In the game, after the passing of his father, Winston became an E-knight who rarely smiled and only talked when necessary. But he relearned happiness after meeting the heroine…
Regarding any vital encounters between him and the villainess, however…there wasn't any!
"I'm Winston!" this child version of him beamed as he stood before me and Claire.
…Interacting with him was probably…
[SAFE!!] I thought vigorously, standing with a smile.
Did I mention I was soft on his character?
"I'm—" I began.
"Airee, and that's Claire!!" he finished, toothily grinning.
I basked in the light of his barely contained energy. How heartwarming to see him this innocent and happy!
"Bunny!" Claire exclaimed, bringing my attention to the bow and furred mass Winston held in either hand.
"I caught it just now!" he stated proudly, holding the rabbit out by its hind legs.
The rabbit was unmoving, and its metallic stench engulfed my senses. Only then did I realize it was dead.
Winston must have noticed my shock because he quickly hid the rabbit behind his back as Claire reached for it.
"I…I'll get another bunny for you!" he told her before sprinting past us and disappearing out of view.
He returned after cleaning up and changing clothes, holding a tan, toy bunny with pink seams and pink, beady eyes.
"I don't play with it, so you can have it," he said, handing it to Claire.
She poked at its eyes before hugging it to her chest, grinning sweetly. "Thank you!"
Although death still lingered in the air, I exploded into hearts, having not seen her this happy in a while.
"Thank you," I repeated gratefully, patting Winston on the shoulder.
║║║║║║║║║║
Since then, Winston joined us whenever we sat outside. He chatted about nothing and everything and played games with Claire and Bunny. I joined often to observe their adorableness, but most times, I laid down on the grass and thought.
I still wavered on which route to take to save General Os. And, if I was being honest…every route likely ended with my death.
…
Not only that…
I recalled the lifeless, beady eyes of the rabbit Winston had hunted, the way its death lingered long after it was carried away.
…if I was determined on saving General Os, these hands of mine would likely…
[Kill.]
Claire began sniffling, and I snapped out of my thoughts, asking her what was wrong.
"I miss…Mama…and Papa," she whimpered brokenly, burrowing her face into Bunny.
"Ah…don't worry, in their letter they said they were visiting soon!" I tried reassuring her.
"Hnn…" Claire hummed, and her sniffles grew into uncontrollable cries.
Winston, who had been quiet, suddenly exclaimed, "Look Claire! It's me, your Papa!"
Claire looked at him, furrowing her brows together. "You…you're not Papa…!" she exclaimed indignantly with teary eyes.
He flushed, embarrassed.
Not wanting his efforts to go to waste, I pointed to myself and declared, "Then I'm Papa for today!"
Claire frowned, but I picked her up before she could say otherwise.
"There's my little cub!" I said heartfully just like Father would say.
I wiped her tears away, gave her a twirl, and kissed her cheek, grinning toothily.
"…Then where's Mama…?" Claire asked tentatively, seeming willing to play along.
"My dear!" I addressed Winston smoothly, who looked flustered at the sudden turn of events.
"I-I'm…Mama…" he stated awkwardly.
Claire looked at us, calculating, before clapping with delight.
"Okay!" Claire exclaimed, grinning. "Mama, Papa, look! Meet my new friend, Bunny! Today, we're going to make flower crowns for each other! Please join us!!"
"That's not different from what we usually—" Winston began.
I jabbed him before he could finish. "Yes, Papa and Mama will join you!" I told Claire, smiling warmly.
Thus, we spent the entire afternoon threading flowers together.
"...Do you…hate Father for separating you and Claire from your mama and papa?" Winston suddenly asked me while Claire was humming to herself nearby.
"No," I replied. "Because by doing so, he and his team will save thousands of lives…Claire's and mine included."
He fell silent, and, after, we watched Claire put a flower crown on Bunny.
"Lovely, Bunny!" she exclaimed before spinning expectantly towards Winston.
He put the one he made atop her head and said warmly, "You look lovely, Claire."
"Thank you, Mama," she giggled. She then lifted a flower crown towards me.
I lowered my head, and she placed the crown atop it before nuzzling my cheek.
"Pretty, Papa!!" she exclaimed, clapping with delight.
I kissed her cheek in thanks and turned towards Winston. Being inches taller than him, I easily placed my crown atop his head.
"You're beautiful," I said sincerely, smiling. After all, this was all his idea to distract Claire from crying. And it was successful.
He looked at the ground, blushing adorably.
"Now kiss!" Claire encouraged with a clap.
"No," I told her sternly the same time I turned just in time to catch Winston leaning towards me with his eyes squeezed shut, presumably to kiss my cheek.
Instead of my cheek, however, his lips brushed the edge of my mouth, and I stilled in surprise.
His eyes flashed open, and we stared at each other in that position until he fell to the ground with a wild look, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
[…I…kissed…a child…] I thought, sirens going off in my head as my entire system panicked. [NO…think about this rationally…It wasn't a proper kiss! That's right, it was meant for my cheek, so everything's fine… NO—how is it fine?!! NO—YES—it IS fine since it was an accident!! An innocent accident…!! ...…Am I even innocent at this point?!!!!]
"I…I…SORRY!!" Winston screamed at the top of his lungs as he jumped to his feet and sprinted away.
...
"…I need to be punished," I muttered soullessly.
"Why? Papa did nothing wrong!" Claire stated before pushing Bunny's face into mine. "Now it's Bunny's turn!"
She smiled at me sweetly.