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The ziiiippp of a suitcase, a long car ride, an awkward meeting, an awkward dinner, sleeping in new sheets.
Niki and Techno know how first days at new foster homes tend to go. They have gone through more than enough homes to get the general attitude new foster parents tend to have. Some homes are better, some homes are worse, but none of them keep them.
The Craft-Za household won't be any different.
The foster system is always hard on kids, and Techno and Nikki know that they still have it a slightest bit better than most.
Because they get to stick together.
Perks of being twins, and all that.
Matching hair, mismatched eyes, no fraternal twins do not look the same, thank you for asking.
Home after home they are sent to, people start out excited and approachable, but for whatever reasons they tend to not work out.
Sometimes the rules don't fit, other times the "parent's" have to give up fostering or guardianship for whatever reason, and sometimes there's just personality clashes.
There have been some good ones, and there have been some bad ones.
Everything has to have balance, or whatever.
Techno's head bonks against the glass window and Niki snorts, grinning when he side eyes her with the worst of his mean looks.
The car of their social worker is white and always has some sort of stain on the outside of the drivers door, but the inside is comfortable enough.
The headrest is at the wrong height, but the GPS indicates that they'll be arriving shortly, so Techno doesn't bother changing it.
That seems to be their motto on move in days, he has noticed.
And Niki sure has too. In the last home she never took the clothes out of her suitcase, living right out of it for the entire duration of their stay.
Maybe he'd follow her example this time.
The House is a bit small, painted a dusty red and has brick stairs leading up to a small porch that are slightly mismatched in colour, where a couple not quite in their 20s is looking at them from.
They are smiling, that particular way that's trying to not impose happiness on them, the kind you just know was practiced in a mirror sometime prior to their arrival.
Niki is out of the car first, getting their suitcases out of the trunk, and he follows shortly after.
The couple is watching them, probably trying not to make it awkward by staring and instead diverting their attention to the social worker, who is walking up to meet them.
Niki rounds the car and holds out the suitcase handle for him. Techno meets her eyes as he takes it from her hand, and subtly inclines his head towards the trio of adults talking in hushed voices.
Whatcha think?
Niki shrugs, looks back at the couple and narrows her eyes at the blonde man. He looks moderately sporty, the yard has some bikes out front and some rollerscates.
He laughs at something their worker says and Techno raises an unimpressed eyebrow at Niki. Dudes never been funny enough to make someone laugh.
She rolls her eyes and watches the street while they interweave their hands.
They have done this before.
They aren't nervous.
They shouldn't be.
It will end the same anyways.
The entryway has a dirty welcome-matt and colourful walls. There's a variety of shoes in the cabinet, from running shoes to hiking and even some fancy dress shoes at the far end. They don't seem like they get used that often, but the couple seems the type to go on dinner dates.
They look ridiculously in love. It makes Niki want to turn to Techno and mime a puking motion, just to be childish about it.
She remembers doing that with their parents.
But so far they seem nice enough. Definitely excited though, they might even be their first placements by the nervous energy underlining their every glance at them.
But that's alright, they can be the try-out fosters again.
The inside of the house only gets more and more colouful the farther they breach into the various rooms.
The kitchen is painted in a sage green and has little frogs in the tiles lining the wall behind the counters. The sofa is a dusty red and there has yet to be a wall that isn't lined with drawings or photographs of some kind.
It makes Niki itch to draw again. To copy the painting of a snowy forest and bring it into the height of spring, flowers hugging the tired tree trunks.
The backyard has a vegetable garden, and Niki can practically see Techno's fingers twitch at the thought of burying his hands in the earth again.
She'll settle for the doodles on her math homework, and maybe they'll ask if Techno can have a cactus again.
The tour ends back in the kitchen, their matching suitcases waiting in the entryway.
"Do you guys want help with your luggage?"
Phil's smile is earnest and matches Kristin's.
"No, thank you."
