A/N: This fic is a gift for my amazing friend, Kelly (heyfuturefeesh on twitter). Everything you contribute to the MakoHaru fandom is wonderful and I'm blessed by you every single day, not just your adorable content but also by your kindness and support. You always say that you love my MakoHaru family fics, so this one is dedicated to you. Thank you for everything and I hope you like it! :)

This fic is part of my MakoHaru family collection, but if you don't want to go back and read the previous two works in the series first, this fic can definitely be read as a stand-alone. There are some references to the previous work, "I'll Paint a Smile on Your Face", but I don't think they're an issue in terms of understanding this fic.

Writing this fic, though difficult at times, was a lot of fun and because I'm not a cat-owner myself, it allowed me to do the most adorable research yet. It was originally written as a one-shot, but since it got out of hand as per usual, I decided to split it up into three parts. The fic is entirely finished, so the other two parts should follow soon.

I hope you'll enjoy! ^^

"Sleep well, sweetie. I love you," Makoto murmured as he tucked Umiko in and kissed her goodnight.

"Love you too. Goodnight," she replied drowsily, clearly on the verge of losing consciousness yet fighting to stay awake just a tad longer so she could return her parents' wishes of sweet dreams.

Meanwhile, Haruka whispered similar words to Mizuki and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead. The poor boy was so exhausted from playing around on the beach all day that he had fallen asleep halfway through Makoto's anecdote-bedtime story. And he had been so excited about this particular story too; when he and his sister heard that their parents had starred in a short film back in high school to help recruit new members for the swim team, their eyes lit up with curiosity and they were all ears. Haruka smiled to himself as he recalled how their adorable faces had twisted in disbelief when it was revealed that their kind, sweet father had been assigned the part of the evil king. Admittedly, it hadn't exactly been a fitting role, as Makoto had proven with his acting skills - or lack thereof. The end result was cute, though. Haruka made a mental note to ask Nagisa later if he still had a copy of all the footage saved somewhere.

They would fill Mizuki in on the details he missed during breakfast tomorrow, but for now, he could conjure up his own fairytales in his dreams.

Once Makoto and Haruka were done saying goodnight to both of their children, they left the room to let them sleep. The small star-shaped light that illuminated the darkness was kept on just in case Mizuki woke up at some point during the night; while Umiko claimed that she was a big girl who wasn't afraid of the dark and therefore no longer needed the nightlight, Haruka was pretty sure that she hid her own fear behind Mizuki's and very much appreciated the glowing star. He would never call her out on this, but it was amusing and quite endearing nonetheless.

"Do you want tea or coffee?" Haruka wondered as they walked down the stairs together.

"Coffee," Makoto said, "but wait."

"On what?" Haruka questioned sceptically, following his husband into the living room but doing so with confusion. There wasn't much time left before the tv show that Makoto had been looking forward to watching would start, and he wanted them to be on the couch with a hot beverage before then.

When Makoto made sure the door was closed behind them to prevent their children from possibly overhearing - which seemed highly unlikely considering the sleepy states they had been in - a wide grin stretched his handsome face. "The shelter got back to us."

"Already?" Haruka asked, eyebrows raising in surprise, "That's fast."

While they were painting yesterday afternoon, Umiko had casually opened up the topic of adopting a dog for discussion. Her brother had supported the idea wholeheartedly, but dogs needed a lot of specific care and attention that they unfortunately wouldn't be able to give at this point in time. As a compromise, Haruka had offered that they could maybe get a cat instead. Makoto and he had already wanted a cat for as long as he could remember, and they had promised each other when they were kids that they would get one together when they were older.

Alas, after thirty years, that promise hadn't been fulfilled yet because it never seemed like the right time to get a pet; either they were too busy with school and training, or their careers caused them to be away from home too often, or every waking moment was dedicated to taking care of their adorable but needy infants.

But that was all in the past now; the children were a little older and didn't need round the clock care anymore, work at the swim club was calm and stable and they had a neat, orderly schedule. Their lives had reached a comfortable and steady point so he concluded that the time to expand their family with a cat had finally come.

