This story takes place after the events of my previous fanfiction, "Two Weeks or Tokyo!" I do not own A Silent Voice or any of its characters. Many times in the story, there will be different types of quotes, so they will be explained briefly.

In the context of dialogue, regular quotation marks are used. In the context of being between dialogue or on its own, a thought will be denoted by quotation marks as well as italics. The same applies for sign language, so be sure to notice the words that follow, such as "Shoya thought," or "Shoko signed," to avoid confusion. In the case of some characters, they will speak while signing, so there will be either quotation marks and italics or just quotation marks. There will also be texts and emails; these will be denoted by italics without quotation marks.

Two birds, denied their wings once before, fly together.

The last time the two went to the park, they couldn't appreciate it very much because of the things that were stuck in their minds. This time, when Shoya pointed out the gourds, Shoko was actually taken aback by the neat scenery that was made from wind blowing through and around them.

They visited the waterfall that they had drank from so long ago. Supposedly, the water was supposed to make whomever drank it immortal. Of course they didn't truly believe this, but they attributed coming out of certain situations relatively unscathed to it. "Maybe that night, we both lived because of this…" Shoya pondered, thinking back to the night of the fireworks festival, where either of the two easily could have tragically died. He looked over to Shoko, wondering if she was thinking the same thing. Shoko, looked back at him and smiled gently. "Lez drinn from the falls 'gain, Shoya! (Let's drink from the falls again, Shoya!)" He smiled. He assumed she was thinking the same thing, but even if she wasn't, he was happy enough to see her smile and hear her voice.

They took drinks from the waterfall once more and went up the slope that both of them had found themselves to have unstable footing on. This time, after being able to successfully walk up the slope, they turned around. At the top of the slope was a position that overlooked the entire park. They both gasped from the scenery. "'Uow… (Wow…)" Shoko said as she turned her head to see where the vast expanse of trees met walls. Without thinking, they tightened their grip on each other's hand.

After walking around the park, they went to some of the concession stands, picked out some food, and sat down. This time, although Shoko insisted that she pay for herself, Shoya paid for the both of them. They relaxed and looked around. There weren't many people out today, since it was winter, so they had the park mostly to themselves. That was perfect for Shoko, who would talk softer the more people that were around, since she would be embarrassed if too many people heard her. After they finished their food, they just chatted, passing the time while enjoying it to the fullest extent.

"Thiz is 'ow thinz should 'ave gone last time…" Shoko said to Shoya with a bright smile.

"Yeah, but you wouldn't let me pay for your food!" Shoya said lightheartedly while signing. The two laughed. Shoya checked his watch. "It's about time we get home. Wanna hang out a while after we get back into town?" he asked, prompting Shoko to nod in response. The two prepared to leave, hand in hand. The pure joy they got from being with each other was more than enough to make up for the pain they felt the last time they came to this park.

Shoko, who was worried about her sister being home alone all day, sent a message to her.

Hey Yuzuru. Shoya and I are getting back into town soon. We are probably going to watch a movie, you should join us!

if its alright with you guys, and if you dont put anything weird on!

Shoko and Shoya were both relieved at Yuzuru's response. They both wanted to make time for her, but they also wanted to make time for each other. On top of that, they were worried in general, about her being home alone. It's not like she was overly irresponsible, or like home invasion was common, but to either of the two, she was like a little sister.

Something they neglected to mention was that they would be watching the movie at the Nishimiya residence, since it would probably disturb customers at the Salon. Yuzuru, who hangs out at the Salon a lot as it is, had been there for a little while now, playing with Maria, eating snacks, watching TV, and helping Ms. Ishida whenever she asked for it. So when the two entered the apartment and found no signs of Yuzuru, Shoko checked her phone. "Oh mah gojj! I'm sorry! (Oh my gosh! I'm sorry!)" Shoko said with a red face. "I fogott to tell Yuju that we'ah watchinn the movie 'ere… (I forgot to tell Yuzuru that we're watching the movie here…)"

Shoya rubbed his chin. "Oh, that's right, there's the tracker on Yuzuru's phone." he thought, recalling how when Yuzuru ran away from her home around a year ago, Shoko went looking for her and almost got lost in the pouring rain. To make sure this didn't happen again, a tracker, that told Shoko's phone the location of Yuzuru's phone, was installed. "Ahh, so she must've gone to my place like usual."

