Slices of Life and Family

by bluefrostyy

PART 3 of The life of Sebastian Pines! (Read that first, I doubt you'll understand what's going on) The story follows Seb's life after Gravity Falls. Bill was defeated, but the Pines family still have thousands of adventures together. Old characters will come back, new characters will make an appearance, all to accompany Seb through his journey as a human (Cowritten with Mizuuma)

36. Chapter 36 What it means to learn

Hiii! Sorry for taking so long. Im working on making my AU a comic (Im as Bluefrostyy on instagram, follow me xD) and Miz was busy too. please enjoy

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(Therapist) Linda looked down at the test results from the information she'd gotten out of some of the things Miz had told her. She frowned. But she couldn't make a diagnosis yet. She would give Miz a few more tests the next time she came in for a session. There was something Linda was beginning to notice, really notice.

She knew that Miz wasn't human. But she… was still somewhat human.

And after Linda had discovered how Sebastian had ADHD… well… she didn't want to say anything yet, with Miz, not until she was more sure. She didn't want to worry them if she was wrong. But she would still have to ask Miz (and her parents) to be able to run the tests. Filling out a questionnaire was one thing, more intensive tests were… well, she would need proper consent for those.

But that could be handled later, after she spoke with Miz a few more times. It wasn't that much of an issue right now anyway. Hopefully.

November rolled by. Xin or sometimes Yun, when Miz felt like it, had been teaching Max a few things. He now knew the weather, the natural regions of the world (something Max quite enjoyed), the continents and most countries with the main important capitals, all with songs the Great Dragon taught him.

Max just laughed. He felt like a pup again...when the storyteller would sing and describe historical events. She even sang him the multiplications tables, mentioning something about Schoolhouse Rock, whatever that was.

Miz also took advantage of the fact that Ford's shy, unassertive ass was teaching Max, to hijack Ford's classes to describe the different animals and species that habited the world, their classification drawn out into a big tree that she pasted onto the side of Ford's lab. Then she would give Max all the drawings they made of the different animals to place onto the tree on the right branches based on the main characteristics You know, fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, vertebrates, invertebrates, etc.

"Ok, a human's a mammal." Max dramatically pasted the drawing next to other animals. "They have all the things you said. Not eggs, yes fur, and...milk…(Do they really make milk?) I didn't know they were animals."

"Yes, they do, and that's to feed their babies because they can't eat on their own immediately after being born. Humans need to be fed at least for 6 months. And yes, humans are animals too."

"That's dangerous, and demanding." Max deadpanned to which Yun nodded solemnly. "It is. Humans are kinda super vulnerable for very long time periods."

"And in humans...their feeding...is the...big...chest thing…" Max looked away, flustered. Yun grinned. "Yup~ If you're curious, I'm pretty sure Mabel would be glad to show you."

Max squeaked and Yun clapped her hands. "Also~ Everyone is technically an animal, at some point." Yun shrugged. "Humans descend from this big fella." she showed him a materialized picture of an ape and laughed at Max's disturbed face.

"Ugh! Humans don't look like that!" He complained and Yun showed him other reptile pictures, a crocodile, a gecko and an iguana. "And you dont look like these guys, but here we are~ That's called evolution. Species lose or gain different traits to adapt better to where they live so they can survive. You are bipedal like humans, but can also walk on 4 legs, because such a thing was useful for your lifestyle and survival."

"Then… where do Mermando's people go?" Max blinked up at the wall. "Is HE a mammal? But from the sea? Like a lion seal or a dolphin?"

"That's actually a good question, you see…" Yun reached up to hold up a picture of a very strange looking animal. "Sometimes, there are animals who exhibit traits that aren't normally found in their branch of life. Like this Platypus for example. It's a mammal but it lays eggs."

"Whoa…" Max stared at the picture. It looked so fake.

"So here's the thing. Mermando can't breath air directly. He can only filter it out from water." Yun looked up at the wall. "And he's cold blooded, like you, and like other fish." then Yun placed the picture of Mermando on the branch that was Fish, but with an arrow beside it pointing to Mammal. "So, by all accounts, he is a fish more than a mammal. And yet, he's capable of breeding with aquatic mammals. And even humans." Yun made a bit of a face at that. "Which doesn't make much sense, but there's a common ancestor somewhere down here," she pointed at the area close to the 'trunk' of the tree near where the branches split, "That kept a bunch of unique traits even as it moved out and up…"

"And he feeds babies with milk too…" Max made a thinking face. "It's so cool, knowing all this...I would have never known about science knowledge if...if I had a different scale color." Max gasped at his epiphany. "Because then, I'd already be married and I would never have met Mabel or Mr. Pines or you, Great Dragon."

"I'm pretty sure you would have learned a lot of stuff anyway, how you look doesn't change your abilities and how clever you are. And curious!" Yun poked his nose with one of her hands. She felt it colder again so she increased the room's temperature to make Max more comfortable.

"I d-don't know about that." Max looked down at his feet. "I would have been nesting with eggs and pups. I wouldn't even have time to want to learn stuff." Yun reached over to ruffle his hair. "You would have been unsatisfied all your life." Yun told him sadly, "But you have the chance to learn anything you want here with me." She said seriously and Max hugged the alien tightly, nuzzling into her side. "Thank you Great Dragon!"

"You're welcome, pup~"

There was a knocking sound and Max glanced at Dr. Pines who looked over at him with a smile. "Max. I'm sorry for being underskilled in my ability to teach you, I volunteered to teach you but I didn't respect you, your beliefs or the ways you learn." He put 4 diplomas of his online courses on the table. "I...I'd love to share my knowledge with you, to expand your own knowledge in the best way that suits you."

Max smiled easily. "Ok Mr. Pines!" He didn't mind really. The fact that Mr. Pines was even wanting to teach him was already amazing. Yun coo'ed at the adorable smile. "Ohhh~" She ran up to hug Max to her chest. "I wanna adopt you~" she purred. Max blinked. Ford sighed and buried his face in his hands. "Max is an adult."

"So am I," Yun huffed.

"But I...have my parents." They were busy with the new batch of eggs they were having, but he HAD them.

"I don't care~" Yun nuzzled against him, "Oh you're so cuuuuuute~" she had a void inside her that only CHILDREN could fill. Was that wrong? "Baaaaaby~!"

Ford shook his head and helped Max free himself from Yun's grip. "I want to hear about you and your culture Max, everything you like and the things you've learned." He had his own teaching method now. He wasn't going to explain it from zero, he'd use what Max already knew (almost what Yun had been doing these past few weeks but Ford didn't need his self esteem broken) as a base to build up the rest of his learning.

Yun sat down on the side and watched Ford with a tiny smile. He was a fuckin idiot, but she loved this about him, when he cared about something, he was capable of being his best. It was the passion with which he did things, it was quite attractive.

Ford worked hard with Max for the rest of the month and there was a clear improvement. From a daily topic it would derive in many other things, it wasn't divided rigidly in school subjects. Like, if Max talked about the Queen's laws and way of ruling with the priestesses, Ford would begin explaining how human also had monarchies before and they compare the characteristics with Max's city and way of life, it would also turn into a discussion about what a good ruler should be like and Max would learn about humans called 'philosophers' whose job was THINKING. It was so strange and awesome! And Ford found himself...actually having fun, teaching Max. It even made more sense to him, to teach a different species how humans worked. It was entirely different from teaching the interns.

Ford blinked when he felt four sets of hands wrapping around him. "Yun?" she purred against him. "You're doing a good job, so I'm giving you affection as a way to let you know how proud I am of you~"

"That's... very specific, but thank you." Ford laughed. He was glad to get to teach and mentor Max again, properly this time.

Max ended up spending Thanksgiving with Ford, Soos, Melody and Abuelita, much to Mabel's complete anger. (You're stealing my boyfriend!)

And as for how Yun/Miz spent her Thanksgiving, well…

The fall air was nippy and Seb sneezed when a cold breeze went by. Ugh. He sniffled and continued raking the leaves. He WOULD use his powers but this was the front yard and the whole neighborhood could see him. The former demon sighed as he moved the take. Stupid trees and their whole, dropping leaves thing. Why were there so many oak and maple trees here anyway? Why weren't there more evergreens? At least those don't need to be raked up, right?

"Weeee!'' Zoe squealed before she leapt right into the pile of leaves Seb had worked so hard to make. She scattered the crunchy, dead plant material as she waved her arms around. Seb felt like crying. He worked so hard on that. In fact, his eye welled up with angry tears.

"ZOE PINES! YOU-YOU DEMON!" He sobbed angrily as the girl continued to throw the leaves carelessly into the air so the wind could blow them around the yard.

"You know what, kid?" Seb growled. He made her stand up, pulled her out of the leaf pile with a scowl. "I was working on that, and you ruined it. Now YOU have to do it." He gave the rake to her and sat down. Zoe looked at the instrument and frowned. "But...but I'm little. I can't work."

"Is this your house?" Seb sneered and Zoe nodded slowly. "Then you are contributing. Now start sweeping." Zoe pouted but her father didn't let up so she grumbled and began raking the leaves.

Seb watched with a satisfied smirk as his demon daughter worked. She deserved that, and he was teaching them how to rake leaves. Everyone won. When Zoe was almost done, after she moaned and complained loudly, sometimes even sobbed as if she was being hit (that kid didn't know what being hit was.), Wanda came out of the house to check on them. She was wearing a light blue turtleneck and she looked so pretty…

"Mommy! I'm being tortured! Help!" Zoe sniffled. It was getting a bit colder. She was dressed in long sleeves for that reason. Seb snorted. "You're doing chores is what you're doing." Wanda crossed her arms with a grin as Zoe sobbed and continued working. "Zach should work too!" She complained.

"Your brother isn't a nightmare child like you~" Seb poked her nose. "Don't worry. You're almost done anyway." he turned to look at his wife and Wanda smiled before kissing his chilly nose. "Sebas, are we going to spend Thanksgiving with your family or at my mom's?" It was two weeks away after all.

"Well, I wanted to bother Shermie this year with our presence, you know how he never sets up his house for any of our family get-togethers? I think that's pretty dumb because that means he has to drive or pay for pla-Sorry. I got distracted. What were ya saying?"

Wanda rolled her eyes. "Where we will stay for this holiday."

"Um…I don't mind going to your parent's house! Your niblings love me!" Seb grinned. Wanda rolled her eyes. "Because you give them money!"

"Does that take away from the fact that they love me?" Seb raised an eyebrow and the blonde laughed. "Alright…" he got her there. Her family loved Seb, they thought he was a nice hot boy back when they were teenagers and now that he was a successful designer, they liked him even more. Her uncles were forced to eat their words!

"Oh right. I haven't introduced Miz to my family yet." they heard about the adopted daughter but didn't know the details.

Zach and Miz came out of the house as well, upon which, Zach noticed the pile of leaves. "Weeee!" The other twin squealed before running towards the pile, and of course, destroyed it.

Zoe's eyes turned bright red as Seb shook his head. "That's how it feels, kid."

"AAAAHHHHHHH!"

-.-

A little bruise on the cheek and an ice bag for a certain blond boy later, Wanda informed the twins and Miz about the plans for next week. She was pretty happy to see her family again.

"Cool! I'll meet my other grandparents!" Miz cheered. Wanda was really happy for that as well. Her parents had been sad they couldn't meet Miz immediately after her adoption.

Their plans to go back to Pennsylvania for the holidays were totally cancelled when, 2 days later, Seb and Wanda were awoken by a strange noise coming from downstairs. "Seb…" Wanda whispered nervously but the man put a comforting hand on her shoulder. He mentally locked the kids' door and jumped out of bed before looking under it. He grabbed his gun and grinned. "This is why, despite all the shit I hate about it, I like this country's love for guns."

He instructed Wanda to stay there and slowly walked downstairs, growling. That bastard was going to pay for interrupting his sleep. He crept down the stairs and, with his gun held steady, he flicked on the lights. "You have 5 seconds to get out of my house or-!" he paused when he saw who it was.

"Rico?!" Seb gaped and lowered his gun. "What?! ¡¿Qué mierda haces en mi casa?!" He demanded in Spanish.

The tall, bulky Colombian man grinned and closed the front door. He even had the stupidity to enter from the front door! Was he insane?! Well, Seb wasn't one to judge anyone's sanity...but still!

"Hello, gringo. Can't I just pay a visit to an old pal?" Rico casually looked around. Nice place. Clean but with plenty of things lying around to give it a very comfortable, lived in feel. There was a corner of the room with a shelf filled with art supplies around a desk with many drawers that was covered in paper scraps and tiny paper animals. Another desk next to it had plastic animals and dinosaur toys that had been cut into pieces and hot glued back together in different combinations. A third desk had tiny model airplanes and jets that seemed to be from one of those Make-it-Yourself toy sets. Rico figured those must be the work desks for Seb's children. It was incredibly adorable.

"At 3 am?" Seb asked unimpressed. "By breaking in?! I know you're a criminal and all...but...why like this!?" he lowered his gun but didn't put it away. "I could have shot you."

"Bah, I've survived worse…" Rico waved a hand and set a duffle bag on the floor. "Hey, you lost an eye, awesome. You don't have that healing power anymore? That was pretty awesome too. I still remember when you had that knife in your stomach. Gross, your guts were almost trying to come out."

"Why are you in my house?" Seb asked tiredly and massaged his eye. He didn't bother to cover his empty, scarred eye socket. The Colombian man had never come here, they always met away from here. Away from Seb's new life with his loving, innocent family. "Thanks for the visual memory...I-I love remembering my near death experiences." He healed small stuff faster than normal, but if he died now, he would die for real.

