Title: sunlight in an hourglass
Summary: Gon and Mei Freecss are a lovely and innocent pair, beloved and full of love. They say you can catch the sunbeams of their smiles in a bottle, keep them close for luck. But remember, they are their father's children and the Island can only hold them for so long until it's too small for their growing bones.
Rating: T
Disclaimer: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Warnings: This is an OC fic so if that's not your thing turn back now, but other than that it's an okay chapter.
. . .
Prolouge
begin at the beginning
. .
Ging shows up when everyone least expected it, knocking on Grandmother Abe's door in the middle of monsoon rains like it was the storm that finally carried him home after eight long years of being gone. Mito drops a plate in her shock, the shattering of porcelain falling deaf to her ears when she takes in her cousin's appearance. She almost doesn't recognize him, eight years of doing whatever he's been doing have shaped him into something different, but the fire in his eyes is still the same, almost like he never left.
She walks out of the kitchen and into the living room where Ging is dripping water onto the floor, ready to unleash her anger on him and ask him why, why, why did he come back and why now of all times?
That's what Mito plans to do, has her hands on her hips and lips posed in a frown, but has to stop and do a doubletake when she finally gets a good look at Ging. He's soaked to the bone and has a child in his arms and another clutching at his pant leg, face buried in the fabric. She's about to ask where he got the children from when she catches sight of identical honeyed amber eyes and dark hair and she knows.
"Where's their mother, Ging?" Mito asks instead, voice quieter than what she'd normally use around bullhead of a cousin, but she doesn't want to alarm the children.
Ging doesn't answer immediately, of course, rather he leans down just enough to lift the child that's clutching at his leg into his free arm. It's a practiced and easy motion, like he spends most of his day toting around twins.
"Me and their mom are separated." Ging says, all easy like he's given this answer more than once before.
It makes Mito wonder what type of relationship they had for the woman to leave twins with Ging. Or maybe it wasn't really a relationship to begin with, and that's why there was no problem with handing them over. Mito isn't sure which outcome is better or worse.
"And their names." Mito prompts, because Ging probably isn't going to mention them outright at this rate.
"This is Gon, he's the oldest." Gon blinks at the mention of his name, he's been looking around wide eyed this entire time like he's trying to figure out what's going on, a childish curiosity that's endearing. "And this is Mei." Mei looks half asleep, head resting on Ging's shoulder and eyes half-lidded, getting here must have tuckered her out.
Mito doesn't miss the fact that Ging says their names with a bit of pride lacing his voice, like a real father should. It makes her smile just a bit, already fond of the children herself. Makes her wonder if these two will be the ones to finally bring Ging completely home and keep him here.
Grandmother Abe walks down the stairs with more vigor than her old age should allow, her presence keeping Mito from saying anything more. "I have a bath set and extra clothes laid out for you all." She says to Ging. "Go and get yourself and the little ones warmed up before either of you all catch a cold."
"Thanks." Ging huffs right away and heads up the stairs towards the bathroom.
Mito sighs to herself once he's out of sight, more questions rolling on her tongue than she had when she first saw him. But those can wait, she decides, since her cousin brought home children and they're the priority for her now.
She cleans up the shattered plate and cooks up some porridge that was supposed to be for breakfast in the morning, but doesn't mind fixing it this late. It'll be a nice, warm meal for the kids that'll stick to their ribs and make getting them to sleep easier.
Ging comes down the stairs with the twins following behind him like matching ducklings, all three of them dark-haired and bronze skinned, bringing in the smell of lavender soap. The porridge is done and still hot, made with milk and sweetened with honey. Grandmother Abe has just finished up her second cup of tea and is onto her third and Mito has just started her first.
They converge in the living room for the sake of kids who can't sit at the table properly. The twins seem excited about the idea of eating this late at night and chirp their thank yous once they get their small bowls, tongues tumbling slightly over the Island's rolling language. Ging sits between them on the couch, probably to monitor so they don't make messes or fall over. Mito finds it oddly endearing when Ging sets down his own bowl to tie Mei's hair of tumbling curls into a braid out of her face.
"Your Aunt Mito made that, it'd be a shame if you got your hair all in it." Ging says by way of explanation, gently flicking the end of his daughter's braid.
A look of understanding lights up Mei's face and she nods, throwing a wide smile directly at Mito, before consuming the food in her bowl with as much gusto as her brother.
One would think Ging didn't even feed the kids with how they attack their meals, but Mito's babysat kids their age before and knows how much they can pack in their small tummies even when they're full to bursting. They have Freecss genes too and if there's one thing Mito knows about Ging, is that he can eat someone out of house and home if they're not careful, so there's no way his kids have ever gone hungry.
It doesn't take long for their tiny bowls to be scrapped clean and for the two of them to both chirps for seconds, but Ging just sighs and tells them it's time to clean their faces and go to bed. He lifts them both up with ease despite their wiggling and protesting, and when Gon yawns his sister follows right after and they seem to give up the fight before it even really began. Ging trudges back up the stairs, arms full of sleepy children and Mito cleans up the dishes in the time it takes for him to come back down.
"So how old are they Ging?" Grandmother Abe asks once everything is cleaned up and the three oldest people in the house are seated at the kitchen table.
