The Power of Three

"I'm a bit sleepy, I'll admit...I'm prone to nightmares. I was thrashing a lot, big brother said. I don't remember it though...I guess I was out cold otherwise." She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head. "That time is fine...Ah, should we bring something? I have to admit, I have an odd diet many times...And my brother is a bit of a picky eater. We're a bit like opposites, not just because we don't look similar. Big brother prefers really simple food, mostly vegetables and such...But I tend to need to eat a high sugar diet because my blood sugar always runs low..." She laughed nervously as she spoke, but pat his shoulder without realizing it. "You get some rest soon too if you're sleepy. I plan on taking a nap during gym since I don't participate anyway...But you should try to get some rest during a free period if you can."

After the incident with Daniel, Sayaku rushed to his sister's side when Daniel was done cursing and sent to the principal's office. He looked at the troubled wrist and looked to his sister, who nodded lightly, but was soon shown a shake of the head. "You should get some ice on that wrist soon even if you want to take out your anger first. If you take your anger out while it's injured, you're more likely to make the injury worse." He smiled easily, adding, "And I only know that from getting injured a lot as a kid and because this one ends up pushing herself too hard constantly."

"As a kid?" Flutter responded simply. "I know you think of getting hit by a ram as the worst of it, but you still do get injured... Just not as badly."
 
Adrian nodded. "We also are very prone to nightmares unfortunately. Just another thing we have in common." he smiled. "I was hoping I could doze off during study hall. I know mom is making her favorites but if something else is needed we'd be more than happy to let her know she'll cook whatever she loves cooking. She's making roast with vegetables and her favorite cheesecake filled strawberries for desert. Is there something else you would want?" He asked smiling warmly at her.

Abbigail knew that her siblings and friends were just worried for her. "If we're doing anything with our hands I'll sit out." she said stretching her hand up. It wasn't terribly painful just a little sore. She knew that it would probably feel more sore tomorrow. She looked up confusedly. "A ram? and you're worried about a wrist while you were hit by a ram?" she giggled and shook her head. "Abbie you're going to have to skip swim practice today." She looked up at her brother with a ghastly expression. "Why?" "Because you need to rest your wrist so you won't hurt anything further." Adrian was correct of course but she didn't want to miss one of the few things that brought her happiness. She sighed and and didn't agree to missing practice just merely sat down on the bench when she saw they were going to be playing dogdeball. It was clear her brothers were not going to let her play in PE.

"She can be so stubborn some times." Adrian said lining up with the rest of the group getting ready for dodgeball. "We're going to have to make sure she doesn't have any more run ins with that guy. What's with him anyway?" Aidehn asked bending down to tie his laces. "Who Daniel?" "Yeah why is he so interested in her, she doesn't even know him and she obviously told him she wants nothing to do with him. Are guys around here just that dense?" Adrian shrugged looking over at Sayaku who had known the guy longer than the boys.
 
Flutter giggled from his words- bonding over a tendency towards nightmares? That was a new one even to someone with little social knowledge. "I'll be fine since there's cheesecake included. I might not eat much of the vegetable roast...But brother will love it. Trust me." Her smile was clear and simple- and the thought of the cheesecake and strawberries seemed to make her hungry. She let it go, a relaxed sigh escaping her as she thought on it.

---

Sayaku laughed nervously. "Hey, the ram was when I was a kid."

"Yes, but it likely hurt more either way, Saya..." He shook it off as his sister spoke to him, watching her separate from the group to sit out.

To Adrian's question, Sayaku replied, "He's the type who is more than just dense. He's a stubborn mule that can't get enough attention. He's sort of like a hawk in a way. He's a predator that keeps a close eye on that which catches his interest...But like a crow, his interest is a bit overly easy to catch. It was my sister over the summer. He'll stop over time...But until he does, we have to keep an eye on him, since he tends to play dirty." He let out a sigh. Oh, Daniel was a pain- but over time, he'd grow bored Sayaku was sure. At least, for his own good he would. "Basically, he's stubborn in the more troublesome sense, compared to Abbigail who has her stubbornness show by overworking."
 
Abbie tried to keep her frustration to herself. She leaned back against the row of bleachers behind the one she was sitting on and rested her elbows on it. She looked down at her wrist and made small circles with it. She stared out onto the court wishing she could play. There was no way they were going to let her go to swim practice she thought of one of the people they had met on a G.O.S.H raid a few years back. Rhea was also being hunted by G.O.S.H. and had escaped when the resistance had come to their aid. She was a healer. She wondered if she was still free or had been caught. Every day being able to live out of confinement was a gift. She closed her eyes just enough to drift off into a small nap. The nightmares had kept her up for too long the night before.