Rico laughed. "Lo siento. Anyway. I'm gonna be staying here for a while." He looked around. "You have a guest bedroom? I don't mind the couch but…" he looked over at the children sized desks in the corner of the living room. "I don't know if your wife would appreciate me being so close to your kids." He grinned. "How ARE your kids by the way? Still can't believe you got hitched. You were always a lucky Bastard."

"WHAT?!" Seb frowned. "M-My kids?" He said intelligently and utterly confused. "Yes, your kids. you know, the ones that came after you had sex. Your woman is hot." Rico nodded solemnly.

Seb finally recovered from his shock enough to process the important part of Rico's words. "S-Stay?! You can't stay! Whatever you did, it's not my problem. I worked for you a long time ago and I'm fine with helping you with little things occasionally. Keeping you here is HUGE!" He hissed.

"I don't have another choice, kid. I'm being followed by our rivals. They are bastards! They make our job look like a nice legal job! And we are saints compared to those pieces of shits! Their leader changed recently and he wants me dead." Rico frowned. "I am starting to think you don't want me here."

"No! I don't!" Seb pushed the man with all his might but didn't move him an inch. " I have a wife and three children that YOU will put in danger! Go hide somewhere else! Urghh!" Seb continued pushing him.

Rico blinked in amusement. "We can make a deal for that?" he held out his hand. "You like those, right?" Seb groaned and rubbed his forehead. "Look Rico, I owe you a lot. Don't think I'm not grateful for everything you've done for me-"

"Like being willing to make those fake adoption papers for your newest daughter before your wife came up with a legal way to do it instead. She's quite cute by the way. Don't know where you found her but hey, I know you aren't the type to hurt a child-"

"I didn't kidnap Miz." Seb growled. Rico placed a hand on Seb's shoulder. "The point is, you owe me for more stuff~ I keep protectin' ya, you know? Your business is growing, some people aren't happy 'bout that."

He had rivals? Seb had no idea. "...Really?"

"None of my enemies know I am here and I will not be leaving the house or drawing attention to you. I had 5 other fake trails to throw them on a, what's the phrase, wild duck chase."

''It's a goose." Seb corrected. Rico nodded. "I haven't drawn any of them here, your family is safe. I just need a place to stay for a week...or two." Seb groaned. "We were going to head to Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving…"

"Ah! Yes. Thanksgiving! The holiday for being kind to your fellow man and repaying them for favors past." Rico slung an arm around Seb's shoulders. "You can't throw me out to the streets before Thanksgiving! Why, that would be cruel." Rico hugged Seb close to him. "You wouldn't want me to live on the streets, cold and hungry would you?"

Seb groaned again. "I can't make a decision like that without my wife…" He had to talk to Wanda. Helping Rico couldn't be that hard? It was just 7 days? "Quédate. Aquí." Seb ordered the man and Rico laughed. "Wouldn't want to go anywhere else."

"I'll talk to Wanda, don't touch or steal anything…" Rico looked offended. "We don't steal from our gente."

Seb went back upstairs where he found Wanda pacing nervously holding her phone with 911 typed in. She just needed to press call. "Seb! Oh thank goodness! What happened?!" She hugged him tightly and Seb smiled sheepishly. "Ok...let's just say...it's an old friend…" He grabbed the phone from her and erased the number. No need to get the cops involved.

"A friend?! At this hour?!" Wanda hissed.

"Do you promise not to panic or scream or wake up the kids if I show you?" Seb grimaced and after taking a deep breath, Wanda accepted. "Ok…"

The couple walked downstairs, Wanda was trembling with fear and anticipation, but when they got downstairs, she saw nothing. "Urgh, that bastard, I told him to stay here!" Seb hissed. There was a shuffling noise. They followed the noise to the kitchen and Wanda gasped as Seb scowled at Rico who was assaulting the fridge.

"What the fuck did I tell you?!" Seb snarled and the criminal looked up with a grin. "Sorry, got hungry." He shrugged, not looking sorry at all. Wanda held onto Seb's arm. "Seb, who is this?" the man certainly looked suspicious, she didn't want to judge but he was a man who broke into their house at 3 in the morning so she wasn't feeling very charitable at the moment.

"Ugh, this is Rico. The guy who helped me forge documents and fake Ford's death years ago." Seb said, squeezing Wanda's hand gently. The lawyer immediately understood. This was the man who Seb wanted help with to forge Miz's birth certificates and other paperwork for the adoption. She narrowed her eyes.

"Well, hello, preciosa~" Rico grinned. "Let me say you look much more beautiful in person~" Seb groaned as Wanda continued glaring. "Pines…." (Oh no, last name!) "What is your delinquent friend doing in our house?" she was trying very hard to be civil. As a person who cared a lot about the law...

"He needs a place to stay for a week…" Sebastian sighed. "Or two." Rico added but Seb glared at him. "Don't push me." he looked back at his wife. "And he wants to stay...here?"

"What?! No! Are you insane?!"

"A little, yeah." Seb nodded but Wanda looked angrier. "What are you thinking?! You can't keep a delinquent here! What if the police find him?! Do you want to go to prison?! I certainly don't! I send people to prison!" She hissed angrily. ("Hah. Delinquent. Not feeling up to calling me a criminal?") "Think of the twins, Sebastian!" She was mostly worried for them. She loved Miz, and she knew the dragon would be totally fine if something happened, she wasn't really a kid. But the twins were just 5! They were barely out of babyhood! And the idiot she had for a husband wanted to keep a multiple mafia leader here?!

"I'm not happy with this either but I can't throw him out! I owe Rico a lot. And he won't be going outside or anything."

The two looked at the latino who was happily eating their food. Wanda scowled. "Sebastian, no...please...what about my family? You said we could go! We always spend holidays with your family…"

Seb raised an eyebrow. "But you never said you didn't like it...I thought you liked my family." He pouted. Wanda sighed and pulled her hair. "I like them, they're all pretty weird and crazy and-! And that's not even the point, Sebastian William Pines!" She cried exasperatedly. "I don't want him in my house!"

"...Please?" Seb pouted hard. "He helped me too…?" Rico nodded and pouted at the blonde too. "Please? I can assure you no one will find me here during this time. I just need to hide while my men work on everything. I will not do anything to your kids. I love these babies as if they were my own sobrinos!" Rico grinned.

Wanda groaned even louder and bit her hand. What to do?! What to do?! "If you stay, you will follow my conditions!" she hissed and the two men nodded quickly. "No going outside! No mafia shit here! You can't use the phone! Wear gloves, I don't want your fingerprints everywhere! And do not approach my kids if we aren't nearby!" She listed off. She knew what could lead the police to someone, that was her job, so she wanted to keep Rico as invisible as possible.

"He can stay then?" Seb smiled softly and Wanda sighed heavily. "I'll tell my mom we can't go…" Seb hugged her tightly and kissed her lips. "Thank you, Wands...I promise I'll repay you for this…"

"Sex is a good way to repay her. Must have done it well, no? You got twins." Rico said usefully. Seb and Wanda glared at him, slightly flustered.

Seb's hand caught on flames. "I'll keep you hidden from view for 20 days at most, away from everyone except us and our family, and you will stay inside the house during the entire time, in return, you'll follow everything we said and-and you'll still help us if we need it because we're taking a huge risk right now...deal?" Rico shook his hand happily, sealing the deal. Seb raised a hand and an invisible barrier was cast. It worked like Miz's perception filter but it also served to keep Rico inside. He nodded. This was fine.

"So~guest room?" Rico asked. Seb grumbled. "We have a guest wing of the house. Most of the rooms are claimed but there are a few empty ones…" He led Rico to the magic door and opened it. The hallway it led to was lined with doors. They had little plaques on them with peoples names. Stan/Carla. Shermie/Abigail. Diego/Dillon. So on and on.

Rico was staring at the hallway. He stepped out and looked to the side of where the door was located. He glanced back at the long hallway. Back out. Back in. "How?" He cried. The area made no sense. From the outside it looked like the door would lead to a closet. How was there so much space inside?!

Was this more of Sebastian's black magic? The immortality was amazing enough but THIS? Rico grinned. If he could get Sebastian to make more of these spaces for him...oh the possibilities.

"Now, this room hasn't been claimed yet. You can use this for now." Seb told him as he opened the door to a plaque-less room. "It's got it's own bathroom so you won't have to share with us." He turned to stare at Rico firmly. "Breakfast is at seven. My children have school and I have work to do. Please don't cause problems for my family."

"No problem, gringo. I will be on my best behavior." Rico placed a hand on his chest. He looked in to see his temporary place of residence and couldn't hold back a gasp. It was a simple room but it was big and the bed looked incredibly soft. He could see the door to the bathroom inside as well. There were no windows, a plus.

There was one thing though…

"Why is the wallpaper images of birds choking on food?" Rico asked as he squinted at what looked like a sparrow attempting to swallow an entire watermelon. Seb snorted. "Miz has a weird sense of humor."

"Your new daughter?"

"Yeah. She...was in charge of decorating." Seb shrugged. "Well, good night." Seb yawned. "See you in...like...3 hours...damn I am going to be exhausted tomorrow…" Seb turned and left.

"Please your wife! She deserves it for being so nice!" The man smiled and Seb groaned in embarrassment.

-.-

Seb had to wake up earlier than he expected. Wanda seemed to be still upset when she was getting ready for work (she didn't talk to him like she usually did) and Seb sighed tiredly. Now he had to solve this. All thanks to Rico.

Seb went to wake up the twins and Miz, who had been visiting her friends and was so deeply asleep she didn't hear a single thing that happened last night. "Zach...Zoe, wake up, you have school."

"Urgmmm…" Zoe moaned into her pillow. "A plane will crash and burn everyone...especially Mackenzie...She's a bi-"

"Wow, wow. Ok, no, no one's dying. Wake up." Seb forcibly made the three kids stand up. Miz rubbed her eyes as she blinked her sleep away. "Hey, Seb~ Good morning." she yawned.

"Ok, listen up you three. An...old friend paid me an...unexpected visit yesterday. He is...unpredictable and even if he is my friend, I haven't seen him for a while so, don't invite him to your room, don't stay alone with him, and we will be there when you are with him." Seb listed off in paranoia. He didn't want Rico anywhere near his children.

The twins blinked sleepily and shrugged. "Ok." They went off to get ready for the day. Miz started making her way downstairs to make breakfast. She hadn't bothered to change her clothes, still in her pajamas (an oversized long sleeve shirt made of cotton and bamboo that was incredibly soft). She yawned as she got downstairs and began pulling out eggs, bread and other things needed to make toasted sandwiches. She reached up to try and get the non-stick spray but couldn't quite reach it.

"Here." A large hand grabbed the item from the shelf and handed it to the girl. Miz stared in surprise at the large man for a few seconds before shrieking. Seb heard the scream from upstairs and ran down as fast as he could. "Dammit Rico! What did you do?!" He growled. If that Bastard hurt Miz he was gonna-

Seb stared at the scene before him. Miz was huddled behind the counter while looking up at…

Seb snorted. Rico was stuck to the ceiling. The crime boss's eyes were wide and confused. "Eh...she's got powers too?!"

Seb laughed. Miz saw him and ran over to cling to his side, half hiding behind him. Seb continued laughing. "This is Rico. The friend I mentioned, kid." Miz blinked before her eyes Flickered. "Oh. Should I put him down?"

"Nah. Leave him there until the twins go to school."

"Pines! ¡Bájame, idiota!" Rico insulted in Spanish, making Miz groan softly. Not Spanish again! Looks like she was going to have to do a refresher on that language.

"You know, it's not nice to insult the person putting a roof over your head." Seb replied in Spanish as well before turning to look at Miz. "Wanda already left. Can you make breakfast while I check on the twins?" Miz nodded and the man trotted upstairs.

Rico, still on the ceiling, rolled his eyes. Who knew 'Bill' would end up in such a domestic life? What a softie. Though…he tugged on his arms but found that he was quite stuck. Interesting. The little girl was glancing up at him now and then but ultimately ran off back upstairs, probably to get changed.

Rico watched her go. So that was Miz. A mysterious girl that came out of nowhere and had no identification papers of any kind. Rico knew the cover story of how she was from a small village in China that kept all their records on physical documents, which were destroyed in a fire, but the fact that she didn't even have immigration papers meant she was either an illegal immigrant or there was something bigger going on. Rico grinned even as he remained stuck to the ceiling. This was interesting.

The man sighed and looked at the floor. This was getting stupid. "Can you please let me down?!" He called but no one came. Eventually, Seb came down with Miz and his twins. The kids were tiny little blonds and they were so cute~

"Where is your friend?" The girl twin, Zoe, asked Seb. Her dad snorted and pointed up. The twins looked up at the ceiling and gasped when they saw a man there. "Is he a balloon?!"

"I am not a balloon." Rico narrowed his eyes. "Can you tell your dad to let me down?"

"Your accent is nice." Zach commented. Rico sighed. "Oi, gringo. Let me down." Seb cackled. "Nope."

Miz (now properly dressed) quickly popped some bread into the toaster, set up the coffee maker and cracked some eggs into the frying pan after spraying the non-stick. As Seb went to help the twins make sure their backpacks were fully stocked, Miz cut up some avocados and put some turkey slices onto the frying pan as well. The toast popped up and Miz smeared avocado onto them to set the toast on plates next to the stovetop so she could put the eggs and turkey onto them once they were done cooking.

