Disclaimer: Don't own Wolf Children: Ame and Yuki, subbed or dubbed, characters included.
Rating: T (some hints of M at points)
A retelling of the movie, except in written form
Tyler felt they were at the breaking point, in more ways than one... but still, it had taken years, since Ame was born; more time than he'd counted on.
Not that they wanted to move out; this little apartment was their home, and they wished it would remain that way for a while longer. Yet still, they'd been quietly preparing, as he'd outlined - empty boxes lay stacked inside the closets, they were stockpiling physical cash, everything essential that they needed to bring was marked (some electrical items included; luckily, he'd found out all but a few of the country houses had wiring and flowing water - they could work with that), and numerous other details. Hana went over the details with him regularly, asking questions, and he'd done his best to answer what it outlined. He still remembered one conversation they had:
"You said before, it was 'quite a distance'... how much did you mean?"
"Hours" he whispered, holding her close to him. "Hours and hours away from the city."
Hana gasped a little, but he understood her shock.
"It's not barren out there though" he continued, trying to soothe her. "There are convenience stores that aren't too far by bike, and especially cars. Schools are more far-out, but they're not impossible to visit either. And-"
"I get it, Balto."
Falling silent, he wondered if he was scaring with this... all her life, she'd been a city girl, no matter how surprisingly well-adjusted she became when things weren't convenient.
"I understand what you're saying" Hana whispered, running her fingers through his hair. "A-And thank you, for telling me... I'll get over the shock, and I'll keep the knowledge in my heart. I'll adapt."
"You're so strong, Hana-"
"-so you always say, mmh."
Bringing himself back, Balto was secretly glad that he'd managed to get his project done in time... selling all but two hadn't been a problem, but the unusual requests he made to the workers had certainly gotten attention. Especially when he said what it was for-
-well anyway, back to today.
Right now, he sat at home alone, holding Ame in his lap - Hana had Yuki with her while shopping (their daughter had been curious, insistent too). Ame just moved his head, rubbing against his leg by instinct; it made him smile, holding his son close, who liked that too. "You're so warm daddy" Ame breathed, content.
"I would hope so, Ame" he whispered, gentle. "Even when I'm human, I still have my fur working deep inside, to help make sure I stay warm."
His son looked at him then. "You're different, daddy" Ame whispered, tilting his head. "As a wolf, I mean. I feel different too, when I'm one."
He just hummed, a little warmer. "Well, being a wolf is different from being human, Ame" he answered, his son nodding, "Very different."
Ame smiled, curling against him again. "But so strong too" he whispered, "You must go hunting sometimes, catching animals."
Balto paused upon hearing that, but still smiled, rubbing his son's back a little. "A little, Ame" he admitted carefully, though his tone didn't change, "It's not always about being strong though; you have to think, wait for the right moment, and a lot of other things."
"Could you teach me, daddy?"
He slowly looked down, seeing his son's head raised, curious and a little hopeful... he wasn't sure what to say, until the thought of their preparations came to mind. Adding to that, if Yuki heard wind of this (was bound to), she'd be equally demanding for him to teach her out of excitement, if not more so due to her excitable nature.
A little smile. "One day, Ame" he promised, just holding his son. "One day."
/
Hana worked the laundry machine, watching for a moment as it spun, before glancing back into the living room - right now, Balto was watching their children play, Yuki the most active of the two.
It made her smile-
-she was worried though; Yuki had started howling awhile back, and Ame imitated what he heard his sister do, soon learning how to do so consciously as well. Anyone in the apartment building could hear this, with Balto wryly calling it 'Strike Two' (having predicted this), but what could they do? Some might be sympathetic and not say anything, but with people's patience already stretched thin from Ame's previous crying, that might not take. And all it would take is one person to call in... then when a supervisor came over, what could she say and be believed? 'I don't have dogs' sounded as flimsy now as it did before, especially since they thought the landlady suspected-
Someone rapped on the door.