Adrian nodded while Sayaku explained. They had always been very protective of their sister. She had resented it at times and was grateful for it at other times as well. Being the way they were, they were a very tight knit group. The game went on for the rest of the hour and Adrian was glad to have been hit with the ball crumbling onto a spot on the bench beside Abbigail. He breathed heavy. The knock woke Abbie up suddenly. "Did i scare you?" She shook her head handing him a towel. "If you worked out more you wouldn't sweat like a sinner in church." She laughed. He wiped his face and neck and shrugged. "This is your forte sis, i'm very glad it's not mine." The whistle blew and all the students began filing back up towards the locker rooms. After a shower and a spritz of cologne the boys were back to smelling clean and Abbie walked to class with them.

At lunch Abbigail decided to tell her coach that she had to skip out on today's training. "You're missing out on the first practice that seems like you're backing out miss." she shook her head at him. "I had a run in with another student i'm sure you've heard by now and i hurt my wrist. If it were up to me I would come to training but with my brothers being as protective as they are I'm not going to be allowed. They're only enforcing what I'm sure my parents would back as well." "Very well then, whenever you're back to sorts you need to get ahold of me i'm hoping you aren't going to miss more than a few more practices. First meet is only a month away." "Yeah... I'll be ready. Thanks again coach." he nodded and waved her off.

She rejoined the group in the lunch room and took a bite of a celery stick dipped in peanut butter. "Where did you run off to?" Adrian asked finishing his meal, "Just told the coach that you guys are keeping me from practice." He looked at her sympathetically. "It's okay I understand why you do it." They nodded shrugging it off even though her brothers knew how unnerving it truly was to her. Adrian looked over at Flutter and Sayaku sitting together. "I talked to Flutter about it in History class but mom and dad have invited you guys over tonight. She said it'll be served at six. You're more than welcome to come anytime and bring your uncle if you'd like." Aidehn and Abbigail nodded hoping their mother wasn't going above and beyond.
 
Sayaku had taken a slight beating on the court, but it was nothing he couldn't handle- though one ball hit the area he'd been punched the day before, causing a bit more soreness than he had anticipated. In the very end, he dropped out to go to the lockers early, seeing his unnerved sister watching him walk off from the bleachers. He waved to her in a cheerful manner to imply his own safety, before going in early to shower and change. He used one of the stalls to hide the bruise on his side, even though he was generally the only one there, and was careful as he finished getting prepared. His sister, who'd sat out the entire time, walked with him to class afterwards.

At lunch, when the triplets and they were sitting and eating, Flutter and Sayaku looked at each other curiously. They hadn't thought to invite their uncle, who they still had to talk to about dinner. "Flute told me the gist of it...Didn't think about uncle though."

"Uncle's been home more lately...He might come." Flutter replied. "It's been fun eating together lately."

"Yeah, he changed his work schedule again didn't he? But I agree. I feel better having him home at night too. I didn't like that you were home alone when I wasn't there because of his night shift." Sayaku laughed a bit, smiling as he looked at the triplets, eating some salad from a bowl. His sister mildly nibbled at a cookie, having already eaten a bun filled with sweetened meat. As she ate, she sipped at a juice box when she wasn't speaking.

"Say, Abbigail grows plants right? Can I see when we're there? I was curious, so I started looking into the ones I'd heard of vaguely..." She hadn't thought it likely that it was a secret that Abbigail liked plants, and wanted to use it as a chance to bond- or at least, that was the emotional reason. However, her logical side merely told her it was because plants were interesting and useful.

"You and plants," Sayaku mused. "Just that alone can help you two get along easily, huh?" He smiled, adding, "Though so far, this group seems to work out well in general."
 
Abbigail perked up instantly. Nothing like talking about her favorite passtime. "Yes... I have a insatiable interest in flowers. Especially rarities." She smiled widely. "I would love it if you would be interested to see. Seeing as my brothers have little interest in flowers although..." she looked over at Adrian raising an eye brow. His face turned a deep shade of red. "I heard lilacs were of interest to my brother." Aidehn looked over at his brother and then at Flutter and understood the meaning of Abbigail's teasing making him grin widely. "Also I'm sure our brother would love to show you his statues." Aidehn shook his head. "I need to get into artistic stuff." They laughed lightly at his remark.

