I trudge back home, exhausted and comfortably sore.
After my shift at the Midnight Café, I went to Luna's apartment again for more training with Eva. And jeez, that woman does not believe in the concept of "taking it easy."
On the walk over, I'd made a quest for myself. Nothing fancy, just a simple "Do your best at training today and try to push yourself past your limits." The reward was a mystery number of Evolution Points, dependent on how hard I pushed myself.
When I arrived at their apartment, I was surprised to find that the living room had been transformed. Soft mats covered the floor where expensive furniture used to be, and a standing punching bag sat in the center.
Eva taught me how to do a roundhouse kick today. And I'll admit it, the first time I tried to throw the kick, I completely lost my balance and fell flat on my ass. The mat cushioned the fall, which saved my dignity slightly.
Eva just stared down at me with those icy blue eyes, completely expressionless, before saying in her clipped, professional tone: "Again."
Besides that one spectacular failure, it was mostly just repetition. Eva gave me gloves and then I spent what felt like an eternity performing one-two punches against the bag. Left, right. Left, right. Over and over until my arms felt like overcooked noodles.
Then it was time for roundhouse kicks. Pivot on the supporting foot, rotate the hips, swing the leg. Miss the bag entirely and nearly fall again. Repeat. Eventually, I started actually making contact with some force behind it.
When I was absolutely exhausted, Eva finally let me leave.
Ding! You've completed the quest: Push Your Limits
Rewards: 3 Evolution Points
Three points. Not bad.
I reach my house, and before I even open the door, I can already hear music blasting and Selene's voice belting out lyrics. I guess we're doing karaoke tonight.
I step inside, announcing, "I'm home!"
"Welcome home!!" Selene turns and sings at me without missing a beat in whatever song she's currently murdering. Her pink hair is bouncing with the enthusiasm of her performance, and she's holding the microphone like she's performing at a sold-out stadium instead of our living room.
Bianca and Mom also turn from where they're sitting on the couch, both of them calling out greetings.
"Pizza's on the table, honey," Mom says, gesturing to the boxes.
Thank god. My body needs carbs. Lots of carbs. All the carbs.
"Perfect. I'll just grab a quick shower first before I subject you all to my presence."
"Don't take forever!" Selene calls out, already starting the next song. "We need you for group songs!"
Half an hour later, I'm refreshed from my shower and I've inhaled four slices of pizza.
I move to the living room and plop down next to Bianca, who's snug under a blanket on the couch, leaning back and watching Mom and Selene belt out a duet. Some Disney song, I think. They're both really getting into it, with hand gestures and everything.
When I settle beside her, Bianca lifts one side of the blanket without a word, her teal eyes flicking to me briefly before returning to the performance.
I shuffle closer, letting her drape the blanket over both of us. .
She instantly holds my hand, her fingers interlacing with mine, and leans over to whisper in my ear. "Finally, took you long enough, dork."
I give her hand a squeeze. "Yeah, sorry. Been kinda busy."
Mom and Selene's duet slowly comes to an end with a flourish that Selene absolutely commits to, throwing her arm up in the air dramatically. They both collapse into giggles immediately after.
Then, they focus their attention on me. "Finally gonna hang out with us?" Selene says, bouncing over and plopping down on my other side, sandwiching me between my sisters. The couch groans slightly under the weight of three people, but it holds. "Seriously, what the hell have you been doing? You've been getting home late like every day!"
Oh. Right. I never actually told them about the whole training thing.
"Shoot, I completely forgot to mention." I pause, suddenly realizing how weird this is going to sound. "I've been going to Luna's place. Her bodyguard's been teaching me how to fight."
There's a beat of silence.
"What?!" Selene exclaims, her eyes lighting up. "That's so cool!"
I catch Bianca straightening up slightly in my peripheral vision, her grip on my hand tightening just a fraction. She's interested too, though she's trying to play it cool.
The only one who doesn't seem thrilled is Mom. Her smile has faltered, replaced by concern. "Sweetie, you didn't tell us you were doing that." Her voice is gentle but there's an edge of worry in it. "Is it safe?"
"I'm fine, Mom," I say, trying to be reassuring. "It's not like I'm getting into fights or anything. Just learning basic stuff, how to punch properly, how to kick. Eva's a professional, she knows what she's doing."
Which is technically true. I mean, the most dangerous thing that happened today was me falling on my ass, and the mats prevented any actual damage. Unless you count my pride.
Mom doesn't look entirely convinced. And then she pouts at me.
And I won't even deny it, she looks incredibly cute whenever she does that. It's unfair, honestly. How is a grown woman allowed to be that adorable? Her lower lip pushes out just slightly, her green eyes looking at me with this mixture of concern and mild reproach.
"You still should have told us before you started," she says softly. "Honey, I know you're growing up and making your own decisions, but... we're your family. We should know about these things."
