The next few days flashed by in an absolute blur. As much as both of the prospective parents wanted to spend every spare moment that they had with their newly adopted son, there was a lot of work that had to be done before their little kit could come home. The first hurdle was making sure the little guy had a safe place to stay. Fortunately the couple already had a spare bedroom in their house, and the Center sent over a team of experts who put together a nursery in a quarter of the time a regular team would have taken. Still, Tadashi was being very particular about how the nursery was set up, wanting it to be perfect for his little Daniel, and that meant having a nursery that accommodate not only the child's human needs but his vulpine ones as well. Fortunately the staff of the Center was pretty used to creating living spaces to fit a wide variety of very specialized occupants, so creating a nursery that had the qualities of a Japanese forest wasn't that big of a problem for them.

The other major obstacle was explaining the sudden appearance of a baby to those who knew the couple. Of course Tadashi's brother and adopted aunt, as well as Hiro's mate, Ezra, and his family, were able to be told the truth without any trouble-they were all mythicals, or at least already knew Tadashi's secret. But as for Tadashi and Fred's coworkers and outside friends, this posed a bit of a problem. They couldn't easily hide the fact that they now had an infant in their house, and trying to do so would only raise suspicions. As such, they had to come up with a cover story to explain Daniel's existence and their sudden custody of him. After conferencing with Fred's dad they settled on saying that Daniel was the son of one of Tadashi's distant cousins who had been sadly recently orphaned, and, after searching through the available relatives, Tadashi had turned out to be the most suitable and most willing guardian for the child. That was enough to cover Daniel's coming to live with them. But there was one final problem that they were still trying to figure out how to deal with-Daniel, like many baby kitsune, had little control of his form. He erratically switched from fox form to human form to half form, often within the space of one feeding time. While it seemed that he tended to switch into whichever form was most convenient at the time, he still didn't seem to be able to hold any one form for an extended period. His favorite form seemed to be halfway, which was easy enough to hide, covering the ears and tail with an oversized hat and a blanket. But there was still the risk that the hat could slip or that Daniel would, as he did on occasion, switch to full fox form in the presence of other humans. Usually he only did so if being held by Tadashi or another kitsune, but he had been known to do so while being held by a human or other creature if he wanted fox attention from his "Papa" (to differentiate, Tadashi had chosen the name "Papa" while Fred was more simply "Dad"-not that Daniel could talk yet, or was even close to it, but it would be helpful to have this set in place when he did start talking.) It was definitely worrisome, but there wasn't much they could do about it. They could only do their best to keep Daniel's true identity a secret-and all of their evasive maneuvers to do so were about to be put to the test because, after giving the new parents a week to settle their little one into his new home, Fred's old high school friends were insisting on coming to visit.

"How's he doing?" Fred asks, coming over to his husband from where he'd been helping Aunt Cass lay out food for their guests in the kitchen.

"Pretty good," Tadashi answers, gently rocking the tiny bundle in his arms. "I had him in fox form for most of the morning, so hopefully he'll be more apt to stay in human, or at least half form, for the duration the others are here."

"Let's hope so," Fred agrees, reaching down to stroke his son's currently human face.

"I'll keep tabs on him and let you know if he seems to be about to turn into fox form," Ezra promises, joining them-as an elf, he had a special connection with all animals, even mythical ones.

"And we appreciate that, thank you," Fred tells him with a grateful smile.

"Don't sweat it, we'll be fine!" Hiro reassures them. "We've taken insane amounts of precautions, and the worst comes to the worst, some of Fred's friends find out that there are actually mythical creatures in the world. Is that such a bad thing?"

"Uh…" Fred and Tadashi trade a look.

"It's not that I don't trust them," Fred says slowly, "it's just… You know how my dad is…"

"And since when does what your dad thinks matter?" Hiro asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Becoming party to the mythical world means you get exposed to the risks thereof," Tadashi points out.

"It's not like we have dangerous monsters running around the city!" Hiro protests. "And if anything, if we did, wouldn't it be better for them to know about it so they could defend themselves?"

"I…" Tadashi was trying to think of a good answer to that when suddenly the doorbell rings.

"We will pick this discussion back up later," Fred promises as he goes to answer it.

"Okay, where is he?" Honey Lemon, a feisty Latina who had a passion for chemistry and taking selfies, cries the moment the door is open, racing inside.

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking, how are you?" Fred returns wryly.

"Sorry!" Honey Lemon says sheepishly. "Hi, Freddy!" She pulls him into a quick hug before asking eagerly, "So, where is the little guy?!"

