A/N: This is an omake of some sections I wanted to write that kinda fit it with some chapters but I felt like they'd ruin the pacing. There was about three ideas I had, so I'm going to give you an emotional sandwich. Fluff-Angst-Fluff.
Also, I'll just be honest. After… this week in America let's say… I didn't feel like writing an Ace Attorney case that's going to go into the politics of a nobility system ruled by people behind the scenes who don't give a shit about the citizens. Next week for sure, but enjoy the Omake for now.
I'll answer the comments then too, as per usual. For now I'm going to play F/GO and grind away at the lottery. I summoned the elf waifu Britomart (after shelling out some money because I needed a win this week damn it) so I need to grind her to 10/10/10.
Zeta and Delta Have a Strange Relationship
-P2W/Zeta-
If one were to ask Zeta what her opinion on her Delta is, she'd say that she thinks she's nice but dumb and annoying. The two girls have been constantly fighting since they first met.
It's not as though they hate each other per se, but due to the fact that they differ so much it was only natural that they'd but heads. However, as Gamma would say, they can only argue due to them not only differing, but because they're close as well.
Zeta would deny this, of course.
Or, at least she used to.
However, ever since that one time…
-Zeta-
It had been a normal day like any other. I had been on a recon mission and deeply missed my Master, so I went to Mitsugoshi to go and see if he was helping with business matters again or if Alpha or Gamma had seen him.
Much to my and rest of the shades' envy, Alpha and Gamma were the ones who got to spend time with Cid both as Lord Shadow and his everyday persona.
Grr… I should've come up with something better than Zetan!
…or maybe sat out that heist with Lion… Lee-on. Lee-on. Lee-on.
Lion.
Fuck!
It's that dumb dog's fault! I swear!
Whatever, if that guy hadn't seen me or my hair I'd be able to probably show up more in the day to day stuff. But I can't ever stomach the idea of hiding the pride of my tribe so I'll just have to live with it.
Anyway, wanting to have my master pamper me as I deserved, I was walking in the halls of Mitsugoshi as I saw Alpha walk in that maid outfit of hers.
Hm…
I wonder if Master would enjoy if I wore one…
"Alpha~!" called out the boobie elf.
I looked and saw Beta skipping in a frilly pink outfit. It kinda looks close to a maid's outfit, though it shows off a bit too much of her chest. I wouldn't ever be caught dead in something like that, but seeing as how it allowed Beta's "Betas" to bounce maybe I should consider it so that Master would pay more attention to me.
Actually, why is Beta wearing something like a maid outfit? [A/N: it's her valentines outfit from the game.]
I decided to follow after her, since she seemed to know where Alpha was.
I walk to the kitchen and see Alpha in her elegant maid outfit beginning to cook something next to Beta who has started to assist her.
They seem pretty into it—and I don't want to be roped into helping—so I made the generous decision to just wait until they're done so that I can eat—I mean taste test whatever it is they're making.
It was just…
"Kya!" cried Beta as the item born from Shadow Wisdom known as a "Mixer" activates and causes the batter she was working with to spill all over her.
Alpha would then go to help her clean her off like she has since we were little. "Come now, don't tell me you're still that girl getting used to her growing body."
"S-sorry…" Beta retreated into herself a little, blushing a little.
Alpha would then giggle and cup Beta's cheek. She then… slowly removed some of the batter from near Beat's lip with her thumb and then licked it off while making eye contact with Beta. "Should I show you your place?"
"Hawawa?" Beta was a blushing mess. Honestly my jaw dropped too.
Alpha chuckled then circled Beta and moved both her hands onto the mixer and the bowl. "You know, how to place your arms. You were doing it wrong. Here. Follow. My. Lead." Alpha then made sure to strategically hold firmly onto Beta so that her chest was pressed against her back. Beta's ears were beginning to droop due to her essentially melting in Alpha's embrace, only exacerbated by Alpha noticing the weakness and blowing into Beta's exposed ear. "Fuu~3"
"Mm~" Beta started to bite her lip.
However right when I—Beta, right when Beta started to get comfortable Alpha let go.
"It looks like the batter's done~" sung the siren that was Lady Shade. "Let's go ahead and put it on the sheet to cook now."
Beta was left squirming in place, clearly unsatisfied. I then see Beta see Alpha bend at the waist—something she never does—as she puts the baked goods in the oven. This causes Beta to be distracted by the cake underneath Alpha's skirt.
Alpha, being Alpha, of course saw this and looks back to Beta with a smirk. Beta flounders to come up with an answer as to why she had slightly bent her self to get a better look. But Alpha doesn't give her the chance, strutting up to Beta and cupping her chin to force her to look Alpha in the eye.
