FSE

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Chapter 8** : Restoration**

It was supposed to be the usual morning at the farm for Randal, his routine seemingly going unchanged like it had been for the last few weeks here at Las Lindas.

Helping his mother had been a priority that he had carefully integrated as part of the multiple chores he would have to take over.

A grand task that was as straining as oddly satisfying, the fact that he could spend more time with his only parent was more than enough to compensate the draining effects of going through the issues at home.

For the Collie it was like he had gone back in time to when he would still be studying before college, before he had to leave home for the interesting and quite different lifestyle that only Prism University could have afforded.

The place was massive, well-decorated and exceptionally-filled with numerous faculties that allowed a vast range of careers' choices for the students going there.

The ideal place that was envied by other major universities across the globe, accepting everyone at an affordable price that was well-distributed between the teachers' pays and the books dispensed by the local libraries near the campus.

It was a good few years that were spent there to get a good education and also prepare himself for the bigger world around him.

Without Mora, Alej and mom, things sure felt difficult by the very first days as the Prime wasn't initially a social butterfly.

With time, patience and determination, this detrimental flaw of his personality was turned back in something that had allowed him to become a model student before teachers and… to have some interesting nights with some of the girls studying there.

It had been the best experience away from home and, part of him would have had Randal also explore the possibility to become a professional player of any of the sports he had the chance to try and enjoy during his stay at Prism.

All sports was fair play in his eyes, everything that required running, rough-housing and anything that sports were best known for.

It was what truly he loved to do the most and that had been almost enough to win him a position in one of the football's team searching for young players.

Yet the offer had arrived at the time he had been packing to return back home, the news of his mother's conditions worsening to a point where she required someone to be around to take care of her.

Coincidentally with this development, the last three workers at the farm provided their resignations and decided to not urge the woman to pay for that month's wages, knowing very well that it wouldn't have been correct and… honest.

It was something that Randal could say without hesitation, the fact that all the workers at Las Lindas had been recruited following two requirements.

The first one was actually the capacity to do the tasks they were going to be hired for, the latter being something a little more unusual but quite interesting. And that was a good heart.

Everyone that was no longer there, either away from the town for other works' needs or to outright live away from the place with their new families, had left small bits of themselves, of their kind and hard-working souls, to the simple farm owned by Diana Linda.

And their last worker was the legacy of this once-grand place.

Matt was meticulous with his efforts, cautious to not mess things up during work and incredibly experienced in most of the tasks regarding to the job.

Something that had been both a blessing and an interesting development in what had initially felt the end of the long-lasting Las Lindas, the final days of the family-owned activity.

Yet the human had come to stay and was slowly lifting them from the dark abyss below their feet, his friendly tones and personality revealing to be also refreshing to have around. It was enough for Randal to actually be hopeful of things finally stabilizing, that there was still worth fighting in that decaying farm.

Plants were carefully taken care of, with the newer ones planted around the available fertile land and with the older ones being sold with reasonable costs at the local market in town.

Both tasks rendered successfully by the young man himself, something that Randy was partly-appreciative of as he felt the lessening of something similar to a guilt burden he had for a long time now.

While his principal duty was to help his mother's recovery, the Collie also felt that the farm had to be preserved and improved as it had been the woman's life-project.

It had been where Diana had spent most of her life, the place where her family had grown up into and where she had experienced the highest and lowest bits of her life.

So, with Matt genuinely spending time in renewing the conditions of the entire farm, Randal noticed quickly on the fact that the lovely woman that was his mother had been getting happier by the day.

It had been subtle at first, but the pace had grown to a point where it was painfully obvious to see how much she was glad to see Las Lindas breathing a healthier breath with her latest worker.

The human was possibly unaware of this, having never seen what the woman had been like before he had arrived and… the Collie also noticed another interesting detail coming from Diana, by the way she would look at the young man now living with them.

It wasn't anything worrisome from what the Prime could understand after numerous situations regarding this tidbit, he had realized early on that, and yet the resulting suggestion regarding this curious case had actually left him in a somewhat bitter state.

He wasn't angry neither to his mom, nor to the unaware human that was unconsciously subjected to this situation… but the Collie did felt that somehow this was connected to something that happened while he hadn't been present around to witness it escalating.