"Can't deter you, can I?" Fred chuckles before gesturing to Tadashi. "He's over there with his papa."
"Aw! You guys already picked out different names for him to call you?" Honey Lemon coos, racing over.

"Figured it would be easier to do it now than try to figure it out later," Tadashi says with a warm smile. "Hey, Honey Lemon."

"Hi Dashi!" Honey Lemon beams back at him before peering over his shoulder at the tiny bundle who was snoozing soundly in his arms. "!Oh, Dios mio!" she squeaks. "!El es perfecto! He's perfect! Look at his little face! He looks so much like you, Dashi!"

"Thank you," Tadashi says, giving her a grateful smile.

"But I guess that makes sense since you're related, even distantly," Honey Lemon adds.

"Right..." Tadashi agrees, sad to know that Daniel wasn't really related to him by blood (at least not as far as he knew) but knowing that he loved him just as much as any real relative would.

"Poor little guy," Honey Lemon adds softly before asking, "Did you know his parents well?"

"No," Tadashi answers honestly. "My family's pretty… distant. I didn't even know about Daniel until I got the phone call, and suddenly Fred and I found ourselves as guardians. Not that we mind at all!"

"We already think of him as our own," Fred adds, coming over to join them.

"That's so sweet," Honey Lemon coos. "Any chance I can hold him?"

"Well, he can be a bit fussy about anyone but me or Fred holding him, but as long as you don't mind that," Tadashi answers cautiously, already setting that particular part of the plan in place-making it easier for him to quickly take Daniel back if he seemed to be switching forms without it seeming unnatural.

"Oh, trust me, I have dozens of sobrinos y sabrinas, I know all about fussy babies," Honey Lemon reassures him as she gently takes the baby from his arms. "Hi there, little guy! I'm your Tia Honey Lemon!" She grins as she gently rocks the mercifully still sleeping Daniel back and forth.

Just then the doorbell rings, and by silent agreement Fred hurries to answer it, Tadashi staying close to Honey Lemon to monitor the baby. This time their next visitor was GoGo, a speed demon whose slightly surly attitude was the exact opposite of her chipper girlfriend, Honey Lemon's. Still, even she seemed to be in a good mood given the occasion.

"Wow, Honey Lemon actually beat me here?" she says with a smile after greeting those she knew in the room and being introduced to those she didn't. "Usually I'm the first to everything!"

"There was a baby involved, of course I got here as fast as I could!" Honey Lemon answers with a grin. "Come see!"

"Cute," GoGo says approvingly after observing for the moment, and that, coming from her, was high praise-Tadashi was practically beaming with pride.

"Looks like everything's going pretty okay so far," Fred whispers to him a little while later after their final guest, Wasabi (a dark skinned man who usually exuded a general atmosphere of calm and well being but could actually be quickly brought to panic by anything that set off his OCD nature) had arrived and the little party had been in full swing for a good hour. "I think Daniel might actually sleep his way through this!"

"That would be preferable," Tadashi agrees with a relieved sigh. "The day he gets old enough for me to start teaching him to control his powers can not come soon enough…"

"Don't wish for it to come too soon-you know you'll miss having him as a little baby kit," Fred reminds him with a slight smile.

"True," Tadashi agrees with a wry smile. "You know me so well."

"I do," Fred agrees, lovingly pecking him on the cheek.

It was during an unsuspected lull in activity, while Tadashi was in the kitchen warming up formula for Daniel's next feeding and Fred, Ezra, and GoGo were having a discussion about how old the baby would have to be before she could get him his first bike, when disaster struck. The first sign that told Tadashi that something was wrong was Wasabi suddenly crying out from the other room. Last he'd seen, Wasabi had been the one holding Daniel, so in an instant he drops what he's doing and races into the living room, praying that things weren't as bad as he'd feared. But the panicked look on the other man's face, and on those of at least two of the other occupants in the room, told him that they were worse.

"I-He… I w-was just holding him and h-he t-turned into a-a f-fox!" Wasabi whimpers, holding the blanketed bundle away from him.

Within moments, Tadashi was across the room, snatching his son away from the other man, letting out a low growl as his parental instincts kick in.

"Dashi, calm down," Fred tells him, placing a calming hand on his shoulder, causing Tadashi to at least slightly relax. "We knew this might happen."

"You knew? How could you know that something like this was going to happen?!" Wasabi cries.

