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Chapter Text

"I told you!" Sei yelled out as he ripped his wrist from Mizuki's tight grip, cradling it in his other hand. There was a dull pain from where Mizuki held him. Sei took a few steps back from where he stood in front of Mizuki. Mizuki could sense something was wrong.  

Shit, I think I was gripping him too hard , he might be hurt...

Mizuki thought as he tried to reach Sei again, trying to check if he was hurt or not. Sei instantly moved back more as he saw Mizuki get closer to him again, eye wide in fear like a deer caught in the headlights. 

Mizuki retracted his hand back to his side, his hands forming fists as he bit the inside of his cheek. His chest started to feel tight as he looked up at Sei, who was holding both his hands close to his chest, refusing to meet with Mizuki's eyes. 

Shit...

Mizuki reached out again, he opened his mouth but his apology was stuck in his throat. Before he could try speaking, Sei cut in.

"I-I can't love you..." Sei uttered, dropping his hands as they formed tight fists. The words were like daggers to Mizuki's ears. He knew Sei felt that way, thanks to the numerous rejections Mizuki received and the pain had become tolerable over the years. But to hear it out loud and from Sei's mouth was a hundred times worse. And to top it off, Sei looked like he was about to cry. The way his voice cracked when he spoke was heartbreaking. Mizuki always hated when Sei cried, he always felt compelled to soothe his pain. 

"S-sei..." Mizuki started but Sei cut him off again. 

"N-no...if-if you knew." Sei started with a shaky voice, he eyed the pavement for a moment before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He looked like he was trying to hold back tears. "If you knew, you wold hate me. Probably ignore me, l-like everyone else...does..."

Mizuki couldn't believe what he was hearing, what could Sei be talking about? Mizuki knew people weren't fans of Sei and sometimes talked about him behind his back but Mizuki was never one of those people. He always told those people off, and since he looked like a delinquent it usually worked. But for Sei to tell him that 'if he knew something' it would make him likes those scumbag back talkers, was ridiculous. Plus he knew everything about Sei, they had been friends every since they were seven. What else was there to know? 

"W-what're you talking about? I would n-never do that" Mizuki said in a quiet voice. "I know everything about you. And even if I did know about whatever it is, I doubt I would ever hate you...I-I love you..." Mizuki whispered the last part. It probably wasn't the right thing to say but it just slipped out. Not like it mattered anyway, it wasn't something Sei didn't already know. Mizuki oddly hoped that hearing that would make Sei stay and talk to him a bit more, maybe even help Mizuki understand what he was talking about, but it was no use. 

Sei closed his eyes again, shaking his head before finally looking at Mizuki. "J-just leave me alone..." Sei whispered, turning his head down. "You can still hangout with Aoba and just pretend I'm not here..." Sei finished with a small sniffle. He brought his arm up to wipe his eyes before fixing himself up a bit; brushing his hair from his face and wiping his eyes completely 

Mizuki furrowed his eyebrows, a frown appearing on his face because 'No!' he wasn't going to ignore Sei just because he was told to. Never. He took a step forward, to get closer to Sei but the other male stepped back muttered "I...I gotta go..." before turning his back to Mizuki and walking into his house. 

Mizuki stood outside the Seragaki house, frozen in place and baffled at what had just happened. He voice caught in his throat as he heard the front door click shut and muffled voices from inside the house, he eyes unfocused as he stared into space. Mizuki didn't know what to do with himself at that point, the image of Sei's face full of hurt and pain was burned into his mind. 

Twelve Years Ago

"Okay class! We have new students joining us!" The teacher said happily as she escorted the two boys to the front of the room. Mizuki was coloring when Koujaku nudged his arm, he clicked his tongue as he felt his concentration break. Koujaku nudged Mizuki's arm again, almost making him color outside the lines.

Mizuki looked up at Koujaku with a frown before noticing that there were two new kids in the front of the class. Before Mizuki could ask anything about them the class all shouted a warm welcome and the two new kids gave them all shy smiles before the teacher turned to say something to them. 

"New kids, that's pretty cool right?" Koujaku asked as he resumed coloring in his bird drawing. Mizuki just shrugged, it's not like he cared too much, they were just new kids. He finished coloring with the red colored pencil, looking rather fondly at his picture of a big car. He set the red down and reached over to get another color when his hand touched something that definitely not a colored pencil. 

Mizuki looked up to see one of the new kids staring back at him, retracting their hand slowly. Mizuki's eyes widened as he also moved his hand away.

"Sorry." Mizuki muttered. 

The other kid just shook their head, Mizuki gave them a small smile but he was kind of a little lost, he wasn't paying attention so he wasn't sure what the new kid's name was. He couldn't even tell if the kid was a girl or a boy, they had such a pretty face nonetheless. 

"I'm Mizuki" He said in a shy voice as he pushed the black colored pencil towards the other kid. With a small and hesitant nod the other kid reached over for the pencil.

"I-I'm Sei..." Sei muttered, not looking up at Mizuki for a moment, but when he did, Mizuki gave him a small smile and Sei quickly looked away. Mizuki let out a small laugh before taking the grey colored pencil from the pile and colored the wheels of the big car. He couldn't help but look over at Sei, who seemed to be drawing people. Two were really tall and Sei was in the middle of drawing a shorter person. 

"Are those your parents?" Mizuki asked curiously, continuing to color his wheels. Sei looked up in surprise, like it was weird for Mizuki to be talking to him, but he quickly nodded. Mizuki nodded back before going back to just watching Sei draw. He watched as Sei picked up pinks and browns, as well as two shades of blue. 

When he started to color in the blue hair for the shorter stick figures, Mizuki realized that it was Sei and his twin...brother? Mizuki couldn't help but admire the color of the hair.

"I like your...sister? Brothers? Hair..." Mizuki found himself saying. Sei looked up again, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.

"Aoba is a boy. And I'm a boy too." Sei sharply, defending himself. Mizuki muttered a quick sorry before deciding not the speak to Sei again for the rest of the day. More like, he was too intimidated to. 

 After school, Koujaku and Mizuki were walking home together since their parents weren't able to get them that day. They strolled down the busy sidewalks, weaving past people and saying hello to the old grannies that they passed by everyday with their parents in the morning.  

"Those new kids are kinda cool, right?" Mizuki asked suddenly as he shifted the strap of his backpack. Koujaku blinked at him but nodded, preoccupied with looking at the small child and their dog across the street at the moment. 

"I wanna see if they will play hide and seek with us on the playground tomorrow" Mizuki suggested. Koujaku nodded in agreement. 

"Sure, we can ask tomorrow" Koujaku said with a smile.

Once they crossed the street, Mizuki said his goodbye to Koujaku and turned the corner to the street where his small house was. He suddenly found himself almost running home, he just got the sudden urge to start bursting to his mother about the new kid at school. He couldn't help but break into a smile as he climbed up the little steps in front of his house. He wasn't sure what came over him but he liked the feeling of becoming friends with the two twins. 

"Mom! Mom! Are you home yet?" Mizuki yelled out as he opened the door, slipping his shoes haphazardly before running into the kitchen. He found his mother by the sink, she had a few things laid out.

"Hey mom!" Mizuki smiled cheerfully as he hopped up onto one of the chairs at the kitchen table, turning around so it was facing his mother who was washing vegetables. "Did you just get home?" 

His mother nodded, as she turned her head to look at him. "I had to stop by the store after work. Sorry i couldn't pick you up." 

Mizuki shook his head, "I was able to walk home with Koujaku today. His mom couldn't get him either." 

Mizuki's mother smiled, " That's good. So how was school, Mizuki?" she asked as she shook the lettuce in her hand to get rid of some excess water before putting them in a bowl. Mizuki bounced in his seat. 

"We got some new students today in class!" Mizuki started, "One is named Sei and the other one is Aoba. They both have cool blue hair, but Sei's is darker than Aoba. I first thought they were girls because when I didn't hear them come into class till Koujaku nudged me. I was too busy coloring. Oh! I have to show you my cool car drawing mom. I wanna put it on the fridge." 

"Wow, you must've had a great day" his mother said with a small chuckle. Mizuki nodded enthusiastically. "Did you make friends with them?" Mizuki's mom asked and the young boy shook his head. 

"N-no, not yet..." Mizuki's hands, that were gripping the back of chair, loosened as he thrummed his fingers against the frame of it. "I talked to Sei once today, we shared colored pencils as we both drew pictures and I was Aoba's partner when it was puzzle time. But we didn't get to play together too much because we had to do math." A small frown appeared on his face, hanging his head low. 

His mother gave her son a sympathetic smile. "Don't worry, Mizu. You'll be able to play with them tomorrow right? You guys get to go to the playground." She patted her son on the head as she walked past him to sit on the table with the bowl of lettuce and a cutting board tucked under her arm. 

Mizuki instantly perked up, nodding at his mom. "You're right, mom. Even Koujaku agreed to ask them to play hide and seek with us!" 

"See? Now go do your homework while I get dinner ready. Okay?" 

"Okay!" Mizuki agreed happily as he hopped off the chair and moved into the living room with his backpack. He settled onto the couch, opening his backpack to take out his drawing and the homework he had been assigned. He jumped off the couch with the drawing in hand. 

"See mom, my cool car!" Mizuki announced, holding it up to show his mother who smiled at it.

"Go put in on the fridge."

Mizuki nodded, feeling pride about his drawing. He stepped back to stare at in once it was on the fridge. A smile appeared on his face, planting his hands on his hips and standing proudly. He nodded at the image before turning around and going to start his homework, with thoughts of a new friend at the back of his mind. 