Then I saw the scandalous sight of Alpha kissing Beta on the cheek.
"Aw… my little princess is a little bit of a mess, isn't she?" cooed Alpha. "I mean just look at this. I think you got some batter on your chest."
"Eh, n-no I don't." Beta stuttered confusedly until she saw Alpha start to move down.
"Really?" said Alpha as she used her finger to slowly trail from Beta's chin down to the place that her chest was exposed and then pull it down. "So, I shouldn't lick it off?"
"aglhasdldjkhda! Yes please."
I had no words for the scene I began to witness.
"Ah! Kitty-cat!" shouted that damned dog.
I panicked, feeling my ears and tail perk up in surprise as I rushed towards her and immediately pushed her a few feet from the door I was perving onwatching my fellow sister wives.
"Shh!" I did my best to try and make sure the stupid dog… "What are you wearing?"
"Ah. It's a maid outfit! Cute right?" Delta was dressed in a cute maid outfit clearly built to suit her and her active lifestyle. She also had her hair in a ponytail that really suited her. [A/N: The recent one from the anniversary event]
What?
What?
"Er… yeah. I guess." I said.
"Yay-mph." Delta tried to lift her arms in cheer again but I just covered her mouth.
"Shh! They might hear you!" I said.
Delta gripped my hands and took it off her mouth. I hate to admit it but in a contest of pure strength alone Delta does have me beat, so she did so pretty easily.
"What's going on? Are you playing hide and seek? Alpha and Beta are going to be baking something so this probably isn't a good hiding place." Delta tried to lecture me as though I could learn something from her.
…I kinda did.
See because right when we had talked in the hall, a certain booby elf made a sound that usually only occurs when Master is home, and I can't smell him right now.
Scandalized I looked to Delta, as I figured she'd be as mad for the two cheating on Master. Only for Delta to look slightly annoyed.
"Ugh!" pouted Delta as she stomped her foot "They promised we'd bake cookies together without them getting all kissy again!"
I remember blinking in complete shock.
"They do this regularly?!" I asked.
Delta looked at me like I was the stupid one. "Uh, yeah?"
"But what about Lord Sh—what about Cid!?" I almost shrieked.
Delta just waved her hands back and forth as she bounced on her feet, as though what she was about to say wasn't something surprising at all. "Bossman watches sometimes? What do you mean?"
My mind went blank at that.
Not knowing what to ask I ended up asking, "Do… do you get all… kissy with the other girls?"
But Delta puffed her cheeks at that. "No… Beta says that I'm too much of an little sister to her, Epsilon doesn't realize she wants to get all kissy with Beta yet, Eta's mouth is always full of poison, and Gamma always has that stuff on her lips that tastes weird."
"Her lipstick?" I asked.
"Yeah that!" confirmed Delta. "Oh, and I don't really like kissing Alpha unless we're with the Bossman, it feels kinda wrong when he's not there."
I just nodded.
Not knowing what to do I just sat down on the ground. Delta looked at me expectantly so I tapped a spot near me. She sat there, but then laid down on my lap without asking. Figuring I needed something to distract me from the sounds the lewdest of creatures was making in the room behind us, I started to run my hand over her head and back like I've seen master do all the time.
"They…" I said distractedly, "They're really going at it…"
"Mhm, Alpha and Beta usually go at it for a about an hour before they get bored." Said Delta.
"Aren't the cookies going to burn?"
"Alpha can mulit-mul-mm… Alpha can do Beta and the cookies."
"Mm."
I just scratched the dumb dog's ears a little.
"So… you also kiss girls?"
"Mhm…. Well, sometimes."
"What's that like?"
"Wanna try?"
"Eh?"
Delta ended up pinning me down in the hallway then and there.
I don't remember what happened after that, other than apparently Nu found us, then ran and got Cid who… calmed us down.
-P2W/Zeta-
Since then, Zeta and Delta would often seek each other out whenever either felt particularly frisky and Cid was nowhere in sight. Thanks to this, Zeta would see a part of Delta that no-one except for likely Cid has seen.
Like this one instance where in the middle of production of the ships as instructed by Leon and Cid, Zeta had went to Delta's room… which is to say, the room that served as Cid's office with a futon (read: doggy bed) in the middle… there was also a large cardboard box off to the side, but that's not important right now.
In any case, Zeta had walked into Delta's room while she knew she'd been in, aiming to work out their frustration and not seeing Cid lately. Both had been told by Alpha to leave her alone for a bit, as she apparently 'had to go to the bathroom alone' or something like that.
