Author's Note: Hey guys! Woo! Sorry this took a while, but I told you guys I'd be taking a while to post more of these chapters. I am finishing this story, though. Even though the show has ended. Ugh. I'm still sad that it's done. I also kind of just took it in that I'm on chapter 30 of this fanfiction and The Littlest Lisbon ended at chapter 30. That makes this my longest fanfiction. Anyway. I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Disclaimer: :(
"Could you be any slower?" Melody teased Annabeth as the older cousin got her things out of the trunk.
"I swear I'm going to slug you right in your little face." Annabeth threatened.
Melody laughed. "I'm not worried. I could move out of the way faster than you could throw the punch."
"You wanna test your theory?" Annabeth dropped her stuff and turned to Melody.
Melody stuck her hands in her pockets and shrugged with a goofy grin on her face.
"Oh, you are really asking for it."
"Come on, Annie." Peter placed a hand on his girlfriend's back, trying to defuse the situation. "We've got to get our stuff inside. Give me a hand?"
Annabeth looked at Peter. "Sure thing." Then she turned back to glare at Melody. "I know where you sleep. Remember that."
Melody just strolled back into the house, unperturbed by her cousin's threat.
Peter and Annabeth got their things inside and worked out as quickly as they could. Peter had offered to take the living room floor so Tommy could have the couch and Tommy gladly took up the deal.
Lisbon quickly regretted making Melody share her room with Annabeth since the pair was heard bickering all the way from the living room. "I'm going to go make sure that they don't kill each other." Lisbon told the other three as she headed upstairs to check on her nieces. She found them wrestling each other in Melody's room. Annabeth had Melody in a noogie, but Melody managed to slip out of Annabeth's grip to stick her finger in her mouth to give her older cousin a wet willy.
"Oh, my god, Melody!" Annabeth shrieked, grabbing Melody's wrist. "That's so gross! Don't you dare stick your slobbery finger in my ear!"
"You noogied me!" Melody argued.
"Can't you two be civil for ten seconds!?" Lisbon demanded, causing her nieces to pause mid-fight to look at her.
"Melody's being a little brat!"
"You just can't take a joke! Not my fault you're all secretive!"
"You went through my underwear, you little perv!"
"I did not! Gross! I don't want to see your face, let alone what you wear under your clothes! It fell out of your bag and I was giving it back to you!"
"Twirling it around in the air and going 'oooooooo la la, what have we got here' does not constitute giving me back my bra!"
"Well why do you own a black lace bra from Victoria Secret?"
"I do have a boyfriend!" Annabeth blurted out, immediately realising what she had just implied in front of her aunt.
"Oh, ew!" Melody stumbled away. "Gross. Annabeth, I don't need to know these things! Couldn't you just lie to me next time? Oh my god. You're not sexy."
Lisbon bit her lip, a little amused - though she would never admit it.
"Like you're one to talk!" Annabeth retaliated. "At least I've already made it through puberty!"
"You think you're so cool, just because you're older than me and you have a boyfriend! Being twenty-five doesn't make you cool if you're not!" Melody stuck out her tongue.
Annabeth looked at Lisbon exasperated. "How do you live with this child!?"
"I'm not a child!"
"You're fourteen! You're a child! And you act like a child!"
"Now you're just being mean!" Melody shot back.
"Enough!" Lisbon yelled over them "Can you two be civil for ten seconds? Please?"
"Ask Annabeth." Melody muttered.
"You've really got it coming to you." Annabeth looked at Melody.
"You two are worse than your fathers!" Lisbon grumbled and placed her palm against her face. "I never thought I'd see two people fight worse than my brothers. You two used to get along okay. What happened?"
"I hate to break it to you, Teresa." Melody said. "This is how we always got along."
"You two were s good when I came up for Christmas. What was that, then?"
"You didn't think that I was actually going to fight a three year old, did you?" Annabeth raised a brow.
"No, but you got along so well!"
Melody and Annabeth shared a look.
"I made her agree to a temporary ceasefire." Melody said.
"Why?"
Melody rolled her eyes. "Why do you think?"
"We wanted you to have a good visit." Annabeth answered.
Lisbon smiled softly.
"Of course, Annabeth was totally ridiculous when she was agreeing." Melody put in.
"Yeah, right!"
Lisbon's smile turned into a frown again.
"Yeah, I am right."
"Melody, you're essentially the little sister that I never wanted."
"And you're essentially the older sister I begged god not to give me."
"Well thank god we agree on that, at least!"
"Can't you both agree that you want me to have a nice visit now, as well!?" Lisbon interrupted them, pinching the bridge of her nose to fight off an impending headache.
Melody and Annabeth sent each other looks before shifting their gazes back to Lisbon.
"Fine." They both sighed in unison.
"Now come downstairs." Lisbon told them. "We're going to go visit James and then go for dinner."
Melody and Annabeth filed out of Melody's room and down the stairs to join the rest of their family.
"I don't see any blood. That's a good sign." Jane commented from the couch when he turned to see the two Lisbon cousins approaching.
