Getting Jal and Lily settled into their new home was going better than Oliver expected- though it wasn't without its share of surprises. He pretty much left picking out a bed to Jal and the women, as he really had no idea what would be best for the young girl.

He was a little surprised at her instantly passing on the bunk beds, even after Rosalita's comments about how great it would be for if she had friends stay over, or if she got a younger sibling at some point in the future- and that statement came with a not-so-subtle look aimed at Oliver that was impossible to misunderstand.

"Too much like the bunks on the ship." Was Jal's only answer, which he understood. While she had some good memories on a ship, most of those were while sharing a cabin with him and Poli- her experiences on the other ship being much less pleasant, even if they weren't all bad.

What she did end up settling on was a large canopy bed, with a dark wood frame... and pink curtains- she said it made her feel like a princess.

It made his little princess happy, and that was reason enough for him to buy it.

Going clothes shopping the following day was another experience, one that made Oliver thankful for both Poli and her mom. Being very much a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy, he would have been absolutely lost otherwise- doubly so because they were shopping for women's clothes.

The difference in style between Polina, Lily, and Jal was almost jarring for him. Like him, Poli tended towards a casual look: jeans and shirts mostly, though she occasionally wore more athletic clothing- he was especially fond of the yoga pants, though those were a rare treat.

Lily was incredibly uncomfortable with the idea of wearing pants- likely a holdover from her home culture, though she didn't really explain it to him- and instead she seemed to gravitate more towards dresses, especially those that were loose and flowing. It was a rather simple, but elegant style for her... Though she took a bit of offense at being told that finding clothes that fit her required visiting a specialized store for the 'big and tall'...

Jal's particular style...

The words that came to Oliver's mind were 'punk princess'; the girl seemed almost obsessed with black and pink: pink skirts, black leather jackets, tiaras and skulls... Thankfully, they were able to talk her out of getting the spiked dog collar, as he felt that would have been a bit too much for a girl her age...

And, since they were about to go introduce her to his friends- her 'uncles', as she saw it- she had to be dressed up in her favorite outfit, complete with a frilly pink skirt, black leather jacket with a skull on the back, huge clunky knee high leather boots, and a sparkly tiara perched on top of her head.

And, of course, a pink t-shirt that read 'Little Princess'.

"Everyone ready to go?" Oliver asked, sweeping his gaze from the statuesque princess in a yellow sundress to his punk princess daughter, a small smile on his face. "We're gonna grab donuts for breakfast on the way, ok?"

"Those are the pastries you mentioned, yes?" Lily asked as they head for the door. "And they do not actually have nuts, correct?"

"Well, some of then do- if you want nuts on them- but most don't." Poli answered for him as he locked the door. "There are actually so many different flavors and styles of donuts, it's crazy!"

Oliver chuckled softly, looking forward to their reactions to having donuts for the first time...

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Walking into the warehouse his charity was ran out of for the first time in a month, Oliver was already grinning at the thought of all the surprises he was about to drop- he hadn't told anyone here that they were back, wanting to surprise them all.

Of course, he also brought donuts for everyone- Poli was carrying two boxes, just for their small group, and he had his arms full of boxes of donuts for the rest of the workers.

Opening the door to the building, the first thing he saw when they stepped inside was Mrs. Mary talking to the secretary, Alice.

"Mr. Silk, Ms. Ramirez!" Mary smiled brightly as she laid eyes on the pair- though she glanced briefly at Lily and Jal, her curiosity evident. "Welcome back, sir! It's wonderful to see you again!"

"Hi Mrs. Mary." Polina responded happily. "It's good to see you again, too. How have things been while we were away?"

"Things have been going well, I would say. There were a few situations that required us to mobilize, but they were mostly smaller things- small for us, I should say; I don't want to minimize the struggles and loss of the people involved." Her eyes flitted briefly to the unknown woman and girl in the room before locking on to Oliver. "I hope the bundle of clothes you requested was what you were looking for, Mr. Silk; We did the best we could on such short notice."

"It was perfect, Mrs. Mary... Though, maybe you could just call me 'Oliver'? Being called 'Mr. Silk' all the time just feels weird." Oliver answered slowly, still not fully comfortable talking to Mrs. Mary- he didn't know why, but something about the kindly older woman always made him feel like the awkward weird kid again. After a few seconds of silence passed, the hidden question in her words finally registered and he smiled awkwardly. "Ah, where are my manners?"

"This is Mrs. Mary, she helps Tyrone run everything here, and behind the desk is Alice, one of our employees that makes sure things run smooth- both good people." He introduced the two to his new family members before taking a deep breath- while he was looking forward to surprising his friends, he knew that this particular introduction was the harder one.

His friends would accept and support him no matter what, but Mrs. Mary was still pretty unknown to him- and she played a big part in running things.

"And this..." He spoke slowly as he pulled Lily forward. "This is Lily..."

"Our girlfriend." Pol spoke into his hesitation, smirking at Oliver's blush- she wasn't about to hide who they were, and if any of the employees had a problem with it... Well, she wasn't sure what they would do, but she certainly wasn't going to tolerate any bullshit about their relationship.

"Yeah, our girlfriend." Oliver smiled awkwardly up at the statuesque woman, though he pulled her into a one armed hug. "I'm still getting used to saying that..."

Alice and Mrs. Mary looked surprised for a moment, though both recovered quickly and welcomed her warmly.

"And this little bundle of energy that looks like she's about to explode-" He gestured to Jal, who promptly bounced forward to stand beside him. "Is our daughter, Jal. Say hi to Mrs. Mary and Alice-"

"Hello!" Jal cut in before he could even finish, earning an amused chuckle from everyone present.

"Oh, aren't you precious!" Mrs Mary positively beamed at the adorable child. There was clearly a story there, but she wasn't one to pry- though it was easy enough to guess at a glance that they adopted the girl while they were away. "It's a pleasure to meet you both!"

"Dad brought donuts!" Jal added suddenly, gesturing to the boxes. "He said he wanted to thank everyone for working hard!"

"That is very nice of him." Mary said kindly, turning her gaze to her boss- technically, her boss's boss, but her and Tyrone acted more like partners in running the charity anyway. "If you want, Mr. Si- I mean, Oliver, you can leave those with me and I will take them to the break room before letting everyone know. I'm sure you're eager to see your friends..."

"They're in Mr. Biggs' office, by the way."

"We appreciate that, Mrs. Mary." Polina spoke for them as Oliver carefully set the stack of donut boxes on the desk. "We'll be sure to swing by and chat more later."

While his friends were surprised when he threw open the door, Oliver wasn't surprised by their reaction. Four voices shouting his name almost simultaneously as they all stood up, only for all eyes to turn to the tall – and incredibly beautiful- woman that followed immediately behind him.

Their slack-jawed expressions were nearly comical to him.

"Hey guys, we're back!" He said into the silent room, humor- and a touch of smugness- in his voice. "And we brought back some surprises!"

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