Sunny nodded his head and looked around as he took off his boots and set them by the door.
"I'm starving. I didn't eat because I was rushing out the door. We should wait until everyone gets here, though. What's been made so far? Where's Nephis?"
Asterion smiled and guided him into the kitchen.
"A plethora of things, and she's in the kitchen helping Morgan, oh, also Athena is here,"
Sunny's eyes widened.
"Oh no,"
The moment those words left his mouth, he saw a tall, attractive woman making purposeful strides towards him with a big grin on her face. Once she reached him, he braced himself as she crashed into him, nearly sending him to the ground, before she lifted him off the ground, pulling him into a hug.
"Hey, doofus! It's good to see you!"
Sunny felt his feet dangling off the ground.
"H-hi Effie, it's good to see you too, also you're crushing my ribs,"
Just then, a man with black hair and green eyes wearing a sweater came down the stairs to the rescue.
"Come on, honey, you're going to kill the man one day if you keep hugging him like that,"
The woman laughed and put him down.
"Alright, alright, fine, he'd be fine if he weren't all skin and bones. I was wondering when you would get here, shorty."
Sunny took several deep breaths and smiled.
"Yeah, sorry about that, Beanpole. I woke up late because I had to stay over at work last night. Miss Song called me and woke me up."
Effie grinned and gave him a firm smack on the shoulder, making him stumble in place.
"Good, lazy bones."
Sunny smiled at his friend before turning to Effie's husband.
"Thank you, Alan. I think you just saved my life."
Alan laughed and reached his hand out to Sunny.
"You say that every time we see each other, Sunny."
Sunny took his hand and shook it, pulling him into a hug as he laughed with him. He pulled away from the man and began taking off his scarf, hat, and coat, putting them on a nearby rack as he spoke to Alan.
"Because she always does that when we see each other, she's done that since high school! Never mind that, though. How's that new book of yours coming along?"
Alan grinned.
"Pretty good! I'm doing the finishing touches on my manuscript, and now I need to send it forward to my editor so he can proofread it."
"I can't wait to read it. I always enjoy your books."
Sunny was about to take off his coat before he felt another figure crash into him, this one much smaller but just as excited.
"Uncle Sunny!"
Sunny leaned down and picked him up with a grin.
"Hey, little ling! Have you been treating your parents well?"
The little boy pouted cutely.
"Yeah, I have, and I'm not little, I'm big now, tell him mommy!"
Effie nodded with a gentle smile.
"Yes, you are, honey."
Sunny held an exaggerated look of guilt.
"Oh, sorry, you're right, you're just as powerful and strong as your mother."
Ling nodded rapidly.
"That's right! Uncle Anvil, isn't that right?"
Sunny laughed, put the boy down, and watched as he ran to Anvil. The older man laughed and picked up the boy.
"That's right, kiddo,"
The doorbell rang, and Anvil opened the door, and three people stepped into the living room; one of them was significantly shorter than the other two, and Sunny could see the gaunt outline of a feminine figure beneath the bundle of clothing, with blonde hair falling from her back. His guess was confirmed when the person spoke, and a muffled, soft voice resounded beneath the scarf.
"That weather is awful,"
Sunny smiled as the woman unwrapped her scarf, revealing a delicate woman with dull blue eyes, smiling at him as she put on a pair of sunglasses.
"Hi, Sunny, it's good to see you-well, not literally because I can't see anyone, I'm blind."
Sunny stared at the young woman with a frown.
"Really, Cassie? Do you have to make that joke every time we meet each other?"
Cassie giggled as she pulled him into a hug and placed her head on his shoulder.
"I always love to hear the shock in your voice,"
Sunny shook his head.
"Not shock, disappointment,"
He pulled away and watched as the second figure took off his scarf and hat, revealing a dazzling man with Auburn hair and electric green eyes, wearing a green sweater with a Christmas tree on the front. The man smiled at him, took off his coat, and pulled him into a hug.
"Hey, Sunny,"
"Hey, popstar,"
Kai corrected him.
"Rockstar,"
Sunny waved him away.
"Same damn thing,"
Kai hung his coat, hat, and scarf on the rack and adjusted his green sweater.
"You know it's not, where's Aiko and Morgan?"
Sunny shrugged.
