The house was alive with sound — not the sharp cries of a newborn anymore, but the high, bright laughter of a ten-year-old.
"Catch me if you can!"
Nathan's soft voice echoed throughout the house as he darted across the living room, his small feet thudding against the wooden floor, his giggles bubbling like a stream. A toy car skittered under the couch with a sharp clack, forgotten in the chase.
"Oh no, he's too fast! He's unstoppable!"
Anthony's voice, half stern and half playful, echoed throughout the house alongside Nathan's giggles as he chased after his son, lunging at him whenever he had the chance, but Nathan was too fast for him.
The boundless joy and happiness that the father and son felt at this moment as they played around were as clear as day with their wide, joyful smiles and laughter.
Eva leaned against the doorway, arms crossed, a smile tugging at her lips as she watched Nathan and Anthony, two of the most important people in her life.
It has been ten years now since Nathan was born and yet she could still see the newborn she once cradled in the hospital bed whenever she looked at him. The same beautiful blue eyes, now wide with mischief. The same tiny hands — though bigger now — that had once wrapped around her finger in that sterile room, clinging as though to life itself.
"Nathan, honey! Don't make Daddy too tired before dinner."
In a soft and gentle tone that carried a subtle mockery, Eva called out to Nathan as she stared at Anthony, and hearing his mother's call, Nathan stopped in his tracks to look at her, and this gave his father a chance to catch him.
"Gotcha!
Scooping Nathan up into his arms, Anthony triumphantly yelled out as he spun Nathan around in the air which caused his laughter to erupt into shrieks of delight while he squirmed in his father's arms.
"Aaaahhh! Put me down!"
Nathan's limbs flailed as he struggled, but his arms ultimately looped around his father's neck in an instinctive hug.
When he was set back on the ground, breathless and panting, he toddled back to his mother. He pressed his face into her legs, still giggling, before glancing up at her with a grin missing one of his front teeth.
And in that grin, in that small, ordinary moment, she heard it again — the sound of his first cry, the name whispered in the hospital recovery room, the vow she had made when she held him against her chest: You're ours now. Always.
Anthony came to stand beside her, resting a hand on her shoulder. They exchanged a look — the kind born from nights without sleep, scraped knees, birthday candles, and the endless, chaotic wonder of raising a child.
"... Mom, can I go outside and play?"
Being pulled out from her small, imaginative world by Nathan's words to play outside, Eva gently bent down to his level, brushed a strand of his long, golden blonde hair that he inherited from her, and then looked into his beautiful blue eyes.
"After dinner. I Promise."
A pout appeared on Nathan's lips immediately as he heard his mother's reply to his request; however, the pout only stayed for a brief second before running upstairs into his room.
"... Nathaniel."
As both of them watched him, Eva subconsciously whispered his name again under her breath, as though grounding herself in it. The same name that had first been spoken in a room filled with fluorescent light, antiseptic, and tears. A name that now belonged to a child who filled their world with life.
------
CREAK!...
Making his way into his room, Nathan made his way towards a table where he took a photo album before sitting down on the ground and started going through it.
While most reincarnator people would wish to grow out of their infant state almost immediately as they were reincarnated, Nathan actually preferred this part of his life, as this is all that he had wished for back in the orphanage, where he was more like a prisoner than a child.
The photo album was filled with pictures of him from the very moment that he was born into the world to this very moment, and each photo that he opened brought him immense joy and comfort.
This was the life that he had always wanted and he was immensely grateful to the old man for giving him the opportunity, the chance to live the life that he had always wanted.
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The kitchen glowed warm with evening light. The aroma of roasted chicken and herbs filled the air, blending with the faint sizzle from the stovetop as the mother spooned vegetables into a serving dish. Plates clinked softly against the wooden table as Eva arranged the dishes.
"Mom, is it ready yet?"
Coming downstairs after he had gone through the photo album with five years' worth of photos, Nathan asked his mother as he entered the dining room.
"Be patient, Nathan! Dinner is almost ready."
With a smile on her face, Eva helped Nathan in his chair before going back to arranging the dishes on the table.
Anthony appeared from the hallway, adjusting the cuff of his shirt, his face carrying the weight of something unsaid. He pulled out his chair with a quiet scrape against the floor and sat down, forcing a smile.
Dinner began in the usual way — chatter about the past ten years of their lives, the clatter of cutlery against plates. Laughter bubbled easily from Nathan, spilling into the room with the clinking of glasses and the steady background hum of the refrigerator.
Everything was going great with Nathan eagerly digging into his food, however, the beautiful atmosphere was suddenly interrupted by Anthony as he cleared his throat.
"Ahem. I need to tell you both something."
His voice was calm, but there was a weight to it, pressing into the air which caused both Nathan and Eva to pause, fork hovering, eyes narrowing slightly as they studied his expression.
Anthony, feeling the sudden shift in the dining room, drew in a very deep breath, his fingers tightening slightly around his glass.
"I... I have been called back to work on a new project."
The words that left Anthony's mouth seemed to hang in the warm dining room, heavier than they should have been.
"Back to... New York?"
Looking up at his father with his fists clenched, Nathan's voice stumbled on the city's name, sadness outweighing the concern in his voice as he looked at his dad.
Throughout the ten years, Anthony was not that much present in most of Nathan's life due to constant travelling and Nathan had discovered his dad to be some kind of researcher who had his own lab in the basement that he spent most of his time in whenever he came back from his long trips.
"... For how long?"
Eva's lips pressed into a thin line as she asked quietly, her tone even, though her hand had stilled on the table.
"Haah!... A few months, maybe more. The project this time around is big and they want me leading it in person."
In response to Eva's question, Anthony let out a heavy sigh as he stared at his plate before looking her in the eyes as he spoke.
"You will be coming back for Christmas, right? You promised me that you would celebrate Christmas with me and Mom."
Nathan twisted into a frown as he heard his father's response, and his voice trembled at the edge as he asked if he would be coming back this year for Christmas.
Anthony's hands involuntarily trembled as he reached across the table, covering his son's small hand with his own.
"Of course I'll come back. I promised you, didn't I?... This is just work. But you, you're the most important thing. Don't ever forget that."
Nathan blinked rapidly, nodding, though his lip quivered but the warm feeling of his mother's hand rubbing his cheek called him down.
"We'll be alright."
Eva murmured as she rubbed Nathan's cheeks, though her eyes flicked back to the Anthony's, carrying a storm of questions she held back for now.
Dinner resumed in strained silence, the normal sounds — the scrape of cutlery, the faint hum of the fridge, the boy's soft sniffles — sharper now in the tension that filled the room.
Anthony watched them both, his chest tightening, the taste of his food dull against the weight of what he'd just set into motion.