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(Dazzlings) Part 1: Welcomings

By OniiChansFables
Created: 2020-10-29 17:05:38
Expiry: Never

  1. “Ya like the new digs, girls?”
  2. >Your voice barely masks the sound of the chaingun belt’s worth of bullets you’re sweating as your three nieces peruse the layout of your suddenly somewhat cramped kitchen, silently glancing across the countertops you pulled an arm muscle making sure were immaculately clean this morning.
  3. >“It’s alright, I guess,” Aria murmurs, one hand propping her head up as her disinterested gaze seemed to pierce through you.
  4. >“It is pretty clean, I’ll admit,” Adagio mutters under her breath, eyes wandering across the cabinet doors’ new luster.
  5. >You silently thank Hyun for getting you that carpenter’s number as you step out of the way of Sonata, whose attention is fully occupied drinking in her new surroundings, picking up and fiddling with various kitchen gadgets as she went, eyes wide in a sense of wonder.
  6. >You hold back a sneeze as Aria stands up from her chair and silently saunters over to her suitcase.
  7. >You can’t help but frown.
  8. >It wasn’t unreasonable that they would just want to unpack and go to bed after the long drive.
  9. >They’d all remained silent as stone for the whole two hours, despite your best attempts at prying.
  10. >Suppressing a sigh as Adagio brushes past you, all three of you turn your head back towards the kitchen at Sonata’s sharp gasp.
  11. >“Look girls!” she squeals, one finger excitedly pointing towards the contents of your opened cabinet, shelves filled to near bursting with sundries.
  12. >You catch the brief moment of what you can only describe as terror as Adagio rushes towards her.
  13. >“Sonata, you idiot! You know we’re not supposed to-“
  14. >Adagio’s voice dies in her throat as she takes in the view of your pantry.
  15. >You force the sneeze down again as Aria slowly steps over and is overcome with the same stark shock as the others.
  16. >Bile fills your throat as you see the outline of Adagio and Aria’s ribs through their tattered clothing as they reach up and take hold of soup cans and cereals, reading brands they’ve never seen before.
  17. >Your hand instinctively flies to cover your grimace.
  18. >“You girls think he’ll let us eat more than once today?” Sonata blurts out before slapping her own hand over her mouth.
  19. >The other sisters snap out of their reverie with a hushed panic, quickly shoving the boxes in their hands back on the shelves, throwing matching glares tinged with fear towards her.
  20. >You feel a bitter taste rise in the back of your mouth.
  21. “What’s wrong, girls?” you manage to squeak out.
  22. >N-Nothing!” they all say in near-perfect sync, Sonata’s hands dipping down behind her back.
  23. >Your eyes narrow unconsciously in worry, and all three of them flinch, betraying their façade of contentment.
  24. >“We just haven’t eaten in a while,” Sonata meekly says, her face cast downwards at her boots.
  25. >The bile intensifies as her sisters’ glares break into full fear, Aria’s eyes closing tightly.
  26. >If you ever see your doped-up excuse for a sister ever again, you’re going to strangle her.
  27. >CPS had told you that she was crude to her girls, but you didn’t expect three trauma victims on your hands when you volunteered. >Something in your chest throbs in pain at the sight of Adagio’s sickly thin arms crossing over her chest in a pitiful self-embrace, her head hunched over.
  28. “Tell you what, girls. Go ahead and unpack, and I’ll get started on lunch, okay?” you say, plastering your best and brightest fake smile across your face.
  29. >The three nod, silently dashing past you and upstairs, Sonata looking at you one last time with trepidation as she moves.
  30. >Slumping back against the wall, you bury your face in your hands and sigh, your eyes hot and wet.
  31. >You are Anonymous, and you have your work cut out for you.
  32. >The moment your new charges head upstairs to their room, you spin on one foot towards your cabinets, flinging open the doors and pulling out pan after pan, one hand flicking the burners of your stove on as you go.
  33. >You’d already planned out a fresh meal to welcome the girls home, but the throbbing in your chest fills you with a unique drive as you lay out ingredients from the fridge on the countertops.
  34. >You were going to give these girls the best meal of their lives.
  35. ---
  36. >“Sonata, what the hell is wrong with you?” Adagio quietly barks at her sister, dabbing sweat away from her forehead with her shirt sleeve as the three girls gradually filled up their dressers.
  37. >The room their new guardian had given them was quite spacious, with Adagio suspecting he’d had a wall knocked down to accommodate the setup.
  38. >Aria looks over at Sonata with one brow ever so slightly cocked, the sister in question rising to meet her siblings from putting away her socks.
  39. >“I-I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t think he’d have the same attitude as Mom did-“
  40. >“Don’t assume anything about this guy!” Adagio spits back. “He and Mom are probably cut from the same cloth, and he’s just trying to get on our good side at first.”
  41. >“Aren’t you assuming things about him right now?” Aria pipes up.
  42. >Adagio turns to her other sister with a raised finger, her taut gaze loosening at her sister’s tired eyes. “Maybe he won’t be like Mom.”
  43. >“…I guess you might have a point, sis,” she replies, gasping slightly at her sisters as they dashed over and embraced her.
  44. >“Whatever happens, we’ve still got each other to lean on, right?” Sonata says, her bubbly smile putting a small one on Adagio’s face. “I’ll go down and apologize for the cupboard incident. Maybe he won’t care.”
  45. >The other two raise a hand to stop her a second too late before she bounds out the bedroom door and downstairs.
  46. >“Oh no oh no oh no…” Aria mutters to herself.
  47. >Adagio puts a hand to her sister’s shoulder, rubbing it softly as she recognizes her sister’s mantra.
  48. >“Come on sis, we’ll back her up. Maybe she’s right.”
  49. ---
  50. >Your ears pick up the rumble of three sets of shoes descending your oh-so-creaky staircase as you finish plating the last serving of lunch.
  51. >With all the seasoned professionalism of a guy who imitates what he sees on the Food Network, you slide the last piece of silverware into place at the table just as your nieces walk in, Sonata the only one with her eyes forward.
  52. >“Um, Anon?” she speaks up, “I wanted to, uh, just say sorry for the…”
  53. >You cock one brow quizzically as Sonata’s voice trails off into muted gibberish, her mouth hanging slack as you can see and hear her nose doing a double-take, pawing at the fragrances of your cooking.
  54. >“What is that scent?” Adagio mumbles, as you look over to see the other two mimicking Sonata’s movements, Aria closing her eyes and inhaling deeply.
  55. “Lunch! How’s bulgogi sound?” you reply with a clap of your hand s that seems to rouse the three from their trance.
  56. >You gesture to the four seats prepared at the table, a steaming plate of thin-sliced beef stir-fry atop each one.
  57. >The girls slowly walk over to their chairs, and you catch the wary glare of each of them, a hesitance in their gait that pains you to see.
  58. >What the hell did your sister do?
  59. >”What do you girls want to drink?” you say as you force your mind back to the situation at hand.
  60. >You pull open the fridge and gesture to the variety of drinks you bought yesterday, not knowing what their preferences may be, although you now have a dreadful feeling that they’re used to just water.
  61. >”Do you have any juice?” Sonata asks first.
  62. >You smile and pull out some orange juice from the door, walking over and pouring it into her glass nonchalantly.
  63. >Aria’s uptight glare fades as she follows you, fleeing fully when you turn to her.
  64. >”Just, uh, some cola or whatever,” she chokes out, refusing to meet your gaze.
  65. >You pull out a bottle of the liquid in question and hold it out to her, a soft smile on your face as she finally looks you in the eye and grabs it quickly, as though afraid you would yank it back any second.
  66. >Your heart screams in your chest at her paranoia as you see Adagio simply get up and fill her cup out of the tap.
  67. >”You sure you want just water, Adagio?” you ask, your voice almost pleading for the girl to show you SOME form of emotion.
  68. >She doesn’t answer you and instead sits down, her head cast down towards her plate.
  69. >”I’m fine,” she finally says after a moment.
  70. >The bile threatens to spill out of your mouth.
  71. >”Mmmmmmm!?”
  72. >The whole table’s gaze whips over from Adagio’s pained display of pride at Aria’s voice as she slowly chews her first bite of the secret weapon dish that scored you your first girlfriend back in college.
  73. >You can’t help but smile as she immediately shovels another forkful in after she swallows.
  74. >The other girls let out similar expressions at the taste of their own lunches as you dig in too, the next 10 minutes a silent procession of gulps and chewing.
  75. >Nobody ever talked when they had this dish, and you were damn proud of it.
  76. >As you polish off the last few bites of Korean-style heaven, you hear a sharp cough to your left.
  77. >Aria looks tentatively at you as she holds out her plate, hands violently trembling.
  78. >”I-I’d like some more, please.”
  79. >You turn your head to see the other two with similar gestures, Sonata smiling softly while Adagio keeps a tinge of her coldness in her eyes, although lunch seems to have evaporated most of it.
  80. >Your smile widens into a grin as you take each of their plates back to the oversized pan on the stove, dolling out a bigger portion than last time.
  81. >You can her them muttering behind you.
  82. >”I TOLD you he wouldn’t mind!” Sonata barely whisperes giddily as she licks the last of the stir-fry sauce off her fork. “And he can cook to top it off!”
  83. >”…It was pretty good…” Adagio admits.
  84. >”We’re probably pushing our luck,” Aria mutters, fiddling with one of her pigtails.
  85. >Your heart sinks at her comment. What kind of person punishes asking for seconds?
  86. >You grip the spoon till your knuckles turn white at the thought of your sister starving her daughters like that, taking a deep breath and reminding yourself not to jump to conclusions.
  87. >You set down the spoon and lay out a fresh plate in front of each of them, Sonata gasping at the heap of food in front of her.
  88. It’s been a while since I got to cook like this,” you say as they dig in, looking at you with stuffed cheeks. “It might be fun getting to do this more often with you girls around.”
  89. You see Aria and Sonata’s eyes light up at the promise of more full meals like this.
  90. >Adagio turns her gaze up at you with the first genuine look of happiness you’ve seen today.
  91. >Thank the lord for Asian neighbors.
  92. >All of you tuck into your second helping, Adagio now tearing through hers like a freshly oiled buzzsaw.
  93. >You glance at her arms again and pray her appetite keeps up.
  94. >All of them are very far on the thin side, really. Sonata’s the only one lacking sunken cheeks, but she still looks hollow.
  95. >You excuse yourself from the table as your cellphone rings, pushing in your seat and smiling back at Sonata as you go.
  96. >Speaking of neighbors…
  97. >”Anon! Are the girls there yet?”
  98. “Yeah, they’re here Hyun,” you reply.
  99. >”Oh, goody! I can’t wait to meet them and show them around the neighborhood! We can get the bloc party together, have a cookout-“
  100. “I’d hold off on calling anyone up for the moment, Hyun,” you interrupt, your eyes glancing back to the lack of dining noises in the kitchen.
  101. “I think I might’ve bit off more than I can chew.”
  102. >Hyun was the one who got you custody in the first place on account of a glowing recommendation from within the local CPS.
  103. >Absolutely amazing what networking can do sometimes.
  104. >”Are they rude, or violent?” Hyun bluntly asked. You sputtered for a moment.
  105. “No. If anything, they seem scared of me. Sonata opened up the pantry and the other two freaked out like I was going to hit them.”
  106. >”…Oh dear, it’s one of those situations,” you hear her reply. “Anon, this might be much worse than I thought.”
  107. “You think?” you snap, chiding yourself for raising your voice less than 10 meters away from the girls. “Sorry, I’m just kinda up a creek here.”
  108. >“Tell me something – is one of them more friendly than the others?”
  109. >You immediately flick your head around at the sound of Aria’s footsteps behind you.
  110. >”Um, Mr. Anonymous, can we go back upstairs and finish unpacking?” she meeps, hands tightly behind her slender back, with the most artificial smile you’ve ever seen in your life on her face.
  111. >She’s hiding something, and while you don’t want to scare her, you don’t tolerate thievery in your home.
  112. “Hold on, Hyun,” you speak into the receiver as you set your phone down.
  113. “Aria, I get that you might feel like a stranger here, but there’s no secrets in this house. What are you hiding?”
  114. >The girl’s smile shatters into a look of utter panic as she drops the bag of leftover lunch from behind her and bolts up the stairs before you can react. You dash into the kitchen too late as the other two run behind her.
  115. “Wait!”
  116. >Your plea falls on deaf ears as the door slams shut behind them once you get halfway up the staircase.
  117. >Fuck, this is bad.
  118. >You trot back down the stairs and pick up your phone, Hyun’s yelling blaring from the speaker.
  119. “Hyun, I have a problem,” you begin.
  120. >You hear Hyun exhale on the other side, the kind of breath one only takes when absorbing information they’d rather not know.
  121. >”Okay Anon, I need you to listen carefully. These girls are going to be tough to get to open up to you,” she says.
  122. >”You need to make sure they know they can ask for anything they need, and that you’re not going to get mad at them for it. These girls sound like they’ve been conditioned to fear confronting authority figures for a while now.”
  123. “They didn’t seem afraid to ask for a second helping of your bulgogi recipe,” you reply.
  124. >“That really has served you well, hasn’t it?” she laughs. You let a small smile come to your face.
  125. >She never missed an opportunity to rub in the fact that she taught you to cook.
  126. >You didn’t care – a life free of frozen pizza dinners is worth any amount of heckling.
  127. >”I’m gonna go talk to the girls and see what I can learn,” you say.
  128. >“Call me afterwards,” she replies, a click following.
  129. >You sigh as you look up the staircase.
  130. >Biting off more than you can chew might’ve been an understatement.
  131. ---
  132. >“Oh no oh no oh no oh no…”
  133. >Adagio grimaces as she holds her sister’s arm, rubbing her shoulder in an attempt to break her out of her panic attack.
  134. >Sonata sits on the edge of thhe bed, her face wet with tears as she bites her nails.
  135. >”We screwed up bad, didn’t we?” Adagio says.
  136. >”We?”
  137. >Adagio looks over to see Sonata’s face twisted in anger.
  138. >”You’re the one who told Aria to try and sneak food upstairs!” she yells. “Everything was going fine until you went and ruined it!”
  139. >”Oh god, he’s gonna be so mad. There’s no way he’s being nice to us from now on,” she trails off as she fell over on the bed, one leg stuck out over the side as she buried her face in the mattress.
  140. >Adagio casts her eyes downwards as she feels her sister shake against her, a silent admission of guilt.
  141. >”We can get through this, girls,” she speaks up. “We just have to stick together, even with my stupid mistake in the way. Let’s just go back downstairs and get the yelling over with.”
  142. >The girl stands from the floor, fluffing up her hair as Aria finally calms down enough to follow.
  143. ---
  144. >Standing outside the door to the girls’ room, you attempt to pull your thoughts together.
  145. >Hyun, blunt and crass as she tended to be, was completely right – until they stop being afraid of you, this arrangement isn’t going to work out.
  146. >Pulling yourself together, you raise a fist and try to know on the door-
  147. >Only to stop as it opens and your hand comes about 2 inches shy of hitting Adagio square in the nose.
  148. >Real smooth, Uncle. Real smooth.
  149. >You collect your scattered thoughts as you hear her gasp in anticipation of a punch to the face, her sisters shuffling up beside her as if ready to catch her.
  150. ”Girls, we need to talk.”
  151. >The words feel like freshly cracked gravel on your tongue.
  152. >Adagio opens her eyes to see your hands open and at your sides.
  153. “May I come in?” you ask, hoping to talk to them in the place they’d feel most comfortable.
  154. >The girls all eye each other before Sonata ever so slightly nods.
  155. >”Sure,” both her and Adagio mumble.
  156. >The four of you move back inside and seat yourselves on the edges of the bed.
  157. >None of them want to look you in the eyes, the anxiety filling the air like smog.
  158. >You decide that the direct approach is best.
  159. “Girls, I’m not going to claim I know what life was like with my sister, or what habits you might’ve had with her, but I want to lay out how things work around here.”
  160. >You immediately regret your choice of words as the color drains from each of their faces.
  161. >Positives, Anon. Positives.
  162. “This is your home,” you continue. “If there’s anything you need or want, if you’re hungry or tired or need new socks or something, just come talk to me. You can call me Uncle, or just Anon if you prefer.”
  163. >Aria looks at you with a burning sense of anticipation. You sigh as you know what’s eating at her.
  164. “Aria, I’m sorry if you feel like you have to squirrel away food. My pantry is always open to you girls. You don’t have to feel bad about looking through and seeing what we have.”
  165. >You glance at Sonata as you finish your sentence, who, surprisingly, smiles at you.
  166. “You girls start school here in two months, so take your time to get acclimated here. However, I do have some rules.”
  167. “No stealing, fighting, bringing people over when I’m not here, and no breaking things on purpose.”
  168. >You punctuate yourself with a raised finger each time.
  169. “None of that happens, and we should all be happy.”
  170. >Aria’s face loosens from its’ contortion of stress just enough for you to smile.
  171. “I know it must be hard for you girls to adjust during this, so please, come talk to me if there’s something weighing on your mind,” you finish.
  172. >Sonata’s voice is the first to pierce the miasma of tension.
  173. >”We’re sorry, Uncle Anon.”
  174. >Something about being called Uncle makes a warmth bloom in your chest.
  175. >Pride? Or maybe worry?
  176. >”We were always expected to feed ourselves back with Mom,” she continues. “We’ve got a few habits we’ll need to kick.”
  177. >She’s not telling you the whole story, but you appreciate it nonetheless.
  178. “We’ve got the rest of the day, wanna watch something?” you offer in an attempt to lighten the mood.
  179. >All three of them swivel their heads back towards you like you were speaking in tongues.
  180. “I’ve got a decent collection of dramas, so we might find something you girls like,” you continue. “Come on, we’ll pick through.”
  181. >You bounce up from the bed with a hop and gesture for the girls to follow as you trot back downstairs.
  182. >”Well, that went better than expected,” Aria muses as she gets up.
