For Her Hand

Chapter Fifty -Eight

Seth glanced down, holding tight to Staraptor as they soared over the Parfum Palace. After receiving a message that his father, Harbin, had returned home for a week, Seth decided that it was about time he spent some time with his old man. He knew Melody would be a happy camper, that much was certain. As Vanville Town came into view, Seth motioned for Staraptor to descend. With an affirmative screech, the bird of prey dipped into a nosedive toward the ground, Seth gripping tightly as the massive sky predator closed the distance between them and the ground at a rapid pace.

On the ground, a Melody was scrolling through her camera photos when she heard the distinctive sound of a Flying-type above her. Looking up, she saw the massive bird swiftly descend and rush by, blowing her hair and rustling her clothes in the wind. As the wind died down, she looked over to see her brother dismounting his Staraptor. The young teen grinned happily and stood up as her brother started walking her way.

"Big brother!" she exclaimed, jumping from the porch into his arms.

Seth caught her as her arms encircled his neck and swung her around before setting her down.

"It's good to see you too sis," Seth said with a smile.

Melody nodded and bounced up and down a little. Melody was in quite a happy mood now that Harbin was home for a while.

"So, how's the old man doing? no doubt he's already heard about how much mom's been doing," Seth said chuckling.

"Oh I've heard alright, and I've also heard how well you're doing," came the voice of his father from behind.

A faint smile curved onto Seth's face as he turned to look at the man who helped bring him into this world. Instead of the armor he normally wore, Harbin was dressed in a black polo with blue jeans and white sneakers. Even casually clothed, the man still had an intimidating appearance now that one could see how chiseled his physique actually was. Harbin smiled wryly at Seth and approached him casually, his eyes soaking in the presence of his firstborn.

"I see Mathilde was quite thorough with your training," Harbin deduced. "That woman doesn't seem to know she's creating a monster," Harbin laughed.

"You and I both know she's fully aware of it, and doesn't have any regrets," Seth replied with a roll of his eyes.

"True... once she sets out to do something, she doesn't stop until she sees it through to the end," Harbin muttered. "At any rate, it's good to see you son. Thank you for holding down the fort while I was away."

"With the way mom is, there was a definite need for it," Melody chimed in.

"I tried to talk her into taking a week off, but you know how she is," Harbin said, concerned.

"Are you three conspiring against me out here?" Collette called out, walking onto their porch with a huff and putting her hands on her hips in mock irritation.

"You have no proof," Harbin replied, holding in a laugh while nudging Seth gently with his elbow.

Collette rolled her eyes and sighed.

"I swear, if it's not Seth it's you giving me crap about my schedule..." Collette pouted.

"And that's why you love us," Harbin grinned, drawing his wife into his arms as she drew near.

Collette leaned into him and smiled.

"Well, I suppose that's true, even if you are still a pain," Collette added with a snicker.

"And that's never gonna change," Harbin said smiling.

Seth beamed as he watched his mom give his dad a playful shove. It was good to see them talking and laughing together. Those two were a perfect example of a marriage done right as far as he was concerned. Sure, they'd had a few bumps in the road in their journey through life, but through it all they were able to hold each other up through sickness and health as marriage was meant to be. As he observed, he felt Melody nudge him gently with her elbow.