Ah. Yeah, I guess I was being overeager.
Well, I had a reason for that though. I mean, after those eldritch nightmares and receiving a quest literally telling me to receive unarmed combat training, I think my urgency was justified. But I can't exactly explain that to them.
My family doesn't know about the whole system business. They don't know about the quests, the stats, the Evolution Points. So from their perspective, I just randomly decided to start learning how to fight without telling anyone.
Which, yeah, I can see how that would be concerning.
"You're right. I should've said something first." I give her an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Mom. I'll make sure to tell you guys next time, I promise."
Mom sighs, but it's more affectionate than annoyed. She reaches over Selene to pat my head. "I'm not trying to control you or anything like that," she says, and her voice is soft, understanding. "I just worry about you. That's all."
"I know, Mom. I get it."
"Okay, enough of the serious stuff!" Selene announces, grabbing the microphone. "Adam, you're singing. No arguments."
She shoves the microphone into my free hand, the one not currently being held hostage by Bianca.
And I do sing. I'm not the worst singer in the world, though I'm far from amazing. I'd consider myself decent. Firmly in the "won't embarrass myself at karaoke but also won't be winning any competitions" category.
Mom's definitely the best singer out of all of us, and I'm comfortable saying she'd be immensely successful if she tried to sing professionally. She has an insane vocal range, and when she sings, her voice is amazingly smooth.
Selene's also great. Probably because she goes to karaoke often with friends, so she's had practice. Her voice has this bright, energetic quality that matches her personality perfectly. Even when she's hitting the high notes, she makes it look effortless.
Bianca doesn't have nearly the same range as Mom or Selene, but her husky voice just sounds amazing to listen to. There's something about the lower, slightly raspy quality that works perfectly for certain songs.
We sing a few group songs together, belting out notes.
After about three performances, I'm getting tired. "I need a break," I announce, passing the microphone to Mom. "My voice is dying."
Selene, somehow having infinite energy even after belting out like six songs, keeps going enthusiastically. She launches into another pop song without missing a beat, dancing around the living room.
I sink back into the couch next to Bianca, who's also taking a break. She's still holding my hand under the blanket.
Then I feel her shift, and suddenly she's pressing against my side, her body warm and soft. "So..." Her voice is low, barely audible over Selene's singing, and I feel the vibration of it more than hear it. Her breath is warm against my ear. "Learning how to fight, huh?"
"Yeah." I keep my voice quiet too, very aware of how close she is. "After everything with Jack, and that nightmare... I dunno, just felt like I should be able to defend myself. Defend you guys, if I need to."
"Hmm." There's a pause, and then her voice takes on that teasing edge I've learned to recognize. "So what, you learning how to wrestle yet? You need a training partner?"
Oh no. I should have suspected this! She wouldn't take me out-teasing her at the café lightly. I should have expected revenge.
"A training partner?" I manage, trying to sound more confident than I feel. "Are you volunteering?"
"Oh wow," she breathes, and her voice has gone lower, almost a purr. "Look at you getting all bold."
Uh oh.
She shifts even closer, and now I can feel the soft press of her chest against my arm through her oversized band tee. The weight and warmth of her is overwhelming in the best and worst way.
Her free hand comes up to rest on my chest, fingers splaying across my shirt. I can feel the coolness of her palm even through the fabric, and my heart is definitely beating hard enough that she can feel it.
She's staring directly into my eyes now, and those teal irises are dancing with mischief. She bats her eyelashes seductively.
"I'd be happy to help you practice," she murmurs, her voice silky and sinful. "We could use your bed. You could try pinning me down..." Her fingers curl slightly against my chest. "See if you can make me submit."
My mouth goes completely dry, and I'm suddenly very aware that we're sitting under a blanket where no one can see her hand on my chest or how close we actually are.
And worse, I can feel myself getting hard, my dick straining against my pants.
I try to think of something clever to say back, some way to turn this around, but my brain has completely abandoned ship. She's too good at this.
Yeah, I've got nothing. I'm completely outmatched here.
"Okay," I whisper, accepting defeat with what little grace I have left. "Fine. You win. I've been completely out-teased."
Her smile widens, and she lets out a low, satisfied hum. "Damn right I win."
I can't help but chuckle despite my embarrassment, just because she looks so pleased with herself. So triumphant. I turn my head and press a gentle kiss to the side of her head, my lips meeting the soft strands of her black and green hair.
"You're so damn cute when you're being smug," I tell her quietly.
I feel her stiffen slightly at the gesture, and when I pull back enough to see her face, there's a faint blush on her pale cheeks. Without a word, she turns her face and buries it against my shoulder, hiding.
Her hand is still in mine under the blanket, and she gives it a small squeeze.
We stay like that, her pressed against my side, her face hidden in my shoulder, while Mom and Selene continue their karaoke performance, completely oblivious to the battle that just took place three feet away from them.