Fia placed the potted plant on the hallway floor and stepped outside. She closed the door quietly and pulled her green cardigan tighter around her white nightgown as her teeth chattered. Exhaling slowly, Fia watched her breath swirl and blow away in the cold November air.

"What are you doing here?" Fia hissed. "And with Bacio, no less?" She snatched her beloved plush from the redhead's hands. "You do know that it's almost 2 in the morning - No, wait, forget that. How did you even find my house?"

Karma shoved his hands in his pockets. "Ritsu tracked you down for me. It wasn't hard to catch the bus up here." He paused. "Mind if I stay?"

Fia sighed. "You'd be crazy to think I'd send you back at this time or in this weather." She turned the handle to the door and let him inside. As she closed it, she tilted her head at him. "Is the situation back there really that bad…?" Fia asked with concern.

He opened his mouth to reply but he heard a sudden burst of commotion.

"Fia! Who was at the door? Bambina, come back! It's your turn!" Giovanni called.

"Si, Papino - I'm coming." She shot a rueful smile at Karma and led him into the kitchen. Everyone was situated around a circular oak table, each with a set of five cards in hand. "K-Karma came to visit," Fia stuttered, unsure of how to explain his sudden, and late, appearance.

Giovanni grinned and pulled out the chair next to him. "Ciao, Karma! Come in - Sit down and join us for poker. Lupe and Fia are kicking our asses."

Gio grumbled, "I really don't know how you have such a good poker face, Fia."

Fia untied her hair and let it hang loose as she took one of the two empty chairs at the table. Karma claimed the last empty seat and looked around. Giovanni and Florence were situated at one end of the table. Florence was sitting in Giovanni's lap, seemingly in full control of the man's cards. Although domineering in personality, every move she made was strangely elegant. To either side of them sat Gio and Lupe, who were both continuously glancing from the cards laid out on the table and back to their own hands. They seemed to trust no one around them. Next to them were the twins. Karma was surprised to see Mio and Mia sitting apart, but watching them for a few moments made it obvious to him that they were exchanging cards under the table. How they were communicating, he had no idea. That left him and Fia in the last two seats. Karma looked over to Fia and saw that she, true to Gio's word, had quite the poker face. Leaning back only a slight bit allowed him to see her hand and, man, was it atrocious. Still, Fia seemed to be bluffing her way to the top if the stack of Ferrero Rocher chocolates in front of her was any indication (He guessed that the chocolate was a replacement for actual poker chips).

"We'll deal you into the next round," the twins chimed together. Somehow, no one really trusted that the round would be fair if those two were jointly dealing the cards.

Lupe shot Karma a sweet smile. "You can be my prince when you lose!" she sang.

Florence glanced from her cards to Fia as she folded. "What brings you here?" she asked coolly.

Giovanni laughed heartily. "Who cares? The more the merrier!"

Karma laughed. "That's a relief to hear. You don't know how boring it got once Fia wasn't around to torture anymore. Oops, did I say that aloud?" he said teasingly as he poked Fia's cheek.

She swatted it away with her cards. "Gee, thanks! Glad to know that I was sorely missed," she responded sarcastically.

Folding too, Gio threw his cards onto the table. "I'm with Mom. I want to know why there's a weird guy in my house." The teen scowled. "He's not part of the family!" His voice screamed protest.

Fia shot her little brother a stern look. "Please don't speak unkindly to my friend."

"More like boyfriend~!" Mia laughed as she surrendered her cards.

Mio dropped his cards on the table at the same time his twin did. "Yeah, why else would you have brought him home~?

Fia blushed as she pulled her winnings towards her and organized the cards. "It's not like that! He showed up of his own volition!"

Mio and Mia seemed to be happily singing to the same beat. "Fia's got a boyfriend! Fia's got a boyfriend!"

"Oh, shush." Fia embarrassedly pushed the cards at her siblings. "It's your turn to deal anyway." She shook her head as the twins began speedily dealing the cards around the table.

The next hour passed quickly. By the end of it all, Fia had only just barely stolen the victory from Karma. He had turned out to be a real devil with the way he was able to read and play on other's feelings. Still, she had somehow or another managed to end with a royal flush, compared to his straight flush. Karma leaned against the open door frame to the kitchen as Fia distributed her bounty amongst her younger siblings. He watched as she hugged and kissed every member of her family goodnight. Fia shuffled over to him with a tired but content smile. "Sorry about the wait. I'll show you to the bedroom now."

Quietly walking through the dark halls as if it were second nature to her, Fia led Karma to the room at the farthest end of the hall. She slipped inside and, flipping on the light, turned and opened her arms as if to say 'this is it!' The room was cozy. The walls were painted cerulean blue and were decorated with cloud designs. Bookshelves lined the walls and the desk was covered with a slightly outdated lamp and computer. There were model planes hanging from the ceiling and photos of the Timo children hanging around.

Fia nostalgically glanced about the room. "This was Felix's room. We haven't really done much to it since he left. I'll give you a proper tour in the morning. Is there anything you need?" she asked.

Karma shook his head. Part of him knew that he was already intruding. "Nah, is this you?" he pointed to a photograph of a young girl eating gelato on a picnic blanket. She was clinging to a slightly older boy with dark reddish-brown hair and forest green eyes, but she was smiling as if that moment was the only one she'd ever need.

She slipped herself under Karma's arm to get a better look at the photograph. Laughing, she nodded. "Yeah. That was me. I ate a lot of gelato as a kid and Felix would always have to clean my cheeks for me. The girl there is my sister Felicia." She pointed to another girl who seemed only slightly older than her younger self in the photograph. Fia turned around to face Karma but quickly realized how close they were. Blushing, she tried to step back but the wall firmly reminded her that there wasn't much room to run.

