Chapter 3: The Dad Talk

Two and a half months had gone by and Lucy and Ozzy's relationship had taken off. The two have went on multiple dates, be it after class or later at night at a restaurant on campus. They also talked a lot through texting and would video call each other late at night. The two declared themselves girlfriend and boyfriend, but now it was finally time for Ozzy to meet her dad.

Ozzy stood in front of his bathroom mirror and brushed the fur on the back of his head. If he was to gain Peppy's approval, he had to look amazing. Ozzy had spent the entire day working on his appearance. He was wearing a nice button down flannel and a pair of grey dress pants. Along with that he put on some deodorant and good-smelling cologne. Although Ozzy has the demeanor of a calm, charismatic guy, he was still a nervous wreck. It was not everyday that one gets to meet Peppy Fucking Hare, so being nervous is expected.

Ozzy's phone went off and he glanced over to see a text from Lucy.

"You ready to come over?" Ozzy grabbed his phone and began typing his reply.

"Yeah I'm just about to leave. I'll call you when I'm omw :)"

Ozzy took one last look at himself , took a deep breath, and left the bathroom and walked to grab his car keys. Before he walked out the door, he stopped and took a picture of himself and sent it to Lucy.

"I'm excited to meet this guy, Lucy. I hope he's everything you say." Peppy said.

"He IS Dad, I think you're gonna like him." she replied.

"I believe you Lucy. You wouldn't just bring home anybody. Now can you help your old man make this spaghetti."

"Of course, Dad." Lucy and Ozzy had decided that spaghetti would be the perfect dinner considering that the Hare's are herbivores and Ozzy is a carnivore. Also, you can never go wrong with spaghetti. One of the things Peppy did to occupy himself while staying home in Corneria was learning to cook. There was not much time for cooking while flying around in space, so Peppy rarely cooked. He's been trying to experiment with different foods or adding fun twists to foods he was already comfortable making. For tonight's dinner he was making his own sauce rather than buying a premade sauce. Along with the obvious use for tomatoes, he's including garlic, onion, basil, green pepper, a bunch of different herbs and seasonings, and even carrots. Lucy liked to help her father cook, and the experience is useful for when she lives on her own after college. After a few minutes of chopping vegetables, Lucy's phone rang. She looked over at Peppy.

"Go ahead, I can do the rest." Peppy told her. Lucy grabbed her phone and answered while walking upstairs to her room.

"Hey Ozzy."

"Hey Lucy."

"You nervous?"

"I'm meeting one of the most prominent people in Lylat, so yeah, I'm nervous as fuck."

"Ozzy, don't be."

"What if he doesn't think I'm good for you?"

"Just be You, he'll like you, I promise."

"You sure?"

"Positive. Besides, I saw that picture you sent me. You look nice."

"Thanks Lucy." There was a moment where both Ozzy and Lucy went silent, the only sound was from Ozzy's turn signal.

"Ozzy, is everything okay?"

"Did you know, I've been practicing my handshake with my brother for like, two days now."

"You're putting too much into this. He's not gonna judge you if your handshake isn't good,"

"I don't think you understand."

"What happened to the Ozzy that could go up on stage, just think of this as one of your performances."

"My audiences are usually just the parents of those involved, not Peppy Fucking Hare."

"Hey, you need to watch your potty mouth. My dad won't like that."

"Oh yeah, I don't plan on swearing. But you're right, I need to work on that."

"Ozzy?"

"Yeah?"

"You're cute, and if I like you, my dad will too."

"Thanks Lucy. Anyways I'm about to pull up, so I'll let you go."

"Okay, Bye Ozzy." Lucy hung up and headed back downstairs.

Ozzy approached the Hare's estate. The estate was at the edge of Corneria City, with the backyard opening up into the mountains. It was a beautiful building, which looked like it was built a log time ago. A large home for just two people. Ozzy pulled towards the entrance and a large gate was blocking his path. The gate looked to be electronically controlled, and was connected to a large iron fence that surrounded the property. There were multiple cameras watching the gate's entrance. As his car came to a stop, the gate opened in front of him, allowing to enter. As he drove along the driveway, the gate closed behind him. He parked his car in front of a large garage door, and took a small moment to look at himself in the rearview mirror before taking the keys out of the ignition. He got out of the car and approached the front door. Taking a deep breath, he then rang the doorbell. A few seconds passed before Lucy opened the door.

"Hey Ozzy." Lucy said while letting him through the door.

"You didn't tell me about the gate." Ozzy stated.

"Oh yeah, I was the one who let you in. dad actually had a security detail guard the house during the war. That was fun."

"Makes sense." Ozzy took off his shoes and looked around in awe at the foyer of her home. It is a grand room with dark wood floors and expensive looking art and portraits on the wall. Ozzy has never been in such a place, he felt a little out of place. Ozzy and Lucy took their shoes off and Ozzy placed his jacket on a nearby coat hanger. Lucy led him further into the estate to the kitchen and dining room. The dining table was long and made of a dark oak. Atop the table was only three sets of plates and silverware, but the table could hold up to eight people. To the right of the dining room was the kitchen, which was connected by a countertop that served as a bar. Peppy was in the kitchen cooking dinner. He was wearing an apron that said "kiss the cook." He looked over at Ozzy and smiled.

"You must be Ozzy. It's nice to meet you." Peppy said. Ozzy walked into the kitchen and extended his hand out to Peppy.

