United (Magics AU - Part 1)

Chapter 27 - Falte

Falte was honestly glad that Ruby had agreed to delay the return to the fortress until the next morning. It meant that they could talk over what they were going to do about the scouting mission and rescuing the captive - if they were going to do that at the same time, or if they were going to separate them. It also meant that Shintaro had more time with his children, which was quite a joy for Falte to watch. Shintaro seemed happier, more talkative, and definitely softer around his kids. It was a side of the guardian that Falte had only seen a few times, and the more he experienced it, the more he missed it when Shintaro would switch back to his stern, blunt side. When Shintaro was around his children, he seemed lighter and quick to smile. 

That afternoon, Chase and Abby had been served a large lunch, but also surrounded the large group of friends and royalty that usually spent their time together. Aaron, Marcus, and Ruby had sat together on one of the couches that was toward the back, with neighboring tables and chairs for other people. Shintaro, Chase, Abby, Emily, and Falte had chosen the table closest to the couch, happily munching at their food - while Falte tried to keep a steady conversation going. Linda, Gabriel, Rachel, and Amy had been sitting at table to the right of the couch, all of them laughing (though, Linda was doing something that seemed to be in between a chuckle and a snort) about something that Amy was proclaiming loudly and dramatically. Ezekiel, of course, was standing near to the royalty in his always-alert posture, a plate of food in one hand. 

"You can't call me weird and not mention that you did it too," Chase had been saying to his father, and although Falte could hear the playful accusation in his voice, there was something... dull about the poor boy that Falte just wanted to make disappear. 

Falte had watched Shintaro pinch his lips together, his cheeks turning just the slightest bit pink. "I didn't put a plastic bag on my head," the guardian protested, and Falte realized that they were talking about something Chase used to do as a child. 

"I didn't either," Chase had argued with a slight smile. "It was a paper bag." 

"How is that relevant?" Shintaro had said, jerking one hand, palm up. "I didn't put any bags on my head." 

"That's because you were the alien," Chase had said, his grin growing a little. 

He obviously had been enjoying embarrassing his father - and Falte had enjoyed it as well. He found it quite amusing when Shintaro was embarrassed or flustered, because the stone-faced man always seemed to get too frantically embarrassed to make out two correct words. 

"Aliens didn't require space helmets," Chase had gone on. "But you still ran around the house with me. You can't deny that. And you made the weirdest soun-"

"I don't deny that," Shintaro had said quickly, interrupting his son abruptly with a panicked expression. "I did that because you're my kid, and it's quite enjoyable to play games with your child." 

Chase had tilted his head with a side-mouthed smirk. "You're not going to add 'because I love you' in there?" 

Shintaro had pressed one hand against his face. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?" 

Chase had nodded heartily, and beside him, Abby giggled in a hushed manner. 

"At least you're on the mend," Shintaro had said gratefully with a sigh, lifting his head away from his hand and smiling warmly at his children. 

"My son used to dance around the house and sing his favorite songs," Falte had offered with a shrug and a smile. "Nothing a child does can be too weird. It just makes us love them even more, and most of the time laugh or join them." 

After lunch, Ruby had decided that she was going to send Shintaro and Amy to search for the captive, unfortunately whom Abby only knew about. When Linda had calmly questioned Shintaro's daughter, the girl had used her thoughts to give them as much details as she could, but since she had only seen him once, there wasn't much. The only description they got was tall, thin, and dark haired. But early the next morning, Shintaro and Amy had departed for the fortress again.