Originally, I just wanted the day to be about me, Conan, and Canon—my family. A quiet, private moment to finally be together without council duties, rogue threats, or last-minute emergencies. But of course, peace had to be interrupted by one person.
Aunt Mabel.
For some reason, she had decided to revert back to her usual bullshit—acting like Conan was beneath her. After months of radio silence, she suddenly called me, demanding we pick her up and have a meal together like we owed her a ceremonial feast.
"I really don't want to see her," Conan said flatly when I told him.
"Same," I replied. "I can tell her to kick rocks if you want."
"That'll only cause more trouble," he sighed. "Bring her here or something. We'll fight fire with fire, then."
That made me pause. Fire with fire? What the hell did that mean? The way he said it so calmly... had he been handling my aunt behind my back this entire time?
Maybe he was the reason she stayed away so long.
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