Ding-dong!
Rias and her parents patiently waited in front of the Hyoudou residence, though said girl was trying her hardest to contain her excitement. The next day has finally arrived and Issei told her through her parent's phone that his parents approved their outing.
The only caveat was that his parents will accompany them, which was not a problem at all for her as long as she gets to be with Issei again.
She did her best to stifle her yawn and put on her best glowing expression. She will not be defeated by a simple sleepiness from being too excited and she wore her best dress today!
When the door opened, it revealed a young woman with dark brown hair that is tied into a ponytail and hazel eyes. She smiles brightly before fully stepping out of the house. "Hello there, I assume all of you are Gremory?"
"Indeed we are, Mrs. Hyoudou." Rias's father replied with a handsome smile. "I see that you are prepared?"
The woman chuckles before glancing at the entrance of the house. "All of us are, but I think my boy is too nervous right now."
Rias tilts her head curiously before noticing a small tuft of brown hair at the corner of the door. "Ise?" The hair jumped for a second before revealing Issei with a red collared shirt and baggy jeans. Both of them looked at each other for a moment before they awkwardly greeted each other.
Issei immediately felt someone push him towards Rias before turning around with stink eyes. "Dad!" He whined. "I can walk by myself!"
Issei's father, a man with brown hair and brown eyes, grinned toothlily. "You were standing there like a little statue with your girlfriend there!"
Rias's cheek exploded into her hair color, which Issei didn't notice, while the boy merely pouted. "She's my friend! And I was greeting her!" This merely elicited a boisterous laughter from the older man.
Issei's father turned to the Gremory parents before giving out a hand to Rias's father. "It's nice to meet the parents of my son's new friend, I am Gorou Hyoudou. A pleasure to meet both of you."
"Pleasure is mine Mr. Hyoudou, I am Zeoticus Gremory, but you can call me Zeo." Zeoticus returned the hand shake firmly. Once they released their hands, the redhead man showed his beautiful wife. "And this is my wife Venelana Gremory."
"A pleasure to meet both of you." Venelana greeted with a smile before giving a small bow.
Soon, Issei's mother stepped forward with the same smile as Venelana. "I am Miki Hyoudou, Ise's mother and Gorou's wife. Nice to meet you too, Venelana."
As the adults are introducing themselves, Rias and Issei analyzed each other's outfit with a degree of curiosity.
"Your dress looks nice, Rias-chan." The compliment got Rias blushing once more and fidget slightly. She felt warm from his words and couldn't break her gaze from Issei.
"Thanks, and you look cool Ise." Issei paused for a moment, checking his outfit for a moment before having a grin on his face. "Thanks for the compliment Rias-chan! I actually thought I was a little lame."
That got her curious. "How so? You dressing nicely is a good thing… at least from what I heard from my parents." Not only that, but she knew that it is a good way to show that the person cared about his appearance instead of being sleazy about it.
Issei pulled his collar, a small discomfort can be shown on his expression. "It's just that it can be a little stuffy like my school uniform so I prefer not to wear it."
Rias got close to Issei and ran her finger though his neck to help him to feel much comfortable. He felt her smooth finger and suppressed a small shiver. A part of his mind liked it, while another part wondered why it doesn't feel ticklish.
He would never know.
"Better?" He noted that Rias was rather cute when she tilted her head with a smile. Though he would opt to keep quiet about it for no reason, only giving a nod.
"Alright kids, let's get going!" Miki announced to the children, who excitedly ran to their parents with their hands holding together.
"Now I see why both of you would like us to come with you." Miki said as the adults were watching Issei and Rias happily window shopping at a manga store. The children were currently admiring a figurine of a character from a popular anime called Bleach.
No idea why the author called it that.
"I know right? They are an adorable pair." Venelana giggled with Miki as they continued watching the pair of children. Gorou and Zeoticus were a few steps behind their wives as they were chatting about their lives through their mutual status as fathers.
"I'm surprised you have a teenage son while your girl is so young." Gorou commented. "Raising Issei was a nightmare for us already considering how rowdy he can be."
That got Zeoticus laughing nostalgically. "Sirzech was the same when he was a kid. I remembered he broke a few bones on his body just to win some made up competition between his peers." It wasn't something that he was proud of, but it certainly made him feel nostalgic.
"Well that's gonna give your wife quite the scare."
"Oh believe me." Zeoticus shook his head then looked at the back of his wife. "The boy, as he said, nearly went insane with how long he was in his room to recover."
Both men laughed, able to imagine the whining of a young boy about how he wanted to leave his room instead of properly recover from his injury.
"I wonder what they are laughing about?" Issei wondered out loud, which only earned a shrug from Rias. Neither children understood some things their parents would talk about, especially embarrassing stories.
