Welcome to Burlington Vermont.

Muichiro quickly snapped a photo of the green and white metal sign as it went by, giving the Tokito family their first in person impression of the city they were moving into that day. He was trying to document as much as he could, especially since, prior to this, he would consider his life to be very mundane and boring. Moving to a new state with a new environment would be the most exciting thing to happen to him - ever.

"You gonna seriously take photos of everything?" His twin, Yuichiro, seemed less optimistic about the chance to start over, and more glum about the cold weather and inconvenience of a move. "How are your fingers not freezing off?" Yuichiro was always doting on his younger brother, as if they were four years, and not four minutes, apart.

Muichiro looked down at his hands, surprised to find that his gloves were not on them. He made a halfhearted effort to dig around for them, but quickly gave up, forgetting his troubles. "I don't need gloves," said Muichiro, "The phone screen can't pick up on mitted fingers, and I don't want to miss any opportunity to take a shot."

"Well you're going to freeze." Yuichiro easily reached over Muichiro, who sat in the middle, and located his gloves on the leftmost seat, which lay under their two backpacks and a crumpled paper map. He roughly grabbed both gloves, and forced them onto his younger twin's hands, wincing at how stiff and icy they already felt. "See? You're going to get frostbite and all your fingers will fall off or something."

Muichiro shrugged. "Actually I don't thin-"

"And a paper map?" Yuichiro smoothed it out over his lap before refolding it and tucking it into the empty water bottle holder of Muichiro's backpack. "For someone who loves their phone more than their own twin, and can't stop taking photos for a minute, you'd think they'd just use Google Maps like everyone else."

Muichiro turned off his phone and tilted his head, leaning it against Yuichiro's shoulder. "I love you more than my phone."

Yuichiro smiled. "Sure you do, bub."

Up in the front, their dad stretched in the passenger seat, yawning. "Want me to drive, love?"

Their mom gave him an incredulous look from her spot at the wheel. "Dear, our move from LA to Burlington, Vermont was a whole 4 day trip with three nights spent at different hotels. You drove fifteen hours the first day, ten the second and third, and began this morning without allowing me to take a single shift! You deserve to rest. Besides, I've only been driving for a bit over two hours, and there'd be no point in switching just a few minutes away from the house."

It was true. Their father had decided to drive because, one, it saved money, two, it would be educational to travel through ten states in between California and Vermont, and three, it would be "fun."

The first day was a bit of fun. There was a lot of excitement and novelty in the air, and Muichiro had recorded more than he needed. They left at five in the morning before the sun came up, and spent the next hour and a half without daylight. Muichiro was awake the whole time, and very talkative, but Yuichiro spent his time huddled up and sleeping. They then took a two hour break for lunch because Yuichiro also didn't want to get back into the car, and finished the day at ten at night, eating take out in a hotel room. They had been on the road for about fifteen hours that day.

The second day was a bit less fun. They left at nine thirty in the morning this time, after the sun was up, but Muichiro was exhausted from all the emotions and anticipation, and not in a good mood. This time, Yuichiro spent the time on his phone or reading a book, while Muichiro wined and tried to convince his older twin to play with his hair. Learning from their mistakes the day before, and deciding to take a shorter lunch break and stop for the night earlier, they checked into the hotel at eight thirty, having done 10 hours.

The third was the most stable for both the twins as well as their parents, as both the kids seemed more well rested, and the parents adjusted and aware of their schedule. They followed very closely in their footprints from the night before, leaving the hotel a bit past nine in the morning, spending an hour for lunch and a leg stretch, then stopping a bit past eight at night, also having done ten hours. However, Muichiro's phone had died halfway, and he had spent the whole ride complaining about being bored to his brother. Yuichiro also began to feel the effects after long, but was more subtle about complaining.

Which led to today.

As it was the last day of their roadtrip, their mother suggested they drive the whole way, stopping at a drive through instead of a restaurant for lunch, and then swapping at the wheel at a gas station after eating. Their father, who originally wanted to drive the whole trip uninterrupted, gave in when his wife pointed out that his exhaustion could put the whole family at risk. Since they were doing it in one go, they left at nine, and made the swap at about one thirty. Their mom had been driving for the past two and a half hours, bringing the total for that day to seven hours.

