In the morning, Rune saw Night on the couch, reading a book. They were alone, good. He had gotten out of bed early in the hopes of catching her alone. He went to the couch and sat on the opposite side of it from her. She glanced up from her book.

“Hey,” Rune began. “What are you reading?”

“I started reading Grandpa’s childhood books a couple years ago,” she told him, uninterested.

“Oh, fun. I read some of them, too.” Currently, she was reading one of the books in an adventure series.

She hummed in agreement.

Rune took a deep breath. “Can we talk?”

Night sighed. “Fine.” She put her bookmark between her pages, closed the book and laid it on the couch between her legs. “What is it?”

“I think I understand now. Why you’re the one who’s still upset with me.”

Night rested her elbow on the back of the couch and her cheek on her fist. “Do enlighten me.”

“You were the one who always emotionally relied on me more with your night terrors and everything. Or if you had a fight, or anything else happened that upset you. Moon often dealt with it herself or went to Lullaby, but you always came to me.

“But then, I was gone, precisely when you would’ve needed me the most; when you went into puberty. So, you’re the most upset, because you missed me the most. Me leaving hurt you the most. That’s why you feel like I left you, or that I don’t care anymore. Everything I was doing was still for you, but it wasn’t what you wanted—or needed—me for.

“When I left, I took your emotional security with me. And now, maybe, you’re afraid to forgive me and let me in again. Afraid I’ll take it away and hurt you again.”

He glanced at her. “Am I close?”

Night stared at him, then looked down as her lip trembled. She swallowed the lump in her throat. “It would’ve been helpful if you were there while I was raging with hormones.”

Rune frowned. “I’m sorry I wasn’t. Aren’t you still raging with hormones, though?” he tried to lighten the mood.

Night huffed as she hugged herself. “Not as much. But, it would have been nice to have you here to help me understand things. Especially now that I know you’re not straight.”

Rune’s eyes widened. “Are you queer, too?”

She turned her head away with tears in her eyes.

Rune stared at her, thinking of what to do. Clearly, she wanted to talk about this, but she wasn’t convinced yet. He turned to face her with his legs crossed. He rested his elbows on his knees. “Hey.”

Night glanced at him.

“I know I wasn’t there when I should’ve been. But I’m here, now.”

Night considered it. She shook her head. “You said you’ll leave again.”

“Not in the same way. I won’t disappear, I just have some other places to go, too. And, as I said, I promise I’ll let you know where I am, you can always contact me. I won’t always be home, but I’ll still be in your life.”

Night was still unsure. Rune held his arms out to her with a sad smile. “Come on, let me help you. Baby queer to slightly-more-seasoned queer.”

Night laughed a little, Rune was glad she did. She sighed and moved closer to him. She sat between Rune’s legs and leaned against his chest with her shoulder. Rune put his arms around her and leaned his cheek on her head. He sat curled around her, as if to protect her from the world around them. It was easier when she was smaller.

“What confusing feelings are you struggling with? About attraction or gender or—”

“Attraction,” Night whispered.

“Can you explain or do you want me to keep asking questions?”

“Ask,” she whispered again.

“Alright. Do you feel an attraction to boys?”

She shrugged.

“An attraction to girls?”

She shrugged again.

“No attraction?”

She shook her head.

“So you do feel attraction, but don’t know to who.”

“I guess.”

He rubbed her back as he hummed in thought.

“Maybe it’d help if you told me how you figured it out?” Night suggested.

“Okay, well, I never felt like I don’t like girls. But with guys, I found out while I was traveling. I had to kill time between jobs, you know? And so, I often went to bars or clubs. And of course, in places like that, there’s a lot of flirting and drinking going on. It was mostly women, but occasionally a guy took an interest in me and I realised that I didn’t mind. It didn’t feel weird. It felt natural, almost. And overtime, as I got more confident, I started flirting with anyone I was interested in, no matter their gender.”

Night hummed in thought. “Are you bi?”

Rune squinted his eyes. “That would be the most straightforward label. But, I guess the takeaway from that is: you’ll know it’s real attraction when it feels natural to you. If it doesn’t make you feel icky,” he concluded.

“Hm.” Night moved down and rested her ear on Rune’s chest.

“You could imagine yourself in scenarios and see what your gut feeling is.”

“Like what?”

“Imagine yourself kissing a guy.”

