"Yakko, sit down"
"Yakko, don't annoy people, you have to behave... Sorry ma'am, he's a little grumpy because he didn't get much sleep"
"Yakko, for Heaven sake, sit down"
"Don't run off, you'll get lost!"
Some people were watching the scene, an old man with a bald head and thick glasses and a desperate look on his wrinkly face as he tried to old onto a little child, who looked like a puppy and at the same time holding a sleeping puppy-like child in his arms.
A woman, who was holding a child in her arms herself, was giving him a sympathetic look, the look that say 'I know what are you going through'. All the others, though, looked annoyed by the discussion.
They were in a busy airport, all the people there was tired and grumpy, especially after finding out the flight was 2 hours late.
Scratchansniff, the old man, was going to a little work trip, his boss, Thaddeus Plots, has assigned to him. He had told his boss he couldn't go, since he had the custody of his two grandsons, and find a good babysitter with such a short amount of time wasn't easy task, but this hadn't stop the angry boss. So now, Scratchansniff was already tired of dealing of the two hyperactive toddlers. For his luckiness, or maybe not, Wakko, the youngest one, had fallen asleep after just a hour at the terminal, but not before causing an almost panic attack in his poor grandpa.
Sited at one of the chairs, heavy luggage by his legs, sleeping Wakko in his arms and a bored little Yakko by his side, the man couldn't wait to be on the airplane and maybe even take a nap.
"Granpaaaaa" whined the child by his side. "What Yakko?" "When is the airplane going to make it? I'm so bored I can die of uuuuuh of depression!" Scratchansniff was always impressed by Yakko's talking ability: by three he was already making grammatical correct phrases and by five he could already sing all the nations of the world without getting tongue-twisted. It was actually the older man who taught him that: he had found the boy in his studio, dangerously standing on his tip toes on a chair with books to get a look at the map, so the man taught him that song, getting impressed when he re-sang it perfectly correct.
"if you sleep time will go faster!" answered Scratchansniff, as he saw Wakko woke up. "Plane?" he asked struggling. The youngling have always had a hard time speaking, as the result of some complications during the pregnancy. Wakko, who was 3 and half years old, basically mix and clash together words, making difficult understanding, but the old man was used to it and understood 99% of the things he wanted to say. "No Wakko, we're not on it yet" "Grandpa, I need to potty!" "Come on, let's go to the bathroom." "I don't need it!" argued Yakko. Scratchansniff sighed. "Do I have to put a diaper on you?" he asked threateningly. Yakko froze in terror. He had always loathed diapers since he was a baby. Scratchansniff smirked in victory, then he took the boys to the bathroom.
Finally the speaker announced that the plane was on gate 3 so with an hand holding the luggage and with the other hand holding the children, he made his way to the gate.
Yakko and Wakko were watching around, little curious eyes amazed with all that things, all that people, all that weird languages. "Wak, this is clear as the day. I've never seen so much people in all my life." declared Yakko, marching in front of his grandpa and his little brother. Scratchansniff could only smile. It was obvious that his so curious grandchild had never seen so much people. He was just 5 and Acme Falls was that kind of little town where everyone know everyone. He had never made a trip to some other cities or countries, let alone took an airplane. He was actually quite afraid about taking them with him in this trip. He was almost tempted to call Mandy, his niece, daughter of his other daughter, and ask her if she could keep her cousins for a few days. Mandy was always nice with them and show a great patience, thing that you couldn't miss if you have to deal with the Warner brothers. But as soon as they find out their 'Grandpa Scratchy' want to leave them they start to dramatically cry and plead. They were great actors, of that he was sure.
Amanda, or Mandy, was his older daughter's daughter. Because Otto once was happily married with a beautiful and kind woman and even had two daughters. Then, though, his lovely wife passed away, just an year before Angelina's dead.
Angelina...
That name still hurts a lot. Every time someone would just say that name or mention her a fit of pain attack Scratchansniff's heart.
He remembered the day when she died. He was home, that evening, sipping coffee and reading a journal when the telephone ringed. He remember how he rushed to the hospital, just to be told that was nothing to do, that her body was just torn apart, that she was already dead when she arrived at the hospital. He was desperate.
First his wife and now his daughter... His little lovely princess Angelina...
