Work Text:
"Liu~," A hushed, pre-pubescent voice cooed as Liu groaned and pulled the sheets over his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping well since his parents announced the move. He stayed up messaging his friends, playing video games on his Nintendo 2-DS and watching cartoons. Occasionally, his nuisance of a little brother Jeff would accompany him until Liu would kick him out and hit the hay. Jeff shook Liu once again and continued taunting him.
"God, Jeff. It's nearly 3 am what could you possibly want?" His frustration seeped through his tone as he glared at the shadow of the scrawny thirteen-year-old boy who sat on his bed with wide, piercing eyes. Jeff held up a DVD as Liu reached for the switch for his lamp. Both of them winced as the dingy desk lamp illuminated the room. Jeff's grin didn't falter as Liu leaned closer to the DVD, trying to make out what movie it was.
Jeff handed him a copy of Scream and giggled. "I snagged it from a thrift store yesterday." Liu traced his fingers over the cover and absentmindedly grinned, knowing that Jeff most likely stole it. He dragged himself off the small twin-sized bed and over to his practically antique DVD player. His room was smaller than Jeff's, with more clutter and larger piles of laundry. He had a DVD player and TV on top of his dresser as well as a few figurines and empty Redbull cans. The walls of his room were a shade of cyan that he grew to hate over the years, so he littered them with posters and drawings that he had collected over time. Jeff enjoyed Liu's room more than his own, it was a safe space he could come to and be a different version of himself; a more honest, open version of himself. He didn't have to fill the space with small talk, he could just sit and read in the company of his older brother.
"Dude, you're a legend. I owe you." Liu said as he popped the disc out of the cover and checked it for scratches, which it had plenty of. He gave it a rub with his shirt and slid it into the DVD player before slumping back into bed next to Jeff, who had made himself comfortable and turned out the light for ambience.
He took horror movies much more seriously than Jeff did. When Jeff was only nine, Liu made him watch The Shining, which traumatised both of them. He loved explaining the plot to his horrified yet mesmerised brother. A messy drawing of Carrie was sticky taped above Liu's bed, next to a drawing of Jason. Liu's room was littered with sketches of his favourite movies. He was always in the mood to watch one. This didn't mean that Jeff didn't like horror movies, just that he was much more casual about them.
"I think I could fix him." Jeff sneered, his eyes glued to the TV screen as he paid more attention to Matthew Lillard's palpable charm rather than the plot of the movie.
Liu rolled his eyes. "Jeff, he's a murderer. And like ten years older than you."
"Boooo. He's hot as fuck! Even you can admit that."
"I guess, but I still think of him as Shaggy," Liu commented as Jeff folded his arms and blew a tuft of hair out of his face.
"Shaggy or not, Stu is still my top serial killer crush."
"I prefer Billy, but I see what you mean." Liu picked at his cuticles and glanced at Jeff, whose eyes were still undressing Matthew Lillard. He shook his head and continued watching the movie.
The brother's laughed through most of the movie, commenting on who would be the first to die and who they would want to date. Jeff wasn't phased by the gore, only giving a small "Eugh." now and again. Liu watched his blank stare with concern every time someone died. It made him feel uneasy whenever the corners of Jeff's mouth began to curl upward. It wasn't a happy smile, it was a sick, deranged smile. He brushed it off and continued watching the movie, putting in a subtle effort not to look at his brother. It wasn't long before he felt the weight of Jeff's head against his shoulder and heard his quiet snoring.
Liu slowly moved his opposite hand, the one Jeff wasn't lying on, up to his sleeping face. Liu brushed through a few strands of Jeff's dark, thick hair and watched it fall back into his face. He was out cold. The movie blared on in the background as Liu's eyes fell from Jeff's tired face down to his arms. Even in the dark, he could make out the thin, red lines that covered most of Jeff's forearm. He sighed and wrapped his arm around him, chewing on the inside of his lip as Jeff shuffled closer to Liu and continued sleeping.
Liu had a small puddle of drool on his shirt by the end of the movie, all thanks to Jeff. He turned off the TV and yawned, feeling the tiredness weighing down his eyelids. Jeff had shifted to be lying on Liu's chest with his arm around him, which made it easier for Liu to try and get himself into a more comfortable position. He grimaced at the uncomfortable thought of sleeping on his back but refused to wake Jeff up. He needed the sleep, evident by the dark rings around his eyes. Liu twirled a strand of Jeff's hair between his fingers, before dropping it and stroking his back instead. He dozed off shortly, dreaming of Matthew Lillard and other teenage boy things.