  183. “>Wait, you aren’t seriously thinking he’s not mad, right?” Adagio sputters. “Do you girls not remember Mom’s boyfriends and the EXACT same attitude they had, and what they ended up doing?”
  184. >”...You know I can’t,” Aria shudders. “But I also can’t just sit here being scared, and neither can you.”
  185. >”Aria’s right, sis,” Sonata pipes up. “We can’t just be afraid of Uncle-“
  186. >”Stop calling him that!” Adagio yells back.
  187. “Girls?”
  188. >Thudding echoes down the hallway as the three of them scurry down the stairs into your vision, Sonata whispering something you can’t quite make out.
  189. >You’d already gone through and collated some of your personal favorites from your living room shelf.
  190. >Making a mental note to try and find some more films that weren’t cop dramas, you clear your throat.
  191. “I’m afraid I don’t have much that girls your age would enjoy, but go ahead and look through.”
  192. >You fiddle with the remote as you flick on the television and switch inputs to the DVD box.
  193. >”This looks interesting,” Aria thinks aloud as she turns a particular box in her hands.
  194. “This is one of my favorites,” you reply as you delicately take the box from her grasp.
  195. >Your caution doesn’t stop her from screwing her eyes shut at the slightest skin contact.
  196. >You really need to call Hyun back after this.
  197. >The other two seat themselves silently as you pop the disc in, shrugging when you offer another chance to pick.
  198. >Adagio whispers something in Sonata’s ears, and you see the pale girl’s eyes narrow as she turns to her sister with a cross look.
  199. >”I’ll prove it.”
  200. >Your stomach tightens as she gets up and plops herself down on the loveseat you’d put your water next to.
  201. >”Uncle Anon, do we have any spare blankets? It’s chilly in here.”
  202. >You ignore that bloom in your chest again and nod, quicky jogging down the hallway as the movie loads and grabbing a comforter from the closet.
  203. >You sit back down as the opening credits begin to roll, handing the comforter to Sonata just as the lead actor stepped into focus.
  204. >Ah, Fahrenheit. A timeless classic.
  205. >Sonata balls herself up and lets her legs unwind over the armrest of the loveseat as she pulls the comforter over her body, and you catch a glimpse of mischief in her eye.
  206. >You follow her gaze to see Adagio visibly sweating with unease as Sonata leans herself into you and drapes the other half of the comforter over your lap.
  207. >You barely manage to move your arm to avoid being pinned, holding it above her frame.
  208. >”You don’t mind, do you?” she whispers with a smile fit for the Devil himself.
  209. >Adagio bites her lip at the two of you, an alarm klaxon in her head screaming at her sister getting cozy.
  210. >You see a similar expression from Aria, whose eyes are darting everywhere except your face as she twiddles her thumbs.
  211. >You’ve seen that look of worry before, in the eyes of people whose family is gravely ill.
  212. >Stifling a sigh, you remind yourself of what Hyun said about opening up.
  213. >You turn down and see Sonata mouthing “Told ya,” at Adagio, a cocky grin on her face.
  214. >You let the sigh go through your nose and attempt to put your arm down on the back, only for Sonata to sneak one hand up and pull it down by your shirt sleeve over her, your hand square against her navel.
  215. >She giggles to herself and settles in with her head against your chest, her body heat a surprisingly welcome presence.
  216. >How long has it been since you cuddled with someone?
  217. >This weight, this warmth…
  218. >A small sense of shame comes over you as you gently squeeze Sonata with your tucked arm, greedily drinking in this comfort.
  219. >You can hear Adagio bristling as Sonata wraps one arm around yours and presses back, the elder sister’s pupils shrunk to dots in silent panic.
  220. >Minutes pass, and everyone’s attention slowly turns back to the film, your gaze flicking back over to the sisters not pressed against you as they calm down.
  221. >Sonata does little to help this as she periodically causes at least one of them to flare back up, rubbing your arm or asking a brief question about dialogue she didn’t understand.
  222. >You’re happy to explain, of course, and at a few moments have to stop yourself from gushing about the camera work, but nothing you say can alleviate the other two’s uncomfortable side glances.
  223. >When the film finally ends, the last bit of sunlight for the day is long gone from the treeline, and the girls all suppress yawns.
  224. >You figure that the travel would’ve done them in a bit earlier, so you slowly pry Sonata from your side, the girl whimpering at the sudden chill.
  225. “You girls ready for bed?” you ask.
  226. >All three of them nod, Aria still refusing to look you in the eye.
  227. >You head upstairs to throw on your nightclothes, the three quietly following and filing into their room, slowly closing the door behind them.
  228. ---
  229. >”What the hell are you doing?” Adagio snaps the moment the door shut behind her.
  230. >Sonata glares at her sister from her spot on the bed, arms defiantly folded across her chest.
  231. >”I told you he was family, so I went and treated him like family,” she replies.
  232. >”Sonata, you know better than to just trust people like this!” Adagio shoots back, her hands gripping her hair. “Why are you so insistent on just letting Anon do what he likes with us?”
  233. >”Excuse me?” Sonata quips. “The only things he’s done ‘as he likes’ are treat us better than Mom ever did! When was the last time you ate lunch at home before today?”
  234. >”One meal doesn’t mean he’s family, Sonata!” Adagio yells. “We all know what people do when they want something out of you, we all know what games they like to play, and we all know that they NEVER mean what they say! You expect me to believe that some home cooking and a movie makes him family?”
  235. >Aria presses herself against the wall at their screaming, her eyes clamped shut.
  236. >”I expect you to give him a real chance to be family!” Sonata barks. “Why do you think we’re even here if not for the fact that he cares? He didn’t owe it to us to take over now that Mom’s locked up, and yet he did it anyways!”
  237. >”Just letting us stay here doesn’t make him someone worth trusting! It never makes someone worth trusting! Why can’t you get it!” Adagio screams.
  238. >”Because I’m the only one here who likes not having to feel AFRAID every time I feel HAPPY!”
  239. Adagio’s lips stop short of a retort at the sight of her sister’s shaking, her wet eyes clearly visible.
  240. >”…We’re family…” Sonata chokes out, “…and I can’t stand to see you hurt yourself like this, because you’re too scared to let someone help…”
  241. >The tension in the room evaporates as the eldest sister pulls the teary-eyed girl into an embrace, squabbling lost in muffled whimpers and rubbing fingers.
  242. >Aria opens her eyes from her spot against the wall and breathes slowly as she lets her heart calm down.
  243. >”Sorry, Aria,” Adagio whispers. “I should know better than to upset you like that.”
  244. “…Let’s just get to bed,” the middle child mutters.
  245. >The three girls quickly change into their pajamas and huddle into bed, pulling the poofy black blanket Anon had dressed it with over them.
  246. >Adagio falls asleep almost immediately, the plush linens a new and welcome feeling against her form.
  247. >”Aria, what’s wrong?” Sonata asks, noticing her sister’s tightly wound posture.
  248. >”You’re too close,” Aria whispers, curled up and shying away from contact.
  249. >Sonata sighs as she wordlessly slips out of the bed and lets her sister fan out.
  250. >”Sorry, sis,” Aria says. “We’ll swap for the floor tomorrow, okay?”
  251. >Sonata nods as she lies down on the floor, one arm tucked under her pillow.
  252. >”I guess not everything can change,” she mutters as she drifted off. “At least there’s carpet now.”
  253. >Less than an hour passes before Sonata gasps, her eyes flying open as she shoots up, wiping the sweat from her brow as she looks around and brings her breathing under control.
  254. >“…Just a dream, just a dream, always just a dream, you’re fine, she’s not here…” she chants to herself.
  255. >Maybe water will help.
  256. >She discreetly sneaks out of the room, holding the knob till it shut so as not to disturb her sisters.
  257. >Down the hall, one door lies open, the sounds of snoring echoing softly.
  258. >Sonata gazes down at the room, lip bit as one question rings in her head.
  259. >’Would he mind?’
  260. >Her instinct tells her that it’ a terrible and dangerous idea.
  261. >But her instinct’s already been wrong more than once today.
  262. ---
  263. >Your wandering subconscious is thrust to the back of your head by a persistent poking in your side.
  264. >You crack your eyes open to see Sonata standing by your bed, the comforter from earlier slung over one shoulder as she fiddles with one end of the cloth.
  265. >”Umm, Uncle Anon…?”
  266. >You sit up fully.
  267. >”I, um, well, the bed in our room isn’t quite big enough for all of us,” she began, “so I was wondering if I could sleep in here with you?”
  268. ”Yeah, sure,” you drawl out, trying not to move too much and wake yourself fully.
  269. >A few moments of rustling later, and she’s beside you, slipping down alongside you as she promptly scoots over and turns her back to you.
  270. >You’re overtaken briefly by that same intoxicating sense of closeness, made all the worse when she squirms around and touches her back to yours.
  271. >You sling one arm over without thinking and pull her close, a small gasp escaping her.
  272. “S-Sorry,” you stammer out as you pull yourself off of her.
  273. >It’s your turn to let out a gasp as she promptly snatches you by the wrist and throws you back over her shoulder.
  274. “Uh, Sonata?”
  275. >“Waaaarm,” is her only sleepy reply.
  276. >You stifle a laugh as you both begin falling back into slumber.
  277. “…Sonata?” you quietly ask.
  278. >"Hmm?”
  279. “Do your sisters not like me?”
  280. >Hell of a time to ask that, Uncle.
  281. >Sonata rolls over to face you.
  282. >”None of us really knew what to make of you,” she whispers back. “And we…”
  283. >You hear her gulp.
  284. >”Remember what I said about us having habits?”
  285. “Yeah.”
  286. >”It’s part of that. But I think you just need some time to show them that you’re family,” she finishes with a soft smile.
  287. >You smile back as you close your eyes.
  288. “Goodnight, Sonata.”
  289. >”Goodnight, Uncle Anon.”
  290. >You gently squeeze her as you drift off, deciding that the bloom in your chest is a good thing after all.
  291. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
  292. >A piercing ray of life-giving sunlight forces you from your dreams as you throw a hand over your eyes.
  293. >”Mhmmm...”
  294. >The warm weight on your right arm falls aside as you sit up in bed, wiping the crust from your vision.
  295. >You look over to see Sonata’s adorable scowl as she snatches your arm up again and tries to pull you back down.
  296. “C’mon, Sonata,” you drawl, prying your limb free from her and throwing your legs over the side of the bed.
  297. >”But it’s coooold!” she whines, scooting on her side to press herself back into you.
  298. >You laugh and stand up, turning around and pulling the girl up by one arm.
  299. >She stubbornly follows you, taking your comforter and throwing it around her like a shawl, her bare legs quivering.
  300. “You’re cute when you’re mad, you know?” you tease.
  301. >Unexpectedly, she smiles and blushes, opening up her cotton chrysalis to hug you.
  302. >”Good morning, Uncle Anon.”
  303. >You can’t help but beam with pride as you return the embrace.
  304. >You could really get used to hearing that.
  305. >A few seconds of silence pass before the both of you are startled by a sharp knocking on your bedroom door.
  306. >You open the door and stumble backwards as the other sisters burst into the room, Adagio tackling you to the ground with a ferocity you thought impossible from such a spindly frame.
  307. >You hear Aria muttering something to Sonata over the youngest girl’s protests.
  308. >But most of your attention is focused on the near-feral snarl Adagio’s giving you, not unlike a den mother whose cub has been killed.
  309. “Get off of me!” You shout as you press one palm into the eldest’s stomach and push her off with ease.
  310. >No sooner than you begin to stand she immediately scrabbles over to Sonata, her slender shoulders squared up to match her grimace.
  311. >”Dagi, what the hell?” Sonata snaps.
  312. >”I knew it! I knew you were the same, you son of a bitch!” Adagio screams, pointing one finger at you.
  313. “What are you talking about?” you reply.
  314. >”Sis, this isn’t what it-“
  315. >”What I’m talking about is you bringing my sister into your bed right after she put her trust in you!” Adagio said. “After all the water she carried for you last night, you turned right around-“
  316. >”ADAGIO!”
  317. >The room becomes deadly quiet for a few short seconds, Aria tucking herself against the closet door.
  318. >”Anon let me sleep in here so you and Aria could have some space,” Sonata continues in her normal voice. “I was the one who suggested it.”
  319. >Her words do little to alleviate Adagio’s incensed glare at you.
  320. >”Sonata, if you’re lying to me because you don’t want to make him mad-“
  321. >”Would you quit it already?” Sonata cuts her off. “I’m clothed, he’s clothed, and we don’t smell awful, so why are you still acting like he’s the bad guy?”
  322. >Adagio’s mouth opens and closes a few times as she failed to find words, before settling into a curt snarl.
  323. >”...sis, you can’t just assume you know what happened,” Sonata replies. “And you don’t have to scared anymore, remember? He’s family.”
  324. >A moment of shock seems to overpower Adagio for a moment, and your own shoulders unconsciously loosen as she slumps to the floor.
  325. >”You can’t scare me like this, Sonata,” she croaks out. “We always wake up together.”
  326. >”I should’ve told you, sis,” Sonata said as she knelt down. “And I’m sorry for that.”
  327. >Sonata gives Adagio a small smile of reassurance as she pulls her sister up into a hug.
  328. >”We’re not going anywhere.”
  329. “...So, breakfast?”
  330. >Your awkward interruption manages to crack the glare Adagio gives you into an amused smirk.
  331. >Walking over to Aria, your lightening mood crashes again at her clutched expression, eyelids smashed tightly against each other.
  332. “Aria?” you whisper, gently tapping her on the shoulder.
  333. >She convulses at the contact, whimpering and flattening her back against the wall.
  334. >You decide right then and there that that call to Hyun you promised needs to happen.
  335. “...Aria, it’s Anon. Can you look at me?”
  336. >You swear to God you can hear her heart pounding in her chest as she lets one eye open, her ragged ventilating slowing and smoothing as her sisters each take one hand.
  337. >”I’m sorry for yelling, Aria,” Adagio croons as the middle sister’s shoulders uncoil at her touch.
  338. “...I’ll get the food started,” you near-incoherently mutter as you back out of the room.
  339. >Adagio seems like she has it covered.
  340.  
  341. —-
  342.  
  343. “And, voila!” you proudly announce as you set a steaming hot plate in front of each of your nieces.
  344. >Adagio rolls her eyes as she keeps the same uneasy glare she’s had on you for most of her time in your home.
  345. >You really hope that the bedroom incident isn’t going to be a recurring thing.
  346. >The other two are already poking at the stack of pancakes before them with their forks.
  347. >”Uncle Anon? Isn’t there normally syrup served with these?” Sonata pipes up.
  348. “These don’t need it, trust me,” you laugh.
  349. >All three of them shrug and pop a forkful of breakfast in their mouths.
  350. >All at once, you hear three surprised, muffled moans of pleasure as the sisters close their eyes, savoring your cooking.
  351. >You giggle over the sound of curled toes popping under the table and dig in yourself.
  352. >So much easier to just use vanilla in the batter.
  353. >As the glare on Adagio's face fades after breakfast, you excuse yourself and walk back to your bedroom.
  354. >Three taps on a touchscreen later, and Hyun's voice comes through your cellphone receiver.
  355. >"I was beginning to think I'd have to physically come over," she quips.
  356. "Hyun, you know I love sass at 8:30 in the morning, but I'm not in the mood."
  357. >"And I'm not in the mood to have a powwow with my neighbor over parenting issues, but I didn't put you on voicemail, did I?"
  358. "Hyun, please, I've already been assaulted verbally by one woman younger than me today. I don't need another tongue-thrashing."
  359. >She sighs into your ear, and you swear you can hear her eyes rolling.
  360. >"Alright. How are each of them doing?"
  361. "Adagio's been the most aggressive out of all of them," you reply. "She's uptight about most things and usually glares or gives some sort of worried look whenever I'm around the others."
  362. >"Go on."
  363. "She... attacked me this morning when she found out one of the others slept with me last night-"
  364. >"Hold up."
  365. >You gulp at the sound of her voice dropping and sharpening.
  366. >"You slept with one of them?"
  367. "Sonata. She's the only one who seems to trust me, and even then, she might just be trying to put on a face to avoid upsetting me."
  368. >"And I assume that this was actual sleeping?"
  369. "Yes, Mother Superior."
  370. >You giggle at her exasperated sigh.
  371. >"So what happened?"
  372. "She knocked me to the ground, I pushed her off. She accused me of the... other kind of sleeping, and Sonata managed to calm her down somewhat."
  373. >"Somewhat?"
  374. "The whole thing kinda blew over when Aria clammed up over the yelling."
  375. >"...oh no."
  376. >That doesn't sound good.
  377. >"So you're on Sonata's good side?"
  378. "Yeah. She's the only one who calls me uncle, and isn't afraid to approach me or ask for something."
  379. >"You have no idea how lucky you are that she's opening up to you this quickly."
  380. "What do you mean?" you reply.
  381. >"Oh right, you haven't got the chance to get the CoI release processed, have you?"
  382. "No. I was hoping you could expedite that," you mutter, leaning back against your dresser.
  383. >Confidentiality of Information, or, in layman's terms, everything pertaining to exactly what your sister did to your nieces.
  384. >"Swing by today - I've got a light load on my plate right now. We'll get it sorted out."
  385. "...Thanks, Hyun," you breathe, releasing chest muscles you didn't know were taut.
  386. >"No problem."
  387. >The click in your ears times perfectly with Sonata stepping into the doorway of your bedroom.
  388. >"Uncle Anon?"
  389. "Hmm?"
  390. >"We're, uh... not full after breakfast," she sheepishly says.
  391. >Jesus Christ, teenagers are ravenous.
  392. "I'll get us something to top us off when we head out today. For now, you three take turns in the shower and get dressed. We've got places to be today," you reply with a ruffle of her bedhead.
  393. ---
  394. >After some frustration with Adagio insisting that her poof of a hairdo needed time to fluff properly, and a quick raid of the corner store for cheap donuts, you let out a sigh as you and your charges walk into city hall.
  395. >You notice Aria sticking close to her sisters with a panicked pace to her step as they take seats while you fill out the necessary papers for the consultation.
