Pre-emble to a date

Madelon and I arrive at the notary. The process is quick. Jessica and I sign, I transfer the money, she hands me the key, and it's done. Jessica takes us to the place afterwards. It still has a functioning kitchen, internet, power and water, but we will need to transfer all of that to me. The place is in good condition, but I would expect that of a person I have known for a while and who is arguably family. She helped raise me in a sense after I left home. Helping me integrate into the working world and into the real world without being hostile to any opposition. Antionette definitely laid the groundwork, but because of my parents, the hostile defence at any opposition was the best response. Jessica and Madelon leave as I explore the apartment. It has way more rooms than I expected when she said a larger one. I expected 1 more room the size of my bedroom, and maybe a second small closet office. But no! This place had a kitchen the size of my old dining room, living room, and kitchen combined. There are 5 rooms, the size of my old bedroom and 2 slightly larger rooms. This place has two bathrooms and an additional separate toilet. The price is not even one-third of the actual value. The bank will love this.

Finishing it up, I head to Robin to pick them up. It only takes 15 minutes to reach Robin's place. I ring the doorbell, and they are fully ready. "Hey, have you planned on where you want to go?" They ask me. I shake my head and shrug. "How about we head to Nijmegen?"

"Sure, any specific reason as to why?"

"I want to introduce you to my sister. She lives nearby."

"Cool, worth the drive then. I wasn't planning on Eindhoven in case you wanted to get some stuff for yourself that was more outside of your comfort zone." They blush at the idea. "I won't be pushing you. But I just wanted you to have the option." I say as I open the car door for them. We get in and talk about how their stream is doing. I notice their voice is a bit more feminine. "Hey, you sound a bit more feminine. Did you practice sounding more feminine over the past few days?"

"Yes, but I think it is likely more an effect of the Sweet Voice I perk I have gotton. Have you got any perks yet?" I shake my head. "I haven't asked Madelon yet, but she also seems to have LifeQuest. You could talk about it over dinner if you want."

"I might do you know for how long she has had it?"

"She didn't say. But she acted like she had had it for a few days yesterday."

"Cool, cool, cool. Do you know what her quests have been like?"

"Only one. It had three parts from the way she spurted it out, telling me she wanted to live with me, saying she was in contact with the questmaster, and sleeping in the same bed as me. The reward was the bigger apartment, I believe, which is in my name. You are more worried about her stuff compared to mine. Why?"

"They have been of a romantic nature for me often, or other things I would suspect would improve my appeal to you. I am worried she has been having those two, and that they are directed towards you. What you say does half fit with that, but also could be innocent enough." They realised the rewards. Luckily, I know what I have been giving her. Whilst the quests are not romantic, the results definitely are.

I try to deflect with two fake quests I had received. "Mine two were simple one-line quests. I don't know how much is the norm, but they weren't sexual. Protect Madelon from a dangerous individual, and reward a better bond with Madelon. Measure Madelon's sizes, reward the ability to buy or make perfectly fitting clothes for Madelon. Not much of a reward for me, but still something, I guess. Neither mine nor Madelon's seems sexually or romantically charged. She needed a place to stay that was safe, so she had to ask me."

"You might be right. It might just be that whoever the QuestMaster is, they think this is the best course for me. Wait, more importantly, Madelon has contact with them?"

"Yep. She didn't say how or who. But I saw you get a quest that would reveal who it is. Shall we just plan a Friday evening stream so you have at least one thing done?"

"That would be two, I got a class, sweetie! Lover, I don't know what it will do, though, except for bonus xp that is."

We keep 'speculating' about LifeQuest and the QuestMaster. I know slightly more than she does, and I have to keep it like that for now. All the way until we park the car in Nijmegen.

We exit near the Rhine around 11, I grab my lunch and suggest, "Shall we have an early lunch and, in theory, grab some stuff later?" Robin nods, and we start grabbing a bite. I show the specific sandwiches with way too many different

"Sure, that seems like a good plan. This is an easy way for Chantal to find us. Oh, this is a great egg sandwich. But she is likely to show up around 12. This means she will probably be here after we have eaten the sandwiches, most likely. You did a great job on making them. Oh, I really wish I could eat them always." They say. They almost moan during each of their bites of the sandwich. I did not know my sandwiches were this great. We see a lot of small ships pass here and there, a ship passing by heading for Germany, peaceful view, calm, just the two of us.

"So I will give you a rundown on what the apartment looks like since I guess you will be moving in soon."

"Why do you think that?"

