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“This just in, we are currently experiencing a record-breaking snowfall this year!”
…It’s been three years since he disappeared.
“Expect nearly twelve inches of snow by next week!”
For the first few weeks, they reached out to the police and waited. Hoping that this was just some sort of accident, that he had gotten lost, or maybe he had run away. It would have been a mercy if any of those were true.
“Christmas is right around the corner, so make sure you get your shopping done soon, don’t want to miss out on all those sales!”
But he just disappeared.
Gone.
Not even a trace.
His last known location was the corner store near their neighborhood. The CCTV only showed him exiting the store and heading in the direction towards home.
He should have been back in less than an hour.
“And onto other news-“
Natsuki Naoko turned off the TV. She leaned back into her chair and sighed, massaging her temples.
Her son didn’t return home that night. After the first month, they tried reaching out to every possible news outlet. They hired private investigators and constantly called nearly every province in Japan, asking friends and police officer for any help they could offer.
A year passed. Nothing.
They kept searching. The second year passed. Nothing.
They still searched. The third year had arrived. Everyone had given up. Arguments were plentiful. People called them crazy. People pitied them. People said it was a lost cause. No matter what, the two kept searching.
Naoko was broken out of her musings by snow falling outside the nearby window.
She sighed again, before standing up, her body felt like it was twenty years older than it actually was.
She slowly crept towards the kitchen and took out a mug from the cabinet.
She brought it over to the sink and started the faucet, letting water pour into the cup.
Naoko stared at the water, at her reflection.
Her hair was a mess, ratty and barely kept together. Bags under her dead eyes that went down her entire face. A mouth that barely moved unless speaking. Her cheeks used to be stained with tear marks for months. She ran out around the end of the second year. All she could do now was whimper.
As the water ran over the rim of the mug, she slowly squeezed dish soap onto a sponge and began to dunk it into the water.
She slowly wiped the rim of the mug before moving onto the inner basin.
Wiping, washing, and soaking. She continued this process for the fifth time today.
Her daily schedule was such: make breakfast, say goodbye to Kenichi, clean the mug, watch the news, clean the mug, check-in on the private investigators and police, clean the mug, make lunch and eat, clean the mug, watch the news, clean the mug, welcome Kenichi home, clean the mug, make dinner, clean the mug, watch the news, clean the mug, sleep.
Rinse. Repeat. Every day.
After thoroughly wiping the mug down until it was spotless, she dried it with a dishtowel before putting it back onto the exact spot she took it from, right in the cabinet.
It was the only piece of tableware in that cabinet, nothing else occupied that area.
She then slowly walked back to the living room and sat on the couch, grabbing the remote to turn the news on ag-
“Come… nyan…go!”
Naoko’s hand stopped just as her head turned to the source of the commotion, a voice echoed from the front door. It sounded…annoyed?
“You…stop…coward!”
She raised an eyebrow before sighing. Standing once more.
Perhaps it’s one of those weird cult people again…they’ve been awfully persistent at annoying the neighborhood these days.
She walked closer to the front door and began to hear the voice more clearly. As well as another voice.
“Hey,” The voice was soft and warm before immediately shifting to irritated, “Stop hugging the fence!”
“Just give me a second, okay! I need to prepare myself!”
She froze, stumbling to the ground as she tripped on her own feet.
Naoko knew that voice anywhere.
Loud, whiney, and a bit high-pitched at times.
She missed it so much.
She scrambled to her feet and rushed to the door, not even thinking.
Please. Please. Please! Don’t be a dream. Don’t let me wake up.
She arrived at the door, fumbling from desperately removing the locks.
“Subaru-kyun. So, help me Od. If you don’t march up to that door right now!”
Is that a woman’s voice?
Naoko sped up.
“Listen this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done!”
“…We literally fought Capella three months ago.”
The star? My son fought a star?
“That was nothing. Asking Crusch for her blessing was worse.”
“That’s because you asked it in the dumbest way possible!”
“Okay in my defense, I did not know cat demi-humans were affected by catnip. Or that Lugunican catnip can also affect humans.”
