A/N: So...been a while since I did anything on here. Now, because this fic has characters speaking both Japanese and English - and I don't speak Japanese - starting from the next chapter, speech that is Japanese will be in these: () . Just for the record, the dialogue in this chapter is Japanese. So, without further ado, enjoy!

It was late at night, and Aoba couldn't get to sleep. He had turned over in bed many times, occasionally pulling the hand woven blanket tighter around him, but sleep continued to evade him. He opened his eyes and sighed, then glanced over at Mink, who was sleeping with his back turned towards Aoba.

"Don't tell me," Mink spoke, causing Aoba to spook slightly, "You're worried about the kids tomorrow."

"Well...um, yeah," Aoba admitted, more to himself than to Mink, "What if they don't like me because I can't unde-"

"You can speak English, idiot. You just can't read and write it," Mink said, turning over to look at Aoba. "We'll teach them Japanese, and in the meantime, there's the Allmate's translators."

Aoba looked away from Mink's gold eyes. "I know that but... What if they don't like me in general?" He asked, glancing back up.

Mink sighed. "Idiot. They will like you," Mink said, resting his arm on Aoba's waist, "They'll be around you the most, so they'll get to know you well. You're going to be the one cooking most of the meals, and they'll like your food. You're going to be a good dad."

"...Thanks," Aoba said, "You'll be a good dad as well. You'll keep them safe."

"Thank you." There was a silence, then Mink pulled Aoba closer to him.

"E-Eh? What are you doing?"

"You're cold. This is to warm you up," Mink explained, then softly stroked Aoba's hair. "Now, go to sleep."

"I will," Aoba said, closing his eyes and leaning into Mink, "Good night."

Mink leaned in kissed Aoba's forehead. "Good night," he said, as Aoba slipped into sleep.

The next morning, Aoba woke up to Mink to shaking his shoulder.

"Get up," Mink said, "We have to leave in an hour."

Aoba let out a groan of complaint, but opened his eyes and glared at Mink, who was already dressed. Mink held Aoba's gaze for a few moments, until Aoba looked away. Mink threw Aoba's clothes at him.

"I'm making breakfast," Mink said as he left the room, "So don't take long." Aoba nodded, and sat up in bed, yawning as he did so. He picked up his shirt and got out of the bed, the sound of Mink cooking already starting. It was little more than the sizzle of an egg in the frying pan, but it was enough to get Aoba dressed quickly. When he was finally dressed, he went to the kitchen and found Mink sliding waffles onto a plate, eggs following shortly after.

"Waffles?" Aoba asked, sitting down at the table, "You don't normally make waffles."

"Today's a special day," Mink said, siting down across from Aoba and picking up a knife and fork, "I'll make them again later for the children."

"They'll like that," Aoba said, "Should I bring Ren along?"

"If you want," Mink said, cutting his waffle and spearing a piece with his fork, "I don't think it'll be necessary though."

"There are documents though," Aoba pointed out, his eyes on his food, "and I can't understand written English."

"I know," Mink said, "but all you have to do is sign them. I can explain them to you."

"Thank you," Aoba replied, "I'd like that." He picked up his knife and fork, and started to eat. The two of them ate until they were full, Aoba occasionally complimenting Mink on his cooking. Mink wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked up at Aoba.

"Are you ready to go then?" he asked.

Aoba nodded. "Just let me get Ren and my coat and we can set off."

"Don't take long," Mink said as Aoba got up and headed over to the bedroom. Aoba knelt down next to his bag (he always kept it by the bed) and unzipped, revealing a amount of dark blue fur, which then moved, and lifted its head up, revealing Ren.

"Aoba," he said, "Is today the day?"

"Yes, it," Aoba said, picking up Ren and hugging him, "We're going to adopt the kids today!"

Ren cocked his head slightly. "Does this mean I'm getting downgraded to family pet?"

"Ren! You're not being downgraded to anything," Aoba said with a slight laugh, "You're more of a partner than a pet, and you're staying that way."

"I don't think the kids will see it that way," Ren paused, "but thank you. Am I going along with you?"

"You are," Aoba said, putting Ren down and looking for his coat, "Looking forward to it?"

"I suppose so," Ren said, "How old are the two brothers?"

"Six and eight," Aoba said, finding and putting on his jacket, "Though the older's one birthday is apparently next month, and the six year olds the month after."

"I see," Ren said, climbing back into the bag, "Should we get going then? Mink will be waiting."

"Yeah, I know," he said, picking up the bag with Ren in, "Let's go then."

When Aoba left the bedroom, Mink was waiting by the door, holding a travel flask in his hand that smelt of coffee. He didn't say anything, just opening the door and holding it for Aoba to go through. When Aoba had, he followed, soon walking side-by-side with Aoba, grabbing Aoba's hand and holding it, smiling softly as he did. They walked for a while until they can out the forest, the vast plain stretching out in front of them, when a thought hit Aoba.

"Hey, Mink," he said, "Won't the boys get tired?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Aoba looked down at his and Mink's entwined hands, "It's three miles from where we park the truck to our home, so they may get tired a lot."

"The woman who did our home assessment said it was okay, didn't she?" Mink asked, "They'll be fine. If they get tired, we can carry them."

Aoba nodded, though he was frowning, and kept mostly quiet for the rest of the walk, humming slightly at points. They arrived at the place where Mink's truck was parked, Aoba climbing into the seat next to the drivers, placing his bag on his lap after he put his seat belt on. Mink glanced at him, smiling to himself, as the blue-haired boy opened his bag and pulled out Ren. As Mink started up the truck, he heard a soft conversation take place, but chose not to listen in and instead focusing on driving. When they were half-way to the nearby foster home, Aoba had put Ren away and had opened his Coil. He was frowning at it, eyes scanning over his writing like he was an editor.

Hey everybody, he had wrote, I can't wait to introduce you all to the kids! Me and Mink are heading over to pick them up right now. I'm really excited, but mostly nervous, and I know that Mink is too, even if he isn't showing it. The paperwork is going to be hard to understand, as you all know what I'm like with English, but Mink will be there to help me. We'll be mostly getting them settled in next week, so I may not be talking a lot. I'll keep you updated on them though. Here's hoping the boys will like us!

- Aoba

"Mink, do you want to want to say anything to our friends and Granny?" Aoba asked.

"Say that if they want, they can come over for Christmas to meet the kids," Mink said, navigating complicated roads with ease, "Even Red."

Aoba nodded, quickly typing a small note at the bottom.

P.S Mink says that you can come over to ours for Christmas this year, instead of us going to Midorijima like the last few years, so you can meet the kids. Anyone up for it?

He hit the send button then sighed, relaxing back into the car seat. He looked down at his left hand, a gold ring glinting on his hand, and smiled. The shine had dulled slightly over the years, but otherwise it was good as new. Mink's ring - also on his left hand - was slightly duller, with one scratch on it from his crafts working, but it still had obvious signs that it was looked after. Aoba reached up and found his necklace, running his fingers along the chain until he had reach his engagement ring. When Mink had proposed to Aoba a few years ago, Aoba hadn't been able to talk for a few moments, staring at shock at Mink. Mink had began to worry, saying it was okay if he didn't say yes, that was he was probably rushing things - until Aoba had kissed him, say 'yes' over and over again until his throat was raw.

It still made Aoba smile when he though about it.

"We're here," Mink said, parking the truck outside the foster home, "Are you ready?"

Aoba gripped the ring, and turned to face Mink, leaning in to kiss him. They held it there for a few moment, before pulling away.

"Yes," he said, "I'm ready."