Karma grinned and leaned in closer to Fia. "Embarrassed, Tsu-chan?" he crooned.

"N-no!" she protested and averted her face.

"You're better at poker than you are at lying," he sweat-dropped and stepped away to give her some room.

She smiled at him wryly. "It's hard for me to lie, but I can definitely bluff."

"Fia?" a voice called. "Sorella, aren't you going to tuck us in?"

Fia looked towards the door with a smile. "Coming!" She turned to look at Karma and subconsciously pulled her hair in front of her pink ears. "Well, whatever reason you're here, make yourself at home." Fia began to make her way to the door but paused. She looked over her shoulder at Karma and smiled softly. "Buona notte," she called before disappearing into the darkness of the hallway.

Karma put his bag down on the desk chair and took one last look at the photograph of Fia's smiling face before turning off the lights and flopping down in the bed to sleep.


Karma awoke to both sunlight in his face and pressure on his stomach. When he opened his eyes, using his hand to block the light, sitting on his abdomen was Lupe with a coy expression.

"Breakfast is ready, Sleeping Beauty," she sang as she crawled off of him and skipped her way down to the kitchen.

He sat up slowly. There were two things that he noticed first: his redheaded bedhead appeared to be worse than usual and he seemed to have sparkly lip gloss on his lips and cheeks. The next two things he noticed were the terrible twosome. Both smiling smugly, Mio and Mia were poking their heads through his doorframe. "What?" he snapped at them.

"Nothing," the replied together, "we just wanted to congratulate you for being Lupe's first kiss~!"

"What?" Karma's cheeks reddened slightly. He spat and tried to rub the lip gloss from his face.

"Shoo!" Fia chased off the twins with a sigh and hands positioned on her hips. "Sorry about that. They're even more rowdy than usual."

Gio stormed past, looking more annoyed than ever. "How do you all have so much energy this early in the morning?" he grumbled. "And who is hogging the bathroom THIS TIME?" He came back into view and allowed Fia to fix his tie, tuck in his vest, and smooth out his hair. When she tried to hug him, however, his face turned red and he stormed off again, beginning his rant of complaints anew. Apparently, Fia wasn't the only "Tsu-chan" of the Timo family.

A little chaotic while later, once everyone had gotten changed and eaten breakfast, the house became more peaceful and quiet as each Timo child took time to themselves. Fia saw her parents off as they headed out for Black Friday shopping and returned to give Karma a tour. A few things stood out to him. He noticed quickly that the house was imbued with warm colors, particularly shades of gold and red, and white accents. The layout was crowded but comfortable and the furniture was detailed but worn. The sunlight filtered in through the curtains and really lit the house with a cozy feeling. The hallway, however, was like a portal. The hall itself, decorated in family photos and awards, was very similar to the rest of the house in color scheme, but the children's rooms were much more colorful, each tailored to the child's individual interests. Each door frame had several marks where the Timo children had marked their growth or caused damage from being rowdy. Each room was a different color and different blend of personalities.

Fia pointed to each room as she spoke. "That's my parents' bedroom, the bathroom, and Gio's and the twins' rooms. He's kind of monopolized all of the space since Mio and Mia are usually away at boarding school, but they always tear down his fort whenever they come home so I'm not sure why he keeps trying. Felicia used to share this room with me, but Lupe has taken over her half. I just try to keep her from bedazzling all of my things."

"Don't think you can stop me," Lupe called from where she was playing with dolls on her bed.

"I can try," Fia sighed. "And you already know that you're staying in Felix's old room. That about concludes the tour."

Mio and Mia popped up behind her with grins. "So, when are you moving in?" they questioned him together.

Startled by the sudden noise, Fia squeaked and jumped forward. She fell into Karma, who steadied her while staring down her mischievous siblings.

The twins looked to each other and laughed. "Fia's never brought anyone home, let alone a boy!" they crooned. They clasped their hands together and winked at Karma. "We don't care if you want to marry our sister," they started, "but don't think that we'll let you have all the fun! Torture is our specialty~!"

Fia blushed as she stepped away from Karma. "You two!"

Karma grinned at the twins and pulled Fia back. Once he'd securely ensnared her in his arms, he gave the twins a wolfish smile. "I don't know, I don't think I'm willing to share. Don't forget, I'm dirty and underhanded even on the best of days. You two don't scare me."

Fia blushed profusely and struggled to escape. Karma loosened his grip and Fia slipped out just in time to see him begin approaching the chastising teenagers.

"Oh, but you should be," they locked arms at the elbows and smiled sadistically. "Okay, Akabane, we accept your challenge - but don't come crying back when you're defeated, okay?"

He stepped forward and knocked their heads together with a satisfied smile. "So all of you Timos have thick skulls," he laughed. "I hate to tell you, but I don't plan on going down any time soon."

Gio interjected from his room, "You better not try to go down on my sister either!"

"Yet!" the twins insisted together as they rubbed their heads. "You'll pay for that!" Mio and Mia latched onto Karma's arms and began an all-out wrestling match.

Fia's cheeks burned at her brother's statement. "GIO, I ALREADY TOLD YOU IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!" Defeated, Fia shook her head and leaned back against the wall to catch her breath. She looked over to see that Mio and Mia seemed to have opted for latching onto Karma's back and insisting for piggyback rides. Karma was very unamused as he grabbed at them and tried to pull them off. Every time he would remove one, the other would latch on again, laughing louder than ever. Fia smiled to herself and laughed before opting to pull the three apart. It wouldn't do to have her hallway become an assassination arena.


