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Dignity stabbed his fork into the steak on his plate. Glaring at the younger boy in front of him as he brought the chunk of meat up to his lips and bit down on it.

c00lkidd did the exact same thing. Stab, cut, eat, glare. Staring at his technically-but-not-really older brother with partial awkwardness and partial disdain.

To say that Dignity and c00lkidd's relationship was strained would be the understatement of the century. The only reason they both lived together was because the same man happened to take pity on the both of them. They were less of a family, and more so two kids agreeing to share one parent. So when it was just the two of them together, things got awkward pretty quickly.

However, they'd have to put that strain aside today. Today was the day they figured out what gift to give 007n7 for Father's Day. And if they wanted to make it good, then they'd have to work together.

"We could take him to a restaurant?" c00lkidd suggested through chews. Dignity shook his head.

"Too expensive, we don't have the money for that. We'd have to get dad to pay. It's Father's Day, the last thing dad should be doing is paying for us." Dignity crossed his arms and c00lkidd nodded.

"Maybe we could buy him a gift? Like a teddy bear." c00lkidd added. Thinking of all the different stuffed animals he could give him.

Dignity shot that idea down too. "Too basic. If we're gonna give him a gift, then it should at least be something special, something we actually put work into. Not the first thing you think of when you hear the word 'Father's Day'." He did quotation marks with his hands.

c00lkidd groaned and slammed his arms down on the kitchen table, shaking the plates and cutlery. "Then what CAN we get dad?" It was way too late for this shit. "You don't actually hate my ideas, you just don't like me!"

"Or maybe you just have bad ideas." Dignity pointed his fork at c00lkidd before biting down on another chunk of meat. "Ever considered that tomato boy?"

c00lkidd was about to completely lose his shit before he and Dignity heard the sound of creaking wood coming down the stairs.

"What's with all that noise?" 007n7 yawned as he leaned on the handrail. Staring at the two boys at the kitchen table.

"Nothing dad!" They replied in unison. Sitting up straight like soldiers as if they hadn't just been arguing 20 seconds earlier.

7n7 squinted his eyes at them.

"Okay, but you both better be in bed once you're finished with dinner. And try not to argue for me ok? We're a family now. Goodnight." 7n7 walked back up the stairs and closed his bedroom door. Leaving the two not-brothers on the kitchen table.

Their gazes lingered on the stairs, waiting for any noises or signs of movement that indicated that 007 was still awake.

Dignity sighed and leaned back in his chair.

"Maybe the best Father's Day gift would be having us not argue for a day..." He mumbled. His eyes blankly stared at the cream colored popcorn ceiling. They still had problems, even after escaping from hell.

c00lkidd rested his head on the kitchen table "Why don't we actually try to craft him a gift? You said that if we were gonna give him a gift then it had to be special. So why don't we MAKE it special?"

Dignity got up from his slouch to actually look at him. "That's... Actually not a bad idea. Congrats kidd, you actually suggested something good for once!" He teased.

c00lkidd squinted his eyes at him "I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that."

Dignity laid back in his chair, the previous tension dissipating like the fog. "Seriously though, we can stop by the dollar store tomorrow while dad's at work and pick some stuff up from there. We can make... I dunno, an appreciation card or something."

c00lkidd laughed "And you think I'm basic!"

Dignity flicked his wrist "Unless you've got any better ideas, then I don't wanna hear it!" The two boys giggled, and for once, Dignity could feel himself warm up to c00lkidd. The way families behaved and interacted with one another was something completely alien to him. That type of love and camaraderie didn't exist during his time in the void cult. People didn't laugh or hold awkward family dinners together. The elders didn't hug their children and wish them a good day on their way to school. And siblings (at least in the traditional sense) didn't exist. It was just a group of people living together. Not a family. The absence of that was something Dignity had yet to adjust to. Even if he had already moved on from the cult.

He finished his steak and quickly washed his plate in the sink, saving himself the trouble of doing it later. c00lkidd got up and try to mimic him, but Dignity took the plate from him before he could even leave the kitchen table.

