Familial Bonds

"I was wondering for a while now… I really wanted to invite Jake, Steven, and Amber to our breeding house. Can I invite them this Semestral Break?" Paul asked, hesitatingly so, as he looked at his parents.

He knew that his parents never really let strangers into the breeding house, as employees are only allowed there. If a customer is interested, they would only be shown to the area where the pokemon they're interested in could be found. Paul was surprised though when his parents agreed almost immediately.

"Of course!" The Crimson Couple said in unison.

The two looked at each other, before laughing at the coincidental occurrence.

"Really?" The red head asked, puzzled, after his parents stopped chuckling.

"Definitely, son. It's no big deal." Joseph replied.

Paul, now, looked more confused than before. "But I thought that you do not open the breeding house to strangers?"

Mary smiled as she clarified to her son, "Yes, we do Paul. But your friends aren't strangers. You consider them as family, right?" She stopped to ask her son, who nodded immediately back at her, his heart being enveloped with warmth and affection.

"Then, we consider them as family, too. Besides, their parents aren't strangers to us, too. We've been in close contact with Mr. Stone and his wife, including his secretary, Mrs. Rose for a long time. Mr. and Mrs. Azure, on the other hand, was a friend of us from the business gatherings."

She paused to take her son's hands, holding it tightly. "You have great friends, Paul. Their family is apparently great too; thus, we trust them. Believe us, we would know. I'm much more afraid that we would break their trust, not the other way around." Mary honestly admitted, which made Paul press his hand reassuringly on his mother's palm.

"Don't worry mom. We're being careful, right? Besides, you guys never took part in the horrible jobs of your organization. So, don't feel bad for me, or to the implication of your identities to my current friends or future ones. I am not ashamed of you guys, so don't be. I admire you both for being so strong, still having kindness despite what you guys went through. Whatever happens in the future, we'll deal with it then. For now, let's just live fully, ok?" Paul asked, looking at his mom and dad with raised brows.

His parents nodded back at him, which made him continue. "To be honest though, I really am proud to have you as my parents. Thank you, mom, dad, for always providing me the best, for loving me, and for being… just you." Paul confessed as he gave his dad and mom a kiss each on the cheeks.

Paul's statement made both of his parents tear up, which made Mary hug her son emotionally as she spoke, "Jeez, Paul. You're just three and you're being all smooth with your words. I'm horrified of the admirers that you would have in the future." She laughed as she finished. This made Paul laugh though, as he thought about her statement.

Seeing his son and wife laughing, Joseph interjected a question, "Hey bud, just to be clear. We already allowed you to invite your friends, correct?" Paul bobbed his head immediately at his dad's query, thus Joseph continued, "So, this is not buttering us up just to agree, right?" He asked, laughing as he did so.

"Dad, Of course not! Fine, I take back what I said. Pretend that I only mentioned mom, as she's the only one I love." Paul stated as he snorted, looking away from his dad. Though, you could see the corner of his lips raising, despite his seemingly irritated expression.

"I told you he loves me more than you." Mary proudly said, her eyes telling her husband 'I told you so' as she hugged her son. Paul stifled his laughter as he saw his dad's forlorn look.

His dad was staring at him with an 'Is it really' look. Not wanting his dad to go on his corner of the house and draw circles when he's sad or being kicked out of the master bedroom by his mom, Paul mouthed an 'I love you more.' to Joseph. At the same time, making the latter stay silent as the red head placed a forefinger on his lips, glimpsing at Mary in the corner of his eyes as he gave him a 'Don't tell mom.' look.

Satisfied with Paul's response, Joseph stayed silent as he smiled at his son adoringly.

The family stayed in a comfortable silence until Charles came by the Crimson Manor to tutor his student, continuing the lessons from yesterday.

After a few hours, dinner was served, with Charles being included in the meal with Mary and Joseph's insistence. They had a great meal, and after that Charles bid his goodbye to go home, while not forgetting to remind his student to not forget his studies during the Semestral Break.

As soon as Paul was within the confines of his room, he immediately started a conversation in their "Crazy Quartet" group chat.

[Psycho: Hey guys! Guess what?]

After a few seconds, someone quickly replied.

[Iron Head: What? You're rank one again?]

[Psycho: Yes, but that's not what I was asking about.]

[Pig Face: Wow, congrats Paul! No. 1 again? Well, I think that ought to be obvious. Anyhow, this time, I ranked no. 3! smile_emoji.jpg]

[Iron Head: @Psycho. Congrats man! By the way, I ranked no. 5 this time! wide-smile_emoji.jpg]

[Psycho: That's amazing guys! I guess all of us did well then.]

[Pig Face: Well... a certain lazy blonde is missing on our conversation.]

[Iron Head: I guess he's asleep.]

[Lazy Bum: Hey, I heard the notification sounds. You guys woke me up. sleepy_emoji.jpg]

[Psycho: You guys were wrong. He is awake… Now. laughing_emoji.jpg]

[Lazy Bum: Shut up Paul. Give me a few seconds to recap myself on the conversation.]

