With paint trailing and flowing down from every part of their skin, the girls decided they needed a shower and all went one by one; Gary, of course, wanted one as well– but he was forced to take the shower beside the pool.
And since Riley was the only one without any smidge of paint on him, Hannah just asked him to unload the stuff they bought from the grocery– finally, Aerith was allowed to breathe.
Her burst of relaxation was short, however, as it did not even take Riley 5 minutes to unload everything. Something did replace her anxiety, however, as Riley suddenly started cooking– going beyond what Hannah asked her and preparing all the food himself.
Aerith, as well as Bella, were shocked to see Riley cooking like some sort of master chef. As for Gary and the others, the smiles on their faces showed how excited they were to finally taste Riley's cooking again.
And when they were finally allowed to eat, what followed was only bliss and nods of satisfaction. It almost seemed as they were just a normal group of friends celebrating a birthday; even wearing casual clothes as there were no cameras around.
Of course, normal if you ignore the young Silvie clones, who had extra functional limbs and looked like they were straight out from a horror book– Gary thought. Still, he was trying his best to smile at them since, in a way, he was family.
The children, however, seemed to have read his mind as their eyes all started to avoid him, snarling and acting like little divas… before one of them grabbed a bottle of alcohol.
"Ah! Don't' drink that!" Aerith, who was truly finally able to take a breather, once again had no choice but to chase her younger sisters; it was a good thing they were done eating Riley's scrumptious meal, if not… then Aerith might have channeled her inner Megawoman.
"So, girl… you was stuck with them little menaces for more than a week?" Bella then let out a small but deep breath as she looked at the running children.
"Y… yes," Silvie quickly sighed as she gulped a glass of beer, "I've always wondered what it would be like to have siblings… but it would seem I can't take care of children."
"You know who can though?" A wide smile then appeared on Gary's face,
"Hannah. She's 20 now," he then said before bursting out in the loudest laughter he could muster.
The girls did not seem amused, however, as he was soon bombarded with kicks. Even Aerith, who was previously chasing one of the children, joined in to release the small frustration that was building up inside her from Gary always ordering and following her around… even some of the children joined.
"W… why!?" Gary then cried out as soon as the girls finally had enough.
"You should never talk about a woman's age, Gary," Riley then let out a sigh; the disappointment contained almost piercing Gary's ears, "Mother said it infuriates them because of their insecurities."
"Wha– but you always tease Hannah about her age!"
"Yes," Riley nodded, "But I am diagnosed with autism, Gary. The others won't just hit me haphazardly."
"What… that's unfair!"
"Pft."
"What, why are you guys laughing so hard!?" Gary then once again cried out as everyone just laughed, "Riley just used his condition as an excuse to– Ack, never mind."
And so, Gary could only let out a small but deep sigh. Why… is the Baby Crew like this? He thought.
"Gah, this bitter!" And as soon as the laughter died down, the young Silvie that was previously holding a bottle of alcohol returned it to the table,
"Why are you dwinking this!?" She then muttered before… wiping her tongue that almost reached her shoulders. And with the children finally calming down from their curiosity, Aerith once again found time to breathe as she joined the others at the table… sitting as far away from Riley as possible.
And then, what followed the bursts of laughter was a silence, as everyone just suddenly stared at the glasses and bottles of alcohol in front of them; almost as if letting their breaths and sighs just communicate for them.
"Shit…" Hannah then broke the silence as she tapped her glass.
"I'm fucking 20 now, do you know what that means? I am officially in my 20s and I feel like I haven't even achieved anything in life," she breathed out before standing up and walking to the window to look at the lights of the city, "Mom already had a job at this age."
"And I believe she also has a boyfriend, sister."
"Shut up," Hannah chuckled before looking at her reflection on the window… specifically the reflection of the tears that just suddenly fell from her eyes without her knowing.
"..." She immediately brushed it away, however, as she turned around to return to her seat, "I… think I can speak for all of us in saying this but…
…I am really glad I met all of you," Hannah then raised a bottle as she looked at everyone, "I really thought that the Academy would just be cheesy and lame. I have been training ever since I can remember and school was supposed to be the only normal part of my life, but I had no choice but to transfer since Riley wanted to go to the Academy…
…And Riley finally interacting with other people? That is everything that I could wish for. Because in the end, if it all comes down to it…
…Riley is my happiness, and he is the only man that I need right now. I love you, bro."