"You look like you are still worrying about something, even though I told you Madelon is not a threat. She is the only person living with me. You don't know her, and you are seemingly afraid of something."

"Can't I just be afraid of the only in-law I will ever have?"

"Yes, you can, but she isn't. Roos, Antionette, Jessica, and Bernard, I might all qualify as my family. So Madelon isn't the first to some extent and won't be the last one. But are you?"

"Fine, my quest has me moving in as a result. I dislike that we will be living with your sister. A part of me fears she has a complex for you. I don't want to share you."

"I understand, but if your sister had to choose between living on the streets and a dangerous situation, would you not offer a place to stay?"

"I agree. I agree. You didn't respond to the complex claim. Do you know something?"

"Nope, but I have a mild suspicion of the same. I don't think it is anything serious, though, or I would have been more careful about it. To be honest, I hope that you moving in will put a break on it to some extent, or at least **** her to share. I am trying to prevent it as well. But I have to get her out of dangerous situations, prevent her from returning to those and not scare her off. That is a lot of things to balance. Those three reasons kind of encourage me to ignore it for the most part, do you understand?"

"I see where you are coming from. I understand. Don't scold me if I scold her for being too close, okay?" She says, resting her head on my shoulder.

"I won't scold you for it," I say, petting their head.

From behind, I hear an "ahh, cute!" We turn around to see a woman in a crop top with a cat and the text "Vaguely aware of social norms" on it, jeans and sneakers. Her breasts and hips aren't the widest, but they exist. Robin's hips are as wide. She continues: "Robin, don't stop on my part. Nice of you two to wait here for me." I stand up and introduce myself. "Hello, I am Chantal, nice to meet you, or meet you again, I guess, since we met during a holiday, if I have to believe Robin." I show the picture. "Oh, that one is cute. Yeah, I can see. You seem silent and calm."

"It is more that I couldn't find an in into the conversation. More importantly, Robin and I have been playing D&D together for a while. Also, having a nice and calm moment is important."

"You are right. I am really glad to know you understand that quiet is important."

"I am a catering chef. I can choose to have a non-public day if I ask my boss and just clean up instead. My boss is flexible, but due to harassment of my sister who was over at my place yesterday, I am injured and have to take time off."

"What happened there?"

"My parents had introduced her to a loverboy, according to a person who he had already played out, and then when she said I am dumping you he became violent. He was arrested, but I don't know if there are any immediate consequences."

"Pieter, that is not a great subject for now." Robin breaks in.

Chantal responds. "No, this is his recent history. It shows he is willing to protect the ones he loves. It also explains why he is holding his left arm to support it."

"Hmmphf. His sister now also lives with him because of it. I am kind of jealous, I wish it were me living there. But, she has a better reason."

"Oh, you two moving in, I would consider that to be soon. Not that I am wholly against it, our parents are assholes. Though just seeing what they did to your sister, they are less than them. Still, if you want to might be good for your exploration of gender. Pieter, you did well with that mask, by the way. You guys were even cuter on stream."

I ask, "You saw that?"

"Yep, I try to catch Robin's streams when I can. Any specific reason she isn't streaming tonight? She couldn't say on her Discord announcement."

"Dinner with my sister and me to reintroduce her to Robin. Thought that might be good."

"By the way, what do you know of LifeQuest?"

"It is an app that gives you quests that do things that try to help improve your life. I have gotten a referral from Robin to participate. It has mostly helped me get my sister out of danger up until this point. Madelon also has the app, and hers also seems focused on escaping the situation she lived in."

"Good, good, then I can refer my girlfriend Katrien safely. She seems worried. I don't know how to help her. Maybe the app will." Nope, it will not.

"Well, from Madelon I know there is a person behind the quests, soooo... it is hard to know if they will know how to help her with her issues directly. I can see if I can help the situation along. How about you text me some info, and I will hand it over to Madelon and see how she will deal with it."

"Smart, can I also give them, and by proxy you, a primer of who I am in the text?"

"Sure, why not? If I am forwarding info anyway, why can't we hand over more info? I don't know if they will read it all or not." She hands me her phone, and I put in my number. "Give it a shot." We continue to talk about the past few days as she realises she needs to go to work.

"How about we have a double date on Saturday. We can talk more then and get to know each other better." Chantal suggests. Robin and I check our planning and agree that it seems fine, but we choose to go to 's Hertogenbosh instead of Nijmegen. She leaves, and we decide to stop by a public toilet before going into the city, as we had some water whilst watching the boats pass by.