I honestly told myself I'd never throw in a flashback in this story.

I promised myself as soon as I started it.

I have broken my promise and disappointed myself.

:D

-

"You can't do that, Ronnie! That's cheating!"

A newly six year old Eriol's voice rang out from the shallow end of the pool. He waded in the water with two floaties on his arm, as he wasn't quite tall enough to stand above.

"It's not cheating!" Ronnie giggled, swimming further away from the boy towards the deeper end of their pool.

"Yes it is!" his brother pouted, furrowing his brows as he sniffled a bit.

Robin sat at the edge of the pool with his legs in the water. He wasn't really one for swimming, but he promised Eriol he'd be there for his sixth birthday. The brunette watched as said friend mumbled something to himself before turning towards him.

"Robin! Tell him that's cheating! He knows I can't swim that far!"

Robin immediately held up his hands in surrender while his eyes widened. "I-I don't think that's really...uh, really my job..."

Eriol sighed in childish annoyance and wobbled his way over to Robin. He stopped as soon as he got near him and stared at him intently. It proceeded on as a staring contest, but the silence was broken by a loud splash.

"JACKKNIFE!" Ronnie yelled just as he hit the water.

Robin instinctively raised his arms in defense as the water washed all over him. Eriol was just at his feet, laughing madly.

He couldn't help but smile. He was glad he had friends, and he hoped he never lost them.

-

Robin's eyes slowly opened, and yet all he was met with was darkness - with the exception of the faint moonlight streaming through the small cracks in the wall.

He pushed himself up from his awkward sleeping position on the floor and rubbed his eyes. It had been a while since he slept so unrestfully, and he fully intended to fall back asleep had his body let him.

He shoved the covers off of him, straightened up a bit, and sat criss-cross on the blanket below him - and there he stayed for at least twenty minutes.

As soon as he decided to fall back onto the pillow, he caught the sound of faint murmuring. He paused, halfway to the pillow, and sat back up again. The breaker of silence continued on, but this time there were a few small hiccups in between.

Robin sighed as he got up and looked around the room. He caught sight of a blanket that covered a shaking figure and immediately figured out who the culprit was.

The brunette tiptoed over to the makeshift bed and sat down next to it as quietly as possible. He took a deep breath before he placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and slowly pulled the covers off of his face.

Ronnie lay there with his eyes screwed shut. His cheeks were reddened with tears and he was mumbling something that went along the lines of 'Eri' and 'sorry.'

"Ronnie," Robin whispered and shook the shoulder a bit. "C'mon Ronnie..."

After a few moments, Ronnie's eyes opened just as slowly as Robin's had just a while ago, if not slower. His dark eyes glinted with evident tears in the night as he looked up at Robin.

Robin gave his friend a sad smile. They sat like that for a moment - quiet and calm.

Ronnie soon decided to break this serenity as he - in a moment of weakness and desperation - wrapped his arms around Robin's torso.

Robin, taken aback, hugged Ronnie back as soon as he registered what was actually happening. He let the older teen cry it out, knowing that everything must have just caught up to him.

The fourteen year old watched as his friend struggled to keep his sobs silent. He watched as one of the bravest people he knew crumbled to pieces in front of him because of something that never should've happened - no, it never would've happened had he not been so selfish.

'Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race,' he thought to himself, repeating the quote in his head as he held tight to the broken warrior in front of him.

"I just don't understand why he had to take him," Ronnie nearly whimpered, loosening his grip on Robin. "He didn't do anything wrong - he's never done anything wrong. What if he kills him? Robin, what if he's already dead? What if I never see my little brother again? I couldn't go home without him. I couldn't face my father with half of an arm and no Eriol...Oh God..."

Robin stared down at him with a shimmer of guilt in his eyes. He shook his head as he clenched his teeth together which served as a hindrance to answering.

Ronnie choked out a sob that utterly surprised Robin. He realized that the boy was in so much pain and he was holding so much back.

He heard shuffling behind him, but he paid no attention to it. All he did was rub Ronnie's back in a rather ungainly manner.

"He's probably gone, Robin. I'll never see him again. I'll never get to...to." He nearly wailed and his eyelids tightly shut. "I'll never get to s-see him laugh or...or see that smile he gets when he-he's happy for me and...and I just.."

An arm made its way around Robin's shoulder and a small weight rested on the other one. He looked over to see Yoshii and Nikolai, the latter surprising him quite a lot.

The pink haired fairy smiled sadly at him as he fluttered down to Ronnie. He buried himself comfortingly in the crook of the human male's neck and lightly laid his small hands on him. He seemed to be telling him something and Ronnie visibly calmed.

Robin sat there for a moment as Ronnie fell asleep. He refrained from moving and just let him be.

Soon after Ronnie, Nikolai fell asleep once more. Yoshii still sat next to Robin, noticeably struggling to stay awake.

"You should sleep," Robin told him softly. Yoshii shook his head with determination.

"Not until you do," he whispered back, his eyes drooping a bit.

Robin decided it was time anyway and rested his head on the fairy's shoulder. He felt him tense up for a minute then relax. It was nice and honestly quite a lot more comfortable than the thin blanket atop the hard flooring.

They all rested like that for the duration of the night - saddened yet comforted.

It was almost too perfect.

-

So that was that.

There's more adventure-centered things coming soon.

Yep.

This honestly hurt a wee bit to write, but doesn't every chapter?

Ships too also though.

Smol Nikolai will get more time.

ENJOY

-AVEH