She cringed. “Ew.”

Rune snorted. “Okay, then. Imagine kissing a girl.”

She was quiet.

“Well, at least no ew.”

“But”—Night shook her head—“it’s not that I’ve never thought a guy was good-looking or anything.”

“You can appreciate people’s beauty without wanting to kiss or fuck them. It’s like looking at a pretty painting.”

She hummed.

“Would you want to shag a girl?”

Night huffed. “Let’s stick to kissing for now.”

Rune chuckled. “Alright. Then, could you be a lesbian?”

Night shrugged. “Maybe. I’ll think it over.”

“Okay.”

They silently sat cuddled up on the couch a while longer. Night laid curled up on Rune’s chest, Rune held her between his arms and legs. He took a deep breath and smiled against her white hair. “Am I forgiven?” Rune whispered.

“I’ll consider it.”

Rune breathed out a chuckle.

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Rune wanted to spend some quality time with his family, now that there was no more bad blood between them. Having been to a cafe with Hyde a few days earlier, he got the idea to take them out for lunch, leaving Hyde alone at home. Hyde didn’t mind some hours to himself.

He chose a cafe he remembered eating at with his parents and grandad when he was younger, before his sisters were born. He remembered himself crawling under the table to climb on his grandad’s lap, who sat across from him. He liked to steal his food instead of eating his own. His mum didn’t appreciate that his grandad allowed him to. His dad chose the middle ground, letting Rune snack a little, but not too much; he didn’t like to pick sides between his father and his wife.

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They all sat at a table for four, Rune next to Lullaby, across from Moon. Twenty years ago, he’d by far been the youngest. Now, he was the oldest.

“Are you not mad at Rune anymore?” Lullaby asked Night, snapping Rune back to reality.

He noticed Night hesitantly glancing at him before she said, “No.”

Lullaby smiled. “Great.”

Rune smiled a little too. He’d figured she had forgiven him, but it was nice to hear.

Moon grabbed the menu and scanned over it with a hum. “I’ll get a smoothie.”

“Don’t you want to try something else?” Rune asked. “Or have you tried before?” Of course, she could have in the last five years. He had.

“I’ve tried a sandwich, but I’m not in the mood to chew.”

Rune snorted. “Great reason.”

“Hmm, I’ll have grilled cheese,” Lullaby announced.

Night leaned in to see the menu, Moon pushed it towards her.

Moon returned her attention to Rune with a smug look on her face, setting off alarm bells in Rune’s head.

“Now that he’s not here to eavesdrop, what’s your relationship with Hyde like, exactly?”

Rune glared at her with a small blush. She knew the answer, she was teasing him on purpose.

“Clearly, you like him,” she continued in his silence.

Night’s head snapped up at her. “What makes you so sure?”

“You don’t know?” Moon asked with genuine surprise.

“I assumed, but I wasn’t sure.”

Moon leaned closer to her sister as if they were gossiping. “A few days ago, they were playing piano together, and he was a complete mess. Every time Hyde touched him, he freaked out and then they almost started arguing, because Rune was acting so weird. But at the end, they were cuddling,” Moon finished as she squished her cheeks like it was the most adorable thing she’d ever seen.

Night laughed a little, Rune’s blush worsened. They were ganging up on him.

“You know, afterwards he came to me,” Lullaby joined in, oh no. “And he was all like, ‘I do like him, how do I deal with this? I can’t think of anything else, weh.’ ”

All three girls laughed. Rune leaned back into his chair and folded his arms. He glared at Lullaby.

“Well, I’ll be sure to go back to you for advice in the future.”

Lullaby nudged him with his shoulder. “Aw, come on, we’re only teasing. You’re adorable when you have a crush.”

“I didn’t think you’d be the anxious type with a crush,” Night admitted. “You’re usually pretty confident.”

“Because I rarely care about people’s opinions of me. But of course, I worry about whether the person I like likes me back.”

Night’s eyes flickered to Lullaby before she grinned at Rune. “Do you have a thing for brunettes?”

Rune tensed his shoulders and glanced away. “That’s a coincidence.”

“So, would you want to date him?” Moon asked. Before Rune could answer, she added, “Should we be mentally preparing ourselves to have him for a brother-in-law?”

Rune tensed. “Woah, slow down. I don’t even know if he likes me back, yet alone if he’d want to marry me, god.”

