When Noah touched his communicator, his sister's bright voice immediately started replaying in his ear:
"Sorry, brother. Can't take you out for lunch. A bunch of burn victims popped in. My time is totally booked for today, and probably for the following days as well. A real pity…"
A pity indeed. Noah nodded his head in agreement.
"…especially because Levi was supposed to join us today."
Noah's thoughts screeched to a halt. Nani? Brother-in-law was supposed to come to Concordia today?
After a brief pause to lament her own bad luck, Aris's sister continued chirping in what seemed to be coy tone: "Since I can't make it, you'll have to go in my stead. I already let him know you'll pick him up at 12 at the train station. Oh, and I forgot to mention it, but he, just like you, freed up his schedule for the following days so he could finally get to know his in-laws before the marriage! Isn't that nice? Make sure to properly show him around town on my behalf."
Say what?! I have to do what?!
Noah, who had already started walking towards the exit, tripped and nearly fell. Thankfully, Trey was very quick to wrap his arms around his waist to stabilize him.
In his confused agitation, Noah didn't even notice how Trey's arms lingered around his waist longer than necessary, and only reluctantly pulled back after an internal struggle.
His sister continued: "Go on, you boys have fun!" And then paused to send him an air smooch, "Muah! Good luck! Fighting! You can do it!"
What do you mean good luck?!? Couldn't you have said anything that would be even remotely helpful?!? Like, say, your original plans for today?! Or brother-in-law's hobbies! Likes? Not even dislikes?!? What am I supposed to do with brother-in-law for an entire day?!?
You can't do this to me, sis!! You are setting me up for death here!!!
A beep signaled the end of the voice message.
Noah nearly flipped his shit then and there.
Now, if you are wondering why the news that he'd have to entertain his future brother-in-law all by himself, came as a shock to Noah, it is because the two of them were for all intents and purposes, complete strangers. And, of course, because Astar Levi wasn't exactly a social butterfly, he was more famous for avoiding social contact like the plague.
Yep, this mighty stud very much preferred his solitude, thus if you ever saw him at a social event, your eyes must be playing tricks on you. Aris's only memories of this soon-to-be brother-in-law were from when Aris was a kid. They met at someone's birthday party that Levi had been forced to attend by his parents. The two haven't spoken a single word to each other. At the time, 6 years of an age gap seemed pretty huge; one was just a primary-school little kid, and the other a rebellious teen; the two didn't have much to speak to each other about.
However, even then, Aris's impression of Levi was very clear. Reticent nature that treasured his words like gold coupled with an aggressive aura of a wild wolf.
The fact that the Cordias and Astars had a marriage agreement between them for decades, and Aris had yet to officially meet this brother-in-law was a clear testament of how unapproachable he was.
Which, to be fair, probably wasn't all his fault. Their two families weren't known for being on good terms with each other.
Astar Levi was the only son of the city lord of Astarea city and thus, by default, its future city lord. Astarea city was a next-door neighbor to the Concordia city, and the two had a long history of conflict between them. If it wasn't a dispute around jurisdiction and territory, then it was a conflict over their differing views. Concordia was all about ethics, peace, and harmony, while Astarea was more… direct with the way they did things. They often skirted around the ethics in favor of solving it with a strong-handed approach.
In fact, there was no clearer display of just how different the two families were than to look at the powers of their three children. Cordias had a Healer and a Soother. Astars? Heh, an Enforcer who could pulverize things with his mind…
It was only in their parents' generation that the two decided to bury the hatchet and combine the two cities in marriage. And thus, firstborns of both families had been set up to be married even before they were born.
Thankfully, what started as a mere political agreement, over the years of interaction between the two parties involved, turned into a real relationship.
Noah was happy that his sister and her future husband made a good and harmonious couple, but he naturally had some reservations about his first official meeting with brother-in-law being under such circumstances!!
Wouldn't this future family member feel uncomfortable being forced into such a situation?! Sending a socially awkward Enforcer on a lunch date with a near-stranger is a recipe for disaster!!
Noah let out a heavy sigh and rubbed his temples.
Ah, forget it. What should come will still come in the end. Noah would just have to put in some extra effort to make this loner wolf of a brother-in-law feel comfortable with his presence. Since his sister liked him, that meant that he was a cool dude underneath all those spikes. So, who knows? Maybe the two of them would hit it off just fine.
Alright, so he would pick Levi up at 12.
Wait… why did that number seem so familiar?
Noah's eyes dropped down to his wrist where his smartwatch was displaying the current time in big white numbers: 12:10
…Fuck.