A low hum of bunnies chatting came from the living room down the hallway as Barbra cleaned the dining room. She was tossing into the trash, half eaten salads as she went around the table. She was a farmer and hated wasting good produce, but it couldn't be helped sometimes. She tried to focus on the sound of kits laughing as her bin was filling up.

"Do you need any help?" She jumped and looked back at the doorway where she saw her apologetic looking son. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's fine, sweetie. I was a little lost in my thoughts, " She smiled politely. "You should go back to your wife and kits. I'll be back with you shortly."

Mark got closer to the table and started collecting empty plates. "A line had formed to hold the kits. No one would notice that I'm missing for a few minutes, and I needed a break."

"You can't blame them. They're excited to meet new nieces and nephews," Her smile dimmed a little. "Sorry that the breakfast didn't go as planned."

"At least it was memorable," Mark chuckled. "It's horrible to say, but to me, they often blended together. However, everyone will remember that you put too much salt into the salad when we were introducing our kits to the family."

Barbra sighed. "It wasn't my best performance."

"As I said, memorable," Mark put a stack of plates on the counter. "It's a shame that Matt has missed it. But he lives a little too far away. By the way, how is he doing?"

Barbra hesitated, "He's fine. Why are you asking?"

Mark lifted his eyebrow. "Can't I be interested in my brother's wellbeing? I'm just trying to figure out if you're just worried about him being in Zootopia, or is it something more?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," She tried to push on with her cleaning as if nothing had happened.

Mark collected more empty plates. "Last time that you made a mistake was when Tony was in the hospital. Since everyone came at least once to visit the kits and a lot of them will be coming by today, I know that they're fine. But I haven't heard anything from Matt recently. Not since we spammed him on the family chat after the news broke."

Mark looked at his mother, and her nose twitched when their eyes met. "I promise you that he's fine."

"But?" Mark kept looking expectantly.

"Something…" she lingered, wondering how much she could say without breaking her promise. "Unusual has happened."

"That's an interesting choice of words," he sighed. "So Matt asked you not to tell anyone."

"Sorry," She gave an apologetic smile.

"You should call him if it makes you worry so much. Dad doesn't do that much better. He was so distracted that he broke a vase. It was the main reason why I put it together."

She bit her lip. "I want to, but he told us that he'll call us once he settles in."

"Settles in?" Mark's ears shoot up. "Did something happen to his apartment?"

"No," She shook her head.

Mark furrowed his brow. "Does he have a new boyfriend?"

"No, of course not."

"True," Mark moved the last plates to the counter. "He would tell us about a boyfriend before they would move in together. The only other thing I can think of is him finally adopting Kyle."

Mark grabbed a tray, and he went back to the table to collect empty cups. He had already stacked a good amount of cups on the tray when he realized something. His mother didn't answer. The bunny looked back.

"He adopted Kyle, and he didn't tell us right away!?" Mark saw his mom avoiding his gaze. "Please tell me that he didn't want to wait with that news because of the kits' formal introduction," The bunny was pacing, biting his knuckle. "We wouldn't be mad at him. Most of the family had already met them. It would be another thing to celebrate. We don't give off entitled parents vibes, right?"

"No, sweetie. It has nothing to do with you and your kits," She got closer and rubbed his shoulder. "It just got a little complicated, and Matt wanted to finish everything related to foster care before announcing it. You know how curious our family can get. His phone would be blowing up, and he needs to focus on Kyle."

"That's good to hear," Mark paused. "Are you and dad worried because of that complication?"

She took a deep breath. "Matt is a smart bunny, but I can't help worrying about him."

"So call him," Mark said.

"He told me that he'll call us," Barbra bit her lip.

"And you believed him?" He smiled. "He probably forgot. I would too if you weren't visiting us so often. It's not like he would be dealing with paperwork on a weekend."

"Maybe you're right. It has been a few days already."

"So try it. The worst that could happen is him telling you to call him later," Mark offered an encouraging smile. "And it'll put your mind at ease."