Chapter Text

Mizuki ran to class the next day, his mother trailing behind him. Yelling at him to stop down or watch out for other people. But he could only half pay attention, he wanted to get there early so that he would be able to speak to Aoba and Sei. He wanted to make sure that they would play with Koujaku and him first. Mizuki had been so excited the night before it took him a while to fall asleep.  He was just full of anticipation over new friends. Once they had reached the white gate around his school, he turned around to see his mom who was walking toward him. 

"Mizuki!" She took deep breaths as she was getting her breath back. "Don;t do that again! I could've lost you." Her eyebrows knitting together as she frowned at her son. 

Mizuki pouted a bit, hanging his head a little low. "S-sorry, mom. I'm just excited." He lifted his head up to show mother the big smile on his face. 

His mother couldn't help but not be mad at him, her son never showed so much excitement over friends before. She let out a sigh that ended with a smile as she caressed her son's cheek. 

"I get it. New friends are super exciting huh?" 

Mizuki nodded , his mother worried his head would fall off. She laughed as she brought her lips to his forehead and planting a small kiss there before patting his head. "Alright, get into school. I'll pick you up later okay?" 

Mizuki smiled up at his mother again before running into the school. He made his way into the classroom first. He found Koujaku inside putting his things into his cubby. 

"Koujaku!" Mizuki called in a cherry voice, the other boy turned around with a smile. He shoved the rest of the things into the cubby before giving Mizuki a high-five. 

"Hey! Do you still wanna play with the twins?" Koujaku asked as he waited for Mizuki to put his things away. Mizuki nodded with another bug smile, he seemed to be full of those lately. They ran off to the playground and found the twins still on the swings by themselves, just talking. Mizuki ran up to them with a game in mind. 

"Sei! Aoba!" Mizuki called out. The twins lifted their heads at the same time. Mizuki couldn't help but chuckled to himself at how cute that was. The twins gave small smiles up at the other boys. 

"Hi!" Aoba said with enthusiasm, getting of the swings to stand next to them. "You guys wanna play a game with us?"

Mizuki nodded with a smile. "I was gunna ask if you wanted to play hide-and-seek."

Aoba nodded in agreement, looking at Sei for approval. "You wanna play? I know that's your favorite game, big si-brother."

Sei blinked at him before breaking out into a smile and nodded as well. "O-okay."

Mizuki could feel something burst in his chest, it felt good. He wanted to feel that feeling again but before he knew it, it was gone and he had no idea how to get it back. Mizuki brushed that thought away as the all moved over to the benches when a few of the other kids wanted the swings. 

"I'll be it!" Koujaku yelled out with a smile on his face. "I'm pretty good at seeking." 

They all nodded and dispersed to different places. Aoba made a beeline to the trees knowing that he was small enough to hide behind them. He ran as fast as he could and pushed himself into the tree face first. Hoping if he didn't see them, they wouldn't see him. Mizuki ran over to the slide, he always liked to hide under the slide's platform, it was like a little cave to him.

Sei was a little lost, he only played hide-and-seek at home. He always hid in the linen closet where Granny would always find him, but he never played it in a playground. Sei could hear Koujaku's loud countdown from twenty, and he was getting closer to zero. Sei panicked a bit as he ran to where he saw Aoba run to, with quick thinking Sei hide behind a bush. He snuggled up next to the bush, hoping that he wouldn't stains on his new t-shirt. It had a skull on it, Sei seemed to find cool and cute at the same time, it soon became his favorite. 

Soon they all heard Koujaku yell out 'Ready or not here I come!' All the boys held their breath as they shifted in their hiding spots. The first one he found was Mizuki, Koujaku knew well where they boy liked to hide. 

"Aw man! You always find me!: Mizuki complained as he took Koujaku's offered hand to help him up. 

"That's because you make it too easy!" Koujaku said with a shit-eating grin. Mizuki just shook his head as he wiped some dirt off his shorts. "Now let's go find the twins" 

Koujaku looked around the jungle gym, just in case Aoba was near Mizuki's hiding spot. When he wasn't there Koujaku went over to the bench seat, checking to see if Aoba was hiding there.

Mizuki was looking on the other side of the bench, the boys looked up to see each other and let out a laugh. "Not here." Mizuki muttered. The boys looked around for the twins but they didn't seem to be on the playground area. Mizuki looked around and he eyes landed on the trees, they looked big enough to hide someone.

"Let's check over there!" Mizuki shouted as he pointed to the trees, Koujaku nodded and they ran over. They circled them before moving on to the next one. Aoba could hear them getting closer, he tried to shove himself into the tree, but it was too late. He heard a loud "Found you!" Making his clenched chest that was filled with anticipation, burst. Aoba let out a excited yell as he turned around, a big smile plastered on his face. 

"Aw boo!" Aoba fixed his shirt as he peeled himself away from the tree. "I thought I was invisible." 

Mizuki and Koujaku laughed. "You're hair is too bright to hide against a tree" Koujaku explained. Aoba looked up at the tree, then back to his hair and nodded. 

"I guess you're right..." 

The three boys were set on finding Sei now. They knew that he wouldn't have been on the playground but they checked again just in case. 

Meanwhile, Sei was sitting behind the bushes, they seemed to be taking a long time to find him. Sei was starting to get worried, maybe they forgot about him, but Aoba would never forget them. Sei let out a sigh before concluding that he was good at hiding and that made him smile. He sat there with his legs pulled up to his chest so he could wrap his arms around them and rest his head on his knees. Sei started to feel a bit sleepy. He wasn't able to sleep easy last night since being in a school was new to him and it took out a lot of energy from him. 

Sei could feel his eyes getting droopy but before he could fall asleep a loud rustling noise met his ears. He perked up thinking that the others had found him but he was suddenly hit with a heavy weight. He closed his eyes as he felt himself moving around with someone else. One they stopped moving Sei tried to get up but felt twinges of pain in a few areas. Sei let out a groan as he slowly opened his eyes. He felt someone breathing under him, he saw one of the kids in the other class was lying under him. They were looking at Sei with wide eyes. 

Before Sei could open his mouth to apologize the boy pushed him off, Sei landing on the ground with a thud. He heard the boy yell as he ran off "Ew! Cooties! I'm gunna have cooties 'cause I touched a girl!!" Sei's eyes widened as he watched the boy go and yell that to his friends who started to yell the same thing in return.

A girl he said.

The boy called him a girl, but Sei knew deep in his soul that he wasn't a girl, he didn't look like a girl right? He did everything he could to not look like a girl, did those efforts not pay off? Sei felt an uncomfortable feeling in his chest. He could feel his eyes burn as warm tears threatened to spill out of his eyes. 

Sei sniffled as he pulled himself up from the ground. He sat up as he tried to keep the tears from coming out but it was useless. A few spilled over, wetting Sei's face, he wiped them as fast as they were coming out with his dirt covered hands. Sei needed to get to Aoba, needed comfort and safety that came with the younger brother. He tried to get up but when he moved his leg he felt pain shoot up, and more tears spilled. Sei looked down with blurry vision but he saw splotches of red on his knee ad a big down his leg. The pain rushed through him and Sei couldn't help but cry out. 

"Aaahhh! A-A-Aoba!" Sei yelled out, wiping the tears from his eyes again, as he looked around frantically for his brother. Within seconds Sei saw a blur of blue running toward him with a worried and frightened expression. Sei extended his arms out and wrapped them around Aoba once he was in range. 

The younger twin let out a gasp, he could feel Sei's arms wrapping around him like a boa constrictor. Squeezing him like he was holding on for dear life. "S-sei, what happened?" Aoba asked with a whisper. 

Sei buried his face into Aoba's chest, sniffing a few times before lifting his head up to look at Aoba. "T-the boy, ran into the b-b-bush..." Sei started, bringing to hands up again to wipe the tears and snot from his face. "A-and he landed on m-me, I think w-we fell and r-rolled in the dirt." 

Aoba nodded, listening as he helped his brother by wiping tears from his face. "What else happened?" 

"T-then when he saw me he pushed me off him a-and said I was a g-g-girl!" Sei cried out, new tears spilling down faster than before. Aoba sucked in a surprised gasp. "A-and he said I h-have cooties!" 

Aoba's eyebrows furrowed together, he was mad. Even more mad than when his dad ate the last of Granny's donuts. Aoba slowly let go of Sei when Koujaku and Mizuki had made it over, when Mizuki got a look at Sei he felt his chest hurt. Sei crying and covered in small patches of blood was the last thing he wanted to see. He knelt down next to Sei, patting the boy's back. 

"A-are you okay?" Mizuki asked in a small voice, Sei shook his head as he curled up, holding his hands around himself. Mizuki furrowed his eyebrows, shifting closer to Sei. He watched to see if Sei would move but he didnt. Mizuki opened his arms up and but and watched Sei scoot over. He came to hug Sei's small body as Aoba relayed the information to Koujaku and him. 

"Which boy was it?" Koujaku asked, a frown on his face as he scanned the playground. Sei lifted his head from Mizuki's chest and pointed to the boy in the brown shirt. 

"Ah! I know him. Rin." Koujaku muttered. Mizuki looked over to see that Rin was playing around with the other boys. Swinging sticks like swords as each other. Mizuki frowned as well, that boy was always loud and obnoxious.

"Let's get him." Mizuki and Koujaku said in unison. Sei and Aoba looked at them with worried expressions. 

"Won't you get in trouble?" Aoba said with a slight frown. Koujaku just shrugged and Mizuki just kept quiet as he pulled away from Sei to get up to stand next to Koujaku. 

"No one messes with our friends." Mizuki muttered, both hands balled into fists. He started to walk towards Rin's direction, Koujaku following right behind him. The twins watched as their friends marched over to Rin, soon they heard high pitched screams. 

