🐀

luckily, his older sister is there to comfort him.

fuyumi misses her brother as well, dearly, but she has to stay strong for her family. for natsuo. she nurtures him in a way touya couldn't, and listens to him when he cries. he doesn't need to be strong around her.

and he's there for her when their mom is sent to the institution.

it hits fuyumi the hardest, clearly evident despite her attempts to stay strong. but, in the quiet dark of the night, she breaks. it is then when natsuo sneaks in, keeping her company in her half–barren room.

the first time they kiss is an accident, they'd both swear it if asked.

a night of comforting the other, a night like any other. they lay beside each other in that small twin bed, and their lips touch before either are aware.

a first for them both.

they drink in the taste of each other lips. natsuo woukd later note in his mind that she was wearing peach chapstick that night.

the second time, and every subsequent time, is fully on purpose.

the world outside is evil, and the world their family lives in wasn't much better. but the world within the four small walls of their rooms is something sacred, a holy safe haven for their blossoming love.

no one notices when natsuo moves into fuyumi's room. no one notices when they share a bed each night. no one notices when fuyumi's soft moans echo off the walls of their room.

the church in which they worship one another is taken from them when natsuo turns eighteen.

too old to be a man living in his family home, he goes off to a college dorm. he swears he'll be a doctor– the best of them– but only fuyumi knows why.

only fuyumi knows he does it so he can provide a home and life for her.

his one true love.