The Road Back Home

Kiara giggled a bit when Nora said she was smart. "Heehee, you are too," she said happily. "Hmmm...we should make him a picture of all of us together, so he knows we'll always be a family from now on," she said with a big smile.

Serenity nodded lightly when Felix joked about Kiara and Nora eating broccoli. She'd been surprised too, when they didn't complain about eating it. "Okay," she said when he told her she could cook the steak. When he came over and made her look at him, it was obvious now that she was tearing up. It took her a moment to answer, but when she did, she had to try especially hard to keep from crying. "I...I was so worried about you," she told him. "When I...didn't hear from you, I thought something happened...I was going to go to the Rock and check, but with the girls..." Serenity slowly shook her head and gave a small smile. "I'm just...really happy you're finally back..." she said, slowly wiping her eyes.

Oh great, now he was about to make her cry. Now he wished that he could really go back and not screw up like he did. He wrapped her in a hug. "Hey, I'm home now, that's all that matters," he said. He wasn't going to tell her about everything that happened, it was not necessary. Felix felt guilty as hell now. "Don't forget I'm taking a break from being a ninja, so I'm not going anywhere for a long time." Felix needed a break. If only to clear his head after the tragedy that was still fresh in his mind.

"That's a brilliant idea," she chirped. "Do you want to make a drawing or find some pictures of him and mom and then get our pictures and paste it on paper," she asked. They could make this happen with the right materials.

When Felix wrapped her in a hug, she was sure she was about to cry, but instead hugged him back. She couldn't stop the one tear from spilling over though. After he finished talking, Serenity slowly pulled back and wiped the tear away, giving him a small smile. "I'm really sorry, you just got home, I shouldn't be acting like this," she apologized softly. She was curious about what happened to his eye, but she didn't think she could bare to listen to the story right then.

Kiara paused a moment after her sister asked what they should do. "Let's draw it for him," she said with a smile, quietly crawling off the couch and putting her finger to her lips as she started upstairs as quietly as she could. She wanted to make it a surprise. And besides, she thought sneaking around was fun. Since the crayons and paper were in their room, they'd have to work fast, or bring everything downstairs.

Nora nodded when her sister said they would draw it. "Okay," she said as she too slipped off the couch and headed upstairs. She wondered if their parents would notice they were missing. She climbed as quietly and carefully as she could. When she made it to the top, she smiled. "Let's do this," she said with a grin.

Felix shook his head. "No, you're fine. It's my fault for the lack of communication," he said. His eyes shinned lightly. "If you were too act any other way I'd be even more concerned," he said. He looked to the living room. The tv was still on, so he guessed that the girls were quietly watching the show. If only he knew they'd snuck upstairs. Felix looked back to Serenity. "So, let's get started on this meal."

When dinner was done being cooked, Serenity went out of the kitchen to get the girls. "Hey gir-where'd they go?" she mumbled, then walked over to the stairs, only to see their bedroom light on. "Kiara, Nora, dinner time," she called. When she got a response, Serenity smiled lightly and started back into the kitchen. "I didn't even hear them get up," she told Felix.

"Okay!" Kiara called when Serenity said dinner was all done. She looked down at the picture. They were just about done. "Let's write everyone's names," she said with a smile, writing her name under her own picture, and 'daddy' under Felix's. Once Nora wrote her and mommy's name, Kiara stood up with a big smile. "All done! Let's go give it to him," she said happily, looking to her sister.

Felix had made the mashed potatoes and was waiting for Serenity to finish her part. Instead of going into the livingroom he stayed in the kitchen, striking up casual conversation so that they could catch up a bit. When Serenity went to get the girls, Felix stood up so he wouldn't be in the way. He was curious as to why Ser was going upstairs though. He thought the girls were downstairs.

Nora wrote her name and Serenity's as neatly as she could and then sat up. "Done," she said. She then followed after her sister. "Okayz," she said excitedly as she skipped to the door and opened it. Heading down the stairs, she stopped in the kitchen's entrance with her hands behind her back and her cheeks a rosy read with excitement.

Kiara followed Nora excitedly downstairs, stopping next to her and looking between their mom and dad. "Daddy?" She paused and looked at Nora with a smile, before looking back to Felix. "We got a present for you," she said, tilting her head with a smile.

Serenity looked curiously at the girls as they stopped together in the kitchen's doorway, wondering just what they were up to. They weren't usually mischievous, but it looked like something was going on. When Kiara mentioned that they had a present for him, Serenity smiled and looked to Felix for his reaction. She wondered what they'd made for him.