"You can't hold plates, remember?" He gestured towards c00lkidd's hands, the darker shade of red making them stand out from the rest of his body. He'd considered wearing gloves before, but knowing the way his body handles temperature now- it would just be a huge mess.

Dignity washed his plate in the sink as c00lkidd watched. A tinge of jealousy coiled inside his stomach as he watched his older brother scrub the dish. c00lkidd knew this was part of the reason why he and Dignity didn't get along, but admitting it was a different thing entirely. He wasn't sure if he was ready to do that yet, let alone figure out what he should do next.

Dignity ruffled his hair, the sympathetic look in his eyes was not lost on c00lkidd.

"You should go to bed. We'll make a quick run to the dollar store tomorrow at noon."

c00lkidd nodded weakly and quickly climbed up the stairs, heading to his room. He just wanted to get away from Dignity. Away from someone he had yet to see as anything but competition. The "better" version of him. The kid who was clearly more deserving of their father's affection.

𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵.

Slamming his door shut, c00lkidd buried his face into his pillow, allowing his tears to flow freely. He asked himself those same questions he asked his dad when they first got out of the forsaken realm. Only 3 months ago. When everything was so weird and hectic and nobody knew what to do with themselves or where to go from there.

"𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘴?" 𝘏𝘦'𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴. 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 007𝘯7'𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘱. 𝘈𝘴 𝘪𝘧 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘮.

𝘏𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 "𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘰. 𝘏𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦. 𝘚𝘰 𝘩𝘦'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘶𝘴." 𝘏𝘦'𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘴𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘭𝘺, 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺. 𝘓𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.

𝘤00𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘥 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮. 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘱𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘥 "𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳?"

𝘚𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘺 "𝘖𝘧 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵. 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦"

𝘤00𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘥 𝘴𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. "𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥? 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭?"

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 007𝘯7'𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘩𝘦'𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘤𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘵, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨.

"𝘖𝘩 𝘤00𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘥... 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺. 𝘐'𝘮 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺..."

𝘏𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘹𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺 𝘢𝘪𝘳. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤00𝘭𝘬𝘪𝘥𝘥 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘞𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺.

c00lkidd's eyes grew heavy as he cried into his pillow. The last thing he heard before going to sleep was the mantra that repeated in his head ever since he saw Dignity at the top of that castle.

𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳, 𝘐𝘵'𝘴𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳...

When c00lkidd awoke, he was greeted by the wonderful sight of Dignity standing beside his bed. Still in his bed clothes, his hair mussed up like he just got out of bed. c00lkidd jumped a little at the sight of him.

"Get up, we leave in an hour." He left after that. With nothing else to say.

"Good morning to you too!" c00lkidd yelled, and threw a pillow at him for good measure. But he missed, and it was absolutely clear Dignity did not hear him.

He tiptoed out of bed and looked at the clock "11 AM? For how long was I asleep?" He got into some shorts and a short sleeved shirt, brushed his hair and teeth, and came down the stairs.

"Dignity! Have you seen my shoes?"

"They're in the dining room! You left them there yesterday!" Dignity yelled back from the kitchen, even though c00lkidd was already close enough to hear him anyways. "Stop doing that by the way! I'm sick of you losing your shoes and having to find them for you!"

As c00lkidd came to the dining room, Dignity walked out of the kitchen with two plates stacked with pancakes.

"Did you make those?"

"No, dad did about an hour ago. He wanted to wake you up so you could eat early, but I got him to let you sleep in a little." He set both plates down on the table. "He made them the way you like them too. With the chocolate chips cooked in there."

c00lkidd sat down on a chair. He took a small bite out of the pancakes. They were great, as always.

"I... Thank you." He said quietly.

"It's nothing. Now hurry up and put your shoes on, we gotta go."

c00lkidd scarfed down his breakfast. He didn't bother to tie his shoes, opting to step into them and feeling the uncomfortable rubber dig into his heels. He caught up to Dignity, who was already opening the door.

Dignity held out his hand as he stepped out the door "Hold my hand."

c00lkidd stepped back. "What? No! I'm not a little kid anymore!"

Dignity rolled his eyes "That's up for debate."

c00lkidd huffed and stomped his foot.