“…You know that’s not what I’m talking about, right? It was the ‘please let me marry my catboy waifu.’ Granted you were also high on catnip, but the point still stands, nya.”
“…I plead the fifth.”
“We are nyot in America.”
“How do you know that?”
“You literally told me on our honeymewn!”
“When?”
“…When we…you know?”
“Oh…OH! Yeah, I remember now.”
Naoko ignored the last half of that conversation as she finally took out the last lock and nearly threw the door off its hinges as she opened it. The cool winter breeze hitting her face and making her cheeks flush. The cold tingled her eyes, but she wouldn’t blink. She couldn’t. She wanted to see.
It was him. A bit taller. His baby fat was almost gone. He even had a new haircut, his hair now more swept to the side. He was no longer wearing that tracksuit, instead opting for a green coat, beige shirt, and orange scarf.
But it was him.
Her baby boy.
Naoko stumbled forward, gawking at the sight before her, not saying a word, “…”
Only focusing on Subaru. There was another person standing next to him but that could be dealt with later.
She needed to know.
She walked up slowly, snow crunching beneath her feet, as her little boy’s face morphed. From surprise. To dread. To regret. To relief. To confusion. To fear. And finally: he tried to smile, tears on the edges of his eyes.
He raised his hands out as if doing one of those stupid poses he loved to do when he was younger.
He then said the words she always wanted to hear these last few years.
“…H-hey, mom. I’m home!” His voice cracked. As if he didn’t know what exactly to say at that moment.
Naoko only crept forward, slowly, until finally reaching him.
She reached up with one hand and touched his cheek, making him flinch before he settled.
Naoko cocked her head, “Is this real? Are you…really here?”
Subaru shuddered in her hand, “Y-yeah it’s me. I…it’s been a while.”
His cheeks felt warm.
Everything was warm.
He blinked. Was this…real? Really real?
She didn’t know what to say, “…”
He didn’t either, “…Listen Mom, I-“
Suddenly he was pushed forward into her arms, hugging her tightly. She felt his hands scurry over her back, trying to catch himself. Before settling on a tight squeeze.
…This was real.
He smelled like he always did, ever since he was a baby.
The way he wrapped his arms around her, not knowing how to hug exactly, just like always.
The way he hugged tighter as the seconds passed. He always loved hugs.
“M-mom? Are you okay?”
She blinked. Naoko looked down, wondering why her baby boy was looking at her all concerned. And confused?
She didn’t understand why he was so confused-
Oh.
She was crying.
Naoko brought her hand up to her cheek.
Her fingers were wet.
Her hand shook.
She slowly brought it down, and with the other part of the pair, wrapped them around Subaru’s body. Embracing him.
He’s here. This is real. He’s…home.
She shuddered. Her body wanted to break down. The tears wouldn’t stop. But unlike all those other times. She was smiling.
As she sobbed, she choked out these few words, “…I’m okay. I’m okay now.”
Everything was okay. Now that he’s back home.
She just stood there. For what felt like eternity, hugging her only son.
Until finally, they separated. She already missed his warmth.
She rubbed her eyes and noticed the woman standing behind Subaru, waving happily at her, with what looked to be small tears on the cusp of the woman’s eyes.
A…woman? A very, incredibly cute woman with brown hair and wearing a cutesy blue dress and dark blue cloak and hat. The hat had little cat ears and whiskers. Did she mention the woman was incredibly cute?
“Ah, nyahello! It’s uh, nice to finally meet you Naoko-san,” the woman walked up and held out a hand awkwardly, brushing past Subaru who was wiping his face with his arm.
Naoko realized she was staring and quickly wiped her tears away before grabbing the woman’s hand and shaking vigorously, “A-ah sorry about that. Nice to meet you as well. Miss…?”
The woman flinched before quickly recomposing herself, scratching her head, “Well…I’m Nyatsuki Ferris. Subaru’s…wife!”
“Oh, how wonderful!” Naoko said without thinking.
