Hey.. Welcome to Chapter II.. Thank you for your time..
CHAPTER II"Where's my brother!? He's awake now right?" Carrot said excitedly as Chocolate followed him. She was pregnant with their third baby. Big Momma just smiled at the two people in front of her.
"Yes, Carrot... He is awake, but now, he seems to be sleeping..." Dota said as she giggled and cuddled next to her fiancée, Sirius.
"What!? Is five years not enough sleep!?" Carrot said as Chocolate and the others fell over. Big Momma just sweat-dropped.
"Well, he's with Tira right now..." Big Momma said. Carrot's and Chocolate's widened.
"You mean-"
"They-"
"I couldn't-"
"They're at the garden, sitting on a bench, fully clothed." Mille said as he entered the court, along side a blonde-haired man and his wife.
"Gateau! It's nice to see you again!" Chocolate said as she gave the man a pat on the shoulder.
"So, I've heard his awake!" Gateau said with a smile. Carrot winced.
"Yes he is! And I believe you wouldn't be making your move on him huh?"
"Are you kidding me!? I've got a beautiful wife here!" He said as he draped an arm gently on his wife, causing her to blush a bit. She, like Chocolate was pregnant.
"Well, why don't we just take a glance?" Chocolate suggested. The others just nodded as they headed for the garden.
"His hair might be longer now..." Chocolate said as she placed a finger on her chin, obviously thinking.
"Nah... I doubt it. He would've used a spell to make it shorter. He wants his hair waist-level - a mage's preference."
"Yeah... knowing him, he'll stick to that." Gateau said as they entered the garden. What they saw shocked them, but warmed their hearts at the same time. Tira, laying her head on Marron's shoulder while Marron's head was lying on hers as well, with his arm on her waist.
"Wow... They look so peaceful." Chocolate said as she held her hands on her chest.
"And romantic..." Carrot said. "Let's leave them a while, ok?" He said as he gestured them out.
Meanwhile..."Huh...?" Tira said as she woke up, cuddled in a warm body. She looked up and saw Marron still sleeping. She admired his sleeping state. Hair muffled, mouth slightly opened. His face looked boyish and peaceful. She suddenly had the urge to kiss his lips.
'Wait... I can't be thinking of him this way...? I can't like him that way, can I?' She thought for a while as she looked at the sleeping figure again and an unstoppable blush came to her face again and the word 'love' came into her mind.
'My God, I am in love with him...' She said to herself again. Just then, the sleeping figure stirred and opened his eyes.
"T-Tira?" He said sleepily. The young woman he addressed couldn't help but smile as she saw a side of the mage no one ever really saw.
"Hello Marron..." She smiled. His eyes opened and darted to where she was. He smiled at her. "Had a nice nap?"
"Yes, the best one so far..." He smiled at her again, with a faint blush on his face. "So, shall we see if the children are awake?" He asked. Tira nodded and they both rose up and headed for the sala.
Meanwhile...
"Those two lovey-doveys sure looked contented." Gateau said as he took a drink of his mug. The other two hunters nodded.
"Tira sure knows how to take care of children... These two are so hard to put to sleep!" Carrot said as he combed his daughter's hair with his hand. Chocolate just smiled.
"Oh, darling... you just don't know how to..." She said as she held her growing stomach. "Oh, he kicked!" Chocolate said. Carrot rose and listened to the baby in Chocolate's tummy.
"Oh, yes he did! And that's one powerful kick..." He said as he continued to hear it. Chocolate just soothed his messy hair. Just then, two figures arrived.
"Well, well... Look who's here..." Mille said as he looked at the two figures standing behind Chocolate and Carrot. They instantly looked up.
"MARRON!!" They said as they jumped up and grabbed the surprised mage and hugged him. Chocolate carefully stood up and walked towards Marron. Tira helped her.
"Here you go, sis..." She said. Chocolate smiled at her mischievously. Tira was slightly taken aback by her smile.
"Had a nice nap?" She teased. To her surprise, her younger sister blushed crimson. 'Oh, so my little sister is in love...' She thought as she walked towards Marron.
"Hey!! How's it going little brother!?" Carrot said as he slapped the mage's back.
"Fine, Niisan... How about you? I mean, I was never able to attend your wedding..." He said as he looked at him.
"Wedding? We aren't wed yet." Carrot said as he draped an arm over his younger brother's shoulder. "We decided to wait until you wake up. It was TIRA'S suggestion..." He said, emphasizing Tira's name. At this, the young mage blushed red. Carrot couldn't help but smirk.
'My younger brother is in love...'
"HEY MARRON!!" Gateau said as he hugged the mage tightly, causing him to choke a bit.
