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"Coffee?"
"...Pardon?"
"Would you like some coffee, sir?"
The soft, feminine voice of Ernst's maid calls the man's attention away from his laptop. He blinks the weariness away from his eyes and looks out the window of his home's office. Even though it's a weekend, he had awoken at the crack of dawn to try and get in just an hour or so of work. The sun is now shining brightly in the morning sky.
"Yes…that might be a good idea," Ernst replies. "I'll need it for today. The house is about to become much livelier than we're used to."
Teresa smiles gently from the door to his office.
"If only you could see the look on your face, sir," Teresa teases. "You're beaming from excitement."
Ernst pauses for a short moment, not realizing he was being so obvious. He chuckles and says, "I guess I am, huh?"
They both hear the hum of a vehicle slowing down and arriving at the front gate to his estate. A few moments later, the distinct sound of car doors opening and closing are followed by the cries of children.
"Coffee will have to wait. Looks like they're here."
–
"Welcome!" Ernst greets jovially with his arms spread wide. "It warms my heart that my son is entrusting his dear old dad to take care of my favorite grandchildren this week while you're away!"
He's grown used to the flat look of his adopted ward, Shinei Nouzen.
"Not you, we're trusting Teresa to look after them," the young man says bluntly.
Ernst slumps his shoulders dejectedly.
Shin is carrying two small duffle bags and unpacking two more from the trunk of the car. One for each child, which Lena likely thought of so as not to confuse everyone's belongings. The driver hurries over to help the young father. In the past, Shin had always declined his offers, but now he has his hands full with children, so he thanks the man appreciatively.
"Fido, you help too, come on," Shin beckons to a small form inside the vehicle. A robotic looking dog leaps from the back seat and lands onto the ground. While Fido’s previous form was useful during the Legion war, these days it would be impossible to have a large Scavenger in Shin and Lena’s home. So Fido's AI was transferred into a small robotic dog, much like from Shin's youth, or so Ernst is told.
Lena approaches the aging man with a kind and familiar smile. She's holding their two year old toddler in one arm and letting their six year old daughter cling on to her other hand. The woman looks a little worn out, but Ernst suspects it took quite some effort and time to get the whole family packed up and ready to go this morning.
"Thank you so much again for taking care of the kids this week, Ernst," Lena thanks.
"You see?!" Ernst scolds, pointing a finger at Shin. "That's what appreciation looks like, young man! Learn some manners from your wife!"
Ernst doesn't quite catch Shin rolling his eyes because he's now absorbed in his adorable grandchildren.
"Come here Ushio, give grandpa a hug!"
The six year old girl's face brightens immediately looking at Ernst. She's the spitting image of her mother except for her dark, onyx hair. She runs forward to Ernst, and the older man bends down to her level.
Ushio runs straight past him and leaps into Teresa's arms with a giggle.
Shin looks pointedly at Ernst with a smug look.
“Just kidding,” Ushio admits with a toothy grin. She turns back around to run to Ernst, and within moments she’s sitting comfortably in his arms.
“You’re starting to get too big for this,” Ernst points out, feeling his arms become more strained.
“Or maybe you’re just getting too old,” Shin remarks casually.
The young man scoops up one of the four year old twins from the carseat in the vehicle into his arms and the other one chooses to walk on his own. The girl in his arms is quite shy and is burying her face into her father's shoulder.
Ernst smiles fondly from afar as he watches Shin try to gently comfort Aomi, rubbing her back in circles and telling her how much fun she'll have with Teresa.
It takes some time before lunch is served. Shin and Lena take the kids to get settled into a few of the many spare guest rooms of the estate. Teresa has chosen ones that are close to both her and Ernst, in case either of them are needed at night.
"And I also brought Narumi's soother just in case. We’ve almost weaned him off of it at home, but if he’s being too fussy please let him have it whenever," Lena adds to the long list of instructions that she's already given Teresa. The blonde maid patiently nods to everything the mother tells her.