"Is there something you think you should tell us?" GoGo says, glancing suspiciously around at the others in the room who didn't seem at all surprised by the fact that a child had just suddenly transformed into a woodland creature.

"It's… Kind of a long story," Fred admits.

"We've got time," GoGo answers, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, I guess we should get explaining, then," Fred sighs, looking over at Tadashi, who gave him a nervous nod, signaling for him to continue. "All right, so, as you've probably figured out, Daniel isn't exactly… human."

"We sort of figured that out, yes," Honey Lemon agrees apprehensively.

"What you probably don't know is… Well, pretty much neither is anyone else in this room," Fred continues slowly.

"Wait, what?!" GoGo cries.

"Hush!" Tadashi glares at her, flashing her a fang-filled glare. "You're going to scare him!" Indeed, the kit in his arms was squirming in distress.

"Scare him?" GoGo glares right back. "What about scaring us? Y-you guys aren't human?!"

"Why don't I take Daniel while you explain?" Aunt Cass says softly, taking Daniel from Tadashi's arms and carrying the baby into the kitchen.

"All right, so, dang, where to even start?" Fred sighs, breaking the intense stare off that was going on.

"Maybe you can start by telling us… exactly what you are?" Honey Lemon says uncertainly.

"That might be a good place to begin, yes," Fred agrees, flashing her a grateful smile. "So, Daniel, like Tadashi, Hiro, and Aunt Cass, is a kitsune."

"A kitsune?" Honey Lemon repeats uncertainly.

"Japanese shape shifting fox," Fred clarifies.

"T-that's not possible!" Wasabi protests. "T-those don't actually exi-aiyee!" He lets out a cry of panic as Tadashi suddenly morphs into fox form and then back into human, all within the space of thirty seconds.

"That real enough for you?" he deadpans, raising an eyebrow.

Wasabi shakily nods, seeming not to be able to form any other coherent answer.

"I'm an elf," Eza volunteers, brushing his blue hair back to expose his pointed ears. "Just to clear that up."

"And you?" Honey Lemon asks, turning to Fred with wide eyes.

"I… Well, even most of the mythicals I've run into don't know this, but I'm half dragon," Fred admits.

"You? A dragon? No way, I-Fred, there is no way you're a dragon!" GoGo protests, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Well he is, so deal with it," Tadashi snaps.

"I think what GoGo is trying to say is that this is just a lot to take in," Honey Lemon says diplomatically.

"I can imagine," Fred agrees.

"I-If this is all true… And it looks like it is… Why haven't you told us this before?" Wasabi asks, seeming to have finally regained the use of his voice.

"Partly because I knew you'd react like this," Fred answers. "Partly because, for the safety of both the humans and the mythical creatures living in this city, my dad insists on keeping the number of 'normal' people who know about all of this to a minimum, to prevent mass hysteria and protect the creatures who have already gone through more than enough persecution.."

"Wait, there are others?" Wasabi cries, looking vaguely panicked by the idea.

"What does your dad have to do with this?" GoGo adds suspiciously.

"I-is he a dragon too?" Honey Lemon asks softly.

"No, but he married one," Fred answers with a slight smile. "My mom. He met her while in Japan-he rescued her from a group of poachers who were trying to skin her for her pelt."

"That's awful!" Honey Lemon cries, pressing a hand to her mouth.

"It is," Fred agrees. "And that's why my dad committed the rest of his life to helping protect others like her. The world isn't safe for mythical beings-not only would most people think that they're 'dangerous' and either fear or try to get rid of them if they knew about them, there are plenty of poachers out there who want to capture or kill them and sell them to the highest bidder."

"That's how Hiro and I came here-our parents were killed by poachers when we were just kits and a team of rescuers working for Fred's dad saved us when we almost suffered the same fate," Tadashi says before adding, "That's also how we ended up with Daniel. He was orphaned just a couple of weeks ago, and Mr. Lee thought that he'd be safest living in a family with another kitsune to look after him."

"You said 'team'," GoGo mutters, apparently thinking hard. "Fred, just what does your dad do?"

"Aside from the surface companies he runs to fund our efforts? He runs a center under the city where mythical creatures are brought or come for help when their lives have been threatened. We help them mainstream into the modern world-hide them in plain sight, so to speak. It's the best way to protect them from those who would want to harm them.

"Por Dios…" Honey Lemon quietly breathes.

"So-yeah," Fred says, shrugging awkwardly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys before, but I honestly thought you'd be better off knowing because knowing about all of this… It's kind of a big responsibility, having to keep something like this a secret, plus just knowing that there's a whole lot more to this world than most people know."

