Guldrin’s Gluttony: Family Bound by Speed & Food

The holiday season had come and gone, leaving behind a haze of twinkling lights, half-packed decorations, and memories that warmed the chill of January mornings. 

The new year had roared in like a freight train, bringing with it the bustling rhythm of life resuming its relentless pace. 

Letty's phone buzzed more often than not with messages from Brian, their quiet meetings becoming increasingly frequent. 

Meanwhile, Mia juggled her role as the matron of the Toretto household, running the shop like a well-oiled machine while sneaking in lessons on cooking with Guldrin.

Mornings were filled with the aroma of sizzling bacon and the occasional whiff of burnt toast as Guldrin struggled to perfect his French toast. 

'It isn't easy', 

Nights, on the other hand, belonged to Jesse and Guldrin, their heads bent together over an engine block or under the glow of a laptop screen, their shared passion for tinkering bridging the hours until dawn threatened to break.

But amidst the comforting chaos of the Toretto household, a gnawing worry had settled in the back of Guldrin and Shiro's minds. It had been weeks since they'd last heard from Skye. Their vibrant, determined friend, who was as much a part of their operation as the grease-stained tools on the garage shelves, had gone completely silent.

At first, they reasoned that it was the holidays, perhaps Skye was caught up in some family event, or maybe her workload had spiked. But as the days turned into weeks, their concern deepened. 

Christmas came and went without so much as a "Merry Christmas" from her. Even New Year's Eve, usually marked by a flurry of group texts and shared memes, passed without a single notification from Skye.

"Maybe we should call her, or have the cops preform a wellness check?" Shiro suggested one evening, her voice laced with worry as she stared at her phone, willing it to buzz with news.

"I was thinking the same thing," Guldrin admitted, his brows furrowing. "Or maybe we should have Mia or Letty drive us to her place, just to check if everything's okay."

Their unease lingered, growing heavier with each passing day. Then, nearly a month after her sudden radio silence, Skye finally broke through the void with a single, stark message.

[Alive. Got returned to the orphanage… again. Broke a plate. No place for my setup. Will talk when I can.]

The words were simple, but their impact was profound. Guldrin and Shiro stared at the screen in silence, the weight of Skye's situation sinking in.

"'Returned to the orphanage…'" Shiro repeated softly, her golden eyes narrowing. "Over a plate? Are they serious?"

"Yeah, because that's a totally rational response," Guldrin muttered, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he ran a hand through his hair. "She deserves better than this. She said life was never easy for her, but this is absurd."

"She does deserve better," Shiro agreed firmly, her voice steady despite the storm of emotions brewing within her. "She's smart, resourceful, and makes more money than most adults thanks to our operations and her investments. She shouldn't have to deal with this anymore."

Guldrin nodded, a sense of resolve hardening his features. "She can live on her own. She's been doing it in every way that matters anyways, she just needs the legal freedom to make it official."

Their plan began to take shape that night, built on a foundation of shared determination and fueled by their unwavering support and affection for Skye.

The next morning, they laid out their case to Mia and Letty over breakfast. The smell of fresh coffee mingled with the sweet aroma of pancakes as Guldrin paced the kitchen, gesticulating wildly while Shiro sat at the table, her demeanor calm but her words razor-sharp.

"She's already supporting herself," Shiro explained, her tone measured but insistent. "Between our shared ventures and her stock portfolio, she's more financially stable than most people twice her age."

"And she's resourceful," Guldrin added, pausing mid-pace to look at Mia and Letty. "She doesn't need a family that punishes her over something as trivial as a broken plate, and that is only the latest reason behind her returning to the orphanage. She needs independence."

Letty leaned back in her chair, her sharp gaze fixed on the pair. "You're talking about emancipation," she said, her tone more of a statement than a question.

"Yes," Shiro replied without hesitation. "She needs a judge to sign off on it, but she has everything she needs to make it happen, except the paperwork."

Mia frowned, her concern evident. "It's not simply about having money, though. Skye's still a minor. The court will want to know she has a plan, a safe place to stay, and support if something goes wrong. Thankfully, the age requirement is 14, so at least we have that."

