Northern Italy," The young man replied slowly, his shock dwindling the more he spoke. "I'm actually surprised that-"
"That sounds quite a hassle," Joy pointed out while interrupting, blinking at the young man. "I mean, people always bothering with 'you look like him' or 'are you him' kind of questions. Did you ever feel annoyed by dealing with that kind of attention?"
Matt sighed at this, nodding at this sudden perspective but feeling fairly annoyed at the interjection.
"Sometimes, but it happened that I would ignore those people I didn't want to have anything to do with," He explained with a tired tone, still his smile didn't falter.
"I can only guess that it has to be quite problematic if you don't like to talk about it too much," Kayin commented again, to which Matt smiled at.
"It can be, yes."
"But maybe we should also focus on the other two individuals," Grace finally took the initiative about conversation, possibly sensing the nervousness coming from the human. "Like the lovely young lady sitting beside Matt."
Taffy blushed and gave a quick nod at that. "I-It's nice to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Ravenhurst. Same for you too, Joy."
The younger girl smiled at her and nodded at the polite greetings.
"Please call me Grace," The mother replied kindly as she turned to her husband. "And I don't think Kayin will refuse being addressed by his name."
The man agreed with a mere nod to this development and the Bunny Prime merely smiled back at the quiet response.
Despite the conversation seeming ready to go for a strange but calm beginning, once again Joy piped in with a curious comment.
This time, the probe was directed to the Cat Prime.
"So your name is Miles, right?" The young Ravenhurst asked with a curious tone. "Like… is your full name Miles Lionheart or did you go to Prism Uni-"
"T-That's kind of private," The nervous-looking Cat replied quickly and with a light stutter, enough to get me interested on the matter.
That was indeed Miles' surname but… how was his niece aware of that?
This question was answered moments later as Joy continued.
"I think… sister mentioned you once or twice in a while some time ago," She said with an interested tone.
Grace blinked, realization growing in her pink eyes.
"I think I know what this is all about," The woman said cryptically, her hands reaching for the little phone by the kitchen's counter on the side, she soon was looking through its photo gallery and nodded once she found was she was searching for.
Kayin approached her and gave a look to the picture in question, the screen of the device hidden from the other side of the call yet Miles was already trying to squirm and hide behind an even more confused Matt.
The veteran knight had a blank expression on his face, yet Minos could see some fury flashing from the usually kind green eyes while the friend turned his attention to young Prime hiding behind the human.
"You are the brat that made my little Hope cry!" The man exclaimed as he took a prominent position in front of the monitor, causing Miles to yelp in panic and squirm even more frantically behind Matt.
Meanwhile the Bull Prime felt dots connecting inside his mind over the curious mystery that came the moment the human decided to approach the young prime.
The Cat had been avoiding mentioning much from his situation regarding Prism Uni and why he left, about the reasons that brought him here in this small fraction of Gossamer and away from other cities.
But to think that the motivation would be one close to him? Minos was unsure what to think about this as he felt conflicted from two distinct sides of the story.
While it had been clear that whatever Miles had done to create this issue, it hadn't been something he could easily forgive himself about and that had been visible from the first few days he had been walking in town.
He somehow managed to stabilize things by following their advice back at the market, Minos could remember himself pushing the young man to actually confront the problem itself and put some effort in showing some genuine interest in not letting this die sourly.
But then again, among those suffering from the Cat's mistakes was Hope.
While not as expressive with her caring tones with him as Joy was, her oldest surrogate niece was still someone that he considered close family and the little anger bursting at Kayin's proclamation had rightfully appearing to defend the girl.
Emotion again logic, desire against duty. Life did always follow this pattern in many important decisions and, instead of finding resolution alone, it was someone else that tried to defuse the awkward escalation.
Matt shoved Miles back to his previous seat, huffing at him.
"Can you please not turn me in a meatshield?" The human half-asked, getting an embarrassed but nervous look from the younger fellow.
Then the man turned to look at the screen, eyes fixed on Kayin as he sighed.
"Sir, while I understand you are rightfully furious with Miles here for causing distress to your daughter, I think there is a misunderstanding about-"
"He made her cry!" The Coyote Prime reminded loudly, staring down angrily at the shivering Cat. "How can I just forgive someone that broke up with my daughter for no apparent reason?!"
…
…
What? But- How?!