Techno declines to match Niki, and they brave the creaking stairs with their guardians in tow.
"Your rooms are right across from each other, ours is the room at the end of the hallway. Feel free to knock on the door anytime you need something. Doesn't matter the time of day, we'd love to help you settle in."
They both nod, not searching eye contact when there's an entirely new level to take in.
Its smaller than Niki expected, but it's cozy enough. There's two rooms, each have a small chalkboard with their names on it. Little flowers surround Techno's name, and there's colourful swirls around Niki's.
Niki's room is next to a door that seems to be Phil and Kristin's, and the door next to Techno's room is open and leads into a bathroom, and that's the entire upstairs already.
Its nice that they took the time to decorate the door signs. The little decorations add a charm that makes the corner of Niki's lips turn up.
"We'll give you a little bit of time to settle in. We were thinking of making spaghetti for dinner, is that alright with you guys?"
"Yeah, spaghetti' are fine."
"I'm alright with spaghetti too."
"Great! We'll start cooking in about half an hour so you can get the most important stuff from your bags."
They leave, the stairs creak somewhere in the middle, and Niki bumps Techno's shoulder. He looks unimpressed by her physical prowess, like she didn't win the impromptu wrestling match last week. His eyes drift back up to the sign as he tilts his head.
"It would only take one swipe to change the names."
Niki shurg's.
"At least they are planning for the future."
There's an assortment of colourful pens and even a few pencils in a dark blue pencilcup, all looking newly purchased, not even enough time to really collect real amounts of dust, or the general wear and tear that came from prolonged use. It stands on an IKEA table of decent quality, and while the room is mostly neutral the space themed sheets help light it up. Techno spends most of the time waiting for dinner just laying on them, trying to decide if he likes the laundry deterrent they use. He hasn't decided when Niki comes to fetch him.
After yet another dinner with a new family Phil pulls them aside and shows them the kitchen.
"I was planning to pack some lunches for your guys school days. Would that be alright with you?"
Niki nods, and Techno follows suit.
Phil's smile is trying very hard to seem relaxed, but the nervous energy is practically buzzing around the man like the bee swarm that had nested in Niki's window in one of their old houses.
"Do you guys have some water bottles? I have some extras, if you don't."
The Cabinet doors aren't white, but they aren't eggshell either. True to his word, the Cabinet Phil pulls open features two grey water bottles, as impersonal and unspecific as they get, bought for a child that you don't know. Techno supposes he should appreciate that they made an effort.
They steal themselves into bed quite early into the evening, and neither of their new guardians seem to mind.
His sheets got a star motive that seems more inspired by actual galaxies than astrological signs. The room is dark, and Techno's already under the too-thin blanket.
There's glow in the dark stars on the ceiling.
A knock on his door, an arm beneath him to look who it is, and a familiar sliver of pink joins him in his room.
Niki's bed seems to have a leaf pattern, if the pillow beneath her arm is anything to judge by.
"They seem nice."
Techno scoots over in his bed, making space.
"Yeah, though their taste in water bottles is shit."
Niki snorts and joins him under the blanket, searching for his hand and holding it fast.
It's their little ritual, to spent the first night in a new home cuddling in one of their rooms.
"Oh, you have stars on your ceiling."
The bedding rustles as he turns to look at his twin.
"You don't?"
"I might, actually. Didn't really stay to look."
He hums something noncommittal.
"You probably do. They seem like the type to set up equally nice rooms."
"Yeah, not like the Johnson's."
Techno groans and hold his eyes closed with his free hand.
"Prime, don't remind me of the Johnson's. I swear that bed creaked from every breeze coming from my window."
Niki laughs into the quiet of the room.
"That bed was awful. I think you spent more time in my room than you ever did sleeping in that bed."
He chuckles. The Johnson's were..a handful. But they had left them rather fast, and neither party had seemed all that upset by it.
"You think this house got potential?"
He's unsure what made him ask the question, but it feels nice to just speak it into the dark to float about.