"Some things never change Gateau..." He said as he smoothened his shirt.
"Yeah, you're still the beautiful Marron!!" He teased but immediately stopped as he saw the mage's death glare.
"Okay! Okay! Sorry!!" He said, holding his hands up. The young mage then looked at the approaching pregnant Chocolate.
"Hello Chocolate... How are you?" He said, giving her a careful hug.
"I'm fine!! How about you? You slept for a very long time!!" She said half-teasingly. Marron just smiled at her.
"How's your nap?" She said again, with an impish grin on her face. Marron's eyes widened as red streaks covered his face in a blush. Chocolate's grin only matched Carrot's and Gateau's. The mage just darted his eyes in discomfort. He wasn't used to being the center of attraction – most especially if the one being talked about is his love life.
"Uh... Well, you and my big brother hadn't wed yet, right?" He said, hoping that the change of topic would somehow divert their attention to his newly found topic. Successfully, it did. He somehow knew Chocolate's only known weakness – Carrot.
"Well, darling said it would be nice if you witness it... Besides, you're deserving of being the Best Man... and TIRA being the Maid of Honor..." She said again, teasingly. Carrot followed up.
"Don't forget, it was also TIRA'S suggestion!"
Marron was blushing now, being the center of giggling wasn't at all his type of environment. 'Oh joy... Back to square one!' He thought. Tira approached them awkwardly.
"Uhm, Citrus is awake now..." Tira said as she looked at Citrus' form, sitting on the sofa and rubbing his eyes. Chocolate immediately darted herself to her son, followed by Carrot. Marron sighed in relief.
"Oh, my wife seems to be calling me! Uh, see you two love birds in a while, okay?" Gateau said as he ran towards his wife. The other two blushed at his comment.
"Aunt Tira! Uncle Marron!" Citrus said as he waved at them. Both smiled back at him. Then the boy turned back to his mama.
"Mama... Are Uncle Marron and Aunt Tira husband and wife?" He asked his shocked mama.
"Well, they will be... but not for now." His mother said, smiling.
"Because they act like you and daddy..." He said. Chocolate looked at Carrot with a smirk. He returned the same smirk. Seeing their older siblings' smirks, they silently went out of the room.
On the way out of the castle, they noticed that it was sunset already.
"Wow... I haven't even noticed!" Tira said incredulously. Marron nodded.
"Neither did I..." He replied. Then, Tira remembered something.
"Wanna go to the prairie? You get a clear view of the sunset there..." Tira said, half-pleadingly. Marron smiled at her.
"Of course. You know that I like watching sunsets." He said as they walked to the prairie.
Upon arriving to the prairie, the two people sat at the grass and looked at the sky as it changed from orange to red to dark red then blue. They just enjoyed watching it.
"Wow... It sure is a nice view here..." Marron said, obviously captivated by the beauty of the sunset.
"Yes... I always watch it everyday..." Tira said, her eyes never leaving the visage. Marron secretly looked at her. "Beautiful, isn't it?" She followed up.
"Yes, very beautiful..." Marron was still looking at the pink-haired woman. Tira looked at him as he said those words, his eyes never leaving her. She blushed at his comment just as she realized that he wasn't pertaining to the sunset at all.
Realizing this, he suddenly blushed and looked at the sunset immediately. It was now colored faint whitish blue and the stars are visible in the sky. Marron laid down on the grass, crossing his hands over his head. Tira supported her weight on her hands as she leaned a little backward.
"Sister and Carrot are gonna be married in a week, Marron..." She said, still looking at the stars. Marron looked at her.
"I see..." Was all his reply. It was a little awkward until both saw a shooting star.
"Did you see that?" Both said it at the same time. Then looked away, blushing.
"They say that if you wish upon seeing a shooting star, it'll come true." Tira said as she hugged her knees and wished.
'I wish it could be like this forever... Me and Marron...'
Oblivious to her, however, Marron made the same wish.
'I would love to spend the rest of my life with her...'
After a while, they both looked at each other.
"I hope my wish comes true... When it does, I'll be the happiest woman alive..." Tira said. Marron just laid down, looking at the stars.
"I wish mine would come true too..." He said, then looked at her. "What did you wish for?" Tira saw that his eyes showed desperation and longing and anticipation and... love. Tira was taken aback by the fluidity of emotions in his eyes. She decided it was now or never. Slowly, she leaned closer, closing her eyes slowly then gently placed her lips on his. Marron, however, anticipated this and encircled his arms around the pink-haired girl and both shared a warm kiss under the light of the stars.
"I love you, Tira Misu..."
"I love you too, Marron Glace..."