You Are My Sunshine.

The Sky's The Limit!

Seventeen trusted Sixteen with everything he had.

Why wouldn't he?

Ever since he'd landed in the orphanage in the middle of nowhere they'd been side by side. She was the only one who didn't mock him for knowing basically everything there was to know by reading books, but she came to him with a lot of questions he was happy to provide an answer for.

Or at least an educated guess.

He knew she wasn't the...sharpest crayon in the box, but she had enough sense and enough nonsense to get through the day mostly fine. Sixteen never stopped the questions, and she didn't treat him any differently when..

When he lost his arm and ear..

The boy had been minding his own business and was trying to sell some trinkets he had made, it was winter and the snow had been cleared in the streets, but it had been dumped on the sidewalk so he was up to his knees in it when the building next to him abruptly went up in flames.

It had been a chemical plant that often burned things in that weird tower that always had smoke coming out the top like a smog-filled chimney, but that was the least of his worries when it had toppled over and the plant burst out in the red flower that was fire.

Workers were running about, everything was wet and hazy when he got shoved to the ground, his trinkets spilled over the cobblestone streets and he tried to recollect them on his scraped hands. But it was futile, they were broken and no longer useful, he looked upwards at the sky and biting winter winds before pulling his hat closer to his face and curled into a shivering ball of fluff and clothing.

Then the place exploded.

Bricks were flying everywhere, tiny little pebbles and snow were showering him at every side, the ringing of the aftershock was still loud in his ears, and heat flashed before vanishing.

Seventeen swore he was still bent over and covered in snow, because he had trouble getting up without needles shooting everywhere around him, so he laid there, hoping that frostbite would be kind enough to back off for a little bit.

He felt like sleeping, but soon, tiny hands dug him out and yanked him over to them.

Initially mistaking them for an enemy, Seventeen tried to move away, but Sixteen shushed him and picked him up with little to no effort required.

She must have super strength or something, he had surmised.

The girl watched the adults running and panicking before glancing back down at her friend with a questionable look, the 5 year old blinking slowly and trying to sound out words she didn't entirely know the meaning of yet, "S'venteen? You're pro..fously..hurt."

"Profusely.." He had corrected on instinct, and he shakily pointed to the flaming building, "That exploded.."

"Wha's that meaning?"

"It went..kaboom.." He put his mittens together and spread them out to try and spark her attention, "Explosion..means..kaboom.."

"Okay." She nodded.

"Hey kid! Get away from the fire!"

Sixteen blinked and stared at him, "The esploshion, hurt my friend."

"What happened?!"

"The esplosion hurt m-"

The adult started trying to pry him from Sixteen, but Seventeen refused to go with adults he didn't know, and held onto her.

"Let go! I'm gonna help him."

"He doesn't wanna go with you!" Sixteen yelled, attracting the attention of bystanders who didn't notice the mini-battle going on.