Step Apart Stand Together
It wasn't as though everything was fixed. After all a decade of neglect, unintentional manipulation, and emotional over-dependency can't simply be erased with one heartfelt meeting in a crowded coffee-shop. Ame sometimes caught herself bringing up Ema's SNS profiles on her laptop, or reaching for her phone to make something bad happen. It was painful to realize just how much of her life revolved around keeping her sister safe, and how that protectiveness had warped into an obsession.
Yet every time she pushed the urge away and focused on something else, it felt like someone was slowly loosening the chains and manacles around her. There would be bruises, but they would heal, and she would be free. She hoped that Ema was experiencing the same thing.
Ame came back to the house. It was a decision she ruminated on for a long time. On the one hand there was her newfound independence, a chance to know who she was without being Ema's Older Sister. In her tiny apartment she was just Ame, a girl who wore baggy sweatpants and ate potato chips when they fell into the couch cushions. A woman who painted her nails and lips because she liked the colours not because she was trying to send a message. A student, a friend, a waitress.
Yet on the other hand, just because Ema was now aware of the brothers that didn't mean they would stop. She could trust most of them to at least keep themselves in check, including Subaru she admitted to herself with a guilty frown, but that didn't include others. Even if she was working on letting Ema deal with her problems independently, that didn't mean she couldn't be there to help.
Besides, she'd left a lot of her clothes behind, and Hana had promised to reserve an apartment for her for the next month. Hana was so nice, Ame wasn't sure how Sora had duped such a sweetheart into dating her.
The first night back was almost excruciatingly awkward. The only people who acted normally were Wataru who'd had no idea what had really happened, Kaname who she'd kept in contact with, and Louis who was much too chill to let a thing like incestuous familial revelations get in the way of a good welcome back hug. Even Fuuto for all his mischief seemed to note how tense the moments were and had held his tongue while Ame dragged her suitcase upstairs.
More days passed neither sister seemed forthcoming with details. Eventually an unspoken rule to not bring up the past week was established. Though the sisters seemed much happier, it weighed on the brothers since for them nothing had truly been resolved.
"A Midsummer Night's Buddhist Service?" Ame read dubiously.
"An alluring night in summer kimonos?" Ema cocked her head curiously and leaned in to read the flier over Yusuke's shoulder. "What is that?"
Kaname grinned at the assembled family proudly. "You know, since the overseas trip got scrapped, I figured we could take a short trip somewhere nice. I got that flier from my job."
Ema stared at the words printed in ornate gold calligraphy at the top. "Club Buddha?"
"It's a Buddhist service," Kaname explained, dropping to a crouch beside them so he could point out details. "The head temple of our sect is in Yatsugatake and it's kind of like a little festival. The guys here are my colleagues, of which I am the best looking of course." He struck an over the top flirtatious pose and winked playfully at Ame who rolled her eyes with a snort and then squealed when he dived across Yusuke to poke her in the sides. "What? You don't believe me? Are you doubting me Ame? I can chant multiple sutras little sister!"
"Not while dressed like a prostitute you can't!" She screeched back as she fended off the tickling.
Gasping, Kaname pretended to reel back in shock. "Ouch, that hurts! My heart, I've been fatally wounded!"
"Walk it off," Ema giggled as she patted him on the back. His bout of histrionics relaxed the atmosphere a little more. Even Ukyo stopped fretting with the tea tray and came over to rebuke him for acting like a high-class escort when he was supposed to be a priest.
Masaomi chuckled. "Well, it's basically like a summer festival right? I don't see why we can't take some time to go as a family."
"Yay! I wanna go to the festival!" Wataru cheered. "There's food at festivals! Okonomiyaki, takoyaki, soba, cotton candy, shaved ice..."
He continued singing all the street snack foods. Ema had to admit, she was getting excited about the possibility of the trip. Azusa hummed as he studied the flier. "Yatsugatake huh? That's near one of our vacation homes."
One of… Ema thought wryly. Sometimes it was almost infuriating how rich this family was. "We've never gone on a real family vacation, so we-" she stopped herself with a glance at her sister. "...I'd be happy to go!"
A little bit of the earlier tension returned as questioning eyes turned to Ame. Baby steps, Ema reminded herself. An admission that they weren't a single unit. She returned Ame's smile, small but genuine, knowing the response that was coming. "Thanks...but actually I'm spending the first week of summer with my friends."
"...oh..." a few shoulders drooped. Even Ema who had encouraged her to take the week long beach trip was a little disappointed. After all, she was used to an Ame who was willing to drop everything to be near her, but it was important to get used to being there for herself. "Where will you be going?" Yusuke asked.
Sora had emailed her the itinerary two nights ago but Ame was still having trouble dealing with just how much stuff was on it. Hana's American cousins only had a week off and she had crammed as many fun tourist attractions as she could into seven days as physically possible. Ame stuck with her personal highlight. "We're going to SanrioLand."
