Joanna sucked in a deep breath, trying to relax herself. It wasn't the end of the world. She was just meeting his family, no big deal. Not even the slightest… or that's what she was tying to tell herself. But she couldn't believe it. Just as she was about to voice her worries, she caught sight of the table. It was too late now.
"That's your sister?" She asked softly, leaning closer to Arsen.
Arsen could tell how nervous she was, but wasn't sure what to say to make her feel more comfortable. "Yeah. That's Luna the Loon."
His sister was already sitting by the table, next to her fiance, Jake. She looked up as Arsen and Joanna approached and grinned. "Baby Arsenic!" She said, standing and holding her arms out to hug him. Although he was a few inches taller than her, she was clearly the one 'in charge.'
"I told you not to call me that," he grumbled, then, squeezing Joanna's hand, said, "This is my girlfriend. Joanna."
Luna looked her up and down, a slight frown on her face, then motioned for the two to sit.
Arsen pulled Joanna's chair out for her, before sitting on his own.
"So," Luna said, leaning on her elbow and staring at Joanna. "What do yo think of my brother?"
Joanna elbowed him just a little at the nickname he had given his sister, pouting just a little. "Oh hush up," She huffed, trying to bite back her amused smile. "It's not funny." She insisted, despite the suppressed smile.
When the two exchanged conversation, Joanna kept quiet. She didn't want to be rude and interrupt them. She wanted to give a good impression after all. But when she frowned, a sudden panic rose in her chest. Had she done something wrong? Did she already not like her? Was this really a bad idea after all? Though those thoughts were interrupted as she was seated, and addressed.
"Arsen? Oh- um," Joanna tried for words, letting out a soft sigh before looking over to him. Forcing herself to relax, she smiled tenderly at him. "He's a great guy… quite honestly, I adore him." She hummed softly, still holding onto his hand tightly.
Luna pursed her lips. "I see." Her gaze suddenly turned sharp as a blade. "And you're not with him for the money?"
"Luna!" Arsen's voice cracked like a whip. "She's not like that! Don't ask questions like that!"
Luna shrugged. "I don't want her to end up like all those other girls. I'm just protecting you, baby brother."
Joanna had been gazing at Arsen, being caught off guard when the next question was asked. She blinked in surprise, mouth gaping as she tried to think of a response.
"I- of course not! We've been friends forever…" She trailed, definitely feeling somewhat hurt at the statement. This was not going great, not helping with her stress levels at all. With every second she was starting to regret this, worried she wasn't ready to have met his family. Though despite her feelings, she kept up a calm face, grip still tight on Arsen's hand.
Luna studied the girl for a moment. "And your intentions for my brother?" Her voice was sharp and quiet, and the way she looked at Joanna would make anyone sure that she would be able to tell if the girl was lying or not.
Arsen took in a sharp breath, squeezing his girlfriend's hand reassuringly. He had known that Luna was hard to deal with, but this was getting out of hand. He opened his mouth to protest, and his sister sent him a look so sharp and piercing that it made him snap his mouth shut.
"I- intentions?" Joanna stated, seeming bewildered. "I don't have anything planned, if that's what you mean. I'd be more concerned about what his intentions were with me, than what mine are with him." She stated a little harshly, feeling defensive of herself. Whatever signs she was letting off clearly didn't register in her mind. She was one to protect herself, which didn't usually turn out too great. But her self-defense was kicking in, and she was determined not to let this other lady take her down.
"Listen, I love him. As long as it doesn't bother him, I'm plenty happy to keep dating him, even if you don't like me. So if you're trying to test me for your approval, that's not going to work." Joanna snapped some, seeming confident in herself. Despite not saying it, she hated having to keep up appearances, and try to make someone else's standards. She'd had enough of that growing up.
Luna snorted at Joanna's first words, about Arsen's intentions toward her, and he winced slightly, although he knew his girlfriend didn't mean it… anymore, at least.
