A/N: Here is the new chapter as promised. I apologize for the delay, but it was one of those times when you think the story is just about perfect when you think of something else that you just have to add to it. Well, at least it's still on the 7th as I promised. Thank you to Durbe the Barian, Sleeping Satelli, and Zexalloverforever39 for the reviews on the first chapter. Enjoy, everyone.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh Zexal or any of the characters, except Miss Ryland in this story, Shin Yoshida owns everything else.

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Michael stared out his window at the thousands of tiny, white flurries flying past the glass. The first snow and it wasn't even winter yet.

He couldn't help but remember how Chris had never let him out of the house until he had made sure that the youngest brother was wearing a sweater, a coat, a scarf, gloves, and a hat.

"I just want to make sure you don't freeze," he would say as he helped Michael with the scarf.

Typically this was followed by Thomas rolling his eyes and letting a snarky comment fly.

"Of course!" he would snort, "We wouldn't want fragile little Michael to catch a cold now, would we?"

Michael always knew that the middle Arclight never meant anything by it; that kind of teasing was more or less Thomas's way of showing affection. That and a colorful array of mischievous pranks every now and again.

But after Byron's disappearance, Thomas had become a little more serious. After all, he'd had to grow up quickly after he and Michael were sent to the facility while Chris investigated what happened. Thomas had taken on so much responsibility making sure Michael was safe from anyone who might try to bully him during their time there.

The children's home was not highly pleasant, but for the most part it was tolerable. Michael shared a room with Thomas. There had been two beds and a single dresser between them. However, little Michael had often opted to sleep curled up beside Thomas, his tiny fingers buried in the older boy's unruly locks of spiky, dark red hair.

Suddenly, Michael was pulled back to reality by the sound of a knock on his bedroom door.

"Yes?" he called.

The door opened to reveal Miss Ryland.

"The snow is pretty, isn't it?" she smiled.

Michael smiled back and nodded.

"Yeah, it is," he said, turning and peering out the window. "It's beautiful."

"I imagine you and your brothers played in the snow often," his foster mother said.

The pre-teen Arclight nodded once again.

"Yeah, whenever it snowed, Thomas couldn't get out there fast enough," he recalled. "While Chris and I were getting dressed, he'd already be building a fort for the impending snowball fights. Sometimes he'd forget his gloves, or his coat or something. It was a good thing he has a strong immunity system or he would have been sick several times. Thomas usually only gets sick once or twice a year."

"What about Chris?" Miss Ryland asked.

"Chris has only been sick two or three times that I can actually remember," Michael told her.

She thanked him before leaving to make lunch.

Michael sat back on his bed and went back to watching the snowflakes fall, continuing their descent to earth from the sky above.

He wondered if it was snowing back in the city and wherever Thomas was now. But he had heard not long ago that Thomas had been invited to partake in the Mini Surf Expert Match Tournament and that sounded like it was going to take place in somewhere with reasonably warm weather, so there was a slim chance of any snow where he was.

The pinknette felt happy remembering Thomas saying that after this latest tournament, he'd be coming back to Heartland City and then he and Chris would come to the quiet little suburban area that Michael now called home.

'I can't wait to see you,' Michael whispered, still gazing out the window. 'I miss you. Both of you. Please come soon.'

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I hope everyone liked it. Please review.

The next chapter will be out on Monday, January 18th.

KaibaGirl out.