Finish up all unfinished errands and business, tidy up the house, tell everyone about the trip, celebrate with everyone about the aforementioned reveal, say goodbye to Issei and the gang as they depart for their own trip, pack up our luggage... Ugh, it's been a hectic couple of weeks since then. It's all just prepare, prepare, prepare! But thankfully we're finally done with everything now, so all that's left is to actually leave. We've got an early morning tomorrow, so best head to bed early as well. Weird, is this what Cene feels like when he goes to bed? I don't like it, it feels weird...
"Mornin-" I turned around as soon as I woke up to greet Cecily, only to be met with another little rascal in her place, "Oh, hello there."
"Papa!" Cene giggled, "Did I suwpwise you?"
"Heck yeah you did, buster." I smiled back as I ruffled his hair up, "But why are you here?"
"Ah..." He looked sad all of a sudden, "I-I had a nightmawe, a-and I wanted to sleep with you."
"Brings a tear to the Eye, that sentence does..." I nodded contently, "So, what exactly was this nightmare about?"
"I don't remember..." He sighed.
"Then it doesn't matter!" I raised him high above me, his laughs filling the room up in an instant, "If it's something you forgot in just a single night, then that means you can beat the crap out of it easy!"
"I can?" He chuckled.
"Yeah!" I replied as I got out of bed, holding him jokingly like one would a sack, "Y'know, I had nightmares once as well. I dreamt about all sorts of bad things happening, and I had trouble sleeping as well."
"So how'd you beat them?" He asked.
"Hm... I dunno, actually." I shrugged, almost dropping him in the process, "I just started having fun with it."
"Having fun with it?" He tilted his head.
"You'll understand when you're older." I gave up on explaining the concept of lucid dreams to a four year old, "In any case, where exactly IS mommy?"
"Boo!" Cecily popped up right behind me, scaring the living crap outta me in the process too.
"Ack! What the hell!?" I shouted back, "Gah, geez... What made you jump me like that today of all days...?"
"Humu, gotta get you loosened up." She jabbed, "You're so tight today, I can tell just from seeing how you're carrying Cene."
"Hrm, maybe. But can you blame me? Today's finally the day we get to start our trip." I sighed, "The trip to go see my parents again after almost two decades."
God, I'm making it sound so ominous and serious. It's like we're going on a perilous journey that'll span eons. A journey to retrieve the lost treasure of some ancient being located in the very farthest reaches of the world, in a well hidden and trap infested dungeon protected by a giant dragon. Yeah, when I compare the two, I really can't help but be scared of seeing my parents again...
"Such a drama queen." Cecily jeered, "Come on, I already made us breakfast, so let's eat and meet up with the Saints."
"Right, thanks for that." I sat down at the table as I partook in the somewhat basic cooking, "Man, I miss Aru cooking for us..."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Cecily pouted, "Is my cooking somehow worse than that child Goddess'?"
"No, not at all!" I quickly corrected myself before the misunderstanding grew, "I'm saying it'd be way easier on both of us if that were still the case, but now we gotta take turns waking up earlier to cook it and all. It's another chore is what I'm saying, basically."
"Is that so..." She gave me a nastily suspicious glare before resuming her eating, "In that case, I'll let that one verbal flub of yours slide, mister."
"Mommy, can I go play with Chwis and the othews?" Cene asked for permission, making both of us jolt at the question as we awkwardly revealed to him.
"Cene, we told you already, didn't we?" She looked awkwardly me as she spoke in a gentle, apologetic tone, "W-We're going on a trip to see grandma and grandpa, okay? Don't you remember? We even told Chris and the others about it."
Chris, for those who might not know, is one of the boys around Cene's age that he particularly seems to be getting along well with. They both knew how to read and write despite how young they were, so that shared genius was the spark that initially lit the flame of their friendship. He's a good kid - Studious and compassionate. Best way I'd describe him is by comparing him to Ed, but not the current Ed, moreso the innocent and naive one from when we were kids. When it's my turn to take Cene to his friends and watch over them play, I must admit that the first adjective that comes to mind is "untainted". These kids, playing around together without a care in the world... They have no idea what said world has in store for them, and they don't even think about it, frankly. It's just a bunch of friends playing around with sticks and mud, then huddling around the adults to ask them to tell some interesting stories. What a simple and wonderful way to spend your days...
"Oh..." Cene looked depressed once he remembered, "Tch, what even is a gwandma and gwandpa, anyways?"
"They're your papa's mommy and papa." I felt kind of odd referring to my parents in such a childish way.
"Whoa, you have a mommy and papa too?" He opened his Eyes wide.
"Yeah, everyone does." I chuckled.
"So whewe awe mommy's mommy and papa?" He then turned to his mother, who was about to melt into the floor from the sheer awkwardness of the room.
"Ah." She decided to dodge the question, "They're... don't worry about it, Cene."
"Mhm, okay." He nodded before resuming our father son talk, "But man, if papa is old, then gwandpa and gwandma must be, like, SUPER old!"
"Don't call me old, Cene." I teared up, "I'm still not even in my thirties yet, so that comment really hurts."
