It was finally the day of the field trip.
Everyone was excited.
Except for Alex.
Or rather, he did not show any excitement.
Aurora was in the kitchen, watching the cook pack their lunches while Alex was just at the dining table. He had long finished breakfast but decided to accompany Ariel who was still eating.
Even though she wasn't alone since his parents and Selena were still there as well.
This time, she was using a fork instead of her hands.
She didn't like using utensils as she felt her fingers were the best utensils around. It could pick up food easily, and she had also seen how Brother Ziad would use his hands to eat his meals.
She found that fascinating and much easier than using a fork and spoon.
But her parents said she still had to learn as some of the foods they ate would need utensils.
Like soup.
Ariel was not convinced however.
She could just pick up the bowl and drink it like she drank water from a cup.
Or, if the bowl was too heavy, just placed her lips over the surface of the soup and slurp it in.
When she did that the last time, Daddy did not look pleased.
Ariel sighed.
If she wanted to be able to get Daddy to do what she wanted, she had to do things that he liked.
It was the first thing she learned at Mummy's secret class.
But she couldn't do it suddenly, for that would make Daddy think she was up to something.
Second thing she learned: do it slowly. Make it like she was working real hard to make him happy.
Ariel pursed her lips.
It really was hard work!
She looked at her left hand and then at the fork in her right hand.
What a pain.
She had mangoes today, cut into small cubes, and placed into her bowl.
It was easy to pierce but sometimes, the force wasn't strong enough and it took some effort. If she did it too hard or too quickly, she would push the piece she wanted to pierce, and sometimes, the other pieces around it would move.
If it wasn't for the fact that she was using a bowl, she would have a table full of square mangoes all around.
Ariel squeezed her eyes a bit, to make some tears form and then looked up at her father, "Daaadddyyy…."
Kyle, who was looking through some material on his ipad, looked up and was hit with his adorable daughter's aggrieved face.
Her eyes were slightly wet, her lips pressed tightly as if she was trying not to cry while her hand was clutching her fork tightly.
"It's so hard, Daddy," Ariel said softly as she looked down into her bowl.
Kyle could see her lips quivering a bit as she kept on trying to spear her mango.
With a sigh while his heart felt like it was being hit by a million pricks, Kyle got up and went to Ariel. She looked up at her father, biting her lower lip as she showed one fork with a mango.
"I got one!" she said, slightly happy but Kyle could see how upset she was about how long it took.
Kyle gave her a soft smile, stroked her hair, and said as he leaned close to her, "You're doing great, Rie."
Ariel smiled, and kissed Kyle's cheek, and said very sweetly, "Thank you, Daddy."
She put the mango in her mouth and started chewing, as she stared at her bowl of mangoes.
Seeing such a serious expression on her face, Kyle smiled and he picked up Ariel. She squealed a bit but was happy, and after making sure she was nestled comfortably in his arm, he picked up the bowl of mangoes.
Going over to his seat, he sat down and placed Ariel on his lap and the bowl in front of her. He held her hand with the fork and guided her to pierce the mango.
Ariel was ecstatic and finally managed to eat easily with her father's help. After every mouthful, she'd give Kyle a kiss on the cheek. Sometimes, she would feed him a piece. The father and daughter pair were lost in their own world.
Sayuri, watching this, hid her smile as she sipped her coffee.
Normally, Kyle would be strict and turn a blind eye to her struggles but this time, not only did she manage to get her father to help her with eating the mangoes, she was being pampered.
Yup.
Ariel was a natural at this indeed. Though she was guided, she could implement it seamlessly, without any appearance of it being contrived or planned.
For some reason, Sayuri was looking forward to the day Kyle finds out his baby girl was a full-fledged femme fatale.
Hopefully, Kyle would have managed to reign in his over-protectiveness by then.
✿ Author posts on WN and neovel ✿
Kyle drove his kids to school and Aurora was getting all excited upon seeing the school bus parked alongside the road in front of the school.
They were going to go on a school bus!
How exciting was that?!
Alex stole a glance at his sister.
Seeing her excitement, Alex couldn't help but feel slightly sore about it.
Not that he resented for her feeling excited, but for the fact that *he* did not seem to feel any excitement over it.
Was he just so jaded at a young age of seven?
Alex looked out the window and waited until his father parked the car. Getting down, he swung the backpack on his back and walked towards the bus.
Lots of excited chatterings and big smiley faces greeted him.
Luckily, no one's mood was dampened by Alex's serious face as Aurora's sunny disposition made up for all of that.
Shirley jumped up and down in happiness upon seeing them coming closer.
"Yay! You're here!!" she said while clapping her hands then rushed over to Aurora.
Aurora smiled and didn't reject Shirley's enthusiastic greeting. Shirley clasped her hands and said, "Guess what? Guess what??"
"What?" Aurora asked.
"My mother is coming along! She volunteered to be an assistant today. Isn't that great?" Shirley said as she turned and pointed at her mother, who was talking to Teacher Alba.
Hearing this, Alex's face scrunched up a bit and he glanced at his father, who was grinning.
Kyle looked down at Alex and said in a low voice that only the two of them could hear, "See? I'm not the only one. At least I'm not following along."
Alex snorted.
"I bet the bus drivers are MIB and Zero must be at the shelter," Alex mumbled.
Kyle patted Alex's shoulder and said, "At least you're aware."
Then, being more serious, Kyle said, "Allowing you to experience a normal life doesn't mean not being monitored. The sooner you get used to that, the easier it'll be."
Alex squinted his eyes up at his father, then asked something that had been on his mind for quite a while, "Do I have my own Team? Or do I share with Rory?"
Kyle smiled.
"Both of you have different paths to take, so naturally, you have your own," Kyle said.
"So when can I meet them?"
Kyle pursed his lips, "When you can find them."
Alex blinked.
When he can find them?
Meaning, he doesn't have one yet and he has to look for them himself?
Alex frowned.
No, that could not be.
His father is a control freak. He plans everything so meticulously so there was no way that he would leave choosing his team to him.
Kyle didn't say a word while Alex thought it out.
Alex looked around.
Today, it was Primary 1's school trip and thus, only Primary 1 students were gathered outside. It was a Saturday, so no other student was around.
Alex continued to observe the people around but could not see anything out of the ordinary. He had figured out that there would be hidden MIB but he had only considered adults.
MIB, however, recruited talent from all walks of life and all ages.
Those that formed the core team or backing for the Smiths were chosen specifically for their potential and trained from young. To grow together.
Just like how Zero was his father's core team member, picked right out of the orphanage with some other close 'brothers'.
An idea hit him.
"They are here?" Alex asked.
Kyle shrugged.
"No, not right now … they are older," Alex mused, "But they are in this school."
Kyle patted Alex's shoulder.
"Happy hunting," he said as the teachers started shouting for everyone to line up.
Kyle watched as his kids went to line up in front of the bus they were going to get on. He gave one sweeping glance at the driver who gave a slight nod.
Once the kids were inside, Aurora plastered her face at the window, waving frantically at her father who was still standing there. Kyle waved back and watched until the bus left and was out of view.
Now, he just had to hold himself back and go to work - rather than shadow them at the shelter. Kyle shook his head, knowing this weakness of his when it came to his kids.
Trying not to be too overly protective was damn hard indeed.