But the strangest thing had occurred this day.
Zeta walked into the room…
And saw Delta… reading a book.
It wasn't a short picture book either. It looked like one that Cid would read when he was bored.
Delta noticed Zeta, put a bookmark in her book before setting it down, and happily… walked up to her. Not trotted, not pranced, not walked on fours, not ran, she didn't even have her hands up like little paws. No, she just… walked like a normal person up to Zeta.
"Zeta…! I missed you…!" cheered Delta as she gave Zeta a hug. Delta's tail wagged happily, and her ears twitched from her joy.
Zeta couldn't make out any words, and didn't hug back, but Delta was used to Zeta's tsundere-isms at this point and didn't mind. Delta then began to sniff at Zeta, getting familiar with her scent again.
Zeta would usually return the gesture, but at this point in time her mind was occupied.
Since when did Delta know how to say 'I'? Since when did she read? Thought Zeta.
"H…Hey… Delta." Greeted Zeta nervously. "You… you're reading a pretty big book there…"
"Hm?" Delta quirked her head to the side as she took in Zeta's words. She then perked up, "Oh! Yeah, Cid said that I had something called AD—WOAH! Hey! What's the big idea!"
Zeta, who had taken out her sword and leveled it at Delta's nose began to yell with tears in her eyes. "WHO ARE YOU!? WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY DUMB DOGGY!?"
To Zeta, seeing Delta walk around normally, talk normally, and act a lot smarter than normal was about as disturbing as seeing your pet Great Dane stand on its hind legs and start saying 'I love you.'
"I'M NOT DUMB! CID SAID MY BRAIN JUST WORKS DIFFERENTLY!"
"DELTA WOULD NEVER TALK LIKE THAT! WHERE IS SHE!? WHERE'S MY DUMB SEXY DOGGY!?"
"GRRRRRRR!"
"HISSSSSSSS!"
.
.
.
"Zeta."
Zeta jumped up from where she was laying down. She frantically looks around to see Alpha staring down at her.
"Alpha…?" asked Zeta groggily.
"I told you to stop sleeping in your box here, you keep having strange dreams whenever you do." Alpha sighed with her hands on her hips as she looks down on Zeta.
Delta prances in the room. "Told'ya kitty cat shouldn't have a box in—eep!"
"Delta." Zeta tore through her ox and crawled towards Delta, holding the girl's face in her eyes. "Do you know how to read?"
"Eh…? Kinda…?" said Delta. "Bossman said it'd be good for Delta and taught Delta some st-stra—some stra—Bossman was really cool!"
Zeta, to Alpha and Delta's confusion, would break down crying and hug Delta for all she was worth. Delta enjoyed the attention.
Hanabi's Hero
Inspired by totntotbt's comments.
-P2W/Marie-
There was one memory that Marie would constantly think back to whenever she began to feel lonely. It was one from her past life, from when she was extremely young.
Truth be told, Marie / Hanabi's personality hasn't really changed over the years. As a child in Japan, Hanabi was very precocious. She was used to acting cute and having people do what she asked, and for the most part that's just how her life worked.
Except with one person. Her older brother Hiro, or as she called him bubby. [A/N: Localization sometimes comes up with something cute, "bubby" is frankly adorable.]
She couldn't have been older than 6 at the time, but she remembers that she had begged her brother to go out to the park. When he said no, she asked her parents, and they forced him to take her. Admittedly the day had been hotter than she expected, and she regretted the decision immediately, but she didn't want Hiro to know that and so she spent an hour at the park before they started heading back.
However, on their way back Hanabi had tripped and skinned her knee. She ended up bawling immediately, begging for her bubby to carry her back home.
Her brother refused.
"It's not that bad." He said. "You can walk by yourself. You'd make my back all sweaty if I carried you. Plus, you're heavy."
As Hanabi had been used to the fact that she could get her way by her being a small and dainty child, she was immediately shocked from her sobs. "Huh?"
"See, you were only pretending to cry. I hate it when you put on a show like that. You're not fooling me."
The narrow street was relatively deserted. Hanabi sat there, mouth opening and closing as she tried to come up with a response, unable to understand why her brother didn't do as she asked like everyone else.
"B-But my knee hurts."
"It's proof you're alive, be glad."
"I—I want you to carry me. I won't be able to make it back home if you don't."
"Really? Then just stay here. If you don't like that, then walk back by yourself, brat."
"Jerkface!"
