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To avoid the curiosity from others, Haruka had told Haruki to come to a secret hideout that few knew about for a gun duel, with the condition that Haruki was not allowed to bring any weapon, since Haruka would be the one to prepare this time.
Surprisingly, Haruki was the one to arrive earlier. He was just thinking about his brother when a familiar silhouette appeared from a distance.
“You’re late — huh…” Haruki stopped abruptly when he saw the other.
“Nii-san~! I’m sorry for being late! Midori-san kept asking me things, so…”
Despite Haruka’s rambling, Haruki still managed to take a good look at his brother. He was not wearing the common white TGC uniform suit today, but instead chose a black one, which was also the color Haruki was wearing. He could not believe that Haruka was even copying his outfit. He knew his brother never thought about others but rather acted upon his own interest, but it still made him uncomfortable.
“I look so much like you, big brother!”
“Right…”
“This is great! We now look exactly like each other… just like back then! We used to wear matching outfits all the time. I’m glad we have a chance to wear this without being seen…”
The moment Haruka mentioned “back then”, Haruki had let everything else his brother said slide off his mind. It was a bittersweet time in Haruki’s life — he neither wanted to remember nor be reminded about it.
“Why do you keep talking about the past?” He grimaced. “The past stays in the past, do not mix it up with the present!”
Haruka stood dumbfounded. He didn’t think Haruki would react that way. His temporary happiness had turned into a disaster in their private hangout. As if forgetting why they came here, Haruki turned around and left quickly, almost like he wanted to run away from his brother. He gained his speed with every stride, knowing the feeling of hiding from his brother all too well. Haruka tried to catch up, and the moment he almost managed to touch his twin’s back, he slipped away from his finger again. In the moment of panic, when he thought he was gonna lose his brother, Haruka shouted.
“N-Nii - san!”
“What now?”
“N-nothing.” Haruka answered quickly.
Haruka silently followed every step Haruki took. Despite how carefully Haruki hid, Haruka could still find him. As if “twin telepathy” was really a thing between them. Eventually, Haruki was tired of hiding and finally let his brother follow him despite his annoyance.
After a while of walking, Haruki noticed an absolutely abnormal storage house, looking like it came straight out of a horror movie. He pointed at its direction.
“Haruka, do you see the storage house over there?”
“You mean that incredibly suspicious storage house? Yes.”
“Ha, so do you want to check it out?”
Haruka nodded curtly. Just a moment ago, he still looked like a sad puppy, but now he had regained his excitement. The younger Hosokawa twin’s attitude changed very suddenly. Just like before, Haruka followed Haruki closely.
“It seems like there’s nothing here…”
“Yeah, looks like there’s just a bunch of old stuff…” Haruka replied as he checked out an old, yellowed map. On Haruki’s side, he found a few old mangas. After a while, the older twin got bored and turned around to his brother.
“Let’s get out of here, it’s getting boring — ”
Before Haruki could finish his sentence, the storage house’s door closed with a bang, locking the Hosokawa brothers inside.
“Huh — ”
Haruki turned around at once. His intuition told him that this door could not be opened from the inside, although he still tried just in case. Despite his efforts of pushing and pulling, the door remained closed.
“Are you kidding me…”
But nothing was kidding him, except for life.
After failing to open it with the door handle, Haruki decided to switch to the classic method of trying to break the door down — although it was fruitless in this situation. He banged on the door until his hands turned red, but it was all for nothing. Realizing the wasted efforts, he decided to give up. Opposite to his older twin, Haruka did not do anything. He sat still and watched his brother struggle with the door in vain, since he knew it was not going to work anyway.
“It won’t open no matter what.” Haruki opened his phone to check, but it had shut down. “Great. And my phone ran out of battery… Haruka, do you bring your phone or a portable charger?”
“I don’t.”
“Why?”
“I did not want anyone to disturb our hang out so I left my phone at home…”
“Haruka, I know you’re much smarter than me but sometimes you don’t act like it.”
“Well, as long as you’re here, I’m happy.” Haruka smiled, a smile like spring flowers. Just like his name, Haruki thought.
While Haruki tried to come up with more ways to open the door, Haruka nonchalantly cleaned up the floor of the storage house, making room for a spot that would fit two people. Seeing that Haruka did not even try, and he even looked a bit relaxed and seemed to be enjoying himself, Haruki decided to give up too. He slumped down on the floor, heaving a sigh. Both had to face this situation until tomorrow morning before they could find help.
“Goodnight… brother.”
“...Huh?” Haruki was confused. Haruka had quickly adapted with the current situation, he even had already taken off his vest to give to his brother to lie on.
