Bianca starts doing something weird with her thumb. She's tapping mine. Once. Twice. Three times.
I tap back. "What are you doing?"
"Nothing." She taps again.
Oh, I see what's happening here.
I look at her and grin. "Are you... challenging me right now?"
"Maybe."
I adjust my grip on her hand dramatically. "You dare challenge me? You fool?" I proclaim in my best theatrical voice. "I am the Thumb Lord."
Bianca laughs at that. "That's so dumb." But then she shifts her position, getting ready. "If you're the Thumb Lord, I am the Thumb God!"
"We grow tired of divinity, we shall show you the might—"
"Shut up and fight me."
"Okay."
We do the little ritual chant: "One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war," and then it's on.
Her thumb is quick. She dodges my first lunge, then nearly pins me on the counter. I barely escape.
"Too slow, dork," she says, smirking.
"We'll see about that."
We're both trying not to laugh as our thumbs circle each other. I feint left, strike right, and… I got her! My thumb pins hers down.
"Victory is—HEY!"
Bianca's brought in her other hand, using it to help free her thumb.
"What? Reinforcements?" I gasp. "Inconceivable! You're cheating!"
"Don't care. I'm winning." She uses both hands to overpower my single thumb and pins it down.
I let her win because honestly, watching her get this competitive over thumb wrestling is worth the loss.
She pauses, looking at our hands thoughtfully. "Can't believe I lost against you in any physical activity." She says it like she's genuinely puzzled by this anomaly in the natural order of the universe.
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
"You know exactly what it means."
And I do, I used to be way below average in the strength department. "It's just a thumb war," I laugh, still feeling a bit proud. "Guess my forearms are stronger now?"
"Apparently."
After that, we start circling each other's thumbs with our own, this weird little dance of fingers that's both pointless and strangely hypnotic. Then she opens up my hand completely, her fingers running down each of mine slowly, tracing the lines of my palm. It's this absent, exploratory gesture that somehow feels more intimate than it probably should.
"So," Bianca says casually. "What's the deal with Luna?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't act dense. You have a crush on her?"
I feel my face heat up slightly. I lean my head on top of Bianca's for a moment, partially to hide my expression. "I mean... yeah? She's cute, we have stuff in common, she's nice. But I don't know if it's like, serious or anything. I get crushes pretty easily."
Bianca slowly pulls her head off my shoulder to look at me, one eyebrow raised. "Oh? Really? Who else have you had crushes on?"
Big oof. Abort mission. We're in dangerous territory here.
Because the real answer is you and your sister, which is not information I can share.
I wink at her. "It's a secret."
"Oh, fuck off. You can't just say that and not tell me."
"Just did."
"Adam."
"Bianca."
She glares at me. "Tch. Fine. Be an asshole about it."
There's a beat of silence, and I see my opening. "What about you? Any crushes? Any hunks at school you're down bad for?"
Bianca gets this absolutely evil smile on her face. She leans in close, her teal eyes sparkling with mischief, and whispers: "It's a secret."
Then she winks at me.
Oh, you've got to be kidding me.
"Hey! I told you one of my crushes, you won't tell me any of yours?"
"Nope."
"That's not fair!"
"Life's not fair, dork."
I want to push it, but there's also this weird twisting feeling in my chest. Jealousy. It's selfish, but I'd want my sisters to just be mine forever. I don't want them dating some other guy and spending less time with me. We might also have to be less physically intimate, which would suck.
This is stupid. Bianca can date whoever she wants. She deserves to be happy and find someone and...
And I really hate this imaginary person already.
"Whatever," I mutter. "Keep your secrets."
"I will."
We move on to safer territory after that. Bianca tells me about some drama in art club, I tell her how my side project is progressing, and from there we somehow end up on dinosaurs.
"Wait, so chickens are literally just tiny dinosaurs?" Bianca asks.
"Yeah. Birds are theropod dinosaurs. So chickens are the descendants of dinosaurs."
"So every time I eat chicken nuggets..."
"You're eating dinosaur, yeah."
"That's fucking metal. I love that."
Finally, about two hours after they started their nap, Mom and Selene start to stir.
Selene detaches herself from me and does this full-body stretch that would make a cat jealous, her arms reaching up over her head as she lets out this ridiculously satisfied sound. "Mmmmmmph!"
Mom just blinks her eyes open slowly, looking around like she's not entirely sure where she is.
