In front of Luke was a large, fully decorated hall. Dozens of people who had been invited were there. Like the decorations, everyone was dressed in dark-colored suits. Luke was surprised by the size of the hall, which, despite housing dozens of people, didn’t feel crowded.
‘Was there such a big room?’ Luke thought with slight surprise. He had thought he’d explored quite a bit of the Addams mansion, but he’d never come across this spacious room before.
Noticing the elegant, gothic outfits all around him, Luke glanced at his own attire and grimaced. He was wearing a simple black hoodie and regular pants. He had completely forgotten to change. Besides, he hadn’t expected such formal attire for a birthday.
“Don’t worry, the Addams don’t judge others,” said Gomez, giving Luke a gentle pat on the shoulder.
They then walked toward a round table with a black tablecloth, where Morticia and Wednesday were standing, talking with some guests. The only one speaking was Morticia; Wednesday stood silently with a blank expression, uninterested in the conversation.
“Cousin Itt, it’s been so long!” Gomez shouted in a deep tone that made everyone turn their heads to look at him.
Luke observed Cousin Itt; beneath all that hair, there had to be a human body. Unlike his ancestor, Itt wore round, dark glasses and a stylish black hat.
Itt spoke in a cheerful but incomprehensible tone. Gomez and he hugged happily, with Gomez patting Itt’s furry back while struggling not to sneeze from all the hair around his nose.
“Let me introduce you all to my son-in-law! Come here, Luke,” Gomez said, grabbing Luke by the sleeve and pulling him a step forward.
Luke, with a slightly awkward expression, greeted everyone as Gomez made introductions. He wasn’t even married to Wednesday to be called a son-in-law, but he didn’t really mind.
Besides Itt, his parents were there too. His father’s name was That-a strange name, just like his son’s. He was also covered in hair; the only difference was that he was shorter and rounder than Itt.
Itt’s mother, Anemia, was a middle-aged woman with dark hair styled in an old-fashioned way, pinned to the sides. She wore a high-collared outfit reminiscent of Victorian fashion. What stood out most to Luke was the mustache on her face. Since when did women let their mustaches grow? Then he remembered she was an Addams and stopped staring at the broad mustache.
Along with Itt’s family, another cousin, Octavius, was there with his wife and twin sons, Nick and Simon.
To Luke’s surprise, Octavius, his wife, and the twins greeted him very warmly, and Luke could tell they were being genuine.
“Nice fight! Although I’m not sure if I should call that beating a fight,” Nick said with a loud laugh-bad idea, as he started coughing from the injuries he’d received today.
Simon didn’t pay any attention to his brother’s suffering and looked at Luke with a big smile. “I never thought our double shields could be destroyed so easily. Well done!” he said, giving a thumbs-up in approval.
“We can have another friendly match later,” said Nick, who had already recovered.
“Uh… Sure,” Luke said with an strange expression. He hadn’t expected such goodwill from the two brothers. Plus, they seemed eager to keep fighting and getting into dangerous situations. “My compliments, Gomez. Wednesday chose a great son-in-law for the family,” said Octavius, nodding several times as he looked at Luke.
Unlike Gomez and his two boisterous sons, Octavius had a lazier, more relaxed expression. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was slicked back in a stylish way.
Octavius had expected Luke to behave very respectfully toward his family, but that wasn’t the case. The first thing Luke did when he met Octavius’s sons was knock them out, leaving them with a few broken ribs. This act earned Octavius’s respect, as it showed him that Luke wasn’t looking for the Addams family’s acceptance or help in the matter everyone knew about.
“Hahaha, of course!” Gomez laughed heartily.
While Gomez talked with his two cousins, Luke stood beside Wednesday, who was wearing the dress he had given her.
Morticia, who was nearby, looked at Luke with a slight smile. She had been very impressed when she saw her daughter in a short dress. She knew Wednesday wasn’t fond of dresses that showed skin, mainly for practical reasons and because she wanted to keep her pale complexion.
Luke only nodded slightly, not understanding Morticia’s half-smile. He thought it might be related to Pugsley, but she didn’t seem to look at him with anger or resentment, which was a good sign.
He also noticed Pugsley sitting in a chair near Morticia. He was smoking a cigar with a weary expression, his hands trembling and dark circles under his eyes. When he looked at Luke, he seemed to see a demon and quickly looked away.
‘I should make peace with him,’ Luke thought. He now understood how strange and crazy the Addams family was. He couldn’t be angry with a kid raised in this environment, although it didn’t change the fact that what he did was dangerous.
Besides, Wednesday held Pugsley in high regard, and Luke didn’t want to have a bad relationship with someone who mattered to her.
“Where did my father take you?” Wednesday asked, looking at Luke.
“To his study. He showed me the Addams family tree,” Luke replied, taking a glass with a red liquid.
He smelled it to make sure it wasn’t animal blood or something similar. Once he was sure, he took a sip.
“Mm,” Wednesday murmured.
“Luckily, the Poes and the Addamses were never matched together,” Luke commented, not having seen any Poes on the Addams family tree.
Luke’s moral boundaries were unusual, one of them being that he would never pursue a romantic relationship with any family member, no matter if they were a third or fourth cousin or related through distant ancestors.
In Harry Potter, there was something similar. Pure-blood families would marry among themselves to maintain a pure lineage. By practicing this for many generations, pure-blood wizarding families ended up all being related.
Even if they were from different families, by restricting marriages to their close circles, all members eventually became cousins, distant uncles, or related in some way, leading to
inbreeding.
