Archive of Our Own ^beta

The school bell signaling the end of the day rang awhile ago, prompting ecstatic students up from their seats, stuffing all their belongings into backpacks of all colors, and filing out of the classroom — some students were headed to their after school club activities while others to the lockers to change into their outdoor shoes for the journey home. 

All the students had vacated the classroom, leaving just two boys behind as it was their turn for cleaning duty. 

“Maru, are you free later this afternoon?” Tsurugi Okkotsu asks, wiping down the chalkboard from the last lesson of their school day. 

Maru pauses for a moment, leaning on the broom as he thinks long and hard about what he has planned for later on in the day; nothing important comes to mind — usually, if there was something important Maru had to prioritize then papa Dura or Dabura would've told him before he and Cross left the house that morning. 

“I think so,” Maru's fairly certain he doesn't have anything planned and that there isn't any mandatory family duty. 

Things at home this week have been quite monotonous — papa is busy with some type of construction project for a bridge, and Dabura's been working on the garden, but didn't request Maru or Cross to help him because he knows pulling weeds is boring to them and that Maru will just chase Cross around the yard with earthworms. 

Hearing confirmation that Maru was free, Tsurugi grinned and asked,“Do you wanna continue our conquest to slay Manju?”

Two years ago, during summer vacation, the Okkotsu family moved into the vacant house down the road that all the kids deemed haunted because a man with pink hair and facial scars used to live there and then vanished under mysterious circumstances and it sat empty for years.

Ghosts, monsters, demons, none of those things scared Maru at all because there is nothing scarier than papa's face when a client wants a last minute change on a project — of course, papa doesn't ever raise his voice at him and Cross nor would he ever let his bad mood leave the office and trickle out into the rest of the house, he's very kind and attentive, even when he's frustrated from work.

It was by happenstance that Maru met Tsurugi on that fateful summer day when he was riding his bike and passed by the house; Maru had gotten distracted seeing the rumored ghost house suddenly come alive with human presence that he didn't notice someone, who was also distracted with their gaming device, walk out onto the street. 

Typically, Cross would be by Maru's side to keep him from getting distracted, but that day, Cross had a summer cold and was stuck in bed, so Maru went off on an adventure all by himself.

Crashing into Tsurugi was the best thing that ever happened to Maru; their first meeting was quite humorous as Tsurugi had never met a Simurian his age and asked Maru if his third eye was the real deal. 

They became best friends almost immediately; Maru learned Tsurugi's family had moved to Kyoto from Sendai to be closer to his grandparents who were getting up there in the years and that they were the same age and in the same grade; he’s a big brother just like Maru; they both have extensive imaginations and like the same things: anime, manga, riding their bikes, and role playing.

The two of them had come up with a game they call “Warriors of Kyoto” where they pretend that they have superpowers and run around pretending they are going on adventures and their primary goal is slaying the dragon: aka Manju the lazy, orange cat that belongs to Miss Miyaguni down the road. 

“I'll ask papa when I get home if I can come play!” Maru is fairly certain that papa will say yes because it means a quiet house and a quiet house means he can focus on work without distractions.

“Meet you at the usual spot?” Tsurugi asks, referring to the swingset in the park that they use as their starting point. 

“You bet!” 

Yesterday's conquest had to be cut short because Tsurugi and his sister, Yuka, had dental appointments and wouldn't be back until late, which wouldn't give them much time to play — papa, despite being a lax person, was very strict about Maru and Cross being home at a certain time on school nights so they could eat dinner, do homework, bathe, then get ready for bed.

While it was tempting to break that rule, Maru didn't want to make papa worry that something happened to him, so he never makes a fuss when Cross points when it's time for them to head home.

Today, however, will be different; for today, they will finally slay the evil dragon and celebrate their triumph with a massive feast — Dabura is making fried chicken for dinner; Tsurugi's been over so often that he's practically become part of their family and is always welcome to join them for dinner.

Just as Tsurugi is part of Maru's family, Maru is also an honorary member of the Okkotsu family with how often he visits and spends the night.

Maru's days have never been lackluster ever since he met Tsurugi, and he hopes they'll be best friends for the rest of their lives. 

The walk home from school is a relatively short one; it only takes fifteen minutes, but it feels shorter because Maru and Tsurugi like to talk about the latest episode of their favorite anime and it leaves little space for their siblings to interject. 

Tsurugi's little sister, Yuka, started attending school with them last year and she had just turned seven in March; she didn't enjoy school, because when they moved, she had to say goodbye to her friends in Sendai and she hadn't yet found a companion like Tsurugi did — well, technically, Tsurugi didn't find Maru, Maru had simply crashed into his life via his bike and they've been best friends ever since.

Cross is kinda similar Yuka in the sense he hadn't found a friend that likes him for who he is; he's very quiet, shy, sensitive, and gentle, preferring books over the company of another; bullies have learned to steer clear of Cross, because Maru has hands that he is not afraid to use and doesn't care about getting in trouble or the school calling their parents. 

The first time a bully made the worst mistake of making Cross cry, Maru's fist met the other boy's cheek and they got into quite the kerfuffle — it took multiple teachers to pull them apart and when parents were called, Maru had been worried papa would be angry at him for what he did.

While papa wasn't angry, he didn't enable the behavior either, because Maru shouldn't be resorting to violence, but after explaining the bully couldn't be reasoned with using words and had brought Cross to tears, papa let it slide since Maru was simply fulfilling his role as a big brother. 

Fate truly worked in mysterious yet wondrous ways by bringing Tsurugi into Maru's life; he, being a big brother, too, is also very protective over his little sister, and is a “fists now, talk later” person when it comes to people that are mean to her — only they are allowed to tease their siblings because it's all in good fun and they know where to draw the line, nobody else is permitted to do so.

Many of their peers often remark Tsurugi has the face of a delinquent because “he always looks angry”, but Maru knows better than anyone that it's rude to judge someone based on their appearance — Dabura is a giant that towers above everyone and those who don't know him, whether they're regular humans or Simurians, are intimidated by his very presence and steer clear of him, but what they don't know is he's very gentle and caring. 

Papa told them that the day their adoption was finalized, Dabura got very emotional when he held baby Cross in his arms, worried he would accidentally crush him because he was so small, but that fear subsided when Cross smiled up at him and wrapped his tiny hand around Dabura's large thumb.

When Maru brought Tsurugi to his house, he was worried Tsurugi might be intimidated by Dabura because everyone else was, but to his relief, Tsurugi was awestruck by all the tattoos Dabura had, how muscular he was, and, of course, by the horns as well.

“Call me after you talk to your dad, Maru,” Tsurugi says, taking Yuka's small hand in his own as the four of them go separate ways. 

“‘Kay, see you in a bit, Tsurugi!”

Maru waves his hand high in the air with a big grin as he sees Tsurugi and Yuka off and doesn't stop until he can no longer see their figures in the distance anymore. 

Today is going to be a great day.

Cross barely gets the front door to their house open before Maru starts announcing their arrival at the top of his lungs. 

“PAPA, DABS, WE'RE HOME!” 

Despite Maru and Cross being twins, they have distinctly different features, personalities and hobbies.

Maru has big, green eyes that seem to light up whenever he's happy; his messy hair falls just to his nape and he dislikes having to wear it in a ponytail — every time papa combs it, Maru yowls like a distressed cat and acts like he's being scalped. 

He's boisterous, friendly, and confident; he loves meeting new people and exploring places he's never been; he can walk into a room full of strangers and come out knowing everyone's names. 

Cross, on the other side, has red eyes and sharper features that make him seem off putting and unapproachable to his peers.

The only times Cross keeps his hair down is at night when he is going to bed; he doesn't enjoy the way it feels when his hair touches the back of his neck, so every morning after breakfast, papa sits him down on a chair and takes time to comb it out and gather it up into a ponytail.

Cross can walk into a room full of strangers and will get overwhelmed by all the people in it; he'll leave that room not having remembered a single name or face.

Their house has three bedrooms, but Cross has a fear of the dark and things that go bump in the night, so he still shares with Maru — it isn't ideal because Cross doesn't like mess or clutter and Maru is the messiest person to ever exist. 

Despite the mess and clutter, Cross doesn't mind sharing the room because Maru's snoring and sleep talking is enough to quell his nerves when it's dark and keep away the imaginary monsters that only come out at night. 

Cross doesn't have to chastise Maru for being loud when they're inside, because Dabura, apron draped over his clothes, has come to greet them at the door.

“Maru, please use your inside voice, your papa is on the phone,” Dabura tells Maru, index finger to his lips.

All three of Maru's eyes go wide and he covers his mouth with his hands.

“Oh, right!” Maru nods, and then, in a voice that is proper for indoor usage, asks,“Dabs, when will papa be off his call?”

Dabura takes both of their hands in his own larger ones and guides them towards the kitchen for their after-school snack — no matter how much they eat during lunch, they always come home with rumbling tummies.

“In about ten minutes, why do you ask?” 

Upon reaching the kitchen, both Maru and Cross's eyes light up upon seeing the freshly baked cinnamon rolls that are hot and ready just waiting for them to sink their teeth into. 

“I wanna go play warriors with Tsurugi! We are gonna continue our conquest to slay the evil dragon Manju!” Maru responds, taking a seat across from Cross at the kitchen table. 

Dabura's slightly confused about the whole dragon thing as he places the cinnamon rolls on the table for them to take, picking off two to save for Dura to eat when he is finished with his call.

“Manju?” Dabura asks, grabbing two boxes of juice from the fridge for them to wash their cinnamon rolls down with. 

“Miss Miyaguni's cat,” Cross clarifies; he has no idea how that cat puts up with Maru and Tsurugi's shenanigans.

Every time they pass by miss Miyaguni's house on their way home from school and Manju is lazing about on the windowsill, the minute he sees Maru, he will jump down and to scratch at the door until he is let out to go see Maru — they do have to be cautious, though, because Manju will follow Maru all the way home, if he's not sent back inside when they're about to continue their walk home. 

They, currently, don't have a pet just yet but papa and Dabura promised they would go to an adoption event once their tenth birthday rolled around — a pet is a big responsibility and the two of them can't slack off on caring for it or push that responsibility off on their parents; 

“I see,” Dabura smiles, ruffling Maru's messy hair. “You have my permission to hang out with your friend, just make sure you're careful, we don't want any of you getting into poison ivy again.”

Cross's skin itches recalling that memory of Maru boldly proclaiming himself the leader of their squad and because Tsurugi operates on the same wavelength as Maru, there was no way Cross could sway their minds and that led to all three of them coming into contact with poison ivy and being miserable and itchy for an entire week. 

“I swear that I will be very careful! Warrior's honor!” Maru mumbles, his mouth full of food, saluting Dabura.

As Maru is making a solemn oath of carefulness to Dabura, Cross is trying to come up with an excuse to stay home. 

Doing homework without Maru is tempting; he'd get it done quicker and have more free time to do whatever he wants, but Maru struggles with the math portion of their homework and Tsurugi isn't really any help in that area — he's only good at memorization, not solving the problem step by step to get the answer. 

