MHA #6 Saturday Morning

[arboreal_priestess]

Two years ago, Verity had been caught flat-footed by the sudden appearance of two tiny, adorable cherubs calling her 'Mom.' Last year, Verity had been prepared for that, but had been taken aback by the sudden appearance of a third child, a young boy who called her 'Ate,' which meant big sister, but she was basically a parent to him, too, in this weird and distant future.

This year, however...this year, Verity was prepared. There were already pancakes being prepared, with fruit to make silly faces on them. Multiple kid-friendly movies were queued up on various devices for when the kids got bored and needed entertainment. Brightly-colored plastic cups and bowls were stacked on the counter so that even the most rambunctious kid could get their own food, with chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs and sugary cereals ready for whenever a capricious appetite demanded.

Hell, they even had extras, in case a new kid or two showed up.

Take that, past!Verity. Nothing could throw this year's Verity.

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[nextoftheirkind]

And right about then was when there was a knock at the front door. A short, sharp rap. Followed by the murmur of hushed voices.

... Were some of those voices deeper? It was hard to tell, with a door between them and all.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Theeeeey're heeeeeere," Verity said, in her best impression of the little girl from Poltergeist.

Beat.

"That's a great reference, you're missing right there," she added as she went to the door. "Hi, ki--!" she said, swinging it open wide.

And stopped.

...She had not been prepared.

[foundgeneration]

"Hi, mom!" William beamed at her.

Beamed down at her, technically, as he now had a good five inches of height on Verity.

Tyrus, standing standing on his right side, had a couple of inches on him, while Hayley... well, at least she wasn't taller than Verity?

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity squawked. Staring up...and up...and up.

At her three, nearly grown children.

"What - you - teenagers?!"

Not. Prepared.

[nextoftheirkind]

"No," Hayley shook her head. "Tyrus is only eight."

Tyrus, for his part, just rolled his eyes. Because yes, chronologically, Hayley wasn't wrong. And she was never, ever going to let him forget it.

[firstofitskind]

Liam... Liam wasn't laughing. Much.

Mostly because he was also kind of boggling at how the tiny, tiny people he'd met in years previous were somewhat less tiny.

"Hey, uh. We made breakfast?" he offered, gesturing for the three of them to come in. Hopefully the food would outweigh the clear indicators that they'd clearly been expecting much, much younger children.

[arboreal_priestess]

Verity stepped aside letting the chil-- letting the young adults inside. Even Hayley, who looked only 11 or 12 was still so much older - so much taller - than they'd been last year.

"What happened?" she finally sputtered, closing the door behind them.

Apparently forgetting how time worked or something.

[nextoftheirkind]

“We got older,” Tyrus said, helpfully. “Sorry, mom.” Hopefully the fact that he was leaning in for a hug would soften the blow a little.

[arboreal_priestess]

"You're so tall," Verity exclaimed, her face coming up to his shoulder only because she was in heels.

[nextoftheirkind]

"Is she gonna be like this every year?" Hayley asked, beelining into the kitchen to hug the heck out her Dad.

[firstofitskind]

"You've met your mother, haven't you?" Liam asked philosophically, hugging her back.

He really, really loved this time of year, these little glimpses of might-be futures.

[nextoftheirkind]

"Normally she's cooler than this," Hayley sniffed - and then actually sniffed. "Oooh, are you making pancakes?"

[foundgeneration]

"Except- remember that time we showed up just after you were born?" William reminded her with a snicker. "I thought her brain was gonna explode."

Time was much less linear when there were multiple timelines involved.

[firstofitskind]

Yeah, you know. Liam was starting to get that impression.

So he was gonna focus on what Hayley had said, since that involved a pretty straightforward response.

"We are, yeah. With fruit to make silly faces with," he said, managing to sound utterly earnest about the whole prospect, despite the fact that everyone here was about seven years too old for that.

[nextoftheirkind]

"I'm not even sure this is Mom," Tyrus said while Verity's brain fritzed over with the implications there. He then turned his hug into a grapple, picking her up and lugging her into the kitchen. "She's cheerful and awake and it's not even noon yet."

[arboreal_priestess]

"Liam, your son is carrying me like a sack of potatoes," Verity informed him.

You know, just in case he'd missed it.

[nextoftheirkind]

"Ooooh, you're Dad's son now," Hayley giggled. "Watch out."

[arboreal_priestess]

"...That's something I say a lot?" Verity checked as Tyrus set her gently down in the kitchen.

[foundgeneration]

"Only when one of us is driving you crazy," William said, following them. As soon as Tyrus set Verity down, he swooped in for a hug of his own. "So, yeah. Pretty frequently."

[nextoftheirkind]

"Awwww," said Hayley, finally pulling away from Liam and taking in the whole breakfast setup. "Just like when we were little."

Except... "No bacon?" she asked, with a pout.

[foundgeneration]

Liam looked briefly guilty at that exclamation, causing William to pull away from Verity and step on Hayley's toes in a not-so-gentle manner. "Shut up," he hissed.

Inherited memories were apparently kind of hit-or-miss when they weren't absolutely necessary for survival, whereas being born with a semi-organic implant that made it possible to remember everything one had ever experienced, in perfect detail...

Hayley might not 'remember' why there was no bacon in the house right now, but William certainly did.

"Sorry," he told Liam, moving in for a hug.

[firstofitskind]

"Hey, don't worry about it," Liam said easily. This weekend was supposed to be a fun little glimpse of what-may-come, he didn't want to weigh it down with seriousness. Although-

"'Mom'?" he said, darting a glance over at Verity.

[foundgeneration]

"Yeah," William shrugged, trying his best to look casual and aloof as befit a 17 year old teenage boy. "It's just. You know. After a while 'Mom and Dad' just started to feel right? So."

[arboreal_priestess]

"Awww," Verity said, smiling up (and up, why was everyone so tall?) at Liam. "I'm glad to hear it. We would have been okay with whatever--"

[foundgeneration]

"--whatever I felt comfortable calling you, Mom, I know," William finished for her. He smiled at his adopted parents, giving Hayley an apologetic look for stepping on her toes. But only a little one, because she'd had it coming. "You never tried to replace my nanay. But just because you couldn't replace her doesn't mean you can't also be my mom."