A/N: Hey folks! These short stories were written for writing events on the Collab Carnival Discord. They're all canon, but not necessary to read to understand NSTMG. This story takes place between season 1 and 2.

It had been a while since Atsuki had visited his parents' house. Since he'd become a Magical Girl - alongside caring for his daughter - he'd been pretty busy.

That being said, he'd missed his parents. And they'd been wanting to spend some time with their granddaughter as well. So he drove over there with Kaede and Nina, food wrapped in cool containers in the boot.

His parents welcomed them with open arms, his dad picking up Nina while she cheered in delight. Kaede and her mother-in-law prepared tea for everyone, while Atsuki made himself at home under the kotatsu.

Nina ran outside, playing with Chia-chan, Atsuki's parents' Affenpischer. Chia-chan was getting old herself, but still had some energy left in her.

Meanwhile, Atsuki's father came into the living room, carrying a box under his arm.

"What's that, Dad?" Atsuki asked.

"Well, since you were coming back today…" his father grinned, sitting opposite to his son, "I went digging through some of your old stuff."

"You're trying to embarrass me in front of Kaede and Nina, aren't you?" Atsuki sighed.

"Something like that," his father laughed, clapping Atsuki's shoulder. "But they already know all about your magical girl business, don't they?"

"Not the same when your dad reveals it all," Atsuki sighed. "Well? What'd you find?"

His father pushed the box to him, eyebrows raised. Atsuki opened up the box, nose crinkling at the dust rising up. It had been a while.

"Oh, man…" he muttered, pulling out a sparkly and pink magic wand. On the tip was a plastic and golden star. The thing had certainly aged quite a bit; the pink was far more dull than Atsuki remembered, and the star's plastic was chipped.

That being said, it still brought back a rush of memories. Suddenly, he was a 5 year old girl again, dressed in his sparkly pink dress and watching his favourite magical girl anime on the TV.

In a way, he got to experience that again through his own daughter, when he showed her the shows he used to love. Of course, that wasn't even mentioning the fact that he himself was a magical girl in the real world.

He wished he could go back in time and tell his young self about the future. Even though his teen years would be a bit rough, he would come out okay at the end. He would tell himself that there was nothing to be afraid of. He would get to live his dream.

"You look like you're about to cry," his dad teased, lightly.

"Honestly, Dad, I feel like I will," Atsuki sighed, his voice getting choked up.

His father smiled, squeezing his son's shoulder. Atsuki blinked, tears falling as he pulled out more memories: his tiny dress, a sparkly tiara… they were all so small now.

"Daddy! Grandpa!"

Nina came running in, Kaede and Chia-chan behind her. Chia-chan went into her dog bed in the corner, watching her humans with big eyes.

"Hi, baby girl," Atsuki greeted, as his daughter sat on his lap.

"What are you looking at?" Kaede asked, sitting beside her husband.

"Ah, just some old memories," Atsuki laughed. "All the magical girl stuff I was into as a kid."

"Before you became a real magical girl, Daddy?" Nina asked.

"That's right," Atsuki told her daughter.

"Hah!" Atsuki's father laughed. "Your daddy takes after his old man, Nina."

"You're a magical girl too, Grandpa?" Nina asked.

"I wish," Atsuki's father chuckled. "If I went around doing magical girl things, I'd do my back in!"

"You look good for your age, Adama," Kaede told him.

"Oh stop it, you flatterer," he waved it off.

Kaede laughed at that. She leaned against Atsuki's shoulder.

Atsuki's mother watched the scene from the doorway, sighing and drinking a cup of tea. She tilted her head, closing her eyes.

"Probably got some old DVDs of that show around somewhere," Adama chuckled. "Why not put it on, for old time's sake?"

"Yeah!!" Nina cheered, leaning into Atsuki's chest. "Let's watch it, Daddy!"

Atsuki smiled warmly, turning to the television. "Sure. It's been so long since I last saw it, but…" they closed their eyes, lost in the moment. "I can still remember it like it was yesterday."

A/N: Thanks for reading!!!