This chapter is far fluffier than the rest. Figured we could use a (long—"9k words" long) break on the hard and heavy stuff...for a little while.

Warnings: Parental abuse, sexual coercion mention/discussion

Chapter 21

"So," Sage said as he dealt out another hand of 21, which I had already oh so patiently explained as not blackjack despite the shared name. "Is that why you wanted to play against Rowen?"

I grinned at remembering my very large stack of won cards from the previous round, about three times the stack he had. "Something like that."

Sage shook his head. "I still wouldn't let you talk him into a game of go. He's reached amateur dan rank in it, which is extraordinarily difficult to accomplish."

"That just sounds like a challenge…" I said, picking up my cards. Not the best hand on the planet— very few small cards, very few opportunities to slip in and grab the winning pair— but not like I'd let that show in my face. A moment later I laughed. "Honestly, I just read people's game strategies. Once I figure out preferred moves and timing of them, and how they evaluate the board, then it's pretty easy to determine how they'll play."

That breath was almost a sigh. "You even sound like Rowen. If you two do ever get around to playing, don't be surprised if the guys watch to see him get knocked down a peg."

Hazarding a guess at Sage's strategy— I had, after all, only played one game against him— I placed down a six and left my larger cards in my hand. "So long as they don't expect me to win first time, sure."

He played a ten. "Unlikely. It is, after all, Rowen."

I let the point go, hoarding my cards for later. "I'm almost relieved by that. As much as I'd like to beat him."

He chuckled and took the cards. "We all would. He's fifth amateur dan— only two ranks below the highest, for amateur levels at least. We keep telling him to try for professional, but he seems satisfied with where he is. I have a feeling he'll only increase his level when I reach my fifth dan in kendo."

I drew a card to replace the one I'd lost, trying not to laugh, myself. "I take it the two of you are in competition?"

His reply was cut off by the back door of the house opening, Rowen's "You guys are still playing?" coming up the stairwell.

Sage rolled his eyes. "Give him ten minutes and he'll join them."

I looked at my wrist in a mime of checking my watch, smirking. "Give Tessa five."

Rowen's footsteps clearing the stairs two at a time preceded him, him going to toss a few things in the boys' room before looking into Tessa's. "We're going to play some two on two, if you wanna watch."

'Told ya,' I said to Sage. I shook my head at Rowen. "I think I've watched enough games for today."

He shrugged in a 'suit yourself' way before going back down the stairs.

Sage and I kept playing mostly in silence, him trying to give me a sense of the familiar and a break from people without me actually being alone. My emotions were an exhausted knot, wanting to do something but being unable to handle anything relating to potential triggers. Even this game was threatening to bring them crashing back down, recalling how I had played against my stepdad and how I'd quit when my mom was amused at how crestfallen I'd been after she beat me. How she played in an unpredictable way and how I couldn't read her and couldn't figure her out.

Her pride in those statements. That she'd outsmarted her genius child.

Sage reached out and gripped my hand as I placed a card down. "Want to stop?"

I looked between the two stacks, mine slightly larger but not a landslide, and sighed. "Sorta…"

He quirked a small smile. "I should go to bed, anyway."

I managed a laugh. "The downsides of being a morning person?"

He actually blushed softly, casting his eyes down. "I suppose."

We put away the cards together, me reaching for my iPod to occupy my time between him leaving and me going to sleep. A moment later, I let out a breath. "And here I'd wanted to show you Porcelain."

He paused mid-stride, coming back to sit on the bed. "I can stay up a little longer."

I pulled up Marianas Trench on the player, cranking the volume up so he could hear the first few notes that were almost inaudible at a normal level. The slow, deep melody that sounded like it came from underwater began playing, Josh Ramsay's soft, high voice— the absolute antithesis to Sage's— piercing the air a few moments later.

The world dropped away at the instruments and words mixing together into something that felt physical, something I had used as a shield against the outside world and a sword against demons. I hit pause as the staccato notes of Fallout started playing, the way the songs of this album faded in and out making it almost impossible to stop at the very end of a song.

"It's beautiful," Sage murmured, drawing my attention back to him. I looked up and the gleam in his eyes very much indicated 'like you' were the next words on his lips.

I ducked my head, hiding the bright red blush warming my cheeks and ears. "And they call me a flirt."

He laughed. "You do it without even trying. I have to think about it." He pressed a kiss to my hair, brushing away any potential upset I could have. "The guys actually teased me about how much I could not talk to girls until around two years ago."

I raised an eyebrow. "You seem to do a plenty good job now…" Thankfully, I bit my tongue before any comment about how I knew came out. I was pretty sure Tessa would've killed me for spilling that secret to her old crush.

He rolled his eyes, but a blush was still visible across his nose. "Being the highest-ranking kendoka in high school had… interesting hazards."

I burst out laughing. "I'm guessing you had quite the fanclub…?"

He cleared his throat and nodded, blush getting darker. "Women and men. I simply avoided them all."

"I would, too," I said, still chuckling. "I'm sorry but the thought of you hiding from a crowd of adoring fans is too funny."

Sage rubbed his forehead. "The others called my life a harem anime. In hindsight, it is funny. At the time…!"

I snickered, hand going to cover my mouth.

"With that," he said, standing up. "I shall go to bed. Sleep well."

