Sat at the dinner table betwixt Ennis and Firo, Czeslaw Meyer once again found himself puzzled as to how much Carol was interested in his life. Her voice rang out in his head...

"So what's your family like?" She asked as inquisitive as ever. Czes supposed he had the Daily Days to blame for his new friend's innate curiosity. "I mean...do you have one?"

Pondering the question, Czeslaw realized that he had never referred to anyone as family for...a long time. Not since Fermet. A large chill rolled up his spine and he winced at the memory of his psychopathic "caretaker". He felt almost obligated to answer her, however, as her expression softened. She looked like she was preemptively apologetic for any eggshells she might have stepped on, and before he knew what he was saying the words "No no, of course I do!" had rushed out of his mouth.

Presently, Czeslaw groaned at his own verbal incompetence. Why on Earth had he said that? Why would he say that!? He barely knew this girl and yet her emotional state worried him.

"Honestly," Ennis said calmly after Czes had voiced his complaints to her and Firo, "I think it's just because you're a decent person."

"Yeah!" Firo voiced with a chuckle. "Everyone knows a real man doesn't leave a dame in distress, even- no, especially if it's the emotional variety."

Czes scoffed at the couple's blunt idealism. He supposed that people who had such blind faith in him were the closest thing to family he'd ever have.

He knew Ennis was at least familiar with concepts of family (she still occasionally referred to that bastard Szilard as something of a father), and the fact that he referred to her rather formally made it rather easy for them to be confused as Mother and son, which had happened on more the one occasion.

Firo was way more open to the idea of having a little brother, most likely because his place in the Gandor family had left him as the youngest. Czes and Ennis, however, distinctly remembered an instance where Firo broke a man's fingers for calling him "girly". Czes found his insecurity about the whole ordeal quite entertaining.

He wasn't even going to begin with Maiza...

"She wants to meet you guys." Czes said, clarifying it just as much to himself as to them.

"Really? Go for it, kiddo!"

Czes gave Firo a glare. He opened his mouth to remind him for the millionth time that he was centuries old, before deciding not to bother.

"I think it's great you've made a friend." Ennis said with a soft smile. "I'd love to meet her."

Firo snickered, leaning his arm on the table.

"Now that she's said it you have to do it, dontcha?"

Czes sat tight lipped. He knew the Camorista was right.

"Czes, are you doing alright?" Carol squeaked, Czes deciding to bring her over the next time they met up.

"Of course." Czes said, pulling off a nervous smile. "Just wondering what it's gonna be like when you meet everyone."

'I shouldn't be doing this.' the thing-that-was-not-a-child thought, '"theoretically, you could still back out.' He felt like he was going to have a break down. And the very worst part was, he couldn't tell why for the life of him.

And yet he felt his fist knock against the cold apartment door about four times before he even consciously made a decision. He looked up expecting to see his two... "siblings?", "would-be parental figures?", "roomates?", instead seeing a young golden-eyed brunette in a rather nice suit.

"Hey, kid." A quick Manhattan accent, deeper than Firo's, greeted calmly.

Luck Gandor was a man Czes knew very little about. According to Maiza and Firo, the two shared much in common. The two were gentleman, at least on the surface. A quiet confidence surrounded them and they both had sly tongue, which always seemed ready to fire quips towards Firo. Yet Firo and Luck's bond seemed strong enough to put the Martillos and Gandors on especially good terms.

"You know I'm not a kid." Said Czes, shooting eye-daggers up at the man.

"Oh absolutely." Luck nodded, though his tone was condescending. "It's just a turn of phrase, don't take it personally. Now you might wanna come in, before a draft beats you to it.

"Come on, Czeslaw!" Carol giggled excitedly, following the mafioso into the cozy if slightly messy apartment and sitting next to him on the couch, pulling Czeslaw with her as well.

"Hey, Firo, Czes is here," Luck projected is his voice so it would reach down the narrow apartment hall."And," his golden-flecked eyes strolling to the scraggly flapper girl next to him, "I don't believe I caught your name, little miss."

"O-oh Carol, sir." She fumbled a minute, before extending her hand with a nervous smile. Luck smirked calmly shaking the small girls hand."Luck. It's a pleasure to make her acquaintance ."

Czeslaw concluded the tentative look on Carol's face was due to the strangeness of the name Luck, as it was the same look he once had on his own face. The girl looked like she had literal cogs turning in her head, before her finger snapped up to point at the man.

"I know! You were in the story too!"

Luck raised an eyebrow, and before Czeslaw could properly explain, Firo arrived to greet the two.