  396. >"So, why are we here?" Sonata inquires as you sit down.
  397. "Well, first I need to get some last little strings about you girls staying with me tied up, and then we're going to the mall," you reply.
  398. >All three of them perk their heads up in confusion at the last part of your sentence.
  399. >"Anon?"
  400. >You look up to see Hyun standing in the back office doorway, waving you over.
  401. "This shouldn't take too long, girls. Sit tight for a bit," you say as you move to get up.
  402. >You're stopped short by Sonata wrapping her arms around you again.
  403. >You squeeze her back and follow Hyun into her office.
  404. >"You two look cute together," she quipped.
  405. >You sputter at her comments as you both seat yourself on each of the loveseats in her office.
  406. >She always did have peculiar tastes in furniture.
  407. >"I'll need your signature here, here, here, here, here, aaaand... here," she nonchalantly spoke, pointing to various dotted lines within the stack of paperwork she had prepared.
  408. "Good Lord, it's a neverending tempest of files with you people, is it?"
  409. >"Yep."
  410. >The moment you're done signing, Hyun slaps a stuffed manila folder down in front of you.
  411. >"Anon."
  412. >There's that sharpened voice again.
  413. >"I've talked to you as a friend up until this point, but I need to say this as a professional - you're not going to like what's in this folder."
  414. "I figured that much-"
  415. >"Stop trying to play this down!" she snaps at you. "Humor might be a good way to get some stress off your head, but I NEED you to take this in complete seriousness."
  416. >You gulp at the pitch-black pupils boring through you and nod.
  417. >"You're going to be angry, and disgusted, and want to make some rash decisions," she continued, one of your hands firmly grasped between hers. "But you need to keep calm. I'll be here to help you think through this."
  418. >You want to say she's being dramatic or paranoid, but you know the look in her eyes.
  419. >She's never this on edge unless something is beyond wrong.
  420. >You gently free your hands from her and turn the front cover of the folder over.
  421. "This is gonna take some time to read over-"
  422. >Your voice dies in your throat as you read the heading of the first document.
  423. >"I wanted to get this out of the way first," Hyun whispers.
  424. >Date: 4/14/2017.
  425. >Subject: Sexual Assault Investigation.
  426. >The bile is heavy in your throat as you silently sift through the contents with a shaking hand.
  427. >Pictures, forensics, testimonies...
  428. >"I need you to keep calm," Hyun said, taking your other hand back in hers.
  429. >A few minutes later, you look back up to her, ready to vomit.
  430. "...No wonder she flinched this morning," you manage to choke out.
  431. >Hyun's pained expression matches yours as you fight back the heat in your eyes.
  432. >"Let's keep going. Don't let yourself get entangled in one part of this," she replied.
  433. >The two of you spend the next ten minutes reviewing the rest of the folder, mostly consisting of psychological analysis of the culprit.
  434. >By the time you're finished, you borrow Hyun's office trashcan and retch your breakfast.
  435. >"We've gathered all we can from other sources," Hyun speaks up, handing you another folder. "It's not much, scraps of neighbor testimonies and camera footage, but we couldn't risk directly making a house call out of fear she'd do something drastic to them."
  436. >Her.
  437. >HER.
  438. >You take a few moments to breathe the stale interior air, working your hands against the hem of your shirt fabric.
  439. "...So what do I do now?"
  440. ">Aria needs to know you can be trusted to take care of her," Hyun replied. "She's anchored herself to the only two people she feels she can trust, and you're going to need one or both of them to back you to get to her."
  441. >You flip open the other folder to find more statistics.
  442. >Weight, physical descriptions, personality, basic interviews...
  443. >You shudder at Adagio's painfully frail frame in the photos.
  444. >She'd somehow been even more malnourished than before you took her in.
  445. >"As for Adagio, you've got a textbook sentinel on your hands."
  446. "A what?"
  447. >"Oh right, you're not familiar with our, uh, lingo," she replies.
  448. "Just give it to me straight," you mutter, one hand cupping your burning forehead.
  449. >"She sees herself as a guardian to the other two, and she's scared of you, trying to guard both her sisters from a potential enemy, and worried that you'll be taking her self-appointed position from her," Hyun says.
  450. >You lean back into the cushions, rubbing your temples.
  451. "So how the hell am I supposed to "fix" that?"
  452. >"You don't."
  453. "OH FOR THE LOVE OF-"
  454. >"Keep your damn voice down!" Hyun hisses. "Do you really want to scare the girls in here?"
  455. "...Sorry. I'm just at the end of my rope here."
  456. >A few stretched seconds of silence pass before Hyun slowly gets up from her seat.
  457. >"Anon, if I didn't think you were capable of helping these girls have the best shot at a normal life they can, I wouldn't have pulled as many strings as I did," she began, placing a hand on your shoulder. "What they need is a rock, someone outside that the know they can depend on, something they've never had before. You just need to be there, and to listen. They'll open up to you if you can just do that."
  458. >It's not every day - hell, every week - that you see Hyun genuine give anyone a wide smile.
  459. >With a pull to your feet and a strong hug, the two of you gather up the documents and head back out to the girls.
  460. “Girls, I’d like you to meet Hyun. She’s our neighbor and a good friend of mine,” you say with your best smile.
  461. >Adagio gives a curt wave to her and turns back to the magazine she’d shoved her head into.
  462. >...why would she be interested in Modern Mothers Monthly?
  463. >”Oh, I remember you! You were there when...uhh...”
  464. >Sonata’s sentence dies in her throat as Aria tenses up beside her, shoulders tucking inward.
  465. >”It’s nice to meet you girls,” Hyun seamlessly replies. “Anon and I go way back to our college days, before he put on the paunch.”
  466. >You smack her poking finger away from your abdomen in mock outrage, managing to get a giggle out of the girls.
  467. “Alright, alright, let’s get going. I’ve harassed our local, hard-working civil servants enough for one day,” you quip back.
  468. >Hyun rolls her eyes and waves one last time as you lead the girls out of the winding building and back to the car.
  469. >”She seemed nice,” Aria speaks up from the back of your motley procession.
  470. “Hyun’s good people. Just don’t ask her about the cheek scar,” you reply as the lot of you pile into the car.
  471. “Alright, mall time!”
  472. —-
  473. “You girls okay in there?”
  474. >Silence is the only response from the changing rooms as you wriggle on your seat outside.
  475. >It’s been almost 10 minutes since the three of them filed into the stalls, giving your back a reprieve from the caravan of cloth you had hung from your forearms as they browsed.
  476. >You scratch your scalp idly as the dulcet tones of mall Muzak do nothing to quell the growing sense of worry in your head.
  477. >Like a rat gnawing at its cage, the panic ebbs at your consciousness as the seconds tick by, fingers coiling and relaxing in rhythm.
  478. >They could be breaking down over undressing in public, terrified you’re dolling them up to be your playthings.
  479. >A buzz in your pocket draws your attention as you pull out your phone, Hyun’s caller ID flicking on the screen.
  480. “Hello?”
  481. >”Hey Anon. I’m afraid I’ve got bad news for you,” Hyun bluntly throws out.
  482. >The rat starts gnawing harder.
  483. “What’s wrong?”
  484. >”Your sister managed to post bail.”
  485. >The rat squeals, and you shudder at flashes of the morbid photographs you reviewed with Hyun.
  486. “What?” you spit out.
  487. >”I’d suggest keeping the girls inside for a few days. Her rap sheet stinks of a woman who takes things personally,” she responds.
  488. “...Fuck me.”
  489. >”Not until the third date, sweetie.”
  490. “Oh for fuck’s sake, Hyun! This is ser-“
  491. >”...Uncle Anon?”
  492. >Your body swerves sharply leftwards to see Sonata’s big eyes poking out from the changing room stalls.
  493. “I’ll have to call you back in a bit, Hyun,” you mutter as you cut the call, getting up as Sonata’s hand beckons you over.
  494. >Rounding the corner, the three girls line up as you take in the new outfits.
  495. >”What do you think?” they say in unison.
  496. >Honestly, purple and pink weren’t really your colors, but you didn’t care.
  497. >The only thing you can focus on is how, for the first time in the past two days, all of them are smiling at you.
  498. >Granted, Adagio’s looks like it’s been smeared on by a plaster artiste, but hey, small victories.
  499. “You girls look adorable.”
  500. >”Well, I’m good then. Let’s change back and get all of this paid for,” Adagio curtly replies with a dismissive shrug as she pulls her sisters back in.
  501. >After 10 more minutes of checking out and a tiny part of your wallet’s soul dying as it realizes how expensive teen clothing is, you breathe a sigh of relief as everything is bagged.
  502. “Alright, let’s get back home and get some lunch in us-“
  503. >”Umm, Uncle Anon?”
  504. You turn to see Aria, surprisingly, looking you dead in the eyes.
  505. >”C...Could we wear our new clothes home?” she sputters, her body visibly shaking in anxiety.
  506. >”This is your moment, Anon,” you hear Hyun’s voice in your head.
  507. “Of course Aria. Whatever you like,” you softly reply, putting a hand on the girl’s shoulder.
  508. >She goes stiff under your touch for a single, stretching second before the gentle stroking of your thumb seems to calm her down somewhat.
  509. >You quietly follow behind the girls as they hop into the changing room one last time, hitting your speed-dial on the way.
  510. “Sorry about that Hyun, the girl’s needed me for a bit,” you say as you swear you can hear her eyes rolling on the other end. “What else did you say?”
  511. >”Your sister might want to see her kids now that she’s out,” she replies. “It’s not uncommon for these situations to loop back around.”
  512. “And if that does happen? I mean, I could just smack the bitch,” you begin, venom creeping into your voice.
  513. >”And if she gets violent, you have every right to, but you need to be concerned for the girls,” Hyun shoots back. “Even seeing her at this time might crumble any sense of trust they have in you.”
  514. “You... have a point. But we really need to just be cooped up in the house for a week or so? I need to get groceries sometime.”
  515. >”I’m not opposed to the idea of doing a grocery run for you,” she replies.
  516. “You really mean it?”
  517. >”Yes. It’s critical that you get as close to your nieces as you can before they get back into school.”
  518. “...Why?”
  519. >You hear rustling as she shifts around in her chair.
  520. “Why are you doing so much just for me? Is it blatant favoring, or just boredom?”
  521. >Silence passes for a few seconds before she responds.
  522. >”...Anon, you’re dealing with something no parent or guardian should ever have to go through. You’re the only shot they have left before getting shoved into the machine that is foster services, and this is the only time in my years here that I can directly help.”
  523. “Hyun-“
  524. >”Do you have any idea how many hundreds of kids I’ve seen slip into this bureaucratic shithole?” she continues, her voice raising. “How many kids who’ve done nothing wrong get bounced from shelter to shelter, falling out onto the streets because nobody cares to look for them when they’ve run away in confusion?”
  525. >She manages to collect herself long enough to let a shuddering sigh through the receiver.
  526. >”I transferred into Child Services two years ago so I could stop ...WHORES like your sister from hurting these kids any more, after I found about...well, you know. And after two years of paper pushing and organizational work, I can finally make a difference. So, forgive me if I’m a little invested,” she finishes with a quivering voice.
  527. “Hyun, I’m sorry. I should’ve known better than to push you-“
  528. >”It’s fine. Something I probably should’ve told someone a long time ago,” she cuts you off. “Just go to the girls. They need you.”
  529. “...Thanks, Hyun.”
  530. >”Careful, now. Say that enough times in one day, I’ll think you actually like me,” she says, punctuating her sass with a click.
  531. You roll your eyes and hang up as the girls reemerge from the dressing room.
  532. “We good to go-“
  533. >Your voice cuts off as Aria darts forward and wraps her arms around you, her thin frame squeezing you with what little force it can muster.
  534. >”T-T-Thank you...”she whimpers.
  535. >You simply smile and gently wrap one arm behind her shoulder blades.
  536. >”HUGS!”
  537. >You look back up and let the wind leave you as Sonata crashes into the other side of you, mirroring Aria.
  538. >Adagio crosses her arms at the three of you and scoffs.
  539. >”Come on, Adi, you know you want toooooo~” Sonata teases.
  540. >With an exasperated sigh, the girl acquiesces and joins the clump of bodies with a halfhearted hug.
  541. >Figuring Sonata’s been hugged enough the past two days, you shift your arm to Adagio with a firm squeeze, pressing her against you.
  542. “You’re welcome, girls. Come on, let's get home."
  543. >All of you separate and bag up the old clothes.
  544. >You make sure to drop the faded rags in the garbage on the way out.
  545. ---
  546. >The rest of the day, thankfully, is rather uneventful, with the girls spending most of their time in their rooms reading.
  547. >You decide to hit the bed early again tonight, figuring you need to be up before the girls regularly from now on.
  548. >The girls seem to have the same idea, and after a quick dinner of hot ham & cheese sandwiches you're all almost ready.
  549. >Sighing as you pull your nightshirt over your head, you reflect on Hyun's words.
  550. "Sentinel..." you whisper to yourself.
  551. >Your dry throat rattles in protest of your voice, and you quickly trot down the stairs for some water.
  552. >Walking by the girls' room, you hear the sound of whimpering.
  553. >Through the crack of the open door, you see Aria hunched down on the side of the bed, Adagio beside her with one arm on her shoulder.
  554. >You can't help but stop, pressing yourself close to the doorframe to observe.
  555. >"Hey, hey, don't go crying on me," you hear Adagio say. "I know that place reminded you of him, but he's not here. He'll never be here again."
  556. >Aria's shuddering sobs are her only response to her sister as she curls up, knees pulled to her chest.
  557. >"Would you like me to sing?" Adagio asks.
  558. >A whimper of affirmation, and Adagio pulls a banged-up CD player from her nightstand.
  559. >The player itself looks like a junk dealer refurbished it, but it plays well as the eldest sister turns it on.
  560. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCkwAgTcDBw
  561. >Every hair on your body goes stock stiff as an almost haunting melody comes from Adagio's throat, Aria relaxing slowly as she croons.
  562. >The serenade stretches on, Adagio's eyes closed in concentration as the house is filled with the dulcet arrangement.
  563. >What is only a few minutes seems to be eternal as you stand transfixed in the hallway, paralyzed.
  564. >By the time the CD player is through with its instrumental backing, Aria is fast asleep, the eldest giggling at her as she tucks her sister in.
  565. >You back up into Sonata as the spell finally leaves you.
  566. >"Could you please get off my foot?" she asks bluntly.
  567. "Oh yeah, sorry," you blurt as you collect yourself.
  568. >"She was singing, wasn't she?" Sonata asks.
  569. "...Yeah," you reply after a moment. "I had no idea she could do that."
  570. >"She's the best out of all of us," Sonata replies. "She used to perform at the junior theatre all the time, before..."
  571. >You decide not to prod.
  572. "Well, goodnight."
  573. >"Umm, could we, uh..." Sonata trails off.
  574. >You smile and tussle her hair.
  575. "You want a cuddle buddy again tonight?"
  576. >She blushes and nods.
  577. >You can't help but laugh as she trails behind you to bed.
  578. >As you pile in, she immediately throws her back into your chest, same as before.
  579. >You roll your eyes and sling one arm over her.
  580. "You really like being the little spoon, huh?"
  581. >She smacks your hand lightly and settles into you.
  582. >As you drift, you can still hear Adagio's singing in your ears.
  583. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
  584. >”Hey, hey, I told you to take it easy!”
  585. >Your mouth forms a tight line as Adagio’s scolding accompanies her hand, pushing you back down onto the couch.
  586. “I told you, I’m fine! This bug is nothing!” you protest, only for another sharp palm to press you against the cushions.
  587. >”I don’t want to see you getting up again. Just rest,” she says.
  588. >You throw your head back against the seat and let out a congested, gurgling groan.
  589. >Of course flu had to hit you just a few days after your big mall trip.
  590. >You groan again at the thought of your work backlog growing ever higher.
  591. >The moment she leaves the family room, you slide out from underneath the blanket and head for the hallway.
  592. >You make it all of five steps before a pair of hands grab you by each arm.
  593. >”WHAT DID I JUST SAY?”
  594. >The fever makes you too weak to struggle as Sonata and Adagio drag you back to the couch.
  595. >As you’re flung back onto the seat, you look back at the two sets of eyes drilling into you.
  596. >”If I have to strap you to that couch, I will,” Adagio said.
  597. “Could you at least bring me my laptop so I can get some work done? I’m backed up enough as it is,” you weakly reply.
  598. >With a look from her sister, Sonata runs to grab your computer, leaving you and the eldest of the three awkwardly looking at each other.
  599. >”Need to check the soup...” you hear her mutter as she breaks eye contact, making a beeline for the kitchen.
  600. >You’ve no opportunity to ask about any cooking as Sonata returns with your laptop.
  601. “Thanks, Sonata,” you say as you take the device from her and sit up, the thin pillow on your side doing little as you lean on the armrest.
  602. >”So, what do you do?” she asks, looking over your desktop.
  603. “Data entry. Pays surprisingly well,” You absentmindedly reply, pulling up your queue page. “State regs require hospitals to keep separate staff for record inputs and updates instead of just having a program collect individually.”
  604. >”So you’re a desk monkey?” she blurts our before covering her mouth.
  605. >You can’t help but break into a giggling fit at her mortified expression as the tips of her ears turn scarlet.
  606. “It’s a little more complicated than that,” you reply after a moment. “I’m also responsible for cross-checking prescriptions and keeping records of surgeries and treatment plans.”
  607. >”Sounds dangerous.”
  608. “You have no idea. One missing or extra zero, and someone could end up dead.”
  609. >”Sounds like I should get out of your hair, then,” she replies, hurriedly pacing out of the room.
  610. >You shrug at her retreating form and turn back to the screen, cracking your knuckles.
  611. —-
  612. >With a Herculean yawn, you close your laptop and set it aside.
  613. >The only interruptions to break your trance over the afternoon have been occasional noises from the kitchen.
  614. >A part of you wonders if you need to start looking for extra work with three teenage girls now living in your home.