The rest of the day could have given Karma whiplash. Before he knew it, the sun was already hanging low in the sky and he had all five of the Timo siblings dog-piled on top of him. Karma laughed as he ran his hand through his hair. These kids sure did know how to turn the house upside down. Who else could take chutes and ladders and still rip each other to shreds like they were playing monopoly? Uno had been worse and Mario Party even worse yet. Judging by Gio's profane yelling, the wii remote was still cozily tucked into his shorts. Still, everyone else seemed to be having a good time; the whole day had been filled with nothing but games and friendly competition afterall.

Fia slapped the ground. "I said I give! I don't know what kind of wrestling match you think you're playing, but the match usually ends after you count to 10 seconds!" she wailed. "Karma, can you please get off of my legs?"

He shook his head. "Twins have got me all tangled up - Oi, which one of you is trying to tickle my feet?!" Karma growled.

Lupe giggled. "I'll stop when Fia stops crushing me with her gigantic boobs!"

Fia blushed. "T-There isn't anything I can do about that," she protested. "Lupe, if that's you under me, then who's sitting on top of me?!"

"Yoo-hoo~!" the twins called. "We'll move once the arrogant redhead stops squishing Gio! That's our job!"

The boy growled from where he was stuck under Karma's back. "I CAN HEAR YOU!"

"We know~~!"

Karma smirked and began jabbing at the twins. "Who are you calling arrogant?"

Mio and Mia, in their shared fluster, tried scrambling away but the human pretzel they all seemed ensnare in refused to let go of its prey. Just then, the front door swung open and Giovanni and Florence entered, carrying many plastic bags.

"Hey, now," Giovanni called. "You can all kill each other after dinner. First, come give your Papino a hug!" He opened his arms but no one moved.

Fia sweat-dropped. "I'm kind of stuck…"

"We'd rather go back to boarding school," the twins spat.

Gio scowled. "You'll die first!"

Sighing, Giovanni held up a few plastic bags. "But I bought everything we need for the Exhibition."

The kids all exchanged glances and scrambled to their feet in a flurry of motion. A stampede of children threw themselves at their father with giddy smiles. The next thing Giovanni knew, he was encompassed in several bear hugs.

"Really? We're going to do the Exhibition tonight?!" Fia smiled, excitement shining in her eyes.

Mio and Mia stole the bags and ran across the room with them. At a safe distance, they peeked inside. "HE COLOR COATED US THIS YEAR!" They high-fived and pointed together at Karma. "You're going down, ass-hat!"

Lupe clung to her father's leg. "You mean Karma is going to play too?"

Her brother removed the wii remote that had been lodged in his pants. He shot the white controller a disgusted look and shifted that gaze to Karma. Accusation was written all over his face. "Why am I not enthralled at those prospects?"

Giovanni roared with laughter. "I don't see why not! Fia, you'll show him the ropes, right? Wouldn't want our guest bringing home bruises, now would we? Everyone meet me outside in fifteen minutes!" He wrapped his arm around Florence's waist and led her to the back yard to set up for the Exhibition.

"Si!" the household chimed together.

Karma looked curiously at Fia. "What's the Exhibition?" His eyes widened. Fia's smile seemed coy and mischievous, a look he had never seen before.

"Oh, you'll see~." Fia's gaze fell on the twins. "I'm going to get you guys back for last year."

They grinned. "We'd like to see you try!" They turned to Karma and put their hands on their hips. "Hey, we'll take our guns to your empty head if you hurt our sister! Only we can do that!" As if to prove their point, Mio and Mia ran over to Fia and each clung to her from the left and right. The older sibling laughed lightly and placed her hands on their heads, giving them an affectionate hair ruffle. The stuck their tongues out at Karma.

He laughed. "I doubt that either of you could touch a hair on my body let alone the shit on my shoes."

Fia kissed the twins' cheeks. "Don't doubt their skills, Karma. They even took Papi out last year."

"He was supposed to win for me!" Lupe whined. She pouted for a few moments before the signs of a brilliant idea blossomed on her face. "Karma, if I win, will you marry me?"

The redhead sighed. "Not likely. But if I'm going to make bets, I should at least know what we're doing."


Karma watched his breath condensate as he exhaled. The Timo yard was huge. Did they really own all this land?

Fia laughed and, as if reading his mind, quickly explained. "When you don't want to be discovered or questioned, it pays to have a lot of space to yourself." She picked up her rifle and moved to crouch down behind a large stack of flour bags.

He sighed. All of the Timo family seemed to following Fia's example, but he didn't understand how painting with paintballs was seen by them as competitive, dangerous, and exciting. There had to be something more… Something no one was telling him.

A shot rang out and soon, the canvas boards lined up several feet away were soon covered in colorful splatters. Each member of the group inspected their, and each other's, work with care. Florence had created a golden, shattered moon. She stood quietly by as she polished her pistol on her dress. By contrast, Giovanni had blasted a huge orange sun with straight, reaching streaks of light onto his canvas board. He threw his machine gun of a paintball gun over his broad shoulders and beamed. Lupe had painted a lemony-yellow dress and Gio had attempted to paint a pink blazer. He blushed and threw his gun down on the ground, only to have it go off and shoot him in the foot. Angrily yelling, he hopped around in pain. The twins snickered and looked at their paintings. They had created two halfs of the same bleeding purple crown. It screamed a "we will own you all" attitude. Fia's painting was one of a green rabbit sleeping peacefully under the stars. She smiled at her painting and then to Karma.

