YE
---
The dining hall was warm.
Steel walls. Overhead lights. Steam rising faintly from plates.
Richard sat stiffly.
Siara sat across from him.
Not next to him.
Very intentional.
Very obvious.
Zane noticed immediately.
Of course he did.
Dinner started normally.
Hot food. Minimal talking.
Richard was trying very hard to exist quietly.
Zane was trying very hard to not.
He leaned back in his chair.
"So."
Richard didn't look up.
"Don't."
"I'm just saying," Zane continued, "that was the most dramatic hug I've seen in sub-zero temperatures."
Siara froze.
Richard's fork paused mid-air.
Ghoul calmly took a bite.
Corpse leaned against the wall.
Zane clasped his hands dramatically.
"The sprint."
Silence.
"The collision."
More silence.
"The—"
"It was cold," Siara snapped.
Zane grinned.
"Yeah? Cold made you tackle him like that?"
Richard finally looked up.
"Drop it."
Ghoul spoke calmly.
"Your Chrome reinforcement destabilized."
Zane wheezed instantly.
"DESTABILIZED."
Richard glared.
"I did not."
Ghoul blinked.
"You did."
Corpse added flatly from the wall.
"Pulse spike."
Zane was already sliding out of his chair laughing.
"I CAN'T— they got metrics on your feelings."
Siara covered her face.
"This is a nightmare."
---
Zero finally spoke.
Calm.
"You lost structural focus for 2.1 seconds."
Richard turned slowly.
"…You too?"
"Yes."
Zane slapped the table.
"HE CLOCKED IT."
Richard rubbed his temples.
"This is insane."
Zero tilted his head slightly.
"It was not entirely unexpected."
Richard narrowed his eyes.
"Don't."
Zero ignored that.
"There is a pattern to your reactions."
Zane leaned forward.
"Oh this is lore."
Zero rested his hands on the table.
"As your older brother—"
Richard stood up instantly.
"NO."
The entire room froze.
Zane blinked.
"…What."
Zero looked at him calmly.
"We share blood."
Zane's chair fell backward.
"WHAT."
Siara stared between them.
"Excuse me?"
Tanya lowered her fork slowly.
Ghoul leaned back.
Corpse didn't react.
Richard looked like he wanted to throw the entire table.
"We agreed," he said flatly.
Zero's expression didn't change.
"We did."
"And you said you wouldn't tell them."
Silence.
Zane slowly stood back up.
"You KNEW?"
Richard snapped, "Yes I knew."
Everyone looked at him.
Siara's brain visibly buffering.
"You knew he was your—"
"Yes."
"And you didn't tell us?"
"It wasn't relevant."
Zane pointed at him dramatically.
"NOT RELEVANT? You are genetically linked to the scariest man alive."
Zero corrected calmly.
"Second scariest."
Ghoul gave him a look.
Zero continued.
"We agreed not to disclose it."
Richard folded his arms.
"You broke that."
Zero met his gaze evenly.
"They were going to discover it eventually."
"That wasn't the deal."
"You are overly attached to conditions."
"You're overly attached to ignoring them."
Zane looked between them like he was watching live television.
"This is insane."
Siara finally spoke softly.
"You're… actually brothers?"
Richard exhaled.
"Yes."
Silence.
Zane processed it.
Then—
"WAIT."
He pointed dramatically.
"That means the hug was—"
"Finish that sentence," Richard warned.
Zane started wheezing again.
"Oh my god this is so much better."
Tanya buried her face in her hands.
Ghoul spoke calmly.
"The destabilization was not bloodline related."
Zero nodded.
"Correct."
Richard stared at him.
"Can you not help?"
Zero looked thoughtful.
"Your Chrome density around the sternum weakened at contact."
Siara made a noise somewhere between embarrassment and despair.
Corpse added:
"You nearly dropped full reinforcement."
Zane was back on the floor.
"BRO YOU'RE A CALAMITY'S BROTHER AND YOU FUMBLED A HUG."
Richard looked ready to activate Chrome Energy indoors.
"I did not fumble anything."
"You lost structural integrity."
"It was cold."
Siara pointed aggressively.
"YES. THANK YOU."
Zero stood slowly.
Calm.
"Emotional variables are not weaknesses."
Everyone went quiet.
He looked at Richard.
"They can be anchors."
Then added—
"But only if controlled."
Richard's anger cooled slightly.
Still annoyed.
Still betrayed.
"We said you wouldn't tell them."
Zero met his eyes.
"I decided you were stable enough."
Zane looked up from the floor.
"This family dynamic is terrifying."
Ghoul stood.
"Training at 0600."
Corpse pushed off the wall.
"Control your lattice."
They began leaving.
Zero paused at the doorway.
Without turning back—
"Next time you hug her, maintain reinforcement."
The room exploded.
Zane collapsed again.
Tanya actually laughed out loud.
Luna hid her face.
Siara threw a napkin at Zero.
Richard covered his face completely.
"I regret everything."
Zero left calmly.
Mission accomplished.
---