Hana jolted, worried- but when she glanced at Balto, during his attempt to distract the kids from the door, he caught her eye.
She set her mouth a little, breathed in + out, then went toward the door-
-the landlady again.
"We don't allow pets in this building, period. How times will I have to tell you two?"
"...We don't have any" she mumbled, glancing down, not sure what else to say.
"I wasn't born yesterday, girl; I've heard them, many a time. If you can't abide by the rules here, then you're both gonna have to find another place to live. It's that simple."
Hana slowly breathed out, but that reaction was simple compared to what she felt - she barely noticed when the landlady left, until after the fact. Slowly, numbly, she closed the door... but when she turned around, Balto was there, the sounds of their kids still in the background. Without thinking, she leaned against his chest, her love holding her close against him. She just stayed there, having her back rubbed, before he whispered in her ear: "Hana, go play with Yuki and Ame."
"B-But-"
"Just get it off your mind right now. Please?"
"Mmm..."
...
Not a minute after that, Balto stood in that same spot, watching Hana walk back into the living room - his heart felt heavy, not just from watching, but feeling things were starting to get out of their control. He'd heard every word the landlady had said, due to his hearing, but also knew it had to come eventually... time was starting to run out.
It was just-
Another knock on the door startled him, and he wondered 'was the landlady back?' before another knock sounded, insistent.
"Maybe not" he thought, but slowly steeling himself, going to the door-
-he'd only opened it a little before he saw two people, one man + woman, both in business suits.
He slowly reacted when he saw their nameplates. "Child Welfare Agency?" he breathed, heart starting to beat faster; not good.
"Yes sir, we're here about your son and daughter - Ame and Yuki, correct?"
Part of him wondered how they knew that; they hadn't made official records of any kind for their children, before he thought they must have (indirectly) gotten it from the neighbors and/or landlady. Taking care of two children meant they'd probably heard their names many times, but still his internal feelings threatened to rise to the surface-
"Here about them why-?" Balto started to ask-
-but the woman got pushy: "Sir, according to agency records, your kids have never been vaccinated or even once been to a doctor. Care to explain this?"
"Well, they're fine" he said quickly, trying to close the door. "Thanks for your concern-"
"We'd like to see them, for ourselves, in order to gauge their well-being."
"I'm sorry, but-"
The man now: "Please, be reasonable; it wouldn't take but a minute, and we'd be out of your hair after that-"
Now it was getting difficult to stay calm; Tyler had to shove the door back now. "You can't just come in!"
"If you refuse to cooperate, we'll have no choice but to assume neglect!"
At that point, he sorta snapped: drawing on his wolf strength (if for a split-second), he pulled back hard. "Just leave us alone!" he yelled at them, forcing the chain into the lock... then he slumped back-first against the doorway, slowly sliding down it.
When he glanced up after a long time, he found Hana crouched in front of him... the tears in her eyes told him she'd heard every word. Farther back in his vision, he saw Yuki hiding behind the corner of the wall, worried too for a different reason- behind her, Ame was still in wolf form, on all fours.
Balto just slumped even more, but wordlessly, Hana crawled in against him; they held each other, breathing heavy.
A long time passed, before:
"It's- o-our times up... isn't it."
Slowly, reluctant, he nodded his head, "Yeah" he whispered, faint. "Strike Three... I don't think we can wait any longer, Hana."
Her grip tightened, and he shared it, though he wasn't sure who was shaking... though, Strike Three coming immediately after Strike Two like that, well that'd just been insulting.
/
The next day
Hana sat on the bench with Balto beside her, watching Yuki and Ame running in the fields, both kids enjoying themselves a lot. She still found that amazing; Ame had taken awhile to learn how to walk, but his wolf instincts had taught him how to run on all fours in a tenth of the time, without once falling over. Yet even as she watched, while Yuki ran on four paws, she often got up on two instead, encouraging her brother to try it. Despite the situation they were in, it brought a smile to her face, glad to see them so happy. Especially Ame, who had grown into his toddler state, and showing more energy than he'd ever had as a baby (lungs notwithstanding), especially in wolf form.
