Currently, inside the Rust Bucket, Max had taken on the responsibility of bringing the remaining three Gold siblings along for the remainder of their summer trip.
At the back of the RV, all six siblings had gathered on the upper bunk, the same spot where two of the sisters usually slept together.
Of course, that arrangement had worked perfectly well when there were only two of them.
Now, with three more sisters added to the mix, the available space had become considerably more limited. The bunk was already crowded, and things only got worse when Dream Journey dragged Evan into the cluster as well. With six siblings squeezed together beneath the blankets, the upper bunk had become a rather cramped gathering of Gold siblings.
There was a reason Journey insisted on keeping her brother there instead of allowing him to float around or rely on his abilities to make himself comfortable.
She wanted to correct his way of thinking.
After considering everything she had learned about Evan, Journey had come to a theory about the source of his rather concerning mindset. In her opinion, having so much power at his disposal had gradually changed the way he viewed himself and his own life. His abilities had reached a level far beyond what an ordinary human could achieve, and somewhere along the way, he had begun treating his own safety as something that no longer mattered.
It wasn't simply that he was confident in his strength. He had started to distance himself from the idea of being human in the first place.
And that, Journey believed, was something that needed to change.
Her proposed solution was to gradually place restrictions on Evan's use of his powers. She wanted him to rely less on his abilities and learn to handle ordinary situations as a normal person would. Rather than allowing him to solve every inconvenience through his supernatural abilities, she intended to make him experience the simple things that came with living as a human.
After all, if his belief that he couldn't die came from slowly disconnecting himself from what it meant to be human, then perhaps the first step toward correcting that belief was to help him understand how to live like one again.
It was a theory, of course, but Journey was determined to put it into practice.
After hearing her explanation and proposed approach, everyone aboard the Rust Bucket had approved of the idea. The rest of the Gold Family had agreed as well.
With the sole exception of Ever Gold, of course.
He still didn't see anything particularly wrong with the way he lived.
And judging by the way he had been dragged into the crowded upper bunk, his opinion wasn't going to change Journey's mind anytime soon.
At that moment, Ben winced uncomfortably and let out a groan.
"Don't think I can take this much longer!"
"Just hold on," Max replied. "We're almost there."
"I can't breathe!" Ben shouted.
"Don't give up on me now, Ben!" Max encouraged him as he reached for a pair of scissors from the tray Gwen was holding.
"Gotta get out of here!" Ben declared. "Going hero!"
"No, you're not!" Max immediately replied. "Save the drama, will you please? I just need to make sure that this tux fits."
Ben was standing in front of a full-length mirror, dressed in a small maroon tuxedo that looked absolutely ridiculous on him. His normally unkempt hair had also been brushed back and neatly combed, giving him a much more presentable appearance than usual.
Unfortunately, that didn't make him any happier about the situation.
His loud complaints had also attracted the attention of the six siblings occupying the upper bunk. One by one, their heads poked out from beneath the blankets, stacking above one another until they formed something resembling a small human pyramid.
Naturally, they were all interested in seeing what was happening.
"Ha! You look even more ridiculous than usual."
Nakayama Festa was the first to comment, unable to resist teasing her cousin. Ben's neatly combed hair seemed to be particularly amusing to her.
"Hmm, the suit looks nice, although a bit old-fashioned."
Dream Journey adjusted her glasses and took a proper look at Ben's appearance. After examining the tuxedo for a moment, she gave her assessment with her usual calmness.
"I think you should probably loosen that bow tie, Grandpa," Gwen suggested from beside them. "Ben's brain needs all the oxygen it can get."
Ben immediately sighed in relief.
"The only thing worse than going to a stupid, old, boring wedding is being in a stupid, old, boring wedding. Why can't Cousin Joel find someone else to be the ring bearer?"
"Relax, Benjamin," Gold Ship said from the bed. "It's only for one weekend out of 104 days of summer vacation. You'll live."
"Easy for you to say!" Ben protested, turning toward the upper bunk. "You're not the one getting stuck in this stupid suit."
"I'm glad we're here," Gwen said, smiling as she clutched the wedding invitation against her chest. Unlike her cousin, she seemed genuinely excited about the occasion. "I've never been a flower girl before."
"This tuxedo is a family heirloom," Max explained, placing both hands on Ben's shoulders. "I wore it when I was your age. Then your dad wore it, and now you."
"Oh, lucky me. I'm part of the family tradition," Ben groaned.
His gaze shifted toward Evan, who was positioned at the bottom of the human head pyramid. An idea seemed to occur to him, and he immediately pointed in his cousin's direction.