Rico could smell it from up here and his stomach growled. It looked delicious.

Miz got some lettuce out for the sandwiches as well before putting the eggs (lightly sprinkled with garlic salt) and turkey onto the toasted bread with avocado and placing the lettuce on top before putting the other slice of bread on to finish the sandwiches.

Rico's mouth was watering.

Miz set the table and got out cups filled with milk for the kids, a coffee for Seb and some non-lactose milk for herself. She considered the plates of food before putting a ruffled slice of lettuce leaf to the side of the sandwich with some cherry tomatoes just to make them look nice.

Rico quietly sobbed when Seb and the twins came back in to eat without giving him any of the food or letting him down.

"Piinnees!" The colombian man cried. "Comee onnn! You can't leave me here! YOU agreed I could stay!" Seb snorted. "And you ARE staying...staying on the ceiling that is!"

"You will regret this!" Rico whined.

Zach looked up at the poor man and pouted, his noble heart aching. "Daddy, why is he on the ceiling? He must be hungry and his belly must be hurting."

"He startled me." Miz replied. She took a bite of her sandwich. "Though, I guess he DID help me get something from a shelf…" she looked over at Seb. "Should I let him down?"

Seb stroked his chin, looking at the begging man. "Well...I guess I did warn you he was here...it's not totally his fault you got scared…" He looked at Zach's pout, and he sighed. "Ok, ok. Put him down."

Miz waved her hand and lowered the man gently to the ground. She even materialized another sandwich, a perfect copy of one of the others, under the table and pulled it out to hand to Rico. "Here. You're lucky I only stuck you to the ceiling. Most of the time I end up tearing off limbs when I'm startled."

"Hahaha, awesome." Zoe grinned just as Zach complained "I'm eating!"

Rico looked at Seb who simply shrugged. "I know she's capable of that. Just sit and eat I guess." The older man smiled happily and sat down next to his friend, facing the little blond twins. "I like your scars. Where did you get them? My dad lost his eye in a huge fight with a mean guy." Zoe informed and overshared with him.

"Thanks, kid…" Rico looked between Zach and Zoe as he chewed his sandwich. "So...twins, huh? How does that feel?" the twins glanced at each other before shrugging. "I beat up people who are mean to Zach." Zoe said proudly. Seb sighed. "Yes, that's true. Literally beat them up."

"I think I like your kids more and more." Rico grinned. Magic, strong kids. How cool was that!?

"And why don't you beat them up yourself?" Rico asked Zach, who looked at his food. "It scares me…but I tell them not to bother me."

"Yeah, you see, speaking is useless. If you want someone to listen to you, you have to knock at least one tooth out of their mouths." Rico laughed.

"I'd appreciate you didn't teach that to the kids." Seb smiled. He also thought that, but he agreed with Wanda that they'd teach the kids to resolve problems in a pacifist way. Violence would just get them in trouble.

Rico scoffed. "Are you a man? You need to stand up for yourself. You can't let your sister fight for you." He told Zach. Miz kicked him under the table while glaring. Rico stared at her, astonished at her gall. He was really beginning to like her.

"I-I am a boy! And I can fight!" Zach nodded in his direction. Seb groaned softly. "No, no, don't fight. Ok, did you finish eating? I'll take you to school." He ushered the twins to stand up and led them to the living room to get their tiny backpacks. They were forced to take lots of things though, maybe it would be better to get them those backpacks with wheels.

""Bye, Miz!"" The little kids hugged the black-haired girl before facing the tall man. ""Bye, Uncle Rico!"" They waved before walking towards the door to their dad. The mafia leader blinked at the friendly treatment. Huh.

"I'll clean all this!" Miz called to Seb, who sent her a grateful smile before closing the door. "I'll be right back, ok? Feel free to stick him on the ceiling again if he's annoying you!" Rico leaned on his chair and finished eating his food. "That bastard…" Rico huffed before facing the girl. "So what? You don't go to school or something?"

"I graduated. Took my exams, aced them. So I'm taking a 'break' before college." She shrugged. "I like not being forced to sit at a desk listening to someone talk about things I know more about than they do."

Rico nodded slowly. "School is stupid." He agreed. "And, you got powers because you live here now? Pines' powers are like, transmitted? Will I get them if I stay here longer?"

Miz laughed. "Nope. I have my own powers. And nope, definitely nope. Seb's powers aren't transmitted by contact, I think his are genetic." She waved her hands to get the plates into the sink to wash. Rico settled in his chair and watched her work. "Your own powers huh? Is that why he adopted you?"

Miz shrugged. "I was already living with them. I guess mommy wanted to make it official." She finished cleaning the dishes and went about her daily chores.

Rico watched the girl bring down baskets of dirty clothes and walk off to the laundry room. He blinked at how domestic it all was despite the...powers he knew the girl had. He let her work and went to the couch to watch TV. He hadn't watched TV in a while. It didn't take long before the always active man groaned loudly. "I'm bored!"

Miz shrugged. "Read?" The man stared at her as if she grew a second head. She sighed and sat down in front of him on another couch. "Why are you here anyway?" she asked.

"Someone wants my head." Rico said easily but Miz laughed. "Fun, but why here? At this house?" Rico leaned back lazily. "Because it's the last place they'd look. A boring little suburban neighborhood with charming little civilian families, white picket fences and just the furthest from the criminal underworld as anything."

"Nah." Miz grinned. "You came here because Seb is someone you actually trust. And because a boring neighborhood like this is free from anyone who might be after you. Isn't it?"

Rico sighed and stared at the ceiling. "Well...Pines was like my right hand man when he was younger… I guess I...trust him...which is really stupid for someone like me. Trusting is lowering your guard, you know? But Wil-er, Sebastian proved to be a good ally."

Miz nodded slowly. "Seb's a good kid. A better man than we deserve." she laid down on another couch. "So, if you ever betray him…" She turned her head slowly, eyes bright red and glowing. "...I'll tear you apart limb by limb and eat them."

Rico gasped and nodded quickly. "Completely understood!"

Miz smiled brightly, looking like a normal child again. "Great! So, would you mind accompanying me to the entrance for a second?" Rico was confused at the weird questions but agreed anyway. Miz led him to the back door and skipped into the backyard. She watched in amusement as Rico stepped out, or rather, tried to. The Colombian cried as an electric shock suddenly ran down his spine and he was forced to step back.

"What the fuck!"

Miz laughed. "Oh, so that's what it does! Seb hasn't lost his touch!" She had felt a trace of magical weirdness when she woke up, but she wasn't really sure what it was exactly and wanted to test it out. Seb had made deal then. Interesting. His powers worked so differently from her own. "I guess you made a Deal to not leave the house. I wonder why it's electrified though?"

She came back inside the house where Rico was grumbling. "Well, I'm gonna go work on my stuff." She nodded to him before walking off to her personal work desk. Rico watched as she pulled out some paper and began folding. She had a pretty sizable collection of origami animals by this point. The twins loved them and would play with the larger ones she made.

She got the supplies needed for making them into jewelry and was going to get a decent stock of wares made before she tried to start her own online store. Wanda helped her make a Betsy account and Miz was hoping to be able to make money off selling handmade wares. Like she had tried to do back in her first life.

"Are you making origami?" Rico raised an eyebrow. Miz nodded without looking up at him. "I love it. Have you ever tried?" She asked curiously, and to her surprise, the man nodded slowly.

"Yes…At a, how you say, juvenile correctional as a boy…" He admitted softly. "It was entertaining, and I never forgot how to make them." Miz wordlessly handed him a piece of colorful paper. Rico fiddled with it and there were a few minutes of quiet broken only by the sounds of paper being pressed and folded.

"Look. A bird." Rico held up a crane. Miz smiled. "That's pretty good. I tried to teach Seb but he's awful at it. He can sew expertly but paper? Nope." She folded a corner and hummed. "Which is really weird. He's usually pretty good at handicrafts. He paints, and knits and sews like a professional. Origami is his weakness, I guess. My mom is really bad at art in general, her mind is her strength basically. Zoe doesn't pay attention to follow the steps. Zach is the only one who can actually finish one animal." She laughed.

Rico chuckled softly and grabbed another piece of paper to make another animal. He didn't really know a lot of folds. He made a turtle, a boat and a frog. Miz placed them up in a row on her desk next to her own work. Rico squinted at them. "Why are you making them so small?" He asked.

Miz pulled open a drawer to reveal some wires and beads, jewelry making supplies. "I'm gonna turn them into earrings. So they're supposed to be small."

Rico nodded slowly. "Nice. I have never seen earrings with origami. Good job, I guess." The Colombian man shrugged and Miz grinned. "Thanks, do you want to help me?"

"Well, I have nothing else to do, so why not?" Miz taught him how to make some more stuff in a tiny version before they started working. That was how Seb found them. Sitting around the table folding origami. And he couldn't believe his eye. Rico was cursing quietly everytime he dropped the paper or accidentally tore it. "It's so small! My fingers are too big!" He grumbled. Miz giggled as the large man struggled. Seeing him hunched over the desk was a weird scene, Rico was nearly twice Miz's size.

Seb couldn't hold it anymore and snorted loudly. He covered his mouth with his hands and managed to muffle his laughter. The two people on the table heard him though and Rico immediately let go of the paper. "Whatcha starin' at?"

"Nothing! Definitely not you doing origami." Seb laughed and Rico growled. "Don't you have work to do, Pines?"

"Oh yes." Seb nodded. "I work at home. I would have taken less time to get back but there was an accident so the cops and the ambulance were blocking the road." He rolled his eye. "Miz, it's your turn to make lunch, I'll go clean the rooms, is that ok?" The man asked and the demon gave him a thumbs up.

"Come on. I'm gonna make some egg fried rice." Miz told Rico as she put down her supplies and skipped off to the kitchen. Rico wasn't sure what to do now. He would have offered to help but his cooking was...basic. "Oi. Tall man. Hand me the garlic salt. It's in the spice shelf over there." Miz called out and Rico moved to grab the items on tall shelves for her.

The man still wasn't sure what to think of the girl. She looked like a normal little girl but he knew she was actually kinda scary and controlled...dark magic? Yeah, that must be it. He wondered when he had accepted that dark magic and supernatural stuff was real. He had never heard of it until he met Pines. "I guess I won't be able to meet my other grandma and grandpa this year…" Miz said as she searched for every ingredient. "So, I'm assuming you're staying with us for Thanksgiving? Have you ever celebrated it?"

Rico raised a hairy eyebrow and huffed. "No? I'm not from this country, remember? Besides, I don't get it."

"What's not to get? The country takes a moment in history that was originally about how their ancestors leeched off the native people in this land for their own gain and spin it to make it seem like a good thing by teaching people an altered version of the events. Then capitalism takes over to push sales of specific food products around this time of year so all the big businesses can profit." She shrugged. "But it's also an excuse to have family reunions, eat food until you faint and awkwardly try to avoid talking about politics."

"Yes. That's what I don't get. It is pretty hypocritical, but-" He shrugged. "Who cares? This country is weird and full of weird traditions."

Miz laughed. "Welcome to America. The land of the hypocrites!"

Rico fake cheered as well and the two laughed. "But you know what're holidays I can REALLY get behind?" Miz asked. "Halloween! When people get a free pass to run around at night, screaming like lunatics. That's why I chose it as my birthday! Though I am kinda upset at how modern society ruined it." She sighed. "It used to be about the whole 'protect ourselves from being eaten by demons by pretending to be one of them' and now I see people dressed as Sexy Hotdogs and other shit. How's that supposed to stop demons from eating them? Dressing up to look like attractive FOOD?!"

Rico cackled loudly, hitting the table as he wheezed. "Can't breathe!"

"Shut up!" Seb shouted from upstairs and the latino wiped a tear from his eye. "It's true...Halloween is just another way to make money." Miz looked at him and nodded. "Yeah... you're smarter than you look, dude."

Rico huffed annoyed. "I'm the mastermind behind a professional traffic network of multiple criminal gangs. I don't think I can be classified as 'dumb'." Miz rolled her eyes. "Never called you dumb, just smarter than you look." She looked him up and down. "No offence, you look like a thug."

"Ah, well, thank you~" Rico bowed dramatically and Miz laughed. Ok, she definitely liked this man. He was actually pretty fun!

Rico accompanied Miz as she cooked and talked about different topics, the origins of holidays, traditions and culture. Rico wasn't sure at first if he should share stories about his work, but the girl made him feel like he could trust her, tell her whatever she wanted to know. Besides, he promised not to say anything about her powers as well so it would be a mutual understanding of keeping each other's secrets. They barely realized it was midday when Seb poked his head into the kitchen.

"I'll pick up the twins! Be right back." He raised a curious eyebrow at them who barely paid attention to him as they talked animatedly. He shrugged and went to his car, and he couldn't help but think Wanda wasn't going to like Miz getting along with Rico.

The food was done and Miz was just making the side dish and dessert by this point. Rico's mouth watered. Pines got to eat food like this every day? Lucky Bastard. A hot wife, adorable kids, nice house, job...and Rico found himself feeling...happy. Happy for him. Happy that the crazy, broken kid he'd met all those years ago had found a life for himself.

He settled down in a chair to watch Miz put on the finishing touches on lunch. Fried rice with eggs, chicken, diced vegetables and cheese sprinkled on top to melt into the rice as she stirred and flipped it. Another plate with pineapple shrimp and walnuts dribbled with a sweet sauce. Then she put in some cookies to bake in the oven. Rico stared. "Cookies too?"