"Well…" Honey Lemon was the first to speak after the silence that follows, "I wish you had told us about all of this earlier, but I think I can understand why you thought it would be safer, for us and all of the others. I guess the question is… What now?"

"Honestly, that's kind of up to you," Fred answers.

"What, you guys don't have some sort of process to wipe our memories since we found out your secret?" GoGo says wryly, if a bit nervously.

"Ah-no. I mean, I guess we know creatures that could potentially do that, but it would probably be dangerous and so unless it was someone who would be super dangerous finding out, we wouldn't do that to anyone," Fred answers.

"Well, that's kind of a relief," Wasabi sighs. "Although, then again, maybe I would be better off not remembering of this… It's definitely going to be messing with my head for a while."

"Understandably," Fred says with a slight smile. "Sorry there's not more I can do to help with that."

"I don't know about anyone else, but I'm glad I know now!" Honey Lemon finally says. "If anything, if I can help at all, I definitely want to do my part!"

"Thank you, that means a lot to us," Fred tells her with a warm smile. "I think right now the best thing you can do is help us keep Daniel's secret. As you might have guessed, his form isn't exactly stable right now, so he tends to switch back and forth without warning, which is what happened just now-and, apologies, Wasabi, for making you be the one to discover that."

"Well… Not gonna lie, it still freaks me out a little bit, but he does make a kind of cute little fox," Wasabi admits with a slight smile, making Tadashi quietly purr with pleasure.

"I guess I can get used to all of this too," GoGo sighs. "Although I'm still having a hard time imagining you as a dragon, Fred."

"I'll show you sometime when we've got more room," he promises her. "My dragon form is a bit larger than my human form."

"That is something I'm definitely going to look forward to seeing," GoGo says with a wry smile.

"So, now that we have all that cleared up-can we please see Daniel again?" Honey Lemon begs. "I want to get a chance to hold my nephew, whether he's a human or fox or whatever!"

"I think we can definitely accommodate that," Tadashi answers with a smile, turning back to the kitchen door where Aunt Cass was carrying the little blue bundle back into the room.

"I already fed him while I was at it, so he should be good for a little while," she says, carrying him over to the Latina, who eagerly takes him from her.

"Oh my goodness-he can do that?" Honey Lemon giggles, and Fred and Tadashi come over to see what she was talking about.

"Oh, yes, guess I should have mentioned he can go halfway between forms," Fred says, chuckling slightly as he sees the bright red ears and bushy tail sticking out from the blankets.

"A lot of kits feel more comfortable in that state while they're still trying to figure out how to hold one form or the other," Tadashi adds, reaching down to lovingly scratch one of his son's ears.

"Not gonna lie, that's going to take a bit more getting used to," Wasabi tells them.

"Hush, it's adorable!" Honey Lemon protests, waving his comment aside.

"It is kind of cute," GoGo admits, smiling slightly. "Kind of gives him a bit of a punk look."

"Well, guess that didn't turn out so bad after all," Fred says to Tadashi as the mood returns almost to that of how it had been at the beginning of the party.

"The power of adorable baby kitsune conquers all?" Tadashi replays playfully.

"Something like that," Fred chuckles. "Of course you know they're going to be asking all sorts of questions later when all of this really sinks in and they start realizing that there are actually mythical creatures running around in the world."

"True," Tadashi agrees.

"But I think we can handle that."

"I think so too."

"I'm honestly just glad that I don't have to keep secrets from them anymore."

"Yeah." Tadashi lightly nuzzles into him. "I guess I didn't really realize how hard it was for you not being able to tell them all these years…"

"Well, the important thing is that they know now and that they're supportive, right?" Fred says after a moment's thought.

"It is." Tadashi nods. "After all, they're a part of the family now, and it's good for families to be supportive of each other."

"You really think of them as family?" Fred asks hopefully-he'd always thought of his friends as extended family, but he'd never been fully sure that Tadashi had felt the same way, or even if he particularly liked them (when they'd first met, Tadashi had almost gotten into a fight with Honey Lemon, thinking that she liked Fred and was a "threat" to his claim on his chosen mate.)

"They're important to you, so they're important to me," Tadashi answers firmly.

"Thank you." Fred grins and wraps his arms tightly around his husband.

"You're welcome." Tadashi leans over to lovingly peck him on the lips. "Now-how about we go actually spend some time with the rest of our 'family'?"

"Sounds good!" Fred agrees, pecking him back before happily leading him back over to the others.