His friends smile at him. "Of course, we get it. We both got siblings, too, after all. Right, Lia?"
The ginger-haired girl sighs. "Yeah, although I'd rather have a sister instead of two idiot brothers at times. Nothing against my twin, he's great... mostly, but I could do well without the other."
Jess rolls her eyes at this. "Come on, you know I've got seven siblings, so stop complaining, will you?"
Lia, who's still braiding her friend's hair rolls her eyes in return and says: "At least you've got brothers and sisters. I hate being the only girl. I mean, Yujah only has brothers too, but he's a boy." - "I'd actually like to have a sister, too, you know? Or would have liked one. Since I can't get one now..." Guiliana gulps while hanging her head low. "I'm sorry...", she mutters, before finishing up the braid with a hair tie. "Please don't apologize...", Yujah begs, "Besides, they probably wouldn't have had any more children anyway..." Jess clears their throat. "What do you think about getting something to eat? I'm starving and you guys haven't had lunch yet, have you?" Yujah and Lia look at their friend and shake their heads. "Nope, we haven't. I'm pretty sure mamma wanted to make ragù bolognese today. Specially for Yuyu. But I don't smell anything yet, so I guess we'll have to ask if she's cooking soon. She wasn't in the kitchen when I got the water." A small smile forms on Yujah's face when he hears his childhood friend mention one of his favorite foods.

They decide to go search for Bianca and find her in the living room, sitting next to Jonah who is drawing a picture while talking to her. When she hears the teens come in, the woman looks up. "Mamma, we're hungry.", Lia whines, making her mother roll her eyes. Why does her daughter always act like a little kid? Yujah on the other hand... smiles. Seeing his friend act the same as always is comforting. Yet, there is this nagging feeling... will he be able to stay around to see his friends? Lia calling his name makes him shake his head. Nothing good will come from thinking negatively. "C'mon, help me convince her to let us help!", his childhood friend says. "I don't want your help.", Bianca tells her daughter, "I don't need a bunch of hungry teens in my kitchen. You're just going to steal my ingredients before I can finish cooking!" The woman crosses her arms. "But mamma-" - "No 'but's. I cook, you stay here and play." Guiliana rolls her eyes. "Come on, let's just stay here. Maybe we could join Jon?", Yujah offers. Jonah nods. "Yes, draw with me. It's more fun with more people. The more the marrier.", the child says. "You mean merrier.", his brother corrects him. "Yeah, that! Come join me. Pleaaaaseee." The boy looks at Lia with big, round eyes. "Oh no, no you don't. Stop it with the puppy dog eyes." Jonah continues to look at her but tries to hide the smile forming on his lips. "Pleaaasseee? Lia? Pretty please?", the child says. The girl huffs. "Whatever...", she then says and sits down. Jess and Yujah laugh. "One point for Jonah.", Yujah says. "Just one? More like ten.", Jess argues. Both of them sit down as well.

Right as Bianca is moving to the kitchen to start cooking, the sound of keys unlocking the front door is heard. She stops in the hallway and watches the door open. A middle-aged man in his early 50s steps in. "I'm back, honey.", the man says while approaching her. "Welcome home.", Bianca says, before pecking her boyfriend's lips. "How was work?", she then asks. "Exhausting. Are you cooking?" The woman smiles at him. "I was about to. We've got three hungry teenagers and a child in there.", she says while pointing to the door to the living room, from which chatter is heard, "and another one in your garage." She points in the general direction of the garage. "Probably Jaxon? Saw his car outside." Bianca sighs. "Yeah... I think he needs some time for himself." Her gaze drops to the floor. "They need time.", the man answers. His girlfriend sighs again. "I know. I just wish I could do more. Take the pain away... I think the girls want to as well." - "Which girls are we talking about, today? Guiliana and...?" - "Jess." The man nods. "Well... I'll be in my study for a bit. Got to call my son." She smiles gently. "Alright. I'll cook something in the meantime. Greetings to Ben." The man nods and leaves for his study while Bianca continues her way to the kitchen and starts cooking.

After a while, the delicious smell of bolognese sauce fills the house, making everyone else in the house wait for Bianca to say "Il cibo è pronto" and tell them to come eat. When she finally does, she pulls her daughter aside. "Go tell your patrigno that he should come eat. He's in his study... and tell Jaxon to come, too. He's in David's garage." Guiliana nods. "Sure." Binaca smiles at her daughter. "Thanks, bambina." The girl first runs to the study to tell her step-father and then to the garage to tell Jax, that the food is ready. Meanwhile, Yujah and Jonah are helping Bianca set the table for seven people. Jess is on the way to the toilet when David comes from his study. "Hello, Jessica. It's been a while. How are you?" - "It's Jess, sir. And I'm relatively fine if you ignore that one of my best friends is mourning." The man nods. "It's good for them to have friends they can count on.", he says and pets Jess's shoulder shortly, before passing her.

When Jess and Jaxon arrive, the table is set and Lia is on her phone while the others engage in light conversation. "That stupid twin!", Guiliana shouts. "What did Sep do?", Yujah asks her. "He sent me a pic of crêpes from my favorite crêpes place! Jackass!" Bianca looks at her daughter accusingly. "No swearing!", she says, making the girl roll her eyes. "And no phone during mealtime." With a sigh, her daughter puts away her phone. After everyone got something on their plate and a drink, they say "Buon appetito" and dig in.

________________________________________________________________________________

Fact corner: Jess is AFAB and uses she/them pronouns

Important: I'm not Italian and everything regarding the Italian language and culture is based on researched information. Same for any other language/nationality other than German.