I slipped off the bed and hugged him goodnight, his arms wrapping around me a moment later. He pressed his cheek against my hair, letting me absorb the affection I was still craving.

"Want me to leave Halo?"

I shook my head into his shoulder. "I'm alright."

Neither of us pulled away immediately, me only doing so when I heard commotion downstairs.

I went back to the bed. "Sorry for keeping you up so late."

He reached down and stroked my hair. "Please don't be."

I swallowed and nodded, him lingering nearby just in case. I didn't wave him off, nor did I make any indication I wanted him to stay. Neutrality to ease my guilt at receiving support, no matter how freely it was given. He pressed another kiss to my hair before finally leaving.

Tessa watched him from the top of the stairs, coming into the room and closing the door moments later. "Would you kill me for saying how adorable you two are?"

I smiled despite myself. "Naw. Even I'll admit we were flirting." I shook my head. "Apparently he only started talking to girls two years ago…?"

She chuckled at how very different that was from his current behaviour. "I could believe it. I've seen his fanclubs—they'd turn anyone off of flirting after a week."

I brought my knees up to my chest, resting my cheek against the bone. "And he still picked me."

She gave me a wry smile, getting changed for bed. "Maybe because you're one of the first people who haven't instantly wanted a piece of him. That can be a bit of a turn-on for some people, I'm told. Can't say I'd blame him—must be a nice break from being eye candy twenty-four/seven."

"The advantages of being aro and ace spec?" I said, shaking my head at myself. "I should ask him, one of these days…"

That smile turned into an evil grin. "Ask whether he's basically the embodiment of Everyone Wants Him?"

I snorted at her oh so obvious teasing. "Oh I already know that…!" I kept quiet as she laughed, figuring out how to clarify my implications. "No— I meant why he likes me."

"Ah," she said, inclining her head thoughtfully. It didn't take long for her lips to turn up again. "Maybe you two can get a few moments at the pool tomorrow…"

I groaned and flopped back on the bed, trying not to laugh at Dawn's oh-so-obvious prod that she'd do just that. "You're terrible."

She giggled in the way she always did when she was being a complete and total brat.

"So how was space?" I propped myself up on my elbows, bound and determined to turn this situation around in my favour. "Plenty of alone time?"

Just as I thought, she blushed bright red. Snatches of the adrenalin, the closeness, and just how open Rowen had been filtered through to Dusk, her absolute wonder at the scene the dominant emotion. She finished getting changed and eased herself down beside me on the bed, flopping back as thoughts of deep kisses and stillness she never wanted to end came in.

My smile softened in response to her mood, me no longer playing my part. "I'm glad you got that with him."

"Me too…" she said quietly. She was silent for a few moments. "Part of me wonders if I could have flown on my own. I keep feeling like Dawn is drawing a lot of power from Strata." She turned on her side, head propped up on her elbow to look at me. "Do you ever get that from Dusk?"

I paused, rubbing the space between my eyebrows as I thought. "I… honestly have no idea. She's never really had armours to draw from before. She did lightning tricks long before I met Sage, and she's always burned like I'd guess Wildfire does. Plus I broke you out of the commune when only you and I had access to our armour. So unless it was subconscious on everyone's parts…" I paused, thinking over what— or who, maybe— Dusk had encountered ever since I'd had it. "Although I did always feel this sort of… protective spirit, growing up… Sometimes I'd even see someone."

She perked up, silently prompting me. I sighed and tried to remember. "White hair, eyes covered by the shadow of a hat. He always had a staff." I smirked. "Might be why I like them so much, now."

She laughed quietly at my aside comment, sitting up a moment later after she'd had a chance to think. "I think that's Kaos. Or at least, someone that looks exactly like him. I saw him in my dream a few days ago."

"If he made our armours… it'd make sense. Especially since Dusk came out so early." I closed my eyes at the memories still right under the surface. As bright a light as he had been, his appearances had always been tainted by darkness I didn't want to remember right now. "He would teach me how to use it, sometimes."

She smiled, happy I had gotten some instruction on how to protect myself in the cult by actually knowing how to use Dusk. We stayed in silence for awhile, me going to put on my pyjamas, while she paid more attention to her hands than me.

"I feel like painting my nails. What about you?"

I glanced down at the absolute lack of colour on my hands. While I enjoyed nail polish, it lasted for all of a day and a half when I was particularly nice to it. But she looked so interested in it and the thought of having a sisterly nail polish painting time was too tempting for me to resist.

"Sure."

She brightened, indicating just how much that meant to her. "I'm glad we're going out tomorrow."

"So'm I," I said, tugging on my PJ top. "Nice to get away."

She laughed, folding her hands behind her head as she lay in bed. "Yeah. Lots of my friends have said that coming out here feels like going to the country to them… I just laugh and say "you don't even know the half of it", usually."

I returned her laughter at her tease. "Lucky me I've been on an actual farm and know what country looks like…?"

She smiled in response to my own light tone, radiating contentment and relaxation. "Yeah…"

I felt the same emotions myself, Dawn and Dusk exchanging the feeling and amplifying it. After the past few weeks this was much needed time off, all of us acting as friends instead of confidants and security blankets. As much as I liked having people I knew I could rely on for those purposes, it got exhausting always using them that way.

We said goodnight and I curled up beside her, finally feeling like I could sleep.

