“Just let the kids solve it amongst themselves. As long as the three come to an agreement, I have nothing to say. Speaking of which…” Cordia mommy turned to tap something on her communicator.
She seemed to be calling Maery, for a short moment later, Maery’s face appeared on her light screen.
Cordia mommy scanned her ruddy-cheeked daughter and then tentatively asked, “Honey… did… did you beat up–ahem, have a talk with Levi?”
Maery snickered with her pearly white teeth on full display, “Yeah. Who would’ve thought that Levi, that block of wood would actually be set on fire by our family’s cute little dumpling!"
Astar Levi, who had been cursed out as a block of wood right in his face, “…” (눈_눈)
Astar mommy, who was still on the line and had just had her son cursed outright to her face, (*◕‿◕*) Curse? What curse? Little Maery was just stating the truth, ah!
The two mothers let out a collective breath of relief. Phew! So the ex-bride was ok with it!
“Heh heh, everything in this world has its bane.” Maery hid her sly smile behind her hand, “You can go ahead and handle the wedding reception changes; let me break the news to my brother. Don’t worry, he’ll definitely agree!”
Maery gave her mother a confident thumbs-up, and the other responded equally as confidently with an “ok” hand gesture.
The call was hung up, and the two mothers returned to staring at each other once again.
Cordia mommy broke the awkward silence with a cough, “The two might both be men, but they look good together."
Astar mommy agreed, “They complement each other well both in looks and personality and even in their powers! My child is always tense, he could use a daily soothing, and with a Soother sleeping next to him, we’ll never have to worry about him blowing up the house again! Simply a match made in heaven!”
Cordia mommy’s eyes lit up, and her previous calm was discarded in favor of agitation, “Right! Right! After hearing he blew up your manor, I was lowkey sweating for my daughter’s future! Phew! This resolution was so timely! The two of them really do match each other perfectly! My family’s Aris could use someone a bit more assertive in his life. He really is too thoughtful to others that he is often thoughtless to himself.”
Astar mommy nodded very enthusiastically, her eyes just as bright as the other’s.
Cordia mommy slapped her thigh, “And he keeps attracting bees and butterflies. Having a fierce protector wolf guarding this little rabbit will do him good!"
Astar mommy brought her hands to her flushed cheeks, “Ah, ah! So much work to do! Wedding invitations need to be resent!”
Cordia mommy gave the other a coy look, “Already done. The new invitations should be arriving at their destinations any minute now.” Seeing the dumbfounded look on Astar mommy’s face, she elaborated, “I already had a chat with your son two days ago… Your son… ah… his intentions are so obvious… it’s only my son who doesn’t realize it!”
And that's how the marriage between Astar Levi and Cordia Aris was settled.
Without even getting the approval of the bride.
Noah, (ノ꒪Д꒪)ノ︵ ┻━┻ ‘How could you do this?! How could you settle this before asking for my opinion??’
Astar daddy and Cordia daddy, ‘What are you complaining about? Let alone consult our opinion, no one even remembered our existence!’ 〒▽〒
***
By the time Maery and Levi came out of the dining room, Noah had finished the cleanup and was starting to grow mold.
One look at their surroundings, and the fake couple felt their hearts ache. Ah, ah! It was their oversight! They left their precious darling all alone in these messy surroundings! They should have known that this sensible baby would take it upon himself to fix all the wrongs he set his eyes upon!
Feeling angry at themselves, but mostly angry at the other, the two promptly sent each other blaming glares as if to say, ‘if it weren’t for you, our chat wouldn’t have dragged on like this! Look at what your shitty temper did to my precious!’
And then, seeing their own scowls perfectly mirrored on each other’s faces, they abruptly felt goosebumps rising up their spines and quickly looked away.
“Sister… Levi and you… did you… break up, or did you get together again?” Looking at the two’s reactions, Noah felt mightily confused. When the two went in, it looked as if they might end up having a huge fight. However, they came out with satisfied smiles looking like the best of buddies, only short of putting their arms around each other’s shoulders. Yet one look at him, and suddenly they turned to give each other a stink eye as if the other was an enemy who committed a grievous crime.
Noah prided himself in having a high EQ, but, ah! For the life of him, he couldn’t tell whether these two got along well or not!! щ(゚Д゚щ)
Blackie, ‘High EQ? Heh heh. Really cute. Delusional, but cute.’
“Good brother, how about we talk about that over dinner?” Maery came up to Noah and gently took hold of his hands.