"What did you paint - " she began to ask but she deadpanned as soon as she saw his canvas board. It was just a huge red target, with the name Timo written directly over the center of it.

He smirked and shot a smug grin at the family. Seven pairs of eyes filled with bloodlust focused on him.

Giovanni shook his head with a dark smile. "That's a declaration of war, if I ever saw one. LET THE EXHIBITION BEGIN!"

Two violet paintballs went flying and hit the painted rabbit over its eye and heart. As if the painting were dying, the canvas fell backwards with a loud creak and hit the ground.

"MY RABBIT!" Fia cried in dismay.

Mio and Mia shot her sadistic glances then turned their gaze on Karma as if to say "you're next." They raised their rifles but pink and yellow paintballs whizzed past their faces. The twins stood back to back, hoping to protect all of their fronts.

Karma raised his own paintball rifle but he was tackled and dragged behind one of the flour stacks by Fia. She held her hand over his mouth and held him close to her body as she cautiously peeked out from behind the flour stack.

"Okay, they're distracted," she whispered as she released Karma.

His cheeks were slightly pink and he looked annoyed. "What was that for?"

Fia ignored him and began pulling something over his head.

"Hey!" he shouted as he pushed Fia away.

"Don't be so loud!" she sighed. "Just put your armor on." Fia attempted to pull the vest over Karma's head once again.

This time, he complied and began equipping the protective gear. Satisfied, Fia began pulling off her clothes, revealing that she was already wearing her protective gear underneath them. Karma surmised that the rest of the family would be properly equipped as well. He pushed himself into a crouching position and crawled over to where Fia was keeping watch. Her gaze was serious and found its way to meet Karma's.

"This - " she smiled " - is the Exhibition. The painting was just a warm up."

"So how do I win?" Karma asked.

"You watch your own back and make sure that no one lands a fatal hit," Fia explained. Suddenly, she laughed.

"What's got you so hyped up all of a sudden?"

"I just realized that this is the first year in a long while that I might actually have a partner," she said.

Karma glanced around at the raging battlefield and realized that Fia was the only person without a natural counterpart. Giovanni was blasting the field with his monster machine gun while his wife sharply shot to drive their victims towards Giovanni's line of fire. The twins were one natural unit whose movements were completely fluid and united. Gio and Lupe, although they were arguing with each other, seemed to have complete confidence that the other would have their back.

"What makes you think I'll partner up with you?" Karma questioned Fia with an arrogant smile. "Who's not to say that I don't want that victory all to myself~? And, why should I trust you? I might recall you saying that you wanted payback."

Fia's face changed from contemplative to serious. "And I will have my payback, but I'm a partner who will always be on your side." She turned to check her ammo, leaving Karma feeling like he'd been through this before. Still, he knew that Fia wasn't likely to up and die on him like Ono had. That fucking bastard.

"Alright," he relented, "let's see what you can do."

Fia beamed at Karma. She held up a grenade filled with green and red paintballs. "I was hoping you'd say 'yes'," she admitted with a happy blush. "Why don't we put my family into the... holiday spirit?"

Karma took the grenade from her and pulled the pin as he laughed. "Ho-ho-ho. I didn't think you would be joining me on the naughty list this year, Fia."

She gave him a pointed look. "Oh, please. As if you're the only one who ever acts out." Fia slipped the rounded pin onto her pinky finger as if to promise him that she'd do her best as his partner. "I'm warning you now - Gio is likely to have an automatic attached to a remote-controlled car and the twins have likely set up land mines."

Karma grinned as he tossed the grenade from hand-to-hand. "I wouldn't have it any other way."


Fia flinched as cold water sprayed her face from a hose. "KARMA!" she tried to yell but her face was sprayed with water again. "C-can you hose m-me down n-normally?! T-That's fricking c-c-cold!" She shivered under the dying rays of the sun.

The redhead smirked. "Nah, I missed a spot." He sprayed her face again.

"KARMA!" She snatched the hose from him and sprayed him instead. "H-how do you l-like it!" she shouted through chattering teeth.

A ticked off expression gracing his face, he lunged for the hose. The two fell to the ground and began wrestling for it, only succeeding in getting each other muddy and smearing the paint splattered on their clothing.

"Would you two stop fondling each other so the rest of us can use the house?" Gio grumbled as he stood over the two.

It took Fia a few moments to realize that she was straddling Karma. Red rose up her neck and to her ears. Cheeks blazing red, she shook her head profusely. "IT WASN'T LIKE THAT!"

Karma laughed and, while the girl was distracted, switched their positions. "You're such a terrible liar~" he teased.

"DON'T GIVE HIM THE WRONG IMPRESSIONS, KARMA!" she cried.

The redhead laughed as he grabbed the hose and began misting her face with a rainbow of water. She scowled and flailed at him to no avail. He was about to change the setting from mist to jet when the hose was snatched out of his hand by a smaller one.

Lupe tapped her foot impatiently. "Fia, you need to cook now. We're hungry," she demanded. Lupe waited until Fia scrambled to her feet and ran inside, still dripping and flustered. She turned back to Karma and put her hands on her hips. "I won, so you have to marry me."

Karma sweat-dropped. "Hey, Buzzkill, I never agreed to your terms and you can hardly call that a win."

"YEAH!" the twins called from where they were cleaning themselves off with the second hose.

Mia pouted. "Who attaches a volley of grenades to the roof?!"

Mio sighed. "How did you even get those up there anyway?"

"I had my lackee do it," Lupe responded flatly.

Gio scowled. "DO I LOOK LIKE A LACKEE TO YOU?!"