Before they knew it they all were sitting in the classroom. An angry teacher sitting in front of them as they all waited for their parents. Sei had a large bandage covered his knee with a few tissues in his lap from when he was still crying. He was holding Aoba's hand, who had been glaring daggers into Rin's head for a while. Sei's hand was the only thing keeping Aoba from lunging at the boy and give him a few more bruises. 

Koujaku and Mizuki had a small bandage around their fists. A few bruises littered their arms, legs and face. But they had satisfied smiles regardless. Rin was sitting farthest away from them, with a bruised cheek and a scraped knee. He held an ice pack to his face so the swelling could go down.

"Now, do you want to explain to me what happened here?" The teacher asked, crossing her arms across her chest as she stood in front of the boys after school. None of them spoke for a moment, all looking innocent. The teacher started tapping her foot, getting impatient with the young boys.

Mizuki finally cracked, wanting to explain that there was a good reason for the fighting. "Rin called Sei a girl!" He yelled as loud as he could, almost scaring everyone in the room.

Aoba joined right after. "Yeah! He said big brother was a girl with booties"

"It's cooties, dumdum!" Rin shouted back. All the boys, except Sei, were yelling back and forth. Calling each other names and making a ruckus. 

"HEY!" Their teacher yelled, the boys shut up in a snap, sitting in their seats and avoiding her eyes. She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, she took a few deep breaths before continuing.

She gave them a scolding, telling them that fighting was never the answer. Letting them know that they wouldn't be able to play outside with the other kids for a week. They would have to stay inside to and work on extra papers. They all groaned but Mizuki and Koujaku thought it was worth it. 

"So what happened?" Aoba's mother asked when she arrived. Patting her son's shoulder as he clung to his father. The teacher started to explain the situation to them. Their parents looked extremely worried when they found out that Sei was called a girl. 

Mizuki watched them and wondered why it was such a concern. But he also noticed that their parents didn't look like Aoba or Sei. They had pink and red hair, Mizuki was a little puzzled but his forgot about it when he heard his name. 

"M-mizuki helped me...and K-koujaku" Sei muttered, looking at Mizuki with a small smile. The teacher nodded, relaying the rest of the story and laying out the consequence. 

Rin's mother apologized to Aoba and Sei's parents, telling her son to tell Sei sorry over and over again. But still upset that her son had been harmed. Koujaku's mother grips his shoulder with a forced smile on her face. Koujaku flinched, feeling the tight grip and the pain that came with it. Apologizing for her son;s rude behavior and saying she raised him better than that. Koujaku's face twisted in more pain when his mother's grip got even more painful. 

Mizuki's mother came a little late but looked furious when she heard Mizuki punched a kid. When she heard the story, she didn't seem as mad as before but still had Mizuki apologize. Koujaku and Mizuki went home together. Their mothers walking in front of them talking about the situation that happened. the two boys hung their head low as they walked, knowing they were in trouble. 

Koujaku waved to Mizuki as her turned the other corner to go home, Mizuki waved back. Catching up with his mother who extended a hand for him to hold. There was silence as they walked the rest of the way home, once they entered the house Mizuki was still quiet. He was about to head to his room when his mother stopped him. 

"Mizuki, we need to talk." 

Mizuki froze in his place for a moment, getting a bad feeling his is gut. He let out a small sigh before turning around and sitting in his chair at the dinner table. His eyes avoiding his mother's at all costs. Mizuki's mother leaned her head so she could look at his face, but he still refused. 

"Mizuki..." She muttered, reaching out to pat her son's head. "I'm not mad. Well, not anymore. I heard what you did today. And even though that is not how I taught you to deal with things, you helped someone out." She smiled at him. 

Mizuki finally looked up at his mother, a small smile on his face. "I-I didn't like seeing Sei cry. I wanted to help him, so he could stop crying." 

His mother nodded with understanding. "I know, Mizu. But next time tell the teacher or confront the boy but don't go hurting him. Unless they hit you first." She winked and Mizuki's smiled wider, laughing a little bit. 

"O-okay mom." Mizuki felt a little better, at least his mother wasn't punishing him. She leaned over and kissed his forehead. 

"You're a tough cookie, you aren't in pain?" His mom asked, taking his small hands into her own. Mizuki shook his head, watching his mother press small kisses on his knuckles.  

"Alright, Mizu go do your homework. And don't go fighting people now, okay?" She let go of his hands, giving them a little pat. 

Mizuki nodded to his mother before running off to his room, with a small smile on his face.

The week that they weren't able to go outside Mizuki grew pretty close to the twins. Sei would always color with Mizuki once they finished their extra school work. And Aoba always wanted to playing robot battle with him. Sometimes they would work on an art project together, making different animals. Mizuki had also learned a lot about Sei. Sei had lots of stuffed animals at home in his room that he shared with Aoba. His favorite color was dark blue and pink because his mom's hair is pink. And he also found out that Sei's favorite animal was a bear. 

Mizuki had been set on drawing a cute bear for Sei one day, he covered it up with his hands when Sei tried to look over. He smiled up at the other boy, telling him it was a secret and he would find out later. Sei just nodded and continued to color his own drawing of a small puppy. 

At the end of the day Sei's mom came to pick them up. Mizuki ran over to Sei so he could give him the drawing before he left. 

"Sei! Sei! I have something for you." Mizuki shouted out, getting the small boy's attention and waving the drawing in his hand. Sei turned around, letting go of his mother's hand to grab hold of the paper. His eyes lit up when he saw the picture of the bear. It had a cute little skull on it's belly like the one of Sei's favorite shirt. Sei smiled up at Mizuki, one of the biggest smiles Mizuki had ever seen on Sei's pale face. 

"T-thank you Mizuki." Sei muttered, looking back down at the bear picture. "I...I like it a lot." 

Mizuki felt that feeling again, the one he felt when he first played with Sei. Looking at Sei's smiling face made it come back, and the more he stared the most the feeling stayed. Mizuki figured it out, he couldn't describe the feeling but it made him feel pleased and at peace. He nodded at Sei, feeling a little awkward. 

He felt someone lean over them, Mizuki look up to see Sei's mother look at the drawing and smiling. Her eyes landed on Mizuki, a soft smile on her face. "Did you draw this?" 

Mizuki nodded, a little shy. Sei's mother chuckled with a wider smile. "You're a talented drawer." 

Mizuki couldn't help but feel proud, that's what his mother always said. Although, hearing it from someone else was different. He smiled up at her, then back at Sei who did the same in return. 

"And you said his was Mizuki, Sei?" 

Sei nodded up at his mother. "He helped me from Rin." Sei's mother bent down, so that she was at eye level with Mizuki, she stuck her hand out. 

Mizuki reached out and shook her hand. "Thanks for helping my son, Mizuki. If you would like, would you wanna come over and play with the boys this weekend?" 

With wide eyes Mizuki nodded, "I-i'd love to, but I'll have to ask my mom first." 

"I don't think she would mind" A voice from behind him said. Mizuki let go of Sei's mom and looked up to see his own mother. She was smiling down at him as she winked then looked up at Sei's mom, offering a hand. "Akane" 

"Haruka, nice to officially meet you." 

They shook hands and exchanged information, taking it bit more while Mizuki and the twins played around with each other. Once the moms decided it was time to go, they said their goodbyes and headed home. Mizuki was so excited, smiling all the way home. He just couldn't wait for the weekend. 

Chapter Text

"Mom come on!!" Mizuki yelled form the kitchen. He stood on his tiptoes to help him shove his finished bowl of cereal into the sink with a clatter. He rushed over to the table again. He grabbed his bag filled with things like markers, paper, he drawing book. He also remembered to put the old stuffed bear he planned to give to Sei. Mizuki made sure everything was there one last time before rushing to his mother's room.

"Mooooom! Hurry up, I'm going to be late!" Mizuki was getting impatient with his mother who was still fixing her hair in front of the mirror. She looked at him through the mirror and let out a chuckle. She tied her burgundy hair into a messy bun before turning around to smile at her son. Mizuki just groaned. 

"You looked great mom! Now come on! Let's goooo!" Mizuki tapped his foot on the floor with a frown on his face. He was not going to be late for his first play date with new friends. 

"Alright, alright fine. Let's go." Akane said with a fake sigh and eye roll. She laughed as she watched her son run to the door, his shoes already on his feet. She put her shoes on with Mizuki still pestering her. 

"Okay! Ready to go?" Akane asked as she opened the door for her little son. 

"Yes! Finally!" Mizuki shouted with enthusiasm as he marched out the door. His mother in tow as they made their way down the street to the Sergaki house.

"MOM! Where is Mr. Pup?!" Aoba yelled from the top of the stairs, his cheeks puffing out as he crossed his arms. He couldn't show Mizuki he room without all his things there. Haruka lifted her head from the stove. She looked around, only to find her husband on the floor picking something up.

"Found it." Naine muttered as he stood up from crawling under the kitchen table with a dark blue puppy toy in his hands. "I got him, Aoba!" He yelled back, holding the toy in the air. The couple heard tiny footsteps going down the stairs. Before they knew it, Aoba jumped into this father's arms, taking Mr. Pup from him and holding it close.

"Thanks, Papa." Aoba muttered against the plush. He wrapped his arms around his dad's neck and squeezed a hug before telling Naine to put him down. 

"I need to make sure our room is all pretty for Mizuki." Aoba stated before running back upstairs. Haruka chuckled before going back to stirring the soup that she was making.

"He's just like you." She muttered as Naine walked up to her and leaned against the counter top. He hummed in approval as he folded her arms across his chest. "He even looks like you" Haruka continued. Naine couldn't help but laugh.