"I don't know," Rias shrugs her shoulders. "But who cares about it! I wanna see a Card Captor Sakura figurine!" She pulled Issei along, deeper into the shop with excitement.
The day went by as the two families continued their outing with the children playing together. After the window shopping, their next destination was the arcade where Issei and Rias expended their abundant energies on competing with each other.
The Hyoudou adults nearly fainted from the amount of money the Gremory adults were willing to pay for the tokens, insisting that it was not a big deal by the amount they were willing to spend. It was at that moment, they knew the Gremory family were a rich but humble family.
When lunch rolled around, Issei and Rias had exhausted enough energy to feel their hungry stomach demanding sustenance. The adults were more than happy to have lunch at the time.
With Gorou as their guide, they went to a family restaurant for their lunch.
"Sorry if it's not up to your standards Mr. Gremory." Gorou nervously showed them the place. It was the best place he could think of when it comes to amazing food.
Zeoticus just laughs off Gorou's concern. "It's not a problem! It's a nice change from constantly having extravagant meals everyday."
The families entered the rowdy restaurant where the compatriots were busy with their food or ordering their food. They were greeted by a waiter who guided them to a comfortable seat. Issei and Rias immediately sat next to each other, giving a toothy smile to their parents, who thought of it as something cute.
Rias picked up the menu before laying it in front of her friend. "So what do you recommend, Issei?"
Issei pointed at the Tonkatsu. "This is my favorite. I always order it with my grandpa when we're here."
"Then we're ordering this!"
The family eventually ordered their food and began eating together happily.
Rias noted the atmosphere, as rowdy and slightly unhygienic as it was, felt warm. It was a greater version of the same warmth when she had a family dinner with her own family and friends.
'Maybe because I am with Ise?' She turned to the boy, who seemed to struggle between devouring the food and eating it with the right manners. Well, she would prefer the latter on important events, for manners maketh man, but maybe… a small part of her wants to see the boy being boisterous.
Regardless, for now she would have to eat the delicious Tonkatsu!
The day had reached it's twilight by the time the family had finished their outing. It was a great experience for both sides as they got to bond over the hours being together, especially Issei and Rias.
"Mrs. Hyoudou-"
"Please call me Miki instead, Venelana." Miki quickly interrupted with a good natured smile, which was reciprocated in equal measure."
"Very well, Miki. I was thinking of something silly while watching our children." That got Miki curious, who revealed it with a curious hum. "I wonder if our children will become a pair of couples in the far future."
The Hyoudou mother muttered "Oh my." with a shocked expression before giggling with Venelana. "I can see why you think so. But I think we should let the children live their lives, sort their feelings and bonds, and let them decide what is the best for them."
Velenala nodded in agreement. For as much as she wants to pair the children up together as a couple, it would ultimately be their feelings that decide the matter. The Gremory mother felt lucky that she married Zeoticus out of love, and their family situation at the time was convenient to push their romantic pursuit faster than before.
Her son, Sirzech, on the other hand, was dealt with the shorter end of the stick and was forced to fight in political battles before his marriage was publically approved. Even so, as long as he was happy alongside his wife, all was fine.
The families stopped in front of the Hyoudou residence and the laughter of their children slowly died down, as they realized their fairy tale day must end soon. Neither dared to let their hands go, Rias in particular looked sad.
"Rias dear, you have to let go of his hand now. We got to go home." Venelana coaxed Rias, but the young girl refused to budge.
"But I like being with Ise."
Zeoticus gave a wry smile before turning to Gorou with a small apologetic look. The other man understood his intention and gave a nod. Kneeling down in front of the children, he gave them his best smile "We know, that's why we decided maybe you can see Issei once a week."
That got the children into a brighter mood. "Really?!" Both of them said at the same time, their heart beats faster in excitement.
"As long as both of you keep up your studies, we will allow it."
Immediately both of them hugged each other and hopped in celebration. Even if they can see once a week, it was more than enough for them.
"But for now we have to go home." Rias nodded, this time more than willing to let go of Issei. She turned to Issei with a smile and waved her hand to him as the Gremory family walked away from the residence.
"We'll see each other next time!"
Issei waved in return with his own excited smile. "Me too! It's a promise!"
Their hands may not be together for now, but they certainly knew their hearts were.
If I'm being honest, I actually thought I would not write for another week as I am busy with my assignments. But the potential of this series just made me want to continue until I eventually run out of juice, which is not a healthy way to do it as you can see with my other fics. I'll try to moderate but for now, please enjoy some sporadic updates. Also, I suggest reading the series with Manaria Friends/ Mysteria Friends ost. It might give you the fluffy vibes.