fandomtownies | A Portal in the Park, Monday Evening

Seivarden had tried not to think about this. She had failed mostly, and during this week she had had the knowledge at the back of her mind that Etnys wouldn't stay long. The weekend had been fun though, in a way she hadn't experienced in a long time, and the things Etnys told her about her life had made her laugh a lot.

Even if she had some objections to her mom's parenting skills. And she was going to talk with Amaya about giving children knives, even if she hadn't been able to make herself take it from Etnys.

"Make sure to be safe," Seivarden told her daughter.

Hey. Etnys was promised a cool knife (no, she wasn't), and she had gotten a cool knife, and she wasn't letting it go for anything.

It had been a fun weekend, and it had been interesting to see her mother in this place that she'd been stuck in for so long. She wished her mom hadn't been so weird about it, though, and had stuck around, too, but her parents seemed to be in one of their 'off' periods, so she wasn't really surprised. She was mostly used to it.

It still hurt a little, but she was trying not to think about it.

She was going to roll her eyes a little, shrugging and sticking her hands in the pocket of her leather jacket. It would definitely be nice to get back to a more civilized world again, sure, but she still wasn't really ready to go yet. But it seemed uncool to let that show. "I will," she said. "Don't worry."

That eyeroll was so familiar that the corner of Seivarden's mouth twitched.

"Younger Issa is going to miss you."

Younger Issa was happy to have her home back to normal.

Any pretension of being too cool for this whole good-bye thing instantly dissipated into a bright smile at that.

"I'm going to miss Younger Issa, too! She's so much nicer than the Older Issa."

Which said a lot about Older Issa.

"And Younger Arlo 2!" For the all of three seconds she got to spend with her. "She was so small!"

"But already licking shoes." Seivarden smiled. "Don't forget to check if the cooks is still hiding the cookie jar in the top cupboard."

Unless that was childish. It was a difficult balance with ten-year-olds

Especially with a ten-year-old who was trying to be so cool all the time. Clearly too cool for stealing cookies, as the shrug seemed to indicate, but her grin betrayed her. "Hiding cookies? I don't know what you're talking about, Mother."

Seivarden smirked. "Of course you don't. Oh, and..."

Here she turned serious. "Don't play with that knife."

The children had told him about the portal. Sparkle had told him that no, they couldn't just accidentally on purpose miss the portal and keep the children and had used the logic that they'd be waiting on the other side for their kids back. That didn't make him feel any less like his heart was being physically torn out of his chest but he was trying to keep it off his face. He was smiling, even if it was a little fixed. He was also clinging to Sparkle's hand with a grip that was possibly cutting off circulation. Abney was alternating between them for hand-holding. Quinn was walking along with his hands shoved in his pockets.

There was a very long pause, where Etnys' mouth shifted a little in what was clearly a failed attempt to keep a straight face.

She blinked at her mother innocently, tilting her head in a curious way before asking, "What knife?"

It was worth a try!

There had only been a few days and Seivarden already knew that look.

"You now which one."

She had also, in the same short amount of time, practiced the expression saying that wouldn't work.

Ezra was going to sleep for a week, starting tonight. But for now, he still had too get through this bittersweet thing.

He wasn't looking forward to any of this, and for three fairly different reasons.

This had always been Envy's least favourite part. This year was no exception.

She was half-glaring at the portal.

Etnys sighed. "Yeah," she said, "I know. And I won't. Play with it. I know how to use it properly, Mother. Zephyr at the forge showed me how and she's a knight," knight hopeful, but details, details, "so she knows what she's doing."

"Okay," Sparkle said, as soon as the portal came into sight. "You guys have to promise us that you'll give future us heart attacks again next year and come back to visit, okay? I'm going to make sad faces at you both until you do."

It was hard being the one who insisted they had to let go.

It was easier knowing they weren't necessarily letting go forever.

"We left a note, Dada," Quinn said with a crooked grin, "We grew up here, we know what it means when a portal opens up in your bedroom unexpectedly. But.. yeah. I'd like to come back. I think Jacen's ..the one here.. is gonna try again. I messed with the phones so..we're gonna try some stuff once we're back home. Don't know if it'll work but it'd be cool if it did."