As soon as Makoto heard about the conversation that was held when he was still at work, he scoured the internet in secrecy in search for a feline friend or two. Somewhere along the way, he stumbled upon a pair, seven-year-old Princess and five-year-old Duchess, who had been left in the shelter's care after their previous owner passed away. The instant Makoto saw the white cat and her orange tabby companion, he fell in love with their cute faces and thought that they were the perfect additions to their family.

After the children had gone to bed that evening, he showed them to his husband and fortunately for him, Haruka had immediately taken a liking to them as well. So they had written up an email explaining their situation and expressing their interest in meeting them, as the shelter required approval and a visitation before they allowed anyone to adopt a pet. Because of that, they decided to keep it a secret until the shelter gave them the green light. It would be bad if Umiko and Mizuki fell in love with them too but the shelter didn't think they were the right fit for Princess and Duchess.

"Yeah, I was surprised too," Makoto muttered as he fished his phone out of his pocket, "I already saw it before dinner but I didn't get the chance to tell you sooner. I was afraid the kids might hear something, and you know how inquisitive Umiko has been lately…"

Haruka understood where he was coming from; while they encouraged her curiosity and stimulated her zealousness, in situations like these they had to be careful. If she somehow got the idea that they had their sights set on two cats then they wouldn't hear the end of it until she saw them and they were hers. Of course, Mizuki would be dragged along with his older sister's interrogation and that wouldn't exactly make it easier. Precaution was key when it came to things like this.

"And, what did they say?"

An excited gleam appeared in Makoto's gorgeous eyes. "They said we can come to meet them anytime they're open."

A small yet nonetheless joyous smile appeared on Haruka's lips at that confirmation. They were approved on paper and were allowed to see them in person. The chances of the shelter denying their adoption request was significantly smaller now, given that they would like the cats and the cats liked them too - though he honestly didn't see why either wouldn't. "That's great."

"Right? I'm so happy," Makoto said, his entire face lighting up like a Christmas tree.

If it weren't the cats and their childhood promise being closer to being fulfilled that made Haruka smile, then seeing his husband so genuinely thrilled definitely would have done the trick. After so many years, that blinding smile still ignited sparks in his stomach. "Me too," he murmured softly, "So when do you want to go?"

"I was thinking Tuesday afternoon," Makoto replied without missing a beat, proving that he had already thought about that - not that Haruka had expected otherwise. "My classes end early on Tuesday, so that's when we have the most time to see them and play with them before the shelter closes."

"Sounds good," Haruka agreed, though he couldn't help but tease him a little, "If you can keep it a secret until then." They wanted it to be a surprise for the kids, but that wouldn't work if Makoto's unerasable grin revealed it all.

"I think I can manage three days," he argued, wanting to seem offended yet failing miserably when he smiled again.

"Are you sure, because your face says otherwise." Haruka jokingly poked at the curled up corner of Makoto's mouth, because that thoroughly elated expression held no secrets at all, not from Haruka and surely not from Umiko and Mizuki either.

Hearty laughter erupted from Makoto's chest as he swatted his husband's hand away. "I'm sure," he declared solemnly as he swiped his palm in front of his face and unveiled the serious look that was left in its wake. He was able to maintain that demeanour for about half a second before it crumbled with a chuckle. He bit his lip in an attempt to repress it, but it was in vain.

Haruka could only smile at his giddiness. In Makoto's defense, he had been able to not only keep Princess and Duchess a secret for the children for an entire day, but he had also successfully kept this information hidden for a few hours from none other than his own husband, who knew him through and through. He could do anything he set his mind to.

"Anyway," Makoto mumbled as he tried to recover from his giggles, fumbling with his phone for a bit and then he gave it to Haruka. "Here's the email if you want to read it."

Haruka quickly scanned the text with his eyes, his own smile softening when he read the confirmation for himself. But when he opened his mouth to reply, the tv in the background blared a familiar tune.

