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Earthbread had gone silent for the day. Nothing too interesting, the day’d already ended and all, but Sour Belt just couldn’t get used to it. How could she, when her days are spent in her lively design studio? Bouncing ideas off her assistant, designing new clothes for her [A.C.i.D] brand, it was all just far too lively. So excuse her, if the dull, dry nights always came outta left field.
The quietness of the landscape also lent itself to the growing unease of what she’d be going home to. Her brother’d been returning today, after some long expedition across the seas– said he met dragons, or something. That’d always been his dream, as far as she could recall, but meeting five of them? He must’ve been making stuff up, but she didn’t mind all too much. After all, it made the story a lot more interesting…
It wasn’t too long after she arrived home. It was a small little apartment– somewhere she could rest. Didn’t need to be too large, nor too fancy, as it wasn’t like she’d be spending the majority of her time there. But it sure seemed like someone else was, judging from the lights… guess her brother found the keys. Beneath the Sugar Gnome statue, just as their parents had used to.
Opening up the door, she looks around to find a… completely clean apartment, hm. She’d told her brother that he could go wild whenever he arrived, not like it mattered to her, and she at least expected a pillow to be left lying around.. But, hey, less of a mess she’d have to find her way around. Just had to find her brother, now.
“Hey, Dino! Where’re you at?!” She shouted, walking over to her room. No dice, totally empty. “If you’re using the bathroom, just uh, send me a text or something?” Close, but no cigar. Her phone remained unlit, just as it’d been before. Oh well, he’d have to wait a bit now– as she began to place down the belongings she’d had with her. Some measuring tape, a pair of scissors… she even took off her head band. Her drip era’d ended for the night, folks.
Taking a well-needed seat on the couch, she pulls out her phone, and prepares to send a text.
“Hey, Dino! Where’re you at?!” He heard. Jeez, his sister was noisy, wasn’t she? He’d no clue how her neighbors could tolerate it, though he’d gained resistance. Living with someone your whole childhood’ll do that to you. But he just couldn’t bring himself to answer her– ignoring the fact that he was currently on the apartment’s roof, his eyes were currently red, and tears had left quite the imprint upon his face. She… couldn’t see him like this– he looked like a loser.
His pet Jellysaur, almost sensing the boy’s feelings, immediately moved beside him. To be entirely honest, it only made him feel worse… “Haha.. jeez, little buddy. Guess I couldn’t do it after all, huh? Man…” What’d brought him here, in the first place, wasn’t just to visit his sister, no– well, he would’ve checked in sooner or later, but this was for something… Different. Something that’d been eating at him a little, ever since he’d gone off on his little adventure. He… kinda had a crush.
He… kinda had a crush on a guy.
It’d been all the way back in elementary, when Dino-sour’d met Kiwi. The two hit it off immediately– Kiwi introduced him to his buddy Roll Cake, Dino introduced him to Sour Belt, and the four suddenly became a big group. Then his sister had gone off to middle, and Roll Cake moved away, and that “group” became a duo. They were inseparable, all throughout middle, high school, everything. It was awesome.
And it would’ve stayed awesome, had Dino not gone and messed it all up– “If you’re using the bathroom, just uh, send me a text or something?” He’d heard, once more. His heart started to pound a little faster, he was psyching himself out. He could do this, it was his sister! He should just bite the bullet, hop down and tell her. ‘Hey sis, did you know I like guys? Wanna hear about my crush on a guy I’m too chicken to even speak with anymore? And how about how I already managed to mess up our friendship? How about-’
…Chill, he was chill. He was cool! He was awesome, and nothing was messed up. Just.. Awkward, he supposed. After all, it’s not too often that you abandon your best friend in the middle of a love confession, huh?
…Was she hearing things, or was there something on the roof? This is what Sour Belt asks herself, as jolts up from the couch. Her text had gone unanswered, which struck her as pretty odd– her brother had his phone like, all the time. And he sure wasn’t ignoring her, ‘cause she was certain she hadn’t done anything! Only option left was that her brother.. Wasn’t here? And that’d mean the lights, the noises…
Was… was there someone in her apartment?