A present? Felix was a bit confused. He'd just got here, so when did they have the time? Was that why Serenity couldn't find them in the living room? He almost smiled at the though, but instead a grin spread across his face. He stood up and walked over to the two of them with a raised eyebrow. "Do I need to cover my eyes," he asked.

Nora shook her head. "No, you might peak," she said as she reached up and covered Felix's eyes for him. "Okay Kiara," she said. "He can't see anything." She couldn't help but giggle because she knew this was going to be an awesome gift.

Kiara giggled when her sister covered Felix's eyes, holding the drawing behind her back until she was given the go-ahead. Walking up to their dad, Kiara took the paper from behind her back and held it up for him to see. "Ta-daa!!" she giggled, glancing to Nora with a big grin.

Nora removed her hands when Kiara held the paper up. She hurried beside her sister so she could see how their dad would react. Felix gave a small chuckle when the girls blinded him from seeing. When he was allowed to see what they had made, Felix was sure his heart had broken into a million little pieces. He'd had a hard four years and this was what he'd come home to. A warm welcome and two daughters that didn't even know him making him a family portrait. Felix didn't even hesitate to wrap them in a tight hug. "Thank you both," he said. "You've just made me the happiest dad alive."

Kiara smiled and gave a small cheer when it looked like their dad liked it, hugging him back when he hugged them. Serenity got a look at the picture when Kiara had held it up, and it made her smile, giving a small giggle when Felix bent down to hug them. That was the most adorable thing ever. "Okay, hold on. This deserves a picture," she said, going into the living room before coming back with a camera. "Alright you three, say cheese." She was not taking no for an answer.

Felix had not thought Serenity was serious when she said that their moment deserved a moment. The blue eyed Shinobi just continued to hug his kids. It was only when he was told to say cheese did he know just how real it was. He turned and looked to Serenity with a confused look on his face. He quickly turned away in embarrassment. He couldn't believe she'd just done that. Shaking his head lightly, he gave a small sigh as he let the twins go. "Your mother is a sneaky one," he said.

Nora too was happy. She hugged her father in return and then turned and smiled happily when her mother took a picture of them. "Cheese," she said with a giggle as her father turned away. "Don't you like pictures," she asked. It resulted in Felix tickling her until she was in tears. When he finally let her go, she ran behind her mother to avoid being tickled again.

"Cheese!" Kiara said in unison with her sister, giving a happy grin for the camera. She turned back to their father once the picture was taking, giggling a bit as he tickled her sister. "Heehee, I bet he's shy!" she laughed, blinking once Nora ran away from him. Thinking she was about to be tickled as well, Kiara crawled under the kitchen table, giggling.

Serenity chuckled a bit when Felix turned away in embarrassment. "That's fine, I'll get you another time," she promised, putting the camera onto the counter and smiling when Nora hid behind her. "Alright, alright, let's eat before it gets cold," she said, going over and pulling plates out with a smile.

Felix grinned. "Not a chance," he told Serenity as he reached out to tickle Kiara, but she evaded him by going under the table. "Oh no you don't," Felix said as he followed her and picked her up. He started to tickle her for a moment and then put her down with a small laugh. Man, he couldn't remember the last time he'd been this happy, or had this much fun. Of course it had been only a month ago, but that was a different kind of fun. This was more about family. He then picked both girls up and put them in the chairs, pushing them up to the table before pulling out Serenity's chair and waiting for her to take a seat. Oh yes, Felix may have been a ladies man, but he was a gentleman first and foremost.

As Felix was putting the girls at the table, Serenity got the girls' drinks and plates and put them in front of them, blinking when she saw that Felix had pulled out a chair for her. Giving a smile, she went and sat down. "Why thank you," she said, with a small giggle. She'd forgotten how much of a gentleman Felix could be.

Kiara tried to get away from Felix, but ended up laughing when he caught and started tickling her, trying to squirm away from him. When he put her and Nora at the table, Kiara was still giggling. By the time their food was in front of them, she'd calmed down enough to give a glance to Nora. A lot of the time they said things at the same time, just because it was fun, and now was normally one of those times. "Itadakimasu," she said happily, once she'd caught her sisters eye.

Nora let Felix put her at the table, although she would probably have protested if it had been her mother. She felt she was old enough to get into the chair by herself, even though she could barely climb on it without help. Catching her sister's eye, she chimed in happily. "Itadakimasu." She then happily started into her food. It was her favorite mashed potatoes and steak. Oh boy, their dad returning was a real treat.

Felix looked at the kids when they spoke. He found it cute how they spoke in unison. "Nice," he said. He then glanced at Serenity. "You taught them Japanese?" He asked. Felix didn't even know that Serenity herself knew Japanese. He didn't really care, but he was curious. "Itadakimasu," he said as he started into his own food. He didn't remember the last time he ate, so this was a treat for him as well.