"It's started!" Makoto gasped and his eyes widened comically.

"Here," Haruka snorted as he handed him his phone, "You can email them back later. Go sit down, I'll get us our drinks."

"Are you sure?" Makoto asked, knowing that Haruka didn't like to watch something if he missed the beginning. When Haruka didn't waver, he muttered, "Thanks, Haru. You're the best!"

Before Haruka had the chance to stutter an objection to that, Makoto blessed him with a quick kiss of gratitude. There was truly no better way to silence him than that.

"Ah, I'm so excited!" Makoto sighed, and it was obvious that he wasn't talking about the tv show.

As always, Haruka couldn't do anything but smile in response to his husband's almost childlike enthusiasm. He was really too cute. "Me too."

The sea of children that had poured through the seams of Iwatobi Elementary's doors had long since dissipated, yet Umiko was still nowhere in sight. When Haruka pulled out his phone to check the clock, he confirmed that she was indeed running late. It was no point of concern for him, because he knew just how easily she could get caught up in conversation and lose track of time, but the small hand that was clutching his was slowly growing more and more jittery with impatience.

While Umiko had the tendency to be a bit tardy if she got distracted, Mizuki was very punctual, always ready with his little backpack firmly around his shoulders by the time one of his parents came to pick him up from kindergarten. He despised waiting and therefore made sure no one would have to wait on him either. While Haruka thought both of their habits were endearing in their own way and didn't mind waiting on Umiko for a couple of minutes when they weren't in a hurry, Mizuki got visibly annoyed if his older sister was taking too long for his liking.

Haruka averted his gaze from where it had been glued to the doors, that his husband and he had passed through countless of times when they were just children themselves, in favour of looking at their grumpy son. Most people probably wouldn't notice anything off about him, since a bright smile wasn't exactly part of his default expression, but Haruka could tell that his bottom lip was protruding slightly more than it did when he got here. That pout would surely disappear instantly if Mizuki knew what was ahead of him today.

"She'll be here soon," Haruka tried to appease him, smiling when Mizuki only huffed in response. "Do you want me to carry you?"

"No."

He wasn't going to insist; Mizuki would change his mind if his legs got tired, but Haruka didn't think it would get to that point. Even though Umiko was taking her sweet time, he was sure it wouldn't be long now. It wasn't like she would make her family wait forever.

Almost like he had sensed it, at that moment a familiar mop of black hair left the building and, as predicted, Umiko wasn't alone: three other children were with her, some of which Haruka recognised from playdates at their house.

The instant Umiko spotted her dad and little brother standing near the gate, she quickly said goodbye to her friends and ran towards them, red bag jostling on her back. It seemed like her face had trouble deciding which emotion to display; remorse for being late or the excitement that was the cause of it.

"Why are you late?" Mizuki demanded to know the second Umiko was within earshot, sounding like he was her dad instead of Haruka and Umiko owed him an explanation.

"Sorry," she apologised and though it was sincere, as soon as the word was past her lips, her enthusiasm won the battle and a wide, radiating grin appeared. "I was talking with Suzu-chan and Hiro-kun and Mari-chan. Suzu-chan got a guinea pig!"

"A guinea pig, huh?" Haruka muttered as he ruffled her hair in greeting before crouching down to kiss her head. Then his hand found one of hers so he could lead the three of them safely across the street to where the car was parked.

"Yeah! She got one, and her older sister got one too! She said guinea pigs need to have a friend."

"It's always nice to have a friend," Haruka agreed, but before he had the chance to say anything else about rodents, Umiko chimed in.

"Why are we taking the car?"

Usually, Makoto and he would drop off the kids at their respective destinations together before driving to the swim club in the morning. When school was finished, Haruka would pick them up again and the three of them would walk to their house, or wherever they happened to be going, so that Makoto could drive home after a long day of hard work.

"We're going to the swim club," Haruka replied, "I thought it would be nice to pick Papa up together. He still has one class, so we can watch him while he works."

It was technically the answer to what she had asked, but it wasn't the full truth either. Fortunately, it seemed like the kids hadn't noticed that.

