Family

"Hey, Ver."

She rushed over to the couch and embraced him. Gavin found it hard to breathe as his sister hugged him tightly and his parents embraced them both from either side. Having his family together like this caused his eyes to sting as tears welled up.

It had been too long. He had fought for six months while with Edicia to try and get back home. When he had found himself with the demons a part of him had given up on ever seeing his family. It didn't matter that Caine said he could come home, Princess Joelle had drilled it in his head that defeating Caine was the only way to return.

Gavin had finally reached his endurance and moved out of his family's embrace. The Gavin before would have stayed that way for as long as possible. The current Gavin felt uncomfortable with so many people in close contact. The fact that his arms were immobilized leaving him unable to defend himself bothered him. It was bad enough that his blades were put away.

"What the hell? Where have you been?"

Ver followed him when he stood up, punctuating her words by punching his arm. She was surprised when she felt resistance and realized that her brother, who was the embodiment of chill, had muscles. Gavin didn't react to her punch.

"There is a lot that's happened, but I'm not going to talk about it."

"Why? We have plenty of time."

Ver said as she sat down between her parents.

"Not as much time as you'd think. I would rather enjoy my time here without wasting it on telling stories, or other people."

The last part was said while he made eye contact with each of his parents. The last thing he needed was for one of them to contact the police. It would cut into his time with his family because he refused to stay and be interrogated.

"Gavin, we have to report that you're back. There are people out there looking for you. We have been looking for you."

He understood his mother's words, he could see how much she's aged in just a short time. Both of his parents. He could see the fatigue etched into the faces of all three.

"If I could go back in time and make it so that none of this happened, I would. I hate that me disappearing caused so much trouble. I went through a lot to get to this point. I can't stay longer than a week, it's simply all the time I have. Involving any officials would just cut that time short because I will not stay to deal with them."

He turned away from them then and went to pick up the discarded bags. He took the bags to the kitchen and began putting the items away. His family was in shock. After disappearing for nearly eight months he suddenly returns and makes it clear that he won't be staying long. Even going so far as to say he will leave sooner if they involve the cops.

Ver is the first to recover. She gets up and joins him in the kitchen.

"You've changed."

"I found that I couldn't stay stagnant, change is inevitable."

She snorted and grabbed a can of green beans that she immediately launched at him. She had always had a short temper. Growing up she would use her status as the oldest to get him to do what she wanted. When that didn't work she would push him around to get her way.

None of it was ever done in a malicious way. She had never done anything to hurt him, never said a negative word to him. She had just always been the leader and he had followed her. It was rare that she would lose her temper with him because of their dynamic, but he had seen other's fall to it.

Gavin didn't pause what he was doing as he caught the can coming at him. He put the rest of the items away, including the can, and turned to look at his sister who was staring at him in shock.

"I see you haven't changed. I missed you, all of you."

"Why didn't you come back sooner?"

He shrugged, "I couldn't. I wanted to, the desire to return consumed me."

"Then why aren't you staying? Why does it feel like this is just a visit?"

Ver crossed her arms and leaned on the counter. She was trying to be tough, but her eyes shimmer with unshed tears. Through the whole reunion neither of them had yet to shed a tear.

"I have people that I care about, responsibilities, that I have to return to. I love all of you. I do. It's just my time to grow up and start my own life."

"But, why? I don't understand how you can just suddenly disappear then show back up like this."

Gavin went up to his sister and pulled her close. The pain that his disappearance had caused was visible on her face. Mental scar's that he could do nothing to fix.

"I'm sorry, Ver. I didn't have a choice in the beginning. I've carved out a life for myself that I won't abandon. I can promise you that this won't be the only time I come to visit. I have the ability now to come as often as I want."

He held her a moment more then stepped away.

"I'm going to my room if you want to follow me."

They walked by the living room on the way to his room. His parents were still on the couch, talking quietly to each other. He had a feeling that he won't be staying the full week.

They wouldn't be doing their job as parents if they didn't get in touch with the cops about his sudden reappearance. He would if he was in the same situation.

He felt like an intruder when he walked into his room. It didn't feel like it was his space. Gavin knew that he had changed during his time in the other world but didn't realize how much until he was standing in his room.

Comic books and manga took up half of his bookshelf. The other half was filled with DVDs and games. On top of the bookshelf were his figurines and the teddy bear he had had since he was a baby. The walls were covered with posters of video games and anime, with a random cat poster thrown in.