Seeing his sister looking as if she had both good news and bad news to tell him, Noah’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch, “Ah… actually, I am not that hungry; I took a bite or two of the leftovers…”
Couldn’t waste food, ah! Since there was no more party, he might as well help clean up into his stomach what he could and fridge the rest.
Maery and Levi felt an arrow pierce into their little hearts again. Ah, their precious darling forcing himself to eat leftovers all on his lonesome in a big and empty room! _(´ཀ`∠)_
They had intended to take their cabbage for a nice and cozy dinner and then tell him the news on a full stomach, but now…
Oh, woe! Oh, remorse!
Levi’s heart bled, yet he felt stumped about what to do about it now. Maery, on the other hand, was more experienced with these types of scenarios that involved human to human interactions than the loner wolf Astar Levi; thus, she quickly improvised. “How… how about the three of us go watch a movie? Your tummy will surely empty after a nice movie, yeah? And then we can have a nice chat over dinner.”
Noah looked at his sister then looked at Levi, feeling at a loss. “You don’t need to go through all that trouble for my sake. I can just watch you two eat. And if you have something to talk about, just say it outright.”
“Out of the question!” Levi immediately refuted. His heart was already full of holes; how would he be able to take a single bite with his baby sadly looking at the side?! If his baby wasn’t eating, then he wouldn’t eat either! What eating?! His utmost priority right now was pampering his baby!
However, realizing that his refusal came out sounding too court, Levi added in a softer tone, “I mean, I am not hungry yet either.”
Maery also wasn’t willing to be the only one eating. The whole point of this dinner was to get her baby bro in a good and sated mood, so he would be more receptive to the change in arrangements. Thus, she naturally went along, “Yes, I am also not hungr–” Before she could even finish the sentence, she was interrupted by a loud growl originating from her stomach.
Noah, “…” ( •᷄⌓•᷅ )
A vein nearly popped out on Levi’s forehead, ‘This pig teammate!!’ (ꐦ °Д°)
Maery recovered from the embarrassment very quickly and thickened her face to say, “Actually... I am on a diet.” (; ゚ 3゚ )~♪
Blackie, ‘Nice save!’ 👍 😂
Noah, “…” ( •᷄⌓•᷅ ) ‘Am I supposed to say that she looks perfect and doesn’t need to lose weight? Or am I supposed to just stay silent and go along with her?’
Levi, “…” (・―・) ‘Such a quick recovery! …I should take notes.’
In the end, Noah, this good baby, could read the mood and decided to stay silent. Since the two, for some reason, didn’t wish to go to dinner yet, then he’d go along with their plans. And that’s how the trio, with the accompaniment of several bodyguards, ended up going to the west skyscraper where there was a huge cinema. On the way there, every once in a while, there would be a camera flashing their way from the iron-blooded reporters who wouldn’t let one terrorist attack get in the way of their bonus. Naturally, the trio just ignored them. Firstly, they were used to media attention. Secondly, they had nothing to hide. And thirdly, in the case of Levi and Maery, they hoped that the footage of today would go out because it could give more weight to their future explanation of the truth behind the change of marriage partners. In that spirit, to give the media some more juicy shots, as soon as the trio entered the establishment, Maery giddily floated aw
Before Noah could respond, what Levi had been waiting for since the beginning of the movie finally happened! On the screen, a zombie jumped from out of nowhere! Without further ado, Levi’s arm that had been resting on the backrest behind Noah swooped in like an eagle catching a small fluffy bunny. The bunny, caught completely unprepared, ended up encircled and snatched up right into the belly–uh, the lap of the predator. A high-pitched squeal reverberated through the empty cinema, yet the source of it wasn’t the dumbfounded bunny who found himself in the arms of the wolf with his face pressed into the other’s sturdy chest but the spectating fujoshi some seats away. Levi ground his teeth at the ear-piercing interruption. Enlisting the help of this pig teammate was the worst mistake of his life!! Since he had no way to vent the stifling fire burning in his chest on its source at the moment, Levi concentrated back on his precious darling. He held Noah’s
With his own impending doom on the horizon, Levi was forced to loosen his hold (very regretfully), allowing the little one’s fluffy head to pop out from under the crook of his neck. Noah interpreted this as him succeeding in reassuring Levi, and the other giving him his ‘permission’ to continue watching the movie. Thus Noah’s two big amber eyes looked left and right, and then their owner gently wiggled around to get a better position in the other’s hold. Levi bit his lips to prevent a throaty moan from escaping them. The sensation of that fleshy little bottom wiggling on top of his crotch… ah… the only saving grace that prevented his half-hardened member from shooting up that little ass was the fact that he had already shot his load twice today… “Be good, don’t move about,” Levi warned, his deep and raspy whisper setting off all of Noah’s alarm bells. This little bunny’s movement abruptly stilled, and his body turned stiff. His brother… he cou