SanrioLand, or Sanrio PuroLand, was a famous theme park dedicated to Sanrio characters. It was like Disney Land but for stuffed animals and was a popular place to take little kids who were still young enough to be unabashedly into Hello Kitty without societal judgement.
Wataru let out a loud whine. "Awww, I wanna go with you! Can't I go with you?" He pawed pleadingly at Ame's skirt until she caught his hands.
"Nope, there's 5 of us going. I'll bring back souvenirs for you."
"Who's going?" Ukyo asked curiously.
Ame counted them out on her fingers. "Me, Sora, Hana – her girlfriend – and Hana's two cousins."
"So you won't be coming with us?" Hikaru hummed. He'd been silent throughout the conversation. Actually he'd been quiet since Ame had come back, but unlike the other brothers whose silence was equal parts remorse and awkward guilt, his was watchful. "That's too bad, but don't you should have told us about this trip earlier?"
Ame shot him a bemused frown. "...why?"
Hikaru shrugged disinterestedly, ignoring but relishing the building tension. "Oh, I just figured that after your...absence...you'd be more interested in spending more time around the family." He let his eyes drift meaningfully to Ema and his grin widened. "We could learn more family secrets-"
"Excuse me," Ema interrupted in a startlingly firm tone, "Ame doesn't owe you an explanation or a detailed copy of her day-to-day schedule. She's going out with friends. Unless you have a less manipulative reason, then don't push her."
Absolute silence reigned for several seconds until Azusa whistled softly and muttered an impressed, "holy shit," under his breath which was the cue for everyone to break the uncomfortable quiet and go back to planning the trip to Yatsugatake. While attention was off them, Ame held out her hand to her sister for a crisp high-five. Things were looking up.
oOo
"Hana, I know this is a park for young kids and these toys are marketed towards 10 year olds, but I swear if I don't get a picture with My Melody I will go absolutely feral," Jax said.
Under one arm he clutched a large Pompompurin plushie and in the other hand he held one of the many fliers that had been shoved at them the second one of the park workers clocked them as Obvious Foreigners. This one listed the time of the parade and where it would be and featured a very pastel saturated image of multiple Sanrio characters along with a Hello Kitty mascot with their arms up in an exaggerated wave.
"Normally I'd make fun of you for that," his sister admitted, "but I think I may have just consumed my entire body weight in cotton candy and may be going through a very mild cardiac arrest."
Hana sighed loudly over the din of the crowd and the poppy music coming from multiple speakers. Ame liked Hana. She was kind and reminded Ame of a marshmallow if that marshmallow visited the gym regularly and did squats. She had short black hair with bubblegum pink tips and wore glittery lip-gloss.
She planted her hands on her wide hips and levied an exasperated frown at her cousin. "We've been here less than two hours, how the hell have you eaten that much sugar?"
"Talent," Lily grinned as she wiped away the sticky smears still staining her cheeks.
She and Jax were both mixed, being both Japanese and African American though the Japanese genes weren't so obvious unless you looked. Jax was short and stocky, with a fade haircut and a piercing in his upper right ear. Lily was his complete opposite, being at least 5'11 and skinny as hell. Her own hair was done up in blue box braids which had been tied into Princess Leia style buns.
Lily was also very affectionate and chose that moment to fall dramatically into Ame's arms. "I may be dying! What shall we tell our parents?"
"That you died of being a massive idiot and trying to have a candy eating contest with a 6 year old," Jax responded dryly.
Lily groaned loudly, resting more of her weight onto Ame who held her because she hadn't engaged in purely platonic contact in a while. How long was this supposed to last? Did all girls smell like sugar and flowers? "Does no one love me in this group?"
Sora shrugged and threw an arm around her girlfriend. "My heart legally belongs to Hana so..."
"I would sell you to Satan for a corn chip," Jax replied.
"The absolute betrayal," Lily hissed. "I guess that just leaves you Ame! How about it? Do you think we could get a marriage licence in the next 24 hours?"
"This isn't Vegas!" Jax sounded aghast. He held his Pudding Dog plushie closer to his chest as if shielding it from her.
Ame couldn't help it, she snickered. "Oddly enough, this is not the worst proposal I've ever experienced. Come on, I want to get pictures with the sad egg before the show starts."
"They are called Gudetama you heathen."
Can you tell I had fun making the OCs? I just wanted to show Ame interacting with other people outside the family and that Ema has learned to speak up.
I'm currently playing a VN called Mr Love: Queen's Choice which is like Love Nikki but with more romance and less fashion and I need to write a fic where Ame is the main character just so she can go OFF at one of the guys. I'm about to throw down with this Christian Grey wannabe asshole. He about to catch ALL THESE HANDS.
Fics I'm considering after this: Kamigami Asobi, Ikemen Sengoku, Mr Love