"That's true. Even though we aren't related he does look like me, just a bit." A small smile formed on his face.  "Sei does have your hair, though, and the kind heart he also gets from you." Naine said in a low voice, a quiet admiration for how much he could see his wife in his children. He couldn't help but smile wider as he reached over to brush a strand of hair out of Haruka's face. He could see her cheeks were growing as pink as her hair. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead, then her cheek and finally on her lips. 

"S-stop that. I'm trying to cook. Go busy yourself." Haruka muttered, hearing Naine chuckle as he pulled himself away. 

"Gross." 

Haruka and Naine turned to see Sei coming from the living room. His face scrunched up like he smelled something bad, a few old papers in his hand. Haruka just smiled  at her son, swatting Naine's face away when he tried to lean back in

"Y-yeah, Papa. It's gross. " Haruka muttered. Sei's expression softened and he giggled as he watched his papa try to go at it again.

"Just don't do it in front of Aoba again. Especially when he gets water in the middle of the night." Sei said, his voice sounding a little stern, like he was ordering them not to do that. 

Haruka raised an eyebrow, watching her son go over to throw the papers in the bin.  "He said that he saw you guys kissing when you were watching the news." 

Haruka's eyes widened. Surprised that her sons would find out that her and Naine would watch the late news. And that sometimes they'd even make out when there were commercials. They never thought that the would be awake at that time. 

"Well the boys are getting older. And sometimes I find them get water sometimes." Naine said. 

"You knew for a while that the boys would be up sometimes!? And you never told me?" Haruka exclaimed. 

"What?" Naine asked with a shrug. "It's not a big deal." 

"It is when we start kissing like when we were first dating. I don't want the boys running into that." Haruka explained, her eyebrows furrowed as she frowned. 

Naine sighed. "Sorry, sorry. It won't happen again." 

"Good."

"We have to make sure their sleeping before we do anything." 

Haruka groaned before sighing as he shook her head. Sometimes her husband was a little too carefree for her liking. But she still loved him nonetheless. 

The doorbell rung and within seconds she heard Aoba running down the stairs yelling "I got it! I got it!" 

Sei joined him and they boys rushed to the door. They both reached over for the door knob, opening the door wide to see Mizuki and his mom smiling at them.

"Mizuki!!" Aoba and Sei called. Mizuki smiled widely at them before he got dragged inside the house by Aoba. Sei jogged after them and their laughter faded out as they got closer to the room.

"You're boys are energetic." Akane said with a smile as she shook hands with Naine. He let out a chuckle and nodded in agreement.

"Those are the twins for ya'." Naine said. "I'm Naine by the way, the boy's father." He stuck his hand out for Akane to shake.

"Akane, pleasure to meet you. Thank you for inviting my son over."

"Of course. So do you wanna stay for lunch? My wife just finished up a soup, you're free to join us." Naine offered.

Akane smiled but shook her head, "Sorry, I'd love to but I have some business to attend to at my job. I'll be back in a few hours, is that okay?"

"No problem." Naine responded with a smile as he felt Haruka's hand on his arm. He turned around to smile at her. "You've met Akane right, Haruka?"

Haruka nodded smiling as she shook hands with Akane again. "Thank you for letting Mizuki play with the twins." Akane said again. 

"The twins always talk about him, so I thought it would be a good idea." Haruka smiled as she turned her head to see the twins looking over Mizuki's shoulder. Both of them trying to get a better look at what he brought in his backpack. She turned back to Akane at the door. "So, we'll see you later then? If you can't stay for lunch then how about dinner?"

Akane nodded, smile on her face again. "Sure, we can do that. I'll see you later then," She looked down at her watch and muttered a curse. "Ah! I gotta go. Thanks again!"

She started to walk backwards as she yelled out. "Mizu, behave!!" She waited till she heard a small voice respond back before waving at Naine and Haruka.

"Bye!" Naine and Haruka said in unison as they waved Akane off. They closed to door and walked back into the kitchen where the boys had spread out Mizuki's things on the table. Things from crayons, container of colored pencils, scrap paper and even scented markers. And of course, the teddy bear that he planned to give to Sei.

Sei lifted up the bear that Mizuki had given to him. "Mizuki said I could have this, mom."

Haruka raised her eyebrows as she came over to take the fuzzy bear from Sei, feeling how soft it was. "Are you sure Mizuki? You won't miss it?"

Mizuki shook his head. "I don't play with him anymore and my mom said it was okay."

Aoba lifted up the scented marker, the one that smelled like blueberries. "Look at these cool markers, Papa. It smells so good." 

"Yeah! My mom got them for my birthday last year." Mizuki said proudly, a big smile on his face.

"You must like drawing then?" Naine asked, resting his arms on the back of the chair that Aoba sat in. Mizuki nodded, pulling the notebook from the pile and opening it for Naine to see. He showed him a few pictures he drew. Naine hummed in surprise, leaning forward to get a closer look at the drawings. Especially the one that looked like a mountain range. "That's awesome, Mizuki."

"Thank you, sir." 

"Mizuki was the one that drew the teddy bear for Sei, Naine." Haruka chimed, as she pointed at the paper on the refrigerator while she passed it to get bowls for them.

"Oh! So he's the one that drew that."

Mizuki felt a surge of pride again. People seemed to  like his drawings and it felt amazing to hear them praise his work. He took the book back from Naine with a small smile on his face, a little embarrassed to hear so much praise.

"Okay boys eat before playing, okay?" Haruka placed bowls full of soup in front of them so they could dig in. A chorus of voices thanked her for the food before they all started to eat. The boys rushed a bit, knowing that they would be able to play faster.

 "And this one is Mr. Pup. He's my favorite." Aoba said as he concluded his tour of the room with a smile. He turned to Mizuki, who was still looking at their room in awe. Even though it was a small room it was one that the twins shared, they had a bunk bed where one bed would be. There were piles of comic books and papers on the floor but they seemed to be a neat mess. Mizuki wished he was able to make a mess but his mother was so keen on keeping things clean. He went over and sat on the lower bunk which was Sei's bed, it was so soft and bouncy.

"My bed isn't even this squishy." Mizuki commented. He started to bounce a bit on the bed, feeling the springs pushing back to bring him up a little higher each time. Mizuki looked around as he bounced, thinking about what they could do. He wasn't sure if coloring would occupy them for long and video games would get boring. So those were good for later.

"Hm..." Mizuki hummed, moving his head forward so he could look up at Aoba's bunk. He squinted at it, the gears turning in his head. Sei was sitting on the floor, watching Mizuki with big eyes as he hugged the stuffed bear that Mizuki gave him. Mizuki looked down, a shimmer in his eye as his eyes met Sei's.

"I have an idea. And I need a blanket or two."

The twins and Mizuki made several trips to the closet. Making sure to grab all the blankets, pillows, pillowcases and a towel or two. They dumped them all on the floor, making a small pile of random things. 

"What are we going to do with this?" Aoba asked, picking up one of the blankets and wrapping it around his shoulders like a cape. Mizuki hummed to himself, looking back up at Aoba's bed before getting one of the bed sheets out of the pile. He gripped it in his small hand as he climbed up the ladder to sit on Aoba's bed. He stretched it out and moved it around so that he got one end of the bed sheet. Mizuki moved himself up to the edge of the bed. He tucked one end of the bed sheet into the tight spot between the mattress and the wooden frame.

Aoba's eyes glimmered as he let out a loud gasp before speaking. 

 "Are we making a slide?!" he gasped again when Mizuki nodded at him. Aoba and Sei looked at each other with big smiles before they scrambled over the pile of other things. They placed all the soft and cushy stuff under the slide, just in case they fell. 

"Get the other end and make sure it's stretched out" Mizuki advised. He slipped the other end through so that it draped over the edge. Sei grabbed hold of one end and Aoba took the other as they walked backwards till their back hit the wall.

"What do we use to hold it down?" Sei asked as he looking around the room. His eyes landed on one of the heavy coffee tables that their parents put in their room for them to use as a desk. Sei gasped as he pointed to the desk. Aoba looked over and nodded, letting go of the blanket so he could get it. Aoba stood behind the table and started to push. But he was only able to nudge it by a inch until he was standing up again to catch his breath.

"Let me help." Mizuki climbed down and went over to stand next to Aoba. Together the two started to push the table over to Sei, inch by inch. Mizuki and Aoba were huffing like someone who ran a marathon and they weren't even halfway there.

"This is super heavy." Mizuki huffed, his face scrunching as he tried to push harder. Sei giggled to himself as he watched the two struggle for the longest time before they got it to where they wanted it. Aoba and Mizuki high-fived once they stopped pushing, both huffing hard.

"We have to tuck the sheet under the legs, so lets lift it and Sei can put it under." Aoba said, getting to one side of the table while Mizuki went to the other. Sei nodded as he grabbed one end of the bed sheet. 

"One, two, three!" The two boys lifted the table long enough for Sei to slip a good amount of the blanket under the legs. 

"There." Sei called as he pulled back, the boys leg go of the table, looking at their hands that were now red. Sei looked over at them with a worried brow. 

"Does it hurt?" He asked. The other boys shook their heads, giving Sei thumbs up. 

"We're fine, big bro." Aoba said in a cheerful voice. Sei nodded at him with a smile on his face. 

"N-now, just-just put that end there and make sure it's secure!" Mizuki called over his shoulder as he climbed back up to Aoba's bunk. He watched as they two tested it to make sure it was secure. Once they deemed it okay Aoba gave Mizuki a thumbs up. Mizuki returned it and looked around the room again, lips pursed. 

"Hmm.." Mizuki's eyes landed on Sei, who had resumed clutching the teddy bear in his hand. "Sei! Throw the bear up here!" 

