[A/N] Contains Mild Spoilers for Ren's character. Beware. 

"Ren. Ren, wake up," the girl whispered loudly.

"No," he murmured sleepily, only half aware.

"Ren, you stupidhead, wake up!" she whispered even louder, grabbing his blanket and starting to tug.

"Nooooooooo," he protested even more, fighting to keep the blanket.

"Fucking wake up, bitch, I have a surprise for you!" she hissed.

"Tamiko, Mom'd kill you if she knew you had a mouth like that," he snarked, though it came out in a tired mumble.

"Well it's a good thing I know you won't tell on me," she smirked. She jumped straight on top of him, making him yelp the slightest bit. She frantically shushed him, praying their mother wouldn't hear any of it.

"What do you waaaaaaant?" he groaned.

"I told you, I have a surprise for you! I wanted to thank you for helping me do my chores so Mom would let me go hang out with my friends all day!"

He perked up slightly, shaking her off so that he could sit up. "What sort of surprise?"

Pleased that she finally had her brother's full attention, she smiled. "So, my besties and I went to Gifu today, right?"

"All the way there? That's a pretty long trip."

"Yeah, it took us like three and a half hours by bus."

"No wonder I was already asleep by the time you got home."

She grimaced. "Yeah, I got chewed out for missing curfew. Point is, we went to Motosu Hotaru Park, and I got you a present. Go out through your window, I'll meet you in half a second."

"I have to go out for my present?"

"You know you were already thinking of sneaking out this week. Don't be an ass."

"Okay, alright, okay. I'll see you out there." Ren had long since learned not to question his sister when she was acting this pushy. He changed into something other than his oversized t-shirt and pajama pants, slipping on a pair of socks and shoes as well. Afterwards, he slowly and quietly pulled back the blackout curtain and opened his window. He held his breath as he inched out. Despite having done this dozens of times by now, it was still a bit nerve-wracking. The slight rustle of the bush as he stuck his legs into it, the way he had to stop and reshape it to look normal, this was all familiar.

Shortly thereafter, his sister emerged from her own bedroom window, gingerly handling a tote bag that the family typically used for grocery shopping. "Go, go, we need to go somewhere further than this," she beckoned, "Like the grassy hills a couple blocks away."

Bewildered but in too deep, he only nodded and started running. Even though Tamiko had been the one to make the command, she wasn't moving particularly fast— she was being very careful with the contents of the bag. He complained about her pace, she complained about his existence in retaliation, and it was just the usual Enomoto sibling dynamic. Eventually, they made it far enough out that she was satisfied. It was then that she unearthed the precious cargo, and it made Ren gasp.

A ventilated jar full of fireflies. "Holy shit..." he whispered, awestruck.

"Are you ready?" she asked, a self-satisfied smile on her face. He nodded, incapable of tearing his eyes away from the creatures. She unscrewed the cap and a flurry of motion ensued as the lights scrambled into the open.

Childish wonder lit up his face. It was almost astonishing to her how transfixed he was, as though she was showing him pure, unexplainable magic instead of the mundane though lovely bugs. He hungrily soaked up the sight, extending his arms as though to reach for them. "You won't catch them if you're that enthusiastic. You'll freak them out, just like you freak out everyone else."

"Your face freaks people out," he retorted, briefly snapped out of his state of whimsy by the taunting. But he took a few deep breaths and then any sense of frustration was gone. "So I've gotta be gentler than that?"

"They'll be calm if you are."

"How am I supposed to be calm?! They're so cool!" he enthused.

She couldn't help herself but to laugh just the slightest. "Look, you just walk up to them, and slowly cup your hands around one. Voila!" she demonstrated, scooping a lightning bug effortlessly. "Oh, and obviously don't use too much force. You don't wanna crush the poor thing."

"Got it," he nodded affirmatively. He followed her instructions, managing to softly capture one. He cradled it close to himself and peered inside. "This is seriously the highlight of, like, my year. Thank you so much."

"C'mon, it's not so bad, right? Didn't you have a good day with Mom?"

"Yeah, it was fine. She checked my hair dye for any major carcinogens again, even though I've bought the same brand for years at this point. But on the bright side, we watched another movie. We even made popcorn today, so that was cool." Neither sibling was comfortable addressing the mild agitation that they felt, both trying to stay in the warm affection of the moment.

"But, uh, yeah. No problem. I felt like you'd be happy to see them. Didn't expect you to be quite so excited, but I'm happy to make you happy."

"Well, duh, of course I'm excited. It's my first time seeing them in person. I feel like I'm in a storybook."

"That great, huh? When the girls mentioned fireflies, I knew I had to get some back for you. Bought the jar in a local store and everything."

"Guess I'm lucky to have a sister who cares enough to think about me even when you're with your 'besties.' Even if you are a brat," he joked.

"The brattiest," she played back. "Ugh. As much as I hate it, we should probably get you back home soon. The less time we're out here, the better. I'm already in trouble for breaking my curfew. I don't wanna get mega busted for sneaking her precious treasure out."

He forced a half-smirk behind disappointed eyes. "Yeah, I guess we oughta go."

Not vocalizing any of their complaints, they tried to relish in the joy they'd just experienced together. One of many cherished secrets between brother and sister. They weren't a normal family, but it was okay. It was more than okay.