"Someone seems to be in a very happy mood." said Nine as he smiled, he was driving Joy back home from school and she had been humming for the longest time.
"Yes, I am in a very happy mood Uncle." replied Joy as she giggled.
"May I ask why?" asked Nine as he smiled.
"Well many reasons, I am back home with my mommy and daddy, I missed Maggie and I finally get to play with her again, and also today was very nice, in class we drew some pictures after we were done writing." said Joy as she smiled.
"I see, that does sound very nice." said Nine as he smiled. Very few people knew this about him, but he adored children. That was why he loved his niece so much, he didn't mind being the one to take her to school and drive her back home.
To him it wasn't just doing a favour for Dom, it was enjoying the little time he got to spend with his lovely niece. Joy was just a bundle of joy as her name suggested, and even when he was having a terrible day, the drive back home with her could instantly life up his spirits.
"And then during breaktime Clarita and I were talking about cartoons and then Prince came out of nowhere and said that cartoons are for babies and then we ended up having this big fight about cartoons being for babies and then Leon said that there was no point fighting because Prince was a liar since he watched cartoons at home and then me and Clarita were laughing at him." said Joy as she giggled narrating her day.
"And then after breaktime we got to play with building blocks and I built a house and Clarita made a dog but it didn't look so much like a dog." said Joy as she giggled and shook her head as Nine pulled into the driveway.
"Sounds like you had a nice day at school today." said Nine as the car came to a stop and Joy unbuckled the seatbelt of her car seat.
"I did, thank you for driving me home Uncle Nine." said Joy as she smiled.
"You're welcome." he replied with a smile before Joy opened the door and rushed out of the car into the house.
Nine looked at his watch, he had to get back to the office soon, but he still had some time to spare, which was good, considering that he had something very important that he needed to do.
Nine got out of the car as he walked into the house, up the stairs and he could hear Joy giggling in Natasha's office.
"Did you have a nice day at school my darling?" asked Natasha as Joy giggled and nodded.
"That's nice." she replied.
"Mommy, can I have some yoghurt?" asked Joy as she had been waiting for the perfect time to ask for the yoghurt in the fridge and now seemed like a time better than ever.
"I see what you did there my baby, very, very sneaky." said Natasha as she pinched Joy's nose and Joy giggled.
"Pleaseeee, pleasee mommy." said Joy as she giggled.
"Oh alright, fine, you can have some, but not too much, lunch will be ready soon." replied Natasha.
"Yayyyy, thank you mommy!!" said Joy as she smiled and rushed out of Natasha's office as Natasha shook her head.
Joy ran past Nine as he smiled at her and walked to Natasha office, he knocked on the door before entering.
"Come in." said Natasha as he walked into the room.
"Hi Natasha." said Nine as Natasha looked up at him and smiled.
"Hi Nine, is anything the matter?" asked Natasha in worry, she did not know why, but seeing Nine look like that was making her feel uncomfortable.
"Actually yes... I need to talk to you... can I?" he asked in hesitancy that made Natasha wonder what was going on. Nine was never hesitant in anything he did, especially when speaking to her, so she could only wonder what was happening now.
"Sure." she said as she gestured that he sit down and he did.
"Is something wrong?" asked Natasha.
"Yes... Natasha I need to apologize to you." said Nine as he went straight to the point, there was no reason for him to dawdle.
"Apologize to me?" asked Natasha as Nine nodded.
"What for?" asked Natasha as she seriously had no clue what this was about.
"Because I have to confess that when you were ambushed by those thugs... I... I knew that Lia had sent them... because she told me about it." said Nine as he looked at Natasha searching for some reaction but he found none.
"It was around that time that I started to suspect Lia... but I never told anyone... I should have, I should have exposed her, I should have told the truth and said what I knew, but I didn't, and because of that you were still blamed for something you were innocent of for the longest time." said Nine.