Aidehn jogged on the sidewalk on the way home while his siblings walked slowly behind him. "So you're not mad that we kept you from practice?" Adrian asked kicking a stone as he went. "Not mad at you guys... i'm mad at that jerk." She played with her hair braiding it to the side and then un-braiding it to begin again. "Yeah Sayaku said the guy is pretty much a tool that he'll get bored. He was after Flutter last time apparently." She smiled at his tone. "Does that upset you Adrian?" He scrunched his nose at her while she giggled. "I think it's adorable." "Yeah well I'm glad you find it adorable while i'm living a cyclone of unknown emotions." she laughed louder. "Will you guys catch up?" Aidehn called from the end of the block ahead of them. "This isn't a race macho man!" Abbie called jokingly.

When they walked in the front door the house smelled of sweet pea flowers and a beef roast with vegetables in the oven. "Go get ready for our guests." "Mom they're not coming till later." she hushed and sent them upstairs. They each knew that she meant their rooms better be clean. Abbigail always kept her room pretty immaculate. She decided to meditate before the night began. She sat in the lotus position in the middle of her room and breathed out slowly the air becoming very cold around her the water vapor around her freezing slowly small ice crystals forming. Adrian and Aidehn's room was a complete different story. The only clean spot was Adrian's bed and desk. "Get crackin'" Aidehn said throwing himself on his brother's bed. "Just cause I can do it mentally doesn't mean I'm picking up your mess brother." He groaned standing back up and helped Adrian clean up.

Later that night Abbigail finished getting ready. She wore plain black jeans and a flower print button down. She stood outside checking on her flowers when Adrian joined her. "You look spiffy." she remarked at his attire, kakhi's and a black button down with the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms. "You look nice yourself sister." "Is Aidehn wearing some tattered torn clothes like he did last time?" they giggled and were impressed to see their brother wearing jeans and a Ramones t-shirt. "Well it's better then when dad had his colleagues over." Abbigail said. Aidehn fake laughed with them and sat down at the counter to help his mom finish the cheesecake filled strawberries. "Help, not devour." Alessandra said as he ate more than he was making. He smiled at her and finished helping. Adrian looked at the lilacs so beautifully swaying the late evening breeze. "She's going to love them." Abbie said quietly smiling at the ghost orchid that had begun to grow a second bulb. "It's going to be mystifying once it blooms." Adrian ensured his sister. The doorbell rang and they both looked towards the house. "Here goes." She said walking in with him following.
 
Flutter seemed rather surprised, not quite catching on to the teasing, but rather thinking she hadn't caught something in the previous day's conversation. "I had no idea he also liked lilacs. Lilacs are my favorite...Though I feel strange admitting to having one." She giggled a bit, smiling as she said such. Her brother, meanwhile, clearly caught on and tried not to laugh- and it worked quite well, until he was randomly laughing on the walk home from school.

At home, Flutter and Sayaku had spoken with their uncle, and all changed because they didn't want to seem too messy. For Flutter, that included braiding her long hair so that it wouldn't get into her food, making one long braid behind her that was tied with a slightly big yellow ribbon with the help of her uncle. She'd changed from her general school clothes to what she actually preferred, a long violet skirt reaching her ankles and a simple white blouse with a flower printed on the front. The blouse had long sleeves to keep her warm, and she kept a lavender jacket on to keep it more so. Her brother had changed into a pair of dark jeans and a white long-sleeved shirt, covered by a black over-shirt with shorter sleeves that helped tie the black and white together more. His hair was slightly less messy than usual, but showed a clear sign of needing a bit more brushing. However, he was otherwise cleanly dressed, and waited with her for their uncle, who left with them in his normal business attire, feeling confident as he was.

The three walked together, Flutter in between the two protective men of her family. Their uncle seemed rather interested, and had made sure to bring with him at least a small offering for the meal- a set of meat-filled pastries, slightly sweetened, much like Flutter had had for lunch. He carried them easily at his side as he went with the kids to the household of their new friends. Once there, they waited for the door to be answered, before the uncle was the first to speak, much to the surprise of his niece and nephew. "My name is Ryo Fujimaru...Thank you for having us. I'm grateful to your children for being so good to these two." He pat Flutter's head lightly, causing her to squint an eye in embarrassment as he smiled. "I brought something as a token of thanks."

"Uncle, you're too formal sometimes..." Flutter mused. However, looking around, she began to doubt herself. "Though I may be wrong about that..."
 
