Infinite Stratos - Summer Mayhem

Chapter 19 – Epilogue 2

Final Chapter

She slowly opened her eyes and the first thing that came into view was the fireplace. It was burning with a soft crackle and Charlotte felt the warm embrace of heat as she slowly sat up. Minutes passed before she finally processed the fact that she had fallen asleep earlier on the sofa, while waiting for Ichika to come back. She looked at the clock and saw that it was half past four. There were still two hours.

Charlotte rose to her feet and stretched. The sitting room was spacious, with high ceilings and a place for a set of three sofas facing the single chimney extractor. It was a fairly western design, and made her feel comfortable knowing that things worked the same way as her cottage back in Orleans. The first thing she did was to climb the stairs and peer through the gap of the third bedroom door. Sure enough Madoka was sleeping soundly. It really was a mistake to fall asleep when her own daughter relied on her so much, but she needed a break at times.

The second bedroom was full of gifts that people had sent them over the years. She didn't even know what to do with some of them, as they piled up to the ceiling, including surfboards, primitive robots and even a smaller replica figurine of herself and Ichika on the Eiffel Tower. She would have been inclined to put it in the main room if it wasn't for the fact that it made him so embarrassed when guests came by.
Well it would always remain as one of her guilty pleasures.

The others were far less tame and she shook herself free from those thoughts. There was a lot of preparation to be done and she was running out of time. She crept down the stairs again and went to the kitchen on the right hand side. It was more spacious than hers back in Orleans, which meant that she was able to store a lot more food, handy for the upcoming event.

She opened her two oven doors to check that the finger food was lined up properly and then inspected the deserts in the blast chiller. The only thing left was to wait for them to arrive before opening the wine.
From the front door she could hear the insertion of a key and instantly felt excitement well from inside her.

"Ichika," she whispered with a smile. "Welcome back."

He had grown taller over the years, his face more defined and deep set. Over his brown eyes he now wore wide square rimmed glasses which made him look elegant and refined. Ichika hung his trench coat on the small stand and loosened his black tie, but Charlotte quickly placed her hand over his.

"Not yet, remember we have guests tonight," she reminded him sweetly before tightening it again.

"In two hours Charl, I'm pretty sure a little loose wouldn't hurt."

"But I think Ichika right now looks… amazing."

She didn't lie, his slim but muscular frame made every suit he wore come to life. He had lost none of his figure in the five years since graduation. Always making sure to keep himself in peak physical condition.

"If I look that good, then are you sure you wouldn't want me to take everything off?"

That wasn't fair. Over the years he had also developed a more mischievous and flirtatious side to him. She hoped that it was only reserved for her, but Charlotte knew more than anyone of his loyalty towards her.

"Not now Ichika… Madoka is just upstairs."

"Are you sure? We're still missing two children you know, maybe we should try right now."

He was being unusually pushy today, but it was not she didn't like it. It was at times like this that she was more confident of her own attractiveness, that it drove Ichika to this extent. Maybe she should test it out.

"I'm not in the mood though, you have to convince me Ich-!"

She was against the wall, his hands already reaching into her pink sweater and circling under her short black skirt and tights. Charlotte was definitely feeling it, as desire took her body. A more forceful Ichika certainly did flick the right switches. His lips were inches from her own and she let out a moan of wanting.

"Well, good to know that your relationship is still going strong. I'll just show myself out then."

Both Charlotte and Ichika turned towards the speaker and she almost screamed out in shock. He hastily put her down and she readjusted her clothes. The door had not been completely closed and standing there was Rin.

"R-R-R-Rin what a surprise! You're early!"

"I messaged you a while ago Charlotte, you never answered so I was just checking if you were okay. Sorry I guess you were occupied."

"N-No please come in," Ichika said opening the door more widely. Rin walked in and took off her boots. Charlotte felt comfort when looking at the Chinese girl, she had hardly changed over the years, except for her hair style which was now clipped behind her in a loose ponytail. She seemed more grown up than when they had last seen her at the wedding, but even so she still looked like a middle scholar.

"I see both of you are looking well. I'll just sit there don't mind me."

It was clear that she was embarrassed and both her and Ichika exchanged a sheepish look before joining Rin.

"Stop following me," she said jokingly.

"If you're here already does that mean that the others are close?"

"They're all in a café nearby," Rin admitted. "I wanted to come here first so I could get a glimpse of her, but now I'm too flustered to say anything."

"You can message them to come now then," Ichika said stretching. "I'll go and get Madoka up from bed. Charl maybe get some drinks."

