TSUKIMI STARED DEJECTEDLY up at her ceiling. It was four in the morning, and she still couldn't sleep. Thoughts of the previous day spun around in her head, rebounding against the walls of her plagued, ingenious mind.

The astronomer knew she ought to catch some sleep since she'd have to go teach again in some hours, and yet her eyes wouldn't shut. Somber eyebags clouded her face when her alarm finally rang, her green eyes still staring dully at the ceiling.

Tsukimi must've managed to walk to the school by pure luck–the teacher could barely register what was happening around her, nearly getting run over by passing cars two or three times as she made her way to the elementary school. As she walked into the classroom, blearily setting down her things, Tsukimi momentarily froze as her green gaze dusted over the seats of the twins.

For a second, panic seized the astronomer. The twins, she thought. The twins, the twins, the twins–!

What about the twins?

Tsukimi's breathing slowly began to even out as her vice-like grip on her clothes began to slowly relax. Closing her eyes, the astronomer inhaled deeply.

Yes. What about the twins? It's not like...

The astronomer opened her eyes, staring lifelessly forward.

...they mean any more to me than the other kids.

Yes, thought Tsukimi to herself as she took her seat, briefly adjusting her jacket as she took out her laptop and belongings from her bag. The white login screen of her computer glinted somberly in the corner of her green eyes.

They are merely twins.

. . .

Riku and Riko were scared.

Their father had been in an obviously dismal mood the entire week, making his way about their home and passing time in a lifeless manner.

The twins understood their father occasionally fell into bouts of depression–but what scared them was how their favorite teacher had also seemingly entered a state of dejectedness.

To the Suna siblings, Ms. Tsukimi was a wise, headstrong figure of a teacher that they had been relying on for the past two months–she listened to their stories, helped mitigate fights between them, quietly passed them sweets during lunch from her secret candy stash in her desk, and genuinely cared for them. Ms. Tsukimi was their teacher, but was also in a way they had never gotten to experience before, their home.

Yes, just as their father was their anchor, Ms. Tsukimi gave the twins a sense of motherly affection, one they were never able to receive from the day they were born.

So why was she pushing them away now?

All week long, Ms. Tsukimi had appeared to be in a state of disarray–her eyebags were more prominent than usual, her usually lively green gaze empty and unseeing, and so somber around the twins.

Finally, Friday came about–it was the last day Tsukimi would be subbing in for Sugawara, and so she opted to have a small party with her class instead of following the usual curriculum. She had, after all, gotten somewhat attached to the kids after two months.

Once the lunch and recess bell had rung, the astronomer sat down at her desk, sighing deeply as she went through the cards her students had given her, smiling softly as her green eyes skimmed over their sloppy handwriting. Her eyes shifted upwards at the sound of quiet shuffling, her green gaze softening as she noticed the Suna twins approaching her desk.

For a moment, the young astronomer considered dismissing them again. But observing their somber demeanor and hopeful gazes, she could feel her heart melting. "Riko, Riku, I'm sorry I've been so busy all week," she apologized softly, smiling to them as they approached her.

The two twins simultaneously chorused a "No worries", but upon meeting her teacher's kind and affectionate green gaze, Riko burst out crying.

"Ehh?! Riko, what's wrong?" Alarm infused Tsukimi's tone of voice, immediately hurrying over to wrap her arms around the poor child, rubbing her back in an attempt to soothe her. Watching his sister cry, Riku also teared up, stumbling over to join the hug. "Oh, I–you two, what's going on?" Tsukimi nearly laughed, bringing her arms around Riku as well.

"We don't want you to leave!" wailed Riko into her teacher's shoulder, wetting it with her snot and tears. Strangely enough, Tsukimi didn't mind for once. Instead, she smiled softly and picked them both up before she returned to her desk, setting them on her knees.

"I'm going to miss you guys too," she nodded her head seriously as she grabbed some tissues and began to wipe at their faces.

Riku sniffed. "Will you come to see us?" he asked, his voice constricted as he tried to restrict his tears. Tsukimi froze, wondering how she should proceed. "I'll... see you whenever I can," she returned cautiously, pulling out her desk drawer to fetch out her secret candy stash.

"Will you come visit us and Daddy?" Riko piped up, her mood brightening at the sight of the sweets. The astronomer tensed and sighed. "We'll see," she finally spoke up, answering as vaguely as possible as she handed her favorite twins their favorite treats.

As the twins thanked her for the food, Riku blinked his eyes slowly. "I think you should come see our Daddy," he spoke between bites. "He's been sad all week."

Tsukimi froze but tried to play it off, cooly. "Oh, really? I'm sorry, I hope he feels better," she sympathized with the twins, rubbing their backs. Riko nodded slowly, leaning against her teacher's chest for support as she sucked on her lollipop. "Yeah. Daddy was crying a lot this week. He tried to hide it, but I could hear him crying in his room at night sometimes.

The astronomer gasped softly, her heart leaping into her throat. Rin was... what–?

Riko sighed, nuzzling her head into her teacher's embrace. "Will you come back Daddy feel better? He misses you," she pleaded.

Tsukimi smiled, albeit her lips wavered. "Of course," her heart ached as she lied straight through her teeth.

