You continued to squirm and Aarons arms, kicking his leg gently as a sign for him to put you down.

If he didn't want you to say anything, all he had to do was ask.

There was no need to muffle you. He did as motioned and sat you down onto the ground with an apologetic expression.

But it was no less tense than how he was moments before.

"What's going on here?" Aphmau finally decided to speak, making both you and Sylvana smile.

"Ah! Mija! It's so good to see you!" "Hey Mom! I wasn't expecting you here. What's up?" "Ha! I was just...wedding around for you."

The terrible, terrible pun made you slowly (like VERY slowly) turn to Sylvana and give her a deadpanned expression.

"Your kidding me?"

One bad pun and your mood went straight down the drain, that's for sure.

Aaron didn't seem all to pleased either as he actually growled at Sylvanas clever wordplay.

That made you put a hand on his knuckle to calm him down.

"What'd you say Mom?" "Ahahaha! I said I've been waiting around for you." "That's not what you said--"

Once again, you were silenced.

But this time by Sylvanas hand.

This was surely going to get old soon...

"Aaron? Are...You okay?" "You do look a little groomy..." "Sylvana!"

It then clicked.

Aaron didn't exactly want Aphmau to know about Sylvanas little wedding plan just yet.

Even if he has no intention of proposing just yet.

'It'd be wrong to give her false hope,' You think.

You then pumped a mental fist. If Aaron really doesn't Abuela to put stuff like that in the air, then you'd help!

Anything for your Dad!

"Can I get you some medicine Aaron?"

"He's fine Mom! Just a small tickle! Hey! We should unpack the groceries you bought. Me and Aaron'll help!" You smiled, ever so innocently, and grabbed the bags from Aphmau with no problems.

"Thank you Mija, you can sit them on the counter." "Yes ma'am! Oh! But can you come with me? I think they all might be a bit too heavy for me..." You huffed with a pout.

There was no better way at getting Aphmau distracted than acting all cute and respectful to her.

Even if you already do that, there's no harm in going overboard.

"Of course! Come on." Aphmau took one of the bags from your hands effortlessly before retreating to the kitchen.

Aaron gave you a thankful look to which you responded with a thumbs up before following your mother into the kitchen.

Aaron quietly reprimanded Sylvana for the time being and gave her a growl before going to help you and Aphmau.

You couldn't help the exhausted sigh thay passed threw your lips.

This was clearly going to be a long day.

---

Sylvana, Aaron, yourself, and Aphmau unpacked the newly bought food with you and Aaron making sure to keep a watchful eye on Sylvana.

Incase she decided to slip some false truths.

"Soo, Mom. What really brings you here? I know you didn't come over just to help me unpack the grocerys."

"Ahaha! Alright. You caught me. I actually came over to invite you, Y/n, and Aaron to me and Eric's annual neighborhood New Year's party!"

"Annual..?" "Don't question it." You sighed, putting the carton of milk into the fridge.

"Yes! It's guaranteed to be a bouquet of fun~" You jumped at the other pun and slowly turned to the slightly miffed Aaron.

"You wanna go Aaron?" "Oh! Y-Yeah! Of course!" "We're in!"

Oh great.

"Oh good! Hm...Oh! These chips look good!...What isle did you have to walk down to get these Mija?" "Uhh...The chip isle?"

"Fascinating..." You clentched your teeth and went over to Aaron to quickly conspire some sort if plan or excuse to get Aaron out of this situation.

"What are we going to do? Abuelas hinting it too much! And in a terrible way too! There's no point in getting Aphmaus hopes up if your not going propose..."

"Aha...Right..." "...? Are you going to propose?" You gasped quietly.

"What!? No, No...Don't worry about it. Your right, I'll come up with something." You furrowed your brows.

Was he lying to you just now?

Jeez...How you hated liars.

Even if you used to be on yourself.

"...But if you want to stick around for a bite to eat, I'm going to make a chicken salad for lunch!"

"Ah! What kind of dress--ing do you have for it! I just want to make sure before I commit to anything.