"Yeah, kind of," she admitted.

"W-well," his face flushed, "at the very least I'd never be YOUR lackee!"

The two stuck their tongues out at each other and angrily huffed. Disregarding them both, Karma stood and shook the water out of his hair. He brushed himself off and went back inside the house where he found Fia flitting about the kitchen. Karma wandered in and grabbed a rag before wiping some purple paint off of her cheek. Fia flinched back, pain emanating from the welt that was left there.

"Thanks," she said with a strained smile as she turned back to cooking.

"You're welcome~" two voices chimed together. Mio and Mia had just gotten back.

Fia shot them a dirty look. "I'm just glad Karma took you both out in one shot. Call it karma for only aiming for my ass last year!" She cringed outwardly.

They laughed. "Gotta aim for the biggest target," they stuck their tongues out.

"Hey!" Fia's cheeks reddened, even as the twins disappeared into their rooms.

Karma snickered as he surveyed the kitchen. "Can I help?"

She smiled appreciatively at him. "That would be great."

"Do you always do this?" he asked as he coaxed the ladle out of her hand.

"Do what?" Fia tilted her head. "You mean doing all of the cooking?"

"And cleaning, and taking out the trash, and washing the dishes, and doing the laundry. You haven't stopped, even since coming home."

She laughed nervously. "Well… Haven does the dishes back at the apartment - "

He poked her forehead. "It's called a break for a reason."

Fia shook her head. "I've done this for as long as I can remember."

Karma raised an eyebrow. "What about your mother? Although, I guess I'm not one to talk about that."

She lowered the heat on the stove and smiled ruefully. "My mom took my brother's death and my sister's leaving pretty hard… Besides, I don't mind." Fia smiled at Karma cheerfully. "Will you pass the thyme?"

"Sure, I'll spend time with you, so long as you keep me entertained~" Karma teased as he handed her the container of thyme.

"Oh, ha-ha." Fia jabbed at the orange paint splatter over Karma's chest. "Orange you glad I'm around?"

Laughter echoed throughout the kitchen and resounded throughout the quiet home.


The Timos, plus an Akabane, sat around the kitchen table where they'd played poker only a little while before. The atmosphere was very animated as everyone tried to get their opinion in about the Exhibition match.

"I'm proud of you two for being key strategists," Florence smiled at Gio and Lupe. Gio looked especially pleased with himself. "Fia, thank you for the food as usual."

Giovanni laughed as he shoved a slice of bread into his mouth. "How'd you learn how to shoot like that?" he asked Karma.

"Por favore, don't talk with your mouth full," Florence sighed as she brushed the bread crumbs away from Giovanni's mouth. He smiled at her dotingly and nuzzled her affectionately. She smiled and pushed him away gently. "You're an idiot," Florence said.

"But you love me~!" he responded cheerfully.

Karma laughed and twirled the knife between his fingers. "Oh, it was just something I picked up," he smiled smugly. "I once hurt a target moving at mach 20," his smiled radiated with arrogance.

"That sounds stupid," Gio spat as he poked at his food.

"Don't say anything mean about my prince," Lupe mumbled. "Why didn't I get to sit next to him?"

Mio and Mia exchanged bored expressions from where they were sitting on either side of Karma. "Because we're keeping him from making the move on Fia."

Fia blushed. "I can handle myself!"

"That's not what the hose would tell you," Gio smirked.

"What happened with the hose?" Florence asked with slight interest.

"N-nothing!" Fia protested.

Karma laughed. "Oh, nothing much, except your daughter really isn't cut out for wrestling."

"It sounds like you're a man of many abilities," Giovanni said slowly. "I have the mind to figure out who you really are."

It dawned on Karma that Fia might not have told her family about Nagisa and his occupation. He didn't know how she was able to keep anything from them, but he sent her a slight, appreciative nod before grinning devilishly at her father.

"Well, I would tell you to ask the boss of one of Japan's formerly leading yakuzas, but, as fate would have it, I might have taken him out. I guess you're out of luck, Mr. Timo." Karma stabbed the knife into the table.

"Yakuza, you say?" Giovanni lowered his eating utensils. "I'm sure you are aware of my history, Karma. It reminds me of the time my brother and I alone took out scores of soldiers while we were in Rome. The Colosseum is magnifico, a true place to meet La Morte Signora."

The Timo children all looked at each other and then between Giovanni and Karma.

"Oh, really? Lady Death herself? We have one of those, her name is Ms. Bitch." He stifled a laugh as Fia stiffened beside him. "Personally, I'm not the biggest fan of sniping. I like to fight up-close and personal. That way, you can see the light leave their eyes and hear the last of their screams run from their throats."

Giovanni grinned. "Unless their windpipe is crushed underfoot, that is~"

Florence sighed. "Giovanni, don't scare the children."

Mio and Mia jumped up. "No way! You're not robbing us of our cultural heritage!"

Fia's face hit the table as she groaned.

Karma laughed. "So you know the feeling?" he asked Giovanni with a piqued interest.

Lupe looked up at her mother. "Didn't you kill people too?" she asked with a seemingly innocent smile.

Florence slowly lowered her fork from her lips. "Well, yes. It's actually how I met your father. I was trying to kill him."

Giovanni gave her a puppy-love expression. "And I, her~!"

Karma smiled. "So, you're all fighters, bred and born."

The older man scratched at his stubble and chuckled. "I guess you could say that. What's your preferred weapon?"

