A young boy rested his forehead against the car window, his breath fogging the glass. He watched the city buildings melt into trees. His eyes traced the outlines of mountains far ahead.

A woman glanced at her rearview mirror to look at the boy's reflection. She smiled and rolled down the window he was staring out of.

The boy jumped backwards. "Hey!"

"Just checking to see if you were still breathing."

He turned back towards the window.

"You haven't said a word in hours. Everything okay?"

The boy nodded, eyes never leaving the landscape outside.

"Hmm…," she said, tapping her fingers against the dashboard. "I'm not convinced."

The boy was silent.

The woman cleared her throat.

He looked up. "Well… I kinda need to pee."

You either need to pee or you don't. You can't 'kinda' pee."

"Nuh-uh," the boy said, laughing. "I can too kinda pee."

"Bet you can't!"

The boy was staring out the window again, already lost in thought.

The woman sighed. "We'll be there soon."

The car pulled past tiered farms, eventually stopping in front of a large house. Miles separated the house from any neighbors.

The woman paused. She remembered the smells of the forest, each scent layered over another, and, for a moment, she was the fearless, carefree girl of her childhood again.

"Mama," the boy said, tapping her shoulder. "Can we get out of the car now?"

She nodded.

The boy was knocking on the door of the house before she had climbed out of the car. The woman followed the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. The boy knocked again. They waited a few more moments. No answer.

The woman tried the doorknob. Unlocked. She pushed the door open. "Hello?" She stuck her head inside. "Anyone home?" Still no answer. She turned to her son. "They must be out in the forest. Might as well unload our suitcases."

The boy's shoulders sagged. "Okay."

They silently carried their bags into the house. The woman felt like she was tiptoeing around ghosts. Ghosts of people, ghosts of memories.

"Mama!" the boy called. "Look!"

She followed the sound of his voice into a bedroom. The boy was laying on an old cot.

"This is where you used to sleep, right, Mama?" he said.

The woman looked at each of the five cots. So many memories. "Good guess!" she said to her son. "Your uncles and I would sleep here every now and then."

"Every now and then?" His eyes scanned the room. "Where else did you sleep?"

"We usually slept under the stars," the woman said. "Your grandma Ren and grandpa Ame always liked to sleep in the forest."

"Wow!" His face grew serious."I wish I could do that."

"You can! Right here, all summer."

"I know. I just wished we lived here all the time."

"You'd miss the city if you left it for good."

The boy shook his head. "Grandma didn't"

"Can't argue with that, can I?" the woman said, ruffling his hair. She walked toward a window and pushed the curtains aside. A cloud of dust blew into her face. She tried to fan it away with her hand. "So dusty!"

"Don't grandma and grandpa do their chores?" the boy said, arms crossed across his chest.

"Well, they don't spend much time in here," she said. "They're usually out in the forest."

The boy frowned.

"Don't get any ideas!" she said, laughing. "You still have to clean your room."

"Rats."

The woman peered out of the smudged window. Two figures emerged from the trees. Arms entwined, they slowly walked to the house.

"Whatcha looking at?" the boy said.

"Grandma and grandpa."

"Really?" He climbed onto the window sill. "I wanna see."

The woman pointed at the couple.

The boy jumped up and down. If he had a tail, it would have been wagging. "It is them! It is!"

He leapt off of the window sill and skidded out of the bedroom. He nearly slammed into the front door before he remembered to open it. His arms pumped hard as he bounded across the tall grass.

"Grandpa! Grandma!" he said, throwing himself at them.

Ame and Ren wrapped him into a hug.

"Look how big you've grown, Hikaru!" Ren said. Her once silver hair was now streaked with white.

The boy puffed out his chest. "I'm the tallest boy in my class."

"I bet you are," Ame said. He was wearing the same white shirt Hikaru always remembered him wearing. "Maybe you're a giraffe instead of a wolf."

Hikaru lowered his head. His shoes had never been so interesting.

"I'm just teasing you," his grandfather said. "You know, your grandpa Ame used to be quite the comedian."

Ren raised an eyebrow. "Were you, now?"

"Of course I was." He put his arm around her shoulders. "Or at the very least, I always made you laugh, Ren."

She smiled. "You still do."

Hikaru began to sniffle, which quickly turned into choking sobs.

Ren knelt down beside him. "What's wrong?"

He tried to speak between sobs. "I'm, I'm n-not a gir-giraffe…"

"No, of course not! Grandpa was-"

"...or a wolf!" Tears rolled down his face.

"What are talking about?"

"I-I don't k-know how to ch-change into a wolf anymore."

Ame took Hikaru's small hand. "Hey."

The boy continued to cry.

"Look at me."

The boy slowly raised his head.

"You come from a long line of werewolves. It's in your blood. That doesn't just disappear."

Hikaru wiped his face with his sleeve. "But at school, I have to be a boy. Just a boy."

"Hmm... I think I see the problem here," Ren said, taking her grandson's other hand. "When you try to be someone you're not, it's easy to forget who you really are."

"I'm trying to be someone I'm not?" Hikaru said.

Ame nodded. "It happens to the best of us."

"Sometimes, you need someone special to help you find yourself again," Ren said, smiling at Ame. Ame smiled back.

Hikaru was quiet for a moment. Then, "Like the way I need your help."

"Exactly," Ame said.

"But, how do I change into a wolf again?"

"We'll take you to the forest," Ame said.

"That's your grandpa's answer for everything," Ren said.

Ame laughed. "It never fails"

"Can we go to the forest right now?" Hikaru said.

"That's the spirit," Ame said. He sniffed the air. "Let's find Hanako first."

The boy looked puzzled. "Oh!" he said. "You mean Mama!"

"There she is!" Ren said, waving at the woman walking toward them.

"Mom! Dad!" the woman said, hugging each parent. "It's been too long."

~oOo~

The old house was filled with the sounds of loud talking and laughter, just as it had once been. Hikaru lay asleep in Ren's arms. Even in sleep, he wore a look of contentment. Hunting in the forest had reawakened the part of him that he fought so hard to ignore at school.

With her grandson in her lap, daughter on one side, and mate on her other, Ren was more content than Hikaru. She was completely and utterly happy. The kind of happiness that she had once believed to be impossible. Ame squeezed her hand. He felt it too.

The picture of Ame's father, now joined by a smiling picture of Hana, seemed to watch over the family. Three generations of their children, smiling and laughing. Ren could only imagine that Hana's smile would now be brighter than ever.

That's a wrap! Thank you for reading! And thank you to everyone who has left a review *internet hug*

8/13/19 Update

Thank you so much for the continued love for this story! You guys are the best :')

I wanted to let you know that I am currently working on completing another Wolf Children fic that I'm very excited about. If you enjoyed this story, definitely check out my current story, "Chicken Poop and Rosy Cheeks": s/12507188/1/Chicken-Poop-and-Rosy-Cheeks