Emotions

Chapter 23: Together Again

The four of us hurry to Lido's house. Once we arrive, we open the front door. 
The kids are still sitting on the couch in silence, but their heads turn to the door the moment we step in the room. Their eyes fill to the brim with tears.

''Mom!'' Lia runs towards her mother. She pulls the girl into an embrace.
''Have you been good dear?'' The woman asks, wiping away her tears. Lia nods happily. With a gentle touch, the woman pets her head with a genuine smile.

''Boys!'' The man shouts eagerly as he rushes to the couch. The boys both couldn't bring out any words. 
Finn is so overwhelmed with joy, his shyness melts away when he sees the man again. Tiga is the first to leap into the man's arms, bouncing up and down with excitement.
Finn follows Tiga, but Tiga already claimed most of the man. However, it didn't take long for the man to notice. He scruffles through Finn's hair with the spare hand he has left.

Lido and I drop our glasses and hats from our disguises back into the box on the ground. We watch the tears spill from a distance.
The situation finally sank in. We did it. We saved them from the clutches of the government. It has been a while since we succeeded in rescuing people of this city, but we pulled it off this time. A single tear escapes my eye. 

Suddenly, an arm wraps around my shoulder.
''We really helped them, didn't we?'' 
I turn my head to see Lido with watery eyes staring back at me. 
''Yeah...'' With a loss of words, I place my fist against my chest.

After the emotional reunion settles, Lido and I let ourselves down on the mattress. The kids return back to the couch. Tiga and Finn each plop down on one leg of the man and Lia sits on the lap of the woman.
"Really, I can't thank you enough for this." The man says, bringing the boys in close.
"I'm happy we could help!" Lido replies in high spirit, a bright grin showing on his face.
''Yes... thank you.'' The woman says in a soft tone, embracing Lia.
I smile back at her. ''You're welcome.''

My attention wanders off to their clothes. They're full of holes and discolored from the grime and dirt.

A second later, an idea comes to me. I get up and walk towards the weary box with various clothing and place it in front of them.

"Here, pick what you want!"
The kids consider the box like it was their first present before rummaging through it. Finn finds a hoody with blue jeans and sneakers. Tiga grabs a shirt with a jacket, cargo pants and high-top shoes. They both seem content with their choice.
After a while of searching though, Lia can't seem to find anything that suits her taste. With a frown, she watches Finn and Tiga putting on their new clothes.
When Lido sees this, he thinks hard for a solution. It didn't take long for his whole face to lighten up.

''I'll be right back!'' He shouts as he scurries away upstairs. I hear a lot of rustling and shoving. Followed by things falling on the ground, including Lido. He tumbles downstairs with a neat carton box.
He brings it in front of Lia. ''Here, try this one.'' Lido places the box on her lap.
After some trouble getting it open, she lays her eyes upon a beautiful white dress with pink flowers on it.

Her eyes sparkle as she takes it out of the box and put the dress on with the help of the woman. She twirls around in it straight after to show it off to everyone in the room. I hand her a pair of sandals with a white flower on each of them that she forgot to take out. She puts them on, her smile now being almost as bright as the sun.
After twirling some more, she rushes towards Lido and gestures him to come down to her height. Lido does as she commands.
''What is it- AH.'' Lia surprises him by giving swift peck him on the cheek.

"Thank you, Lido! I am so happy!" She chirps before turning away to face the woman, leaving Lido with a slight blush on his face. He notices me snickering at the scene and averts his gaze in embarrassment. I come over and pat him on the back.
"Good job seducing a little girl." I tease him. At first, Lido looks grumpy and scowls at me, but that soon turns into a grin.
''Yeah, she got me good.''