Chapter Text
After finding a comfortable position to sit in while hiding between his bed and a wall, Fundy finally went still. He could hear the strangers talking with his dad in the hallway and he was certain his name was mentioned at least three times, so he was not planning to leave his spot anytime soon. He was not going to meet any strangers today, he refused- The door to his room gently opened, and his father’s footsteps entered. Maybe Fundy would’ve peeked out to look at him, but the strangers followed him inside.
“Fundy?” Wilbur called out before stopping. “...Oh no. I swear he’s here somewhere, just… Fundy? Come on, come out!”
Fundy stayed in his spot, though. He was NOT going to come out until the two strangers left his house, he refused. Besides, his little corner was very comfortable! It was warm, it made him feel secure, and he was sure that if he searched hard enough, he’d probably find some long-lost toy- Suddenly, the corner grew dark. Confused, the fox kit looked up and saw a big, tall pig… man… person? A stranger standing by his bed and blocking the lamp’s light. Even worse, looking at him. Before Fundy could decide how to react, the stranger looked in his father’s direction.
“Uh… Wilbur? I think I found him,” he said, sparing another glance in Fundy’s direction.
“Is he in there?” Wilbur asked, and he appeared at the stranger’s side. As soon as he spotted Fundy, he walked closer to the bed and knelt down. “Fundy? What’s wrong?”
Sitting as far from his father as possible, Fundy pointed at the stranger behind Wilbur. His father turned his head to check what his son was showing him, fell silent, and then looked back at the kit while shaking his head.
“Oh, no, don’t be scared! It’s okay, you can come out, it’s safe. They’re friendly!” he assured. “He… doesn’t do well with strangers,” he told his guests while he waited for Fundy to leave his hiding spot.
Despite his hesitation, the fox kit slowly summoned up the courage to get up and carefully leave his safe corner. His father kept encouraging him to do so while he took a few steps back to stop blocking his way, which was just enough to convince Fundy to actually come out. Once he was in the open, he looked around his room and found one more stranger standing there. That one possibly seemed even more intimidating than the pig person, with the giant wings making his frame much bigger and scarier.
“Hello,” the big angel-man greeted him, taking a small step towards him and waving to him. “You’re Fundy, right?”
Fundy did the only reasonable thing he could've possibly done when faced with such a situation.
He growled.
“No, no, Fundy, no,” Wilbur hushed him, gently picking him up. Somehow, being taller made the fox kit less scared of the two strangers. “It’s okay, see? They’re not that scary.”
Fundy decided to get a better look at the strangers while his father was still holding him and sure enough, they appeared less intimidating now. The pig-man suddenly looked quite collected and polite, and the winged man appeared much more friendly and kind… not to mention, he somewhat resembled Fundy’s dad, which immediately put the fox kit at ease. Wilbur seemed to pick up on that.
“Do you feel better now?” he asked, and Fundy nodded. His father smiled. “There we go.”
“Sorry for scaring you,” the winged man said once he was certain the fox kit was calmed down. Unsure how else to respond to that, Fundy let out a cheerful yip.
“Isn’t he cute?” Wilbur beamed instantly, rocking the fox kit in his arms. It didn’t take him long to collect himself again, though. “And Fundy, I promise you don’t have to be scared of them. They’re family!” he assured, but that statement did nothing but confuse his son.
Family? No, that couldn’t be the right word! He shook his head. Now it was Wilbur’s turn to be confused.
“...No? What do you mean?” he questioned, and Fundy pointed at a drawing hanging over his bed. A simple pencil drawing of the two of them and Sally in it. “...Ohh! Oh, that’s… Fundy, family isn’t just you, me, and your mum,” he explained. “This is your grandpa because he’s my dad, and this is your…” he paused for a moment, eyeing the pig-man. “...Uncle? Do you want to be his uncle, Techno?”
While his dad and the pig-man started a discussion about which title would fit him best, Fundy fell silent and did his best to remember. So the family was him, his parents, and his parents’ parents… that wasn’t too hard to understand, he decided. When his father and… uncle? When they finally reached an agreement and Wilbur told him again that the two strangers were family, Fundy just nodded in response. It made sense, he supposed.
“Oh, what is this?” Fundy asked, crouching down to see the drawing Yogurt was holding. “Is that… us?” he asked, and a smile appeared on his face.
Yogurt nodded excitedly as a response.
“Oh wow, good job!” he praised him. “Do you want me to put it up somewhere nice? I think a… family portrait would fit right by that chest over there,” he suggested. Yogurt looked up at him with confusion on his face. “...Portrait? That’s like… a drawing of someone, but better,” he explained, but the confusion didn’t disappear. “...Oh, wait. Family?”
Yogurt nodded. Oh, Fundy thought. So he didn’t know what family was. He let out a quiet sigh before picking Yogurt up and carrying him over to his bed to sit down. He placed the fox kit on his lap and wondered for a second, how should he explain what family was? It was a simple task, he convinced himself. It didn’t even have to be perfect, it just had to get a simple point across - they were a family.
“So, family is…” he started, but he had to pause.
Was it a simple task? Certainly not for his parents when he was a kid, they must’ve simplified the concept just a tiny bit too much. At first, it was supposedly just him and his parents, then suddenly it was also his parents’ parents and a few more people… and it took him and his father moving to L’Manburg for him to learn that family could be so much more than that. He shouldn’t oversimplify family, he realized, it was far too important for that. He took a deep breath.
“...Family is people you’re really close to. They care about you, and you care about them… They’re important to you. Sometimes it changes and someone leaves or someone joins your family… but I think that’s a good thing, okay?” he explained while Yogurt looked up at him in wonder. “So do you think we’re a family? Because I do.”
When his son nodded to confirm and turned around to give his dad the biggest hug his tiny hands could offer, Fundy felt relieved. He gently hugged Yogurt back and thought, this went okay. And he got the most important point across. They were a family, and he couldn't possibly describe how glad it made him feel to finally say that. He hoped this one would last forever.