"I'm fine with being a jerk! If I have to choose between being your slave and being a jerk, I'll happily be a jerk!" declared Hiro with a smile as he turned around and left Hanabi to begin a temper tantrum so big that she ended up tiring herself out and falling asleep.
The reason Marie would think back to that memory whenever she felt lonely, especially in her current life, is because just like how her attitude had made her brother ignore her and leave her to suffer the consequences of her own actions then, she can only see him walking further and further away from her now.
It all started like it always did, her wanting to live her life without consequences.
Hanabi got jealous over how popular her older brother was getting when he started his career. He almost never had time outside of his job, and when he did, he'd spend it with his new girlfriend. Marie couldn't be bothered to remember the woman, but given Leon's current partners she'd be willing to bet that she had either a nice figure or blonde hair…
Actually, thinking on it, Marie's pretty sure she had some kind of bob cut…
In any case, due to her jealousy and her general disregard for her brother's feelings Hanabi had decided to plot his downfall, by saying that the Yaoi she hid in his room was his. Hanai had figured she'd blackmail him a little bit but then makeup for it later. She didn't really realize the magnitude of her actions until Leon would go on to chastise her after they met properly in their current lives.
Not only did Hiro (Leon) move out because he didn't feel comfortable with his parents due to their views on homosexuals, but he also lost his government job due to similar reasoning once his parents told everyone they knew. On top of that, his girlfriend broke up with him because she thought she was being used as a 'beard,' and their friends at the time stopped talking to him because they were upset he'd do that to her.
Now Marie finds that she almost ruined her bubby's life again just by trying to be happy… no, she knows it's because she went overboard. In truth she could have just settled for one of the boys, and given what she knows about them given that she's been constantly with them for the past few months, if she just ensnared the one she would have had them wrapped around her finger.
Heck, if Marie hadn't doubled down on trying to make things play out like the game then it would have been very likely that she could have even had her golden five lover route.
But she did. Now she's stuck with five idiots who barely grow. She tried to get rid of them by admitting to everything, but all it did was make them double down on trying to appeal to her…
She kinda enjoyed it.
She'd enjoy it more if those dumbasses knew how to earn money in a way other than adventuring. If they couldn't adventure then Marie and Kyle would be stuck feeing five useless bums on their own, for now they're lucky enough to have some help from the five idiots' household maids.
But Marie can't really bring herself to enjoy her situation all that much. Even ignoring that time Claire threw her in a jail just because, Marie's life is awfully isolated.
The boys treat her like some kind of… alien or goddess… or alien goddess sent to them from another world. They may have never denied her anything but now it seems like anything she does has some kind of greater meaning.
Kyle doesn't seem to care that much about her, and is way more precocious than his in-game counterpart led her to believe.
None of the girls would bother making friends with her, though she doesn't really mind that too much given what the women of this kingdom were like. But she'll admit it'd be nice to have a girl friend like all the ones she had in her past life, as superficial as those girls could be… now that she recalls some of them only hung out with her because they liked her brother…
Speaking of, her brother is… very sure that he never wants to be her brother again. Hiro died hating Hanabi, and Leon apparently doesn't want to know Marie.
It hurts to think that her bubby won't ever help her again.
That he'll just walk out of her life forever.
It's not like he needs her.
He has several people around him now.
Lot of them girls.
Some of them aren't even interested in him too, since they're with that weird mob guy.
And that protagonist! That girl that's so much more affectionate, supportive, and reliable that she could ever be…!
Sometimes she wants to just trade the five idiots in for her brother, so that he'll dote on her and make things okay again.
Leon is always fixing stuff, a habit from his last life. He'd grumble about stuff and put it off as long as possible, but he'd always come forward when it counted.
But now he can't
But now Bubby is in trouble.
Even though he's done so much all by himself.
Even though he's saved the students so many times.
Even though he's…
"Boys!" shouted Marie a few days after Leon had been locked up, "It's time we stepped up and helped Leon! He's done so much for the country but this country has never done anything for him!"
"It gave him at least 5 girls." Supplied Kyle.
With a swift smack to the back of Kyle's head Marie continued, "For Aniki!"
The five idiots who didn't really like Leon so much as the respected him, and honestly were super bored, all raised their arms. "For Aniki!"
-P2W-
Leon stared at the sorry state of the 7 individuals in front of him with a mix of schadenfreude and pity.
"So…" said Leon as he took in the injured appearance of all the men in front of him, "What'd you do?"
"We tried to help you."
Leon just nodded.
"That's why I never ask for help."
[Yes, you just tell people to do things for you.]
"Quiet you."
Sniffle*
Leon turns to see Marie, who had a few lumps on her head, sniffling.