Sei furrowed his eyebrows in a worried look. His eyes looked from Mizuki to the bear and back to Mizuki before he nodded and tossed it up. Mizuki caught it, placed it at the top of the slide before letting it go and watched it slide down. It reached the end and rolled under the table, Sei reached under to tuck it under his arm again. 

"Good! It can hold down a teddy bear." Mizuki said before he gave the twins a big grin. "Let's try something bigger!" 

 Naine and Haruka were sitting in the living room, watching TV, when they heard loud thuds. Naine raised an eyebrow when he heard it for the third time in a matter of five minutes. He looked up at the ceiling then back at Haruka, who looked at him as well. 

"What are they doing up there? They wouldn't be jumping would they?" Naine asked with a frown, he had made sure to them them not to do that. Plus the twins new better than that. Haruka shrugged before patting her husbands chest. 

"Go check. And tell them we're going to have dinner in an hour or two, ask if they wanna help me cook. I'm making potstickers." 

Naine nodded, he got up and made his way upstairs. As he climbed the stairs he could hear the thudding getting louder, followed by laughter. Naine raised an eyebrow as he slid the bedroom open and his jaw dropped. His Sei  was climbing over the edge of Aoba's bed to slide and tumble down a bed sheet that stretched out like a slide. He watched his little child rolls down under a table and hit the wall with a thud.

"Sei!!" Naine yelled, diving down to make sure his baby wasn't hurt but instead he heard laughter. Naine peered under the table to see Sei lying on his back. His little feet pressed up on the wall and he had one of the sweetest smiles on his face. Peels of laughter spilling from all the boys. Sei turned his head to see his papa staring at him with big, worried eyes. 

"Ah! Papa, hi! " Sei said with a big smile. 

"H-hi, Sei. Are you okay, princess?" Naine asked, his worried expression softened a bit. 

Sei furrowed his eyebrows, his smile flattering. "P-papa..." Sei muttered in an accusing tone, crawling out from under the table with a bit of a struggle. 

Naine let out a small gasp, helping Sei get out to stand up again. "S-sorry about the name. Old habit." Naine muttered, standing on his knees and ruffling Sei's hair. He leaned over and kissed Sei on the forehead before looking up at the other boys. 

"You guys okay? I kept hearing thuds and well, now I know where it's from." Naine said with a worried look at their make-shift slide. "D-don't you think it's a little dangerous?" 

Aoba shook his head, tucking the bed sheet on his bed deeper into the mattress. "Mizuki and I tested it first before Sei tried it and we didn't fall. It's per-perflectly safe." 

Naine chuckled, standing up and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's perfectly, Ao. But I don't think you guys should continue to play with it. I don't want accidents, and we don't want Mizuki's mom to stop letting Mizuki come over right?" Naine asked with a smirk, eyebrows raised a bit. 

All the boys looked a little dejected and nodded their head. "We don't want that." Aoba and Sei muttered.

Naine hummed in acknowledgement. "Okay, now fix up the room and get downstairs. Maybe mommy will let out guys help her with dinner." 

The boys gasped, Aoba and Mizuki scrambled down from the top bunk to help Sei clean up. Naine chuckled again as he left just after they started to tug the bed sheet down. He made his way back down stairs to help Haruka start making dinner. He found her mixing things for the pot sticker wrappers, making a bit of a mess along the way. 

"Need help?" Naine asked with a smirk, coming around to wrap his arms around her waist. Haruka let out a giggle as she leaned back into Naine's hold. 

"I'd love the help." She said with a smile, turning her head to look at him. "How are the boys?" 

Naine let out a sigh, his heart still in shock from watching Sei doing something dangerous like that. But he wouldn't bother Haruka with something like that, at least not now. "They're fine, just doing some stuff, nothing too dangerous. They'll be coming down soon." 

Haruka hummed, mixing in water to form the dough itself. "Okay, knead this for me while I get the other things for the kids to help with." 

Naine nodded, leaning in to press a small his lips to Haruka's. 

"Ewww. Gross." 

They both pulled their faces away to see Aoba entering the kitchen. Sei and Mizuki following behind him. "Don't do that in front of us!" 

The parents chuckled to themselves. Kissing one more time to get a rise out of their younger son before pulling apart. Haruka gathered some cut veggies and uncooked ground beef that she had been defrosting. 

"Oaay boys, I want you to put all these things in the bowl and use your hands to mix them into the meat here. Can you do that for me?" Haruka asked with a smile. The boys nodded with big smiles and eagerness written all over their faces as they got right to work.

The doorbell rang about a few minutes after they put the pot stickers in the pan. Haruka turned to ask Naine to get it but remembered that he was taking a shower. She looked at the boys who were coloring on paper and asked them to get the door.

Mizuki and Aoba raced to the the door while Sei stayed at the table. Mizuki got there first with Aoba just seconds behind him. Mizuki opened the door as he looked back to smile at Aoba. One he turned his head to look who was at the door when he saw his mother smiling down at him.  

 "Ah Mom! You're back!" Mizuki smiled and hugged her tight but his smile faded as he pulled away from her when he realized he mother was back. 

"Wait, she's back. Does that means you can't stay for dinner?" Aoba asked with a small pout as he looked at Mizuki 

 "But I helped make it..." Mizuki's shoulders slumped, his head down as he stared at the floor. Akane chuckled to herself before she bent down to pick Mizuki up from the floor and carry him. 

"What're you talking about? We're staying for dinner, I promised Aoba's mama I would." Akane grinned wide at the small boys. 

Mizuki's face lit up , wrapping his arms around his mother's neck. "Yay! Aoba, I'm staying for dinner!" Mizuki threw his hands up above his head as he looked at his friend with a big smile. Mizuki asked his mom to put him down and they dragged her into the kitchen to show her the pot stickers they made. 

"Pardon the intrusion, Haruka. They smell delicious, you gotta give the recipe." 

Haruka nodded and the moms started talking as they started to set the table. The boys had cleaned up their coloring things before going back upstairs. Mizuki needed to get his things ready.  

Sei had gone up ahead before Aoba and Mizuki. He had started looking through his closet for something that he could give to Mizuki. To say thank you, exchange for the teddy bear but Sei couldn't find anything that would be good enough. Sei pouted his lips as he stood up straight, looking around the room. 

Mizuki liked drawing but he had a lot of crayons and markers. It would be pointless for Sei to give him something like that. But then Sei remembered that there was a special pen that he found super cool. 

"I bet Mizuki doesn't have something like that. Sei thought as he started to rustle through his drawers. He dug under some papers until he found a white bendy pen shaped like a ferret. 

Sei had thought it looked so cute but he never liked using pens because he messed up a lot. But Mizuki didn't seem to erase things as much as he did, Sei smiled as he looked down at the pen in his small hands.

He suddenly heard Mizuki and Aoba come upstairs and he panicked. The thought of him giving Mizuki a present, face to face, made Sei feel extremely embarrassed. 

"Oh uh...uh..." Sei mumbled before he turned, grabbing a post-it and wrote 'Form  From Sei.' He wrapped the post-it around the pen before he shoved it into Mizuki's bag. 

He stood next to the bag with a shy smile in his face as the other boys walked in talking to each other. 

"- my things quickly. I'm starving." 

"Me too." Aoba agreed with a head nod. 

"Hey Sei, are you okay? You're breathing funny..." Mizuki asked with a bit of concern in his voice. Sei shook his head and smiled again. 

"I'm fine, I just ran here up quickly." 

"Oh okay, I'll make this quick so we can get food right away." Mizuki mutter as he started to pack all the crayons, markers and the spare paper they didn't use. Before they knew it Haruka was calling them down to eat. they all looked at each other before racing down to the dinning table, stomachs growling up a storm. 

"Thank you again!"  

"Bye! Thank you!"  

"See you in school!!" 

"Good night!" 

"Get home safe!" 

"Bye bye!" 

Sei held his smile a little longer as he watched Mizuki and his mother's figures retreat into the night. Haruka and Naine smiled down at their boys as Naine closed the door. Aoba and Sei went back into the kitchen to help their parents put things away. 

"Did you guys have fun?" Haruka asked, as she took a plate from Aoba. 

"Yep! We played a few games and made a slide!" Aoba exclaimed, placing a few spoons in the sink. "And we slid down it, till we landed on the ground." 

"You made a slide? How did you make a slide?" Haruka asked, a little concerned. Sei stood on his tippy toes to  first place a glass in the sink. He then explained that they used a bed sheet and rolled down it from the top bunk. 

"You did what?" Haruka muttered, her eyebrows furrowing. She glared at the plates in her hands before calling out for her husband who had gone into the living room. 

"NAINE!" 

Naine rushed into the kitchen with a shocked expression. "W-what? Did someone break something? Did I break something?" 

Haruka glared at her husband with a deep frown forming on her face. She placed the dish she was washing back down in the sink and put a hand on her hip.

"What do I hear about them making a bed sheet slide and sliding down from the top bunk? 'Nothing too dangerous' we're your words right?" 

Aoba and Sei, who were standing on either sides of Haruka, leaned back to look at each other. They both started giggled to themselves. Their papa was always getting in trouble for letting them do things that their mom would never let them do. As long as the boys said they were safe, then Naine was fine with it. But that's not how Haruka rolled. 

Naine's eyes widened as he took slow steps back into the living room before making a run for it. Haruka's frown deepened as she chased after her husband. Yelling about him being reckless and too carefree.

Mizuki was babbling to his mother about his day with the Seragaki twins. How much fun their room looked, how many toys they had and how they made a cool slide out of a bed sheet.

"Mizu, you guys could've gotten hurt." Akane scolded as they turned the corner to their house. Mizuki looked a little dejected but he smiled up at his mom. 

"But we didn't get hurt. That's what counts right? You always say that, mom." 

