Meili is pacing back and forth inside the room, thinking about ways to surprise him about something. She was sweating profusely as two others are watching her, one with a smile on her face while another just gave her a tired sigh.

"You are truly hopeless, I suppose." The golden drilled-haired Great Spirit told her as she watches her gently tapping above her right pocket. The faint outline of the envelope is easily seen from her. "Are you sure about this, in fact? It's a big step for you, I suppose."

"Yeah, I am sure about this drill-haired onee-chan." The dark-blue hair former assassin replied, with a bit of nervousness laced on it. Of all the things she has done in her life: gathering terrifying mabeasts, going to missions with Elsa, and espionages, this was the most anxious task she had faced in her life.

And that is saying something.

The other person chuckled softly and smiled at the little girl. Her voice was like silver bells, she offered words of comfort to her. "It will be fine, Meili-chan. I'm sure Subaru will accept it, no matter what. He's a dunderhead if not." Emilia chimed while smiling at the outcome of this situation. She was so excited and giddy imagining her knight smiling.

"Who says dunderhead nowadays?" Both Beatrice and Meili thought as they looked at each other. As if they were connected in mind, they softly chuckled together as the half-elf pouted at them.

"Thanks, silver-haired oneechan. Maybe things won't turn for the worse." Meili thanked while beaming a big grin at both of them. Beatrice and Emilia smiled back at her, both proud that she has taken a big step in her life. It was weird actually how they first met one another; for Emilia, it was from the Arlam Village just after the village kids went missing and were cursed while Beatrice was from the former Mather's mansion where Roswaal sent her and Elsa to kill her.

If it wasn't for the experience at the Pleiades watchtower and a certain nasty-eyed black-haired knight, the thought of them being together, the assassin and her targets, would be too far-fetched. Again and again, Subaru showed them how big his heart his and not only forgave Meili, but also took good care of her, playing with her, sewing new dolls, reading, and talking about his hometown.

Initially, Beatrice was so jealous that she tried to pull Subaru away from her. But with some reassurance and compromises, she finally caved in and begrudgingly accompanied her contractor and the former assassin. As six months passed by, the two became close, as much as Beatrice doesn't want to admit it.

Emilia also forgave Meili, but she would be lying to herself that she has her doubts. But seeing that she was genuinely enjoyed her stay at the Miload mansion and didn't sense any threats on her, she complied with Subaru's request to stay with them, integrating her into her camp. From being only Roswaal, Rem, Ram, and her, the camp's number increased greatly, all because of Subaru. She's forever grateful that he came to her life showering her with kindness, love, and happiness.

She glanced at the window overseeing him doing his "par-kor" training: swinging, jumping, and rolling. As much as she's worried about him getting hurt, it also fills her with pride and makes her heart flutter that her knight is trying his best to improve and become stronger. As she learns what "love" is, she knows that she wanted him to be the one she'll love.

And so, she'll do whatever it takes to make him happy. Hence, she helping Meili with her surprise.

"It seems that he's almost finished with his routine," Emilia announced to the two girls as she saw Subaru wiping himself up. "He does look great with his hair down." She thought as her heart raced.

"Well, I guess it's time now. Wish me luck then. Thank you so much onee-sans." Meili remarked as she bows in front of Emilia and Beatrice.

"The pleasure's ours." Emilia chimed as she waves her hand at her.

"Hmmph. Betty's only doing it for Betty's Subaru. If you hurt him..." Beatrice slightly glared at the little girl as she left her sentence unfinished.

As Emilia was about to reprimand her, Meilli butted in. "I will promise, drill-haired nee-san, that I won't hurt scary-eyed nii-chan ever again. He gave me a second chance in life, and it's time to repay him." She solemnly finished with a determined look on her face.

Beatrice smiled at this and added "Good, in fact." as she nodded to herself and desperately hiding her excitement. "How will he react to this?" she wondered with a satisfied expression.

And with that, the dark-blue-haired little girl ran out of the room and go towards her target: Natsuki Subaru.

(Scene Change)

Subaru was surprised that Meili wants to talk to her alone. In a room. Just them. As much as the alarm bells in his head are blasting at full volume, his heart reassured him that everything would be fine. With a deep breath, he initiated the conversation.

