#oc; tabitha

「Tabitha, I can’t believe you just did that! We came to visit our favorite little sister for a while and you just ignore me? Ohhh well, I was tryna be nice and ask you for directions for your place, but I’ll find it myself. Oh, and who’s that with you? He’s cute! Are you on a date right now?!」

“Vivienne!” Tabitha powers off her phone and clutches her arms tightly to her chest and resists the urge to gnaw off her recently painted nails.

“Your…sister?” there was an innocent perplex in his tone.

“H-How much of that did you hear?”

“All of it?“

Tabitha dashes into the library as soon as the silhouette pedestrian appears, hoping against hope Dacre wouldn’t chase her. Technically, since they were still on the clock…she sighs, wondering how she kept her job as long as she had. Dacre says nothing when he reaches her. Oftentimes, she puzzles him—her reactions and mannerisms leave him yearning to unravel her mind. Aware of the calculating plum irises boring into her, Tabitha clears her throat and approaches the empty information desk. A kid pops up from behind it, enthusiastically waving at them. Like a fish out of water, Tabitha seizes up, struggling to get a word past her lips. Dacre snaps in front of her face, but she refuses to budge. He turns to the boy for inspection—sea green eyes and a tawny complexion…

Firmly placing his hands on the desk, the kid leans forward, “Aw, don’t be be like that, ‘onee-san’!”

Chuckles echo from the behind the desk, and two individuals with striking white-to-smalt gradient hair, their grins widening from ear to ear. Dacre wonders what their eyes looks like.

“Tabs!” the man with his hair loosely tied back chirps, resting his head in his hands, “Tabs, our dear sister, we missed you so much!”

“Miss you and all that…but I can’t forgive you for purposely ignoring us!” An inkling tells Dacre that this one is “Vivienne”.

Tabitha discovers the ability to function again, her quivers hardly noticeable, “I-I thought you…you were going to find where I live, not…”

“Ahem,” as her employer and partner, Dacre figured he had some leeway to interfere. The chance is stolen right from him, though.

“Oh, right, you. The name’s Raymond,” Raymond offers his hand to him. “Nice to ‘meet’ you.”

“Vivienne, here. And this lil’ baby is Nico. Ain’t he cute?”

Nico beams, pointing to his dimples, “‘Course I am! We came to abduct Tabs though, so…”

Tabitha chews hard on her lip, “I’m still working, so, that’s—“

“We can call it a day. It’s not a priority commission anyway.”

She nods and fiddles with one of her chocolate dreads, still aswoon from her siblings sudden appearance act, and the expectant stares she gained were crippling. Although the desire to pry comes to mind, Dacre holds his tongue and offers a farewell. Vivienne clicks her tongue, folds her arms and invites him for their impromptu reunion dinner. Tabitha avoids giving any gestures that tells him he couldn’t join them…he liked to think he could read her well. He dispels a tinge of guilt and accepts.

•••

Would nothing let Tabitha loosen up her defenses even a little? The only person who successfully held conversations with her was Nico, yet she acted like she needed to keep up appearances. Perhaps his presence overwhelms her—perhaps she caught on how often Dacre observed her throughout dinner as her “Raydiennt” siblings had. As dessert arrives at their table, Dacre recalls the slights aimed at her…no, he wouldn’t go there. Absentmindedly digging into his slice of pie, the zingy key lime flavor helps him round up his wayward thoughts as it melts on his tongue.

“Hey, Tabs—” Raymond swills another bite of affogato, “—Pop’s been wondering about those roommates of yours. From what I gather, they’re both…interesting.”

“Mm?!” Tabitha chokes on her water, earning pats on her back from Nico. “Have you been here all day?! Please tell me you weren’t listening to me all day.”

“Mmmore or less.”

What were they getting from abashing her like this? Were they always so…cruel to her? To each other? A family can never be perfect, but… Vivienne crosses her arms, her head tilts back as she glowers accusatorially at Dacre.

“I’m sorry, aren’t you—” a titter wedges in her throat, “—you don’t seem to have too many problems crossing her boundaries.”

“I wasn’t…” he pauses, sucking in a small breath as he recollects his words—Tabitha’s sea-green irises glue themselves onto her cup. “Sorry. I’ve just had this sort of idea.…”

“You. You’re a single child, aren’t you?”

“Cut it out already, Vivi!” Tabitha’s marbled hands wander aimlessly in her lap. “I-I’d like to keep my job a bit longer.”

The elder sister practically mounts the table, her finger inches away from stabbing his forehead, “Ohho no, this guy has some serious nerve, and I don’t give one wit if he’s your boss or not.”

Raymond pulls his other half back into her seat, lightly rubbing circles on the back of her clenched fist. He feels Vivienne mellow out, but doesn’t let up the therapy. “We do things, say things, to each other, but—“

“Most people don’t stalk their siblings.”

Nico takes a long swig of his pop as Ray gives him a look. “But when it comes down to it, if something truly bothers someone, they’ll say something. Right Tabs?”

“I mean, yeah, er, yes.”

Dacre nods, pushing his ideals down for the time being, since reevaluation whilst in company seems…improper. The table’s waiter sets that little booklet on the table, and Vivienne stashes her card inside it.

“Being on the younger side of this family isn’t easy—unless you’re Nico.” she says, laughing when he responds with finger guns. “The three of us grew up together. Not to say we’re not close with our other siblings…eh, you wouldn’t understand.”

“I…I did not realize you had more siblings.” he didn’t, and he was curious, but he backed himself into a dark enough corner with these twins….

The Raydiennts share smirks, throwing Dacre off. Tabitha sighs exasperatedly.