This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/PepperAntique on 2024-11-25 21:36:15+00:00.

Previous / First

Writer's Note: Hooo boy. Y'all ready to rip some band-aids off?

Enjoy.

Hours after his arrival Joey stood with Veliry as the two of them watched Joel sleep.

The cute little twitches and movements of the child didn't FULLY distract Joey from the way Veliry had her fingers laced with his as she leaned into him.

He was doing everything he could not to cry. He'd done a ton of that today. Everyone had really. But it was hard not to as he looked at his son sleep for the first time in either of their lives. Seven years too late in his opinion. But seven years was still significantly better than never.

She tugged at his arm.

"Come on. Let's let him sleep." She whispered.

They were the only two still awake. Jurl had taken Mela and Tilo to the guest rooms in his mother's house. Amina had been M.I.A. since only a little while after he'd shown up. He wondered at that, and had his suspicions as to the cause. But that would be something to deal with later. He and Veliry had used magic to carry his mother to her room and lay her down. She'd fallen asleep in her chair in the main living room.

Her hand had still been resting on Joey's arm when they'd noticed her snoring lightly. As if she couldn't let him go. Something she and Veliry seemed to have in common.

She led him down the long dark hall.

"James made this place didn't he?" He asked quietly.

She looked at him curiously as they walked. "Yes." She said. "It was destroyed during... well... you know." She said awkwardly. They'd danced around the subject of his death the whole night. Both.... deaths. "Jurl rebuilt it for free. He and a lot of the different building companies did a lot of rebuilding for free after. The King paid for almost all of it. Though, most of the companies didn't charge. Jurl's didn't."

He nodded. Petravians were a lot more giving than Earth companies.

Then he asked the question that had been bugging him since he'd first seen Joel.

Since he'd first learned of him really.

He pulled her to a stop as he looked back at the room they'd left the small boy sleeping in.

He was so small, Joey thought. So small and yet so fiery. He'd definitely gotten his personality from her. How could he not?

"Is he...." He asked as he pointed at his temple. "Does he hav-"

She pulled his hand down and held both of them.

"He's as normal as a little shape changing boy with horns, and parents from two different universes, can be." She said as she looked him in the eyes. "Your mother's been doing checks on all three of them since they were born." She said as she saw him fighting his tears again.

Joey nodded. "Good." He said. "That's good."

As much as Joey had tried to interact with the young boy, Joel seemed oblivious to the importance of their meeting. Kelsey and Xaria were too. He could understand that. He remembered a few times when he'd been their age when he and James had been introduced to important family members. Mela and Tilo at least had seemed to be blown away by his return. He was sure they would help the three youngest Choi's figure it out later. Kids had a way of doing that.

But Joey had been amazed by the young boy. He could see so much of both himself and Veliry in him. And he could change into the shape of almost any animal out there, so long as he remained relatively the same size or smaller. Joey theorized (he couldn't help it) that the transformations were actually the same maturity level for that species as Joel was for humans. Regardless, they all retained the curved ram-like horns that he had in his human form.

It made for a comical effect when he turned into a bird or a frog.

"I know we've all said it about a hundred different times today." She said as they continued walking. "But we've all missed you." She said softly. "I missed you."

He just nodded again. She was right. They'd all said that a lot.

"It was hard." She said softly as they rounded the corner and paused outside of a door. "Joel he... he made it easy. I think... Compared to most kids. Especially once he figured out how to control his beast shapes. But.... IT was still hard doing it by m-"

This time it was Joeys turn to cut her off. But he did it with an embrace instead of words.

Their antlers made it awkward. But they'd figured that out earlier.

He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. She understood the message.

She wasn't alone anymore. Wasn't a single mother anymore.

When they released the hug they stood awkwardly for a moment.

"So is this my room?" He asked.

She smirked. And she was glad he couldn't see her blush.

"With Jurl and the twins here, all the rooms are taken." She said as she slid the door open. "But I'm not letting you out of my sight Joseph Choi." She said as she pulled him forward. "I don't think any of us are ever again."