"What about Evan? Couldn't he be part of the family tradition instead of me?"
Max simply chuckled at the suggestion.
"He already has his own outfit for the wedding. Just be careful with it, please."
With that, Max stepped away, leaving Ben to continue suffering through his fitting.
Gwen, meanwhile, had apparently decided that the moment was too good to pass up. She raised her camera and pointed it directly at her cousin.
"Smile and say, 'Mega-dweeb!'"
"No!" Ben shouted.
His protest echoed throughout the Rust Bucket.
...
Now dressed in his regular attire, and with the Gold siblings finally finished getting ready, Ben and the others stepped outside to take a look at the wedding venue.
The area had been rented out for the occasion, offering a beautiful view of a huge lake. The decorations had been arranged carefully, giving the place a pleasant and welcoming atmosphere. Everything looked ready for a lovely wedding, from the decorations surrounding the venue to the picturesque scenery overlooking the water.
Gwen, Dream Journey, and Fenomeno couldn't help but smile at the sight. Even Max seemed pleased with the arrangements.
Ben, however, wasn't quite as impressed.
Much like the others, he could appreciate that the place looked nice, but that didn't mean he was particularly excited about being there. He hadn't wanted to attend the wedding in the first place, and being reminded that he would have to spend the weekend participating in it wasn't doing much to improve his mood.
"Uncle Max!"
A cheerful voice called out to them.
Turning toward the sound, they saw a young couple approaching while holding hands. The groom wore a bright smile as he walked over, with his bride-to-be beside him.
"Joel," Max greeted his nephew warmly. "And this must be Camille. You remember my grandkids, right?"
"Definitely!"
Joel smiled and began greeting them. He hugged Ben and Gwen, and greeted Dream Journey and Fenomeno, clearly happy to see his relatives again. However, after finishing his greetings, he paused and looked around.
"Wait, where are the other four?"
Before anyone could answer, a loud commotion coming from the direction of the lake caught everyone's attention.
They turned toward the noise.
And there, running across the area at full speed, was Gold Ship.
She was carrying a large bird's nest above her head with both hands, several eggs sitting inside it. Perry was lying comfortably right on top of her head as she sprinted away, apparently enjoying the ride.
Right behind her, six very angry geese were chasing after her, flapping their wings and honking furiously as they tried to catch the thief running away with their babies.
And following right behind the geese were Evan, Orfevre, and Nakayama Festa, all running after their younger sister and the furious birds, apparently trying to catch up before the situation became any worse.
For a moment, Joel simply watched the spectacle.
Then he chuckled.
"Huh, it's just like back when Cousin Stego had his weddings."
He couldn't help but make the comparison. Judging by the expression on his face, the memory seemed to bring back quite a few amusing recollections.
Max, meanwhile, turned his attention back to the newlyweds.
"Congratulations, you guys."
"Thanks, Uncle Max!" Joel replied, still smiling. "I'm so glad you guys could make it. Maybe you can talk some sense into my parents."
His cheerful expression faded slightly as he shifted the conversation toward the reason he had been looking forward to seeing his uncle.
"Why? What's the problem?" Max asked.
"Max."
A gruff voice interrupted them.
The group turned toward the speaker and spotted two more familiar faces approaching.
"Betty Jean, Gordon," Max greeted them, recognizing his older brother and his wife.
"We're so glad you're here, little brother," Gordon said. "Maybe you can talk some sense into these kids."
"Why, Uncle Gordon?" Ben asked. "What's going on?"
"Ah, they don't know what they're doing. This whole wedding is a terrible mistake."
Gordon said it with such conviction that the others couldn't help but look at him.
"The whole wedding is a terrible mistake?" Max repeated.
"See? Listen to your Uncle Max," Gordon quickly said to his son, seemingly taking Max's question as an opportunity to reinforce his point.
Before Joel could respond, however, another sound interrupted the conversation.
"Wrrryyyyy!"
Everyone turned toward the distant cry.
The geese were scattering in different directions, their earlier pursuit apparently forgotten. Nearby, Perry was lying on the ground beside the abandoned bird's nest.
Festa stood with her jaw hanging open, staring at the scene unfolding in front of her.
Evan and Orfevre had somehow gotten into another fight. And, somehow, Orfevre was now using Gold Ship as a human club, swinging her younger sister around by the ankle.
It was difficult to tell whether Gold Ship was enjoying herself or simply protesting the entire situation, but the sight was certainly enough to make the others stop and stare.