Although among the Outcasts there are no negative effects, Luke, as a decent human being, rejects such practices. Fortunately, the psychic families belonging to the Big Six do not intermarry. There are particular cases like Morticia and Gomez, but these are very rare throughout history.
“Would you break up with me if we were related?” Wednesday asked, aware of Luke’s aversion to inbreeding.
Luke wanted to kick himself for putting himself in this situation. He quickly changed the
subject.
“Will your Uncle Fester be coming?” Luke asked, scanning the room for a bald, pale head.
In his search, he noticed Natasha talking to a group of elderly women. She looked respectful, but it seemed like she wanted to escape from the strange Addams women who were trying to set her up with their middle-aged, single sons.
“He should,” Wednesday replied in an icy tone. Although she tried to sound indifferent, Luke could tell from her tone that she would be upset if the bald man didn’t show up on her
birthday.
‘She’s not honest with her feelings,’ Luke thought, saying nothing, since he wasn’t the best at expressing himself either.
“Where are the Frumps?” Luke asked, beginning to look for signs of this important psychic
family in the grand hall.
“My mother, my sister, and her children won’t be coming.”
The one who answered was Morticia. Her tone wasn’t angry or indignant, despite her family’s
absence. Wednesday didn’t seem affected by it either.
The fewer people, the better. She didn’t have a close relationship with her maternal family like she did with Uncle Fester or other Addams relatives.
“Why? Do they live very far away?” Luke asked.
“They do live far away, yes. But that’s not the reason. My mother is upset because Wednesday
chose Nevermore instead of the Dark Arts Academy. Then, when I enrolled Pugsley at Nevermore for the following year, she got even angrier. This is her way of showing her discontent,” Morticia answered calmly.
Luke could tell from this that the Frumps must be supremacists. They probably despise normies like the Spellmans. He just hoped they weren’t satanists. If Morticia send Wednesday and Pugsley to an Outcast institution that seeks peace with normies, they’re bound to get
upset.
To Luke, it seemed normal that there would be Outcasts who hate normies. After all, there were many people like Crackstone who wanted to hunt down Outcasts or perhaps didn’t go that far, but still condemned them to ostracism.
They wouldn’t have much patience for building good relationships or coexisting peacefully without bothering each other. Luke would undoubtedly choose the second option. The best approach is to coexist in peace-not trying to forge friendships, but also not hating them or wanting to exterminate them.
After all, there are many normie things that Luke likes. Just for that reason, if there were a war, he would defend the normies.
He wouldn’t let the internet, video games, and other entertainment disappear! Who would create the shows, movies, and other things he enjoys?
The party continued. Gomez introduced Luke to all the Addams present. It was a tedious task, but not all that bad. The Addams were very enthusiastic and different from one another.
In one corner of the grand hall, there was a mountain of gifts that Luke eyed with a bit of envy.
It would be nice to have so many relatives to receive that many presents.
At 3:33 in the morning, the party ended, and all the Addams left the mansion. Gomez, Morticia, Pugsley, Lurch, Natasha, and Thing went to bed. Meanwhile, Luke and
Wednesday stayed up, opening the gifts. Wednesday wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible, and it was even better with help.
“Your uncle Fester didn’t come,” Luke commented while tearing open some wrapping paper.
He found a preserved animal head-a cougar. Each gift he opened was more disturbing than
the last.
“I know,” Wednesday said in a dry tone.
Luke stopped opening presents and looked at Wednesday, who continued her task without
pause: tearing the wrapping paper, examining the gift for a second, setting it aside, and
repeating the process.
‘Should I comfort her?’ Luke wondered, debating whether to continue opening gifts as if nothing were wrong or to do something. He knew Wednesday held her Uncle Fester in high regard, but it was hard to tell if she was affected by his absence tonight.
Seconds passed as Luke continued to debate.
‘She’s comforted me plenty of times! I can’t be such a coward,’ he thought as he walked
toward Wednesday slowly. She didn’t notice, absorbed in her thoughts as she opened the
presents.
There was no way he could lose to Wednesday in empathy!
Without hesitation, he hugged her from behind. His arms wrapped around her firmly, though
not too tightly. “What are you doing?” Wednesday asked, her voice as monotone and cold as ever.
“I just want to hug you. Can’t I?” Luke asked. If he said it was to comfort her, Wednesday
would elbow him to push him away, saying she didn’t need anyone’s comfort. So he told her
he wanted to hug her, hoping that would make her allow it.
“Mm,” Wednesday replied, letting Luke hug her.
Seconds passed in silence, stretching into minutes. Neither of them moved from their
position, and only their quiet breathing could be heard.
“That’s enough,” Wednesday said, breaking the silence.
“Yes, ma’am,” Luke replied, pulling away and resuming the task of unwrapping presents.
Finally, they finished opening the mountain of gifts and began heading to their respective
rooms. Luke yawned; it was past four in the morning.
They reached the door to Wednesday’s room.
“Good night,” Luke said. He was about to continue to his own room when he was suddenly
pulled inside.
Wednesday shut the door and looked at him with her deep, dark eyes in the dim light of the
room.
With the sudden movement and his drowsiness, Luke wasn’t entirely sure what was happening until Wednesday started kissing him and guiding him backward.
He stumbled back until he fell onto the bed, with Wednesday following him, kissing him as
she leaned over him.
At that moment, Luke’s drowsiness vanished instantly. This could only mean one thing.
The moment he’d been waiting for was finally happening!
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