“Would you want to marry him?”

“Slow down!” he repeated with a chuckle. “I’ve barely known him for two months, I don’t know.” He leaned on the table to get closer to her, he grinned. “How about you tell me about your love life, instead of only prying into mine?”

Moon glanced away and bit the inside of her cheek. “I’ve been on dates with some boys, but nothing worthwhile.”

“When was the last time?”

“A few months ago.”

“I didn’t know that,” Night intervened, then smirked. “Does Grandpa know about that?”

“What, as if I need his permission to date boys?” She hummed as her mind wandered to some place else. “Will he ever date again? He’s been single for over three decades.”

Rune shrugged. “He’s probably been too preoccupied with us to think about dating.” He turned to Lullaby. “Are you looking for a date?”

Lullaby hummed and shook her head. “Not at the moment, I don’t want to bother right now. I’m also worried a guy I’d date would be intimidated by you. Since we’re friends, but you’re also my ex. A lot of guys get insecure about that and I’m not in the mood for that drama.”

“I am very intimidating.”

Lullaby chuckled.

They called a server over to finally order their lunch and continued to enjoy their afternoon together. Rune had missed this, family time. He was sad one member was missing.

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Lullaby found Hyde on the porch outside in the sun, drinking something out of a mug while he leaned on the low fence. He must miss the sun from his home or something. Rune and the girls were inside together.

Now that she knew how serious Rune’s feelings for him were, she wanted to be sure he was worthy of them.

She joined him on the porch, leaning against the wall a small distance away. “Can I ask you something?”

Hyde swallowed his sip of whatever was in his mug—judging by the brown left on his lip and in his moustache, hot chocolate—and said, “Sure.” He licked the remnants off his lip.

“Why did you let Rune stick around? You barely knew him, all you knew him as was a thief. Why did you help him? Why did you let him stay in your house?”

Hyde chuckled. “Rune asked me exactly the same thing. When I was questioning him, he told me about his family and that the gang he worked for threatened him and everyone he cared about. Later, he told me he hadn’t seen his family in five years; I related to that a lot. And I felt bad for him. Not that I pitied him, but I saw he needed help, and I could help him.” He stared off into the small yard and took a small sip. “And I like having him around. He livens up the space, you know?”

Lullaby snickered. “Yeah, he does.”

Hyde seemed like a genuinely sweet and compassionate guy who had Rune’s best interest at heart, Lullaby concluded. She only wanted Rune to have someone who cared for him and would make him happy. She wondered if he liked men. He probably did. She wasn’t sure why she assumed that, Hyde wasn’t stereotypically gay at all. Perhaps it was the vibe he gave off when he was around Rune.

“Rune hasn’t told me about this in detail before,” Hyde began. “How rough did he have it at the orphanage?”

Lullaby sighed. “Pretty rough. He was quite aggressive and prone to fights in his teens, because of all the anger and hurt he went through.”

Hyde frowned and drank his hot chocolate again.

“It didn’t help that some older kids liked to pick on the girls, he constantly fought the bullies off. Moon and Night would often threaten the bullies with their brother, like ‘If you don’t stop, our big brother will kick your ass!’ ”

Hyde snorted into his mug.

“The bullies, of course, expected a boy about their age, not a teen years older than them, with a lot of hormones and pent up anger to take out.”

“I hadn’t expected him to be so violent in his teens. Not that he’s an angel now, he can still throw a punch, but he’s usually a chill guy.”

Lullaby shrugged. “He processed his grief and grew up.”

Hyde hummed. He glanced at the door into the house, then glanced back at her and said, “Your name is quite odd—sorry if that’s rude,” he quickly added. “Where did it come from?”

Lullaby smiled a little. “I was left at the orphanage as a nameless baby. The only way the caregivers could calm me down was by singing me a lullaby. So, that’s what they named me.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet.”

“Do you know where your name comes from?”

“I think my dad just liked the sound of it. And my parents liked for both their kids to have a y in their name.”

He frowned off into space.

Lullaby wondered what his relationship with his parents was like, but it seemed like a topic too sensitive for her to ask about. She was sure Rune knew the answer.

Rune sat in bed in the late evening, with Hyde beside him. They both wore their pyjamas and had their legs under the covers. Hyde had his legs flat, Rune with his knees up.