"You're literally proving my point."

c00lkidd begrudgingly took his hand, but not without his pouts and sighs of disapproval. Much to Dignity's chagrin.

"Ok, but I actually need to hold your hand because if I don't you'll disappear on me. You're like really fuckin' fast, the second I look away from you you're..." Dignity paused "Setting a place on fire or something. I dunno."

c00lkidd squeezed his hand, Dignity winced.

"Sorry, poor choice of words."

As they neared the dollar store, c00lkidd looked to his right, eyeing the street. Then a question came to him. One that he always thought about in the back of his head, but never really tried to ask.

"Why didn't we drive to the store?"

Dignity sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose "I can't."

"Why?"

"Because I don't have a driver's license."

"Why don't you have a driver's license?" Dignity was only 8 years older than him. He could've gotten a driver's license at least 2 years ago. "You could get one right now!"

"Can you just shut up already? You don't need to rub it in!"

Dignity turned his face away from c00lkidd. His gaze dropped to the concrete sidewalk, away from peering eyes. Even when his face was to the ground, c00lkidd could see his ears turning pink.

It was moments like these that Dignity realized just how much he'd missed because of the cult. He'd gotten a brief taste of it back in college. But it didn't really register to him just how behind he was compared to everyone else until he was finally out in the real world. People his age had jobs already, they lived on their own now, and they could drive cars. All things he didn't get the chance to do at his own pace.

c00lkidd tugged on to Dignity's arm. "I-I'm sorry Dignity. I didn't mean to- let's just keep walking."

c00lkidd squeezed Dignity's hand. Softer this time. Like he was trying to extend a peace offering. Soon enough they were walking again, but Dignity didn't turn his head to look at c00lkidd, or squeeze his hand back to return the message. Leaving him to wonder if he ever even accepted his apology.

All c00lkidd could focus was the awkward silence... And the debilitating heat. His legs felt like jelly as he tried to walk. Little lines appeared in his vision, slithering and wobbling around in different colors.

"How long 'til we get there?... I feel... Really hot."

Dignity snapped his head towards c00lkidd in complete and utter confusion "Seriously?! It's only 75°"

c00lkidd swayed back and forth "Yes... Seriously... I feel like I'm gonna pass out..."

"Come here."

"What-"

"I said come here."

He extended both his arms out for c00lkidd to grab on to. c00lkidd looked around himself. To the right and then to the left. There was no other place for him to go. No other thing he could do to make this easier on himself.

c00lkidd climbed into Dignity's arms. Placing him onto his shoulders. c00lkidd panicked, afraid he was going to slip off, but Dignity reaffirmed his position. Making c00lkidd grab on to his own knees.

c00lkidd laughed "It's like I'm piloting you! Like those mechs in the Transformers movies!"

Dignity chuckled "Yeah, right."

"Isn't this like tiring for you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like- y'know, carrying me around on your back?"

"Did you just call yourself fat?"

"What?- No!"

Dignity laughed "I've carried heavier things."

He picked up the pace. With c00lkidd on his back, it would take him a little bit longer to get to the store. And c00lkidd was already losing it because of the heat.

They finally made it to the dollar store. As soon as they were inside, Dignity immediately let c00lkidd climb off his back. He would've started to run wild if it wasn't for Dignity grabbing on to his hand just as his feet hit the floor.

"I don't care how smart you think you are. I'm not letting you out of my sight!"

c00lkidd groaned and Dignity laughed as he started dragging the young boy off to the stationery aisle. Filled with sticks of glue, colored pencils, markers, and of course, cards.

"Should we get a card with a design in the front or a blank card?" Dignity looked at the paints and colored pencils at the bottom row. "I know you're like- an artist."

"Like an artist?"

"Okayyy, fine, a really good artist!" Dignity groaned dramatically. "God, you just love torturing me, don't you CK?"

"Yup! My specialty!" c00lkidd giggled "Anyways, we should get the blank card so we can decorate over it- Oh! And maybe you can buy watercolors! So I can paint and make some really cool designs! Oh- Oh- and we can buy glue and glitter and and-"

"Ok- slow down. Do I look like I'm made of money?"

