Heya, it's Lumine here!
It's been a while ( an entire damn month actually-- ) since I updated. I wanna apologize for that. I've just been so busy, and my energy these days just get sapped out. I barely have any reserves for writing. Even during the weekends I'm STILL doing school work in advance cuz I promised to put myself on an academic grind this year...
( Which paid off actually cuz I've been on time with my submissions and i've gotten pretty good scores on recent quizzes! )
So yeah.... I haven't been writing much. Occasionally I get some bit of freedom here and there, which I use to put a few words in for the next chapter of this fic. But I don't wanna spend too much time on wattpad, I have to use the majority of that small freedom to attend for my relationships in my personal life yk?
These days I truly feel like a walking zombie, but I've never felt better at the same time. Which is weird. But it is what it is.
I got some freedom here to write....but the actual chapter is far from ready yet. I'm not even gonna sugarcoat it with you all. It's probably gonna take another month-- maybe even LONGER. Everything is just so hectic so I can't really quicken my pace when my mind is all out of batteries each day I get home....so sorry again about that ;-;
But I thought I'd at least upload a short chapter. A filler chapter that explores more of the Hoshino triplets moments, taking place before the big reveal of Beryl's past identity as Kiyotaka.
These little snippets have just been sitting in my thoughts for far too long! It's time I make it canonical for the fic.
Hopefully, however short this is, I'm hoping you guys can enjoy it either way!
Ah, but don't expect any of my usual standard writing in this short chapter. Expect a lazier or more casual writing style for this one, since the content are just canonical snippets I can only implement in filler.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. Blanket.
( Takes place when the triplets are in middle school )
Aqua: * Sees Ruby sprawled on the couch, sleeping peacefully, without a blanket.*
He frowns before sighing and fetching one from the drawers. He walks back into the living room and then drapes the comfortable fabric over her sleeping figure as gentle as he can without waking her up. After finishing the deed, he patted Ruby's head, eliciting a hum of contentment from the young girl.
From the corner of the room, Beryl watched silently.
........
On another day,
Aqua: * Sees Beryl asleep on the couch without a blanket *
It was late at night, and Aqua wondered for a moment why Beryl was even there. But he decides not to question it and fetched him a blanket without another word.
He arrived back into the room and proceeded to drape the blanket over Beryl this time around. Gentle as usual, so as not to wake him up. Though Beryl has always possessed more apparent instincts than both of his siblings, Aqua had become accustomed enough to know exactly how to do things without waking him unintentionally. So he hummed a song their mother always hummed when she put them to sleep, and as if it were magic, it worked in making sure Beryl stayed asleep. ( Or at least, Aqua assumed so )
Like usual, after finishing the job, he pats Beryl gently.
From the kitchen counter, a pair of eyes peeked, it was Ruby's.
.......
One day, Aqua sat on the couch. Seemingly doing nothing this time around, which was quite unusual for him. He was always doing something, after all. Whether that be homework or another deciphering lead to find out just who was the man responsible for taking away their mother; the hunt for their father still burning in his mind....
But....
This time around, he decides to not think too much about the usual. Instead letting his mind linger into a faraway memory...
...........
It was midnight at the time. The lights were off, and the three siblings were nestled against each other on the couch with the only source of light and white noise coming from the TV. If Aqua recalls correctly, they'd been watching a movie at the time as per Ruby's request, using this as a chance to stay late and wait for Ai's arrival.
But Ai didn't come home for a long while. And eventually, both her and Beryl simply fell asleep. Aqua was a bit tired himself, so he was trying to drift off to sleep as well, already closing his eyes.....until he heard the opening and closing of their entrance door. And a womanly sigh that followed. It didn't take another second to guess as to who that was. So Aqua didn't bother opening his eyes.
Next, came her approaching footsteps. He could imagine her expression. She must've found her babies' position on the couch absolutely adorable and is tortured with the temptation to snap a picture. It was a 50/50 whether or not she submitted to that temptation, but it didn't matter. It was Hoshino Ai, after all. She was bound to do whatever it is that she desired.
Then he began hearing her approaching further, till' he could literally feel her presence standing in front of them. Aqua was tempted to pry his eyes open to gaze upon the wonderful idol, but he refrained for whatever reason. He can hear her soft hum as she patted each of the triplets' little heads with affection in her touch. It stuck like that for a while, and Aqua wanted to lean into her palm further but she retracted her hand a second later.
She abruptly stopped humming her little song.
"....Hm? "
He immediately stills. Oh crap. Did she find out? Ah, he supposes this was predictable from the start. He couldn't just fake his obvious admiration for Ai, let alone fake sleep, when all he really wanted was to see her face after a long day of absence.
But just as he opened his eyes, he saw a blanket being draped over the three of them. Her humming resumed as she patted down the fabric evenly. Aqua found her so beautiful with the light of the TV shining the purple strands of her hair, like a moonlight glazing her skin, and accentuating her charming eyes.
Then he was met with those eyes staring right at him, a splash of silent suprise, before a small smile graced her lips.
" Shhh..." She signaled him to keep quiet. She didn't want to wake up the other two from their sleep.
Aqua could do nothing but nod along in silent agreement. He'll do as she says and try to go back to sleep this time. Besides, he'd seen what he wanted to see. Her face. After a long day's absence.
Yeah....he could try sleeping for real now. So he closed his eyes and relaxed.
But not before hearing a final whisper,
" Good night, Aqua."
...........
He....truly wished times were like back then.
When she was still here.
When....things were still okay.
......
He missed her, truly.
.........
........
........
Those were his last thoughts before falling asleep, hoping to enter once more to that sweet memory....
Two pair of eyes spied on the older triplet. One pair of Ruby's, and the other pair of Golden brown. They shared a look with each other before nodding and fetching a blanket.
...........
The two younger siblings sat on opposite sides of Aqua. Beryl threw the blanket in the air and Ruby caught the other side, before slowly settling it on the three of them without waking up the slumbering Aqua.
The two of them looked to each other, sharing a silent conversation with their eyes alone.
Aqua had always draped a blanket over them when one of them slept on the couch without one. He always gave them some warmth before his own. Ruby thought it was a good idea to give back, and Beryl agreed with her too.
So it's like this.
Just like back then, huh.
The three of them nestled against each other on the couch. But this time, it was the two younger siblings who draped the blanket over their tired older brother. Sure, it wasn't the same as their mother's, but the meaning of it all hadn't changed.
Ruby smiles.
Beryl smiles a bit too.
They both pat Aqua's head before eventually drifting off to sleep themselves, but not before muttering.
" Good night, Aqua."
..........
Unfortunately, had they stayed awake a bit more to notice....
They would've seen that the sleeping Aqua was smiling too.
~~~ Chapter End ~~~
So, that was it for the short sweet chapter! Hopefully u guys enjoyed it.
Again, Im sorry for the delay. But I want to make sure the next chapter is done correctly and up to my standards. So far I could only put 3k words in, so it's really going to take a while due to my own schedule......so bear with me, I beg you.
I'll make sure it's worth it! So stay tuned...
For the Next Chapter: The End of the White Room
Yes, I am not joking. That's the title. Why did I reveal it? Hmm....who knows? Just felt like it!
Anyway....
See you then~