"Well, no harm done, I'll call her and ask what she wants to do!" Shoya offered, speaking while signing. "Right, we sort of inconvenienced her, so we should at least ask if she wants to come back, or if she wants us to head out again…" he thought as he pulled his phone out.

As Shoya was calling Yuzuru, Shoko went to the restroom. While Shoya was on the phone with Yuzuru, Shoko came back into the hallway with a confused look on her face and walked up to him. "Oh, that was fast! Yuzuru said that she's been over at my place for a few hours anyways, so she doesn't mind coming back here." After hearing that Yuzuru had been out, the expression on Shoko's face went from confused to really nervous. "H-hey… what's wrong?" Shoya asked, seeing the look in her eyes.

"Sh-Shoya… I don' know… but I thing there was a wobber…" Shoko said quietly, her voice shaking almost as bad as her hands, which gripped at the sleeves of Shoya's coat. "S-Shoya…"

Shoya's eyes widened. "Okay, Shoko. Stay calm... I want you to wait in the hallway outside while I look around to make sure everything's safe." he said and signed very calmly, yet sternly. "I wonder what makes her think that…" he thought as Shoko quietly closed the apartment door behind her.

He figured whatever it was must've originated from the bathroom, so he checked there first. He saw what she meant immediately. There was one of Shoko's blouses, hanging off the rod of a shower curtain. Shoya was unaware of this, but Yuzuru accidentally forgot to put it away from this morning. "If Yuzuru was out, then…" Shoya thought as he rubbed his chin. Arming himself with a rolling pin he got from the kitchen, he began to look all around the apartment for any intruder, or any other signs that something was amiss. He had been checking for around twelve minutes when he got to the girls' room. He suddenly felt really awkward. "I don't want to snoop around their rooms… but if it's to protect them, then…" he thought as he gulped hard and lowered himself to the floor. Underneath Shoko's bed was nothing. Not that he expected her to have any secrets, but this relieved him. He then lowered himself to the floor, near Yuzuru's bed.

All of a sudden, he felt a sharp blow to his rear end. His mind raced, thinking things like, "This is it, I've gotta protect the Nishimiyas no matter what!" as he stood up and turned around quickly, preparing to attack any intruder with the rolling pin.

"What do you think you're doing, looking under my bed?!"

"Eh?" Shoya thought as he realized several things at once. The first thing was that when he stood up and turned, expecting to see someone around his size standing in the doorway, he actually had to look down to see where the noise came from. The second thing was, this was very obviously Yuzuru's voice. "Yuzuru, shh!" Shoya said, still suspicious of anyone else who might be in the apartment. "Wait, how did you get in without me hearing?"

"Well, I opened and closed the door quietly so I could sneak up and scare you, but I didn't expect you to be creeping in my room!" she responded angrily.

"Wha-hey! You did this to scare us?" Shoya responded, himself getting frustrated.

Yuzuru, who already explained the situation to Shoko, explained it to Shoya too. Well, she lied, but she at least dispelled their worries about an intruder. She said, instead, "Shoko left the shirt out, and I wasn't sure if it was clean or not, so I just left it there for whenever she got back. Sheesh, you guys worry way too much…"

Yuzuru was satisfied that she was able to lie on the spot so easily, but what she didn't realize was that neither of the two particularly believed that story. Shoko was a very organized person, and she didn't strike Shoya as the type to leave out clothes like that. Yuzuru seemed to have ulterior motives, though, so they didn't prod her given the potential awkwardness of the situation. "At least it wasn't a break-in…" Shoya and Shoko both thought as they sat on the couch. Yuzuru was picking out a movie, since she deemed all the ones that Shoya and Shoko chose to be "too cheesey," or "too lame."

She ended up bringing out a Dreamworks movie. Shoya kept having to remind himself that Yuzuru was only two years younger than him. "She acts so childish sometimes…" he thought with a chuckle. However, it was a movie that they all could agree on, so yet again, he didn't voice his thoughts.

Shoya was originally just sitting by Shoko, but he realized what type of situation he was in. "I've seen this type of thing in movies…" he thought. A girl was sitting right next to a guy, watching a movie together. The next step would obviously be putting an arm around her and letting her lean in.