"Dad gave you 20 dollars yesterday." c00lkidd deadpanned.

Dignity sighed "Oh my Gosh- fine. You know what? How about I let your hand go for a bit so you can choose what materials to get? Since you know what you're doing."

c00lkidd beamed and started nodding frantically.

"BUT. I will not be letting you out of my sight. Ever. If dad finds out I let you get lost in the dollar store, he'll fucking kill the both of us."

c00lkidd nodded and saluted like a soldier "Aye aye cap'n!"

As soon as Dignity let him go, c00lkidd almost immediately started picking things up and running around the aisle. He stood and stared at the objects sitting on the shelves intently, enough to probably give the average person a headache. Mumbling incoherent jargon about which color of glitter would look best with which watercolor he was going to use. Dignity smiled a little as he gazed at it, and suddenly, he understood why 007n7 even put up with them in the first place.

Before he could get too sentimental, c00lkidd had already turned up to him, hugging a glue stick, two small viles of red and blue glitter, a medium sized blank card, and a small pack of watercolors up to his chest.

"That's all we need. I can use my paint brushes and colored pencils I already have back home!"

He held on to Dignity's hand again, and the two of them made their way to the cash register. c00lkidd put all his stuff down at the conveyor belt, watching in wonder and delight as the items slid towards the front.

The lady at the front seemed sweet to Dignity. Her bright pink hair reminded him of the ever kind and patient, Jane Doe. She looked down towards c00lkidd, still gazing at the conveyor belt like it held the secrets to the universe.

"You buying stuff for your dad?"

c00lkidd giggled enthusiastically "Yes! I'm making him a surprise card!" He jumped up and down just thinking about it.

"Surprise card? Doesn't sound like much of a surprise when your father's here to see it!" She laughed and turned towards Dignity, then it hit him.

𝘖𝘩.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘐'𝘮 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘢𝘥.

"Oh- uh- no- Miss- I'm- I'm not his dad, I'm..." He looked down towards c00lkidd at his side, now staring up at him. He wondered if it was ok. To fully consider each other brothers when they still had so many problems. Just minutes ago, Dignity was yelling at c00lkidd for reminding him of just how far behind he was. Last night, he reminded c00lkidd of his disability.

And yet... They cared about each other. That was undeniable. Both boys felt something towards each other. Love, hate, something in between. And maybe that was normal for siblings. Maybe it was normal to go back and forth between love and hate. To fight against and fight for the person you can never have an exact opinion of on the same day.

He didn't know, and he would probably never know. He just looked at c00lkidd, asking for permission.

He nodded. And Dignity looked back up in determination, meeting the store clerk in the eyes.

"I'm... His brother. Yeah, I'm his older brother." It felt right. The word "brother" perfect in every which way. He looked back down to c00lkidd, smiling in approval.

The store clerk flinched a little "Oh! Sorry for making assumptions! It's just- you've got quite the age gap is all." She bagged their items and handed them to Dignity as he waved her off.

"It's fine. Happens all the time."

He payed for his items and walked out of the store, c00lkidd in hand.

"Hey, Dignity. Can I climb on your back again?"

Dignity looked at c00lkidd in surprise. "Really?"

c00lkidd nodded.

Dignity put his items down and let c00lkidd climb into his arms again. Putting him on his shoulders for the second time today. c00lkidd giggled.

"This is so fun! I'm on top of the world, Dignity!" He put his hands up in the air. Almost falling down.

"Careful. Don't get too cocky, idiot!"

They made it home shockingly quickly. Dignity took a glance at the clock on the wall. 4PM; Seven comes home at 8.

"Ok, we're gonna have to do this pretty quickly. Dad comes home in 4 hours, and Father's Day is tomorrow. So we don't have much time left." He went into the kitchen and grabbed an old plastic cup. Filling it up halfway with water before setting it down on the dining table.

"Can we color on the floor?"

Dignity sighed, "No c00lkidd, you're gonna get glitter all over the floor. And that's gonna be a massive hassle to clean up!"

c00lkidd groaned. He placed the bags of supplies on the dining room table and sat on a chair. "Fineeee. You're no fun."