She then cocked her head.
Her mind started actually processing that statement. She then looked at her son who was face palming. He then noticed her stare and then coughed into his hand before walking over to the woman and putting his arm around her.
He then pointed his thumb at her face, “This. Is Natsuki Felix. He’s my husband.”
Naoko processed that just as much as much as the last statement, “Oh! How wonderful!”
Subaru then stared at his husband as Felix awkwardly looked away, “See? I told you my mom would react fine.”
Felix grumbled, “You told me that these kinds of relationships were frowned upon where you came from. I expected it to be like Gusteko…”
Subaru then waved his hand at his mother, “Yeah. But not everywhere. And my Mom ain’t like that. So come on, show her.”
Felix’s face went white, “Wait, no! I’m not ready.”
Subaru’s smile went malicious, “Oh come on~. Weren’t you telling me I was a coward earlier for not wanting to knock on the door?”
“I change my mind, nya!”
Subaru was about to pounce but Naoko was quicker, grabbing his collar and pulling the boy back, “How can you act so mean to your cute husband like that?! I raised you better!”
Subaru then looked at his mom in shock, “W-wait Mom, it’s not what you think! I just wanted to show you-“
“But nothing!” She then immediately bowed to Felix, “I’m really sorry about my son’s behavior. Please don’t divorce him.”
Subaru raised his hands in outrage, “Hey don’t-“ She then shoved her hand onto his mouth and made him bow towards Felix.
Felix gawked at the two.
He then began to giggle hysterically, “Hahaha, oh my Od. You weren’t kidding. You’re mom’s awesome!”
Subaru grumbled through her fingers, “Of course she’s awesome, she’s my mom…”
Naoko smiled. This odd song and dance. It felt…good.
She…still couldn’t believe this was real. She wanted to hug her boy and never let go. But some things required prioritization. Such as making sure her boy’s cute husband felt safe and secure before welcoming him.
She then stood up tall, allowing Subaru to breathe, she gestured to their door, “Would you like to come in? It’s dreadfully cold and I wouldn’t want you to wait outside. We can talk more where it’s comfortable.”
The two looked at each other before nodding at Naoko.
However, as they started walking, she heard Felix’s voice cry out, “Uh, Ma’am, why are you not wearing any shoes?!”
Naoko blinked before looking down, “Oh, I’m not.”
Her feet were barren and becoming blistered from the cold. She must have forgotten to put anything on during her panic to see Subaru.
“Oh my God, Mom! Come on, we need to get you inside,” She felt her hands being pulled forward by her son and his husband.
Oh. They twitched. I wonder…
She stumbled as they dragged her into the living room and onto the couch, putting her feet onto the living room table.
Subaru looked around and told Felix, “I’m going to go find some towels and maybe a heat pack. Mom, is everything where it was before I left?”
Naoko thought for a moment, “The towels should be. Um, I think I left the heat packs in the kitchen, it’s in the cupboard-“
“On the far right next to the utensils?”
“…Yes. How did you know?”
Subaru smirked, “That isn’t new. Dad used to put them there because you kept forgetting where they were.”
Naoko blinked before smiling, “Welcome home, Subaru.”
Subaru’s eyes widened, he then quickly looked away, “I-I’m going to go find those towels now. F-ferris I’ll be right back, could you look after my Mom for a sec?”
Without even looking, Felix gave a thumbs up while still looking over her feet, “Already on it!”
Subaru’s feet scuttered across the floor as he went upstairs to the bathroom.
Meanwhile, Felix continued to look over her feet with incredible concentration. Naoko muttered, “Apologies. You both just arrived and now you have to worry about something like this.”
Felix smiled at her, “Don’t apologize. I’m used to this kind of stuff.”
His eyes then widened, “Ah, and it’s good that I checked. You got a cut right here Naoko-san.”
“…Oh. Could you please try calling me Mother?”
“Yeah that’s-“ Felix choked, “W-what did you say?”
Naoko put a hand on her own cheek and smiled, “Ah, well. I always wanted to have my daughter-in-law call me Mother. Even though you are my son-in-law, my wish hasn’t changed.”