"I'm sorry Natasha... I'm sorry for being a horrible person and for covering up for someone I should have never covered up for, I hope you can forgive me, and if you hate me, I understand." said Nine as he looked down, feeling ashamed of himself.
He had felt guilty ever since the whole ordeal on Friday and he knew that he should have felt guilty way before that. Either he liked it or not, he was Lia's accomplice, even though he was never directly involved in her plans, she still told him about it and he never told the right people he was supposed to tell.
"Is that all Nine?" asked Natasha as Nine looked at her and nodded.
"Well it's alright, I forgive you." replied Natasha as Nine looked shocked.
"You do?" asked Nine as he could not help but feel that she was just saying that so he could leave.
"Yes." replied Natasha.
"But I was an accomplice to Lia's plans." he said.
"I know you, and I know that you would never directly help her with anything as dubious as what she did, and I also know why you did it... you liked her didn't you?" asked Natasha.
"You knew that I liked her?" asked Nine in surprise and Natasha nodded as she chuckled.
"Of course I did, it was obvious to see, you always paid attention to Lia, you were her protector, her defender." said Natasha.
"I was all that for someone who didn't really care about me, and I ended up betraying my friends, I should have known better." said Nine with a sigh.
"Oh don't be too hard on yourself Nine, it happens to the best of us, loving someone who doesn't love you back is torture, but what's important is knowing when to let go and move on." said Natasha as Nine looked at her.
"But I still owe you an apology... I wronged you when I knew fully well that you weren't capable of such a thing." said Nine.
"Nine, it's alright, it's fine, I forgive you." said Natasha with a smile.
"Are you sure?" asked Nine as Natasha chuckled.
"Yes, I am very sure, it would be bad of me not to be forgiving, after all I know how being blamed feels, and it's not very nice, I would never do that to someone else." said Natasha as she could see that Nine still did not look convinced.
"Xavier, I'm serious, we're good." said Natasha as she smiled and Nine smiled sadly at her, he could not remember the last time she had called him by his name.
"Okay?" asked Natasha as she smiled.
"Okay." he replied with a smile.
"Great, so are you staying for lunch?" asked Natasha with a smile.
"No, I can't, I have to get back to the office, but thanks for the offer." said Nine as he smiled.
"No problem." said Natasha as she smiled.
"I have to go now, I will see you later." said Nine as he stood up and smiled.
"Alright, see you later." replied Natasha as Nine left her office.
...
Natasha was not aware that Dom would be coming home for lunch, so imagine her surprise when she saw him in the dining room, discussing something with Joy.
She didn't really mind his presence here, so as long as he didn't stress her out, and luckily for her, he didn't. At least Lulu was back home and she was never short of words.
She always had something to say and she kept lunch lively as she and Joy were laughing and giggling.
"Ahh it feels so nice for us to have lunch together, I almost don't feel like getting back to work." said Lulu with a groan as Natasha laughed and shook her head.
"Oh well." she said as suddenly out of nowhere Lulu brought out a small little bell as she rang it.
"What's with the bell?" asked Dom in confusion.
"Shush, wait and see." said Lulu as she rang the bell again and this time Charlie came rushing into the dining room as Natasha, Dom and Joy were left with confused looks all over their faces.
"You called Madam." said Charlie as he stood beside Lulu.
"Yes, what took you so long?! Anyway, I am done eating, where's my purse?" asked Lulu.
"Here Madam." said Charlie as he brought out Lulu's purse, opened it for her as he put the little bell inside. Charlie then proceeded to pull out Lulu's chair as she elegantly stood up like some sort of princess.
"What in the world is going on here??" asked Dom as he was asking the same questions that was on everyone's minds.
"Well it's simple Dom, Charlie lost to me in a game of cards and he said that I could ask for anything, so he's is going to be my personal assistance for a week, isn't that right Charles?" asked Lulu as she looked at Charlie who nodded and Joy let out a giggle.
"Are you being serious right now?" asked Dom in annoyance.
"So that's why you haven't been to work? You're here doing this nonsense!" said Dom in disbelief.