"Zoe ate the last of our cookies. I need to refill the cookie jar."

"This is a lot of food. More people live here?" Rico asked confused and Miz laughed. "You'd be surprised how much Seb and my siblings eat, especially Zoe. Mom only eats dinner on a weekday. There's more food on the weekends." The man sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Wow, ok, ok…so, we have to wait for them to eat or?"

"Yes." Miz rolled her eyes. She was hungry too but she had to wait for her family. The plates had been cursed to keep the food warm until they were eaten so she didn't have to worry about that. Still, she was hungry~

"If they don't get back soon I'm gonna teleport them." Miz grumbled. Rico's head shot up. "You can teleport people?" He said with interest. He could see so many ways to use such a power for his...work. Miz nodded, staring at the food longingly. "But mommy says I'm not supposed to do that. She gets upset when I break physics."

Rico laughed. "Can you teleport people and things to anywhere? How far is your range?" He asked. Miz hummed. "As long as I can use my powers to See the location, I can teleport there. I can See most of the world but there are places in the ocean or stuff like that where I have less Eyes." She shrugged, seeing no issue with answering. (She answered questions if asked, that's just how she was. And she didn't dislike this man, since he was Seb's 'friend'.)

Rico allowed a grin to appear on his face. "Hey. I sometimes have packages I need to deliver. Do you think you could help me out with that?" The little girl gave him a considering look. "What's in it for me?"

The two bartered back and forth, Rico even got a Deal out of it. He doesn't cause harm to her family and she would listen to his requests, but she didn't have to do them if she didn't want to. And if she DID do something for him, he would need to give her something in exchange. Rico felt like he had scored the jackpot since all this child wanted were things like a new doll or a pretty jacket she saw online. Things that would be easily procured once he was freed from his Deal with Sebastian and could leave the house.

They had just finished shaking hands when the front door opened and the two partners in crime pretended to be talking about something else. "So that's why you can't eat chicken eggs raw."

"Miz!" The twins ran up to hug their big sister. Miz giggled and picked them up "Welcome home, nuggets!" The siblings giggled. Seb rolled his eye. "Come on, kids. Lunch and then homework. Remember to wash your hands first."

"You're such a father, gringo." Rico grinned at him. Seb stuck his tongue out. "Shut up, you're just jealous."

"Nah~Los mocosos are not my thing." The older man shook his head with a grin. The twins came back, having washed their hands as soon as possible because they also were hungry, and ran back to the kitchen. Miz put the warm plates and utensils on the table so everyone could sit down to eat.

"Are you going to be on the ceiling again?" Zoe asked Rico with a grin, and the man huffed with half-heartedly annoyance. "You know I leave people hanging from the ceiling too?"

"Like balloons?" Zach asked innocently and Rico stuffed his mouth with food before answering. "Definitely. They even have the ropes and all~" Seb coughed as he choked with his food, while Miz and Zoe just laughed. That was disturbing and so hilarious~ "Ok, we don't need to hear that on the table." Seb coughed. He didn't want his kids getting the wrong message on what is and isn't ok. Sure, he thought morbid humor was hilarious, but he needed to set a good example, right?

Rico shut up, obeying the orders of his temporary boss, but he and the little girl shared a maniac grin. Hours later, Seb screamed when he came out of his office and saw stuffed toys and dolls hanging from the ceiling with ropes around their necks, nicely decorating the living room.

"ZZOOOEEE!"

He had a lot of explaining to do when his wife came back, catching him pulling down the toys with a very grounded Zoe and Rico. Miz only got out of being grounded as well because she cited the fact that she was helping Zach with his homework as her alibi for not being involved with it.

-.-

Wanda was pissed. She didn't like having the man at the house. He was a bad influence for their already (kinda) crazy kids! The rest of the week she showed her discomfort, but Rico wasn't leaving until the deal was done.

"I don't want him here for Thanksgiving!" She whined at Seb, who blinked. "But...that's the whole point of it, isn't it?" Wanda groaned softly and buried her face into his chest. "Bad enough I couldn't introduce our new daughter to my family...but we have to house this CRIMINAL in our house?!"

"Look, I owe him a lot. He also been keeping an eye on us for our protection." Competition in the fashion industry seems very dangerous apparently. "It's only a little more. He's in hiding from some worse men who want him dead. I can't just...toss him to the street." Wanda sighed, hugging her husband. He was too kind for his own good. "Fine. But I'm going to set the house rules for him from now on."

Wanda was mainly annoyed that she couldn't go see her family. She wanted to introduce her new daughter but this had to happen and it was put off for another few months all over again. "I just don't want him being a bad influence on the kids."

"I'll keep an eye on them. Don't worry." Seb assured her. "And I promise we'll visit your family next, I'm awesome, but my family can surely live a day without me…" He said dramatically and the blonde laughed before kissing his nose.

Seb sighed. "I want to buy turkey already!"

He liked making turkey, it was delicious, mom taught him how to do it…

And he loved leaving it to thaw out in the twins' room to make them scream. Ah~ a classic.

...forget Rico, SEB was probably the worst influence…

To Seb's despair, Rico and Miz actually got along very well. He once caught Rico bent over Miz, brushing and braiding her long hair before she repaid the favor. Seb just watched Miz twisting ribbons into Rico's hair and wondered what was happening. Miz glanced over and waved. "Hey Seb~"

"..." Seb turned and walked back to the kitchen. Miz scoffed. "He acts like he's never seen socializing before."

"Is that what this is?" Rico wondered, holding still so Miz could tie the end of his braid shut. She hummed. "By the way, I delivered the shipment." She said casually, as if she had just run a package to the mailbox instead of teleporting crates of illegal imports past the border. Rico grinned wide. This child was a gold mine.

Her only real limit was that she wouldn't do anything that would hurt people. No human trafficking. Nothing that could be considered sexual slavery. No drugs that would hurt people. She also mentioned she refused to kill for him. "Did enough of that to last multiple lifetimes."

Rico had paused at that. She's killed for someone before? He shivered. How deadly were this child's powers? Who had used her? Was that why Sebastian adopted her? So that she wouldn't be used like that again? (And Rico found himself angry at whoever it was that had done that to her. He'd gotten to know Miz over the past week, and she was a delightful child. The idea of someone making her do something so horrible was-)

So Rico made requests from her to transport supplies and medicine instead, so that his gang could send it out to sell to the unlicensed doctors. She kept a little notebook with a list of what Rico owed her once he was freed from Seb's house arrest. She had stared at Rico seriously and stated quite simply that if he didn't deliver, she was magically contract-ly obligated to make him suffer. Rico shivered again. Miz was a cool kid, but she terrified him half the time.

She continued stroking his hair with a smile. Weird girl. But he liked her, she was great for making deals with.

The twins eventually joined them, taking their toys and playing quietly to not feel excluded.

Miz asked to play and soon her and Dad's friend were playing with them. Daddy said he couldn't be invited to their rooms but this was the living room!

As they played, Seb was preparing everything for lunch. He needed to buy turkey, now that he thought about it...He was glad all of his brothers were going to their in-laws this year. Ford was portaling over to their mother's place and she had agreed excitedly. She liked spending time with her oldest son.

Sir Bedazzle begged for treats under his feet and Seb sighed before pulling out a bit of sugar and pouring it on the floor. The acorn puppy yipped happily and started licking the brown sugar.

"Refrigerator, refrigerator...Yes, papa? Do you have sauces~? No, papa...Telling lies, no, papa...open your door~" Seb sang to himself softly. The twins watched weird videos and he couldn't help but learn the songs from them.

Wanda would be home soon (she was so cute! Getting off work earlier because she was worried for their safety!) and he wanted to make sure there was plenty of delicious food for his family.

And his guest. He would make delicious food for everyone in the house…

He worked silently, with Sir Bedazzle loyally watching him work, his plant tail wagging lazily. It was moments like this, when everything was too quiet in his mind...that he kinda missed Bill2. He had lived more time with him making snarky comments in his mind than not…

Did he miss getting bullied by a voice in his head? No, it would mean the stupidly expensive therapy he had when the twins were babies didn't help him shit. At least he didn't hurt himself anymore, he was better...just not completely fixed, and he was ok with that. Where would the fun be if he was completely normal?

He shook his head. Lunch. He was going to do lunch, Wanda's favorite because she deserved it...In a few days, he would have a turkey, then he would stuff it with delicious stuff, maybe make rice too, mashed potatoes, uuhh arabic rice! Pie, a cake, what should he put there? He found a cool recipe with N&Ns, and fudge~

Seb fantasized distractedly with food, not making said food. When he realized he spaced out, he jumped back to his feet to take out the ingredients. "Sir Bedazzle, bite me if I get distracted again!"

The acorn dog barked happily. His attempts at biting were more adorable than painful since he didn't have teeth but he was going to try his best!

As Seb worked in the kitchen, Zach was moving his toys around as the three kids and one adult crafted a story about how the polar bear mailman were fighting off the monsters that lived around the world so they could deliver the packages. As they played, Rico found himself feeling...happy. This domestic life was boring and mundane but he was enjoying himself. Rico wondered about that. Him? The crime lord? Playing with some kids?

He shook his head. Bah. This was simply an escape from work, a...vacation-al prison arrest. He didn't really want this for himself (ew), but he was fond of the kids because their father was his old partner.

Even if Thanksgiving was still next week, Wanda was coming back from work sooner. For the day after Thanksgiving, she was taking a day off. The twins and Miz loved when she was home all day, they missed her.

The door's lock was opened and the blonde came into the room, deadpanning at the sight. Rico was with the kids in the living room, alone. And Seb said he would keep an eye on him, huh? She smelled food though, so she guessed he needed to make lunch. Was it pasta with pesto sauce and grilled salmon that she smelled?!

"Mommy!" Zach squealed and ran towards her.

"Hey baby~did you have fun today?" Wanda picked up her son to cuddle. He squealed when she tickled his belly. Zoe and Miz ran over for hugs as well. "Welcome home mommy!" "Did you kick a bad guy to jail today?" Zoe asked.

"Well, we still need to get the papers processed. But there is a bad man who's going to be put away for a very long time." Wanda glanced over at Rico and narrowed her eyes. Rico shivered. Why had Bill married a freaking lawyer anyway?!

"Hello to you too, cariño." Rico nodded.

"We killed monsters today." Zoe grinned. Wanda looked over to see cotton stuffing scattered around the floor. She sighed. Zoe ripped up her dolls again. She wished her daughter wasn't so violent when she played. She wasn't sure why she bought them toys anymore, if Zoe was going to destroy them. It was like dog toys being destroyed. That's what this carnage looked like. "That's wonderful dear." She kissed Zoe's head anyway. As long as it was only her dolls and not real animals it should be fine.

"Ahah! The food is done!" Seb cried from the kitchen. ""FOOD!"" The children cheered before stampeding into the kitchen. Wanda called out "Wash your hands first!"

""Okay mommy!""

Rico stood up as well, groaning as his spine creaked from bending over the ground for hours. He glanced over at Wanda who was watching him warily. "Why the hostility? I have not done anything to deserve this?"

"You're a murderer and criminal." Wanda said formally. "I'm a lawyer, and I could be a judge if I wanted. We are natural enemies."

Rico scoffed. "Your husband's killed before. And your daughter as well. How is all this any different?" He raised an eyebrow. Wanda sneered. "They didn't kill because they wanted to. And they don't do that anymore." she twitched. She didn't like thinking about it. But Miz had been on good behavior here. That had to count for something. Besides, a gang leader like Rico hurt others all the time. Miz… she wasn't like that.

Rico shrugged. "They still did it. I thought that's what the law cared about? Actions?" ("Actions yes, but the intentions are important too." Wanda shot back.) He raised an eyebrow. "What if I told you I don't want to do everything I do, would you stop scowling at me and look pretty?"

The blonde woman growled loudly and stomped towards the kitchen. Seriously! She just couldn't!

She should tell Sebastian she couldn't stand having him in the house. Maybe the twins were not in danger, but she was uncomfortable...Maybe...she should go with her mom...just for the time he was here, take the kids. Seb could stay with his delinquent friend all he wanted!

Seb smiled widely when he saw her, his brown eye lighting up. "Wands!" He squealed and ran towards her to kiss her lips. "I made your favorite!" He pointed at the table. "And I am working on the rest of the food for tomorrow! It'll be all by me! No help from Miz!" Wanda laughed. "You're trying to get your territory in the kitchen back, huh?" She teased him.

"Miz keeps kicking me out~" Seb whined. "And she always cheats with magic when baking!" He liked how delicious her cakes and cookies were but he always caught her using magic to fix them up to 'look' more pretty, since her baked stuff normally came out lopsided. "It's not fair~"

Wanda laughed and hugged her husband. "It's fine. She just needs to practice baking more. I've noticed she doesn't really measure ingredients when cooking. Like it doesn't even occur to her. And for anything else she cooks, it's fine. But baking requires precise amounts and she can't seem to wrap her head around that."

"I think she thinks she knows better than the people writing the recipes." Seb pouted. "But cheating is still cheating!" And he missed cooking. Having to share the kitchen with her was fun but he liked having full reign.

"Actually, there was something I wanted to talk to you about." Wanda sighed. "I want to take the kids with me to my parent's place."

Seb blinked. "But Rico can't be out and about." Wanda sighed. "He would stay here." Seb paused. Well, they could stock up the pantry. He was sure Rico could take care of himself if they left for a few days but…

"I don't want to leave him alone during Thanksgiving." Seb sighed. He'd spent many years all alone. He didn't want anyone else to go through that. Wanda hugged him. "You're too kind for your own good."

