The rest of the night was over far too soon. 

Yuriko and Vian had gotten ready for the day after loving each other tenderly and Vian had left the bedroom to wake up their kids. They wanted to have a family breakfast before he had to leave. Until now, neither their five-year-old son nor his younger sister knew that their father had to leave in a few hours. 

Yuriko was worried how they would take the news. She had a feeling that Joié would deal with it more easily than her brother. She was a bubbly little girl while Aiden was more thoughtful and not as upfront in showing his feelings — almost exactly how Yuriko imagined Vian’s personality as a child. For a moment, she watched her husband as he disappeared in their son’s bedroom before turning towards the flight of stairs which led downstairs into the living area of their house.

Reaching the bottom, she bowed down to pet the head of their family dog. She smiled as Chief looked up at her, tail wagging friendly, and walked over to open the sliding patio door so he could enter the garden. 

“I’ll leave the door open, okay boy?” 

After sniffing and licking her hand, the Aussie looked at her again before entering the garden. Yuriko was not worried. She knew he would return in a bit. 

They had gotten Chief as a puppy when Joié was only a few months old and training him had been especially important to Vian. He had put a lot of his time into training the dog, building a relationship and giving him a task. By now, Chief was a trained search dog if he needed to be and there had already been a few cases when Vian had taken the dog with him. But at home, Chief was mainly part of their family. Both, Aiden and Joié adored him and Yuriko was more than happy to have him. 

When the dog disappeared between the bushes, she turned around and walked past the grand piano towards the kitchen to prepare breakfast. She only needed a few quick movements to get out the ingredients and started mixing them to create a smooth batter. Somehow, she started thinking about her life and how it had turned out. 

A few years ago, Yuriko had been easily bothered by people who told her, she would turn into a housewife and mother in no time once she got married to Vian. Today, she could not remember why the thought had seemed so bad to her in the first place. 

Sure, caring for children took a lot of time but she downright adored both of them. Moreover, her relationship to Vian had become more intense over the past years. And since Joié had also started going to kindergarten a few months ago, she had a little more time to herself. She had even been able to start working in her job as an anaesthetic nurse again. 

Yuriko loved her job and since she had a fixed schedule with no weekend and night shifts, it was not too hard to combine family and working life. Since Vian worked from home most of the time, he supported her as best as he could. Still, she surely was exhausted after a long day in the OR. 

Smiling because of her reminiscent thoughts, she took out a pan and put it on the stovetop. She could hear a child laughing upstairs and knew Vian had woken up their daughter by now. After putting some of the batter into the hot pan, she got out the dog food to prepare Chief's breakfast as well. 

Yuriko washed her hands and called out to the rest of her family, towel in hands: “If you want to have warm pancakes, you should come down in a bit!” 

There was no answer only more childish laughter and she turned back around, chuckling and shaking her head softly.

* *

Vian held his daughter in his arms and watched Aiden telling them both about his latest dream with wild gestures. Watching his children kept him steady, especially after fighting most of his life to make sure they would be able to grow up in peace. 

He was still fighting for the same goal today, knowing that conflicts could spread easily. 

The little figure in his arms was shaking with laughter due to her brother’s story, bringing his thoughts back to the present. 

"Aiden, you’re wreally crazy for dreaming things like that!” 

The little girl was clutching her favourite plushie, a small brown otter, close to her chest while snuggling up to her dad and watching her brother doubtfully. 

“You're just saying this because you don’t dream of superheroes, Jo! My dream was so cool!”, the five-year-old replied a little annoyed, turning to his father. 

“Anyway, so I was flying over the city, I mean, I was really flying, dad! And I was shooting beams from my hands, like laser beams. Like this, watch: peuw peuw peuw! It was so cool, dad! Do you think I could get laser shooters from Raik when I’m a little older?” 

Aiden had moved his hands, the movements matching to the sounds of imaginary laser beams, which made Vian smile. 

“It really sounds like a great dream, Aiden. Thinking about the laser beams, let’s just wait until you’re much older or mum is going to be very angry.” 

He winked at his son and ruffled the now sulking boy’s hair with his free hand. He could not help but smile. 

Even though he sometimes thought that it had to be the most awkward sight — himself, in a white dress shirt and dark pants, sitting on his daughter’s bed, the little girl in her bright yellow pyjamas on his lap, both of them looking at the boy in his virulent green pyjamas, telling them about his dream — but right now, Vian felt completely content. 

He looked at Joié now, who had snuggled up against his chest trustingly and was sucking on her thumb while holding the plushie in her arm. 

“So, what did you dream of, angel?” 

Her almost thoughtful face made him smile again. 