It's such a nice day to be cooped up inside the house, and Cross is certain that he'd start feeling the fear of missing out if he didn't join Maru, because what if they finish “slaying” Manju early and decide to do something that's funner? 

“There are my kiddos!” 

Cross's thinking is put on pause at the sound of papa's laughter when he enters the kitchen, elated to see his sons after a stressful day of work calls for the construction project he's trying to get greenlit. 

“Papa!” Maru squeals in delight, his voice cracking in the process. 

“Hi, papa,” Cross greets softly with a smile.

Papa grins widely, his top and bottom fangs on full display, as he tousles Maru's messy hair and caresses the top of Cross's so he doesn't mess up the perfectly tied ponytail he worked hard to style that morning. 

“I missed you two soooo much! How was school?”

“It was fun!” 

Maru gives the same, typical answer every time he's asked about school; he's not the best student, but school is enjoyable for him because he likes socializing with the other students and stretching his legs during gym class.

It's the opposite for Cross; he loves learning and taking notes, he hates when the teacher calls upon him to read aloud or solve an answer on the board because it makes him anxious.

Today was no exception; Cross had gone to the restroom during class and returned to find everyone had moved their desks into groups with their friends.

Sure, Cross could've asked to join a group, but he found it difficult to talk to his peers without thinking they find him weird or they're secretly judging him, so he did the assignment individually. 

“Cross?” Papa's concerned gaze falls upon him, a worried frown on his lips at how quiet he is.

“Oh, um…school was fine, I guess?” 

What else is Cross supposed to say? That school was terrible and he had to do work meant for four people all by himself? 

Absolutely not; the last thing Cross wants to do is make papa worry, he has enough stress regarding his job and pushy clients, Cross doesn't want to add another problem to his plate.

“Just fine?” 

Papa's eyebrow is raised, green eyes seeming to stare straight into Cross's soul searching for the truth that Cross is deliberately keeping hidden.

“Uh huh, just fine,” Cross lies, kicking Maru's leg with his foot under the table for help in getting papa off his back.

Maru blinked in surprise at being kicked, looking at Cross from across the table with those big, curious green eyes — it's unfortunate they aren't the type of twins that have their own made up language or can communicate without using words, but that doesn't mean Cross can't drop hints in other ways.

“Maru, didn't you wanna ask papa something?” 

It takes Maru a moment to remember what he was supposed to ask papa, and when he does, his eyes go wide, mouth agape, as the lightbulb goes off in his head. 

“Oh! Papa! Papa! Can I go play warriors with Tsurugi?”

Papa's eyes are off Cross, giving him room to breathe and think of an excuse to stay home.

“If his mom says it's okay, then it's okay with me,” Papa usually says yes to whenever Maru asks to go play with Tsurugi, unless they have family time planned or Maru got a bad grade on a test and papa is making him study. 

“I'll go call him!” Maru slides out of the chair, grinning, and starts making his way to papa's office where his phone is located. 

Cross was about to get ready to slip out as well, an excuse that he had a book report to work on on the tip of his tongue, but papa was far smarter than the both of them put together. 

“Maru, hold up,” 

The words make Maru pause in place; they both know better than to disobey papa, but it's not because they're not scared of making him angry or being punished.

Papa Dura is a wonderful man; he never raises his voice in anger and his hands are only used to caress them lovingly for they are his and Dabura's most precious treasures. 

They listen to their papa because they have the utmost respect for him.

“Hmn?”

“Take Cross with you,” 

Darn it; Cross looks to Dabura for help only to be met with a sympathetic smile and shrug.

Dabura looks scary and tough to outsiders, but the twins know he's very weak when it comes to papa.

“Your papa can be very scary when he's angry.” 

Cross and Maru take Dabura on his word, for they definitely don't want to find out what papa is like when he's angry.

“But papa -” Maru starts to whine, but is cut off immediately. 

“No “but papa”, take Cross with you or you're not going.” Papa states firmly, making his stance on the matter clear. 

“Fiiine.” 

Maru doesn't bother to retort; it's a battle he won't win, so he shuffles out of the room to call Tsurugi and tell him that both he and Cross will be coming. 

Cross knows papa means well and that he wants Cross to come out of his shell and make friends, but it's not as simple as having something in common with another person or talking to them everyday. 

“Papa, I don't wanna go…” Cross finally admits, knowing he can't keep making excuses.

Papa frowns, taking a seat in the chair Maru had just vacated. 

“Is Maru being mean to you?”

“No…” 

“Is Tsurugi being mean to you?”

“No…” 

“Come on, tell me, I won't say anything to Maru.” 

Papa always keeps his word, so it's easy to tell him things. 

“I want to stay home with you and Dabs,” Cross says softly, averting his gaze to his hands that clutch tightly to the fabric of his pants.

“Don't you want to go play with them?”

It's a difficult question to answer; Cross cannot give a definite yes or no reply, because even he doesn't know what he wants.

“I don't like playing warriors…everytime Tsurugi and Maru start yelling and swinging their sticks, it scares me…because they look so serious and when I told them, they just made me sit on the slide and “await rescue”, and they always take forever to come back.” 

There it is, the truth that Cross has been sitting on for so long; he feels slightly guilty for complaining that Maru and Tsurugi are leaving him out because he doesn't want to play with them but also hasn't made any suggestions for games or activities the three of them could do and enjoy together.

“Have you told them that you want to play something else with them?” 

“Well, no…” Cross just doesn't want to spoil the fun. 

Maru always looks so happy when he and Tsurugi are playing together, Cross wishes he could enjoy their little games with them, but he doesn't like the show that the two of them do and is unfamiliar with the terms “Domain Expansion”, “Black Flash”, and “Hollow Purple”. 

Papa sighs deeply and Cross knows he's about to get the “be more honest” talk from him.

“Cross, Maru and Tsurugi cannot read your mind; you need to use your words and tell them you feel left out.” 

That's easy for papa to say; he can strike up a conversation with just about anyone — the moms of other students at school, a grocery store clerk, a restaurant waitress. 

“I just don't want them to get mad at me…” Cross admits, his eyes feeling slightly misty as he imagines a situation where Maru and Tsurugi get angry and consider him a killjoy. 

The way Cross views Tsurugi is slightly complicated; he fits the basic definition of what a friend is, but they don't have any similarities besides being deemed scary by their peers, so it's hard to say if Tsurugi sees him as a friend, too, or just Maru's younger twin brother. 

It doesn't really help that Cross was sick the day Maru and Tsurugi first met each other; maybe things would've been slightly different if he'd gotten to meet Tsurugi instead of Maru having to introduce them to each other and deeming them friends. 

Maru and Tsurugi are in the same class, they always pair up for group work, and they've been pretty much glued at the hip since the day they first met.

They like the same things and their personalities mesh well; Cross isn't sure he and Tsurugi could ever be close, because unlike Maru, Cross doesn't like bugs, getting dirty, and he doesn't have infinite energy to play for hours like they do — after two hours, Cross is tired and wants to sit down and relax, while Maru is still running around without any signs of slowing down. 

Maybe they were just never meant to be friends. 

The sound of papa tapping the table with his fingers draws Cross's gaze from his lap and up to papa's smiling face and he feels his anxious thoughts begin to steadily dissipate.

“Cross, they're not gonna get mad,” Papa says gently, his tone so warm and comforting. “Talk to them, let them know you want to play with them and then all three of you can put your heads together and come up with a game that you’ll all enjoy.” 

Papa always knows just what to say to Cross whenever he feels insecure and uncertain; he never belittles Cross's feelings or tries to push him into situations that will worsen his anxiety, he always listens attentively, never interrupting or cutting him off.

There's still some slight uncertainty that Cross is worried about and would like some comforting words to give him the courage to speak up. 

“How can you be so sure?” 

“I can't for Tsurugi, that's something you need to discover yourself,” Papa, unfortunately, isn't a mind reader and can only make inferences based on what he sees and hears. “But I am certain Maru wouldn't get mad, because he's your big brother and we certainly didn't raise him to be inconsiderate or rude.”

Cross knows papa doesn't have magical powers, but sometimes it is hard to believe that, because papa always knows what to say to put his mind at ease and make everything alright. 

It's true that Maru wouldn't get angry at Cross. He never does. 

Cross doesn't like bugs, Maru is great at squashing them; Cross doesn't like thunder, Maru will turn the TV volume all the way up and get under the blankets to keep him company. Cross doesn't like getting up at night to use the bathroom by himself because the second floor hallway is dark, and the house makes noises. Maru will go with him, flashlight in hand, and hold his hand on the entire way to and from the bathroom. 

Their conversation comes to an end upon the sound of Maru yelling from down the hallway.  

“CROSS, C’MON, TSURUGI'S WAITING FOR US!” 

“Coming!” Cross calls out, swinging his legs over the side of the chair and hopping onto his feet.

“Thank you for talking to me, papa,” Cross is eternally grateful that he and Maru have such wonderful parents who love and care about them. 

“Anytime, kiddo,” Papa grins so widely that Cross wonders if his cheeks ever get sore from constantly being stretched.

As Cross is about to go join Maru by, presumably, the genkan to get his shoes on and head out, papa stops him by calling out to him.

“Come here for a sec, Cross,” 

Cross doesn't have to ponder what it is papa wants, he already knows.

Standing in front of papa, Cross lets himself be pulled in closer, and he can't fight the smile when large hands cradle his face and papa gives him a smooch right above his third eye.  

Everytime Cross and Maru leave the house, papa always gives them a little smooch as a good luck charm — unless he's sick; Dabura doesn't allow him to spread his germs, and will do so in his place, although quite cautiously because of the horns.

Eventually, they'll be too old for papa to give them smooches before sending them off, but for now, Cross happily welcomes the affection.

“I love you,” Papa says softly, retracting his hands; letting them be independent is something he's still working on, but they're getting there.

“I love you, too, papa.” Cross smiles, filled with newfound confidence.

“Have fun, and be home by five, okay?” 

“Okay,” Cross nods, affirming he'll keep track of the time and make sure both he and Maru return home on time.

Cross takes pride in the fact Maru listens to him when he tells him it's time to leave, because they're twins and they tell each other everything — he has plenty of secrets Maru has vowed him not to tell their parents and all Cross has to do is bring up something embarrassing Maru has done such as “Remember that time -” in front of Tsurugi and he complies immediately. 

“Papa! Why does Cross get a kiss and I don't?”

Maru stands in the doorframe of the kitchen pouting, his chubby cheeks puffed out, and eyes glaring with the ferocity of a kitten. 

“Get over here, Maru,” Papa gestures with a wave of his hand and a hearty laugh.

Cross remembers a time where one of the neighborhood ladies asked papa if he had a “favorite child”, and papa, politely, told her that he doesn't have a favorite, because he loves both Cross and Maru equally and would never want them to feel that they have to compete with each other for his love, because a father's love for his children should be unconditional.

Maru shuffles over to papa, still pouting, but it doesn't stay on his face for long when papa pulls him onto his lap and kisses his forehead, just like he'd done with Cross. 

