Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The world was a beautiful place full of diversity and new places to get to know, at least that was the vision that Sett's mother was trying to inherit to him. After all, the woman had fallen in love with a man of a completely different race from hers, a vastaya with a human, a taboo relationship for which they received quite a few negative reactions, but the woman always insisted that the love they had for each other was the only thing that mattered to face of any adversity. Even when her son was born, the vastaya woman never gave in to the negative and even aggressive comments, which were dedicated to her, after all her husband had always been there to defend them.

At least that's how it was, until Sett turned nine and his father abandoned them to their fate, disappearing overnight leaving behind only a demeaning note. It was at that moment that the redhead realized the discrimination that awaited them, now that his father was not there to protect them, the situations began to escalate quickly with insults and derogatory comments that continued to physical assaults, hate attacks that began to make their stay difficult. 

At school, both the vastaya and human children rejected the redhead, starting to exclude him and group up to pick a fight with him. On the other hand, her mother was not taking it easy either, getting a job was quite difficult for her, receiving workplace harassment and discriminatory comments wherever she arrived, people who had a grudge against her ex-husband were now taking it out on her and her son equally.

The following year was one of the hardest they had in their life, money was starting to get scarce as well as the possible job offers that Settrigh's mother could find in that city, not to mention her son's injuries that worried her more and more every day, at first they were just pushes or hurtful words but lately the bullying that Sett was receiving was too much, the boy ended up fighting almost every day, returning home with different wounds and bruises. Although he emerged victorious from most of the matches, that wasn't what mattered to his mother, she didn't want to see him fight like that.

With a new year ahead of her, due to the lack of opportunities, the woman made the drastic decision to accept a job in a distant city, an isolated region, reaching almost to the other end of the country. The vastaya was deeply worried about her son but they had nothing left to cling to here, Sett noticing that his mother needed support decided not to look back. Since they had been left alone, despite being an eleven-year-old boy, he did everything possible to resist and help his mother. He wished to grow up soon so he could work, for now he only concentrated on resisting and studying, worrying his mother as little as possible. Without a second thought, Sett agreed to leave with his mother, without putting up any problems or resistance, just supporting his mother's determination.

The whole place was quite different, the half vastaya had never seen snow before from where they came from, this area was much more icy. Sett was slightly hypnotized by the snowflakes falling out of the car window, the little one was amused noticing how these melted when they came into contact with the vehicle. Noticing how the school institution was beginning to be visible on the way, the boy turned to see his mother, finding a look of maternal concern that grieved him. 

“Are you sure you'll be okay?” the vastaya woman was talking to her son who was in the passenger seat, without ceasing to see the way.

“Don't worry Ma, everything will be fine, just go to work.” Sett was smiling energetically at his mother trying to lighten the anguish on her face. 

“Okay... I'll try to get here early, just wait for me, don't go anywhere, I'll come for you, got it?” she replied, sighing a little trying not to falter before her own son who at only eleven years old was trying to be strong for both of them.

Once they arrived with the car to the front of the school, the woman parked carefully, looking at her son, watching as he took off his belt taking the backpack in hand to open the car door. 

“Roger that. I'm not moving from here.” Sett smiled playfully at his mother before getting out of the car and turned to see her for a moment with the door ajar. “I love you Ma, everything will be fine today, good luck on your first day.”

“Hey, I should say that myself.” the woman let out a few laughs, touched by the determined smile of her son. “I love you very much Settrigh, you will do great. Take care, I'll buy you a scarf soon, I promise.”

The woman raised her voice in sorrow watching as the child closed the door to enter the school, she sighed rubbing her hands that still rested on the steering wheel, thinking about her son's red nose and flushed cheeks from the cold, the heavy snow had taken them by surprise before arriving in the new region. It didn't matter if she should buy or knit a scarf but she would get him one today.