"So, what's up Meili? You want to say something?" He cheerfully started with the biggest smile he can muster. For all the years he had been staying at Lugunica with all the things he had experienced, more or less nothing surprises him anymore. But it doesn't mean that he's stupid enough not to anticipate any lingering danger.

"Uhmm..." the little girl mumbled to herself as she was fidgeting her hair with her fingers and her eyes looking down at his feet. Her heart raced furiously as her thoughts started to jumbled up. "Why is it hard to say it?! It's just so simple." She berated herself for being a nervous wreck.

Sensing this, Subaru knelt and placed his hand to her shoulder, his hazel-brown eyes reflected from her yellow-green eyes. "Shhh, it's okay. Breathe in, and out." He said gently while trying to calm her down.

As Meili was finally composed, Subaru asked her again but gently this time. "So, what do you want to talk about Meili?" He asked with a small yet sincere smile with eyes filled with care and concern.

The sight filled Meili with such warm comfort that her words started to flow effortlessly on her mouth.

"Scary-eye niichan..., do you remember the first time we met?" she stated slowly while focusing on his eyes.

"Yeah" he replied with a soft chuckle escaped from his lips. It was then he met with the villagers at Arlam where he played with Petra and the other children. And unbeknownst to him, it was there he was cursed from the puppy mabeast resulting in him dying if not for Rem bashing his head with her Morningstar.

"You were so weird and annoying. As if you weren't from here." Meili fumed with a pout on her face. "Cute". Subaru thought as he continued laughing at what she said. "If only you knew". Meili notices this and pouts even further, resulting in him laughing even louder.

"Anyways, from there we met again when I and Elsa-neesan tried to kill you and your friends." She lamented as memories of the fateful fight flooded in her, resulting in Elsa dying from being crushed and her being captured and imprisoned. Few tears formed at the end of her eyes, which she immediately wiped off.

"Even by then, you still cared for me; sewing dolls and playing with me in the prison. Every day, you always visit me, telling fantastic stories and making jokes. It was as if I was not locked up in the first place. When you came to me one day to ask to join the Pleiades watchtower, I initially wanted to avenge Nee-san and tried to kill you, but you managed to be a step ahead of me, stopping me. And even all of that, you still look at me with kind and sincere eyes." Meili sniffled as the floodgates broke down as she tells Subaru this with tears flowing down her cheeks.

"After you got transported to Vollachia, I felt so lonely that I cried every night, praying that you are safe and alive. When you came back to us with a smile on your face, you can't imagine how relieved and happy we were that you returned in one piece." She stopped as she continued crying in between her speech. Subaru patiently waited for her to calm down, wiping her tears with his thumb while his palm wiping those on her cheeks.

"Nii-chan, you made me feel like a kid again. Having to enjoy the childhood that was robbed from me, not worrying if I'll live or not, to be tortured, or be hungry, you open that door for me, and for once in my life, I genuinely love being alive." She finished as she too was busy wiping Subaru's tears while she was telling him this.

Meili then reached her pocket, revealing a brown envelope with a royal seal on it. She presents it to Subaru, who was surprised by the sudden turn of events. She cleared her throat and then:

" Subaru Natsuki, will you adopt me as your daughter?"

Immediately, Meili was wrapped in a tight embrace as both she and Subaru were both a crying mess at this point.

"YES! YES! YES! I'll agree to be your father Meili-chan. Thank you. Thank you so much." Subaru exclaimed as tears and sniffles left his mouth and nose as he was so honored and elated that it wasn't something bad but something else, happy memories.

"Thank you" Meili repeated as now she was also crying loudly while hugging Subaru, clenching his jacket with her little hands. Never in her wildest dreams that she imagines her experiencing the things that she had now: a home, food on the table, friends, family, and love.

Now, she is living her life to the fullest. With the one that opened and showed her a brighter and wonderful future.

The one she can proudly call her father.

Author's Note: This is heavily inspired by the adoption videos on Youtube where the step-children surprise their step-parents to sign their adoption papers with a desire to carry their family name. Also, since there is a scarcity of fics where Meili is the star, why not make one? If you are fooled that it was something obscure, then shame on you. Hahaha. Leave a comment and hope you enjoy it.

Love your parents. For their time is limited on this lifetime.