New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Violette tried both sides of the pizza, liking both and eating more than was reasonable for a kid her size. She chirped and hummed happily as she devoured enough pizza to put Alex to shame.

He could only laugh, as he watched her stuff her face full. He smiled, picking up his plate and cleaning it.

He never had siblings, so this was the closest he felt to it, and he had to say. He didn't hate the feeling at all.

"Urgh… I'm so full."

"Hahaha. You brought that on yourself. Maybe show some restraint next time? You were shoving food inside your mouth like a squirrel. It was almost comical."

"But it was so good," she whined.

"I know. Just make sure you don't get a tummy ache. To help, we will go take a walk around the block, make the food go down."

Violette nodded, her face full of pizza sauce.

"Come here."

She walked over to Alexander, who grabbed a soft cloth and washed her face. Violette's cheeks flushed, but she didn't fight back.

"Thank you…" she meekly said once he was done.

Alex only smiled. He finished cleaning up the kitchen, storing what was left of lunch in the fridge, and washing the dishes.

With that done, he grabbed a notepad.

"Here. Write down the food you like, and food you would like to try, and we'll go do some groceries later."

"Okay."

Violette took the pen and pad and started writing down some foods she knew she liked. Then she started adding meals she wanted to try.

Alexander read the things she wrote down and started sweating. All the meals she noted were high-class things that he had never made.

'What did I get myself into?' he thought with despair.

He hadn't thought things through by asking her that. Of course, she would like high-class meals.

She was raised in a rich family, after all. Her meals were probably always cooked by chefs.

Luckily for him, the ones she wanted to try were things that were much more common. Things he was more confident about cooking.

Violette filled the whole page out, before Alexander took the notepad away from her.

"That should be enough for now! We don't know how long you will be staying, so let's not get ahead of ourselves."

Violette smiled, putting the pen on the table. He looked up ingredients for a few of the meals on the list before telling her to get ready to leave.

The pair got ready for their short trip and entered the elevator together. On the way down, the girl was happily humming, while dancing in place a bit.

She seemed very excited to go see a part of the city. Yet another sign of how sheltered she had been raised.

They exited the elevator, Alex nodding his head at the receptionists as they traversed the hall, and left the building. He knew of a nice little grocery store not far away, and that was where he wanted to go.

He grabbed Violette's hand, her cheeks flushing again. But he was doing it for safety reasons.

This was the city, and you could never be too careful. A moment of inattention and she could end up in the street, or worse, kidnaped.

Alexander started walking up the street, dragging along Violette, whose head kept snapping in different directions, taking in all the hustle and bustle of the busy city.

It was barely the afternoon, so there was a lot of foot traffic. And paired with it, many street performers, trying to win their bread with their various skills.

The grocery was only three blocks away, and they made it there in minutes. It was a small local shop, with very little space in it, but the quality was always good.

Which also meant it was chock full of people almost all around the clock.

Alex grabbed a small handbasket and started walking down the aisles. He picked up some of the ingredients he saw from his earlier research, and others he thought might make a good meal too.

Violette occasionally asked the names of a few things she hadn't seen before and even asked to try some. The store owners were an old couple, and seeing her ask to try some fruits and vegetables, they happily said yes.

They found it adorable, but Alexander quickly understood their thought process. They probably thought Violette was his daughter.

He didn't want to contradict their thoughts, but it also made him slightly uncomfortable.

'Do I look old enough to have a child her age?'

He tried thinking about something else as they trawled across the store, grabbing what they needed before cashing out.

The old lady smiled at him while bagging his items.

"Your daughter is adorable, young man."

"Oh! She's not my daughter. She's my little sister," he lied.

"Well, that is even more lovely. It's quite rare nowadays siblings that get along this well."

"Thank you, I guess…?"

Violette stayed silent, looking at him from the corner of her eye, a grin on her lips. He noticed her face, and thought, 'Oh you little devil.'

After paying for the food, Alexander grabbed Violette's hand again before walking out of the store. They walked back to the penthouse, taking a different route this time, so she could see more of the city.

On their way, Alex gave her a lecture about how it was bad to lie to people, and that she put him in a tough spot that forced him to lie. She simply smiled at him wide, acting all innocent.

While they were walking back, Alex's phone rang in his vest pocket. He had his hands full with the bags in one hand, and Violette in the other, so he looked at the girl.

"Can you check who it is for me?"

He then twisted himself so she could reach inside the pocket. Violette grabbed the phone and looked at the screen.

"It's from Kary. Who's Kary?"

"I need to answer that. Can you grab the grocery bag for me?"

Instead of grabbing the bag, the girl picked up the call.

"Hello! This is Alexander's phone. Who is this?"

"Violette?!" came phoenix's voice from the other side of the call.

"Phoenix?!"

Violette turned to Alex with a sly smile.

'God dammit…'