Gavin stood there and felt nothing as he looked at everything. He had spent years collecting everything in that room and it all just felt like wasted time now. None of it would protect him if he was attacked. None of it filled him with a sense of purpose the way that his position as a general, or the people in his life.

He moved further into the room and took down the teddy bear and sat it on the bed. He then pulled out several books and placed them next to the bear. He would bring those back with him for Riley.

Going through his closet he took off his shirt and tried on one of his old shirts. That failure caused him to chuckle as he put the black shirt back on. My old clothes are too tight. I've definitely grown. He gave up on blending in and instead grabbed his favorite shirts and added them to the pile on the bed.

Nothing else in the room interested him. He turned his attention to his sister who was standing in the doorway. She was watching him closely as if his movements were going to reveal his thoughts.

"You're welcome to anything in my room. I don't need any of it. Should donate the clothes, it seems I can't wear any of it."

"You really aren't staying?"

She had been with him when he had bought, or received, everything in his room. She knew more than anyone else what his collection meant to him. To hear him speak about all of it with indifference was incomprehensible.

"No, I'm not staying. I've built a life for myself with people that I care about. It doesn't mean that I don't care about you, or our parents, because I love you guys. I'm just not willing to give up my new life."

"Mom and dad won't be happy about it. It'll be hard to accept after everything. Hell, I'm not sure I get it."

"Why don't you see if they're feeling up to going out. I need some clothes and thought we could all go out like the old days."

Ver gave him a curious look. She has never had him tell her to do something, he was always the follower.

"You aren't my boss. Why don't you talk to them? Besides, we don't have the money to waste on shopping like that. I just used the last of my money to buy food. Dad is the only one who's been working, and he took a lot of time off.

"Mom's been a mess and I've been staying here to help them out."

Gavin looked down as his hand abscently played with the bracelet. He held a card that had who knows how much money on it that Caine said he could use. Is there enough on it to help them? Would Caine be upset with me if I did?

"I've got the money covered. I can go alone, but I'd rather spend more time with my family while I'm out. If they're not up for it the two of us can go."

She let out a sigh and shook her head, "I'll go ask."

When she left he went to the bed and put into his pocket dimension the items he had sat aside. He wasn't ready yet to reveal the truth. It's not like he could tell them the truth and they would believe him. Most likely they would think he had lost it.

Once the items were put away he left the bedroom and made his way back to the living room. The room became quiet the moment he walked into sight. Whatever they had been talking about they didn't want him to hear it.

"You just got back, do you really need to go out?"

His mother's voice was pleading with him to stay. The fear that he would disappear again was clearly written on her face.

"None of my clothes fit. I'm not willing to wear this more than once."

Not to mention what he's wearing makes him stand out. It's nothing too crazy, but black on black it's not your everyday wear. He will need regular clothes while he's here, and for when he comes back to visit.

His dad placed a hand on his mom's arm to comfort her and spoke up.

"Why don't you take your sister. We'll stay here, your mom isn't feeling well enough to go out."

Gavin went up to his mom and hugged her. He wasn't as good with light magic as he was with the other elements, but he used what he could to send the healing energies of light magic. He moved it through her whole body. It was only the slightest hint of magic, he didn't want to take a chance and do more.

He got a weak smile from his mom when he stepped out of the hug. He hated seeing her like this, she had always been a strong person. The more he learned how his disappearance had negatively affected his family the harder it was to suppress his anger towards Princess Joelle.

"I won't be long. Don't worry about dinner tonight, I'll take care of it."

Ver drove them to the mall. She kept a close eye on him as they traveled, and planned on sticking close to him while they were out.

Gavin found himself lost in nostalgia as they pulled into the parking lot of the mall. They had spent a lot of time here. Some of his earliest memories were of him and his family shopping here. He would come here a lot on the weekends with Ver, sometimes spending all day at the mall.

The moment they stepped inside, though, he came upon a problem. Since he left this world he has spent most of his time training or engaged in some type of fight. Traveling with his former comrades they had to be constantly on alert due to monsters and bandits. They had encountered more than their fair share of both while traveling.

While with the demons he had constantly maintained a back and forth with Caine. Even without that, he had been training with Xanthe and sparring frequently. That fact only increased once they took over Dreymore, plus the added stress of controlling the noble populace and waiting for the armies of Edicia.

Stepping into an open space full of people, even if it was in the middle of the day, without being armed made his instincts scream. His blades felt his distress even from the pocket dimension and called out to him.

Ver noticed him freezing up next to her, his face a mix of emotions that she couldn't decipher. She just knew that something was wrong and it was connected with them stepping into the mall.