On the other hand, Sett had prepared himself to receive some negative attitudes from the children in his class, after all, it didn't matter where he went, both humans and vastayas had rejection reactions towards him for being an unwanted mixture, he decided long ago that it wasn't going to bring out the worst in himself. Although, at first he had to restrain himself from bad taste comments, he was surprised when he met Aphelios, his new classmate and fellow student, who was very kind.

For someone who doesn't talk, he does write a lot, the red haired boy thought amused while passing notes during the class, he was very surprised how the dark haired boy was able to answer the conversation and not miss any notes from the class, almost no child at this age was so applied. Even the words he used sometimes seemed a little complicated to him. At some point between the exchange of phrases, Sett asked if he could call him only by the nickname Phel, since it was easier for him. At first the opposite seemed reluctant but ended up agreeing.

At the end of the school day he learned four things, the first, Aphelios had a twin sister who ironically seemed to be the complete opposite of the boy, although they had almost the same face, Alune's long silver hair and outgoing personality created a contrasting image between the twins.

The second thing he learned, the girl twin used the same nickname with the black haired boy, Sett understood then why it was difficult for him to access the nickname, apparently he had chosen a closer name than he thought, he felt a little flattered that the boy allowed him to call him that anyway. The third, the twins seemed to live a rather demanding life, they had to have extra classes almost every day, sometimes at home and sometimes, like today, at school.

Finally, the last thing he learned was that the cold of the place in this new region worsened quite a lot by the afternoon. The snow did not seem to want to decrease, the whole landscape was covered by a thick cold layer of snow while the wind ended up making the redhead sneeze while he was at the entrance of the school waiting. Almost everyone had gone to their homes and even though the grand entrance of the institution had large doors, these had to be kept open. The strong blizzards were coming in, freezing the place while Sett was trying to hug himself sitting at the foot of the entrance watching the front street, hoping that at any moment his mother's car will arrive to pick him up.

“Sett?” Alune's voice took the half vastaya by surprise who turned to find the twins looking at him worried and confused. “What are you doing here? Classes ended more than two hours ago.”

The red haired boy got up a little shy, the twins' extra classes seemed to have already ended, he was probably the last one to leave school at this point in the afternoon. 

“I'm just waiting for my Ma, she's new working here, she’s just a little late but I’m sure she’s on her way.” he replied smiling timidly, he didn't want to worry his mother by going home alone possibly getting lost on the way, he had no other option but to wait. 

The twins shared a look at synchronicity, a little worried, it was easy for them to notice that Sett was trying to hide the cold he had but it was getting harder, he was escaping certain cold tremors as the icy blizzard did nothing but lower the temperatures. Before the Alune could say another word, a black car arrived with great punctuality to the front street parking a few steps from the school, both twins sighed in unison in the background cursing the punctuality of their family.

Sett turned to see the car, whistled for a moment appreciating somewhat surprised the good quality car of dark matte black color that had parked, more surprised to know that it was coming to pick up the twins, however, he was somewhat confused to notice that the one driving the car was only a young man in a semi-formal suit. Is that one of their parents? It doesn't seem like it, the boy thought, confused by the formality of the situation.

“Is that your Dad or something?” Sett asked curiously, unable to resist letting out two sneezes later.

 “Not exactly.” Alune laughed a little nervously, she didn't like it when her parents sent their servants from work to look for them but they understood that they were almost always very busy. Unfortunately, these events created an erroneous image in the minds of others making them think that they were some kind of family of politicians or other weirder ideas that children invent.

“Not exactly?” Sett laughed confused at the strange response but the car horn interrupted them, clearly rushing the twins.

“It's hm... A friend of the family. Anyway- We have to go, I hope your mom arrives soon, Sett.” the girl twin smiled at him shyly, returning to the path, saying goodbye to the child as she passed by.

Aphelios walked behind his sister and looked at him trying to say goodbye in silence but he stared at him for a moment, Sett raised an eyebrow confused by the sudden look. He was a little surprised when he saw the boy approaching him with quick steps, stopping in front of him just to take off the thick scarf, Aphelios stood on tiptoe reaching the height of the redhead and carefully rolled up the warm fabric covering up to his nose.