"Can we swim too?" Mizuki wondered, although his way of moving through the water could hardly be called swimming just yet, as it was more like wading.

"Not today, I'm afraid," Haruka said, hoping that they wouldn't inquire further, "I thought you would still be tired of swimming after swimming all day last Saturday."

"I'll never get tired of swimming!" Umiko proclaimed.

"Me neither!"

Truly spoken like they were his own, Haruka thought to himself with a small snort. "Me neither," he echoed as he took his keyring out of his pocket and unlocked the car. Before they had the opportunity to ask him if he had already swum today - the answer to which was yes - he tried to change topics. "So, what colour is Suzu-chan's guinea pig?"

"White with brown spots, and her sister's guinea pig is black with brown spots!"

Successfully diverged.

While Umiko rambled on about every detail her friend had told her about the new pets, Haruka put Mizuki into his carseat and fastened the belts. Then he went to check if Umiko had strapped herself into hers properly, not wanting to take any chances when she was so busy chattering. Once they were both secured, Haruka buckled himself up and started the car to drive the route that had become more than familiar over the past decades.

After a short drive, they arrived at their family's business. Though the entire way here had been dyed with Umiko's high-pitched voice as she talked about anything and everything noteworthy about her day at school - though it was mostly still about Suzu-chan's guinea pig -, the second they came to a halt in the parking lot, she freed herself of her seatbelt and leapt out of the car to run inside.

"Wait for me!" Mizuki called after her, impatiently trying to unbuckle himself too but he couldn't quite figure out the somewhat complicated system.

Not wanting him to be left behind, Haruka helped him and lifted him out of the car so he could chase after his sister. He wasn't in a hurry like the kids were, so Haruka calmly grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder before he followed them inside.

They were far ahead of him, but Haruka wasn't bothered. The swim club was their second home and they knew this place like the back of their hands. Even the other staff members weren't fazed at all by their presence, as they had long since gotten used to the six-year-old and her four-year-old brother roaming around the halls. Knowing just where they were going, Haruka took a detour to the break room, the fridge of which contained some juice boxes reserved for occasions like these. Along with two of them and a bottle of water for himself, Haruka went to join the children.

Their faces were already smudged up against the glass, looking out over the pool area where a handful of instructors were having classes in different lanes, amongst whom their very own father. It didn't matter how often they were here to witness it, for some reason this remained to be a spectacular sight to see. Haruka got it though; Makoto did look really cool helping kids from all ages through the water - and really hot in his wetsuit, the design of which hadn't changed at all since he wore it for the very first time a little under twenty years ago.

"You'll stain the glass if you press up against it like this," Haruka remarked. Even though their enthusiasm was cute, it hadn't been long since he had last cleaned these windows and he wasn't eager to have to do it again tomorrow.

"Sorry," Umiko and Mizuki muttered in unison, immediately stepping away like the glass had burned their palms and noses.

Haruka smiled, bidding them a small nod of appreciation. "Here," he said as he handed them each a juicebox. Then he sat down on the bench right behind them and put his bag down beside him.

"Thanks!" they replied as they followed his example and plopped down.

After taking a swig of his water, Haruka rummaged through his bag a bit and pulled out a box of leftover vanilla muffins from last Sunday. They wouldn't be home until it was time for dinner, so he made sure to bring their afterschool snack with them. It would be bad if Umiko and Mizuki got hungry and cranky on a day as important as this one.

The same response sounded out again as the children grabbed a proffered muffin, nibbling mindlessly as they peered out over the pool. It was an occurrence as common as the next, but when Haruka looked at them, he was reminded of Ran and Ren, who he had taken here back when Makoto was first working as a swim instructor to help out Coach Sasabe. The twins had been a couple of years older then than Umiko and Mizuki were now, but the glint of excitement shimmering in their eyes was the exact same.