"Which is stupid, I know, but I really can't help it!" The man sighed and Wanda hugged. "You know...it's not wrong to be good, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't like it." Seb scoffed. Being good was so stupid. "You really want to leave?" He asked softly.

"I just want to see my parents…" Wanda loved her family, but she had realized she didn't spend much time with them. She barely visited her cousin before seeing Seb again. They went to see her family now, but Seb's family was SO close it made her feel she was lacking interaction.

Maybe it was for her work as her mom used to say. 'Not seeing your family and not meeting a man'. She felt like Stanford, god.

"Hey...My brain is having an eggcellent idea!" Wanda sighed at the pun. Seb grinned wide. "Tell your parents to come here! Or your cousins or whoever you want! Whatcha say?"

"There's a delinquent in our house." Wanda spat and Seb hugged her laughing like crazy. "Do your parents know about that?! Nope! They don't! They spend the holiday here! You are happy! They meet Miz AND we don't leave said delinquent alone in our house."

"And who are we supposed to say that man is?" Wanda hissed. Seb shrugged. "Ah...he can pretend to be...Miz's tutor? Since she's not going to college because she's too young to be on her own...and we hired a guy to keep up her education."

Wanda gave Seb the most bland look. "A tutor? Really?"

"We can clean him up, give him a nice suit…" Wanda didn't look reassured. "…"

"And why would he be spending Thanksgiving with us?!" Wanda exclaimed and Seb pouted, glancing in the direction of the plates. Food… "Because...We are grateful for him teaching Miz about business and life? Don't you wanna eat? Look~ This delicious salmon is begging you to eat it~" Seb waved a plate in her face.

Wanda groaned. "This is never going to work." Seb took her hand. "Please? I don't want to stop you from seeing your family. We can make this work." He gazed at her with his lips wobbling. Wanda sighed. "Look, maybe." She said finally. She yelped when Seb picked her up in a hug. "Don't worry! We'll make this work!"

Wanda sighed. "I'll call my parents…" She pinched Seb's cheek. "So you BETTER make sure this doesn't go wrong."

"Of course! I'll make everything perfect!" He scoffed and Wanda shook her head fondly. He was an idiot, but he was her idiot.

Wanda called the kids to eat and Seb didn't allow Rico to eat until he washed his hands as well. As the kids sat down, (the twins were sitting on their legs, but they allowed it because they were still short), Wanda passed them their plates. "My parents are going to come for Thanksgiving." She informed them.

"Yeah! If you can't go, force them to come!" Seb sat down.

"Grandma and grandpa?" Zach asked. He hadn't seen them in so long. Wanda nodded. "So you all have to be on good behavior, ok?" she glared at Rico as she said this.

The twins nodded. "Only grandma and grandpa will come?" They wanted some cousins to play with. They always had Diego when meeting Dad's family, and the older twins and Dillon liked to play with them. They didn't remember many cousins from mom's side.

"I don't know, maybe. It'll depend if they can come." Wanda explained as she glanced down at his food, avoiding looking at Rico. Seb looked at him though. "You'll be Miz's tutor, ok? Of business or some shit like that."

Miz looked up "Ooh? He CAN teach me how to run a long reaching criminal empire, right?" Wanda groaned. "That isn't something you should be learning to do."

Miz gave Rico a thumbs up under the table. The crime lord held back an amused snort. He really liked this girl.

Everyone started eating, Rico couldn't believe how good Bill was at cooking. This was so goooood~ "Ah! This is really good!"

The twins giggled. "Daddy is the best chef! He always makes yummy food!" Zoe slurped her pasta, getting green sauce all over her face. Miz laughed. "Well, my cooking is better."

"Because you are a cheater!" Seb stuck his tongue out. Miz chewed her salmon, muffling a moan, this was pretty good though. "You're just jealous of my infinite powers." she said smugly.

"I had infinite powers...for like, 3 days, I think. Then I died! So excuse you!" Seb replied and Wanda choked on her water.

Wanda called her mom later that day to tell her about the invitation. "Hey mom…"

"Wanda! What a surprise!" Her mom, Linda (momLinda, not TherapistLinda), exclaimed. The blonde chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah...I'm sorry...Well, I was wondering if you-" Seb took the phone from her. "Hey, Missus Friedman!"

"SEBASTIAN! My dear!" Linda squealed and Wanda couldn't help but roll her green eyes. Her mom ADORED Sebastian TOO MUCH. "Heya Missus! How are ya? How's the mister? Treating ya right, I expect."

"Oh, we are doing fine, sweetie, don't worry, we are just sad you aren't coming for Thanksgiving...we wanted to see you and the kids...and Wanda too, of course!" Her mom added as an afterthought.

Wanda made a face while Seb snorted. "Like, mom, I am right here listening in on you." Wanda complained.

"Well, that's what we wanted to talk about! We thought it would be great if YOU came to spend time with us! You've only come once when the kids were babies! The house looks great now!"

"Oh I bet! You must be the only one taking care of it!" Linda sighed. "Do you still cook? Or has my daughter finally learned how to be a proper wife?" She asked half teasingly, half meaning it.

The blonde made a choked sound, offended. Ok, she was starting to remember why she didn't see her parents very often. Her mom was sometimes...really something...to her!

"Nah, I like her just like she is, don't worry, I love to cook for everyone!" Seb exclaimed, leaning against Wanda to hug her. She blushed even as she heard her mom squeal over the line. "Aww~well, we would LOVE to go to your place! Oh, I bet the twins have gotten so much bigger~" Linda cooed. "And your new daughter? What was her name? Mis?"

"It's Miz." Seb said cheerfully. "You'll love her! She's adorable and she likes to try and take over my kitchen."

"Oh how precious! It's so good of you two to adopt her." Linda sighed. "The poor dear. You didn't really tell me much about her circumstances aside from how she lost her parents in an accident?"

Seb quieted a little. It wasn't a lie. Miz HAD lost her triangle parents when her dimension was destroyed, and that WAS an accident. Wanda bit her lip, thinking about how Miz had lost her human family by dying and reforming a whole life after. They sighed. ""It's complicated."" They both said.

"But she's doing much better!" Seb smiled. "And she loves Wanda soooo much! Calls her 'mommy' already!" Wanda laughed. "Miz is so good with Zach and Zoe too."

"Zach? Not Zu?" Linda asked. Wanda winced. Right. She had forgotten. "He says he wants to be called Zach from now on." there was quiet on the other line for a bit before Linda sighed. "As long as my grandchildren are happy."

Wanda and Seb heaved a sigh of relief.

"Well, see you in a week, missus!"

"Oh, we'll be looking forward to it!" Linda sighed contently and hung up. Seb hung up as well and returned the phone to Wanda. "There. You see?"

"If my mom could, she would adopt you."

Seb simply laughed loudly.

-.-

"Zoe! Stop putting stuff in the cart!" Seb glared at his daughter when she tried to sneak in a bag of candies.

"But I like this!"

Wanda was at work, but she would be home soon, and Rico had stayed alone at the house. Of course Seb was keeping an Eye on him so he didn't try anything, but he just wanted to finish shopping. They were 2 days away from Thanksgiving and he needed his turkey.

Wanda's cousin decided to tag along apparently. She couldn't believe Wanda was inviting people to her house! She was coming with her husband Frank and kid, Daniel, who was 6 years older than the twins (so, a little younger than Miz was pretending to be). Wanda's cousin's twin sisters couldn't come unfortunately, they would have loved to see Seb, and Regina was out of the country. They were all upset that they couldn't come over too.

Wanda's family REALLY liked Seb.

He sighed when Zach started eating cookie samples and Miz looked around for the food, actually being helpful. Seb sighed and hummed in thought. "Hey, kids!? Who can bring me butter the fastest!?"

The three of them gasped before taking off down the aisle. Miz was more cautious, glancing around herself and keeping an eye on the twins as she went. They found the dairy section and the twins grabbed a few boxes of butter sticks while Miz picked up some more lactaid milk. She also grabbed some shredded mozzarella cheese.

The kids made their way back, Miz told them not to run or they might drop the butter and be disqualified. Seb laughed when he saw the twins holding their butter carefully, staring at them to make sure they had a good grip.

"Here!" Zoe put the butter on the cart. "I won!"

"Not fair!" Zach shrieked and Seb patted his head. "You can still help me with other stuff! You see those bags over there, get me potatoes, and Zoe, get me tomatoes! Who can bring them the fastest? Go!"

The little innocent children ran away to bring the food while Miz put her food in the cart. "Turning everything into a competition so they behave AND help. Good job." She giggled.

"My mom did that with the Stans and me as kids. It was fun and I see why she did it." Seb snickered. Miz was keeping watch on the twins as they ran around. They were close enough to be within sight, which reassured her.

Miz paused when they passed the Ramen section. Seb rolled his eyes when he saw her attempting to sneak a few boxes into the cart. "Miz. No."

"Awww…" she sadly put them back. Seb saw her sad face and sighed. "Ok, but just one."

"YAY!" She put the box in. Zoe gasped. "How come she gets to have a thing?"

"Because it's not candy." Seb rolled his eye. "If you guys want a thing, you can, it just can't be candy. We've got plenty of sweets at home already." Zoe put her bag of tomatoes in the cart, pouting hard. "What else can I bring?!"

"Lettuce and peas."

With the twins actually helping and not causing chaos around the store (except with the apples falling, but that was the employee's fault. Zach asked her for help and SHE dropped everything) they finished their shopping fairly quickly.

Seb grabbed a huge turkey at the end and gave it to Zoe. "Put it in the cart!" He grinned wickedly. "NOOOO!" The girl screamed, disgusted at the naked squishy looking thing.

Miz rolled her eyes and picked up the turkey. "What's wrong with touching them?" She asked Zoe.

"It's horribleee!" Zoe moaned dramatically. Miz scoffed. "It's just flesh." She squished it a little. "You wouldn't even have to touch it directly." Miz was used to handling raw meat. She butchered her own kills for cooking pretty often out in space.

"Ugh, just grab it, girl." Seb put the turkey in her arms and the little girl screamed loudly, making her twin laugh at her while the people shopping glared at them.

"Sorry…" Seb said sheepishly and watched Zoe throw the poor turkey into the cart, her eyes flickering red and with tears. "THERE!" She sniffed.

Miz and Zach clapped, which made Zoe glare at them. Her siblings just gave her innocent looks. Zoe resolved to get her VENGEANCE later. Seb was checking his list. "Still need...some bread to make the stuffing and…"

Miz spoke up "Could we get a turducken?" She's never tried a turducken before. Seb stared at her. "I have no idea how to make one of those." It was way too labor intensive. "We can try for a turducken some other time."

The demon girl sighed and agreed, making Seb promise to cook with her, and then they went to pay when they had everything.

"You shop much faster than Mommy." Zach said as they waited in line. "She never finds anything and we get bored." Seb nodded. "I know, mommy doesn't know about food, but we still wuv her!" the 3 kids nodded. If Wanda were there she would have groaned at the lack of faith her kids had in her.

"Grandma says it's bad if mommy can't cook." Zach pointed out. Seb sighed. "It's not. Mommy is fine whether she can cook or not. And she CAN cook. Just not as much. She's busy with work. And she doesn't enjoy cooking like Miz and I do, which isn't her fault and isn't an issue. People have things they like or don't like. And Wanda doesn't like cooking, but that's fine because we do."

The kids nodded as they followed Seb to the checkout line. A few of the other customers looked over to coo at the twins holding hands with Miz. The cashier smiled at them politely. "Getting stuff for thanksgiving?" He asked. Seb nodded. "Yeah, my in-laws are coming over and I'm gonna wow them!"

The cashier laughed softly. "Ah...that's great…"

Zoe poked her head up. "Daddy's the best at cooking!"

The man started passing the objects through the scanner while another worker was putting them in bags. "Oh...are you a chef?"

"You could say so~" Seb grinned smugly.

"Daddy's an ARTIST!" Zach said proudly. "He makes pretty clothes. And he also makes food! And...and he takes care of us!" The boy hugged his dad's leg. "Because daddy's the best dad!" Seb blushed.

"Thanks, squirt…" Seb stroked his hair.

"Oh that's amazing." the cashier grinned at the tiny children. He glanced up at Miz and blinked. "Your daughter?" He asked Seb. The one eyed man nodded. "My wife and I adopted her. This'll be the first time my wife's family gets to meet her." Seb reached over to hug Miz gently.

"Well, good luck with your dinner!" The man smiled politely. He passed the last of the items and Seb handed him his card. "Would you like to get a promotion of 3 chocolates for 2?" He asked automatically and pointed at the sign. The cashier held back a laugh at the way the children's eyes lit up.

"PLEASE!" Zoe moaned and pulled on his pants. "We behaavveddd!" Zach wasn't as vocal but he also stared up at Seb with pleading eyes while Miz did so as well. Seb groaned. "Ok, fine. But you don't eat them until we get home." He didn't want Miz getting drunk in the store.

The man handed the chocolate to Seb, and the other worker accompanied them to their car with the cart full of bags. The twins wanted to hold their chocolate bars, but Seb kept it in a bag, knowing they would find a way to cheat. He did it as a kid and he knew his twins and Miz well enough.

Wanda's car was at home when they arrived and Seb parked to start getting the bags out. "Kids! Help carry the bags inside!" He cried as the 3 got out and ran inside. Miz paused and went back to help Seb with his bags. Because she was a good girl.

