a commander's waltz

17. Family Meeting

9 days until the ball...

...

Espresso's POV
"HOLY FUCK, THEY'RE HERE!" I hear Latté shout. At first I thought it was a dream, but when I opened my eyes I witnessed Madeleine on my lap with my glasses in his hand. Latté was in the doorway shouting at us.

My vision may had been blurry at the time, but Latté looked panicked.

Madeleine hands me my glasses as I sit up and rub my eyes, "Wha?" I mutter quietly. I yawn and stretch my arms, Madeleine immediately wrapping his arms around me and rubbing his head into my body. "Who's here?"

"Ma and Pa!!" she shouted, "THEY CAME TO THE FUCKING HOTEL!" My stomach dropped hearing the words.

I swallow hard, "M... Mother and Father are... here??" I ask.

"I told them to meet us at the castle at 12:00 for lunch! Yeah, the princess said it was ok but WHAT THE HELL?! THEY SHOULDN'T BE HERE YET!" Latté shouted and hit her head on the wall a few times.

Madeleine lookedat me and pet my head. I didn't realize I was crying until then, "Don't cry, Espresso..." he smiked, "It'll be ok. Deep breaths like last night, remember?"

I nod and take deep breaths with Madeleine. We then both jump out of bed and get dressed while Latté went downstairs to help Princess and Knight prepare the dinning room table.

For some reason, my parents hated bright colors. Latté told me whenever they first walked into the kingdom, they already hated it.

I change into my normal clothing as Madeleine changes to his armor. "I hope your parents like me," Madeleine chuckled flicking his long hair from out of the inside of his shirt smirking.

I roll my eyes frowning, "It'd be lucky if they actually liked you." I walk next to him and stare at the window. "They aren't easy to please, you know..." I whisper taking his hand slowly, feeling his thumb rub my hand for a moment or two.

I look up at him. He was smiling. He carefully squeezed my hand gently and pushed me towards the wall leaning close to me, "Don't worry." he whispered. He chuckled and grabbed my waist. "If they don't like me, so what. They're probably dumb."

I don't want to laugh, but I do. I wrap my arms around him and close my eyes as we hug for an uncomfortably long amount of time. I didn't care. He was so warm and having him in my arms last night made me sleep so well.

After we hear a door open we stop hugging and look. Princess. "They're here..." she smiled.

I take another deep breath once Princess closed the door. "It's ok." Madeleine whispered. He carefully and gently held my hand again walking me downstairs.

Madeleine's POV
Espresso and I entered the dinning room. His hand was shaking. Why was he so scared? I understood, of course, he was nervous but I didn't know he was this nervous.

When we arrived, there were two new cookies sitting at the table staring at us.

One was a man. The father, I was assuming. He looked just like Latté but genderbent. He had a thick mustache with broad shoulders and strong muscles. He had glasses like Espresso's and he was as well wearing a suit.

The other cookie was a female, most likely to be the mother. She look more like Espresso with stern eyes. She sat up straight too, really scary. She had her hair in a messy bun and her hands in her lap.

Espresso smiled and bowed. "Good morning, father." he said calmly, "Good morning, mother-"

"Sit down, Espresso." his father demanded.

Espresso's lip quivered and nodded, "Yes fath- s-sir." Espresso held my hand tighter and walked me to the seats in front of his parents.

The fear in Espresso was too conspicuous. Even when we sat down, he still held my hand tightly. To assure him that he would be ok and safe, I rub his hand with my thumb and smile nodding confidently.

The mother cleared her throat, "So, Espresso, Latté informed us about this... ball you are participating in?"

"Y-Yes ma'am..." he whispered.

His mother scoffed and stared at him in disappointment. "I'm assuming you are dancing with this young woman?" she took her fork and pointed to me.

Espresso blushed and looked at me. "Uh... m-mother, this is Madeleine," he gestured to me, "and... He is the one I'm dancing with... yes..." Espresso shuddered and shrinkwd back, "He is her highness' commander..."

His parents widen their eyes and eye eachother quietly. "This young... Man?" Espresso father gasped. He stared at me and chuckled, "I apologize for the inconvenience. From the length of your mane, I assumed you were a female." he smirked.

I laugh and smile, "No apologies needed, sir. I get that all the time." I held out my hand to shake both of their hands.

Espresso's mom frowned and looked at Espresso. "So, son," she snarled, "I see you've kept those same glasses."

He widened his eyes. His frown told me he was heartbroken, "What..." he rested a hand on his chest, "You've never told me about my glasses before... what's wrong with the-"

"I'm not going to raise a nerd bookworm!" she shouted from across the table. She smacked her hands on the ground and stood with a furious look.

"LATTÉ IS A FUCKING TEACHER AND DAD HAS THE SAME GLASSES!" Espresso shouted back. He let go of my hand to stand with her.

"DO NOT SPEAK TO YOUR MOTHER THAT WAY, YOUNG MAN!" Espresso's dad pitched in he stood revealing his tall height.

When he stood, Espresso flinched back in fear. He growled and threw something at his parents. I didn't see what he threw, though, "WHY DO YOU GUYS HATE ME SO MUCH?! WHAT AM I DOING WRONG!"

With that, Espresso ran away crying and screaming. I stood from my seat reaching out my hand when he left, but he didn't turn back. I frowned and quietly sat back down.

"That damn kid... needs to learn some manners," his father muttered. I watch Princess quietly leave the table and head in the direction Espresso ran to.

I should be there with him too, but it felt way too awkward to just leave in the middle of a conversation. "So, Latté, while you were away you got teacher of the year~!" their mother cheered. She suddenly sounded softer.

Latté widened her eyes, "I did?"

"Yes, sweetie!" Espresso's dad smiled, "We are so so proud of you."