"I don't know about Aiko, but Uncle Anvil said Morgan was in the kitchen with Nephis."
Anvil pointed upstairs, then behind him as he approached Kai and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Aiko is upstairs. How are you, Kai?"
"I'm good, sir,"
Silence approached them and pulled both Kai and Cassie along with the third figure, who was taking off his coat, scarf, and hat, into a hug.
"Hey, you two!"
"Hey, silence,"
The third figure laughed and took off his scarf, revealing a tall, strangely beautiful man with silver eyes. He wore a simple black-and-red suit and a red tie. The man had a wide, naive smile as he approached Sunny and hugged him.
"Hey man, I'm glad you made it. I didn't see your car in the driveway, though. Did it break down again?"
Sunny hugged him back and slightly frowned as he pulled.
"Hey, Mr. CEO, I'm glad you all made it too, and yeah, it did, it wouldn't start."
Mordret pulled away as well and shook his head.
"I keep telling you to get rid of that hunk of junk. I can buy you a new one anytime."
Sunny immediately shook his head.
"No, it's fine, I can't just have you blow money on me,"
Asterion walked up to them and clapped Mordret on the shoulder as he shook his head.
"He's a stubborn brat, isn't he? I told him the same thing you did, I said I'd get him a new one, that rust bucket he has is too unreliable."
"He likely won't accept it, Uncle Aster, you know how he is,"
Gwyn, who had been talking to Eunbin and Hel, turned to Sunny, Asterion, and Mordret and began walking towards them. He watched as Gwyn laughed and pulled Mordret, Cassie, and Kai into a group hug.
"Yeah, he never did like taking free things. It's good to see you, honey. I'm glad you all made it here safely."
Mordret smiled and hugged her back.
"Hey mom, where's Uncle Jest?"
"Upstairs,"
Sunny raised an eyebrow.
"You know I've always wondered why his name is Jest, despite my never hearing the man crack a joke in all the time I've known him. In fact, he is very serious."
Gwyn sighed.
"He said that his parents named him that as a cruel joke."
Sunny rolled his eyes.
"That's just awful. Anyway, Mordret, how was the ride here?"
Mordret adjusted his tie with a smile.
"It was decent, we couldn't see a thing, though."
Sunny spotted something glaring in his suit pocket and raised an eyebrow.
"That's good to hear, but Mordret, what's that in your suit pocket?"
Mordret's eyes widened as they darted downward to his own chest and then back to Sunny's eyes.
"Oh, it's nothing, just a trinket."
"Let me see it then,"
Mordret smiled shyly, reached into his suit pocket, and closed his fist around it so that Sunny couldn't see it, then stuffed it into his right pocket.
"Ah, well, it's not worth looking at,"
Sunny frowned.
"Then show me,"
Mordret shook his head.
"No,"
"Show me,"
"No,"
"Show me, Mordret,"
"No,"
"You said it was just a trinket."
Mordret nodded with a hint of hesitation.
"And it is,"
Sunny noticed and took advantage of it.
"You hesitated,"
Mordret smiled nervously.
"I was gathering my thoughts, you know how I am,"
"Liar!"
"Just don't worry about it, Sunny. Let's go eat."
"Not before you show me the damn thing!"
"It's not important, Sunny, and watch it, little Ling is still here,"
"You're going through an awful lot of trouble for something that's not important!"
"Because it would be a waste of your time."
"No, it wouldn't!"
"Why won't you show me the dang thing?!"
"Because you weren't supposed to see it yet!"
Gwyn perked up and smiled.
"Is it an engagement ring? Did you finally propose to Seishan?"
Mordret stumbled in place.
"What? No, what made you think of that?"
Gwyn smiled.
"You two did date once,"
"That was in high school, Mom."
Sunny smiled too.
"Correction, throughout all four years of high school,"
"Sunny, Shan, and I parted on good terms; we're friends now."
Gwyn stood beside Sunny and wagged her finger at Mordret.
"No, no, there's definitely still something there, I can see it whenever you're around each other,"
Sunny nodded.
"So can I, I think there's a spark there,"
Gwyn nodded as well.
"Mmhm,"
Mordret looked around and asked in a completely disinterested tone as he changed the subject.
"Anyway, is Saint going to be here?"