"That's where we come in," Guldrin said, his voice steady. "We'll help her draft the plan, outline her income sources, and show that she has a support system. If the court needs proof, we'll be there as witnesses."

Letty exchanged a glance with Mia, the silent conversation between them spoke volumes. Finally, Letty nodded, a small, determined smile tugging at her lips. "Alright brat, it seems you thought this out, and stop it with the puppy dog eyes, I can't take 'em. If this is what Skye wants, we'll back her up."

The next step was contacting Skye again, a task easier said than done given her limited access to communication. After a few carefully worded messages, they managed to arrange a clandestine video call.

Skye's face lit up the screen of Guldrin and Shiro's laptop, her messy hair framing a face that, while clearly exhausted, still shone with the unyielding determination they had come to admire. Her trademark spark was dulled but far from extinguished.

"Sorry for going dark," she began, her voice heavy with frustration but steady. "Things have been… complicated."

Shiro, sitting cross-legged on the couch next to Guldrin, leaned forward, her expression softening. "You don't have to apologize," she said firmly but kindly. "We were just worried. We're glad you're okay."

"'Okay' might be pushing it," Skye muttered, running a hand through her unruly hair. "I can't even set up my gear here. Every time I try to carve out a little space for myself, something happens. Either I'm blamed for a broken plate, or someone needs the space more than I do. It's like I'm living on borrowed time and air."

"That's exactly why we're calling," Guldrin cut in, his voice resolute and his gaze unflinching. "You don't have to live like this anymore, Skye. You deserve better."

Skye blinked, her weary eyes narrowing slightly in confusion. "What are you saying?"

Shiro smiled gently. "We're saying you've got the means to change your situation. You've been working hard, saving, and investing wisely. You're ready to be on your own. All you need is to make it official, to get emancipated."

Skye's jaw dropped slightly, her face shifting from skepticism to cautious hope. "You mean… you'd back me up? Be my guarantors? You're serious about this?"

"Dead serious," Guldrin affirmed. "We talked to our family, and they're on board. You don't have to do this alone. We'll help you figure out the legal stuff, and who knows? We might even find you a place near here."

Skye's expression softened as a slow, hesitant smile crept across her lips. "You really think I can pull this off?"

"You already have everything you need," Shiro chimed in. "You've got the finances, a clear plan, and us. You just need to take the leap."

For a moment, Skye seemed lost in thought. Then, her smile widened, transforming into something mischievous and brighter than they'd seen in weeks. "I could get a place, somewhere nice, and buy a nice van… Imagine it, me, Skye, living in a van with all the high-tech gear I could ever dream of. No rules, no interruptions. Just a super-tricked-out van and freedom. I'd have surveillance cameras everywhere, crazy-good Wi-Fi, and…" Her voice trailed off, and her cheeks turned an uncharacteristic shade of red as she muttered something under her breath.

Shiro's ears perked up, and her smile faltered as she caught the tail end of Skye's rambling. "Wait, what was that last part?" she asked, her voice just a little too loud and sharp.

Skye, realizing she'd been overheard, tried to wave it off nonchalantly, though her blush deepened. "Oh, nothing! Just, you know, uh… the van would be amazing, and I'd finally have my own space. No need to worry about… interruptions. Or overbearing foster parents~"

Guldrin, oblivious to the subtext, nodded approvingly. "Yeah, sounds like you've got it all planned out. A mobile command center would actually be pretty cool."

Shiro, however, was not so easily distracted. Her eyes narrowed, and her voice dropped to a whisper. "You didn't mean just 'interruptions,' did you?"

Skye's mischievous grin returned, and she leaned closer to the screen, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Well, think about it. No one to stop me from watching… certain things. Like, oh, I don't know… someone showering~"

Shiro froze, her face turning a shade of red that rivaled Skye's earlier blush. Her mind raced, panic setting in as she glanced nervously at Guldrin, who was thankfully too engrossed in imagining Skye's tech-filled van to catch on. She didn't know what she would do if Guldrin found out they both watched him shower and do… Other things.

