"Hnnnghhh.." I do a big stretch as I finally finish all the prep work and emails for my colleagues.
How long have I been working on this?
I check the clock on my computer…
"Wow, it's already been 3 hours?" I tend to get absorbed when it comes to my work. Hope Lan and Neptune aren't bored.
I leave my room and head down the hall back to the living room.
"Hmm? Neptune, where's Lan?" I notice only my sister on the couch watching something on the TV.
"Uhhh, he hasn't come back yet. Is the store really far away or something?" She said as she continued to stuff her face with my favorite chips…
"That…is a little strange."
"Is it? Are you sure he didn't just get distracted by some rocks or worms or something?" What is he? Five? No…wait. I could see that.
"Hmm, not when he's shopping usually. He hates wasting time on that stuff." He always comes up with the most efficient method of getting everything as quick as possible.
"That's gotta be tough when you guys go out, yeah? No window shopping? No extra snacks!? I can't imagine not being able to stop for a sudden pudding craving…" She shuddered at the thought.
"If we were on a date or just browsing we take our time. But, he hates grocery shopping." He tells me it isn't fun. It takes too long. The list is too long. The people are obnoxious. It goes on and on and on. Yet, he always offers to do it for me.
Just as I'm about to call him, I hear the door open and Lan's familiar voice. "I'm back, sorry it took so long."
"I was just about to call you!" I went over to the door and took some of the groceries from him.
"Hm? This is all you got?" It was just a few bags filled with rice and a few snacks.
He sighed and went to sit down on the sofa. "Unfortunately, yeah."
What does that mean?
As Neptune and I look at each other, Lan begins to explain.
"Right, explaining is important. Soooo, some guys I've never seen before jumped me before I got in the car."
"What!?"
"Yeah, it was kind of rude." Rude is a bit of an understatement.
He huffs a little bit and pouts while I get my thoughts in order.
"Are you alright?" His well-being should be first.
"I'm fine, but it was so sudden that I lost a lot of the groceries. Haah, luckily the store reimbursed me afterwards, but I wasn't in the mood anymore."
"I'm surprised you were caught off guard. You are always so vigilant and wary of people." It isn't like him to get blind sided like this.
"Aah, that's probably because of what they said before they attacked me."
"What? Did they try to contact you about your car's extended warranty?" Good guess, Sis.
"No, Lily built our car from scratch. And we got our insurance from a friend of mine so no problems there."
Don't look at me like that, Neptune. He does have friends. Somehow.
"They asked me to join them and Mother again." …That's…certainly…
"Uhhmm, maybe I'm mixing up your backstory with some other guy but…Isn't your mom kind of…?"
"Yup, she is totally dead. She went kablooey, kaputz, bazinga. I watched it with mine own eyes."
"That would certainly make even you hesitate." I go over to him and wrap him in a hug from the side.
"Mmm, thanks Lily. Anyway, after I refused one of the guys sliced at me and I used the groceries and my hand to block it."
"Huh? You don't have any cuts though?" She's right, looking at his hands, they both look normal.
"Oh, I guess it healed already? That was fast." …Certainly.
"We can get into that later. I'm more concerned about your mother." If she is as Lan has described her to be…she definitely won't approve of our relationship.
"Y'know, for some reason, I get the feeling we're worried about different things here, Nep Jr."
"Huh? N-no, I'm sure I'm on the exact same page as you!"
She doubts me! How rude!
"You're worried about whether or not she'll hate us, obviously!" …No?
She pinches my nose. "We should be worried about Arfoire and stuff!"
"Shis, shtob iddd!"
She lets go in frustration and gives a huge sigh as she falls on the other sofa.
"Ughhhhhhhhh, I am so sick and tired of fighting her~. This'll be like…the 100th time."
"You're acting like it's already a sure thing." I rub my nose while I hold back tears.
"Of course it is! Arbore always manages to slither her way into whatever we're doing. It's practically a staple in the series!"
Series?
"We'll probably get real close, probably almost stop her from coming back, only to be like 10 seconds too late."
"Umm, Neptune? Can you stop jinxing us? I would, at the very least, like to believe that we have a chance."
"Ehh~, it'll be fine. Just annoying." This is how she views a threat to the world?
Ultimately, I decided to send a message to Histoire and give her a quick rundown of the situation.
As we are waiting for a reply, Lan suddenly jumps up from the couch.
"What's wrong, Lan?"
"...She's here." Who's here? Why did his voice go flat?
"...Lily, please prepare some snacks and tea. I'll get the door."
"Uhm, okay? Who is here Lan?" He rushes to the door before I can get any answer.
"I don't like the vibes here, Jr." Yeah, something is wrong.
Next thing I hear is the door opening and a girl about the same size as Neptune walking in.
She had raven hair in a bob cut, and was wearing a black blouse and a long black skirt that reached down to her knees.
Even though she looked so elegant and graceful, I felt an ominous air around her.
My instincts were telling me that I need to take her out right now.
"Geez~, what's with you guys?" As soon as she spoke, the feeling went away.
"Relax~, I'm just here to catch up with my son!" …No way.
I wasn't ready for this! I never practiced for this! I didn't ever think I was going to meet her!
