Elegance, Guests and Wolf

“Now… I haven’t actually told my wife you’re coming, so be ready.”

Joash opened his mouth to ask ready for what? - but didn’t get the chance.

Heimric pushed the door open, revealing a long hallway, and stepped inside.

“We’re home!”

A warmly smiling woman appeared at the far end of the hall.

“Welcome back, dear-”

She stopped.

Joash watched as she took in the scene: four people instead of two. Elegant white hair spilled past her shoulders, her ears twitching as her sharp gaze flicked from face to face. She wore an apron, and the rich smell of cooking hung in the air. Her tail, which had been swaying idly behind her, froze mid-motion.

She frowned.

“Dear. You didn’t tell me we had guests.”

Heimric grinned.

“This is my wife, Chisaki. Chichi, this is Foebe and Joash Fukurai.”

Chisaki nodded politely toward them - then immediately turned a glare on her husband.

“At least warn me next time.”

Before Heimric could respond, two smaller faces popped into view beside her. Both were girls.

Heimric straightened proudly.

“And these are our elder two, Hanabi and Reika.”

He leaned down slightly, addressing them in a conspiratorial tone.

“Now girls, these two will be staying with us until the autumn rains pass-”

Chisaki’s expression grew steadily more dangerous as he continued.

“-so best behaviour, alright? We want them to like it here.”

He winked at the couple.

Foebe stifled a giggle, then gently brushed her hair aside, revealing her small pointed ears.

Chisaki’s eyes widened.

The girls gasped.

Hanabi, the middle child, grabbed her mother’s sleeve.

“Look! It’s an anaruhi!”

Foebe grinned.

Chisaki immediately bowed deeply.

“I am terribly sorry. Please accept my apology.”

Foebe shook her head.

“No, I’m not like that. You’re not forgiven, because you didn’t do anything wrong.”

Chisaki straightened, visibly relieved.

Then she turned and fixed her husband with a look.

“We’re going to have a talk.”

She gestured toward the girls.

“Girls, show this lovely couple to the spare room. I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”

Heimric grinned - though the beads of sweat forming on his forehead told a very different story.

“Well… wish me luck.”

He shuffled over to his wife and was promptly dragged away, presumably toward the kitchen. Isi was set down along the way, watching the whole thing with wide-eyed fascination.

The eldest daughter, Reika, took the toddler’s hand as Hanabi bounced up to the couple, her little tail wagging furiously.

“Are you guys married?”

Foebe grinned and leaned down slightly.

“We are.”

Hanabi’s eyes sparkled.

“And are you going to have kids?”

Reika winced.

“That’s private, Hany.”

Isi stuck her thumb in her mouth as Foebe laughed.

“It’s alright. We are, yes.”

She shot Joash a sly glance that sent his heart into a sudden thump. Hanabi immediately grabbed Foebe’s sleeve.

“Come on! Your room’s this way!”

She dragged Foebe along, who in turn tugged Joash after her, through a side door halfway down the hallway. Reika followed behind with Isi in tow. The door opened into a modestly sized spare room, complete with its own bathroom visible through another door beside a large wardrobe.

Foebe blinked.

“Woah… this is really nice.”

Hanabi beamed.

“It is! It is! And the bed’s good for jumping on!”

Foebe gave Joash another sly glance that warmed his cheeks.

From behind them, Reika chimed in.

“You can put all your stuff in the wardrobe!”

Foebe glanced at the bag of clothes still stubbornly hanging from her shoulder. She’d been cycling outfits, hadn’t had time to wash anything, and still hadn’t worn the two she’d refused to model for Rinji. Maybe now that they’d stopped travelling, she finally could.

She smiled at the children.

“Thank you very much.”

The older two grinned in unison.

“You’re welcome!”

Then Reika herded everyone back out, shutting the door firmly behind them before disappearing down the hall without a trace.

Foebe turned and smiled at Joash.

“What a nice family. I hope ours looks like this one day.”

He grinned nervously, mind on the one-sided verbal battle occurring in the kitchen.

“I don’t.”

She laughed.

“You’re not the one who gets to make those choices.”

Mischief sparked in his eyes.

A second later she found herself hoisted into a fireman’s carry over his shoulders.

“Now I do.”

She squealed, laughing and kicking her legs as he pinned her arms.

“Let me go!”

He laughed too.

“Nuh-uh.”

She squirmed once more - then grinned.

“You asked for it.”

He barely registered what happened next. One moment she was over his shoulders, the next he was being twisted mid-air, feet leaving the floor before he was cleanly flipped and thrown across the room. He landed face-first on the bed with an oof.

Foebe laughed triumphantly.

“I win!”

He tried to roll over, but just as his back hit the mattress, a blur slammed into his vision - Foebe, flying through the air with a feral grin, crashing into him and knocking the air from his lungs.

She wrapped her arms around him, her body sprawled atop his.

He held her.

They lay there for a long moment, simply holding each other. No worries surfaced. The sounds of children playing and Heimric’s distant scolding were absent from their minds.

For now, it was just the two of them.