to have and to hold

Hattori already had his suspicions but he was glad to hear it all the same, to know that this was something she well and truly wanted, that she wasn't just going along with it because of a sense of duty or obligation. She had always had a softer edge to her, hidden behind the steel of her strength and resolve, and seeing her as a whole made it clear to Hattori that she would make a fine mother. She would be able to make up for his failings and struggles to show the right amount of tenderness. She would love them in all the ways he could not. Of course, he would never stand in his sire's shadow again, nor would he think of treating his offspring the way he had been but he knew he'd always lead with a firm paw.

Venom had long since accepted him for who he was, her eyes missed nothing. But even then he wasn't quite sure what to say, her words settled in the back of his mind, a reassurance he hadn't realised he'd needed. She was good at that, yet another trait of hers he found admirable. But there was still so much to talk about, these children were to be the culmination of two important legacies and yet he did not wish to pass on his name. Hattori. For the longest time he'd carried the name with pride and a poignant sense of accomplishment but now...It was just a name, one that had lost it's meaning and had shifted into something else, bitter and twisted. Like the branches of a dying but ancient tree. A legacy that Hattori would cut to an end out of spite. He would be the only Hattori wolf in name, the rest would need another title to go by.

"I do not wish our children to have my name. My Father does not deserve the honour." It was a complicated affair but he explained it as simply as he could, all things considered.