"AGH!" Carol yelled, her finger shifting to Firo and her face glowing a slight red. "And you're the main character!"

The three immortals shared bemused glances, knowing that this visit would be interesting if nothing else.

"So she already knows all of us." Firo sighed, sitting at the table with Luck and Czes, after Carol had managed to go on for nearly an hour about her assignment at the Daily Days and how it pertained to all of them. "Not sure whetha' or not I should be flattered that we all almost ended up on tha news."

"I think you're just mad you didn't have a chance to leave a good first impression." Luck said jovially.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

As the two friends bickered playfully, Czes looked over to Carol, who was deep in conversation with Ennis and a visiting Maiza.

"I certainly think your President has the right philosophy on the story of our lives." The oldest among them said, earning an eager nod from Carol.

"We're all the main character of our own story..." Ennis said to herself, as if tasting the idea and deciding with a smile that she liked it. The feeling of autonomy, of influence. Czes tried desperately to avoid thinking of the bloodied, torturous "friend of the family" who shared a very similar outlook on life.

Before his attempts at suppression could splinter his side of the table, the door burst open and a particularly peculiar pair burst in.

"GREETINGS!" Shouted Isaac and Miria, bowling almost everyone present over in surprise.

"*gasp* These two are my favorite!" Said Carol, jumping up to greet the pair of robbers. "I'm Carol! And you're Isaac and Miria! I know all about you two!"

There was a long, drawn out silence, before Isaac and Miria turned to each other, facing away from the others.

"What do you suppose she means, Isaac?" Miria asked in tones that weren't quite hushed enough. "Do you think it's possible she really knows all about us?"

"No way." Isaac said. "To know everything about us before she met us would be simply impossible. Unless..."

"Unless?"

"Yes, unless."

Miria gasped, bringing both hands to the sides of her head, oblivious to the look she and Isaac were getting from the others.

"You don't mean she's-!"

"I think Czeslaw's friend must be-!"

The two turned on Carol, pointing a duo of accusatory fingers her way.

"A PSYCHIC!" They yelled out in sync.

Another moment of silence later, a loud THUNK resonated throughout the room. Had anyone been looking away from Isaac and Miria, they'd have seen the source of the sound to be Czes, having smashed his head into the table in a mixture of disbelief and embarrassment.

The others looked on blankly, while Carol looked as though she had just been accused of a horrible crime.

"I- I- what?" She asked, slightly frightened. Before she could get an answer though, she and everyone else heard a chuckle from Czeslaw. And this time, they did turn to look.

With his face still planted firmly on the table, Czes' lips were noticeably turned up in a smile. His light snickering grew into an insane fit of giggles as he lifted his head off the table. Just when Firo was about to ask if there was something wrong with him, Carol let out a few giggles of her own, before bursting out laughing in much the same way. She nearly double do over, the anxiety that was present on her face mere seconds ago long gone.

Firo had no idea what came over him, but he too joined in the fun, the sight of Czeslaw mad with laughter so oxymoronic that it drove him to the same state, slamming his fist on the table. Luck had suffered a similar laughing fit, or rather, as close to a laughing fit as he's ever get. He was leaned back nonchalantly, but his hand was raised to cover his shaking smile. Exchanging a glance, even Enjus and Maiza exchanged soft chuckles.

"Why are they all laughing Isaac?"

"Either they're that happy to see us, or we're right about her being a psychic and it's funny how fast we found out!"

"Yeah, that must be it! Either one if those sounds great to me!"

Carol and Czeslaw's mood stayed in that area throughout the rest of her visit, and when everyone had given the girl enthusiastic goodbyes, she and Czes finally quieted down on the walk back to the Daily Days.

"Sometimes it still gets to me how you were writing a news story that just so happened to involve all of us..." Czes said as they strolled.

"Well..." said his companion, looking up to the night sky. "I guess life's just like that sometimes. Like a giant web or something. People make their own stories, and you can never be sure who's going to cross with who. In the end, everyone's connected to everyone else...somehow."

Czes sighed contentedly, the two having reached their destination. Turning to the girl, he said,

"I'm glad we crossed."

Carol practically had stars in her eyes, and Czes had to use every ounce of willpower not to bust out laughing again.

"M-m-me too!" Carol said, and her visible pride at the comment forced Czes to at least break a smile.

"You should get going." Czeslaw said, and with a nod, the girl ran into her place of work, waving him off.

Czes smiled, and turned to go back home.

Home. For some reason, after that day, it got less and less hard to call it that.

AN: So, this took longer than anyone wanted. We contemplated going into more depth, but we honestly didn't want this to take longer than it did, for reasons. Read, review, tell us how we can improve.