Sanctuary Agency

〘Date: 2/9 - Saturday〙

〘Time: 2:10 PM〙

〘Location: Texas, San Antonio - Trinity Creek〙

A few hours went by since the mission, my body finally recovered completely from its pain and tension. I began to slowly wake up, feeling the familiar sensation of a soft, fluffy mattress beneath me.

Opening my eyes, I began to look around, the familiar sights all coming back to view. I sat up on my bed, noticing I was home. I slowly pushed myself off my bed, walking toward one of the shelves of pictures and picked one up.

'Dad...' I thought to myself, staring at the only picture I had with my father on my 7th birthday.

I slowly set the picture down then picked up another, a beautifully framed picture of a baby photo of myself with my mom. I couldn't take my eyes off the picture, the feeling of nostalgia washing over me.

Looking around once again, my gaze searched each photo upon the shelf, each picture a different moment in my life before the move here to Texas. I set the picture down, letting out a soft exhale and leaned against a small night stand.

A soft knock sounded on my door, the door cracking open enough for a head to peek through. I looked at the door, noticing Daphne checking in on me. I gave her a smile and chuckled softly, getting off the nightstand.

Daphne smiled back at me, walking into my room and closing the door behind herself. "I see you're finally away, The Ace..~"

"Yeah, yeah," I sassed playfully, letting out a soft chuckle and making my way toward my bed to sit down.

Daphne walked toward my bed as well, taking a seat next to me, her shoulder touching mine. "How was it..? The mission.."

I glanced down at my hands, bits and pieces of the mission playing vividly in my head, specifically my near death and The Fortune. Daphne noticed me spacing out a bit, giving me a gentle nudge on my shoulder.

I snapped out of my trance, glancing at Daphne and suddenly remembered her question. I gave her a warm smile and sighed heavily, looking over at the photo shelf across the room. "It was probably as alright as you could think of it being for my first mission..."

"You don't sound particularly proud of yourself. Eliza and Desiree basically were praising you to Mama and Miss Whitney. Was it that bad..?" Daphne asked, her gaze softening with a hint of concern, her hand finding its way on mine.

I glanced down at our hands, placing my other hand on top of hers, holding it with a gentle yet firm grip. "My life of normalcy...that dream is now over in a sense. This mission opened my eyes in more ways than I wanted and...I'm scared."

"I'm scared of failing all of you, letting you all down. I'm supposed to be a prodigy like our sister and Moji Alaka'i, Leilani or even our Golden Light, Adrianna...and yet I ran for 12 years after the attack," I continued, my tone softening with guilt.

"That attack was not your fault...and what happened to Miss Whitney wasn't your fault either. You were only seven or eight years old, there was only so much you could do," Daphne replied, her grip on my hand tightening.

"And yet, I feel like there was something more I could've done... instead of running away and making my sister take my place..." I said, my voice finally trailing off into silence.

A bit of silence hung between us, the few last word of mine fading away into our minds. Daphne shifted on the bed, leaning closer to me and leaning her head upon my shoulder.

"If that's how you feel, you can make that change now. You can do more now...and redeem yourself. After all, there can only be one Destiny's Hero," Daphne said softly, looking up at me with a gentle smile.

I looked down at her, meeting her gaze and locking onto it. I gave her a soft nose exhale, my lips curling into a warm smile. "I know that..."

"You better...or else you'll have a lot of explaining to do via prayer..~" Daphne teased lightly, burying her face into the crook of my neck.

I rolled my eyes at her, slightly leaning back on my bed to get more comfortable, feeling Daphne's soft lips brushing against my skin. I closed my eyes and tilted my head a bit, giving her slightly more access to my neck.

Daphne softly purred at my gesture, her kisses slowly beginning to gradually intensify. What started as soft brushing, now became deeper kisses and soft nibbles along my skin. She began to trail her hot kisses up my neck to my cheek.

Each of her kisses seemed to land in all the right spots, soft hums of enjoyment sounding in my throat, light rushed of pleasure coursing through my veins. Soon, her kisses began to near my lips slowly, her hand slowly guiding up to my chest.

I opened my eyes slightly, meeting her gaze as she slowly pushed me back. I sat back on my elbows and gently held her hand. "C'mon...not at my mother's house. She likes things to be light around here.."