“I, uh,” Felix coughed into his hand before blushing, “M-Mother. We should treat your cut quickly.”
Naoko smiled, “That’s better. As for the cut, I think we have some anti-bacterial cream and some band-aids nearby.”
Felix hesitated before speaking, “Ah, well. I think I might have something better. But…”
“Hm? But what? If you are worried about pain, I am quite good at holding in my squeals.”
Felix chuckled, “That isn’t it. It’s just…please don’t freak out. I want to show you something that might be a bit…extraordinyary.”
Naoko chuckled over the pun, “Hm? Oho~, it seems my son-in-law has some tricks up his sleeve.”
Felix blushed before putting his hands on her feet, “Just…watch.”
And Naoko did.
And Naoko saw.
And Naoko was amazed.
As Felix put his hands over her feet, she saw something begin to glow. It was as if a little sphere of blueish-green light began to hover over her feet. She felt warmth cascade over her. The cut that Felix mentioned, small but bleeding, began to mold and close on its own. Until it was gone. As if it was never there.
Felix waved his hands in the air, “Ta-daaa~!”
Naoko stared as Felix’s cheeks blushed. The cute boy coughed into his hand, “A-ah, excuse me. Subaru-kyun always liked it when I do that-“
“You can do magic. Just like the movies. That’s amazing,” Naoko clapped her hands as Felix looked at her in surprise.
“W-wait? You’re not skeptical or anything?”
Naoko shook her head, “No, why would I be?”
“I mean, it’s just. From how Subaru put it, you guys don’t have stuff like this here right?”
Naoko nodded, “Right.”
Felix looked at her incredulously, “So. Wouldn’t you be freaking nyout a bit that magic was…real?”
Naoko smiled, “…Hm. Well, I’m not one who always dwells on the impossible or the possible. Just what is and what isn’t. My son is back. And so he is. You are his husband, and so you are. You can do some kind of healing magic, so you are a healer. And your cat ears twitch, so you must be a cat human.”
“I mean that’s—wha, wha, what?!” Felix looked up and then down at Naoko with incredible confusion, “Wait, when did you-“
Naoko giggled, “Oh well, when you were pulling me into the house. I looked at your cute hat and thought that I really wanted something similar. And then I saw it move a bit. And I kept focusing on that for a bit while talking and well, it kept moving so. And since you can use some kind of fantasy magic. I’m guessing you are some cat person, as it would fit how cute you are. And probably my son got teleported to a fantasy world.”
Felix stared at her with incredible wonder, “I, uh, yes. That’s. Actually. All correct. I thought…this would take longer to explain.”
Naoko chuckled, “Fufufu, you will probably have to do a bit more for my husband. But don’t think this isn’t super fantastical for me. I’m quite amazed. It’s just…when he disappeared. I had so many theories and thoughts. And in the back of my mind, I always wondered if it was just like those ‘isekai’ stories he used to always read. Where the person got sent to another world. Instead of…dying. He must have had so much fun in that other world…”
Felix looked at her for a few seconds before walking over to the couch and sitting right next Naoko. He then took her hands and rested them in his own and spoke softly, “He never once forgot you both. He wouldn’t always talk about you guys. But the stories. And the way he would always look at that old tracksuit of his…he never forgot. Never stopped wanting to see you both. So…don’t think you were never important in his life.”
Naoko felt the tears returning and started rubbing her eyes, “Thank you…truly. Thank you. I’m glad…he was able to meet someone wonderful like you there.”
Felix giggled, “Oh please, I should be thanking you. You’re half the reason I was able to meet him in the first place. Subaru is…someone I never could imagine. He reminded me of an old, dear friend of mine. But well…he’s become something more for me. More than anyone else, and I thought that was impossible.”
Naoko could feel her heart warm, “…I wish we could have been at the wedding. I would have loved seeing you both in suits.”
