Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Kai. Help me." 

Nya had brought an old little bike home one day. "Found it on the way home from school", she had said. She told Kai to teach her how to ride it.

There was a problem with that. That being, Kai himself, had never learned how to ride a bike.

She had been so young when their parents went missing, and he had been taught so little before they did. Maybe she remembered watching him be taught by their father, and made the assumption that he knew everything already. Kai never did learn to go without training wheels and, unlucky, this old bike didn't have them…

Despite his fears of her getting injured, the fear of disappointing her was deeper. Besides, the nine year old was insistent, and refused to take no for an answer.

Once it was positioned towards the road in front of the shop, Nya climbed onto the bike. He stood behind her, holding the back of the seat.

"I wont get hurt, right…?" She whispered, trying to mask her fear, though Kai could always see right through her. He smiled at her, and patted her shoulder. 

"You won't." 

Nya nodded, and took a deep breath. 

When he let go of her seat, she pedaled down the road, already getting the hang of it on her own, even if she swerved occasionally. Her nerves turned to laughter as she rode down the area between the rice paddies. 

Kai watched, and while he was happy, he couldn't help but frown a bit.

He imagined, what if that was him? What if his dad was still around to finish teaching him how to ride a bike, tie a tie, craft a sword? What if his mom was still there to kiss his ouches, tuck him in at night, or make him dinner?

He shook those thoughts out of his head as he saw Nya running back to the shop with the bike, the same big smile on her face, the visible gap in her teeth, the summer wind blowing her hair into her face.

Right. 

Whatever it was, it was too late to reminisce on those sorts of things anymore.

Whether he liked it or not, he was the adult now, at eleven years old. And it was her job to be the little sister, and his job to be the big brother. It was his job to be the parent, and her job to be the kid.

Nya tripped, falling forward, the bike loudly crashing against the road as well.

Kai rushed over, and Nya picked herself up, sitting up with her arms around her knees and pouting. He kneeled down in front of her. 

"Are you alright?! Let me see." 

She moved her arm, and he hissed, seeing the bloody wound on her knee. 

"..You lied…" She mumbled.

"Huh?" 

"You said I wouldn't get hurt…" she sniffed, and wiped her eyes off the tears that were starting to form.

His baby sister is strong. He knew that. She puts on a brave face, she does what she wants, she takes too much after him and gets into fights and causes trouble. He remembered back when she punched that boy who attempted to bully her for her lack of parents. 

He also remembered how she tried to hide her tears from him when she told him about the incident, just as she was doing now.

Even if she was strong, she was still a child. A child he needed to protect. 

He decided he needed to be stronger. 

For her.

"I'm sorry." He said, genuinely.

Nya pouted still, and crossed her arms.

"I guess I can forgive you… my knee hurts…"

He laughed, and took her hands, standing up and forcing her up with him.

"I know, I know. Let's go get that cleaned up and bandaged." 

Chapter Text

Cole panted, having finally finished singing the song his father made him practice. Lou had made him sing over and over again, until he performed in a way that was satisfactory to him. 

Cole stumbled into the kitchen, feeling like his legs were about to give out. He gasps, seeing his mother standing there at the counter.

He hugged her legs from behind. 

"Mom! You should be in bed!" He scolded her. 

Even though he wasn't supposed to, he has listened in on her and his father's talk with the doctor. Lilly was very, very ill. And in order to heal from her sickness, he knew she needed plenty of bed rest. 

"So should you." She replied, putting her hand on his head and smiling down at him. "What are you doing up so early?"

"Well-!" Cole stammered. "Dad made me get up early to practice singing with him again." 

Lilly sighed.

"I need to have a talk with him again… he's going to drive you to hate singing at this rate! Kid's like you should sleep in. Otherwise, how else are you going to grow up big and strong?"

Lilly pulled on Cole's cheek. He whined.

"And grown-ups like you should sleep in so they don't get sick!" 

Cole put his hands over his mouth after speaking, realizing he had just exposed his knowledge of the situation. 

His mother's smile faltered.

"Cole, that isn't for you to worry about." 

Cole grunted in frustration, and looked down. 

"...I don't want you to be sick anymore, Mom…"

Lilly sighed again, with much more guilt this time. She directed herself back to the counter and the fruit she was preparing on it.

"I'll go back to bed as soon as I finish making and eating breakfast, alright?'

"I can peel my own oranges!" He retorted, grabbing her hands and bringing her over to the kitchen table, forcing her to sit. "I can make breakfast for all of us, just you watch!" 

Lilly laughed.

"Okay, okay. When did you get so grown up?" 

Lilly monitored her son, and watched as he placed bread in the toaster, peeled the rest of the oranges, and prepared a glass of milk for himself. Even though he also wanted to make eggs and coffee for his parents. Lilly refused to let him touch the stove or coffee pot, even with all his instance.

The woman made herself put on a smile as Cole proudly presented to her a plate of toast, two slices burnt with grape jelly sloppily slathered on one side of each, and orange slices with too much of the pith left on them.