Hannah then glanced at Riley for a few seconds, before once again looking at the others, "So everyone, thank you very much for being my brother's friend… and being my friend."
"..."
"And fuck Julius and his fucking perfect face and accent!"
"..."
"..."
"S… sheesh. I see you and your father have a way with speeches," Gary then turned his head up as he almost stuttered,
"This… this almost seems like a red flag, but I welcome it," Gary then wiped the tears that were trying to burst out from his eyes.
Silvie then also started sobbing as she hugged Hannah.
"Thank you as well," she then breathed out as she sniffled, "You are the first friends that I have… and I am really glad that it was all of you."
"I… don't know if I have the right to speak," Bella joined the conversation as she rubbed her nose, "But Riley and I had our moments… and I wished I became friends with all of you sooner, but hey…
…We have half a year left, so let's make it count."
Aerith nodded as soon as she heard Bella's words. She also just joined in with the group; and besides fearing for her life because of Riley, it… has been the most fun she had in her existence.
"Although I still feel sad from losing-- from realizing mother was not who she says she was," Aerith then let out a short breath,
"Thank you for saving me," Aerith then said as tears also started to fall from her face, "I know I committed bad things but… I hope I could… I could…
…also be a part of your family."
"You already are my little sister, Aerith," Silvie then immediately said.
"That's… t… thank you," Aerith then wiped the tears that were trailing on her face, before finally chugging a bottle of alcohol… which she immediately puked afterwards.
"..."
"..."
Everyone then turned their eyes to Tomoe, who slightly flinched and almost spilled the glass of soju she was holding. Her eyes traveled across the people on the table, before she let out a small sigh and nodded.
"I… really like spending time with all of you."
"You finally said it, huh?" Gary then clapped his hands before standing up, "What can I say? You guys…
…are the best."
And with Gary's somewhat somber words whispering through the air, a smile could not help but crawl on the others' faces.
"That's from a game, Gary," Tomoe then said as she closed– squinted her eyes.
"Wha– no, it's not!"
"First Fantasy 15, the campfire scene?"
"Ack!" Gary then quickly sat down, "Why you always destroying my mojo? This is supposed to be a heartfelt moment for all of us!"
And with Gary's frustrations echoing inside the suite, the girls once again laughed. A few seconds after, their eyes trailed towards Riley.
"None of you are my friends," he immediately answered.
And of course, this garnered a laugh as well. They all instantly stopped laughing, however… when Riley also started to chuckle; half of his pace, almost parted from his sinister smile– of course, the description might have been a bit exaggerated, but it was close.
"The fuck, bro. Are you a titan?"
"Us too! Us too! We can do that!
And with that, the children all suddenly climbed up the table, opening their mouths as wide as they could… with some of them literally almost splitting their entire face.
"What… the fuck," Gary then immediately backed away as he saw the horrific scene, "S… Silv, this could have been you."
"...Why?" Silvie's eyes then started to squint, "What's wrong with them?"
"N… nothing! I didn't mean it like that!"
"...Mean it like what?"
"Wha– Come on!? Are you telling it's just only me that's creeped out by them!?"
"Gary!"
"R… Riley, save me!"
"Pft," and so, once again… like a normal group of friends, their laughter filled the entire suite. No responsibilities, no worries. Forgetting all the problems they have even just for a blink of time. Just…
…friends having fun without a care in the world.
***
[Ack, I'm drunk as hell.]
[Let's go out and experience LA, we're already here. We might even be able to see celebrities."
[What? What about the children?]
[Eh… take them, let them have fun.]
[...We're drunk as fuck, are we sure about this?]
[Sure, Tomoe can tour us.]
[I… know a place.]
[I think this is a bad idea, guys.]
[Eck, with two Mega Students!? Have no fear!]
[I can just kill everyone so no one can see the children, everyone.]
[Ha! Good one!]
Inside Julius's office, Julius was currently walking back and forth; looking at the speaker that was transmitting the Baby Crew's voices. He had a small furrow in his eyebrows; his hand, almost tapping his brother, who was peacefully sleeping in his wheelchair.
"..."
"..."
And a few seconds later, with a small but deep sigh escaping from Julius's mouth… he tapped his brother on the shoulders, immediately jolting him awake and causing him to almost tilt from his wheelchair.
"Archie, wake up."
"Hm? What? What!?"
"Our chance…
…it's coming."