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Jonathan decided to invite his boyfriend over and start a book club with his family. It had been 3 months since they faced the Scorpion King and they all deserved a relaxing and calm moment. It'll be relaxing, he said. Well...
"Jonathan, clearly Mr. Watson is the murderer!" Evelyn exclaimed, waving her arms excitedly. "It's quite obvious!"
"Ha!" Jonathan shouted, book in hand. "My dear sister, it's quite obvious you ignored all the clues in chapter 5. The butler is the one who killed him!"
Ardeth watched the siblings argue about who was right and began to worry whether the O'Connell house would remain intact that afternoon.
He glanced at O'Connell, who sat in the armchair beside him, eating biscuits without reacting to the potential murder unfolding before him. The man spent nine years living with the Carnahan siblings, and clearly nothing surprises him anymore.
"Are they always like this...?" Ardeth began.
"Yeah. Don't worry, you'll get used to it. More cookies?" Rick offered him. Ardeth shook his head and looked back at Jonathan, who was now making an adorably annoyed face as Evelyn continued to explain her theory. Ardeth seemed a little worried, but he wasn't inexperienced in chaotic sibling squabbles, though. He had two older sisters who were very close, but when they fought...
A chill ran through Ardeth as he remembered one particular fight. Something about a missing purse. Of course, Ardeth tried to calm things down and said calmly, "There's no need for violence." That was a grave mistake, because soon after, Ardeth found himself running for his life. He managed to survive thanks to his mother, who simply appeared and gave them that particular look that would make even Scorpion King cry, and then the Bay house returned to normal.
A child, Alex, appeared behind Rick's armchair and whispered, "Dad, may I have another cookie? Please." Ardeth saw Rick sigh and tell the boy that he could only have one more, and offered it to his son. Alex's eyes lit up and he took the cookie before returning to his own adventure exploring the house with his cat Cleo. The whole situation seemed comically normal to Ardeth. Chaotic, but normal.
Now Evelyn and Jonathan seemed to have calmed down and were tearfully talking about how much they loved each other.
"You're my favorite sister, Evy!" Jonathan said, hugging his sister.
"I'm your only sister, silly!" Evelyn said, sniffing. "I love you too!". Rick watched the moment patiently, already knowing what would happen next. Evelyn seemed to finally notice her husband there and stepped away from her brother to kiss Rick. Jonathan rolled his eyes as his sister sat on Rick's lap and led Ardeth to the library, pretending that he wouldn't kiss his boyfriend either until Ardeth was dizzy.
Ardeth decided that yes, he would get used to it.