Abney clung a little, "I don't wanna wait a whole year, but they'd miss us too much. We've never been away from home for more than a week. Two weeks for Quinn when he was on Coruscant. I wanna come back too."

Hernando was going to just.. kind of .. try not to choke up.

Sparkle gave Hernando's hand a squeeze.

"Well, then we'll see you guys when you come back, huh? And hey, you've made friends while you were here, that's pretty badass."

Was he allowed to say 'badass' in front of their kids? Oh no, oh shit, he was corrupting Abney...

Abney giggled and chided, "Dada! Language!" She'd heard worse in their home. She knew not to repeat it unless she really had a reason. She hugged Sparkle goodbye. "It's only a year. It's not so long. It's only so long for now, right?"

Quinn stepped up and hugged Hernando. He murmured in Spanish, "Prometo volver dentro de poco. Nos vemos pronto, Papa." He kissed Hernando on the cheek.

Sparkle was going to squish the heck out of Abs while he was down there, okay?

"Only so long for now," he agreed, and then leaned forward and planted one of those big squishy kisses right on her forehead, because darn it, that's what you did, right? "You keep taking care of each other, okay?"

Yeah well, guess who's getting gooey little girl kiss cooties all over his face since he put it in range? That'd be you, Sparkle! "We do. We take care of the other Dada and Papa too but we won't be here so you have to take care of each other 'til we get back, ok?" Abney asked seriously, "Or until you find your own Abney and Quinn." She chewed her lip, "But if you do, I wanna meet her. The other me."

And there's your terrifying thought for the day: An island with two Abneys on the loose.

Hernando.. was clinging and he wasn't even ashamed of it. He didn't want to let go of their son. Or their daughter but right now it was their son he had actual physical hold of. He was murmuring all the dad instructions in Spanish more to keep himself from crying than because Quinn was the sort who needed them.

Even if he had helped steal a ship this weekend.

They brought it back in time for supper!

That quality family time curfew was serious business, okay?

"Well, yeah, of course you gotta meet the other you," Sparkle agreed, still squishing Abney tight. "That way we can have that much more Abs and Quinny to love, right?"

... Poor seven-year-old Quinn, having to wrap his head around himself but a teen, though.

Might give him hope. 16 year old Quinn was pretty awesome. "My turn, squirt," Quinn said, shoving her hat down over her face again, "Swap fathers."

Abney kissed Sparkle some more, "More of us is better. We'll be here, Dada. I have to go hug Papa now." Yes, all that with her hat squashed over her face. She didn't bother putting it right until she could disentangle herself and fling herself at Hernando.

Quinn helped Sparkle back up and pulled him into a tight hug, murmuring something appropriately gooey to him in French.

And Sparkle gave a little laugh at that, giving Quinn a good squish in turn.

Yeah, you too.

"Waiting is gonna suck," he mumbled, "but we'll be keeping our eyes open for you guys from here on, you better believe it."

Steve was getting more concerned that every time kids showed up for him or Tony, someone on the other end of their line was dead. It didn't speak well to long-term longevity.

But Tesla seemed pretty well adjusted, despite being named Tesla? He'd miss her.

"Good," Quinn said decisively, with a suddenly vulnerable smile, "I don't want to wind up with the wrong parents. I'm kind of spoiled having had the right ones. You guys.."

His throat closed and he swallowed several times before he could speak again in a suspiciously raspy voice. "You've both been the best fathers ever. We couldn't have asked for better. It's been nice this weekend, getting to know you before you had us. I wish you could step through the portals to meet the fathers we're going home to. Not much has changed. You two are still really embarrassing in public.. and I wouldn't change a thing about either of you."

Abney was clinging to Hernando and he was hiding in her hair. Her turn for all the mumbled Spanish, to which she was replying a steady string of 'Si. Si, Papa. Si.'

Well, Steve was a good parent. Tony's go at parenthood involved clones, so....

"I really hope you left a note with your dad, you know."

A Portal in the Park, Monday Evening

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