Sunny gave him a long look.
"I'm going to pretend you're not trying to change the subject, but to answer your question. No, she's not going to be here. Why? Do you want her to be?"
"No, I'm only curious,"
Sunny snorted and put up a hand quotation.
"Yeah, okay, "Curious," you say, nice try, but I'm not buying what you're selling."
"I mean it,"
Sunny put an arm around his shoulder.
"Uh-huh, that's why you follow her like a lost puppy whenever she's around, right? Because you're curious?"
Mordret shrugged.
"Have you seen her? Who in their right mind wouldn't follow someone like that?"
Sunny nodded.
"Fair point."
Mordret smiled, and Sunny took the opportunity to snatch whatever was in his pocket, making Mordret panic.
"Sunny, wait!"
Sunny looked at his hand and opened his palm, revealing a set of keys.
"Car keys?"
Mordret sighed.
"Yes, you were worried about my car keys. Are you happy now?"
Sunny frowned.
"You don't drive a Mercedes, though, and don't say it's Kai's,"
Mordret froze at his words.
"Ah, I um just got a new car today,"
"You just bought one a month ago."
"I'm making a collection of them,"
Sunny frowned deeper.
"Since when?"
Mordret smiled sheepishly.
"Since today?"
Sunny stared at him for a long minute.
"Did you steal a car? Are you a thief now?"
"What? No, of course not,"
"Then whose is it?"
"…"
Sunny's eyes widened as it dawned on him.
"Mordret? Please tell me you didn't buy me a new car."
Mordret smiled as he stared at the keys in Sunny's hand.
"Well, ah, it's a coincidence that your old one broke down, huh? Now you have a good reason to drive this one; it all worked out in the end."
"You-"
A voice interrupted his response as he heard someone speak from the kitchen.
"I knew that he would do something like this. Mordret is just like Uncle Aster, always spoiling you and Kai, too. Well, I can't really say anything because I do the same thing."
Sunny grinned at her.
"Hey, Morgan, I was wondering when you would come out here."
Morgan hugged him with a gentle smile.
"Hey Sunless, you're finally here after all this time, just like my sibling said you would be."
Sunny hugged her back, pulled away, and smiled at her until he noticed that she was looking elsewhere. He turned around and followed her gaze to see a spider in the corner of the ceiling, expertly weaving a web, it reminded him of someone he couldn't quite remember.
He regarded it for a moment before turning back to her with a smile and a nod.
"Yeah, I am. How are you, Morgan?"
"I'm good, the food is finally ready, but we still need to get the drinks, and honestly, don't feel like going to the basement after all that cooking. Could you get them for me?"
"Yeah, I don't mind,"
Morgan squeezed his shoulder and smiled as she backed away.
"Thank you, everyone, come on,"
Sunny walked further into the living room, found the basement door, and began descending the stairs when he heard a pair of heavy footsteps behind him and saw the lights turn on.
"I'll help you, kiddo,"
"Thank you,"
Sunny went down the rest of the stairs and turned on the lights to see the rest of the large basement. It was a lot bigger than your average basement, with it being over 300 metres, which was ridiculously absurd in Sunny's opinion, but then again, he would do the same thing if he were rich. Sunny looked around the decorated place before spotting the drinks. Luckily, the basement was cold, so the drinks were, too.
Sunny made his way towards there as Asterion spoke up and walked in step beside him.
"Have you been doing that workout routine that Vale recommended?"
"Yeah, why?"
Asterion gave him a long look.
"You know you have to eat as well, right? Look at you, you're still skin and bones."
Sunny stared in outrage.
"What are you talking about? I eat enough, and I've built up plenty of muscle!"
Asterion patted Sunny's shoulder with a smile as he laughed and grabbed a pack of sodas while Sunny grabbed a pack of water bottles.
"Ah, sure you do, that's why I told Morgan to give you the most food on your plate whenever it's time to eat. And besides, you've had your fun over the past four months, doing nothing but serving food at your Emporium with your sister and fooling around with that girl, Eunbin. But it doesn't matter, because I'm coming for you, boy, and when I do, there will be no shadows in any of the realms that you can hide in from me."
There is foreshadowing somewhere in this chapter, let me know if you caught it. Also the next chapter will be out this week :)