In The Pursuit of Success

Advice & Affection

Ahhh! New chapter! Finally.
Although this is mostly filler, I hope you enjoy it.

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"Pumpkin!" the red-headed woman exclaims in surprise upon answering the front door. "I thought you were coming next week. Decided to get here early because you missed mommy too much?" she asks as she wraps her arms snugly around her son. Before he could respond, she announces his arrival, "Dennis, honey! Didi! Dez is home!" She pulls away from her boy, her hands still holding onto both of his shoulders.

The two she had summoned rush over, as enthused to see him as Donna is. Dennis pulls his son away from his mother, squeezing him into his arms. "Why'd you leave me alone with them?!" he implores his son, in jest. Donna backhands her husband lightly at the shoulder once he lets their boy go.

"Didi and I should be the ones complaining," she comments, turning to Dez. "Without you here, your father had your sister and I help him test out all of his latest inventions. It rarely ever ended well." Dez laughs, only just realizing how much he had missed seeing his parents tease each other. It is refreshing for him to know that not much had changed in his absence.

"She's not even exaggerating," Didi adds, walking over and bringing Dez into yet another hug. "I missed you, weirdo."

"I missed you too, Deeds," he replies, returning the hug with his chin resting on top of his sister's head. He does not even bat an eyelash at the nickname, and almost had missed hearing it. Almost.

"What, no one missed me?" Trish walks up to the door, lugging a suitcase along - one that's not even her own. Dez hurries over to take the baggage from her, shocked by the fact that she had dragged it at all in the first place.

"Trish!" Didi exclaims, running over to the shorter girl and embracing her. "How could I not have missed you?" She pulls away, her celebration ceasing to look back and forth between her friend and her brother. "Wait…So you two flew back out here…Together?" Her smile grows, hoping that this meant what she hopes it would mean.

"Well, it would've been strange if we were going to the same place, at the same time, and took two separate flights, now wouldn't it?" Dez answers her, dragging the suitcase into the house.

"Dez, I don't think that's what she meant." Trish gives a small, and somewhat condescending, smile to the neon-clad boy.

"I'm glad you two worked everything out, then," Donna comments as Dennis takes Dez's suitcase into his room for him. Didi had updated her mother about Trish and Dez's situation, as she managed to keep tabs on two. Up until recently, of course. Relief washes over them all, exuberant with joy at the fact that the two friends are finally getting along. Didi, as well as everyone else who knew of it, grew worried that the two would never be able to mend their friendship after the feud they had.

Dez walks over beside the dark-haired girl, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Me too," he nods, leaning down sideways and giving his girlfriend a quick kiss at the side of her head. Trish looks down at her shoes, trying her best to hold in the embarrassment she feels by the fact that he had done such a thing in front of his own family. However, holding in her smile proves even more difficult. Her flushed cheeks tell Donna enough.

"It seems you two have worked it all out better than I expected," Donna laughs, beckoning the two of them. "Come in, come in! Dennis just finished baking some apple pie." The couple obliges, following Mrs. Wade into the house, alongside Didi – who seems to be unable to contain her squeals of excitement.