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Lio never felt the need for a big family, but now that he had one, he wouldn't have changed a thing. He loved his kids with all of his heart, even Dave and Mandu who weren't really his kids, but who he loved nonetheless.
Kipo surprised him when she brought home her group of friends that she already had adopted when they reunited. She'd made plans of where they would sleep and everything.
He smiled to himself.
He thought of Benson, who was funny and kind and caring. They had started a habit of playing music in the kitchen while making breakfast together. Benson could make some absolutely delicious flapjacks, but he also liked to try out new recipes from Lio's cookbook. When Benson was about to go on his first date with Troy (he'd gone to numerous ones before, but this one felt more official now that they weren't hiding from Dr. Emilia anymore), he went to Lio for advice. Benson was about to turn 17, and despite being almost an adult who Lio barely had known for a year, Lio saw him as his son and nothing would ever change that.
His mind went to Wolf, the young survivor who had taken a while to trust him, but was now at the point where she felt safe enough to call him 'dad'. He loved the kid to bits, and would do absolutely anything for her. She was funny and mischeavous, and loved to hang out with him whenever he had time. She let him hug her from time to time, and sometimes, he even got to put her to bed. She was adapting well to living with a family and going to school with her siblings, but she still needed comfort when things got hard, and Lio was prepared and ready to give it to her. She was his little girl, even though she hated it when he called her that. She was about to turn eleven, and she would get a real birthday with cake and balloons, just like Kipo.
Next, he thought about Dave. Dave was an adult, and a baby, and a toddler, and a teenager, and a superman and an old man, depending on how often Wolf punched him. Either way, Lio always enjoyed hanging out with him. Dave liked to stay with Benson, or do his own thing in the city of Las Vistas. But about half of his time was spent at home with the Oak's and Lio would often find himself laughing his head off with the bug. Dave wasn't great in the kitchen, but he was good company and a self-proclaimed amazing taste-tester. Since Dave was, for the most part, and adult, he and Lio would go out and drink every once in a while, and talk about guy-stuff. It always reminded him of the time where they were waiting for Kipo to come home and drank expired Explosion Berry Cola together. Dave was a great friend of Lio, and he loved him dearly.
Lastly, he thought of Mandu, the blue pig who everybody loved. She liked to sit on Lio's lap as she slept, and he would pet her blue skin softly. During dinner, she would sit under the table and wait for someone to drop a piece of their food on the floor so she could eat it. Lio would sneakily throw her some food throughout every meal, hiding it from Song who wanted Mandu to use her bowl. The pig was obsessed with cheese. If Lio brought home a bag of cheese puffs, he knew that Mandu wouldn't be far behind him. She was a kind animal, who made sure to comfort her humans if they were upset. Lio had found her sleeping in Wolf's bed many times when the girl woke up from a nightmare. She would do the same thing with Kipo when she felt stressed about her homework. Mandu had a kind soul, and if anybody hurt her, Lio one that he would be the first to protect her, with Kipo right behind him.
Lio sighed again, this time with a smile on his lips. His family was peculiar at best, but his heart was filled with love for them. Life might not have gone in the direction he'd originally hoped, but if he'd been offered to go back in time and have everything go back to the way it once was, he would have rejected the offer. It led him to a happy future with a house full of people who gave him a reason to get out of bed in the morning. They'd met under abnormal circumstances, and they weren't related by blood, but that didn't matter to him.
They were his family, and no matter what happened, he would love them.