Charlotte rose to the kitchen, with Rin tailing her. She seemed quite nervous and Charlotte asked her what was wrong.

"Nothing major, it's just I'm sort of scared to see her."

"Madoka?"

"Yes. I know you had a child earlier than most, but it's like realising that you're in a different time period to what you thought. When I saw you and Ichika talking just now, I felt that you were both so far away. Maybe I would have preferred you both to continue what you were doing earlier."

"… Please don't remind me. But everyone at their own pace Rin. You're a clever girl and must have many dreams. I'm just living life how I want to as well."

The girl gave her a quick smile before looking around in appreciation.

"Nice place, how did you afford it?"

"You'd be surprised how expensive some of our gifts were."

"I see, I was wondering why the surfboard I sent you wasn't here."

"Oh we still have that, don't worry we kept everything that you gave Rin. Now Orimura Chifuyu on the other hand…"

Charlotte could only laugh when Chifuyu took it upon herself to give a present every time she visited them. When Madoka was born it was more like a daily visit and soon the gifts began to pile up too high.

"That looks delicious," she said as she opened the oven door. Charlotte giggled as she turned the heat on blasting the Chinese girl with a gust of wind from the turbine.

"Hey!"

"Sorry too tempting," she said with a small grin, "I'm practicing so when I do that to Madoka I don't scare her too much."

"You're taking the role of mother here too seriously."

"Well I am the mother," Charlotte said placing her hands on her hips. "A laid back one I will admit but she gets bed time stories so I'm sure I'm not doing a bad job."

Rin only smiled in response.

"I'm jealous that Madoka-chan will have such great parents."

Charlotte's heart constricted painfully and she felt the urge to hug the girl in front of her. There was such longing in her voice that she did not know if she should dare ask the next question.

"How are your parents Rin?"

"My father is getting remarried soon, a nice woman so I can't say anything really. My mother is still working and being a bit of a snob, nothing new there."

"Sorry to hear that."

"It's fine. I have made a few friends in Tokyo so I'm not lonely."

"Boyfriend?"

"Hah, wouldn't you like to know?"

They gossiped for a few minutes more before Ichika opened the front door and even from the kitchen she could hear a scream of delight.
It sounded like Laura, but there was no way it could be this high pitched.

"So you're Madoka! Look at your cheeks, and your beautiful purple eyes! You'll make a great asset to our military might, do you want to join us when you're older?"

That was definitely Laura.

Charlotte quickly dried her hands and ran into the doorway to meet them. Out of everyone she was most excited to see Laura again, her best friend and closest family. They had stayed in touch even after graduation, but it had been three years since they had met face to face.
She was not prepared for what she saw.

A tall figure, slim but shapely with a defined chest and hip line. The silver hair fell onto her slender shoulders, hey red eye softening as she carried Madoka into a seat on the sofa. The only word to describe her was super model and Charlotte was taken back by the sudden transformation. Looking at Ichika's face he was also in similar shock.

"Oh, Charlotte! You are looking well."

"L-Laura? What happened to you?"

"My growth spurt has arrived!" she exclaimed happily while rocking Madoka gently, who giggled in delight. "So don't worry Rin there is still hope for you."

"Traitor," the Chinese girl whispered.

Charlotte could see her daughter laughing with delight as the German girl began to lift her into the air. She seemed motherly and she had to admit that it was heart-warming to see.

"You were with Houki and Cecilia earlier right?" Ichika asked.

"Yeah, they've just gone to get some presents for Madoka. It is her second birthday after all."

"Eh? You didn't have to, she already has a lot of gifts," Charlotte said waving her hands.

"Nonsense. I bet none of them sent a gift like this portable dagger!"

Ichika reacted quickly, grabbing the weapon by the hilt and prying it away from Laura. The girl looked shocked and spread her hands in wanting, begging for him to give it back. They both looked like his children at this stage and Charlotte giggled.

"Don't worry I got her something normal," Rin whispered. She walked up to Madoka who cocked her head to one side. Even now the sight of how innocent and cute she was warmed Charlotte's chest.

"Hi Madoka-chan. Happy Birthday! I'm Rin."

"R-in?"

"Yes, yes that's right. Wow you're so smart. Do you like teddy bears?"

"T-eddy b-uh-ears?"

Rin took out of her handbag a small brown bear, handing it towards Madoka. She tilted her head to one side, stroked the small round ears before shaking her head.

"Dagger!" the two-year-old girl said clutching onto Laura's hand.

Silence filled the room, and all Charlotte could make out was Laura's delighted expression on her face. It was slightly frightening how wide her grin got.