Akane's eyes widened, he had her. She sighed with a smile on her face as she hooked her arm around him and shook him a bit. 

"That's right, Mizuki. That's what counts." 

They walked into the house with a yawn or two.  Mizuki quick work with cleaning out his bag out of habit from his mother's need for cleanliness. He made sure everything was there.

His pencils. Check 

His markers, scented and unscented. Check.

Paper. Check. 

Cool ferret pen. Check. 

Check? 

"When did I get this?" Mizuki muttered. He never remembered ever owning a bendy pen, so it was kinda cool to have one now. But what if it belonged to the twins. He couldn't just keep it, he had to give it back. Mizuki looked into his bad to make sure nothing else was in there but he found little post-it left behind. 

"Form From Sei" 

Mizuki couldn't help but break out into a smile. Sei must've felt bad that he didn't give anything to Mizuki for the bear. Mizuki giggled to himself as he started to play around with the bendy pen. 

"Whatcha got there, Mizu?" Akane asked as she passed by. 

Mizuki lifted the pen up, admiring it. "Sei gave me this pen. I just found it in my bag. It's shaped like a ferret, it's pretty cute." 

"Oh, how nice of him." 

Mizuki nodded, hoping that he'd be friends with those twins forever.

 Aoba and Sei let out more giggling as they went back into their room to finally get some rest after a long day of playing. 

"I liked playing with Mizuki." Aoba said as he changed into his pajamas. Sei nodded with a small smile as he slipped into pajamas as well. But at the back of his mind, something started to bother Sei. His eyebrows furrowed while he pulled his pants up. 

"Aoba..." Sei started. 

"Yeah?" Aoba asked, stepping on the ladder to go to his bed. 

"D-do you think Mizuki would stop being my friend if he found out about me?" Sei asked in a hushed voice, as he crawled into his bed. Aoba stopped climbing, looking at Sei through one of the spaces between the steps. His eyes wide in shock before it changed to soft and caring look.

Aoba gave Sei a small smile, before crawling into Sei's bed for a moment. He gave his older twin a  big hug, feeling Sei's body tense up as he did so. But Aoba still buried Sei's face into his chest and moved a hand to pet Sei's head. 

"I-I don't know, big brother. B-but I hope he doesn't, c-cause then...then we won't be friends with him anymore." Aoba muttered into Sei's soft hair. He felt Sei's body stop tensing and his head nodded against Aoba's chest. 

"Okay, Aoba." Sei muttered. He hugged his little brother tight before letting go. Aoba pulled away, giving his brother a cheeky smile before getting out of Sei's bed and made his way up to his own. There was a moment of silence between them before Sei spoke up again. 

"Aoba?" 

"Yeah?" 

Sei looked at the bear that Mizuki gave him, a small smile painting his face. He took it and hugged it tight. "T-thank you. Goodnight." 

Aoba smiled as well. Although they couldn't see each other they knew they were both smiling. Because even at their young age, they were always going to be there for each other. "You're welcome, big brother. Goodnight." 

Chapter Text

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Mizuki kicked the air and turned on his heels and started to walk wherever his feet took him. And it took him straight to the bar that Koujaku frequented. 

The door jingled as he opened the door, the sound of people muttering and drinking filled his ears. With a heavy sigh Mizuki say down on a bar stool, hanging his head low. He felt heavy, like bags on sand were hanging on his arms and pulling him down. His chest felt like it was being pushing by an elephant. 

"I fucked up. I blew it, it was my one shot before going off to college. Shit."  Mizuki sighed again and lifted his head up to look at the various drinks at the bar. His eyes flicked over to the bartender, he raised his hand and said "Two shots, over here." 

The bartenders nodded and got right to it. Mizuki was about to put his head down again when he head a voice behind him. "That other shot is for me right?" 

Mizuki looked up to see Koujaku smiling behind him. 

Five Years Ago

"You're grown to be such big boys now." Haruka said, sniffing as she stood in front of three boys. Mizuki, Aoba and Sei smiled at each other, predicting that Haruka would be like that. 

"We're not that big, mom" Aoba said with a chuckle. "It's only middle school."

Haruka sighed, fixing a long strand of hair from Aoba's face. "I know Aoba, but still. I remember when you guys were in elementary, playing around with no cares. And now look at you three, already in your second year of middle school." She sniffed again. 

The boys smiled again before hearing the school bell ringing, signalling them to head inside. 

"Shoot, we don't want to be late." Mizuki said, tapping Sei and Aoba on the shoulders. "Let's go." 

The three waved goodbye to Haruka as they made their way into school, Sei and Mizuki had ended up in the same class. Aoba had been pissed off that they were smarter than him since he got put in the 'lower' class-as some people put it- but he as relieved that Koujaku was in the same class, calling the guy a 'dumb hippo'. 

Mizuki and Sei walked Aoba to his class before making it to their own, they took their seats in the middle of the class, Sei next to the window and Mizuki to his right. 

"Another year of school, how lame." Mizuki muttered. Sei let out an airy laugh. 

"As long as we get through it together, right?" 

Mizuki turned to Sei and smiled, hoping his blush hadn't been showing through, because he kinda hated how Sei made him blush. Well, hated was a bit much but Mizuki had been having weird feelings whenever he would be around Sei. He wasn't sure how he felt about them, but it wasn't anything new.

Mizuki had noticed these weird feelings when they were nearing the end of their elementary school days. He would walk home with the twins and stay at their house often, he would feel this tightness in his chest when Sei's knee would bump into his or when their shoulders touched by accident. It only got worse when they started middle school, he found himself staring at Sei a lot. The way his nose would be red from the cold, contrasting beautifully against his pale skin. Or when his hair would ruffle in the wind, during the spring and the window would be open. 

Sei's laugh, his smile, his deep black eyes that would draw Mizuki in. Mizuki couldn't help but want to be around Sei all the time. And without Aoba. Mizuki found himself wanting to have Sei by himself, but he still was unsure as to why. 

He never really liked people in that way, and he didn't really have crushes, he never thought about it, either. So he wasn't sure what he was feeling. He didn't really have anyone to turn to. He didn't know if his mom was cool with him talking about liking boys. Aoba would probably blabber off to Sei even if Mizuki would ask him not to. Koujaku was an option, but Mizuki wasn't sure if Koujaku would know. They guy was a chick magnet and he probably didn't crush on people- much less guys. 

Mizuki put his head down on the desk, letting out a small groan. Sei turned to Mizuki, about to ask if something was wrong but the teacher walked in and started class. 

 Not even a month into school and Mizuki was in detention. It wasn't like he started it but he did throw punches. In his defense, it was to protect Sei. Two third year jerks had been crowding around Sei before classes started. Mizuki had been running late that morning and wasn't able to walk with the twins. He had made it just in time to see one of the guys lean in close to Sei. And Sei-bless his heart- didn't have the guts to say that they were making him uncomfortable. 

Mizuki could tell that Sei was giving him a strained smile and once their eyes met, Sei was pleading for Mizuki to help him out if things got out of hand. Mizuki nodded, Sei had given him that look when Aoba would be acting rowdy and Sei felt like he might need Mizuki to step in if he couldn't handle it. Mizuki put his stuff down on his desk and took a seat, waiting to see if Sei needed some help. 

"I don't remember hearing where you're from." One of the guys said, leaning close to Sei. He had short black hair that was slicked back with too much gel and his sharp eyes were scary.  

"I've lived here all my life." Sei responded. 

"Well I've never seen you before." The guy said with a small frown that soon changed into a sly smile. "'Cause you're really pretty. And I would never forget such a pretty face."

Mizuki made a face as he listened, these tough guys were either ready to beat Sei up for looking so pretty or they were super gay and were blatantly hitting on him. Either way, Mizuki felt an unpleasant feeling in his chest. He heard Sei stutter out a thanks, but didn't look like he meant it.

"Sei, right? He's Aoba's twin, Akio?" The smaller one asked with a smirk. He was so much smaller he could've been mistaken for a first year if he wasn't wearing a third year pin on his collar. And his hair was an unnatural yellow-orange color, like he dyed his hair himself without reading the instructions. How he didn't get in trouble for the hair color was one thing, but he could get arrested on the sole fact that his hair was some fashion crime. 

Akio, the one who spoke first, nodded. "Would've never guess right Ken?" He asked, addressing the smallest male.  

"Sei's much prettier than Aoba." Ken muttered. "You have better hair, looks more normal. Aoba's looks too bright to be real..." 

"Uh, T-thanks..." Sei muttered again. 

Ken smiled, at least his didn't look like he wanted to kill someone with his smile. Akio's, on the other hand-looked like that, and it was making Sei even more uncomfortable. 

Akio nodded in agreement. Ken leaned closer to Sei, a snicker came from his mouth before he spoke. 

"Maybe it's cause Sei is secretly a girl, that's why you're so pretty." Ken didn't notice how Sei flinched and went stiff, staring straight down at his desk. If Mizuki didn't know any better he'd assume Sei was just shivering because it was cold and not because of the words that spilled out of that idiot's mouth. 

"I-I'm not a girl." Sei muttered. 

"Duh, the uniform says enough. But you sure do look like one. We never know, you could be one of those rare but cute drags." Ken pressed, reaching out to touch Sei's hair but was stopped by a hand that gripped his wrist tight. 

"W-what the-?" Ken whipped his head around to see Mizuki towering over him, his hand gripping Ken's wrist even tighter. Mizuki glared down at him, not saying a word as he dropped Ken's wrist from his hand. Akio turned to Mizuki, arm crossed over his chest. 

"What are you doing here?" Akio asked, a deep frown on his face. He tried to look taller than Mizuki but it was no use trying when they were about the same height. 