The family is sitting at the dining table enjoying their meal. Ernst takes a moment to revel in the moment. All of his adopted wards have moved out for some time now, even Frederica. But this humble old man is still blessed with regular visits from all of them, sometimes one or a few at a time, and sometimes all of them at once - thankfully this estate is large enough to hold everyone and their growing families.
"Lena, you already wrote everything down on a huge list. Teresa can manage just fine," Shin teases her with a smile. He cuts up some more pieces of sausage to place onto both the twins' plates after they ask for more.
"You wrote half that list. You even put down which stuffy is Aomi's favorite for when she's upset," Lena quips back with a smirk. The young woman grabs the cloth she placed next to her to wipe their youngest son's, Narumi's, chin.
"She gets scared of thunderstorms."
Lena makes a satisfied humming noise as she smiles coyly at her husband. Shin replies by rolling his eyes, though the fond smile on his face completely gives him away.
"Okay, you two, stop poking fun at each other. You're both doting parents that love your children and you know them best. I'm glad to have all this useful advice," Teresa placates politically.
"Anyways, it's about time you both get moving," Ernst interjects after looking at the old grandfather clock. "Lena has a train for the United Kingdom to catch, and your transport to the south is also set to depart this afternoon, Shin."
"Make sure you're careful out there," Lena says to her husband with concern in her voice.
"I will be. And it's nothing too dangerous, I'm just there to aid in the relief efforts."
Of course, Shin says this knowing that it's not a small feat, but compared to the literal suicidal missions that he survived during the Legion war, humanitarian aid is considerably less dangerous.
Shin is a local paramedic captain, but since he specializes in emergency air rescue, he's been asked to help in relief efforts. A severe tsunami has trapped thousands of people in areas that are now inaccessible.
"I can call the driver to take you to your transport right away," Teresa offers kindly.
"There's no need. They're still loading up all our equipment and supplies, so I have a bit of time to take Lena to the train station," Shin replies.
"If you're sure…I don't want to hold you up though," Lena says hesitantly.
"You're not holding me up," Shin says with a soft smile reserved for her. "I want to come see you off."
Lena blinks in surprise as her face flushes pink, and in the next moment returns his warm smile with one of her own.
These two… Ernst thinks to himself, chuckling internally. Even four children later and they still act like they're in their honeymoon phase.
"Please give our kind regards to Prince Viktor, Lena," Ernst says. "I wonder what it is he's asked for you to consult with."
"Hopefully it's not another one of his questionable experiments. You might end up having to beat some sense into Vika," Shin remarks.
"...Nothing I haven't done before…"
When Shin and Lena say goodbye to the children to leave, it kind of goes exactly how everyone expected. It's the first time they're both going to be away from the kids at the same time, after all. The two parents take a long moment giving each kid lots of hugs and kisses. It's endearing at first, but Ernst is looking nervously as the time keeps ticking.
Ushio looks sad, but since she's already in school, she's at least used to the idea of not being with her parents all the time. Aomi and her twin brother Hasumi have complete opposite reactions. Aomi has a full-blown meltdown and Hasu waves goodbye without a care. Narumi, since he's still a toddler, cries alongside his sister. Teresa does her best to comfort them, but Shin and Lena cave in and hold them soothingly until they calm down. Ernst gets the impression that it's not just the kids having a hard time saying goodbye. Not surprisingly, Aomi goes to her dad and Narumi goes to his mom. They are the typical papa's girl and mama's boy.
Round two goes…exactly the same.
The only difference is that while Teresa distracts the kids with the promise of ice cream, Ernst pushes the two parents out of sight as quickly as he can.
"Ushio, look out for your brothers and sister!" Shin calls out in a rush as Ernst tries to shove him to the car.
"And be good for Teresa and your grandpa! We love you!" Lena adds in right before the car door slams shut.
This is going to be a long week for those two.
–
The next day, Teresa becomes sick with a horrible flu.