"Skye!" Shiro hissed, her tone a mix of mortification and fury. "Don't you dare, he doesn't know about the… and he definitely doesn't know about… about…" She trailed off, too flustered to finish the sentence.

Skye, meanwhile, was thoroughly enjoying herself. "Relax, Shiro," she teased, her grin widening. "It's just a joke… mostly. Besides, it's not like he'd ever notice. He's so dense sometimes."

"I can hear you, you know," Guldrin said suddenly, his tone casual but tinged with suspicion. He didn't even look up, though a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. The truth was, he'd seen the hidden cameras long ago. He just didn't care enough to call them out. If they got some kind of weird kick out of watching him, who was he to rain on their parade?

Both girls froze, their wide-eyed panic a mirror image of each other's. Shiro was the first to recover, forcing an awkward laugh as she frantically tried to change the subject. "Hehe, yeah, Skye's just being silly. You know how she is!"

Skye, for her part, couldn't resist adding fuel to the fire. "Oh, absolutely. Just a harmless joke. Nothing to see here."

Guldrin raised an eyebrow but didn't press further, much to Shiro's relief. "Anyway," he said, steering the conversation back on track, "if you're serious about the emancipation, we'll start working on it right away. We can help you put together everything you'll need for the court. This is your chance, Skye. You deserve a fresh start."

Skye's playful demeanor softened again, and she nodded, her eyes glistening with gratitude. "Thanks, you guys. Really. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Probably still be stuck in that hellhole," Shiro said, her tone teasing but affectionate.

"Or living in a cheap van without spy gear?" Guldrin added with a grin.

Skye laughed, the sound was genuine and light for the first time in weeks. "Okay, okay, you've made your point. Let's do this. Operation Liberation is officially a go."

As the call ended, Shiro let out a long, shaky sigh and slumped against the couch. "That was way too close," she muttered under her breath.

"Close? What do you mean?" Guldrin asked, his curiosity piqued. He had an uncanny knack for poking at Shiro's nerves when he wanted to, and now seemed as good a time as any. He couldn't help but agitate her a bit, if she was going to play with fire, then he would enjoy it.

"Uh, nothing!" Shiro said quickly, waving him off. "Just… close to convincing her, that's all."

He shrugged, accepting her explanation without question. Shiro, however, made a mental note to have a very serious conversation with Skye about keeping secrets, and to double-check all the hidden cameras in the house. She had to make sure Guldrin didn't discover them, she would lose her personal source of Guldrinium for her nightly activities. The thought of Guldrin discovering her… private moments of admiration sent a fresh wave of crimson to her cheeks.

She could just imagine the mortifying confrontation: his calm, inquisitive tone asking, "So, why exactly do we have cameras in the bathroom?"

Her face turned an alarming shade of crimson as her imagination spiraled. No, she couldn't let that happen. If Guldrin ever found out about her… nightly activities, she would die on the spot. Or worse, he'd tease her about it in that infuriatingly calm way of his. She shuddered at the thought.

Meanwhile, miles away, Skye leaned back in her chair, her laptop perched on her knees and a sly smile playing on her lips. Her fingers danced across the keyboard as she sketched out a rough plan for her emancipation. Her mind raced with possibilities: legal arguments, logistics, and, most importantly, the details of her dream van.

She pictured it vividly, a sleek, black vehicle outfitted with state-of-the-art surveillance tech, military-grade encryption, and, of course, the fastest internet connection money could buy. She'd have high-definition monitors, ergonomic chairs, and more buttons than the cockpit of a fighter jet. "A hacker's paradise," she murmured to herself, her grin widening.

And then her thoughts took a slightly more mischievous turn. She pulled out her phone, scrolling through her gallery until she found a video Shiro had sent her a few days ago. It was a grainy but tantalizing clip of Guldrin stepping out of the shower, steam billowing around him. His toned, scarred body glistened under the bathroom lights, every muscle etched in sharp relief.

