Trying very hard not to ruin his long-awaited reunion with his cousin, Foca took a deep, centering breath and decided to move on with dignity.
Because the longer he lingered in his sad little corner of emotional neglect, the stronger his urge to flip the crystal glass coffee table became.
And he really didn't want to be remembered as that cousin.
You know—the one who crashed out in a historic house because he couldn't handle being the third wheel.
Absolutely not.
Foca had a reputation to uphold, and he was not about to let a budding rom-com derail decades of carefully curated composure.
Nope.
Not today.
Not ever.
So, with the restraint of a saint and the patience of a man on his last nerve, Foca went straight to business.
"So," he began calmly, pulling out his phone to take notes, "Lili. Do you already have something in mind for the song you want to sing?"
Lili froze.
She stared at him like a child caught elbow-deep in a cookie jar.
"That," Foca said flatly, "is the exact look of someone who has absolutely no idea what I'm talking about."
"How would I know?" Lili shot back. "I sing. Zhat's what I do. You make songs, right? You zell me what zo sing and I'll sing it."
She said it with full confidence. Zero shame.
"Lili," Foca sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "this is the moment you've been dreaming of since we were kids. Don't you want it to be… special?"
"Oui! Isn't zhat why you're making my song?" she replied cheerfully.
Foca facepalmed so hard his ancestors probably felt it.
Bobby, watching this train derail in real time, cleared his throat gently.
"Um… Lili," he said softly, choosing his words with care, "I think what sir Foca is trying to say is—wouldn't it be more special if you sang something that's genuinely yours? Like… something really close to your heart?"
Lili blinked.
"Ohhh…" she said slowly, as if a divine revelation had just descended upon her.
Then she smiled sweetly.
"No, noz really!"
Silence.
Even Bobby had to pause and take a slow, deliberate breath to collect himself.
Ah.
Now he understood.
This—this—was what Foca had been dealing with his entire life.
Lili was the kind of person who, more often than not, had no thoughts.
Just vibes.
And unfortunately?
They were immaculate.
"Okay," Foca said after letting out a long, weary sigh, "then we'll just start from scratch. No big deal."
"So," he continued, determined, "is there something you want to sing about? Anything. Literally anything."
"Hmmm…" Lili pondered for a grand total of half a second.
"…nope. Not really."
And just like that, another year was shaved clean off Foca's life expectancy.
"Alright," he tried again, clinging to patience by a thread. "What's something—or someone—that you hold close to your heart?"
"Hmmm… oh!" Lili suddenly lit up, eyes sparkling.
Foca straightened. Hope bloomed.
"Bobby!" she squealed.
Silence.
"…Huh?" Foca slowly turned to Bobby, brow deeply furrowed.
"Me?" Bobby sputtered. "Wha—?"
Now both men were staring at her like she'd just announced the moon was hers.
"Whaz?" Lili said, rolling her eyes. "You said someone zhat's special to me right now, oui? Zo I said Bobby."
"…Bobby," Foca repeated slowly, as if testing the word for poison. "Is special to you?"
"I—I'm special to you?" Bobby stammered, cheeks on fire, heart absolutely losing its mind.
"But you literally just met him," Foca pointed out, trying desperately to inject logic into the situation.
"Well," Lili shrugged, completely unbothered, "whaz can I say? Bobby just feels special to me. I can't really explain it."
Foca stared at her.
"You know," he said calmly, almost thoughtfully, "for someone who graduated top of her class and the entire school, you really don't make sense sometimes."
"Whaz can I say?" Lili grinned proudly. "I'm special zhat way."
"Indeed," Foca muttered.
Yes.
His cousin was special.
In what way, exactly?
That depended entirely on the vibes.
After a few more minutes of going back and forth with Lili—trying, valiantly, to extract even the faintest ghost of a song idea—Bobby slowly raised his hand, successfully stealing both Foca and Lili's attention.
"Erm… Lili," Bobby said shyly, "if you'd like, I actually have some lyrics written down. Would you want to… maybe give them a quick scan?"
"Oui! Of course!" Lili lit up instantly, eyes sparkling like she'd just been handed treasure.
Bobby opened the notes app on his phone and tapped on one particular note labeled working progress. He handed his phone over to Lili's eager hands.
"It's really just the chorus for now," Bobby said modestly—but before he could finish his sentence, Lili froze, eyes widening as she stared at the screen.
Bobby's heart dropped.
"…What?" he asked nervously. "Is it that bad?"
"Whaz are you zalking about?!" Lili burst out. "Zhis is absoluzely wonderful! J'adore!"
She immediately turned to Foca, practically vibrating with excitement.
"Little bread! I want zo sing zhis one!" she declared, shoving Bobby's phone into his hands.
Now genuinely intrigued, Foca scanned the lyrics carefully.
"Hmmm…" he hummed, thoughtful. Then he looked up at Bobby. "Do you already have a melody for this?"
"N-no, not yet, sir," Bobby answered quickly.
Foca nodded, then paused. "Before we go any further, I want to ask—would you genuinely permit Lili to sing your song, Bobby?"
Bobby didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat.
"Absolutely, sir," he said earnestly. "It would be an honor for Lili to sing it." A soft blush crept onto his cheeks. "And if—by some miracle—it ends up being the song she performs at Euroversion… that would honestly be a dream come true."
Foca smiled.
"Alright then." He turned to Lili. "You better show Bobby your gratitude, young lady."
And without warning—
Lili lunged forward and wrapped Bobby in a warm, enthusiastic hug.
"Zhank you so much, Bobby!" she exclaimed. "I promise I'll do your song justice!"
Bobby's brain immediately blue-screened.
Red as a ripe tomato, he hesitated for half a second before gently returning the hug. When Lili didn't pull away—in fact, leaned into it—Bobby finally gathered the courage to hug her back.
"I know you'll do great, Lili," he said softly, his voice full of pure adoration.
Before Foca could be struck by the incoming love wave again, he stood up without a word and made a beeline for the grand piano.
He didn't even notice that Bobby and Lili had once again drifted into their own little universe—because his mind was already firing on all cylinders.
Melodies began forming.
Lyrics crashed into his thoughts like a tsunami.
Ideas flooded in, unstoppable.
For once, he was the one in his own world.
Ha.
Take that, lovebirds.