"Alright. You pass." With the words Joanna spoke, Luna suddenly seemed to accept the girl, and she grinned welcomingly. "Welcome to the family."
Arsen stared at her in astonishment. His older sister rarely liked the girls he had brought home, and Joanna was the second girl she had ever approved of.
Joanna seemed even more confused at that, slowly sitting back in her seat. She blinked a couple times, lips slightly parted as she tried to process what had just happened. Glancing over to Arsen, she still seemed in a bit of shock.
"I- I'm sorry, what?" She asked softly, looking back over to Luna. "I… you're not offended? Or- or think I was being disrespectful?" Joanna asked softly, holding onto Arsen's hand a little tighter than she has been before, fiddling with the edge of her dress with the other hand.
"No, of course not," Luna said with a laugh and a wink to Arsen, who scowled. "I was testing you. You're the only girl who has passed the test, unfortunately."
"What do you mean, unfortunately," Arsen protested. "Is she not goo-"
"You know full well what I mean, Arsie baby," Luna said, rolling her eyes and reaching across the table to pat his free hand mockingly. "Calm yourself before you have a heart attack."
Joanna glanced over to Arsen, still seeming somewhat lost. She slowly loosened her hold on his hand, fingers still laced with his. She didn't question her decision in the moment, just grateful that the woman didn't hate her.
"Right… I- um, glad to hear I passed." She mumbled, letting herself start to relax as she looked up at the others. Joanna gaze a half smile to the woman, looking back over to Arsen. Relief flooded over her face as she smiled at him.
Arsen grinned back at her, squeezing her hand, before glancing at his sister, who was watching them with a satisfied grin on her face. "Have you guys already ordered?" He asked her, before she could say something that would embarrass him.
Luna shook her head. "We were waiting for you," she said. "What do you guys want? It's on us."
Joanna kept up a somewhat dreamy gaze, eyes staying locked on him.
"I'm happy with whatever… it's up to you, Arsen." Humming softly, she let a little smile settle on her lips. Her green eyes studied his face as she started to relax even more. "I trust your judgment."
Arsen met her gaze, and his heart kind of gave a weird little thump in his chest. She was just… too perfect. Was she really his? He seriously was the luckiest guy in the world. He grinned at her fondly, noticing out of the corner of his eye Luna's disgusted eye roll.
"Are you sure you trust my judgement?" He asked, mostly teasing, although the box that was currently boring a hole in his pocket was serious.
"You're dating me, right?" Joanna joked, giving him a familiar smile. The kind of teasing smile that she'd be surprised if he hadn't grown used to it by now. Her playful look stayed on her face as she glanced over the menu, flicking her green eyes up at him occasionally.
"I mean, how could I not trust your judgment then? You seem to know how to pick a woman, why not dinner?" She hummed jokingly, glancing over to Luna and Jake. "Then again, maybe I should ask your sister about the other ones."
"You're saying that you were a good choice?" Arsen teased, kissing her temple before looking at the menu for a moment. He glanced at her and grinned as their eyes met more than once. He wanted to kiss her. So bad. But he didn't, because there were other people around. And others would be surprised that Arsen the Flirt wasn't kissing a girl any opportunity he could, but his relationship with Joanna was precious. He didn't want to ruin that.
Luna laughed. "Are you sure you want to hear about the other ones?"
Joanna gave him a light laugh, resting her head on his shoulder. “I mean, technically you said it not me.” She hummed as she fiddled with a loose end of her hair. Her green eyes peered up at him through her bangs, a playful look on her face. Just as he was fed to kiss her, she wanted to kiss him. But she wouldn’t want to come off as desperate to his sister. So she happily stayed close to him.
“I mean, maybe not tonight. But some other time you could possibly tell me. That way I can keep dirt on him.” She joked, lacing her fingers with Arsen’s.
