Hrghh... Cene, don't go too far now... Nelly, look after you brotherrr... Humu, those kids sure are getting along well... Wait, since when did Nelly come back from Uni?
"Ghack!" I jumped out of bed, "Gah, I overslept!"
"Shhh..." Cecily continued to roll around in bed, "It's Sunday, you guys said that's your rest day, right?"
"Oh, right..." I awkwardly laid back in bed, "Sorry for startling you. Guess I just got too used to the grind."
"Yeah, no worries." She smiled with her Eyes still half-shut, "Hey, since you're free today, maybe we could do that?"
That? Hold on, when she says "that", she couldn't possibly be referring to "that" that, right? Wait, I get that we haven't done "that" in a while, but the house is more crowded than ever. What if the others hear us? Or wait, maybe she got so pent-up that she just doesn't care? Or could it be that she awakened to the idea of us doing "that" in secret? Maybe... Maybe she wants someone to catch us? Well, I doubt she'd be loud enough for that to happen, but still! T-This has to be some sort of joke, but I'm really betting my all on it not being one!
"You sure?" I asked vaguely just to make sure we're on the same page, "I mean, I'm down, but what will we do about Cene?"
"We can just ask someone from the house to watch over him." She reasoned, "And besides, we haven't done it in a while anyways."
"Gulp..." I felt a cold sweat as I dared to ask, my Eyes wide open by this point, "A-And just to make sure, you're talking about~?"
"A date." She giggled mischievously before turning her back to me, "What else, silly?"
Gahh! She led me on for nothing! Dammit, I should've known... Ugh, looking back, of course she wouldn't mean "that". I still haven't fixed my teeth yet. Man, I thought just scrubbing them regularly would get them back to how they were before, but I think I might need to go to the dentist, after all. Sigh, I never did like the dentist, but I'm willing to put my fears aside for the greater good.
"Where you going?" She noticed me getting out of bed.
"Yeah, now that I woke up, I really can't go back to sleep." I smiled, "You can rest, don't worry. I'll just be in the yard."
"Hey, you still haven't answered my question." She rolled back over, "Are we gonna go on that date or not?"
"Yeah, of course." I gave her a hearty thumbs up, "Anything for my boo."
"So embarrassing..." She smiled before going back to sleep.
Well, you really can't expect me to go back to bed after such a letdown. I guess you could also say it's a blessing in disguise, since such a spur of the moment occurrence would definitely be a bad idea. I mean, when you think about it, neither of us prepared for it apart from taking our regular showers last night. Not that I'd mind either way, but I'm mostly talking about her. Yeah, I really wanna be in my best shape when we do finally go back to doing it. Oh, someone's using the bathroom this early in the morning?
"Hm? Oh." It was revealed to be a nervous Issei, "H-Hi bud! I-I guess we both woke up pretty early. Old habits die hard, ha-ha..."
"Yeah." I went to open the bathroom door he so hastily shut before getting my path blocked, "Um, I'd like to use the bathroom, please?"
"O-Oh, uhh..." He tried to desperately think of a way to not let me do so, "I-I had some naaaaaasty diarrhea in there. Yeah, eugh, horrible smell. Definitely wouldn't recommend going in there if I were you."
"Oh." I tried ignoring his obvious lie, "Then I guess I'll use the one downstairs."
"O-Okay." He nodded before peeking into the bathroom once I turned my back, "Okay, it's safe now, c'mon!"
You're not fooling anyone, bud... Sigh, I guess things went way better on his side with Othelia. Geez, I'm super envious, why can my guest do that but I can't? And in the bathroom, no less? Were they showering together? I hardly heard anything! Well, he did say she's quiet, but I didn't expect it to be to that degree!
Seeing as I was already awake, I really didn't have anything better to do other than make us breakfast. Now I'm not the best cook, but frying a couple portions of eggs and bacon is enough, I'd say. Obviously, Cene and Aru will be getting one half each, but apart from that, the fridge is basically all emptied up already. Going on grocery runs has never been this annoying... Well, by the time I got everything done on my end, everyone was already awake and eagerly waiting on my homecooked breakfast meal. The Saints seemed to be on slightly better terms, too. Well, if you count awkwardly trying to keep a conversation between them alive as slightly better terms, in any case. After that, though, I mostly spent my time playing with Aru and Cene. I think I'm starting to figure it out now, finally. I think Cene sees Aru as a replacement sister, now that Nelly's gone to University. Maybe that's a good topic to talk about!
"Hey, son." I casually asked as I rolled the tiny transport wagon toy over to him, "You think Nelly's doing good over there?"
"Big sis..." He looked befuddled, "How do you know my big sister?"
"I'm her dad as well..." I deflated a bit, "You're both my kids?"
"Hm." He paused for a second before continuing to play with his toys, "Now you're just making stuff up. You can't be everyone's dad, dummy."
Is my son stupid? Wait, no, that's a bad thing to say about your son, Lune! Even if it may be slightly true! N-No, what if he just still doesn't believe I'm their dad? I shouldn't just write him off as uneducated so early. Wait a second, he IS uneducated! He's a damned toddler, for Prylos' sake!
"Hey, we're gonna go out for a bit." A well-dressed Issei ushered an equally elegant Othelia out the front door, "Just FYI."
