Blending In

Good to see you all here today! Hope things have been going good for everyone, especially with the holiday season coming up.

Things are going great for the fic at least, if nothing else. Things are slowly coming up to some particularly juicy parts and I can't wait to get there, even if it will be pretty angsty. Then again, that's what some of you are here for.

Anyway, I'll see you all at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

Nazz knew this wasn't the greatest lead in the world, but it was the only one they've gotten in weeks. Clair had been really helpful in talking about what she knew, even if it wasn't much by at all. Other than the visit to the store and an apparent talk* that led nowhere afterward, knowing they passed through here.

Now what to do about actually knowing where they headed next...

The clattering of a food tray shut her thoughts down, causing her to focus her attention back on Kevin. He apparently did find the one Chinese place this mall's food court had, though it didn't have a wide selection.

"Bon Appetite, babe. Place looked half closed, but we actually got some decent orange chicken for once." Kevin snatched up an egg roll, not bothering to dip as he took a bite out of it. "Any idea on where you wanna go next?"

"I'm not sure if there is a next here. I think we're actually pretty close to finding the Ed's this time." Nazz put down her phone after updating her notes on their "investigation." If it had been a physical copy, it would've been a lengthy book at this point. "I know I've said that before, but I think it might be true this time."

"Are you sure? Things got pretty quiet after that New Orleans thing and we've only found small stuff until then." Kevin shrugged. He was just as invested in this but having been on the road so long was making him weary. Not to mention his extension on their "school project" was starting to run out. "I know we said we'd find them, but those dorks are apparently really good at covering their tracks."

"That just means we need to get better at finding them. Just because they're good doesn't mean they can't hide forever." Nazz sighed, picking out an eggroll for herself, making sure to actually use dip. Despite the determination, she was starting to get tired of this too. "I swear this'll be the last time. We just need to get to them here and we can head on back home."

Kevin frowned before shaking his head. He didn't say anything for a few moments before getting the courage to speak his mind. "You really think they'll be happy to see us?"

"Probably not. Doesn't mean we can stop now." Nazz wasn't expecting a happy conversation when they finally got to them, but it was worth the risk. "They deserve to know, especially Eddy. Maybe we can even convince them to come home if we can."

"Yeah, good luck with that. Ed might be good to have during football season, but he ain't coming back for that." The biker grabbed the soda he picked up, taking a long sip. "Any idea when that cousin of yours is going to get here?"

Nazz's phone buzzed, answering the question for her. She barely looked at it before getting up to wave over a couple milling about in the distance. "Lagoona, Gil, over here!"

Kevin gave a passing glance to the two that came up, noting nothing particularly abnormal. Lagoona, like the sporty blonde she was, ran up to hug Nazz with a smile while Gil hung back a little. The biker gave him a nod before getting back to his food, letting Nazz do the introductions.

"Been a real long time, Nazz. I keep telling ya' that you can call me, but you never do." Lagoona patted her cousin on the back, separating the hug with a playful frown. "Seriously, start calling. I'm going to start thinking you don't want to talk to our side of the family."