“Phel? It's not necessary.” Sett commented somewhat shyly without wanting to admit how good the warmth of the scarf felt.

Aphelios looked at him for a moment taking a step back dedicating a quiet smile to the half vastaya who managed to feel how both hairy ears crouched before the tender gesture while smiling back.

“It's cold and it looks good on you.” replied the dark haired boy in a low voice, somewhat embarrassed by the gesture, he couldn't help but worry seeing how the redhead hadn't stopped sneezing all day. “See you tomorrow.”

Alune smiled sweetly at her twin observing the situation, she found the gesture too tender although she was a little worried that one of their parents would be upset if they realized that her brother might have lost the scarf for being irresponsible. But at that moment, dealing with their parents' attitude did not seem like a problem to Aphelios who felt more guilty leaving the half vastaya shivering with cold.

Sett stayed in the place holding on to the scarf watching as the twins got into the car waving goodbye before closing the door disappearing after turning the corner. The red haired boy adjusted the fabric covering his entire neck and half of his face, closing his eyes for a moment enjoying the relief of the warmth of the scarf.

Luckily for him, a short time after his mother arrived apologizing for the delay, she was still learning about this new job and it was more difficult for her to finish the working day than she had expected. To the great relief of the vastaya woman, her heart was warmed to hear that her son had made two friends and that in fact, one of them had lent him that scarf.

The years began to pass, Sett and his mother got used to the new city better than they had thought, the woman vastaya had managed to solve the work environment problems over the years by making friends managing to balance work and life at home with her son who, on the other hand, had not managed to completely solve the bullying he received but learned to defend himself to not worry his mother, besides, he was not alone, Sett became very close to the Lunari twins going everywhere together.

Being the fifth year of half vastaya in this school, several things had changed for the sixteen-year-old half vastaya, thanks to the twins he had managed to improve his grades, not to mention that they also defended him when people said things in bad taste. In some way they took care of each other inside the school, Alune was the least one of them to get in trouble, Sett always thought that she was quite charismatic and sharp for her age but she always insisted that she just knew how to be persuasive and charming in her own way, unlike her brother who was more sort of cold and distant with other people, sure, he was polite, quiet in general but he was a little  high tempered when others didn’t left him alone. Any other except Sett and Alune.

The hybrid only enjoyed the thought about they getting along, together since the first day, but never asked Aphelios the reason of his approach back then, always so calm and sweet to him, since the first time they talked, Sett didn’t know but that day Aphelios found himself lost in concern, seeing the way other saw Sett, the way he felt like the two of them were alone together in a room full of distant judgmental glances, like, in some way, Sett could understand what Aphelios felt, keeping a barrier between him and other people, somehow, he found comfort at the redhead's words and cozy aura. Before he realizes, Aphelios grew attached to him, feeling he wasn’t lonely anymore, neither his sister nor Sett, none of them had to feel alone anymore while they could be each other's friends. 

The twins created a whole world outside their exhausting training, finding a beautiful rest place far away from their fears and tension. Both twins realized they loved spending time in Sett’s home, finding caring motherly love embraced them freely with tenderness thanks to Sett's mother, especially Alune. At least, until last year. With less and less free time in the twins lives due to their intense training, sleepovers and long afternoons with hot chocolate that were covered up for their parents as school projects, sweet treats and kind conversations, as if they four were a family, were left behind, almost only seeing each other in class and actual school projects.

Like many previous winters, Sett could feel his hairy ears freeze at the cold touch of the snowflakes, slightly freezing even with winter clothes, he waited at the same hour every morning, every school day and short after, around the same hour, he heard the same voices and saw the same faces, the routine that he could never get tired of.

“Sett!” Alune raised her voice walking next to her brother who also raised his hand waving to the distance as they approached.