She took the thumb out of her mouth and looked at him with big green eyes. 

“I also dreamed of…” 

She was frowning now, obviously looking for a specific word. Shrugging her shoulders, she finally continued: “Of shooting beams. And Ottie and me, we were stronger than Aiden, wreally! And Aiden was wreally weak.” 

Vian chuckled a little and stroked the little girl’s hair, which was only a bit lighter than her mother’s. 

“Was he really, now?”

While Joié was nodding almost violently, Aiden crossed his arms in front of his chest, frowning. 

“She’s just saying that. I bet she dreamed something else.” 

Annoyed at her, he looked at his sister, sticking out his tongue. 

“And, by the way, it’s really, Jo, not wreally.” 

She sat up a little, sticking out her tongue as well, and said: “I don’t care, ‘cause I say wreally!” 

Quite satisfied with her argument, she leaned back to snuggle up against Vian's chest once more, putting her thumb back into her mouth. 

Aiden’s first reply was no more than a soft groan at but then, he quickly snatched the plushie otter from her and disappeared from the room in a run. 

Joié was highly offended by his actions, jumped off her father’s lap and followed her brother as fast as her little legs allowed her to: “Hey, let go of Ottie!” 

Vian chuckled again and got up quickly to follow the two. 

“No running by the stairs!”, he said before chasing them down the hall.

However, their playful chase only lasted a few moments. 

Aiden had kidnapped the otter into his parents’ bedroom, hiding in their walk-in wardrobe. His little sister had followed him, her short legs still a little clumsy every now and then. Consequently, she had tripped, slightly hit her head on one of the dressers and instantly started crying, probably more because of the shock than the pain. 

Vian had already been at the door by then, lifted her onto his arms and put his hand on the back of her head to calm her down. 

He gently bobbed up and down while talking to her in a low voice and stroking her hair, now. He could already see a small bump on her forehead but he knew better than to say anything. 

Aiden left his hiding spot within the wardrobe and looked at his dad and sister, holding out Joié’s plushie. 

“I’m sorry for taking Ottie, Joié. Here, you can have him back. Please stop crying, okay? I’m sure it’ll stop hurting soon.” 

Vian smiled at his son and stroked through his hair before taking the plushie and giving it to his daughter. 

“Thanks, Aiden. So, Jo, do you think Ottie would like to have some pancakes? I think I can smell some from the kitchen.” 

She looked at him for a moment before deciding to take the plushie and nodded once. 

“Okay, let’s go then. I’m sure mum is already wondering what we’re doing up here.”

* *

Yuriko had just been laying the table when she heard crying from upstairs. Frowning, she put the plates on top of the wooden table, looking over at the stairs. After a moment, the crying stopped and only a little later, while she was flipping  the last pancake, she saw the rest of the family come down the stairs. Vian was carrying Joié whilst Aiden was next to him, holding on to the handrail. 

“Jo fell down”, her son said before she could even ask and sat down on his chair. 

Yuriko turned off the stove and looked at her son, one eyebrow raised. “Well, a good morning to you too, Aiden. I hope you slept well.” 

She walked over to him, bend down so he could kiss her on the cheek and gave him a big cuddle in return. Even though Aiden tended to be a little moody from time to time, she loved everything about him. Then, she reached out her hands to take Joié from Vian's arms. 

She instantly noticed the bump on the girl’s forehead and gave her a soft kiss. “Why did you fall down, sweety?” 

Joié looked at her mother, her big green eyes a little swollen from crying before. 

“Aiden took Ottie and then I fell because I wanted to have him back. It’s wreally bad to take Ottie from me!”

Yuriko nodded with an earnest smile and turned back to her son. “And what't your side of the story, Aiden?” 

She sat down on the chair next to him and put the girl on her lap while she still looked at Aiden with his black, ruffled hair. Though her words seemed a little harsh, her light tone clearly took the edge off of them. Aiden was obviously sulking and avoided looking at her. When he did, he seemed annoyed. 

“Well, okay, I’m sorry. But I already said, I was! And I don’t like her copying me all the time! Because it was me dreaming of the laser beams, not her! She’s only pretending.” 

He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. The sight of her cute little sulking boy made Yuriko smile a little  wider, though she could understand his annoyance. 

Vian had gotten the pancakes from the kitchen by now and put one on each plate while saying: "Well, Aiden, maybe Jo only copies you because she loves you so much and wants to be just like you."

Winking at his son, Vian sat down and leaned over to kiss him on the top of his head. 

“But you're a good boy for saying sorry to your sister. I love you, Aiden.”, he whispered.

He did not need a reply. His son's loving smile was enough to know he felt the same.