Which is why, a little bit past four in the afternoon on a cold wintery day in the beginning of December, the Tokito's little family of four entered Burlington Vermont for the first time in their silver Subaru Outback. Their father also had a small blue Toyota Corolla as his work car, but that was being auto shipped to save money. Muichiro was back to filming, and his brother back to fussing over him.

The weather here was completely different from California. In fact, over the course of driving across the country, Muichiro had thought it was fun to see all different kinds of seasons, temperatures, and daywear. Knowing that moving from the west to east coast was almost like moving from summer to winter, their mother had made them dress warmer each morning when they left the hotel.

And yet, despite the several layers he had on his legs and arms, Muichiro had cold hands and a red, runny nose. Yuichiro gently shifted his brother from his shoulder to his collarbone, hugging him closer, and taking the opportunity to wipe his nose up. Muichiro made a face.

"You're going to get sick Mui," he tsked gently, "sick on the first week we move here."

Muichiro shrugged. "What's the big deal? We're new kids so the teachers will let things slide."

"But we're moving to a public school in the beginning of December. Teachers are paid more and care less, and we're going to have to catch up on lots of tests, projects, and homework before winter break."

"Ugh," Muichiro closed his eyes, maneuvering his face so that the cold of his cheek was warmed by his brother's chest. "We should've just moved during winter break."

Yuichiro smiled, shaking his head. "I don't remember you complaining a few days ago, when we left the day before that big English essay was due. I know you didn't bother to start it since we were moving."

"It's not that I didn't start it," Muichiro didn't even know why he was arguing, "but if you asked me to see my progress there wouldn't be anything."

Yuichiro sighed. "I know you too well Mui-chan." Then his eyes widened when he looked out the window. "Wow, we're here now. Look at all the houses!"

Muichiro peered through the frost covered windows of their car, noticing that while the houses going by looked smaller than the ones in LA, the property seemed more spacious. This didn't bother him, as he liked a big yard, and knew that the house his father got was actually on the larger side; two stories, four bedrooms, and three bathrooms.

Their father was an environmental consultant, while their mom worked in mental health counseling. Because they had two working parents, were the only two dependents, went to public school, and had just moved from LA, where the pay was higher, they would be able to live quite comfortably in Vermont. The car finally pulled up into a quiet neighborhood with wide streets that looked to Muichiro a bit like LA houses with larger lots.

"Woa." When the car finally stopped, Muichiro rubbed his gloved hand against Yuichiro's window, blowing on it so he could see out better. "Is the pale yellow one ours?"

"You betcha." Their father placed his left hand on the driver seat's headrest, then turned backwards to look at the twins. "Okay boys, first things first, I need you to help your Kaa-san and I move everything from the car to the house. Haruko-oka and Kenji-oji were ahead of us in the U-Haul, but ended up stopping for lunch so they'll be here in a bit. Let's try to get settled a bit before they arrive."

Mr. Tokito's twin sister and her husband, who had previously lived next door to them, had decided to help them with the move, paying for the U-Haul, helping to pack belongings, drive it across the country, and then help them unload as well. They did it as a "moving gift," but Muichiro's dad also insisted they stay at least a few nights in the new house with them before going back.

The Tokito family had made the decision to sell all their old furniture, since their new house already came with its own set, so the U-Haul consisted only of their own personal belongings; clothes, books, kitchen essentials, toiletries, and individual items. This would be faster to unpack and easier to move in.

Muichiro opened the car door to his left, and was immediately struck by how cold the air was. Yuichiro made a face, leaned over his brother, and closed his door. Then he grabbed his backpack, exited his own door, walked around to the other side of the car, reopened Muichiro's door, and helped his younger brother out by hand.

"Thanks Yui-chan," Muichiro's cheeks and nose were even redder from the cold, but his face was tilted up sweetly.

Yuichiro leaned in to kiss his brother on the cheek. "Here's your backpack," he reached into the car and helped it onto Muichiro's shoulders, "and here's your beanie. You should at least wear it until we finish moving everything from the car to the house."

Muichiro made a face. He didn't like wearing things that restricted his arms, legs, or head, but obeyed his brother before closing the door and crunching on the light snow that already rested on the path leading towards their house. Their father unlocked the door, and the family of four stepped inside.