What do I do!? Wait! First I have to offer her a seat!
"C-come on in ma'am! Take a seat over here with us!"
She takes a seat and Lan hands her the tea and snacks I prepared.
"Thank you, dear." Is this really Lan's mother? She seems…a lot different than she was described.
Taking a look at Lan though, you'd think he was dying…
He looks a lot like when we first met. Silent, emotionless, cold.
"What can I help you with, Mother?"
"Hmm~? Don't play dumb with me. You already know." She doesn't bother to look at him as she continues with her tea.
"Sorry, some strangers told me to come with them to meet Mother. I thought it was suspicious."
"Is that so? I suppose that's fair. Well, I'm here now. Go pack your things so we can get going." Huh!?
"Excuse me, Mother. May I ask for the reason?" I wanted to butt in and tell her she had no right. But, this is Lan's mother. I don't want to make things worse.
"Telling you is of no importance. You will simply follow me and do as I say." What is she saying!?
I look at Lan, waiting for him to give a classic cold shoulder act. But… he doesn't. No, he can't.
It's the first time I've ever seen it but…I think he might be scared.
This is the perfect time to support him! As his wife!
"Lan…" I call him and we make eye contact. I give the best smile I can muster!
Ah…that face he's making right now is pretty nice…wait! Don't get distracted!
"Pfft!" Wha-! Did he just laugh at me!?
"Lan, get moving. I'm getting tired of waiting." His mother doesn't seem to care about much else huh?
Lan sighs and his expression returns to what it was before, but it seems…more calm? Which means…I did it! Yay!
"Sorry, Mother. I'm not interested." Yes! Tell her!
For the first time, she looks up at him. Clearly shocked.
"What…did you say?"
"Doing all those experiments and stuff sounds boring. Not interested. I'd much rather do literally anything else."
I could barely react in time! The instant he finished the sentence some kind of black substance rushed at his neck.
*Klang* I parried whatever it was with the knife we were using for snacks. Wow, this is sturdy stuff! Good work, Lan!
"...This is a family matter, girl. I suggest you stay out of it." If looks could kill…
"No way! I'm not about to just sit here and let you hurt him!"
"I'm not gonna let you guys forget me either!" Neptune comes over to my side with her katana drawn.
"I got your back, Jr.!" I definitely feel more confident with Sis by my side!
Lan's mother pauses, then she looks at Lan, then to me, then to our rings, then back to us.
"...You….." No way…
"You married him?" …The hostility is gone?
"Um, yes?"
"Huh…interesting." Is she calm now?
"That would make you my daughter then, correct?" I no longer have any idea as to what's happening.
"Wow~! That's seriously surprising!" Just like that, her attitude did another 180.
"Congratulations! I thought you would be forever alone, Lan! Well, that was the plan anyway! Hahaha!" …My head is starting to hurt.
"Oooooo~, we need to do so many things together! I've always wanted a daughter!"
"I-is that so?" I guess this is better than trying to kill us?
"Oops! I'm running out of time. Here! Gimme your deets so we can talk more!"
"Oh, um, s-sure?"
The second I pull out my phone she grabs it and puts in all her info.
"I am sooooo excited to get to have some mother-daughter time! We are gonna have so much fun! Bye~!"
…..
She left.
"I mean, I'm glad we didn't have to fight her. Somehow though, I still feel disappointed…" Neptune sheathes her weapon as she sighs.
"Sorry, she's somewhat unpredictable and hard to read." Lan groaned as he slid back onto the couch.
"Somewhat!? She went from highschool cheer team to a homicidal maniac in like, 3 seconds!"
"Has she always been like that, Lan?" I asked as I placed myself beside him on the couch.
! He plopped his head onto my lap! Oh my goodness!
"Hmm, I don't remember her voice ever changing like that at the very least. She would always say everything in that 'cheer team' voice."
He adjusted his position on my lap before he continued.
"She definitely didn't have any power like that before. That thing felt…unnatural."
"Yeah, it had this eerie feeling to it. It felt oddly familiar to me." I couldn't remember where I encountered something like that. But, I was sure that I had.
"Great! Another mystery to solve. Not to mention the 'mother-daughter' bonding you get to go through, Jr."
"Hahaha…Yeah~. I can't wait~."
I can, in fact, wait.
"I'm sure it won't be that bad! She seemed…more tolerable at the end there! Right, Lan!?"
"...Um, Good luck?"
Mmm, reallllyyy wasn't what I was hoping to hear.
OMG! That is soooo crazyyyy~ Not really a surprise, but Lan's mother is a total wack job! Plus, she isn't dead! Like not even a little bit! When will our lovely couple get some time to themselves? Honestly, it has been too long it feels like. Maybe I'll give them a break? Maybe? Sorry I took so long btw. I had a reaallyyy hard time deciding where I wanted the story to go. Even at the last second I changed it lmao. Soon it's going to have been a year since I started this. Maybe I'll make an anniversary chapter or something. I mean, Lan and Lily have yet to even celebrate theirs that much. That might be cool. Idk, maybe I'll completely forget about it even though it's the first thing I've ever written that's more than 3 sentences long. Anyway, see ya'll whenever!