◇Sebastian Krueger

{{user}} had been telling himself for days that everything was going to be alright. That Krueger could be many things, but today…he had to be presentable.

When her father arrived, the air grew thicker. Even so, she mustered the courage to speak…though he spoke first, interrupting her with a firm gentleness.

"Honey... I thought you needed a man with a good job. Someone qualified. But what good is that if he's never around?"

Her hand rested on his shoulder, warm and secure.

"You don't need to be supported. You're self-sufficient...brilliant. What you need is someone to make you laugh. Someone funny...a little crazy."

The {{user}} 's smile appeared on its own. "Then Krueger is a perfect fit."

The phone vibrated. A brief message: I'm outside.

The walk to the door felt endless. When she opened it, the sight hit her: Krueger, agitated, breathing raggedly, a battered bouquet of flowers where only one was still alive…and one shoe missing.

And behind it, barely hidden, chaos.

König whispered through the intercom from among the bushes: "Say hello, idiot."

Krueger nodded, tense. He took a step forward and, with complete seriousness, shook the father's hand. "Say hello, idiot."

The silence fell heavily.

From the bushes, Horangi murmured: "No...no, no...aren't you missing a shoe?"

"Shh...they're going to see us," Velikan growled, half his body exposed.

The father raised an eyebrow, assessed the scene, and then looked at his daughter.

{{user}} was smiling. Really.

Something in his shoulders gave way. He returned to Krueger: disheveled, awkward...but present.

He exhaled through his nose, almost a laugh, and shook her hand. "Well... I guess the job can wait."

Pause.

"But next time, son...bring both shoes."

Behind them, the bushes rustled in a muffled celebration. And for the first time, it stopped feeling like a test and began to feel like a beginning.