"You will be my second in command Madoka! Together we shall even conquer the stars themselves!"

"Laura," Ichika said placing a hand on his daughters. "You shouldn't be influencing her like this."

"But two is the perfect age!"

"No!"

"In the few years I haven't seen you, you have turned into a grumpy old man!"

"It's called being an adult Laura," he replied icily.

"Now dear," Charlotte interrupted throwing him one of those looks again, "What did we say about arguing in front of Madoka?"

His face paled and he laughed awkwardly before snatching up the child and running into the kitchens.

"Wow you two really have changed," Rin said in a sad tone. "Guess that's what marriage does to you."

"Really? Ichika's still such a kid though."

"Maybe you can't see it because you're always with him. But if we compare him to how he was at fifteen…"

The doorbell rang once more signalling the last of their guests.
Charlotte went over to the door, breathed deeply and opened.

"Ohhhh, it's been so long!"

She had always found Cecilia hard to deal with, over the years that had not changed. The English girl was a perfect mix between innocent, manipulative, cute and beautiful. Not to mention unpredictable and logical. One had to be always be lenient when with her and as patient as Charlotte was, she was always lost in her presence.

"Hello Cecilia, Houki as well!"

"Sorry for being late."

Both had not changed much over the years. Charlotte had grown a few more inches and she now was taller than both of them, which was a perspective that was new to her. What drew her line of sight however was the massive 'presents' that were around their backs.
A large kendo set and the other had a bear so big that she doubted it could even fit through the doorway.

"We might have gone a bit far, so we bought something normal at the store," Cecilia said sheepishly showing some toy cars.

"N-No problem, do you need help with that big bear?"

"It's fine. I shall take this burden upon myself."

"Just let her be," Houki said with a smile.

After feeding them, they all sat lazily on the dark sofas, each with a glass of alcohol in their hands. Madoka had went back to sleep once more after having her cheeks rubbed by each of the girls in succession.

"Looking at you two, makes me feel like such a child," Houki said.

"I've already went over that Houki," Rin said downing her drink. "Still, married at 21 and a child at 22, that's a bit early no matter how you look at it."

"Well Ichika didn't have much else to do, he completed his teaching degree and won the last Mondo Grosso."

"T-That was luck," he said shaking his head. "Cecilia should have got me much earlier."

"Who knew you would pilot an actual generation 2 model into a generation 4 war zone? Of course I was caught off guard!"

"It was really funny how you tried to open a private chat with me for most of the battle. Did you really want to scold me that much?"

"Of course? Who does what you did? Idiot!"

"S-So how is the dojo Houki?" Charlotte asked changing the subject.

"It's been well, thank you. The style is evolving rapidly so it was a good chance for my father to retire."

"I went there last year did I not?" Laura said. "The residents were talking about you having an arranged marriage?"

"What?!" Cecilia screamed.

"R-Rumours!" Houki denied. "It was only that one time because my mother was so insistent."

"What was he like?" Charlotte asked with a grin. She was genuinely interested in all of their little escapades over the years.

"A jerk."

They all chuckled slightly before the questions turned on herself.

"Well we've been okay. Nothing new happening with our quiet lives," she answered.

"But you will never guess what," Rin started, "when I came they were both-"

A hand over her mouth silenced the girl.
Ichika was red faced and pinning the Chinese girl down so that she wouldn't say another word, however through Rin's struggle the situation could have been misinterpreted.

"I-Ichika!" they all screamed.

He seemed to recover his senses and withdrew his hand from her, leaving Rin with a flushed expression on her face.

"Pervert," Rin whispered.

"Wait it wasn't like that!"

"Pervert," Cecilia confirmed.

"Pervert," Houki repeated.

"Lewd," Laura continued.

"Charl, save me," he begged.

She knew it wasn't on purpose, but she couldn't find an easy way out for him. In this situation the females had the stronger side…

"Ichika no ecchi," she replied with a wide smile.

"B-But going back to what we've been doing lately… I guess we're just passing time."

"How about your father Charlotte?" Laura asked moving on.

"He's well. The Dunois company shut down recently so he's been managing the aftershock of it. I was thinking of visiting him sometime. He has not seen Madoka yet."

"Well that's good. Ah yes, the Instructor sends her regards Ichika."

Orimura Chifuyu went back to the military after they had graduated, which made her wonder if the only reason she was teaching in the first place was to look after Ichika. When she really did return Charlotte knew that there were still battles ahead that she needed to overcome.
The strongest last boss.

"Is this what I think this is?"