But the doctors told him that she was not alone in the car. In the backseat, both her children were present. They didn't get hurt, just a few scratches, they still wanted to keep them overnight but no harm was done on them. As the man watched over from the window he realized: that was a miracle.
Since then, he became their legal guardian.
"Grandpa?" asked two-year-old Yakko one night, as he tuck him in bed, watching his grandpa with his big eyes. "Yes little one?" he asked sweetly, bending down to his height. "mama no here?" The toddler asked innocently. "N-no Yakko, mama's not here anymore. Now sleep, mh?" he whispered, making his way out of the room when sure he was asleep.
From then on the boy had never really asked about his mother, nor did Wakko. Scratchansniff know it was not because they didn't remember who she was, but just because they know she was 'gone'. He wasn't sure about how much they understood about dead, but they seems okay with it, mainly because they grow up knowing that their mother still loves them even if she was not here. It was something that Scratchansniff, Amanda or even Minerva (Mandy's mom, Scratchansniff daughter) would always say in the times where they actually asked about their mother.
They were in queue to get to the check point, only three people in front of them. Yakko, who was not a child who loves waiting, was boringly searching for something to do and Wakko too was bored. He then found a big planisphere on the wall. Suddenly a light bulb compared by his head, a light bulb that was quickly snatched away by Wakko's quick hands and promptly eaten. Yakko sneakered and took a big breath
UNITED STATES, CANADA, MEXICO, PANAMA, HAITI, JAMAICA, PERU. REPUBLICAN DOMINICAN, CUBA, CARIBBEAN, GREENLAND AND EL SALVADOR TOO. PUERTO RICO, COLOMBIA, VENEZUELA, HONDURAS, GUIANA AND STILL. GUATEMALA, BOLIVIA AND THEN ARGENTINA AND ECUADOR, CHILE, BRAZIL. COSTA RICA, BELIZE, NICARAGUA, BERMUDA, BAHAMAS, TOBAGO, SAN JUAN. PARAGUAY, URU- ARGH
He was abruptly stopped by a hard yank on his scruff and he suddenly found himself mid-air.
A middle-age woman was holding him with a big frown on her brows.
"What a disruptive child we have here, right behind me uh?" she said.
"Well ma'am, the only persons who was rude here was you" he responded simply. "Ya' and your breath stink!" added Wakko by the floor with his thumb and index pinching his nose. The woman was furious.
"Sir, watch your children!" she barked at Scratchansniff, letting Yakko down as he quickly got near his brother.
"Well ma'am" he said as polite as he can "he may not be the best child but he was not disturbing anyone"
The other people nodded in agreement and the old man could even swear he heard something on the lines of 'he's a very talented child!'
Yakko nodded, smiling and winking at the girls but Scratchansniff quickly got him, making him walk to the plane, as the hostess told it was time to got on it.
Scratchansniff just wanted the ground, or in this case the airplane seat, to swallow him. As soon as they put foot on the airplane the two children rushed out, chasing each other in the aisle, getting dirty glares by both the equipage and the passengers. He quickly grabbed both and rushed to their seat. He was sat in the middle, Yakko on his left and Wakko on his right. Yakko was looking out of the window with his big eyes, enthusiast for everything. Wakko was playing by himself with a magic cube, trying to put all the colors together.
Finally the airplane left the platform.
Time skip
Scratchansniff was reading quietly with both the children suspiciously calm. He looked down and see that both Yakko and Wakko were asleep, cuddled together, Wakko with a thumb in his mouth and Yakko with his arms securely wrapped around his brother.
Soon, the man let sleep falling on him.
"They are cute, aren't they?" asked a voice near him.
That voice... Scratchansniff was sure he had already heard it somewhere...
"Wait... Angelina?!" he said, his head snapping to the direction of the voice.
Standing there was really his Angelina, her face beautiful and her smile sweet, holding close her boys.
"Angelina, wait!" he shouted.
"No daddy, I have to go... You're a good dad, grandpa and husband" she said, kissing his forehead gently.
"Angelina no! Your kids need you!"
"No, they're in very good hands. Goodbye dad" she disappeared in a whitish light.
Scratchansniff woke up startled, passing a hand on his eyes. Yakko and Wakko were still sleeping. He quickly tucked them in with a blanket. He sighed. Angelina was right.
They didn't lost everything. He was still there for them and he will do anything to keep them happy and always loved, knowing that Angelina was still there in their hearts.