Then she remembered yesterday, where she'd helped Balto pack their stuff into boxes... not everything, as they still needed to use the appliances, but already the books and other non-being-used essentials had been packed. This being after Balto had called ahead, leaving a message with the community, saying he'd like to purchase a house in the country- just had to hear back from them so far.
Beside her, Balto's phone buzzed; Hana saw when he pulled it out, then quickly stand up to take it: "Hello?"
Hana wondered, not able to hear the other person's voice, but she made sure to watch their kids while he couldn't.
"Ah yes, I'm the same guy- I and my family wish to browse your houses in the countryside. Oh, I forget to give my name?"
She looked up, surprised - Balto glanced at her, but then he blinked, seeming to think fast.
He lingered a second longer than necessary...
"It's Balto" he said.
Hana gasped, staring at him - the rest of what he said was a blur, unaware of her reactions, but she was shaking a little. He'd just- he just- that meant that he'd become used to being called that, after all this time! He'd grown more comfortable with the name, and himself, to be able to use it freely, not just hearing it from their family! Hana covered her mouth in an instant, little happy tears starting to form- she felt proud of him, even seconds after registering this, and she never looked away from him either.
"Uh, our family is two adults, two young children. Our stuff will fill up a standard car's trunk, maybe a little of the backseat. ...You can pick us up? Great, great... okay, I understand, thank you. Bye."
Click
Balto looked at her, before he registered the soft look she was giving him- he slowly blinked, before giving her a little smile as he sat down.
"Hey, it's-"
Whatever he tried to say, she didn't let him; too busy hugging him close, which after a small breath, he returned easily.
"How long?" she whispered softly.
"Two days" he whispered back gently, looking at her, understanding what the hug was about. "We're to bring everything to the outer edge of the city; it'll fit into the guy's car, with one of us in the front passenger seat, the other with Yuki and Ame in the back."
Her heart began to pound, but Hana wasn't scared... just nervously exciteded, with a touch of sadness; she loved that apartment, as it had been a big part of her life recently. But still, she wasn't about to cling to it, not when people were about ready to take her children away from them.
"Where exactly?" she asked, seeing Yuki + Ame still playing with each other, but this time involving some sort of jumping game (or Yuki did anyway; Ame wasn't sure).
He told her-
Two days later
Early morning
Balto slowly looked around the apartment, heart heavy - the place wasn't entirely bare, as the furniture remained, but many of their possessions were now boxed away. Said boxes had been transported to their appointed pick-up spot, hours before it was supposed to happen. Not to mention, they'd literally buried their cellphones, to prevent tracking by GHS + tailing through past phone conversations. For his part though, he felt lucky the process of getting a country home didn't involve official paperwork in the city... a hand squeezed his then.
He glanced at Hana, seeing Yuki and Ame still sleeping in the baby carrier (as it was early) - he squeezed back, understanding.
"We should go" she whispered, after a full two minutes passed.
"...yeah" he breathed, slowly nodding- however, his heart started beating faster, for a different reason. "But Hana?"
"Hmm?"
"There's something I have to do first, before we leave" he continued, slowly turning toward her, hand in his right pocket. "I wanted it to be our last memory in this apartment, to celebrate everything between us."
Really curious, Hana turned toward him as well, blinking. "What is it?"
"First, a little story" Balto whispered, rubbing his head. "You remember from before, how I'd sometimes be out - you thought I might be hunting, but I said I wasn't?"
"Mmh-hmm."
"Well... to put it bluntly... I found something" he slowly admitted. "Something really contrived."
He didn't blame her for being confused; without context it sounded strange, plain and simple.
"I found a number of gemstones in the trash, if you can believe that - I certainly didn't, at first."