"What's your deal?" he asked.
"Yo, aniki," said Greg with his hands folded behind his head, "can't you be a little nicer? Your sister tried the hardest out of all of us to help you."
"That's right." Said Jilk, "Marie had come before all of our families with us to ask for their help in rescuing you."
Julius rubbed the side of his face where a visible hand print was, "Although we took the brunt of the punishment, most of us do have mothers and sisters that took out their aggression on her… honestly I didn't expect my mother to slap me and then use the back of her hand to slap Marie."
"Well thanks, but it's not necessary. Go home and earn money or whatever." Leon shooed them off.
"Come now, surely you can at least thank us for our efforts? We're doing a lot more than your lovers." Said Brad, earning a glare from Leon.
"Excuse me?" said Leon in a dark tone.
Chris adjusted his glasses, which may highlight his looks if his looks weren't currently muddied by several bruises, "Well I suppose it isn't fair to say that. None of his lovers are the current heads nor heirs of their houses and hold no power. Princess Iris may have stood a chance, but I believe she's currently finishing up with the Bushin festival."
Iris also isn't the crown princess anymore. Ever since the king sent me that letter it's been Alexia. Thought Leon.
"My lovers are doing what I expect. They're helping in their own ways." Leon walked up to the bars of the cell. Despite the fact that Leon was shorter than all the 5 heirs, in this moment he seemed to tower over them. "Don't you dare talk badly about them."
The men all kneeled.
"Sorry."
"Apologies."
"My bad."
"Won't happen again."
"I apologize."
Leon just nodded while walking back to his seat.
"Bubby…" muttered Marie.
"Stop calling me that."
"But Bubby!"
"I'm not your brother anymore, honestly I interact with you seven more than I ever need to."
"But I don't want to see you die again!"
Leon grimaces. "You didn't exactly see me die the first time either."
"I don't want you to die alone again! It's my fault that you had to take charge and correct everything right? I can't let that happen to you! I can't fail you again!"
"Stop talking about our past life! Move on already!"
"The fact that we remember our past lives means that we should remember them! Just pushing it away into the back of your head and pretending it never happened isn't healthy!"
"Constantly living in the past isn't either! Believe me I remember my past life, and I never want to be that loser again!"
The room falls silent.
"Barfort…" If there's anything to say about Julius, it's that in his route people found him to be the most sympathetic and willing to learn. Of course, that's because of a gradual change over three years that never happened here, but sometimes Marie sees hints of it pop every now and again. "What do you mean by loser? From what Marie told us, you were pretty popular with women in your last life."
Leon scoffed, "Oh yeah, I was so popular—for about five seconds. Anytime I mentioned a nerdy hobby I had any girl talking to me immediately dropped me. I helped people all the time but anytime I needed help, or hell anytime I just needed someone to listen suddenly everyone had something else to do."
"Bubby…"
"I had a girlfriend you know! I loved her! I was planning on proposing to her! I thought she trusted me! I thought my family loved me! But all it took was one thing for them to get the wrong idea and drop me faster than a flaming sack of shit!"
"Mom and Dad did love you!"
"Mom maybe! She's the only one in my past life that ever told me she loved me! Hell, it's not common practice in this world to say that to your kids so my current mom and dad never said it to me!"
"Dad mourned you!"
"Yeah? Only at the funeral when his clients and other people he had to look good in front of I bet!"
Marie doesn't say anything.
Leon, who claimed to have moved on and would claim that he never cared about his past life's father, started to tear up.
"…Even in this life, if it weren't for me finding Luxion I never would have amounted to anything. I can hear people say they love me all the time…" Leon looks down and his shoulders begin to shake, "But it's so hard to believe it sometimes… They'd never love Hiro. No one did. I can't even say I remember Hiro fondly, and trust me I can't ever forget my life as him… I need to just be Leon. People might actually be there for him… Just… just go, alright? Don't worry about me anymore."
…
…
"Okay…" said Marie as she got up and wiped tears from her eyes. "Be safe…Leon."
The men all start to get up as well. As they begin to file out Leon calls out again.
"By the way, what have you guys even been doing? I stopped keeping tabs on you when we came back to Holfort." He asked.
"Adventuring." Supplied Jilk.
"We're pretty damn good at it too." Boasted Greg.
With a flourish of his hair Brad declares, "Perhaps in time we'll be able to find our own lost item and surpass you."
Leon rolls his eyes before a thought occurs to him.
"Wait… is that it?" Leon got up again, "You know that isn't sustainable right?"
"Eh?"
