IS: Chapter 69

I frowned as Suzie and Katrina went off into another room together, hoping that my Adoptive Kid Sister and my Fiancée weren't going to share any embarrassing stories or anything like that. You never could tell when the women in your life got together to talk. Equally likely was Suzie trying to suss out Katrina and see if she was right for me or not, which, given I was planning on proposing over breakfast, wasn't exactly something that I was thrilled about. Of course, I doubted Katrina would be scared off by threats from a Kid like Suzie, but you never knew.

Going over to the small refrigerator I kept in the Grand Ducal Apartments, I pulled out a Birch Beer and took a sip, letting the carbonated drink fizz down my throat and settle my stomach. This was probably the most nervous I'd been since before Katrina showed up. Unfortunately, there really wasn't anything I could do about it. I would just have to trust that Suzie wouldn't scare Katrina off or anything.

Taking another sip, I sat down and waited for the girls to be done with their talk, hoping that it all worked out all right. . .

XXXX

Katrina Watson didn't know what to expect from Suzie Morgraine-Ryan. Sure, she'd known intellectually that Jozef had adopted the girl as his sister after taking Star's End, but she hadn't exactly had much of a chance to talk to her. In fact, this would be the first real conversation that the two of them would have. Katrina wanted to make a good impression, though. She and Jozef were, if not in love, then they had something close enough to it to be functionally the same thing as far as Noble Matches go. She wanted his sister to like her, adoptive or not.

However, Katrina now found that when the time had finally come to actually talk to the girl that Jozef had adopted as his sister, she was nervous enough that she didn't really know how to start. What exactly did one say to a girl who was raised at least partially by Pirates? What would she, the Noble Heiress to a Duchy, who was raised by the Duke of Apollo, have in common with someone like that? How do you even start a conversation with someone whose circumstances had been so different from your own that they were functionally alien? Katrina wasn't sure, and that was worrying.

However, Katrina shoved those worries aside with an effort of willpower. She was a Colonel of the LCAF, the Heiress to the Duchy of Apollo. She could handle talking to one tween girl, raised by pirates or not. In fact, that could be the middle ground here. She would bet that a girl like Suzie would enjoy some of the battlefield stories that Katrina could tell. That might be her ticket into Suzie's good graces.

"Jozef likes you, you know. He's planning to propose over breakfast." Spoke Suzie, breaking Katrina out of her thoughts and pre-empting any strategy to wow the Girl with War Stories.

"What? He is?" Questioned Katrina, mind laser-focused now.

"You had to know that this weekend wasn't just a romantic getaway, right?" Queried Suzie.

"I mean, I suspected, but I wasn't sure." Admitted Katrina.

"You know, when he told me you were coming over, I wasn't sure what to expect." Mused Suzie.

"Oh? And how do you feel now?" Asked Katrina.

"You make my brother happy. That's good enough for me." Shrugged Suzie.

"I'm sensing a but here." Opined Katrina.

"But if you hurt him, you know I'm going to have to do something horrible to you to make up for that, right?" Questioned Suzie.

"The last thing I want to do to Jozef is hurt him." Informed Katrina.

"Good. I had to warn you. It might not be the most ladylike thing, but I don't really care about all that stuff." Shrugged Suzie.

"No, that's good. Honestly, I think that sometimes we could use a bit less formality in the Nobility. Why do you think I went to Blackjack and joined the LCAF?" Queried Katrina with a grin.

"You know, my Brother doesn't talk about Blackjack often. I think he thinks if he tells any stories about the stuff he got up to back there, it'd be a bad influence on me." Pointed out Suzie.

"Oh? You want to hear a story about Blackjack, then?" Asked Katrina.

"Yeah! A good one, please!" Nodded Suzie.

"All right, this one's good. It involves your brother, a Squadmate of ours, a bet, and a live goat." Grinned Katrina.

Suzie scooted closer to Katrina as she began to tell the story. It was a long one, with a number of twists and turns, and a lot of improbable plans that somehow wound up working out in the end. By the time that she was finished, both Katrina and Suzie were giggling like a pair of schoolgirls at the various antics of the people involved. Katrina figured that she had broken the ice fantastically with that story. As Suzie begged for one more story from Katrina and Jozef's time at Blackjack, Katrina knew she had made a good impression on her soon-to-be fiancée's adoptive sister. Katrina launched into another story, this one about the time their Cadet Lance went clubbing after Second Year Exams finished at Club Raven and Jozef got into a drinking contest with an off-duty Steiner Scout.

With Suzie now having a good opinion of her, Katrina reflected that she had all of Jozef's family in her corner. Now she just had to wait for Jozef to propose, and this weekend would be a success.

Katrina wouldn't be waiting very long, as Suzie had been right about Jozef proposing over breakfast. . .

XXXX

Breakfast was a big affair, I'd made sure that everything was perfect. We had an omelette bar, pancakes, both flapjack and crepe-style, sausage in links and patties, muffins, croissants, bagels, cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit, the works. I had three kinds of Juices, apple, orange, and grape, along with milk, coffee, tea, and even mimosas. The decor was light and airy, with soft music playing over the Palace's sound system. Everything was planned down to the last minute detail. It had to be perfect, after all.