The redhead looked up to the ceiling to think for a moment before answering. "Anything that gets the job done," he said coyly. "Now if only Fia would lend me her wicked chemistry skills - "

Fia raised her head from the table and rubbed at the red mark that had formed on her forehead. "I'm not going to make poisons for you!" she shouted. After a moment, she added, "Unless you really need it…"

Giovanni laughed. "That's a great attitude to have. I like your work ethic, kid."

Fia dead-panned. "WHAT ETHICS?!"

Karma feigned hurt and Florence clucked her tongue at her daughter. "Don't be rude to our guest, Fia."

"He intruded…" she muttered but nodded slowly. "Yes, Mami…"

The twins both stepped up to protect their sister. "If you want, Fia, we can string him up while he's sleeping and throw him in the pond."

Fia smiled regretfully. "I appreciate the thought, but Karma is still my friend."

"Your boyfriend?" Gio asked.

She sweat-dropped. "Why do you always assume that?!" she asked in a fluster.

Giovanni laughed. "Well, he's handsome, I'll give him that."

Fia turned red. "PAPI!"

"Che cosa? I wouldn't mind letting him into the family - "

"You're kidding, right?!" Fia covered her face in her hands. "He's the king of bad behavior!"

Lupe pouted. "If he's going to be part of the family, it's going to be through marrying me!" she declared.

Karma laughed. "Thanks for the invitation, don, but I think I'll pass. Still, you're cooler than I gave you credit for."

Giovanni grinned. "I'm glad to hear it. Tell me more about the yakuza boss."

He smiled wolfishly. "Well, the story begins with chopsticks, fish, and a bottle of sake - "

The rest of dinner passed quickly and cheerfully as Karma spun his tale. When it was over, the family dispersed and he was left alone with Fia in the kitchen as she piled the dishes in the sink. He sauntered over and began rinsing the plates for her without being asked.

"You're awfully quiet," he noted as he placed a plate on the drying rack.

She looked up at him. "Did you really stick chopsticks up his nose?" she asked with morbid curiosity.

"You don't believe me?" Karma asked teasingly.

"I just can't believe he fell for that!" she laughed. After a few moments of silence, Fia giggled. She received a questioning look from Karma. "It looks like a milkshake!" she declared as she raised a cup full of bubbles up to his face.

"You're real silly, you know that?" Karma exhaled quickly and bubbles flew into Fia's face.

"Hey!" she laughed as she smacked him with a dish towel.

Karma smiled as Fia turned back to the dishes. He liked the way she seemed to admire the simple things. Fia was holding the clean glass up to the light to admire the refraction in the water.

"Fia!" several voices called. The twins rushed into the kitchen and clung to Fia from behind. "Won't you stay with us?" they whined.

Fia laughed. "Aren't you a little bit old to be asking me to sleep with you?"

"Not just us," they protested. "Gio and Lupe too! We want to have a big sleepover in the living room! Please, we're going back to boarding school in two days!"

"Alright, alright. But you guys have to make the pillow fort."

The twins double high-fived and ran off, calling "You got it, Sis!"

Karma smiled and put the last of the glasses onto the drying rack. "Hey, Fia, is there anyway to keep your sister from molesting me in my sleep?"

She laughed. "I'll try my best." Fia shyly tugged on Karma's sleeve. "Thanks for a fun day, Karma. I'm glad you were my partner."

"Don't you mean 'are'?" he asked as he pinched her cheek. "We are going to be working together, you know. Your first practice run is going to be here before you know it. You scared~?"

Fia brushed his hand away. "Of course not. You're going to be there. Nagisa and Haven too," she smiled happily. "Sleep tight, partner! Don't let the Timos bite~." Fia left and returned to her bedroom to change.

Karma pulled a grenade ring from his pocket and spun it on his finger. Only one thing left to do. He found Lupe sitting on the couches in the living room and sat down beside her.

"Hey, Lupe." He sat down next to her and tossed her the grenade ring. "I came here to give you that, but I won't marry you," Karma said bluntly. "There's a lot of reasons for me to say 'no' but you probably have an excuse ready for every last one of them, so I'll just say you're not my type and we'll call it a night, alright?"

"I know," Lupe said flatly. "I was never expecting you to say 'yes,' and I'm not going to give up, but I don't mind that you like my sister."

Karma smirked. "I do like to tease her."

The small child shook her head. "You guys are really dense. Watch out for Mio and Mia. They're like you; they love to torture Fia, but they're most protective of her since they love her most," Lupe said pointedly. "Anyway, if you ever get tired of Fia, I'll be waiting." Before the redhead could retaliate in his slight annoyance, the pigtailed girl was already skipping down the hall to her room. "Fia~! Braid my hair!"

"YOU BEDAZZLED MY BRUSH?!" Fia exclaimed in horror.

"Yup!" Lupe giggled.

"You couldn't have at least made it green?" Fia cried in dismay as the door shut.

Karma ran his hand through his hair and shook his head, opting to get some sleep while he could. Knowing the Timo family, everyone would be bustling with energy before they knew it.


He was glad to have gotten as much sleep as possible. If Friday gave Karma whiplash, Saturday was breaking his neck. He looked from the pajama-clad Timo siblings down to the stupid black fleece pajamas they had coerced him into. The shirt read "I'm a cuddler," but Karma was definitely ready to stab anyone who tried to touch him.

"What am I doing here, again?" Karma asked Fia.

She shrugged and pulled her green, white-polka-dot-patterned shirt back onto her shoulders. "Bonding?"

He sighed. "Do you want to switch? That is obviously too big for you."

Fia laughed. "But your shirt suits you so much more!"

Karma's expression darkened. "Listen here, I - "

"Ready~?" The twins clapped their hands together. "Let the fun, Timo-plus-an-idiot super sleepover begin!"