"Well yea, adventuring is only half of the way to success. Most adventurers make their money by either investing into a business like I did with Mitsugoshi, or by pledging themselves to a house." Pointed out Leon, "I mean, you're going to get injured eventually. Even if Marie can heal you, heck even if my girls heal you dumbasses, you'll get old eventually. Or what about if you have kids? You can't exactly take them with you."
Jilk tries to provide a half-baked plan, "M-marie and Kyle-"
"Please tell me your entire homelife plan is not to just leave them to do everything at home. Please tell me you can pick up after yourself…" Leon looks to all the abashed men and Marie and Kyle who have dejected looks on their faces. "Can you lot at least cook!? You need to do that whenever you're out!"
"We use rations…"
As Leon began to lecture all of the boys, Marie is reminded of that memory again. Of how it really ended.
She remembered tiring herself out crying, just sitting on the ground waiting. Only to see through her blurry vision a boy approaching, albeit while cursing underneath his breath.
"You idiot. If you had the energy to cry yourself to sleep, you should have just walked."
Despite being upset still, Marie had known that she could rely on her brother and climbed on his back. She had been able to safely relax while resting against him, even going so far as to drool as she finally fell asleep.
"Why do you rely on me like this?" said little Hiro with a small smile.
No matter the life, even if Leon had a foul mouth, he was kind.
Marie begins to giggle.
"What are you laughing at?" grumbled Leon.
Marie begins to shove her boys out of the dungeon.
"Nothing~! Bye-bye Bubby!" Marie waved happily as they all left the room.
"Hey! I said stop calling me that!" shouted Leon.
Leon and Alpha are Friends Too
-P2W/Alpha-
Despite being pregnant, I am not made out of glass. Even if literally everyone in my life would insist otherwise. Thought Alpha as she found herself once again working from her shared bed with her 'Darling' Cid.
As Beatrix fluffed her pillows, Epsilon brought a slime that mimicked a hot water bottle, Delta stood at the side of the bed waiting for anything to happen, and Gamma and Nu doing their best to make sure almost no work needed her approval, Alpha could confidently feel she felt loved… if a bit smothered.
Seriously… Alpha lamented within her mind while showing none of it on the outside, I wonder if this is why Darling does so many missions by himself. I never thought of love and care having a weight to it, but this amount of doting is starting to become its own heavy burden, and I'm still only about a month or so along. I can't help but wonder how much worse it's going to get when the baby bump appears…
The one person who's help hasn't been stifling was Yumeria, the one mother of a half-elf Alpha knew. Honestly if anything Alpha may had been bothering Yumeria with all of her questions over what Yumeria's life was after becoming pregnant with Kyle.
(Lady Alice~ I~ Have~ Arrived~!)
The little gray orb with the blue center once again intrudes into Alpha's private quarters with a loud voice, accompanying it are one Deirdre Fou Roseblade and Clarice Fia Atlee.
"Heya~!" Clarice happily walked in with a bag of ice creams. "I figured you'd get sick of all the stuff pregnant women usually eat so I got some dessert!"
"You are a good woman, thank you." Said Alpha as she reached for the bag.
"Mhm, right well I didn't bring a present myself, but," Deirdre flipped her hair, "I came to deliver a message from Leon as he nor Luxion trusted Cleare to deliver it by herself."
(Hubby's so meaaaaaaan…)
"Oh?" said Beatrix. "Cid isn't here right now. Should I take Sara and go find him?"
Deirdre shook her head, "No, this is a message meant directly for Alice. According to Leon it was something he talked to Cid about already but Cid insisted we ask you."
Deirdre hands over a letter to Alpha, only for it to be snatched and inspected by Delta, then Beatrix, then finally handed to Alpha. Alpha just shakes her head before she reads, and what she finds brings a smile to her face.
"Heh." Alpha smiles gently, "As Darling would say, 'good ol' Leon.'"
"What is it?" asked Delta. "Sara didn't know what any of the thingy said."
"It's a schematic of a device from Old Humanity." Explained Alpha. "You recall Luxion right?"
"The meanie ball." Said Delta.
(Hihihi~)
Cleare, Clarice, and Deirdre all laugh lightly at Delta's statement.
"Yes, the ball that's a little rude." Alpha patted Delta on the head while showing her a picture included in the letter. "According to Leon, Luxion's original purpose was to help the Old Humans finds somewhere to repopulate."
Delta opens her mouth.
"To mate and have lots of babies when the rest of their tribe died." Explained Alpha.
"Wait," said Clarice as she got a look at the picture, "What's that got to do with the machine?"
