Snow White

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The twins were taking their regular stroll. Icicles of snow crunched beneath their feet, donned by winter boots with fluffy cuffs, and both were warmed by the mere presence of each other. Strolls like these were to be cherished, as life wasn't infinite—a fairly relative concept. This excuse would be dismissed, however, as decaying didn't exactly apply to any product of VOCALOID, even if a company wasn't exactly popular than the other. Even so, they kept a watchful eye on time for friends that weren't graced with the gift of eternal life. People came and went, but they would forever last. And Len loved that he was cherished to always be with his beloved sister, Rin, whose tenderness was matchless with any other.

Japan's light blanket of whiteness, which at a fair rate accumulated as time passed, contributed to the quiet beauty of where they lived. A private neighborhood especially built for the famed singers, nobody else was outside. Len could faintly hear the familiar and nostalgic tune of "Joy to the World", its melody so beautiful that he felt as though he hadn't heard it in forever. He considered lingering around so he could allow it to finish before the resident changed it to another song. He and Rin used to go off to the city when they were little, and stores would play that. Nowadays, it seemed like people lost the true meaning of Christmas. But he and Rin kept their traditions. They still hung stockings at the fireplace. They still left cookies and milk at the table, even though they had long found out the jolly man didn't actually exist. They still pretended to believe Kaito as he was jingling the bells downstairs, pretending to be the jolly man himself.

Porches of mansions that lined the main road belonging to other VOCALOID companies were strung with Christmas lights, still flashing in the night. It would have been painfully distinguishing from the pearly colors that seemed to fill his vision, but didn't. In fact, they were actually fitting. Seeing them as they reached Internet Co.'s home, Rin immediately squeezed Len's hand upon the moment her vision touched the alluring decorations, her mouth slightly open as she stared in awe.

At age fourteen, she still retained the characteristics of a child. Never cursing but occasionally throwing tantrums if prompted, she was the prime specimen of a triple threat. Personality-wise, vocally, and charm. Her eyes, her face, and her hair color were of likeness to Len, all except her gender.

Len offered a relaxed smile in return to the scenery, already enjoying the silent serenity between him and his sister. Upon reflection, he realized the simplest moments in life were what made him happy, and he was fine with that. He didn't need riches, because to him Rin was his treasure. Golden and rare to find.

He also found that it wasn't at all hard to define Rin. A noun, having no other synonyms because to him she was genuinely one of a kind. She was a girl who loved his singing, or so he was told. He'd softly sing the lullabies that she favored, and observe as her eyelids heavied. Eventually, her upper eyelashes would rest on her delicate porcelain-like skin, the beads of liquid resulting from her yawn moments ago still sticking around. She was cute when she fell asleep, because her face appeared ten times more innocent than it normally was, and then she'd nuzzle said face on his lap covered by his yellow pajamas and melt him into Len-goo. It in turn would encourage him want to wrap his arms around her and cuddle her oh-so tightly, then just sit there to relish in the stillness of the air. But he wouldn't, because he didn't want to wake her up, so he'd just stroke her hair until he fell asleep, too.

Simplicity.

She was a girl who loved snow, being her favorite attribute of winter. It meant more warmth to share, and snowflakes to melt on her pink tongue as she ran about outside all while dragging the reluctant Len along. She was cute, too, when she did that, because her face was so adorned with happiness that it almost ached to see her like that. (Often at times, he'd wondered if it hurt this much to care for a sibling, how much would it hurt to be a parent?) Her cheeks would be slightly flushed, and then he'd take her inside for some hot chocolate so they could sit by the fireplace while wrapped in a single, big blanket that Miku brought in. Words didn't need to be spoken. It would be measured by the cadence of their soothing breaths, luring their hands closer and closer together before he just closed his fingers over hers.

He loved her, but hated that he couldn't love her the way Kaito loved Meiko, and was disgusted with that hatred.

And the time he spent with Rin didn't quell his attraction at all. Even if he did try to avoid her, he just couldn't. Even if this love was a bit painful, he thought that he couldn't push her away. Literally, because hurting Rin was like hurting Bambi. It wasn't because he wasn't allowed to, which was true all the same, it was because he didn't want to taint her or burden her with the knowledge he did, really did, fall for her.

Rin was a girl sensitive to tone. That's just how she was. She didn't like being scolded at, and worked better with praise and a soft tone instead of the harshness singers would be expected to have. He also knew that she couldn't stand watching shows involving jury because she hated watching the judge declare the punishment on the defendant and the pure terror that would usually be present in the person's eyes. Len didn't like harsh tones, either, but Rin's sensitivity to it was ridiculous sometimes.

Now, he watched as Rin bent down to scoop up some snow. A big grin was across her face, never faltering once even as the flakes nipped at her skin.

"Aren't you cold?" He eyed her bare neck with concern. She straightened, dropping the white particles back on the ground. She hadn't bothered to bring a scarf for whatever reason he did not know.