"Who are you calling an idiot?!" Karma yelled.

Lupe ran in, carrying a box of nail polish and hair clips.

"You have got to be kidding me," he spat.

Fia sweat-dropped. "I wish I were."

Gio cleared his throat. "We will commence the night with a game of Truth-or-Dare and a round of manicures, courtesy of Lupe.

"That's it, I'm leaving." Karma tried to stand but he found Fia and the twins latched onto his legs. Their expressions begged and begged like kicked puppies. "Fine! But if even a drop of that nail polish touches me, you WILL have a PROBLEM!" he growled threateningly before begrudgingly sitting back down.

"Fia, Truth or Dare?"

She hummed in thought. "Truth," Fia replied happily.

"It's not like she could lie anyway," Karma said snarkily. Everyone else laughed and she punched his arm.

Gio smiled sadistically. "Have you ever thought about sleeping with Karma?"

The girl's race cherried. "I-I m-meant dare!" she stuttered.

Gio, Mio, Mia, and Lupe all jumped up at once. "I DARE YOU TO TELL US!"

"Dio, why?!" Fia blushed profusely.

"Now I'm curious too, Tsu-chan," Karma dragged the nickname across his tongue to aggravate Fia even further.

Fia found herself surrounded by six encroaching faces. "Papino? YOU TOO?!" she cried in dismay.

Giovanni nodded vigorously. "My precious little daughter - "

"Kids only!" Gio shouted.

His father pouted. "But Fia and Karma are both in their 20s already," he protested.

"But they're not old like you!" Lupe frowned.

"And they're not parents!" the twins continued. "Parents aren't allowed. Shoo!"

"They aren't parents, yet," Florence called out as she passed by.

Fia's face flushed again. "M-Mami!" She covered her face with her hands as her siblings forced her father into retreating.

"He's no better than Koro-sensei when to comes to this gossiping stuff," Karma sighed.

"O-once…" Fia whispered. The room fell silent and turned towards her.

"WAIT, SO YOU MEAN YOU'VE ACTUALLY THOUGHT ABOUT IT?! PERV!" Gio yelled.

"You're in trouble now, Akabane!" the twins prepared to attack Karma.

"What did I do?" the redhead asked. His cheeks were slightly red. "Seriously, Fia?"

"You cheated on me!" Lupe shouted accusingly.

"We were never a thing!" Karma snapped.

Fia tried to scoot away inconspicuously but was grabbed by several pairs of hands. "Gyah! IT WAS HIS FAULT FOR ASKING!"

"NOW YOU'RE REALLY GONNA GET IT, AKABANE!" Mio and Mia jumped on Karma.

"When did I do that?!" he demanded.

"When you crawled into my bed at who-knows-what-time in the morning!" Fia yelled back.

Gio looked like he was about to be sick. "YOU DISGUST ME!"

Lupe began jumping up and down and cheering. "Yeah! You beat him up - but leave his face alone! Mio! Mia!"

Karma managed to sit on the twins and pin the terrors down. "Ohh. That's what you meant. I didn't know you were going to take it so seriously - "

Fia shot him a dirty look. "I WASN'T THINKING ABOUT IT IN THAT WAY!" She pouted. "I'm used to sleeping next to someone so, when you offered, I-I thought it would be nice…" Her cheeks were scarlet as she quietly confessed. "S-so can everyone just calm down already?! I already said it wasn't like that!"

Begrudgingly, all of the Timo siblings took their respective spots on the floor again.

"That isn't exciting…" Gio muttered.

Fia face-palmed. "Weren't you the one who was yelling about how wrong it is?"

The boy turned up his nose and passive aggressively ignored her. "Karma, truth or dare?"

Karma smirked. "Dare. Hit me with your best shot, shorty."

"I dare you to kiss Fia!" an array of voices shouted together.

The redhead laughed as Fia worked herself up into another fit next to him.

"SERIOUSLY?! THAT'S IT! WE'RE PLAYING ANOTHER GAME!"

"Two-player seven minutes in heaven?"

"Two-player spin the bottle?"

"Two-player nervous game?"

Fia stood and put her hands on her hips. "No more games!"

"But, Fiiiiiiaaaaaa!" Even Karma joined in on that one.

"I said no more games!" She huffed in a fluster. "How about we watch a movie instead?" she suggested with a gentler tone.

"How about a romance film between an angry Italian and sadistic Japanese man?"

"CAZZO!"


The redhead groaned as light hit his face. He rolled over the bury his face in his pillow but the clinking of the curtain rings had stopped, which only meant one thing. An orange eye opened lazily and made contact with olive ones.

"Good morning, Karma," Fia said quietly.

"What time is it?" he grumbled.

Hands on her hips, she poured sass into her words. "Time for you to get up."

"What time is it?" he repeated with growing displeasure.

Fia sighed and crouched down to be at eye-level with him. "It's already almost noon. You slept through breakfast."

Karma slowly sat up and yawned. He ran his hand through his hair but it didn't seem like the fiery locks wanted to be tamed any time soon. Pulling back the covers, he swung his feet over the edge of the bed. "Noon, huh? Is it me or is your house really quiet?"

"We were up late telling stories after you left," she admitted with a laugh. Lupe and Gio went back to sleep after breakfast and the twins went on a walk. I think they switched outfits again… Either way, we finally have some peace and quiet. Do you have a minute?"

Karma smiled. "Well, I'm already here. Shoot."

Fia climbed onto the bed and sat beside Karma. "Thanks for being a good sport with my family. I know they can be a little overwhelming."