Mora was a smart young woman, a very headstrong one even when going to make mistakes, but still someone with a positive and good heart that she followed even now.

The fact that his sister had decided to rise up when mom couldn't tell her for the umpteenth time about her father's disappearance… it had left him with several conflicting about the two lovely ladies.

From a fair point, the youngest of the two had been asking about this for a long time now and she was had been old enough to bear through any horrible detail about her missing parent.

Mora had been incredibly patient over the matter, hoping to get some answers once she had grown mature enough to tank any hit of that caliber.

Yet mom's resistance had been fierce and somewhat intriguing. It was rare to see Diana this much determined on keeping some news like that to herself, especially since her daughter had deserved the truth about it. This front was standing on solid basis, but what had kept Randal from actually taking Mora's side…

It had been some papers he had found on his own. Money and objects being sent to the same address, to a place nearby the capital of the continent and assigned to a pharmaceutic organization.

Nothing much was given by the quick research he did around the group, nothing about someone that could match up with the little description he had of his 'adoptive father'.

Annoyance and irritation had been stuck at him for some time about that but the Collie had all of it hidden in a calm mask of faux happiness while around his mother, the woman still unaware of his little snooping around about the man that once was her lover.

And while nothing suspicious was raised by the normal corporation, the fact that they hadn't sent the stuff sent by Diana back and demanded a cessation of this activity… led the young man to thing that there was something more about their apparent innocence over the situation.

He shook his head as he finished washing his hands by the sink, having done everything he had to do in the bathroom for this morning as he opened the door and walked out, nodding at the human that was now going inside the place.

As the door closed once again, his brown eyes blinked for a moment right at it as he felt nostalgic of the pattern the two men had adopted for their needs by the bathroom. It was so easy and comfy, nothing much had differed from his long-lasting routine and… his sight was so quickly confusing Matt with someone else.

The same sleepy expression, shoulders slouching and a slow walking pace, the human was surprisingly similar to Mora in that aspect of their daily-life.

Not much of the perfect morning person, coffee being the reason why he managed to keep up with the hard-life of being the lone worker at farm, the same had been when his sister would have to quickly do her preparations for school as the timing of the bus was hellish to deal with.

It was ever-so punctual but also impatient, the old driver being quite the grim figure that wouldn't care if someone missed any important dates because of that.

It had been a nightmare to face back when Randal was still dealing with high school and it had been the same for both Mora and Alej.

Differently from her surrogate sibling, the young Coldthorn was more prone to accept the needs of waking up incredibly early in the morning, her planning for the first part of the day being as precise as incredibly-difficult to uphold some of the more trying days.

She was still careful enough to not exert herself beyond her limits, something that had been drilled in her workaholic brain by Diana herself.

Being a hard-worker was fine, but going too quick or too strong with anything would end up messing plans rather than get those done with.

The lesson was duly accepted, Alej never much daring to go and try to wake earlier than she would usually do as she learned to treasure more of her sleep hours. Something that Randal was unsure if this was still kept up with, but he hoped that his surrogate little sister had managed to not fall into that foul habit.

He turned the corner in the hallway, entering the kitchen-living room where his mother was amusingly watching photos from an unfamiliar picture book.

She had been quite nostalgic of the past memories, having gone through their normal photo-books several times now.

The fact that this in particular seemed to not bring any familiarity was enough to catch the Collie's attention, the young Prime approaching the little table where Diana was sitting by, slowly trying to get a glimpse of what kind of photos were there to see.

The moment he got in the perfect spot to have a full visual over the content of the book, his entire frame froze in that position, eyes fixed in surprise at what he could only recognize as photos showing a young human child and two young adults too.

There was some confusion at the strange sight, but then he got a clear look over the boy and he recognized him for whom he truly was.

Matt Newcastle was a happy kid during his childhood years, the bright smile and the overall excitement displayed by his younger self was more than enough to point this out to Randal.

The closeness the young boy was sporting with his parents, two normal individuals, made it clear that their bond was as indivisible as the one he, Mora and Alej held for Diana.

It would have been a nice discovery, the pleasant notes of the childhood of his friend would have been a fun topic to have for breakfast… if not for the fact that the young man had lost his parents because of that car accident.

