this is not how he envisioned spending his evening. it's a good thing he's already in the area, otherwise he would've likely pretended not to have seen the text. can't blame him, though! it's a long fly from lilycove to mauville.

but, thankfully, the stars align, and he's knocking on the door before entering anyways, understanding she likely wouldn't be able to open it herself.

"illie."

he looks around.

"and the kids! hello, everyone."

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]she scowls, more at the kids than him but he's gradually making her shit list by standing there.

one of the toddlers yanks her hair harder. the girl giggles, amused when illeana hisses in irritation.

"can you--" another hiss when the girl's brother elbows her ribs. "do something?"

nugget helplessly looks to matias for assistance, stomping a little foot in agreement.

she'll be lucky if she escapes this with no bruises...

MATIAS SILPH
mission

matias giggles along with the girl, not yet approaching even if illie looks like she so desperately needs his help.

"can i..."

he hums, then shifts down to pet nugget. he peers up at her then, grinning.

"only if you ask nicely."

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]"you d--" language, illie. there's gremlins and if they repeat it, you'll be in some deep shit.

if looks could kill, illeana would have already slaughtered matias five times already.

nugget preens beneath the attention for a moment, cooing while pet. of course, the faithful little shieldon quickly begins to stomp his feeties again when another yelp echoes from his trainer.

"come on," she groans. the little boy has quite the kick it would seem as feet connect with her thigh. yep, bruises. she'll definitely have bruises from this. who knew toddlers could have such brunt force to them? ridiculous. "please."

the little girl continues to yank her hair like she's a horse and those are her reins. and she turns her head just as the little boy's elbow rises and jerks, catching her jaw.

goddamn it.

someone remind her to never have kids if they're gonna end up like this.

MATIAS SILPH
mission

language.

thankfully, she knows better than to swear in front of children. he shoots her a look as well, but soon breaks into a chuckle as he finally approaches.

"alright, alright."

matias is not the best with kids either. he even blindly tossed Eris Halla into the air without knowing where virizion was. she's fine, somewhat, so it all worked out in the end.

without much of an issue, matias reaches out to pick up the little boy, holding him high up in the air before looking back down at illie.

"better?"

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]his look goes ignored, purposely and angrily. she huffs, ready to roll both herself and the kids over to snag the upperhand from them.

of course, matias intervenes before she actually can.

the loss of limbs smacking into her is absolutely not missed. she heaves out a soft sigh of relief. of course, it’s quickly dissolving into a hiss whem the little girl yanks her hair again in retaliation.

”better,” she murmurs, eyes slowly drifting up to find the little boy squirming in matias’s grasp. somehow, it makes her smile. is it due to victory or something else, however? she pays it little mind.

her attention shifts back to the little girl trying to use her as a makeshift horse. the girl scrambles up her back now that her brother has been dealt with. and illeana really can’t squish the little tot. she reaches back, snaking her arms around the bottom half of the girl’s body for support before slowly trying to climb to her feet.

without the little boy egging his sister on, this is a lot easier… thank god.

MATIAS SILPH
mission

the little boy squirms, kicks, but it's of no use. chuckling, matias moves him to sit atop his shoulders, and it's there that the boy finds peace. like remy from ratatouille, the boy starts playing with matias' hair.

"where to, little one?"

the boy points ahead, screaming in joy, and matias has no choice but to oblige. he flashes illie a quick smile before charging off towards the kitchen.

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i"]the little girl slumps against her back, small arms moving to circle her neck. the grip is tight but surprisingly not suffocating. thank god the kiddos aren't actually trying to kill her... yet?

her hair is mostly left alone now, too. the girl has taken to staring after her brother and matias as they trot toward the kitchen. judging from the little whine that echoes in illeana's ear, she doesn't want to be left behind.

me too, sister.

the pair join them in the kitchen shortly, along with a happy nugget who has been waiting patiently on the counter for her return.

ah, but here's the hard part: they're probably hungry and she can barely cook for herself.

"are you guys hungry...?" she asks meekly, as if praying they'll say no so she can save herself the embarrassment. unfortunately, the girl nods frantically into her shoulder.

damn it.

MATIAS SILPH
mission

"hungry, huh?"

he looks back at illie and the girl.

"it's a good thing i know how to cook, then."

smiling, he moves the young boy off his shoulders and onto the chair.

"watch over them for a bit, illie, while i try and make something for them."

he walks over to the fridge, opening it to peer in only to realize...

"...what do kids eat?"

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i”]oh, thank god he knows how to cook…

she nods, shifting over to join the little boy as matias moves toward the fridge.

and maybe she should have expected for the question to slip from his lips but she doesn’t and she’s mentally facepalming now.

”what do you guys want to eat?” her eyes shift between the boy and glancing over her shoulder to peer at the girl. a minute of deliberation passes before they’re both shouting for mac n cheese.

she’s smug when she turns toward matias, head tilting to the side as a smirk begins to rise.

”you heard ‘em.” get to work bestie.

MATIAS SILPH
mission

the only mac n cheese matias knows how to make is instant and straight out of the box. apparently, this family has higher standards than that, and he'll have to make it fresh.

"...alright."

he pulls out his phone, quickly googles a recipe, then props it down on the counter and gets to work.

"it might take a while."

illeana reyes

☉

[attr="class","illie"]

[attr="class","illie b"]

[attr="class","illie i”]a laugh escapes as the children cheer. mac n cheese is a real crowd pleaser.

and while he starts to prep with his phone propped up on the counter, she turns toward the little boy.

"do you want to watch tv while we cook?" her head tilts, a small smile rising. he nods happily, as if cartoons are exactly how he wants to pass his time now that he's already tired himself out by beating her up. she feels the little girl's head nod as well, her forehead bumping illeana's shoulder softly.

she leads them into the living room and gently places the girl onto the couch. her brother climbs up beside her and they snuggle up with a curious nugget as the scientist begins flipping through channels. once they yell for her to stop, she returns the remote to its original spot and returns to the kitchen.

a hand brushes softly against matias's back when she approaches.

"how're you holding up in here?"

MATIAS SILPH
mission

too engrossed by cooking, he doesn't notice her stepping back into the kitchen until her hand brushes against his back. it's a small gesture, idle, but warmth still comes from it. he smiles, tilting his head briefly to look at her.

"uh, good, i think."

since when is matias not confident?

"have you ever made mac n cheese before?"

illeana reyes

☉