Sebastian smiled gratefully accepting their token. "Thank you so much for coming on such short notice the kids were so excited to have you all over. Please come in." Although they had only lived in the home for less than a week, Alessandra prided herself in keeping her house spectacularly decorated. There were bouquets of flowers at every table, elaborate paintings all of which were Adrian's masterpieces and splendorous rugs. The woman deserved her own magazine. The guests were shown to the family room where Aidehn walked in to greet them. "Hello Sayaku, Flutter." He smiled warmly and then looked up at their uncle. Adrian and Abbigail walked into the room and stood beside their brother. "Hello." Abbie smiled at their friends and then at their uncle. Adrian waved at them. "Sorry for my brothers lack of introductions, I'm Abbigail, that's Aidehn and this is Adrian." She said pointing to the brothers respectively. "We're very glad to have you over." they all said in unison.

Alessandra finished checking on the roast and the strawberries that were cooling before walking into the family room. "Hello I'm Alessandra sorry to keep you all waiting. Welcome to our home." she said excitedly. The triplets all looked over at her in horror. "Mom..." Aidehn whispered telling her to tone it down a bit before she sent the guests running for the hills. She waved him off. "You must be Flutter, so beautiful. And you must be Sayaku." My children don't divulge much information about their friends so I'm afraid all I really know about you two is that you are good with music and you are good with math." The triplets all put their hands to their drawn down faces in shame. Their mother was insane.

"Darling this is Ryo Fujimaru, the kids' uncle." Sebastian said placing his hand on the small of her back gravitating her towards the soft smiling man. Alessandra smiled and extended her hand shaking his. "It is so nice to meet you. I hope you all brought your apetites I made a nice meal." The triplets feeling they were going to explode from embarassment excused themselves. "Mom, dad, Mr. Fujimaru if it's okay with you guys we'd like to go converse in normal teen dialect in the backyard." The adults nodded them off and they led Sayaku and Flutter out to the fenced in back yard. "My God... Mom is psychotic!" Aidehn said grabbing the basketball and aiming at the hoop. "So much for not over doing it." Abbie said walking over to the porch swing. "Oh... Flutter... Would you like to come see some of my statues?" Adrian said pointing over to the end of the backyard with some statues surrounding a small koi pond now surrounded with blooming lilacs. Abbie swung smiling watching her brother feeling he was all grown up
 
Ryo smiled easily. "Not at all. I was looking forward to meeting their friends as well. It's not rare for Sayaku, but Flutter here isn't the type to get along with others very easily. When she starts talking so happily about others, it's very special." Flutter looked away in response to her uncle's words, not wanting to accept that it was true, or rather, not seeing a point in the matter. When they were brought inside, he looked around curiously- compared to their house, it was a very elegant place. Perhaps it was just a family habit, though. "A lovely house you have. Very elegant. I get a feeling someone here quite likes art."

When the triplets introduced themselves as well as their mother, Ryo chuckled a bit. "I know it's been said, but I'm Ryo Fujimaru- these two are my late sister's children, and very dear to me." He was quick to smile, despite a slight sadness to it due to the note of their mother. Sayaku was quick to notice, but sighed as he watched the quick jolt of sadness wash away from his uncle. For his sister, there were no real feelings left for her parents- she'd never seen them since the age of four. For Sayaku, it was easier to understand the sadness. "You all seem like lovely people. I'm not surprised, of course."

Flutter giggled at what Alessandra knew. Sayaku couldn't help but chuckle a bit as well. "You're right. It's nice to meet you, ma'am. Your kids have been good to us, so thanks. And yeah...Flute got our mom's looks." Flutter lightly nudged at her brother as usual from the nickname, but smiled.

"It's nice to meet you." She added lightly, smiling in a polite manner. "Math is fun, so it became easy over time."

"Fun, right. For you." Sayaku shook his head when the triplets noted they wanted to leave to the backyard. He and Flutter easily followed, looking around. "Man your house is big. It's like being back on the farm, but...less farm-like."

"It is bigger than ours, for sure, but...It's also a lot more busy, right?" Flutter smiled to her brother, adding. She shook it off as she heard the note about their mother. "She seemed fine to me though...But I don't live with her, so it's hard to say."

"Our uncle tends to be really hyper when it comes to new people too, don't feel bad. They're happy because it's a peak into their kids lives outside the house, that's all. Heck, my uncle used to send letters constantly to our family in Norway just to tell them about what sis ate for breakfast."