He opened the pack of watercolors and quickly gathered his colored pencils and his paint brushes. That's where the fun began. Although Dignity helped color and paint the card alongside c00lkidd, he had to admit the kid clearly had talent. In fact, he was directing Dignity on what to do with the brushes and the colors and everything he knew about paint and coloring. He obviously had time to hoane in his skills, even if he was still quite young... Something Dignity didn't get to do.

The cult didn't allow him to color, let alone paint. They had their fingers in every nook and cranny of Dignity's life, and he bought everything they had said. Everything.

It always hurt a little seeing c00lkidd doing regular kid things. coloring, playing, going to the park- why couldn't he do that? Of course, he knew the answer. Control. And it had robbed him. It robbed him of everything.

And now that he's back... It showed... Badly.

"Are you okay?" c00lkidd nudged against Dignity's arm. Almost causing him to miss a stroke and smudge the colors.

"Yeah! Yeah! I'm alright!" He tried to brush it aside, but c00lkidd knew him at this point. He wasn't going to just let this go and fester into something worse.

"I... I can teach you, if you want?" Dignity looked down at c00lkidd. The offer sitting right in front of him was too enticing to ignore, but also terrifying to take hold of.

"What? No- I- I can't! Aren't you like, what? 12?" He laughed nervously

If c00lkidd cursed, he'd call him a fucking idiot based on the look on his face. "So? Who cares if I'm 12? I can still teach you how to paint. I know what I'm doing."

c00lkidd put a hand on Dignity's shoulder. "You're not going to know everything just by turning 18. That'd be silly! It's ok to ask for help sometimes. Even if it's coming from me!"

Dignity chuckled, aware of how stupid he made himself look. "I didn't know you were such a philosopher! I guess you're right. I'll take your painting lessons, kidd."

As he painted, he wondered if c00lkidd even knew where he came from. What happened to him. Did he know about the cult? Did Noli ever speak up about it during their time in Forsaken? He sped up his brush strokes. He didn't know.

He didn't know anything.

c00lkidd saw that he was rushing things again. He grabbed him by the hand. "It's ok to take your time. Not everything is going to happen quickly or when you want it to. Just calm down! You'll get there eventually."

Dignity breathed in and out, relaxing himself a little. "Thanks kid."

Once they got the painting done, c00lkidd moved in with the colored pencils. He quickly drew three janky looking figures, holding hands together on the hill he and Dignity had painted together. c00lkidd, Dignity, and their father, holding hands, smiling together in a lavish picturesque scene. With painted rolling green hills, swirling white clouds, a robin's egg blue sky, and a bright yellow sun shining in the background. There was something sweet about it to Dignity. He couldn't imagine doing something like this back in the church.

Now, the second to last part. The actual writing that would go on the card. Dignity had grabbed a pencil, ready to write for c00lkidd before he looked back at him.

There was that sadness again that he'd seen yesterday. The face c00lkidd had made when Dignity washed his plate for him. The first time he saw it, he didn't know what it meant. But after a couple of months, it became apparent. It meant feeling useless, it meant feeling like a burden. c00lkidd looked back down at his hands. His scarred, swollen, dark red hands that couldn't be trusted holding a plate. That didn't have the grip strength to hold a pencil to write anything down.

Useless.

Dignity put the pencil in c00lkidds hands. Momentarily frightening him.

"But- But I can't-"

"I'll help you."

c00lkidd sniffled, tears rolled down his red cheeks. And for once in the entire time that he and Dignity had been living together. He finally saw him as an equal. Not competition. Not the better, more lovable version of himself. An equal.

A brother.

Dignity wiped his tears away. "You're not a burden, c00lkidd. You just need a bit more help."

c00lkidd threw himself into Dignity's arms, burying his face into his T-shirt. "T- thank you Dignity. Thank you so so so much."

Dignity rubbed circles on his back "Anytime kidd."

Once c00lkidd was off him, he glanced back at the clock, 6PM.

"Shit- we're gonna have to finish this quickly." c00lkidd nodded and quickly grabbed the pencil back. Dignity stood behind the chair, holding on to his hand as he wrote.

