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Willow takes a deep breath as she makes her way down the familiar floral-lined path, hand hovering for a few anxious moments over the peeling green paint of her front door, before rapping her knuckles against it in a steady, three-count knock.
She hears the telltale rustle of a newspaper from the living room, a clatter of pots and pans from the kitchen, and then her dads are appearing in the doorway, expressions melting from wary concern to teary-eyed relief as they pull their daughter into their arms for a bone-crushing, breath-stealing hug, little family reunited after all these months spent apart.
After a few more heartfelt cheers of I'm so glad you're okay, coupled with an astonished Look how much you've grown! and Is this what they're wearing in the human realm these days? I love it! as Willow spins to give them the full effect of her Halloween costume, Gilbert and Harvey turn to address the friends she's brought with her, pulling Gus into a one-armed bear hug and greeting him like a long-lost son.
"And this is…?" Harvey asks, cocking an inquisitive eyebrow at the tall, gangly blond boy hovering awkwardly at the back.
"Dad, this is Hunter," she tells him, eyes flitting to the boy in question, fixing him with a soft, reassuring smile as she waves him forward. "Be nice, he's been through a lot."
The wispy tree of a boy smiles back at her — or at least, that's what Harvey thinks he's attempting with that strained, awkward grimace he's got going on, the tips of his ears flushing a furious shade of pink as he shuffles forward and greets the two of them with a solider-like salute and a voice-cracking, "Hello, Mr. and Mr. Park, sirs."
"Oh, Hunter," Harvey says, his entire demeanor shifting as it all clicks together in his head, exchanging bright-eyed, all-too-knowing smirks with his husband.
"So this is the boy we've heard so much about," Gilbert chimes in with a teasing smile, positively radiating with joy. "Tell me, are you the same Hunter our little sunflower used to stay up all night texting on Penstagram?"
"Oh my Titan, dad," Willow gasps, face going up in flames as Hunter chokes on absolutely nothing from right beside her.
"Gil, don't embarrass her," Harvey chides with a barely-contained snort of laughter, elbowing his husband in the ribs.
"Oh come now, is it really a secret she's sweet on her own boyfriend?" Gilbert chuckles, throwing Hunter an exaggerated wink.
"You are welcome in our home any time, son," he says, reaching out to shake Hunter's hand with the same enthusiasm his daughter had done the day she'd dragged him out of the sky and asked him to join her flyer derby team. "Anyone who makes our Willow smile the way you do is good in our book."
"Th— um. Thank you, sir," Hunter stutters, staring over at Willow with an utterly gobsmacked expression on his beaming, tomato-red face as she buries her own rosy complexion in the palms of her hands and groans in embarrassment.
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