Ringo walked into the living room wearing black sweatpants and a standard black tank top, without his sunglasses. His wet, slicked-back hair gave him a more serious look, as serious as hot pink hair can make you look. Eva and Lena were already sitting at the table. Eva glanced at him and quickly looked away. Lena smiled and got up, going to put the food on the table.
For them, the Ringo they remembered was very thin, so his current physique is better than the previous one, besides the slightly different features, like pink hair and albino skin, Ringo looked more handsome this way.
He went to the freezer next door and took out two large pieces of meat. He went to the balcony and turned on the grill. Will and Jack appeared almost instantly, their tails wagging.
-I was wondering what they eat. - Lena joked when he returned, letting the meat roast over low heat.
-They eat all kinds of meat, just don't add any seasoning. - Ringo commented. He'd also added a bit of poison to their meat lately to help them adjust. He varied it, but with his help, the pair didn't even notice it, the dose was too low to be lethal.
Ringo sat down and saw a large platter on the table, which he quickly recognized. - Lasagna.
-Yes, it's roast beef and mushrooms, it was your favorite. - Lena looked away, a little embarrassed.
Ringo smiled at her, he liked that, so he got up and served the food to the three of them. Eva was still silent, eating with her head down while Lena talked about the process of making this lasagna.
Ringo, who knew how to cook, also joined in the conversation. Since he spent a lot of time at home, he learned to cook with his family, it was one of the few activities he could do, so he appreciated it.
Ringo approved of her cooking, which made Eva pout. She's never been the "girly" type, she knows nothing about etiquette, cooking, sewing, cleaning or even laundry.
It was always Ringo or the servants who took care of that, so she felt a little down, wondering if Ringo liked more feminine women.
Lena seemed to realize something. She pointed her chin at Eva, and Ringo looked at her.
Ringo was momentarily unsure of what to do, because the development had suddenly shifted from character growth to sweet love. He felt like he'd been playing a dating game for a while.
Rolling his eyes, he couldn't handle it, so he spoke lightly. - Eva, I'm not very good at fighting, why don't you teach me for a while?
Eva lifted her head in surprise, narrowing her eyes as she spoke. -You don't have to pretend just to make me happy, I'm not that fragile.
-Actually, I'm serious. I'm too strong, so all my fights barely involved any technique, I just attack from afar or crush everything head-on. - Ringo shrugged.
Eva stopped, looked at him suspiciously, but seeing no lies. She seemed excited and smiled. She patted his plump chest and assured him. - Don't worry, I'll teach you everything I know!
Ringo laughed and thanked her. Lena smiled, looking relieved.
Eva finally managed to loosen up and the conversation at the table soon got back on track. After dinner, the trio went to the balcony with a box of beers. Eva was happy to accompany him, while Lena, who was a mechanic, didn't like the feeling of losing her mental faculties, so she drank juice.
Beside them, Jack and Will were still staring at the grill, as if looking at it would help speed up the process.
Ringo took out a cigar and offered it to her. They both declined, watching him smoke curiously.
-I don't remember seeing you drink, much less smoke... you've really changed a lot. - Lena commented, lying on the lounge chair to her left.
-His mother would rip his skin off if she saw that. - Eva laughed from her right.
They both girls wore only shorts and cotton shirts, looking completely free and carefree. This also affected Ringo, who is a normal man, but he controlled his own hormonal system, so there was no danger of doing anything he would regret.
Lena looked at Eva holding a can of beer and scoffed. -As if I wouldn't rip your skin off too.
Eva shrugged. She wasn't really a drinker, but she didn't want to leave Ringo lonely, so she drank with him.
Ringo ignored the pair and continued drinking and smoking with a relaxed look. He didn't get involved and listened to the pair arguing about anything. They seemed to be fighting over one taking the other's expensive limited-edition nail polish.
-Grow up, Lena! That was years ago! - Eva huffed irritably.
-It was lemon yellow, smelling of lemons from the green valley of Ordina! They only made a limited number of them each year! - Lena shouted irritably.
-I already apologized! I didn't mean to break it! - Eva complained exasperatedly.
Lena scoffed.
Ringo rolled his eyes, but deep down he wasn't really angry.
This feeling of having someone nearby, someone to talk to, How long has it been? He couldn't say.
He looked up at the late afternoon sky and put the cigar in his mouth, taking a deep drag, feeling his brain go blank for a moment.
He quickly got up and went to take the meat off the grill for the pair while Lena and Eva argued about fruit in the savory food.
-I'll never understand your taste. - Eva joked, making a vomiting gesture.
-Hey, pineapple pizza is great! - Lena said.
-Of course. - Eva made a disgusted face.
Lena narrowed her eyes in irritation, but in the end, she managed to control herself. She looked at Ringo and said. -Ringo liked pineapple pizza!
-That's bullshit! I never saw him eat it. - Eva said quickly.
-I remember him eating it with me. - Lena pointed.
-Ringo, do you like pineapple pizza? - Eva turned to him, as if betrayed.
Ringo gave them both a bored gaze and spoke. - Can't you two just be quiet for a second?
-That's not relevant, do you like it or not? - Eva continued.
Ringo took a deep breath, placing a piece of meat on the cutting board and cutting it into small pieces, throwing it into Jack's food bowl, then doing the same with Will.
-Yes, I like it. - Ringo answered honestly.
-Blasphemy! - Eva shouted.
-Ha! I told you! - Lena laughed victoriously, very pleased with herself.
-How did I never find out about that?! - Eva asked Ringo, confused.
Ringo looked at her with a mixture of irritation and exasperation. - You forgot I lost my memory, right?
-... - Eva paused for a second and groaned. -That doesn't make sense. Could it be that memory loss changes taste?
He already liked it when we were kids. - Lena said, smiling beautifully.
-I refuse to believe it! We've been together for years, and I've never seen him eat a piece of fruit! - Eva shouted irritably.
Lena didn't bother arguing with her. Having finally won, she drank her juice with a look of victory that greatly irritated Eva.
Eva glared at Ringo, the culprit, with irritation.
He said - If I really acted like you said, wouldn't you be the one choosing the pizza toppings and I would just let you choose whatever you wanted?
Eva paused for a moment, deep in thought, then an embarrassed look appeared on her face as she looked away. Lena gave her a gaze of contempt, and Eva returned it with an irritated gaze.
They looked like they were about to start fighting again the next moment, but Ringo ignored them.
He just rolled his eyes and set the dogs' bowls aside. They jumped on the meat excitedly. He'd already added the poison, now he placed his hand over them, letting a milky-white energy flow into them.
Eva noticed this first and stood up, she put aside her shame as quickly as it arrived. - Hey, what are you doing? - She asked, approaching, Lena coming soon after.
-Poison resistance training. - Ringo said.
The pair were surprised he'd do this to two... er... Bear Wolfs? Or were they Wolf Bears? But in any case, a bigger question arose. - What is this white energy?
-My Esper power. - Ringo commented.
-Isn't your Esper power turning into mist? - Eva asked.
-I thought you were going to shapeshift. - Lena pointed out, because of the change in appearance.
-That's right, I'd forgotten about that. - Eva nodded.
-Muscle head. - Lena said quietly, but Eva heard.
Eva gave her an irritated sideways gaze, but ignored it.
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--x--
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