"It's nice to meet you too Mr. Hare." said Ozzy. The two shook hands, and despite the two days of practicing the handshake was less than preferable.

"Oh please, just call me Peppy."

"Of course."

Lucy chimed in, "hey dad. How long till dinner is ready?"

"The spaghetti should be done in a few minutes now. Can I get you anything to drink, Ozzy? A glass of wine?" Peppy motioned over to a rack of expensive looking wines.

"Wine? Sir I don't drink. I'm not old enough yet."

"Very good."

Lucy put her hand on her forehead in embarrassment. "Dad you don't have to test him!" she said.

"I'm just seeing how he answers. I wouldn't have been mad either way. Anyways, make yourself at home, dinner will be done in a few."

A few minutes had gone by and the three were eating the spaghetti. Peppy would periodically glance over at Ozzy just to make sure he wasn't eating like a slob. Ozzy seemed to eat with elegance, and despite his middle class upbringing, he knew how to act like a gentleman. There was a period of silence while the three ate, but then Ozzy spoke up.

"This is really good Mr. Hare." he said.

"Thanks kiddo. Made the sauce myself." Peppy replied.

"Yeah I could tell, I'm used to store bought stuff, so this tastes really different."

"Well I'm glad you like it. I've been getting into cooking lately."

"I could tell, you know, from your silly apron. I'm not gonna have to kiss you, right sir?" he joked. Peppy let out a small chuckle. Ozzy smiled knowing that he just made Peppy Hare laugh. He considered having a sense of humor to be one of the most important things to have in order to charm someone, and charmed Peppy was. Ozzy concluded that things were going good, and he was making a good first impression. He kept a mental checklist of all the things he needs to do in order for this to be successful. The checklist included compliments, jokes, and even a little boasting. Last thing he wants to do is sound like an egotistical douchebag, but sometimes a small amount needs to be shown as a sign of confidence. Plus its always good to show off to people who have good status.

"So Mr. Mann, Lucy told me that you did theatre in high school, tell me about that."

"Well, not to brag, but I was one of the top male actors in the program. It was a lot of fun." Ozzy checked it off his list.

"That's nice, do you plan on being an actor?"

"I would love to, but well, its hard to get into that these days. I'm probably better off studying psychology."

"Sounds like a smart decision."

"Yeah, but I'm sure there is still a way I can put on a show."

The three continued eating the spaghetti and talked about a plethora of things. Ranging from where Ozzy was from, to his plans for the future. Peppy seemed to take a liking to Ozzy. Things seemed to be slowing down. At one point Lucy left to go to the bathroom, leaving just Peppy and Ozzy to themselves.

Ozzy spoke up. "Would you like some help with the dishes, sir?"

"That would be nice. Thank you." Ozzy and Peppy got up from their seats and grabbed the plates and silverware from the table and brought them to the kitchen sink. Peppy washed the plates and handed to them to Ozzy who placed them into the dishwasher.

"So Mr. Mann, I suppose it's time to give you the Dad Talk." Ozzy finished placing the last plate and looked up at Peppy. "You seem like a good kid, smart and understanding. And you seem to make Lucy happy. I like that. However, you need to know that I wont tolerate a lot of stuff when it comes to my daughter. I'd run you through the specifics, but I'll save that for a later time. Just know that I will always have my eye on you." he stated in a stern voice. Peppy placed his hand on Ozzy's shoulder. "By t" e way, you should probably work on that handshake of yours." Peppy and Ozzy both laughed. As they were laughing Lucy approached from the other side of the counter.

"You two seem to be getting along. Aww Ozzy look at you, helping my dad with the dishes." she said.

"You brought home quite the gentleman Lucy." Peppy stated.

"I'm glad you think that, sir." replied Ozzy.

"Again, you can just call me Peppy."

"Of course sir, I mean Peppy." Ozzy turned to Lucy. "Hey Lucy, I think it's about time for me to head home."

"Ok, I'll walk you out." Ozzy walked around the counter and stood next to Lucy. He looked back over at Peppy.

"It was nice meeting you Peppy."

"It was nice meeting you too. Drive Safe."

Lucy walked him back to the front door of the estate. They put their shoes and jackets on and Lucy grabbed some sort of device that was sitting next to a key bow. They both walked out to Ozzy's car. The sun had already set, and the lights that followed along the driveway were on. Ozzy unlocked his car got into the seat, started the car, and rolled down the window so he could talk to Lucy.

"Bye Ozzy, you did great tonight."

"You sure?"

"Positive." Ozzy smiled and stared into her beautiful brown eyes. He leaned in and kissed her forehead. As he did so he looked over at the front door window to see Peppy looking out at them. He exhaled in an amused manner and Lucy sighed. "He's watching us, isn't he?"

"Yes. Yes he is." Lucy shook her head and Ozzy looked back into her eyes. "You look so cute when you're embarrassed." Lucy blushed. "Alright I'm gonna go. Bye."

"Bye Ozzy."

Lucy backed away from his car. Ozzy rolled up the window and put his car in reverse and backed out and turned his car around to face the rest of the driveway. He put his car into drive and drove along the highway before coming to a stop at the gate. Lucy pulled out the device and used it to open the gate to let him through. After his car passed through, she used it to close the gate.

A/N: Finally got this chapter done. Had some school and work stuff to finish, but now I have plenty of time to write. Future chapters should be releasing soon Thanks for reading so far and any feedback is greatly appreciated.