The sun cracked through Liu's curtains as Jeff stirred awake, slowly getting up to not disturb Liu, who was snoring loudly. He crept around his room and skimmed through Liu's large comic collection and listened to My Chemical Romance off his father's CD player. Liu didn't get out of bed by midday, and by then Jeff had gone outside for a skate. As he adjusted to the light, Liu looked over at the scattered pile of comics and smiled. He loved sharing his interests with Jeff, even when that meant that his neatly organised stash of comics was ruined.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jeffrey,~" Liu pestered, poking the sleeping now nineteen-year-old and sighing to himself. He vigorously shook him awake, laughing as Jeff groggily swung for his face. Jeff hadn't changed too much over the years, mentally at least. True, he became was burned alive and went insane, but he still enjoyed a good movie night. Jeff swept his long black hair out of his face and glared at Liu, who sat unphased and unbothered. "Morning sunshine."
"Liu it's 2 fucking am." Jeff's gruff and tired voice croaked as he sat up and crossed his legs. Liu pulled something out of his coat that Jeff could hardly make out. He reached for his phone on his nightstand and turned on the flashlight, his eyes taking too long to adjust to the flash. He reached out a hand and took the dusty copy of Freddy vs. Jason that Liu was holding, giggling with excitement. Liu grinned as Jeff struggled to his feet, still in his pyjama shorts and dragged Liu downstairs to the living room. The two sat side by side as the TV groaned to life. Jeff searched the kitchen cupboard for snacks before returning to Liu, who sat enjoying a cigarette and staring at the menu screen.
"Nice selection." Liu chuckled as Jeff dropped onto the couch beside him clutching the remote, a bag of chips and a bottle of wine.
"Hush, tonight we feast like kings." Jeff poured two glasses of wine out for the two and Liu graciously accepted. They did stuff like this at least once a week, drinking together with a random show on in the background. Jeff hadn't watched a horror movie since joining Slender and his folk, and certainly not since reconnecting with Liu. The brothers had rough patches and frequent arguments, but those became irrelevant when alcohol was added.
Jeff poured himself a third glass as Liu sat cross-legged on the couch. "Y'know, I bet I could take Jason." He remarked as Liu scoffed and raised a brow.
"In a fight or in bed?"
"Both. But he's no Stu." They laughed as Jason shambled onto the screen and killed off another unremarkable character. Jeff wished out loud that killing looked this cool in real life, Liu just took another sip from his glass and scoffed. Wind rattled against the windows as the boys lay against each other, the empty bottle of wine in Jeff's lap beside Liu's head. Liu was curled into a ball, silently watching the film as Jeff drunkenly hiccupped and stared at the screen. His eyes wandered away from the television and down to his older brother, who was more of a heavyweight drinker than Jeff. He dragged his fingers across Liu's stitches and hummed to himself, completely intoxicated. Liu's skin was much softer and warmer than Jeff's, which was usually ice cold to the touch.
"Liu, I'm so sorry," Jeff whined drunkenly as Liu shifted onto his back and looked up at him.
"For?"
"Doing this to you. *hic*"
Liu snorted. "It's alright I guess."
"No, it's not. I tried to *hic* kill you." Jeff slurred as Liu sat up and placed the wine bottle on the table. He grabbed Jeff by the shoulders and gave him a small shake, causing Jeff's head to roll like a ragdoll. He placed his hands on Liu's shoulders and weakly shook him back, before pulling him into a sloppy hug.
"Jeff, you're wasted. You say this every time we get drunk." Liu patted down Jeff's hair and sighed. "Maybe we should get you to bed." Jeff didn't protest but narrowed his eyes as Liu turned off the TV and lifted him off the couch. Jeff felt so small and safe in his arms, safer than he felt when Slender found him on the side of the road. Safer than when his dad would carry him in from the car after he had slept through a long car ride. Liu radiated comfort, no wonder he had so many friends when he was in school. He was like a blanket. Jeff wished he could be like that.
His bed was much more comfortable than usual that night. His pillow was cool against his scarred and leathery face and his blanket felt softer than silk. Sleeping was so much nicer when he was drunk. Liu sat beside him, stroking his sleeping face as he snored. The sounds of morning birds had started, alerting Liu that once again he had stayed up far too late. He shambled into Jeff's bed and closed his eyes, thinking about that night when he watched Scream for the first time with Jeff. As he did so, he felt arms wrap around him and pull him closer to Jeff.
Jeff woke up to the sweet smell of breakfast at midday, which was a regular occurrence in a household of night owls. He made his way swiftly to the kitchen where Liu sat beside Toby and Eyeless Jack talking about last night's movie. He complained about the cheap special effects as Toby listened intently and shoved his face full of pancakes. Jeff seated himself at the end of the counter beside Liu.
"Morning Jeff. Pancake?" He offered, handing Jeff a plate and placing a few pancakes on it. Jeff just nodded, morbidly hungover. Toby greeted him and blabbered on about his day, giving Jeff plenty of time to adjust to the bright light. Liu's hangover was barely noticeable as he talked with Toby, completely calm and composed. Jeff could hardly keep his eyes open as he nibbled away at his pancake, which was astounding thanks to Jack's strange cooking expertise. The boys had a few games of Mario Kart after breakfast, Jack destroying everyone. The rest of the day was perfect. Liu and Jeff didn't argue once.