"No way, he did that!?" Flutter became frustrated, not having known. Her brother laughed, patting her head as she turned to Adrain's question. "Sure! I don't know much about them, but it sounds like it might be interesting! Say, you did most of the art inside too, right? I recognized it a bit." She smiled easily, then loked towards the end of the backyard, at the blooming lilacs. "And they're right near lilacs too! How lovely!"

"Have fun," Her brother used as she began to go ahead, looking to Adrian before continuing. He looked towards Abbie, musing quietly to her only, "They were purposely put there, weren't they?" He grinned, clearly noticing it couldn't be quite a coincidence.
 
Alessandra sat down comfortably in her armchair and invited Ryo to sit as well. "It's going to be a few minutes until that food is done if you don't mind having ourselves a little chat." Sebastian smiled and leaned against the mantle listening to his wife chit chat about the kids and how they were so excited to be starting fresh in the new town. "Your sister must be very proud that you have taken your niece and nephew as your own and continued to raise them. They really seem like great kids and our own kids wouldn't have made such fast friends with them if they weren't of great character." Alessandra said warmly

Abbigail swung softly and nodded giggling at Sayaku's question. "Indeed they were. He just came home one day saying he wanted lilacs. You can imagine my surprise that my brother, the book worm, wanted flowers. Lilacs nonetheless... one of the less masculine flowers I have seen by the way. " She giggled once more looking over at her brother and Flutter. "I think flowers are a guy's world around valentines and other major holidays. That's about it." Aidehn said throwing the ball once more. "You would. Mr. Don Juan here who thinks a rose for every girl on valentine's day means he'll have plenty of options for the sweetie's dance they usually throw at high schools." she shook her head. "Do they have sweetie's dances here? Or any dance really? One school we went to didn't even have prom." She said

Adrian nodded triumphantly. "I'm surprised that you could tell and very humbled and honored that you did. Yes... mom keeps trophies. What can I say?" he laughed lightly. He casually pushed his hands into his pockets and walked with her to the pond. "This is my masterpiece you could say." he said. "My first statue over here you can tell since her nose is quite large for her body... birds like to sit on it." he laughed even louder. "After that they just got progressively better." The first statue was of a woman bending down to smell a rose. Her nose really was quite large and the only beautiful part of it was the rose. The second statue was that of three children holding hands in a circle. Each had the letter A somewhere hidden in their clothing. third statue was the tallest and was of a tree... or what looked like a tree at first glance and was actually the body of a woman in dance that her extremities became the branches and roots of the trees displaying large leaves and the last statue was of a man holding a woman in an embrace, he had made it for his parent's anniversary the year before.
 
Ryo chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Yours as well seem lovely. But yes...I'm sure my sister is very happy where she is. She's well missed, though. Even my in laws loved her dearly. In fact, my brother-in-law's sister was crying harder than our parents were. Apparently they became quite close." He sat down in a seat as he was allowed, thinking it over. "It's rare for those two to get on especially well with anyone. Flutter is especially shy- she seems to think she doesn't have actual emotions sometimes, but I think it's just her way of hiding in a shell. Sayaku's usually very upbeat, but...He sometimes seems timid around girls, so seeing he gets along with your daughter adds to my relief for those two."

Sayaku, meanwhile, chuckled. "I like plants myself, but my sister's much more into them. I mostly like plants you can eat...But some flowers are nice. I don't really think of them as masculine or feminine." He smiled easily, adding, "But yeah...Lilacs probably became a request because of Flute. She loves them. Thus it's an easy present for her birthday." He shook his head as he thought of it, adding, "A dance? Uh, never really paid much heed, but...I'm pretty sure there is at least one or two. I don't normally go to them, but my band played at one last year, so there should still be some."

Flutter listened to his enthusiasm, trying hard not to giggle from it. As she looked at the statues, she seemed to recognize bits and pieces. "I would've just assumed her nose was like that because it was meant to take in more of the rose's scent- they do have lovely scents after all...Ah!" She looked at the second one of three children holding hands in a circle. "This is...The three of you, right? Each one has an 'A' on it...And your names all start with 'A'. It's neat that way." She smiled a bit, looking at the rest. They were well made and fairly accurate, she found, growing in accuracy as she looked at each one. However, whether they were 'nice' or not, she wouldn't quite say. But they certainly intrigued her, as did he.
 
"Believe it or not our little trio has had more than enough trouble fitting in at previous schools. They are good kids they are just different. We are also quite relieved to see them sharing time with your twosome." Alessandra smiled. "Abbie has always had a great personality and has been surrounded by boys since conception" Sebastian mused laughing "Thats probably why she is able to get along with boys as well as girls." Alessandra excused herself to check on the food once more.