[Iron Head: Sure.]

Jake did not take long as he immediately sent his message when he was done recapping himself.

[Lazy Bum: Congratulations everyone! I think we should celebrate then! My rank is no. 9, by the way.]

[Psycho: Woah!!! I did say you were smarter than you looked. shocked_emoji.jpg]

[Pig Face: Really? If it's true, that's awesome Jake! wide-smile_emoji.jpg]

[Iron Head: Truthfully? Told you man. You did well this exam week. Congrats! smile_emoji.jpg]

[Lazy Bum: Do I look like a liar? Anyhow, I am surprised as well that I was able to rank this high on the first semester grading. Well, I am smart if I do study well.]

[Psycho: Yes you do @Lazy Bum. It seems like a lot got lower grades on Practical Tests, as we all got high ranks when we all did particularly well on the practical tests.]

[Pig Face: Yeah, it really is. Some are really not good at doing practical tests.]

[Iron Head: Well, that's that, at least all of us are on the top 10 rankings. It's quite an achievement for us as a group too.]

[Psycho: Yeah, it's perfect! I also think we should celebrate. But guess what?]

[Iron Head: Yeah, you were mentioning something earlier, right?]

[Pig Face: Well, what is it?]

[Lazy Bum: Is it related to the thing you mentioned before the break?]

[Psycho: Exactly! What do you guys think on celebrating our good grades this semester on our breeding house?]

[Iron Head: Really? That's amazing Paul! From what you've mentioned, there are tons of Pokemon there!]

[Pig Face: You're not kidding right? I thought you said they didn't let strangers into the breeding house?]

[Lazy Bum: I've heard from you that there are delicious Beedrill and Combee Honey, and tasty Miltank Milk, right?]

[Psycho: I thought so too. Well, they said as you're my friends, and I treat you guys as family, so, they ought to include you guys as family, too. And yes, @Lazy Bum. There are delectable honey and milk there, not forgetting the assorted berries.]

[Pig Face: Aww. Is this Paul saying we're like family? How sweet of you. blushing-smile_emoji.jpg]

[Iron Head: Wow. That's flattering. Please send your parents my thanks.]

[Lazy Bum: Oh, I like them too. Your parents are nice.]

Paul immediately changed the topic, obviously not wanting the pink head to embarrass him.

[Psycho: Shut up Ames. Sure @Iron Head. Thank you, @Lazy Bum. Each of your parents were nice too.]

[Iron Head: Well, that's nice. My parents liked you guys too, especially Paul.]

[Pig Face: Huh. Me too. They especially liked Paul.]

[Lazy Bum: Really? Mine too! Paul, did you feed them some love potion or what?]

[Psycho: Or what. Anyways, it's quite flattering to be liked the most by your parents. Tell them that I send my regards and thanks for their favor. Oh well, it's really hard to be a fine piece of specimen, don't you think? I mean... really, to be as handsome and as smart as I could be difficult.]

There was a silence in the group chat before chaos ensued.

[Iron Head: For Arceus' sake, Paul. Is this your first time being narcissistic? Please don't repeat it again. Ever. Even if you think it's true.]

[Pig Face: It's really hard. Want me to make it more difficult, huh? fist_emoji.jpg]

Paul shivered at that statement.

[Lazy Bum: Dude, I like you more when you're honest. Please don't lie.]

[Psycho: What? I'm speaking of the truth. Hmph, it's not like you guys see my greatness.]

[Pig Face: Paul...]

Paul replied immediately when he saw Amber's warning.

[Psycho: Okay, I'll keep quiet, even if you guys know it's true.]

[Pig Face: Paul Crimson!]

[Psycho: I'll shut up. zipped-mouth_emoji.jpg]

[Iron Head: Amber's really scary, huh? laughing-with-tears_emoji.jpg]

[Lazy Bum: Very. sweat-dropping_emoji.jpg]

The red head slapped his face at the two, oblivious of Amber's temper.

[Pig Face: Oh really? Want me to show you two how scary I could be? smile_emoji.jpg]

[Iron Head: No, ma'am.]

[Lazy Bum: Please don't.]

[Pig Face: Good.]

Paul laughed at the two's immediate reply to the pink head's open threat. After a while, he immediately turned back the topic to the breeding house.

[Psycho: So... a trip to the breeding house? Food included for celebration?]

[Pig Face: Of course! Don't forget to include Spaghetti!]

[Lazy Bum: Fried Chicken for me!]

[Iron Head: Grilled Pork Belly please.]

[Psycho: Okay, I've taken note of your request. For now, let's set a date. What about Wednesday?]

[Lazy Bum: That's fine for me. I'll just ask my mom and dad to confirm.]

[Iron Head: Me too. But I'm sure they'll agree.]

[Pig Face: Yup! I'll ask my parents too.]

[Psycho: Just a thought. If you want your parents to come, or if they want to, I would be happy to oblige. Okay?]

The three agreed in unison. Thus, a celebratory gathering was scheduled at the Crimson Breeding House on the upcoming Wednesday.