[PRIVATE: DGFone & Thewhistlerify]

[DGFone]

Sensing that Kato seemed rather nervous about the prospect of actually telling his parents about Desta, Umeme smiled reassuringly at him. "It's alright. You don't have to tell them right away if you don't feel like it. Muroki and I didn't, and I think that Lina and Delano waited as well. Am I right?" She looked at her sister for an affirmation.

She then decided that perhaps Kato and Desta might be happier off if they left them alone. "Well, I am sure that Muroki and Delano would be glad to see us again, so I think we will run back," Umeme announced, then winked at Lina. "Let's leave the two love-birds alone."

[TheWhistlerify]

While the main reason neither she nor her sister had told their parents about Muroki and Delano respectively was because their parents had been travelling at the time, it was still true that Kato and Desta had every right to wait until they were ready before telling their parents (or anyhody else, for that matter). "That's right." she said with a smile. "There's no rush, so take your time." Realizing that it really would be better to leave the young couple alone (and also hoping that Delano had woken up by that point), she nodded at Umeme. "We'll see you both another time, alright?"

Meanwhile, back inside the den, Muroki slowly opened his eyes. From the looks of it Umeme and Lina have not returned yet and Delano was still asleep. His parents in law were inside the den, of course, still keeping an eye on him and his brother. Slowly getting up, Muroki made his way towards the two of them. "Um... Excuse me, sir?" he asked a little hesitantly, looking at Umeme's father. "If I'm not interrupting and if you don't mind, could I have a word with you?"

[DGFone]

Smiling once more at Desta and Kato, Umeme and Lina turned back and ran back home, both eager to get back to their own mates respectively. Umeme wondered if Muroki would be awake or not, but was hoping that he was, for she was quite looking towards talking with him.

---

Umeme's and Lina's father turned to Muroki, feeling somewhat foolish at being addressed as 'sir'. "No, you can go ahead and ask," he said calmly, "you're not interrupting anything. But please, it feels strange to be called 'sir'." Muroki grinned back, and he felt glad that the younger lion felt comfortable enough to do so. After all, they were family now! "So what was it that you wanted to ask?"

Spoiler: show

I can't remember Lina's and Umeme's father's name, and I can't find it either. XD

[TheWhistlerify]

Spoiler: show

It's Moto.

Muroki couldn't help but feel a little silly about still calling his father in law 'sir' by instinct. It looked like he was going to have to get used to that. "Right, er..." Noticing he was still a little reluctant, his mother in law decided to let the two talk on their own. "You know how much I respect and love your daughter..." he began eventually. "She means the whole world to me and I can't even begin to imagine my life without her..."

Despite being very excited about the idea of starting a family with Umeme, the lion also had his worries. "I'm not going to lie," he continued, "I have no idea what's going to happen or... or what I'm supposed to do..." After all it's not like he had any experience with that sort of thing. "But I want to let you know that I'll try to realize as fast as I can and that I'll be there by Umeme's side the whole time... And, um, it would mean the world to me if you gave me your blessing..."

[DGFone]

Moto took a few moments to realize what Muroki was saying. Normally, asking for a parent's blessing was for asking permission to marry, but since Muroki and Umeme were already married... and then he realized what Muroki was so nervous about. He came to the conclusion almost instantly. Smiling at his son in law, he wrapped him in a paw and took him into a quick hug. "You don't have to worry about anything, you can always ask us for help," he said calmly, "I see no reason why you need to wait longer if both of you are ready, and since I know just how much Umeme loves you, I am proud to give you my blessing."

He placed a paw on Muroki's shoulder, the one that wasn't hurt. "It will be a tough job, and many times you will hate it," he said seriously, "but you will love it all the same. It's very rewarding, I can tell you from experience." He then grinned again. "Did you tell Umeme yet?"

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki did not expect his father in law to hug him like that, but Moto's reaction made him calm down nonetheless. It felt great to know that he could ask them for help in addition to his aunt and uncle, that he and Umeme didn't have to go through that alone. "Thank you so much, si-" he paused, clearing his throat. "Er... Thank you." The reason he and Umeme were still waiting was obviously because they needed to wait until his shoulder got well, although he still wished they didn't have to.

He continued to listen to Moto. Despite having already imagined that being a parent could be difficult, he was still looking forward to it. "Um..." he stuttered a little as his father in law grinned at him like that, not sure of what to make of his question. "Tell her what?"

[DGFone]

Moto's grin grew. "That you're planning it? That you want to start a family with her?" With them gone for the past days at the royal den recovering, as well as all that went on before that, it had been a while since he had last seen his daughters. Before that, Umeme did mention a few things that could have been interpreted as what Muroki was now asking, but Moto wasn't sure about what she meant. He didn't know just how much Muroki and Umeme were planning everything out before Muroki just asked him now.

But if Muroki was already asking, then perhaps the two of them had already discussed this in detail. Moto didn't know how much, and that's why he asked Muroki if Umeme was aware.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki felt his cheeks turn completely red, and the way Moto kept grinning at him like that didn't make him feel any less embarrassed. "Uh, yes. Of course I have." he said. "That's why we looked for a den of our own and all of that..." He paused for a moment, still a little nervous. "Um... She said she's also ready, actually... I'm very happy that she is... We're kind of waiting for my shoulder to fully heal now..."

[DGFone]

Moto took Muroki into a hug again at the news. "That is great to hear, Muroki," he whispered into the lion's ear, "as I said, it's going to be a very hard path to follow, but it's a very rewarding one." He broke the embrace to look at Muroki, smiling proudly at his brother in law, "your mother would have been so happy to see you here now," he added, hoping that it wouldn't hurt Muroki's feelings, "to see her son all grown up."

At the entrance of the den, Lina and Umeme came in, breathing heavily from their run. Moto smiled once more at Muroki before letting him go. "Go on now, I am sure she misses you. You have my blessing. Remember: come to us if you ever need any help. All you need to do is ask." He wanted to talk to Umeme about this as well, but he would do that later. As Muroki said: they will wait for him to heal up. They still had time.

[TheWhistlerify]

Muroki couldn't help but smile as his father in law embraced him again. It felt absolutely wonderful to know that he had his blessing and support. The comment about his mother surprisingly made him smile even more (although once again with embarrassment), and while his parents may not have been there to see him it still made him happy to know that this was what they would have wanted. Things were definitely going to be great from that point and onwards, this time he was sure of it.

The smile on the lion's face grew even wider when he saw Umeme arrive back at the den because of just how overjoyed he was to see her again, especially while thinking about the future that awaited them. Giving Moto a silent nod to express his thanks, he slowly made his way over to his mate. "Hey..." he said quietly, nuzzling her briefly upon arriving next to her. "Did you have a good time?" Much to his delight, it looked like both she and Lina had enjoyed doing something else for a change.