Wakko sat on the roof of their shelter, his eyes on the stars in the darkening sky. He heard his sister's breathless laughter inside and smiled; Yakko must be reaching the end of the story she asked for every night. A gust of chilly wind ruffled his fur, and Wakko couldn't help but shiver as he rubbed his arms. He found his mind wandering, back to happier times. When he looked up at the stars in the arms of his parents, his mother's voice explaining a constellation, or his father's telling a story of a past Hero up among those stars.

As much as those memories could hurt sometimes, Wakko knew he wouldn't give them up for anything in the world. They were all he had left of the parents he wished he'd known better.

A scuffling sound made his ears twitch, and a smile came to his face as he turned toward the sound, knowing what he would see. Sure enough, his older brother was climbing over the edge of the roof, returning Wakko's smile with a grin.

"Nice view tonight, baby bro?"

The middle sibling nodded, redirecting his gaze at the night sky.

"No clouds," he replied. "Dot asleep?"

His brother settled beside him.

"Yep. That story never fails."

A few moments of silence passed, then Yakko spoke up again. His voice was nostalgic, with a note of solemnity he didn't often express.

"With you it's those stories Dad told when we were little. About all the other Heroes and what they did. You never got tired of 'em. And after each one, remember what you'd say?"

Wakko's reply came automatically, his smile never leaving his face.

"Teach me to be a Hero."

Yakko chuckled.

"Every single time," he said, then reached out to ruffle his brother's cap. "Wish that was something I could teach ya."

Hearing the slight regret in his brother's voice, Wakko looked at him with a reassuring smile.

"It's okay, big brother. You teach us a lot of other stuff, and I like learning from you."

His smile widened when Yakko grinned. Seeing his siblings happy was one of the things that made him most happy.

"Thanks, Wakko," the older Warner said. A few long moments of silence passed as the two looked at the stars, growing brighter as the sky grew darker. Finally, Yakko let out a yawn and stretched his arms.

"Well, it's gettin' late… guess we better turn in."

Wakko grinned, and his next words came on instinct.

"To what?"

His brother gave him a smirk.

"Good question." He gave Wakko's head a gentle pat. "How 'bout I tell you your favorite story?"

The younger brother's tail began to wag furiously, his eyes shining.

"The one about Dad?"

"You bet," Yakko replied, then stood and held out a hand. "C'mon, let's go."

Wakko took his brother's hand, letting Yakko pull him to his feet. Another gust of wind blew past, and he shivered; he hadn't noticed until now how cold it was getting. But their shelter was usually warm, and that was good enough for him.

…

"So, the brave Hero married the princess, and Warnerstock was finally safe."

Feeling the weight against his side grow heavier, Yakko glanced over with a smile. Wakko looked nearly asleep, nestling close with his older brother's arm around his shoulders.

"Okay," he said, giving his younger brother's shoulder a gentle pat. "Think it's lights out for us now too."

Wakko let out a sleepy yawn in reply, and Yakko chuckled. Carefully, and with a smoothness honed by years of practice, he shifted his brother into his arms and stood, letting his younger sibling rest against his shoulder. The fire was low enough that he didn't need to watch it, but it would keep their shelter warm enough through the coldest part of the night.

"Ya know, sib, you might be gettin' kinda big for this," he said as he headed toward their shared bedroom, such as it was. It was really just a section of floor with the one bed they had, crude walls hammered up around it and closed off by an old curtain. He was answered by another long yawn, followed by a slurred, sleepy mumble.

"M' no' that heavy."

That got another chuckle out of the older brother.

"True. How ya eat so much and still stay little's one of life's great mysteries."

Keeping his steps quiet as not to wake their already sleeping sister, Yakko moved to the bed and pulled back the heap of blankets. Laying his younger brother down, he then moved to climb in between him and Dot. Just as he began pulling the covers up, another soft mumble came from Wakko.

"M' glad we have you, big brother."

Yakko hesitated; as heartfelt as the words were, they seemed to strike a slight pang in him. He couldn't help wishing that they were home… their real home, where they still had their parents, where he didn't have to be all his siblings had. As much as they showed otherwise, Yakko had never felt like he was able to take the place of their mom and dad. But he pushed that thought aside. There wasn't much point hoping for something you couldn't have anymore. Wakko and Dot did have him, and he had them, and that was all he needed in the whole world.

So, smiling, he reached out to ruffle his brother's cap, feeling the usual surge of amusement at how the kid wouldn't even take it off to sleep.

"I'm glad I have you guys too, baby bro," he murmured. "See ya in the morning."

"Night," Wakko sighed, immediately followed by soft snoring.

Suddenly feeling all the demands of the past day catching up with him, Yakko let out a tired sigh as he settled down between his siblings, his arms reaching out to wrap around them both. Still, the smile never left his face. No matter how hard things were, how little they had, whenever he held his brother and sister, he felt like the luckiest kid there was.

It had always been the three of them against the world, and if he had anything to say about it, it always would. And he knew everything would okay if it was.