After 10 solid minutes, Thatch finally comes out of the kitchen holding a set of keys, his face full of surprise and pops following closely behind him. 

"You okay?" You ask worriedly and not even receiving an answer from the brunette, he's just staring down at the keys in his hand and his face is devoid of emotion. "Thatch?"

"Pops...uh, he...wants to show us...s-something..." Whatever went on in the kitchen has sent Thatch reeling, that's for sure. The man still stiff in his movements, as if he had been frozen or something. "It's...it's a pretty big deal..."

No shit.

Without forcing the cutie to struggle out anymore words, you put your coat and shoes on, following his old man outside with Acey sat in your arms. The adorable little fella staring at pops questionably himself.

He leads you up the road slightly, to the construction site and stops before he signals to Thatch. You're honestly rather puzzled right now, there's still a builders fence surrounding the area, this surely isn't legal. It doesn't even have a sign above the door yet, although it is very big and pretty for a store. 

In fact, it looks too big and it doesn't even have a shop window. Thatch sheepishly unlocking the front door before entering, pops ushering you along. You're growing more scared now, if it's not completed then something could fall on little Ace.

However, once you enter the building it certainly clicks. There's a creamy colored hallway leading up to the stairs and a living room to your left and a dining room to your right. The laminated flooring here is obviously brand new also. 

This is a legitimate house...

"I might've been dishonest to you both when I said that this was going to be a corner shop..." Pops explains as he gently runs a finger along the wall, the paintwork was clearly done recently. "Sabo helped me pick this color out."

This is the magnolia paint we picked up...

"What are you talking about, pops?" You finally ask since Thatch still seems speechless, the brunette looking around at the designs on the wall. You think you've already sussed what he's trying to say but you don't want to be wrong. 

"[F/n], Acey," Pops smiles largely, his golden eyes locked onto the child in your arms before they shift to his own son. "Thatch." The brunette's dark orbs immediately flicker back to his old man at the mention of his name. "Welcome to your new home~! Gurarara~!" 

Holy shit...

Thatch seemingly trying to murmur a response but his mouth just won't seem to connect with his brain, a stutter of something incoherent tumbling stupidly from his lips instead. 

"Now, I know it's not a mansion but we did it up as best as we could." Pops continues proudly, his smile never wavering. "Sabo helped picked the design for the living room, Shanks picked the kitchen...lotta red in there, hope ya don't mind, lass."

Is he pulling our legs? I mean, I like red but...Shanks knew about this??

"An old friend of mine, Jozu, designed the dining room for ya. A lot of diamond themes but it's classy-looking, not the tacky diamond themes that most people go for these days!" Pops goes on, your legs feeling like jelly at this point and Acey bouncing excitedly in your arms, apparently the baby likes diamonds already. "I had to get Marco in on it too, to shut him up about the money that kept disappearing! He helped with the nursery and Ace...he helped with the bedroom! It looks kinda kinky in there so don't hesitate to change that if you wanna!"

Oh hell no, I like the sound of this bedroom already!

"The house was...okay before, it just had a small kitchen. Isn't that what troubled you, lass? Well, fear not, it's had the wall knocked down and expanded. Mihawk also arranged to have the windows fitted since the old ones had cracks and stains on 'em!"

Jesus fucking Christ...they went all out for us!

"P-Pops, I can't ever afford to pay you back for this!" Thatch finally finds his words, the poor man looking petrified already, his hands trembling like mad. "W-Why would you--?! This must have cost you a fortune!"

It really must have...

"Lad, you don't need to pay me back!" Pops chuckles as he gives his son a strong pat on the back, Certainly if he did that to you, it would knock you right off your feet. "This is a small price to pay to keep my family close by~! Gurarara~!"

My God, pops...

"Since you both seem so fond of the ocean, I also got the bathroom done beach-themed for ya!" He finally finishes with a grin, crossing his arms over his chest. "So, what d'ya think then?" 

I think if I wasn't holding my son right now, I'd be hugging the very life out of you, you selfless old man!

"I think I'm on the verge of having a heart attack..." Thatch softly murmurs, a small smile etched into his lips as he looks around the house, the amazement as clear as day in his eyes. "This place is perfect, pops!" 

Your head nodding in agreement to practically everything Thatch says, even the part about having a heart attack, a massive grin on your lips as you give pops a hug that isn't nearly as tight as you'd like but...if you hugged him like you wanted to, you'd probably crush poor Acey's head.  

"Thank you, pops~! It's all I've ever wanted~!!" Your voice sounding close to a cry and your entire body essentially feeling like goop, this has to be the kindest thing anyone has ever done for you. 

"Oh, there's even another 2 rooms for ya!" Pops exclaims, his breath sounding labored after all the explaining he has done already now. One arm returning your hug while the other gestures to the ceiling. "They're spare bedrooms for when you've got drunken guests staying over or...known you two rabbits, when you have another child!" 

Oh, he knows us so well.

"Pops...you sure you don't want anything for this?"

"A bit of gratitude wouldn't go amiss, Thatch! Other than that, no."

"But...diamonds..."

"Yeah, diamonds! Bet ya feelin' guilty for calling me weird now, huh?! If I didn't collect Acey's lucky fingernail clippings, this probably wouldn't have been possible at all!"

Oh here we go again with the clippings...

"B-But...it's...still weird!"

"You're weird! Your old man does all this for you and you can't even utter a simple thank you?!"

"But the nails will go all yellow and gross!"

Thatch, please just agree that they're lucky already.

---------the end--------