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It was a fairly normal night in the Tachibana household with Ran, Ren, Makoto, and Haru. Ran and Ren had asked that they all sleep together, a request that was becoming less frequent as they got older, and Makoto was secretly glad that they were still asking. However, despite their phrasing, the children didn’t seem particularly interested in sleeping, and Makoto and Haru had their hands full trying to round them up for the evening.
Once they were finally washed up and in their pajamas, Makoto herded them into bed and tucked them in. “Good night, Ren. Good night, Ran,” he said, giving them each a kiss on the forehead in turn. He turned to get in bed himself.
“Onii-chan, now Haru-chan!” Ren interrupted.
“Haru-chan?” Makoto turned and looked surprised for a moment before smiling nervously. “I don’t think Haru-chan wants a kiss,” he said gently.
Haru’s muttered protest at the use of -chan was drowned out by Ran’s concerned voice. “But if Haru-chan doesn’t get a turn, how will he know you love him?”
Makoto’s face turned bright red, but he couldn’t really come up with an argument for that—not one that the kids would understand, anyway. Haru was family, and Makoto tucked his family in at night. Ran and Ren looked at him expectantly. Makoto sighed and looked at Haru apologetically before leaning over to kiss his forehead. “I love you, Haru,” he said softly.
Ren smiled. “Good night, Onii-chan, Haru-chan!” he said as he snuggled into the covers. Ran, too, looked happy as she watched her brother settle into bed before closing her eyes to sleep.
It took Makoto a while to fall asleep. As drifted off, though; Makoto was sure he must have been dreaming already, but he could have sworn he heard Haru whisper,
“I love you too.”