Sir Bedazzle received Seb, barking and wiggling excitedly. He was back! Once they were inside the house, Miz and Seb levitated the bags. Screw gravity!

They also made everything float to the cabinets, drawers and fridge. Rico poked his head into the kitchen. "Oohh~ You brought food!"

"Hello to you too." Seb shook his head. "Where's Wands?"

"Eh, your room? She's been there since she got here." Rico had avoided her and she, him. The two just didn't get along. Seb sighed. "I'm going to start cooking, Wand's parents will be here tomorrow and will be sleeping over. So you...go get cleaned up. Alright?"

Rico scoffed. "I bathed." He said, almost offended. "Yeah, but you need to look...presentable...you're supposed to be a tutor." Seb went back to putting the ingredients along the countertop so he could start working. "It'll be fine." Rico grumbled. Miz appeared and dragged him away. "I'll cut your hair! Come on."

Seb shook his head and started working. First leaving the turkey to unfreeze. He should take it to the twins' room~

As he chuckled maliciously to himself, Wanda came downstairs, looking around before coming into the kitchen. "Hi! Look, I'm starting to cook! And I'll make lunch as well. We also bought the other stuff we were missing!"

"You are the expert…" Wanda smiled. Seb smirked. "How was work?"

"Paperwork, boring. I'll have my court case in a few weeks… It will be a relatively easy case, domestic violence…" She liked her job, but the cases were heartbreaking. "You'll do fine." Seb reassured her. "You're the best!"

"How about the store? You don't tell me how you're going with that." Wanda hugged him from behind, snuggling against his back. "Yeah, I'm not the best businessman…" Seb chuckled. "I have my manager watch everything for me and the designs we produce and that stuff." He still prefered personal customized works though. That was way more fun.

"Well, it's good you've got your manager." Wanda grinned. "You get so distracted~" she teased as she 'distracted' him from cooking, running her hands along his chest. Seb blushed. "W-Wanda! Not right now~I have to make food~"

"Hm...you could let Miz make lunch?" Wanda nuzzled the side of his face. Seb's face got even redder. "Wanda~ Come on...What's up with you today?"

"Why? Can't I hug my adorable husband? Do I need a motive to hug my husband while he's cooking?" She stuck her hands under his t-shirt.

"Wa-Wanda~" Seb whined but he didn't push her away, a small smile forming on his face. "I haven't had the time to just...be with you in weeks~" Wanda pouted. Her hands traced little circles along his chest. Seb moaned softly. "A-at least let me get the groceries unpacked first~"

The couple giggled as they pressed close to each other.

They quickly unpacked, both of them blushing and giggling, and Seb left the ingredients on the table. "Miiiiiz! You're in charge of lunch!" He called loudly as he was dragged into his room. The door was locked, blocked with a chair and then the sound of the shower running could be heard faintly.

Miz, about to cut Rico's hair in a guest bathroom, groaned. She had to do everything! She Flickered to see the kitchen and just made an Auto-Cook curse on the counter for now. She'll take over once she was done with Rico. She hummed as she snipped his hair so it was neater and straighter.

She braided it nicely and then considered his beard. "Don't shave it." Rico said simply. Miz pouted before her eyes lit up and she started cackling. Rico wasn't sure why he was getting this foreboding feeling…

"Mommy! Seb! Lunch is ready~" Miz's voice was muffled by the door but her adoptive parents still heard. Wanda was towel drying her hair, a spring to her step and a wide, satisfied smile on her face. Seb was lying on his bed, towel wrapped around his head and waist.

"You really needed that, huh?" Seb asked. Wanda scoffed. "I've been stressed. I really, really needed that." She bent over to kiss him. "Well, did you enjoy yourself?" She teased. Seb laughed. "Yeah, yeah." He kissed her back.

The two got dressed and made their way downstairs. They stepped into the kitchen and froze.

"Don't you dare laugh." Rico ground out. Seb snorted and had to lean against a wall as he shook with unsuppressed laughter. Wanda was much the same. "AHAHAHAHAHAH! What ha-happened to your FACE?!" Seb gasped.

Rico's hair and beard had been meticulously styled into super curls up and around his face.

"Your magic daughter happened." The man spat and Wanda wheezed, hitting Seb's chest with her fist. "We-Well! At least you look slightly more presentable!"

The twins came down as well and stared at Rico before snickering softly. "You look funny!" Zoe pointed out. "Thanks." Rico spat and ran his hands through his beard to pull it down. The Pines "aaww'ed sadly.

"I'll think of another thing for tonight!" Miz said. "But for now! Food!" they all ate happily except Rico who just glared at anyone who laughed. "Can we not have this for tonight?" He ground out. Miz giggled. "I have a few other designs I wanna try out…"

Rico groaned. "At least make it less weird looking…" Miz scoffed. "Naw, I can tell them that you're a contestant in the national beard competition." She heard Rico and Seb both mutter "That's an actual thing?!"

Wanda just continued laughing into her lunch.

"And there you are! So cute!" Seb fixed Zach's little collar and Zoe put on her bow. They were bathed, their hair combed, and dressed up nicely for the dinner. It was still a few hours more to it, but their grandparents and aunt were arriving in the evening.

"Sebastian, they will get dirty by the time the actual dinner is held." Wanda stared at the twins. So adorable~. She wasn't even changed yet, or Miz, or even Seb! Why was he even dressing them already?

"But they look so cuuuuute!" Seb hugged the twins to his chest as he kissed them both. They protested angrily. Miz was still messing with Rico's beard, to his frustration. She finally decided to braid it neatly, to his relief. Wanda glanced over and sighed. "That's good enough."

"Should I get changed too now?" Miz asked. Wanda pet her hair and smiled. "I think Seb finished that dress he was working on for you." She glanced over at Seb as his eye went wide.

"THE DRESS! FUCK!" Seb ran to his office. "Gimme five seconds!" He shouted as he left the room. Wanda sighed defeatedly. "I can't believe him sometimes…"

The twins were pulling at their fancy clothes already. "Can I take the bow tie off?" Zach complained. Wanda rolled her eyes before she loosened it. "Seb and his bow ties." She muttered fondly. "Bow ties are awesome!" Miz said. "My bow tie in my triangle form spins!" Wanda laughed. "Alright, I get it. Bow ties are great for...demon fashion…"

She told Miz to go bother Seb with her dress as she changed the twins back to normal clothes. She took off their outer shirts but left them with their pants. They were going to get dirty. Heck, Sebastian couldn't keep a shirt clean sometimes and he expected 5 year olds to?!

Rico was staring off at where Miz ran to. "...demon?" He asked quietly. Wanda frowned at him. "Yes." She stared him down, ready in case he reacted poorly to the reveal of Miz's technical species.

"Well, both she and Bill are crazy." Rico laughed. "And with their powers they could be demons!" He walked away and Wanda sighed. "You won't tell uncle Rico?" Zach asked. "No...It's not really important, anyway…" Wanda smiled.

Seb flinched as Miz continued glaring at him. "Are you done yet?!"

"I'm working! This dress is for the dinner party anyway! You don't need to wear it to meet Wanda's parents!"

"But I want to! I want to give a good impression…" She pouted and Seb smiled. "Hey, they'll love you! Really! If they like me, how could they not like you?!" He ruffled her dark hair just to annoy her. Miz grumbled and brushed her hair back in place. "Still, I'm not used to...having grandparents." She brushed her fingers through her hair self consciously. Her human grandparents had been all the way in China and she hadn't seen them often. And Granny Kari was different, she was aware of magic. But Wanda's parents weren't.

"Well I'm almost...done...here!" Seb tied off the last thread and showed Miz the finished product. She "Ooh"ed at it. As her request, it was a lolita style dress, simple but cute. Yellow and black with a nice brick pattern and a back ribbon around the waist like a little bow. There were some frills and ribbons for accent but overall it was a simple and modest dress. Seb even got her matching black socks and a little petticoat to be worn underneath.

"Thank you!" Miz squealed as she hugged her other big brother. Seb crushed her in a hug and she shrieked. "You're welcome kid! Now go wear it!"

As if on cue, the doorbell rang and the two heard Wanda screaming. "My in-laws are here." Seb grinned. "I'll go open the door all sweaty and with wrinkled clothes. Thank you." Miz scoffed and flicked her fingers to freshen him up. ("Oh, that's useful.") She hugged him one last time before running to her room to get dressed.

Seb walked to the front door and frowned as Sir Bedazzle wiggled out from under the table. "Oh, I'm sorry, bud, but you are staying in my room." He floated the whimpering acorn puppy to his room. "Don't give me that look, just take a nap or something."

He took a deep breath, adjusted his eyepatch and opened the door, smiling at the 5 people behind it. "Yellow~!" He said cheerfully.

"Ahhh! Sebastian sweetie!" Linda squealed as she leaned forward to hug the sweetest boy she had ever met. She held him for a few seconds before pulling away and looking him up and down. "Oh look at you! You've grown into such a fine man." She never stopped repeating that, even though it'd only been a few years since the last time she saw him.

Seb blushed. "Aw thanks missus." Linda peered around him. "Now where are my darling grandchildren? I haven't seen them since they were babies!" Wanda came out, holding the twins by their hands after she fixed their clothes from where they had immediately rumpled them once they were freed from her sight. She had finally managed to get them presentable. "Hi mom, dad, Frank, Magda and my little Daniel that has grown up so much!" She exclaimed and the boy actually looked up from his phone to smile at her. "Hi, Aunt Wanda!"

Linda squealed as she stepped inside. Wanda raised her arms for a hug but her mom went right past her and hugged the two children. "Ahhhh! You two have gotten so biiiiig!" she squealed. Wanda deadpanned "Missed you too mother."

Linda pulled away. "Now! Where is that mysterious third child you have?" She looked around. There were soft footsteps on the stairway and everyone went inside the house and looked up to see a little girl descending elegantly, her dress fluttering and bouncing with each step. Daniel's eyes went wide. The girl gave them all a polite curtsy when she reached the bottom. "Hello. It's very nice to meet you all." She said.

"...oh my god!" Linda ran over and swept the girl up in a hug. Miz squeaked and went shock still, trying very hard to stay calm. This was grandma! Grandma was safe! Linda squeezed her before placing the girl back on her feet. "You. Are so adorable!" Linda pinched Miz's chubby cheeks. The demon was in a daze. "U-um…" she was shivering with small panicked gasps. "Mom! Give Miz some space! She's still a little shy around new people." Wanda scolded as she walked over and Miz immediately clung to her side, shaking.

The older woman gasped. "Oh! Oh my god! I'm so sorry, Miz! I was just really excited to finally meet you…" She crouched in front of Miz and offered her a hand to shake. "I'm Linda." Miz peeked out from behind Wanda and slowly calmed down. ""H-hi granny Linda." She said before shyly holding out her hand. Linda smiled at her. "Sorry for scaring you. Some old lady just grabbing you out of nowhere." She joked.

"You're not old. You're pretty." Miz said simply. Linda cooed "Awww~you're just as sweet as the other stray Wanda adopted~"

"Mom!" Wanda groaned while Seb blinked "Does she mean me?" Seb stared at Elijah incredulously. The twins were just relieved their grandma wasn't pinching them. Zach was tugging at his collar again while Zoe pulled at her dress.

Magda snickered loudly as her husband chuckled. Daniel remained silent, watching the girl in the yellow dress. His phone lay forgotten in his hand.

"Yes. She means you." Mr. Friedman nodded solemnly. "You did look like a stray kid."

"Daaddd~" Wanda moaned and Seb looked down, blushing, when Magda agreed. "Yup. But he was a cute stray." she hugged her husband just in case he felt jealous. Wanda blushed and pushed her family away from the door so she could close it. "Yeah, well, welcome to our house, I guess. Please take off your shoes and leave them by the door."

"Why?" Magda asked. Wanda smiled softly. "It makes Miz feel more comfortable." She pet Miz's head and the girl made a content sound, relaxing enough she didn't have to cling to Wanda's side anymore.

Everyone obeyed and went to the living room. Wanda rubbed her arm awkwardly, only her dad hugged her, her mom went straight for Seb and the kids...Kari showed her more interest than her own mother...

Seb paused "Oh right, we have someone else here too. Ah, you heard about how Miz has already passed her high school graduation exams right?" Linda nodded, incredibly proud of her granddaughter. Magda gasped, only finding this out now. "Really?" She looked down at the little girl who blushed and buried her face against Wanda's side again. Seb scratched his cheek "Well, since she's obviously too young to go away to college, and we didn't want to prevent her from continuing her education if she wanted, we hired a home tutor who would come and give her assignments."

"A home tutor? Aren't those expensive?" Elijah gasped. Seb nodded. "Well, he gets free room and board while he's here so it's not as expensive as it could be. Still costs less than actual college." Everyone laughed at that.

"So where is this man?" Magda asked. Wanda tried hard not to wince. "Oh, he's in the kitchen right now." taking that as his cue, Sebastian went in to get Rico. "Everyone, this is Rico. Despite the way he looks, he's actually a very good tutor." Seb bullshitted. He had no idea what his last name actually was. "He-He teaches me about business and all that, I want to open a store someday…" Miz said awkwardly, and Daniel nodded slowly. So the pretty girl was a business woman?

Mr. Friedmann blinked. "You!"

Rico blinked. "Elijah?!"

