Word count: ~1400 words

Me? Writing something platonic? More likely than you think. (Tbh, I'm surprised I haven't done something platonic sooner, because I crave emphasis on platonic relationships, esp being the aro I am)

Anyways. This was a request on Tumblr (thanks Meg!), which was just some Linh and Tam bonding. This is purely platonic, not even background ships.

I went into writing this expecting to write something short and fluffy, but this is kinda angsty actually, its mostly hurt/comfort with a fluffy ending. I wrote this super fast so it might be a bit rushed and hard to read, but enjoy!

Even as a young child, there was nothing more enjoyable to Linh than just being with her brother. She wasn't sure why, whether it was the fact that them being twins meant that they faced similar situations often, or if it was just a thing.

Their father had ordered for them to pretend that they weren't twins, but neither of them wanted to do it. Whenever she was overwhelmed, he would hold her hand and promise to stay with her. And whenever he was angry, she would do the same, take his hand and promise to stay with him. They chose to be loyal to each other, and Linh wouldn't have it any other way.

•~•~•~•~•~•

She wasn't sure what had happened. She'd been a little nervous, sure, but this was never supposed to happen. She was supposed to go shopping in Atlantis with her family and have a good time but instead she had messed everything up.

"You're so weak," her father told her. "Your ability is hardly useful, and you can barely control it. You lack self-control. If you just listened to me for once in your life, none of this would happen. Whatever consequences you face, you deserve."

She looked to her mother for help, but all she did was keep quiet. She kept quiet while she was being insulted. Normally, Tam would be fighting for her, holding her hand so she could find the strength in her to defend herself. But he wasn't there to hear the conversation, so he wasn't able to do anything.

She couldn't bring herself to open her mouth, let alone talk back, so instead  she cried silently. Tam had eventually found her, using the shadows to whisper consoling words as he walked her over to her Tribunal.

All twelve Councilors stood there intimidatingly. She could hardly focus, not when her parents were going on and on about how she was guilty for everything. When it was her turn to speak, she pictured Tam's hand in hers, and gathered the strength she needed to tell her side of the incident.

But it didn't work. She'd been sentenced to being banished. To be far away from home, to live in an area that nobody lived in.

When it was over, her parents had stood up and were ready to leave.

But then Tam had stepped towards Linh.

"If my sister's going to be banished, banish me too!"

"Tam- you did nothing!" Her mother- Mai protested.

"That doesn't matter. I'm not leaving Linh alone!" He had marched towards her and grabbed her hand, squeezing tightly.

"Tam please," Linh whispered. "I-"

"I promised that I'd stay by your side, did I not?" He murmured, taking her other hand.

The decision had been amended and the next thing the knew, she was back at her home and was packing away the things she owned. The registry pendant felt heavy on her neck, so she took it off, and saw that Tam had done the same.

"You don't deserve this," he said. "This isn't right."

"I know," she said, grabbing his hand.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Exillium was awful. Her entire body ached, her vision would blur after an excruciatingly long mental activity. But she coukd survive them. She would survive through them because if she couldn't... there was no other option.

But when the exercises required for her to swim? She couldn't handle it. She couldn't, she wouldn't. She'd lost control in Atlantis, managed to break through the forcefields of talented elves. Without them, she could have killed so many elves. But here, there was no barrier. There was nothing to protect anyone should she be like a raging storm.

The only good thing was that Tam was constantly whispering to her. It gave her the confidence needed to at least try them, it gave her something to fixate on. His words were like a singular piece of driftwood, they were there for her to use to stop herself from drowning.

But it was still hard. She couldn't go up to him and hold his hand, not in front of all these elves. She couldn't even look to him for a reassuring smile, because they were forced to wear masks.

The days were repetitive, over and over, this was the routine. For the most part, it was okay. She was able to get used to most of the activities.

Then Sophie Foster came with her group of friends. Their arrival changed everything. Sophie had talked to her like Tam would, and had helped her when she had to swim. It was different though. Then they'd ended up helping Sophie storm into the Ogre capital, and she'd destroyed even more. This time, it was for all of their safety, but still, she had used her power to destroy again.

But Sophie and her friends didn't judge her. They treated her and Tam with basic decency, with respect, even if they were twins and she was a criminal.

More and more problems had arised. Her friends were hurt and people were going missing and it was all so difficult. She was back at Atlantis again, and she was going to control the water again.

But she wasn't as nervous as before. She had a home, with Tam and the others. She'd done more training, and others had proven that they weren't afraid of what she could do. It was that, combined with Sophie and Keefe holding her hands that had cleared her mind.

She'd used her hydrokinesis again, but this time it wasn't to destroy. This time, she'd saved lives. After it was all over, Tam had sat by her, holding her hands to his cheeks, murmuring about just how proud he was of her, and that he knew she would be able to do great things.

•~•~•~•~•~•

Everything felt strangely cheerful. There were threats of the Neverseen, and there were secrets being discovered, but Linh could admit that her life now was so much better than it was before.

Sophie had gotten injured by shadows, but still, the group didn't let it shake then too much. They were able to visit and make jokes, and Linh found herself able to tease her brother- something she wasn't really able to do in the past.

Tam would often go to Lady Zillah to get some proper training for his ability, and when he was scared and worried that his ability could be used so maliciously, she was there. She squeezed his hands and assured him that he wasn't a monster, that she would always stay by his side.

The confrontation at Everglen broke her. Despite all their promises that they would stay side by side, he'd left her alone. There were others, but she didn't have that strong bond. She couldn't just go up to them and hold their hand and have that simple act fill her with strength. They always gathered strength from each other, but now he left her and joined the Neverseen.

Linh resorted to other ways to find her strength. They weren't the same, and served more as distractions, but they sort of worked. And it wasn't like she didn't enjoy training with Marella, but she was training she she could he strong enough to protect Tam. He'd left to protect her, so she had to do the same. Otherwise, his sacrifice would be in vain.

There was the attack where in the end, Tam was rescued. Keefe was unconscious, and it was distressing, but she also had Tam back. They held each other and broke down, for there were so many horrors that they'd witnessed.

•~•~•~•~•~•

They'd defeated the Neverseen. It was difficult, so many had been injured, even Tam. That alone had brought out her adrenaline, and she wasn't able to hold back. But they'd won, and that was what mattered.

Time had passed, and they stuck by each other's side. They'd gone to Quan and Mai, and even officially cut ties. Because even if those two accepted that they were in the wrong, neither Tam nor Linh were obligated to forgive them.

They lived in their own house and adopted pets. At some point, they had asked each other about crushes, but really, neither of them wanted to leave the other's side.

"Linh?"

She hummed in response.

"Thank you for being with me all these years, I don't know what I'd do without you."

Her hand found his, warm and comforting. "I don't know what I'd do without you either."