Abbigail listened to Sayaku and giggled, "I like the ones you eat too. I'm sure you'll enjoy tonights dinner then." Aidehn cheered himself on as the ball swooshed through the hoop. "Nothing but net!" Abbigail clapped lightly. "I do hope there is a dance or two though I'm feeling neglected." Aidehn said making Abbie crack up in laughter. "I'm serious being stuck with you two all the time I need some time with someone pretty." Abbie's jaw dropped when she scoffed at her brother insinuating she wasnt pretty.

Adrian nodded pressing his thumb to the child that resembled him. "I found a picture just like this when going through boxes a year or two back and was fetched at the idea to memorialize this for mom and dad. She cried." He said smiling remembering the unveiling. He pulled at the stem of the blooming lilac and tore it off the plant offering her the lavender colored bloom. "For you." He smiled and turned to look away from her when his mother called for dinner out fhe back door.
 
"I'm sure it's harder with three...Originally, I was taking care of Flutter as a singleton, but once my sister passed, well...There were some issues with my brother-in-law I won't get into, but Sayaku came rather soon after she had left this world. Where Flutter gets her gentle appearance, Sayaku got his persona, though. The boy's quite like his mother- very energetic and cheerful, though sometimes a bit too empathetic. He's always been good with girls, but his luck tends to be pretty bad...I think it's why it's a relief he's got a friend that's a girl now. His bad luck lead to him being a bit intimidated of them for a while." He smiled, adding, "And from what I'm told, they're all wonderful personalities. Not just Abbie. The fact they all get along together is good too, though."

Sayaku chuckled to Abbigail's response, nodding in agreement. He cheered a bit for Aidehn as well when the ball went through the net, clapping easily. "Well done. Better than I am, for sure. I'm better at things that don't require a ball...Like really plain stuff, pull-ups and stuff...But that's just because as a kid I was used to pushing livestock and pulling them back from doing something dumb." He thought a moment, adding, "But mostly pushing livestock. Or getting pushed by them." He chuckled, then turned to Abbie when she had scoffed, patting her back. "Now, now. He's just being objective...It's hard to admit when your sister's pretty, and we tend to think of our siblings differently. Don't tell me you'd think of dating your brothers, would you?" He chuckled, smiling easily. He could understand Aidehn's words, but also see where Abbie was coming from.

Flutter smiled lightly as she listened to his explanation. "It's well made. I bet big brother would find it really neat too. He's more into art than I am...I mostly notice the small details, not the big picture." She smiled weakly, feeling a bit embarrassed by mentioning the fact that her brother was clearly more artistic than she was- in fact, she didn't really have a creative cell in her body, she often said. However, her embarrassment changed when he held out one of the new blooms, her usual blood pressure moving from the rest of her body to her cheeks, causing a warmth both foreign and yet recognizable to her. She accepted it cautiously, holding it carefully to her chest while murmuring a word of thanks, before turning towards the back door as well. "Time to eat?"
 
Abbie shivered at the thought of dating her brothers. "Ew." Aidehn laughed out loud. "You're mad cause i'm sexy." She laughed punching him playfully on the bicep. "Come on i'm starving!" He said walking over to the back door where his mother waited expectantly. Abbie stood up and followed in suit. She looked back at Adrian and saw him hand Flutter a flower. She saw a flash of red cheeks and smiled. "Well there's progress." she said pointing to them. She waved over at her brother and began towards the house.

Once inside Alessandra presented her entire meal. Towards the center of the table there was a platter with a beef roast surrounded by a heaping pile of vegetables. Carrots and potatoes glistened with a hint of gravy. Next to it was a bowl of mashed potatoes with chives and then the two tiered platter of cheesecake filled strawberries. It looked like rachel rae had visited. "Allright every one dig in." She smiled politely and waited as the kids served themselves and handed the bowl of potatoes around.
 
Sayaku couldn't help but laugh as he watched the ensuing, humorous event between Abbigail and Aidehn, smiling as he did so. When he heard the call to go to eat, he followed the two towards the door, stopping to wait for his sister. Seeing her with the flower, he pat her head, giving a slight encouraging smile and whispering something to her before walking inside. When there, the two sat near their uncle naturally, looking at the table and beginning to take food for themselves to eat.