Yuzuru, who was sitting on a seat to the left of them, saw the nervousness in his face from the corner of her eye. "Psst. Shoya. You got this." she said, trying to give him the encouragement. "Is it that obvious what I was gonna do?" he thought for a second, looking over to Yuzuru. "Maybe, but she's right. I really don't have anything to worry about, I mean Shoko and I have cuddled before, so…" He slowly reached an arm around Shoko and put it over her shoulder.

As if she had been waiting the whole time, she readily snuggled close to Shoya and rested her head on his chest. "Thann you…" she said serenely as she snuggled up closely.

A little while after Shoya left, Ms. Nishimiya came home and made dinner. Yuzuru went to inform Shoko that it was ready, and they all sat at the table to eat together. Shoko was happy to see her mom, especially since she had become more friendly. Just a few months ago, Shoko and Yuzuru's grandmother would always play the role of mother, making dinner, teaching them sign language, offering advice, listening to them. Their real mother was preoccupied working herself to the bone so that they could all live comfortably, without a father. But now that their grandmother was gone, their mother had become more motherly. She continued to work hard, but she actively played a role in their lives now. She would sit down with Shoko, helping her apply to her choice university and helping her contact the person who she would become assistant to. She carefully looked through Yuzuru's photos, submitting one on her behalf, and giving Yuzuru something under her belt when she won. She even stuck up for Yuzuru, who, upon applying to Taiyo Girl's Academy, was mistaken for a boy.

So, even if things got a little awkward from time to time, they were all able to eat dinner as a family.

"Yuzuru, I want to talk to Shoko. Could you translate for me?" she asked politely. Yuzuru had insisted many times that she just learn sign language herself- and she had learned a few of the basics just from being around three sign language users- but she was simply too busy with work to promise such a thing. So, sighing, Yuzuru readied herself to interpret for Shoko.

"Shoko." Ms. Nishimiya began. "I'm really sorry for all of the embarrassing things I said to you and Shoya. But I talked with him after, and he told me you two talked about it. I just want to say thank you; I never imagined that I may one day have grandkids. And Yuzuru, you helping move everything along made me really happy. I love you girls." She said the last part rather sentimentally, and Yuzuru teared up a little while translating it. And it was true. She was so happy that she would have grandchildren, not because she wanted extra work, but because it meant that one of her girls found a guy worth turning into her grandchildren's father. And Ms. Nishimiya saw no better choice for Shoko than Shoya.

"Ah love 'uh too, mom!" Shoko said happily as she went in for a hug. Yuzuru, who was on the verge of tears from seeing this side of her mother, went in for a hug too.

After they all finished dinner, Ms. Nishimiya had to go to sleep since she had work tomorrow morning. Shoko, after making sure Yuzuru didn't need anything, went to her own room to sleep as well. Yuzuru closed her door and crawled into her bed. "What the hell do you mean, you 'never imagined you'd have grandkids'?" she thought broodingly as she covered herself with her blanket and pouted. Despite the really pleasant and happy conversation they had just a few minutes ago, one thing that her mother had said had stuck with Yuzuru and left a bad taste in her mouth. "I mean, I'll probably have kids one day, too, right?" she thought angrily as she sat up to search for background noise on her laptop.

She decided that she would text Miyoko, since she was feeling a bit dejected and felt the need to talk to someone.

hey miyoko, how are you?

Pretty soon after, Miyoko saw the message and responded.

Oh, that's not usually how you start these conversations! What's the matter?

Yuzuru gritted her teeth. "Is this girl a mind reader or a detective or something?…" she thought as she scratched her head. She decided it wasn't worth actually getting into talking about what exactly was on her mind; talking to another person at all was enough to make her feel better.

nothings wrong, i was just wondering if youd want to hang out whenever you get home for the holiday

Oh, okay! Yeah, I'd love to! I can take you shopping for some clothes, but you'll have to bring the money!

Shoya woke up from light filtering through his window. He sat up, stretched, scratched himself, and got up to prepare himself for the day. He made a lot of plans for today, so he couldn't remain idle for too long. He walked downstairs, where breakfast was being made. He picked Maria up and set her down onto her chair, then proceeded to sit down in his own. He thanked his mother for the food, but he had yet to dig in at all.

