19 December
A knock on his office door, and Noll's eyes dart in alarm towards the sound. In a building vacated for the holidays, a knock is the last thing he expects to hear. He waits for the door to open; only silence follows. The person on the other side must be polite and considerate enough to quietly ask for his permission to enter. Either the visitor is a vampire or it is Martin.
The time in his laptop is 7:02 PM. I see. He prepares himself, fully aware of what his father would want to talk about.
"Come in," he all but sighs.
Sure enough, Martin strides into the room with a small, kind smile. "Noll. It is almost dinnertime. Your mother sent me to get you."
"Go eat without me. I am not hungry." Noll resumes his typing.
"You might as well join us at the table, if only for tea."
"I still have work to do."
"All of SPR's labs closed for the holidays last Friday, did they not? There is no work to do."
"There is always work to do."
No reply comes. From the corner of his eye, Noll can see Martin studying him. Although he feels uneasy under his father's astute gaze, he refuses to give his full attention. He keeps typing on his laptop until Martin's sudden chuckle finally breaks his concentration. Bewildered, Noll looks up at Martin.
"Are you perhaps avoiding someone, Noll?" he asks sagaciously.
"No," Noll manages to answer, but the speed at which he does gives him away. He looks at the bookshelf to Martin's right.
"That is a yes, then," his father concludes with another chuckle.
If it is so obvious, then any response is unnecessary.
"Whatever it is you hold against Ma—that person, can you please suspend it until Christmas passes? Surely that person will have a better holiday if you do."
But Noll does not budge.
His father sighs. "Very well, let us make an agreement. If you come home with me and maintain an amiable disposition until Christmas, we will let this issue go."
"And if I choose not to?" he challenges.
"Then we raise the issue to Luella, and we discuss it as a family."
Noll pinches the bridge of his nose. Martin has just resorted to the foolproof strategy that makes him and Gene capitulate to their parents' requests. Such is a perk of having outstanding lawyers for parents. While he and Gene learned to be great negotiators early into their adoption, they rarely won against Luella or Martin once an open discussion was held. This will be the first family discussion without Gene; Noll hardly thinks any good would come of it should it happen, so he yields to his father this time. Nonetheless, he makes his displeasure known by taking his time to pack up and frowning all throughout their journey home.
Luella's bright smile welcomes them when they arrive. "Martin, Noll! You're just in time. Take your seats, and we'll start dinner shortly." She pats Noll's cheek then reaches for Martin's hand. "You convinced him. Thank you, love."
"Anything for you."
Noll makes a beeline for the dining room. It is already too lively for his liking, but not to the point of being unbearable. He takes his usual seat, which to his relief has been reserved for him. Once he finishes exchanging pleasantries with his parents' guests and settles down for dinner, he notices that Mai sits across from him, beside Luella. It used to be Gene's seat. Luella must have grown very fond of her to let her take it. Or maybe there is simply an insufficient number of seats.
The room quiets down as everyone starts their dinner. Noll tries his soup, a pumpkin soup with a distinct spice. It is quite tasteful.
"How do you like your dinner, Noll?" Luella asks, eyes twinkling as they do when she is excited. The others tune in to their conversation. "Mai made it!"
He turns to Mai. She returns an uncertain gaze.
"—The fact that it was not poisoned surprises me," he answers honestly.
"Well, Luella did say I still have so much to learn. But I'll take that as a compliment." She gives him a cheeky grin. Laughter spreads across the table.
A smile threatens to betray his amusement, and he drinks from his glass to hide it. As he sets the glass back down, he adopts a dry expression. "Do not."
Six days. Noll will bear with this feeling of miscalculation for six more days. After that, he will no longer allow anything to further disturb his life.
Author's Notes: My fingers are tingling with anxiety. I've never published a chapter shortly after writing it. It's nerve-wracking but exciting!
To Umiron: He is, isn't he? XD Thank you for reviewing! I peeked at your profile (if that was ok). I'd like to congratulate you for graduating! Please keep writing; no one starts out great at what they do, but no one ever became great without a lot of practice. You can do it if you believe in yourself. I believe in you! :)
To Cabbit and the Weasel: With Noll's stubbornness and obliviousness, it's gonna take him some time. TTnTT Thanks for reviewing!
To anonymous reviewer Joys: Thank you!
To CaitHawke4Ever: Merry Christmas to you, too! I adore the whole SPR team and their interactions, so I just had to include them all. *u* Naru is of a different opinion, though.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ghost Hunt or any of its characters.