The lettering was a little wonky, but it was legible! That was the biggest triumph of this evening. It wasn't perfect, but it was legible. That was massive progress, regardless if it didn't come out perfect.

Both boys cheered and breathed sighs of relief as they finished writing their letter. Moving with slow, surgical precision made writing horrifically difficult. With that out of the way, c00lkidd grabbed his glue stick, and added glue almost all over the card, before sprinkling a handful of red and blue glitter on it. Dignity couldn't object to it anymore. He didn't even care if the glitter ended up all over Seven's fingers once he opened the card, he just wanted this over with.

He looked back up at the clock 7:30 PM.

"Alright, now we're done. I'll go put this in my room for it to dry, and you start packing things up. Put everything where it belongs, and put everything we bought back in the bags. You hear me?"

c00lkidd bowed "Yes your majesty!"

"Don't- don't do that."

As Dignity went upstairs with the drawing, c00lkidd started putting everything in its respective bag. When Dignity came back down, he took the bags and hid them in the family's "bag compartment." As 7n7 calls it. (Why they randomly had a cabinet filled with plastic bags was beyond him, but oh well.)

He looked back up at the clock, 7:50

"That should be it. Do you want me make you something to eat?"

"I'll just have some eggs. I'm not really in the mood for anything else."

c00lkidd sat on the couch and turned the TV on as Dignity cracked some eggs into a porcelain bowl. He's been doing that ever since he found a rotten egg while Seven was trying to teach him how to cook. He chuckled at the memory. The way Seven recoiled to the back of the kitchen, and the way Dignity had to extend the pan as far from him as possible to pour the egg down the sink was priceless! It completely ruined their breakfast, but he got some pretty fun memories in return. So really, what was really the harm in it?

Just as the eggs were starting to bubble, the front door opened.

"Hi papa!" c00lkidd immediately ran up to their father. Tackling him in a hug.

Seven ruffled his hair and smiled "Hi c00lkidd, sorry I was gone so long. Where's Dignity?"

"Over here." Dignity came out of the kitchen, still holding his spatula. "I was making something for CK."

He walked up to his father, joining c00lkidd in the hug. Calling Seven his father still felt weird, even if it was ultimately correct. The paperwork said so, blessed by Builderman himself. But it wasn't knowing that Seven was his father that felt odd, it was knowing that this was real. He wasn't dreaming about any of this. He could go to sleep and wake up the next day in his own bedroom, and then he could go down the stairs and meet his father and brother down at the kitchen table. Just like yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, and the day before that. He used to dream about a relationship like this back in the realm, and now he has it. And it's never going to be taken away from him anymore. Ever.

He took everything about his father in. The smell of cheap men's cologne and greasy fast food from his time working at that pizzeria. His soft cotton clothes. His arms holding him and his little brother in a hug.

Real.

Dignity's eyes watered a little, but he blinked the tears away before Seven could ever see them. He changed the subject.

"You should really stop working for so long. Actually- why are you still working? Isn't Builderman giving money to all the survivors-"

"It's cause' dad likes meeting up with the pizza boy!"

Seven hushed him as c00lkidd exploded into giggles, it must have been contagious because Dignity was doubled over laughing alongside him.

"Really dad? You like Elliot Builder?"

Seven crossed his arms and turned his beet red face away from Dignity.

"He's a nice man!"

Dignity ran back to the kitchen. Partially to finish cooking, and partially to laugh without his father chastising him. He came back to the dinner table with 3 plates of eggs for the entire family.

"Once you're done eating, I want the both of you in bed."

c00lkidd groaned and tried to plead his way into staying up another hour, but that wasn't going to work on 7n7. Each person finished eating and put their plates in the sink. Including c00lkidd, whom Dignity helped do the dishes.

When Dignity came back up to his room. The Father's Day card he had made with c00lkidd sat on his desk. Ready to present itself tomorrow to their father.

He stared at it as he went to sleep. Tomorrow would be a good day. He had a family. Including a little brother now.

And he wouldn't change it for anything else in the world.