He doesn't miss me. He misses your mother.

As this thought occurred to her, Tsukimi let out a deep breath she hadn't even realized she was holding.

Yes. Suna Rintarou holds tightly onto the person he loves.

She involuntarily clenched her fists, lowering her head.

Perhaps it is time I returned to hold the one I loved too.

. . .

Suna Rintarou thought he might've been at the lowest point in his life at this point.

The loss of his ex-wife Ochika had hit him hard, the final look on her face as she delivered him their twins, her legacy forever haunting him. But at least back then, he had his twins. Riko and Riku were the lights of his dreary world, shining new meaning onto his life.

But now–

As Suna continued to drink straight out of the Soju bottle, he felt the need to hurl. Setting it on the concrete ground, the middle blocker stumbled over to a nearby trashcan where he hovered above, retching as his mind ached with memories–memories of the sickly pallor of Ochika's dying face, her final, weak smile... which slowly bled into the same smiling lips of Hoshi looking up at him beneath the starry nights–

Suna gagged, gasping as saliva dripped into the trashcan before him. Unwavering street lights lit his silhouette, illuminating his bent, weakened figure.

Yes, Suna Rintarou truly was at the lowest point of his life.

"Eh? Holy shit–Sunarin! Is that you?!"

The intoxicated middle blocker looked blearily up as the familiar voice of his high school setter entered earshot, his gaze blurry as he tried to focus in on the two newcomers coming in. "Atsumu..?" he rasped, squinting. "...And is that Bokuto?"

"Hey–yo, you look like utter shit," the blonde setter was merciless with his remarks as he and the owlish man approached the EJP Raijin blocker, taking in the scene with round, concerned eyes. Suna scoffed drunkenly, turning away as he chugged down the last of his drink. "No shit, Sherlock," he grunted, chucking the glass into the recycling bin.

Atsumu and Bokutou shared a concerned glance. "Let's sit down somewhere," offered the latter spiker, offering a hand to Suna. The father sighed and waved it away, yet pushed himself up all the same. "Fine," he grumbled, too drunk to care.

The three athletes strode about, searching for a place to sit down–Atsumu and Bokutou supported their drunken friend between them, pausing every so often as he stumbled over his feet. Finally, they arrived at a small bench where they lowered themselves onto, pausing to silently gaze up at the night sky.

For a while, the trio was silent–several minutes passed before Suna, overwhelmed by the emotions the alcohol he'd drunk had brought up, suddenly leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, covering his face as he cried.

Atsumu was the first to speak, keeping a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hey. Ya good?" his accent slipped back out with the company of old friends.

Suna shook his head miserably. "No," he sobbed out, his words slurred by the alcohol. "I can't do this anymore, I can't do it anymore–"

"Hey, hey, yer goin' ta be okay," soothed Atsumu, patting his shoulder comfortingly. Bokuto joined in on the other shoulder, wordlessly mirroring the blonde setter's actions.

"It's Hoshi!" Suna finally blurted out after a moment of silence, his face still buried in his hands. "But Ochika..." his voice was constricted as he continued to cry.

The three men were silent, save Suna's quiet sobs, for quite some time. Finally, to the surprise of his two other friends, Bokuto spoke up first.

"Y'know, Sunarin, my best friend Akaashi, 'Kimi's ex, talked to me the other day," he began, his large, unblinking golden eyes looking down at his fellow athlete. "Something happened with his ex-girlfriend, the one who had his kid, and, well... To keep the long story short, it's better to just say that he's breaking up with her again. Not that they were really back together in the first place," the wing spiker added as an afterthought, tilting his head up to the sky as he thought about it.

"But anyways," he turned back to the middle blocker, refocusing after his digression. "The point is, Akaashi's planning on getting back together with 'Kimi." The way Suna tensed at his words didn't go unnoticed by Bokuto. He continued: "And even though Akaashi's been my best friend since forever, you're my friend too. And I can see that you care for her, even if you deny it yourself. I'm not going to take sides in this, but I thought that, at the very least, you deserve to at least be given the same starting point as Akaashi."

Bokuto lowered his head for a moment before he continued. "Now I don't know how deeply your feelings run for 'Kimi, but I think you should know that before that entire... mishap happened with Chika, 'Kaashi and 'Kimi were actually planning on getting married. They were really in love, in short," summarized the spiker after a pause. Given a moment, he looked up again, his large, golden eyes serious. "With that being said, I'm sure you think it's impossible to get back into the game. Heck, you might not even want to, knowing how deep in they were. But I think," he paused briefly to take a breath, "that there is still enough depth in the love that someone feels when they fall hard rather than in love."

Atsumu and Suna lifted their heads as Bokuto stood up, casting a small, sympathetic smile on the bereaved middle blocker. "I think all of that fits within my limits as your friend and Akaashi's best friend," he smiled. "Now that the two of you are at the same starting point, I can walk away with a content mind." Turning, the wing spiker started to walk off. But before he disappeared into the shadows, he turned back for one last word:

"And perhaps your star isn't there to limit you and remind you of the past. Rather, perhaps Aquarii Cor is here to guide you and your children to your future."