Skye bit her lip, her cheeks tinged with pink as she replayed the video for the umpteenth time. "Mama likes," she murmured, her voice low and sultry. "Mama likes a lot. Soon…"

Back at the house, Guldrin was oblivious to the whirlwind of emotions and schemes surrounding him, or he just didn't care. He glanced at Shiro, who was still perched on the couch, fiddling nervously with the hem of her shirt. "You okay?" he asked, his tone casual but tinged with genuine concern.

"Me? Oh, I'm fine! Totally fine!" she said, her voice an octave higher than usual. "Why wouldn't I be fine?"

He raised an eyebrow but didn't press further. Instead, he grabbed a notebook and began jotting down ideas for how they could support Skye's emancipation efforts. But in the back of his mind, a nagging suspicion lingered. Something about Shiro's reaction felt off.

Still, he let it go. For now.

Shiro, on the other hand, was having an internal meltdown. She glanced at her phone, considering texting Skye to demand she delete that video immediately. But she hesitated. What if Guldrin saw the message? What if he knew? Was it better to just not mention it?

Shiro groaned inwardly, pressing her hands against her flushed cheeks as if trying to physically shove away the embarrassment threatening to drown her. 

"Why does everything have to be so complicated?" she muttered under her breath, casting a side-eye toward Guldrin, who was blissfully immersed in the pages of a worn notebook. 

His brow furrowed in concentration, and his pen moved swiftly, making him look all the more attractive with each scribble.

The room buzzed with an odd warmth, an unspoken connection that made the chaos swirling around them not only bearable but oddly fun. Despite all the teasing, the scheming, and the awkward moments that defined their little trio, one thing was abundantly clear: they had each other's backs. That truth alone was enough to make the mess worthwhile.

Shiro, however, wasn't about to let herself off the hook so easily. She stole another glance at Guldrin. Her heart betrayed her yet again, skipping beats like it had a personal vendetta against her composure. His obliviousness to her inner turmoil was both a blessing and a curse. 

Did he have any idea how unfair it was for someone to look that good while doing something as mundane as taking notes? His quiet strength, his unwavering determination, even the way his shirt clung to him in all the right places, it all made her chest ache in the most infuriatingly pleasant way.

"Stop it, Shiro," she muttered to herself, shaking her head as if that would somehow banish the thoughts. But the small, stubborn smile creeping onto her lips betrayed her efforts. She wasn't fooling anyone, least of all herself.

No matter how much chaos Skye stirred up, no matter how many secrets Shiro had to juggle, she knew one thing for certain: she wouldn't trade this makeshift family for anything. Guldrin was at the center of it all, the unknowing anchor that held her steady. She loved him, there was no denying that now. But the words themselves? The dreaded three that she couldn't quite bring herself to say? They stuck in her throat every time she even thought about uttering them.

Meanwhile, in her own room, Skye was having entirely too much fun. She leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms above her head as if basking in the glow of her own brilliance. Her laptop screen glowed softly in the dim light, reflecting her trademark Cheshire-cat grin. Her fingers hovered over the keyboard, ready to type out the next steps of her audacious plan to emancipate herself from her current life. The idea of freedom, of carving out a life on her own terms, filled her with a heady sense of excitement.

Her glee was short-lived, however, as a notification popped up on the screen. A message from Shiro.

[We need to talk. How could you almost out us like that? Answer me, NOW.]

Skye's grin widened, her excitement transforming into pure, unadulterated mischief. She could practically hear Shiro's exasperation through the screen. "Oh, this is going to be fun," she murmured, her fingers flying across the keyboard as she typed a response.

[Relax, princess. It's not like I said everything. Besides, you two are so obvious it's a wonder he hasn't figured it out yet. Maybe you should just confess already? Save us all the drama. Tell him all the times you jilled off to his videos~😘]

Back in the living room, Shiro's phone buzzed, and she glanced at the screen. Her face turned an impressive shade of crimson as she read the message. "That little-" she started, but the rest of her sentence devolved into an incoherent string of grumbles.