Maery pretended to be fully concentrated on eating her salad, while in truth, she kept sneakily peeking towards her little brother sitting across from her. No, it wasn’t because seeing Noah munching on crispy fried chicken made her feel bitter about being forced to eat a salad so as to not give away her previous lie of being on a diet… And it also wasn’t because she suddenly realized that her darling brother had this rather enchanting way of eating. (/≧ω\) No, the reason why she kept looking over was to gauge her baby bro’s current value on the happiness meter as to strike when it reached its optimum. Her wait didn’t take long – Noah hadn’t been that hungry in the first place. As soon as the first delicious piece of chicken went down his throat, his oil-covered pink lips curved up in a satisfied smile. “Little brother,” Maery spoke up, “Earlier, I remember you asking whether Levi and I broke up?” Noah nodded. He did seem to ask that when the t
With his emotional mood completely spoiled, Noah returned back from his introspection to the present, where Maery and Levi were awaiting his reaction with bated breaths. Noah’s shocked expression slowly shifted into something… odd. It made sense that the two wanted the outside world to think that they got along well. This arranged marriage was of great importance and would influence the stability of the two cities. But… “Sister, I am not an outsider. So why did you keep the truth a secret from me all this time?” Maery sheepishly smiled and scratched her head, “We didn’t just keep it from you. We didn’t tell our parents either. We didn’t want you guys to worry. If you thought that Levi and I had a harmonious relationship, then you could rest your heart at ease regarding this arranged marriage.” She sighed, “Otherwise, how would our parents feel knowing that their children were sacrificing the best years of their life for politics and a loveless marriage? Dad w
With shaking hands, Noah picked up his drumstick, but suddenly he had no appetite. Ah, he really didn’t like horror stories! And to think this horror story nearly became a reality! He let out a long breath of relief. So glad the two had enough foresight to convince their parents not to go through with this catastrophe! But now he felt curious, what solution did the two manage to come up with that would be better for the union of two cities but didn’t involve them getting married? Noah’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud ringing of his communicator. Noah saw Case’s name light up on the screen and hesitated whether to answer. He was currently in the middle of a dinner with his sister and Levi; it didn’t feel right to chat with Case now. But on the other hand, he remembered telling Case he’d call him when he was free to hang out with him but ended up completely forgetting about him. Ai, he felt a bit guilty… Noah hesitated for a while, and the
The wronged Levi, (ꐦ °Д°) ‘What do you mean acting pitiful?! Thinking that my precious doesn’t want to marry me, my heart really hurts, ok?! You try being unwanted by your precious and let me see whether your expression will look less “pitiful”!!!’ Ah, ah! His chest felt really painful and stuffy! Levi’s shoulders slumped further, yet the look in his eyes grew obstinate. “If I am marrying, then… the bride can only be you…” Levi rasped out, sounding apologetic yet not. Sorry that his decision might have wronged Noah, but be that as it may, his resolution could not be shaken, nor would he regret it. Seeing Levi’s nervous yet unyielding demeanor of a martyr resolutely walking towards his demise, Noah couldn’t help but find it funny. And those words, ‘the bride can only be you’, made something warm and ticklish flutter through Noah’s insides, calming down his roiling blood. Ah, that sounded really too ambiguous! Like a love confession! No
Levi’s previously nervous and stiff expression slackened and then blossomed into a foolish grin of bliss. Sitting there with a bent fork in his hand, he should have looked like a lovestruck idiot, yet due to the virtue of his very handsome face, this bright smile didn’t look idiotic but actually had a heart-stopping boyish charm. There was really something very special in witnessing a fierce and cold man suddenly display the pure and clean happiness of a child. Even Maery, whose romantic interest in Levi was below zero, couldn’t help but feel her heart skip a beat at the sight. Then… she felt nausea climb up her throat. Bleurgh, how could she had gotten confused for a moment there?? This was clearly still that same scourge! Noah couldn’t see Levi’s bright smile, but he could feel the sheer bliss radiating off Levi in waves through his mental power. Knowing that the other was feeling happy, Noah couldn't help but feel happy too. Carried along with these feelin