Katrina and Suzie joined me for breakfast together, Katrina having spent part of the night talking with my adoptive Kid Sister. I'd been sound asleep when she'd come to bed, having fallen asleep waiting for her. Hopefully, that was a good thing, and they'd bonded a bit. Honestly, Katrina and Suzie were the two most important women in my life right now. I wanted them to get along. If they didn't, this proposal wasn't going to go well.

Katrina looked stunning, even though she wasn't wearing anything too revealing or sexy. Honestly, I thought she even looked good in the PT Gear that they had us wear during physical training back at Blackjack. She was wearing a blue dress with a white floral pattern and flats. Meanwhile, I was in what I would call casual business attire, a pair of charcoal gray slacks, a white button-down shirt, and a charcoal gray suit jacket. Of course, Suzie didn't really bother to dress up much. She was wearing a cashmere sweater and pants, more dressy than the usual stuff she wore, but not exactly what I'd call formal.

"Thanks for joining me. I hope you're hungry." I offered.

"You know me, I can always eat." Smirked Katrina.

"I knew I liked you for a reason." Grinned Suzie.

"Come on, we've got all kinds of stuff." I chuckled.

As the pair sat down, a couple of servants brought plates with various dishes on them, and we began to eat. I grabbed a cheese omelette, toast, and sausage patties, along with a glass of Apple Juice. Katrina grabbed a crepe with blueberry filling, a soft-boiled egg, a grapefruit, and a cup of breakfast tea. Meanwhile, Suzie went straight for the cinnamon rolls with a glass of milk. Once everyone had been served, we tucked in with gusto.

"So what did you two talk about last night?" I questioned.

"Nothing much, Drinky Dancer." Smirked Suzie.

"You didn't tell her about that, did you?" I queried with a frown.

"The Club Raven incident? You bet I did." Confirmed Katrina.

"I was trying not to tell her any of those stories." I grumbled.

"Afraid they'll be a bad influence on me?" Asked Suzie.

"Perish the thought. I just wanted you to look up to me as a cool older brother." I responded.

"I think that ship sailed the first time I saw you sleeping." Giggled Suzie.

"What's wrong with how I sleep?" I questioned.

"You snore, Jozef." Answered Katrina.

"I do not." I huffed.

"You do, like some sort of Cave Bear from Ancient Terra." Insisted Katrina.

"It's not that bad." I groused.

"Why do you think I listen to music when I sleep?" Queried Suzie.

"Besides, bears are cute." Offered Katrina.

"I'm cute, huh? I guess it takes one to know one." I responded, waggling my eyebrows.

"If you guys are gonna flirt, can you do it after I'm done eating?" Asked Suzie.

"Although I did have something I wanted to ask you." I intoned, deciding it was now or never.

"Oh? What would that be?" Questioned Katrina.

"Yeah, Jozef, what would that be?" Queried Suzie with a sly grin.

"Well, in a moment. How about a drink first?" I asked, as mimosas were brought out.

I took my glass, and so did Katrina, but Suzie would have to make do with sparkling orange juice, since she was still just a kid, much to her annoyance. The thing about mimosas was that they were opaque, so I couldn't do the ring in the champagne glass for fear that Katrina would swallow it. Still, the drink was a good cover for the ring in my suit jacket pocket. As I raised my glass, Katrina spoke up.

"What should we drink to?" She questioned.

"And why did I get sparkling juice?" Queried Suzie.

"Let's drink to the future." I opined, steadfastly ignoring Suzie's complaints about getting juice instead of a proper mimosa.

"I like the sound of that. To the future." Nodded Katrina.

As she threw her drink back, I set my glass down and pulled the Ring out of my suit jacket pocket, going down to one knee. Katrina looked back at me and found me on my knees, ready to propose. Suzie, meanwhile, had that smirk on her face she tended to get whenever she knew something was going to happen but was trying not to say I told you so.

"Katrina Watson, will you marry me?" I asked.

"Yes! Of course I will!" Beamed Katrina. As I slipped the ring on her finger, Suzie couldn't help but comment on the scene.

"Told you she'd say yes." Smirked Suzie.

"Hush, you." I scolded with fake anger.

As I stood back up, Katrina pulled me into a deep kiss. She tasted like grapefruit and floral tea, and we stood there for a few long moments, just kissing and holding each other. We only broke apart when Suzie cleared her throat, and attention was drawn to the fact that there was another person at the breakfast table.

"Seriously, I'm happy for you, but if you're gonna make out, do it somewhere else." Snarked Suzie. I didn't mind the snark, though. I was just too happy. After all, I was about to spend the rest of my life with Katrina.

And that was an adventure worth having. . .

XXXX

AN: All right, so here we have the next chapter. This one was all character interaction. Suzie and Katrina finally get to talk, and Jozef and Katrina finally get engaged. This was a long time coming, and I planted the seeds of this pairing all the way back at the start of the story. I hope you guys enjoyed seeing it come to a culmination. Now, Jozef has to figure out a way to get the Archon to allow Apollo and the Worlds attached to the Duchy to go to New Ålborg, at least temporarily. That might take some doing, but Jozef is confident it can be done with concessions.

At any rate, the next chapter will finish out the Super-Proposal Weekend, then we'll have a chapter of Jozef negotiating the aforementioned Apollo Duchy Inheritance with a representative of the Archon.

Stay tuned. . .