ITSSS DOOONNNEEEE

EEEEEEE

Closing Notes bottom.

Four weeks.

It'd been four weeks since Terry had seen his son, and it had frankly been the most stressful month of Terry's entire life. Even when he was fighting with his own life at stake, he didn't experience the bone-gnawing anxiety of knowing his son was embroiled in some unknown danger, but unable to do anything about it. There were many instances where Terry had resolved within himself to fly out and forcibly bring his son home, but fortunately his thoughts had never come to fruition.

Ow… jeez why are there so many people today...

Because it seemed that that sort of intervention was entirely unwelcome. Over the course of four or five conversations they shared since Rock left on tour, Terry found his intentions deviated greatly from his son's. The result was something of a schism driven between them. Of course, it was a temporary thing. Terry loved Rock as a son (despite being only ten years older than him), and Rock…

Well, at least he -really- seems to love me back. No… he does! Absolutely. Come on, Terry! Don't doubt him!

Even though Rock didn't seem to be angry over the phone, Terry still wasn't exactly sure what to expect upon seeing him in person. Would he be moody? Maybe he'd still be pissed? Maybe Iori rubbed off on him and made him horrible… Terry's mind had been a blur, teetering between letting his worries run away with him, and reassuring himself with affirmations of Rock's character.

He's a good kid… he really is…

In any case, Rock was arriving home today. He had texted the flight number 2 days ago, and Terry - in his haste to see his son - simply could not wait for him to arrive home via taxi. He had borrowed Mary's patrol car (thankfully she was off today) and drove to SouthTown's airport to greet Rock at 'Arrivals'. Now, he was inside the airport and clinging to the railing, watching the stream of passengers and luggage with hawk eyes. His concentration was temporarily broken as a group of Asian tour guides holding signs squeezed beside him.

Urg…

At that moment, the flow of people suddenly grew much heavier, and the people seemed to move more quickly. Terry snapped his attention back to search the crowd for blonde, or red, hair. It really was important that Terry caught sight of Rock. He had opted to surprise his son by picking him up from the airport, and had (of course) forgotten his phone at home. If he didn't catch Rock now, the boy would - depressingly- arrive home to an empty house. That was out of the question.

Oh damn… oh damn… did I miss him?

He peered across the sea of faces and concentrated very hard. He was now regretting his surprise pickup plan, because for whatever reason, the airport was absolutely jammed today. It was borderline impossible to pick out a face when the airport resembled a can of sardines. Terry grimaced and sighed. This was an impossible task - and chances were, Rock had already left the building. Across the lobby was a payphone. Terry turned and began squeezing his bulky frame towards it. Behind him, the sounds of people talking and murmuring filled the room.

(Hey, Howard, look... It's Terry.)

(...naah… wait-... No way! Daaad!? Heeey!)

(What th-! Carry you own shit, Bitch! Dammit!)

There was some commotion on the other side of the lobby; Terry hoped it died down before he got on the phone. He pushed through to the wall mounted payphone, and dug into his pockets for change. He was in the midst of counting when his eardrums were blasted through.

Need fifty cents… okay, got a quarter, two nickels, five di-

"BOOGAAARD!"

What a ridiculous voice. It was like an air horn blasting over everyone's heads. Terry whirled, his fighting instincts shot off and he braced himself. It was a good thing he braced himself, because when he turned, he caught sight of Rock Howard charging him down, about to bowl him into the phone booth. The boy cried out joyfully. Terry received him with equal delight.

"Hey, Dad!"

*Thud*

"Rocky, oh man, how are you buddy!"

Rock's response was a muffled noise against Terry's t-shirt. He caught his father around the neck and was squeezing with everything he had. Terry ruffled his hair and hugged him back. Rock's behavior was quite amusing. When he became an (edgy) teenager, he dialed back on physical shows of affection until they were almost nonexistent. Today, was behaving like 11-year old Rock Howard, and-

Wow, he's light.

"Hey, Rocky… did you lose weight?"

The redhead air horn marched up and responded.

"Yeah, It's because he dumped his luggage on me."

Iori Yagami had finished elbowing his way through the crowd and was now approaching them. He was carrying Rock's Duffel bag and backpack, along with his own luggage, and laboriously dragging a cart full of boxed band equipment. He looked exasperated, but not more pissed off than usual. Although Iori was famous for causing all kinds of chaos and idiocy, at least he had brought Rock home safe - and of sound mind. Terry grinned at him and offered a handshake.

"Hey Iori, thanks for taking care of him. Really appreciate it."

Iori ignored him and instead of returning the handshake, held out Rock's luggage instead. He glared, and didn't even try to look appreciative of Terry's gesture. Typical for him. 'Must be unhappy under all circumstances'. Terry chuckled, rolled his eyes and took the bags from him.

"No need to be that way."

"..."

Rock, who was still clinging to him like some marsupial, twisted his neck to look at his employer. He wore a mischievous grin on his face, as if he were protected now, and could say whatever offensive nonsense he wanted. Terry took one glance at him and suddenly felt himself getting nervous.

"Boss, you're such a loser."

"What!"

"Haha! See you Monday."

Terry was stunned. He didn't know of anyone - besides for Kyo Kusanagi - who talked shit to Iori's face. Rock grinned and grabbed Terry by the sleeve and began tugging them away. Iori might have followed and retaliated, but was saddled with about a metric ton of luggage and band equipment. He resolved to stand there, staring angrily at their retreating backs. He yelled something incomprehensible and shook his fist in the air before veering off and disappearing in the crowd.

Phew…

Terry looked down at his son, his voice exasperated.

"Rock…"

Rock laughed and dispelled his concern.

"Don't worry about it, Dad... C'mon, let's go home."

It's finally finished.

I can put that Complete tag on this fic now.

Wow, thanks for reading everyone :) It's been tons of fun.

A small plug - all of my KOF stories are within the same universe. DaybyDay especially has a lot more Rock Howard Band antics, if you want more of this sort of thing.

Fic ended up turning dark toward the middle/end, but I feel like it finished up on a good note - at least for Rock's story.

Right.

Cyall around.