“I’m going to fucking kill you, Harlow!” I screamed as I ran into the house, and Kieran immediately grabbed me by the waist, hauling me off the ground.

“Whoa there,” Kieran chuckled, trying to calm me, “Language.”

“Shut the hell up! Where is he!”

“Aster Valentine, don’t talk to your father like that,” Ren called from the couch, and I let out a growl, clearly startling both of my parents, “Easy, baby. Calm down. What happened?”

“Why are we screaming?” Frankie came from her room, looking around at the scene in front of her before sighing and disappearing for a moment. She came out dragging Harlow by the front of his sweater, and Harlow ducked behind her, trying to hide.

“I thought you’d stopped your stupid fucking pranks!” I screeched from Kieran’s arms, kicking and flailing, “You idiot! Why the hell would you do that!”

“I-” Harlow stuttered out.

“Tell me!” I screamed again, my eyes filling with tears.

“I didn’t know it would stain,” Harlow whispered.

“What did you do?” Ren narrowed his eyes, setting his tablet on the coffee table and getting to his feet.

“He put red dye in the washing machine! It ruined my cheer uniform!” I started to cry, and Kieran finally set me down, wrapping me in a tight hug, “All of the white is pink and the blue is purple. I have a game tomorrow, I don’t know if I’ll have time to get my other one fixed and cleaned!”

“Harlow, are you fucking serious?” Ren pinched the bridge of his nose, and Harlow shrugged, “You’re 15 years old. Did you even consider what else could have been ruined by doing that? How did Aster not know until now?”

“I slipped it into their bag when they were getting ready for school,” Harlow whispered.

“Grounded. Just… grounded for a long time,” Throwing his hands up, Ren came over and pulled me to the laundry room, “Where’s your other uniform?”

“I hid it from Harlow in our room. Why do we still have to share? He keeps doing this to me,” I sniffled, and he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead before sighing.

“Until Fern moves into the apartment with her friends, you have to. The day she moves, I swear to you we’ll put you in her room, okay? One more week, baby. That’s all.”

“We’re twins. Isn’t he supposed to love me more than anyone?” My eyes filled with tears again, my bottom lip trembling, and I could see Ren’s expression fill with concern.

“Harlow,” He yelled, and Harlow slunk into the room, towering over both of us as he was now six feet tall and would keep growing, “Look what you did. Aster loves you. You’re twins. I think they’re right about something. You’re supposed to love them more than anyone. You shared a space in my stomach for nine months. You held their hand every day when you two were in the NICU. You used to be inseparable. Why do you insist on pranking them? It’s starting to get close to bullying, and if you push it too far, you could lose Aster when you grow up.”

“Really?” he whispered, and Ren nodded quickly, “No, but… I don’t want that. I’m just trying to make Aster laugh again, and I don’t know how to do it. I know I fucked up, I honestly didn’t think their uniform would be ruined.”

“If you want me to smile, just spend time with me,” I whispered, “We used to go for walks all the time. We’d play catch, and you’d spot me when I was practicing my flips and stuff. Now, you just ignore me and sit in our room on your laptop. Did I do something to you?”

“No,” Harlow immediately shook his head, “No, I just… I’m sorry.”

“Is it… her?” I looked Harlow in the eyes, and Harlow slowly nodded, “But I’m your sibling. I should be more important. Shouldn’t I?”

“Yes.”

I moved forward, and Harlow gently hugged me, patting my back a few times.

“I’m sorry,” Harlow whispered again, “I just hate seeing you sad. I’m not very good at making people feel better with my words, so I thought if I could at least make you laugh, I’d see you smile again.”

“It’s not your fault,” I whispered back, “It’s okay.”

“I feel like I’m missing a lot of stuff,” Ren looked at us, and we both nodded, “Alright. Fern is in class, Frankie is about to head to her job, so I think it’s about time we sat down and had a long talk with Pai. There is nothing that will stop us from supporting you, but you have to tell us so we can help. I was a teenager once,” he patted us both on the cheek, and I finally smiled, “And I had to hide a massive part of who I was from my birth mother. It was severely damaging to my mental health. That’s the last thing I want to happen to either of you. You can pick dinner, we’ll get a bunch of blankets, and have a picnic in the backyard to talk about whatever it is you need. Okay?”

“Thank you,” Harlow nodded, “Am I…”

“You’re still grounded. Put your phone and laptop on the kitchen counter, you’ll be scrubbing out my washing machine until the water runs clear, and I will be leaving a list of chores that must be done every single day.”