“Stop, you don’t have to.”
“Oh, okay.”
With a loving look, Haruka continued hesitantly.
“This is the first time after years that we sleep together like this… I’m very happy. I’m really… happy…” Before he could finish his sentence, Haruka already yawned and stretched his arms. “I’m so sleepy. And I crave desserts.”
“Choose one out of the two, Haruka.”
“Then I choose to sleep with you.”
Haruki gave up trying to talk back to his brother, since Haruka always said weird things like this. But despite his moody facade, deep inside he could feel a strange feeling rising. He waited until he could hear Haruka’s steady breathing before lying down beside him.
Half asleep, the twin brother woke up from a soft coughing noise. There seemed to be something over his body. Haruki tried to touch it — it was fabric. The suppressed coughs continued.
“Are you okay?”
No answer.
“Haruka?” Haruki slowly got up. At that moment, Haruka turned around to look at his brother.
“A, Nii-san… I woke you up?”
“I haven’t really slept yet. Are you cold?”
“No, I’m not — cough. ”
“Keep denying, it doesn’t work.”
“I’m a doctor, I know my body best.”
“You did not have to put your vest over me.”
Instead of using his hand to check the temperature, Haruki used his lips. He brushed up his brother’s hair, then used his lips to touch his forehead. It really was a fever. Since the temperature of our lips were the same with our forehead, while the hands’ temperature were always lower, using lips would give the most accurate result. But perhaps Haruki had forgotten that he could not do those kinds of things with Haruka or he would go Lunatic Brocon.
“There’s nothing to lower your temperature here, tch…” Haruki grimaced. He got more worried when he noticed his brother’s shivering. Despite being half conscious, Haruka still appeared to notice his brother’s worry. He gently caressed his twin’s cheek.
“Don’t worry, big brother… Take care of yourself first, cough . My fever will pass soon…”
Haruki didn’t care. Carefully, Haruki helped his brother sit up so he could cough it out. Haruki stroked Haruka’s back as he coughed. It’s as if Haruki became more gentle with him when Haruka was sick. Even to Haruka, his brother is the nicest, most gentle, most decent, most amazing person in the world, but today he was even more so.
“You can’t even properly, and you tell me to not be worried? Tch, let me see if there’s any water bottle around.”
Haruki stood up as he spoke, then started making his way around the old storage house.
“Ah, there’s a water bottle… here.”
Haruka did not dare to drink it all in one go, but sip it slowly before putting the bottle down. Haruki got more nervous seeing his brother fiddle with the bottle.
“Why won’t you finish it?”
“Are you thirsty, Nii-san?”
“N-no. No, you drink it.”
“Take a sip.”
Haruka pushed the bottle into his brother’s hand. Knowing he couldn’t reject it, Haruki took the bottle. They shared the remaining water, draining it.
“Nii-san.”
“Yes?”
“I still remember when we were small.”
“And what?” Haruki pushed his hands on his hips, looking at his twin. Haruka stuttered for a while before continuing.
“Every time you get a fever, I would lie down with you like this… not gonna lie, you were sick a lot more than me back then… Ah, I’m sorry! Nii-san doesn’t want me to talk about old stuff…”
“No, I’m not too bothered actually… But why do you suddenly like to bring up old stuff today? Is it because you’re sick?
“No, it’s just… after many years, after many things we’ve been through… I’m just really happy to be sleeping next to each other again like the good old days. I’m being honest.”
Haruki didn’t respond, but his reddening ears said everything. The twins couldn’t say anything for a while, until Haruka spoke up first.
“Nii-san…”
“What now?”
“Just a little bit…”
“A little bit what?”
“Kiss...”
“You really do know how to read the room, huh? But stuff like this…” Haruki glanced at the storage’s door, grimacing. “Don’t you think it’s a little weird? Don’t think you can do anything you want because you’re sick. Anyway, I’m not gonna waste my words on you. You can do whatever you want after all…”
“No, that’s not right. Nii-san, no… Haruki. ” The twin jolted back in surprise upon hearing his name being uttered by his younger brother. “These are my true feelings. I really, really want you to accept and love me.”
“You always say you’re true to yourself.”
“Because I am.”
“I really don’t have anything to say about this.”
Haruki sighed, although he still gave in to his brother’s wish. Adjusting his position to make it comfortable for both of them, he swallowed hard, preparing to please his twin. Haruka continued to stare at him in anticipation, which made him slightly embarrassed.
"Hold up. Close your eyes first."
"Huh?"
"Just do it, don’t ask questions. Do you want a kiss or not?"