"Its nice. They seem friendly, inexperienced maybe."
"Bet they read a dozen parenting books for this."
"Oh absolutely. They are so the type for that."
It's mostly idle chatter to get the excitement out of their bones and the sleepiness into their head that comes from big days like this.
They drift off holding onto the others hand.
The new school is nice enough. They make some friends, find a few clubs that sound interesting enough and chat about favourite teachers.
The days with the Craft-Zas have a nice structure to them, and small talk is easy enough. The weeks go by fast, new and old clothes filling Nikis closet, an array of houseplants lining Techno's windowsill.
It's cozy.
It's nice.
It would be easy to relax.
Niki lost her water bottle. She's hoping its back at the fencing club that Techno and her are now visiting once a week, and that she can get it back next week. But she'll still need one for school and around the house. Bringing it up to Kristin brings them back to the cabinet in the corner, besides the one for the mugs and glasses.
Holding her new, hopefully temporary, water bottle in hand doesn't make it any less grey than she remembers it.
"Everything alright? You are frowning quite heavily there."
Kristin's smile is easy as Nikki lets her thumb roam over the brand label.
"It's very...grey."
"Ah, yeah, I suppose that's true. I assume you aren't a fan?"
Niki shakes her head.
"Well, I have some stickers in my crafts drawer if you want."
Her eyebrows raise, water bottle held in both hands.
"..I'd like some stickers for the bottle, please. Yea. That sounds nice."
Kristin has sheets with space motives, dinosaurs, roses, dandelions, robots and an assortment of different video game characters. Niki's bottle ends up covered in a collage of various Characters and animals, a big saturn sticker on the bottles cap.
When Techno sees the Dinosaur Stickers that decorate the grey bottle she can tell he wants some too.
They go to school the next day with matching dinosaur stickers on covered flasks, only a sliver of grey poking out each.
Techno comes home from school, passes the painting of a spring forest in the hallway and goes straight for the fridge. Its absurdly hot out, and he'd really rather cool down right now.
They got some apple juice from the farmers market the other day, and Techno pours two glasses when he hears the front door open again.
"Ah! Hey Techno. Didn't know you were home already."
"Kristin dropped me off, she's going to the craft store with Niki today."
The AC in the car had felt heavenly, and Techno was already missing it.
"Great, I'll be out in the garden, I got some need seeds I want to try out."
Techno hands the second glass of apple juice to Phil and tries to not look too curious.
Phil seems equally happy about the refreshment.
"New seeds?"
Phil does a weird half-nod into the glass.
"I got some Cucumber seeds from a coworker, she plants them around this time of year. There's also some Cabbage seeds, but I don't know if it isn't a bit late for those."
"Nah, should be fine. One of our past placements planted them in like September once and they still grew. No clue how though."
Phil put his empty glass into the sink.
"Oh, do you know some gardening stuff?"
Techno snorts as the last of his drink is finished as well and his glass joins Phil's.
"Yeah, we had to do a school project about it once and I couldn't really let it go."
It doesn't feel like the simply shrug that accompanies his words quite encapsulates the passion he feels when his hands are muddy and fingernails stained.
"You want to help out?"
Techno's eyebrows raise.
"You need help?"
"I'd want help if you want to help out." There's that damn smile again, the one that seems just about to burst with entirely unjustified affection for the time they have spent together, let alone one on one.
"Yeah, I- Yeah. I'd like to help out."
They miss Niki and Kristin coming home, but Nikki's laugh when she sees Techno ranting about the different potato strains is much harder to miss.
She dodges the first pile of dirt suddenly and unexplainably flying her way much more gracefully than the second one, but Techno finds solace in the fact that the dirt is much more visible on her clothing, his own already muddied from the afternoon sitting next to Phil, matching straw hats low in their faces, smile already on his face.
Niki's painting is interrupted by an awfully annoying sibling barging into her room. Her complaint is immediately overruled by the excitement on Techno's face.
