Text: Did you talk to him last night?

Ren had been staring at his phone all day. It was Ran's idea to communicate via text. She was saved in his phone as goddessofdestiny, which also happened to be the name of the MMORPG Ren loved to play.

Not really. He knocked on my door and asked what kind of games I usually play, he replied. His parents thought that it was the gaming that made his grades so bad. The reality of it was that he texted his twin sister in the middle of class, and thus, retained nothing.

That's so like him, came the reply.

Maybe you should leave the house? Just for a little bit. You can go to a manga cafe or something. That'll make him feel better. Ren sighed so loudly that his teacher turned around to look at him.

"Ren-kun, are you all right?" she asked in a worried tone. "You look like you're going to die of boredom. Perhaps I should call for a nurse? A wise man once said-"

"M-My apologies for interrupting your lesson, Ama-ch...sensei!" Ren said. He blushed as everyone laughed.

"That's enough, everyone. Laughing at your classmate isn't going to make him any less embarrassed," Ama-chan scolded.

Makoto was surprised to hear that the teacher he had in high school was still teaching. You'd be surprised about a lot of things,Ren thought bitterly. And in that vein of thought, he replied to Ran's message:

Good idea. The chicks in manga are much prettier than you, anyway. Down the hall, a female voice could be heard exclaiming,

"WHAT?!" It was followed by soft giggles. Ren couldn't help but smile a bit at that reaction.

YOU'RE HORRIBLE! Ran texted back.

I know, he replied. Horribly in love with you.

The twins used to eat lunch together, up until middle school. That was when Ran got her first boyfriend and Ren got his first boner.

"I'm afraid," Ran had told him.

"Of what I might do to you?" Ren asked. His sister shook her head.

"No, of what we might do to each other." Ever since then, they'd stopped meeting up for lunch. But that didn't stop them from talking on the phone during this time.

"I heard you yelling from down the hall," Ren said, a smile in his voice. On warmer days, he'd be leaned up against a tree, and his sister would be on the roof looking down at him. Since winter was creeping in, he was in an empty classroom while Ran was in the cafeteria. He could hear the noise behind her, but it almost sounded like it was getting more and more distant. Was she moving? "I'm sorry for getting you in trouble with your teacher."

"It's okay. You tend to get mean when it hits you," Ran replied softly. Ren sighed.

"I think I'm going to grow up to be a bitter old man." He heard his sister laugh and his heart fluttered.

"I just imagined an older you scowling and your glasses at the edge of your nose. I think it'd be sexy." The last part was added coyly. There was silence on the other line. "Ah, sorry."

Of the two, Ren was more likely to fall into depression and self-loathing. It always started out with a simple question: why did it have to be my sister? He became sullen and listless during these times. Now, the two of them stayed on the line, although neither spoke. And then the door to his empty classroom slid open and there she was.

"Ran..." he began. She closed the distance between them and Ren felt his sister's lips on his. Then she smiled.

"I just stole your sadness," she said lightly. "Be happy, Ren-nii!" And then she left him alone and ended their phone call. Ren knew it was because she was crying.

When Makoto knocked on Ran's door later that day, she was ready.

"Come in!" Her oldest brother appeared in her doorway and smiled at her. His gentle face and personality were supposed to put people at ease. It only made Ran sad. He pulled up a chair and sat down, looking around her room. She'd hung up posters of celebrities that she liked to make it seem like she wasn't thinking about Ren all the time. All though Ran supposed they were just as unattainable.

"You seem to have a thing for the flower boy type," Makoto laughed. No, I have a thing for Ren, she silently retorted. Outwardly, though, she only smiled. "Do you have someone you like?"

"Did you ask Ren-nii that?"

"No, we talked about games," Makoto admitted.

"So why are you asking me about my love life, Mako-nii? Is it because I'm the girl? You're probably going to scold me about the way I dress, too." Ran immediately felt sorry for what she said. Still, Ren had spent the entire morning angry. It was her turn, now.

"I am a little concerned about that," Makoto said seriously. "But what you wear isn't nearly as important to me as who you spend time with. Having friends who don't care about you is the same as having no friends at all."

And then Makoto changed the subject. He asked her about school and what she did during her free time.

"I do a lot of reading," she replied. "Short stories published on the web. During the holidays, I usually check out a lot of books. There's a checklist on my desk." She folded her legs under her as she sat on the bed and Makoto got up to look at the list taped to her desk.

"A lot of these are tragedies," Makoto said with surprise.

"Life's a tragedy," Ran replied.

That night, she cried softly to herself. The last thing she wanted was for Makoto to come in and ask what was wrong. Everything is wrong, she thought. Ran heard the tiptoeing before she felt the arms slip around her.

"You can't be in here," she whispered, sitting up. "I'm afraid."

"I'm just returning the favour," Ren whispered back. "You comforted me today, so it's my turn." The two of them held each other in the silence and the dark for a little while. And then Ren crept out, and they both dreamt of being in each others' arms.

In the morning, the Tachibanas all sat down to breakfast. As Ren was passing out toast to everyone, Makoto watched him.

"Ren, what's your type?" he suddenly asked.

"W-What do you mean, Mako-nii?" The plate in the boy's hands began shaking and he immediately went to go get cups for coffee.

"Your ideal lover." Ren dropped the mugs everywhere, making quite the clatter.

"Sorry," he mumbled. Makoto motioned to his mother to stay seated and got up and helped his brother.

"I shouldn't have asked that in front of Mom and Dad. Sorry..." He picked up one of the mugs that had fallen, and Ren snatched it out of his hand.

"You shouldn't have asked that at all," he muttered and then went back to feeding everyone.

"I feel like I'm getting shut out," Makoto sighed.

"I know how you feel, but talking about love lives with your sibling can be a bit awkward," Rin's voice said on the other line. "Did you tell Ren and Ran about us?"

"As far as they know, it's only Haru..."

"And?" Makoto knew exactly where Rin was going with this.

"I didn't want to talk about it because it's hard enough for most people to accept two guys. But the three of us is too complicated."

"It might be the same way for them," Rin pointed out.

"That's surprisingly wise, coming from someone who routinely stalks his sister's dates."

"SHUT UP! KOU IS CLOSER IN AGE TO ME THAN YOUR SIBLINGS ARE!" Makoto couldn't help but chuckle.

"Come home soon," Haru's voice came.

"I will. I'll visit Obaa-chan's grave later and tell her you said hello," Makoto said. "And I sent your mother some mandarin oranges, Rin." He didn't know if he'd have time to visit Mrs. Matsuoka, but thought it would be nice to send her a gift anyway, since he was in the area.

"We miss you." And then they hung up.

Makoto lay on his bed and thought about what Rin said. He's right. I probably shouldn't meddle. After all, high school was a time of a lot of conflicting emotions for the eldest Tachibana son. But the silence between his siblings troubled him. Perhaps if he came up with something that the three of them could do together, the uneasiness in his heart would disappear.