I sent this late, but I tried!

    Today was a pretty normal day for being quite uneventful. Lying on the stairs leading to the highest floor was Pale, resting against the steps as he tossed a decent glob of ink in the air and let it come back down to him. Up and down and back up again to fill what time needed to be occupied. Sat at the dining-room table with his one eye close and a tongue out was Template, who was in much the same leisure as Pale while he was making a fresh new pair of dice for who would be in his new story. All in all, the whole place was peaceful.

     What made this day a bit more unusual was a knock on the door. Both Template and Pale visibly perked up at the knock, glancing at the door once more as another series of thumps in a much more musical beat came from behind the front door once again.

     "Guests?" Pale asked, balling up the ink and letting it unsummon as he got up from the stairs

     "I don't think I invited anyone here recently, or at all," Template replied as he set down his name-filled dices. "Could you answer the door, just to see who would possibly be here right now?" Pale glanced over at Template before going over to the door and letting it open. Almost in an instant after the door swung wide opening did an entity rush inside the home. A sudden blur of light pink and blue come out and wrapped their arms around the soulless being who allowed the being inside, who didn't flinch or react other than his arms wrapping around them in return after in a three-second delay.

     "Hey Pale! It's been a while!" They spoke with a rather expressive tone in her voice that Template seemed to recognize almost immediately after it echoed through the air. There was no doubt in his mind who it belongs to even after all of this time being apart, almost like it has never changed. A smile spread across his face as he quickly got up from his chair and went over to the front door to reassure any hypothetical doubt he had.

     "Gauge?!" Template called out to, the mentioned looking up at her second father and beaming up at him. Gauge freed an arm out for him, welcoming him to the hug. Template accepted the greeting, wrapping his arms around the two.

     As Template collided into the embrace, Pale glanced over at his husband and daughter. He was looking up at them both. This was normal with Template as he had always been a half a head taller, but with Gauge...

     "You've..." Pale started with, his hand doing a shaking motion over his skull and up to her height. Gauge giggled sweetly and let Template pull away from the group, letting the hug disband.

     "Yeah, I know. I'm surprised you've been the one who brought it up." Template looked down at Gauge, finally noticing how Gauge had changed a bit when they last talked. Template pulled her into yet another hug.

     "Aww, my little girl is growing up! It felt like only yesterday did you somehow exist into our lives and was brought into these walls we call home. Oh how it's a beautiful time to recall, isn't it?" Template turned to Pale who had, rather surprisingly, nodded in agreement. Template grinned and placed his hands on her shoulders, pulling away to look at her. "Do you want any coffee? Or maybe even some candy?" Gauge only visible eye lit up at the offer.

     “Yes!” Template giggled and let go of her, leading Gauge into the kitchen of her childhood. He went over to a cupboard and pulled a bowl of random candy. Like a predator with its prey, she waited until the bowl was set against the counter. And once Template’s hand retracted from the transparent container did her hand quickly snatched five sugary sweets from inside and popped whatever didn’t have a wrapper in her mouth. Template chuckled, still seeing the daughter he always had no matter how old she was, taking a small piece of candy for himself.

     “Pale! Could you start the coffee?” Pale glanced over at him, looking towards the coffee bag soon afterward and took it. As Pale prepped the machine and stare at the pot as it filled with the caffeinated bitter liquid, Template and Gauge caught up.

      “So how is the house? It has been so long since I have visited and I thought it would be a pleasant surprise to come here when I had enough energy and time on my hands.” Template crossed his arms in a relaxed and easygoing manner.

     “Gauge, you know I would love seeing you whether or not you are energetic or not.” Gauge smiled a little, with a hint awkwardness, but it was still a smile. “But to answer your question, the house is doing great even without your presence to make it brighter. We renovated your room into a guest room, though no guests ever had the fortune of ever sleeping there.” Gauge unwrapped a piece of monster candy with a tug on each side, unveiling the black sweet and popped it in her mouth. 

     “I’m surprised you aren’t planning for more kids with me out of the house, you two make great parents when you’re together,” Gauge commented, her voice slightly muffled with the licorice-tasting candy. Template blushed quite a bit at the thought.

     “No, no. Well, maybe someday later, but… you know...” Gauge giggled softly at her father’s reaction, seeing him shift from one leg to the other and smile. “Anyway, how is adulthood treating you? Did you come here because you need to sleep in your parents’ basement?”

     “You installed a basement? How is that even possible with an anti-void floor?” Template blinked. Gauge blinked back at him.

     “But seriously, we haven’t seen you in a while. It would be nice to know what are you doing nowadays.” Gauge looked away nervously while taking another piece of candy, a bright blue pixie stick, and put it in her mouth.

     “Well, I explore some universe from time to time. I don’t travel often considering I’m not really very powerful with magic, but I know from you that every universe has something special within it if you look long and hard enough. And, uh, I like sketched out some pictures… mostly some clothing here and there… I am sure you would enjoy how my art has improved since then.” Before anything more could happen between Template and Gauge could progress, Pale came over to them with a white mug in his hand and steam arising from within. “Thank you, dad,” Guage spoke as she reached her arms out and carefully took the beverage from him, feeling something foreign and pokey it the brief moment her hand brushed against his. She drank her coffee, diluted with cream and sugar, her mind questioning what was off about Pale’s hand before she lowered the coffee and looked down and noticing a small glimmer. Her eye lit up.

     “You two are engaged?” she questioned, looking at her parents and cocking her head to the side. “You two have been together for so long I didn’t think it would be on either of your minds.” Template’s face glowed with subtlety as he glanced over at Pale.

     “Well actually…”

     “We’re married,” Pale corrected Gauge’s thinking, his gaze never leaving her face as her expression lit up even more.

     “Oh! Congratulations! Though I’m a little disappointed I couldn’t see your ceremony, I’m sure it was magnificent!”

     “Oh, it was nothing too outlandish, we just eloped and had a day to ourselves.” Gauge seemed quite surprised.

     “Wow, really? I imagined you two would have a wedding when I was younger.”

     “I thought about it, but… Pale only had a limited amount of time of actually feeling happy from the time we were engaged and the time Pale’s feeling fizzed out. And I felt like what we did made it special to us and-”

     “Nobody to invite,” Pale muttered out, his hand reaching over to the ring and fiddling with it. “Other reasons too, but mainly that.” Template blushed heavily and looked at Pale with humiliation and annoyance.

     “Pale! Don’t embarrass like that in front of our daughter like that! We’re still supposed to be role models!” Pale just looked at him with no cares in the world, making Gauge giggled sweetly before taking another drink of her coffee.

     “I feel like I missed so much, and I wish I could catch up on more things that happened while I was gone, but I have to get going soon, I miss you two so much,” Gauge told them, going over to Pale and hugging him sweetly. “I hope to visit again soon.” Pale gazed up at her and went up to press a peck against her forehead.

      “We love you, Gauge.” She looked up at Template and smiled, pulling away from the hug and drinking the rest of the coffee in her hand.

     “I love you as well.” She went over the front door and opened it, waving to her parents. “Goodbye!”

     And just like that, she was gone as soon as she came in. A former member of the nest flying away as soon as they swooped in. Template smiled at the door before looking down at Pale, wrapping an arm around him. Pale glanced up at him.

     “Hey, Pale.” If he didn’t get Pale’s attention before, he definitely has now. Template avoided his direct gaze as he grinned awkwardly. “Do you think we should... well, maybe we could… go into bed more often try t-”

     “No.”