"Sir…I need to prepare breakfast for the children…"
"Don't even think about it," Ernst interjects with his hand up. The doctor he had called in for a home visit is finishing up and packing his medical kit. He's given some medication to Teresa and strict orders to rest.
"I can handle everything."
Teresa looks at him dubiously.
–
Ernst ends up burning the toast, but at least the kids like cereal and milk.
–
Later that morning, Ernst goes into his office to try and catch up on a bit more work. He wishes he could spend all his time with his grandchildren, but as the President of a nation, he has an immense duty and obligation to maintain a diligent work ethic.
He puts on one of the kids' favorite shows on TV. That should keep them occupied for a short while. Ernst has the sincerest of intentions to check up on them regularly, but as always, he loses track of time once he gets absorbed into his work.
The kids lose interest in the show after half an hour…
Fido quickly grabs onto Hasu's shirt just as he's about to fall off the banister from the second story. The robot pulls him to solid ground.
When Aomi starts crying after she takes a small tumble, Fido wags its robotic tail in front of her which makes the little girl giggle.
Fido spends a half hour playing fetch with Narumi. It's unclear which one takes the role of the dog…
Once Ushio starts rummaging through the pantry looking for a snack, Fido manages to jump onto the counter and push some cookies to the floor. Ushio thanks the robot dog and takes them to her siblings.
Fido apparently didn't want to be programmed to bark, but he can still make beeps and boops like he always has. If Shin were present, he would likely translate the robot dog's beeps as, "Where the hell is Ernst?!"
–
Right before lunch a knock comes from the front door.
"I'll get it!" Ushio shouts as she runs out of the living room.
Ernst can hear the boisterous exchange of, "Uncle Raiden!!!" and "What the heck happened to your hair?"
Raiden walks into the living room pointing at Ushio's hair.
"Is this your doing?"
All the kids immediately run towards him and Raiden gives them each a giant bear hug.
Well…Ernst did his best. But even he admits that it looks like Ushio has just walked out of a tornado.
Five minutes later, after Raiden tells Ushio to go grab her brush and some elastics, both her and Aomi's hair are done into beautiful, neat braids.
"Teresa messaged me and asked me to check up on you guys," Raiden says as he puts down the brush.
"I'm not sure why, things have been going just fine," Ernst insists.
Fido starts beeping and booping enthusiastically from the other side of the living room.
Raiden squints in confusion as he looks at the dog.
"That's worse than I thought."
"You don't even understand him!"
–
Raiden prepares a delicious omelet rice for lunch for everyone and the kids love it.
"How long are you staying for?" Ernst asks as they eat.
"Just the day. I have to get back to work tomorrow morning," the younger man replies.
They talk a little bit about how Raiden's work is going. Raiden started a business in trades a couple years after he became a certified carpenter and electrician. He talks about how he's been able to start working with not for profit organizations to build homes for families that can't afford them. A wonderful cause, one that Ernst can tell his adopted son is proud of.
“And when should we start expecting to see a special guest at dinners?” Ernst inquires with a knowing smirk and a teasing lilt to his voice. Raiden’s face immediately flushes. Ernst only heard about it from Theo and Anju, but apparently Raiden has been seeing someone for several months now.
"How long are Shin and Lena out of town again?" Raiden asks, obviously trying to change the topic. Ernst lets him drop it. For now.
"Not sure about Shin, he could be away for a while. But Lena should be back from Roa Gracia on Saturday."
Raiden sighs.
"I'll call the others."
–
Raiden stays until they put the kids to bed that night. Even he needs to flip through the several page document that Shin and Lena have left Ernst with. He can hear the young man giving the twins a bath as he tucks Ushio into her covers, nice and snug.
"Grandpa…," Ushio starts timidly.
"What is it, dear?" Ernst asks softly.
She wiggles around to get comfortable and replies, "Mama and papa tell stories at bedtime."