Luna watched the two of them with amused eyes, and from the look on her face, Arsen knew that she would be teasing him later. Of course she would.
His sister spoke. "I'd be delighted. Everyone needs to have dirt on my brother. Maybe then his head wouldn't be so big."
He gasped. "But you're the one who raised me this way!" He exclaimed.
She just grinned.
Joanna kept the smile on her lips, reaching up to run her fingers along his jawline.
"Even if he is a little arrogant, I think he's perfect just the way he is. Despite it getting annoying, of course." She hummed, turning his chin so he was looking at her. "But don't take that as an excuse to go around and brag about how awesome I think you are. I'll have to take it back. Or accidentally expose one of your deepest darkest secrets." She grinned before flicking his nose.
(Man, I love these two…)
"Is everyone I love against me?" Arsen wailed, pretending to be heartbroken by his girlfriend's declaration. "My sister, girlfriend…" He turned to his brother-in-law. "Jake, will you, too?"
"Only if you don't stop talking," the other man said with a smile.
Arsen shook his head in mock disbelief. Luna opened her mouth to say something, and then her phone rang. It was a ringtone that all of them knew: the System. She pursed her lips. "I have to take this," she said.
He glanced at Joanna and rolled his eyes, grinning. It was probably nothing… right?
(Same here, not even gonna lie aha)
"Can't even take a break to spend time with your brother?" Joanna called out in a teasing tone, turning back to Arsen with a bright eyes smile. "Then again, I'm sure you're appreciative that at least one of us is gone."
Her smirk was increasingly smug as she poked his nose, before picking her menu back up. "But I'm sure you would have preferred it to be me. I mean, it's not like you like me or something," She joked, sipping from her water as she scanned the menu. Nothing was really going through her head, about anything that had just happened. It was normal to get work calls, with the System. Or, at least she thought it was. She personally didn't get many, but that didn't mean it wasn't normal for other people. I mean why would it be?
Arsen glanced at his older sister, watching her with concerned eyes. Jake met his gaze and shrugged slightly, as if to say, What can you do about it?
But as they watched her as she listened to whoever was on the other end of the phone, Arsen grew increasingly more concerned. When she almost dropped her phone, he half-stood. She waved her hand.
When she hung up, the mood was tense. "What is it?" He asked.
"They need us," she said. There was no need to say who they were.
"Why?"
"I don't know. But Jo is to come, too."
Joanna straightened, glancing over to Jake with a worried look. The worry she hadn't had before came flooding in.
How quickly a night could go from something so wonderful to something so troubling in a matter of seconds. But no, she'd not jump to conclusions. It could be something they had to be spontaneous about, which was good. That meant they had thought this through and there was nothing to worry about. Absolutely nothing.
So she got up from her seat, giving Arsen a sweet smile.
"It's okay, it's probably nothing, right, Luna?" She asked softly, hanging on his arm a bit, giving Luna a pleading look. She didn't want him to worry if it was for nothing. Especially because she truly believed it WAS for nothing.
So she continued to rub his arm, the pleading look remaining in her eyes.
"Probably not, no," Luna said, shaking her head. Her tone was unsure, but she sent Arsen and Joanna a shaky smile. "We'll be fine. I'm sure they're just promoting us or something."
He didn't believe her, but he didn't push it. Something in his older sister's expression made him think that there was something bad going on here, something that put her in enough stress to make her not want to leave. But even if he asked, she wouldn't tell him. She would protect him. Like always.
"Probably," Arsen agreed. He took Joanna's arm, smiled down at her, and motioned to the door. "Shall we go, then? We can't have them waiting."
(Hey- it's been… a long time. I don't know if you're still active anymore, but as I just got through the end of the year, I finally have more free time. I somehow came across a song I think I associated with this and realized I hadn't responded in a really long time. If you're still active, I'd love to get to pick this back up, and continue where we left up, bc I really loved this story line. If you're not up for that, that's totally fine :)