"Abuela," You called out, "Uhm...Aren't there stuff you need to do for the party? You wouldn't wanna miss all that!" You grinned.

"Yeah! How about me, Aphmau, and
Y/n cone over later to talk to you about the party!" "Huh? But...What about lunch?"

"Aaron! That's a wonderful idea! Mija, we can do lunch at my place while we set up!"

"That...Actually sounds nice! Great idea Aaron!" "Yes. Great idea." "Mhm. Nice job." You sighed.

Aaron shot you a quick half-hearted glare before laughing awkwardly at how he just got himself further delved into this terrible situation.

"What now?" You whispeared.

Well, now you stood next to Sylvana with fascinated eyes watching as she did something with powder that looked similar to flour.

"Whoa...What are you making!" You gaped.

"Well, Neita, I'm making tamales!" "Wow...Tam-alees...That sounds so cool!" Sylvana laughed at your bad pronunciation and rubbed the space between your ears.

"That's no exactly how you say it but close enough. Wow, I can't remember the last time I made tamales!"

"It was for my highschool graduation!" "You remember that?" "Of course I do! Remember? You did it because...well...Dad didn't show up."

"I...Uh..."

"Dad?" You picked up, "I thought Eric was your Dad?"

"No, No. Eric is Katelyns Dad. My Dad is...somewhere else." "Oh. Did you two get a divorce?" "Uhm...Not--It's complicated."

"Okay. Well, where is he? Ooo! Do you think I could meet him one day? That way, I have have two grandpas!"

"No." Sylvana quickly snapped. That made you draw back a bit. "Why? I can never not have too much family!"

"I don't care who you consider family, Y/n. But that man isn't your grandfather. He never will be. Your better off thinking he's dead."

Your ears fell.

Wha...How could yout Abuela say something like that? Surely this guy wasn't all that bad right?

You want to say something else but took notice of Aphmahs sad expression out of the corner of your eye.

That alone made your heart wince. So you dropped it.

"Okay. Sorry Abuela." Sylvana took a deep breath and smiled down at you.

Even if it was somewhat solemn.

"It's alright...That was just...a sore spot to touch neita..." You frowned and gave her a tentive pat on the hip.

"Uhm...I can make it better. If I pat here. Then your heart won't hurt that much."

Although the analogy didn't quite make sense Sylvana laughed anyway, "Thank you, neita...N-Now! Would you two like chicken or pork inside!"

"H-Huh? Oh! Pork!" "Whaaat? But I like chicken." You pouted.

"Don't worry neita. Those ones are the best!" The thought made you drool slightly.

Were tamales really that good?

You couldn't wait to try some.

"I need to remember to make extra. Not just for lunch but for thr party as well."

"Definitely! I don't think Aarons ever had one. Y/n either, clearly."

"Well then, he's in for a treat~! Hm...I need some spices. Aph, Y/n, do you want to go help me look for the spices?"

"Don't you have them in the kitchen? That's where spices usually are, right?"

"You'd think so. But my stuff is still being moved here."

"Really..."

"Yup! So now there's a ton of boxes upstairs from home that I haven't had a chance to go threw."

"What do you do with your time Mom?"

"Watch--" "Beyonce videos?" You tilted.

"Pffft--Whaaat? Nooo...Now come on. Those spices aren't going to find themselves!" Sylvana smiled, walking off upstairs.

You and Aphmau laughed before following. You've never actually been upstairs in Sylvanas house but it definitely looked like she still neded to move in.

"This room here." You ran in with a smile the moment the door was opened and marveled at all the boxes.

"Whoa. You weren't kidding when you said you still had some unpacking to do." Aphmau chuckled.

"Yeah, I guess you could say me and Eric have been quite the procrastinators." You didn't pay attention to the two opting to just pop open the first box you came across.

"She opened that with zero effort. What are you feeding that kid?" "I'm not sure if its her werewolf strength or what but just know that she wasn't like this when we first met."