He tensed a little as he recovered from the surprise, the Prime walking back to his usual seat and taking rest there.

Green eyes slowly lifted off from the 'amusing sight' and back to Randal, his mother blinking in brief surprise. “Oh, I didn't see you, Randy and-" She sighed. “Good morning."

He nodded. “Good morning," The young man replied quietly as his stare set once more at the half-closed book. “I see that you got the… interesting 'read'."

The woman blinked again, this time glancing for a moment right at the photo-book and then to her son. Her smile not faltering at the strange comment.

“Just something that I got from a friend of mine," She mused with a purring hum. “Did you know that Matt hit a growth spurt at 15? You should see how much he got taller there-"

“Mom," Randal interjected with a stronger voice. “I… why do you have that? Why?"

There was some silence, the woman's green eyes displaying numerous emotions at once, from confusion to shock, from mortification to calm. It was a flurry of feelings that felt oddly wrong for the occasion and yet… she sighed.

“Just wanted to see how Matt was when he was but a child," She explained with a careful tone. “Just a silly curiosity as a tired old mother."

…

“Mom, I-" He felt his voice faltering for a moment, unsure if going for something blunt would really muster any proper answer over her sudden behavior. “Mom, Matt isn't-"

“Don't finish that dummy sentence, Randy." The older Prime interrupted with a huff. “I understand that you can think of that by the way I care for him, but I don't see him as a replacement to my Morita."

The frown from the woman was enough to get an embarrassed and shocked look out from the Collie, the young man lowering his stare at the table at being counter-called out and… he frowned himself. “But then, why the picture book and-"

“I don't see him as a substitute to Mora, Randy," Diana reaffirmed with a sterner tone, her eyes narrowing now dangerously at her son… before softening up as a sigh left her lips. “But that doesn't mean I can't consider him part of the family."

Brown eyes flickered at that continuation. “Part of the family?"

She shrugged. “I'm unsure myself about it, but I guess that Matt has turned in a frequent sight and… he had been helpful around, supporting the two of us."

The words failed to truly render justice over the positive improvement, but Randal decided to not press her about this. Rather, he decided to question more about the position the fellow young man held in his mother's heart.

“So, you think of him like the other workers we had?" He questioned more. “You were keen to say just a few years that those had been part of the 'family' too-"

“Our family," She replied without hesitation in her tone. “The one where you, Mora and Alej are my children and..." The woman didn't finish that sentence, her words failing to continue the line of thought.

But the Collie didn't need to listen to the final bit to understand what was going on within Diana's mind.

While it might be true that Matt wasn't becoming a replacement to the absent Mora, that didn't mean that the attention given to him by the older Prime was still strong and the kind he had only seen when dealing with him and his other siblings.

“Mom," Randal sighed but decided to go ahead with his question. “Why do you consider him as such?"

She blinked at him, her eyes finally showing some doubt about replying to that specific query but, instead of prolonging the current silence, the woman sighed and brought up a sad smile.

“When he grabbed me when I was having one of my moments, Matt…" Diana closed her eyes, a tired look flashing by her face. “Matt had looked so much scared, so much afraid of the fact I had been in pain and… I couldn't help but think of how familiar it was."

She hummed, the book now closed and set on the table.

“When I had my first moments back when I was still alone and dealing with Las Lindas with my remaining staff, the few workers around me when it did happen were quick to have me placed on a safe place and to call an ambulance to see me checked," The woman explained, with a low tone. “I had been happy to see that they had been so caring of my conditions and… that wasn't what had happened with Matt." She interrupted quickly, her lips forming a thin line.

“When Matt came to help me, I could see something that I hadn't seen in my workers' expressions and manners, something that I saw only in another occasion," She commented, glancing back at Randal. “Do you remember when you first saw me suffering with the illness?"

The question was a punch he hadn't seen coming his way, his eyes went wide for a moment, hesitant to reply for a second or two before he actually tried to give a response to that.

“I had expected it to be strong but..." He blinked, remembering vividly that moment. “I hadn't thought it to be that strong. I hadn't thought that… you were suffering that much."

She smiled happily at that concern he was showing and she nodded. “Indeed. And that is what I saw in Matt's eyes back when he helped me."

… “What?"