"Oh, okay." I nodded, "Wait, didn't I have something to do as well?"
"The date?" Aru reminded me somehow.
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"Shoot! I totally forgot!" I went into the other room to see a deflated Cecily, "The date!"
"Sigh, and here I thought you forgot." She spun around in her adorable dress, "Are you going like that?"
"C-Cute..." I couldn't help but say it out loud, "W-What the, of course not! I can't go out looking like a dope next to you! Sorry, wait just a minute, I'll go put on something proper!"
And so the date has officially begun, albeit a bit later than originally planned...
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"Phew, now then!" I opened the door for her like the gentleman that I am, "Shall we?"
"Dude, I pray to every God I've met that you're not gonna continue to act like that for the rest of the evening." Ed saw my act from the living room.
"Hey, let them be!" Eleanor defended us, "It's their date, don't go butting in!"
"You're just saying that cause you've never had a boyfriend before." He hit here in a critical spot, "Couples don't normally act all over-the-top like that."
"That's it, mister!" She immediately jumped to grapple him on the sofa, "You took it too far! Grah!"
Yeah, let's leave them be. Don't wanna get involved, especially since we're late as is.
"Alright, everything should be ready!" I smiled to my dear wifey as I started listing things off, "Today's the day off, so we're free to go. It's a Sunday, so even without a reservation, our favorite fancy restaurant should have ample space. Anna and Ed said they'll take care of the groceries for tomorrow, so Aru's babysitting Cene. My wallet's in my pocket..."
"Hold on, what?" Cecily stopped.
"Well yeah, I do accept the notion of gender equality, but obviously I'm gonna be the one paying for tonight's dinner." I shrugged.
"No, not that. What you said before." She made a face riddled with worry, "Aru's gonna be alone with Cene?"
Oh right, she still doesn't trust Aru. Damn, at this rate she won't be able to fully enjoy tonight's outing!
"Oh come on, Aru's trustworthy." I reassured her, "Besides, it's not like they're alone. Eleanor, Sigmund and Camilla will be there as well. Nothing to fret over."
"Like they'll do anything. Come on, Lune, Sigmund and Camilla only know how to work, and Eleanor is just way too immature to take care of him!"
"Wow, kinda harsh..." I said, though I internally agreed, "But I really think you should trust Aru more. She's the Goddess of this very continent, she won't do anything bad to us."
"She lied about you reviving, and even now she doesn't want to reveal how or why you did!" Cecily rambled on, "First it's just simple wordplay, but what if she starts turning those words into actions? She's a threat no matter how you look at it, and besides, the only reason she's here is because she's looking for her lover or whatever. She found out that lover isn't here, so I think it's about time she goes searching for him elsewhere."
This... has been weighing down on her for a while. Again, she found Auros annoying, just like anyone else that met him did, but it's not to the degree of her despising the Gods or whatever. After they went to the very top of Mount Ivrys, they met the rest of the Gods (apart from the secret Fifth God Aru's pursuing), and they just flat out told them that they can't do anything about reviving me, so I can understand some resentment from her end. Still, this isn't just some resentment, it's pure hatred and distrust. Honestly, Aru hasn't wronged me once just yet, so I don't care about her staying. No, my choices lie between my son and my wife. If I respect Cecily's wishes and send Aru away, then all the hard work I put in trying to get on Cene's good side will be for nothing. On the other hand, if I favor Cene's wishes and let Aru stay, then I'll just be forcing Cecily's anguish to go on for no reason. What to do...?
"Hey." Cecily quietly muttered, "Sorry for springing that on you all of a sudden. I know you don't wanna hurt Cene's feelings."
"No, I need to come forth with a proper decision." I reassured her, "In any case, if it's causing you so much worry, then I'm sure I can stomach hearing Cene call me a poopy head a few times."
"Pff! Is that seriously the naughtiest swear word he knows?" She chuckled.
"Yeah, at least to my knowledge." I smiled, "Aru, she's bratty and annoying with everyone else, but she really tries her best to shield Cene's ears whenever the others accidentally let slip a swear word or two."
"Hm..." Cecily stood on, deep in thought, "A-Anyways, this isn't something urgent we need to discuss. Today's our long awaited date, so how about we make the most of it and leave our worries at the door?"
"I couldn't have said it better myself." I smiled before noticing we were already in front of the restaurant, "Damn, this brings back memories. Then, shall we, madame?"
"Humu, but of course, good sir." She replied in kind.
"Good day, I made a reservation for Grimheart?" I said to the waiter that stood right near the door.
"Ah, yes. We've been expecting you, mister and missus Grimheart." He made both of us smile like idiots after calling us that, "Table 7, right this way."
"Oh, this is gonna be so fun!" Cecily could barely keep herself in check before stopping silent at the table next to us, "Ah."
"What's the matter?" I looked to the table where she was looking at, "Oh. Well, this is awkward..."
"You said it." Issei spun his wine glass between his fingers as he replied, "Guess we both had the same idea for a date spot, huh bud?"
"Well, this IS one of the most famous fancy restaurants in town..." Othelia too awkwardly sat there.
"Um, mister and missus Grimheart?" The waiter sensed the awkward air in the room, "Your table is over here."
"What now?" Cecily looked at me.
Dammit, you asked me that so sweetly, as if you thought I 100% know the answer to that question.