—

She practically bounced up the stairs the next day, grabbing my hand immediately after breakfast to get ready. If Rowen was awake, I was sure he would be shaking his head at his girlfriend's enthusiasm. She kept her energy up as she grabbed a shoebox full of nail polish colours that made my eyes sparkle at the possibilities. She rummaged through them. "What colour should I use?"

I scanned over everything, catching a glimpse of an oh-so-familiar colour despite how little I'd seen it. I held up deep, dare I say Strata blue for her to examine, face straight as I could make it. I was, after all, simply replying to her question.

She stared at it. "You gotta be kidding."

Now, I grinned and shook my head. That was exactly the reaction I'd been looking for. "It'd look good on you."

Her smile had a shy edge as she took the bottle, turning it over in her hands to catch the light. "It is my favourite blue…" she said to herself. She looked at me again, then down at the stuff laid out on top of the bag. "But it won't match my bathing suit. It's green."

I raised an eyebrow at her, bound and determined to get her into this. She was already flirting by wearing a bikini. "It's not like you'll be in your bathing suit all day."

"Oh. Right…" She glanced at her closet and the potential clothes for the day, the one thing she hadn't settled on. "And I do have a fairly blue wardrobe, come to think of it…"

I nodded with a sure of myself smile, both of us knowing she'd just signed her name on the deed. "So. Blue it is."

She sighed in mock suffering, seeming resigned— until an evil grin broke out, matching gleam in her eyes. She pulled the perfect Halo colour out of the box, holding it up for me to examine. Her voice had an absolutely drippingly sweet sing-song. "Mkay, your turn."

She plunked it in my hand so I could turn it over. I snorted. "Only way I'm getting you in that blue is if I wear this green, isn't it?"

Her evil grin hadn't budged.

That was that answer.

She turned around and grabbed her supplies before hopping over to the bed and sitting cross-legged. I ignored her expectant look to examine the bottle again, admiring the green and actually amused at this particular comment about Sage and I potentially together— for one reason. "The look on his face if he notices. Both of their faces."

Tessa snorted and laughed. "I think they'll blush."

Our scheming tones matched. Now it was my turn to give an absolutely devilish grin, grabbing the blue before she could protest. I made sure the supplies were in reach in case I spilled something, rummaging through to see what she had. I was quite impressed she had some finer detail brushes, pens, and generally what a person would need to do a really good job with nails. "You, first."

She rolled her eyes and pretended to be irritated, sticking her hand out for me to paint. The act didn't last long, her breaking out in a smile as I started. "It's nice, having someone else to do mine, for once. Now I don't have to worry about dripping or splatting or globbing the stuff on my right hand."

"Yeah, I'm the one who has to worry about dripping," I said, laughing along with her. "But I agree it'll be nice to have two good hands for once."

She cocked her head to the side in confusion. "But I'll do yours—or did you really think I was going to let you get away with not letting me do your nails?"

My laughter increased. I thought my syntax had been clear, but apparently not. "No, I meant how I'm the one with the brush so I have to watch not to get it everywhere."

She rolled her eyes at her own mistake. "Oh. Duh."

I returned to her nails, smiling, going over the sheer depth of colour present within what could've been just a simple blue. I finished one hand and moved onto the other, noting her slightly dazed and hesitating movements in giving it to me. I kept Dusk open, encouraging her to talk but not pressuring her. At least, trying not to.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, only to sigh. "I'm...not sure you'll...identify with this, but… I have to talk with someone." She paused, gathering what she wanted to say. "But I'm...struggling, a bit. With...being with Rowen."

My reply was the single most me reply you could get, consisting of a simple, encouraging "Mhm?" brush not even pausing.

She chuckled softly. "My hormones might say otherwise, but… I just can't seem to bring myself to relax, physically, with him." She frowned in a way that reminded me of when I had an intrusion. "I keep...remembering…"

My voice and whole demeanor softened. "I actually do understand that. Maybe not the same way, but I've experienced it."

She tilted her head to the side, looking me over in a silent debate over whether I had more, or if she should continue.

I carefully brushed another nail before pausing to tell the story. "My ex would push me farther than I wanted. It was just in text, but it still… left me feeling gross. It's weird thinking about romantic physical affection, now. Platonic I'm obviously fine…!" Thankfully, she responded well to my teasing, her body relaxing slightly as she laughed. I sighed and moved onto her next nail. "I'm honestly not thinking about it with Sage. I mean, my ex wanted us to sleep together after three months, so… yeah just safe to say I get it."

She kept her attention on her nails. "I'm...not really worried about that, to be honest? I… Even with Michael, we never got past him trying to kiss me." She smiled wryly. "I can be a stubborn butthead when I want to be. And Rowen is way different than Michael." She blushed at something in her memory. "He, uh, kissed me. In the compound. And when he found out that was my first kiss, he acted as if he'd murdered someone, almost, he was so apologetic." She sighed. "But we are mutually attracted to each other, and in this stage right now…"

"You still remember," I said softly. "You… haven't really known him long enough to relax around him. I get that, myself, honestly… if it wasn't obvious from the past two weeks I've been a stressed out wreck with the guys. It's not as extreme as mine was, but it's still… you don't have enough experience right now to really believe he's different. You might know, intellectually, but you don't actually know." Not wanting to drag her hand out much longer— the pool awaited and I could sense restlessness in the house— I continued on her nails. "It's okay. If he's a good guy he'll wait it out, and from how he broke down all of Strata's barriers so I could read him if I wanted, when he came to talk to me, just to make sure I trusted him, I'd say he's a pretty good guy."

