The bubbling of the pot came down to a quiet simmer as the flame was extinguished, steam pouring out as the lip was lifted. A pair of excited squeals could be hear in the living room, the wonderful sound of the same kids' show being played on the television for the thirteenth time accompanying them. Despite the noise, Fiona Corona hummed softly to herself as she lifted the pot with gloved hands and took it to the dining room table. Setting it down, she removed her gloves as she wiped the sweat off her forehead, although she let out a small gasp of surprise as her son ran straight into her leg and sitting on her bare feet. After six years of that habit, she was no longer toppling over, though it was still surprising, moreso when his little sister decided to mimic her older brother and cling onto her other leg.

Letting out a sigh, Fiona looked down at them and put on a fake scowl. "[color=red]And what are you two up to?[/color]" She asked, trying to copy the voice of a grouch she saw on one of the shows they liked to watch.

Her daughter, Sarah, happily babbled nonsense as a response, her excitement over taking her and robbing her ability to string together a coherent sentence. It was at that moment the family dog, their shiba inu Hokey (as Caleb had lovingly named him) began to bark. The three stopped in their movement, and two seconds later the kids released their mother and ran to the front door, chanting "Daddy's home!" as they ran to greet him. 

As Aster opened the door, his two children would tackle his legs. Being much sturdier, he took it in stride, though was decidedly less amused as they decided to cling to his legs, making walking a much harder task. Fiona bit her lower lip as she watched her exasperated husband, taking his briefcase and coat from him. "[color=red]Welcome home, darling,[/color]" She greeted him gently, hanging his coat in the closet.

"Glad to be home. This is payback for all the times I laughed whenever Caleb used to knock you over," He admitted defeat as he would carefully walk through the hall to the dining room. Scooping his son into his arms, Fiona would take Sarah and place her in her high chair. 

Once settled, the family began to eat, resuming the usual routine. Aster would ask how school went, Caleb would respond, Fiona would inform Aster of any issues, and dinner was had. It might have looked boring, but it was bliss for her. She loved how excited her children were to see their father, although she found it odd that Hokey kept barking. He probably saw something in the backyard, but his barking was relentless. Aster was telling her about his day, and as she listened, Hokey's barking got louder. Finally, they couldn't ignore it. Letting out a sigh, Aster would stand up. "He might have to go outside, I'll take him out," He said, patting Caleb's head as he walked past.

Fiona nodded, lightly dabbing Sarah's cheek clean. A familiar bell chimed, signaling a message on her phone. As she unlocked it, she raised her eyebrows as she read the message, unamused. Lily was drunk already, it seemed. As she opened the attachment, her eyes widened, and the immediately locked her phone as Aster returned. Why? Why now? She thought they were past all this!

"Everything alright?" Aster asked her as he reclaimed his seat.

Probably not considering her first instinct was to let out a groan, but she somehow kept it together. Putting on a smile, she walked over to her husband. "[color=red]It's a message from Lily, I better go make sure everything is alright,[/color]" She told him as she would take the plates from the table.

Aster frowned, though nodded. "Ah, did she get into another scuffle?" He asked understandingly.

Not yet. "[color=red]I'm not sure, there was something weird in her message, but I want to make sure everything is okay,[/color]" She admitted as she would walk to the kitchen, placing the dirty dishes in the sink. After walking back to the table, she placed a kiss on his cheek. "[color=red]I'll be right back.[/color]"

"Be careful out there!" Aster grinned as she would walk to the entrance of the house.

Slipping into her heels, she took her phone and wallet and stuffed them into the back pockets of her jeans. She really, really, [I]really[/I] hoped it was just Lily messing with her, maybe some sort of practical joke, but by the gods she knew it was real. Jumping into her small, compact car, she pulled out of the driveway and stepped on the pedal hard, zooming away.