"Yuichiro, Muichiro," their mother locked eyes with them, "Go upstairs, and put your things in the middle of your rooms on the floor. I know there's furniture in there, but we'll have time later to put everything in the drawers. The master bedroom is the bigger one connected to the bathroom on the right, and beyond that is the guest bedroom. Your bedrooms are on the left, in a Jack and Jill style, which means you'll each have your own bedroom, connected by a bathroom that you'll share."

The twins nodded excitedly and hurried up the stairs. Muichiro was ecstatic. His own bedroom? A bathroom connected? He'd never had that before. He's lived in one bedroom his whole life, with Yuichiro in the same bed beside him, and a bathroom down the hall. This was just like in the movies!

Yuichiro reached the top of the stairs first, and went left, pushing the closest door open. Muichiro followed his brother in, rather than entering the other bedroom, reasoning that they could both look at both rooms together. Yuichiro opened the first bathroom door, walked through, opened the second, and they both ended up in the second bedroom. Both rooms were identical, being flipped mirrored versions of each other.

"So you want to be closer to the stairs, or in this one further back?" Yuichiro gave Muichiro first choice like he always does when the choice is based on preference, and not safety.

"I'll take this one; feels like more privacy. Thanks Yui." Muichiro set his backpack down and followed his brother back through the bathroom where Yuichiro deposited his own backpack onto the floor.

"You know you have your own whole door, right?" Yuichiro began heading back down the stairs, his twin on his heels. "You can always enter my room but you should use your own door."

Muichiro nodded absentmindedly, twisting the long ends of his hair around his pinkie and paying extra attention to not tripping over his own feet. The two headed back outside, where they finished bringing in the supplies they had with them in the car, before putting leftover food into the fridge. By the time the car was emptied and parked, Muichiro was on the sofa, yawning as Yuichiro held his head up with his shoulder.

"...before Haruko-oka and Kenji-oji come. They're family and it's our first day here but I want this place to at least look inviting." Muichiro's mom was talking but Muichiro himself wasn't bothering to listen. He let his mind wander as he began to pick at the threads unraveling on his left sleeve, and run his socked feet over the long rug beneath them.

The doorbell rang.

Muichiro stood up without really realising it, padding over to the door before opening it. A young boy about a couple years older than him, with reddish hair and a scar on his forehead, along with a girl around his own age, with long orange-tipped hair and a pink ribbon, stood hand in hand on their doorstep.

"Hi!" The boy smiled widely, and Muichiro couldn't help but notice the boy's eyes looked like his own dad's. "I'm Tanjiro Kamado, from the house across the street, and this is my younger sister, Nezuko-chan. Okaa-san sent me to ask your family over for dinner as a way of welcoming you into the neighborhood. I know it's cold, but we have soup!"

Muichiro just stared at him, unintentionally letting cold air into the house until his dad stepped up behind him to open the door a bit further. "Thank you so much, Tanjiro-kun, that sounds lovely. I'm Katsuhiro Tokito. This is my wife, Hisako, and my twin boys, Yuichiro and Muichiro. Would you and your sister like to come in?

"Oh no, that's okay," Tanjiro looked apologetic, "I don't want to intrude. I know how stressful it is to move. You guys can come over around six! Don't bother to bring anything other than yourselves." He ended cheerfully.

"Wait, Tanjiro-kun," Muichiro heard more than made himself speak, "My oba, and her husband Mori-san are going to be here too. Is six people too much?"

Tanjiro smiled, shaking his head. "Six sounds great. My own family consists of Okaa-san, me, Nezuko, and four more siblings. Plus we have a friend over tonight, so what's a few more?" He laughed then, turning and walking Nezuko back to his own house.

Muichiro stared a bit longer, before he felt his brother pull him back into the house and shut the door. "Stop staring!" Yuichiro accused, "you're making it so cold in the house, and probably weirding them out."

Muichiro shrugged for what felt like the millionth time that day. "So can we go Kaa-san?"

Hisako sighed. "It would be really nice for me to not have to focus on making dinner tonight, and they sound like kind people," she said, "Having neighbors the same age as you would also be nice. Maybe you're going to the same school?"

Katsuhiro laughed lightly, patting his younger son on the head. "Look! Two friends on the first day of moving here, and tomorrow is Monday. That means you guys can go to school together and they can show you around. How do you like that?"

"That's fine I suppose," Muichiro was back to being distant and uninterested, "can I sleep now?"

