Arylos sat under the warm sheets of the torotsu, laughing under his breath as he became self-conscious about himself. He could not get the image of himself out of his mind as he processed the mental image of him under the sheets with his legs crossed, a wool robe around his shoulders, a small cup of potent tea in one hand and an unpeeled mikan by the other. He couldn’t help but feel like an old man relaxing, an old veteran of war relaxing in his pensioned retirement. He took in the peace and the silence as he watched the flames in the fireplace burn with a gentle hum, the crackling of the wood breaking the silence like a soft rain in spring.

And then he heard the running footsteps.

Arylos sighed as he took a drink of tea as he could hear the telltale sound of footsteps running down the stairs with the giggling of giddy girls following closely behind. The high pitched squealing rang in his ears like scratching nails against metal plates. Before long, Iris came into the living room, chasing a small blonde girl around the furniture, giggling all the while as the girl squealed in joy.

The elderly Titan could not help but let out a sigh as he set his tea down. “Sometimes, I miss the sheer bliss of silence.”

Iris sighed as she leaned against the back of the couch, trying desperately to catch her breath. “Oh come on, isn’t it a joy to hear a child’s laughter?”

“I can think of three more joyful things,” Arylos said while lifting three fingers for Iris to count through each option. “Silence, the absence of sound, and a single moment of utter quiet.”

“Stop being so grumpy,” Iris said while tugging on Arylos’s cheek as the Titan growled. “Come play with us, you know you want to.”

“Play~!” The little girl cheered with her arms raised, nearly ready to jump for joy at the idea.

“Look Aniya, I’m tired and old; don’t expect these old knees to chase you around the house,” Arylos said with a reserved sigh.

Aniya slowly lowered her arms as her smile faded. “You won’t play?” she asked softly while sniffling.

“Uh oh, look at what you did,” Iris teased Arylos while tapping his shoulder. “Are you really going to say no to that face?”

“If it doesn’t work for you, it won’t work for her,” Arylos said while taking another drink of tea.

Iris groaned and climbed over the couch and gave Arylos a big pout, working up tears and a sniffling routine.

“What did I just say?” Arylos barked as he set his tea down.

“But why you won’t play?” Aniya asked as her green eyes filled with tears like ponds. “Do you not like me?”

“It’s not that I like you, Aniya,” Arylos said with a deep sigh. “In fact, I like you more since you can go home. It means I can have you around at my leisure.”

“Honey, she doesn’t know what that means,” Iris reminded Arylos while tapping his head.

Arylos cleared his throat as he tried to find a different way to word his feelings. “Aniya, I’m old and can’t do that much running around. Let this old man sit and enjoy his peace and we can play when I’m feeling better, alright?”

Aniya’s eyes cleared as she tilted her head at Arylos, trying to understand him. In a slow motion, she took a deep breath before pointing at Arylos. “Grandpa!” she said at the top of her lungs.

“Eh? What the heck did you call me?” Arylos asked while baring his fangs unconsciously.

“Grandpa grandpa grandpa!” Aniya kept cheating repeatedly as her smile came back to her.

Arylos felt nerves he didn’t know existed pop in his temples. “Listen here you little turd, where do you get off calling me ‘grandpa’?”

“Oh, but aren’t you older than reality itself?” Iris said with an accusing voice.

“Don’t take her side,” Arylos said under his breath in a deep growl.

“Oh but you were just saying you’re old,” Iris said while poking Arylos’s cheek.

“Old is one thing, grandpa is another entirely,” Arylos growled under his breath.

Iris laughed with an evil smile as an idea came to her. As soon as Arylos saw her smile, he felt his heart sink. “Don’t you dare,” the Titan growled deeply.

Iris couldn’t help herself, finding Arylos’s weak point so easily exposed. “Hey Aniya, why don’t you give grandpa a hug?”

Aniya’s face went wide with the biggest smile Arylos had ever seen. She cheered loudly as she ran towards Arylos with arms outstretched. Arylos instinctively growled as his eyes shone brightly and before Iris could catch on, Aniya was pulled into the air by unseen hands, floating in the air like a leaf in a breeze. As Aniya processed what happened, she began to laugh loudly and wave her arms, causing her to spin around in the air like a ballerina.

“Uh oh, look at what you started,” Iris teased as she watched Aniya enjoy the otherworldly ride.

“Keep talking and you might just join her,” Arylos warned with a deep animalistic growl.

“And what if I want that?” Iris said in a soft whisper as she continued poking Arylos’s cheek.

Arylos closed his eyes as he let out a deep growling sigh as he knew exactly what he had done. Yet, he couldn’t let himself remain angry. He laughed under his breath as he raised his hand and snapped his fingers. A wave of energy erupted from his snap that knocked Iris into the air, floating gently just like Aniya as the air around her hummed loudly. She let out a nervous laugh as she felt like it was swimming in syrupy water.

“You know that she’s going to ask for this now, right?” Iris asked while gingerly moving through the air to move towards the laughing child.

“Sometimes, when I make my bed of cat shit, all I can do is lie in it,” Arylos said while taking his tea in hand again. “At least now I can drink my tea in peace.”

