A Songbird's love

Chapter 12: Parents

Neru never bothered us again. Which was great, to be absolutely honest. She never talked to us, never came close to us and didn't even want to sit near us. The days that went by were absolutely peaceful.
And yes, Len and I are an official couple now. He can be a bit shy sometimes (to be honest, so can I), but we do spend a lot of time together, even more then before we were official. He would sometimes come into my room before we slept, and I would sometimes visit his room.
We were there right now, playing his video game together with Rin, taking turns. I explored his room when he and Rin were playing, looking over once in a while to see their progress. I came to his table, and sat down on the chair. There was a photo framed on his desk. The whole family was there, Rin and Len were smiling really brightly (they were so small, it's adorable), with their parents in the background. I held the photo up to examine it a little bit more, noting to myself that I have never met the twins' father face-to-face before. I wonder how he's like.
"Were we that cute when we were younger?"
I looked up and saw Len and Rin watching me. Len was waiting for me to reply.
I went back to looking at the photo, and said, "Well, yeah. You were adorable. You still are."
I heard snickering and looked up again. Rin was teasing Len, poking his cheek, "She said you look adorable. Doesn't that make your heart go doki-doki?"
He smacked her hand away, his face a little flushed. Ever since we got together, Rin takes every single opportunity she could to tease Len. He always doesn't take it to heart, and Rin doesn't always keep going on about it. Just light-hearted teasing, is all. It can be amusing to see their sibling interactions.
"It's the weekends. Are your parents coming back early?" I asked. They couldn't keep leaving their children at home alone. Familial relationships could go badly, take mine for example.
"They should be coming back soon."
Just then, the sound of the front door opening caught our attention. Rin jumped up, "They're back!"

Len pulled me up from the chair, and made me follow him downstairs. I stopped at the last flight, "I shouldn't disturb you. This is considered a family moment, after all."
He rolled his eyes, "You're not going to disturb us. You're a part of the family now."
I was still uncertain but didn't voice it out. Instead I asked, "Are you going to tell your parents about us?"
He raised eyebrows, "I can even show them by carrying you down if you're not going to move."
That's a yes, then. I willed my feet to move forward and let Len pull me down the last flight of stairs.
Rin was warmly welcoming her parents back home. Anka was trying to calm her over-excited daughter down, to no avail. Her husband-what was his name again? Oh right. Fudo.- looked over at us as we approached. He scrutinised me, our intertwined hands and the close distance between Len and I.
"Welcome home, Mom, Dad," Len said. Anka went to caress her son's face, I heard her say, "So sorry we're back so late. How were you?"
"I'm alright," was Len's answer. Which is surprising considering what we've been through with Neru and all.
What was more surprising was Anka came over to me and asked, "How have you been doing?" And patted my head as if I was her own daughter.
My eyes wide, I shyly replied, "I'm good, thank you."
Fudo on the other hand, didn't bother with the niceties. He immediately got to the point, "You are the new bodyguard?"
I really need to get used to that word.
I nodded, and let go of Len's hand to shake his father's, "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."
He returned the gesture, and teased, "I see you managed to win my boy's heart."
"Uh..."
"Oh don't look so panicky. So long as both my kids are safe, I don't mind whatever. But," Fudo focused on Len, "Don't do any nonsense now."
I think my face turned as red as a tomato when I understood that. Len was blushing hard as well, glaring at his father to tell him to shut up.
Anka saved us from any more embarrassment, she shooed us into the house, "Come on now. Let us rest our feet, don't stand here all day."

I left the family to hang out and spend some time together. The twins deserve some time with their parents. I went to my room and thought about my family. The only one that I have in contact right now is my brother. Is he doing okay? We haven't talked in a while. But I'm not the kind to show much affection. I stared at my phone in my hand, contemplating. Should I...?
I sighed and dialed my brother's number. I might as well, since there isn't anything to do right now.
Mikuo picked up after a few seconds of waiting, "Hello? Something wrong, Miku?"
"No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to check on you."
He snorted, "Do you not trust me that much?"
"No, I do. I trust you enough to not ruin the business."
He sniffled, "Cold."
I rolled my eyes, "Anything new?"
"Oh, yes actually. What do you say about joining forces with the police?"
"...what?"
"As in, we work with the police on any undercover work. We wouldn't ever have to face the risk of getting arrested ever again. And we get some of the pay."
He thought this through, didn't he?
"It's your choice to make, not mine. You're the boss. Good luck telling the police chief who we are, you might need it."
"I'll discuss with a few more assassins and see what they think. You have fun now."
Oh, indeed.
He hung up the phone first. I looked at the dartboard hanging up on the wall, then at the daggers I had placed below it. Target practice it is then.