MIGHT AS WELL BE OP

Anthony, Tiara, Bryan, Rider, and Bringer simply hit their cups together in cheers as they celebrated Drake’s death... well, technically, they were celebrating Tiara’s freedom, which was practically Drake’s death, but anyway, I digress, as the atmosphere around them carried a strange mix of relief, amusement, and quiet satisfaction.

"So, tell us, why did you suddenly remember us after five years? Did you miss us?" Bringer asked as he poured himself another bottle, his tone light yet curious.

"Don’t get your hopes up, he was simply too bored and had no one to talk to, so he remembered us," Bryan replied as he drank his wine, his voice carrying a teasing edge as he glanced at Anthony.

"Well, I will take that, cheers to more boredom, that way we can receive more blessings," Bringer spoke as he raised his glass, but nobody raised theirs. Only Bringer could probably say something like receiving more blessings from Anthony so openly; being so open and straightforward seemed to have its own unique perks, even if it made the others shake their heads in silent disbelief.

"Anyway," Rider picked up the conversation, "why are you even bored? The livestream by that Ghost guy showed us your girlfriend, who, by the way, is the only person I’ve ever seen to match you in terms of face card. Aren’t you people together? Did you both break up?" Rider asked, gossip burning within his eyes as curiosity overtook his usual calm demeanor.

"Well, if anyone can break up with Anthony despite his looks, strength, background, and riches, then I’m afraid the rest of the men have no hope of keeping any woman," Bryan stated with a slight laugh, earning a round of laughter from the group.

"We are still together, but she is in seclusion, hence my boredom. If she wasn’t in seclusion, we wouldn’t be here; we would have been on a date or something, not hanging out with three men and another woman," Anthony replied with a small laugh as his thoughts shifted to Vega, a faint warmth appearing in his expression.

"Come on, what happened to bros before hoes? That’s against the bro code, you know," Bringer stated, but Anthony simply ignored him, not sparing him even a single glance, as though the comment hadn’t even registered.

"Awwnnn, sounds like you are in love," Tiara spoke as she gazed at Anthony, her tone soft yet teasing.

"I am," Anthony replied proudly, without the slightest hesitation, his voice steady and certain.

"So, what’s her name?" Bringer asked, leaning forward slightly with interest.

"Vega," Anthony replied without hiding anything, his tone calm yet carrying a subtle fondness.

"I also watched her own battle stream; she is indeed strong, although I think her battle experience was lacking at the time," Bryan stated as his mind shifted back to the stream he had seen.

"Indeed, she lacked battle experience at the time. Her father doesn’t really allow her to fight, but her battle experience is no longer an issue anymore," Anthony replied with a smile, clearly enjoying talking about Vega, as though every mention of her brought him a sense of ease.

"So, when is the wedding, since you are so in love?" Tiara asked with a smile, her curiosity genuine.

"I’m sure he hasn’t even met her parents yet," Rider stated from the side with a knowing smile.

Anthony laughed at Rider’s words as he spoke, "I’ve met her parents, but her father’s identity will leave you in shock. Want to try guessing?" he stated, amusement flickering in his eyes.

The four of them fell into their thoughts, calling out a bunch of names, each guess more outrageous than the last, but at the end of the day, they were all wrong, completely off the mark.

"Klaus," Anthony stated with a smile on his face.

"KLAUS!!!!" Rider, Bringer, Bryan, and Tiara exclaimed at the same time in shock, their voices overlapping as disbelief filled the room.

"Klaus, the weapon instructor, had a daughter?" Rider asked, clearly stunned, his composure momentarily breaking.

"You can ask your various sources for information on Klaus when you get back, so don’t ask me anything about him," Anthony stated before any of them could ask any questions, as he could already see the flood of curiosity coming from a mile away.

"Damn," Bryan stated as he hadn’t seen that revelation coming at all, his expression one of pure surprise.

The group spent a few minutes speculating on anything they could think of; of course, Anthony neither confirmed nor denied any information on Klaus, leaving them to drown in their own theories and assumptions.

"So, you spoke about dates before, how many dates have you both been on, and if you can, tell us about your first date," Tiara asked as she met Anthony’s eyes. She, who had been trapped in an engagement for years, found herself drawn to such stories, and Anthony seemed like the perfect person to ask.

Anthony smiled as his mind drifted to the time he had met Vega at the Military café; he shook his head slightly as he spoke, "the beginning of our first date was like any regular date, you know, restaurants and all that, but Vega wasn’t someone who simply went to restaurants during dates for food she could cook in her own home." Anthony paused for a moment, as though reminiscing the scene in vivid detail. "After the restaurant, we went to an archery club or station or whatever it was called; we had an archery match, and we were competing to see who would win," he continued, but before he could speak further, Bryan interrupted.

"I hope you let her win?"

"I didn’t, I won," Anthony replied without missing a beat, his tone matter-of-fact.

"Come on, bro, don’t you know as a gentleman you are meant to allow her to win?" Rider stated, shaking his head slightly.

"Please, not all women are that fragile, and Vega wouldn’t have liked it if I went easy on her," Anthony spoke as though defending himself, his tone firm.

"Please, ignore these single men and continue your story," Tiara spoke, as she didn’t want Anthony to be interrupted again.

"After that, we went to an auction house, placed a bid on everything at the auction despite not needing anything. One arrogant fool tried to bully us with his family name, so we placed a bounty on his head right then and there, hence the auction house erupting into chaos," he paused briefly, as though allowing their imagination to catch up. "Then we went to the aquarium; it turned out Vega loves fishes. She literally recognized every fish at the aquarium, along with their backstory and everything."

A smile appeared on Anthony’s face as Vega’s image surfaced vividly in his mind. "If Vega wasn’t Klaus’s daughter, if she wasn’t as talented as she is, she might have spent her time becoming a marine biologist of some kind," he paused briefly once more. "And I’m sure that in some alternate reality or something, her counterpart might be exploring the galaxy just to study the different species and rarity of aquatic life," he added, his tone calm and filled with affection, as though he would willingly follow her without hesitation if she chose such a path.

’Maybe we could even go to a timeline of fish during our one-year relationship anniversary or her next birthday,’ Anthony thought to himself as he seemed to forget the four people seated before him, his mind completely occupied by Vega. Truly, in that moment, he was simply a man in love, lost in his own thoughts of his woman.