Sayaku took mostly some vegetables, along with a bit of mashed potatoes. His uncle pushed a small piece of roast, but he wouldn't take much. After he was done with getting food set on his plate, he helped his sister find the right food placing for her due to her unique blood sugar issue- however, they were able to figure her out likely easier than her brother had been. Once both had food, and the others were also done, the two began to eat. Flutter was slightly messy compared to her brother, having a slight bit of gravy on the corner of her mouth when she finished chewing and tried to note how tasty the food was. Her uncle laughed slightly and cleaned it for her.

"You should just tell me..." She mused, looking at him slightly. He chuckled, smiling in return.

"It wouldn't help. You're your mother's child. Your mother got so embarrassed when I did, I figure it easier to just do this for you." Ryo had a strangely genuine smile, but was not seen as unnatural by the two kids. Sayaku shook his head.

"I think she finds it more embarrassing this way. We're not at home, uncle." He smiled, patting his sister's head before eating some vegetables from his plate. "It is really good though, she makes a really good point there. I know what she's especially looking forward to, though." He eyed his sister, then the dessert, and chuckled as she turned a slightly deeper red from his notation.
 
Alessandra smiled hearing them talk about her food. "I'm glad you all find it delicious." she said pausing until her children looked up at her and smiled. Abbigail took a drink of her glass of water and nodded as did Adrian in unison. Aidehn, independent as he wanted to be, smiled with a cheek full of food. "Great ma like usual." She shook her head smiling at her son. When Flutter reddened from Sayaku's comment she smiled. "They're my absolute favorite." she said to Flutter. "I thought I'd give myself a reward for pulling off a great dinner." Sebastian smiled and finished his plate. "As usual darling, you deliver flawlessly. I'm glad you're the cook we'd have had to order pizza had it been me or the boys making dinner." The trio laughed acknowledging the truth in his statement.

Once the dinner plates had been cleared by Sebastian and Alessandra the kids were excited to place some delectable strawberries on their dessert plates. "You guys are going to love these." Abbigail said scooping two onto her plate and a few more for each of her brothers. "Would you like a cup of coffee Ryo or kids?" Alessandra asked from the doorway into the kitchen. The triplets shook their head at the same time and finished their strawberries. "These are delicious." Aidehn said eating two at a time. Abbigail laughed. "They're not going to poof off your plate." Aidehn eyed Adrian who raised an eye brow, "They could."
 
Ryo chuckled a bit. "In our house, it's better to let myself or Sayaku do the cooking." He smiled, listening. He heard a groan from the girl next to him, and shook it off easily.

"Everything Flute makes has too much sugar in it," Sayaku explained.

"My taste buds are off from all the sugar I need to eat for my blood sugar to stay normal," She protested, but he laughed and pat her head smiling as she finished her food. He was the one to quickly give her what seemed like a large amount of dessert, figuring it best to treat her to it. He took a minimal amount himself, mostly interested in the strawberries and not the filling. Unlike the two who were so opposite in their food, Ryo took a very neutral amount. "No thank you...I'm not a coffee drinker."

"Actually, neither of us is. I'm happy with water anyway." Sayaku smiled to his friends' mother, taking a sip of said water afterwards. "Thank you though."

Ryo, meanwhile, accepted the offer. "I'd love some coffee personally. Thank you very much." He turned to watch his niece and nephew tasting their food before joining them. "A very unique and lovely dessert."

"This is really good!" Flutter chimed in easily, already having finished two or three of the strawberries. "I've never had something like this before, but it's really, really tasty!" She giggled a bit, adding, "I'm not good at cooking normal food, but I'm good with desserts...And this is one I've never tried. Can you teach me it sometime, ma'am? Oh...Though maybe it's a secret recipe? Sort of like mom's recipe for herb cake...That uncle finally found for me."

"Actually, that turned out pretty good..." Sayaku mused, watching Aidehn and his siblings talking over whether the food would disappear. "I think the only one who's going to make your food vanish is my sister if you're not careful."
 
Alessandra smiled "Oh I'll get the recipe to you. I'll send it with Adrian to school." she said and took off into the kitchen to finish fixing up a pot of coffee. Sebastian took to washing the dishes that had already accrued within their sink. Adrian looked over towards his mother with a faint look of exasperation on his face. Abbie giggled. If you thought she didn't know, it's quite obvious He eyed his sister in the same way. What gave it away? Aidehn and Abbigail looked over at the bloom neatly sitting on the table beside Flutter's plate. Adrian smiled looking to the heavens.