Daphne giggled softly and leaned over me to plant a soft kiss upon my lips. "I know...I just wanna give you a taste of how much I love you, sassy pants..~"

I smiled at her and gently nudged her head, letting out a pleased hum. "I love you too, annoying chef..~"

〔Charisma/Lust/Empathy/Flirtation EXP +130〕

〔Daphne's Affection for you increased to 75%〕

〔Bond with Daphne greatly increased.〕

The two of us shared one last kiss before deciding to get up and making our way to the living room where the others were. Along the way, we casually flirted and teased one another, our teasing evolving into playful nudging and touches.

Desiree heard our soft laughter in the distance, turning her gaze and noticing the two of us walking into the room. "And here's the man of the hour~"

I smiled at Desiree, rolling my eyes at her then took a seat on the couch next to my mother. "Yeah, and all of that just to get a B+ in grading."

"The Agency's grading system is very strict. Only few agents come back with S Rank gradings, and Desiree holds the record for the highest grading currently," Eliza explained, taking a sip of her red wine with a soft hum.

"Looking at S+ over here~ Yep, my run as The Ace was generational. I was kicking ass and taking names for four years straight," Desiree boasted, wearing her pride on her shoulders with a proud grin, her hands resting behind her head.

Chloe let out a soft giggle, sitting back in her seat and glancing over at Desiree. "It's nice to know that Char is taking good care of you all. I remember when she was just the leader of her mafia. Now she's got an entire agency~"

"As Charlotte would say, 'She made it out of the mud'. Yet, we still have much work to do. The Syndicates are such tiring pieces of work..." Eliza said with mock exasperation, her wing extending to hold her glass.

"Yeah right, you have the second highest kill count in the agency, and you actively express your enjoyment for bloodshed," I said, glancing over at Eliza with a side eye.

Eliza laughed softly at my comment, her gaze shifting over to me with a gleam of affection. "Mmm, you know me so well, my love..~"

〔Eliza has become more infatuated with you...〕

I shuddered at the notification, shaking my head and exhaling softly. 'I definitely don't need a notification for that..'

Whitney smiled warmly, looking over at me and wrapped her arm gently around my shoulder, pulling me into her maternal embrace. "My baby is turning out to be just like his dad..~"

I grunted softly from her tight squeeze, my cheeks heating up with slight embarrassment. "Mom..."

Whitney giggled softly, leaning down to kiss the top of my head. "Listen, Sunshine...Remember to relax and take a break from time to time. Reward yourself in a way you want to. You don't have to be on the battlefield all the time. I do want you to get your degree as well."

"Didn't you say as a kid you wanted to be the King of a University like your dad one day?~ Well, become that King. But for now, reward yourself and have some fun~" Whitney said, ruffling my hair lightly and poked my side.

My body jolted from her poke, my hand covering my mouth to keep in my laughter. "You...didn't need to poke me.."

Whitney's lips stretched into a mischievous grin, her body leaning closer toward mine. "Looks like someone's still ticklish till this day..~"

"Wait, don't do that, I'm over here," Daphne laughed lightly, scooting over on the couch to evade getting caught in the crossfire.

"Let's see you try to resist being tickled!" Whitney laughed, delivering an onslaught of tickles upon my most ticklish areas.

I tried everything in my power to stop her, only to be reduced to a fit of laughter and squirms. The others watched and laughed along, Desiree taking out her phone to record the moment. It had been a while since I laughed this hard, my laughter causing the Love Sigil upon my mother's chest to glow.

Whitney finally stopped tickling me, catching her breath from laughing and wiping her tears. "Goodness, it's been so long since I've laughed this much."

"Glad my sacrifice was worth it..." I said with my signature sass and sarcasm, sitting up on the couch to catch my breath from laughing.

We all continued to hangout together in the living room, each of us in our own conversations with one another. It felt really nice just being in moments of normalcy like these, to just relax and not have to stress about the outside world.

After some time passed, Daphne and I had been whispering to each other for a while, debating on if we should head out or not. Suddenly, Daphne got out of my arms, standing up and pulling me up off the couch.

"Mama, Miss Whitney, Ry and I are gonna head out~" Daphne said in a singsong tone, a mischievous twinkle sparkling in her eyes.

Chloe and Whitney knew the glint in her eyes all too well, the two of them glancing at each other then letting out soft laughs. I glanced at the two, raising an eyebrow at them.

"You two aren't fooling anyone around here, partners~ I might be an airhead, but I can read between the lines well...Go ahead, it is a Friday and I know you two have some bonding to do," Chloe said, her tone filled with playfulness and tease.

"Right, bonding, okay~" Desiree laughed softly, her face still buried in her phone as she scrolled through her social medias. "Hannah once told me, there's a difference between close and close...~"

I rolled my eyes at Desiree, grabbing Daphne's hand and making my way toward the front door. "Whatever. I'm gonna tell Paris to cut ties with you.."