Selene finishes stretching and looks at us, rubbing her eyes. There's a pause as her brain boots back up. Then her eyes go wide and she gasps. "Oh no! I fell asleep! Aw shucks, sorry Bianca, I missed the movie!"
Bianca's glare could melt steel. "We're watching it later."
"Awww... I figured you'd say that!" Selene whines, but she doesn't actually sound that upset. "Fine, fine! It's only fair!"
I look at Bianca affectionately. "See? Selene loves you, doesn't she."
Bianca just snorts.
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Selene blinks at us, still half-asleep. Then her whole face lights up. "Of course I love my beautiful younger sister!"
She launches herself at Bianca, throwing her arms around her in an enthusiastic hug.
Bianca rolls her eyes but pats Selene's back. "Younger sister? Really? By like thirty minutes."
"Mhmm! I'm the oldest! That makes me the best!"
"That's not how that works."
"It is!"
Mom's still trying to shake off the sleep fog, staring blankly at the floor. Then she realizes she's still holding Bianca and smiles, closing her eyes and pulling her into an even tighter hug from behind.
Bianca is now thoroughly trapped between Selene and Mom, and she looks annoyed, but I can tell she's secretly pleased.
"Okay! Okay!" Selene announces, pulling back with renewed energy. "How about we watch the horror movie later tonight, and then we can all sleep together in our blanket fort!"
Bianca considers this. "Fine. But everyone has to actually watch it. No falling asleep."
"I promise!" Selene says cheerfully.
Mom mumbles from behind Bianca, her voice still thick with sleep. "What should we do for dinner? Should we order something? I don't want to cook tonight."
"Pizza?" I suggest.
"Ooo! Yes! Pizza!" Selene bounces slightly.
"Sure," Bianca says with a shrug.
"Whatever you kids want," Mom agrees softly.
We check the time, it's only five in the evening. Way too early for dinner by our standards. We need something to occupy ourselves.
After some discussion, we settle on online Pictionary. Everyone grabs their phones and we connect to a party game app.
The game randomly selects me to draw first.
My word is: DOG
This is easy. It's a dog. Everyone knows what a dog looks like. Four legs, a tail, ears. Basic stuff.
I start drawing.
"What... what the hell is that?" Bianca mutters almost immediately.
"I mean, that has to be a cow, right?" Selene says, sounding uncertain.
"It's definitely... some kind of animal," Mom says diplomatically.
"Guys, come on!" I protest. "Just list four-legged animals!"
We cycle through what feels like every mammal in existence. Horse. Hippo. Elephant. At one point Selene guesses "a blob with legs" which is both accurate and hurtful.
Through sheer process of elimination, they eventually get it.
There's a moment of stunned silence.
"THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A DOG?!" Selene bursts out laughing.
"That is NOT a dog," Bianca says, grinning.
"You tried your best, honey," Mom says, patting my back, which somehow makes it worse.
This game sucks.
We keep playing, and the contrast becomes absolutely brutal. When Bianca draws, she creates actual works of art. She gets "butterfly" and produces this gorgeous, detailed thing with intricate wing patterns. Everyone guesses it instantly.
Mom draws these cozy, realistic little pictures that have this warm, homey quality. Selene's style is adorable, everything she draws looks like it jumped out of a wholesome anime.
And I continue to produce images that look like a drunk toddler's fever dream.
After Pictionary thoroughly destroys my ego, we order pizza and take turns showering.
By the time Bianca, Selene and I have finished, we're lounging in our blanket fort again when we hear the doorbell ring.
"Ohhh! Pizza!" Selene cheers.
"I'll get it," Bianca says, getting up.
"I'll come with you." I follow.
We open the door to a delivery guy in his mid-twenties holding our order.
I instantly don't like him. The moment he sees Bianca, his eyes start wandering: down to her chest, to her exposed thighs, back up. He's trying to be subtle about it, but failing spectacularly.
I step in front of Bianca, blocking his view. "Thanks," I say curtly, hand outstretched.
The guy blinks, seeming to snap back to reality. "Oh, uh, yeah... meat lover's pizza." He holds out the box, blushing.
I take it. My expression stays neutral but my body language screams leave now.
"Uh, sorry about that," he mumbles, rubbing his neck.
And look, I get it. Bianca is gorgeous. I can't really blame him for noticing. But that doesn't mean I have to like watching some random dude ogle my sister.