“When he pulled me up from the floor and I regained some consciousness before fainting, I saw something rather unique and particularly connected to my children," Diana paused, her sigh showing some calm after the struggle she had in explaining the previous bits.

“It was the look of fear for my well-being, he was so afraid and so surprised by the pain I was in that he seemed ready to collapse himself too," His mother's smile widened a little. “I suspect that the fear itself was what truly got him to ignore the pain he gained from that moment, why he didn't feel 'much' out of it when I asked about it."

It had been a recurring moment of curiosity for the woman, the reason behind the human's lack of intention to reveal the suffering he had shared with her.

Even Randal had been confused by the strange uneasiness the young man had when he asked himself, getting only some curt reply back that didn't felt genuine.

“But I have to ask you this, Randy," The woman continued without hesitation. “Would it be bad if I considered him as your new brother?" She asked bluntly, getting a little embarrassed frown from her son.

“I-I mean, it wouldn't be right if-"

“Would you?" She pressed on. “I'm asking to you. You've shared the floor, you both seem to be in a rather friendly relationship and I know that you have been quite at ease around him-"

“Okay," The Collie finally snapped softly. “I might consider him something of a sibling but- I don't feel that I'm sure about it and-"

“Would you mind if I considered him as another child? Like I did with Alej?" The pressure was piling up much to Randal's discomfort. “Would you-"

“N-No, I wouldn't mind if you did," He finally admitted, snorting and shaking his head at the surreal predicament. “I know that you… mean well, mom. But I don't want you to do strange things-"

“Good morning!" The new chirpy voice interrupted without notice, the Collie almost jumping at the sudden presence of the human.

Matt was just walking through the doorstep with a cheerful expression plastered on his face, his body seemingly relaxed and his mind unaware of the discussion between the two Primes.

“'Morning, Matti." Diana greeted back with a renewed smile, her eyes brightly shining as she stared at the approached young man. “I hope you are ready for today's lunch."

“I think I am," He replied absently as he moved behind the woman and right by the stoves. “So, what can I prepare for you all today?"

Randal frowned at the question and was about to jump in to help, but his mother proved to be quicker.

“Could you fix me a cup of coffee?"

“Sure thing, ma'am." He nodded back with a smile.

The human started to meddle around as he started to prepare the beverage, unaware that Diana wasn't going to let waste of the opportunity afforded by the photos she currently had in her hold.

“By the way, Matt," She started with a subtly-teasing tone. “I wanted to ask if you ever had some… accident with icicle back when you were a child."

The young man was still distracted, but the light frown on his face said that he was still paying enough attention to understand what he just heard. “Well, I kind of did, but it was a silly thing-"

“That saw your left canine chipped," The older Prime interjected with a little amused smile. “Seriously, I thought that you would have been a wise child back when-"

The woman didn't have time to finish as, once the young man had the coffee jug set and preparing, he spun around and frowned deeply at the suspiciously detailed episode.

His lips parted, ready to ask how the woman knew about this unfortunate case when his stare fell on the familiar picture-book being hold close by Diana.

He blinked once, then twice and-

“Diana, where did you get that?" He asked with a neutral tone, his frown hardening for a moment, the woman smiling as she turned to stare at him.

“That's a secret~." She replied bravely, the frown deepening even more but she hardly seemed to be minding it.

“How-" He stopped himself, confusion passing through his composure at that cheeky response. “This- Diana, where did you get this and why?"

The woman giggled at the reaction. “A friend of mine and… why shouldn't I be curious about my worker's cute childhood?" The Prime pushed back with a smug look, the action causing the human to pause and blink once again.

“Really? Nothing else?" He asked again, his skeptical tone manifesting as the woman hummed positively.

“Yep and," She opened the book and turned it to Randal. “Randy dear, can you tell me what you can see from this photo in particular?"

The Collie was surprised by the sudden request, but he complied as he found himself staring at a rather young Matt, the boy being younger compared to the other photos he had seen, maybe a toddler.

“It's Matt wearing an… onesie?" The first bit of his brain revealing the content of the image causing a sudden burst of panic from the human.

“N-No wait, Randy that-"

But it was too late as the Prime's eyes widened as he finally realized that the Onesie was animal-themed and… it was a dog-themed one. A Collie, to be specific.

