The Luckiest Girl In The World

So long as they'd been washed sometime between last year and this, that's all that she asked.

"Putting a lot of faith in your genes over mine," Kathy teased, glancing over her shoulder at him.

And, yeah, okay, biting her lip because Dante was pretty.

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Dante winked at her, stretching a little more obviously, making sure she got a good view. "Hey, you do have nerd cool," he said. "My genes just shave off the nerd."

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She appreciated you, Dante.

"So you say," she teased. "You get nerdy in your own way, though."

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Dante gasped. "You take that back!"

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"You can't handle the truth?" Kathy asked sweetly, batting her lashes at him.

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"How the fuck am I a nerd?" Dante demanded.

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Which was, of course, the perfect moment for a set of small 12-year-old-sized knuckles to go rapping on the door. "Hey, losers!" Evie yelled.

And then devolved into a spate of giggles.

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"That is definitely your daughter," Kathy said, poking Dante in the arm. "Possibly by some kind of weird cloning thing."

That wasn't stopping her from going to the door and pulling it open with a big grin. "Hey there, Evie-girl," she said with a happy, welcoming smile.

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"Mom!"

She was also enough her mother's daughter: Evie glomped onto Kathy immediately.

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"Nice job playing it cool, kid," Dante said, grinning as he rose up from the bed, snatching his shirt off the floor.

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Kathy wasn't complaining. Just the opposite; her arms were full of girl - even if Evie were hardly little - and very little could make that better. "She doesn't have to play," she informed Dante. "She just is cool."

AND COOL KIDS HUGGED THEIR MOMS.

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"Da... rn right," Evie said, nodding against Kathy's chest. "You better watch it."

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"I'm real scared," Dante said, as he yanked the shirt over his head.

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"I heard that," Kathy whispered into Evie's ear with a chuckle and a kiss for the top of her head. But she didn't try to chastise or scold. A little bit of bad language - and damn barely counted - was hardly something to get huffy over, especially just for a weekend.

"I dunno," she said, raising her head to look at Dante. "I bet this one runs rings around us back home."

A mix of Li and Sparda genes? Dear lord.

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"Literally," Evie said, detaching herself from Kathy. Slowly. What? Tiny mom was nice and warm. "I'm faster than both of you now!"

... or they let her win.

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"Yeah? You at least leaving enough pizza for everybody in the house, Usain Bolt?" Dante asked, grinning.

He looked relaxed. Wasn't like he hadn't seen it coming this time, and Evie was a good kid.

He held his arms out for her.

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"I go after yours specifically," Evie said, speeding over to throw herself into Dante's arms. Unlike Kathy, she didn't have to worry about her dad toppling backwards if she ran too fast. "Mom's slices all have too many vegetables."

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"I repeat, you are too Korean to not appreciate vegetables," Kathy announced, watching them with a smile.

This weekend did such good things for her heart.

At least until Monday.

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"Yeah, but not all of them at once," Evie declared.

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"One whole vegetable a day is more than enough," Dante agreed.

He hugged her tightly, like it was natural, like he didn't particularly relish letting her go.

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"Sometimes I eat two, so I totally deserve ice cream for breakfast," Evie said, smiling up at her father. She wasn't quite ready to let go either.

Her parents gave the best hugs.

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"Yeah, that can wait until I've actually seen you eat these two vegetables," Kathy said, coming over to sit on the bed next to them both. "Green candies don't count as veggies no matter what Dante says."

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