Four Of A Kind Chapter 144: [3.46] The Spy x Family Blueprint

The key turned in the lock at 12:47 AM. Thirteen minutes early. A personal record considering the chaos that had beco my existence.

The apartnt slled like instant ran and lavender body spray, which ant Iris had been stress-eating while waiting up for . Again.

I dropped my bag by the door. Kicked off my shoes. Spotted her imdiately on the couch with her knees pulled to her chest, wearing one of my old hoodies that basically swallowed her whole. Her phone sat face-up on the coffee table, probably so she could track my location and confirm I hadn’t been murdered by paparazzi or buried in the Valentine estate’s rose garden.

"Isaiah Marcus Angelo," she started, her voice taking on that particular tone that ant I was about to get lectured by soone eight years younger than . "Do you know what ti it is? Do you know how many ssages I sent you? Do you know that I had to tell Mrs. Delgado you were working late AGAIN because she was two seconds away from calling the police to file a missing persons—"

I crossed the room in three steps and wrapped my arms around her.

Just. Grabbed my little sister and held on like she might disappear if I let go.

Iris made a surprised squeak. Her hands ca up and gripped the back of my shirt.

"Zay?" Her voice had gone smaller. "What’s wrong? Did sothing happen? Are you okay?"

"I’m fine."

"You’re clearly not fine. You never hug unless sothing’s really wrong or you’re about to tell we’re moving apartnts again."

"We’re not moving."

"Then what—"

"Promise sothing."

Iris pulled back enough to look at my face. Her eyes were the sa dark brown as mine. Sa shape too. Sotis looking at her was like looking at a younger, female version of myself that hadn’t made all my questionable life choices yet.

"That depends on the sothing," she said carefully.

"When you grow up. When you’re old enough to date and do all that relationship stuff." I kept my hands on her shoulders. "Promise you’ll marry soone nice. Soone with a normal family. Soone whose mother doesn’t run a billion-dollar empire and doesn’t have three identical sisters who are all varying degrees of chaos and manipulation."

Iris blinked. Once. Twice.

Then she started laughing.

Not polite laughing. Full-body laughter that made her double over and clutch her stomach. She laughed so hard tears started forming at the corners of her eyes.

"Oh my god," she gasped between laughs. "Oh my GOD. You. You’re having a crisis about the Valentine sisters."

"I’m having a crisis about YOU. Specifically about your future romantic prospects."

"My future romantic prospects." She wiped her eyes. "Zay. I’m fourteen."

"Which is exactly why we’re having this conversation now. Before you develop terrible taste in n."

"Says the guy who’s currently involved with FOUR billionaire quadruplets who may or may not be competing for your affection."

Fair point. I hated when she made fair points.

I sat on the couch. Iris settled beside , still wearing that knowing smirk that made her look way too much like Mom when Mom still gave enough of a damn to have expressions beyond "exhausted" and "absent."

"I want to marry soone like Loid," Iris declared.

My brain took approximately three seconds to place the reference. Then I rembered.

Spy x Family.

"A spy," I said flatly. "You want to marry a spy."

"Well not a REAL spy. Obviously. A guy who’s secretly capable and protective but pretends to be normal and boring on the surface. Soone who’d go to the ends of the earth to protect his family but wouldn’t make a big deal about it."

She poked my shoulder. "Soone like you, basically. But not you. Because that’s gross."

"Iris—"

"I’m serious! Loid is literally perfect boyfriend material. He can cook, he’s smart, he’s tall, he has a good job, he adopted a kid, and—"

"He’s also a trained assassin in a fictional spy organization."

"Minor detail."

"A MINOR DETAIL?"

"The important part is the emotional availability and commitnt to family unit cohesion."

I stared at my fourteen-year-old sister. Who was apparently using ani as a blueprint for her future relationships. This was my fault sohow. I’d failed as a guardian.

"Okay," I said slowly. "Let get this straight. You want to marry a governnt operative who kills people for a living and maintains elaborate cover identities. But I’M the one with questionable taste?"

"YOUR taste involves four identical billionaires. So yes, my theoretical spy husband is WAY more reasonable than your actual situation."

She had there. Logically, objectively, she was absolutely correct. My current circumstances made zero sense when examined from any rational angle.

"The difference," I said, "is that yours is fictional. Mine is my actual life that I have to wake up and live every day."

"Then stop complaining about MY future husband and focus on YOUR current girlfriend situation."

"They’re not my girlfriends. They’re my employers."

"Sure, Zay. Keep telling yourself that." Iris patted my knee like I was the child here. "So which one kissed you? Have you figured it out yet?"

My ears went hot. Betrayed instantly.

Iris gasped. Pointed at . "You HAVE figured it out! When? How? Tell everything right now or I’m calling Mrs. Delgado and telling her about the mailbox AND the ti you broke her garden gno."

"That was an accident."

"TELL ."

I sighed. Leaned back against the couch cushions that had molded themselves to my spine after three years of sleeping on them. The ceiling had a water stain that looked like a giraffe if you squinted. I’d been staring at that stain every night for months.

"I haven’t figured it out," I admitted. "But I think. Maybe. It might have been—"

My phone buzzed. Loud enough to interrupt.

I pulled it out. Unlocked the screen.

Cassidy had sent a ssage at 12:51 AM.

cant sleep. kept thinking about the quiz. what if i freeze during the real test? what if my brain stops working and i forget everything and im back to being the stupid valentine again?

The ssage sat there on my screen. Raw and vulnerable and completely unlike the aggressive girl who’d spent three hours coloring mathematical equations and declaring she’d destroy .

Another ssage ca through before I could respond.

sorry. that was dumb. forget i said anything. see you friday.

Then a third.

also i finished all the practice problems you sent. 23/25 correct. the two i missed were stupid mistakes. thought you should know.