Haruka followed the instructions and shut his eyes tightly. When he was sure his brother’s eyes were surely closed, Haruki lifted his chin up, and…
The kiss that Haruki gave his brother was not like anything that the both of them had experienced before. He started slow and gentle, then steadily became more confident, pushing his tongue deeper inside even, as if asserting his dominance. Haruki could be clumsy with a few things, but he was surprisingly good at this. Unable to control himself, Haruka threw his arms around his brother’s neck, giving him his all. And deep inside, he had always loved his brother.
“Hah… Nii-san… Nii-san… Nii-san...~”
A stolen kiss, secret and full of passion was enough to satisfy them both. Haruki never thought he would fall into a situation like this, but then the moment he looked into his brother’s deep, dark eyes, he realized he couldn’t turn back from this. The green in Haruka’s eyes is a color Haruki really wanted to hate, but now he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Even the deodorant he uses is also my old one, Haruki thought. But Haruka had cut him off with his whispers.
“Nii-san… I have something else to say.”
“What is it?”
“I’m… sorry. For intentionally wearing the same clothes as you do. I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.”
Haruki was dumbfounded. He exhaled.
“I did not intend to say what I did… or I did, it was both intentional, huh? I’m… sorry. I’m in the wrong too. It’s just, how do I say this…” Haruki stuttered as he tried to find words to not hurt his brother. “...I just don’t want you to do everything like I do, even with this outfit.”
“So can you pick my outfit from now on, to avoid choosing the same one as you? I will take photos and send them to you, then you can choose for me…”
“Huh? You have to decide what you wear. Don’t ask me to do those things for you, I don’t know anything about it…”
Haruka blinked. His eyelashes weren’t long, but they were thicker than Haruki’s. The older Hosokawa twin realized he was close to being breathless. It didn’t take long for him to realize he was holding his breath because his precious brother was lying on him. Haruki then realized how high his brother’s body temperature was. He almost panicked.
“H-Haruka, you should sleep to regain your energy, okay? At this rate you’re not gonna get any better… Also, please get off my body! I’m suffocating over here!”
As he pushed his brother off, Haruka noticed that he didn’t react. Haruki had hugged Haruka tightly into his arms. Haruki then used the coat that Haruka had put on him to now put it back on his brother. As he stroked his twin’s back, he felt strangely awkward. Haruki only felt calm again when Haruka’s breathing became steady. In situations like these, Haruki realized how many things there were that he wanted to tell his twin. But he couldn’t, or more like didn’t want to say out loud when the other was still awake. Before relaxing completely, he whispered quietly.
“Sleep tight…”
Haruki hesitated a bit before replying.
“... Haruka.”
“I know that you always love me.”
Like the way a flower leaned on its branches, Haruka curled up beside Haruki every time the cold flashed by. In return, like the way the branches hold the flowers up, Haruki hugged his brother inside his arms. Just like that, the two slept tightly until the next morning.
******
“Oh,” A voice familiar to Haruka appeared. “Did I interrupt this precious bonding moment between you two? Sorry for disturbing…”
“What the hell?! Hey, don’t close the door!” Haruki hastily sat up, leaving Haruka’s side. That also meant the younger Hosokawa twin lost his spot to lean on and fell on his face.
“Just kidding. Also, Haruki-kun, you should check on your brother. Why did you leave him on the floor like that?
Outside, standing closely to Dr Midori and Fujimoto were Haruki’s teammates. Haruka didn’t look too happy seeing them all, more specifically the doctor who’s grinning widely. He glared at him, annoyed for sabotaging his time with his brother.
“HaruHaruki!” Hotaru called. For God’s sake, the loudest one is also here, Haruki thought.
“Turns out you two were here all night… We were worried sick! We got people to look for you but no one could find you guys!” Fujimoto rambled. Opposite to the attitude of the TGC members, it appeared that Matsuoka was way more calm. He looked relieved to see his friends unscathed as he gave Haruki a hand to help him stand up.
“Woa, this… has a really big potential to become a BL story…” Yukimura commented when he saw the unique scenario. Every warm feeling Haruki got from Matsuoka vanished as he stood up and wiped away the dust on his black vest.
“Don’t even think about it! Nevermind, I’m leaving.”
Leaving his confused brother on the floor, Haruki made his way out. Looking at his brother’s silhouette getting smaller and smaller, Hosokawa Haruka remained silent. He knew that being seen like this with his brother was nothing but embarrassing. Especially when his brother had to take care of everything for him like this. Both brothers couldn’t see each other’s faces, but in fact, their faces looked a bit too similar to two ripe tomatoes.
“Nii-san, wait for me!”
Haruki and Haruka thought to themselves that everything that happened in the old storage that night would be a secret that only they would know.