"No." Her tone was touched with a tremble, indicating she probably was. Then she lowered her cerulean eyes to the ground shyly. "It's never cold around you. It's warm next to you. The warmest place ever." His eyes widened slightly, then he flicked them over somewhere else to avoid her gaze out of embarrassment.

"…I see," he murmured, uncertain how to respond without making things awkward. "Same here with you." She audibly shuddered, and he saw her rub her hands together. "Are you okay?"

"F-Fine. They're kind of cold from picking up the snow, that's all."

"Here, let me help," he offered briskly, taking her hands in his. He paused for a moment, weighing the options that he had. Then, the corner of his lips kicking into a smirk, he teasingly exhaled his hot breath over her freezing fingers. She winced, wriggling around in his grasp.

"Len…! That feels weird…" whined Rin, squeezing her eyes shut in protest. He still regarded her with illusive eyes holding an evil glitter, sticking a tongue at her playfully, all while luxuriating in the dainty pout set on her lips. Doing this was fine for now.

He wanted life to always be like this. Sweet, with a dash of fun and perhaps a teaspoon of love as well.

A pair of cerulean eyes blinked, realizing they arrived to the house. As soon as you came close to the mansion, you could actually sense the money put into building it. It was a three-story place, with six bedrooms and an extra guestroom just in case anyone stayed for the night. Inside, Luka was probably fixing dinner: grilled trout, beans that everyone would probably dispose of secretly with a napkin, and mashed potatoes doused with gravy. Miku was probably helping her by setting out the plates and silverware. And the other two? Meiko and Kaito? It wasn't their night to prepare dinner.

There was a fountain in the front yard, although there wasn't any water put in it due to the current season. It would be restored once the death of wintry arrived and everything would melt back into life, flowers would bloom and the new year would start. The grass was coated with snow, barely having any footprints on account of the other house members neglecting to go outside.

Rin wasn't paying attention to any of that, though. Somehow, she disappeared instead of punishing Len and ended up kneeling several feet away, sinking her fingers back into the snow. Alarmed at first, Len glanced around the place frantically in confusion before prompting, "Rin? What are you doing?"

"Nothing~!" she sang, ignoring the false hurt expression on his face. So he stood there, waiting for her like a ghost. Waiting on her every need. And he always would.

It felt good to have someone dependent on you. It made you feel needed and important.

When they were little, instead of a road roller that she owned presently he pulled her around the neighborhood with a classic red wagon. He didn't mind, because she said she felt like a princess. So he grinned at her and kept on tugging.

When they were in kindergarten, she had accidentally dropped her ice cream on the floor at the mall. She cried, and went on that her smile was gone, never to show up again (and no tickling! That was cheating). He looked down at his ice cream and without another thought, threw it to the ground.

When they were in the hospital on account of the flu, he had the room next door to her and he visited her every night to check up on her because she was afraid of the dark. His acts were nothing more than being a caring brother at the time.

"I love you, Rin."

Snowflakes kissed his face, showering him as he relived the memories in his mind. So many shared memories. He wondered if Rin remembered them or ever thought about them.

Her beautiful smile. Untainted innocence. Childlike hands. Len, feeling the need to always be by her side.

Len peered over at Rin, who was preoccupied with the snow once more and in the middle of building a snowman. Or what was presumed to be one, because it was created messily and the pebble eyes weren't aligned accurately. She was so happy and content. He would have smiled, if it weren't for the feeling of his heart swelling and wanting to burst.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall. Who's the prettiest of them all?

No. He shook his head. Wrong fairy-tale. He couldn't bear to have Rin to eventually fall in love with someone else, to be swept up by some other prince. And he couldn't allow her to be Snow White at all. She'd choke on a single poisoned sentence; that's how fragile she was to him. He clamped his lips together. He wouldn't think about this for now. It wasn't even a time to think about it. Yes, for now, it was time to focus on the present.

And yet…

Sorry, Rin. I don't want to give you to anyone yet…

Len called out her name. She turned, at first in the middle finding a nose for the snowman and then stopping to look at her brother with questioning eyes. He strided over hurriedly before tugging her over to him, pressing his lips gingerly on her forehead and saying that they should probably head on inside before they caught a cold. She nodded obediently, flitting her eyes back at the attempted snowman one last time before linking arms with him and rushing to the steps of the white mansion.

Rin, a noun. Irreplaceable, no other synonym. He'd make up a noun for himself, too, if only he didn't find himself so complicated to define. Rin's knock rapped the door before he heard footsteps approaching. The snow eventually ended, but one thing did not.

"We'll live happily ever after."

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/Insert nervous laughter here/

You knew I was going to write Len and Rin as twins someday, didn't you? I think I didn't write Len very um, angsty enough? As much as some people would like, these sort of "matters" can't be easily brushed aside. You can't just have the kind of logic that goes, 'Oh! Why doesn't my sister love me back?! I'm so beautiful and I look exactly like her!' Nononono; I think, if I had a friend that had that sort of logic, I'd straight up slap some sense into them. I mean. Dude. Although that seems to be the logic that shows up in As Long As There's Love, It Doesn't Matter That If He's My Brother, Right?, I must say. ; ;

Thank you for reading!