"What on earth is going on here?" Her voice laden with a mock sternness. Vorden's head snapped towards her with an expression of panic before melting into an apologetic smile. Vorden was using his body to pin the dog down to the ground while its tail was wagging every which way.
As she took a few steps closer she could see her son kneeling down by the dog's head, giggling as he was being licked lovingly by their overzealous furball. He kept turning left and right but each time he was just met by more of the countless puppy kisses. He was laughing so hard as each time he tried to reach any closer the dog would intercept his face.
"We had to slay the dragon mom! Or it would never have let us escape!" He pleaded through bouts of giggles, folding his hands together in front of him before begging, "Please, can we slay the dragon, please mom?"
She glanced at Vorden and then back to her son. She then glanced at the dog before asking "Is this the ferocious dragon, of which you speak?" Her brow raised slightly as the immobilized dog with his tail wagging wildly, simply looked around happily at each of them, panting all the while. It wore what looked like an enormous smile as it did, in between licking attacks at Borden's scrunched up little face. Her heart warmed to hear the giggles of her son at play.
"Well hurry up then and get it over with, our guests will be arriving any minute now!" She sighed as she leaned against the railing. Her hand cupped the bottom of her very round, protruding belly as she did so. Vorden seeing this let go of the dog, which immediately jumped to its feet and charged forward, knocking Borden down to the soft grass beneath them. It immediately began to lick the boy once more. His giggles grew louder and carried on in the background as Vorden rushed to Jade's side, placing a hand on her belly as well, as he surveyed her face with a clear look of worry on his own.
"Are you ok? You have been on your feet for a while, why don't you go inside and rest? You shouldn't be exerting yourself in your condition." Vorden's frantic worry was kind of cute to Jade, however this wasn't her first time being pregnant, of course.
"I'm fine, stop worrying. We've still got another two months before the baby comes. I am just fine." She insisted. Jade leaned towards him, sweetly planting a lingering kiss on his pursed lips.
"EEEEEWWWWWWWEEWWEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!" Suddenly Borden's little voice sounded off behind Vorden. He made his displeasure known and was very clear about just how gross he thought it was whenever his parents kissed.
His sudden outburst made them both laugh, gently resting her forehead against his as they did so. Vorden turned and leaned forward in time to catch their boy as he launched himself at them. Vorden lifted him up and the two boys gave Jade a hug together. Borden loved being sandwiched in-between a great big hug, by his parents.
Borden continued to giggle. "Mommy, can brother come out and play yet?" Vorden set him down carefully on the first step of the front porch.
Jade gave him a regretful smile and shook her head gently. "Not yet, Borden. Little Kade is still cooking!" The tone she used was one of barely restrained excitement, instead of remorseful disappointment or any stern reminder of parental expectations. Rubbing her belly fondly, she glanced at Vorden with a pleading look.
"Awe man!" Borden crossed his arms as his adorable face scrunched up frustratingly deflated.
"Hey now, that's not a very nice way to act. Your brother needs a little more time so he can come out healthy, and grow up big and strong!" Vorden crouched down again, getting eye level with his son.
"Just like me, dad!" Suddenly a wide smile returned to his lips. Little Borden flexed his arms enthusiastically as he beamed at his father with pride.
Vorden chuckled and ruffled the unkempt blonde locks atop his child's little head. "Yeah kiddo, just like you." He stood up in front of Borden, offering him a warm smile, and turned to head back inside.
"And you too dad! And uncle Sil, and uncle Raten and even Uncle Shiro!" He dashed forward catching him before he could take a step. Little Borden tugged intently at the hem of his father's shirt, eyes wide and desperate for confirmation. The tiny tugs were fueled by the relentless and all encompassing affection that a little boy held at his very core, for the unwavering heroes that he had learned his uncles to be.
Through the stories of pretty much any able and willing adult who took the time to spare a few minutes with the child, a lexicon of death defying, morally forthright, and epic accounts had been seen together to create a vivid image in Borden's mind. The often embellished recounting of various deeds, while each genuinely something just shy of miraculous without added elements, relegated the Blade brothers to the class of legend.
The main culprits were, of course, the men themselves. Every one of them had told Borden countless stories, typically spinning the tale of another and adding a bit of flare for dramatic effect. The problem is that each of them engaged in such behavior.
Vorden would mostly paint the picture of Sil the Great along with a fair amount of tales from each of his brothers amazing lives. Shiro would proudly tell Vorden's many acts of heroism, Sil had made the office bound Shiro the mighty savior of the entire Blade family, Raten wasn't left out though since he was always speaking mostly about himself.
All of the people that had ever been able to meet uncle Borden before his tragic end spun webs of unimaginable feats. Some absolutely fabricated, but many were just the straight truth, because Borden had just been incredible and unconventional in that way. Of course everybody wanted Little Borden to know where his namesake came from. With each Blade brother unknowingly contributing to Borden's adoration of his uncles, they very easily had become his idols.
This only meant that even though his tiny hands, clutching Vorden's shirt, tugging away ferociously, were still hardly strong enough to capture Vorden's attention, it wasn't for lack of trying. Luckily for little Borden, his daddy was incredibly attentive.
The sparkle in Vorden's eye eased Borden's mind before his dad even spoke. "Of course bud. You know it." Vorden lifted his son up, placing the child on his shoulder once again. Holding both of his hands— he helped the little Blade to maintain his balance, as Vorden carefully climbed the stairs.
The growing family returned to finishing last minute tasks inside their home before guests were set to arrive. Vorden was going to check on his pregnant wife to make sure she wasn't still on her feet, and then help by setting the table, as well as getting Little Borden washed up for dinner.
Quinn has strived for so long hoping to achieve a basic, simple, quiet life. He was able to enjoy only a tiny sliver of that so longed for peace in the end. Even after so much pain sacrifice, and suffering. It wasn't fair. However, life was never supposed to be fair.
Quinn hadn't fought alone. He had an entire cohort of friends and loved ones who wanted to enjoy similar lives. Many, like Leo, never quite got the chance to enjoy that hard won peace. For a long time Vorden had been one of those individuals. Not any more.
Vorden had only one thought all the while. He only had one emotion that seemed to bleed through, more so than any other— gratitude. An all encompassing, and deep sense of appreciation for his family and the simple life that he had been able to create for himself, with the help of his brothers, and then alongside Jade.
Gratitude for the sacrifice and effort of every single one of those individuals that he had marched headfirst into the frays of war with, side by side. He felt it in his bones, a deep and resounding thanks to all the ones that came before and strived for the human race to get to this place.
Before he closed the door behind himself, he turned and took one more lingering glance at the beautiful piece of rolling green grass field. The property was nestled just between the Blade estate, and the nearest of the few large human cities left standing on earth.
Vorden breathed in deeply, the crisp freshness of the evening air. He felt a fullness in his heart that wasn't even possible to articulate. With a soft smile he closed the door and casually strolled around his home, all the while still smiling.