She nodded more confidently. "I'll grab your father and just do it," She looked at him. "You can't tell anyone about it."

"My lips are sealed."

"""

"Are you sure that it is a good idea?" Dave asked after his wife pulled him into their bedroom.

"No but you want to hear from Matt as much as I do," Barbra said as she picked Matt' number.

They stayed silent as the phone was ringing. It felt so much longer than usual, and the sound was so much louder in the silent room. They were greeted with a few seconds of a shaky cam and some noise and giggling in the background. When the image finally stabilized, Matt wasn't looking at them. The bunny was panting with a big smile as he looked over his shoulder. His eyes shone so brightly.

"Don't let go!" The bunny cheered, a little out of breath.

"Oh no! He is too strong for me!" Someone said in the background, clearly overreacting it.

Matt laughed softly, and despite his head turning towards the phone, his eyes lingered on what was happening behind him for a little longer. It was such a big difference since the last time she saw him.

"Hi!" Matt said with a smile as a light growling could be heard.

"Hello, son," Dave said with a look of concern on his muzzle. The older bunny was moving his head as if he tried to look over Matt's shoulder through the phone. "Is everything all right over there?"

"Yes, perfectly fine," Matt nodded. "We're just playing with Kyle."

"We?" Barbra asked.

"Yeah. Liam has been helping me with Kyle."

Matt moved the phone to the side to show what was happening behind him. The hyena was sitting on the floor holding to one end of what looked like an old towel. On the other end, the fox was biting and digging his claws into it while laying on the floor. Liam was moving his paw from side to side, pulling on the towel and making Kyle slide on the floor.

"We're using an old towel because I didn't know that I had to buy a toy for him to bite," Matt said a little embarrassed, not realizing how weird the whole situation was for his parents. "Let's hope that it'll stop him from destroying his mattress again."

Older bunnies looked at each other to check if they knew what their son was talking about. It sounded bizarre, but Matt sounded so happy.

"So…" Barbra started tentatively. "Is everything alright? You promised to call us. We just wanted to check in on you."

Matt's ears dropped. "I'm so sorry. I forgot. I had a visit from a social worker because of the chocolate incident. I found a therapist for Kyle, and we went to our first session. On top of that, last night was a fox holiday, and I wanted it to be perfect for Kyle. He was never able to attend it."

A soft smile started to show on his parent's muzzles.

"That's great to hear," Dave said. "Did you have fun?"

"It was so great, and I took so many photos. I'll send you some. Maybe Kyle could tell you about it," Matt looked behind him. "Kyle, would you like to say hi to my parents?"

The fox slowly let go of the towel and looked unsure.

"They really want to hear what we did yesterday," Matt encouraged him.

Kyle wagged his tail and nodded softly. A moment later, Matt was sitting on the floor next to the nervous looking fox. The boy leaned in and sniffed. Older bunnies weren't sure why he was doing it. Barbra was a little more prepared this time around.

"Hi sweetie," She smiled softly.

"Hello," Dave followed.

The kit lifted his paw off the floor and waved. "Hello," he said shyly, but as soon as words left his mouth, his eyes went wide and looked down on the other paws still on the floor. The boy almost forcefully pushed with that paw off the floor, making him lean backward, trying to sit up straight. When it became clear that he would tumble backward, his paw shot towards Matt, grabbing on the bunny's t-shirt, pulling on it. Without hesitation, the bunny wrapped his arm around the boy, hugging him to his side.

Dave and Barbra saw a distressed looking fox clinging to their son, and they weren't sure what caused that. The boy was fine a few seconds ago. Matt's eyes dimmed for a second before he readjusted his smile.

"Did you like the festival?" Matt asked.

Kyle glanced at the phone, waiting. The boy's eyes were piercing, but Barbra and Dave did their best to keep on the pleasant smiles. Then Kyle gently flicked his tail. "Yes."

"What did you like the best?" Matt smiled.

"The big fire at night." The boy's eyes shone with wonder as he turned his head toward the bunny to answer him.

