You ran into Ash after you left your room.
"Uh, hey sis! Um...hey I really need to talk to you." He said. You nodded. You both walked outside and sat down in chairs by the pool. "Listen, about what I said a couple days ago...I'm sorry. I..I know talking about Mom is really hard for you. I...I jut don't want anything to happen to you. You're my little sister. That's part of my job as your brother to protect you, no matter what I have to do. That includes lecturing you now and then, heh." He joked at the end. You smiled.
"Ash, I know you all worry about me, but I'm not going to stop and I'm not going to die. I'm glad you care, but I'll be okay. I promise. I won't leave you." You said. He smiled.
"Yeah. You're too stubborn to die anyway." He said with a chuckle. You punched him playfully on the shoulder.
"Says the one who would rather fight first and ask questions later." You said. He held his hands up in defeat.
"Ya got me sis, but you're the one that's gotta live with me too." He said, ruffling your hair. You laughed.
"Hey stop! I did my hair today for a reason!" You said. He chuckled.
"Love ya, ya little squirt." He said. You smiled. You hugged him.
"I love you too Ash." You said. He hugged back.
"Just remember, no matter how tough you are, you're still human, and you're still my little sister." He pulled back looking you in the eyes and gripping yours arms. "Soul siblings right?" He said, referencing what you used to call each other when you were little. You smiled and nodded.
"Soul siblings." You agreed. He smiled warmly at you. You both hugged one lat time.
"I love you little sister." He whispered.
"I love you too big brother." You replied just as softly. After that, he let go and left. You smiled as he went back inside.
"You don't know the meaning of the word 'family' until you see that." You turned and saw Hank leaning against the wall with half a shake. You didn't want to talk to him. You turned around, ignoring him.
"Hey, kid. Come on. I was just kidding. I'm sorry for embarrassing you okay?" Hank said. You sighed, a smile creeping onto your lips.
"I'll forgive you, on one condition." You said, turning around with a smirk on your face.
"What's that?"
"You proving that you trust me." You said.
"What?"
"If you can do exactly what I say without question, I'll forgive you." You said. He sighed and set down his half of a shake. "Close your eyes." You said. He did. "Walk forward 6 steps." You said.
"Big or small?" He asked with a grin.
"Ha ha very funny." You said. He walked forward. "Turn until I say stop." He did, facing toward the pool. "Walk forward 3 steps." He did. He was at the edge of the pool. "Turn around." You said. He did.
"Now what?" He asked. You crept up in front of him and then said,
"This!" You shoved him backward and he fell backward.
"Hey-" He tried to yell, but he was cut off as he splashed into the water. You were laughing like no tomorrow. He surfaced and yelled at you.
"You little sneak! Ya got me fucking soaked!" He yelled. You calmed down and grinned at him.
"Exactly! I forgive you now!" You said. He huffed, but you saw a tiny smile on his lips. He climbed out and you told him he could barrow some of your dad's clothes until his were clean and dry.
"You know for a 20 year old cop you sure act like a 7 year old child." He said.
"Never gonna grow up, Hank! Better get used to it!" You teased. He rolled his eyes and went to the bathroom to change.
"That was a very unexpected outcome." You turned and saw Connor standing behind you. "Dunking the Lieutenant into the pool was rather...amusing." He said. You chuckled.
"That was the whole point." You said. He nodded.
"I assumed that was the case." He said. After a pause, he asked, "(Y/n), may I ask you something?"
"You just did, but yeah. Fire away." You said.
"I've noticed you and your brother, Ash, are very close."
"Oh yeah, we all are. Me and my brothers are the dream team." You said. He nodded.
"Well, according to what I know about siblings, they tend to fight more than normal. Why is it that you all don't act like that?" He asked. You were surprised.
"Well...when we were younger, a lot of things were so-called 'wrong' about us. At least, that's what everyone else said." You said, sitting down on the couch in the living room.
"What do you mean?" Connor asked, sitting down next to you. You sighed.
"When I was little, my brothers were like heroes to me. My sister was super popular and liked, my brothers were strong and, even though they fought, they always stuck together. I was...the odd one out I guess. That was...until I got to know each of them better. Carl might seem naive, but he's not. He's caring, kind, full of energy, and always up for having a good time. Kent might seem like a nerd, but that's what makes him special. He knows so much more than I ever thought somebody could know. He's smart, kind, a little shy at times, but brave, loyal, and even selfless at other times. Ash might seem like somebody with anger issues that always blocks people out and never trusts anyone, but underneath his tough guy act, he's sweet, loving, loyal, protective, brave, strong, and fierce. He understands me too. I guess that's why I look up to him the most. Zane might look like a teacher's pet or father's pet in this case, but he's so much more than that. He's our leader. He's the person that can make the hard choices. He's fearless, selfless, caring, strong, strong-willed, determined, and when he's not being our leader, he's kind of a silly dork. He's our dork though." You said.
"But..you all have such different interests and personalities. How can you all work together so well?" He asked.
"Because we all have something we share. We might be as different as east is to west, or in this case, we go from all the way north to east to south to west, but when I was born I guess I became the center. The all swore to be there for each other, and then they swore to be there for me. I was the little sister that showed signs of all of them along with my own personality added in. I was the last piece of the puzzle I guess you could say. We became a team and while I had some friends, for a long time, all we had was each other. They were all I had for most of my life. I met people later in life, but then...things began to fall apart again. From then up until now, they were all I had again. I guess we go by the fact that as long as we have each other, we'll be okay." You explained. Connor processed all that you had told him.
"I don't understand how people so different...could be so close." He said. You chuckled.
"That's not true. You can understand it just like me Connor! Look at us. We aren't the same at all and yet we work really well together and we're good friends. Even though I'm not like you and you aren't like me, we still work together." You said. He looked at you, his brown eyes staring at you in surprise and even a little bit of awe. He smiled a little.
"It appears you're right." He agreed. You smiled back.
"See? Nothing is hard to understand when you think about it in the right way. You just have to look hard enough to see it." You said. "I better go check on Nova. I'll talk to you a little later Connor." You said. He nodded.
"A-alright. I-I will see you later." He said. You giggled, looking back at him with a warm smile.
"See ya, Connor." You replied and left.