He tried to hide the blush returning strongly on his face with his hands but the red reached for his whole face, bringing up his reaction to the world there to see.

Matt had his jaw dropping at the sudden embarrassing moment, while Diana let herself go to a fit of giggles and laughs.

In her mind, even though Randal would deny it for a little longer, that was the quintessential situation only two siblings would endure. And that was being embarrassed by their parent with their old photos.

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With two days in advance, having her schedule reprogrammed to fit this important visit had proven to be easier than expected much to Alejandra's (and mostly Tootsie's) relief, giving the woman the chance of finally getting to reconnect with Diana Linda.

She had long ditched the idea of using her business car to reach the farm, knowing full-well that the little town's roads hardly allowed the passage to vehicles like the common ones in urban cities and other major settlements.

Thus the businesswoman had been mindful of telling her close assistant about the fact that to reach Las Lindas, they would have had to walk through the town and right up to the farm itself. The younger girl had been eager of this, showing little to no issue in having to go for that long walk and…

Her enthusiasm proved to deflated quite easily when they managed to get through the whole place.

While the train station would have allowed them to cut down a large section of the walk, the fact that it was expensive and somehow an unreliable system to go there were enough factors to have Alejandra think strategically for the trip.

The Mouse Prime was winded by the experience but she endured it pretty-well considering how it was her first time doing these many steps around, the spectacle-wearing woman faring a little better as the habit of making long walks from her childhood home to Prism were still fresh on her body and memory.

They stopped for a moment as they ended up reaching for the small house that existed right in front of the growing plants and flowers that were restlessly worked on by the only worker at the farm, blue eyes studying carefully the caring and the ministrations administered for the various vegetables here for here to see.

From a careful standpoint, she could see some issues with some of the visible products, but the overall quality was still decent enough to allow good revenue from the selling of those at the local market.

Her mind picking up how the nativity of these plants influenced some of the clients to trust more those products compared to the ones sold by external businessmen.

The close-minded state of some people in the countryside parts of Gossamer was one of the main reason why her company had been having issues to properly start and make the grand profits, an embarrassing situation that had been fixed with some trials for her patience.

Time had passed but progress had been made to an affordable degree, allowing her to properly launch her activity and gain momentum by the sudden appearance in the world.

And now Alejandra was proudly rising to greater heights the more days passed. It was just like she had promised back to her father, the sweat, blood and determination had all paid off as the young woman had finally gained a strong position with her organization.

With a cautious smile, Alejandra approached the familiar porch and the entrance door. She blinked as she lifted her closed fist up and pushed her knuckles onto the wood, knocking at the door three times.

She waited, backing away a little as Tootsie stood by her side, curiously waiting for something to happen and… something did happen.

Something quite unexpected, but also not, she corrected herself with a blink.

The door opened and the one that answered her was…

The Collie Prime blinked in surprise, a mirthful smile on his face as Alejandra lost some moments in shock and awe at the sudden growth spurt Randal had gone through in the last few years.

Gone was the skinny and little Randy, now the slightly more buffed fellow seemed to have gained some more hair and some muscles from his time in college.

“Alej!" He greeted cheerfully, her body easing at the fact that it was still his voice. The warm and relaxing one that used to keep her safe back when she was just a child, the sureness being a strong and portentous motivation to keep from falling during the shy moments of her childhood.

A smile crept in as they both shared a quick, but rather tight embrace. The young man nuzzled on her shoulder while the young woman let her chin touch his own. She blinked, the warmth being so familiar that she felt the need of fall asleep.

Maybe by the shadow created by the trees just by the orchard, to close her eyes and-

Alejandra snapped out of that little reverie as the hug ended, the sleepiness vanishing slowly but the sensation of nostalgia lingering even after it ended. She smiled and nodded.

“It's good to see you too, Randal." Her attempt to sound formal and polite backfired as her tone treacherously allowed her genuine happiness at the encounter, causing the Collie to sport a brighter smile. “A-And I brought with me a trusted associate of mine, this is Tootsie Roswell."

The blonde nodded and had her violet eyes upon the young man. “I'm Tootsie." She repeated, a little smirk on her face.