“Isn’t this a lot of work though? Are we too heavy?” Iris asked nervously as she came over to Aniya and poked her, causing her to move gently towards the wall like a ball in a pool.

“Bitch please, I could crush a mountain just like this,” Arylos said with a laugh. “And this is a good exercise for me to retain my strength.”

“Honey, language; we have a child here,” Iris warned as Aniya continued to laugh.

“She’ll hear it one way or another,” Arylos said while keeping his tea to his lips.

“Yeah well I’d rather not get my butt chewed out by Subaya,” Iris warned while continuing to play with Aniya in the air, trying to remain careful so as to not hit their heads against anything.

“There’s not that much to chew,” Arylos said under his breath.

Iris’s playful nature quickly faded as she growled. Blue lightning ran across her skin until it gathered in her hand and launched a jolt of lightning towards Arylos. However, Arylos lifted his hand and caught the lightning in his hand like it was nothing. “You know that won’t work, darling,” Arylos teased the Templarian girl.

Iris growled under her breath. “Man, you’re no fun,” she said while crossing her arms.

“Then why the fuck do you stay with me?” Arylos said in complete disbelief.

“Honey!” Iris squealed while reaching for Aniya’s ears.

“It’ll be fine; if she learns those words, I’ll just wipe them from her memory,” Arylos said while finishing his cup of tea and setting it down.

“Yeah, I’d rather you not mess with her mind, just saying,” Iris warned while stretching her legs to touch the ground. “Could you at least let us down then?”

Arylos laughed as he stroked his beard. “I don’t think so. I think you’re good right where you’re at.”

“Honey, don’t be a butthead now,” Iris warned with a scowl.

“Fine, I’ll put you down,” Arylos said with a sigh. “But only because her parents are here.” The Titan waved his hand and the girls were gently lowered to the ground.

“Oh, they’re already here?” Iris asked while looking at the front door.

“Up! Up!” Aniya said while jumping up and down.

“No, your parents are here,” Arylos said with a loud groan as he got up from the warm confines of the torotsu.

“Woah, that sounds like a case of the dad groans right there,” Iris said sarcastically while bringing the pouting Aniya to the foyer.

“Woman, don’t start,” Arylos said while tightening his robe and going up to the front door and opening it just before Subaya could knock on the door, her hand still in the air preparing to knock. “She’s not as worn out as you would like and I may have accidentally introduced her to something new,” Arylos recapped for Subaya.

Subaya laughed nervously as she stepped into the warm foyer. “Okay, first, what did you introduce her to and secondly how the heck do you always know when I’m here?”

“Magic, to both questions,” Arylos said with a smile and as he helped Iris get Aniya’s coat on her.

“You picked a weird husband, you know that?” Subaya said with a nervous laugh.

“Okay first he’s not my husband yet, secondly, I’m arguably weirder,” Iris said with a warm smile.

“Woman, you’re not arguably weirder; you are weirder,” Arylos said while buttoning up Aniya’s coat as she continued to fuss.

“I want up!” Aniya continued saying as the duo struggled with her.

Arylos laughed and rose up while stretching his back. “Tell Rikio I’m sorry for his back; she’ll want to be tossed in the air for fun.”

“Oh great, that’s exactly what he needed,” Subaya said while laughing. “Alright, ready to go sweetie?” she asked while kneeling down to Aniya’s level.

Aniya pouted but nodded as she came to her mother before Subaya grabbed her shoulder and pointed towards the duo. “Go say bye-bye now, you’ll see them next week.”

Aniya turned around and ran towards Iris and gave her a tight hug. Iris laughed as she hugged the small girl tight. “Bye pumpkin!” Iris said while squeezing her tight, warranting a laugh from Aniya. As Iris let go, Aniya looked towards Arylos with a shy expression; the tall bearded man with a growling voice was always scary when he stood up.

“Go on now, hug grandpa,” Iris teased while tapping Arylos’s shoulder.

“Don’t push your luck girl,” Arylos growled under his breath as he knelt down and hugged Aniya. “Be good to your mom and dad now, okay?” he told Aniya while rubbing the girl’s scalp as Aniya nodded and let go of Arylos.

“Alright honey, let’s go or I might want to stay here in the warmth,” Subaya said with a smile as she reached for Aniya’s hand.

Aniya took Subaya’s hand and waved as the two left and Arylos closed the door behind them, taking a brief moment to enjoy the cold and blissful silence of having no kids in the house. He turned towards Iris who had a sly smile on her face that Arylos knew was the sign of trouble.

“I want one,” Iris said sternly.

“No,” Arylos returned her stern tone.

“Aww boo!” Iris complained while stomping her foot. “Why not?”

“We can’t have children with each other,” Arylos said as he walked towards Iris and tapped her shoulder. “If we could, we would have a few by now.”

Iris caught Arylos’s hint as her face went red. “What do you mean by that?” she asked in a squealing voice.

Arylos laughed as he gave Iris a gentle head pat. “I have faced many foes but your libido is by far the most dangerous I have ever faced.”

Iris’s face went a brighter shade of red as she looked away from the Titan. “Y-Yeah, well, shut up. I hate you.”

“No you don’t,” Arylos said with a laugh, knowing full well he trapped the girl in a trap of her own making.