"Are you ok? Gavin?"

Her voice was enough to shake him out of his current mental state. He nodded his head as he closed his eyes and took a couple deep breaths to try and calm himself and focus. I just need to get a few things then we will leave. I can't let this stop me. This world is different, there aren't monsters hiding or humans wanting to kill me.

No amount of reassurance could completely suppress his instincts. Not that he wanted to completely quell it, it's what had kept him alive so far. He just had to function.

"Lets just hurry up."

Ver couldn't help but notice how he was constantly looking around, as if looking for someone. His body was also tense, back rigid. She wasn't sure what had happened and knew that she would have to wait until he was willing to talk to find out the truth.

Gavin moved with single mindedness as he headed to a clothing shop to get himself a couple days worth of clothes, then to a candy shop. This stop was for everyone back home. Sweets were something they didn't have a surplus of. He picked out a variety of sweets that he thought Xanthe and Riley would appreciate, he even grabbed a couple for Ondrea. It could be used as a reward for his student's hard work.

Before leaving he grabbed some chocolate, choosing the ones he felt were of a better quality that you would normally find. He ended up spending more on sweets than he did clothes.

On their way out Gavin was distracted by a bookstore. Despite his desire to get far away from the open space that left him feeling defenseless he had to go in.

"Since when did you become interested in fairytales?"

Ver asked when he stopped to look through a section of books that included the original works of the Brothers Grimm. He couldn't help but smile, thinking about how Riley would react to receiving a new book.

"Riley loves them."

It slipped out before he realized it. He had been trying to avoid giving out any information. I guess it can't be helped.

"Who's Riley?"

Gavin chuckled, "I guess he's my boyfriend. He loves fairytales and I like reading them to him."

Ver found herself at a loss for words. It did make her even more curious about what had happened to him while her brother had been missing.

Gavin bought the book and they left the mall. He didn't relax until they were inside the car. He leaned his head back and let out a sigh, releasing all the tension he had been holding in.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but you can't just mention something and just leave it. Why were you so tense? The mall was our place to chil. The whole time we were in there you acted like someone was going to jump out and grab you.

"Did something happen to you there?"

The last part came out a little louder than a whisper. Gavin opened his eyes and turned his head to look at his sister.

"Nothing bad happened at the mall, it's just uncomfortable being in such an open space with so many people.

"Too hard to defend yourself in that situation.

"Tell me, how bad is it at home? Is the house in trouble?"

"Right after you disappeared they both stopped working. They told me to stay until school let out for the summer, but as soon as finals were over I came home.

"I had money set aside for summer school and it's managed to help a little. Even with dad back to work it's barely enough to pay the mortgage. Forget paying for anything else.

"The electricity is about to be cut off. I've been looking for work, but mom has been so out of it that she will go all day without eating if someone isn't there to make her.

"It's bad, Gavin. The fact that you aren't staying won't help anything. I don't understand that, either. How can something you won't talk about be more important than your family?"

"I never said that it was more important. If my family wasn't important I wouldn't be here now."

To redirect the conversation once again he had her drive them to the grocery store. He planned to make them dinner.

He had learned how to cook while traveling. It wasn't a skill he had been utilizing since joining the demons. His cooking skills were limited, but he was confident enough to cook for his family.

When they returned home his mother was in bed sleeping and his father was in the living room watching the news.

While taking his purchases from the car Gavin slipped everything but the food and clothes into his pocket dimension.

Gavin was setting out the food when his dad came into the kitchen.

"What's going on?"

"Gavin is going to cook us dinner."

Before Gavin disappeared he had never cooked. The kitchen had always been their mom's personal space. She didn't like anyone messing around in her kitchen.

Gavin's sister and dad stayed in the kitchen and watched him work. He went with a simple meal of steamed vegetables and a roast in the oven.

The oven was as close to an open fire as he was getting. Back when he was traveling they frequently fought with a monster that closely resembled a boar.

He had learned how to wrap the meat and cook it over the fire. One of his team members would create a box made of earth that would hold the meat. It had been Gavin's idea to do that.

An hour and a half later dinner was spread out on the table. Gavin felt proud of himself at that sight. He has accomplished a lot since he came to the other world, making dinner for his family is just another accomplishment to add to his list.

His dad leaves to get their mom and the four of them sit down to eat. Gavin can't help but smile as he watches his family eat his food. It tastes good to him, but it's always hard to tell how others feel about it.

"Thank you for dinner, dear."

His mom said while she looked at his dad. His dad chuckled and shook his head.

"I didn't do this, Gavin did."