By the warmth of a roaring fire and surrounded by those they loved most, the dark of pre-dawn was filled with a wonderful cascade of activity the likes of which can only hope to be matched by the most verbose Italian or Greek family gathering as each family did their best to catch up with each other over their time apart.

Athos and Sally Aramis spent most of the night catching the family up with the details of their new, busy life, and, most importantly, why hadn’t they told them about the little ones sooner!?

The pair squirmed only slightly as Sally took the lead on that one. “When the communication blackout was lifted a few months ago, we already knew about the update from Ella.”

That did not go over as well as she’d hoped as the look from Sandra was nearly enough to cut into her hp.

“We wanted it to be a surprise,” Athos continued when Sally winced.

“Yeah, we wanted to see your reaction in person,” Sally added, once her nerves returned.

The look softened, and the elder Queens seemed to accept the idea of keeping it as a surprise, but then the rest of the questions came like an uncontrolled avalanche:

What was it like in the Wildlands?

Were the Wildkin as crazy as the rumors said?

How were they faring alone?

Was Echo behaving?

Had anyone from the mainland made it out to visit?

What is their god-gift of a home like compared to home?

And most importantly…

When could they come to visit again?

They answered each question in kind, and when they were nearly exhausted, Sandra and Walter returned the favor, filling them in on everything that had happened in their absence.

The stories from Ciber were a little tamer compared to those of settling in a new land and becoming a celebrity power couple among the other Inciperian species.

Between family, none of that mattered, and Athos and Sally were happy for the normality of it all.

Neither of them minded the slice of life they were served as the Queen family spent their time talking fondly of how Emily was progressing, how she ended her childhood Milestone, how her early teen Milestone was going, how Walter had become a leader for the local farmer’s collective, Sandra’s latest fight on the world stage, and how life had pretty much gone on as it always had despite Rani of the Moonkin’s full split with Unum of Incipere and her proposed alliance with Ella of the Wildkin against Priam the Veiled.

No one mentioned the Players, but they were a whole other issue that didn’t need to be brought up even if they were starting to attempt raids. Athos knew the trouble they could cause. He was partly responsible for their presence in the Wildlands, afterall, and they could be quite the violent bunch. Though, that didn’t mean they were all bad, but the ones that came looking for him usually didn’t have the best intentions at heart.

Though no one said it out loud, it was easy to see they didn’t want to talk about how much quieter the farm was without Sally and Athos around. Both of them could see the glimmers of happiness in even Sandra’s normally stoic eyes, so there was no point in twisting the knife of their short visit.

Then, there was Emily.

Apparently, the youngest Queen took more after her favorite uncle/brother-in-law than Sandra and Walter could have anticipated.

She was the most animated of the five and told her stories like an actress. She talked about simple, but exciting things like how she helped keep an eye on the fields at night like Athos and Sally sometimes would, how she spent her free time chasing down grass cats and wrestling with them, and how she was getting better with her combat skills, much to the bemoaning Walter. She still hadn’t revealed her primary class to anyone, but no matter what it was, the class had to be based on dexterity and strength with the way she moved.

Overall, it was a nice way to spend the wee hours of the morning.

By the time the sun was ready to rise, the couple was reaching the end of their full operating time and needed to sleep. It was just one of the many new issues caused by the latest update to bring Incipere more in line with its Earth counterpart. Though Athos had a few hours more before degradation began compared to Sally, Walter made no effort to hold him over and escorted the pair upstairs.

“You don’t need to, Dad,” Sally said, sighing with a hint of exhaustion in her voice. “I’m not a kid anymore.”

He raised a brow, and to her great surprise, he was on the verge of crying.

“No...” He sniffed, wiping his eye with his sleeve, “No, you’re not, but I’m still your dad, and I’m not going to shirk my duties. You’re still my little girl, Young Adult Milestones or not.”

She groaned again, but Athos caught the way her lips curled up just a bit. She had missed this, even if she argued every step of the way. It was just her way, and all the men in her life knew the rough exterior was all just a front.

“It’s just upstairs.”

It was Walter’s turn to smirk as he put a hand on Athos’s shoulder, clapping it firmly. “Oh, I know, Sal, but I’d rather not have a young, noisy couple sharing a room with Emily.”

Her cheeks reddened. “Dad! You really think we’d—”

It didn’t help Sally’s mood when Sandra snickered, and Emma outright laughed at her older sister in the teasing way only a sibling could. Even Walter had to stifle the barest hints of a snicker.

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“Don’t worry, Sal. Athos isn’t going too far. We’ve got his old room set up for the occasion.”

“You didn’t…,” Sally practically oozed snark as she let the words trail off.

“What sort of man do you take me for?” Walter grinned so wide, Athos could swear he saw brown specs in those white teeth. “A father doesn’t neglect his children, even children-in-laws. Of course, I did!”

Athos groaned.

His old room?

That old closet they took their coats from at the top of the steps?

The one Walter didn’t bother to dust before setting down the sleeping bag?

True, there had been good times there for the two of them, but compared to his inn room back in town, Athos felt practically claustrophobic in the small space. It would only be doubly so now that he had a home, and a master bedroom the size of a small house, to call his own.

“Really, Walter?”

The jolly old soul just smiled deviously at his son-in-law with a recognizable mischief in his eyes. “Really.”

Now, it was Sally’s turn to laugh at someone’s misfortune. She, of all people, knew just how much he hated that closet.

When he’d been courting her, Walter had done everything to keep Athos from staying over, and if her guess was right, it still smelled like mothballs with a not-so-subtle undercurrent of monster droppings.

As they reached the top of the steps, Walter turned and held the doorknob. “Remember what I told you when we first met, Athos?”

Athos grinned a bit, remembering that day so long ago when Walter had picked him up on the side of the road after his stay with the dryads. “Hold on to my ass?”