“Better?” Papa grins; if there's ever a moment he gets to shower them with affection, he does. 

Maru giggles, hopping off papa's lap and joining Cross by the doorway. 

“Hehe, yes!” 

“I love you, Maru,” 

Maru's grinning so wide, the gap in his bottom set of teeth where he'd fallen and knocked two of them out fully visible, resembling papa more and more with each day that passes. 

“I love you more, papa!” 

Dabura takes this moment to step in and place his hands on their backs. 

“Alright, you two, say goodbye to papa, you don't want to keep your friend waiting.” Dabura gets them back on track, because if he doesn't, papa and Maru are gonna go back and forth about who loves who more.

Spoiler: papa loves them more; he always cheats and pulls the,”Well, I loved you two before you were even born!” and Maru has to concede — he can't retort that he loved papa before he was born because, unfortunately, they didn't know papa or Dabura while they were still inside their birth mother. 

“Bye, papa!” Maru says way too loudly and waves enthusiastically.

Cross offers up a simple wave and a small smile.

”Bye, papa,” 

As Dabura is guiding them out, papa rests his head on his hand, a mischievous smirk forming on his lips.

“So…Dabs, you're not gonna ask me for a kiss?”

Dabura pays no heed to papa's antics. 

“No.” 

Sometimes it's hard to believe that papa is a grown man with a job and a husband raising twins, because he acts more childish than they do.

“Awww, why not?” Papa pouts, feigning hurt from being shot down.

Dabura merely sighs, shaking his head.

“Dura, you cannot keep your hands to yourself, and our children are present.” 

Cross and Maru are still too young to fully understand what Dabura means, they just know when they're sent to their aunt's place for the night that “their parents are gonna have adult time” and it's gonna be really boring and they'd have more fun sleeping over at auntie's apartment.

“Boys, your dad doesn't love papa anymore.” 

The first time papa made that joke, Cross and Maru were a bit too young to understand it was meant to be humorous. 

Maru had gotten so angry on his papa's behalf and with little, stubby legs marched over to Dabura and began yelling at him to be nicer to papa and hitting his kneecaps with little fists.

On the other side, Cross, ever so sensitive, had burst into tears thinking their parents didn't actually love each other anymore and they would no longer be a family. 

“Dura, fix this before Maru starts biting my kneecaps.” 

Papa had scooped Cross into his arms and cleared his throat to get Maru's attention, distracting him long enough for Dabura to pick Maru up and settle him on his hip.

“Maru, Cross, listen to papa — your dad loves your papa very much, and there won't ever come a day where he won't love me or you two.” 

“Really?” Cross had sniffled.

“Really,” Papa nodded. "Your papa is sorry for making you two upset.” 

Maru, having calmed down, relaxed against Dabura's chest and mumbled,”Sorry, dad,”

“It's alright, Maru.” Dabura, the intimidating giant, cradled Maru so close to him. “Sometimes your papa's jokes aren't very funny.” 

Cross and Maru have been alive for nine years, and they've never once seen their parents fight or not want to be in the same room as the other — papa cannot lie to save his life, he always cracks a smile or snickers before bursting out into a full chortle, and then there's Dabura who looks at him like he hangs the stars in the sky. 

“You're so dramatic, papa,” Maru giggles.

Cross simply rolls his eyes and says,“We're leaving now, please stop flirting,”

“Remember, be home by five,” Dabura tells them, zipping up Maru's jacket and then proceeding to do the same for Cross's. 

They can zip their own jackets up, but Maru takes forever to decide what color jacket he wants to wear and when he does make up his mind, he'll suddenly decide he doesn't want to wear a jacket anymore. 

Having Dabura pick out their jackets makes it easier to get ready for their meet up with Tsurugi at the park. 

“Are we still having fried chicken for dinner?” Maru asks, searching for the matching pair to the shoe he's holding. 

Dabura nods, unlocking the door for them. 

“We are, unless you two want something else?”

“No!” Both Cross and Maru say in unison; papa is an okay cook, but they don't crave his cooking like they do Dabura's.

“Don't forget, kids, the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.” 

“Dura, you cooked soggy ramen for me on our first date.” 

“You still married me and we have two kids together, so you were obviously charmed by me.” 

Cross and Maru always giggle when their parents start talking about life before they were born; it's hard to imagine they were once young and not together.

"Make sure to look both ways when crossing streets and do not go off with strangers.”

“Yes, Dabs,” Maru nods, bouncing on his feet, ready to get going. 

“There are tissues in your pockets, in case you need them.” 

“Oh, these are the really soft ones!” 

“Be safe you two,” 

“We will,” Cross thinks Dabura and papa can be being overprotective, but he knows it's because they love him and Maru, if either of them got hurt, it would only worry their parents. 

They're gonna be fine; Maru and Tsurugi learned a very valuable lesson the day all of them got poison ivy to always stick to the paths and never try to take shortcuts through shrubbery or tall grass. 

The street Miss Miyaguni lives on is directly across from the park, and they walk that route pretty often; everyone in that neighborhood absolutely fawns over the fact that they're twins and Maru's chatty, so he's won them all over.

There aren't many Simurians that live in their part of Kyoto; papa and Dabura moved here because they were renovating a house due to the places in Tokyo being too small to comfortably accommodate Dabura's height and horns. 

Everything worked out perfectly because Maru and Cross would soon join them two years after they finished renovations and made their family whole. 

Coexistence, apparently, was difficult at first when the Simurians first came to Earth, but that was long before even papa and Dabura were born — Cross and Maru don't view themselves any differently from their “Earthling” neighbors and peers.

They are all human, some just have weirdly shaped ears, an extra eye, and horns. 

“C’mon, let's go!” 

Maru takes the lead, stepping out of the house, and Cross follows. 

They haven't even stepped off their property when Maru extends his hand out, urging Cross to take it.

There really isn't a need for them to hold hands, they're old enough to walk without needing to stay close to each other, but Cross still accepts the hand given because Maru is his big brother — even if he is only twenty minutes older — and Cross always feels safe with him.

Whenever Cross is worried he'll lose Maru to Tsurugi, it's moments like these that prove he's just worrying over nothing.

Maru's going to be his annoyingly overprotective older brother forever.

Maru did not expect to arrive at the park and see that Tsurugi had brought Yuka along — he didn't say anything over the phone about her tagging along, so Maru just assumes Tsurugi is on big brother duty today; no matter, she's always welcome to join them.

“Sorry, Maru, mom made me bring Yuka because she has a bookclub meeting with her friends.” 

Tsurugi and Yuka, despite being two years apart, have a lot of friction going on between them; Maru did not press Tsurugi for details because it seems to be a touchy subject regarding the fact they moved here with just their mother. 

Tsurugi looks quite agitated, his brows furrowed and a scowl present; Yuka is pouting, arms folded, and big, blue eyes glued to the ground.

They're keeping a very noticeable space between themselves, unlike Maru and Cross who seem to naturally stick to each other like polar ends of magnets. 

Maru thinks he's quite an expert when it comes to handling younger siblings; by the end of their play session, Yuka's gonna be all smiles and giggles. 

“Yuka, do you wanna be the princess that we rescue from Manju?” 

If looks could kill, Maru is certain he'd be decimated on the spot from the glare Yuka is giving him.

“No.” 

No worries, Maru's got this; Yuka doesn't want to be a princess, that's fine.

“Oh, uh…do you wanna be a warrior instead?” 

They could catch her up to speed on what to do and how their game works, all Yuka would have to do is use her imagination to the fullest and pretend like she's in an actual battle. 

“No!” Yuka yells shrilly, stomping her foot in protest to Maru's suggestion. 

Maru glances at Tsurugi for help who just rolls his eyes in annoyance at his sister's childish behavior. 

This is going poorly.

Racking his brain, Maru searches through his memories to see if there is any advice papa has ever given him that he could apply to this situation. 

“Don't assume what other people are thinking, it's best to ask them directly.” 

Papa always gives the best advice; Maru hopes he'll be smart when he gets to be that old.

“Then…uh…what do you want to do, Yuka?”

The sour expression on Yuka's face immediately shifts upon being asked what she wants to do instead of the boys all assuming she wants to join their activity. 

Yuka shrugs off the panda backpack she'd been wearing, dropping it on the ground, unzipping it, and crouching down to rummage around inside. 

Finding what she was looking for, Yuka pulls out a very bent sketchpad and holds it up with a grin.

“I wanna draw!”

If Maru didn't already have plans with Tsurugi, he would've been all for sitting down and drawing pictures, despite his skills being very lacking and nobody can tell what it is he's drawn. 

“Ugh, mom said I had to watch her, but we're this close to defeating Manju!” 

Tsurugi's in such a foul mood; Maru's worried something might be wrong, because the few times Tsurugi has brought Yuka along, she usually goes off and does her own thing like climb on the playground, catch bugs, or working on beating Tsurugi's high score in a game. 

Also, Maru really needs to talk to Tsurugi about something important, but not here; it has to be when they're alone together and away from their sibling's earshot. 

What to do?

“Achoo…”  

Maru knows where that exact baby kitten sneeze came from — or rather who it came from.

Turning his head to his right, Maru sees Cross pull out a tissue from the pocket of his jacket, turning away from the group so he can blow his nose. 

“Hey, Cross, do you wanna stay here with Yuka and draw?” 

Maru knows Cross doesn't like playing warriors with him and Tsurugi; he's far too sweet to tell them he doesn't want to join in but too shy to speak up and suggest something else. 

The reason Maru makes Cross join is so he isn't excluding him, but that's just hurting Cross because he doesn't actually get to play with them and have fun.

Yuka looks at Maru with those big, sparkly eyes and looks like she's seconds away from jumping for joy. 

“Yeah! Cross always draws so pretty!” 

Maru's artistic skills are pretty nonexistent; he's not great at putting to paper the images that are dancing around in his mind and thus they come out looking disastrous.

“What is this blob thing?” 

“That's Manju!”

“How? This is an orange blob with circles and lines.” 

Maru will forever hold a little grudge against Tsurugi for insulting his hard work, because it's not like he could draw a cat any better — Tsurugi drew an oval, some triangles, and five squares to represent the four legs and tail. 

Cross, on the other hand, has a fine eye for small details and has always been the type that colors inside the lines of picture books and enjoys doodling on napkins when they're out at restaurants or at the dinner table waiting for Dabura to finish cooking. 

Two sets of eyes from the Okkotsu siblings and an extra three from Maru fall upon Cross, expectantly, and he turns his gaze to the dirt to avoid looking at any of them. 

“Um…I guess…” Cross mumbles, loud enough so that only Maru can hear. 

“What did he say?” Tsurugi asks, not having heard it.

“He said yes,” Maru grins with a thumbs up.

As the four of them start to pair up, ready to do their own activities, Maru pauses as he passes Yuka to give her a pat on the head.

“Take good care of Cross, Yuka!” 

“I will!” Yuka giggles, grabbing Cross's hand and attempting to pull him along towards the benches where parents usually sit to watch their kids. 

