The park's population trickled down to only a few people along with the light of the sun. Stars started to appear in the sky, glistening beside the half-lit moon. The streetlights flicked on, lighting up the streets, bringing life to the night time. But those same lights dimmed out the stars.
Cicadas chirped in the park loudly as the fireflies danced in the air like moving stars on the earth. But none of them equaled the brightest star in the sky. Yuri smiled as he thought of the pink haired girl that had taught him the name of that star. Vesperia.
The three misfits sat under the stars. Yuri eyes trained on the two beside him, watching and studying them carefully. Flynn looked over at him, holding his gaze before looking down at the small child below them that only looked upwards.
"Miss Patty, where have you been staying?" Flynn asked, breaking the peaceful melody of the summer life around them. The child tore her gaze from the sky and towards the older blonde.
She gave him a mischievous grin, placing her hands on her hips. Her eyes glinted with mischief. "A free spirit like me can't be held by the walls of a home," she replied in a cryptic manner. Her blue eyes pierced Flynn's, they looked old and wise. It looked peculiar on the youthful face Patty owned.
"Surely you must be staying somewhere," Flynn insisted. The law student wondered if the child lived on the streets like a few others he knew. Though the girl didn't look like she was a street urchin. Her hair was long and well kept, her face round, and she didn't look starved. She was a bit boney, her clothes were a bit dirty and worn, and she was extremely small for her supposed age. She had to have had a place to stay.
Yuri looked down at the child, wondering what her story was, but knew better than to ask. Was she like him, not knowing what a real family was like? Or was she like Flynn, who knew the love of a mother and father only to have it torn away?
"Aye, nano ja. I ran away," she stated bluntly as if she had done so a million times before and it wasn't something that should bring up alarm.
Flynn's eyes widened. His 'knight mode', as Yuri called it, kicked in as he sternly looked at the child, dropping a bombshell of questions. He at least would make a good investigator with how he dug around for answers. She looked at him, her face showed her disinserted feelings towards his questions.
The blonde child stood to her feet, dusting the grass off of her dress. The loose blades of green fell to the ground below. Her braids fell by her side, dancing in the soft wind that blew. She looked ahead a bit, eyes moving to the tree the had found her in earlier. Repede climbed to his feet.
"Well this young maiden has to get her beauty sleep, nano ja~" she chirped happily, a bright smile on her face as she turned to leave. Flynn's hand wrapped around her wrist halting her escape. There was also a soft growl as the dog bit down upon her dress. She was trapped.
A sigh left Yuri's lips as he stood to his feet. There was no stopping him once he started with his 'knight' crap. Yuri shook his head, a small smile painting his face. As annoying as Knight Flynn could be, Yuri couldn't help but love him. Even if the man was a major dork and stubborn asshole.
"It's dangerous for a child such as yourself to be wandering the streets this late at night. I insist that you at least allow us to drive you home," Flynn spoke. The girl looked at him. There was a seriousness in her eyes with the way they seemingly darkened and her brow furrowed ever so slightly.
"Then drive into the sea, nano ja."
Flynn blinked slightly at her reply, taken aback by her words. It wasn't every day a child told you to drive into the sea. Yuri only chuckled slightly, knowing the girl was only joking but also felt her words held a double meaning to them. The blond student sent a glare at his roommate, only causing the chuckle to transform into an actual laugh. A blush crept on Flynn's face as Yuri continued to laugh, causing the child to giggle slightly at her own twisted joke.
"Yuri! This isn't funny!" Flynn yelled, his blush growing brighter. "Miss Patty, please be serious!" At his words, the girl ceased her giggles turned into a silence and she nodded her head.
"Aye-Aye. I lived in a foster home, nano ja. But I ran away because there were too many rules to follow," she stated frankly, repeating on how she had run away. "I'm not going back." Her tone head finality. She did not want to go back, nothing could change that. She had conviction beyond her size.
Finally, over his laughter, Yuri spoke up. "How about we let her stay the night and take her home tomorrow?" Flynn turned to face the man to his side before his face twisted in slight rage. How could Yuri just offer up their home like that, did he not stop to think of the consequences of his actions for once?
"Yuri, this is a child! You can't just take one home like a stray cat!" Flynn shouted, startling an owl into flight. Yuri just ignored him and kneeled down to the child's level.
"How does that sound?" he asked. Patty looked up at him, her eyes searching his for any form of danger. A sign that this would be a bad thing to agree too.
"If you don't mind," she responded calmly. Yuri smiled slightly before turning around to face the exit of the park. Though the girl was weary of this man, but part of her felt she could trust him. She was a child after all.
"Yuri, you can't be serious!? This could be seen as kidnapping!" Flynn chastised angrily. Yuri shrugged before holding his hand out to the child. Patty looked at his hand before pointing to the tree and running to it. They both stopped and watched as she grabbed something from the greenery before returning, a winter coat and scarf in hand. There was a smile on her chubby cheeks.
"Ready when you are, nano ja! It'd be nice to not sleep in a tree tonight~" she chirped happily. This girl seemed to lack a certain amount of tact to her words, saying whatever came to mind. Yuri just shook his head and sighed, seeing no point in sticking on the subject of tree sleeping.
"Okay, Patty. You can ride shotgun, Mr. Stiff can ride in the back," he cracked. Patty inclined her head and took his hand. Yuri smiled as he tugged the girl forwards, leaving behind the angered Flynn.
.
The small child slept peacefully on their couch as the two men sat at the kitchen table, whispering to each other. Her tattered coat rested on the coat rack by the door along with her scarf, a simple throw blanket was draped across her body to keep her a bit warm while the air conditioner pushed out crisp cold air into the room. Repede stood vigilantly by the couch as he watched the child with curiosity as the two lowly argued back and forth, trying to remain quiet enough not to wake the sleeping girl. Despite how at some point or the other, one would raise their voice, loud enough to stir the young girl, she remained asleep.
Yuri sent his gaze to the child then back to Flynn, determined not to lose this argument to the blond haired man. If there was one thing Yuri hated, it was Flynn's bullheadedness. Not that he was one to talk. The two were both equal on that front. Both far too stubborn but neither admitting it,
"Yuri, you can't expect her foster parents not to be worried about her," Flynn whispered, looking over at the girl from the corner of his eye. Despite her bluntness, she was a friendly and cheerful girl. It'd be hard to imagine her foster family not worrying about her well being. Especially with how easily she trusted strangers.
"The way she makes it sound, this isn't the first time she's run away. By the way she ate, she hadn't had something in a while," Yuri stated calmly. 'Not everyone in this world looks after an orphan just to give them love.'
"You think that she ran away because she was being mistreated." It wasn't a question, but an observation. Flynn sighed before leaning forwards slightly. A serious look fell upon him. "This is a serious matter, Yuri. It isn't something you walk into blindly. But I know you won't let this go."
"Obviously." Flynn leaned back and looked at the ceiling. His eyes slid shut. Yuri had a strong sense of justice, he always had ever since they were small children. "Are you going to help me, or not?" But so did he.
"If we get in trouble, it was your idea."
"Isn't it always?"