Felix scratched his cheek awkwardly, “Ah, well. It may have been a bit different than what you thought…”
Naoko cocked her head to the side, “Oh. Did Subaru wear a dress?”
Felix did a double take, “Wait, you know about that?”
Naoko chuckled, “Oh come now, I’m his mother. I know everything my little boy does...”
Speaking of, said little boy came back with a tray of stuff: towels, heat packs, hot tea, and some snacks.
He set the tray down, “I’m baaack! Sorry for the wait, did I miss anything?”
Felix teased Subaru, “Did you get lost~?”
Subaru smirked, “I’ll have you know I have incredible memory. Besides, I had to get some tea and snacks for you.”
Felix frowned, “I told you; I’m not that hungry.”
Subaru raised an eyebrow, “You know I could tell you were lying back then when you said the same thing. You can’t just give me your provisions like that and think I won’t be worried.”
“Oh, come on, you needed it more.”
Subaru pointed at his husband, “And now you need it more. So, no backsassing me. Have some snacks.”
“I…fine,” Felix grumbled as he opened a package and took out a cookie and nibbled on it. Subaru chuckled as he sat down and patted his husband’s head.
Subaru then turned his attention to Naoko, “No but seriously, did I miss anything?”
Naoko waved her hand in the air, “Oh nothing much. Your husband showed me his magic is all.”
“Oh really…huh?!”
Subaru became bewildered by Naoko’s reaction causing Felix to sigh, “Yeah. That was my reaction, nya.”
Subaru looked awkwardly at his mother, “And you’re…okay? No big questions?”
Naoko giggled, “Well besides what kind of adventures you got into in that other world. Not really. Oh, but there is one thing.”
She then turned to Felix and spoke with pure determination, “Could I…touch your ears?”
Felix blinked.
He then turned to Subaru, “…She is definitely your mother.”
Subaru threw his hands in the air, “Oh come on, I didn’t ask you when I first met ya!”
Felix kept staring, “Remember our first date?”
“…Okay but in my defense, who wouldn’t want to?”
Naoko nodded, “Only the most inhumane could resist cat ears.”
Felix face palmed, “Okay, okay! You can touch them…Mother.”
Naoko’s smile almost split her face.
Felix blushed as he took off his hat, revealing the cutest pair of brown cat ears. They wiggled much more expressively now that they were free from their wool cocoon. Naoko was about to reach over with her hand until she heard someone open the front door.
“Sorry about that Naoko, there was a traffic jam so the bus ran a bit late, why don’t we go eat out if you haven’t started coo-“ Kenichi’s voice petered out as he walked in saw his wife reaching over to touch Felix’s ears.
Kenichi stared, “Well. You don’t see that every day. What did I miss…miss…Subaru?”
Kenichi stood there motionless as his eyes locked onto his son.
Subaru awkwardly waved his hand, “Hey dad…uh, I’m home—WOAH!”
Within the next few seconds, Kenichi rocketed towards the couch and nearly slammed Subaru off it into a bear hug.
Naoko could hear Kenichi sob slightly as he yelled, “Where have you been?! We’ve been worried sick about you for…years! You…you…”
Subaru didn’t know where to put his hands, but his eyes softened as the shock wore off, “…I’m sorry Dad.”
She could see Kenichi shudder, “Don’t say sorry! Just…it’s good to have you back. Finally.”
Subaru’s eyes widened before his own voice wavered and his eyes started to water, his arms wrapping around his father, “Yeah…it’s good to be back. I’m home dad.”
“…Welcome home, son.”
For the next few minutes, Naoko and Felix just watched as Subaru and Kenichi hugged each other desperately, both of them trying their best not to cry their hearts out.
After what felt like a lifetime of hugs, they finally separated.
Kenichi wiped his eyes and then focused on the big cat in the room, “Sorry, didn’t mean to ignore ya. Now, what’s a lovely lady like you doing here with my boy? Did he already get hitched or something without us knowing?”
Naoko laughed and nodded, “Yes. He did.”
“Oh…wait, what?” Kenichi did a double take at Naoko who then clarified.