Suddenly, his hands began to itch with the need to capture this sight; the unawareness of the world around them as they were fixated on their father guiding other children through the water, with nothing to distract from it than the combined flavours of sweet vanilla muffins and apple juice. But a good dad always came prepared, and Haruka searched for his camera in his bag, trying not to rustle it too much in fear of disturbing the atmosphere.

He carefully scooted over to the edge of the bench and held the camera at an angle so that their vague reflections in the windows were within frame too. As soon as the shutter clicked, the spell was broken and their faces instantly turned to him. The excited glimmer was replaced by adorable confusion, their eyebrows twisting into a frown to complete the look.

Knowing they were just startled, Haruka said, "Smile," as he snapped another photo. He had already gotten the perfect, almost entranced-like picture, so a couple of goofy ones were a nice follow up to that.

A dozen or so photos were shot, some of which the children demanded be taken in front of the windows in the hopes of catching their father in action. The results weren't that great, but it was a task that was pretty much impossible to execute well, so Haruka simply obliged without protest. They'd forget about it sooner or later anyway.

Eventually the kids were reminded of their treats left abandoned on the bench and returned to them. Haruka put the camera away. He could continue to take pictures forever, but he didn't want the memory card to get too cluttered just yet. There were certainly more endearing moments coming up, ones that were rarer than these, and it would be a shame to miss out on eternalising them.

Time flew by as Umiko and Mizuki finished their snacks and babbled with their dad. Before they knew it, Makoto and his students were already standing on land again as today's class was ended. The children trickled out of the room and Makoto was left to clear away the kickboards and floaties that were used.

"Come on," Haruka said as he got up, collecting the empty snack packages to discard into a bin along the way, "Let's go to Papa."

The kids didn't need to be told twice.

They quickly traded their shoes for slippers and entered through the staff locker room, where Haruka grabbed the laid-out towel to hand to his husband. Unlike before, Umiko and Mizuki now slowly followed behind him, knowing that they weren't allowed to run anywhere near the pool because it was dangerous.

"Good work," Haruka murmured as he stepped into the room.

Upon hearing that voice, Makoto came to a halt and a bright smile stretched his face when he saw him. "Haru!"

A matching smile naturally broke through Haruka's demeanour and he threw the towel to Makoto, who caught it as effortlessly as always.

"Papa!"

"We came to pick you up!"

The chiming voices of their children drew Makoto's gaze downwards and his smile widened. "Is that so?" he chuckled, roughly drying his brown locks with the towel before letting it slip to his shoulders. "Thank you, I really appreciate it!"

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Haruka offered. He convinced himself that he asked it to help his husband out, but he couldn't deny the excitement that bubbled up in his stomach as he thought about where they were heading next.

"No, that's okay," Makoto declined with the cute head tilt that he never grew out of, "I just need to put away some stuff and get dressed and then I'm ready to go."

But instead of doing either of those things, he stepped closer to them and swiftly stole a kiss from his husband's lips. Before Haruka could ever register the contact, let alone respond, Makoto had already pulled back again with a cheeky grin on those enticing lips. The flame of playfulness that was ignited in his eyes went out as quickly as it was lit and swooped down to kiss Umiko and Mizuki's crowns before he turned around and strolled off.

"See you soon," he called over his shoulder with a wave of his hand, and Haruka couldn't help but snort.

He really loved that adorable idiot with all his heart.

Less than fifteen minutes later, the Tachibana family was seated in the car and conversation was alive as per usual, mainly thanks to Makoto and Umiko; the latter was telling the former all about her friend's newly acquired guinea pig. Because Haruka and Mizuki had already heard everything there was to know about it, they didn't feel the need to partake in the same discussion again. Since Makoto would always humour her and, like Haruka himself, was genuinely interested in everything she and her brother had to say, this was no issue at all.

On the contrary, Haruka was actually kind of glad he didn't have to engage so he could focus all his attention on driving. Though he was pretty certain he knew the exact road they needed to take to their destination, it had been quite a while since the last time he was there so he wanted to make sure that he didn't accidentally take a wrong turn.