"It looks, um… really good, Cole!" Lilly forced out. She reluctantly took a bite of the toast. Cole took notice of the pained expression she made as she forced the bite down.

He frowned.

"You don't like it." 

His mother shook her head.

"No. I love it. Because you made it for me, Cole. And I love everything you create." 

Cole finally smiled. He remembered how she always encouraged his creativity, like that dumb song he made in kindergarten, or the things he drew in art class. The fridge was running out of space for new ones.

"Now then." She patted her knee. "C'mere. I can't eat all this food by myself!"

"I-I'm too old for-!"

Ignoring his protests, Lilly pulled her son into her lap. She nuzzled her chin against the top of her son's head. 

"You'll never be too old for me to hold you, okay? Don't listen to whatever those boys at school say."

"...Ok."

Lilly hummed. 

"Sing with me, won't you, Cole? Don't worry about being the best. Don't worry about being perfect. Just enjoy it."

Without a second thought, Lilly started singing. 

"Shine little glow-worm, glimmer glimmer

Hey there, don't get dimmer dimmer"

Cole quietly joined in.

"…Glow little glow-worm, glow and glimmer

Swim through the sea of night, little swimmer"

They sang together.

"Shine! Glow little glow-worm, glow and glimmer

Swim through the sea of night, little swimmer

Shine! Light up, you little 'ol bug of lightning

When you gotta glow you glimmer glimmer!"

Both of them laughed as the song ended, Lilly sooner than Cole. When she didn't speak, he looked up at her in confusion. 

"Mom? Mommy?" 

When he heard her soft breathing and felt the arms around him loosen, he shrugged. Well, she was sleeping like he wanted her to. Mission accomplished, he supposed.

He decided to eat an orange slice.

"Bleh!"

Chapter Text

“Father, what’s that over there?”

While bringing the wood he had chopped into the workshop, Zane was distracted by the sound of a whistle and explosion. He looked out into the distance, staring at the burst of color that appeared in the night sky. 

"Fireworks, son.” His father replied. 

When Zane didn't move, Julien laughed.

“Do you like them?”

“They're beautiful.” Zane said in awe as more fireworks shot into the sky, bright reds, oranges, and yellows reminiscent of burning flames.

“Aren't they? Ah, but they're a little harsh on these old ears of mine.”

“I see…”

Zane continued to stare up in amazement, now at an eruption of electric blue fireworks.

“...Are you curious about them? You can go ahead and check it out.” Julien added, noticing how transfixed his son was on the fireworks. 

“May I?”

Julien nodded, a smile on his face.

“Take the falcon with you. I'll be there soon.”

Without hesitation, Zane quickly brought the wood inside the workshop, placed the stack next to the fireplace, and went on his way leaving Birchwood Forest, his falcon friend following him from the skies.

Zane stepped into Jamanaki Village. The sounds of a bustling festival filled his ears as he took in the sights of paper lanterns, food stalls, and most importantly, the fireworks above him. The ones he could see now were colored in earthy greens. 

The falcon landed on his shoulder. Zane would have resigned himself to wait at the entrance of the town for his father, but the sound of a child sobbing put a halt to those plans.

He wandered around the village, and eventually found her, a small child crying all alone.

Zane crouched in front of her.

“Excuse me? Why are you crying?”

The girl looked up at him, teary eyed.

“I-I lost my balloon…” She sniffed. “A-and I got separated from my mommy and daddy…” 

After thinking for a moment, Zane came up with a plan. 

“Wait here. My falcon will keep you company.”

The falcon complied with Zane’s order, flying off from his shoulder and perching on a shop sign next to the girl.

“Woah! Cool bird!” The child gasped. 

While she was distracted, Zane found a stall and purchased a balloon. When he got back to the girl, he tied it around her wrist so she wouldn't lose it. After that, he took her hand.

“Let's look for your parents together, okay?” 

The child nodded. 

“Okay!”

As they walked through the village, the falcon took to the skies, searching for a couple that looked lost or confused. When it found one that matched the description, it flew back to Zane and relayed the information.

“That way?” Zane asked.

The falcon cawed, flying back towards the couple. Zane and the child followed after it. When the girl saw her parents, she gasped happily, and ran up to them.

“Thank you Mister, and Mister’s cool bird!!” The girl laughed, waving Zane and his falcon goodbye. Zane waved back a small smile. He was sure that girl wouldn't cry anymore, now that she was with her mother and father. 

…A mother and father, huh…?

Zane was aware of other families. Most of them were unlike him and his father, having two parents and sometimes more than one child. 

Their family was different. He felt self-conscious about it from time to time. Not having a mother or siblings, being unable to relate to others, he felt like an alien.

Zane sighed, and put a hand on his chest. 

He has to remember. Even if he wasn't human, even if his heart didn't beat like anyone else's, he was still his father's son. He loved him, and he loved him in turn. Being different didn't mean their family was any lesser than a typical one. 

Zane heard the burst of the fireworks again. He looked up, seeing fireworks in icy blue and white shaped like snowflakes.

Zane decided they were his favorite.