Leisurely taking some steps toward her kitchen counter, she nabs the scissors she’d left behind. No way, she was not going down like this. She was at her peak, her prime! [A.C.i.D] was going places, she’d promised Chocolate Bonbon that they’d meet again, way too much to lose right now! And leaving her little bro with no other family left? She’d never be able to rest.
And that’s how she finds herself outside, on the balcony, facing the quiet Earthbread once more. The calm which’d left her uneasy before… still left her quite uneasy, as she looked around. No one on the balcony itself, no, but she heard noises from the roof. Whatever.. Thing, that had gotten into her house and turned on her lights was probably up there. And by the Divine, whoever it was, they’d pay for getting her electric bill to skyrocket!
…Ok, run it through just one more time, Dino. He’d gotten it all right this time, run through everything his sister could possibly say! Positive? Then all his panicking was for nothing! Negative? Well then, he can wonder about what went wrong while he’s falling to his demise! Honestly, a real win-win scenario he’d founded– smiling to himself. A bit of happiness was doing a lot for him right about now.
And a lot for his little Jellysaur companion, too, as it hops onto his lap. “Hey, little guy! I’m all good now, don’t you worry about me! Can’t wait for you to meet my sister, she’s awesome. Super talented, too! Y’know, she even…”.
“...Made him that sweater for the holidays, yeah. Made you one too, in case you forgot.”
“Alright, I just… gotta say it. I like guys, I like Kiwi, I.. uh… like dinosaurs? God! No, this is stupid…” Ah. Well, Sour Belt sure did manage to find someone on the roof, just not the burglar/murderer/extremely evil bill-increaser-er she’d been expecting. But judging from how it sounded, she wasn’t quite sure he’d found her yet. And boy, did she feel a little guilty. Her little brother looked like a whole mess, and it sounded like it was all because of her…
…Which was crazy, because her brother must’ve known she was bi, right? [A.C.i.D] had released an entire pride collection, one she’d personally modelled her respective flag for. What had he thought it was, some kind of extreme allyship? Regardless, it didn’t really matter what he knew or didn’t, because her goal was to make him feel better. As an amazing older sister would, after all.
“…Can’t wait for you to meet my sister, she’s awesome. Super talented, too! Y’know, she even…”.
“...Made him that sweater for the holidays, yeah. Made you one too, in case you forgot.” Dino-sour’s eyes darted upwards, away from those of his beloved pet, and into that of his sister. He felt a dreadful sensation, like he’d messed up somehow, ‘cause his sister’s eyes looked so… sad? It was already off to a bad start, but he couldn’t do much before Sour Belt’d taken a seat beside him. “Hey, Dino, you got anything you wanna tell me?” … “..You don’t gotta, but… I’m here, y’know.”
…Honestly, being in the situation made things a lot harder, far from rehearsing it in your head. If Dino had to rate the realism, it’d absolutely be a 1/10, that’s for sure. It was like… his mouth just wouldn’t open, and before he even got the opportunity, Sour Belt’s already took it. “Mom and Dad, they were real strict, weren’t they? Always needed to be the talk of the town, or whatever.” … “..Used to dress us up all fancy, they hated whenever I’d mix and match things up. If they found out what I was doin’ nowadays, I’ve got no doubt they’d start rolling in their graves.”
A small chuckle escapes from Dino’s mouth, as he continues staring into the dark night. ‘That’s something.’, she’d think, continuing. “They’d probably lose their minds at a lot of things I’ve been doing lately. Like dating Shining Glitter, for example.” … “...Huh?”
Boom. Hook, line, and sinker.
“Oh, dontcha know? Shining Glitter, international superstar, most popular song-artist of our generation, bright pink hair–” “I-I know *who* Shining Glitter is! But, you and, you and her, I, you... what?”
Sour Belt smiled, facing her brother from where they’d been seated. The look on his face was priceless, the same kind of face Bonbon’d worn upon finding out she’d be her final opponent for Fashion Week. Resisting the urge to poke fun at ‘im, she speaks once more. “Yeah, pretty crazy, huh? I mean, we’d spent a whole lotta time together, but even I didn’t see things going like this. It’s.. pretty nice, though.”
Dino-sour, for all intents and purposes, felt as if he’d been hit by a truck. This was almost on par with getting stuck on a boat with Milk, and *that* came with the need to vomit! The Jellysaur upon his lap turns its head upwards, staring into his owner’s face– and was met with the purest form of confusion, yet with that, a small type of relief.