Desiree bursted out laughing, falling over on the couch and held her stomach. "Oh gosh, Paris and Hannah are gonna love this one!"

"We're leaving, bye!" I called out, quickly slipping out the front door with Daphne and quickly shut the door.

"Aww~ For a guy who can keep his cool, he gets flustered really easily," Eliza giggled softly, going back to filing her nails.

"Mmm, you just gotta know what buttons to really push~ I'll tell you how to get the best reactions from him," Desiree playfully plotted, glancing at Eliza and feigning a houndish grin.

"No, no, you are not doing that to your brother," Whitney laughed, throwing a pillow over at Desiree.

"Okay, okay," Desiree squealed, holding her hands up to block the pillow, letting out panicked laughs.

〘Date: 2/9 - Saturday〙

〘Time: 3:25 PM〙

〘Location: Texas, Austin - Oceanview City〙

Daphne hopped out of my car with excitement, excitedly waiting for me to get out. I stepped out of my car, fixing my jacket and turned around to meet Daphne's bubbly gaze, a soft chuckle escaping my lips.

"C'mon!~ I wanna get there before the sales end," Daphne urged, slightly bouncing upon her toes and looking at me with a bright expression.

"Chill, we're gonna make it, Daph," I said, shaking my head and chuckling, walking around the car to take Daphne's hand.

The two of us began to make our way toward Oceanview Mall, mainly for Daphne since her favorite kitchen store was doing their weekly weekend clearance sales on all cooking equipment. This was important for Daphne since she still had her ongoing cooking series going, and she needed the best equipment at all times.

Entering inside the mall, we were met with the familiar sounds of lively chatter amongst friends and families alike and the corporate music playing upon the speakers. At the center of the mall, a large fountain lied, its waters flowing like a calm waterfall.

Daphne peeked inside the fountain, noticing coins laying upon the floor of the fountain, a warm smile playing on her lips. "Remember when we used to make wishes by tossing coins in here as kids?"

I looked into the fountain as well, noticing the rippling image of the coins inside, letting out a light chuckle. "Yeah, although none of our grand wishes back then would come true. I'm sure you're still wishing for that unicorn, huh?"

Daphne scoffed playfully at me, rolling her eyes and reaching into her pocket for a coin. "And I am, thank you very much. One day, my wish will come true and I'll have a beautiful unicorn in my backyard!"

〔Phroa: I mean, it's not a far-fetched wish to make.〕

I rolled my eyes at Phroa's comment, watching as Daphne pulled a coin out of her purse with a pleased hum. She grinned at me, flashing the coin in her hand in my face, sticking her tongue out. I simply smiled at her, waiting for her to toss her coin in.

Daphne kissed her dime, closing her eyes and tossing it into the fountain. Soon, she opened her eyes and looked at me again, nudging me with her elbow. "Your turn!~"

"Seriously?" I asked, glancing at her with a raised eyebrow.

Daphne nodded, looking up at me with a gaze of expectancy, waiting for me to make a wish as well. "I know there's something you wish for."

I let out a soft exhale, glancing at the fountain again, a few main wishes coming into mind. With a reluctant sigh, I reached into my pocket, Phroa converting .25 of my Credi to manifest a quarter into my hand.

I pulled out the quarter and looked at it, its silver coat shimmering with the light. I closed my eyes, squeezing the quarter gently in the palm of my hand before tossing it into the fountain.

〔Luck EXP +50〕

Daphne watched the water ripple as my quarter landed inside the fountain, shifting he gaze toward me. "Sooo..~ What did you wish for?"

I looked at Daphne, giving her a secretive smile and shrugged my shoulders. "If I said what I wished for, it wouldn't come true now would it?"

"Touché..~" Daphne giggled softly, turning away from the fountain. "Alright, let's head to Heaven's Kitchen for my supplies. I plan to make a new video today as well."

I followed beside Daphne, the wish I made still lingering in my mind. Though I knew my wish wasn't guaranteed to be granted, making a wish after so long felt nice, a sense of new hope washing over me.

〔Phroa: Hey, Master! Since you're on this date with Daphne, should I register her?〕

I looked down at my phone, noticing Phroa's excited gaze to register a new romantic partner into my system then turned my gaze to Daphne, who was talking to herself about what she needed for her next video. I contemplated it in my head for a while, weighing my odds about pursuing Daphne.

