[LGear's notes - Bishop-chan is currently preoccupied with space ninjas at the moment, so I'm doing commentary. This is LGear, who wrote the Old Heart, Young Eyes segments in Halkegenia Online. This snip takes place after zero0hero's interim sidestory Melancholy Heart, hope you enjoy the next round of stories!]

A Dinnertime Talk
by LGear

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"Nanami, I'm back."

"Ah, welcome back."

To the casual eye, the exchange between Shouchi Saitou and his granddaughter-disguised-as-younger-sister Furuya Nanami was no different from any other day that the former came home from work, while she prepared one of the simple pre-cooked dinners they will partake for the night. But there was one thing Nanami was proud of, and tonight she intended to prove it once more as she had countless times before.

"Work went well I hope?" The younger girl asked.

"As normal as could be." Came the younger-looking Saitou's reply, flat from the day's weariness as he took his favourite seat by the small dining table. But in that one moment, Nanami's eyes caught the sign she was looking for, that imperceptible twitch in the young-looking man's mouth. It pays to be able to get a read on her grandfather so well, despite his now youthful appearance.

"Jii-san, I know something nice happened to you this week."

Not a question, but a statement of fact, of absolute certainty. The past month after she had gifted her grandfather that timepiece, there were subtle signs that slowly crept into Saitou's mannerisms. A spring in his step; the microsecond smiles that seemed to burst out at random; his voice sounding much less tired than it normally would, even during that time when he had to perform his second surgical operation since the Transition. There had even been times that he had asked her to eat lunch by herself; not unusual by itself, but such a request was normally delivered with an apologetic air, of work taking too much time, not an expectant lilt like he was looking forward to something. He sounded more refreshed, more sure of himself, more… alive, than he ever had before or after the Transition, especially this week when the signs gradually became more overt and open.

What her grandfather did with the rest of his new life was something that she knew she shouldn't fuss over, given that he had lived a life more full than she currently had. Still, curiosity was the privilege of the young, and the urge to use that privilege had won out after a month.

Nanami wasn't naïve enough to think that her gift alone could make her grandfather change so much. Placing both their meagre dinners on the table, Nanami sat down and rested her chin up her hands, the universal pose for impending serious business.

"Very well then."

It was a good thing that Saitou shared the same ability to read Nanami's signs, and so he sighed with a resigned smile. It may be boring, but there was a reason he was the easiest to talk to of everyone she knew, and one of many reasons she loved him so much.

Saitou took a bite out of a piece of meat with a fork, voicing his appreciation with a brief hum, before putting down his utensils, and looking Nanami in the eyes.

"Nanami, what do you think of Irene?"

Oh.

Nanami had only met the young woman in charge of Arrun Home a few times, the first time when she and Saitou had sat across said woman's group in the Hole In The Wall diner about a month ago. It was rather difficult to forget Saitou doing such a knightly save for Irene-sensei. On the other hand, it wasn't difficult for Nanami to put two and two together. She can't say she wasn't expecting it, but it was still a pleasant thing to hear.

"Ojii-san," The granddaughter prepared her best poker face. "I know you're young again, but that doesn't make it any less illegal."

*cough*

Thankfully Saitou wasn't eating, or he would've choked right about now. Score 1 for Nanami.

"Nanami, you can't stop a man being attracted to such a woman, especially one of her healthy and generous proportions."

*clang*

… Did Nanami really just hear her grandfather say that with a straight face? Said grandfather forked a cherry tomato and ate it nonchalantly as Nanami recovered her fallen fork. Oh he did not just hide a smirk right then.

"Are you sure about this Jii-san?" Certain important questions had to be asked now though, lest her grandfather commit himself to the mistake of two lifetimes. Not that Nanami had any objection to such an age gap, but there were certain worries that only existed in such situations. Sincerity being foremost among them: not even 4 months into the Transition, and Saitou's image as a young, reputable doctor with good bedside manner was already getting him female fans especially among the nursing staff, Fae and Tristanian alike. It was a problem back home, it was definitely also a problem here.

Saitou smiled in reply, a happy look on his face where his thoughts turned towards something he was especially fond of. "You've always been so concerned for me Nanami, but don't worry about this. For one, both of us are the same. Out of Time."

Out of Time, the term used for players whose true ages diverged greatly from their assumed appearances, and Saitou was one of the most extreme examples that only a handful knew about.

"Wait a minute, I hope you're okay with telling me Irene's secret." Nanami questioned disapprovingly. She and Saitou had kept the latter's age a secret for lots of reasons, and she didn't want someone they just met to be betrayed by loose tongues.

"Irene herself approved of me telling you earlier today." Saitou laughed softly. "She already deducted your relation to me based on our ages, and understands just how much I value the trust we have between us. She understands."

'She understands'.

And there, said with much love, was the crux of the entire affair. Both of them people advanced of age, isolated in a niche by their experience and wisdom. Even for someone like Nanami who could read her grandfather like a book, she knew that there was a world of difference between Saitou confiding in her, and him sharing his life experiences with someone of similar circumstance. Someone who knows what they went through, someone who immediately knew the emotions, the feelings, the experiences that only they have undergone in their long lives. Once a long time ago, her grandmother had been that for grandfather. It was something Nanami, as his beloved granddaughter, could never provide.

Saitou had finally found someone to fill the hole that festered in his heart since her grandmother's death. For the first time since then, he was no longer alone in his suffering.

"Well, if she had the gall to know about us, then it should be fair that I know how old she really is." Nanami couldn't help but smile at that moment, and she made sure Saitou knew it.

"She just turned 51." Judging from Saitou's grin, he did.

"Not quite as out of it as I thought, but not bad. Certainly better than moneygrabbing jailbait."

"First I'm not rich. Secondly, they can't prove my age."

The two shared a short laugh among themselves, one of several small pleasures that they had in this new world.

"Jii-san, you told me once that I'll find the person who will become my happiness someday." Nanami reminisced on a recent memory, then returned to the present view of her lovestruck grandfather struggling to keep the silly grin off his face. "I'm glad you found yours."

"Thank you Nanami."

Both basked in the silence of the moment, letting the conversation and its implications on their future sink in. A future that hopefully will be filled with much joy, no matter how small.

"I wonder what you should name your new aunt then."

The comment out of thin air brought a stop to Nanami's reverie.

"Aunt?"

Saitou's grin turned feral, even as he maintained his composure. "You didn't think me and Irene wouldn't want to have children now did you?"

It took a while for a frozen Nanami to process this new information, about future relations born into the bloodline. And when all calculations had finished, her mind could only come up with one answer.

"What."