Dave smiled. "Oh, how big was it?"

Kyle paused and glanced at the phone. A gentle squeeze from Matt made the boy move again. The kit shyly lifted his arms in the air. "This big."

Dave chuckled. "That's a really big fire."

"I started it," Kyle said proudly. The older couple looked at their son.

Matt chuckled, seeing their reaction. "After other kits brought it to you. You worked together to achieve your goal. Like foxes in the story, tricking the sun and saving mammals. And we shared the fire with others."

Kyle looked confused. "Together?"

"Yes, all of you worked to start the fire. If any kit in the chain fails, it won't happen," the bunny nodded.

The boy's eyes went wide again, and looked at Liam that they couldn't see.

"Just like we worked together to cook our…" The hyena hesitated. "food on the bonfire and how we played all those games."

Matt's expression got softer as he looked in the same direction as the boy. "Liam helped us a lot yesterday."

The couple looked at each other. Barbra tilted her head, and Dave shrugged in response. The female looked back at the phone.

"That sounds like a wonderful story and as much fun as a harvest day festival," Barbra said.

"Did you play a lot of games?" Dave followed.

Kyle looked back and nodded. "Yes. Shooting, tossing balls and rings. I won sweets."

"He got a lot of sweets. You should have seen him. He was so great," Matt said proudly. "Maybe he can show you how good he is at the Carrot Day Festival. He would win so many prizes."

Dave and Barbra felt a slight warmth growing in their chests. They knew that the fox would stay with Matt for a while, but as unusual as it sounded, it might become a permanent thing. The way their son talked about Kyle. How they hugged each other. How Matt was making plans for the future.

"Do you think that he can beat our family record?" Dave asked.

"Of course!" Matt said, and Kyle held his head a little higher.

"As long as he has fun," Barbra smiled softly. "But it really has been a long time since your sister got her picture on the wall. Someone should get that spot."

The spot at the wall in their house where all their family photos are hanging. But Matt didn't notice the implication.

"That would be something, but she went a little crazy that way," Matt chuckled. "We'll settle for bags full or prizes, and if we get on that wall it'll be a nice bonus."

Kyle looked excited and seemed to have forgotten his previous hesitation. "Yes!"

"But we also got a few nice things from the Wildfire festival," Matt looked at Kyle. "Could you get our lantern and spoon to show them?"

The fox nodded eagerly and was about to turn when his ears dropped and looked at the phone. Matt tilted his head, but his eyes quickly shone with recognition. The bunny turned the phone so his parents could only see him. They could hear a movement in the background. Matt looked over the phone and smiled. A moment later, he stood up and turned around so they saw a surprised looking hyena on the screen.

"This is Liam. He has been helping me a lot with Kyle. It was thanks to him that Kyle had such a wonderful festival. I wouldn't be able to carry him all that time," Matt turned and hit the sitting hyena on the shoulder. "Say hi to my parents"

When Matt turned his head back to the phone, his parents looked shocked. Matt's ears dropped. "Come on. Liam is a really nice guy."

"You hit him," Barbra said quickly.

Matt furrowed his brow. "No, I didn't."

Liam looked uncomfortable, but a pleasant smile quickly appeared on his muzzle. "Hello Mr. and Mrs Leaper. It's nice to meet you. And I agree with Matt. I'm not sure if it counted as a hit. It feels more like a gentle massage whenever he does it," Liam laughed softly.

Matt's ears shot up and were visibly redder as his parents' eyes grew larger. "I did it multiple times."

Liam looked confused. "Yeah."

It was when they heard footsteps behind them, and moments later, they saw Kyle's head with him hanging a lantern in his mouth. The boy was resting his paws on the bunny's shoulder. Matt quickly grabbed the lantern and started showing it to the camera.

"I got us something nicer since we're going to use it more than once," Matt turned his head to the boy. "Do you like it?"

Kyle nodded and handed Matt the spoon that they got. "It's prettier with a candle inside."

"Yes, but that is only for the celebration," Matt explained as he moved the conversation away from what just happened.