Whenever Suzuran, Shamare, and Popukar found free time, they continuously wandered to his office and invited him to a game or something relaxing to take his mind off office work. Days later, it cemented itself as a tradition, and he wasn't against it.

At the moment, he was at his desk, staring at a square paper like it was the most formidable opponent he had faced. Suzuran sat next to him, folding her square paper and creasing it in deliberate lines to form a crane while he tried to follow along.

Suzuran already made three, each one distinguished from the last, and was on her fourth one before everyone decided they wanted to make a paper crane with her. The Doctor would be lying if he didn't say the finished design of the paper crane was delicately stunning.

With satisfaction, Suzuran held the paper crane toward the Doctor. She invited him to take it from her hand. The Doctor tilted his head before he slowly and hesitantly reached out to pluck it from her grasp. Suzuran gazed at him, patiently expecting him to say something.

"Oh, your paper crane is wonderful! You're very talented, Suzuran!" The Doctor praised.

A red blush appeared on Suzuran, who meekly looked at the table. "Hehe... Thank you, Doctor."

Before the Doctor could request an instructional session with Suzuran, Popukar and Shamare both roamed over to where the Vulpo was sitting. Their unfinished origami designs were informative as to what they were going to ask from Suzuran.

"Suzuran, could you help us? We don't understand what to do when we get to this step." Popukar asked.

"Oh, you're stuck at that part? It's a little tricky, so watch carefully!" She exclaimed, eager to guide them to fold paper cranes independently.

"Morte, pay attention. Suzuran is teaching us," Shamare gently scolded.

The Doctor lightly drummed his fingers on his desk, dejected from missing his chance. It wasn't his fault. Everyone relied on Suzuran to help them and she was only one person.

"Are you also stuck on your paper crane, Doctor?"

The Doctor glanced at the source of the question. It was Dur-nar, his current assistant, and by far his favorite. All the snacks she provided him were a welcome bonus every time. She stood next to him, snacking on a cookie while her other hand held her half-finished origami.

"Well, yes… Only seeing someone do it once doesn't help me much. Even though I'm a near faultless tactician, I'm having some trouble with a piece of paper and it's not even an important document, no less."

Dur-nar placed her paper crane next to his and reached into her pocket. With a smirk, Dur-nar revealed a pack of cotton candy pop rocks in her hand. "Paperwork was never my strong forte… But I have something for your troubles until Suzuran can get back to us, okay?"

"Okay… But shouldn't we be getting back to work?"

Dur-nar's ears twitched.

"Aw, c'mon on, Doctor. I already told you, and I'll tell you again. I'm not the best person for this. I feel like there were a ton of operators more qualified for today's assistant position other than me."

"You got this, Dur-nar. I'll slowly guide you with patience and transform you into my best assistant yet!"

Dur-nar deadpanned at his encouragement and put a hand on her hip in disappointment. "You weren't listening, were you?"

"Look, Dur-nar. Only one person can provide me with the best snacks for my cravings. It's just better if you're my assistant more often than not."

Dur-nar raised her eyebrow and laughed. "I guess that isn't a bad thing. I look forward to it," Dur-nar agreed, her tone taking on a softer characteristic before she finished her sweet treat.

The Doctor felt his heart skip a beat. What he said wasn't that friendly. Or was it? Before he could consider the prospect any further, Suzuran appeared behind the both of them. The Doctor could tell because her fluffy ears peered into his vision.

"Doctor, big sister Dur-nar, did you two also need some help with the origami crane?" Suzuran asked.

In her hands, Suzuran held another origami out to them. This time, it was a normal bird. The simple yet elegant design drew an impressed whistle out of Dur-nar.

"Aww, that's a beautiful one, Suzuran! You're exceptionally skilled at this!" Dur-nar complimented, bending down to get a better look at her creation. She gently ruffled her hand through Suzuran's hair. "And yes, the Doctor and this big sister require your help because we can't seem to comprehend origami. We got stuck in different parts of the process, but you can help us with that, right?"

"Yes, I can!" Suzuran exclaimed.

"Okay! Here, let me grab my origami first."

And so, Suzuran relayed all she knew about paper cranes to the two, carefully keeping her gaze on them as they followed along. Whenever they made a mistake or experienced perplexity, Suzuran stopped and tended to them.

At some point, the Doctor purposefully made mistakes to test if Suzuran would catch on, but her innocence and compassionate nature rectified his blunders angelically with no hint of exasperation. She was too gentle and kind for Terra.

However, the person who noticed his deliberate faults was Dur-nar. But she was determined to stay silent because of how cute Suzuran's tolerance was to the Doctor. When the Doctor's attention fixated on Dur-nar, she flashed him a wink to communicate her mirth.

The Doctor would have winked back if he didn't have his mask on, but since it was, he nodded instead. This caused Dur-nar to giggle at his comical reaction.

Once Suzuran reached the end of her instructions, the Doctor looked at what used to be a square paper now altered into a three-dimensional shape. A sensation of contentment fluttered around his heart as he lifted the paper crane closer to his face in admiration.

"You did it, Doctor!" Suzuran cheered.

"I did, didn't I?"

Suzuran smiled. Her attention on him didn't last when she focused on Dur-nar to see how she did. "It looks great, big sister Dur-nar!"

"It sure does. When I was assigned to be an assistant for the Doctor today, I didn't expect to be folding paper, but it was a nice detour." Dur-nar said with a grin of her own.

Then, Dur-nar held the paper crane by the tail, pinched between her thumb and pointer finger. Endearing flying noises whistled out from Dur-nar's mouth as she simulated its flight to the top of Suzuran's head.

Suzuran looked up in wonder, but not too much. This gave Dur-nar room to rest the paper crane on Suzuran's head. Unfortunately, the paper crane couldn't prolong the period of respite for long. Suzuran's laughter shivered it off balance, prompting the crane to plummet to the floor.

Dur-nar shared a laugh with Suzuran. They looked like they were siblings for a second. The Doctor couldn't find the courage to say anything witty to interrupt the bliss between the two.

It was better to stare at them, enjoying each other's company. There were some moments in life when everything seemed perfect, and this was one of them.

Author's Note: Origami, my archnemesis when I was really young because I could never figure out how one picture to the next always looked so different. And I'll admit I wasn't the smartest, but I tried to follow the images. I could have read the words to understand what they were talking about, but who read instructions as a kid? Picture books are so much more intuitive!

With love from your favorite writer, Out4Lunch!