Her smile— and the emotions woven into Dawn— very much indicated just what she thought of him. And all of it was positive. "Yeah, he is…"

I swore, our life was enough of a novel already. Rowen chose that exact moment to wake up, PJs still on and running his hand through bedhead. He glanced around and noticed us in the room, eyebrow going up at what he spotted us doing. His confusion only intensified as he leaned against the doorjamb, arms crossed.

Now I wondered if he got it from Sage or vice versa. Regardless, I made a mental note to point this out. When my sister hadn't beaten me to the punch in answering his implied question.

Tessa raised an eyebrow right back. "What? Can't a girl be multifaceted without being put in a zoo exhibit? Just because I go to a military school and act brave and aggressive and tomboyish doesn't mean I can't also kick ass in a dress with perfectly painted nails."

His expression softened, and with one hand stroking his chin I could see a monogram on his chest, over his heart. I'd seen it before on his armour. "Come to think of it, you didn't seem to think twice about wearing a skirt in the barn…"

I glanced at all the nail stuff right in reach as they kept talking, bantering back and forth, getting an absolutely terrible idea.

Tessa responded to his comment. "Yeah, that's kind of my trademark. I like to think of them like tunics, sometimes—makes me feel bold and adventurous."

His lips curled up in an affectionate smirk. "Sounds kind of like you're a Zeruda no Densetsu fan."

Well, he'd just said the exact thing she wanted to hear. She perked up straight, thankfully not jerking on her hand I was still painting. "...Did you just say what I think you said?"

I glanced back at Rowen, noting the similarities between the monogram and the design now drying in gold on her nail. I smiled and held up the blue. "Honestly, I thought you'd notice the colour she was wearing, first."

He blinked, apparently being more oblivious in the morning than me, before throwing his head back and laughing. "You really are a good match for Sage. Sneaky devil…"

Tessa was trying to pout at me, not able to display much irritation I'd drawn attention to my little trick. If she didn't like that, well. I couldn't wait to see her reaction to the ring finger I lifted up slightly. She must've known something was up, the way I was practically swallowing down a canary, my grin was so big.

Both her eyebrows shot up, jaw dropping down, before she glared at me. "Brat!"

I nearly fell back on the bed, I was cackling so loudly.

Rowen took a moment to notice, but had an appropriate quip for his girlfriend. "I think she got you on that one, ryuko."

She deflated at the affection, teasing him right back. "Oh, go read a physics book, otaku."

It was my turn to make an emoticon face, my expression every inch pleased. "What're older sisters for?"

She rolled her eyes.

Rowen chuckled and straightened, the draw for coffee finally winning. "Well, I shall leave you ladies to it." He bowed an English bow, arm out like a bard. "I take my leave of thee, fair damsels."

I snorted and called after his retreating back. "Remind me to talk Shakespeare with you!"

He reached a hand back to wave in acknowledgement, equally amused.

She shook her head. "I swear, he's a closet thespian. One of these days I will catch him!"

Now that I wasn't under a time crunch to draw my little sneaky design, I finished off her nails. I eyed my handiwork, oh so proudly placed on her wedding ring finger. "Want me to do a second Strata symbol or is one enough?"

She smiled and resigned herself to it. "Might as well make them match…"

I gave a triumphant flourish as I went back to the gold and pen I had used previously, going to her now dry other nail. She simply wrinkled her nose and stuck her tongue out. "Oh hush, you don't have to gloat."

I chuckled and bent down over her hand, oh so carefully making sure the symbol was as close to identical as I could make it. Once I was done— along with a topcoat— I put the supplies down and stretched my arms above my head. When that failed to make a single muscle budge, I sat on my ankles so I could properly reach my arms behind me, arching and upper back muscles deciding now was the perfect time to lock up and remind me I had been curled up in a ball for the better part of two weeks. My shoulder blades could barely touch.

"Ugh I haven't danced in forever." I sat up on my knees, bending backwards so I was looking behind me and feeling something finally crack. "My back hates me so much right now."

"Heh. I feel you…" She also stretched, her range of motion indicating she was not a dancer. "My ol' joints sooo hate sitting in one place for too long but I get waaay too comfy to move…" Memories of how long she'd stay in one place during our online conversations came through. "Or distracted."

I rolled my right shoulder in a circle, trying to pop it back into its socket, the old dislocation and injury coming through loud and clear after so long of not actively exercising it. Wanting to actually use my spinal muscles, I rolled to look at the ceiling. "I'll let you do my nails in a minute…"

She simply nodded, having long ago gotten used to me stretching in the middle of a conversation over Skype. I pushed myself up into a shoulder stand, neck and upper back pulling with the strain.

"Got it." Her weight lifted off the bed, fingers oh so slightly lifted to be careful of the not-quite-set polish. She held up my bottle and a glass. "Want water? Just tap water from the bathroom."

"Yeah, probably a good idea for my muscles…" I let my legs ease back over my head, feet touching the edge of the mattress. "Thanks. Oh! Run your nails under cold water while you're in there to set it all, if they're mostly dry."