“How was your family day?” Hyde asked.

“Nice. Night isn’t mad at me anymore, so it finally wasn’t tense. It was great to just hang out and have fun, like we used to.”

Hyde smiled, but there seemed to be a bit of sadness to it. “Sounds great.”

“What did you do all day by yourself?”

“I doodled in my notebook and let my thoughts wander.”

“About what?”

“I don’t remember.”

Rune laughed a bit. “Sounds productive.”

They were quiet. Rune thought about snuggling up to him; about kissing him, even if it was only a brief peck on the cheek. He shook the thought out of his head. He didn’t know how Hyde felt.

“I had a conversation with Lullaby,” Hyde spoke up. “I asked what things were like at the orphanage.”

“Oh.” Rune didn’t like to think back to those times. He wasn’t proud of who he was back then.

“She told me you were quite aggressive and prone to fights.”

Rune sighed. “Yeah, I was a menace in my teens.” He hugged his knees. “I didn’t know how to cope.”

Hyde paused for a moment before he softly asked, “Didn’t you want me to know?”

“I—I don’t want you to see me that way. Like a violent prick that lashes out for no reason.”

“I don’t.” Hyde put a hand on Rune’s arm. “You don’t do that, not anymore. You lost your parents, you were protecting your sisters, it makes sense you lashed out. And besides, no adult is the same person they were in their teens.”

Rune smiled at him a little. “What were you like in your teens?” He let his knees go and leaned back.

Hyde took his hand off his arm, then sat turned towards him. “I was always quite a lone wolf—no pun intended.”

Rune snickered.

“I never put a lot of effort into friendships, but I wasn’t afraid to stand my ground. If I wanted to socialise, I’d go to my family. Mostly my dad. I never felt the need to connect with my peers.”

Rune raised a brow. He was his peer, right? “Until now?”

“Well.” Hyde pushed their shoulders together with a little grin. “Unless they’re worth the effort.”

Some blood rushed to Rune’s cheeks, he glanced away with a shy smile. “I’m glad I’m worthy.”

Hyde chuckled. “That makes me sound like such an ass. Don’t talk to me unless you’re worthy, peasant.”

“No, it’s okay to be picky about who you socialise with. Especially if you have limited social energy.”

Hyde stared at him, then smiled with his own small blush. He pushed his face into the crook of Rune’s neck. Rune flinched at the sudden touch, his face heated up more.

Hyde was tense, but then relaxed; like he’d surprised himself with that move too, but decided to roll with it.

Rune released the tension in his muscles and laid his cheek against Hyde’s head. The message was clear to him.

You get me.

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Rune packed some cans of blood into his backpack by the fridge. Hyde was taking a shower before they went on their long trip again.

Moon stood at the counter, a frown on her face. “Do you really have to go?”

Rune sighed with a sad smile. “Yeah. But I’ll be back soon.”

“What’s so important that you have to leave again, before Grandpa comes home?”

“Hyde helped me build up the courage to come home, I want to return the favour now. He’s been away from his family for longer than I have. I don’t want to give him the opportunity to run away again.”

“Okay…”

Rune ruffled her hair, then pressed a kiss to her forehead.

After his shower, Hyde waited at the door with Rune’s coat on. Rune had an arm around both his sisters, also wearing his coat. Lullaby stood next to them.

“I won’t be away for long,” Rune promised. “I’ll send a letter when we get there, okay?”

“Okay,” Moon repeated. She let Rune go and turned to Hyde. “You.”

Hyde perked up in surprise.

“Take care of my brother.”

“I’ll do my best,” he answered.

Rune chuckled. He looked down at Night clinging to his chest, hesitant to let go. He hugged her tight with both of his arms. “I’ll be back soon,” he whispered to her.

Night nodded and took a deep breath. She stepped away. “You should go, you’ll miss your train.”

Rune smiled sadly. “Yeah.”

Lullaby put her arms around his neck and hugged him. She whispered something in his ear, causing Rune to gain a slight red tint on his cheeks. Hyde couldn’t hear what she had said, but he felt an unpleasant tingle in his gut. They let each other go and Rune looked to the side at Hyde by the door.

Hyde shrugged. “Ready when you are.”

Rune sighed and stepped towards the door, he pulled it open. They both stepped outside. Rune waved back at them one final time.