"Oo! Whats all this?" "Hm? Oh! That must be the photo album!" "Photo album? Is that was this thing is used for? Take take pictures?" You awed, staring at the blocky sort of device with a circle in the middle.

"It's call a camera Y/n." Sylvana sighed.

Irene, your words made her feel slightly old.

"Can I look inside?" "Sure! I'll go look for the spices!" Aphmau cross the room while you opened the rather dusty book.

Pictures of Aphmau when she was a baby was on the first page along woth a younger looking sort of Sylvana.

"Hm...Abuela? Who's this?" "What? Oh! That's Aphmau!" You paused before gasping.

"Wait, really!? That's Mom!" "Mhm! Back when she was a cute chunky wittle baby!" "Aww...Mom was cute!"

"Yup! This was her first birthday party." "Wow..." You flipped the page, "What's this?"

"This was Aphmaus first day of homeschooling."

"Homeschooling? Like...Schools from home? Do her friends come over or..."

"No, it's not like that. I taught her from home instead of Aphmau going to school."

"Why?" "It's just what I thought was best for her at the time, that's all."

"Mm...Okay. Whoa...This book is teaching me about stuff I didn't even know about Aphmau!...!? Did she really wear cat ears on her first day back?!"

"Yeah...She wanted to so badely and I couldn't stop her." "Ahaha! That's so stupid!" "What are you two looking at over there!"

"Nothing Mom/Mija!" You and Sylvana stared at eachother before laughing and shushing eachother in a conspirative sort of way.

You then looked over at the picture on the left and made at 'o' with your mouth when seeing a man with black hair brown eyes along with tanned skin.

"...? Is this.." Sylvana grimanced. "Ugh--I thought I gor rid of this picture years ago!" She growled out, ripping it to shreds within and instant.

You weren't even able to get a good look at him, she was so quick to rip it apart.

"Abuela, who was that guy?" "Doesn't matter. Keep flipping."

"B-But...He looked kind of strange. And...I don't know. Was that Aphmaus Dad--" Sylvana slammed the book shut making you jolt and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I don't want to talk about this right now, Y/n." Her voice was stern and cold. You couldn't help the nervous look that grew on your face.

"Sorry Abuela...I-I was just--" "Curious?" You nodded.

As if she hadn't heard these words before.

"Well, curiousity killed the cat." You watched as she stood up to open another box, "Let's find these spices."

"...Yes ma'am..."

You went to look around more before looking down at the shredded picture once again.

The more you looked at the happy family the more your heart pounded.

The more you could hear it.

That man in the picture.

"He's not a good man is he..." You whispeared queitly.

So quietly, not even Aphmau and Sylvana could hear you.

And maybe that was a good thing.

This man, your 'Grandfather' didn't seem like someone you needed to get associated with.

We should keep it that way.

"Oh!" Aphmaus cheer broke your staring contest with the picture.

"Well would you look at this..." You went over to where Aphmau had been and gasped at the beautiful wedding dress she was holding.

"Whoa..." "Ohh! You've found my old wedding dress! Ahh...This thing has definitely seen better days."

"Its very pretty, Abuela."

"Isn't it?...Say...Aphmau. Why don't you try it in!" "What? Noo, I-I couldn't possibly!" Aphmau giggled, suddenly growing flustered.

"Why not? There's no harm in it, right?"

"I-I suppose not..." "Exactly! Go on! Just one quick fit and we can go right back to looking! No harm, no foul!"

"Yeah...O-Okay!" Aphmau blushed, dispearing to corner to change.

You watched the empty space she left, spaced out of your own mind.

Were you supposed to be doing something about right now...?

Then you remembered. Oh. That's right.

"If Sylvana trys to pull any of these wedding tricks on Aphmau, I'm trusting you to defuse it before it turns into an entire situation. Okay? I'm trusting you Y/n..." "Don't worry Aaron! You can trust me!"

"Oops..." You muttered queitly right as Aphmau revealed herself.

You couldn't help the way your tail wagged in excitment and your jaw dropping to the floor.

She looked absolutely stunning.

There was no doupt about that. She almost resembled a real bride.