  615. >The rat stirs in its cage again as visions of all of you sleeping in your car float through your head, and you shudder.
  616. >Looking up at the clock, you pop your back and stand up.
  617. >You fall back down with a THUMP as the strength leaves your legs and your face flushes with an almost searing heat.
  618. >No sooner does your vision clear than Adagio steps back into the family room with narrowed eyes.
  619. >”If I have to stay in here, I wi-“
  620. “...What?” you ask at her silent expression.
  621. >She says nothing as she walks over, putting the underside of her wrist to your forehead.
  622. >”Oh honey, you’re burning up,” she softly says, her magenta eyes transfixed with worry. “Here, let’s get your shoes off. Aria, get some ibuprofen from the cabinet!”
  623. >You let out a yelp as Adagio smacks the footrest button on the side of the couch, splaying you out as your lower body turns horizontal.
  624. >You keep silent, observing the girl’s face contort in concern as your sneakers come off one at a time.
  625. >It’s only now that you notice the black, oversized apron you keep in the pantry tied around her waist.
  626. >Aria steps in with a pill bottle and a cup of water, setting them down on the endtable and taking your laptop.
  627. >”I’ll have your dinner ready in a moment, so just take it slow, okay? You want anything to read?” Adagio asks, one hand feeling your cheek as those same panicked eyes lock on you.
  628. “I-I’ll just settle for he news,” You stammer out.
  629. >With a spin on one foot, Adagio walks back into the kitchen, humming to herself.
  630. “...What was that about?” you ask Aria.
  631. >”Big sis always gets like this when one of us is sick,” she replies. “She’s a worrywart like that.”
  632. “I think that’s the first time she’s been genuinely nice to me,” you ponder aloud.
  633. >Aria begins giggling, one hand to her mouth.
  634. >”She’s always felt most comfortable when she’s in control.”
  635. “Oh, so I’m just the weird guy who pays the bills now?”
  636. >Aria looks aside for a moment before sitting down next to you.
  637. >Dagi... Dagi has trouble being nice to people other than us,” she began carefully. “You’re the first person we’ve trusted in a long time.”
  638. “‘Bout to say, you’re being pretty open, too,” you reply.
  639. >”...You’ve been open to us,” she says after a moment, nervously fidgeting with one pigtail. “I just... I just thought I should try to... try to...”
  640. “Try to what?”
  641. >You worry as she trails off, looking down into the floor.
  642. >Great, you pushed too hard, idiot.
  643. >A single, stretching second of the rat thrashing clouds your mind before it clicks.
  644. “She needs to know she can trust you,” you quote Hyun under your breath.
  645. “I get what you mean,” you speak softly as she slowly turns her chin up to look at you. “And thank you. It must be hard for all of you to make this kind of transition.”
  646. >”Here’s the paper,” Adagio announces with a slap as she drops the rolled papers on the center coffee table and spins back towards the kitchen.
  647. >You ignore her in favor of the nervous middle child.
  648. >”Just remember two things,” you continue, “that you’re family, and that I love you.”
  649. >”...Promise,” she blurts out, eyes shut tight.
  650. >You chuckle at the outstretched pinky, and pull her to you in a hug.
  651. >Maybe one bold decision can fix another.
  652. >The rat clangs in its cage as you feel her go stiff against you.
  653. “I promise, now and forever,” you whisper. “From now on, you three are the most important things in my life.”
  654. >You can feel your hammering heartbeat slow as she slackens, and her thin arms cautiously find their way to your back.
  655. “Shhh, no tears now,” you croon as you feel your shoulder dampen. “I know it’s been rough for you, but you don’t have to be scared anymore.”
  656. >She’s clinging to you with all that she can muster, head buried deep in your chest.
  657. >Frail.
  658. >So very frail.
  659. >It’s a few minutes before she separates from you, sniffling.
  660. “...Thank you, Uncle Anon,” she mutters with the first full smile you’ve ever seen on her face.
  661. >You brush away the moisture from one cheek and return the smile.
  662. >”Soup’s almost done!” you hear Adagio yell from the kitchen.
  663. “Mind giving your uncle a hand?” you ask as you shakily stand.
  664. >Aria nods and props one side of you up against her shoulder.
  665. >You’re afraid for a moment that you’ll crush her slim frame, but she manages to keep you balanced long enough for you to crash into a chair at the kitchen table.
  666. >In a seeming flash you’re staring into Adagio’s eyes as she thrusts a thermometer under your tongue.
  667. >”Don’t give me any sass,” she quips at your annoyed glare. “You’re the one who wouldn’t let me medicate you this morning.”
  668. >Your eyes are drawn back to the apron, and your nose picks up the scent of spices on her fingers.
  669. >”Oh dear...” she mutters as she pulls the thermometer out.
  670. >102.8 Fahrenheit.
  671. >”Let’s start you out with some applesauce,” she says, moreso to herself than you as she pulls a serving cup of the stuff out of the fridge. “We’ll see if we can work you up to some warm soup in a bit.”
  672. >You’re at a loss for words as she turns into a whirling dervish, darting from counter to counter and pot to pot, stirring and measuring in a trance.
  673. “Uhhh... you sure this is normal for her?” you whisper to Aria.
  674. >”Trust me,” she replies with a giggle, “she’s loving this.”
  675. >You can’t find a reason to dispute that claim as Adagio finally comes to a stop, her poofy hair swinging behind her.
  676. >”Rosemary, maybe? No, no no no, needs to have a lighter tang. Can’t add anything solid, unless... maybe a bit of cheese? Oh, but it can’t be too fatty...” she drones on and on under her breath.
  677. “Aria, a hand, please?”
  678. >With some assistance, you leave your applesauce cup at the table and join Adagio at the stove.
  679. >”What are you doing up? You’re gonna bash your head in falling over if you keep this up-“
  680. “Allow me,” you cut Adagio off, reaching for a familiar red canister in the back of the spice cabinet.
  681. “I’d like you to meet my special friend tarragon,” you proudly announce past your congestion. “Put about a half-tablespoon in, stir it for a bit.”
  682. >You lean on the counter for support as she adds the dried leaves to the soup, her nose taking a deep inhale of the steam.
  683. >A quick sip from a plastic spoon, and her eyes go wide.
  684. “Told ya.”
  685. >Her mouth forms a tight line at what you know is the smuggest smile you’ve ever made in your life.
  686. >”Hmm yes very nice, Aria please get him back to his chairwhileIcheckthedishesthankyou!” she rattles off, darting like an eel to the sink.
  687. >You pinch your tongue with your teeth to save what little of the eldest’s pride remains from yours and Aria’s laughter.
  688. >You humor her as you plop back down in your chair and crack the seal on your applesauce.
  689. >If she needs to feel in charge to feel at home here, you’re perfectly willing to play along.
  690. —-
  691. >You manage to sip some lukewarm soup out of a mug over the course of dinner, while what Sonata dubs as “the Mom Mode” fades somewhat from Adagio’s demeanor.
  692. >By the time she’s got the apron off, the same indifferent gaze you’d become accustomed to is back.
  693. >You’re not sure whether or not it’s an improvement.
  694. >With a little help from Sonata, you hobble your way to bed and promptly crash down upon the mattress.
  695. “Thanks, hon,” you eke out as you tussle her bangs lightly.
  696. >You’re almost settled in with a stack of pillows at your back and the TV remote when a knock against your wall catches your attention.
  697. >Standing in the doorway is Adagio, wearing a gaze of worry.
  698. “Something wrong?”
  699. >”Can we talk?” she asks, one arm tucked against herself.
  700. "Sure," you reply, muting the television.
  701. >She's wary to look at you as she sits down on the edge of the bed.
  702. >"I...I need to ask you some questions," she says.
  703. "What, wanna know what other herbs to put in the soup?" you dryly quip.
  704. >"Don't joke with me!" she snaps back. "It's not my fault you're sick!"
  705. "Maybe, but it's not mine that you've taken charge so eagerly," you reply.
  706. >Her eyes dart down to the bedsheets.
  707. "Alright, go ahead. I'll save my sarcasm for the end."
  708. >A cold moment of silence passes before she clears her throat.
  709. >"I want to know the real reason you took us in," she asks.
  710. >The aggression in her voice isn't lost on you."
  711. "Because you're family," you reply. "It's what we do for each other."
  712. >"That's it?" she asks, an accusing glare accompanying the jab.
  713. "Is that really so hard to believe?"
  714. >Silence one again pervades the air around you as she swallows.
  715. >"Would you believe me if I said you're not the first to say that to us?"
  716. >You nod your head.
  717. >"...Would you blame me if I still don't trust you afterwards?"
  718. >For all her confidence, you can hear the trepidation in her voice.
  719. >"Aria told me what you said to her," she says, almost whispering. "Do...Do you really...?"
  720. >Consciously or otherwise, she's shaking like a leaf as she loses her voice.
  721. "...You really are scared of me, aren't you?"
  722. >Even as you speak, you know you've hit a nerve.
  723. >She closes her eyes tight, desperately trying to save face.
  724. >"...They're all I have. I have to be scared," she gasps out between short sobs.
  725. >With what little strength you can muster, you shift yourself forward to meet her.
  726. >You tuck one finger under her chin and raise her head to look you in the eyes.
  727. >Two magenta pools of fear and pain stare back at you.
  728. >And yet, despite how terrified she is, she refuses to back down.
  729. "You're so strong," you whisper.
  730. >"W-What?" she stammers out.
  731. >Your body moves on its own as you put one hand on her shoulder.
  732. >Your eyes are wet.
  733. "Please... let me help you. I can't stand to see you shoulder such a burden."
  734. >You're both crying now, your voice quivering.
  735. "You're...You're not the only one who cares anymore, Adagio."
  736. >The stoic glare on her face melts away as she collapses into you with a mournful wail, your arms winding around her.
  737. >It's all you can do to hold her through her breakdown as she shakes and sobs freely, soiling your shirt with tears.
  738. >"W-Why? Why now? Why couldn't you have been here sooner? Why did she have to be the one to take care of us?" she cries into your shoulder, weakly beating her fist against you.
  739. >You're filled with a sort of pain you can't describe at her words.
  740. >You know you'll never be able to answer those questions.
  741. >Her squirming begins to slow and ebb, and you release her from your grip.
  742. >She sits up in your lap, and you hand her a tissue to blow her nose with.
  743. "After everything you've been through, the only thing you can think about is keeping them safe," you croak. "I can't imagine what kind of strength it takes to love someone as much as you do them."
  744. >She quivers, dropping the used tissue to the side, her hair a tousled mess behind her.
  745. "What I promised Aria, I promise you. You don't have to be scared anymore."
  746. >"...If you ever hurt them..." she growls, even as you both know how hollow the threat is.
  747. "I mean it."
  748. >She stares for a moment at your pinky, sticking out from your left fist.
  749. >You show each other a small smile as your digits interlock.
  750. >"I can't believe myself," she mutters.
  751. "What?"
  752. >"How did you know about that?" she asks, color in her cheeks.
  753. "Call it a gut feeling."
  754. >Her smile widens, and for a moment she's exposed, free of the stress and coiled, distant shell she's spent so much of her life inside.
  755. >She's more beautiful than anything you've ever seen.
  756. >You squeeze her hand, letting the rest of your fingers slip between hers.
  757. "Welcome home, Adagio."
  758. ---
  759. >A few hours pass, and you lament the loss of your late-night Saturday movie binges as Adagio persistently bugs you and her sisters into tucking in for the night.
  760. >"I don't care if this is the only bed in the house, he needs to rest properly!" she barks at Sonata, the younger sister throwing up her hands in exasperation.
  761. >"Fine, MOM," she groans, "I'll take floor shift."
  762. >"Why you?"
  763. >"Because pack pains are totally worth not having to hear you freak out about smashed curls in the morning," Sonata quips.
  764. >The eldest huffs in frustration as her sisters head back to their room for the night.
  765. >"Got everything you need? Properly elevated, tissues, water, medicated rub under the nose..."
  766. >You snicker at her trailing off into her own head again.
  767. "You're cute when you're worried, you know that?"
  768. >She stops and sputters, crimson tinting her face as she looks at you.
  769. "Although your embarrassment might be even cuter."
  770. >You were expecting a few different responses from her.
  771. >A pout, a slap, a harsh word, maybe.
  772. >But a shy smile was not one of them.
  773. >"Y-Yes, w-well, uh, g-good night U-Uncle Anon," she stammers before hightailing it out of the room.
  774. "...Well that was weird," you mutter, shrugging your shoulders and settling back against the pillows.
  775. >You've managed to drift into a light snore when you feel wriggling on your right.
  776. >You turn your head to see two bold eyes looking back at you from pulled-up covers.
  777. "You know your sister's gonna be pissed in the morning, right?"
  778. >"When is she not pissed?" she replies, resting her head against you.
  779. "Oh come on, don't give her flak. She's just worried about you."
  780. >"I guess you might have a point," she reluctantly admits. "She..."
  781. "Cares in her own way?"
  782. >She sheepishly nods.
  783. "G'night, squirt," you say with a one-armed squeeze.
  784. >"Goodnight, Uncle Anon."
  785. ---
  786. >You blow the buildup from the back of your sinuses out into a tissue as you sit up in bed, the late morning sunshine assaulting your vision.
  787. >Sonata's nowhere to be found beside you.
  788. >Popping your neck, your head swims with fervor again as you fall back.
  789. >"Finally awake, I see."
  790. >You crack one eye open to see Adagio in your apron again, holding a mug of broth with her sisters behind her.
  791. >"Sip on this for a bit and I'll have some proper breakfast ready shortly," she commands, shoving the liquid into your hands. "Girls, I need tomatoes, eggs and red potatoes!"
  792. >As the younger two head back to the kitchen, Adagio stops in the doorway.
  793. >You grin at her small smile.
  794. "Thanks, Dagi," you say, your throat protesting your speech.
  795. >She blushes and follows her sisters.
  796. >As the warm salt of the soup soothes your vocal chords, you lay back and smile.
  797. >None of them really see you as family.
  798. >Maybe as a friend, but no closer than that.
  799. >But that'll come with time.
  800. >Baby steps, Anon. Baby steps.
  801. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
  802. >You grin like an idiot as familiar title music fills your ears, straightening your posture as you grip the cobalt controller in your hands.
  803. >After three whole days of mucus, headrushes and chewing through your work pileup like a rabid beaver, you can finally unwind a little as your flu fades.
  804. >And by unwind, you mean smashing fools in casual lobbies that can’t handle the tutorial bot, much less you.
  805. >Can’t really say the same for Sonata, though.
  806. >Turns out cuddling with a sick person isn’t exactly sound decision-making.
  807. >You shrug and let your mind sink into a rhythm as you move through the motions and movelists, stiff fingers shaking off their rust as you almost immediately re-acclimate yourself.
  808. “Can’t believe it’s only been a week,” you absentmindedly mutter.
  809. >”Why?”
  810. >You break out of your warm-up trance with a shout as you finally notice Aria sitting next to you on the couch.
  811. “Jesus, Aria!”
  812. >Your surprise is quickly supplanted by worry as she screws her eyes shut at your volume.
  813. “Oh, s-sorry about that.”
  814. >”It’s fine, it’s...fine,” she breathes after a moment, her chest visibly rising and falling. “What are you playing?”
  815. “Oh, this? Just some Kekken,” you shrug.
  816. >”What’s it about?”
  817. >You briefly consider vomiting up the full ten games’ worth of story, but you’re somewhat afraid you’ll scare her off if you do.
  818. “It’s a long story, but basically there’s this cursed family of martial artists whose fathers and sons are destined to constantly fight with each other, and the world has to deal with the consequences.”
  819. >”Sounds weird. Can I play?”
  820. “Uhh...” you space out, trying to put your thoughts delicately. “This isn’t really a game that’s easy to learn.”
  821. >”I can manage,” she nonchalantly replies, tucking one pigtail behind her.
  822. >You sigh and hand another controller from beneath the coffee table to her.
  823. “Okay, I’ll get you set up to learn-“ you begin, only for Aria to ignore you as she parses over the character select, settling on a braid-sporting Asian man with heavy gauntlets.
  824. >You feel a throbbing begin to stir in your forehead.
  825. >Of course she picked one of the weirder characters.
  826. “You sure? I was going to recommend a different one.”
  827. >She merely nods.
  828. >Sighing, you select your character and load up one of the standard arenas.
  829. “Alright, so you win by taking that bar above your opponent down to empty,” you begrudgingly begin. “There’s three different attack buttons and a fourth that I’ll explain later.”
  830. >Aria expectantly looks at you as she fiddles with the controller, her character throwing out standalone attacks.
  831. “You block by holding back on the d-pad, and you can quickly move forward and backward by pressing twice in that direction.”
  832. >”I assume there’s a list of moves somewhere?”
  833. “Yeah, let me show you.”
  834. >You give her a couple of minutes to scroll through the command list for her character, explaining what certain icons and frame data numbers next to the moves mean.
  835. >”...Alright, I think I get it,” she quietly says after a moment of fidgeting.
  836. “I’ll take it slow,” you mutter as you unpause and promptly throw out a launcher.
  837. >Your eyes widen till they strain against your sockets as she almost effortlessly blocks the high and sends you airborne with a sweep, chaining two separate kick strings together and splatting your character against the wall, landing another heavy attack as you slide down.
  838. “Wait what-“
  839. >”Huh, seems pretty easy,” Aria mutters in the midst of a grab conversion as you panic and start mashing buttons.
  840. >One of your flailing inputs manages to smack her away long enough for you to focus.
  841. >2/3 of your health is gone.
  842. >And she’s rushing in for another string.
  843. >You sputter and manage to collect yourself long enough to attempt a parry, but she goes low and locks you into the same sweep setup as before, firmly planting you against the floor.
  844. >You put the controller down with shaking hands.
  845. “...How?”
  846. >”What? I just read what you pointed out for me,” she says. “You just look for something where the numbers add up positively and do those moves after each other.”
  847. “But...But the crossup and the grabs...”