All of a sudden, he didn’t feel too scared. Not anymore.
A deep breath. He’d encountered the Red Dragon before, and passed their trials. Another. He’d encountered the Yellow Dragon, and survived their wrath. One more. He… actually didn’t encounter the Blue Dragon, he’d have to ask Yam and Mala how that’d gone. You know what, enough about dragons. It was time to talk about something else for the first time in a year, and–
“I like guys! Kiwi. I like Kiwi. Is that cool? Cool, awesome, great.”
-
Oh.
To say she was taken aback was… an understatement, for sure. Like, she’d known what he was gonna say, but she expected something more… Dairy Channel-esque. A soft, quiet statement, maybe a nice hug? But instead, he’d just gone and blurted it out! And just walked out on her, seriously?! Jeez, and after she spilled her guts, too…
Re-entering the apartment, her brother’s presence on the couch was immediately noticed, along with the Jellysaur which’d managed to make it on top of the T.V.? If that thing broke, Dino’d have quite the bill to pay, and that’s on top of the electric bill she’d have. But not to bust his bubble so soon, she takes a seat alongside him.
“So… Kiwi, huh? Hear he’s got a motorcycle, not a bad pick!” … “Haha, yeah..” Alright, come through with the empty responses! Sour Belt sighed, trying again. “Y’know, whatever happened to that Lime girl? Met her at the beach that one time?”
The mention of his ex immediately perks Dino up, as he looks to his sister in confusion. That look was getting way too common for him, but alas… “Oh, uh, we broke up. A while ago, she realized she didn’t actually like, like dudes all that much.” … “Ah.” … “Yeah, still friends though! I see her now and then, she’s dating this girl now, Orange? Something like that.”
…Okay, the silence was getting real tiresome now. Dino-sour awkwardly looks around the room, postponing the inevitable conversation he knew he’d have to continue. Getting the words out already took quite some weight off his chest, but even so… it didn’t really feel finished, man. “..Is everything… cool? I can uh, go, if that–” Oh! Okay, they were hugging now. Awesome.
“Listen, I’m not super into all this touchy-feely stuff but, you’re gonna be my brother forever, ya know that. Can’t leave your sister that quickly, after all– who else’s gonna make all your clothes?” … “Huh… yeah, yeah! I guess so! Speakin’ of which, I kinda need a whole new wardrobe…”
…
Wait, what? “Why’d you need a new set?” … “It all kinda got burned. In a fire. It was pretty awesome.” … “...Y’know what? Maybe try Choc’au Latte, instead.”
Earthbread had gone silent for the night. And the night is where Dino-sour stood, alongside his best pal, Kiwi. They’d been travelling the whole day, the latter having just earned his motorcycle license and wanted to test it out. Stopping at an old, abandoned Biscuit Playground, the two sat alongside the rim of the sandbox.
“That was awesome, dude! God, I can feel the adrenaline, can’t you?!” … “Of course, man! You were goin’ so fast!” … “I know!” As his friend continued to ramble, Dino-sour found his eyes slowly drifting towards his face– illuminated by the moonlight. His bright, passionate smile, and how his freckles painted his face like little stars. It was all stuff he didn’t quite notice before, but it all seemed real interesting now. Almost as interesting as the dinosaurs he’d loved so much, Kiwi was just about up there in this moment.
In fact, Kiwi was so alluring at that moment, that Dino-sour didn’t quite realize that he’d literally been lured in. His face was suddenly inches away from his friend’s, and surprisingly enough, he didn’t look all too uncomfortable. Instead, his eyes bore into Dino’s, flickering between them and his lips, waiting for something to be said. And something was, that’s for sure.
“I…”
“I..”
“I gotta go.”
And just like that, he did! Leaving Kiwi, he found himself running off. That was weird, he was weird. Kiwi was his bro, his pal, his buddy! He shouldn’t wanna kiss his buddy! He needed a break, perhaps a small visit to the Dragon’s Valley could clear his head…
The Jellysaurs’ Trail wasn’t quite the Dragon’s Valley, but perhaps it was the right option after all. Upon seeing two warriors, clad in purple and white, he knew this could get his mind off of things… and maybe, just maybe, meet a Dragon on the way?