Relationship Progress

"What are you talking about?" Alex narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Sienna groaned and smacked Mia's arm.

"Mia! Stop saying weird stuff!"

Mia just laughed, clearly enjoying herself.

"What? I'm just educating Alex." She wiggled her eyebrows at Alex.

Alex sighed, already regretting asking.

"I don't even want to know."

But he really wants to know about it.

"Oh, but you do," Mia teased, leaning closer.

Sienna, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, stretched her arms. "Yeah… I heard it's really effective, too."

Alex narrowed his eyes. "You two are being weird again."

"Oh, don't mind us." Mia giggled. "You see, Alex, some people relieve stress by squeezing—"

"Shh…" Sienna immediately cut off Mia's words teasingly. She showed Alex a small smirk. "Let Alex figure it out on his own."

Alex scoffed but didn't press further. He knew from experience that if they were acting like this, it was better to just ignore them.

Instead, he focused back on the stress ball in his hands, squeezing it absentmindedly. It helped to relax his mind.

He was minding his business for a couple of minutes, but the thought was stuck in his mind. 

Another form of stress ball?

Alex frowned when the thought lingered in his mind. What were they even talking about? There was the physical one in his hand, obviously, but… was there some kind of deeper meaning?

Then, as he looked at Mia and Sienna, who was now back to the couch, his fingers froze around the stress ball.

Wait.

'Are they talking about that?' Alex questioned as his eyes landed on their big mountains.

Alex's cheeks heated up when he realized that maybe he was right. However, as he stared at their chests more, he couldn't help but wonder how it feels like to touch those.

They look so big and soft.

'No, I shouldn't be thinking like this.' Alex shook his head and removed his gaze from them. He just sighed and opened his phone that was placed beside him.

He must really be out of mind to even think about it.

Alex spent the next few hours trying to distract himself from his thoughts and boredom. 

Sienna and Mia would still talk to him from time to time, but this time, it was a normal conversation, without any of their weirdness. 

At the middle of their conversation, Sienna and Mia shifted their focus. It was as if the angels possessed them suddenly. 

"Alright, first things first," Sienna said, placing her hands on her hips.

"Have you eaten yet?"

[Progress 84%]

Alex hesitated. He already ate lunch, but that was a few hours ago. 

"Ugh, I knew it," The silence was all Mia need to know. She immediately walked over to the small container she had brought earlier. "You should eat some snacks. Mom left 4 hours ago. That means it's been 4 hours since you ate, stupid." 

"I'm not hungry," Alex muttered. 

It was the truth. Alex had eaten a lot of snacks for the last hours, so he wasn't hungry.

Mia shot him a glare. "Same thing." She popped open the container, revealing a neatly packed snack from their Mother. "Too bad, lil bro. You're eating."

Before Alex could argue, Sienna had already adjusted his pillows behind him, making sure he was comfortable. She handed him a fork while Mia sat beside him, watching closely as if making sure he would eat everything.

"Come on," Mia nudged. "Start eating."

Alex sighed, but seeing as they weren't giving him a choice, he reluctantly took a bite of the pie that Claire made. The food was still warm, and though he didn't feel particularly hungry at first, he had to admit that it was good.

[Progress 87%]

It was Claire's cooking, after all.

Mia grinned in satisfaction. "See? Not so bad, right? Mom's cooking is really the best."

Alex just shook his head but kept eating.

Meanwhile, Sienna who was getting bored had started cleaning up around the room, picking up empty water bottles and tidying up his bedside table.

[Progress 89%]

"Seriously, Alex," she sighed as she wiped the surface with a tissue. "You could at least try to keep things a little cleaner even if you can't move"

"I was planning to, but, you know…" He gestured vaguely at his legs. "Kinda hard to do when you're stuck like this."

Sienna paused before glancing at him. "...Yeah, I guess that's fair." She shook her head with a small smile. "That's why we're here, then."

[Progress 91%]

As Alex continued eating, Mia grabbed a fresh towel and wiped off his hands when he was done, acting almost motherly.

"There. Much better," she said with a smirk. "See? This is why you need us."

[Progress 94%]

Alex scoffed, but deep down, he appreciated their care.

Sienna returned after tossing out the trash, standing beside the bed with her arms crossed. "You good? Need anything else?"

[Progress 96%]

Alex thought about it for a moment, then shook his head.

"I'm fine," he said, a small, genuine smile forming on his lips. "Thanks, guys."

Sienna just shrugged. "That's what sisters are for." 

In their mind, they already considered that Alex was their brother. 

As the two continued fussing over him, making sure he was comfortable and had everything within reach. They also adjusted his pillows and talked to him the whole time.

It really eased his boredom.

And so, after a few days, his mission with them was finally done.

[Prorgess: 100%]

[Mission Complete!]

[Your recovery progress will speed up by 5%]

[+2 in Endurance has been added to your stats.]

[Your relationship with your sisters has improved.]

[Do you want to check your ?]

[Yes] [No]

Alex stared at the glowing notification in front of him.

'Might as well check it out,' he thought, selecting [Yes].

- - [Relationship Progress] - -

Claire Adams: [70/100]

Mia Adams: [60/100]

Sienna Adams: [60/100]

Emily Xander: [10/100]

- - - -

'Over 100?'

 [Yes, Host. The higher the number means the higher they are completely devoted to you. They trust you with their life, share their deepest secrets, and will stand by your side no matter what happens. Once you hit 100, they will follow your orders, whatever it is.]