"You're thanking me?" his voice sounded both skeptical and incredulous.

Fia shifted uncomfortably and nodded slowly, a blush rising to her cheeks. "Whatever the reason you intruded," she began, "I really appreciate you being here. The kids really seem to like you."

"What can I say? You have an entertaining family." Karma smiled.

"Chaotic, more like. But then again, you thrive off of that, don't you?" Fia teased.

He smirked. "I invented chaos."

The two laughed and sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Fia turned to face Karma. "Um... " she bit her lip. "Will you be honest with me? What do you think… of my family?"

Karma raised an eyebrow. "I think you're all off your rockers in the best of ways."

She shook her head. "I'm being serious, Karma."

He rubbed the back of his head as he looked away to think. "Well… I think your family is rowdy and loud, but really loyal, which is cool. It's awesome that your dad is open about his past kills. Maybe I'll learn something from the old man." Karma laughed. "You do and you don't break some Italian stereotypes."

"How so?" Fia asked, curiosity lighting her eyes.

"For starters, you all talk with exaggerated hand motions, whether or not you realize that. You also seem to have quite the wine collection. On the other hand, you don't only eat pizza and pasta, and you really don't know when to quit. I'm not sure what your driving is like but there is one stereotype I'm still curious about."

Fia tucked her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. "What is it? Maybe I can help."

Karma leaned in close to her face, very much like he did on the first day they met. He whispered slyly, "Tell me, Tsu-chan, are Italians really the best lovers?"

"HUH?!" Fia's face exploded with color as she fell forwards and off the bed in surprise.

Karma laughed happily as he helped the girl back onto the bed. Notably, she had doubled the distance between them.

"Aw, Tsu-chan. Why are you sitting so far away?"

Fia ransacked her brain for any sort of comeback. "I-is it true th-that Asians a-are small?!" she blurted. "Stereotypes a-are o-only s-stereotypes!" she shouted in flustered frustration.

Karma snickered. "You want to find out?"

She couldn't get any redder but if she could, she would have, even as she started hitting Karma with his pillow. "SHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUPSHUTUP!"

Karma grabbed Fia's wrists and looked at her in concern. "Hold on, Fia." She tried struggling but he held her in place. "Fia," he said more seriously.

The girl took a second to calm down. "W-what?"

He released her wrists and touched a red bump on Fia's temple. "Does it hurt?"

"A-A little… But it should be fine. Thick skull, remember?" she laughed dryly as she knocked on her own head.

Karma shook his head and gently ruffled the girl's hair. "If you say so."

"You said so first!" she pouted in protest.

"You got me there," he laughed. After awhile, he turned to look at Fia, who was curled up again and staring intently at him. "It's nice to have a place where I can express whatever I want," he admitted, "I didn't think I was going to get another chance since Class 3-E."

She smiled softly and rested her cheek on her chin. "You can always talk to me. I'm not the best conversationalist, but I like to think that I'm a good listener."

"Then are you willing to hear me say I'm about ready to head back to campus?"

Fia laughed. "I think Bacio and I will join you. I can only handle so much Timo at a time."

Karma smiled. "Ready to go home?"

Fia nodded. "I'm ready to go home."


Karma: (laughing)

Fia: I-it wasn't th-that funny!

Karma: You're still pink. All you had to do was give him your bus pass.

Fia: H-he talked to m-me…

Karma: To compliment Bacio -

Fia: (blushes) He thought I w-was a h-high schooler…!

Karma: Not many people carry around stuffed animals. You're really attached to that thing, aren't you?

Fia: That 'thing' is my guinea pig! Bacio is a he, thank you very much. He's comforting…!

Nagisa: Oh, you're back!

Haven: Tsu-chan! I can use the microwave now!

Fia: (hugs Haven) So what did I miss? I was really worried when that thing showed up at my house.

(After Nagisa and Haven explained the less embarrassing things that they had been up to while she was gone.)

Fia: YOU NEARLY KILLED MY BEST FRIEND?!

Karma: I didn't know that Haven was allergic.

Fia: And I missed Ven getting pregnant?! (cross, pouty face)

Haven: I still can't believe you guys thought it was me.

Nagisa: Well, the cavy hasn't given birth yet.

Fia: Still! … Hey, Karma, where are you going?

Karma: To get some sleep.

Fia: You were sleeping all day!

Karma: Doesn't mean I'm not still tired after that long weekend -

Fia: You think you're tired?

Nagisa: What did you two end up doing anyway?

Fia: (blushes) Oh, you know, things…

Karma: What about you, Nagisa? Did anything heat up once I left? (suggestive smile)

Nagisa: (blushes) No! Nothing like that!

Karma: And after all the trouble I went to getting you two alone…

Fia: What about heating up?

Nagisa: H-He means the food you left for us! Thank you for that, by the way.

Fia: No, problem! I'm sorry about the mustard, Haven…

Haven: It's not your fault. It's his (accusingly pointing at Karma).

Narrator: Wow, that was a long weekend. In the next chapter, winter wonderland or frostbitten nightmare? Temperatures will definitely be rising, in more ways than one?

Giovanni: To answer your question, Karma. Italians are -

Fia: (turns red) PAPI! Can we not?!

Giovanni: I was going to say, "Italians are individualistic drivers." What were you thinking, mia bambina?

Fia: N-Nothing! JUST GET OUT OF HERE!

Giovanni: Oh! (Suggestive smile) Let me tell you -

Fia: I will call Mami!

Giovanni: (sweat-drops) Oh, look at the time - I've got to run! Until next time, lovely readers! Ciao!