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.

Comments

[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."

[firstofitskind]

If it was any comfort, Hayley looked to be taking after her mother in the height department?

Or she was just twelve and hadn't hit a major growth spurt yet. Hard to say.

"Well said," Liam told William approvingly, leaning over to ruffle his hair. Sorry, buddy, he was leaning in to dad-life hard.

[nextoftheirkind]

"Man, I always forget how much mushy stuff these trips involve," Tyrus noted, although he didn't actually sound all that put-out.

[nextoftheirkind]

"So no different than home," Hayley said, her mouth full of blueberries. "Well. Mom doesn't have that stupid haircut."

[arboreal_priestess]

"What?!?" Verity yelped. "What stupid haircut? Do you mean now--" Her hand went protectively up to her hair. "Or do I have a stupid haircut in the future?"

Hayley just cracked up, grabbing a stack of pancakes and sitting at the table, refusing to answer.

[firstofitskind]

"That's trademark Price snark right there," Liam observed mildly, biting back a grin.

"I think your hair-"

[foundgeneration]

"Looks fine, honey," chorused all three kids in unison with Liam.

[arboreal_priestess]

"Looks like they've got your number, too," Verity smirked.

She was okay with getting roasted by her children so long as it was mutual.

[nextoftheirkind]

The boys joined their sister at the table. "Aww," Tyrus said, looking at the pancakes. And the plastic plates. "You guys prepared for us. This is sweet."

[nextoftheirkind]

"It's about your age, anyway," Hayley teased, though she sounded more fond than bratty.

[foundgeneration]

"You're such a brat, Hayls," William said, snickering.

[nextoftheirkind]

Hayley's reply was to stick her tongue out at William, which went about as well as you'd expect with a mouthful of pancakes.

"Gross," Tyrus muttered. "She went to the Aunt Timmy School of Table Manners," he informed Verity and Liam loftily.

Apparently their parents weren't the only family members who got roasted on a regular basis. Which tracked, honestly.

[firstofitskind]

"We tried to prepare, anyway," Liam said dryly. "Hope you guys like chicken nuggets for lunch."

Well. 'Chicken' nuggets, anyway. Thankfully whatever they were made of was processed enough that the smell of them cooking hadn't been an issue.

Yes, they'd run a test batch ahead of time, because again... this was supposed to be a good weekend.

[arboreal_priestess]

"I don't know whether to hope we send them to Antimony's house all the time, or hope that they see her on holidays and then from across the room," Verity muttered.

[nextoftheirkind]

"Actually, it's a really good thing we showed up this weekend, not next weekend," Hayley said, grabbing more cherries. "Or Aunt Timiny would roast us alive if we missed Uncle James' wedding. We're in the wedding party."

She puffed up her chest. "I get to wear a suit."

[arboreal_priestess]

"Uncle James...?" Verity asked, frowning.

She couldn't think of a James...?

[foundgeneration]

"Uncle James?" William said. "You know. Mom's little brother."

[arboreal_priestess]

"My what?!" Verity yelped.

[nextoftheirkind]

"Ohhhhh, right, Aunt Timiny hasn't stolen him yet," Tyrus 'clarified'.

[firstofitskind]

"...Stolen?" Liam echoed, raising an eyebrow. "How do you steal a brother? Is this like when we turned into kids and you declared me part of your family now?" he asked Verity, as if she would know.

That actually was pretty much how it had happened; Antimony had decided James' remaining family sucked, and he was coming with her now.

[nextoftheirkind]

"Pretty much, yeah," Tyrus confirmed, echoing the narrative. "... But you probably shouldn't say anything to anyone about it. Time travel, preserving the timeline, all that."

[foundgeneration]

"Talk about stuff running in the family," William chuckled. "How many people have you just decided were yours and stolen for the family?"

[arboreal_priestess]

"Err..." Verity said, since, actually, the number was pretty high and it would take her a minute to come up with the correct number.

William just kept laughing.

[firstofitskind]

Liam was grinning too, although he couldn't actually laugh at Verity since beginning the search last year for William, specifically, had kind of been his idea. And although their still kind of vague plans involved legal paperwork, the nature of a) Liam's existence in general and b) the whole alternate realities thing meant a lot of it would be forged paperwork.

"It does seem to be a bit of a running theme," he noted.

[nextoftheirkind]

Was there maybe a betting pool amongst the older Prices as to which of the newest generation would be the first to bring home a stray of their own?

Of course there was.

"We Prices know what we're about, Dad," Hayley said primly.