N.B. Contains major spoilers for the game, do not read unless you have finished or are okay with being spoiled

"How much farther are we from the house, father?"

"Kyle, the Doctor is busy driving… You shouldn't bother him…"

"Oh. I'm sorry father…"

Kyle looked down at his lap. He didn't mean to annoy father, he just wanted to know their arrival time. He felt a hand placed on his shoulder and looked over to see Luna smiling at him sadly.

"You may ask me if it is any consolation."

He forced a smile back at her and nodded, not bothering to ask the question again. Luna was their maid, so to speak, and she came with them every year to their vacation home. It had been this way since he was nine, just the three of them taking the long drive out to the house by the beach. Except this year they brought someone else, his father's coworker—somewhat. She worked in the lab with him, even invited Kyle to work with the two of them once. After that it was implied he could stay and help, and it was enjoyable. She was kind, like Luna, and father seemed to care for her.

"Luna, is father going to be working during vacation again?" he asked, his head still directed at his lap.

"Well—"

"No, I'll make sure that we all have time to spend together." Kyle looked up to see Akane smiling at him from the front seat.

"A-are you sure? I don't…want to jeopardize anything. I know you two need to work hard and—" she brought her hand up and Kyle stopped talking.

"Don't worry Kyle, we'll have plenty of time to focus on work once we get back home. Isn't that right, Sigma?"

Kyle looked to his father as Akane spoke. He noticed his father's eye widen in surprise, and he opened his mouth to protest, failing to find words and just going back to driving. It made Kyle smile a bit. It was like they were an actual family. Almost. He knew they never would be a true one, but it was still a nice thought. After a bit of silence his father grumbled something out that neither Kyle or Luna could hear but Akane could, and she smacked him on the arm lightly for it. Kyle chuckled lightly at the sight and immediately covered his mouth after doing so. Father would be angry at him for laughing at his misfortune for sure. But it didn't seem like he noticed, because he didn't react in any way. He just kept on driving to their vacation home.

Kyle didn't know when he had drifted off, but he had and Luna was shaking him lightly to wake up. He blinked confused and rubbed his eyes, sitting up straight and looking around.

"Oh good, you're awake," she said softly, smiling at him, "Miss Akane said we should take a break from sitting in the car all day, so we've stopped momentarily. You can get out if you would like."

He shook his head and remained where he was, not wanting to bother either Akane nor his father. Instead he stared out the window and waited for them to come back as Luna sat beside him and waited as well. It didn't take long for the two to get back and for them to start driving again. It was a quiet drive again, no bickering or debating or questions. Kyle decided not to question the time left to get there again, and watched outside as the landscape passed.

"Kyle, what do you want to do when we get to the house?"

He looked up when he was spoken to, eyes a little wide from confusion. It was his father speaking to him—not anyone else.

"I—I suppose I am going to just read like I normally do…"

"Let's do something together then."

"A-alright."

He couldn't help but smile at that. Father wanted to do something with him. In fact he was the one offering. It seemed surreal to Kyle, as if everything was finally falling into place. Like they could be a real family. He opened his mouth to ask a question when—

—his eyes blinked open. He sat up in his bed, bringing a hand up to rub at his eyes. The familiar feel of the cold metal of the suit pressed against his face. Of course. That was only a dream. He was still on the moon, and father was still ignoring him, and Luna was still just the robot he pushed away from her all these years. Akane being here didn't change anything. She'd only just arrived, after all.

Getting up, he quickly went to brush his teeth and wash his face before putting on his helmet. The images of the dream ran through his head and he sighed lightly. There was no way they would ever have even a slight feeling of family here.

After all they were only ever a family in his head.