The children hadn't noticed anything yet, and Haruka was glad about that. It meant that the surprise would only be greater when they arrived.

"And Suzu-chan's dad made a big cage, and also a big… thing so they could run outside in the yard!"

"Guinea pigs can get pretty big, huh?" Makoto commented, amused by their daughter's enthusiasm, "So it's good that they have a lot of space to move around and play."

"Yeah," Umiko affirmed, vigorously nodding her head, "Her and her sister's are still small because they're babies, but she said they can get this big." She made an indication with her hands, that might have been a teeny bit exaggerated, but Makoto only chuckled along.

"Really?"

"Yeah!" she repeated excitedly, "And she said that I can come over to see them sometime!"

"That's nice of her," Makoto said with his sunny smile, "When did you plan to do that?"

"I don't know yet. Hiro-kun and Mari-chan also wanted to see them, but Suzu-chan says she can only have one friend at a time over at her house."

"Why is that?" Haruka questioned with a frown at this new piece of information.

"I don't know," Umiko shrugged, "She said her mom said so."

"Maybe it'll be too busy for the guinea pigs otherwise. They might feel scared if they're surrounded by a lot of people, trying to hold them all at once," Makoto tried, but Umiko shook her head.

"I don't think it's because of the guinea pigs. Before she had them we could never play at her house together either."

"Maybe her mom's the one who gets scared if she's surrounded by a lot of people," Haruka joked, coaxing chuckles out of everyone. While Haruka knew better than anyone else that children could be a handful, he didn't really understand parents who had rules like that. Those types of playdates occurred every once in a while and lasted for no more than a few hours at a time at best, so it wasn't like there was much of a difference between having one kid over or two or three - at least, not to him. It only caused for some children to get excluded from playing with their group of friends.

And because he never wanted Umiko and Mizuki to get excluded, he wouldn't cause for other kids to get excluded either. The more the merrier, or something corny like that.

"Oh, and I told Suzu-chan and Hiro-kun and Mari-chan that we're going to get a cat, and they asked if they could see it when we get it!"

Makoto's eyes darted to the corner to shoot his husband an inquiring look, but Haruka just pursed his lips as a subtle sign that he didn't know either. It must have been a coincidence, for Umiko would surely speak up if she caught wind of what was going on.

"Of course!" Makoto replied, trying his best not to let his expression betray him and expose their secret, "You can invite them over when we get one."

"Or two," Mizuki added, so out of nowhere that it almost seemed like he was onto something. The look of indifference on his face, however, contradicted this.

"Can they all come over at the same time?" Umiko asked, diverting the subject from the cats they were going to get back to her friends, much to her parents' joy.

"Sure, I don't see why not," Haruka said. In his opinion, it was easier to have all three of Umiko's closest friends come over at once than to plan three separate cat-viewing playdates. "You can invite Tomo-kun over too," he told Mizuki, knowing that Mizuki only had one friend he was close enough with for him to invite into their house. He had been told multiple times that he was allowed to bring more friends than just Tomo-kun, but Mizuki always declined and said that he just wanted his best friend to come. It seemed like the other children in his kindergarten class hadn't unlocked the stage of friendship yet in which Mizuki felt comfortable having them over.

But even his best friend was not on Mizuki's mind right then. "Where are we going?" he questioned in confusion. The car ride home wasn't supposed to take this long, and he didn't recognise the buildings around him either.

"Are we going to the store?" Umiko wondered, since taking the car and picking up her father made sense in that scenario.

Makoto just shook his head.

"Then where?"

"It's a surprise."

"Oh no," she gasped in horror, "we're not going to the dentist, are we?"

"No," Makoto chuckled at the fact that that was her first guess for some reason, "we just went to the check-up appointment a few weeks ago, and your teeth don't hurt, right?"

"No," Umiko said, and even if she could have expected that outcome, she was still visibly relieved.

"I promise that you'll both like where we are going," he revealed, and that would be the sole hint he would give them.

Then it was Mizuki's turn to gasp. "Disneyland?"