  848. >You can’t help but let your face twist in frustration as you slump back, grumbling to yourself.
  849. >”Did...did I do something wrong!? I-I’m sorry!”
  850. >You look back over with a cocked brow to see her backed away from you, having scurried over to the other side of the couch with an alarmed, fearful look in her eyes.
  851. >That strange pain flares in your chest again, and you force yourself to loosen up.
  852. “No, Aria, you didn’t do anything wrong. I just wasn’t expecting you to pick up so quickly.”
  853. >You’ve never been the classiest of losers, even back in your football days.
  854. >"I...I did?" she asks.
  855. "Yeah! Most people take hours to start understanding how this stuff works together," you reply with a smile.
  856. >The sight of her posture relaxing lets you release a breath you didn't know you were holding as the two of you get back into the match.
  857. >You sit with her for a half hour, explaining some more advanced concepts as you eke out a small winstreak, each time having more trouble than you expect.
  858. "I gotta say, it's nice to have someone around to play against offline," you say after you barely manage to squeeze your fifth win.
  859. >You look over at the lack of a response to see Aria shivering, her legs tucked tightly against her.
  860. "Hey, you okay?"
  861. >She quickly nods, her response betrayed by her wobbling shoulders.
  862. >You tentatively reach out and touch her forearm as she winces.
  863. >She's cold to the touch.
  864. "Here," you gesture towards yourself as you pull the comforter out from beneath the coffee table.
  865. >She hesitates for a tense moment before scurrying over to your side of the couch and lifting one half of the fabric over her.
  866. "Why didn't you say anything?" you ask as the next round fires up.
  867. >"I didn't want to be a bother," she says, her voice barely above a whisper.
  868. "A burden?"
  869. >She refuses to meet your eyes.
  870. >You sigh through your nose and pause the game, moving yourself over closer to her.
  871. "Aria, you're not a burden."
  872. >She looks down with a tenacious mix of worry and uncertainty.
  873. "You're my..."
  874. >You shove the panic-rat back into his cage and gather yourself.
  875. "You're my daughter. It's my job to make sure you're happy," you continue. "I wouldn't have made those promises if I felt any different."
  876. >Your smile turns from plastic to genuine emotion as you wrap one arm around her shoulder in a hug, one arm of her own cupping your back in response.
  877. "Can I ask you for a promise?"
  878. >"...Yes," she replies, closing her eyes and letting her head come to rest on your shoulder.
  879. "Please don't ever forget that," you murmur.
  880. >The two of you lean back against the cushions, pulling up the comforter.
  881. >You soak up the silence for a moment for a moment before poking Aria's side with your controller.
  882. "Now, are you gonna beat me anytime today or what?"
  883. >She giggles and grabs her own controller off the coffee table, landing a shot on you as she unpauses.
  884. "Oh come on, that was cheap and you know it!"
  885. >Her giggling turns into full-blown laughter as you feel the tips of your ears turn red in embarrassment.
  886. "Daughter or not, it's on now!"
  887. ---
  888. >Time seems to melt and slip through the cracks of your mind, and before you know it, you've spent most of the afternoon trading matches with Aria.
  889. “Alright, that’s enough of that,” you sigh as you set down your controller. “Hyun should be over with the groceries any minute.”
  890. >”The woman from town hall? Why would she have groceries for us?” Aria asks from her spot on the couch, eyes still transfixed on the game and the training bot she’d switched to beating on.
  891. “I uh, asked her ‘cause of the flu and whatnot,” you reply with a shrug.
  892. >There’s no way in hell you’re telling any of them about their mother.
  893. “Anyways, I should probably see how Sonata’s holding up before she gets here.”
  894. >You leave the family room to find Sonata in the bathroom, leaning over the vanity and fuming to herself.
  895. >”Stupid...Stupid plastic garbage...” she grumbles as her fingers slip and knock against each other in a futile struggle to tie her hair back in the same ponytail she always wears.
  896. “Here, allow me,” you announce yourself, spooking her slightly as you step behind and take ahold of the purple band.
  897. >A quick glance at the accessory confirms the reason for her trouble.
  898. “Uhhh, Sonata, you know this doesn’t clasp together, right? You’re supposed to slip it on over your hair.”
  899. >”What? Oh, oh riiiight,” she slurs, snickering as she leans against you.
  900. >It’s only then that you become aware of how red her visage is, and the dry panting as her shoulders gently heave to and fro.
  901. “Alright, let’s get this on and then get you back to bed,” you quickly say as you fumble for a bit with her hair, managing to gather most of it and properly pin it.
  902. >She turns around, a few strands hanging down either side of her face as her grin widens.
  903. >”Y-You’re alwayyyys so patient, Un-cle Anon,” she giggles. “And connnfident, and cuddly...”
  904. >You touch the underside of your wrist to her forehead as she trails off into a snickering fit, pulling back after an intense heat almost immediately begins to soak in.
  905. “You’re burning up-MMMMMPH!”
  906. >Faster than you can react, your voice is swallowed by your niece’s lips slamming into yours, her hands yanking down on your shoulder to bring you closer.
  907. >Your body locks up even as you feel her tongue sheepishly prodding against your lower lip, soft whimpers in your ears as her nails dig into your shirt.
  908. >And, of course, the universe decides for that to be the exact moment Adagio passes by the bathroom entrance with a laundry basket.
  909. >As you register the noise of the clothes she’s carrying hitting the floor, you decide that the cosmos has quite the fucked-up sense of humor.
  910. >”MWAH!” Sonata punctuates as she breaks off the contact, slumping into your torso, head thrown back to stare at you.
  911. >”Love you, Un-cle Nonnnny,” she drawls with an ear-to-ear grin.
  912. >”Alright, back to bed. Letting you up was clearly a mistake,” Adagio cuts in, grabbing her younger sister by the back of her shirt and marching her down the hallway, the girl too delirious to protest.
  913. >You remain still for the next several moments as questions rattle around in your head.
  914. >What just happened?
  915. >Why is Adagio not clawing your throat out right now?
  916. >And why didn’t you break that off...?
  917. >You flinch as the panic-rat flings himself into the front of your consciousness, his cage tumbling around him.
  918. “Get ahold of yourself...”
  919. >You turn on the tap for a brief moment and splash some water over your face, whispering to 20 as you try to focus.
  920. “What did you give her?” you ask Adagio as she returns after a minute to recollect the laundry.
  921. >”Nothing,” she spits. “If the squirt would listen to me and actually drink the water I brought her, she’d be fine.”
  922. >Despite her raised chin, the blush on her face betrays her thoughts.
  923. “Yeah, that was... awkward,” you halfheartedly reply. “You sure you can keep her wrangled by yourself?”
  924. >”Of course!” she blurts out, shifting on her heels a bit. “Why would I have problems getting her to take her medicine?”
  925. >As she raises the back of her hand to her mouth in shock, you stop your eyes from reflexively rolling and turn to fully face her, her own eyes looking down to the basket.
  926. “It’s okay to ask for help, Adagio,” you say lowly, gently rubbing her shoulder with one hand.
  927. >It takes a moment for her to acquiesce, letting herself uncoil as you bring yourself forward in an embrace.
  928. >”I know,” she mutters into your side as she tucks her head against you. “It’s just weird getting used to.”
  929. >You chuckle and run your hand over her back in acknowledgment as you separate from her.
  930. “I’ll check in on her, see if a second crack at the gear will get her to take her meds,” you say as she picks up the laundry basket.
  931. >”Good luck with that,” she scoffs. “Little brat...”
  932. “You’re cute when you’re mad, you know that?” you tease, poking her in the side.
  933. >”S-Shut up!”
  934. >You throw your head back in laughter as she hurriedly stomps out of the hallway with the basket.
  935. >You soon on one heel, only to turn back around as you hear the doorbell ring.
  936. “Speak of the devil,” you mutter as you rush downstairs to grab your keys.
  937. —-
  938. “I know you made a big point of it, but I still wasn’t expecting you to actually get groceries,” you say as you and Hyun set down the last of the bags in the garage.
  939. >”You should know better than to not take me seriously at this point,” she replies as she pulls open your chest freezer.
  940. “Ah, yes, how foolish of me to forget the dreaded Hyun, scourge of the City Hall!” you mock, throwing one hand towards the ceiling.
  941. >You’re certain that if you weren’t wearing a shirt, the look she gives you would set your chest hair on fire.
  942. >You merely return a pouting look.
  943. >”You’re always in smartass mode, aren’t you?” she shoots back.
  944. “What can I say - I had a great teacher.”
  945. >She sighs at your smug grin and turns back to filling the freezer as you carry the canned goods inside.
  946. >As Aria sets about sorting things by shelf, you head back into the garage to find Hyun motioning you over with the signature “come hither” finger you’d grown used to.
  947. >It’s something you know she never uses when everything’s okay.
  948. “Alright, what’s wrong? Did I not pay some arbitrary adoption tax or something?”
  949. >She thunks you on the head sharply with a knuckle.
  950. >”I need you to take this seriously,” she replies. “I’m putting a lot of trust in you.”
  951. >You quizzically cock one brow as she reaches inside her purse.
  952. >Said brow shoots up alongside a chill in your spine at the sleek handle of the revolver she thrusts towards you.
  953. “Hyun, what are you doing-“
  954. >”I know you might not be comfortable with this,” she cuts you off, “but that’s not a decision you get to make anymore. Keep it close.”
  955. “Is this really necessary?” you ask, eyes locked on the gun as she lets go of it, the cylinder dimly shining. “I haven’t fired a gun in years.”
  956. >”I hope it stays that way,” she responds quietly. “But I know that women like your sister don’t let anything go easily.”
  957. >You reluctantly unlock your car and tuck the firearm away inside the center console, tossing a small bag of ammunition Hyun hands you in alongside it.
  958. “You really think she’d risk winding back up in jail until trial?” you mumble.
  959. >”I don’t think anything. I just want you to be prepared for the worst,” she replies.
  960. >With a heavy sigh, you lock up your car as Hyun exits your garage to close her trunk.
  961. >”Call me sometime when things settle down - we’ll go to the range,” she yells as she slips inside her vehicle.
  962. >You remain silent, closing he garage door, the weight of the revolver in your mind.
  963. >”Uncle Anon?”
  964. >You turn around to see Aria standing in the doorway.
  965. >”The groceries are put away,” she says.
  966. “...Good. Go ahead and throw a pizza in the oven or something. I’m gonna go check on Sonata,” you absentmindedly reply.
  967. —-
  968. >Turning at the top of the staircase and into the hallway, you stroll down to the girls’ room and crack the door open.
  969. >Sonata’s propped up against the headboard on top of a half-dozen pillows, a cross look on her face as she flips through channels on the cheap LCD television you’d snagged off the clearance rack.
  970. “How you holdin’ up?” you ask.
  971. >Her head flicks over in surprise at you as her fingers fumble and drop the remote.
  972. “Still dizzy?” you continue as you open the door fully and step inside.
  973. >She merely nods weakly at you as you plop yourself down on the other side of the bed.
  974. >You look past her to see your old bulk mug resting on a barely-fitting coaster on the nightstand, the straw dry.
  975. >”If you’re here to pester me, go away,” she mutters.
  976. “Come on, Sonata. You’re not gonna recover without hydration,” you pry, shuffling a bit closer.
  977. >”But it makes me sweaty and smellyyy!” she groans, her voice crackling.
  978. >You let the eye roll happen this time.
  979. “That’s just the natural process of this. You’re gonna feel much worse tomorrow if you don’t get a headstart,” you respond.
  980. >She closes her eyes after a moment in a silent admission of truth.
  981. “I’ll get you some towels if you’re really concerned about any odor, okay?” you plead.
  982. >A noncommittal grunt is your only answer.
  983. >A momentary dash to the bathroom later, and you’re helping her slip the additional fabric under her.
  984. >No sooner than you step away, her hands fly out and grasp the mug greedily as she tears the top off and brings the rim to her lips.
  985. “Uhhh... might wanna take it easy there,” you pipe up as the room fills with the sound of her noisily chugging ice water, rivulets dripping down her chin and cheeks to wet her shirt collar.
  986. >With a titanic gasp, she finally comes up for air, wiping her chin and letting out a belch as she falls limply against the bedding.
  987. “Not very dignified of you, you know,” you jab.
  988. >”Don’t. Care.”
  989. >You chuckle as she pops the baker’s dozen of vitamins and over-the-counter medications Adagio had set out for her, washing them down with another couple of large gulps.
  990. >She wasn’t kidding - you can already see her forehead begin to shine.
  991. >”This is already beginning to itch,” she says, moreso to herself than anything else.
  992. "What is?"
  993. >Without warning, you sputter as she reaches behind her and unclasps her bra, unhooking the shoulder fasteners and pulling the undergarment out from the top of her shirt, dropping it into your lap.
  994. >You can feel your face heating up as you gingerly pinch the harness by one strap and lightly toss it back towards her, her own mortified stare meeting yours.
  995. >A solid ten seconds passes before you find your voice again.
  996. “...Well, this is awkward,” you squeak out.
  997. >”I’m too hot to give a shit, sorry,” she bluntly says before leaning into you.
  998. >You two can’t help but laugh as the miasma of tension slowly clears from the room.
  999. >”I think I’ll go ahead and get some rest,” she mutters contentedly.
  1000. >You smile and begin to sit up from the bed, only for your right arm to be forcibly yanked back down to her chest as she shimmies over to press herself flush against you.
  1001. “Are you serious?” you protest.
  1002. >”Shhh. Sleepy...” she trails off, not even bothering to open her eyes.
  1003. >Your mind spins its wheels as the sensation of her breasts enveloping your forearm sinks in.
  1004. >You thought that the cups on her bra were a bit big for her age, but *damn*...
  1005. >You shake your hormones out of your head and pry your arm from her grip.
  1006. >She whimpers and reaches for you, unwilling to open her eyes.
  1007. "Fiiine," you concede, the wind promptly knocked out of you as she magnetizes to your side, humming as she tucks her head in the crook of your arm.
  1008. >You pull out your phone to pass the time as the moonlight softly streaks through the windowshade.
  1009. >At least you'll have plenty of rest for tomorrow."
  1010. ---
  1011. "Alright, I'll be back in a few hours. Call me if you need anything!"
  1012. >Adagio nods from her spot on the couch as you close the front door behind you, cleanly shaven and sporting your Sunday best.
  1013. >Whistling quietly as you open the car door, you ponder the events of the last two weeks in your head.
  1014. "Still wonder what they're hiding from me," you mutter as you turn the ignition.
  1015. >The panic-rat rears his head in your mind, and you scowl.
  1016. >You flick the radio dial on and allow yourself to slip into focus on the road.
  1017. >A brief and uneventful drive deposits you in a nondescript parking lot, nary another vehicle around.
  1018. "Well, here goes everything," you mumble.
  1019. >Exiting your car, you turn to see a somewhat tanned woman talking on her phone and gesturing you over with a free hand by a large tan building.
  1020. >"...Yeah, he's here. I'll call you back later," you hear her say before she ends her call, turning to face you.
  1021. >"Anonymous, I presume?" she asks cordially.
  1022. >"Anon is fine," you reply, extending a hand, and following her inside the building after a brief shake.
  1023. >You crane your head at the winding corridors you stroll through, almost bumping into her as she stops by a nondescript wooden door.
  1024. >"Please, have a seat," she says as she opens the door and steps through.
  1025. >"I apologize for the quietness. I haven't had to conduct an interview in some time," she admits as she takes a seat.
  1026. >Taking a chair across from the massive mahogany desk in the center of the room, you and her lock eyes.
  1027. >"Allow me a moment to pull up the necessary files, please," she says.
  1028. >"...Let's see, graduated in '09, BA in Analytics at TINT, correct?" she rattles off from her computer monitor.
  1029. >You nod as she scrolls through a webpage you can't see, her lips shifting slightly as she reads.
  1030. >"Well, Anon, I'm happy to say that I can safely offer you the positon," she bluntly says. "Can we count on having you here?"
  1031. >You blink twice in confusion.
  1032. "...That's it?"
  1033. >"...Yes."
  1034. >You furrow your brow and lean forward.
  1035. "That's not the whole story, is it?"
  1036. >"W-Well, there's not really much to go over, considering how thorough your resume was and your references-"
  1037. "Ma'am, if we are to have any semblance of a healthy professional relationship, I need you to be open and blunt with me," you cut her off sternly.
  1038. >She regards you for a moment before visibly deflating, her shoulders going slack as she leans back.
  1039. >"Oh, to hell with appearances," she spouts. "We need this position filled by next week lest we get saddled with some stuffed shirt from the county, and you're the only applicant we've received in three months."
  1040. >"N-Not that you're not qualified or anything!" she adds in a moment of panic. "Your application was quite impressive!"
  1041. >You chuckle and straighten your posture.
  1042. "You can safely rely on me being here, Ms...?"
  1043. >"Just call me Celestia," she informs you.
  1044. >You mentally berate yourself for not noticing the tag on the edge of the desk.
  1045. "So, will I be needed when the school calendar starts, or is this beginning beforehand?"
  1046. >"Your duties will begin soon, I'm afraid. Your remote access key will be mailed to you in a few days, so you should be able to begin from home as soon as next week, although you will be needed on the premises when the school year starts," she replies with an almost robotic familiarity.
  1047. "Well, this was easier than I expected," you muse, one hand behind your head.
  1048. >She giggles softly before leaning forward, the air in the room becoming suddenly thick with tension as her smile fades.
  1049. >"Actually, Anon, I need to ask you something very important," she somberly begins.
  1050. >You cock one brow.
  1051. >"It's about your nieces..."
  1052. >Quicker than you can stop yourself, you spring out of your chair, slamming your hands against the rim of the desk as your eyes bore into hers.
  1053. "How do you know-"
  1054. >"Anon, please, allow me to finish," she interrupts, slightly scooting away from you.
  1055. >You force yourself to relax and breathe.
  1056. >"I was informed about the situation reagarding your nieces some time ago by the state police. A student from our school was involved in an... incident regarding one of them," she continues. "What I wasn't told, I learned through the grapevine... word tends to travel fast in these circles."