Yuichiro turned to look at him. "You slept this whole morning in the car though."

"Doing nothing is tiring."

Muichiro began to head up the stairs, so his brother followed him. "Okay, but sleep with me in my bed for warmth. I'll set an alarm for 5:30 pm so that we have enough time to wash up and change." Muichiro opened his brother's door, before stripping down to his boxers and getting into the bed. Yuichiro shook his head as he closed the door. "No Mui, you have to put something on. We're not in LA anymore."

"No one's here," Muichiro argued.

"Not for modesty," Yuichiro couldn't believe he had to explain this, "it's freezing in here!" He sighed and opened the small suitcase he had been using over the past couple days. "Here." he pulled out sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. "Put this on at least."

Muichiro sighed and dressed himself, before getting back into bed. Yuichiro changed as well, placed his phone on the nightstand, and climbed into bed along with his twin. He pulled Muichiro's slightly smaller body to his own, spooning him and burying his nose in his brother's neck.

Muichrio giggled, pushing at Yuichiro's face. "It tickles!"

Yuichiro rolled his eyes and forced his brother's hands back down. "Older brother privileges." He said, "Now shush and go to sleep." He reached his own hands under Muichiro's shirt, and began to gently rub circles on his stomach.

"But we're minutes apart!" Muichiro wanted to keep arguing, "there shouldn't be such a thing as older brother privileges."

"Do you want to sleep, or talk?" Yuichiro squeezed Muichiro a bit harder than necessary, "we only have about an hour."

Muichiro shuffled in his twin's arms, turning so that they were facing each other, noses centimeters apart. "Sleep," he whispered, bringing his hands up to fist the front of Yuichiro's shirt, "sorry."

Yuichiro wrapped his arms around his brother's back, rubbing circles and patterns into his bare skin. "Okay, go to sleep bub. I'll wake you up when my alarm rings." He watched as Muichiro's long eyelashes slowly fluttered shut, and kissed him on the forehead before drifting off to sleep himself.

"Yuichiro, Muichiro, I said it's time to come downstairs!" Their mother's voice filtered into their room with surprising strength from where she stood at the bottom of the stairs. "Haruko-oka and Kenji-oji are here with our belongings, and we need to head over to the Kamado's house soon."

"Sorry Kaa-san, coming!" Yuichiro fumbled with Muichiro's toothpaste, trying to squeeze the last bits of it onto his brother's brush. "Mui, why didn't you tell anyone you needed more toothpaste?" He finally gave up and pulled out his own, easily applying it. "Come on Mui, get up. It's past five thirty." He walked toward the little lump still buried in his bed, and gently tucked his hair behind his ear.

"Mmmph…" Muichiro was in no mood to be woken. "Can't we just like, I don't know, not eat tonight? I'm sleepy."

Yuichiro rolled his eyes, reaching for Muichiro's hand to pull him out of the bed. "No, you're the one who opened the door for that Kamado kid, and told them that Haruko-san and Kenji-ojisan were coming, so you better not make us look like flakes now."

Muichiro made a face, latching onto Yuichiro's arm and allowing himself to be lifted onto the floor. "His name is Tanjiro-kun, don't call him 'that Kamado kid.' And I'm only getting up because Ane-nee is here."

Yuichiro scoffed affectionately, handing his brother his toothbrush. "Gee Mui, as long as you're getting up."

Haruka was Katsuhiro's younger twin sister, and it was thanks to them that Yuichiro and Muichiro had gotten the twin gene. While both twins loved her, Muichiro had a special sort of bond with her, and refused to call her anything other than "Ane-nee" since he was very little.

With her husband however, it was an entirely different story. Haruko had married Kenji Mori a few years ago, when the twins were eleven. Muichiro instantly took a protective dislike to Kenji, although there was nothing really wrong with him. He didn't think anyone was good enough for his Ane-nee, even going as far as to refer to his new uncle as "Mori-san," refusing to accept him as a member of the family.

Katsuhiro, Hisako, and Yuichiro all tried to change Muichiro's mind, stating that not only was Muichiro's behaviour unreasonable, he was probably also hurting Haruko's own feelings, as Kenji was her husband. Yuichiro especially gave Muichiro many stern talks, but they only led to fights, as Muichiro pointed out that since Yuichiro wasn't as close to Haruko as he was, he wouldn't understand.