"Excuse me, what the hell?!" Seb exclaimed. Daniel scoffed at the man. "Why are you always cursing?!" He huffed. He didn't like his favorite aunt's husband. He was too crazy. His cousins were ok he guessed, albeit a bit crazy like him.

"Because I FEEL like it!" Seb glared slightly at his nephew.

Elijah Friedmann and Rico were staring at each other. Linda looked between her husband and the...rather large and intimidating looking man. Was he REALLY a tutor?! "Do you know him, honey?" The old man glared at Rico. "Yes! I met him a long time ago! And I thought he was my friend!"

Rico groaned. "Get OVER it!" He scoffed at the old man, but Elijah growled. "Give me my 20 dollars back you colombian fuck!"

"...Dad…?" Wanda had NEVER seen him like this. Linda hit his arm. "Control yourself! The kids are-"

"Oh my fucking circles! You know my in-law?!" Seb screamed while Rico ran a hand across his face. "And of course you are his in-law…" Magda laughed uproariously. "Oh my god. I need to hear this story. What's this about?"

Everyone leaned in, the two oldest men glaring daggers at each other. Elijah sighed. "Back when I was younger, I took a trip down to Colombia for a vacation trip with some friends. We were just going to have fun, for the summer after we graduated college." He glared at Rico. "I met this...MAN in a bar." Rico scoffed, offended. "Why the harsh words Elijah? I thought we were friends." Wanda's father growled. "So did I! Until you borrowed $20 from me and NEVER paid me back!"

"It was 20 dollars! I needed it!"

"For what?! Drugs?!"

"None of your business! Get over it!"

"If it's so unimportant, then give them back!"

"Over my dead body, Friedmann!"

The two argued at each other back and forth, and the other people present blinked, looking at each other. Zoe stretched. "Well, I got bored." She smiled at her older cousin and older sister. "Wanna come play?"

The boy was going to say no, but Miz nodded, so he agreed quickly. His eyes were drawn to the way her dress bounced as she walked. She looked really pretty in it. "A-ah- Hi! I'm Daniel!" He said quickly. Miz blinked before smiling "Hi Daniel. I'm Miz."

"How old are you?" He asked as they went upstairs. "Miz is 13! Her birthday was on Halloween! There was lots of spooky but yummy food!" Zach informed his cousin. "O-Oh! I'm 11 but I'll turn 12 soon!" He laughed nervously. Miz sat down on a little playmat in the living room as Zoe and Zach pulled out their legos so they could all play together. Daniel played with them, stacking the tiny blocks together to build spaceships. He glanced at Miz and blurted out "You're pretty!"

Miz blinked. "Ah? Thank you?" She paused. Was he just being polite or? She examined the flavor of his emotions, making sure to filter them out properly first before perusal. Agitation, giddiness, nervous...oh. A crush. She turned to Daniel and told him clearly "You're too young for me." Daniel stopped and looked up at her. "Wha-What?"

"I appreciate what you feel, but I'm too old for you, we don't know each other… and besides, we're cousins…" She frowned. "But we aren't real, real cousins…" He muttered. "And when you're 20, I'll be 18!"

"No." Miz deadpanned and the boy sighed disappointed. "I...still think you're pretty though…" She nodded. "Thank you. You're cute too, I just prefer older men."

The twins looked back and forth between them and shrugged. Big kids were weird.

The adults finally quieted down when everyone sat down for dinner. Seb was so proud of himself as he laid out the food and preened under Linda's praise.

"Oof! Sebastian, sweetie, this smells amazing!" The woman sighed and her husband nodded. "It looks pretty good." he caught Rico's eyes and both huffed.

"You have always had talent for this! You could be a chef if you wanted!" Linda continued, making Seb's face go even redder. So many compliments at the same time! Overwhelmed! Wanda commented "I can cook too! I cooked for Miz's birthday!" Magda playfully nudged her husband. "Ya see? I'd love it if you cooked for us…" She whispered and Frank snickered. "I'll make waffles."

"Oh but then I wouldn't have time for the kids." Seb waved off bashfully. "Daddy takes us to school every day! And he picks us up because he's the best daddy." Zach happily informed his family before taking a sip of his drink.

Linda seemed about to faint. Oh my god~ soo cute~

Daniel was glaring at Rico sitting next to Miz. She said she liked older men...and this guy was apparently her private tutor… Rico noticed Daniel's glare. "Yes?" He asked. Daniel responded "I won't lose to you!" which left Rico incredibly confused. Miz was busy eating her food, oblivious to this misunderstanding.

"So how've you been?" Wanda asked her family. She spent more time with Seb's huge crazy family and felt sort of bad for neglecting her own. She didn't really keep in touch with her parents and cousins as much as she'd like to, being too busy with work most of the time.

"Well, cousin, we've been fine." Magda giggled. "Working, relaxing on weekends~" "Seeing Daniel's eyes turn square from how much he stares at his phone…" Frank laughed. Daniel looked at his dad and angrily shoved food into his mouth.

"The twins aren't allowed any device like that though. Not until they're older." Wanda commented easily and her mom nodded. "Oh! I see! Seb is always taking care of my grandbabies! He's such a good father~" Wanda nodded. "Yeah...but we both decided that.. " Seb getting all the credit.

Zoe pouted and tried to stand in her chair "It's not fair! Everyone else gets a phone." Wanda sighed. "You can have a phone when you're...12 years old." she pulled Zoe back into her seat. "There's no reason for you to have one before then. Now eat, Zoe."

"Oi, how harsh you are with the children!" Linda gasped. "You should try being more gentle, sweetie."

"What? Harsh? But I-" Wanda trailed off and looked at Seb for help, but he shrugged helplessly with a grimace. Sorry… he didn't know how to respond to that.

"But don't worry, it doesn't surprise me, you've always been kinda bosy. I really hope you don't order Seb around..." Linda smiled while Elijah, Frank and Rico looked awkward. Miz looked between Linda and Wanda with an odd expression.

"Mommy's really nice. And we ALL boss Seb around." Miz pointed out. Zach and Zoe nodded. "Daddy's easy to boss around."

"Hey!" The brunet complained and huffed. "Wanda's a natural leader, missus. You should see her at work! She's just...wow." He held Wanda's hand under the table and Wands smiled a little. At least her husband and children supported her. She squeezed his hand, glad to have some of her family supporting her.

Linda blinked and really took a step back to look at her daughter. Seb and Wanda had peaceful smiles as they leaned against each other while the children all seemed perfectly happy as well. Linda sighed. "Right, I'm sorry. They're all obviously happy. I shouldn't criticize you so much." She was finally realizing something.

Wanda blinked. "Mom?"

"You're a great professional, and I admire how much you've grown...You have a lovely family and…" She sighed. "Well, you aren't the daughter I sometimes imagined you would be, you are you, Wanda, and I love you just like you are…" She grabbed her hands. "I shouldn't try to make you something you aren't…" The older woman admitted.

"Mom…" Wanda blinked to clean her blurry sight. "Can you forgive me?" Linda asked.

"Mom, of course I forgive you…I love you, and it's just the close-minded sexist environment you grew up in that makes you say that, but I still love you…"

"Ah, all these 'modern' ideas you have." Linda laughed. "Well, as long as you're all happy then it's fine." She looked over at her grandchildren. "So...Zu-Zach wants to be a boy? I admit I don't understand it, but…" She smiled "He looks adorable in that little suit. And as long as he's happy and you're all happy, then I suppose there's nothing wrong with it."

Everyone cheered and Elijah hugged Linda softly. He was glad she was being more accepting. Rico rolled his eyes at the family happiness and continued eating. This was too lovey dovey for him.

They finished their dinner, moaning. It had been so delicious they ate until they could burst. Even Daniel had to admit his crazy uncle cooked really good. "Now Dessert!" Zoe squealed, not seemingly as full as everyone else. Miz was also ready for more food. The two sisters cheered "Dessert! Dessert!"

Seb groaned in his chair, too full to get up. And they still had leftovers! "You can get the pies out, sweetie." He leaned back, patting his belly. Zoe and Miz went to the kitchen. Seb had made a cheesecake pumpkin pie, butter pecan and apple pie that was keeping warm in the oven. Miz carried two while Zoe grabbed the hot pie right out of the oven, not harmed by the heat.

They placed them down on the table and Miz expertly calculated the best way to cut the pies so everyone would get two slices of each, just in case. Magda cooed at the girls passing them plates with three small slices of pie on it. "Aww...thank you."

""You're welcome!"" Miz and Zoe said at unison. As they passed the plates around, Zoe was already eating her own slices, unable to wait until everyone had one. No one minded though, she was helping and that was great, besides, she was just a child yet.

They were really full...but pie~

"Seriously, gringo, how do you make all this SO GOOD?!" Rico moaned. "You must use magic."

"Hahahaha! Nah, magic cooking is not my thing." Seb side glanced at Miz and smirked smugly. "I do my own cooking." The demon girl huffed. "Well then maybe you should just teach me your secrets already…" She stared her brother down. The two had identical stubborn looks on their faces. "Well maybe if someone would just follow the recipe…" Seb started. "I will not be confined by the limitations of society!" Miz retorted.

"Limitations of society my eye! It's just a recipe so we don't die from being poisoned by whatever ingredient you put it because 'it feels right'!"

Zach flinched as Zoe laughed. Awesome! Debates!

"I don't put weird stuff in my baking! They just end up soggy or too dry…" Miz mumbled. Like the cookies she shaped into cute little triangles that all melted into one big cookie. It all tasted fine! Just needed her powers to get the shapes right. And sometimes to make them hold together...

"Well, then practice." Seb patted her head before taking a mouthful of pie to his mouth. "We'll practice tomorrow ok?"

Miz sighed. "Ok, Seb…" Linda and the other adults coo'ed. He was such a good father~

Everyone went to the living room to play a board game after dinner. Zoe and Miz wanted to play Settlers of Gangang and a rather intense war on Sheep and Wood broke out. "You built a road through my square!" Zoe whined. Seb stuck his tongue out at her. "Sorry, all's fair in love and getting a supply line into the sheep territory!"

"Daadd~" Zoe whined as her dad got to harvest some Sheep on the next dice roll. Nooo she needed those to build another settlement! "Mwahahaha!" Seb cackled like the overlord he was.

Zach, unlike his screaming sister, was lying on his mom, reading his picture book like a good boy. Wanda stroked his curls absentmindedly as she talked to her family. Daniel was back on his phone, mostly because Miz was busy and he didn't feel like socializing with his 5 year old cousins, or sharing his phone with them.

Rico was the 4th player in the game, steadily building his empire of Wheat and Bricks. He even took this time to 'tutor' Miz about resource management and how to haggle to get more. He was supposedly her business tutor after all. He and Miz decided to team up, an alliance if you will, Rico controlled the Wheat while Miz got Stone and the two were making it difficult for Seb to continue building his Roads.

"This...isn't fair! You're not allowed to team up!" Seb cried. Miz and Rico fist bumped. "It's called an Alliance." Rico said smugly.

"Come on, Zoe, we are making an alliance as well!" He dragged her closer to him and high-sixed. "Yeah!" The little girl shouted. "Let-Let's destroy theeem!" She giggled excitedly and stood up to jump. With Seb sitting on the floor cross legged, she ended up leaning on his back, playing with his hair.

The rest of the family chuckled softly. While Seb's family was loud and most meetings were noisy and crazy, Wanda's family was way calmer and quiet, which used to drive her insane as a kid. She appreciated it now though, liking how different it was and bringing a different type of peace.

Magda pointed at her lap where Zach had fallen asleep, biting his finger. "People say twins aren't usually the complete opposite but I beg to differ." She chuckled. Her younger sisters were polar opposites, just like these pair of twins.

Wanda cooed at her baby and hugged him, blocking the screams from his dad and sister so he could sleep. "Seb's niblings are also twins and they are super different."

Elijah shook his head, amused. "That family is full of twins!"

"Well, twins ARE hereditary." Linda pointed out. "But so many?" The old man shook his head. "That's really interesting. Hey, Sebastian, son?"

"HAHAHA! Take that, Rico! Yes, sir?" Seb looked up adorably. "One of your brothers is a scientist, right? I read an article the other day on the internet." Elijah liked reading a little bit of everything. "Ah, yes! That's my oldest triplet, Sixer, you can call him Stanford too." Wanda snorted at Seb's grin. Elijah nodded "Well, has he done any research about this?"

"About what?" Seb asked distractedly, he whispered something to Zoe before she rolled the dice. "About twins." Elijah prompted. "Um, nah, Ford's work was mostly about the supernatural and recently, he has moved onto eco friendly research. Things for fixing the environment and such."

"Oh, that's incredible!"

"Yeah, he still has his own supernatural or weird projects though! And my other triplet is coach of a football team, but he has his own company...he-Zoe, that's not gonna work, wait-does many things there, actually. And my younger brother works somewhere doing computed related stuff. I think he's a hacker, but Shermie always denies it." Seb concluded adorably.

Everyone nodded in understanding. "That's great!" The man grinned proudly. Wanda smiled. "And you're a great artist."

"Yeah, I guess that's true too." Seb shrugged bashfully. Wanda laughed. "You're brilliant and you make beautiful work. Always have." Seb blinked. "Ah...I don't believe it...Can you give me a reassuring kiss?" Wanda motioned at the sleeping kid on her lap. "Zoe, give Dad a kiss from me."

The girl kissed his cheek before licking him. "There!"

"Eew! Zoe~!" Seb complained and wiped his cheek on his shoulder as everyone laughed.