Walter looked surprised, nearly choked on his tongue, then laughed a deep, belly-grown laugh.

“No, not that!” The man’s bead stopped wagging as he got his laughter under control and smiled. “Though, that’s some good advice though for a new father like you.”

Athos smiled and thought back to another of those gems. “Don’t pull anything funny, or I’ll be fertilizing the fields, and no one will ever find my body or question what happened to a newbie like me?”

“I didn’t say all that at once.” Walter grinned sheepishly.

“I may have paraphrased a little.” Athos said, returning the grin.

Walter laughed. “Close enough for me.”

Things got a little awkward as Walter rubbed the back of his head in a rare instance of not knowing what to say to the boy-turned-man. Then, he raised his hand and placed it on the doorknob as the normally jolly farmer spoke with an uncharacteristic seriousness.

“Now, I’m not sure if I should offer my daughter the chance to stay with you, but you’re married now, and she should have the chance to share in your misery.”

The words seemed to be pulled from the back of Walter’s soul as they came one by one. They held a father’s lament of his daughter’s next stage in life, but they weren’t sad, just… absent his usual boisterous attitude.

“If she wants, Sal can stay with you.” Athos didn’t need his observation skills to notice how that mischievous gleam returned before the last word even left Walter’s lips. “I’m pretty sure we got the stink out with the last cleaning.”

The concession was a bit of a surprise from the overprotective-bear-of-a-father, and it touched Athos.

If nothing else, the teasing ‘oooo’ from Emily behind them was a gift he couldn’t have asked for and that was nothing compared to when she started singing a song about kissing and sitting in trees that even he was familiar with from his time in middle school.

Sally scoffed despite the ghost of a smile hiding within the curves of her lips.

“What are you talking about, Dad?” Sally said, waving Walter’s offer off. “I have the chance for a bed all my own where I won’t smack Athos for snoring too loudly—”

“Hey! You snore worse.”

Sally ignored Athos’s protest and continued. “Why the Hell would I pass that up?”

Walter failed to hide the smile as he turned back to Athos. “You heard her, Athos. She wants her old room.”

“Damn right, I do.”

“Language, young lady!”

Sally recoiled, blushing a slight red. “Sorry, Dad.”

“You’ve always had your mother’s mouth.”

“Yep!” Sally beamed.

“And you’re sure you want your own bed in your old room? You don’t want to spend time with Athos in the closet?”

“Dad, I’m sure. Let’s get on with it so I can see the look on his face.”

“Alright, alright,” Walter said. “Remember this, Athos. She abandoned you for her own bed.”

“Oh, I will,” Athos replied. He couldn’t blame her, but something didn’t seem… normal about the whole thing.

It was then that an idea tugged at Athos. He’d seen things like this before from Sally on the battlefield. Walter seemed like he was egging her on.

Just what was he getting at?

Athos raised a brow as he caught on, but Walter only smiled as he opened the door to the closet, but it wasn’t Walter who spoke next.

It was Sally.

“What the… Dad?!”

Peaking in behind the pair, Athos couldn’t help but smile. The room was almost as large as their bedroom at home. At least thirty feet by thirty feet, his old ‘room’ was huge. A king-sized bed sat in the center while two dressers pressed against the far end. A large window spread across the wall above the bed while a plush carpet protected the polished, gold-tinted hardwood floor. A wash basin sat near the bed as well as a pair of nightstands to complete the picture.

“Merry Christmas,” Walter said again as he clapped Athos’s shoulder.

Athos smiled.

Walter played his daughter like a master musician, plucking each cord so that he got the exact song of disbelief he’d been hoping for, and his son-in-law was not going to let his efforts go to waste.

With the most shit-eating grin he could muster, Athos leaned over and gave Sally a peck on the cheek. It took all he had to hold back his laughter as he said, “See you after we recover, love.”

The sounds of frustration that followed as Sally let loose once she realized the joke her father played were not those proper for young ears, but Athos only laughed as Walter began leading her away.

“Come on, Sal. Your sister’s been planning this for weeks.”

Sally’s eyes never left Athos’s, and the smile never left his face as he waved.

As he expected, she didn’t take it lying down.

Sally Queen-Aramis: Oh, you’re getting yours soon, Athos! This will be righted. I will have that bed as my own. Mark my words! That bed will be mine!

Athos Aramis: Love you too, Sal.

Sally Queen-Aramis: Mine, Aramis!

Sally Queen-Aramis: Mine!

Sally Queen-Aramis: And you’re sleeping on the couch when we get home!

Athos Aramis: Have a good night in your own bed!

Sally did her best to keep up her angry facade and tried to hide a growing smirk as she turned back to whatever Walter had been saying, but it was so hard for her to not smile around her family.

That only made Athos smile more.

It was one of the things he loved about the Queens. They were as fierce about those they loved as they were as friends. He had no doubt he was in trouble and that Sally would make good on her threat, but his earthen-haired whirlwind wanted to see Emily as much as Emily wanted to see her.

It was a small price to pay later and a win all around, as far as he was concerned.

As the door sealed behind him with an audible click, the sounds of the outside world faded like the echoes in a cave until silence reigned supreme and unchallenged.

Athos looked around, let out a contented sigh, and flopped unceremoniously onto the mattress. It’d been a long time since he got to sleep alone by choice, but he felt a twinge of remorse at not giving the room to Sally. She did need more room now, and he doubted Emily would let her sleep well. The feeling passed quickly though, letting the plush material form to his upper body like warm butter before firming up in all the right places.

As he drifted off to sleep, all thoughts of retaliation left his waking mind. Whatever other punishments Sally had in mind for this little stunt would be nothing compared to the look on her face he’d just enjoyed.

“Worth it.”