'I guess the vibes were always gonna lead here... Alright, go ahead. I'm locking it in,' I replied to Phroa mentally, glancing down at my phone again.

〔Phroa: Perfect!~ Alright, I'm going to gather the data now!〕

〔Daphne's Analysis〕

Name: Daphne Wise

Age: 19

Birthday: March 21st

Status: Crush

Bond: 80%

Occupation: Oceanview University Student, Cooking Influencer

Preferred Gift(s): Cooking Equipment, Home Decorations, Flowers

Preferred Trait: Passion/Charisma

Hobby: Creating Recipes

Favorite Hangout: Heaven's Kitchen

I scanned through the information Phroa gathered, and though I already knew everything there was to know about Daphne, it was nice to have an occasional reminder just in case. 'Alright, thank you, Phroa. I got it from here...'

〔Phroa: Alrighty!~〕

Daphne looked up from her phone, noticing we were at Heaven's Kitchen and hummed with delight. "And here we are! It's gonna be a quick trip so don't worry."

"Nah, take your time. I don't mind, I don't have anything else going on," I said, slipping my phone back into my pocket.

Daphne smiled happily at my response, happily pulling me into the beautiful, white building with her. "If that's the case, we can do a little window-shopping then~"

The two of us entered the store together, our quick in and out trip turning into a leisurely shopping moment for us. The store was quite busy at the moment, chefs and cooking enthusiasts alike looking forward to the sales that were taking place.

I grabbed a shopping cart, pushing it along with us and followed behind Daphne, looking around the store at all of the various equipment around. The store lived up to its name, a paradise for those who enjoyed the art of cooking.

Along the walls sat large, luxury refrigerators, stoves, and even a few luxury tables on display. The selves were filled with pots, pans, plates, and other utensils of various colors and designs. The store had every aesthetic to fit any one desire and needs.

"Oh, Ry, look at this," Daphne gasped, picking up a home decoration off the display table.

I looked at the item in her hand, tilting my head slightly with curiosity. It was a pink ornate vase with an interesting yellow design all around the body. Upon looking at the design, I immediately thought it was ugly.

"I dunno...that is kinda ugly," I said, leaning against the handle of the cart slightly.

Daphne laughed lightly at my small judgement, glancing over at me. "C'mon, it's not that ugly. It's kinda cute."

"I'm just saying, that shit will stick out like a sore thumb in your videos," I said with a soft chuckle, watching her place the vase in the cart.

"Well, luckily you aren't the one buying it," Daphne playfully retorted, sticking her tongue out at me and continued around the store with a hum of victory.

I couldn't help but to laugh softly, pushing the cart once again to follow behind her. I decided to let her have this verbal victory for now, knowing her mind was set on buying the vase for decoration. "Yeah, alright.."

We continued around the store together, looking around and picking out some supplies that would work with the aesthetic Daphne wanted for her videos. While we shopped, I decided to pick out a few items I thought she'd like, each item I picked met with glee from Daphne.

After a while, we decided to call it and head toward the front of the store to check out. I decided to pay for everything with the Credi I had saved up, Phroa helping out by converting a bit of Credi into physical money into my account.

Once all of our items were paid for, Daphne and I left the store together, her arm wrapped around mine as we began to march our way toward the entrance.

"Thank you for buying everything for me..~ I definitely should repay you for it," Daphne hummed, looking up at me with an intimate gaze and smiled sweetly at me.

I chuckled softly at her, looking down to meet her eyes. "You don't have to repay me. Seeing your smile is payment enough.."

Daphne purred softly at my charming response, leaning up to kiss my cheek. "Mmm, now you're really getting a reward once we make it back to my house..~"

My eyes shimmered with a subtle excitement, her gentle kiss spreading a delightful warmth through my body. "I wonder what this reward could be..~"

Daphne giggled softly at my response, continuing to hold my arm as we walked out of the mall together with her loot in tow. We made it to my car and packed the bags in my trunk then got into the car so we could head to Daphne's house.

〔Charisma EXP +200〕

〔Daphne's Affection for you increased to 80%〕

〔Bond with Daphne increased.〕

〘Date: 2/9 - Saturday〙

〘Time: 3:55 PM〙

〘Location: Texas, Austin - Bonnell Falls〙

I smoothly turned into Daphne's driveway, parking my car and stepping out with her to grab the bags from the trunk while Daphne went to unlock the front door. Once I grabbed all the bags, I began to carry them inside the house, closing the door behind us and following Daphne to the kitchen.

I sat the bags down on the table and glanced around the kitchen, noticing it was all set up for Daphne to record later. "So, when do you plan on recording?"