"Got it!" she chirped, back to bouncy as she left the room. I shook my head and stretched my legs in various poses, one curled to my chest while the other stretched forward. Alternate. Straighten the leg and see how far I could get in splits without my body weight forcing my legs down.

"What are you doing?"

I laughed at Sage's absolutely shocked tone, turning my head to see him at the entrance to the room, looking about as puzzled as when Rowen had seen Tessa do her nails. I didn't even lower myself down from the stand as I waved him inside. "Stretching. My back is killing me."

"Sorry to hear that," he said, leaning against the doorway and once again, it was a case of which Ronin got it from who, for how Sage and Rowen's poses were identical. "Anything I can do to help?"

Now I rolled up, trying to pop my mid back and still failing as everything about my shoulders hated me. "If you could get my shoulder back in place, that'd help."

He straightened, coming over to the bed. "Actually, yes. Part of both my kendo training and kinesiology curriculum."

Of course. I shifted so he was in reach, still rolling my shoulders in some attempt at loosening the rock hard muscles. With him beside me I could smell his sweat from whatever morning exercise he'd done, finding it, to my surprise, not entirely unpleasant. "It's just out. My tendons are hyperextended, aka I'm double jointed, and I've dislocated it before. The two together don't mix all that well with relapse…" I smirked to myself, wondering what his reaction would be. "I mean, when your hands can do this you know your joints are loose." I lifted up my right hand and flexed it, the first knuckles of my fingers bending at nearly thirty degrees backwards and the second knuckle bending in the opposite direction. My thumb popped out to complete the demonstration, my hand in a very, very unnatural position I'd been using to freak people out as long as I could remember.

Any and all manipulation of my shoulder stopped dead, him focused on my hand. "Are all your joints like that?"

I switched from impish tormentor to simply smiling at his interest in this little party trick. I lifted up my arm to show the ten degree angle my elbows could go backwards. "Hinge and ball socket joints. I don't mind hinge so much, but ball sockets hurt like hell when they fall out. I think I've had to pop this shoulder back in like three times in as many weeks…"

He gently pushed my arm down, pressing on the muscles to gauge the severity of the dislocation and how best to handle it. "Well, the past two weeks haven't really helped…"

I chuckled. "Actually, they have." Before he could ask, I continued. "I rely on muscular strength to hold my joints in. Once my muscles are actually fed properly, they tend to hold it in place just fine. Just… have a few growing pains as they rebuild."

He didn't respond past a small amount of acknowledgement through Halo. He pressed in on locked up muscles near my spine and around my collarbone, finding the knots that were preventing it from releasing. His voice was the gentlest I'd ever heard it. "Alright. Relax…"

I forced the muscles in my shoulder to go along with him, keeping unnaturally calm as he pushed my joint back into alignment, fingers forcing the knots undone. I hissed with the final part of the rotation, bone lifting out of where it had incorrectly been sitting, and everything fit back together with a pop.

"Sheesh, Sage," Tessa said by the door. "Practicing for class, or something?"

I lifted my arm up to test motion through throbbing chest muscles, making sure it wouldn't slip out the moment I did anything. Everything about my spine did not like me right now, muscles readjusting to the biggest shift I'd had in what felt like years. "My shoulder was starting to go out. Figured before the shooting pain started…!"

She placed the water on the bedside table in front of me, chuckling. "Fair enough." She climbed back on the bed, this time her closer to the supplies. "Alright, ready for your nails, or still wanna stretch?"

I shifted to face her and put my legs out in second, leaning forward in the empty space between them so I was effectively in half. "Both."

She simply grabbed the green and took my hand, Sage watching me curiously. "Is this normal, for you?"

I nodded vigorously. "I'm a dancer. Comes with the territory. If you spend enough time talking to me you get used to it." I gave a pointed head jerk to the completely unphased Tessa to prove my point.

He blinked at me, mulling that over. "Something tells me you'd have no trouble whatsoever with the full lotus…"

I checked how far along Tessa was with my nails, and when she dipped the brush back in the bottle for the next, I demonstrated just how far I could get. "I can't stay in it too long or else my ankles hate me… but." I grinned with a very proud and borderline kid-like 'I did it' smile.

He smirked back. "Might just have to test you on that…" He glanced back at the door. "I should get changed before the others yell at us that they want to leave, already."

Tessa laughed, going back to my nails. "I swear, Cye resembles a Thoroughbred at the starting gate for all his excitement to get to the pool…"

I smirked, squirming despite my ridiculously awkward position to do so. "I'm just patient because I wanted you in that blue."

Sage shook his head at us and left, my sister continuing to talk about nails with a roll of her eyes, amusement at Cye's water-loving tendencies switching to mine. "Well, you're in luck—this is my sixty-second quick dry stuff. And knowing you and base and top coats… You'll be done in like five minutes." She raised an eyebrow. "Unless you'd like a design, too…?"

I raised an eyebrow back, wondering just what was behind that oh so hinting tone. I brought my legs back out and folded in half again, ankles already protesting at being in lotus that long; when she didn't elabourate, I prompted. "Like…?"

Her grin — which I'm sure matched mine when I had done her design— and twirl of the nail pen was all the answer I needed.

I swallowed and watched her do more of the green, sinking farther down to the mattress. It was such an obvious statement of togetherness, but at the same time. "The look on his face would be… hilarious, probably."

She chuckled in her throat, still with that wicked edge. "It would be so worth it."