“And I'm Randal. Randal Hawthorne." He presented himself happily, nodding at the two as he made a step back towards the door. “Lunch is almost ready and mom is sure waiting to see you-"

The young woman tensed up at the mentioning of the kind woman, taking a step forward and interrupting the Collie mid-sentence.

Randal blinked at this, confused for a moment before accepting the sudden uneasiness. “I guess you truly want to see her..."

Quite the contrary, she would have replied at that point, right now what she truly would have wanted to do is give a faux reason to skip this meeting and avoid herself the painful trip down memory lane.

Yet she silently entered the house behind the young man, Tootsie keeping close as Alejandra kept a steady place to where Randal was taking them to. The pattern of the house started to return to her mind, the extent of the rooms, the planimetry of the place resounding with her memories as she soon found herself taken right by the kitchen.

She paused by the doorstep as she noticed that there were two individuals already inside. The first one was the human, Matt Newcastle, seemingly concluding the tasks that required his utmost attention for the preparation of the important lunch, the young man was unaware of their presence as of yet.

But the other individual noticed once she came on sight. Diana looked… sick.

Her fur was paler, there were some sleep bags below her green orbs of kindness and she was donning a sleep-wear rather than her usual yellow dress. Gone was the cheerful figure that would bring her the strongest bits of her willpower. On her stead, a tired being continued to live with this unknown illness.

Her mind was already trying to figure this out, whatever malaise had gotten the strong mother to appear so weak and fragile at the first sight. It was heart-wrenching, almost difficult to stomach even if it was merely staring at her.

“Hello, Alej," The kind lady greeted with none of the anger that had been there in her tone back when she had last saw her, gone was the animosity and the fury at the offer she had given to her.

But Alejandra didn't reply at this, rather she silently walked up to the woman and, ignoring the surprised glance she now had on her face, the girl lowered a little to allow herself to pull her mom in an embrace.

It was sudden, even her own brain having some trouble understanding the suddenness driving her to this intimate action, yet memories and mind reminded her of her mother's touch and scent. The sweet fragrance of roses… she almost slumped onto her, forgetting that the woman wasn't as strong as she had been in the past few years.

“I'm sorry, Dede," The younger Prime finally let go in a muffled whisper, loud enough for the motherly figure to hear and understand her truest form of guilt. The woman blinked and then squeezed her closer and softly.

“That's alright, dear." The woman mentioned back with an understanding smile. “I got you."

And with that, the little effort to bring up a genuinely-composed front that wouldn't have let go anything of her usual work-mask was obliterated without a second thought.

For a brief moment, Alejandra Coldthorn, the leader of Alexandria Dairy, reverted back to the shier and happier Little Alej. The hug lasted a little longer and then the two parted away, both smiling and having some tears forming by their eyes.

Tootsie and Randal were silent over the scene, both seemingly happy for that little reunion, while Matt glanced at the situation with a little grin as he finished to fill the last plate for the guests and… the lunch began moments later.

They were all sitting around the table, with Randal, Alej and Diana having picked their usual seats while Tootsie had gone for the other end of the table and… Alejandra finally noticed that the human had picked the chair that Mora was known to use before-

Before she left without notice.

The young woman flinched at that distinct situation, the pain and the anger still fresh from that sudden departure and-

No, Alej thought to herself. The vivid irritation she had for Mora… can rest for now as she had more important things to worry about. Still, some curiosity about Matt rose from that curious placement and she decided to ask him a few questions.

“You have been here for a while now, Matt," The bespectacled lady mused quietly. “And from my understanding you sleep in the house."

The young man nodded, his attention full taken by the query as it was being proposed slowly and-

“Where do you exactly sleep?" She finally asked, curiosity dripping from her tone. “I reckon that the rooms available are a few and some were once used-"

“I sleep in Randy's room." The lightning-reply caught her surprised, her blue eyes widening at the comment and soon more curiosity dropped from that strangely-curt answer.

“Isn't that very little to accommodate another bed inside?" This time the question was directed at the Collie, the Prime blinking before he smiled widely.

“We both share the floor," He replied without hesitation, this time surprise turning into shock and the human facepalming at the dense response.

“We are not huddled together." Matt added with a sigh, still the general answer left some interesting scenarios to the two women's mind. Especially for Tootsie, the Mouse Prime grinning madly as she was having trouble keeping her giggles to herself.