“He got married to his wonderful and adorable husband. Who not only has real cat ears but can also use magic.”
Kenichi blinked and scooted towards Naoko, putting his hand on her forehead, “Are you alright dear? You’re not making any sense.”
Felix then pointed at Kenichi while looking at Subaru, “See! This is the normal reaction I was expecting!”
Subaru laughed, “Okay, okay. You made your point. Could you please show dad a spell?”
Felix pouted, “Alright…but I still won half the bet.”
Subaru muttered to himself, “How do you win half a bet?”
Felix meanwhile began channeling mana and held his hand in the air, “Huma.”
Kenichi raised his eyebrow, “What are you—WOAH!”
His eyes bulged out as Felix created a fine sheet of ice out of nowhere. It then suddenly broke and dissipated into fine snow dust before disappearing entirely.
Kenichi could barely comprehend what just happened as he continued to gawk, mouth open at the catboy.
Subaru then coughed into his hand, “You both are going to want to sit down for a while. This will take a bit to explain.”
And so, Subaru and Felix recounted his journey that began in the kingdom of Lugunica.
“A Bowl Hunter?!”
“No. Bowel, dad.”
It would require a lot of explanation.
-----------------------------------
“So yeah I met Ferris right as I was talking to old man Wil. By the way, he pretended he was a girl the entire time.”
“Hey it’s not my fault you assumed so much.”
“You literally didn’t correct me!”
“Nyeh, details.”
----------------------------------
“We went on a date after I returned home from Vollachia. You should have seen him. He was crying the whole time I came back.”
“…I did nyot. You’re misremembering.”
“Really? Because I specifically remember, ‘Subawu! I’m sowwy—‘OW!”
“Moving on!”
----------------------------------
“So much happened after that fight with Al. Thanks to Felix, Al and I kind of came to an understanding.”
“It was meowre like a ceasefire than anything else. We help bring back Priscilla and he doesn’t send my boyfriend to the shadow realm.”
“I sometimes regret teaching you about Yugioh.”
“That’s because you don’t like losing to me every Saturday night.”
“I still don’t understand how your bullshit cat-themed deck can beat my carefully crafted meta deck!”
“Maybe you should just ‘get good.’”
“I also regret teaching you slang.”
----------------------------------
“So yeah after defeating the whole Witch Cult and purifying Satella. She gave me the power to come back home for a bit, and I asked Felix to accompany me.”
Felix shrugged, “It seemed like a better second honeymoon idea than going to Kararagi for a bit.”
Subaru laughed as Felix took a sip of his tea. Subaru’s arm was over his husband’s shoulder as Felix nuzzled his head close to Subaru’s neck.
Naoko and Kenichi were both on armchairs, opposite sides, to the right and left of the couple. Both were completely enraptured by Subaru and Felix’s story, leaned in and wide-eyed the entire time.
Subaru then looked at both of them, “So…any questions?”
Kenichi raised his hand, “…So the wolf guy is kind of like Naruto, right?”
Subaru made an exaggerated show of hands, “Finally! Someone else who noticed that too!”
Felix rolled his eyes, “Hey, I get your references nyow.”
Subaru scratched Felix’s head, making the catboy purr, “Yeah but like there’s a difference between teaching you and having someone else just automatically get it. Yes mom?”
Naoko put down her hand, “So what happened with those other girls, Emilia and Rem?”
Subaru’s face went white as Felix stared at him with incredible intensity, “Yeah, Subaru-kyun, tell Mother and Father all about that whole nonsense.”
Subaru sweated, “Maaaaybe, another day? I feel we’ve already kind of lore dumped my parents a bit too much. I’m sure they’re getting hungry.”
Naoko perked up, “Oh right! I almost forgot. It’s a bit late to cook anything…how about Subaru and I go get some takeout from that nearby fried chicken place.”
Subaru’s eyes widened, “Chicktastic is still open?!”
Felix narrowed his eyes at Subaru, “That is a horrible name for a store.”
Subaru bumped Felix’s head, “Hey don’t insult it until you try it. Trust me, one taste and you’ll be basically obsessed.”