Ernst's heart melts just a tiny bit. This child is just too cute for this world. He is reminded of a memory from a lifetime ago, it seems, and he is grateful to be granted this second chance.
"Oh yeah? Let's see what books they packed for you. Do you have a favorite?"
Ushio looks down hesitantly and starts squirming. Ernst can tell that she's trying to tell him that he's somehow not getting it right, so he waits a moment for her to figure out what to say.
"Papa tells me stories about all his friends from the Eighty-Six."
Ernst becomes still and pauses for a moment, caught off guard by this. However…
Ushio is now six years old. A lot of them were at this age or even younger when they were forced into the internment camps. The Legion war may be over now, but he doesn't believe they should become blind and ignorant to the past.
It's as Frederica once said all those years ago. It's blood, heritage, and bonds that make up a person.
Ernst takes a moment to relax himself before he replies to the young, innocent girl. One could say that she and her siblings are a legacy of all those that the Reaper carried with him.
"I think those are stories that only your papa can tell you. And I think you should pay extra attention to everything he says," Ernst says gently.
"That's what mama says too," Ushio says with a smile. "Mama says that sometimes we lose the people we love, and when they're not here with us anymore, like TP, then we can remember them and can keep them with us. And that's why papa's stories about his friends are important."
Ernst can feel his heart swell over with more emotions than he can name. He's never believed much in heaven or hell, but he wonders whether the fallen comrades of his adopted wards can see them now. He dares to believe that they would be smiling down at them.
Shin and Lena have both ensured that their memories are being honored in the way that they can be proud of. And he feels so incredibly proud of them for this.
"Your mum and dad…sure are amazing, huh?"
"Mhm!"
–
On weekdays, Ushio goes to school full time and Aomi and Hasumi go to preschool for half days. Shin and Lena have just put Narumi into a daycare so he can start interacting with other peers his age, but that's only three times a week.
Thankfully, this means that taking care of the children is actually more manageable than that first day, but Ernst is not entirely sure why everyone thought it went poorly.
"Pi pi pi pi pi!!!"
He has no idea what Fido's beeping at.
Each day, one of his wards tends to stop by for a visit exactly when all the kids are home for the day. Ernst knows what's going on, and he's glad to see them of course, but he's perfectly capable of taking care of some children.
Kurena drops by first thing in the mornings to help get all the kids ready for the day. Somehow, she's able to get all of them to wear exactly what she chooses without much of a fuss and does the girls' hair in elaborate hairstyles.
Theo drops by one evening after dinner and does a craft night with them. By the end of it they're covered from head to toe in paint of all colors, but Theo says he bought the washable kind.
Anju and Dustin arrive another evening and prepare dinner for everyone. Ernst expects that Dustin will soon be his son-in-law, but these two have needed considerably more time than Shin and Lena to commit to that.
Even Frederica comes home to visit, even though she's been immersed in her studies. She takes Ushio out for dinner at their favorite restaurant which…doesn't actually help him much. Not that he needs help, of course.
…Thankfully Raiden also shows up the same night to cook and help put the kids to bed.
–
Teresa starts feeling much better by the end of the week, and she's able to take on a few more duties a little at a time. Before Ernst knows it, Saturday arrives, and Lena comes home to all her kids barreling straight into her. Even wearing heels, she somehow manages to stay upright. The young mother gathers all her children up at once in a tight embrace.
"I missed you all so much!"
Just a couple hours after, Shin arrives at the front gate, surprising everybody inside. Ernst and Teresa watch from the entrance as his son is enveloped by all sides from his family. The young man is looking weary and tired from what was likely an eventful week, but seeing Lena and his children make him positively beam.
This is true happiness if he's ever seen it.
Ernst tries not to openly stare when Shin and Lena lean in toward each other for a kiss, and they whisper something that he can't make out. Not that he needs to, the loving adoration in their eyes tell all.
When Shin finally notices Ernst, he smiles and calls out:
"I'm home."
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