Mizuki turned his head with an almost bored expression. "Well you're little minion here was about to touch my friend with his filthy little monkey hands." 

"Hey!" Ken spout out, but Mizuki ignored him. 

"And I was just here to stop him from doing that. Because my friend here is too nice to tell you asshats, off." Mizuki finished, standing face to face with Akio. Sei looked up at the boys with a worried expression, he tried to reach out and called Mizuki to try to stop him, but he knew it was too late. They were ready to go at each other and Mizuki wasn't going to back down for one second.  

With a scowl Akio pressed forward, toe to toe with Mizuki, "What did you call me, second year?" 

"An asshat, asshat. You deaf too?" Mizuki challenged, bringing them almost nose to nose. 

"I'm an asshat because I'm complimenting a pretty boy?" Akio asked through grit teeth.

Mizuki's deep frown almost matched Akio's. "You're an asshat 'cause you didn't realize he was uncomfortable with you. And on top of that you called him a girl." 

Akio clicked his tongue. "That should be a compliment." 

"And easily could be an insult, dickface."

Akio pushed Mizuki back. "Say that again." 

Mizuki stepped back but didn't stumble or fall. He stood up straight and looked Akio dead in the eye. "Dickface."

Akio snarled and charged around Mizuki, while Ken tackled him from the back and jumped him. Mizuki let out a grunt as he braced himself when Akio ran into him, he was able to hold some ground but he took a few steps back. 

Mizuki pushed against Akio but when he was losing ground he used as much force as he could to shift his arms to the side so that Akio tripped on his own feet and toppled to the side. Giving Mizuki enough time to claw at Ken, who was on his back like koala. 

"Get offa me you little monkey." Mizuki yelled, gripping the back of Ken's uniform jacket, trying to pull him off ans throw him over his head. Ken had a good grip around Mizuki's neck, tightening gradually. Some of the students were talking around them, some kids had gone to get a teacher, while others were calling students from other classes. Mizuki clicked his tongue, people were always so annoying when it came to things like this. 

Ken was still hanging on his back, getting more annoying by the minute. Mizuki knew that he couldn't get a good hold of him, if Ken was  going to cling harder. He knew he had to make Ken loosen his grips before trying to remove him. Mizuki knew there was a wall and if watching fighting shows taught him anything, it was to attack open weak points on the opponent. And Ken had his back wide open. 

Mizuki turned his head to try and look behind him as he quickly stepped backwards and hit the wall hard, slamming Ken and distracting him for a brief moment. Mizuki was able to grab Ken's arms that had loosened around his neck, and with a few steps forward, Mizuki pulled Ken off his back and slammed him into the floor. 

Before he could look up, Mizuki got shoved into the wall by Akio. Akio was about to throw a punch when Mizuki quickly lifted his arms up to block then pushed them out to hit Akio in the face. The older male stepped back a bit and Mizuki took those seconds to swing at him, shoving a punch upward to hit Akio's chin and send the guy stumbling backwards. He was regaining his balance when he took another step back and stumbled over Ken, who was sitting on the floor and rubbing his head. 

"W-whoa!" Akio yelled as he crashed onto the ground, right over Ken. Mizuki watched with a smirk on his face as he took deep breaths. Akio was scrambling to get up, but before he could come up to Mizuki and attack him again, a teacher ran into the room to stop them. 

Before Mizuki could say anything the teacher sent them into the principles office. They spent all of ten minutes in there explaining themselves to try and get out of detention but it seemed like the principle already had his mind set. 

Which lead to Mizuki staying after school in a room with Akio and Ken, as well as a few other delinquents in the room. (Two of them happened to be friends with Koujaku and gave Mizuki a nod when he walked in.) The teacher told them that there would be no talking and no moving from the seats but he had gone off to the teacher's lounge a few minutes after, so he couldn't stop Koujaku's friend from sitting next to Mizuki. Mizuki remembered that he was the guy who really liked dogs. 

"Heard you practically beat up those two third years in the corner." He said with a small grin, eyes flicking over to the two mumbling to themselves in the corner. Mizuki looked at them as well but when Akio's eyes met his, he looked away in less than a second. 

Koujaku's friend extended out a hand. "Name's Kou by the way. And that guy over there is Hagima. I think you've seen him before."

Kou flicked his head in the direction of the guy sitting a few seats behind Mizuki. He had his head tucked in his arms that were folded on the desk. Mizuki remembered seeing the guy before, he had a skinny frame, hair cut short and spiked up. Upon hearing his name he lifted his head up and looked sleepily at Kou and Mizuki. Kou gave him a nod before making a motion for Hagima to go back to sleep. 

Kou looked back at Mizuki and smiled. Kou had grey-brown hair that reached a little past his ears, he looked like he was planning to grow it out. And a smile that looked warm and inviting. Even though he didn't look like it, he was known to get into fights with rowdy characters, mostly trying to make peace. Everyone knew not to get on his bad side, especially when it came to his friends. 

"So what got you here, Kou?" Mizuki asked out of curiosity. Kou let out a little laugh, eyes looking over at Hagima. 

"I was just helping a bro out. He got into a fight with some other third year. I just happened to be there. So I decided to help." 

Mizuki let out a little nervous laugh. Kou was always so nice yet he would beat someone to a pulp if a friend asked him to, no questions asked. It was cool and scary at the same time. Kou stared at Mizuki for a little while, more like examining him before he spoke up. 

"What got you riled up, to face third years? I didn't get the full story." Kou asked, his eyebrows knitting slightly, while Mizuki's eyebrows shot up. He would assume that the word would travel fast since their circle of friends was so small. 

Mizuki shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. "Well...it was kinda for Sei." he muttered, feeling his cheeks grow hot. Kou's expression softened when he heard that. 

"Ah, makes sense. Anything for the princess, huh?" Kou teased. Mizuki furrowed his eyebrows giving Kou a pointed stare. 

"If Sei heard that he'd probably tell you off." 

"Oh." Kou's expression instantly changed to one of shock, eyebrows shooting up. "Good to know. So what happened? Did they try to beat him up or something?" 

Mizuki shook his head, eyes flicking over to Akio and Ken as he spoke. "The opposite actually. They were complimenting him. I think they're gay but they'll beat up people who tell them otherwise or whoever calls them out on it." 

Kou made a noise of agreement, "They did the same to a small, cute third year in my class but the kid turned Akio down politely." 

Mizuki nodded and continued. "So anyway. The runt, Ken, had called Sei pretty and that he was prettier than Aoba. And then he said that Sei could probably be a girl. I've known Sei since elementary and I remember this kid called him a girl and I joined Koujaku to give the kid a black eye." 

Kou let out a laugh. "No way. Koujaku and you were like this since the first grade?" 

Mizuki shrugged with a small grin on his face. "I guess, anything for friends right?" 

With a chuckle, Kou nodded. "So that's when you guys go into a fight?" 

Mizuki nodded again. "I called the guy an asshat and a dickface. So obviously we weren't going to have tea and snacks." That got another laugh out of Kou. "And I mean...I really care for Sei and I could tell he was uncomfortable when those two were around him." 

"Yeah, I don't really talk to Sei but he seems to either talk to you, Koujaku or his brother." 

"More or less. He's really reserved and he looked me in the eye when those two were around him and they screamed 'I'll need help, soon' I couldn't just let those two say stupid shit." Mizuki frowned, his fists tight and knuckles had turned almost white. 

Kou gave Mizuki a sympathetic look, reaching over to pat the guy's arm. "Sei's grateful for you Mizuki. Koujaku was talking to Aoba and he said that Sei's eyes were bright and sparkling when he talked about you fighting those two." 

Mizuki felt his face go red. Dammit Sei, way to embarrass a guy, huh? Mizuki felt a tightening in his chest, but it was a good one. Like the kind when his shoulders would brush against Sei's when they walked home. Or when he would get compliments on his outfit from Sei on the weekends when their group would go out to eat. 

Kou waved a hand on front of Mizuki. "Dude, you look like a fairy came and sprayed you with pink dust. You okay, you don't have a fever do you?"

Mizuki felt his ear get hot out of embarrassment for getting lost in thought. "N-no, I don't got a fever. Just something on my mind." 

Kou hummed, "Alright man. Well we got another two hours in here. So might as well play cards while we're at it." Kou got up and made his way to Hagima, who was still sleeping. Kou reached into Hagima's pants pocket and pulled out a deck of cards. 

"Don't lose 'em. Or I'll cut your precious hair off." Hagima muttered in a sleepy voice. 

"I won't, I won't." Kou reassured, waving his hand dismissively. Mizuki couldn't help but laugh. 

The twins had to get home early a few weeks after Mizuki's detention and it left Mizuki to walk home with Koujaku. Mizuki drifted in and out of the conversation Koujaku was having with him about something that happened in class. His mind was preoccupied with something, again. It was none other than Sei. Mizuki tried to think about Koujaku's voice but it was hard. He felt this strange urge to see Sei, even though he did just a few hours ago. Mizuki sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. Koujaku's voice had stopped for a moment before he started calling out for Mizuki. 

"-zuki. MIzuki. Duuude!" 

"Huh?" Mizuki turned his head to look at Koujaku with wide eyes. "W-what is it?" 

Koujaku gave Mizuki a confused look, furrowing his eyebrows. "Dude, you've just sighed for like the fifth time. I didn't think my story was that boring." 

Mizuki shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "S-sorry, Kou. I was just thinking of something." 

Koujaku hummed in agreement. "Yeah you've been thinking about something a lot lately. Wanna talk about it? It seems to be buggin' you." 

"Uh...I dunno, man. You might think it's weird..."

Koujaku let out a laugh, "Nah, man. I got something on my mind too. It's probably weirder than yours." 