  1057. >Despite your will, your jaw clenches, your lower lip forming a mild snarl.
  1058. >"Normally, they would have to wait until January to return to their education, but I am able to authorize a manual enrollment for new or transferring students from other schools. I understand that you may not like what I'm proposing here, which is why I wanted to ask now."
  1059. >You slowly sit back down, a bevy of uncertainty running through your head.
  1060. "I..."
  1061. >Hyun's warning rings like a funeral bell in your mind, and the panic-rat thrashes in his cage.
  1062. "...I think that's for the best. I can't let them fall out of their education," you concede.
  1063. >"I'll make the necessary phone calls," she meekly replies.
  1064. >A few moments of heavy silence pass before you sigh and stand.
  1065. >"I appreciate you putting your trust in me like this," Celestia softly says. "I know it's tough for you to do so this early. I promise I'll do everything I can to make them feel welcome."
  1066. >You turn your head back up and look her in the eye.
  1067. "I'll hold you to that."
  1068. >With that statement, you extend your hand again, Celestia returning the courtesy with a slight wince at your grip.
  1069. >"May I be blunt, Anon?"
  1070. "I asked you to, didn't I?"
  1071. >Your smile returns as she giggles.
  1072. >"I wasn't expecting someone of your stature to be an applicant."
  1073. "Yeah, played football back when I was here. I remember carrying some of the trophies in the cases out there back to the locker rooms," you proudly state.
  1074. >"You were a student?"
  1075. "Yep. In fact..."
  1076. >Gears long rusted in your skull churn to life as you dig up foggy memories.
  1077. "You look somewhat familiar..."
  1078. >Your eyes scan the iridescent display of muted pastels in her hair, and a click rings in your ears.
  1079. "No way..."
  1080. >"What?"
  1081. "SUNBUTT?"
  1082. >Celestia falls back in her seat in a fit of stutters as you howl in laughter, bent over and clutching your stomach.
  1083. >"I-I-I-I-I-"
  1084. "Oh, wow! of all the people to be a principal!" you choke out between guffaws.
  1085. >"Damn that yearbook photo..." she grumbles, arms crossed as her face approaches beet-red in color.
  1086. >As you collect yourself, you apologize and show yourself out the door with a curt wave, sporadically giggling to yourself.
  1087. >Celestia sighs and rubs her eyes, blinking as the spots clear from her vision.
  1088. >"Who was that?"
  1089. >She looks over to see a short woman with long, curl-end hair standing in the doorway.
  1090. >"That is our new administrative coordinator, Cadance," she replies
  1091. >"Huh, not what I was expecting from a secretary," Cadance muses. "On the stocky side to be sure, but his shoulders are huge."
  1092. >"I can't afford to be picky at this point," Celestia mutters.
  1093. >"Hey, don't put him down like that! Who knows, you might grow to really like him..."
  1094. >Celestia rolls her eyes at the all-too-familiar smile on the guidance counselor's face.
  1095. >"Would you stop trying to set me and my sister up with men? You're not even waiting for the semester to start to begin playing matchmaker."
  1096. >"Maybe if you actually TRIED instead of locking yourself in this office 80 hours a week, you wouldn't be so frustrated all the time," Cadance shoots back.
  1097. >"What are you suggesting-"
  1098. >Cadance steps into the office properly, silencing her superior with a cocked hip and a raised finger.
  1099. >"You - need - to - get - LAID," she drawls. "And it's not like you'd have a hard time getting the guys to notice. Ever wonder why your student approval rating's so high?"
  1100. >"EW!"
  1101. >"It's true! I've had girls come to me feeling insecure about their bodies, comparing themselves to you!" Cadance continues. "We both know those eggs aren't going to wait for you to grow a backbone and get out there!"
  1102. >"Just drop it, please," Celestia murmurs past her palms as she covers her blush with her hands. "I've got much bigger things to worry about right now."
  1103. >"That's what you said the last three times," Cadance barks. "At the very least you can tag along with me and Shiny on karaoke night, unwind a little?"
  1104. >A vein begins to visibly bulge from the principal's temple as she throws her hands up in defeat.
  1105. >"Fine. Now can I get back to work?"
  1106. >With an arrogant smirk and a sashay, Cadance whips out her phone and begins typing in her planner.
  1107. >"It's a date. Don't think you're getting out of this one!" she sings as she trots out of the office.
  1108. >Celestia groans as she reaches for a dark green cylinder, flicking back the top and taking a long draught from the bitter liquid within.
  1109. >"As if I needed more headaches."
  1110. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
  1111. >As your phone alarm goes off, you confidently smile and flick the notification off the screen with a finger, looking yourself over in your dresser mirror.
  1112. >You’d settled for a collarless cerulean button-up and a pair of slacks for the evening, your feet adorned in the same pitch-black athletic shoes you always wore.
  1113. “You girls ready?” you holler into the hallway.
  1114. >”Just a few more minutes!” Adagio’s voice rings back, the sound of a hair dryer echoing for a moment before their door closes again.
  1115. >You turn back to the mirror and fasten your belt, scratching your stubble with a free hand.
  1116. “Eh, it can wait for a few days,” you conclude to yourself with a shrug.
  1117. >Exiting your bedroom, you jot down the stairs to grab your keys off the rack, stopping at the landing as your phone goes off.
  1118. >’Girls doing okay?’
  1119. >You smirk at your neighbor’s prying.
  1120. ‘Yes Hyun, they’re doing well. They took going back to school pretty well when I broke it to them last week.’
  1121. >’That’s good to hear. You doing anything tonight?’
  1122. ‘Taking the family out for movie night.’
  1123. ‘<3 That’s sweet. Think you’ll have time for that trip to the range this week?’
  1124. >You roll your eyes.
  1125. ‘You were serious about that? Come on, she doesn’t even know where we live.’
  1126. >’I know, but when was the last time we went shooting together? Last time was so fun!’
  1127. ‘For you. I had to talk the owner out of kicking us out over your “decorations.”’
  1128. >’Oh come on, that was nothing to get upset about.’
  1129. ‘“This Machine Kills Commies” is not something you carve into a stock and show off in public, Hyun.’
  1130. >Before her reply pops up, your here a rapid thumping behind you, followed by a scream.
  1131. >”LOOK OUT!”
  1132. >The wind is thoroughly knocked out of you as something crashes into your side and sends you tumbling, rolling into the corner of the living room endtable head-first.
  1133. >Your vision flashes red as the hard wooden edge firmly rebounds off your temple, your frame slumping against the wall as the world spins.
  1134. “Agh, my head...”
  1135. >You gingerly bring your hand to the side of your head, hissing as the freshly bruised flesh stings at your touch.
  1136. >”Oh my gosh Uncle Anon, I am SO sorry!” Sonata panics as she kneels down to your level, hands gripping the hem of her dress.
  1137. >You manage to find your way to your feet, your free hand flying out to grab the corner of the wall in your dizziness.
  1138. “Damnit Sonata, I told you not to run around inside for this EXACT reason!” you yell past your vertigo.
  1139. >As your vision clears, you can make out her mumbling something under her breath.
  1140. “What are you saying?”
  1141. >”...I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry...” she blubbers as she meets your hard glare again, eyes filled to the brim with tears.
  1142. >You look past her to see her sisters staring at you with stiff shoulders, Aria hiding behind her siblings.
  1143. >Despite your muddled senses, you immediately recognize the emotion in their eyes.
  1144. >Fear, pure and crippling, just like you saw the first time you spoke to them.
  1145. >Shame comes over you as you loosen your taut posture and lean back against the wall.
  1146. “Sorry,” you say. “I didn’t mean to be hostile. Just... be careful, okay? I don’t want to see any of you get hurt.”
  1147. >You sigh through your nose in relief as the two elder sisters seem to relax somewhat, Sonata’s murmuring subsiding as she dashes forward and clings to your midsection in a hug.
  1148. >”You gonna be okay, Uncle Anon?” she sobs into your chest.
  1149. “I’ll be fine, hon. Vision’s already cleared,” you reply with a small smile as she looks up at you, pools of magenta shimmering.
  1150. >You wrap one arm around her and rub her back reassuringly, taking yourself off the wall to stand fully.
  1151. “Hey, why are you crying? It’s no big deal.”
  1152. >”I... I thought you were really hurt when I saw you go limp,” she mumbles against your shirt.
  1153. “I’m perfectly okay, Sonata. I promise,” you croon. “I’ll take a few painkillers and then we can go, okay?”
  1154. >She nods at you, a small hint of her normal, bubbly smile returning as she sniffles.
  1155. >You can’t help but smile back.
  1156. >She’s just too cute for you to be mad at for long.
  1157. —-
  1158. >One 20-minute drive filled with the four of you chatting about where to sit and any concessions you might want deposits you in the parking lot of the local theater.
  1159. >With an audible pop from your knees, you climb out of your sedan and stretch a bit before opening the door for Aria.
  1160. >As the girls pile out, you take a moment to observe what exactly took them so long to get ready.
  1161. >Eyeliner, blush, a curious absence of those little pimples that popped up on Adagio’s chin a few days ago...
  1162. >You’re subconsciously drawn to stare for a second at her somewhat clingy skirt, her black leggings framing her rear nicely against the pink fabric-
  1163. >You violently shake your head at your train of thought.
  1164. >What the hell is wrong with you?
  1165. >”Uhh, Uncle Anon?”
  1166. >You look up to see Sonata tapping her index fingers together in worry.
  1167. >”You’re really okay?”
  1168. “...Yeah, I’m good. Just a little head rush from standing so quickly,” you lie.
  1169. >The burning question of why they bothered to dress up remains, but you decide not to push.
  1170. “It’s just a trip to the movies, right?” you mutter under your breath as you approach the ticket booth and fork over the money.
  1171. “We got here a bit later than expected. Let’s go ahead and get our drinks,” you say.
  1172. >You feel a tug on your sleeve and turn to see Aria pointing over to the mezzanine.
  1173. >You follow to see an arrangement of arcade machines with nary a soul around.
  1174. >On top of one of the cabinets, you spot a blazing red logo that forces a smile onto your face.
  1175. “I suppose we’ve got time for one match of Kekken,” you concede, fishing out two quarters from your shirt pocket.
  1176. >”Really?” Adagio protests, but you and Aria are already halfway across the lobby, her flats clacking against the linoleum.
  1177. “Ready to get thrashed?” you boast as you slip the coins into the feeder slot, your free hand sliding over to select your character.
  1178. >She merely cracks her knuckles and confirms her selection as she takes ahold of the arcade stick.
  1179. >The first round is an easy win for you, as you seamlessly manage to pull off your favorite wall setup off of a low punish, an idiotic grin on your face as your right hand dances across the inputs.
  1180. >”Okay, like we practiced,” you hear Aria mutter as you block the same low string as before-
  1181. >You’re taken aback as she manages to feign out your response, and send you crashing back with a parry.
  1182. >You fumble a bit as she keeps up the pressure, managing to land two jabs before you’re slammed against the wall.
  1183. >The audible taps of Aria’s fingers slamming the buttons fills your ears as you helplessly watch yourself KO to a vicious corner reset, your eyes wide as she manages to pull off two cancels you’d only ever seen in tournaments.
  1184. >Sweat forms on your palms, and your breath quickens as you begin the final round with a series of mid-low pokes, taking whatever safe chip-ins you can.
  1185. >”-Now!”
  1186. >Aria’s voice manages to throw you off-guard long enough for her to pull off an orbital punish that sends you crashing downwards, following up with two separate throws that chunk out an extra third of your bar.
  1187. >Your mouth dry, you come to an impasse, both of you predicting each other’s pokes and trading bits of bar.
  1188. >Static runs across your body as you desperately charge up a high crush...
  1189. >”DRAW!” the announcer shouts as you both connect at the same time, her mid jab not ducking low enough to dodge the windup fist you sent barreling into her character’s face, tearing the last quarter of her bar apart.
  1190. “...Damn, that was close,” you pant, wiping sweat from your forehead. “You’ve been in the lab, haven’t you?”
  1191. >”Y-Yeah,” Aria replies sheepishly, her face flushed.
  1192. “You have no idea how proud I am of you right now,” you joke in a blubbery voice as you pull her into a side hug. “That corner reset was the stuff of legends.”
  1193. >Surprisingly, she laughs at your stupidity, playing with one of her pigtails as she rests her head against you.
  1194. >”You two done yet?”
  1195. >You both turn your heads towards Adagio, her foot tapping in annoyance as she holds the carrier for your sodas, the styrofoam already damp.
  1196. “Yes, Mother. Come on, let’s go find some seats.”
  1197. —-
  1198. >The screening room itself is almost barren as the four of you pile in and begin trotting up the wide, winding staircase to reach a decent angle.
  1199. “This oughta be good - same production team behind Fahrenheit,” you say as you take off your jacket and settle in, shuffling around in the tight seat.
  1200. >A few more people float in as the pre-preview local ads roll, but the four of you are given near an entire row to yourselves by the time the lights begin to dim.
  1201. >You place the drink carrier down and pass Sonata and Aria their sodas, Adagio having opted out of a beverage.
  1202. “Alright, everyone take one,” you whisper as you pull snack bags of chips out of your jacket pockets, folding up the garment and tucking it beneath your seat.
  1203. >”Did you really need to sneak in food?” Adagio asks as you silently slice open each bag with your pocket knife.
  1204. “These people are experts in the art of highway robbery,” you mutter, distributing the snacks evenly. “I ain’t paying more for popcorn than I do for printer ink.”
  1205. >You’re stopped from spiraling into a tirade about price gouging by a faint clicking sound on your right.
  1206. >”Oh, wow! I’ve never seen theater armrests that retract!” Sonata gushes as she throws up the other plastic bar between seat cushions.
  1207. >All of you promptly follow her example, yanking your armrests up and breathing a sigh of relief at the extra wiggle room.
  1208. >As the theater flashes with action scenes from the next half-dozen superhero movies that will never be as good as the source material, you feel pressure on your left arm.
  1209. >You pull your eyes away from the screen as Adagio presses herself into you fully, her head on your shoulder.
  1210. >”I-It’s freezing in here,” she sputters, rattling against you.
  1211. >You gently push her off of you and reach down to grab your jacket, tossing it up over the two of you with a dramatic flourish...
  1212. >”It’s a jacket, not pizza dough,” she speaks through the muffling fabric as the jacket lands squarely on her head, draping over her puffed-up hair and over her face.
  1213. >You pull the raiment off of her with a quiet apology, almost buried under the sound of Sonata biting her tongue and snickering at you.
  1214. >You giggle yourself as Adagio slips into your jacket, her arms completely eclipsed by the sleeves as the shoulders threaten to slip off at a moment’s notice.
  1215. >”Huh, didn’t think this would fit,” she says to herself.
  1216. >”It’s all that stir-fry you’ve been scarfing down, bubble butt,” Sonata mocks from your other side. “Soon you two’ll be sharing a closet.”
  1217. >”It’s his fault for insisting we have seconds at dinner,” she hisses with a glance at you, letting out an empty growl at her sibling.
  1218. “Enough,” you cut them both off as the previews end. “All of you could stand to put on some weight, so drop it.”
  1219. >Adagio merely pouts, scooting over until her side is flush with yours, your hips bumping each other in the process.
  1220. “Still cold?” you whisper to her, wrapping one arm around her in an unconscious moment of worry.
  1221. >”I’m right above one of the floor vents,” she mutters back.
  1222. “We can all move down one seat-“
  1223. >”It’s fine,” she cuts you off bluntly as the opening credits roll.
  1224. >You sigh at her stubbornness and turn your full attention to the film as she hums softly, her knees tucked on the other side of her as she fully leans into you.
  1225. >You let yourself slip into the movie at last, your mind relishing the chance to unwind the coiling tension of the past week.
  1226. “I needed this,” you murmur almost silently to yourself as the antagonist is finally introduced.
  1227. >God, you love it when they take their time with villains.
  1228. >Aria excuses herself to the restroom a half hour in, saddling your free hand with the drink carrier.
  1229. >"So, who exactly directed this?" Sonata asks you.
  1230. "Photo Finish. Real rags-to-riches story - got into the business with some indie stuff after her family photography studio burned down, started churning out some real sleeper hits," you whisper back. "Been nominated for at least three awards every year since."
  1231. >She hums in acknowledgement as she turns back to the film, letting her head rest on your shoulder.
  1232. "Oh, not you too," you groan.
  1233. >"Sorry, I just... haven't been sleeping well..." she grumbles with a lull in her voice.
  1234. >You roll your eyes at Adagio shushing the both of you, sipping your drink.
  1235. >Not long after, the eldest sister starts shifting against you.
  1236. "What's wrong?" you prod, a familiar look of restrained panic on her face.
  1237. >"Aria's been gone for almost 15 minutes," she murmurs.
  1238. >You swear under your breath as a glance at your phone clock confirms.
  1239. "Alright, you sit tight. I'll go see what's up," you reply, handing off the carrier and gently pushing Sonata's head off of you, the youngest child whimpering in protest.
  1240. "Hey, you'll get your pillow back in a moment. Just gotta make sure she's alright."
  1241. >Exiting the screening room, you stop at the sound of stomping feet rushing up behind you.
  1242. "I've got this," you say, not bothering to look at Adagio as she stops just short of crashing into your back.
  1243. >"I don't care. I can't just sit in there," she replies, briskly walking around you.
  1244. "...Fuck it, no point arguing with her," you complain to yourself as you follow, the two of you power-walking through the corridors with cocked ears.
  1245. >"...bitch, I don't have time to wait for you to quit shaking..."
  1246. >You look Adagio in the eye, an unspoken moment of understanding passing before you break into a full sprint towards the echoing voice.
  1247. >Your hulking frame can be heard lumbering down the hallways, roughly pushing people out of your way as your vision clouds with red, a deep instinct seizing hold of you.
  1248. >Rounding a corner, you see your niece cowering against the corner by the bathrooms, a hooded man in leather staring her down.