She pulled him into the room. And after both of them undressed she also pulled him into the bed inside.

They didn't do anything.

As they lay there they just held each other. And true to her word she never took her eyes off of him, and fell asleep after he had.

She didn't care if nothing else happened she was just glad to have him back.

And Joey slept both comfortably, and easily, for the first time in almost two years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vickers startled a little bit as he woke up, and next to him Atrafar sleepily reached for a sword with an arm that wasn't there anymore, though it was halfhearted.

"Hmmm?" He wondered before his phone buzzed again.

He reached over and took it, and was surprised to see [Maj. Dumbass] on the front.

"Choi?" He asked before licking his lips a few times to get the saliva back in his dry mouth. Then he remembered. "Nah. The princess."

He'd meant to change that contact name for years. But... had just... never managed to.

He sat up on the bed as he picked the phone up from its charger pad.

"Princess?" He asked as he held it up to his ear.

He was assaulted by sobbing cries so loud he had to hold the phone away and blink for a few seconds. He was still half asleep after all, nocturnal or not.

"Mmmmm!" Groaned his wife in agitation.

Vickers got up and walked outside. His feet made the motion almost completely silent despite his massive size. He walked down the hall and into the living room, amazed at how Amina was still going on and on.

His superhuman hearing allowed him to hear all of it despite holding the phone at arms length.

And.... it didn't make any sense.

Carefully, and after hitting the button to lower the volume a few times, he put the phone back next to his head.

"Woah! Woah woah woah!" He said as he tried to get Amina's attention through her upset sobs. "Princess chill for a second stop! Stooooop stooooooooooop.... stopstopstopstop." He commanded. He heard her suck in a ragged breath and wondered at what could get her so worked up. It couldn't be what she'd been struggling to say. That was impossible. "Take a few deep breaths okay. Relax as much as you can, and just.... just... BREATHE." He said while taking a long, exaggerated breath of his own so she could hear it.

He listened for several minutes as she slowly got her breathing under control.

When it finally sounded, somewhat, regular he asked the million dollar question.

"Now what's goin' on princess? Who came back? What's got you so worked up?" He asked, his voice soft around the edges.

He listened for several minutes as she explained something that SHOULDN'T have been possible.

Vickers' eyes widened with each word. And they went even wider when she sent him an image that had been taken from some distance away. The phone she had was old, a couple models old by now. But the image was clear as day. And also impossible.

"It's him." She said from where he was holding his phone. "It's Joseph. H-He's.... He's back!" She cried out. A part of him wondered where she'd gone that she wasn't waking anybody in the house up. But that was unimportant. "He's back and James isn't."

Vickers took a long breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

This had to be killing her.

"Amina." He said gently. "Do you have that number I gave you?" He asked.

She stammered a bit. But replied that she did. He nodded, thankful that she'd held onto it.

"DO... you... have that number?" He asked again, more sternly this time, after hearing her arguments and ignoring them. "Call her." He said. She tried to reply but he cut her off. "Amina. CALL... HER... NOW." He said sternly, allowing no argument. "Call her and tell her what's happening. Listen to her. Me and Atra will be back through the Gate first thing today." He said. "Or at least I will. Now. Were you hiding from him?" He asked. She tried to defend herself. but he knew better. "Goddamit Amina go talk to him. But first, Call the damn therapist. And hey," He said, before looking over to where Atrafar was standing in the doorway listening. "remember to breathe. Vickers out." He said as he hung up the phone.

"What's going on?" His wife asked.

Vickers sat and stared at the phone for a few long seconds as he considered the words he was about to say.

He didn't believe them himself. But the picture was right there on the phone.

He took his own advice and took a deep breath before speaking.

"One of the Choi brothers is back." He said as he looked at her. "Joseph. He's.... He's back s...
***
Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1gzunfx/rebirth_relearn_return_gateverse_61/