"They're both two." Ging answers, absentmindedly scratching at his chin. "Birthday's May fifth and Gon was born twenty minutes earlier than Mei."
"They're so young." Mito says, like she isn't just thirteen herself. "Have you been traveling around with them while you do whatever it is you do? It can't be healthy for them."
"I have but it's not like I take them everywhere with me, just from town to town. I usually leave them with someone while I do my own work."
That does little to satisfy Mito, if anything, it makes her a little angrier at her cousin, knowing that the kids, this young, are dropped off from stranger to stranger when it should be their father occupying most of their time. It can't be safe either, no matter how much Ging trusts whoever he leaves them with.
"That's why I came back actually." Ging starts again, turns his attention on Grandmother Abe. "I need you to babysit them for a while. I have a big job coming up and I can't take the time to watch them and I doubt I'll find someone else to keep an eye on them for more than week."
Mito frowns, she should have known Ging wasn't here to say hi or catch up with his remaining family or introduce them to the two new additions to his life.
"Why can't you just cancel the job and spend some time with your children?" She asks, trying to keep a lock on her rising temper.
"Because, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for my career, and I can't pass that up."
"So your job's more important than your kids?" Mito snaps immediately after, but reminds herself to keep her voice low so the kids won't wake up and hear. This is not a conversation they should be privy to.
Ging doesn't give her an answer and she knows it's because she won't like whatever it is that leaves his mouth. Mito's emotional at thirteen and feels a strong surge of protectiveness and love for the children she's known for less than an hour. They're family, so of course she does. Not even family is strong enough to tie Ging down, though. Mito knows this better than anyone on Whale Island, but she doesn't want these children to grow up like she did, always watch Ging walk away and wondering if they're holding him back or not.
"Grandmother Abe is not going to watch Gon and Mei." Mito says firmly, hands gripping the fabric of her skirt as she makes a decision she swears to herself is for the better. "Since you have no interest in properly raising them, I'll take custody."
Mito keeps her gaze steady and unwavering, daring Ging to defend himself and prove her wrong, tell her that he's better suited at raising twins while he travels the world. He loves his kids, that much she can tell already, but whatever it is about being a Hunter makes him love that just a little bit more, and they both know that.
That's why it's so easy for him to say "Alright, okay Mito, you can take care of them." with only a shrug of his shoulder as a reaction.
. .
. .
Mito feels like court proceedings shouldn't be this easy, especially not about the custody of children. It must help that Ging has a Hunter's Licenses and isn't putting up much of a fight, no fight really, everyone knows his constant traveling and dangerous work makes him more unsuitable for child rearing.
She's the one that proposes giving him visitation time, the weekends and holidays and the week of the twins' birthday if he's able. Mito isn't cruel enough to bar him seeing his children completely. No one can say she kept Ging away from family, even though they all know he probably won't take the time to see them, not when he didn't even come by for the funeral of his own blood kin.
Everything takes two weeks to get in order and Ging spends most of that time in the forest, while Mito spends time having the kids warm up to her. They take to her immediately, always by her side and interested in whatever she's doing even though they don't fully understand everything. Gon never seems to run out of questions, and Mei is always finding something new poke and prod at. It reminds Mito that she's going to have to toddler proof the house and look into teaching them a few basic things before they have to start homeschooling, probably just writing and how to speak Common along with refining their Whale Island vocabulary.
It reminds Mito that she's as good as their new mother now and that spikes her with anxiety because she's thirteen and not even close to married yet. At least Grandmother Abe is around to help if things get too difficult.
The day Ging leaves, the twins don't even cry, like they're already used to their father leaving them behind with people. It makes Mito sad and frustrated at Ging and glad that she agreed to raise them. Travelling is all well and good, but no child should be used to it before they can even form completely coherent sentences. They need stability to properly flourish.
When the twins have their arms tight around Ging's neck in the last hug he'll ever give them in who knows how long, Mei places a sloppy kiss on his scruffy face and Gon mimics it just because he can and because he loves his father just as much. Mito gets special pleasure in knowing she's probably the only person that gets to see Ging Freecss getting embarrassed because his kids decided to dote on him on last time.
When he's half out the door, he turns back and says something about mailing stuff for the kids to have when they're older. Mito rolls her eyes and knows it can't be good. There are final goodbyes and well wishes and be safes and be goods and Ging walks down the hill and leaves their lives once more.
. . .
prolouge
"Begin at the beginning," the King said, very gravely, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop."
. . .
A/N:
Nothing going on much with this chapter because I wanted to kind of explore Mito a bit since I think it's really amazing that she decided to take Gon at 13 and I wanna make her important and involved as I can before things hit canon territory. I also wanted to establish the fact that Ging loves his kids, he is just not suited to take care of them which of course is important to things!
Even though this fic is still in the major planning process, I wanted to get this chapter out since I'm super excited about it because I love twin fics and family feels and doting brothers and sister so prepare for a lot of that.
If you wanna a feel of how this story is going to end up listen to the song Lucie, Too by Now Now which I think is the perfect song for Mei.
This is my first HxH fic and will be my first SI!OC story (good job me picking a series that isn't complete) so reviews in the form of constructive criticism, suggestions, and whatever you're thinking about the fic are 100% appreciated!