Mizuki hummed, thinking. "I-I guess...I mean you're the only one I could tell anyway..." 

"Alright, nice. Let's go back to my place." 

--

Once at Koujaku's place, Koujaku grabbed them a few drinks and snacks from the fridge before they settled upstairs, Koujaku moved over to sit on his bed. Mizuki plopped himself on the floor, he dumped his stuff on the floor and grabbed a bag of chips that Koujaku brought up. He opened it up and took a few chips into his mouth. 

"Okay, man. What's been on your mind?" Koujaku started, folding his legs and taking a sip of his soda. Mizuki shook his head, swallowing his food. 

"No, no. You go first." 

"Oh please, you're the one who had the issues first." Koujaku insisted, tilting his soda can towards Mizuki. Mizuki sighed and chewed on another round of chips. 

"How about we say it at the same time and the one who has the weirdest thing goes first." Mizuki proposed. 

Koujaku hummed, "That works. I guess that means I'm gunna go first." 

"Nah, man I don't think so." 

They both set down their food and drinks. Koujaku shifted so that he and Mizuki could looked each other in the eye. They stared at each other, squinting and pursing their lips. 

"Alright, on the count of three." Koujaku muttered. Mizuki nodded and they both started at each other harder, as they counted down. 

"One." 

"Two." 

"Three." 

"I like a boy!" Koujaku shouted.  

"I have a crush on a boy!" Mizuki shouted at the same time. 

They both froze, processing what the other person said, making sure they heard that right. They started at each other with wide eyes, shocked at what they had said. Koujaku broke into a smile, moving down to the floor with excitement. 

"D-dude, no way. We're both bros and we're both...probably gay. But I mean, I still like girls a lot. So maybe there is something about that." Koujaku shrugged, waving a dismissive hand. "But what I wanna figure out now, is who is the boy you think you like." 

Mizuki let out a nervous chuckle. "O-okay. Let's say who we like at the same time , I like that idea." 

Koujaku nodded with a big smile. "Alright. Sure. On the count of three again." 

"One. Two. Three" 

"Sei! "

"Aoba!" 

"No way!" Mizuki exclaimed, his eyes practically popping out of his head. 

"Whaaat!?" Koujaku got up and held the sides of his head with his hands. 

Mikzuki counted believe it and yet he wasn't too surprise. From the way those two acted around each other it was easy to see that Koujaku probably had feelings for Aoba. But also the fact that Koujaku was always girls, made it kind of hard to see him with a guy. 

"Dude, we're best bros. And! We could date twins. T-that's so cool." Mizuki laughed, punching Koujaku's knee. 

"So Sei, huh?" Koujaku teased. "Maybe that's why you fought so hard for him?" 

Mizuki shrugged, finishing the rest of his chips to hep hide his smile. "I...I dunno man...I think but I'm not sure. I never really crushed on someone before." 

Koujaku nodded his head. "Yeah. I mean I've crushed on at least one or two girls before but nothing like I have with Aoba. I get this feeling in my chest, and I want to be around him all the time." 

"M-me too...with Sei. But I don't think it's...I dunno...real? It could just be puppy love. I don't wanna get my hopes up." Mizuki looked down at the floor. "What if he doesn't like me?" 

"Yeah...I sometimes think that too." Koujaku shrugged. "But at least we're both weird." He laughed, leaning back onto the side of his bed. 

Mizuki laughed quietly before slipping into thought. At least he wasn't alone in the whole 'I like boys' thing, but how long was that going to last? What if Koujaku moved past 'liking' Aoba and Mizuki was left to be that one gay kid that people soon picked on. Mizuki let out a sigh, playing with the empty chip bag in his hands.

"M-maybe I grow out of this..." Mizuki muttered. Koujaku looked down with a small frown.

"I mean, I ain't gunna judge you if, when we get older, you still are crushing on Sei. I mean, it's hard not to."

Mizuki nodded, a smile tugging on his lips. "Y-yeah, same here. If you still like Aoba when we get older and I don't like Sei, I'll be there for ya' man."

Koujaku smiled, leaning down with a fist out. "What are bros for?"

Mizuki looked up, the smile spread over his face as he fist bumped Koujaku. "Yeah, what are bros for."  

"Aoba?" Sei took a tentative step into his younger twin's room. Aoba looked up with wide eyes from his bed. They had finally moved Sei to the other room once they got older, their parents hoping to help them be more independent. Aoba finally had a bed all of his own, which he used as a desk rather than the actual coffee table-desk in his room to scatter homework papers on. He had a pen in his mouth and headphones on his head. Sei gave him a warm smile before walking into the room. 

"Uh...I was wondering if I could ask you something." 

Aoba nodded, clicking his music off and pulling his headphones down to rest around his neck. "What's wrong, big bro?" 

Sei sat at the edge of Aoba's bed, raising one eyebrow in confusion. "H-how do you know something is wrong?" Sei heard Aoba let out a light laugh, like he thought Sei was joking with the question. 

"We're twins. I can tell when something is bothering you." Aoba mentioned, nonchalantly. Sei looked at his brother with wide eyes, less of shock and more of the fact that Aoba was right. Sei could sometimes tell when Aoba was in a mood or something was bothering him just by looking at him. So it should've been obvious that Aoba could do the same.

"I guess you're right." Sei admitted, lowering his head a bit.

"So, what is it?"

Sei looked up at Aoba, eyes soft and full of emotion. "I-I think there is something wrong with me..."

Aoba looked taken back, body shifted back a bit in surprise. "What does that mean? Something wrong? I don't think there is anything wrong with you." Aoba said in a sincere voice. Sei smiled at him, but it was a sad smile. 

"You should Aoba. You have to, you're my brother."

Aoba quickly moved all his papers to the side and crawled over to sit right next to Sei. "But still, whatever it is, I'll still be here. So what's on your mind." 

Sei shifted around on the bed before looking at Aoba. "I... I uh..." His mouth felt so dry as he shifted some more, cleared his voice before continuing. "I-I think I have a crush on someone..." 

"Mizuki." Aoba answered in seconds flat. 

Sei went stiff next to him, frozen to stare at the mess on comic books on the floor. How did Aoba find out? Sei knew that Aoba knew a lot about him, but was it that obvious? 

"H-how do you know?" Sei muttered, stealing quick glances at his brother. Aoba just shrugged, making a small noise. 

"I guess I could just tell. You seem to be more relaxed when he is near. But that could be just coincidence. Plus, you're eyes sparkled when you talked about his fight, it was kinda weird. But it was cute." Aoba explained, playing with a stray thread on his bed sheet. "You talked about the fight in awe. It's kinda obvious..to me at least." 

Sei hummed in thought, Aoba had a point on that. He did feel more relaxed around Mizuki, he never found his presence to be annoying or scary like he tends to do with other people. He always felt safe around him and never felt the need to put a guard up. Sei assumed that he was because they had been childhood friends. But he wasn't the same around Koujaku. Sure he didn't need to put a guard up, but he didn't feel super comfortable. Probably because Koujaku was always more Aoba's friend than his own. 

And he never really noticed how he talked about the fight. But while he was watching it, he felt this moment where time seemed to stop, Mizuki and the two third years moving in slow motion. Sei could see Mizuki's strained face as he slammed the small third year to the ground. Sei had felt his breathing come to a halt, Mizuki was fighting for him. It had given Sei this strange welling feeling in his chest, like happiness but the feeling of being proud was mixed in as well.

He couldn't help but smile down at the floor as he thought back to it. But Sei couldn't help but also feel that being with Mizuki would be impossible till he told Mizuki more about himself. Sure they are growing up together but there were things Sei couldn't say. Not yet at least. 

"I-I guess you're right. But I doubt that this'll be a permanent thing, you know?" Sei explains. "I think it's something that will pass...maybe." 

"Or it's just 'cause you're scared. Scared about what would happen if he found out." Aoba chimed, leaning in close to Sei, slotting his arms into his brothers. 

Sei sighed, looking down at Aoba with a small smile. "You just know everything don't you, little brother." 

Aoba laughed, squeezing around Sei's arm in a weird hug. "It's okay to be scared. I'll be here for you okay? I'll protect you. Just like when we were kids." 

Sei couldn't help but let out a laugh, it sure was like when they were smaller, Sei going to Aoba for support and help. He smiled sadly and muttered, "And I'll protect you, too. Thanks, Aoba." 

With a hum Aoba moved his give his brother a normal hug. "You're welcome." 

They stayed like that for a little while before Sei decided to get up. He stretched his limbs before walking to the door. "I'll call you when dinner is done. Mom said we're having pot stickers." 

Aoba hummed, propping his headphones back onto his ears and started back on his homework. Sei went into his room, closing the door and sliding down it with a long sigh. Aoba hit the feelings right on the nose. Of course Sei was scared, it's not like everyone would be accepting, warm and kind. But he couldn't help but think that those words were what described Mizuki. From the first day Sei met him, Mizuki was a warm ray of sunshine that made Sei smile everyday. 

Sei's eyes flickered over to the teddy bear that was sitting in front of his pillow. Warm thoughts flooding his mind with memories of when he got the bear from Mizuki, he was so happy. He never had a friend like Mizuki, he only ever had Aoba and he thought that was okay. But when Mizuki became his friend Sei felt like he was missing out on the world.

He walked over to his bed, plopping on his stomach and gripped the bear in his hands. Soft felt feeling great against his skin, he let out a sigh again. Sei thought back to what he said to Aoba, his feelings might be trivial and fleeting. But Sei wasn't one hundred percent about it, maybe it there was something more. Sei let out a hum, pushed the bear close to his face and let out a incoherent groan. He pulled his face away and looked at the bear, it's cute face staring back at him. 

"We'll see..."