New Tomorrow
The twins and Dadacha say goodbye...
For how great his presence was, they never realized how few his possessions were, until they saw the lone little suitcase on their kotatsu. Under normal circumstances, Akihiko would have chidingly told him not to put his suitcase on their table, and Haruhiko would have coldly ordered him to wipe the tabletop down afterwards, but these were not normal circumstances, and the twins could only look on in melancholy silence as Dadacha zipped his bag shut with little effort.
"That's everything then?" Akihiko asked.
"Everything you two won't need," Dadacha clarified, "I'm leaving behind the hot pot cooker. In case you're ever in the mood."
He was leaving behind his recipe book as well—or rather, a collection of paper clipped handwritten index cards with chicken scratch commentary in the margins—even though neither Haru nor Aki had any intention of using it. They nodded.
Dadacha returned their nod and glanced around the theater, mentally noting everything for the last time. His gaze lingered on the burnt out lights, casualties from the idol showdown. Though they had managed to fix most of the damage caused by Hakone Yumoto's emotional distress—the balconies were repaired and the chandelier was replaced—they were still waiting on new lightbulbs, and the missing lights made the theater look sad and gloomy.
His tail curled uncomfortably. "Aki, you have the guide I gave you, right? Where everything is kept and how to operate the theater's engines if you need them?"
"Yes, it's right here," Akihiko patted his breast pocket, "And we can always call if there are any questions, I take it?"
"Of course!" Dadacha's gave them a thumbs up, "You know me! My pager is always on paw." Except when he forgot it on his nightstand, by the stove, in the plants in the greenhouse…he was saying all of those things to assure himself that they would be fine without him, but Akihiko and Haruhiko wondered if they were the ones who should be worrying for him instead.
The decision to leave felt so sudden—no, it was more accurate to say that it was the twins' decision to stay that had shaken VEPPer to its core. They had finally reached their goal. They met Maximum Gorar again and earned his acknowledgment. The plan had always been to return to space in the end (with Gorar admittedly), but somehow they had also found themselves accepting an outstretched hand with an offer to join the Earth Defense Club, and remembering their love for their craft. There was always a part of Dadacha that worried they would quit the idol business once their wish was fulfilled, so no one was more enthusiastic than him when the twins declared that they would continue performing.
Except, their declaration had a catch.
"We're already galactic idols," Haru had said.
"Now, we wish to deliver hopes and dreams to the people of Earth," Aki continued.
"So please," in unison, they had bowed their heads to a dumbfounded Dadacha, "let us stay here!"
Here where their roots were. Here where they could finally be with the man they worked so hard to meet again. Here where they'd laid foundations for a new happier start—Dadacha didn't have the heart to refuse them.
In the days that followed the idol showdown, he did all he and his highly advanced scientific technology could in securing VEPPer's Earth career. Researching agencies, negotiating contracts, arranging photoshoots and recording sessions…managing the twins had always been hard work, yet even though Dadacha never felt any particular ambivalence towards it, the behind the scenes (and behind the appointed Earthling manager's back) work he did during those days made him feel as though he'd rediscovered his passion as well. Those days felt like a blissful dream.
But the reality was that an immediate permanent move to Earth was impossible. The twins were still under their old contract, they had a duty to their fans and sponsors, and their considerable assets wouldn't manage themselves. Furthermore, it wasn't exactly yet accepted, let alone known, that VEPPer had signed on with another agency, so if they wanted to have a career on Earth, someone had to go bow his head to the higher-ups of Equinevalley and pitch the "Two Agencies, Two Spheres, One Unit" project (the name was still a work in progress).
"You could stay, you know," Haruhiko told him, "You can't be our manager on Earth, but it's not like we don't need you or anything."
"If it's a matter of communication, video conferences were invented for good reason," Akihiko said, "Officially the VEPP Theater is under repair, so it's perfectly understandable that you cannot leave for Andromeda right away."