  1249. >Your eyes trail down to the box cutter in his free hand, the other blocking any escape.
  1250. >You can almost hear something in your brain turn off, replaced with the maddening drone of what sounds like a thousand screaming hornets in your ears.
  1251. >A guttural noise rumbles from your throat as you abandon reason and charge.
  1252. >The man turns around just in time for you to throw your shoulder into his chest, slamming him firmly against the wall and knocking his weapon from his grasp.
  1253. >"Hey, what the fuck, man?" he shouts, slipping back up and clumsily throwing an elbow back towards you.
  1254. >Your own hand wraps around his wrist, your fingers locking in place as you spin him around to face you.
  1255. >You give him no time to regain his balance as you slam your right fist squarely into his nose, a sickening CRUNCH accompanying the blow as you feel sinew buckle and snap under the pressure.
  1256. >Taken off his feet, he crumples into a pile, slumping down and holding his head, weakly attempting to shield his front as you bear down on him with haymaker after haymaker against his face and shoulders.
  1257. >”You don’t gotta be a hero man, I got money, you can-“
  1258. >Your rattling scream cuts him off as you take a fistful of his greasy, unkempt bangs and bash his head against the floor, his squirming ebbing in chorus with the dull smack of his back skull on the tiling.
  1259. “Get Aria,” you command, Adagio silently stepping around you.
  1260. >Adagio wraps her sister in an embrace, picking her up from the ball she'd curled into on the floor.
  1261. >"Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no..." you hear Aria chanting to herself.
  1262. >The pounding rhythm of rage in your temples stems somewhat at her voice, and you’re suddenly aware of the blood on your fists.
  1263. “Get her up and back to the movie,” you say between heavy breaths. “I’ll meet you there.”
  1264. >Adagio stares at you cautiously for a few moments, her sister’s trance subsiding as her frame slackens.
  1265. >”Wh... What...” she sputters.
  1266. >”It’s okay, it’s okay,” the elder of the two croons, swaying slowly on the balls of her feet. “Let’s go back to the movie, alright?”
  1267. >The two of them walk out of your view as the man beneath you squirms, his daze fading fast.
  1268. >”The fuck’s wrong with you-“
  1269. “The fuck’s wrong with ME?” you yell, one thick hand gripping the back of his head as you flip him over, your knee planted firmly in his back.
  1270. >”Why the fuck you care? You ain’t the one getting shook-“
  1271. “The reason why I care,” you interrupt again, pulling on his locks, “is because I held that beautiful young woman you tried to rob in my arms when she was but a baby, and I swore to God I would peel the fucking skin off of ANYONE who DARED to hurt her.”
  1272. >Grabbing his box cutter from the floor, you get up, shoving it in your pocket and pulling out your own, considerably larger blade.
  1273. “Now, you're very, VERY lucky I'm not able to keep that vow at the current moment, but what I can do, is make sure that I can show her a wonderful time for the rest of the evening,” you spit as he stumbles to his feet. “Get out your wallet.”
  1274. >”W-Whuh-“
  1275. “GET OUT YOUR FUCKING WALLET!” you scream in his ear.
  1276. >He shrinks away from you, a trembling hand reaching into the back of his torn jeans and pulling out a dark blue wallet.
  1277. “Take every bit of cash you’ve got and drop it on the floor, and then scram. And if I ever, EVER see you harassing any of my girls again, they’re gonna have to invent a whole new field of medicine to fix what I do to you, understand?”
  1278. >He shakily nods and opens up the piece of leather, dropping a stack of crumpled bills by your feet and promptly scurrying away down the corridor, stumbling over himself to put distance between you as fast as he can.
  1279. >As he exits your view, you pick up the papers from the ground, smoothing and counting out the numbers.
  1280. >One, two...
  1281. “Easy 400 here,” you gawk. “How many people did he mug today?”
  1282. >”What the fuck?”
  1283. >You turn to see a middle-aged man pushing a custodian cart stopped at the other end of the hallway.
  1284. >Pocketing the money, you stroll over and slap a $50 against his chest, his shell-shock quickly abetting in the wake of hard cash.
  1285. “Clean this up, you never saw me. Kay?”
  1286. >Meeting your icy gaze, he shrugs his shoulders after a moment and stuffs the bill in his shirt pocket.
  1287. “Thanks, man. Really appreciate it,” you reply, walking back towards the bathrooms.
  1288. >You need to wash your hands, badly.
  1289. ——-
  1290. “Well, that was pretty good,” you say as the four of you walk outside, the tepid July sunset greeting you. “I swear to god, that woman could put 80 minutes of mowing the lawn on screen and still make it interesting.”
  1291. >”They dropped the ball hard on the score, but yeah, it was alright,” Sonata replies as the lot of you pile into the car.
  1292. “Oh, just “alright?”
  1293. >”I’m with Sonata on this one,” Adagio pipes up as she buckled herself in. “The twist villain trope is so overdone these days. What did you think, Aria?”
  1294. >The middle child remains silent, her eyes downcast as she idly fiddles with one of her pigtails.
  1295. >You, Adagio And Sonata share a look of worry with each other.
  1296. “Ice cream?” you silently say.
  1297. >They answer with a nod in unison , and you start up the car and aggressively pull out of the parking lot, slightly speeding as you weave through traffic.
  1298. >A few slipped-through yellow lights and left turns later, you stop the car outside a dimly lit building, weathered wooden fences enclosing the place.
  1299. “Come on,” you announce, shutting off the engine.
  1300. >The girls give you a variety of questioning glances, but follow you inside, a low-pitched bell signaling your arrival.
  1301. “Quick, what flavors?” you whisper.
  1302. >Adagio merely points out a couple of different menu choices to you.
  1303. “Alright, go and get her settled,” you murmur as you wave the clerk over.
  1304. >As you place the order, the girls seat themselves in one of the window booths, Aria scratching her arm uncomfortably.
  1305. >”Come on, sis, nothing bad happened,” Sonata pries, an artificial smile plastered across her face. “Uncle and Dagi knew what was up.”
  1306. >”Just... drop it,” she mutters, refusing to look at either one of them.
  1307. >”You know we can’t,” Adagio says. “I’m sorry about all of this, but we can’t just let you be like this.”
  1308. >”We’re family, right?” Sonata finishes, taking one of her sister’s hands in her own, her eyes softening in concern.
  1309. >”I just...” she begins.
  1310. “Alright, everyone got spoons?” you cut in as you slide into your booth seat, almost colliding with Aria in the process as you set down four ceramic bowls.
  1311. >”Umm, Uncle Anon? This isn’t what we wanted,” Sonata pipes up, poking at the confection in front of her with her spoon.
  1312. “Yeah, it’s something way better,” you reply with a cocked grin. “This little soft-serve pile of heaven in front of you is what keeps this hole in the side of the road in business.”
  1313. >”And did we say we wanted it?” Adagio snarks, tapping her finger on the table in annoyance.
  1314. “You wanna go up there and pay for it?”
  1315. >”He’s got you there, sis,” Sonata comments as her older sister sighs and grabs her spoon.
  1316. “Three, two, one...” you snicker to yourself.
  1317. >You bang the table with your fist in laughter as three identical moans of bliss come from the girls as the first bite reaches their tongues, eyes rolling up and shoulders going slack in unison.
  1318. >Aria slowly pulls her spoon from her mouth with a pop, the steel polished clean as her tongue subconsciously lolls out.
  1319. >”What is this?” she breathes, taking another spoonful and audibly shuddering.
  1320. “Mountain Valley Delight. They only sell so much of this a day, and then’s it gone and they have to whip up more. Only time in my life I’ve ever seen people go out for ice cream in January,” you inform her past the chorus of impassioned noises.
  1321. >”How did you get any, then?” Adagio asks between bites.
  1322. “Let’s just say I’m fluent in wallet,” you reply, briefly nodding at the clerk up front.
  1323. >Conversation comes to a halt for the next 10 minutes as all of you tuck in, the air filled with a chorus of pleased moans, both muffled and otherwise.
  1324. >You’re a little uncomfortable watching them lick their spoons clean slowly between each mouthful with a glazed look in their eyes, but you manage to ignore it for the most part.
  1325. “Feel better?” you ask Aria, the girl occupied with scraping the last bits of ice cream out of the bottom of her bowl.
  1326. >She merely mumbles around her spoon, not bothering to look at you.
  1327. >Your brow furrows as Adagio shoots you an expectant look from across the table.
  1328. “Hey, I’m sorry if I scared you back there. I just... I was really worried, okay?” you say, your hand gently rubbing her shoulder.
  1329. >She turns her head to look you in the eye, setting down her utensil with a heavy breath.
  1330. >”I know, I just... I can still smell his breath,” she mutters, her gaze trailing down to the table. “I...”
  1331. >You grimace at the flash of pain in her face before she collects herself.
  1332. “We don’t have to talk about it,” you console her. “Just cheer up, alright? You’re a lot prettier when you’re smiling.”
  1333. >She blushes and gives you a small smile as Adagio piles the bowls and spoons into a neat stack on the table.
  1334. >”I’ll try,” she mutters.
  1335. >You return the smile, deciding to take what small victories you can.
  1336. “Come on, let’s get home. We can binge-watch that weird robot tournament show you and Sonata like so much,” you say, getting up from the booth and fishing out your keys.
  1337. >After a minute or two of Adagio's seatbelt getting caught in her hair, you turn back out onto the road, flicking the radio dial on.
  1338. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU
  1339. >You, Sonata and Adagio all roll your eyes in near-perfect sync.
  1340. >You reach for the knob again, looking back over as your fingers meet another's at the front console of the car.
  1341. >Aria sheepishly looks at you as she turns the volume up, a low humming in her throat as she sits back and clears her throat.
  1342. >"Here's a little song I wrote..." she sings along, blushing furiously as she twiddles her fingers.
  1343. >"Oh come on, si-OOF!" Sonata protests, groaning and holding her side as Adagio retracts her elbow with a glare.
  1344. >"Might want to sing it note for note..." Aria continues.
  1345. >You can't help but smile as you and Adagio join in, Sonata adding her voice to the mix after another sharp blow from her elder sister.
  1346. >Aria closes her eyes and relaxes in her seat, her taut frame unwinding at last.
  1347. >"Be happy..."
  1348. >Your smile persists all the way home as your impromptu car karaoke takes you all over the airwaves, Aria deftly fiddling with the dials and leading the choir.
  1349. "Where'd you girls learn to sing like that?" you ask as you pull into the driveway, turning down the music as you park. "You're all pretty good."
  1350. >"Long story, tell ya later. Race you to the couch!" Sonata blurts as she rockets past you, bounding up the porch stairs and promptly slamming herself against the locked door in the process.
  1351. >"Oops."
  1352. —-
  1353. >The clock on your bedroom wall reads ten past eleven as you slip your bookmark between the pages of the biography that had found its way onto your nightstand recently.
  1354. >Setting the book aside, you crack your neck as Sonata skips into the room, crashing onto her side of the bed and almost slamming her skull into the headboard in the process.
  1355. >”Those were some close matches,” she idly comments. “You really oughta give it another chance, Uncle Anon - robot fighting is awesome!”
  1356. “I’ll take an interest when they ban blade weapons over a certain weight,” you reply. “One dude steamrolling an entire tournament with a glorified lawnmower blade attached to a box is not a sport."
  1357. >She sticks her tongue out at you as you pull up the covers, stopping short as you look over at her.
  1358. “Sonata, why aren’t you wearing any pants?”
  1359. >”What? You don’t either,” she quips. “Not to mention you sometimes don’t even wear a shirt.”
  1360. >You smack her finger away from your stomach and huff as you lay down.
  1361. “It’s different, Sonata,” you mumble against your pillow.
  1362. >”Oh, please,” she shoots back as she briefly gets up from the bed to untie her hair. “It’s just pants. I don’t see a problem.”
  1363. >You swear under your breath as her rear comes to eye-level with you, cheeks obscured by light pink lace.
  1364. >Definitely not the best ass you’ve seen, and definitely not like her older sister’s, but...
  1365. >You blink rapidly and force thoughts of filing taxes to the front of your mind as she crawls back into bed, pushing her backside against your thighs as she snuggles up.
  1366. >The scent of the cucumber shampoo you’ve used for years fills your nose as she grabs your arm and throws it over her, your hand tucked just below her bust.
  1367. >”U-Uncle Anon?”
  1368. >Both of you raise yourselves up from the bed at the voice coming from the doorway.
  1369. “Aria?”
  1370. >”C-Can we talk?” she stutters, legs trembling as she takes a step forward.
  1371. "You alright, Aria? Don't tell me you want another campfire song," you quip.
  1372. >"N-No, I just... I need to tell you some things, okay?"
  1373. >”Come on, in the bed. We’ll hash it out comfy-style,” Sonata chirps as she leaps away from you and out of bed.
  1374. >Once the girls have settled into bed, Aria awkwardly clears her throat, eyes shifting to either side of her.
  1375. “I know you want to know why I don’t talk much, or don’t really like loud noises, or why I locked up back in the theater...” she says, her voice weak and wavering. “You...you deserve an answer.”
  1376. >The smiles on yours and Sonata’s faces evaporate in an instant.
  1377. >”About four months ago, I was...”
  1378. >She stops, and the numbness in your brain you felt earlier today returns, this time different.
  1379. >Instead of anger and noise, you almost convulse at the shock of fear in your head, your skin alight with sensation as a cold coil of dread rears itself in your mind.
  1380. >“I...I was...” she trails off into a choked hiccup as her wet eyes spill over into tears, hunched over and clutching her sides.
  1381. >A piercing, excruciating pain unlike anything you've ever felt shoots through your chest as you hear her break into sobbing, and your body moves on its own, arms pulling her against you as your eyes grow hot.
  1382. >”U-Uncle Anon?” she stammers.
  1383. “I know,” you blurt out, your voice filled with grief. “I know, Aria. I’m sorry, I'm sorry, I’m so sorry...”
  1384. >You hold her tightly, as though someone would wrench her from your bed at any moment, riding out your sudden emotional rollercoaster alongside her.
  1385. >You're vaguely aware of Sonata's presence as she offers what comfort she can, but a solid ten minutes pass as Aria cries into your shoulder, your nightshirt slowly soaking through.
  1386. >You open your eyes again after what feels like an eternity to see Adagio standing at the foot of the bed alongside Sonata, a look of pure terror on her face as she fiddles with the sleeve of her nightshirt.
  1387. "It's alright, hon," you croon in Aria's ear as her shaking wails begin to ebb. "I'm here. We're here."
  1388. >"Lil sis..." Adagio whispers, her own eyes blurry as you unwind your arms and let the other two join her, all three of them on top of you in one giant embrace.
  1389. "We're all here, hon. We'll always be here," you murmur as the three of you let her separate, the girl rubbing her eyes as she sniffles.
  1390. >"I'm sorry, he just... brought everything back to me. I thought that, maybe now... over these past weeks, I could... let it go, and then..."
  1391. "The coil tightens as you hug her again, desperate to stave off another round of tears.
  1392. "You don't have to do anything, Aria," you soothe her, running one hand across her back. "You're a wonderful young woman, with so much room to grow. We don't think badly of you in the slightest."
  1393. >"We're family, right?" Sonata chimes in with a soft smile, Adagio holding Aria's hand and nodding in agreement.
  1394. >"T-Thank you," she stutters after a moment. "Can... can I sleep in here tonight? I don't... I don't want to be alone."
  1395. >You push the question of sleeping with just her sisters to the side.
  1396. >After today, you don't want to let her out of your sight.
  1397. "Of course."
  1398. >She nods and gets off of you, her and Adagio walking back to their room and grabbing their pillows, Sonata bounding over to your closet and grabbing your spare one as well.
  1399. "You too, Adagio?" you ask as the eldest throws her pillow beside you, stretching with a yawn before worming her way beside you into bed, the king mattress you'd grabbed for an absolute steal of a price creaking slightly.
  1400. >"What? Feels weird sleeping alone," she replies.
  1401. >"Oh, that reminds me!" Sonata says on the other side of you. "Aria, you ever tried going pantsless at bedtime?"
  1402. >The pigtailed girl shrugs and pulls the string on her pajama bottoms, stepping out of the fabric and sliding into bed, resting on the other side of you.
  1403. >You're acutely aware of the smug smile on the youngest's sister's face as she settles in on the end, her leery eyes trained on your tight frown.
  1404. "Quit it," you mouth at her over the top of Aria's head.
  1405. >You roll your eyes at her snickering as you lay back, the mass of pillowing behind you forcing the lot of you to rest at an incline.
  1406. >Aria flips herself over and leans into you, pulling up the blankets and letting her head fall on your chest.
  1407. >"Goodnight, Uncle Anon," she mumbles into your shirt.
  1408. "Goodnight, Aria," you reply with a soft kiss on her forehead. "I love you."
  1409. >You smile as she holds you just a bit tighter.
  1410. vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
  1411. >Nothing.
  1412. >Not darkness, not a void.
  1413. >Just... nothing.
  1414. >You feel no momentum across your skin as you run, no sensations of the ground underneath you.
  1415. >The nothing envelopes you, and you stop.
  1416. >There’s no pressure, no pain, no solid objects around you.
  1417. >And yet, you’re being crushed.
  1418. “Where am I?” you ask the nothing.
  1419. >But no sound comes forth from your throat.
  1420. >Your lungs take air you cannot smell in and out furiously, your body numb to their movements.
  1421. >You flail in the nothing, nails ripping at your skin as you search for any sign of reality, your eyes wide as your flesh and blood disappears as it leaves you.
  1422. >You do the only thing you can.
  1423. >You scream.
  1424. >You scream, and scream, and scream into the nothing, until blood pools in your throat and floats from your mouth, faded wisps of red faintly streaking across your vision as they too vanish from existence.
  1425. >The nothing wraps tighter around you as young, sweet voices pierce the deafening silence.
  1426. >”I-I’d like some more, please.”
  1427. >”...so I was wondering if I could sleep in here with you?”
  1428. >”I knew it! I knew you were the same, you son of a bitch!”
