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“Hey Rain Cloud, do we not curb the kids movies enough?” Leon asked thoughtfully, running a hand through his hair and thinking quietly that he needed a haircut. That would likely also be a family affair. Most of them liked their shorter hair, even Xion. The only exception would be Reiku and Leon would personally fight the school regulation that didn’t allow boys’ hair to be longer than a certain length. The kid deserved hair as long as he wanted.
“What?” Cloud yawned, taking advantage of all of their kids playing games in the basement to make himself a sandwich that he wouldn’t have to share. Sometimes he didn’t want to share what was on his plate and didn’t want to be made to feel guilty about it.
“Their questions are getting stranger.”
“Isn’t that just part of growing up?” Cloud asked, picking his plate up and planning on breaking the rules by eating a ‘meal’ in the living room. “Roxas just asked me the other day if i was alive when everything was in black and white.”
Leon puffed out a laugh, following Cloud to sit beside him on the sofa. He turned the TV on but neither were exactly watching it just yet.
“Vanitas hit me with a zinger too. How did people make tools before they had tools.” Cloud continued.
“They ask more interesting questions than my college students.” Leon muttered, leaning forward with a sigh to grab the mail off the coffee table that one of the kids had left there. They were all suddenly in the middle of a phase where they raced to be the one to get the mail.
They were all now old enough to not be scolded for leaving the yard to go to the mailbox. He was sure it would lose its thrill soon.
Cloud took a bite of his sandwich and nodded. “Xion asked why we can’t share our imaginations and here i thought i could convince her that we can and she’s just like, no, share them in our heads.”
“It’s that super hero cartoon.” Leon muttered, putting the bills aside for now.
“Well kids ask questions. You’ve learned that by now.” Cloud mused. “What kid threw you for a loop this time?”
Leon made a face. “Sora asked what a furry was.”
Cloud nearly choked on the bite he’d just taken, nearly gagging before managing to swallow around his laughter. “He asked what!?”
“Stupid.” Leon rolled his eyes. “You heard me. Where did he even learn that kind of language?”
“Dunno.” Cloud’s shoulders were still shaking with laughter. “But it’s probably more the internet than movies.”
Leon made a face. “I’ll have to double check the child proof settings if that’s the case. Guardians only know what they’re learning on the playground at school.”
Cloud still looked too amused for his own good. “You think so?”
“You’d be surprised what i learned on the playground.” he said dryly.
“Oh the things i missed out on.” Cloud smiled, “You poor thing, when did Sora even ask you?”
“Last night.”
“Well what did you tell him?”
Leon scoffed again, tossing the coupons aside to look through later. Any little bit helped even if Laguna bought their groceries now. “I told him to go brush his teeth.”
Cloud tipped his head back, laughing again. “Squall!”
“Shut up. What was i supposed to tell him?!”
Parenting never got easier, but there was something constantly amusing about one dying of laughter while the other was left frustrated. It happened to both of them, often switching roles but if one was laughing then chances were good it wasn’t a terrible situation to start with.
“You tell him you are a furry and to not worry about it until he’s older.” Cloud was nearly coughing again.
“Fucking excuse you?” Leon snatched half of Cloud’s sandwich and took a bite. Cloud was in no state to defend his food. “How am i a furry?”
“Oh c’mon. We kept those fangs from halloween for a reason.”
Leon scoffed, “One does not lead to the other.”
Cloud face was getting red. “No? So if i get the fangs and find a tail or something you wouldn’t think that was hot and fuck me?”
“I’d fuck you now.” Leon said instead. “Well maybe not right now since you’re being a prick.”
“Lion.” Cloud cooed, having to put the plate on the coffee table before he dropped it.
“Don’t even. That’s a nickname you picked.” Leon pointed out. “If that leads to one of us being a furry, it’s you. You already claimed you’d dress up.”
Cloud was wiping his tears away, coughing and laughing all at once. “For you!”
“Oh bite me.” Leon muttered, covering his eyes the moment he realized what he’d said and Cloud howled with laughter.
“Any time!”
Leon snorted and ate another bite before dropping what was left of the half he’d eaten back on the plate. “Ass.”
“Damn, i can’t breathe.” Cloud slumped against the arm of the sofa, every little thing started off his giggles again.
“You think you’re so hilarious.” Leon commented. “It’s going to backfire when one or more of the kids pick up on your sense of humor.”
“That it will, lion. That it will.” Cloud coughed and cleared his throat. “Just the fact that the most wild questions come from Sora should confirm it.”
“Without a doubt.” Leon said, a tinge of confusion in his face as he turned over an envelope in his hands. The address was correct but it had been sent from the social service offices and that was odd. Shera hadn’t mentioned anything to them either. What was more curious was that when he opened it, another envelope was inside. “Forwarded mail?”
Cloud cleared his throat again and finished off his sandwich before he ended up sharing more. “What?”
“Dunno yet.” Leon said. The post seal on the second envelope said it had been mailed from Arendelle. Which was further away than Balam Garden. “Who’d be writing to us from Arendelle using Child Social Services as a middle man?”
The thought sobered Cloud up rather quickly, his brow crinkling. “What? How’s it Addressed?”
“It just says Strifehart.” Leon said, opening the letter to get to the bottom of it. He’d expected something typed because…that’s how most of the mail came but this was a handwritten letter in pretty scrawling letters.
Dear Professor and Mr. Strifehart,
We have never had the pleasure, but i suppose living so far away from one another we would have had no reason to. My name is Tara Archerley and i have been a resident of Arendale all of my life. I’ve thought about contacting you for some time now as i am getting on in years and feel enough time has been squandered.
Some years ago my daughter left home, never to return, I'm afraid. She had gone to school in Twilight Town you see but perhaps the culture shock was too much for her. I understand i am getting rather ahead of myself but i hope you bear this letter with some amount of patience.