Kiara happily started into her food, since it was her favorite as well. Man, today was awesome! Their fairytale dad had come home, and they get their favorite food! Or maybe they got their favorite food because he'd come home. Maybe they'd found a genie and didn't know it, and they got three wishes! That meant they had one wish left...

Serenity nodded at Felix's question. "Itadakimasu," she said as well. "I figured it would be nice for them to know more than one language," she said with a smile. "And since I wasn't sure if you knew any other languages besides english and japanese...well, yeah," she said with a smile, starting on her own food.

Nora was too busy eating to bother with anything else. The steak was like heaven on earth. Felix gave a small nod. That was understandable. Them learning two languages gave them an advantage on most things, and if Serenity allowed, he happily take them to places where Japanese was spoken. That way, they could see the culture. Felix had always enjoyed his travels, learning different things and picking up new languages as he went. He'd forgotten a lot over the 800 years, but he still remembered some of them. Mainly Japanese though.

After dinner, Serenity helped the girls and Felix move things around in the bedroom so they could start painting without getting paint on anything but the walls. Serenity was glad that the girls were having fun, but after a couple hours she had to calm them down and give them a bath so they could go to bed, because it was getting late. Once they were in their pajamas and had given both her and Felix hugs goodnight, Serenity brought them to their room and tucked them in before turning off their light and heading back downstairs to sit on the couch with a light sigh. What a day it'd been...

Felix had happily helped the girls paint their room. Nora's a pink and Kiara's a rainbow just like she wanted. And in a single corner, he'd painted a blue butterfly, similar to the one on her jacket. When that was finished, Felix went downstairs as Serenity gave them their baths. He'd turned the tv off and was listening to the silence of downstairs. When the girls were out from their bath, Felix gave them hugs and kisses. He then followed Serenity downstairs and took a seat on the last stair. Okay, maybe the couch would have been more appropriate, but old habits died hard.

Serenity had to admit, with all that had gone on that day, she was a bit tired. But she wanted to stay up and talk to Felix for a bit longer. There'd been something that had been bugging her the whole day, and if she didn't resolve it, she was sure she'd continue to have it hanging over her head until she did. Crossing her arms over the side of the couch, she rested her head lightly on them, smiling a bit when Felix sat on the stairs. "You haven't changed much," she giggled. "You know, of all the things we'd talked about when we were making dinner, I never did ask. How'd your mission go? It was in the Stealth, wasn't it? Did you get to go to one of the Firefly Festivals?" she asked with a smile.

Felix looked at her questioningly. "That's not exactly something I wanted to talk about at the dinner table with two children," Felix said. That and he was sure he wouldn't make it through the story without lying through half of it. Between Kana, prison, and Kymin, there was way too much stuff Felix didn't want to remember. "And it wasn't in the Stealth...it was in the Rock. How you managed to forget that is beyond me," he said. Hell, she was there herself! Felix wasn't sure what she was getting at, but he didn't feel like putting up with it. He decided he wouldn't get mad over it. It was something petty and she'd been with the girls, so maybe she did forget.

The first thing he said in regards to his mission made her think that not everything had gone right, so she didn't want to push it anymore. "Er, right, it was the Rock, wasn't it?" she said with a small, embarrassed smile. "I'm not sure how I forgot either. Things have just been really busy, I guess," she said, looking down. Inwardly she was beyond relieved. Felix's mission had been secret, as were most transfer missions, which meant this could only be her Felix. She knew there were other ways someone could've known about his mission, but it was unlikely, since no one in the Crested had been reported mission lately.

Felix merely shrugged. "It doesn't matter, it's in the past." But it did matter. Kana and him still hadn't spoke, even though he'd seen her at the funeral. Although she may not have seen him. And Aidelia had nearly spilled way more blood than necessary and the Kage, had it not been for Kymin's sacrifice. And Suki, he'd still not apologized to her. Then there was Kyla. As much as Felix hated that woman, he still needed her, because without her guidance, he felt as lost as ever. "I want to apologize for the lack of communication over these past four years. Things got a bit intense, so it'd be nice to catch up," he said.

Serenity looked at Felix as he apologized, giving him a small smile. "It's okay, like you said, it's in the past. I'm just glad you're home in one piece," she said honestly. She wanted to ask about that scar over his eye, but didn't want to question what'd happened on his mission. "I'm not really sure where to start. The girls have been a bit of a handful, but I've had help every now and then. Not like I'm complaining. Handful or not, I love them to death. I'm just glad to see they're already so attached to you," she told him with a smile, lowering her gaze again.