“Come on, Cross, let's draw!” 

Art buddy acquired, Yuka is in a much better mood than she was ten minutes ago.

Maru is quite certain that Cross will enjoy hanging out with Yuka than waiting for him and Tsurugi to finish up their conquest. 

“Yuka, slow down, please,” 

Yes, today will mark the start of a beautiful friendship and it's all thanks to Maru.

Maru and Tsurugi have put a good distance between themselves and their siblings as they walk the path to the neighborhood their target lives in, so now should be a good time for Maru to ask what's bugging Tsurugi. 

“Hey, did something happen?” Maru starts, worried about his friend and hoping he can help, even if it is just lending an ear.

Tsurugi's quiet for a few seconds, before he lets out a long sigh.

“My dad was supposed to come get Yuka and spend time with her because he missed her birthday, but he called my mom to tell her he wouldn't be able to make it and Yuka got pretty upset about it.”

That explains the bad moods; Maru has never met Tsurugi's father and he doesn't think he ever will unless the stars align, because the reason Tsurugi and his family moved to Kyoto wasn't just to be near his aging grandparents, his parents had gotten a divorce and they siblings went with their mom. 

From the tidbits Maru has learned from Tsurugi in passing, the Okkotsu siblings' father often cancels plans at the last minute or doesn't bother to show up to things involving his children.

“Aww, that sucks," Maru doesn't really know what else to say in response. 

“And then mom said I had to take Yuka because she's busy with her bookclub, like, Yuka is just gonna be in her room playing games, why do I have to bring her with me?”

Maru can see where Tsurugi is coming from with that one — Cross wanted to stay home, but papa said no and forked him over to Maru who already had plans with Tsurugi.

Though, thinking about it, Maru can see why their parents were so adamant they take their siblings along.

“I think your mom just didn't want Yuka to sit around in her room and be upset the rest of the day, y'know?" 

Maru isn't privy to all the details that go on in the Okkotsu family home, and he doesn't know what their life was like two years before they moved here, but he does know that he doesn't like seeing Tsurugi upset about his father backing out of plans or being a no show.

It must be hard on Yuka to have her heart broken and trust betrayed by someone that is supposed to love her unconditionally, yet she still clings to some small amount of hope that “this time will be different”, and that her father will show up.

Maru hopes that by hanging out with Cross that Yuka can still enjoy the remainder of her day and temporarily forget about the pain of being let down by her father. 

“Sometimes you say the smartest things, Maru,” Tsurugi jokes with a smile, earning a playful hit from Maru who feigned offense. 

“I get it, though,” Tsurugi admits. “Yuka likes to act like it doesn't bother her, but it does and it makes me so mad that I can't do anything for her.”  

Maru understands the feeling of having a younger sibling who puts on a front and pretends nothing is bothering them because they don't want anyone to worry over them — they're the big brothers, it's their job to worry over their younger sibling.

Up until the moment Maru got into a fight with one of the people that decided it was a great idea to bully Cross, it physically hurt seeing his sweet little brother flinch whenever someone touched him or recoiled from the affection.

Maru's snapping point was the night Cross broke down when they were getting ready for bed because they had school the next morning; papa and Dabura did everything they could to comfort him, and decided upon letting him stay home from school while they figured out how to handle the bullying situation. 

Waiting isn't Maru's strongest forte; some impudent loser had the gall to call Cross a three eyed freak and thought he could just go about life without consequences because Cross doesn't like trouble or getting others into trouble, so he kept the bullying a secret until it just became too much for him to handle.

Maru did what any big brother would do — beat the absolute stuffing out of the bully, and he has no regrets about it. 

Tsurugi, obviously, cannot harm his father for making Yuka upset, but he can still help in other ways. 

“After we finish our conquest, how about we spend some time with Yuka? What was she and your dad gonna do today?

Maru isn't a miracle worker; he wants Yuka to feel better, but while there are things that are possible to do within his limited capabilities, there are things that just aren't. 

Tsurugi thinks for a moment before replying,“Grab dinner or something,” 

Oh, this is perfect; the stars have aligned within the realm of possibilities and Maru is certain by tomorrow, Yuka won't be so upset about her father flaking on her. 

Now, Yuka will still hold some resentment towards her father for what he did, but she'll have a better memory to make up for it. 

“Dabs is making dinner tonight! Ask your mom if you two can come over.”

It's a win for everyone; Dabura doesn't show much emotion on his face, but every time Tsurugi comes over and fawns over how cool Dabura is, papa says it makes Dabura's entire day because he's used to being seen as scary or intimidating.

Tsurugi can also attest to how delicious Dabura's cooking is; he's been over when papa cooked and agreed that, while it is good, it's missing something, while Dabura can make a simple grilled cheese sandwich or a salad and you'll be craving more.

“I'm sure she'll let us, ‘cause then she won't have to cook and load the dishwasher.” 

They end their conversation at that as they round the corner and the neighborhood comes into clear view. 

The house that Manju lives in is the first one with the bay window; if he's not laying on it cleaning himself, then he will be outside on the front porch sunbathing. 

Maru and Tsurugi get into character, assuming their roles as warriors that have come to take on the evil dragon that has wrecked towns and eaten multiple warriors that have attempted to slay it. 

They peak around the corner, eyes honed and waiting for the beast that only weighs about fifty kilograms but in their imagination, he's a whopping four thousand thirty-six kilos. 

The beast is laying on the front porch licking his front foot, unaware that two self-proclaimed warriors have come to challenge him on his turf.

Tsurugi picks up a branch that had fallen from a tree, gripping it like a katana whose sparks can generate flames, while Maru is the one who has the superpowers and doesn't rely on weapons. 

Maru rushes in first, skidding to a halt in front of the walkway that leads up the front door and points his finger at Manju. 

“Evil dragon, be prepared for this is where you fall!” 

Manju perks up instantly, stretching his limbs and back, and begins trotting down the pathway meowing every step of the way. 

Tsurugi takes this moment to ambush Manju from behind while his back is turned, blind spot wide open — it's two against one, Manju is going down!

“New Shadow Style: Batto Drawing!” Tsurugi swings the stick in mid air, pretending like it's cutting in the flesh of a dragon.

It's Maru's turn to act now.

“Harmony and Chaos!” 

Maru opens his third eye as wide as it can go, pretending to overwhelm Manju's brain with his power. 

Of course, this is just them playing pretend and they aren't actually trying to harm Manju — the cat absolutely loves attention and puts up with their shenanigans because it means getting lots of pats and chin scratches.

From behind Maru, Tsurugi gestures with his index finger for Manju to roll onto his side — this is a trick that took them a long time to master but once Manju got it, they've incorporated it as a major part in their role play because their “powers” are what defeats the evil dragon. 

Manju falls over onto his side with little grace and Maru goes over to pick him up with a giggle.

“Good boy, Manju,” Maru coos, settling down on the porch steps with Manju on his lap.

Tsurugi comes to join Maru just like always, sitting down next to him and petting the top of Manju's head, eliciting loud purrs from their feline friend. 

“We're getting a puppy soon,” Tsurugi says; he's a dog person so it makes sense his family would get a puppy once they fully got settled in.

“Oh, what kind?”

“Shiba Inu,”

“Cute!”

“Yuka wants to name her Mahoraga, like, who names their dog something like that?” Tsurugi snorts, rolling his eyes at how ridiculous it was.

“She's a fan of Sorcerer Wars?” 

Maru thought Yuka didn't like that show because there was too much action and her favorite character — the sleep deprived boy with heavy eye bags — hardly got any screen time. 

“Nah, she overheard it from the TV and thought the name was cool.” 

Maru can't help but giggle at the thought of standing outside at three in the morning, in the freezing cold, calling for the puppy to come inside the warm house.

“Hehe, everytime you wanna summon her, you gotta do the handsign and go: With this treasure, I summon —” Maru starts, grinning widely as he holds his fists in front of him. 

“Eight-Handled Sword Divergent Sila Divine General Mahoraga!” Tsurugi finishes, breaking out into a chortle.

Maru joins in the laughter, careful not to jostle Manju on his lap, lest he wants claws digging into his skin. 

“I don't think mom would let her name our dog something like that,”

“Yeah, probably not,”

They sit there in silence for a moment, neither knowing what to say but content with just sitting here and patting Manju's soft fur — Maru's gonna have cat fur all over his clothes but that's fine, he wouldn't trade a fun day like this for the world. 

The silence helps Maru get his thoughts in order; on his way back to the kitchen, he'd accidentally overheard papa and Cross talking and it's been weighing on him since they left the house m

“Hey, Tsurugi,”

“Hmnn?”

“I've been thinking, we've kinda been excluding Cross and I feel bad about it.” 

“Yeah, we do kinda suck,”

Not kinda, they suck big time.

“Tomorrow, let's all play together?” Maru suggests; he's not sure what activity the three of them will enjoy together but if they put their heads together, they'll figure something out. 

“Your house or my house?” 

“Probably your house, Dabs is gonna be painting the shed tomorrow afternoon and papa has business calls all day.” 

They'd have to be very quiet playing indoors; Cross appears quiet and collected, but every time Maru makes him fork over all his money in monopoly or makes him draw five in Uno, he gets so heated and starts yelling and it's the funniest thing ever. 

Three rowdy boys cooped up inside trying to find something fun to do just won't work, so it's best they go to Tsurugi's.

“Me and Yuka versus you and Cross.” 

“You're on!” Maru would never back down from a challenge. “Me and Cross are practically on the same wavelength! We're not losing!” 

They practically become the same person with how synchronized they become when they're serious about something like winning a two on two game.

“We'll see,” Tsurugi smirks. “Yuka is really competitive and doesn't like losing.” 

There's a knock on the door and they turn to see Miss Miyaguni standing with the phone in her hand.

“Boys, sorry to interrupt, but Dura just called and asked if you two were coming home soon?”

Leave it to papa to get anxious over them being away from home for too long and start calling the neighbors.

“What time is it?”

“A little past five,” 

“I guess we should start heading back,” Lest papa decides to come looking for them; talk about overprotectiveness. 

“Bye bye, Manju; see ya, miss Miyaguni!” Maru heaves Manju off of his lap and sets him down on the porch, giving him one last pat on the back for being such a good boy.

“Don't tell your dad,” Miss Miyaguni winks at Maru, handing him three chocolate bars she'd bought during a business trip overseas. 

It's on their way down the walkway that Maru realizes a very critical error.

“Oh…there's only three candy bars and four of us,” 

Maru would feel bad if Cross or Yuka weren't able to get their own individual candy bars and were forced to share. 

“Here,” Tsurugi breaks his chocolate bar in half, offering the bigger half to Maru.

“Aww, you never share with Mizuho, what makes me special?”

Tsurugi merely rolls his eyes at Maru's jest. 

 “Shut up or I'll eat both halves.”

“Shutting up now!” Maru isn't taking any chances. “Thank you for sharing with me.” 

“You'd do the same.” Tsurugi shrugs, not wanting to make a big deal out of it.