“For how long?”

“One week. Starting tonight.”

“Fine,” he whined, and Ren bopped him gently on the forehead.

“I’ll make it two, Harlow.”

“I won’t complain!” He immediately shook his head and ran from the room.

“Aster, what time is the game tomorrow?”

“6,” I wiped my nose, “Why?”

“Get me the other uniform.”

I went to my room to dig out my ruined uniform and brought it out, finding Ren in the kitchen. He immediately took it from me, looking over the tear in the side and the hole in the skirt.

“The hell did you do to this thing?” He laughed, flipping it through his hands.

“I fell during practice and hit the benches. It caught my top, and my knee went through the skirt,” I shrugged, lifting the side of my sweater to show him the healing scratch on my ribs.

“Jesus, you fell and did that much damage?”

“Y-Yep,” I stuttered, scared to tell him about Amanda tripping me.

Grabbing his phone, Ren puttered around as he called someone on speaker, and I realized it was my Aunt Maci, one of the barbers who worked at the shop he owned. We called all of the barbers and cosmetologists that my parents hired, family, as they were the closest we had outside of our grandparents.

“Hey, boss!” She giggled.

“Hey, Maci. I know you’re not working tonight or tomorrow, so I was wondering if I could get a favor?”

“Do you need me to come in and cover for someone? I’m happy to do so.”

“I know you are. But no. Aster’s spare cheer uniform is messed up, and I don’t know how to sew. Is there any way you can repair it for me by tomorrow at like four? I’m happy to pay you for it.”

“I won’t accept payment if I’m helping my Nix. That’s what we call Aster around the shop since none of us like Nibling for our adorable little non-binary Nix. Oh, is Aster okay with that?”

“I love it,” I giggled from next to my father.

“Oh! Hi, babe. Okay, I’ll fix your uniform lickity split and have your Dad come pick it up. I’m actually out running errands right now, so I can swing by and get it.”

“Perfect,” Ren sighed happily, “Can you… wash it too?”

“I always wash clothes after patching or making them to ensure the stitching holds. Absolutely. Nix, are you sensitive to scents?”

“No, you can use anything.” Shaking my head, I leaned against Ren, and he gently squeezed my side.

“Sounds good. See you in a bit.”

“Thanks, Auntie Maci.”

“You’re welcome, baby.”

While we waited, I ran off to the bedroom to clean my half, wanting to put away anything Harlow could use to prank me. Harlow stomped in, grabbing his laptop and phone, and taking them to Ren as I laughed at him. Harlow constantly lost access to his devices, his pranks over the last few years getting him in constant trouble, and I knew I would eventually forgive him for ruining my uniform because my parents would buy me a new one and have Harlow do chores to make up the money. Frankie left for work at this point, poking her head in to say goodbye, and I waved, leaving the room when Maci reached our house. She picked up the uniform, giving me a long hug, before leaving, a smile now on my face. Kieran ordered pizza, and as Ren laid every comforter out in the backyard, Harlow and I grabbed the pillows, laying them out before we started our picnic.

“Ya know what I always wondered?” Harlow mumbled, his mouth full.

“What?” I laughed, taking a sip of lemonade.

“Why did none of us get Dad’s accent. It’s so nice.”

“Because I barely managed to keep it myself and you grew up around people who only ever lived in Georgia,” Ren shrugged, feeding Kieran a mozzarella stick with a smile.

“Ew,” Harlow gagged, “Why do you two do stuff like that?”

“We’ve been together for nearly two decades, but the feelings we’ve always shared never faded. I treat your father like a king, and he gives me gentleness and love in everything he does. You’ll see when you meet your soulmate,” Kieran shrugged.

“Hm,” Sighing, I looked up at the sky, Caleb flashing into my head for a moment before I pushed him away, wondering why I would think of him, “I hope mine's nice. Accepts me for me, ya know?”

“I mean, if they can’t, then they’re not meant for you,” Ren shrugged, “Okay. We threw this picnic together because you two are keeping secrets. I will never pry, neither will Pai. But we have to know some stuff just to ensure that you’re safe and making good choices.”

“Well… Okay. Harlow, can you start?”

“I guess,” Harlow lay on his back, and Ren ran his fingers through his hair as I leaned back on my elbows, grateful my parents were always happy to listen to us if we reached out or push when we didn’t without overstepping.