~With Rose~

~Fast Foward~

"Hey, could I get two pizzas? One with extra cheese while the other one just pepperoni. Alright, thanks, bye!" hanging up the phone, I moved to the living room to view our masterpiece. I could hear the shower going upstairs, along with feet stomping around. Looking at the center of the room stood a fortress of blankets standing proudly in front of the television.

Walking around the outside of the fort, I peeked in to see our bedroom for the night. Some dining room chairs were scattered around the edges to help hold up the blankets, and on each seat sat a lantern giving a dim amount of light. An array of colorful quilts and pillows were all about with a stuffed bear leaning against a chair leg on the floor.

"Hey, sis!" a voice spoke up from the doorway, spinning. I see Harry in his pajamas. "Hey, ready to start?" moving towards him with a smile. "Yeah, Lily is changing but will be down after" he looked up to me with an eye roll. I nudged his shoulder, stomping was heard above, along with a thud following a muffled "I'm okay!"

Slapping my forehead *Great…she IS a mini-me* as Harry double over with laughter. "Alright, how about you two once she's down here, start pulling out movies so we can decide the order to watch them…" the doorbell rang as Harry went to the movie shelf. Heading to the door, I opened it to be face to face with the delivery guy holding my order,

Handing him the money with a tip, I took the pizza. "Thanks!" smiled at the guys before shutting the door. Moving to the kitchen, I set the boxes on the counter and grabbed plates with napkins. Putting them on the boxes, I moved to the fridge, pulling out a few water bottles.

Turning around, I see that Bella and Ludwig sat with Starlight not that far behind. "Alright…guess it's time for your dinner too," chuckling at them as Lily peeks her head into the room. "Hey, munchkin! Can you bring this into the fort for me, please!" handing her the items "Sure thing, sis!" Lily took the items carefully as she made her way back to the fort.

Shaking my head, I moved to where I kept the animal's food and began putting together their meals. Setting them up in their usual spots, "Alright guys, eat up!" as I left to check on the kids while the animals raced to their bowls. Peeking in, I saw Harry and Lily working together on what we were going to watch.

"But I want to watch Frozen…." Lily held up the box with said movie title to her older brother with a pout. "Lily…we have seen that like a thousand times already, aren't you sick of it?" Harry gave a puzzled look to the young girl as she grinned. "Nope!" popping the p.

Harry groaned at the response *Well, this should be fun* watching them bicker as I smiled. "Hey! I am going to jump in the shower and change. Just try and get a general lineup, then I'll do a tiebreaker if needed, okay" as I jogged up the staircase. "Alright!" while they simultaneously yelled.

Entering my room, I made my way to my dresser and dug out a loose gray shirt with some long baggy pants that had panda faces all over them. Throwing them over my shoulder, I moved to my bathroom and headed in for my quick shower.

~Ten Minutes Later~

Quickly making my way downstairs, I checked the kitchen to see the animal's bowels were empty. Picking them up and washed them real quick before I moved to the living room. Entering the fort, I crawled in to see Lily hugging her stuffed teddy bear *Honestly, she is a bit too much like me at that age…* smiling as I got comfy.

Harry handed me the stack of movies that were in order. "We agreed after a while…so you didn't have to pick, sis," as he looked to his sister, causing her to nod. Taking the stack, I glanced at the first movie, 'The Lion King, ' as I put the film on *Oh great…I'm going to be bawling my eyes out like a baby* as we all get comfortable.

~Fast Forward~

After many films *Well, that was an emotional roller coaster of films…* ejecting the last movie and placing it in the case, I looked to see the kids fast asleep. Smiling at their sleeping forms *They are so cute* as their faces were off in dreamland. Quietly getting up, I moved to clean up the mess from dinner.

Taking the garbage, I headed to the kitchen and placed the plates in the sink. "I'll wash them late…Harry is a light sleeper," leaving them there. Carrying the boxes to the front door, I opened it softly and slowly placed the pizza boxes in the bin. Dropping them in, I turn to see a familiar car coming to a stop in front of my house *No…it can't be…fuck!* as a chill went down my spine.

As a figure climbed out of the car, I began to panic in my head. A tall, thin man in a dark gray suit stood with a cane in hand with the air of superiority around him. Grinding my teeth, I glared into a pair of eyes I knew too well *Why you show up now* as I clenched my hands.

His eyes scanned my house, then moved to myself with such scrutiny that morphed into a frown with eyes filled with disappointment at me. Biting my tongue from what I wanted to scream, "Hello…Grandfather," but with no emotion, I bluntly answered with my best poker face.

Edited:2021