Maru, feeling a little mischievous, decides to jest a little because it's so funny seeing Tsurugi's reactions. 

“Nah, I'd eat the full thing.”

“Maru!”

“Race you back, Tsurugi!”

There's something calming about sitting in silence with another person with only the sounds of nature to be heard — well, that and Yuka humming off-key to a pop song. 

Cross doodles on the large paper that Yuka ripped out for him the little white dog chasing after a ball off in the distance; he doodles his brother and Tsurugi with sticks in their hands and Manju the cat in-between them; he ponders what to draw next before his eyes fall upon Yuka sitting next to him, hiding whatever it was she was drawing from his view.

Starting with the basic shape of her face that Cross recalls from memory, the page full of simple doodles begins to come to life as he adds onto the drawing with Yuka's big eyes, her thin brows, that big smile with her missing front tooth, the choppy bangs that she cut herself, and her messy braids with bits of hair sticking out from them.

“Wow! Cross, you are so good at drawing!” Yuka says in awe, completely captivated by all the doodles and the drawing he'd done of her.

“Thank you… “ Cross isn't used to compliments from other people.

Papa, Dabs, auntie, and Maru always compliment Cross's drawings, but they're his family, so they're biased in a sense that everything he does is wonderful and praise worthy. 

Cross doesn't like standing out or attracting attention to himself, so he intentionally nerfs his skills when making art at school so nobody will approach him and ask him to draw them.

It's not that Cross would say no, it's just that to draw someone, he would have to look at their face and that's not something he's comfortable with — it's easier to draw the people he knows and sees on a regular basis than a complete stranger. 

Drawing Yuka from memory was fairly easy; he's memorized Tsurugi and Yuka's faces because all four of them walk home from school together and he sees them outside of school.

This is the first time Cross has been alone with Yuka, and honestly, he's enjoying just sitting here drawing with her and not sitting on the slide waiting for Maru and Tsurugi or struggling to keep up with them on their adventures. 

“I'm bored, let's do something else.” 

Yuka is already shoving her sketchpad back into her panda backpack, hopping to her feet with a grin.

“What do you want to do?” Cross asks, folding the paper with the doodles he'd drawn and tucking it into the pocket of his jacket. 

Yuka takes Cross's hand, trying to drag him off to a new spot but he's heavier than she is, so she isn't getting very far.

“Come with me!” 

Cross supposes it should be fine if they venture a little further out; if Maru and Tsurugi return earlier than expected, they can just call out to them — Maru is very loud; they've tested it before, and Cross can hear Maru even from the other side of the park when he's shouting. 

Rising from the bench, Cross grabs Yuka's backpack and swings it over his shoulder; nobody is going to steal it, since it's a bit worn and the only thing in it is Yuka's sketchpad and some pencils, but it holds sentimental value to her — it's a gift from her beloved grandfather, losing it would devastate her. 

“Alright, Yuka, please lead the way,” 

Cross is rather curious where they're going, and Yuka's a sweetheart, so he has no fear of going off with her to a place that only she knows. 

Yuka has led Cross to a field full of colorful wild flowers, tucked far off from the noisy playground with lots of foot traffic, a perfect, peaceful little secret garden for people like him who don't fit in with the others.

They're very careful not to trample on any of the flowers as Yuka leads him to a small clearing in the field, ushering him to sit down on the ground with her.

“What are we doing?” Cross asks, curiously, wondering if they're going to draw again or she wants to look at the clouds in a quieter place and make shapes out of them.

“Cross, cup your hands together,” Yuka instructs, taking both his hands in her own, and turning them over so his palms face upwards.

“Okay,” Cross complies, cupping his hands together, still clueless about why he's doing this.

All Cross knows is that he trusts Yuka immensely and that she wouldn't do anything to intentionally scare him or make him upset.

“The flutterbys here are really friendly!” Yuka giggles, finally letting Cross in on the reason they're here.

The way Yuka botched the word “butterly” was far too adorable; Cross can't help but smile as he corrects her pronunciation.

“They're called butterflies, Yuka.”

Yuka doesn't get huffy about being corrected, she mumbles the word “butterfly” a couple of times until she's certain she had the pronunciation down. 

“You're so smart, Cross!” 

It feels different when someone that isn't family compliments Cross; he's not used to it — usually, his peers will whisper derogatory remarks under their breaths that he's a know-it-all or “Of course Cross knows the answer, all he does is read.” which is completely untrue; Cross loves reading, but he also enjoys doing other things and doesn't always have his nose stuck in a book 24/7 like they assume he does. 

“Thank you, you're very sweet, Yuka.”

Yuka gets a little bashful at being complimented back, but she shakes off the shyness immediately.

“Sit very still, Cross,” Yuka murmurs, her body stationary, the only things moving being the rise and fall of her chest from breathing and her eyes blinking.

Cross mimics her action, letting his body go lax and clearing his mind of all distractions.

It feels like they've been sitting here forever, even though it's only been a few minutes, and Cross is starting to get a little restless — now he understands why Maru hates being stagnant, it does get pretty boring when you're doing nothing.

“Oh!” Yuka's little gasp pulls Cross's focus back to reality. 

All three of Cross's red eyes widen in absolute wonder when he sees a striking blue butterfly has landed on his open palms.

It's so small that Cross barely feels it on his skin, save for the faintest brush of its beautiful, fluttering wings. 

Cross has seen butterflies in books, on screens, and fluttering about in Dabura's garden near the flowers, but he's never seen one this close up before. 

Their legs are so thin, the top of their antennae have little clubs, and this one's wings have black undersides with brown eye-spotted patterns.

Cross is absolutely mesmerized by just how beautiful it is that he doesn't notice the butterfly had begun flapping its wings and found a new spot to rest on.

The blue butterfly lands on the tip of Cross's nose and the wondrous moment is unfortunately ruined because Cross has a fear of bugs and butterflies are “bugs” — well, they're scientifically classified as insects, but same thing — and Cross is not known for his bravery. 

Giving Yuka a pleading expression, Cross waits for her help in removing it from his nose; while he doesn't like bugs, he doesn't want to hurt it by freaking out and accidentally swatting it with his hand. 

“Okay, little butterfly, time to go bye bye,” Yuka says, using her finger to delicately brush the butterfly off and watches as it flies away. 

“Sorry, I don't like bugs,” Cross feels guilty that he ruined such a precious moment because his fear got the better of him.

Yuka, sweet as she is, simply shakes her head with a smile. 

“It's okay,” Yuka tells Cross, patting the top of his head. “You did great!" 

Yuka leans back with the palms of her hands planted on the ground, glancing around the colorful field with a melancholic look on her face.

“I'm gonna miss the butterflies when they all leave,” Yuka says softly, wishing summer could stay forever. 

It's Cross's turn to bring comfort to Yuka; although Cross cannot control the weather and prevent the seasons from changing, he can bring her some solace. 

“They're just heading to warmer places, Yuka, they'll be back.”

It doesn't seem to be working; Yuka still looks desolate about the fact the butterflies will soon be heading out on their long migration and won't be back until next year. 

“I don't like winter…all the flowers go away and trees don't have leaves and there aren't any birdies or squirrels in the yard.”

Yuka pulls her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and resting her chin on her knees — it's the same exact pose Maru pulls when he's upset, and Cross knows just how to make her feel better and take her mind off the thing she is sad about. 

This always works with Maru, so surely it should with Yuka, since they have similar personalities.

“Winter can be nice, Yuka,” Cross tells Yuka, stretching his legs out so he can be more comfortable. “Think about the things you enjoy about it.”

Cross can picture the gears in Yuka's brain start turning at the question he'd asked. 

“Hmnn…I like snow!” 

This is off to a great start; Cross is certain Yuka will no longer be sad about the butterflies migrating by the time they return to the playground. 

“Yeah, me and Maru build snowmen with papa and Dabs and have snowball fights.” 

Papa goes way overboard with the puffy coats, thick gloves, the itchy hats, scarfs, and boots so tight that Maru complains he can't walk in them.

“Me and Tsurugi do that too!”

“What else do you like about winter?”

Yuka thinks long and hard about the joys that come with winter and finally has another answer to give.

“Oooh! Oooh! When they start putting up Christmas decorations!”

The holiday lights are very pretty — when Cross and Maru were younger, they had a tendency of getting sick during the winter; they were inconsolable, fussy and couldn't be put down for bed, stressing their poor papa out, so Dabura would buckle them in their car seats and they went on a drive to see the Christmas lights.

Cross doesn't remember much, because he and Maru would fall asleep halfway through the drive and they'd wake up the next morning snuggled up in between papa and Dabura.

“Have you been good this year, Yuka?” 

Yuka nods fervently, very proud of herself for not getting in trouble at all this year. 

“I'm always a good girl! Do you think I'm on the nice list?”

“At the very top.” 

Cross thinks the concept of nice and naughty lists are a bit cruel; if Maru fights a bully, does that automatically make him naughty? If Cross puts up with the bullying and doesn't defend himself, does that make him nice? 

It's ridiculous, but if there really was a list full of nice children, Yuka's name would certainly be high up on it.

“Hmnn, what else is good about winter…” Yuka muses aloud. “Oh! Hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows and whipped cream is yummy!”

“It is,” Cross has a really big sweet tooth, so of course he loves hot chocolate in the winter. “Maru's tummy is sensitive, and if he drinks too much, he makes his tummy mad.”

Papa always tells Maru to drink it in moderation, but Maru doesn't listen and instead of getting to spend the afternoon playing, Maru spends it fighting for his life in the bathroom. 

“Do you like Christmas, Cross?”

Cross isn't big on holidays; he doesn't dislike them, but papa comes from a large family and when they all get together under the same roof, it's a bit too much for him and he hides away in his room and makes Maru handle the “aww, you've gotten so big!” remarks and overly affectionate relatives. 

Christmas is considered a holiday for couples, but papa and Dabura don't really do all that couple stuff now that they're parents — papa said they had plenty of fun in their twenties, but now that they're older and have kids, spending Christmas as a family is just as enjoyable as going on a romantic date on Christmas eve. 

“I love Christmas.” 

Cross loves waking up on Christmas day to presents under the tree, eating breakfast in the living room, spending time with the people he loves, staying in pajamas all day, and not having to do chores.

“Do you and Maru stay up and wait for Santa? ‘Cause I do!” 

Maru does every year, and Cross goes along with his antics; Cross doesn't believe in Santa anymore, but trying to catch Santa is fun because he and Maru always play a game of whoever falls asleep first has to help clean up after they unwrap their gifts.

They both end up as the loser and help with cleaning all the wrapping paper to give papa and Dabura time to sit and relax on the couch with their morning coffees. 

“We do, but we always miss him. He leaves us a note saying the cookies were good, though.” 

A note that is, just so coincidentally, written in papa's handwriting.

Cross doesn't tell Yuka that Santa isn't real or that the Santa at his house is just Dabura in a red outfit and the one eating the cookies and downing that huge glass of milk is papa. 

