Steve Saga Short Stories ♡

The Birch Forest

Authors note**     I'm currently in a writing slump, but specifically for the romantics/smut. So have some short buy very fluffy brotherly fluff (=

1698 words

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Light sprinted through the forest, suppressing his breaths. He wasn't much of a runner, preferring to sneak around his opponent but he was caught. So now sprinted through the foilage, swirling around birch trees. He tried to lose his trail by quickly scaling a tree, swinging up into its branches. He didn't know that his opponent had his eyes locked on him nor that he was only a few feet behind.

He was plucked out of the tree as quickly as he had climbed it. He tried to squirm lose as Rainbow started to bellow out a winning "evil" laugh through a joyous smile. Light flailed in his much older brother's arms, bubbly giggles soon wheezing out of him. Light was a rather small child. How old he was supposed to be representing was unknown to them, but he had been created only a year or so ago. He was physically much older, but still only seemed to be seven. Lights started to laugh as hard as Rainbow, a childly pitched squeak of contentment as he was hauled over Rainbow's shoulder.

"Come on. Dinner time, icicle"

Light groaned and limped his arms. He signed the number one and reached it back for Rainbow to see

"It's been 'one more time' three times now" Rainbow commented, holding Light in front of him.

Light gave his best pleading eyes, which seemed to always work on Rainbow, despite still claiming villainhood. After he had been torn into parts and compounded back together by the player, he had been plotting revenge. Or... at least he said he was. He often forgot about it as soon as Light woke up from a cat nap or was tugging at his sleeve to play a game. He didn't hesitate or even really think when he would toss his plans on the back burner and spend time with his baby brother, who might as well have been his son.

"Alright, alright. One more." He said "You hear me this time? One. Uno. Singular.-"He signed the number back at Light- "I've still gotta make dinner."

He smiled as Light bounced up and down excitedly and sprinted back into the forest of birch. It was worth it if it meant Light was more likely to sleep through the night. He pressed his head up against the tree and loudly counted to fifty. His counting became distant as Light sprinted into the forest, only slowing once he couldn't hear the numbers in the back of his head anymore.

As his breath calmed, it was only a matter of Light weaving around and through trees. He was already hidden the moment Rainbow looked away. He blended well with the trees. He made sure to wear a particular t-shirt to play this game. It wasn't as blueishly undertoned as most of his other clothes, but in his mind, it was simply more "tree-colored" than his other shirts. He paired it with black leggings.

He wandered in loose circles around the trees, trying to count how long it had been in his head. Soon enough he heard footsteps; soft mellow crunches he'd been listening hard for, else he wouldn't have heard them. He swiveled from tree to tree, wrapping himself along its bark. He spent time chasing the footsteps so he could dance around them.

He wondered how Rainbow had yet to call out anything to him. Not one "sinister" laugh or "villainous" dialogue. Must be a new tactic Light though. Rainbow had told him that this was "training" cause of how badly Light had wanted to train like Rainbow did. Rainbow knew he was way too young to be training, so he just taught him tag hide-&-seek for them to play. In a way, it did improve his baby brother's stealth, so it wasn't exactly useless. Plus, it wore him out, getting him to sleep through the night for once.

Light traced around more trees, listening to the light footsteps. He kept trying to get a peak at his brother to try and see what was going on in his head, why he was quiet, but he didn't get any glances. Maybe he would have if he hadn't heard the shout beyond the trees