PENELOPE hoped for a peaceful morning after the sincere talk with Lance. She should have known peace never existed with Lance in the same area. They woke up to the loud banging at the kitchen cabinet. Penelope dashed straight to the place without even tying her robe properly.

Lance was cleaning the house at 5 in the morning. There are still patches of darkness in the sky but Lance was already scrubbing the sink like he's mad. Even the children went to see him before running away. Grumbling that Lance is going crazy for sure.


"Lance, why are you doing this at ungodly hours?" Penelope stretched her arms. "Did you get some sleep? Why is there heavy bags under your eyes?"

"I'm thinking about the global warming. The plastics and the garbage thrown in the sea. Those floods and earthquakes and all, Penelope. Just these… little things." Lance hunched over as if to dismiss Penelope.

She bit her lips to stop herself from smiling. "You'll wake Joaquin. He didn't get much sleep last night."


"Who asked him to overthink on my behalf?" Lance rolled his eyes. His messy hair sticks to his forehead because of sweat. "Look at me. I'm the one who feels like being punished and he still got the guts to be problematic in my stead. Why don't you guys help me clean then?"

"Jeez… so much bad vibes in the morning." Penelope crossed the wet floor to make Joaquin a cup of coffee. "I'll help Joaquin cook breakfast later on. Take a rest too, Lance."


"How could I take a rest in a situation like this? I hate it." Lance stopped moving for a while. He groaned. "God, he smells like roses and beef steak. How do I resist? The smell of bleach can't erase him from my mind."

Penelope snorted. "Try having two spoonfuls of the bleach. Maybe the thing works internally."

"Shut up, Ms. Penelope. You are not helping. Tell Joaquin there's no one entering this kitchen except me. Breakfast? I'll do that. I have to shake this pent up energy let off."

"Whatever that suits you, Lance " Penelope worked with the coffee maker. She grinned. "We're going to the river after this. Got to have those little kids clean up. Don't forget going down to buy some clothes for them, okay?"

"Fuck Joaquin and all of his ancestors. I'm not going outside the barrier again!"

"Why not?" Penelope feigned her curiosity. In fact, all she wanted to do at the moment is laugh herself off. "It's just buying clothes for the kids. Not that hard, yeah?"

Lance grabbed a spatula and waved it with menace under Penelope's nose. "I know what's on your mind, Ms. Penelope. And I tell you I'm hating it right now. I'm not moving out from this spot. Force me or order Joaquin to throw me away but I'm not moving!"

"Chill. What's the problem? It's for the kids. Joaquin knew you can protect yourself. Do it fast and efficiently and everything will be fine."

"Why not order online and have it sent here?"

"Lance, the kids needed their clothes and essential as soon as possible. Ordering online and we'll have to wait for a week. Please?" Penelope inhaled the aroma of the black coffee. She sat near the counter and crossed her legs.

Michael strode to the kitchen for a glass of milk. After hearing what she had said, he squealed, "New clothes! New clothes for us! Hey, hey, Miracle!"

She smiled. Lance's face crumpled. He stomped his feet. "Fine, fine. As if I have a choice."

"Pen?" Joaquin padded in the living room. The children welcomed him with a loud greeting. He nodded. "Good morning. You're all active this morning, hmn? How about we go outside and play?"

"Yes!"

"Oho! I'm not gonna play with Broggy."

"Say that again, pipsqueak."

Penelope got up. She went to Joaquin and offers him to sit on the sofa. "I'll get your coffee. No one's bumping with Joaquin, okay? Or I'll pull your tails one by one."

"Get away from me, Broggy!"

"Not gonna play, huh?"

"How's Lance, Pen?" Joaquin leaned with a relaxed smile. "I heard you guys arguing in there. You handled it pretty well. I hope you won't mind his words. His manners don't work sometimes."

"I know." Penelope reached her face out to snuggle at Joaquin's neck. "You brushed your teeth, huh? That's cheating."

He chuckled. "You rushed to see his drama before taking care of yourself first. It's Lance. Nothing could go wrong with him."

"If only you can see his face now. That is not 'nothing', babe."

"Then… describe his face for me, Pen."

Penelope let out a string of nasty words to describe Lance. Joaquin laughed in her stunt and resulted to slapping her thighs. "That's not great."

"But he has indeed two big plops of blacks in his eyes, Joaquin. He's a panda now. Not your guardian."

"Penelope Blacke, don't you ever think I can't hear you! Wolves, really…" Lance ranted while tackling with a cooking pan. The kids squealed because of his scary expression. "Move aside, you dumplings. Have you seen an angry elf? I'm gonna show you all. You want the blue balls or the blue flames? I'm gonna burn this cabin!"

Joaquin took a sip on his coffee and praised Penelope. "Just the right sweetness. Thank you, Penelope. You know how to make this. I remember Lance putting salt instead of sugar in my coffee once."

"God…" Penelope cackled. "That's unfortunate."

"Shut up, Joaquin!"

Joaquin shrugged then smiled. "I'll give you five hours to finish shopping. Everything should be ready by then, okay? Penelope and I will go somewhere else tomorrow. You have to come with us."

"Oh, so I'm fully booked this week?" Lance grimaced. "Not a time for myself?"

Penelope smirked. "It's not like you want to chase after your mate. You basically have nothing else important to do."

The portruding vein on Lance's forehead pulsed with great effort. The guy was totally angered this time. "You brought this on yourself, Ms. Pen. Excuse my rude behavior."

Penelope wasn't bummed on the slightest. "Go ahead." She clung on Joaquin's neck. Joaquin raised his brow lightly. Lance could only take a step back and curse under his breath, "Mates. Yeah, it's the bane of my existence... the thorn in my throat…"