Living in blissful ignorance would've worked for another few years, if it weren't for the fact that Cross saw papa kissing “Santa” when he had gotten up to use the bathroom. 

Papa has no shame; he laughed at the fact Cross had accidentally caught them, and didn't bother making up any excuses.

“Don't tell Maru, this is our little secret, okay?” 

It's a secret Cross will save for when Maru stops believing in Santa and they can joke about how he caught papa kissing Santa.

“Tsurugi said Santa isn't real and that it's actually mom who gives us our gifts!”

Cross won't break the illusion Yuka still has of Santa is real, even though Tsurugi is right about the fact their gifts come from their parents. 

“Gifts that cost a lot of money come from our parents, but others come from Santa.”

That's what papa told Cross and Maru when they got an expensive gaming console one year — Santa doesn't give electronics or pricey gifts because it would be unfair to the children who didn't get a luxurious gift for Christmas. 

“Oh! That makes sense! I didn't ask Santa for a new coat and boots, but I still got them anyway!” 

Cross had no idea it was a universal experience to get clothes you didn't ask for on Christmas.

Cross isn't one to complain, especially since he and Maru share their clothes — the whole color coding thing only worked for papa and Dabura when they were infants and slept a good majority of the time.

It stopped when they were old enough to stay awake longer periods of the day and their distinct eye colors and hair textures gave them away, Maru's being wavy and Cross's straight.

Besides presents, the food is also a major staple of what makes Christmas magical; some families order KFC, Cross and Maru are very adamant that Dabura's fried chicken is better than any restaurants, so they always have it for Christmas dinner. 

“The best part about Christmas is the strawberry shortcake,” Cross says confidently; he's making himself hungry now talking about food. 

“Cake is yummy! I wish I could eat cake everyday!” 

That's something Cross can agree on; papa and Dabura are very lax on what they can eat, since they're not picky eaters and eat their vegetables without fuss, but sweets have to be consumed in very moderate amounts and never before bed — too much sugar will make them hyper.

Cross and Maru did break that rule before when they waited for their parents to go to bed so they could sneak downstairs to eat ice cream; they ate too much and got a scolding from papa because they upset their tummies and had to miss school. 

“Papa and Dabs take us to go sledding when it snows a lot.” 

“Is sledding fun?”

“It is,” Cross nods. “It feels like your heart is gonna jump out of your chest as you go down the hill, and Maru always makes us fall off and into the snow.” 

Cross is omitting the fact that the first time they went sledding, Maru chose the biggest hill he could find and halfway down, Cross began to regret getting on the sled and got so scared he burst into tears and Maru toppling the darn thing over did not help.

Maru's reckless at times, but not inconsiderate; Cross remembered sitting there in the cold snow, teary eyed, and wanting to go home; originally, Cross had wanted to run to papa for comfort, but Maru convinced him to stay put because he wanted to show him something and swore that it would make him smile.

Maru had rolled snow into a ball and smoothed it out, setting it down for one moment so he could unzip the pocket of his coat and pull out a packet of skittles he'd been munching on during the car ride over.

“I already ate all the red ones,” Maru admitted, sticking two green ones on the little ball of snow.

Cross had no idea what it was Maru had handed him, because, to him, it looked like a lump of snow with green skittles on it. 

“It's a snow bunny! But we don't have any leaves, so it doesn't have ears.” 

It didn't look like a bunny at all — they never do when Maru makes them — but it ceased Cross's sniffles and tears; his big brother always knew how to make everything okay.

Though, it still irks Cross when Maru tips the sled over on purpose, but he gets over it fairly quickly when Maru pulls out candy he's stashed away in his pocket and shares it with Cross. 

“Have you ever looked at the stars on a really cold night?” 

Yuka's a lot like Maru in the sense that they find joy in practically everything around them — Cross hasn't viewed stars the same way since learning they're just balls of plasma held together by their own gravity during a field trip to the science museum. 

Maru, on the other hand, thinks that stars are the lights from lighthouses that belong to distant worlds — Maru's reasoning on why the people on Earth can see the lights is because the aliens are waiting for their neighbors to come and visit and you always leave the light on when waiting for someone. 

It's difficult to see stars in the city with all the light pollution, and Cross doesn't like being cold, so he's never looked at the winter sky long enough to pick out constellations.

“No, what's it like?” Cross is rather curious about what such an unobstructed view of the night sky would look like in the middle of winter. 

“It's so beautiful, Cross!” Yuka proclaims, her eyes almost seeming to twinkle like the night stars. “Uncle Megumi took us before we moved here, and he showed us how to connect the dots to make pictures out of the stars!”

Yuka points up to the blue sky with her finger and pretends she's connecting stars together.

It takes Cross a moment to realize what Yuka means is her uncle taught her and Tsurugi about constellations.

“What constellations do you know?” Surely Yuka's uncle taught her the names of some basic ones. 

Yuka blinks in confusion, asking,“What are constellations?”

Sometimes Cross forgets Yuka is only seven and that he tends to use words that she may not understand just yet, but whenever he does, she simply asks what the word means because she wants to learn.

When Yuka tells Cross that he's smart, she isn't mocking him or being condescending, she's giving him a genuine compliment because she is so impressed by how much he knows.

“Pictures you make by connecting stars.” 

“Oh, I can't remember the names, just that the sky was really pretty and the stars were super bright.” 

Honestly, Cross didn't expect that answer, but it's just so Yuka-like that it makes him chuckle. 

“That's okay,” Cross says, unable to refrain from patting the top of Yuka's head.

Yuka giggles at the affection, glancing at him with a curious gaze. 

“Do you know any, Cross?”

Time for Cross to put all that astrology knowledge he learned from auntie to good usage. 

“When is your birthday, Yuka?”

“March eighteenth!"

“Your constellation is pisces; it looks like two fishes.”

“Do Tsurugi! His is January twenty-sixth!”

“Aquarius; it looks like someone pouring water from a cup.”

“What about you?” 

“June seventh, so Gemini; it means twins.” 

“Like you and Maru!”

“Yes, just like me and Maru.”

Yuka has shown no signs of being bored with the sudden shift in topics; she hangs off every word Cross says and asks questions knowing they'll get answers. 

“You sure know a lot about stars, Cross,” Yuka remarks, making Cross's cheeks grow warm.

“My aunt is really into astrology and she taught me and Maru a bunch of stuff about it.”

Well, Cross learned about constellations and astrology; Maru declared he'd join JAXA when he's an adult and will build a spaceship that can take him beyond the sky to meet his neighbors that live in the stars. 

Cross is perfectly fine staying on Earth and supporting Maru's galactic adventures from the ground. 

“Are you and Maru super close?” Yuka inquires, scooting closer to Cross. 

Cross wonders why Yuka's bringing up his relationship with Maru all of a sudden — maybe because Cross talks about him all the time? 

It's hard not to have a conversation and Maru's name doesn't get brought up at least once or twice, he's a big part of Cross's life and he's fairly certain it's the same for Maru when it comes to him.

“Yes, we're really close.” 

“Like finish each other's sentences and talk at the same time close?”

“We don't finish each other's sentences, but sometimes we do end up talking at the same time.”

Papa finds it absolutely endearing when they speak at the same time or when they're playing a game like rock paper scissors and end up with the same results.  

“If Maru is your twin, how is he your big brother?” 

Everyone always asks that question, and Cross can never understand why they do — at first, he assumed people thought Maru was actually the younger twin, but no, they want to know how Maru could be older than Cross since they're twins.

“He was born first,” Cross starts his explanation. “Papa says it's because he was too excited to wait for the day we were supposed to be born and that he was really loud and cried until I was born and we were together.”

Because Maru wanted to come into the world early, papa and Dabura had to scramble and get their bags packed so they could head to the hospital and meet the twins that they were adopting. 

“Awww,” Yuka remarks. “Do you have a mom?”

That question is difficult; yes, Cross and Maru have a mother because, well, Dabura and papa cannot have a child together, since they're both men. 

They've never kept the fact of them being adopted a secret; Cross and Maru never inquired about their birth parents.

They're perfectly content with being papa Dura and dad Dabura's sons.

“We did,” Cross isn't sure how to explain this in a gentle way that's easy for Yuka to understand. “She went to heaven.”

Papa and Dabura do not keep information from them regarding their birth parents — they got a call one day on their home phone and Dabura picked it up; he's not the most expressive person so trying to determine what the conversation was about proved to be difficult. 

When Dabura hung up the call, he came into the living room and told Cross and Maru he had something important to discuss with them.

Cross and Maru were the same age as Yuka currently is when they learned that their biological mother had passed away — Dabura did not specify anymore than that, and Cross and Maru didn't ask any questions.

Their birth mother gave them up for adoption once they were born and never formed any type of relationship with them, so to say they felt sad would be a lie — it was sad she died, but they weren't upset about it. 

Life just simply carried on for them.

“Do you miss her?”

“It's hard to miss someone you never knew,” Cross admits, knowing Yuka won't judge him for saying that. “Papa and Dabs adopted us after we were born, so they're mine and Maru's parents.” 

“It must be nice having a brother who will play with you all the time…” 

“Not all the time, we like doing our things.” 

Cross loves Maru dearly; he couldn't ask for a better big brother nor would he ever want there to be a lifetime where he isn't Maru's little brother, however, Maru's high energy can be very overwhelming to keep up with at times. 

“Tsurugi never wants to play with me,” Yuka huffs, cheeks puffed out, and arms folded across her chest. “He's a stupidhead.”

“Yuka, you shouldn't say that,” 

“Maru isn't a stupidhead?”

Cross would take offense on Maru's behalf, if it weren't for the fact that his twin isn't the brightest.

Maru still believes there are rabbits that live on the moon and that the surface of it is made of cheese. 

The stars being lighthouses is adorable, that is something Cross can admit, but the moon being made of cheese and rabbits living on it is ridiculously dumb; the moon would be all moldy if it were made of cheese and there is no oxygen in space so how would there be rabbits living on it?

“Um…well…keep this a secret but Maru is pretty stupid,” It's not being mean if it's the truth. “A seagull stole his sandwich and he ran after it, yelling “Put that down! That's mine!” and when the bird dropped it in the ocean, Maru tried to go get it, but papa grabbed him before he could go in the water.” 

The sandwiches they got were pretty tasty, Cross can admit, but not tasty enough to warrant chasing a seagull across the beach and trying to go fish it out of the ocean.

“I'm really good at using an earpick to get small coins out of my mom's piggy bank and I taught Tsurugi how to do it; he got caught and tried to blame me, but mom didn't believe him and he was grounded for two weeks.” 

“When we were little, we went to our aunt's place and Maru had to go to the bathroom; she has one of those fancy toilets with all the buttons and we don't, so Maru pressed one of them to see what it did and got soaked. Papa had to rush home and get him spare clothes.”

They go back and forth exchanging embarrassing stories about their brothers, and by the end, they're both laughing so hard that Cross's stomach is starting to hurt.

It's been awhile since Cross has laughed this hard.

“We have really dumb brothers!” Yuka says, wiping tears that had formed in her eyes from all that laughing.