When Haruko found out however, she said she understood, and that it was okay. Taking her word as some sort of permission, Muichiro still called Kenji "Mori-san" years later, even though Kenji had tried multiple times to form a relationship with his youngest nephew. Gradually people stopped commenting on it, although it was obvious that Kenji was still bothered, and Muichiro wasn't growing any fonder of him.

After the twins were washed up, Yuichiro changed into something a little more presentable, since they were going to the Kamado's for dinner. Muichiro refused to change, stating, "They're taking my sleep, I'm not letting them take my clothes as well."

Yuichiro thought his twin was being dramatic, but decided that as long as Muichiro was out of bed and not crying, it was a success. He took his younger brother by the hand and led him downstairs, where they were greeted with their aunt and uncle in the living room with their parents. Haruko jumped up when she saw Muichiro, and Yuichiro felt his brother let go of him and run to her for a hug.

"Ane-nee!"

"Muichiro-chan!" Haruko laughed, "Hi there! What do you think of your new house?"

"It's far away from you," Muichiro shrugged, "and it's cold here. But I get my own bedroom, and a bigger backyard."

Haruko nodded. "Yes it is quite far away from where I live now. But that just means that when you come to visit me, you'll stay over for days! And the same goes for me here. Oh, show me your bedroom."

The two began to head up the stairs, seemingly in their own little world, until Katsuhiro cleared his throat. "Muichiro, have you said hi to your oji-san yet? He paid for our U-Haul and drove all the way over here. The least you can do is ask how he's doing."

Muichiro paused and looked over at Kenji, smile obviously less genuine and more forced now. "Hello Mori-san," he said, "how was the drive?"

Kenji smiled. "It was quite nice actually, lot's of things to see. How are you doing?"

Muichiro felt his face subconsciously twitch in annoyance. "Good, since Ane-nee is here now and I'm going to show her my room." Beside him, he felt his aunt chuckle lightly.

Kenji seemed to take the hint. "Alright, have fun Muichiro-kun."

Muichiro was just about to continue climbing the stairs when his father's voice spoke again. "Not so fast, Muichiro. We need to unpack as much as we can from the U-Haul before heading over to the Kamado's for dinner. You can show Ane-nee your bedroom when we get back. You'll have plenty of time before bed."

"Tou-san!" Muichiro began, but stopped when he felt Haruko's hand on his back.

"It's okay Muichiro-chan," she smiled, "show me when we get back. Don't worry, we have this whole next week to catch up before I head back home." Muichiro nodded, and the two descended the staircase, before heading outside to bring in some boxes.

"...and so many pictures. As soon as I get my new phone number, I'll text them all to you." Muichiro was talking a lot, clearly excited about telling his aunt about the trip. Although the Tokitos and Moris had both taken similar routes through the country, they had stopped at different times in different places, so hadn't seen each other since Haruko and Kenji came over to the Tokito's old house to help pack.

"Mui."

"And then you can also send me that selfie we took on your phone the other day? The one with us in my old empty house. I love that…"

"Mui."

"Oh! And when we go to Tanjiro-kun's house, I think-"

"Muichiro!" Yuichiro reached out, tugging on his brother's arm. "Pay attention please, I've been trying to talk to you."

"Yeah?"

"You're wearing a tee-shirt, and there's snow out here. Come here and let me put your jacket on you." Muichiro didn't know when or how Yuichiro had the time to think of a jacket, go get it, and come back, but he was holding Muichiro's, and looked determined to put it on his younger twin.

Muichiro didn't want the jacket.

"It's okay Yui, it's not snowing right now and we're doing manual labor anyway. I'm practically sweating!"

Yuichiro wasn't taking 'no' for an answer. "Muichiro, if you don't wear your jacket, you're gonna have to stay inside while everyone else helps move your things and then goes to eat at that Kamado boy's house."

Muichiro made a face. "Fine."

Yuichiro helped his brother into the jacket, not letting go until he zipped it all the way up to his neck, despite Muichiro's squirming and eye rolling. "You know you should thank me Mui," Yuichiro adjusted his twin's hood and sleeves, "I'm keeping you from getting even more sick."

"Thanks Yui-chan," Muichiro mumbled, turning back to Haruko as soon as he could. "Let's go Ane-nee."