That was probably the only place that would make them even happier, but he couldn't have been more wrong. If that was their expectation, then they were surely going to be disappointed; any place paled in comparison to Disneyland.

Thankfully, Umiko was the voice of reason. "Of course we're not going to Disneyland!" she argued, "Disneyland is super far away and we have to go to school tomorrow, and Papa and Daddy have to work."

"Oh yeah," Mizuki mumbled dejectedly, pouting as he averted his head to stare out the window. Haruka hoped that his frown would soon be turned upside down when he found out where they were actually going.

"No, unfortunately we're not going to Disneyland," Makoto regretfully confirmed, "but the place where we are going is a lot of fun too."

"The playground?" Mizuki tried, as it was technically a smaller, plainer version of Disneyland.

"Oh, I know!" Umiko suddenly exclaimed, the metaphorical light bulb switching on beside her head as she had an epiphany, finally able to connect all the dots. "We're going to get a cat!"

"Ding-ding-ding, we have a winner," Makoto announced like a game show host, making the children cheer like they just won a hundred million yen. "We're going to the shelter!"

Instantly, Mizuki's pout morphed into a large grin. "Yes!"

"Are we going to pick out a cat?" Umiko asked, her brown eyes wide and gleaming with excitement.

"No, we're going to meet two cats that Daddy and I picked out already."

Before the kids had the chance to moan and complain about not being allowed to help pick out the cats, Haruka cut in, "Papa found these cats on the website and thought they were perfect for us, so he showed them to me. And I thought so too, so we sent a message to the shelter, because before we are allowed to adopt them, we have to meet them in person. They said we could come today, so we wanted it to be a surprise for you until now."

Fortunately, that explanation satisfied them, and they began to rapidly fire questions at their parents about the cats' identities.

"Are they boys or girls?"

"What do they look like?"

"What are their names?"

Their passion was so endearing that Makoto couldn't do anything but laugh merrily, and Haruka's heart swelled with fondness upon consuming the cocktail of rambled curiosity and bellowing joy.

"Okay, okay," Makoto hushed with remnants of giggles, "Their names are Princess and Duchess, and they're both girls. Princess is white and Duchess is orange. That's what you both wanted, right?"

"Yes!" they yelled in unison, excitement dripping from their faces as they visualised their ideal cat in their heads.

"But Papa," Umiko mumbled as she recalled the conversation they had about their desired cats last Friday afternoon, "I thought you wanted a black cat."

If Makoto was going to say what Haruka expected him to, he was going to kick him as soon as the car came to a halt. But it seemed like Makoto had left his playfulness behind at the swim club and he answered earnestly, "It doesn't really matter to me, I'm happy with any cat."

Umiko smiled at that - if anything, she was probably just glad that at least one of the cats had fur in her desired colour. "How old are they?"

"Princess is seven and Duchess is five."

"That's older than me!" Mizuki gasped in surprise, like he had never even considered the possibility of that.

"That's right, and Princess is even older than Umiko," Makoto said, and their son's mind was positively blown by that fact.

"Wow."

"We're almost there," Haruka informed, disrupting their elated chattering. He hated to be the spoilsport, but the children were getting a little too excited about the idea of having Princess and Duchess as their cats and he had to remind them that they weren't theirs just yet. "Remember that we're going to meet them to see if we like them, but if we don't for some reason or if they don't like us, then we'll continue to look for a different cat."

"But," Makoto added before their grins could be wiped away by their dad's words to make place for crestfallen frowns, "I think we're going to like them a lot."

To support this claim, Makoto elaborated and shared all the details he knew about the royalty they were about to meet. It was safe to say that Umiko and Mizuki had already fallen in love with the descriptions they were given, just like their parents had. Now they probably wouldn't settle for anything less than Princess and Duchess - and fortunately, they didn't have to either.

A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

You can find me on Tumblr, Twitter and Curious Cat as DatHeetJoella for more MakoHaru content in-between fic updates.

Thanks again for reading, I hope to see you again at the next part of this fic, but for now, I wish you a lovely day! 3