"What's up?" Guldrin asked, finally looking up from his notebook. His piercing gaze met hers, and for a moment, she felt completely exposed, as if he could see right through her.

"Nothing!" she said a little too quickly, clutching her phone like it was a lifeline. "Just Skye being Skye."

He raised an eyebrow but didn't press further. Instead, he leaned back in his chair, stretching lazily, and Shiro couldn't help but watch the way his muscles moved under his shirt. She cursed inwardly. How was she supposed to focus on anything when he looked like that?

"Anyway," Guldrin said, thankfully oblivious to her internal struggle, "if we're really doing this emancipation thing for Skye, we'll need to start gathering everything she'll need for the court. Documents, testimonies, you name it."

Shiro nodded sharply, trying to shake off her spiraling thoughts and refocus on the task at hand. "Right. Operation Liberation is officially a go."

Despite Skye's knack for dragging them into chaos, chaos they usually didn't need or want, Shiro couldn't deny the soft spot she had for the girl. She might be a walking headache wrapped in sass and bad decisions, but there was something endearing about her. Skye wasn't just some random tag-along; she was family. And, in Shiro's mind, maybe even a potential addition to Guldrin's harem, not that she'd say that out loud… yet.

They were an odd little unit, that much was obvious. Shiro, with her quick temper and razor-sharp tongue, Guldrin, with his stoic charm and frustrating obliviousness, and Skye, the self-appointed agent of chaos. Somehow, against all odds, it worked. And Shiro, as much as she hated to admit it, had grown attached.

The irony wasn't lost on her. Skye was taller than her by a good inch or two, and yet she played the role of the bratty little sister to perfection. Shiro found herself grumbling about it often, especially when Skye's antics got out of hand, but deep down, she knew she wouldn't have it any other way. Skye brought spice to their lives, a spark that made things unpredictable and, dare she admit it, fun.

Later that night, Shiro lay in bed, her usual confidence giving way to a whirlwind of overthinking. Staring at the ceiling, her mind wandered through familiar territory, Skye's teasing, Guldrin's quiet strength, and the ridiculous tangle of feelings she carried for him. She loved him. There was no question about that. But saying it? Out loud? That was a whole different story.

Instead, she resolved to show him in other ways. If she couldn't say "I love you," she would make sure he knew it in every other possible way. She'd be the best girlfriend anyone could dream of, a supportive partner, a fierce ally, and, of course, a worthy queen for the harem she was already mentally building in her head. "All in due time," she whispered with a smirk, the gleam of mischief returning to her eyes.

"Why mess up a good thing?" she whispered into the dark, her voice barely audible. "Do the words really need to be said? Can't we just… keep going like this?"

But the truth gnawed at her. As much as she tried to convince herself otherwise, the idea of telling him was tempting, almost overwhelmingly so. Not just because she wanted to share her feelings, but because it was getting harder and harder to pretend they weren't bubbling over. Still, there were things she would never admit, no matter how much she loved him.

Her cheeks flamed at the memory of her own… less-than-innocent habits. "One day," she muttered to herself, rolling onto her side and clutching her pillow tightly, her face as red as a fire hydrant. "One day I'll tell him. But no way am I ever admitting I've… watched those shower videos. Or that it's why I asked for my own room, only to end up sneaking back into his by the end of the night."

The thought sent her into a spiral of embarrassment. She buried her face in the pillow and let out a muffled scream. How was she supposed to act normal around him, knowing she couldn't even get through a day without her brain betraying her?

Meanwhile, in her own room, Skye was grinning like the cat who got the cream. Reclined in her chair, her fingers hovered over her keyboard as she pieced together her next plan. Shiro and Guldrin were dysfunctional at best, but that just made the challenge all the more entertaining.

If they thought for one second she wasn't planning to insert herself firmly into their future family, they were sorely mistaken. She smirked, already crafting her strategy. But first, she had to make sure the dynamic between the two was solid. After all, what were little sisters for if not to stir up just the right amount of trouble?

(Give me your POWER, Please, and Thank You! Leave reviews and comments, they motivate me to continue.)