My sister was enjoying this far too much; I sighed and folded in half completely, chest to the bed, as I sorted through my very mixed emotions. Eventually, I wondered why everything had to be so serious all the time, with a hidden meaning I had to be afraid of. I snorted and offered the thumb of the hand she'd just done. "Go for it. Supposed to have fun today, right?"

If she could've bounced while sitting, she would've. Her "Mmmhmm!" was very much one of my verbal ticks she'd absorbed over the years; it gave way to humming as she finished off the green and drew Halo's emblem on both my hands.

I smiled to myself, thinking of showing him both the colour and the design. The guys' absolute amusement at my own prank. Swimming.

Today was going to be a good day.

—/—

Triumph at the success of Operation Halo Nails was my dominant emotion as Alexa and I tromped downstairs, an All Time Low song half-formed in the back of my throat. Untold joy warmed my heart at the thought of popping my iTunes playlist into the auxiliary jack of my Explorer and cranking the Future Hearts album up to full blast. Before we'd gotten involved in this whole mess, it had pretty much been the soundtrack to my summer, and I had missed hearing it everywhere I took my music with me.

A thoughtful frown put a damper on those imaginings as I recalled the sheer number of passengers I'd have to drag along. My small SUV held only four plus driver—unless one counted the storage area as a viable seat. Deciding the guys'd have to figure it out (I was tired of going everywhere in that stupid minivan, since it seemed to have become the symbol of all our adventuring), I just shrugged to myself as we walked in the kitchen.

Sage already had the keys to the damned rental in his hand, offering them to me. "I assume you'll drive, since you're the local resident this time."

I smiled a bit at his dig about me being the host sister, but shook my head and fished the familiar camo-tagged keychain with my car's keys off the rack by the front door. "Let's not take the minivan, today. We said we were taking a break, right?"

I turned to survey the puzzled atmosphere that developed behind me. Rowen raised his eyebrow at me. "Are you suggesting we take your car? It won't fit all of us."

"I know…" I sighed. "Technically, Liv would kill me if she found out, but… We could just pile everyone in. There's space in the back for someone to stretch out, and someone would have to sit on a lap." Anticipating the too-predictable jibe, I narrowed my eyes at the others with an amused smirk. "And don't say me and Rowen, cuz no one else's drivin' my baby." My lips twisted further into a wicked, full-toothed dragon grin. "If anything, Alexa'd sit on Sage's lap—since she's the smallest besides me."

That got mixed reactions ranging from amusement to scheming to "Oh god"—the last being my sister's expression. Alexa shook her head, and dare I say I thought I saw the tiniest blush poking at her skin. "I've been the sixth person in a five person car. It's not exactly an experience I'd like to repeat, although it was four people next to each other in the back row…"

I just laughed, thinking of some cadet antics from the past three years I'd been at military school. "I don't think you can beat being the thirteenth person of twelve in a seven-passenger minivan...and sitting folded up in the storage area in the back." I hitched a thumb over my shoulder to indicate the Explorer. "At least in my car you'd be able to stretch out a bit."

"With my flexibility, it's not like that'd be all that hard. I had one six foot two guy in the back, the other two in the realm of five seven, and it was a compact Toyota."

All the guys except for Sage blinked and glanced at each other in regard to her flexibility comment. I couldn't resist poking at their unusual heights with a comment about Japanese cars. "I guess those designers never met these guys while they were working on it…" I teased, gesturing at the five of them—though primarily Sage and my boyfriend, who both topped out at or near six feet.

She laughed brightly, the two of us getting lost in memories and good-natured banter while the boys watched in consternation. "Yeah, the front seat was taken up by two bears of guys. One was Kento's build, so needless to say he wasn't going in the back… The over six foot guy at least had Rowen's build."

Over our ensuing giggles, Rowen piped up, "See, my people are good for something!"

Ryo took the opportunity to join the conversation. "Yeah, like popping over four continents to go get our swim trunks," he joked. "Thanks, bud."

"As long as you just don't make a habit of turning him into the Strata Orbital Express!" I quipped, feeling a little prophetic from having told Rowen something similar. Noticing Cye's growing impatience on his face, and realizing we'd gotten off-topic, I said to the group at large, "So, all in favor of the Explorer, say hai!"

They all piped up, Alexa taking a bit longer as she sighed and blushed at the thought that she'd be relegated to Sage's lap. I just winked at her. "S'alright, I think you'll just make every girl within a ten mile radius jealous."

Kento—naturally—took the stage, flexing both arms like a bodybuilder. "Hey, you'll both have all the girls jealous. Five studly foreign guys who can speak English? They'll be all over this." Part of me wondered if he hadn't gotten a bit of the ham-it-up attitude from Rowen when he mock-kissed his biceps.

The guys groaned; Alexa didn't really help, simply pointing out, "Don't forget the light accent…"

Cye finally outlasted his patience. He rolled his eyes at his close friend, but him shoving Kento toward the door was playful (not to mention belied the strength in his slight frame). "Oh get over yourself, Kento. You can't swim worth a damn. Speaking of, can we go already?"

We all laughed as Kento deflated, everyone following him out to the driveway. A few minor scuffles broke out regarding seating arrangements, but Rowen managed to dodge it all and sprint for the front seat. Cye and Kento were next, Ryo and Sage following almost lazily behind Alexa and me. Minutes later I was starting the car over Kento's muttered complaints from the back seat.