Hana jolted, blinking several times. "W-W-What?" she breathed, nonplussed, "But- w-who would throw those out?"
"I asked that more times than I could count" he breathed, knowing the feeling. "But, after this unlikely situation registered, I did two things... one being to sell most of them, getting more money for our family, I mean."
"Okay..."
"And this."
Hana made a sound, looking down at his presenting hand, which was closed... until he opened it; then she gasped.
Two glittering rings lay side-by-side - one carved (literally) from a ruby, and another carved from a sapphire. Both displayed a multi-faceted appearance every sixteenth-of-an-inch, catching the light easily - the lines were a mix of natural, and more smooth/straight ones.
"I took these ones to certain workers, with access to power tools" Balto whispered, more soft and gentle - Hana slowly, a little shaky, brushed her fingers over them. "After that, I had to find + bribe an officiant."
Still half-focused on the rings, Hana seemingly didn't register that last part (probably for the best too; it'd been hard resorting to bribery). "Why go to all this trouble, Balto?" she whispered with wonder.
"Because Hana, t-they're wedding rings."
She squeaked, near-literally... barely seconds went by before tears started to fall...
"Wh-"
He made a sound; what was that!?
"W-Which- which is... is...?"
By that point, Balto was certain he was shaking. "The- t-the red one's yours..." he whispered, wobbling a little. "When- w-when in certain light, y-your eyes sometimes seem a soft red instead of brown... a-and it r-reminds me of the red scarf you wore, from that night-"
Her hand moved, plucking the sapphire one- before he could even say anything, Hana grabbed his left hand, bringing it up. Balto gasped when he realized what she was doing, and his hand shook a lot- despite that, and her own hand being the same, Hana managed to slide the sapphire ring onto his ring finger. By then, she stopped moving entirely, as if that took all her effort... he jolted, groping for her left hand, but he had to steady his own. Then, feeling like his heart might explode, he just managed to slide the ruby one onto her finger-
-the moment he did, her hand gripped his tightly.
He looked at her, breathing heavy...
Hana's eyes were streaked with tears, but she had one of the biggest smiles he'd ever seen!
If there were room, and Yuki + Ame weren't sleeping in the baby carrier, he'd probably have picked Hana up and twirled her again. As it was, Balto just grabbed her cheeks and kissed her, hard- something which she had no issues returning! They 'struggled' around a good while, only stopping when they had trouble breathing, but she immediately held him close (minding the baby carrier by instinct). Not against it at all, he held Hana back as they panted, kissing her neck briefly - after that, he just held her tighter, enjoying her warmth.
"Oh Balto-!"
"Hana-!"
"-I love you!"
"-I knew you'd say yes!"
And just like that, in five minutes, except for one tiny detail that still needed to get done, they'd eloped... crazy, right!?
/
A few hours later
Just outside the city
It was like Hana spent the next stretch in a daze; her heart wouldn't stop pounding, but out of happiness, love, a few tears involved too. With Yuki + Ame still asleep (little late-starters today hehe), Hana couldn't stop staring at her ring and how it glittered, even just by turning her finger a little. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined receiving a ring carved out of gemstone - had one set in a band, sure, but not like this! This was the stuff of fantasy, and it almost didn't seem real even as she looked at it! But those thoughts also caused her to laugh, smiling widely; she'd passed fantasy a loooong time ago, in all honesty.
And Balto had been so certain of her answer, that he didn't even need to ask - nervous, yes, but still!
Making another sound, watching her ring for a minute longer, Hana slowly put her hand down... then she glanced at the box arrangements. Thus far they were on the side of the road, enough to fill a car trunk, so Balto had said.
Still, this community member would pick them up around nine-
Rustle
Hana looked back, seeing the bush move around... before a muzzle popped out, just slightly, sniffing around.
"Is it clear, Hana?"