  1429. >”She was singing, wasn’t she?”
  1430. >”Big sis always gets like this when one of us is sick.”
  1431. >”...Promise.”
  1432. >”Can we talk?”
  1433. >”W-Why? Why now? Why couldn’t you have been there sooner?”
  1434. >”I didn’t want to be a bother.”
  1435. >”I...I thought you were really hurt when I saw you go limp...”
  1436. >”Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no...”
  1437. >You convulse in panic as the rat is freed of his cage.
  1438. >The nothing cracks.
  1439. >The voices scream.
  1440. >And your mind explodes.
  1441. —-
  1442. “...AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!”
  1443. >The smooth navy hue of your pillowcase splashes across your vision as you wake, the world a blurry confluence of sensations.
  1444. >You can feel the fresh sweat on your skin, smell the warm copper in the air as you regain control of your lungs, coughing and hacking into your hand.
  1445. >You crane your head downwards to find your left forearm wide open and oozing, the opposite hand soaked stark crimson.
  1446. >The bedroom door slams open, and a panicked Sonata barrels over to you as you throw your feet over the side of the bed, pulling off your nightshirt and wrapping your staunch the surprising flow.
  1447. “Move,” you groan, stumbling over yourself as you flounder into the hallway and slam your shoulders from wall to wall in your dizzy delirium, Aria ducking into a doorway to avoid you.
  1448. >Adagio looks over at you in surprise as you enter the bathroom, a yelp coming from her as she hastily covers her half-naked self with her bathrobe.
  1449. >You ignore her and grab a handtowel from the rack, replacing your ruined tee as the wet garment falls to the floor with a thump.
  1450. >”U-Uncle!”
  1451. >You look over and realize your niece’s current state of undress with a swear.
  1452. “Shit. Sorry, Adagio. I’ll-“
  1453. >”What did you do? I heard screaming as I turned off the shower,” she says, her shock morphing into concern as she pulls back the handtowel, gasping at your arm.
  1454. “Had a bad dream. Real sorry-“
  1455. >”Sit,” she barks, pushing you down with a surprisingly strong hand.
  1456. >Parked on the edge of the tub, you open your mouth to protest as she grabs the rubbing alcohol and a bag of cotton balls from beneath the vanity.
  1457. >”Don’t,” she heads you off as she kneels. “This needs to be properly bandaged.”
  1458. >You hiss through your teeth as she wets one of the balls and slowly drags it along the wrist-wide scrape, picking away the beginnings of scabbing as she goes.
  1459. >”What did you dream about to make you do THIS to yourself?” she asks as she tosses one soaked cotton ball in the garbage.
  1460. “...Don’t remember,” you fib, holding back another curse as she lays into the second ball.
  1461. >”You’re not a very good liar,” she responds. “Come on, I’m not gonna judge you.”
  1462. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
  1463. >Adagio stops her ministrations, letting the medicine go to work as she reaches back under the vanity and grabs a gauze roll.
  1464. >”And what if you do this to yourself again? What if next time you tear out something important?” she pries, blowing softly on the tear as she unpacks the bandaging.
  1465. “...Fine," you concede.
  1466. “I was... I don’t know where I was, really,” you begin. “All I knew was that I couldn’t feel anything.”
  1467. >”...Nothing at all?” she interjects as she slowly wraps your arm up, her voice slightly wavering.
  1468. “Nothing. I couldn’t hear myself, couldn’t smell or taste. I remember shouting, and...”
  1469. >Your brain puts the pieces together.
  1470. >”I...I heard you girls. You were... scared? Angry? I don’t really know. I thought I was being suffocated. Couldn’t move, couldn’t do anything.”
  1471. >Adagio slightly nods, taping up the dressing with an almost practiced ease.
  1472. “Then, I heard you screaming, and everything...broke, all at once.”
  1473. >You look up from your arm to see Adagio’s pallid expression, her face deathly pale as her breath catches in her throat.
  1474. “What’s wrong?”
  1475. >”You’d call me crazy if I told you,” she says quietly.
  1476. “After this? Not likely,” you reply.
  1477. >She takes in a quick breath.
  1478. >”I’ve had... I’ve had that dream, too,” she blurts. “You bled in the dream, didn’t you?”
  1479. >Your voice dies for a moment as you process her words, your mouth opening and closing.
  1480. “And here I thought that was just a superstition,” you mutter as you run a hand over your scalp.
  1481. >Adagio takes your free hand in hers, smiling softly.
  1482. >”I’m kinda glad, actually.”
  1483. “What do you mean?” you inquire, looking over the bandaging and shrugging at the surprisingly clean handiwork. “Won a bet or something?”
  1484. >”It means you care,” she mumbles, as though relieved.
  1485. >You grunt slightly as she hugs you tightly, arms locking around you and squeezing.
  1486. >You return the embrace as best you can, your good hand gingerly sinking into her still-wet hair.
  1487. “Of course I do, Dagi.”
  1488. >She pulls away from you slightly, two shimmering pools of magenta meeting yours.
  1489. >”I... I never got to thank you for yesterday,” she continues. “I know it’s not easy being patient when dealing with us, but it means a lot to me that you listened.”
  1490. >Despite the stinging in your arm and the blood on your shirt, you find a wide smile spreading across your face as you let yourself uncoil, rubbing her back gently.
  1491. “I’ll always listen to what you girls have to say,” you croon, planting a soft kiss on her forehead.
  1492. >You let yourself hang in the moment, several seconds of warmth passing before you pull your lips away.
  1493. >She merely sighs, a blooming, contented smile on her face.
  1494. “Uhh, Dagi?”
  1495. >”W-Wh-What? Oh, right, erm, I’m, gonna go get changed,” she stammers with a profuse blush, her entire face bright red.
  1496. >You wash your hands thoroughly, tugging off your soiled nightshirt and wiping your hands dry with it before tossing it in the wastebasket.
  1497. >You look yourself over as you fish in the vanity drawers for your toothbrush, the room silent save for the barely-running tap as you wet the bristles down.
  1498. “Have I lost weight?” you ask your reflection.
  1499. >You never had an outright gut or love handles, but you’d always been a bulky guy.
  1500. “Guess three kids to worry about will do that,” you muse.
  1501. >A minute and a half of vigorous brushing passes before a knock on the open bathroom door grabs your attention.
  1502. >”Uncle Anon, are you all right?” Aria pipes up as she stands in the doorway, a change of clothes under one arm.
  1503. “Yeah, hon. I’m fine,” you respond as you spit, grabbing the rinse cup off the counter. “Just some bad dreams, that’s all.”
  1504. —-
  1505. >After a careful sponge bath and a shave, you flop down on the couch and grab the small stack of mail on the endtable nearest the door, muttering a word of thanks to Sonata as she closes the front door.
  1506. “Junk, junk, neighbor’s mail, bill, junk, neighbor’s mail...”
  1507. >You stop at a dull manilla envelope with a bright blue stamp.
  1508. “...Fuck. Welp, had to start work sometime.”
  1509. >You rip the seal and shake out the contents, a small black device not unlike a pager falling into your lap alongside two pieces of paper.
  1510. >Setting the envelope aside, you unfold the papers, the oval contraption resting on your knee.
  1511. >You focus on the handwritten letter first.
  1512. >”Dear Anonymous...”
  1513. “Oh boy, time for the pomp and ceremony.”
  1514. >”I’ve enclosed separate instructions for activating your RAK generator. You should be able to access your administrative privileges from any home terminal. We need to have all non-elective enrollments assigned and updated by Friday, as well as bus routes, GPA transfers and extracurricular enrollments. Your first paycheck will be in on the 29th. Look forward to working with you! -Celestia.”
  1515. “No pressure,” you mutter under your breath.
  1516. >”P.S. We’re having a staff meetup on the 7th at 11:00 at the fairgrounds. I hope you can drop by and get acquainted!”
  1517. >As you bring the letter closer to make out her impossibly small calligraphy, you pick up a distinct smell.
  1518. >...Perfume?
  1519. >With a shrug, you set the letter aside and take the key in your hands, fingers running along the smooth contours.
  1520. “Not how I wanted to spend my Monday, but fuck it. First crack at the gear and all that jazz.”
  1521. >With a vicious crack of your knuckles, you down the rest of your coffee while poring over the key's manual.
  1522. "Remember when they said tech would make your life easier?" you think aloud as you turn the device on, the LCD flickering to life with a shrieking beep.
  1523. >After two minutes of fiddling around, you manage to sync your laptop up with the generator, putting your face in your hands as the download manager pops up on the display.
  1524. >Five. Fucking. Hours.
  1525. "And this is why I dropped my IT major," you mumble into your palms.
  1526. >Getting up from the sofa, you set the power-save timer to match and plug the computer charger in, humming one of your college drinking songs as you step over the cord and into the kitchen, your stomach rumbling like a fault line.
  1527. >You raise your brow as you see Adagio rummaging through the crisper drawers in the fridge, the oversized skillet you use for stir-fry and pancakes warming up on the stove.
  1528. "Hungry?"
  1529. >She looks back at you nervously as she pulls out a carton of eggs.
  1530. >"No, but you haven't eaten yet, have you?" she replies, idly twirling one of her locks.
  1531. "No. What are you making? Didn't know you could cook outside of throwing beef broth and some frozen veggies in a pot."
  1532. >She stammers for a moment as she sets the carton down, crossing her arms with a pout.
  1533. >"I know what I'm doing! I had to learn back when..."
  1534. >Your mouth forms a tight line as she trails off, trepidation in her eyes.
  1535. "Oi, don't get all moody on me. I didn't mean it as an insult," you say as you cross the room, placing a hand on her shoulder.
  1536. >She looks up at you and begrudgingly leans into you with a humph.
  1537. "Come on, I'll show you where stuff is if I have it. What do you need?"
  1538. ---
  1539.  
  1540. “So, once we’ve got the chicken breasts flattened and coated, we just need to sauté our greens and mushrooms,” you instruct from your chair as Adagio moves steadily across the kitchen, rinsing her hands of flour before putting the skillet on.
  1541. “Are you sure you don’t-“
  1542. >”For the fourth time, no!” she snaps at you. “Getting that bandage of yours dirty is the last thing you should be risking right now.”
  1543. >You lean back in the chair and sigh as she grabs the bowls of mushrooms and leaf greens from the countertop, the frilly carnation pink apron you’d gotten as a gag gift years ago swishing around her knees.
  1544. >”Should I add the sherry before or after?” you hear her mutter to herself.
  1545. “After. I thought you made marsala before?”
  1546. >”Well I didn’t use actual wine, of course,” she replies. “Just some broth out of a box.”
  1547. “And this is why I’m sitting here,” you state smugly.
  1548. >She rolls her eyes at you as the oil sizzles, dumping the mushrooms and greens in.
  1549. >Your ears pick up the sound of the oil hissing and crackling, and something in your gut grows heavy.
  1550. “You sure that’s not too hot?” you ask.
  1551. >”Book said medium-high heat,” she nonchalantly responds as she stirs.
  1552. >You force yourself to let her do her thing, pulling out your phone and bringing up your email.
  1553. >You flip through and clear out the bevy of chain correspondence from the school, marking some messages regarding scheduling and pay for later.
  1554. >You look back up at the sound of popping.
  1555. “Adagio?”
  1556. >”I’ve got this!” she says, looking back at you. “Honestly, just go bother one of the others-“
  1557. >You bolt out of your seat as a spray of grease pops from the skillet, Adagio barely managing to shield her face with her hands in time, the girl recoiling from the stove with a stifled scream.
  1558. >Adagio falls back against the counter, tears slowly streaming as as she reaches for a paper towel.
  1559. “Don’t touch it!” you shout, flicking off the burner with one hand and grabbing a kitchen towel with the other.
  1560. >With a dozen different alarms shrieking in your head, you gently wrap each palm in the cloth, dabbing away the liquid from the stinging skin.
  1561. “Good, good,” you croon. “Come on, let’s cool this.”
  1562. >You fling the tap on and let her slowly submerge her hands in the stream of water, the bright red skin already showing signs of blistering.
  1563. >You push the pan off the stove eye before it burns, yelling up the stairwell for Sonata to grab the first-aid kit from the closet.
  1564. “It’s okay, it’s okay,” you soothe Adagio as her tears begin to subside, her breathing falling back into a normal pattern. “Accidents like this happen.”
  1565. >”I-I don’t know what I did wrong,” she murmurs. “Everything was going so well.”
  1566. “I’m so sorry,” you whisper as Sonata scrambles into the kitchen, bandaging in hand. “This is all my fault. I should’ve paid attention!”
  1567. >”What happened?” the younger sister asks, hands clasped together in anxiety as you grab the antibiotic salve and a gauze roll.
  1568. “Cooking accident. Go get your sister, and grab my wallet off my dresser,” you command, eyes intensely trained on trailing thin strands of the salve across Adagio’s palms.
  1569. “We’re lucky your fingers are okay,” you remark in an attempt to cheer her up as you wrap up each palm and wrist gently, fastening each bandage carefully.
  1570. >Your niece stares at the floor, sniffling and shuddering as she lowers her hands.
  1571. “Hey, it’s alright,” you say. “Come on, you’ll heal up in a few days.”
  1572. >”It’s...It’s not that.” she chokes out.
  1573. >You gently guide her out of the kitchen and into the living room, both of you seating yourselves on the couch.
  1574. "Come on, talk to me," you pry, rubbing her back with one hand as she crosses her arms the best she can.
  1575. >"It's nothing really important," she grumbles, refusing to look you in the eye.
  1576. >You sigh and wrap your arm around her, her head flush with you shoulder.
  1577. "What did I tell you in the bathroom this morning?"
  1578. >"...That you'd always try to listen," she admits, letting her shoulders relax somewhat.
  1579. "I meant it," you respond, tucking a finger under her chin and gently lifting her gaze to meet yours. "Come on, what's bothering you?"
  1580. >"...It sounds really stupid, but I feel so... weak," she begins. "I still can't get used to this. Two months ago, we were sleeping in a pigsty with holes in the drywall and roaches in the attic, and, loathe as I am to say it..."
  1581. >You nod, softly squeezing her as she fully leans into you, her poofy hair coming to rest right under your chin.
  1582. >"...I felt like I was in control, that I made the decisions," she continues. "Now you're here, we're here, and it all feels so..."
  1583. "Artificial?"
  1584. >She looks up at you like you'd just recited Greek poetry.
  1585. >"Yes! It feels like I'm dreaming.”
  1586. >You gulp, going with your gut as you open your mouth, desperate for any information you can pull from her.
  1587. "...How often was my sister there?"
  1588. >"Two, maybe three days a week," she replies. "We'd go weeks without actually seeing her - we always made sure we stayed out of her way."
  1589. "Didn't want to get yelled at? She was always loud."
  1590. >Adagio looks down at her lap, and you feel the blood drain from your face as you realize you've overstepped.
  1591. "Back to the artificial, that's why you were so adamant about cooking?"
  1592. >She nods. "I just felt like if I could somehow, seize control, it would go away. It didn't work."
  1593. >You ponder your next words carefully.
  1594. "I think you're afraid of relaxing," you say after a moment. "You've always got this aura of tension."
  1595. >The speed at which she turns her face away from you confirms your conclusion.
  1596. "Tell you what, I'll clean up in the kitchen and order some of that really good pan pizza from that mom-and-pop place on Mulberry, and we'll find something good on, okay?" you assuage her.
  1597. >She nods as Aria walks in with your wallet, Sonata trailing behind her.
  1598. "Sonata, Aria, grab the blankets out of the closet and some TV trays from the mudroom. It's couch time!"
  1599. ---
  1600. "Thanks," you say as an afterthought as you hand the pizza girl two twenties. "Keep the change."
  1601. >"Aww, thanks cutie!" she beams at you, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
  1602. >You quickly close the door.
  1603. "Would it kill ya to wear a bra? No wonder you're doing deliveries," you mutter to yourself.
  1604. “Hot pie, pick it up!” you yell up the stairwell on the way to the kitchen, setting the boxes down on the stove.
  1605. >The sound of sock-clad feet trailing down the stairs erupts behind you as you open each one up, your other hand grabbing plates from the cabinet.
  1606. "Oh my goodness," you shudder as you slice into the sea of deep-dish decadence. "Forgive me, Father, for we have sinned..."
  1607. >"More of a pie than a pizza, isn't it?" Sonata pipes up as she bounds up beside you, eyes scanning the plates with desire.
  1608. "Who cares? All I know it's that it's illegal in 46 countries, and probably for good reason," you reply. "Go set up the DVR and get the special running. I'll take care of this."
  1609. >A minute later, you carefully walk into the living room, your thick fingers pinching two plates together in each hand with all their might.
  1610. "Alright," you rasp past your itchy throat as you gently set the plates down on the TV trays, a cold 12-pack of diet cola already sitting on the coffee table. "These guys are gutbusters, and they just went back on tour with their new routines."
  1611. >Pulling out a fistful of forks from your shirt pocket, you pass them out to each girl, stopping short at Adagio as you put the pieces together.
  1612. "...Shit."
  1613. >"I'll manage," she says. "I'll figure out something."
  1614. >She fiddles with the utensil, trying and failing multiple times to clasp it between her fingers to avoid warping the gauze and bringing a piece to her mouth.
  1615. >You shoot a hard glare at Sonata's giggling and scooch over, taking ahold of her fork.
  1616. "Here, I've got it. Just poke me when you want a mouthful or a drink."
  1617. >She blushes and acquiesces, your arms pulling her into your lap as you both stretch your legs out on the couch, propping your back against the armrest as you slide your pieces onto the same plate.
  1618. >You're careful not to mix up the forks as the standup show begins, Adagio finally unwinding into you with a sigh as your little system works wonderfully.
  1619. >"T-Thnak you," she says between bites, her head slightly nuzzling against your chest.
  1620. >You smile and look over to the laptop on the coffee table, the update bar full and shining with a cobalt glow.
  1621. >You kick it closed with the tip of your foot.
  1622. >You've got more important things to take care of right now.

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