"Why does Rowen get the front seat? I have to be stuck back here squished between Cye and the door!"

"At least you're not the one in the middle of you two wide-shouldered dudes!" came the brunet's protest, referencing Sage sitting on the right side.

"Because Rowen's the tallest," I returned, glancing in my mirrors to back out the driveway.

"By an inch!" Kento pointed out. "Sage should be in the front—better than him and Alexa both back here. There's so much cuteness going on I might go cute by proximity."

I almost laughed at Mr. Big Teddy Bear worrying about being perceived as too sweet. "Hey, would you rather we got pulled over by the locals? I for one don't want to explain this to my step-mom!"

Alexa didn't seem to mind the arrangements. "For once, I'm not the squished one…" Another glance in the rearview told me there was likely a second reason, considering the way Sage tightened his arms around her and she turned her cheek toward his nose.

'So my girl-crazy sister's fallen for a guy.' I smirked, unable to help jumping on the bandwagon. "C'mon, you two, cut it out—you're distracting."

I hoped the liberal coating of "I'm so kidding" made it through, which it seemed to when she simply grinned back and said, "Hey, you're the one who suggested I be in his lap!"

"Speaking of distracting…!" I took on the air of an airline captain, still grinning; it had been a long time since I'd gotten to do this schpiele. "Rules of the car! Shotgun gets to be copilot, so they have default control of the radio unless I veto something. If an argument breaks out I will turn this car around, no questions asked! Also, no distracting the driver—this includes any and all poking, tickling, grabbing, hitting, and "Are we there yet"s. Wakateru ka."

After their chorus of mock jeering and complaining, and my asking Rowen to plug my phone into the aux jack to crank Future Hearts up, the topic turned to everyone's expectations for the pool trip. Sage groaned and tried to hide his face against Alexa's neck when Ryo popped his head over the back of the seat and joked about him starting an American fanclub. That dredged up my sister's innate protectiveness, teasing though it was since it was directed at our friends.

Kento oh so helpfully chimed in—"Yeah, starting with the twins!"—and I vociferously protested with a loud "Hey!" that nevertheless broke into laughter as I glanced at Rowen. He'd twisted in his seat to death-glare the shorter Ronin, a wicked, scheming gleam in his eyes and smile.

Cye poked Kento's shoulder, laughing as much as the rest of us. "Watch it, Ken, I think you got the hawk's eye on you with that one."

Ryo chuckled. "And I thought he was defensive about his textbooks…!"

Luckily it was no more than twenty minutes to the pool; even with the noisy passengers, it felt wonderful to be driving my car again. Alexa and I belted out Future Hearts songs at the top of our lungs, telepathically trading notes on how we thought each song might fit one of the guys after the obvious application of "Satellite" to Rowen.

I really wanted to point out that "Edge of Tonight" felt so very much like a Sage song, but kept my mouth shut for fear of bursting into gleeful, evil laughter.

Excitement sparked like static electricity through everyone as the Explorer shut off, doors opening even before I could properly turn the key in the ignition. Cye practically shoved Kento through the door cartoon-style when I pulled the key out, shaking my head with an amused smile on my lips. Rowen followed at a more sedate pace, Ryo a bit behind by sheer virtue of having to unfold from the cargo area.

In gathering my things together before stepping out, I had the fortune to witness Sage lift Alexa out of the car at the same time he exited, her yelping a bit in surprise and clinging to his neck for balance. "I could've gotten out just fine, thank you very much."

It was impossible to resist moving slowly to hear Sage's response. The tease was obvious in his voice, clearly saying he wanted to carry her. "Oh just let someone, for once, please?"

I smirked at Rowen across the hood of the car, where he'd waited patiently for me to lock the doors. He returned it and offered an arm for me to take. Leaning affectionately against him, we marched off toward the entrance.

Since all of us already wore our swim attire—Alexa and I with swimsuits on under street clothes, the boys in their trunks—we bypassed the locker rooms in favor of claiming a fair-sized swath of the seating. This early in the afternoon on a Saturday, open spaces were hard to come by; but with as large (and creative) a group as ours, we managed to carve out a little haven toward one corner of the deep end.

Cye wasted no time dumping his things, yanking off his shirt and sandals, and swan-diving into the deep end. Torrent practically sang through the armor connection, which prompted telepathic laughter. Rowen wasn't too far behind, pausing only for a glance at me as if to say "Coming?" before getting a running start and gracefully plunging through the ripples left by Cye's passing.

Kento, of course, cannonballed with a joyful whoop—Ryo following right after.

Tempting as it was to join them, I'd jumped whole-heartedly in while wearing a bikini on one too many occasions. This time, I took the more leisurely route, plopping down on the side with my legs hanging over into the water. I smiled at the four boys' antics as a splash war broke out toward the five-foot area, letting my feet kick back and forth as my body adjusted to the temperature. It felt just right, luckily, the sort of just-cold-enough that I wouldn't mind jumping in immediately.