“Yeah, but I still love Maru even though he's stupid.” 

Cross wouldn't trade his stupid big brother, Maru, for anything in the world. 

“Yeah, Tsurugi is a stupidhead, but I wouldn't want anyone else to be my big brother.” 

They've been out for a while; Cross is having a wonderful time with Yuka, but he's starting to get hungry and when he's hungry, he gets a bit cranky.

“Is there anything else you wanna do, Yuka?” 

One more activity couldn't hurt; they'll call it a day after this and head back to the playground. 

“See those yellow flowers over there?” Yuka points to a small section where a field of yellow dandelions are sprouting.

“Those are weeds, Yuka,” Cross clarifies, knowing how much Dabura dislikes it when they find their way in his garden. 

They're weeds because they grow so fast and are difficult to remove due to their deep taproots. 

Seeing them growing through cracks in the concrete when they're in their pappus state, Maru will pick them, make a wish, then proceed to blow them into the wind, letting it carry the seeds and his wish to new heights. 

“No, they aren't!” Yuka becomes very defensive over the yellow flowers like they're sentient and can be offended over being called weeds.

“Danny lions are pretty! My grandpa drinks tea made from them! It's so gross but he said danny lions are only weeds if you want them to be!” 

Well, Cross isn't going to debate about whether dandelions should be considered weeds or flowers — to Cross, they're, unfortunately, always going to be weeds but if Yuka wants to view them as flowers, he wouldn't force her to see them as anything but flowers. 

“Yuka, they're called dandelions. Dandy-lions. Not danny lions.” Cross hopes he isn't coming across as a “smartass”, it's not his intention.

Cross finds all of Yuka's mispronunciations adorable and endearing; she just says them how she wants without a single care, unlike Maru who will try to play off mispronouncing a word by making silly noises until he gets it right. 

“Do you know how to make flower crowns, Cross?” 

There are lots of different ways flowers can be used such as in bouquets to express love for another person — Dabura grows them because he likes giving them to papa and believes the best gifts are those that come from a place of love and not money — decor for the house, pressing them to use as bookmarks, herbal medicines, tea, but Cross never thought they could be used to make a head accessory. 

“No,” Cross shakes his head.

Just as Cross has taught Yuka new things, it's now her turn to teach him.

“That's okay, I'll show you how!”

Yuka rises to her feet, brushing grass off the bottom of her dress, and waits for Cross to hop to his feet before she hurries over to the little patch.

“So we just collect dandelions?” Cross questions, knowing it's such a dumb thing to ask because they're called flower crowns for a reason. 

Yuka nods, placing her panda backpack on the ground and unzipping it.

“Yes and you're gonna help!”

Since this will surely be their last activity of the day, Cross will convince Yuka that they should head back; he doesn't want to ruin her fun, but they do have school the next day and there's homework waiting to be completed after dinner.

“How about we take them back to the playground? Maru and Tsurugi should be back soon and we don't want them to worry.”

To Cross's surprise, Yuka doesn't make a fuss or try to sway him into staying out here longer — she accepts playtime will eventually reach its end and that this day will become a memory the two of them will treasure forever.

“Are you tired, Cross?” Yuka asks, looking at him with concern. 

Cross doesn't want Yuka to feel she has to rush all because he's feeling tired.

As long as Cross manages his energy levels and doesn't let them drop low enough to make him sleepy, picking flowers and walking back to the playground should be fine. 

“Just a little,” Cross admits, giving Yuka a small smile as he kneels down to help collect dandelions.

Yuka begins to hasten her collecting speed, pulling multiple dandelions out and stuffing them into her backpack. 

“Okay, we'll head back once we have enough, promise!” 

Returning to the playground, there's no sign of Maru and Tsurugi, so the two of them take a seat on the bench they'd been coloring on earlier, the panda backpack full of wild dandelions settled nicely in between them.

“How come you don't wanna play warriors with my brother and Maru?” 

Yuka questions, twisting the stem of one dandelion under the other and tucking it behind.

Cross follows Yuka's guide, eyes flickering over to Yuka and then down to his lap where he's working on twisting and tucking the yellow flowers to make them into something wearable. 

“I'd feel bad if I accidentally hurt them…” Cross tells Yuka softly; it's so easy to open up to her and admit these things.

Yuka slaps his knee in an attempt to comfort him — all it did was make Cross's knee sore but he appreciates the meaning behind it. 

“Tsurugi is tough! But not that tough, he fell off his scooter and scraped his knee and started crying to granny.” 

Cross can't blame Tsurugi for crying due to a scraped knee; it does hurt when you fall off a bike or scooter and have a nasty, angry, red scrap that's prickling with blood. 

“Well, scraping your knee hurts and it's normal to cry when you get hurt.” 

“I fell off my bike and hurt my knee but I didn't cry at all! Grandpa put a bandaid over it and got me a popsicle because I was so brave!” 

“Maru's like that,” Cross says. “He's really brave, and never cries.”

That's not technically true; Maru does cry, he just doesn't like to do it in front of Cross or other people. 

They'd found an injured baby bird in the backyard last summer and did everything they possibly could to help, but it still succumbed to its injuries.

Cross cried the entire time they were burying it in a secluded area of the park, while Maru was stone-faced as he lowered the shoebox with the baby bird's unmoving, cold body into the ground and covered it in dirt.

It wasn't until they were home and Cross had just gotten out of the shower, going to find papa to ask him for help in blow drying his hair that he saw something that broke his heart.

In the living room on the couch, Maru, his strong, fearless, unwavering big brother was on papa's lap, face buried in his chest, and sobbing over the life of the baby bird that he and Cross couldn't save. 

Papa held Maru so tight, rubbing his back, letting him cry it out because the only places Maru will cry is in the privacy of the bathroom or the arms of their parents. 

Cross wonders if Yuka's the type that will pretend everything is okay and puts on a brave face to prevent anyone from worrying.  

“What about you, Cross?” Yuka inquires, nearly halfway finished making her flower crown.

“I'm not brave; I don't like the dark or bugs or thunder or clowns…” 

That's just the basics; there's a lot more that Cross is afraid of like spooky ghost stories told on Halloween, getting lost in the supermarket and being unable to find his family, going too far out into the ocean.

“That's okay!” 

Yuka's so kind; kids that are in Cross's class have usually gotten over their fear of the dark, are fine with bugs, understand that scary movies are just actors playing roles and lots of special effects, and that ghosts aren't real.

“It is?” Cross questions, always assuming he was just the odd one out for still having childish fears at the age of nine.

Yuka nods, leaning in to share a secret and using her hand to cover the side of her mouth — there's nobody in the near vicinity that could even overhear them, but Cross complies anyways, lending her his ear.

“I'm scared of roaches.” 

That makes two of them.

“Yeah, they are scary,” Cross shudders, hating to even think of those disgusting bugs. “Maru usually stomps on them when he sees them, but papa tells him he should use the flyswatter instead because the guts get all over the ground and it's gross to clean up.” 

Cross doesn't even like cleaning up the remains and makes Maru do it — his excuse is he didn't step on it and get its guts all over the floor, so it's not his responsibility to clean it up. 

“Snakes are scary! Tsurugi always finds dead ones and chases me around with them.” 

It's no wonder their older brothers are such good friends.

“Maru threw a fake one at me before and I told papa that Maru was being mean to me and he got scolded.”

The perks of being the younger sibling; whenever your older sibling is being mean or does something you don't like is that tattling usually works in your favor. 

There's a brief pause in their conversation; Yuka sits with her finished flower crown on her lap, glancing off into the distance with a look Cross couldn't read but he assumes she's just lost in her thoughts. 

Cross isn't great at starting conversations, but the silence doesn't bother him — Yuka will speak when she's ready to, so for now, he'll just sit here and enjoy her company in silence. 

“Y’know, me and Tsurugi were scared when we had to move, ‘cause we wouldn't know nobody here…” Yuka tells Cross softly, fiddling with the flower crown to keep her hands occupied. 

This is the most vulnerable Yuka has been all day — she's smiled all day, she's laughed, and seemed to block out all negativity, letting only the sunshine in.

Cross doesn't exactly know what Yuka feels in this moment, since he and Maru have only ever lived in one house and their parents are still together, but he imagines it's been difficult for both her and Tsurugi to start their lives over over in a whole new city and try to feel some sort of normalcy again. 

“How about now?”

Yuka shrugs, not having a definite answer to the question. 

“I still hate this place; it's scary and big and the girls in my class only talk to me ‘cause they have crushes on my brother.” 

Cross can relate to the last part; people in his class typically don't talk to him unless they have to or they want him to give or tell Maru something. 

“Have you tried to make friends with them?” 

Cross is starting to sound like papa asking such a question, but he doesn't see Yuka at school since they are in different grades and she is two years younger than him — maybe she's just having trouble fitting in or she doesn't think her peers will want to be friends because she moved here last year and everyone had already established their friend groups, so she thinks they may not want her to join. 

“They don't like me…” Yuka's voice cracks slightly, her gaze cast down on her lap, fingers tracing over the petals of the yellow dandelions. 

Surely with the new school year and advancing to the next grade where everyone gets sorted into new classes there would be at least one or two people in Yuka's class that she'd hit it off nicely with due to a shared interest or her friendliness and be able to call them a friend?

“Why wouldn't they? You're great, Yuka.”

Cross isn't saying that to butter Yuka up — this is the first time the two of them have hung out one on one but he genuinely thinks she's a wonderful person to hang out with and hopes they can do this again sometime. 

Yuka finally looks at Cross, her cheeks tinted pink, and a shy smile on her lips.

“Do you really think I'm great?” 

“I do,” Cross nods.

Cross didn't think his words would spark something inside of Yuka to keep trying and not give up on forming friendships with her peers. 

“Then I'll try harder!” Yuka's filled with newfound determination to make at least one person in her class like her enough to want to befriend her. 

“That's the spirit, Yuka,” Cross should take his own advice sometime and try to make an attempt to form a friendship with Tsurugi. 

As papa said, Cross shouldn't jump to conclusions about another person's opinion of him, especially when he isn't putting effort to be their friend — friendship shouldn't be a one sided thing, which is why Maru and Tsurugi are so close; their friendship goes both ways. 

“Do you have a lot of friends, Cross?”

It's such an innocent question, but it makes Cross feel embarrassed because no, he doesn't have any friends; there are classmates that sometimes speak to him, but not everyday and Cross feels it's a bit too late in the school year to try to befriend any of them now, so he tends to keep to himself.

“No…” Cross admits to Yuka softly, fidgeting with his half finished flower crown that looks quite pitiful compared to Yuka's.

“Then can I be your friend?” 

Cross should've expected Yuka to ask that, but it still takes him off guard because nobody has ever asked him that.

“You want to be my friend?” 

Yuka nods fervently, very certain of what it is she wants. 

“I do! You listen, you're nice, you do things with me,” Yuka begins, listing off the qualities she likes. “Tsurugi doesn't wanna play with me anymore ‘cause he's got a new best friend, and, like, Maru is really nice, yeah, but I miss having someone to play with.” 