Alpha showed the picture of the machine to Deirdre and Clarice. In the picture was a machine that looked much like a mix of a bed and small shower to the aristocratic ladies.
(Ah, I see. Allow me to explain. This is a birthing tube. A healing machine specializing in helping women give birth. Almost no magic is involved in the process so if Alice wanted she could choose to use it and not worry about experiencing any pain or danger when giving birth. Furthermore, it also cuts down on the amount of time needed to give birth. Though it depends on the position of the baby in your womb, it shouldn't take more than an hour usually.)
CRASH!*
The occupants of Alpha's room turn to see Yumeria with a glass pitcher and cup broken at her feet. What's more interesting is that Yumeria, who normally looks as though she couldn't bring herself to even step on a flower, looked positively murderous. Delta did make sure to get closer, but ultimately deemed Yumeria not a threat despite her rage.
"L-Lady… Alice…" said Yumeria as she spoke through gritted teeth, "Permission to swear… at least once?"
"Granted…?" said Alpha more curious than anything.
"YOU LUCKY BITCH!" shouted Yumeria at the top of her lungs… which is to say it really sounded like 'you lucky bitch'
Everyone in the room watches as Yumeria stomps her foot on top of the broken glass in rage.
"I HAD TO CHEW ON SOME HORSE REINS SO I WOULDN'T BREAK MY TEETH AS I GAVE BIRTH TO KYLE IN A BARN FEELING NOTHING BUT PAIN FOR HOURS ON END BUT YOU GET TO BASICALLY SHIT OUT YOURS!? IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR! NOT FAIR!" Yumeria basically grinded the glass to dust underneath her boots. Finally, she took a deep breath. "*INHALE* *Exhale* Apologies… I'm going to leave now and cool my head."
Yumeria then slammed the door behind her.
"…I mean…" said Clarice as Beatrix cleaned up the glass dust, "I get it… I can't imagine my mom would be happy when I get to use the machine."
"Yes. I hope this hasn't made her too angry at me. I have much to ask about caring for a half-elf child still." Said Alpha.
Deirdre nodded as a thought occurred to her. "You know, it never really occurred to me before, but are you and Leon friends as well? You did happen to travel in the same adventuring party, didn't you?"
"Hm… well, I'm not as close to him as Cid. But I do view him as a trustworthy friend, yes. In all honestly, I think I could count the amount of times I spoke to Leon one-on-one with one hand." Said Alpha.
"I mean, I figured, but like is he just Cid's friend or do you actually think he's a friend. Because I think Cid's nice and all, but I never really see him unless he was already hanging out with Leon." Said Clarice.
Alpha nodded, understanding where Clarice was coming from. "Yes, I imagine that I'm the only one of Cid's wives that has had a conversation with Leon outside of that time at the resort. But I acknowledge him as Cid's best male friend. In all honesty he hasn't changed since our days as adventurers…"
Alpha trails off as she sees stars in the eyes of Leon's lovers.
I suppose that if Olivia were to say she knew something about Darling then I would also be sitting rapt with attention.
"Well there was this one time you may care to hear about…"
-Alice (Alpha)-
See at this time I was around 16 years old. We were about two weeks into our journey with Leon. It may be strange to say, but I had been rather envious of Leon at the time.
See, Leon has this strange ability to either get along with someone or make them hate him within seconds.
Yup
No arguments here.
Giggle* Anyway, in this case Cid and Claire had grown rather attached to him. If you haven't figured it out, I was envious of his bond with Cid.
Despite not knowing each other for long, the two practically acted as though they were long lost brothers. There was some kind of connection between the two that I… lacked. Part of me thinks that they were able to get along so well because they were both boys, but I feel like there's some kind of in-joke they've been sharing that no one else is privy to.
But back then, there was one thing in particular that bothered me. Leon's ability to make Cid laugh.
…Girl what?
No, listen, I know how that sounds—
Petty, for starters Miss Alice.
I know! But listen. I'd known Cid since we were about 9 years old. However, until we met Leon I had never heard Cid laugh as deeply as he had during the adventure. I could maybe manage to get a small smile or at best a short chuckle, but Leon managed to get Cid to laugh for several minutes regularly!
I had no idea how he did it.
So one day I had waited until Claire dragged Cid off somewhere to corner Leon… and Olivia, because I wasn't formally with Cid yet and didn't want him getting the wrong idea.
I recall that Leon and Olivia had just finished cleaning their plates from having just recently eaten breakfast. The kitchen wasn't that big of a room, more of a stove and sink in the bottom of the ship opposite side of the engine.
I recall waiting outside the door as I waited for the two to finish.