Felix laughed before nudging Subaru to his feet, “Alright, alright. Go get it quickly then so I can give it a try.”
Subaru smiled as he and his mother got their shoes on and left the house.
Felix sipped his tea as Kenichi seemed to be deep in thought.
“…Was Subaru happy?” Felix almost jumped in surprise by Kenichi’s question. The man was solemn, leaning into his clasped hands on his knees, his face pensive.
Felix swallowed, “…Not always.”
“I see…Is he happy now?”
“…I try. We don’t always get along. But. We try. And no matter what, he makes me the happiest guy alive. I want to make sure he feels the same way, even if it’s nyot exactly the same,” Felix said as he clutched his cup tightly.
“From my eyes, I think you are doing a swell job,” Kenichi chuckled as his eyes became darker and regretful, “Before he disappeared, Subaru wasn’t…happy. I…think I was at fault for that.”
“…” Felix stayed quiet as he listened to Kenichi’s words.
Kenichi rubbed his fingers with his thumbs, “He always looked up to me as a kid. And I felt so happy that he thought I was some kind of hero…but I started to see how it would affect him as he grew older. I think he thought…he wasn’t good enough to be our son.”
“…”
“Which is stupid. So stupid. He doesn’t need to be enough to be our son. He’s our son! We didn’t have him to be someone great. Or to meet our expectations. Or to be like me or Naoko! We had him…because we loved him. We wanted him. We wanted Subaru. Not anyone else. We just wanted our son…”
“…”
“I thought…I thought I had enough time. I thought I could figure out a way to coax him out of that mindset without intruding on his space. I would try in more subtle ways. But then…he disappeared. And…now that I see him back. He no longer looks like he hates the way he is. He looks…happy. So…I just wanted to say…”
Kenichi suddenly stood up and bowed deeply at Felix, “Thank you. Thank you for making my son happy.”
“…” Felix then stood up and got on his hands and knees as well.
Kenichi was flummoxed, awkwardly hovering over Felix, “Wait, you don’t have to-“
“Thank you for raising such a kind boy,” Kenichi’s eyes widened as Felix continued, “Subaru…saved me. He saved so many people. He had no reason to. But he did. He saved me, my Lady, and almost entire countries. Simply because that was the right thing to do. Maybe that was just his personality. But given how I’ve seen you and your wife’s actions and behavior, I can tell you were both part of the reason for his personality. Subaru is a hero. Someone many look up to. You should be proud. Please, don’t think you’re a bad parent. I’ve seen bad parents. You love Subaru. And that’s all that matters.”
Kenichi’s mouth opened but words could barely be formed. He was only able to strain out a few, “…Thank you. I…thank you.”
Felix rose to his feet and scratched his head, “Ah but… your son’s kind of a dumbass though, unfortunyately.”
Kenichi blinked before laughing, a very guttural laugh, “Hahaha! Yes…he may have inherited that from us.”
Felix shook his head as he brought his hands in the air, “I swear, half the time I have to make sure the guy isn’t getting hoodwinked or getting himself killed whenever we go out somewhere.”
Kenichi nodded with joviality, “I can understand that feeling, I first met Naoko when she was getting scammed by this pyramid scheme salesman.”
Just as the two were going to reminisce on their dumbass spouses, they heard someone kick the door open and yell, “We’re back! I swear if you guys have been badmouthing us while we were gone, no chicken for either of ya!”
The two men looked at each other before smiling.
Felix yelled back, “Whaaaat? Of course nyot, right Father?”
Kenichi smirked, “Of course son-in-law. We would never do that.”
He heard Naoko’s voice, “Oh. That’s your father’s lying tone.”
Subaru’s voice also echoed out, “You don’t say? That’s also Ferris’s bullshit tone. Maybe we should eat our chicken without them.”
Both men paled as they started to figure out a way to calm down their spouses before being put in the doghouse.
Despite all of the bickering and issues, the Natsuki Household was filled with laughter and love once more.