If Cross recalls correctly, Yuka was five, going on six, when her parents got divorced and they moved here — she doesn't talk her father, keeping those personal feelings to herself, but Tsurugi sure does; his tone is always bitter and hurt and so full of anger but Maru's good at distracting Tsurugi from those thoughts and bettering his mood just by being there.

In the process of Maru becoming best friends with Tsurugi, Yuka must have been quite lonely watching as her brother drifted just out of her reach and gravitated towards someone else, taking over the role as Tsurugi's go-to playmate, best friend, and favorite person. 

Cross can relate a lot to that, because Maru's been drifting away from him as well; it's not on purpose and Maru's so sweet inviting him to join them, but Cross always ends up the third wheel that watches as the other two have fun.

“Then let's be friends, Yuka.” 

Cross doesn't know if people typically outright ask another person to be their friend, but that doesn't matter, he really wants to be friends with Yuka and he hopes she also wants to be his friend too. 

Yuka is speechless for a moment, her sparkling blue eyes wide upon hearing Cross ask her such an important question.

A wave of anxiety rushes over Cross as he assumes he said something wrong and made Yuka uncomfortable.

There is an apology on the tip of Cross's tongue, ready to utter, but Yuka, once more, takes him by surprise. 

Yuka pushes her bag off the bench, letting it fall to the ground, scooting closer towards Cross. 

“Bestest of friends?” Yuka asks, holding up her pinky.

“Yeah,” Cross nods, interlocking his own pinky around hers, promising they'll be friends with each other forever.

“I want you to have this!” Yuka giggles, holding up her completed flower crown.

Cross would offer his in return, but it's messy and not finished and kinda ugly compared to hers.

“Mine isn't very good,” 

Yuka shakes her head furiously, very adamant that she wants to trade with him.

“It's okay! I think you did a great job,” Yuka doesn't have a mean bone in her body and it's so evident with how she views Cross's first attempt at a flower crown — it is ugly and incomplete, but to Yuka, it's precious. 

“I'll have my mom press them in a book so I can keep them forever.”

Cross doesn't think his sloppy work deserves such high praise; he'll work on honing this skill and make her an even better one worthy of proudly showing off on her head. 

“I could just make you another one,” 

Yuka's stubborn; once she sets her mind on something, it's difficult to sway her, not that Cross thinks he even could.  

“No! I want this one!” 

Negotiations would fail anyways; Cross doesn't think Yuka would even accept anything else but the flower crown. 

“I'll let down my hair so it's easier to put on,” Cross says, arms reaching up behind his head and fingers working to undo the elastic band that holds his hair in a high ponytail. 

It's not often Cross lets down his hair; he runs his fingers through it a couple of times to smoothen it out from being tied up. 

Yuka places the flower crown atop his head like they're at a coronation and giggles when it's on.

“You look so pretty!” Yuka rejoices; they don't have a mirror so Cross will have to take her word for it.

“Oh, thank you.” 

Being complimented is weird; Cross feels so warm and fuzzy inside, like he's on cloud nine.

This must be how papa feels whenever Dabura calls him beautiful; his face always flushes like he has a fever and he gets quiet, unable to say anything. 

Cross, a flustered mess and with sweaty palms, hurries and places the flower crown on Yuka's head.

It's a bit lopsided and Cross, a bit of a perfectionist, just can't stand seeing it like that. 

In the process of fixing it, Cross's hand accidentally brushes against Yuka's choppy bangs and elicits a giggle out of her.

“How does it look?” 

They don't have a mirror or any reflective surfaces to check their appearances, but Cross wouldn't lie to Yuka.

“You look pretty, too,” 

Their fun day together officially comes to an end when Maru's voice can be heard calling out to them.

“Cross! Yuka! We're back!”

The four of them regroup, tired from their adventures and bellies awaiting to be fed with a homemade meal.

Tsurugi's in a better mood; Maru must've spoken to him and gave him a pep talk — it's difficult for anyone to stay mad whenever Maru is around, he just has this way of brightening anyone's spirits.

“Did you have fun, Yuka?” Tsurugi asks, grabbing Yuka's bag from the ground and brushing off any dirt that may have gotten on it.

“Lots of fun!” Yuka grins, still glued to Cross's side.

Tsurugi's hand rummages around in the pocket of his hoodie, fishing out a candy bar that Cross is one hundred perfect came from miss Miyaguni — it's one of those expensive brands that can only be purchased overseas and she travels a lot due to her job, so she always has loads of snacks and candies that she shares with them. 

“Here,” Tsurugi holds it out, treating it like an olive branch to end the conflict they had earlier. 

Yuka, like any other seven year old, is filled with glee upon seeing it. 

“Really? I can have it?”

Tsurugi nods, clearly not used to apologizing because his cheeks and the tips of his ears are tinted red and he turns his gaze elsewhere.

“Sorry I was mean to you earlier,” 

Yuka wastes no time pulling apart the packaging, too excited to wait until she got home to eat the expensive chocolate bar. 

“I got over it, I'm okay now.”

Maru, not one to be shown up, also flexes his big brother status with a playful smirk; he pulls another chocolate bar from his jacket pocket, takes Cross's hand, and places the wrapped chocolate bar in his palm. 

“And this is for you, Cross,”

These candy bars are huge; due to it being shoved in Maru's pocket, it's a bit broken but Cross doesn't mind, Maru's very sweet and considerate when it comes to sharing with him.

“Do you want to share?” Cross asks, figuring it's the least he could to show his own gratitude to Maru, plus he definitely can't eat this whole thing.

Maru waves his hands frantically, shaking his head.

“No, no! It's all yours.”

Cross is quite certain Maru will want to split it when they get home, but still, he'll appreciate Maru's current generosity. 

“Thank you.”

Tsurugi, noticing Cross and Maru were done with their brotherly love stuff and Yuka was busy devouring the chocolate bar, decides to join their conversation.

“Cross, do you like video games?” 

That's an interesting, out of the blue question; Cross has to bite the inside of his mouth to stop himself from grinning and going on a long tangent about his favorite games. 

“I do, but I'm not very good at them.” 

Maru, with his big mouth, lives to make sure Cross doesn't undermine the things he's excellent at.

“He's just being modest, he kicks my butt every time we play together!” 

“Thats because you smash every button, Maru!” 

Tsurugi interrupts them before they can actually start bickering about the strategy of smashing buttons and who is a cheater.

“Do you two wanna come over and play with us tomorrow?” 

Yuka, licking the chocolate off her fingers, adds her own two cents to the conversation. 

“Please! Please! Cross, say yes!” 

Cross can't say no — not when Yuka is pulling on his arm and looking at him with those big, blue eyes that she uses to her advantage.   

“Okay, we'll ask papa and Dabs when we get home.” 

Upon hearing papa's name being said, Maru has one of his “lightbulb” moments where he remembers something important. 

“Oh, right! Papa called miss Miyaguni; he wants us to come home.”

Yuka's face falls immediately hearing the twins have to go home and they can't stay out any longer. 

“You have to go?” 

Yuka knows she'll see Cross tomorrow on the walk to school, but she isn't ready to say goodbye and go home just yet. 

Cross doesn't like seeing girls sad; he doesn't know what to say to make Yuka feel better because they can't stay out any longer on a school night and still have homework that needs to be finished.

Thankfully, Maru is great when it comes to taking care of others and comforting them.

“Do you wanna join us for dinner, Yuka?” Maru asks, poking Yuka's cheek with a grin. “We're having fried chicken.”

Magic words spoken, Yuka's mood flips back to happy once more.

“Yes! Tsurugi, can we?” Yuka asks, tugging on Tsurugi's arm. 

Tsurugi places his hand on Yuka's head and pats it stiffly, much to her annoyance.

“We have to ask mom, okay?” Tsurugi tells Yuka, reminding her that they can't not go home after telling their mother they were going to the park to play. 

“Okay…” Yuka huffs, not enthused by the idea of returning home but understands their mother doesn't need anymore stress.

Yuka stands on her tiptoes to unzip her backpack, reaching in to grab her sketchpad, flipping to a certain page and ripping it out.

“Here, this is for you, Cross!” 

Cross accepts it, holding it out so Maru can also see what Yuka gave him.

It's the drawing Yuka was doodling earlier and wouldn't let him see: it's stick figures of the two of them standing by the swings holding hands — Cross can tell it's them because of the way she drew his ponytail and he is certainly going to treasure this gift.

“Then you can have this, Yuka,” Cross immediately pulls the folded paper he'd sketched on and hands it over to her.

“Tsurugi, look! Cross drew me! Aren't I pretty?” Yuka squeals in childish delight, showing Tsurugi the portrait Cross drew of her.

“Yeah, you are,” Tsurugi laughs, taking Yuka's hand in his and guiding her away from the twins. “Come on, the faster we get home and ask mom, the faster we can go to Maru and Cross's house,” 

Maru and Cross wave their friends off until their figures are out of sight. 

“You look great, Cross!” Maru remarks on Cross's sudden change in appearance with great approval.

Oh, right; Cross had nearly forgotten he'd taken his hair down so Yuka could place the flower crown on more easily and he hadn't bothered to tie it again. 

“Oh, thank you…”

“Do you think Yuka can make one for me?”

“Yeah, just ask her,” 

Just like Cross is going to make an effort to befriend Tsurugi, he hopes Yuka will come to like Maru as well. 

Dinner was a hit; there isn't a soul alive that can resist Dabura's fried chicken and Cross knows it makes Dabura happy to know his cooking is also loved by Tsurugi and Yuka.

“Did you have fun today, Cross?” Papa asks, brushing out Cross's silky hair for the night.

“I did,” Cross nods, his eyes so heavy with sleep. “I made a new friend and she's really nice.”

“Yuka, right? She wouldn't let you go, when they had to leave.”

Papa's one to talk; Yuka was absolutely dying to style all of that hair on his head but kept herself preoccupied with the chicken on her plate. 

“Can me and Maru go play with them tomorrow? We're gonna team up against Yuka and Tsurugi.” Cross murmurs, leaning against papa's broad chest, his eyes starting to become difficult to keep open. 

Papa sets the brush down on the nightstand, giving Cross a tight squeeze. 

“Give ‘em, hell, you two!” 

Cross can barely muster up a smile at papa's competitiveness, so tired and ready to get under the covers and enter the world of dreams. 

“We will…yawn…today was a good day.” 

“I can tell,” Papa says fondly, pulling the red covers on Cross's bed back. “Let's get you two tucked in, Maru's already snoring.”

Cross slides off papa's lap easily and underneath the covers of his comfortable bed, eyes completely closing before his head even hits the soft pillow below. 

The extra weight that was on Cross's bed is immediately lifted when papa gets up to cross the small distance between his and Maru's beds.

“Goodnight, Maru,” 

“Hmnnn…night, papa…”

“And goodnight to you, Cross,” Papa whispers, giving Cross's forehead a gentle kiss to keep away any bad dreams. 

“Goodnight, papa.”

Tomorrow is gonna be so much fun.