"S-Sir, you mentioned 'breaking up' but… there was no such thing happening," Matt rebuked these strong words, starting to look pale himself too. "There was no relationship of the kind, for both parts-"
"Then please explain this photo if there was 'no relationship'!" The father slammed back by turning the phone's screen to the monitor and… we all stared at the curious frame.
It was Miles and Hope, both looked fairly happy while hugging each other. They were both staring at the cameraman with a smile, a nervous but cheerful from the young man and a bright and wide open one from his surrogate niece.
'Happy Valentine's!'.
It was written on the side and… Minos frowned at this evidence, red eyes slowly turning to look at the shocked look on the Cat Prime's face.
The Bull Prime was surprised, irritated a little by the closeness between the two students but… then his attention moved to Matt.
The human was showing some panic at such proof, yet he barely seemed to lose any of his posture over it.
Actually, he looked ready to continue some more before giving up.
"They are just hugging-" Matt tried to make that kind of argument.
"It was on Valentine's Day," Grace butted in with a mirthful smile. "I don't think that was a 'simple hug'."
The young man groaned and looked at Miles. "Okay, how did this happen? You told me that-"
"We still are friends like we were back then," The Cat Prime muttered awkwardly. "But our friendship is similar to… what you have with Taffy."
The sudden comment brought numerous reactions out from that strange connection.
Grace, Kayin and Joy looked equally confused by the reference, the Coyote Prime pausing in his anger to try and understand what Miles was talking about.
Taffy and Matt tensed up at it, both looking shocked and quite embarrassed at those words.
But it was Minos' reaction that displayed the most.
'Oh Gods.'
Minos' eyes widened when he slowly realized what the young Prime just used as an example, his red eyes widening as he turned to look at the two mortified individuals that were mentioned while his brain tried to consider the case forwarded by the Cat Prime.
Surprise, confusion and a renewal of the previous anger at the comparison as he knew very well what made Taffy's and Matt's friendship quite 'unique' from a normal perspective.
"And that means?" Kayin asked with an irritated tone. "Minos, what he is talking about-"
"Dear, I think I know what little Miles here is talking about," Grace intervened before the Bull Prime could have answered to the confused man. "Do you remember that 'fun story', Minos mentioned some days ago? The one about Taffy and Matt?"
Her husband opened his mouth to voice more confusion, but then the full extent of the predicament hit him like a brick slamming on his head, his stare now displaying double the anger at that.
"You did WHAT to my daughter?"
And while this madness continued, Joy stared at it all with moderate confusion and immense amusement, almost giggling at the comical escalation that was happening in that 'simple call'.
"W-We were careful- and it was just a few times-"
"How about you stop digging yourself a bigger grave, Miles?" Matt asked with a soft but tired tone, he was far from recovering from that unexpected blow.
The Cat Prime blinked and gave a quick nod before going full quiet.
But while Kayin was showing some incredible fury over the matter, Grace was actually enjoying the overall madness with his daughter.
Albeit a little less prone to show how entertained she was, Minos could see her smile twitching as she seemed ready to deploy some teasing to add more fuel to the growing fire.
"Love, I think that at least we can say that he didn't broke our daughter's heart," The Gazelle interceded with a calm tone, her smile cheekily turned at Miles. "But there is one question that I wish to ask you, young man."
The Cat gulped nervously. "A-And that is?"
"While you aren't in love with Hope, nor she sees you in that light," The woman started with a curious voice. "Can you tell us who is the 'lucky one' that got our lovely daughter enraptured?"
Joy facepalmed and groaned at this, knowing that this escalation was as embarrassing as irritating to listen to. "Mooom."
Until now it had been limited to aggressively poking fun around, but now that it was about love itself? She was having some annoyance over the matter.
Her mother merely giggled at this reaction but nodded at Miles to answer, the young Prime tensing a little over the subject and… it was pretty clear why.
Giving out the poor fool that was Hope's object of attraction? The sense of camaraderie between young men nowadays was strong enough to hint to some sense of collective preservation.
The 'Bro-code' Matt had mentioned multiple times was something that Miles was aware and dedicated too, but the human barely seemed willing to respect such 'laws' before the troublesome developments he had to face.
"Please tell her," He said with a brief groan. "I don't think I can help you anymore about defending you from Mr. Ravenhurst."