When my daughter fell into heavy drug use, i wasn’t left with so many options in regards to coping. She would call for money and other needs for my assistance. She would need places to live only weeks after i had painstakingly acquired something for her. After some years, it saddens me to say i had to cut her off financially. As my only daughter i was left with no other choice as i could no longer trust anything she said to me. All needling in an attempt at me funding more of her life was left with my declining her. It was not easy to do, but the help i offered was rebuffed one time too many.
When i was told she had given birth, i’m afraid i did not believe her. After everything else, i assumed it was one more attempt to get money out of me. Twins even sounded like quite the lie. One of them being ill, another lie.
It was some time later that i stopped hearing from her altogether and i feared the worst. As i have not heard from her in approximately a decade, i still fear the worst.
An old woman does begin to wonder though, and i finally bent enough to search for her. Dead or alive i did want to know. I have not come across her yet but i was quite shocked to find that she had in fact given birth to twins. Weeks with the information and i was too stunned to act on the knowledge.
Through the investigator i hired and the, frankly minimal help from your country's Child Providers, i have learned a small amount about my grandchildren. Two young boys. One was in fact ill and it makes me heart sick to learn that it hadn’t been a foolish lie from my own daughter.
I have learned that you two men have adopted them and i don’t even know if their names have been changed.
I don’t want to make a fuss, and i certainly don’t want to become an interloper upon your family. I am not about to swoop in and steal away your children and i hope you will consider this letter legal, written verification that i have no intentions of applying for any kind of guardianship over the boys. Children should stay in their happy home.
All i hope for is some form of communication between us. I would love to learn about them. If you are amenable, i would dearly appreciate pictures. I have never traveled, and i am likely too old to start but communication is that foothold i lost with my daughter.
I suppose after so many years this must come as a shock to you as it was to me, but i sincerely would not have let the children suffer had i believed they were real.
I have so many questions and i hope the boys are doing well now. There was only so much information i could gather on my own. I hope to hear from you young men in the near future and i do hope i haven’t upset the children, assuming you will have told them about this.
I do not have much, but i have stories, and i would love to hear theirs.
My daughter is still unknown to me, and i do not even know the name of their father but i would like to get to know my grandchildren if you would permit it.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Tara Archerley
Leon read with his lips parted in disbelief and he thrust the letter at Cloud as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “This does not happen. It just doesn’t. Children don’t have long lost twins and siblings. Half brothers we didn’t know about and sudden Grandma’s don’t just appear after years."
Cloud hummed slowly. “It’s…strange for sure. It seems, i dunno. It’s either heart-breakingly honest or some kind of con job that doesn’t make sense. This woman hasn’t asked for anything other then for us to write her back and for pictures but…”
“Seems she’s found the birth certificates. That part seems factual. Their father’s name isn’t written on them.” Leon muttered. “I suppose, assuming their mother is even alive, it would be easier to find the children then their mother.”
Cloud looked like he was rereading the letter again. “Guess it depends on what kind of investigator she hired. I guess she doesn’t have our address?”
“Guess not, which would be why it was sent to Child Social Services. It might have had some note attached asking it to be forwarded to us on her behalf.”
“We should call and ask Shera. See what she thinks.”
Leon agreed. “Not a bad idea. Maybe she can look up how it came to us. Seems strange. She doesn’t know our address but we’re not just the parents that adopted her grandkids. We’re Professor and Mister. She knows that much about it.”
“She might know more and was just being polite.” Cloud said, flipping the letter over to see if there was more but there wasn’t.
“Well…” Leon didn’t look thrilled. “What do we do?”
Cloud sighed softly. “I say we play ball. I’ll call Vincent. Let him do his own outreaching. If he thinks this woman his legit then…Is there harm in a couple of pictures and letting Riku and Rei know that…” he didn’t finished. Let them know what? Both were aware that their parents had been addicts. Riku had never much cared because he’d been adopted and loved from such a young age.
They were going to have to have a few talks with Reiku to get feelers on his emotions over it.
“Yeah.” Leon continued as if understanding. “Arendelle is so far away too so we really might not have much to worry about. I agree. I’ll call Shera and you call Vincent.”
“Do you think we should keep this to ourselves for a bit?” Cloud asked, somewhat hesitant. The boys had a right to know, but they were still so young. It seemed like there were too many questions in the air they couldn’t answer.
Leon offered a nod. “Let’s see what Vincent finds out and then we’ll decide. If this is bullshit then we can tear the letter up. If she really is just this… lonely old lady then i don’t see the harm. They can write to her and we can send her pictures. We’ll see where it goes from there.”
“The others will be jealous.” Cloud offered. There weren’t a lot of grandmothers to go around. The only one they had ever known had been Lightning’s mother but she had been moved into an assisted living home.
“Yeah.” Leon said, slumping to the side to lean against Cloud as he took the letter to read it again. “This just doesn’t happen in real life. It’s a soap opera.”
“Who knows, maybe our moms will come back from the dead next.” Cloud said dryly.
Leon snorted. “Wouldn’t that be something? They’re probably bikers in the Pride Lands.”
“Ha… Of course.” Cloud agreed instantly, rubbing a hand up and down Leon’s spine, earlier teasing forgotten. “They’d be best friends and run the gang.”
“Adopting out stray pets and on the road because of a case of amnesia…” Leon added.
“I think we cracked the case.” Cloud said. “Makes total sense after everything else.
The joking gave them a moment to decompress their sudden dilemma. It let them say whatever came out of their mouth without thinking too hard on it.
The pair of them curled up together on the sofa, each reading the letter again. Grandmother or no grandmother, they’d hold onto their kids tightly just like they’d always done.