And you couldn't stop your mind from wandering elsewhere; when her and Aaron get married.

Maybe even officially make you their child.

That thought alone made your heart get all warm but your stomach do backflips.

Oh no - you slapped your cheeks - Now you were the one getting your hopes up!

Suddenly, the door opened revealing Aaron whos face almost instantly went red at the sight.

It would seem he had the same thoughts as you in that moment.

"Ehehe..." "Aphmau giggled.

"Uhh, Aph..." "Ah! Aaron! There you are! Isn't she beautiful!" "Yeah..." "Mhm~. That's what I thought!" Aaron quickly looked toward you as you held your hesd low in shame.

"I'm weak." Was all you had the guts to say.

"It's my Moms wedding dress. We were trying to find the spices when I found this so I tried it on...! Oh shoot! We better get back!" Aphmau also blushed, quickly running off to change back into her usual clothes.

"Wow..." "AHEM!" "Come back to us, Aaron." You sighed, "So, having any thoughts~?" Sylvana smirked.

Aaron jumped and rid himself of any lingering thoughts he might've had before turning to the older woman.

"Sylvana, can we talk to you for a second?" Aaron sighed, lifting you up and onto his hip.

The three of you descended down the steps with few words before you and Aaron both gave Sylvana stern expressions.

"Is this the part where you ask me for my blessing? Come on~"

"Sylvana, I understand you want me to ask Aphmau to take our relationship to the next level. But you have to understand, I'm not ready for that yet."

"What? But you two have known eachother since middle school!" "Wait, I thought it was high school." "Long story."

"It always is..." You grumbled, resting your head on Aarons shoulder. "So you don't want to marry her?"

"MM--I never said that! Sylvana, I love her more than anything. But I don't want to ask her out of the blue. I want that moment to happen when we're both ready. When all three of us are ready, actually."

That made you turn to Aaron,

"You are just as much apart of this as me and Aphmau are. Not to mention, I want this moment to be special. Special for the both of us."

"New years is special! Plus, I'm making tamales! That's special!" "It has to have more than that."

"Horchata?" "What's or--chata?"

"That doesn't matter right now--NO! What I'm trying to say is, for me, It has to have meaning. Going to the next level with Aphmau --Y/n too-- Is special."

"Yeah! If Aarons will be Aphmaus huaband for real-for real, it has be something they'll remember for all their time together. And be somewhere unforgettable!"

"You get it." Aaron smiled causing you to break out in a grin.

"So...You've already been planning..." "Yes." That caught you by surprise.

So he was lying to you earlier!

Why..Would Aaron not tell you something like that?

You shot him a look causing him to sight and set you down.

"I'll discuss it in depth you with a little later. Okay?" You pouted and folded your arms across your chest, not willingly to look him in the eyes.

That made Aaron sigh.

"Say no more. That's all I wanted to hear. I'm...Sorry, I was trying to push you." "It's alright."

You went to open your mouth to speak again but Erics voice caught all of your attention.

"AARON! HEEEELP!" "What's going on back there!?" You yelped.

"Nothing..." Aaron sighed in exasperation.

"Wait for Aphmau here. We'll see what's going on." You gave Aaron a tight smile that he luckily didn't take note of as him and Sylvana went to check on her husband.

You crouched to the ground and picked at the worn wood.

So, Aaron was going to propose to Aphmau.

Something you've thought about all the time at certain points of the day. The feeling in your stomach was...unfimilar.

A feeling you've must have never felt before.

Otherwise, you would've been able to pinpoint what your exactly feeling. It was excitment or fear.

It was something completely and entirely new.

Maybe you weren't as educated with yourself as you thought.

Despite all the information dumped onto you out of the blue, you couldn't help but wonder.

Just who was that guy in the photo?

What was his deal?

Sylvana doesn't want to talk sbout him and neither does Aphmau so he must've done something unforgivable.

Oh well, it might be a story for another day.

Or you should just forget about the whole situation--think he's dead.

After all, if curiousity killed that cat it can surely kill the dog too.