The Final Detail

     Nate watched his son lay on the ground as Catchfire continued working on his doodles. The young hybrid was once again drawing the gray character he always loved drawing. Nate smiled softly at how happy Catchfire was with his drawings. He turned to his partner, Phyre, who was talking to Kami and Furizu next to him. The soothing sound of autumn leaves crunched beneath them from their movements. Glazer slept peacefully next to Furizu, under the shade of the large oak tree they were mingled in.

     Phyre turned to Nate, noticing him looking at her. She smiled, which only lasted a second. She shifted her gaze towards Catchfire, who was still busy with his doodles. Something seems to be in her mind. Nate asked Phyre what was bothering her.

     “Do you ever plan to move?” Phyre murmured.

     “What do you mean?” Nate asked.

     “I told you you’re always welcome in Quartz City.“ Phyre said persistently. “Have you thought about it more lately? To move in? Catch is already three, I think you’ve had enough time to get comfortable about being a parent.”

     Oh. This conversation again. Phyre had asked Nate multiple times before now to move in with her in Quartz City. Nate tried the idea in the beginning, but the constantly moving state of the city never felt right with him. He didn’t feel like it was a place for him to live in.

     “I did, it’s just...,” Nate responded. “I don’t think living in a big city like that is for me. Besides, you took on most of the responsibility. I didn’t get to do much for Catch until a few weeks ago. I’m not that comfortable yet.“ Nate explained. Though he wondered if what he was saying was true. Phyre had tried so hard to help him get comfortable in Quartz City, yet he still couldn’t seem to fit in. He felt like he was being ungrateful.

     Having Catch was never Nate’s intent. Phyre was the one who wanted to start a family, despite Nate stating multiple times that he wasn’t ready. And they were only less than a year into their relationship; he felt like things were moving too fast. Still, Nate ended up agreeing to it three years ago, so he didn’t want to put the blame on Phyre.

     Nate looked up. He didn’t realize Kami and Furizu had stop talking to each other to join in on Nate and Phyre’s conversation. They were both staring at him, looking unsure about what to do. Though there were sympathy and understanding in their gazes. Phyre looked upset by Nate’s response. The blue cat panicked. He didn’t mean to upset her.

     Unsure how to move the conversation forward, Nate tried a suggestion he’d given before. “Why don’t you and Catch stay here instead?” He knew Phyre had turned the offer down before, but it was the only thing Nate could think of saying at the moment.

     Phyre’s expression turned into slight annoyance. “Nate, you know I can’t leave Quartz City.“ Phyre grunted. “I have work to do there. Besides, I don’t think solidity isn’t the best place to raise children.” the rabbit finished bluntly.

     Silence made its way to the group as Phyre finished speaking. Furizu looked awkward, while Kami stared thoughtfully. Nate felt guilty and was frustrated at himself. He didn’t mean to make Phyre angry. Why didn’t I just wait to continue the conversation in private?

     While Nate was busy with his thoughts, Kami shuffled closer to Phyre. “You didn’t bring Catch here much,“ she commented. “Why’d you decide to have a kid if you were too busy to even do that?”

     Phyre averted her gaze. “I didn’t think work would get in the way so much, and I didn’t know if Catch was ready to leave the city yet, so I just took him to a daycare until a few months ago. Being S-ranked doesn’t really give me a lot of day-offs, and the new rogue I talked about recently doesn’t make it any easier.” Despite the new rogue running lose, they don’t seem to be going near the daycare Phyre takes Catch to, possibly because of the increased security there lately. Phyre felt Catchfire would be safe there.

     Kami’s eyes lit up. “You can always leave Catch with us instead, if you want him to spend more time with Nate. There’s a village nearby here- Leaflet Village. If you’re concerned about the solitude of Hideaway Forest, we could always move there. I’ve always wanted to try moving there anyway.”

     Nate felt overwhelmed by the sudden initiative Kami is taking. She’s been doing that a lot recently when it came to Nate and Phyre’s arguments. “Uh, shouldn’t we think about this first? Moving and adapting to a new place isn’t that simple.” He suddenly remembered why he even lives in Hideaway Forest in the first place. Before Kami continued, Nate turned to Furizu. “And I don’t know if Furizu would want that.” The blue cat remembered why his friend came to Hideaway Forest for the first time. He mentioned he wanted to be alone due their childhood bullies. It affected Furizu’s social life a lot, causing him to hesitate on making new friends.

     Furizu dismissed Nate’s word with a claw. “Oh, don’t worry about me. If it’s the past you’re thinking about, I’ve moved on. I could use a little change.“ He scratched the back of his head in slight embarrassment. “Kami has been talking about this with me for a while, actually. We just didn’t know how to bring it up to you.”

     “Oh.” Nate felt disappointed by his answer. He surprised himself. Catchfire is Nate’s responsibility too, why is he avoiding it? He was scared, he realized. He was scared of making a mistake in his new life, a responsibility he never asked for. Still, he did like the surprise brought onto him. He tried to stay with the positives. “Well if Glazer’s okay with it as well, then I’m in.”

     The sound of Kami clapping her hands together broke the silence. “Great! We actually already bought a house there. I’m sure you’ll like it. Plus, we already know a few people in Leaflet Village, so settling in shouldn’t be as hard as you think, Nate.”

     Nate knew Kami was talking about Rhen, Ashe’s brother, and his partner Azher. He knew Kami had a crush on Ashe, so he leaned towards her with a teasing stare. “Simp,” he joked.

     Kami returned his teasing glance. “Well I’m sorry for trying to help you find a solution.”

     Both feline friends continued making funny faces towards each other. Nate felt his mood lighting up. Though the lighthearted aura didn’t last long when Phyre began talking seriously again.

     “But it’s always easier for Catch when both his parents are together, you know?” Phyre pushed towards Nate.

     Nate didn’t say a word. He didn’t want to upset her again, but he also didn’t want to move to Quartz City. He didn’t like it there, and he’d miss his friends too much.

     Phyre frowned and turned away. Only Nate seemed to notice Phyre‘s frown, because Kami and Furizu were still happily talking about moving to Leaflet Village. Though he thought he noticed Kami giving Phyre a curious stare for a split second. Nate turned to his son once more. No matter who Catchfire stays with, Nate’s friends would want to move to Leaflet Village either way. Meanwhile, Catchfire himself hasn’t been paying attention to his parents’ arguments, and was still making small doodles on his sketchbook.

     “Nate!”