Night arrived, and they were guided to the guest rooms that were cleaned for them. If they noticed something in the weird extension of the house, they didn't comment on it. Seb crawled into bed with Wanda and gave her a hug. "So...it wasn't bad right? We were normal?" he asked her quietly. Wanda sighed. "You don't HAVE to be normal. I love you just as weird as you are...I just...worry, you know?"

"We did fine though!" Seb made a 'whoosh!' sound as he threw his eyepatch away. "Why do you worry? Your family doesn't need to get involved in weirdness...We were lucky Phillip was just crazy enough to accept it…"

Wanda chuckled. "Yeah...but I don't know...the kids should be able to use their powers…" Seb snuggled closer to her. "They can go a day without using them, it won't kill them, and they have to do it with people who fully understand…" He nibbled on her hair and Wanda whined. "Explaining all my past and powers is just too long for any Mortal to understand!" He laughed. "So, what're you worrying about?"

Wanda sighed. "I just...want to be a good mother for them. Accept them for who and what they are." She pouted. "And I still think Rico's a bad influence on Miz." Seb snickered. "So that's what's bothering you? The guy's behaved all week! One week more, and then he's gone...besides, the twins are fine with him, Miz likes him, I think this turned out better than expected." He poked Wanda's cheek. "And your Dad LOVES him!" Seb grinned, making Wanda roll her eyes.

"Fine, I guess. I just don't like having a criminal in the house."

Seb groaned. "Wands, I've done terrible things in the past. Miz has too. But you're ok with us. And Rico's-"

"But you and Miz aren't doing any terrible things anymore, you're trying to change and be better than that. He won't. He's not going to stop being a crime lord once he leaves. He's going to get right back to his old ways of violence and law breaking and…"

Seb hugged Wanda close. "What if he doesn't have any other way to get by? He can't just leave. He's got a group, an organization with a bunch of other criminals. At least he keeps them under control, so they aren't running free causing trouble everywhere."

"And even if what he does is bad, he isn't bad...He helped me, I wouldn't have survived after prison if I hadn't been with him...And when I wanted to leave, he let me, that usually doesn't happen…" Wanda made a humming sound and Seb buried his face into her hair. "You won't see him again later, I promise."

"I just… laws are important to me, you know? The ones that exist to help protect people." Wanda turned to snuggle into Seb's chest. She felt her husband nod. "I know that Wands, but for me, the person is more important than the law." He shuddered as he thought back to Flatland and their terribly unfair, stupid laws. "Legality isn't morality and all that."

Wanda sighed. "I know…" She kissed his nose. "I'll...try to tolerate him if you like him so much."

"Good, that's all I want." He grinned. Seb hugged her close, ignoring the plantimal curled up on their legs, and sighed. "Good night…"

Wanda's parents and cousin left with no further incident, Elijah shook hands with Rico, both glaring at each other. "You better educate my granddaughter about how it's not ok to steal."

"I'll teach her that sometimes you have to let it go and that it's not healthy to hold a grudge forever." Rico grinned.

And so, Rico's second week with the Pines started. A few days into it, Miz had an idea. "Dude, I could stop the people who want you dead."

Rico stared at her. "Are you going to kill 'em?" He asked simply. Miz paused. "No. I'm...not supposed to kill people anymore. Not unless it's self defense or I'm in a fire fight." Miz told him. "But what if I get them all arrested?" Rico raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"I dunno. Catch them and put them in a jail cell. Leave the police clues and evidence needed to put them away?" Miz tilted her head. "You'll probably know better than me what it would take to get people behind bars."

Rico blinked, considering the offer. "Can you make them silent though? I don't want them telling on us to the cops." Miz nodded. "Yeah, that sounds easy. Though I'm gonna need to do more than just block their speech, there's other methods of communication after all." The man grinned maliciously and chuckled deeply. "Let's do it…"

"Hey daddy, where's Miz?" Zach asked after Seb picked them up from school. Seb blinked and looked around. She wasn't working in the living room or watching tv. Come to think of it, the house had been quiet all day...

"Eh...I don't know...Maybe she's with her friends."

"I'll check in our room!" Zoe threw her backpack and ran upstairs, followed by Zach and Sir Bedazzle. As Seb picked up their bags and shoes, he heard a "She's not heeereee~"

Seb hummed. This was weird. "Rico?!" He called. "Riicooo! Where are you?!"

Silence.

Seb looked for them through the triangles around the house.

Nope. They weren't here- Seb froze. Oh no. All sorts of horrible ideas raced through his head. Maybe Rico had kidnapped Miz? No, Rico wouldn't do that. Maybe Rico's enemies had found him? No, Miz would have protected them. What if they used sleeping gas?! Seb was gasping for air as he collapsed to the ground in a panic.

What about the barrier? He wasn't supposed to be able to leave!

Oh no! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

"Seb?"

"Not now! I'm panicking!"

"Sebastian…" the familiar voice said emotionlessly and Seb looked up. "M-Miz?!" And she was with Rico, who was snorting at his pain.

"Where were you?!" He cried angrily.

""Colombia."" the two shrugged. Miz gave Seb a thumbs up. "Good news. Rico's enemies won't be able to come after him anymore."

"Oh...Really?" Seb blinked. Rico ruffled the demon girl's hair and laughed. "Yup! They're all dead meat!"

"I didn't kill them. They might get killed in prison, but that's beyond my control." Miz shrugged (not really caring, since these were bad people anyway) and walked over to Seb to pat his arm. "Good thing is! Rico's free! And he can go back to his friends!"

"Not friends. Employees." The man corrected.

"That's great!" Seb laughed. "I'm so glad you're free and leaving!" He didn't want Wanda feeling uncomfortable anymore. Rico paused. "Oh. You're...kicking me out just like that?" Seb froze. "Wait, no, I didn't mean it like that. Just...Wanda doesn't feel comfortable with you here."

"I already knew that." Rico rolled his eyes. Bill's wife was scary.

"You can stay for the rest of the week, that was our deal after all, I don't break my deals." Seb sighed. Rico nodded. "Cool!" He threw himself onto the couch and turned on the TV. "What are we eating for lunch, gringo?"

Seb sighed. Damn it. He fell for it! He could have told him to leave! But no~ Stupid emotions made him think he couldn't kick him out, because 'it wasn't a nice thing to do'. Fuck this body.

Miz laughed at Seb. What a softie. Still, she noticed the set of Rico's shoulders were much more relaxed now. He had been tense this last week despite his assurances that his enemies wouldn't be able to track him here. He had still been worried, not for his own life, but for Seb's family. Miz grinned. Seb had a good friend.

Even if he was a crime boss.

"Hey Bill." Rico grunted the night before he was set to leave. Seb looked up from the dishes he was washing. They'd all just finished dinner and the kids were watching cartoons in the other room. "What?"

Rico was quiet for a bit, looking around and frowning in thought. "So I was thinking about becoming Miz's godfather." He finally said bluntly. Seb dropped the cup back into the sink with a splash, glad it didn't break. He looked up at him. "¿Disculpa?"

"Accepted." Rico grinned. "I wanna be her godfather." He repeated.

"Like in that movie?" The shorter man asked, confused and the older man chuckled. "Great movie...Anyway, can I?"

"But...why?"

"I like her, she's cool and we do business." Rico shrugged. "Also, I owe her like...8 dresses and a mountain of stuffed animals by this point so I'm pretty much already going to be sending her gifts. Figured I might as well make it official."

"Oh. Right...Sure? I guess? I don't know what godfathers are there for except for that cartoon the twins see, but you don't have magic and you're not a fairy, so gifts are close enough...Yeah, sure." Seb shrugged. "Ask Miz though." She wasn't really a kid, she was billions or something years old and could make her own decisions.

Rico shrugged. "Asked her, she laughed for a few minutes and then said it was fine as long as her parents were ok with it." Seb groaned. Which meant they had to ask Wanda.

"Ask her." Rico looked at him and Seb shook his head. "No thank you, YOU are the one who wants to be her godfather!"

"Come on! Do it!" Rico shouted. "What do you expect me to do?!" Seb shouted back.

When Wanda arrived home after work, coffee in hand and tired after a long day of work, she noticed that the entrance was covered in flower petals…

One of them did something...

She followed the trail and the kids received her. "Hi mommy! Look! We are already bathed and clean because Uncle Rico reminded us how important it is to be clean!" Zach smiled widely.

Zoe gave her a chocolate. "For you! Uncle Rico says he is grapeful you allowed him to stay!"

"Grateful." Wanda corrected absently. She stared at the chocolate, and the rose petals, and the wide smiles on her twin children's faces. "Ok, what did Rico do?" She asked wryly. "What does he want?" Because there was no way he was going out of his way to do this unless he wanted to ask a favor from her.

"Whaaatt? Noo! He's good! You can see it for yourself!" The twins exclaimed before running away. Wanda got into the rest of the house, taking a bite of the chocolate bar. The living room was nicely decorated and there were candles that smelled glorious.

Seb and Miz came out dressed like a butler and maid. "Milady~" Seb welcomed her and kissed her lips. "Table for two?"

"Did I...forget our anniversary or something?" She asked sheepishly.

"No, dear, and this dinner isn't for us, it's for someone who wishes to talk to you about something really important." Seb said seriously.

Wanda raised an eyebrow as Rico came out, dressed to the nines with his hair and beard neatly combed. Her expression became even blanker as he bowed to her. "Milady, may we have a nice dinner and discussion tonight?" Wanda turned slowly to stare at Seb. "Sebastian Pines~" She drawled, Seb winced. "Please just hear him out?"

"Fine, I'll listen." Wanda folded her arms as Sebastian led her to sit down, massaging her shoulders a little.

Elegant food was served by Miz in a maid outfit. Wanda looked at Rico. "So, what's so important you have to tell me?"

Rico took a deep breath. "Well, first of all...I respect you, you must be a kick ass woman in your job...Second, I love your family. Bill-"

"His name is Sebastian."

Miz and Seb winced "Sebastian, the kids and Miz, who I deeply appreciate and enjoy spending time with," Rico continued without missing a beat. "So I would like to ask you…" Rico kneeled on the ground. Wanda's heart stopped beating for a second.

"Can I be Miz's godfather?"

The blonde's heart started working again. She took a deep breath and shouted. "AAAHHH! YOU SCARED ME!" She shrieked loudly. "I thought he was asking for Miz's hand! Are you insane!?" She turned to look at Seb and Miz who grinned widely. "Haha! Yeah!"

Wanda, with a hand over her chest, turned to look at the older man. "Ye-Yeah...Whatever…As long as you aren't marrying her..."

Seb high-sixed Miz softly. They knew this would work.

"But you better be good to her and not put her in danger or I'll put you in jail!" The lawyer warned. Rico laughed. "No worries Milady. I actually like her." Rico scratched his chin. Hm, he didn't have any children of his own, but a god daughter would be nice.

With this matter settled, the family cleaned up and Wanda ate dinner before taking a bath and relaxing from a long day at work. Seb went up to give her a massage, grinning at her. "You seriously thought Rico was gonna propose? To Miz? She's too small for that." He laughed.

"What was I supposed to think!? Roses?! What on earth were you all thinking?!" Wanda grumbled. Seb kept laughing. "It was fun to set up though." Wanda snorted and relaxed as Seb's hands worked down her back. "...what'll we do when Miz DOES get proposed to someday?" She asked.

Seb blinked. "Wha?"

"Miz is staying with us, as our daughter, long term." Wanda pointed out. "Which means she's going to have to grow up eventually. And she's adorable. There are bound to be boys who'll try to ask her out." Seb paused. "Oh." He hadn't even thought about that. He shook his head. "I doubt Miz would have any interest in CHILDREN." He was quite sure of that. Miz wasn't actually a child after all.

Wanda shrugged. "Still, that doesn't mean some boy, or girl, isn't going to try someday."

"She doesn't have to agree. She can say no." Seb said. "Right? And if she wants to get with someone, she will." He shrugged. It wasn't such a big deal for him. "Besides... Wasn't she, you know...sessioning with Ford?"

Wanda groaned softly. "...Right…" She closed her eyes though, the massages felt so good~

"Your brother has facets I never thought he'd have…" Wanda noted. Seb shivered. "Well…" He made a face "I didn't realize he was into that sort of thing either..." Wanda sighed. "Can we not talk about how your brother is doing kinky things with our adopted child when they're in an adult form?"

"R-right." Seb shivered as they quickly changed the subject.

It was late in the night when a black van that had been driving around the neighborhood, parked in front of the Pines' household. The lights had been coincidentally turned off so the security cameras weren't working.

The twins were sleeping already, but Miz, Seb and Wanda were saying bye to Rico. "See ya tío Rico! I'll be waiting for my gifts!" The demon girl smiled.

Seb awkwardly shook hands before he was pulled close for a quick hug and a back pat. "Be good, kid. You're a good friend." Rico said, before looking at Wanda. "Thank you, preciosa." He extended a hand to shake and Wanda shook it after a bit of hesitation.

Rico handed her a 20 dollar bill, winked, and got out of the house.

As the black van drove away, Wanda sighed. "Well. THAT happened."

"Can we go to sleep?" Seb asked as the lights in the street returned, just when the van left. ""Totally"" The women nodded with a yawn.

Miz was delighted at the shipment of clothes and dolls a few weeks later. Seb was glad Miz extended the house to be able to fit them all. She was building an incredibly elaborate nest in the twin's room, in the alcove she's created inside the wall. Seb wondered why no one had wondered about the impossible dimensions of their house yet.

-.-