He checked his phone. A message from Shoko, saying "We're almost there!" was sent. The three of them, Shoya, Shoko, and Yuzuru, planned on meeting up in the morning. Yuzuru was going to accompany them; the biggest reason for bringing her along was so that she wasn't left home alone. Despite the fact that there had been no home invasion, the situation was jarring enough for Shoko to ask Yuzuru to hang out at the salon for a while today.

The girls showed up to the Salon. "Ah! Girls, you're here! Breakfast is being served now, so take a seat!" Ms. Ishida said. Shoko and Yuzuru thanked her for her hospitality and took their seats, after which Shoya got up to bring their plates to them so that his mother wouldn't have to.

"So, where are you all heading off to today?" Ms. Ishida asked, now at the table and eating as well.

Yuzuru, who was the only one who didn't have her mouth full, answered for the other two. "We're going to the aquarium!"

Last night, when texting with Shoko, Shoya asked if she wanted to go somewhere for a few hours in the morning.

Yeah, I made plans with Tomohiro for this afternoon, but my morning is completely clear! We should go somewhere fun!

They both tried to think of something that was in town, so that Shoya wouldn't be late or have to spend too much money. He texted Yuzuru, since Shoko was going to make her come along regardless of where they went. She immediately recommended the aquarium, which was out of town but not by far.

Yuzuru had been into photographing neat things as of recently, now that she felt she had more freedom of expression with her camera. She had been wanting to go to either a zoo or an aquarium to photograph all the unique creatures. So, since it wasn't unreasonably far, and seemed less expensive than most aquariums, they decided that it was perfect.

Once they got to the aquarium, they realized why the prices weren't too high. There was a special winter event going on, where the keepers would do shows with penguins. Admissions to the aquarium itself dropped, but they suddenly charged for tickets to the penguin shows. "You guys aren't too interested in seeing the penguins today, are you?" Shoya asked as he looked into his wallet. Thankfully for him, they weren't.

Hand in hand, the couple was pretty much led by Yuzuru around the aquarium. They would constantly stop, for a few minutes at a time, while Yuzuru tried to get the perfect photograph of everything. They enjoyed it, though. Seeing Yuzuru happy made them both happy, and it wasn't as if they themselves couldn't see all the neat fish.

"Shoya, these fijj aw swimmin' in a pair! Inn'it cute? (Shoya, these fish are swimming in a pair! Isn't it cute?)" Shoko pointed out excitedly. She grabbed his arm and hugged it whilst showing the romantic fish, making Shoya's heart skip a beat. He looked from the fish to her, and his heart melted when he saw her dazzling smile beaming up at him.

"Yeah, it is…" Shoya said serenely while matching her expression, not through efforts of his own, but because being around her made him happy, as happy as she was to be holding so close to herself the person she loves.

The three continued on through the aquarium. Yuzuru actually gave up her camera momentarily, giving it to Shoko so that she could photograph Yuzuru standing near a tank that just had a few blowfish in them. For some reason, Yuzuru thought the blowfish looked so funny that it would make her laugh, so she really wanted to get a photo with one or two of them. On a related note, they all got their picture taken together, by one of the staff members, standing in front of a model of a megalodon's jaws.

On the train ride back home, Shoko and Shoya peered over Yuzuru's shoulder as she looked through the photos. "You know, you could easily be a professional photographer. These are all amazing." Shoya said as he admired the quality of all the photos.

"Oh, thanks, I guess." Yuzuru said timidly. This response didn't surprise Shoya. Yuzuru had been known to easily become flustered from compliments.

"Yuju! 'Uh look so cute neggs to the bwofijj! (Yuzu! You look so cute next to the blowfish!)" Shoko added as Yuzuru tried to skip past that photo, only piling onto her embarrassment and making her get defensive. Shoko and Shoya laughed among themselves as they lightheartedly teased Yuzuru with legitimate compliments.

After they got back to the train station, Shoya began walking the girls to their apartment. When they reached the apartment, Yuzuru gave a "later" sign, which Shoya repeated back to her, and Shoko hugged him goodbye. He cherished the hug for a bit, but he had to let go after a while. "Tezz whene'er 'uh can! Ah know 'uh'll be busy!" Shoko called out to Shoya, and he turned around to sign, acknowledging her with a warm smile on his face.

As he walked down the stairs of the apartment building, he got his phone out and began to text Tomohiro, whom he made plans with.

Hey, I'm ready to meet up when you are.