Things had been awkward. Chris ponders as he feeds Ginger the last spoon of oatmeal in her bowl.
You could cut the tension in the house with a butter knife these last couple of weeks. Other than The Huge Fight?, Chris had never seen Alex and Akio this resentful towards each other. They had gotten into some pretty gnarly fights over the years--85% of them ending in bloodshed--but come dinnertime, they were right back in form, bouncing barbs and cheap shots off each other.
Akio and Alex hadn't consciously been in the same room together, at the same time since they had left the hospital. Viktor had probably foreseen how dire the situation would get, and opted for a hotel, instead of the numerous guest rooms they possessed. One exiting the room as soon as the other walked in, or even completely avoiding the room all together, if they were in there before hand.
Speaking of exiting …
“I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were all here.” Alex says from the kitchen door.
Akio's head whips up from where he and Jo are mixing cookie batter from the kitchen sink, eyes set on a retreating Alex.
“I'll come back later.” she concludes and prepares to hightail it out of the kitchen.
“Alex.” Chris calls. And she pivots a clean arch back to face him. Akio buries his head back in the cookie bowl.
“Yep?” she responds. And Chris has to rear back in shock. When had Miss 'Not British' added such a pedestrian response to her repertoire? Unless she was nervous. It was common knowledge Alex didn't know what to do with emotions that weren't happiness or anger.
“Chris.” she jolts him from his trance, head inclined in question as soon as his eyes snap to hers.
Operation: Bull in China Shop was going to have to make a comeback.
“How long is this going to continue?” he asks, a hand gesturing the space between Alex and Akio. He sees Akio clench his jaw from his peripheral, Alex instead choosing to cross her arms and narrow her eyes at him.
“The foundation is beginning to groan from all the tension in this damn house.” he finishes with a little tap on the ground with his foot.
“I could move out.” Alex says, and Akio drops something loudly in the sink, Jo scolding him before scrambling to rectify the blunder.
Ginger hurls her spoon at Alex, the spoon stopping short from where she stands.
“Even Ginger can call your bluff.” he pats her on the head a job well done, and she babbles something in thanks.
“I don't have time for this.” Alex responds and pivots on her heels again, Ginger's plate hitting her at the back of her head causing her to violently whirl back.
“Ginger didn't do it that time.” she growls at Chris, and she was infact entitled to her own opinion.
“You need to fix this.” he says instead.
“Why exactly are you bothering me instead of Akio?” she growls again.
She was easier to talk to, what with her affinity for rudeness. It was much easier to drag actuality to attention when one didn't have to spend time considering polite grammatical structure.
“Because you're older.” he says instead.
“Real mature.” She turns to leave again, halted this time by the slam of the kitchen door. Apparently Akio had decided to join in the chat.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Open the door.” Alex grits out, back still towards them.
“It seems like you've got things to get off your chest,” Akio leans against the sink and crosses his … everything, “now's the time.”
The metal sink groans in response and Akio quickly jerks away from it, the metal bowl that used to house the cookie batter rolling to the floor with a loud clatter. Chris chances a look around the kitchen, to see pots and cutlery trembling. It seemed their metalware was starting to rebel against them. Ginger whines a little in complaint.
“Alex!” Chris scolds, and the clattering immediately halts. Alex inhaling deeply to calm herself.
“I'm not going to do this with the children here.” she finally says.
“You didn't seem to have a problem with it when they weren't aimed at you.” Akio fires at her.
“You know, you're right.” Alex whirls to face them, “Of the events that took place that day, that is the only thing I absolutely regret. That and not ripping your ungrateful tongue from out your mouth.” Alex taunts, and Akio's face crumbles in pain.
“Hey now--” Chris starts.
“I might not have been in the right headspace that day, but the sentiment still stands. You are by far the most selfish, egotistical prick I have ever known--” Akio says
“You're calling me selfish? After everything, centuries together, you think I'm selfish?!” Alex snaps, and Jo slips gently to Chris side.
“That is exactly your biggest problem, Alex. The fact that you think you can demand acknowledgement for shit that any decent human being would give out for free.” Akio inches closer to Alex, “I never begged you for anything, never asked for your help. I. Owe. You. Nothing!” he shoves her, and she smacks against the kitchen door.
Perhaps this was a terrible idea, Chris realizes belatedly.
Alex lunges forward with fire in her eyes, fist pulled back to deliver a punch.
“Stop!” Jo screams, and lightning crackles, striking Alex in the chest. She flies out the kitchen, splintering the--very expensive African blackwood--door.
“Jesus!” Chris grabs a wailing Ginger from the kitchen counter and bolts out to check on a currently unmoving Alex at the far end of the living room, while Akio rushes to calm a frightened Jo.
Chris stops by Alex's unconscious body, torn between pacifying Ginger and inspecting Alex. He settles on rocking Ginger in a bid to settle her. If all went well, Alex would pop back up in three … two … one …
Alex raises back up with a gasp, a hand flying to the right side of her chest, over her heart. She blinks the brief death haze out of her eyes and turns wide eyes from Akio and Jo in the kitchen to Chris in question.
“Please tell me that was a malfunctioning blender.” she pleads.
Viktor deliberates as a harried Chris opens the door. The man had sounded troubled on the phone, yet even that couldn't have prepared him for the sight before him.
Akio is pacing a hole into the floor, eyes lingering to Josephine whenever he passes her sleeping form on the sofa. Alex--he sees from a hole where parts of a kitchen door should be--is consuming copious amounts of some kind of spirit straight from the bottle. Was she capable of getting drunk? He'd have to ask sometime.
“I do hope you didn't call me to help fix your door.” he quips. Alex and Akio's heads snap to him, only just realizing his presence. Alex starts out the kitchen, while Akio hauls him forward by his shirt.
“The Tome, where is it?” he asks impatiently. Alex wrenches him away from Akio's grasp once she's at their side, she and Akio exchanging looks that could only be interpreted as malicious.
With a flick of his wrist, the book lands with a thud, on the table by the sofa. Akio ducks to peruse it, Alex leading him away by the arm.
“That thing in the warehouse,” she starts, “did it hit the kids?”
Was she referring to the ripple? “If you're referring to the expulsion, I shielded them from it.” and by God he had.
Alex rubs a hand down her face. “You're absolutely sure?”
“Alexandria what is going on?” he asks, his penchant for the bizarre reaching its very bountiful limit.
Josephine starts to whimper in her sleep. Perhaps experiencing a nightmare, he determines, as a long time recipient himself. He isn't however prepared for the fizzing of lightbulbs and electrical sparks that overwhelm the house.
Akio abandons the book and rushes to the sleeping child, gently shushing her and easing her back into undisturbed sleep. The buzzing ceases as soon as he is successful. Chris strolls out with a glass of whatever Alex was necking in the kitchen.
“She shot Alex through the door with actual lightning from her fingers.” Chris says. “And no, she was not capable of that last month.” he concludes, draining his glass after the fact.
Viktor closes his slacked mouth, eyes screwing shut in resignation. It was official, this family was by far the most unpredictable phenomenon in his 208 years of existence.