A splash drew my attention to Sage diving in, though he avoided the Ronin war a few yards away in favor of staying under in the deep end. Relaxing back on my hands, I gave myself permission to secretly stare at our friends—I might've crushed on Sage first, then ended up with Rowen, but the others were nothing to sneer at physically. For instance, Kento seemed a softy, but the thin outer layer betrayed the sheer rock of his very large muscles. Cye had a much more slender frame similar to Rowen, but clearly had a swimmer's sharply-defined build. He cut quickly and agilely through the water, smooth as a dolphin when he snuck behind Ryo and leapt up, shoving down on the other Ronin's shoulders and dunking him. The black-haired leader normally wore fairly baggy T-shirts and shorts, but going shirtless showed off a barrel-like chest that reminded me of White Blaze's mass.

And it was refreshing to get to see Sage in something less than slacks and button-downs, for once.

'I think someone needs to change the Urban Dictionary definition of "eye candy".'

I let my mind and eyes wander across the poolscape, watching my twin as she padded over to the shallowest spot—a natural ramp into the water—and carefully walked in. Once she seemed satisfied with the temperature and depth, she carefully took a shallow dive under the surface. Her shadow beelined for the guys' tussling, and I smirked at how similarly our scheming minds worked.

Sometimes it was just a little scary how alike we were.

A sharp shriek of surprise escaped when something broke the water's surface in front of me, hands reaching up to grab me around the waist and pull me into the pool. Luckily my attacker had the decency not to drag me the ten feet to the bottom, or I might've started choking pretty quickly. Instead I was pressed tightly to Rowen's chest, his arms supporting me as he half floated on his back at the surface.

"There, isn't that better?"

I stuck my tongue out at him, able to laugh at his prank now that the initial adrenalin rush was subsiding. "I was coming in! Just...taking my time."

He nuzzled my nose, eyes half-lidded. "What? Afraid of the water or something?"

That wasn't entirely true, but it did remind me of the few times I hadn't had quite so nice an experience with the element. Glancing down at his chest—just so I wouldn't have to look him in the eye—I said quietly, "Well, I have nearly drowned a few times… Or at least it felt like that."

His arms squeezed me comfortingly, lips brushing against mine in a brief kiss. "It's alright. I won't let you drown today." He chuckled. "Besides the employees here, Cye's also a lifeguard on top of being an EMT. You're in good hands."

"Literally," I teased, drawing back enough to poke his nose meaningfully.

That soft laugh in response made me melt. Lazily kicking away from the edge of the pool and glancing to his left at the Three Stooges, he asked, "What say you we go hunting?"

A sudden, sharp exclamation of surprise—sounding suspiciously like a yelp—drew our attention to the fifth Ronin. "Sounds like someone beat us to the punch," I thought with a smirk as Sage recovered and dove after Alexa, who seemed to be half running away and half trying to surface.

Rowen simply seemed shocked. "I don't think I've ever heard him make that sound before."

I simply thought of the parallels between him and my twin and shook my head. "You Libra types, I swear…"

He grinned impishly. "Hey, makes for great pranks."

"Speaking of…" I mirrored his look.

A telepathic sense of agreement was all I needed. I paused only to note Sage's head breaking the surface—Alexa held tightly in his arms just like Rowen had had me, squirming to get free—before continuing to sneak up on Kento.

I probably should have picked Cye, being more my size, but sometimes I enjoyed the futile challenge of tackling larger fish. (In the off-chance I actually bested them, or had a few good moments, I would have some neat stories to brag about later.)

At one point in the tussle, Kento managed to get an arm around my chest, back pinned to him and one of my flailing hands grasped in his free one. Something about it caught his attention and made him pause, not even having to think to be able to keep me from squirming away. He held it up toward Rowen, who'd paused in wrestling both Cye and Ryo when he noticed the warrior of earth had caught me.

"Geeze, Rowen, marking your territory already?" he teased, wiggling my fingers to indicate the Strata-blue polish.

I sighed, rolling my eyes and ceasing my kicking and struggling. Apparently Alexa had managed her own escape handily—or had really good hearing—because she responded, "Nope, blame the bratty older sister who used a moment of distraction to her own advantage."

Kento gave off the sense of raising an eyebrow at her, impressed. "Never would have pegged you for it." After releasing me, he turned toward her to offer a hi-five—which she returned, albeit blushing. "I like the way you work." With a wink and resting his elbow on her shoulder, he propositioned, "Y'know, you could ditch Ice Man over there, and we could go wreck havoc on the poor innocent civilians of this here 'stablishment. You and me—I think we'd make a great team."

Sage just rolled his eyes, Cye and Ryo quietly releasing a evil-plotting Rowen while Kento's back was turned. Alexa mocked a raised eyebrow and pretended to evaluate him. "Oh we can do that without ditching anybody. Let me have my fun." She winked to take the bite out of the rejection, teasing as it was.

He mock-pouted and sighed. "Alright, fine, I'll go terrorize poor fish-boy all by myself—seeing as your sister stole my partner-in-crime." With a grin and one last conspiratorial wink, he turned to make good on this threat to Cye—only to find Rowen tackling him. The two of them went down in a massive spray of water and noisy splash, drenching the rest of us nearby with their tussling.

My gleeful laughter made my side nearly split with the effort.

Translations:

dan: a rank system used for higher-level practicioners of kendo (or, in this context, go), above the student ranks of kyu (a similar comparison may be grade levels versus going to higher education institutions).

Zeruda no Densetsu: Japanese name for Legend of Zelda

otaku: geek, nerd; often used as an insult, similar in rudeness to baka (if memory serves me right)