"That excuse may work for you, but unfortunately, something this outrageous needs to be done in person," Dadacha told him, "That reminds me, I left instructions on how to jam the engine in case someone is sent to inspect it. Make sure you read them." Unconsciously Aki reached for his pocket, pleasantly startled by the foresight.
"Either way, you don't have to leave now," Haru replied, "Our leave of absence isn't officially over yet."
"True, but my brother's is. He offered to give me a lift to Andromeda, so I accepted." Dadacha whiskers twitched as his mouth curled into a small happy smile, "It's been so long since we spent time together."
A pang of empathy resounded in Akihiko and Haruhiko's hearts.
"Is that right?" Akihiko said, "I guess it can't be helped then."
"Brotherly bonds are important," Haruhiko agreed. The two of them look at each other with warm smiles. It had been so long since Dadacha had seen those looks on their faces for non-Gorar-related reasons.
"Are you planning to visit your nephews as well?"
"If I get the chance," his tail waved in excitement, "The other day, my brother told me about a sweets shop Aurite is very fond of, so I bought some kintsuba there as souvenirs. I'm sure they'll love it!"
"Kintsuba, huh?" Akihiko smirked as Haru fought back a snicker.
"Of course, there's a box for you two as well. It's in the kitchen. Have some with tea later."
"Very well, we will."
"Thanks Dadacha."
Dadacha's ears perked up startled, before he felt a warm happiness wash over him. It was just a casual obligatory thank you in return for a small gift, but it felt different. It was a nice kind of different. Binan really was good for them. They would be alright here. They would be…happy.
He took another look at his suitcase. Zundar said they would leave at night, only a few short hours away. He didn't know how long it would be before he could return to Earth or how long before the repairs excuse wore thin and the twins' homecoming would be unavoidable, so these last few hours were it.
He wasn't ready.
"Hey Aki-chan, Haru-chan," Dadacha said, "my flight's in a few hours, but if you'd like, we can have dinner early today…since…you know…"
"Yeah, okay," Haru agreed softly.
"An early dinner sounds excellent."
"What would you like? My utensils are right on top of everything, so getting them out is no problem!" If Haruhiko and Akihiko didn't know him any better, they'd have accused him of planning it that way.
Instead though, they turned to each other, their twin telepathy unfailingly reaching the same answer.
"Toasted dumpling hot pot!" they said together.
"Oh?" Dadacha's face softened, and he smirked knowingly, "Why did you decide you want toasted dumpling hot pot?"
"It just has a nice sound to it," Haruhiko said cheekily.
"Yes, very warm and toasty," Akihiko added pleasantly.
Dadacha's smile grew, tears in his eyes. "Yes, it does," he unzipped his suitcase and held up his ladle proudly, "Alright then, hot pot it is. But no sitting around and listening to the sound of wood getting chopped, you two! If you want it done in time, you're going to help."
"Naturally," Akihiko said.
"Someone needs to make sure you don't try to stick carrots in there."
"Or green peppers."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Dadacha retorted, and jumped onto Haru's outstretched arm, riding on his shoulder as they went to prepare dinner together for the first and last time.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it! :)
I maaaaay have made Dadacha a bit of a white hat (the Beppus as well) but since canon seems ambiguous on the topic, I'd really like to believe all of his care for the twins is genuine and there were good intentions in making them idols! But that's not really what this fic is about.
I liked the finale for the most part, but (among some other things) I'm disappointed in how Dadacha was built up all season only to do absolutely nothing in the final episode or even get a proper farewell scene...or just the fact that there was a farewell period. Why does he go back to space? How could he just up and leave the kids he's been taking care of for 7-10 years? I'd like to think there are work reasons involved since he, and the Beppus for that matter, have a life up there and can't just drop everything and move to Earth. So Dadacha's off to do space idol-related things and visit his nephews, while the Beppus hang around on Earth and pretend their theater/spaceship is broken :P
They'll be reunited eventually!
That's my theory and I'm sticking to it!