Miles gulped again, but conceded to the peer pressure growing from this situation. "F-Fine, it's-"
"Shin Aryoko?" Grace guessed before the Cat could comment, the sudden supposition gaining a shocked reaction from the young Prime.
"W-wha- but how?!"
The Gazelle merely giggled at the befuddled expression on his face, while both Kayin and Minos blinked at the curious name brought up.
The surname was the one hint that gave a clear sight over whom she was referring to and… they both looked surprised by this guess.
Shin was Kate's and Bengala's son, the oldest considering that their daughter, Hikari, was just twelve by now, and was also studying at Prism Uni right now thanks to his prodigious and natural attune with scientific-based subjects that helped him skip some grades.
The Bull Prime could remember having spent some pleasant conversation with the young man, the White Tiger Prime being quite intelligent but mindful of not sounding arrogant or even upstartish with his knowledge.
A good kid with the best traits of his parents.
Sadly, it was also known to Minos about Hope's little crush she used to have (and seemingly still had) over the boy back when they were young children, the girl asking multiple times to visit her childhood friend.
To think that the crush might have evolved in something more? Now the Bull Prime was intrigued but also concerned about a small detail he had noticed with the few encounters he had with Shin.
The boy was… dense to romantic feelings. Friendship was easy for him to attain with a few words with his peers, but love? That was something beyond his logical sense of reasoning.
Hope was truly walking a tragic and difficult path if she really wanted to have some opportunity with the blond.
"So this friend of yours is crushing on this guy and… for how long?" Matt decided to ask quietly to Miles, the Prime sighing.
"I think it's been years," The Cat mentioned loosely. "Hope never gave me a proper detailed history between her and Shin, but they have known each other-"
"Since their childhood," Grace muttered with a sigh. "A pity that my little girl never tried to be a little braver with him."
"Hope is just silly," Joy butted in with a sigh, "I mean, if she likes him that much, why doesn't she just tell him that?"
Matt hummed. "That would be too brash and risky," He replied quickly. "When you are crushing on someone, or even in love with them, you generally have to be careful and mindful of their own feelings. I guess she is cautious over the possibility that he doesn't return the same emotions."
"And when you try too hard and get refused, sometime you might feel hurt by it all," The Gazelle continued with a sigh. "Even if they try to be the sweetest and most sensible individuals in the refusal, you would still feel some self-hate to deal with."
There was a curious pause, enough to make Minos flinch at the circumstance Grace was alluding too as the memories about that period of their lives was quite… chaotic.
One individual had been important, someone that had been there back when they left the Emperor's prisons.
A good man and hero. A human.
The Bull blinked at the irony, it's been another human that was now bringing him some stability to his new life.
"I mean, I think it has to be quite messed up if someone just ends up realizing about this kind of predicament and… I don't want to sound too indiscreet but," Matt muttered quietly. "Did you face something like that, Grace?"
The Crest of Love sighed tiredly but nodded. "Many years ago, it was quite… awkward but he tried his best to not hurt me with his words."
"Still, I can't help but think he had to have been a jerk to just… ignore the signals for too long."
"He was quite dumb about love," The woman mused with a little smile. "But he cared for me, for Kayin and the others."
Her husband gave a slow nod and, instead of showing any displeasure at the mentioning of that past situation… he seemed mournful.
Joy blinked. "Wait, who are you talking about?"
"Someone that was a dear friend of us, kid," Kayin replied softly as he reached to embrace his wife. "Sadly, he hasn't been around for decades now if not more."
Minos nodded slowly, eyes half-closed as he pondered back at that strange time of his life.
How odd it had been, how many things had happened from being the Dragon of the Emperor to one of the leading figure of the Prime rebellion.
So many events, so many good and bad moments.
A pity that now it was all over and he was no longer here.
"That sounds… like I went a little too far," Matt said with a melancholic voice, Taffy leaning and giving him a quick hug as he sighed. "I'm sorry if I did bring up any sad memories or-"
"It's alright," Grace interrupted with a brighter smile. "You didn't mean to cause any hurt and… I guess we are even now, aren't we?"
The human blinked before giving a slow nod. "I… guess?"
A giggle left the woman's lips. "Good and..." She looked by the side of the monitor and frowned. "Sadly, we will have to interrupt this call now. It's about time we start preparing some lunch and-"
"Wait, what time is it?" The young man almost stood up at that sudden notice from the other side of the call.