“S-So you both 'share the floor', uh?" The blonde asked before busting laughing at the poor man being subjected to the innuendo, drawing a groan from the young man as he had no means to truly recover from that unfortunate but amusing position.

Randal, the ever-so naive Collie, was unaware of what he had done by allowing Alejandra's assistant to know about this predicament, Alej herself knowing from a fact that the girl was quite eager about making impossible match-makings with the few hints of even the most-blatant innuendo.

Yet, just as the Mouse prepared for another teasing comment her jaws dropped as the small plate nearby her main food containing a big slice of cheese was lifted off the table and pulled away from her reach. She reacted too slowly, failing to grasp the 'hovering' snack and her violet eyes narrowed at the smug-looking human.

“That's mine!"

“Your cheese privileges have been revoked," Matt replied with a snort, getting a growl from the suddenly 'angry' girl ready to tackle him for the sake of some cheese.

“Give it back," She repeated again, her tone hardening. “Give it to me?"

He blinked. “Really, are you flirting with-"

“I have two sandals to my reach and I'm not afraid of making use of both of them!" Tootsie warned gaining a confused look from the human… before then grabbing her shoes and showing it as throwing weapons.

Maybe this was escalating to an uneasy degree, Alejandra mused as she moved to stop the war-gearing Mouse, while Randal tried to defuse the situation by having the young man to let go of the girl's favorite food.

The situation took some time to solve, but after two solid minutes of talking them down, a 'peace was struck' between the two, with Tootsie apologizing for her aggressive teasing while the human returned the 'precious treasure' back to its 'rightful owner'.

It had been difficult but somehow the entire predicament had gotten a laugh or two from Diana, the woman enjoying the show delivered by the four individuals as she quietly let all of this unfold before her eyes.

Alejandra smiled and nodded her way, getting another giggle as the lunch proceeded quite smoothly after that. The food was delicious, they shared some simple talks about their current lives and then, after two more hours of talking, the two important members of Alexandria Dairy were on their way back home.

Tootsie had to lean on her for support, her full belly and her tired mind putting her in an unwilling mindset regarding doing the whole walk back to the car without some assistance, something that Alejandra proved to give without much of a comment.

They weren't doing anything wrong… okay, maybe there could have been some minor issue about where the Mouse was holding onto but the overall visit had proved to be beyond successful and exceeding by a massive margin her expectations.

It had been a good way to reconnect and… to let go of the burden created by the fact that she had been devoting a major part of her daily life to her important job.

And while she couldn't take any vacation any time some for the sake of keeping track of their current growth, the idea of going to relax somewhere, even there at Las Lindas, felt like a positive idea to apply when time would be kind enough to her.

But now? Now Alejandra was going to return back home and-

First, she would have to actually drop Tootsie to her flat, possibly put her to bed even though she was touching her quite eagerly.

Alejandra sighed tiredly as she continued with her walk back to the car. A small smile creeping once more on her face as she felt the stress disappearing, the tiredness washing off from her as she thought of only one thing.

Once again, she had someone to ask advice to and be reminded of better, simpler times and now things would surely become better from now on.

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AN

Lifting Alej's hopes of a bright future a little? She had to have a pedestal to fall from once things escalate and… things will escalate.

Little thought over Diana's attachment to Matt? I've been thinking of this for a while now and I don't wish to have the MC replace anyone.

The MC represents a fresh perspective over the story, the new reader that ventures inside a world that has yet to fully unfold. In a sense 'The Golden Month' is a tutorial for what is going to come and… the sequel will have numerous stories connecting together, only a difficult fate and an uncertain ending awaits the saga.

_ You know, I was tempted to not jump in the wagon with this little speech of yours… but I've to ask. There are two versions to this story, a censored and uncensored one. _

...Yes?

_ When are we getting some juicy scenes? C'mon, readers must be waiting to ask that and- _

Two to three chapters from now. It will be a little unexpected surprise, one that only 'briefly' touches a possible relationship but nothing meaningful happens from that.

_ Awww- Wait, you mean pillow-talking or- _

No relationship out of that. Nope.

_ That shucks! But hopefully, I will manipulate things- _

No-

_ YEAH! _