"Got there just in time." Lisbon put her hands on her hips and gave the two a look. "Are you guys ready to go?"
"Yep." Tommy said, getting up from the chair.
"Ready." Peter got up and stretched.
They headed out the door, Lisbon praying that everything went smoothly for the rest of the day.
-Mentalist-
"I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do with the two of them!" Lisbon grumbled as she joined Jane under the blankets. "How many times are they going to argue?"
"That's just how they are." Jane wrapped his arms around Lisbon.
"So you all say." Lisbon settled against him and huffed.
"It is." Jane insisted. "But they love each other and that's what matters, right? They're good kids and they love each other."
"It really doesn't seem like they do sometimes."
"Of course they do. They send each other birthday cards and graduation cards. Annabeth always watches the televised competitions that Melody is in. Melody is interested in news about Annabeth, even though she acts like she's not. It's just them." He kissed Lisbon's head. "They support and love each other even though they argue. I know you'd prefer it if they got along normally, but at least they're entertaining."
Lisbon smacked Jane's shoulder. "My nieces are not to be your source of amusement. Get your kicks somewhere else."
Jane laughed. "Well, at least they'll get some time apart from each other tomorrow so you can have some quiet."
"Yeah…I guess I can't expect Peter and Annie to not want a little time to themselves."
"Peter is a good kid." Jane commented. "I like him. He's a good match for Annie. He's very calm and nice. Plus, he's able to deal with Annie and Melody's bickering rather well."
"That's true." Lisbon agreed. "He's also very polite. Both when we visited them and now. They've been together for quite a while."
"I wouldn't be surprised if he is going to propose to her soon."
"Really? You think so?"
"I do. I'd be very happy for them."
Lisbon smiled. "I would, too. They're cute together. It's so funny to think about it now. She used to hate the idea of dating at all."
"Yeah, that's just the family thing. We both knew she was going to grow out of it. And so will Melody."
"Excuse me." Lisbon lifted her head to look at Jane. "Family thing?"
The corners of Jane's mouth quirked upwards into a smile. "Yes, the family thing."
"That is not a 'family thing' in my family." Lisbon protested.
"If course it is. You all like to act like you're really tough and unbreakable. You all want to convince everyone that you don't need anyone else, but really you're all just softies that love hugs."
Lisbon scoffed. "Oh, like you're one to talk."
"I'll give you that one. But we both came to our senses. I'm glad Annie did, too." Jane lifted his head to kiss Lisbon's lips.
Lisbon blushed and bit her bottom lip after he pulled away. "I like our family. I'm happy."
"I am, too." Jane pulled Lisbon down for another kiss.
-Mentalist-
Melody had kicked Tommy off the couch in the morning so that she could watch some TV before breakfast.
Peter had actually volunteered to help with breakfast, dragging Annabeth into the kitchen with him before she and Melody had it out over the TV remote in the living room.
"You're watching cartoons and you tried to tell me yesterday that you're not a child?" Annabeth quipped as she headed upstairs to get something.
"I will have you know that this cartoon is cooler than you, so you really shouldn't be passing judgement." Melody retorted.
"I'm going to spit in your breakfast."
"Gross. You're that desperate to indirectly make-out with me by spitting in my breakfast? That's gross, Annabeth. And it's wrong on so many levels. It's incest, for starters. What about your poor boyfriend?"
"I'll put dish soap in it instead, then."
"Teresa won't let you do that."
"Oh, won't she?"
"No. She knows I'm the cooler niece." Melody smiled at her older cousin from over the back of the couch.
They both held each other's gaze before Annabeth lunged at Melody.
"Ahhh!" Melody shrieked, more in amusement than terror, as she jumped out of her seat on the couch. She ran around it with Annabeth chasing after her, Melody laughing. Melody bolted into the kitchen, Annabeth right behind her. "Teresa!"
"Not in the kitchen!" Lisbon yelled. "You two are going to hurt yourselves!"
Jane quickly reached out and grabbed Melody before she ran too close to a stove or something else really dangerous and Peter managed to wrangle Annabeth up.
"In the kitchen?" Lisbon put her hands on her hips, frowning at her nieces. "Seriously? I expect you both to know better."
"Melody started it." Annabeth said.
"Annie, you're twenty-five. You shouldn't let Melody get you so worked up this easily." Lisbon responded before Annabeth could say anything more. Then Lisbon turned to Melody who was laughing so hard that Jane had to keep her upright. "And you, Melody-"
"Ohhhhhhh, Melody's gonna get it!" Annabeth smiled.
"Not another word out of you." Lisbon sent Annabeth a look that had the younger woman shifting on her feet shyly.
Lisbon turned her full attention back to Melody, who was now starting to calm down and realising that she was indeed going to be 'getting it'. Lisbon raised a brow at her youngest niece, hands still on her hips.
Melody's laughter and smile faded.
"What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?"
"Um…Annabeth threatened to spit in my breakfast and put dish soap in it, so I'm not the problem?"
Lisbon turned back to Annabeth. "Is that true?"
"No! Well, yeah! But I wasn't actually going to! She was being rude, like she always is!"