She breathed out, glad to see him back, warmth building in her chest again. "Yeah, there's no one around, and no cars coming either" she said, seeing + hearing nothing.
Just like that, after a few seconds, Balto crawled out of the bush in human form- he stood up, brushing bits of nature off his clothes.
"So, you got it done?" she asked, completely gentle.
"Yeah" he whispered, before softening at the sight of the asleep Yuki + Ame. "Gave the signed form to the officiant - it's now legal, in all corners of the globe."
Hana tried to speak, but her mouth would only tremble (with a smile), and her eyes grew wet.
Balto gently rested a hand on her shoulder, standing close- she leaned against him without preamble, but he wasn't surprised. "To the civilized world, we're known as who we were before, currently living in that apartment" he breathed, digging into his pocket. "But since we're no longer going to live there, I had the officiant print out this instead."
Taking the piece of paper slowly, Hana saw it was a printed copy... wait, his name was printed as 'Balto' instead of 'Tyler', and where they lived was blank. Feeling slightly confused, she looked at him-
-he seemed to have expected that. "In case we need to show proof in the country, we'll want to keep this" he continued, rubbing her shoulder a bit. "But as far as the world at large will know, I'm still Tyler, and we've just up and vanished. No one has physically seen us recently, aside from two, and soon it'll become a dead-end; law enforcement will be forced to give up at some point."
His words gave her a strange feeling, never having experienced this before... 'living under the radar', Balto had called it. That strange feeling was almost a yearning, for what she wasn't sure, but maybe it was not knowing what was next for them.
"Two people?" Hana questioned. "The officiant?"
"Yeah... but I've payed him a lot, both to do this, and to never reveal it to anyone- even possible law enforcement."
"A-And the other one?"
"My partner in the mover business" he whispered, slowly glancing down, sadder. "We met up by chance, on my way here - I told him I'm sorry that I have to leave so suddenly, and thanked him for everything, but he wouldn't see me again."
Hana made a sound, wrapping her arms around his. "But he promised, Balto?" she whispered gently, trying to soothe him, "He'll never tell anyone either?"
"I insisted upon it, Hana; he understood, when I showed how serious I was."
There was silence for awhile... they had turned a corner now, and there was no going back; conventional society wouldn't allow them to live their lives in peace, not with the risk of exposing half-wolves to the world. Now they were to disappear, into a community with plenty of open space, but little of convenience - what would the people be like? She knew from Balto's description that they stuck together, that they tried to help each other out, but how much? To what degree exactly? What was the layout of the village, the homes around it, and the land itself?
All important questions that needed to be answered.
"Will there be places to work, out in the country?" Hana asked, after some time. "Weekly, I mean?"
Balto slowly sighed, in a way Hana took to mean he was nervous, at what they were about to do (just like her). "At least a few, I think" he said, sincere. "The community we're going to, I know I definitely saw a message board there - it listed openings for jobs, and each one was legit. There's also lots of odd little requests, asking for this and that to be done, given food or items in return for the services; anyone's available to post, or answer. Or that's what I remember, anyway... it was years ago."
"And the distance between homes? Other places?"
He was silent for a count of ten, eyebrows furrowed as he thought. "I... I-It's all fuzzy" he whispered reluctantly, closing his eyes in defeat. "I don't remember exact details about that..."
Hana made a sound, before Balto took her hand; she looked up.
"But I promise, you won't be alone in this, Hana" he whispered gently, giving his little smile. "Largely, it'll be new experiences for me too, after so long; we'll do it together."
Smiling back, she grasped his hand back, kissing him warmly (he returned it) - after she was done, she lovingly stroked his ring a little.
"Together" she promised softly, hugging her lov- no, husband now.
Hitting the last straws, going on toward the big move - and the adventures that come with it. Still pushing the law evasion angle too (as in the movie), but at this point, I think few will care that much
And much like our Wolfman still being alive, that little change at the end sorta demanded to happen, but there was no time or mood for the usual way of doing it XD