"Movie night! Phil said if we get down before the popcorn's ready we get first pick!"
She jumps from her seat, drawing supplies forgotten. She could continue her sketch later.
They barrel down the stairs, jumping over the creaking one beneath the one with the missing corner and past paintings of a forest in all four seasons, past the entryway with Techno's muddy garden boots, and Niki can't resist snatching at one of Techno's jackets.
He trips just as she slides into the living room, Kristin already in the recliner chair, and jumps onto the sofa before he can recover, letting out a victory "Whoop!"
Techno groans.
"Bruhhhh! Kristin you saw that! She's cheating!"
Niki is delighted to see that Techno brought two of his three blankets, and eagerly grabs for one of them as he plops down in the corner opposite to hers.
This blanket he gives without a fight.
"I thought you said I shouldn't involve myself in "honorable sibling warfare"?"
Every word reflects the grin sitting proud on her face, and Techno pins her with an unimpressed glare, though it spouts no edges.
"Honourable. Ain't nothing honourable about snatching someone's blanket in the hallway. Real ruffian behaviour from my traitor of a sister."
"Oh please-"
"You know what? I'm for watching Lion King, I can empathize with Mufasas betrayal."
It's Niki's turn to groan.
"You are so dramatic! At least your movie pick is good."
The smell of fresh, buttery popcorn follows Philza like a trail, and Kristin snatches a handful before he settles down in-between the twins.
"One Lion King coming right up?"
He glances at both of them one last time, and when there's no objections made he sets the bowl of popcorn down, only for it to immediately get snatched by Techno.
"Unfair! You got to have the popcorn last time!"
Niki's already crawled halfway over Phil's shoulder when Techno lets out a victorious cackle.
"You fool! Never let your supply lines lay unprotected! Have fun starving to death in your barren corner of the couch!"
"Phil!"
"I'm getting a second bowl." Phil getting up destabilizes Niki's position enough that she facepalms into the pillows at the back of the couch. Pointedly ignoring the shout of Hah! Suffer! coming from Techno's direction.
Kristin elects to keep her handful of popcorn to herself, and while the rest of the evening passes with relatively little sibling murder, Niki is unsure if Phil gets much of any popcorn at all, and makes a point to share with him.
Techno watches her build her alliances with narrowed eyes, and pointedly stares at Niki for the duration of the entire wildebeest scene.
It doesn't stop him from burrowing parallel to Niki into Philza's side though, sprawling an arm just far enough behind his back to catch her shoulder.
The position isn't particularly comfortable for either of them, but they sure as heck won't give up the prime Philza real estate they have managed to obtain.
This weekend they'll have their first fencing tournament, and Phil and Kristin have both promised to come and watch. Niki can't wait kick Techno's ass, who seems entirely too sure that he will win for her tastes.
Right now though, it seems that most of her companions have already fallen asleep, and Niki feels..fine with that, even though the movie isn't over yet.
Its cozy, a house full of people she cares about, walls filled with drawings and paintings and even sketches from both Niki's and Techno's hand. She has taken to teaching him some tricks, and he has developed quite the hand for floral motives.
Kristin joins them sometimes, offering stickers and wool and whatever else she keeps in those seemingly endless arts and crafts drawer of hers.
They made Phil some small signs for the vegetable garden, and while the hug almost crushed them there is nothing quite like the warm tang when she sees them standing proud next to Techno's potatoes. Phil promised to help her plant some tulips next spring.
And now she's here, on a couch full of Techno's blankets, with quite possibly her favourite people in the world, watching the pridelands return to greener pastures, and the soft rise and fall of Kristin chests, stray popcorn kernels still in her hand, bowl somewhere on the ground.
It's quite possibly the nicest house they have been in so far, even though it isn't the biggest, or the most modern.
It's quite possibly the best match so far.
It's quite possibly, something with the possibility of becoming family.