Rin pulled down a banded photo album from the book shelf and Charlotte felt a sudden wave of self consciousness.

"A photo album? How rustic," Cecilia commented.

"Let's have a look shall we?" Laura said.

Rin put the album in between them on the small table. The first few pictures were tame enough, the beginning of the school year at IS Academy where she had first entered as a guy. The next bunch were of their summer holiday. Houki grinned at the landscapes of Hakone.

"Hey I just realised, is that me in the background?" Rin said pointing at the red blur in one of the pictures.

"Yes, that orange spot above is me. Remember that?" Charlotte said.

"Yeah… I never repaid you for that," she said punching her lightly on the arm.

The next few pictures were of China, Germany, London and lastly France.
But there was a clear disparity of the frequency of photos.

"Why were there only three pictures of London but over one hundred of France? I don't think you properly appreciated the beauty of England," Cecilia said.

"Well maybe if someone didn't kidnap him, he would have taken more pictures," Rin said.

"That's not fair!"

"Sounds fair to me."

"Houki! You're supposed to be on my side."

The others laughed and they continued to talk about how crazy those two weeks had been. Charlotte felt content as she listened to each of her friends bicker and argue, just like before. They had all stayed close, nothing had changed. Ichika returned with a glass of water for everyone, giving her a light kiss on the head.

This was the life that she always wanted, but even so she felt afraid.
She was always uneasy when in happiness.
Because it was so easy to lose it.

"Relax Charl, enjoy yourself," he whispered.

A super husband, that would be the best way to describe him. Childish, innocent and pure, but at the same time stubborn, strong headed and earnest in his tasks. It had taken a while to convince him that she would take over the cooking duties, otherwise she truly felt like she was doing nothing throughout the day. After her children were old enough, she was determined to find a job so that she did not put too much financial strain on Ichika.
There was only so many gifts that she could accept from both her father and Ichika's sister.

It was nearing the early hours of the morning when they had left. Laura promising to safely deliver the drunk Rin and Cecilia back to the near hotel. Houki had stayed a bit longer to tell them of her sister's words of congratulations and how she stopped her from coming because she would have been too excitable.

"We're alone again huh?"

"Well Madoka is just upstairs Charl. She might wake up soon, so we should really go upstairs."

"Just a little longer here Ichika."

They sat on the floor next to the dying embers. A single blanket covered them both, and she leaned onto his shoulder. Their fingers touched, and quickly held on to each other both sighing with fatigue.

"It's a good thing they didn't find the other scrapbook," she said.

"This scrapbook?"

He pulled out a wooden photo album from the table drawer within arms distance away.

"Y-yes that one."

"There's nothing too weird though."

He opened and flipped through various pictures of herself. They were taken in the Summer Mayhem, but the embarrassing fact was that most of them were selfies.

"I mean I'm really glad you took these. You look great in a yukata Charl."

She blushed as he continued to flip through them.

"A-and this poodle outfit too…"

Charlotte slammed the book closed.
That was enough reminiscing for the both of them.

"Ichika don't tease me."

"I think you would look great in it still."

It was true that her physique was still slim, but having grown taller she felt that when she took off her clothes that her body proportions were slightly irregular. Ichika said that he saw nothing wrong but it dented her confidence.

"Maybe if you impress me enough you'll see me wear it again."

"Impress?"

"Y-You were really impressive yesterday… by the door."

She blushed and could feel his temperature also rise. They would still tread about this subject lightly as if they knew no better. But it was this platonic aspect that she treasured so dearly, that every time they kissed, touched, loved, it brought butterflies to her stomach.

"Charl, I might just close my eyes for a few minutes."

He looked tired. His day at work must have been long, and she knew how much the other girls wore him out. Charlotte felt a wave of protection towards him and pulled his head down so it rested on her thighs.

"Sleep as long as you want dear. I will stay with you."

"Then, ten minutes," he whispered already voice far away. She lightly stroked his head as his breathing deepened and his eyes closed. Charlotte couldn't help but chuckle when she noticed that he was still wearing his tie loyally.

"Ten minutes is not nearly long enough," she whispered. He didn't reply and she leaned down to kiss his forehead. They still had a long life ahead of them. Filled with struggles, filled with obstacles. But as long as they were together, they would be fine.

Before, she had to run to catch up to him.
Now that they were together they were resting peacefully.
But it was almost time to start the running once more. There were still things that they would want to achieve in the future, dreams that would surface through time. They were still young, but at this moment she was content.

"Goodnight Ichika."

"…I love you too," he whispered with a smile.

Beautifully content