"Um, I'm not the rude one."
"I babysat you for four years! I changed your gross little diapers and you still think you're cooler than me? You're right. You're not rude, you're crazy."
Melody laughed. "You had to change my diapers! Hahahaha!"
"I swear I'm going to slap that smile right off your face!"
"Both of you, be quiet, right now!" Lisbon yelled. The following silence was deafening. "What did we talk about yesterday, huh? What did I say? Can you please at least pretend to get along for this visit? Seriously. Is that so much to ask?"
Melody and Annabeth met gazes across the kitchen, both scared of the wrath of their aunt. "No." They both answered, meekly.
"Okay." Lisbon exhaled heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Melody, go back to watching TV. Annie, go get whatever it was that you needed to get."
Melody and Annabeth did as they were told and the rest of the morning was relatively peaceful. After breakfast, Annabeth and Peter took their rental car and went out while the rest of the family found things to occupy themselves.
"Uncle Tommy, are you even trying? Patrick even picked this up faster than you. Come on." Melody rolled her eyes, pausing the videogame and putting her controller down.
"It's been a while since I've played this kind of stuff." Tommy defended.
"Mhm." Melody raised a brow.
Lisbon laughed. "Pass me one of the controllers if Tommy isn't going to play properly."
"Hey!" Tommy protested. "Not a chance!"
Jane chuckled. "There's only so many tips we can give you on Mario Kart. The rest you need to develop your own skill."
"I have skill!"
"Tooooooooootalllllyyyyyy." Melody nodded sarcastically.
"You're lucky you're my niece or I'd ground you!"
Melody snorted.
Annabeth and Peter returned at the end of the next race.
"Hey there, strangers." Jane waved casually. "Have a good time?"
"Yep." Annabeth smiled. "I kicked Peter's butt at the arcade."
"Shooting games aren't my thing, okay?"
"I love you anyway." Annabeth rolled her eyes teasingly.
"Well videogames aren't Uncle Tommy's kind of thing, either." Melody said.
"Excuse me!" Tommy glared at her.
"You're excused." Melody shrugged.
"See, Dad? I told you she was a little pain!"
"Annie!" Lisbon cut in before that tangent could turn into another bickering session.
"Oh, come on-"
"Listen to your aunt Teresa." Tommy said.
Annabeth grumbled as she and Peter got their shoes off and joined the rest of the family in the living room.
-Mentalist-
Melody turned over in her bed when she heard Annabeth get up and leave the room. The last time her cousin had gotten up, she'd knocked over a bunch of stuff that Melody had to get up and put back. On the bright side, Melody didn't have to listen to her cousin snore while the older Lisbon cousin was awake. Melody lay in bed, hearing Annabeth's soft footsteps head down the stairs. Figuring Annabeth just wanted a snack or something, Melody tried to go back to bed. Minutes ticked by and Melody didn't hear Annabeth return. Curious, Melody got out of bed and made her way down the stairs silently. She saw Tommy sleeping on the couch, but Peter wasn't on his mattress on the floor in the living room. Melody then crept over to the wall separating the living room and the kitchen, pressing herself against it and moving towards the kitchen door. She could hear low voices talking.
"Look, it's been three weeks." Peter said.
"I know, I know. It's just weird okay? I'm not sure how to tell them. It's awkward."
"Annie, my whole family knows already. They knew the day after it happened. You don't think your family is going to be upset when they hear you held out on them?"
"Yeah, it's just…What am I supposed to say?"
"The same thing we said to my family. The truth."
"Ugh." Annabeth grunted. "Melody is going to freak out. I'm never going to hear the end of it from her."
"You're reluctant because of Melody?"
"No! God, no. But you've seen my family. It's different from your family. The way we do things, the relationships we have. It's just not…it's getting really real. I'm…I'm the niece. I used to be 'the baby' and then Melody came along and snatched that title from me, which I was happy about at the time. But I still feel like I'm the kid and it's just weird telling them that. Like your family all comes together for regular family parties that works for that kind of announcement, but mine just isn't that formal and I don't know how to tell them in a casual way that's not weird."
"They have to find out some time. Let me know when you want to tell them because I just don't want them to get mad about us waiting so long."
Melody leaned closer to the doorway to hear better.
"We'll tell them soon, I promise."
"Okay, fiancé."
Melody almost choked on air. Fiancé!? They were engaged!? And they hadn't told the rest of the family!? Rude.
"Please stop saying it like that when you talk to me."
"I like the sound of it." Peter chuckled.
"But don't say it to me like it's my name. Please." Annabeth rolled her eyes.
Melody realised that she was going to need to head back upstairs so that Annabeth wouldn't know that she'd heard anything. Quietly, Melody headed back up the stairs and hurried into her room to pretend like she was sleeping by the time Annabeth had returned from downstairs. Melody awkwardly lay awake wondering what to do with this new information.
Author's Note: That's it for now! I hope you all enjoyed it! Please leave me a review to let me know what you thought! Thanks for sticking with me and I hope to see you all at the next chapter!