Stolen story; please report.
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"Right, so you've got the keys." Cecily and I were finishing up our talk with a very tired Edward and Anna, "Realistically, there's no need to ever have to use it (seriously, don't), but just in case something were to happen, we can expect you to take care of it. In terms of when we'll be back, we'll try to aim for about a week to ten days, but no promises. Oh, right! We've got no pets, so you don't have to enter the house at all as far as I'm concerned."
"You forgot one thing." Ed grunted, "We can't enter your house in spite of you giving us the keys to it."
"Yeah, thanks for reminding me." I snapped my fingers back at him.
"Seriously, why are you so against it, Lune?" Cecily too seemed confused, "It's weird seeing you so cautious about privacy."
"I don't have anything to hide in there." I shook my head, "Rather, I know my best friend very well, and for that I just can't rest easy knowing what he's capable of doing with such power."
Hearing this, it seems Anna's bright Red face was a dead giveaway as to their intentions. Now I doubt she was the one that had originally come up with the idea, but with this I at least know she's informed. Ed, you sly bastard, I can see right through you! If you can read my mind with Analyze, then just know that I will never EVER allow it!
"Come on, man~" Sudden words blinded my vision as they appeared seemingly in my head, "We'll use the guest rooms, so give me this, please~!"
"Huh!?" I shook the thoughts away, jolting everyone else.
"What's up?" Anna asked, "Something wrong?"
"N-No." I shook it off, "I just had something stuck in my Eye."
"Pleaseee, Grim~" The words appeared again, "With mom and dad in the same house as us, we just can never get it on properlyyy~! Please!"
"Okay, fine!" I shouted at Ed, "Water the plants or something! Do that however many times you have to, geez!"
"You guys have houseplants?" Anna jumped for joy, "We won't let you down!"
"We don't?" Cecily raised an Eyebrow at me, "Lune, what's going on with you?"
"O-Oh, right! Those flowers!" Ed filled in for me, "Right, right, I remember now! You have those flowers on the windowsills, yeah!"
"Uh huh." I made an annoyed face as I nodded along, "Do your best."
"Thanks, man~!" The words came in cursive this time, as opposed to the previously violent scratchy font, "I'll go buy the flowers right away, but thanks for letting us feel young again."
Right, this all but confirms my suspicions that these words come from Ed. But wait, how come I can see his thoughts, shouldn't it be the other way around? Oh God, don't tell me... Did he gain a new Iro Ability of Analyze's purely because he was so desperate to fulfill his damned depraved fantasies? What a way to unlock a new power, what the hell...
"Then, if that's all..." Ed stuck his hand out, "Once again, safe travels, and good luck with your parents."
"Yeah, thanks." We shook their hands, "We'll try not to take too long."
"Take as much time as you need." Anna advised, "Family matters shouldn't be rushed. And you, Cecily, don't let up until they accept you wholeheartedly!"
"Y-Yeah." She held a sleeping Cene in her embrace, "I'll do my best."
And with that, we had began walking towards the town. Adam had offered to prepare us a transport wagon that came for us at our house, but we declined, worried that we may be abusing his goodwill. In any case, this morning walk isn't at all bad, since we're all dressed pretty heavily, and the cool breeze enhances the calm and tranquil atmosphere of the moment.
"Achoo!" Cene immediately sneezed, ruining any semblance of said tranquil moment.
"Bless you, babyboy." Cecily put a handkerchief up to his nose and told him to blow.
"I wonder if we should've waited for warmer weather..." I suddenly felt my feet getting cold for no real reason, "M-Maybe if we...?"
"No, we're going now." Cecily reassured me as she grabbed my hand, "Don't make your family wait any longer than they already have."
"Are you talking about yourself or them?" I sighed.
"Haha, both. I can't wait to meet them, and I'm sure they won't know what hit them when they see us."
"That's..." I squeezed her warm, soft hand, "Something to look forward to, then."
"Yeah." She then let go of my hand to strongly pat me on the back, "So chin up, dear! We're going on a really nostalgic trip for you, so don't you dare spoil the mood with some stupid baseless anxiety!"
"Yeah!" Cene raised his little fist up proudly, "Let's go kick theiw butts!"
"Haha, they're not monsters, Cene! What the heck!" I found myself guffawing in an instant, "Damn, speaking of monsters, I wonder if dad still kept that sword he gifted me..."
"A sword for a gift?" Cecily was taken aback, "Weren't you like, thirteen when you left home, though?"
"Yeah, it's actually really funny when you hear the context...!" I began regaling them with countless anecdotes of my time in Whitehood with my parents.
Entering the city's main street, then passing over to the side streets on the right until we made it to the wagon stop, we had boarded a transport wagon that was headed for the dock in Meridia. The trip there took a while in and of itself, so by the time we had made it onto the ship, we were already tuckered out completely. The sounds of the ship gliding through the small waves, accompanied by a chorus of other passengers' loud snoring made it both easy and difficult to fall asleep properly, however odd that may sound. But one thing was for sure...
"Mom, dad, you're never gonna believe it..." I murmured with my Eyes closed, "Your son's comin' to visit!"