Gordon watched the commotion for a moment before murmuring,
"Huh, it seems the apple really didn't fall far from the tree."
He didn't look particularly surprised. After all, considering what he remembered about Stego's children, and Stego, this sort of chaos seemed almost familiar.
Dream Journey, on the other hand, let out a long, tired sigh. Grabbing her metal shovel, she began walking toward her siblings, looking as though she had already accepted that she would have to intervene.
Fenomeno hurried after her, wanting to stop the others from fighting before things got any worse.
With that particular bundle of walking chaos temporarily taking up everyone's attention, the group turned back toward one another. They were just about to continue their discussion when another voice cut in.
"Now, Gordon, the kids are grown-ups. Who are we to get in the way?"
A man approached alongside his wife and a burly-looking bodyguard.
Camille quickly turned toward them.
"These are my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Mann," she introduced, presenting them to the Tennysons.
"I'm sorry we had to meet under such awkward circumstances," Mrs. Mann said politely.
"So are we," Betty Jean and Gordon replied in unison.
The two families exchanged their greetings, although the tension surrounding the wedding was still rather obvious.
Later, after the parents had walked away, Ben watched them go before turning back toward the others with a smile.
"Maybe this weekend won't be so boring after all."
Considering what he had just witnessed, he was beginning to think that attending the wedding might not be as dull as he had expected.
"Uncle Max, this has been a nightmare," Joel complained, bringing everyone's attention back to him. "And it's not just the families, either. The wedding dress got lost, the photographer's camera got smashed, all the flowers up and died. Everything's going wrong."
He sounded genuinely exhausted by the whole situation.
Max listened to his nephew's complaints before offering him a reassuring smile.
"Don't worry. I'm sure everything will work out in the end."
Gwen then smiled and turned toward Joel, apparently having something else on her mind.
"Um, Joel, I have a few questions about being the flower girl. Does the flower girl's dress match the other bridesmaids? Who designed the dresses? What color are the corsages?"
Her questions came one after another, and she seemed genuinely interested in knowing more about her role in the ceremony.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Gwen," Joel said, his expression turning apologetic. "Didn't you hear? Camille's little cousin Lucy was able to make it after all. But thanks for standing in for us."
"Oh." Gwen's smile faded slightly.
She let out a small sigh, clearly disappointed by the news.
Ben, meanwhile, had a much more pressing concern.
"Oh, please tell me that you got another ring bearer too?"
"Sorry. Nothing changes for you, Ben. Except for who you're going to be dancing with at the reception."
"Dance?" Ben repeated, looking genuinely alarmed. "I don't know how to dance."
"Then you'd better learn, then. You don't want to end up looking like a mega-dweeb out there in front of everybody."
Joel teased him with a smile, seemingly enjoying his cousin's reaction.
Ben wasn't amused.
"Then couldn't Evan take my place as the ring bearer?"
He tried again, giving Joel a pleading look as though hoping his cousin might finally reconsider.
"Well, about that... I think you already know the answer." Joel replied.
His gaze shifted toward the distance, and Ben followed his line of sight.
A little farther away, Evan and Orfevre were still at it.
Except that their fight had taken on a rather unusual appearance.
The two were moving around each other in a way that almost resembled a dance. Neither wasted a movement as they stepped, turned, and shifted their weight, each one responding to the other's movements with practiced precision. Even while throwing jabs and kicks, their footwork remained surprisingly smooth.
There was something almost elegant about it.
Of course, that didn't change the fact that they were still fighting.
Dream Journey had finally reached her limit.
She stepped in to separate the two before their little sparring session became intense enough for one of them to decide that throwing the other into the lake was a perfectly reasonable way to end it.
It wasn't that Journey believed Evan and Orfevre genuinely disliked each other. She knew perfectly well that there was no bad blood between the twins. Their constant fighting was practically second nature to them, and in its own strange way, it had become one of their ways of bonding.
Still, knowing that didn't make it any easier to watch.
The two of them were constantly throwing punches and kicks at each other as though they were genuinely trying to tear into one another. And Journey, for one, had absolutely no intention of letting them continue doing that at a wedding.
...
AN: Sorry for the late upload; I got bored and wrote a new JJK fic. Already got the MC bio finished, but the annoying part now is: where should I start the story? Like, should I start it during Gojo's first year as a student, Gojo's first year as a teacher, Yuta's year, or maybe Yuji's year? Still haven't decided yet. I don't feel like making the childhood introduction parts; they just felt a bit boring to me. Got any suggestions you guys could give?