"Maybe sometime around 4:30, somewhere around that time frame. In the meantime...~" Daphne answered, sauntering over toward me and placing her hand on top of mine. "We finally have a bit of alone time..~ How about that little reward I mentioned..?"

I smiled at Daphne, meeting her gaze directly and decided to go along with her plan. "Alright, let me have my reward.."

Daphne grabbed my hand, leading me out of the kitchen and into the living room, each of her steps met with excitement and purpose. Once we made it inside the living room, she pushed me down on the couch.

I grunted softly as I fell back onto the couch, feeling her straddle me and wrap her arms around my nape. I placed my hands upon her thighs, slowly and gently rubbing them. "Hey...I want to ask something really quick.."

"What's up..?" Daphne asked softly, looking deeply into my eyes and gently ran her fingers through strands of my hair.

I contemplated on how I should ask the question, thinking of my words carefully. "I've just been thinking, ever since yesterday when we reconnected...it was like we were never apart to begin with and I like being close to you.."

Daphne listened to my words, a knowing smile playing on her lips. "This is about us being... half-siblings, isn't it..?"

"Don't take it the wrong way, it's just..." I began, letting out a soft exhale and meeting Daphne's gaze again. "I don't want anyone to view you differently...the woman who's dating her half-brother.."

Daphne smiled sweetly at me, leaning down to kiss my lips gently, casting away any doubts that could've lingered between us. "Ryder...sure the facts are facts, we are half siblings through Daddy, but I've always seen you as more of a brother to me..."

"Ever since we first met and spent a majority of middle and high school together, I've always seen you as my closest friend, my motivation...my ambition. My love for you runs deeper than just blood and familial ties...I don't care if we share the same father, my heart still bleeds for you constantly," Daphne finished, pouring her heart out with every word she spoke.

I listened to her confession, my heart immediately warming from her honesty and her bravery to step into a lane that would be socially unaccepted. My lips curled into a soft smile, my gaze never breaking from hers. "I guess I can say that we took 'keep it in the family' to another level..~"

Daphne giggled softly at my joke, leaning forward to close the small gap between us. "Mhm...and now that's been cleared up, shall we..?~"

I nodded, leaning forward to press my lips against hers, stealing an intimate kiss from her. Daphne kissed back with equal fervor, her fingers tangling in my hair with deep passion. Our bodies began to gradually heat up the more intense our kissing became, our hunger for each other gradually intensifying.

I pulled away from the kiss slowly, wrapping my arms around her waist and leaned forward to kiss her neck. Daphne tilted her head back, gasping softly with pleasure as I planted a series of kisses along the sensitive areas of her skin.

She softly whispered my name, her hips slowly grinding along mine in effort to seek friction between our bodies. "A little...lower...just—mmph..!~ Right...there.."

I began to kiss the most pleasurable part of her neck, each kiss landing it's mark perfectly and sending waves of satisfaction throughout her entire body. Daphne couldn't help but to slowly be reduced to a beautiful mess of soft moans and whimpers, her body continuing to move on its own to seek pleasure.

Our moment of passion only continued to rise, my hands instinctively finding their way to the button on her pants, my action only exciting Daphne even more. The two of us shared another kiss with one another, our impatience to exhibit our lust and passion only rising.

Suddenly, a classical ringtone began to sound off while we were in the middle of kissing, Daphne's phone vibrating against my leg from her back pocket. Desiree broke the kiss with a frustrated groan, taking her phone out of her back pocket to see who was calling her.

Once she realized who was calling, she gasped and fixed herself immediately, glancing at me while fixing her hair. "It's Mama, hold on.."

I nodded, watching as she answered the call from Chloe. Daphne began to talk with her mother, laying her head against my shoulder and closing her eyes. Chloe mainly called to check up on us since it had been two hours since we left from my mom's house.

After confirming with Chloe that we were okay, she finally hung up and checked the time on her screen. She pushed herself up and looked at me with a warm smile. "Well, I should get started on preparing for the video..~ And I promise, one of these days...you will get your proper reward from me~"

I chuckled softly as I watched her get off me, resting my arm along the back of the couch. "I'm sure you'll figure out a way. Until then...I'm alright playing the long game with you."

Daphne smirked at me, biting her bottoms lip and giggled softly at me. "Me too..~"

I watched as she walked off toward the kitchen, my eyes gleaming with a mix of love and unwavering desire for her. My heart began to beat harder against my chest, a sensation I haven't felt since I was little returning within slowly.