i.
The town calls them heroes.
Sometimes, after they finish a round of rescuing, Yaya wonders how people can put their faith and trust in a twelve-year old.
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ii.
Boboiboy broke his leg, once. He had fallen down a flight of stairs and had to wear a cast for two weeks. He never knew bones could take so long to mend and vowed to never let it happen again.
He hasn't broken one since he got his watch.
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iii.
Hearts, Fang thinks, are fragile things.
They easy to take and easier to break, often times the reason things get complicated. They make girls (and boys) stare. They make people sympathize, even with those who hurt them. They make you miss home even if you're already there, because having a second doesn't mean missing the first one any less.
He wishes he didn't have one.
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iv.
Ying never had a sister, but being friends with Yaya was probably a close thing.
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v.
He doesn't remember her face, but he remembers her fingers.
They were long and delicate, softly running through his hair as his mother cradled him in her arms. When Gopal is tired, he thinks he still feels them, gently lulling him to sleep. Come morning, he finds a name for it, and keeps it called his imagination.
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vi.
When they ask him about the white patch of hair, he shrugs and tells them what he knows. The next time they see it, they don't stare, and for that, Boboiboy is grateful.
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vii.
Lightning flashes, and Ying fights to keep herself from flinching. Seconds later, thunder booms, and Ying tells herself that a storm cannot be afraid of other storms.
People shouldn't have to fear themselves.
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viii.
It's half an hour before dinner and he's still not done.
Gopal frowns at his hands, weighing the pros and cons of dealing with them after dinner. They're mostly clean, but he can still see a few ink stains that linger. Battle scars, he jokes to himself, From fighting the mighty Arithmetic.
In the end, he opens the tap and starts again.
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ix.
There's always milk in the fridge.
Tok Aba keeps it that way because he knows about the nightmares, even if his grandson won't talk about them. He doesn't like to push, so he helps in the way he can. When he wakes to milk that's a glass lighter, he wakes to gratitude shining in warm, brown eyes, and he smiles.
He pats Boboiboy's head, asking him if he would like to help with the shop because this is them and they do not need words.
This is them, and it is enough.
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x.
On more than one occasion, his friends hear him humming a particular tune. They don't ask, so Fang doesn't tell, quietly recalling the notes of his mother's lullaby.
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xi.
Yaya collects feathers.
Most of them are a brown, grayish green, usually picked up from under a tree or a grassy field. There are a few white and black ones, some mixed with colors, but her favorite is a deep red that bleeds into orange. It reminds her of the phoenix.
A bird of fire in a tale of rebirth.
Beautiful and timeless.
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xii.
When he's too tired to go home, Fang sleeps in the abandoned house. A terrible idea, recalling all the colds he already got, but there's this spot in the master's bedroom where the roof is torn off, and it has a better view of the moon than his apartment does.
After three months and seven colds, Fang finally drags a proper mattress and a ton of blankets into his training grounds.
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xiii.
Contrary to popular belief, Tok Aba's shop is Gopal's third home, not the second. His second is in the sea, where he floats until his front is warm and his back is cold, until his father yells warnings about 'sunburn' and 'getting a cold in the middle of summer, get back here, Gopal!'
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xiv.
His favorite color is blue.
Kaizo wonders if it's some sort of punishment that it is, because in his line of work, blue is hardly something you wear on a mission. Unless you can afford to clean, black outfits are the standard among officers.
He looks down at himself and tries not to sigh, completely ignoring Lahap's look. He makes his way to the nearest changing room and peels his clothes off, tossing the now-violet coat in a basket. He grabs a towel and starts to clean himself.
Red never did look good on him.
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xv.
She used to play the piano.
Being a genius applied in a lot of things, and her grandmother used to tease her about how she'd become a famous musician one day. Ying runs her hand over the ivory keys, ignoring the dust as she takes a seat and checks the sound.
For the first time in three years, she plays.
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xvi.
Yaya opens the door, only to find three people already behind it. Fang's wearing an exasperated look, Ying is drowning in blankets, and Gopal is trying (and failing) to hide his laugh under a mountain of pillows.
She smiles and locks the door behind her, taking the lead to their destination.
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xvii.
Summer, Ochobot thinks, must be the best season.
It's the season Boboiboy came, and also the season when he'll come back.
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xviii.
There's someone tapping on his window, so Boboiboy groggily gets up from bed, opens it, and turns back to bed as he sighs, "Why can't you guys use the door?"
A/n: i was trying out a new writing style. i hope you all like it owo)/