“Luni! Phel!” Sett was smiling showing both fangs, one of the vastaya characteristics that had recently begun to develop thanks to adolescence. “Just in time.”

“As always.” the twin answered proudly as she reached his side. Aphelios laughed slightly at his sister's arrogance but stopped for a moment tensing his body at the sudden discomfort in his abdomen.

“Phel, are you okay?” the red haired man approached confused and worried, noticing how the boy was holding his abdomen with one hand for a moment, raising the other hand indicating to wait. 

“He just has a little stomach ache, that's all.” Alune was quick to generate a response to Sett's noticeable concern. The twin came up to her brother gently rubbing his back looking at him with the same concern.

She didn't like lying but she couldn't tell the truth either, the twins had never had a friendship as precious to both of them as Sett's is, they didn't want him to find out about the reality of the Lunari's life. Over the years, Alune tried to convince Aphelios to confide the truth to his most precious friend, that maybe he could keep the secret hidden, insisting that in that way, perhaps, they would not have to keep hiding things from him or worse, increasing the lies to cover up everything related to their training together with their lurid family lineage that sealed the bloody fate of the twins.

“Are you sure you're okay?” Sett insisted, looking sidelong at Alune but focusing his gaze more on Aphelios, waiting for a more direct answer from him.

The redhead did not like to be insistent, he knew it was Alune who spoke more for the two of them but lately she was covering a lot of the boy's aches. Aphelios looked at the half vastaya, slowly recovering his breath, getting himself together as fast as possible to straighten his back again and observe both of them. He raised both hands and the redhead understood that he would surely answer in sign language. Sett had learned a long time ago to communicate in sign language thanks to days when Aphelios did not want to use his voice, with his teaching and Alune’s, he learned without problem but no matter how many times he asked him why he use his voice only on certain occasions, Phel never wanted to answer, Sett resigned and only ended up getting used to treasuring the few moments when the black haired boy used his voice, in time, Sett had become fluent in sign language.

‘I'm fine, it's just a little stomach ache, I'll feel better soon.’ Aphelios affirmed with a firm movement gesticulating the phrase quickly enough to be understood well.

Sett sighed, not knowing whether to be relieved by his friend's words, the taller one thought for a moment assuming that it could be a harmless stomach ache that would pass soon. The boy's hairy ears stood up causing him to direct his gaze towards the street, noticing in the distance the school bus that was approaching.

“The bus's coming.” Sett reacted by settling the backpack on his shoulder, breathing a little more of the fresh winter air before getting on the bus.

The twins nodded at the same time arranging their backpacks, at the same time, the half vastaya never got bored of the synchronicity between the two, he wondered if they ever realized that they respond or make gestures at the same time and yet, with completely opposite bodily expressions and essences. 

Alune settled the backpack in both arms, well adjusted, with a smile and an energy that shines in the slightest movement, always with an elegance that she had maintained since he met her. On the other hand, Aphelios was so subtle and silent for his movements, even when arranging the backpack he caused the minimum noise, there were even times that Sett was not able to hear him, which took him by surprise at first because he thought that nothing and no one escaped from his heightened hybrid senses but now he knew, Aphelios was the only exception. 

Despite having opposite personalities, both had the same delicacy and beauty equally, a factor that they realized quickly when they reached adolescence, the Lunari twins received several unwanted compliments so Sett had developed a certain protective feeling due to this type of situations since sometimes the kind declines of Alune or the indifferent rejection of Aphelios were not enough to drive away those undesirable people, when that happened, Sett intervened with physical violence, it was not something that happened very often but the protective instinct of the half vastaya was inevitable, after all, they three grew up as good friends, it was a phrase that lately the redhead repeated himself quite a lot in the mind, already with sixteen years he was more and more aware of the different and deeper little feelings that he was beginning to develop towards the black haired twin, having more intense reactions when they tried to approach Aphelios in that way, shameful feeling that he tried to keep calm, buried within his mind even though it grew without limit in his heart.