"It's alright," I shrug, handing him a tip.
We turn to head back to the living room, and I hear Bianca's voice, dripping with amusement. "Wow, what was that about? Jealous that a dude was checking me out?"
My face heats up. "I was just—you were—he was being gross."
"Uh huh. Sure." Her smile widens. "That was sweet though." She leans down and kisses my forehead, her lips warm and soft. "My hero," she says, and she wraps an arm around my neck as we walk back.
I'm going to combust. Bianca's in maximum teasing mode today and my brain cannot handle it.
I take a deep breath, trying to compose myself. "Pizza's here!" I call out.
"Yippeeeee! I'm starving!" Selene practically skips to the dining table.
We all gather around, mom joining us after her shower. We demolish the pizza in record time, chatting easily about nothing in particular.
After dinner, we migrate back to our blanket fort.
We settle into our movie positions. Mom sits behind me, wrapping her arms around me. Selene immediately claims my right side. Bianca sits to my left.
"Alright. Horror movie time. No backing out," Bianca announces.
"Oh god, I'm already scared," Selene whines, gripping my arm.
Bianca hits play.
And it goes exactly as expected. The movie is terrifying, everyone is scared, and I'm completely distracted by the fact that I'm being held from three different directions. Selene's practically trying to merge with my torso, Mom's arms are locked around me like a seatbelt, and Bianca keeps pressing closer during jump scares.
When the credits finally roll, Bianca opens her mouth. "I'm never—"
"DON'T," Selene cuts her off. "Don't even say it! We know we're gonna watch another horror movie next time!"
"Yeah. We are," Bianca says smugly.
"You're the worst."
We're all still tangled together long after the movie ends, talking about the plot holes and dumb character decisions. Eventually the conversation peters out and we just lie there in comfortable silence.
Then Selene's soft voice breaks it. "Do you guys have anything you're scared of?"
Oh. I guess we're doing this now. There's something about late nights that makes people philosophical.
Surprisingly, Bianca answers first. Her voice is quieter than usual. "I don't know. Being alone, I guess. Like... not having anyone who cares about me."
My chest clenches at the vulnerability in her expression. I reach out and squeeze her hand. She looks at me and gives this small, grateful smile.
"I worry about not being strong enough," I say. "Like, if something happened to someone I care about, and I couldn't do anything to stop it."
It's true. Despite all the progress I've made with the system, despite getting stronger and smarter and more capable, there's this persistent fear that it won't be enough. That when it matters, I'll fail the people I love.
Mom's arms tighten around me. "I'm worried about you guys," she says warmly. "I hope you all live happy lives and prosper. I sometimes worry that won't happen."
Her admission makes my heart hurt in a good way. She's such a good mom. The best mom. We're so lucky to have her.
I reach down and give her arm a quick squeeze. She responds by hugging me tighter, and I can feel her contentment in the gesture.
"What about you, Selene?" I ask.
"Oh..." She pauses. "I guess I'm scared I won't be good enough? Like, that I'll try my best at something and still fail. That I won't amount to anything."
That catches me off guard. Selene always seems so confident, so bright. I reach over with my free hand and take hers. She gives me this genuine, warm smile that makes my heart skip a beat.
Then, in typical Selene fashion, she completely changes the atmosphere: "Oh! Oh! And I'm also scared of spiders! They have too many legs! And millipedes! They're even WORSE! Oh, and snakes! Ew, they have too few legs!"
We all laugh.
"Wait," Bianca says between laughs. "The problem with snakes isn't that they're dangerous. It's that they don't have enough legs?"
"Yes! It's unnatural!"
"But fish don't have legs."
"Fish are supposed to be that way!"
"But snakes aren't?"
"No! Snakes are wrong!"
I'm still laughing at the absurd logic. "So what's the acceptable number of legs? Because birds only have two—"
"Birds are different! They have wings!"
"I don't understand…"
"I don't want to talk about this anymore!" Selene announces, still laughing.
We keep chatting, the conversation drifting lazily. Selene lists off increasingly ridiculous fears: escalators, ceiling fans, mayonnaise.
The warmth and exhaustion slowly pulls me toward sleep.
And as I drift off, surrounded by my family, I think: This is happiness.
We all fade into sleep together, still tangled up in our blanket fort, the conversation slowly dying as sleep takes over.