I don't recall what Leon and Olivia were talking about at the time but I recall our conversation going something like…
"Right, so when you fight those monsters you're going to want to—AAAAH! Yeesh, Alice what are you doing waiting here like that!?"
Pffft! Did Leon seriously scream like that!? [A/N: Imagine Finn from Adventure Time's high pitched scream.]
I'm pretty sure it was higher than the sound I just made, but yes.
Ohohoho! I must try to elicit a similar response from him later!
In any case I had then used my leg to kick Leon's and force him to bend down a little. When he did I grabbed him by the collar and demanded, "Teach me how to make Cid laugh."
"…What?" asked Leon as Olivia began to heal his leg.
"You make Cid laugh all the time, how do I do that?" I asked.
"…Have… have you tried telling him a joke?" asked Leon as he slowly pried my fingers off his collar.
"Is that what you do?"
"That or accidentally embarrass myself somehow, but since you've got a crush on the guy you probably don't want to do that."
I dropped Leon like a hot potato.
This time Olivia had elected to not heal him, and instead scolded him, "Mister Leon! You can't just say stuff like that out loud! That's a big no-no!"
Oh my gosh I forgot she used to call him that, that's so adorable.
Leon felt much the same at the time. If I recall his response to Olivia was, "Could you say that again?"
"Eh?"
"Just one more time, please?"
Olivia put one hand on her hip and wagged her other hand's finger at Leon. "Mister Leon that's a big no-no!"
Honestly I thought it was pretty cute as well.
I gotta get Livia to say that to me later.
As do I.
"Leon." I stated firmly.
Leon jumped up and saluted. "Yes ma'am!"
"…do you have any good jokes?" I asked.
Leon smiled and wrote some down for me to use. Honestly, neither I nor Olivia completely got them but I didn't have any jokes myself either. So I took the paper Leon gave me, memorized it, then kept it in my pocket just in case.
Then, when Cid and Claire came back, Leon dragged Claire off so that I could privately tell Cid my jokes… well I'm pretty sure they were all watching from the door leading downstairs, but they were at least out of sight.
"C-Cid…" I stuttered out.
"What is it?" asked Cid with a quirk of his head.
"W…What…What is your father's favorite fruit?"
"Uh… I don't know honestl—"
"Papaya…"
…
"I… I uh. Was going to learn Kendo. But I never did. Shinai."
…
"Why wasn't the plush toy hungry?"
"…Why?"
"He was already stuffed…"
…
"Why can't you tell jokes around glass?"
"Why?"
"Because it'll crack up."
At this point Cid was smiling. I recalled looking to the door way and saw Leon and Olivia giving me thumbs up. Claire was too, but she was pretty confused.
"Have you heard of the roof joke?"
"Can't…Can't say I have."
"Don't worry about it, it'd just go over your head…"
At that point both Cid and I were beginning to crack up. I think he knew where I got the jokes from, but he really appreciated me telling him them myself.
"Why… *snrk* why didn't the lamp sink?"
"These are so bad" muttered Cid with a smile he was trying to keep down, "Why?"
"B-b-because it was too light..." I stuttered out.
At that point I was on my last joke.
"Why… *giggle* why is a ghost *giggle* such a bad liar?" I said while doing my best to hold myself together.
Cid wasn't much better, he had to cover his mouth so that he could hold himself back, he couldn't even ask me the question back… I loved seeing him like that.
"Because you can see right through them!" I shouted with glee as both Cid and I devolved into laughter.
Through his laughter and wheezes Cid had said something like "That was so cute oh my god! Who taught you those jokes!?"
I recall that day rather fondly…
As I finish reminiscing, I see Deirdre and Clarice adopt complicated expressions. Their mouths are fighting smiles, but their eyebrows are furrowed.
"Leon's not going to be telling jokes like that after we have kids is he…?" Clarice asked herself.
Deirdre shook her head, "I'm sure it's mainly in the delivery… but I can't say I much care to hear those types of jokes… surely they won't be constant…?"
"Well I thought you and Lion were funny!" added Delta.
I could only happily laugh.
.
.
.
A/N: By the way, I know that the actual timeline was Leon moved out, Marie hid the books in his room one day, his mom came to clean his place (a pretty common thing in Japanese books), Mom found the books.
Most of the stuff like he worked in a black company and had a previously well-respected job, and girlfriend was something I made up. I would think switching from having Leon fall down the stairs to having a heart attack would've been obvious enough to show I changed stuff from the past life.
I figured I should point that out since when I saw some people get some things in canon confused with fanon I think I saw some people cite what I said.