Walking into the living room of your house, you could smell the broth and vegetables from the kitchen. A smile grew on your face as you approached your father, who was much taller than your small stature.
He glanced your way as he stirred the steaming broth. "Oh, hey Y/N. Want some miso soup?"
A gleaming look appeared on your face as if your eyes sparkled at the mention of your favourite simple dish. "Yes!"
Suddenly, loud footsteps rubbled into the kitchen; your brother was laughing hysterically as your mother was chasing him around. Your mother tried grabbing your brother's white wings but missed every time since they were much smaller than him.
A chuckle escaped your breath as you turned toward your father. "Daddy, why are Buddy's wings so much smaller than mine when we're the same age?"
"That's because girls grow up faster than boys."
You widened your eyes as he smiled at your reaction.
A loud crash rang through the house, making both you and your father spin towards the accident. Buddy was on the floor, crying as he gripped a large gash on the side of his face. Glass was shattered on the floor beside him.
"Buddy!" you quickly ran towards your brother, sitting on your knees beside him.
Your father left the spoon on a dish beside the pot and dashed to the scene. Your mother paused his tracks with her arm. "Don't worry, I'll clean him up, just don't let the food burn." Your father gave a worried look to her words. "He'll need a tasty dinner." She grinned as she rushed to the bathroom for supplies.
Seeing Buddy cry gave you watered eyes; small tears slowly trickled down the sides of your cheeks. "Buddy, I'll help you," you mumbled as you moved his hand away from his pale face and placed yours over the wound. "Mommy will help you too." As you grinned with a few tear stains on the sides of your cheeks, you noticed Buddy calm down.
"Thanks, sissy," he spoke back, trying to smile back, wincing to the sudden pain.
As thoughts of stopping the bleeding rushed through your mind, a sudden pain hit your cheek, as if something had scratched it.
"Y/N! Get your hand away from him!" your mother shouted, making you shake your head.
"Buddy needs me!" The pain increased in your cheek.
"Get your hand away from him!" She slapped your hand away, quickly placing pressure on his cheek with a gauze.
Your eyes widened to her action; your forearm stung as your cheek still ached. Hearing her yell at you like this made more tears flow down the sides of your face; it was like rivers running.
"Honey! Don't do that to her," your father butted in, glaring at his wife while casually stirring the broth. Once his eyes fell to you, they widened as if some realization occurred. "Don't get pissed because of her."
Your mother growled while bandaging the boy's cheek. She spun to look at your cheek as well. "That's good." She sighed as she stood. "I'm taking him to the hospital. It'll need stitches."
With tears streaming and your nose getting stuffy, you asked, "Can I come too?" Your mother glared in your direction.
"Not this time."
As she walked away with Buddy leaning on her shoulder, you waved towards him. A smile resonated on his face as the sunshine beamed in from behind him. "Bye, sissy."
After his words, the door shut quickly, sudden darkness overcame the house. You continuously blinked but were still blinded by the pitch-black air.
"Hello?" you questioned in a much lower voice as if you matured. "Hello?!" Your heart began to race as your breathing patterns irregulated. "Buddy!" you shouted.
"Buddy!" Your upper body sprung up from the bed. Your breathing slowed down as you realized you witnessed a nightmare.
As you looked around in your room, you noticed pictures of you and Buddy on your shelves and desk, and pictures of your father were on the wall. A few paintings of yours were displayed on the wall in front of you, making you feel at ease since a few of them were created by both you and your brother.
A knock came at the door.
"Yes?" you questioned in a much more mature voice than the one in the dream.
The door opened slowly to reveal your brother in a baggy grey shirt with black basketball shorts. His short silver hair was ruffled from waking up and his sparkling silver eyes with a few blue stripes were somewhat sleepy. His large, white wings hung low on his back.
As he rubbed his eyes and closed the door behind him, he slowly approached the foot of your bed. "Another nightmare?" he grumbled in a deeper voice than in the dream.
"Yea."
He sat on the edge of the bed, scooting closer to your side. Reaching to his left, he grabbed your laptop off the nightstand and set it on his lap, quickly logging in and searching through Netflix.
"I know movies help you," he spoke with a small grin on his face. "Want this?" he pointed towards a title, you replying in a nod.
"Thanks, Buddy." You grinned lightly in his direction as the movie began to play.
Looking at the screen, he opened his mouth, hesitating to speak. "These nightmares you experience, do they traumatize you?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the screen.
When you looked at his face, you saw the same look of worry your father showed in your dream. Thinking about Buddy smiling in your dream made you copy it. "It's not all terrible ya know? Sure, it sucks, but the dream itself has some good parts."
He looked towards you with confused brows. "What? How can a nightmare have good parts? Are you crazy?"
You chuckled as he continued to give you a confused look. "Buddy, I got to smell dad's miso soup!"
Buddy gasped as he shoved the computer off his lap. He sprung off the bed with a look of joy. "Sis!" Looking at him, you hummed in question. "Let's ask dad for miso soup again! I could definitely go for a bowl or two right now." His eyes imagined the soup as he rubbed his stomach.
"Calm down, will ya?" Moving the covers off your legs, you marched towards your door. "Just stop being so loud. Mom is probably still sleeping," you whispered, sneaking down the hallway with him behind your back.
The sound of the TV played in the living room; it grew louder as you grew closer. You and your brother strolled towards your father, who was watching some random show.
"Can we have miso soup?" you and Buddy said in unison.
Your father looked toward the two of you and gave a large smile. "Of course!"
***
Sitting at the kotatsu, feeling the warm blanket over your legs, you slurped the delicious broth from the spoon.
This is so good!
"Oh! Dad." Your brother took a quick sip of broth as your father spun to look in his direction. "The students are moving into dorms tomorrow."
"Oh yea!" you butted in. "I'm so excited! I hope I dorm next to you."
"Same! It'll be so much fun with our friends too!" You nodded vigorously as you chomped on a bunch of vegetables.
Your father grinned lightly, asking, "Why do you guys have dorms?"
"It's because of the U.S.J attack. The teachers and staff want to keep us safe and close by," you replied, taking another slurp of soup.
"Will it really be safe?" he questioned.
You and Buddy nodded. The two of you chewed your food and said, "Of course!"
After finishing the soup, you stood and placed the dishes in the sink. "Better start packing now."
Your brother rushed to the sink and basically tossed the dishes, making you gasp as he dashed away from your presence.
"Hey! That'll break the dishes!"
A sigh escaped your breath as you slowly walked down the hallway. You noticed your mom leave her room with bags beneath her eyes. "Good morning, mom!" You waved and smiled as she ignored the action. When approaching your room, you took in a deep breath of air, trying to calm yourself from the excitement of the new dorms.