Alessandra came in with a cup of coffee for the kids' uncle and one for her husband. She sat down with her own cup and sipped it slowly. "I do all the cooking with help from Abbie whenever she's not growing flowers." she said smiling. "Every flower in here is product of her hobbie. She's quite flexible in most things. She's girly but growing up with two brothers has what it takes to handle herself like one of the boys not to mention athletically she beats most." Abbie smiled. "Thanks mom." She nodded slightly. "My favorite to cook is also dessert. I'm a sweets person myself although it has nothing to do with my health. Did it take a while to figure out what diet was best for you when you were first born? I couldn't imagine knowing all the specific nutrient needs my children would need to be healthy at such a little age." She said looking from Flutter to Ryo.
 
Ryo laughed nervously in response to Alessandra's explanation. He'd also apparently caught on to the reason behind her note of Adrian taking the recipe to school. So that was the one Flutter had taken an interest in, was it? He'd have to remember that for the future. "Well, she was already talking by then... She told me that the doctor often gave her candy when he'd check her. She's the only one between them with such a unique health need...I think my worry, rather than whether I was providing properly since I believed in the doctors, was whether she was emotionally healthy from having to be home so often...And I'm her uncle, not her father. I know in the beginning, she was very distant and lonely without her parents."

"But you're like my dad anyway, so it's okay." Flutter giggled, smiling as she remembered his tendency towards acting like an overbearing father at times in the past. "The nurse used to think you were lying about being my uncle."

Smiling a bit, Ryo took the cup of coffee given to him and gave his thanks for it. He then thought over the words of the woman about her own child. "I've heard of her athletic ability from the kids. Sayaku's a bit similar. He always was good at expressing himself and, though he does get along with the boys, he's been pretty popular with the girls because he's more on the sensitive side. However, I think it's just because of where and how he was raised."

"You understand illogical things better too though, uncle." Flutter mused.

"And my sister, as you can see, has no understanding of emotions." Sayaku added. "Not sure what caused it in her case, but...She tends to favor math over people. That's one of the reasons that when she suddenly said 'we' made friends, even I was in shock."

"It's not like I've never had a friend before..." Flutter mused. "Though I suppose I see some logic in that point...I don't know what came over me to think that way. It's not a logical process..."

"And again, we're back at that. We were doing so well with it too..." Sayaku sighed, laughing and patting her back. "Enjoy your dessert and pretend I didn't say anything."
 
Alessandra nodded listening to the kids' uncle and the triplets all looked as if they were wanting to blow their brains out. "Mother..." Aidehn asked finally getting a word in before she continued the most boring conversation. "Yes?" "Is it all right now that you've met their uncle and that he isn't an alien seeking to destroy man kind can we please enjoy an evening away from this home with our friends in the future?" She looked over at him sternly while Sebastian chuckled. "Leave it to our son to make it sound so entertaining." He smiled exuberantly and Alessandra diverted her attention back to Ryo. "Yes whenever the children would like to go over if allowed with permission first of course, we are more than happy for them to spend time with their friends. Same goes for Sayaku and Flutter, our doors are always open." She smiled at the two.

As the Cantane's and their uncle were getting ready to depart their home that night Aidehn was the first to bid them goodnight. "Sorry the first time was so formal. Next time maybe we can just hang out and watch a scary movie and watch Abbigail scream like a wimp." Abbie playfully punched her brother again. Adrian laughed and cowered when she threatened to punch him as well. Abbigail held her wrist and massaged it slightly. "Punching me wasn't the best idea huh?" he asked bothering her. "It's fine just a little sore." She pulled her sleeve down over her wrist and smiled sweetly at their friends. "Thanks for bringing those sweet buns they were amazing." Adrian nodded he had enjoyed one as well. "Aidehn, dishes." Alessandra called from the kitchen. "Adrian, trash." Abbigail smiled knowing her mother was going to ask her to clean up the dining room. "Chores before bed it's like boot camp." Aidehn grumbled jokingly before waving to the siblings and disappearing into the kitchen.

Before they had left Adrian mustered the courage to ask Flutter to talk in private. "I know it's pretty sudden... and well... you might find it illogical that I have found feelings towards you... But..." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "That whole movie idea was a good idea and it doesn't have to be scary... it can be anything...and it can be here with our my siblings and with your brother... but what I was trying to wonder was... would you mind maybe going on a date sort of... thing... with me?" he asked awkwardly feeling the heat rise within his cheeks. Abbigail peeked around the door listening in waiting for the answer. "Maybe she'll say yeah?" she whispered to no one in particular even though Sayaku was standing close to where she was.
 
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