"It's… 12:43, why?" Kayin replied quietly, frowning at this curious reaction from the human.
Matt facepalmed. "I've about twenty minutes to prepare the pane in pasta(1) before starting to start my shift."
The Gazelle blinked. "Isn't that the base for… making pizza?" She asked and her question sparked quite the varied reactions.
Miles' eyes lit up while Taffy seemed interest by learning this new term and… Joy looked with a famished expression. "P-Pizza? What kind?" The girl inquired, to which the human sighed.
"I bought ingredients to make three Romana with cut wurstels. Nothing too much but-"
"You know how to make pizza?" The Cat Prime interrupted with a curious but amused frown. "And you are Italian."
The human narrowed his eyes at that. "Yes, what about it?" He retorted with a suspicious note, the younger man turning his head away as to hide a snort from him.
Yet Matt didn't waste further time about the shenanigans happening there and stood up with Taffy, "I guess I will have to leave early. I did promise Diana that I would make her Pizza as it's her and Randy's favorite food."
"And I need to prepare for today's late shift." The Bunny Prime nodded in agreement.
Miles slowly followed their examples and nodded. "I still have to fix my little home," He mentioned with a tired sigh. "Nothing too big, but I would like to finish the planned tasks before it gets too dark-"
"And you better call Hope and tell her about this little discussion," Kayin butted in with a scowl. "I will call her later to see if you told her about this situation."
He gulped nervously but the young man nodded and soon the call concluded with some amicable terms while the others started to leave Minos' home.
The Bull Prime was smiling as he led the three by the entrance door and, just as he waved at them while they walked back to town, the tall man stopped when his red eyes started to play some tricks to him.
Matt's frame started to slowly blur into a faint figure, someone else and… someone that wasn't supposed to be here now.
Yet he was and he was walking away.
'We shall met again, Minos, and I know in our next lives we will be best buddies. Trust me on that.'
And then Matt was gone with the others out from his eyesight, the Bull Prime standing still by the porch as his confused wide eyes continued to stare at the end of the visible path and… he blinked.
...What?
AN
Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you-
Please no, it was yesterday and-
Happy birthday Bukharin, happy birthday to you~!
...Ambar-
Yes darling, do you want something as a wish~? *wink*
*Sigh*, I'm just tired. There was a storm yesterday night that kept me awake.
And you are a dummy because you didn't catch some sleep now to end this chapter. You dummy~!
Meh, I don't need to- Uh?
*Slowly lifts him up* This is why, for your birthday, the High Prime shall bestow you with quite the gift.
...Please no, I don't need anything about-
Too late~ *Proceeds to throw him in a king-sized bed before launching herself in*
N-No wait-
Here we go~ *Hugs him close and snuggled his head below her chin* Now you can get some rest going.
...What?
Uhm? You thought I was going to do something else, weren't you?
Kinda?
Well, I decided that maybe your best wish would be… some long deserved rest. Don't worry I will watch over it.
Oh… Wait, you don't sleep-
Hm-hm~
You… I don't know what to say.
Close your eyes and get some dreaming going, 'kay.
...Fine.
GLOSSARY
Pane in Pasta: A mix of flour, water, baking powder and salt. It's the main component from which Pizzas are then developed.
REVIEW Q&A! (With Lady Ambar~)
Alistair Phoenix:
It's not much of a secret, I guess I can say it was his cousin. Matt still have some family, but there was much of a warm relationship between his uncle and aunt, only his cousin keeping a somewhat normal connection. His cousin worked up to become a doctor and Matt did help him with some issues back when they studied together at Uni.
There have been some brief occasions about some of the examples you have brought up of anomalous situations. Matt's case is quite rare compared to other unique peculiarities within our beautiful universe, like Nanozell, Old Gods and I would say the one that can provide better answers about this kind of cases is… Apogeo herself. She is a meddler herself, but she rarely 'come to play around'.
Guest2 Chptr. 14:
The doctor was Matt's cousin (or this universe's cousin) and he doesn't have any grand role about the place.
And Geecku's family? She never talked about any family, but I've harbored some strong guess that she was sent to Earth, precisely in Africa, just like Kate was and, instead of growing with humans, Geecku lived with the native fauna and little connection with the local tribes.