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Akihiko was six years old the first time it really came up, the idea that he and his brother might not be the same in the eyes of their parents. It started when Mei had jokingly declared that she was the favorite over her two older sisters because she was the baby, and Akihiko had argued that being the baby didn't make his parents love him more than Ai.
A tussle and a black eye later they had both dragged a sniffling Ai up to see Ayumi Nitori in her little sunroom, one of them holding either of Ai's arms and Akihiko puffing his chest out so he looked tall and brave even though Mei had given him a bloody nose again. “Nii-chan is your favorite, right Mama?”
It had come out of his mouth as a demand because he couldn't understand that it would be any other way. He certainly didn't want to be the favorite; he wanted to know that everyone else loved his big brother as much as he did. Ai stared straight at the floor and Ayumi smiled at them both, saying nothing for a minute that even he could realize was far too long. Still, she gestured him over and pulled him into her lap with a coo, smoothing his short spikes of hair back into order.
“Now how could he be when I have such a strong little man running around the house?” She purred at him and let him adjust on her knee. He beamed because he loved it when adults called him strong. Ai had left the room without making a sound, something he was becoming too good at and sometimes Akihiko lost track of him for hours. It wasn't until much later when he found Ai had tucked himself into a little corner of the pantry he realized that she had meant no.
He never asked either parent about their favorite again, but, he never had to ask to get the answer.
He was seven when he walked out to the community pool to join Ai after his swimming practice to find Ryuu and Reiji Keishin dunking his older brother's head under the water again and again. He didn't think before he threw himself into the water in a flurry of growls and limbs, and when he broke the nose of one and fractured the jaw of the other managing to dislocate two knuckles he wore the pain and the blood like a badge of honor.
He didn't even cry when the paramedic they called popped both of them back into place, grinning at Ai holding onto his other hand with a frown. He didn't even get yelled at for fighting like usual though he could hear the low sounds of his parents talking even over Ai tucked into his bed reading him the Hobbit.
They were arguing; it wasn't a big surprise, they did that a lot. But he could hear them saying Ai's name sometimes. Always his full name, Aiichirou. He had never really used it because when he was little it came out as 'Aii-thi-woo' and to avoid being laughed at he'd used Ai instead. Ai shifted next to him, pausing with a frown at the sound of Masahiro raising his voice but beginning again quickly before Akihiko could catch the words.
He couldn't always grasp the story the way Ai could, but he knew he wasn't as smart as his older brother. It didn't bother him, he was happier to let Ai lean against him and read than he was to try and stumble through it on his own. Sometimes, when he was in a good mood Ai would do voices for the different characters instead of just using his usual voice. Akihiko liked both, Ai always sounded so confident and sure when he read out loud.
Sometimes when he talked to people Ai would get nervous and stumble over his words, especially with Dad. It made him frown at Ai, and Akihiko had started to hate seeing those frowns. He was always slower with answers when people asked him questions, but he never got that same look in response. He snorted at his own thoughts, listening instead to Ai describing the horrible troll king and wrapping an arm around his brother's side.
He was eleven when Ayumi finally decided to move out. It almost wasn't a surprise at all, she had been gone more than she'd been around and even though she was what people referred to as an omega she didn't spend much time with the two of them anymore.
Or at least, not the two of them together. Sometimes she would take Ai by the hand and lead him out to the garden and tell him about flowers, or pull a stool up to her vanity so he could run his fingers over the sparkling jewelry. Ai seemed to like these things, but Akihiko always pouted that he couldn't do them too.
Ai plopped next to him with a little furrow in his brow, tucking his feet under his thighs and looking over Akihiko's shoulder at his notebook. He frowned just gently, tapping Akihiko's shoulder and inclining his head forward. “You have number four wrong.”
Akihiko blinked, lifting his arm to look down at the paper before smiling and pushing it so it was between them instead, tilting his head. “I don't get it, can you show me Nii-chan?”
He liked when Ai helped with his homework. It was better than asking anyone else because Ai explained things patiently and never got mad if Akihiko didn't get it right away. Ai nodded his head but kept frowning, talking Akihiko through the order that his verbs should be in so they agree. Akihiko followed the best he could before poking Ai's cheek with a little snort.
“Tell me why you're upset,” he grumbled out, leaning closer to drop his head on Ai's shoulder as his older brother curled himself into a ball. He sunk down so they were closer to the same height and Ai laughed weakly.
“I just...” He sighed, shaking his head. “Mom and Dad wanted me to move too and I said I didn't want to.”
“What?” Akihiko sat up almost too quickly, shaking his head. He grit his teeth harshly, trying to swallow the anger welling up from his stomach. He'd been getting too angry more often lately, and a lot of times it came with the desire to hit things. Ai sighed, lifting a hand from his knee and squeezing his shoulder.
“It's okay, I'm not going anywhere,” he smiled for real this time and it was enough to drain out some of the rage. People had been telling him lately that he had an 'alpha temper', it wasn't a surprise, he'd been hearing how he was going to be such a big tough alpha since he got in his first fight with someone other than Mei.
“Good,” he smiled, kicking his foot against Ai's and leaning over his notebook. “If you leave I'll wind up failing out of school. Show me how to do number six.”
Ai rolled his eyes and laughed softly but helped anyway, and to himself Akihiko wondered why both his parents would want to send Ai away. He knew they saw Ai differently than he did, and he still did everything he could think of to try and get them to actually look at him. To see his beaming smiles and listen to how smart he was when he wasn't afraid to talk, the way he had read all of the Lord of the Rings books to Akihiko just because he liked things better in Ai's voice. It didn't matter that Ai was 6cm shorter than him, or that sometimes he needed protection. Akihiko looked up to him regardless.
He was thirteen when he got dragged to one of his parents banquets, one of the few times they were actually together. It was he and Ai both, dressed in matching dark suits with different colored ties; his was red and Ai's was a soft blue. His older brother had laughed at him when he couldn't figure out how to tie it around his own neck. He knew Ai had practiced that particular skill on himself and it took him less than a minute before it was knotted neatly around Akihiko's neck, Ai giving him an approving nod.
Now he had Ayumi to one side and Ai to the other, and he couldn't help being bored out of his mind. Ai was sitting straight and looked raptly attentive to Masahiro's speech, and Akihiko was a little envious of how he could actually make himself care about all these stupid business dinners they got dragged to. He finally finished droning on and Akihiko clapped politely with the rest, sighing in relief when they finally got food.
It was worse when they had to stand up and let Ayumi parade them both around after the meal, and the tables she stopped in front of had men and women (people he could recognize as alpha's now, like his father was), sized the two of them up and turned to Akihiko with a smile. They asked if he was Aiichirou, assuming he was the older one because of his height. He shook his head and smiled in return every time, resting his hand on the back of Ai's neck and radiating all the pride that he could when he introduced his brother. Ai always withered away from their attention, ducking his head and going shy.
His tendency to stumble over his words only got worse every time someone made that mistake and in the end Ayumi grabbed his arm and dragged him away, saying quick words that Akihiko couldn't hear but understood nonetheless before Ai nodded sadly and went back to sit at their table alone.
He was fifteen when Ai presented as an omega. He was away at boarding school, and Akihiko knew he roomed with an alpha who was probably an asshole even though Ai was always talking about him being great. Ai wasn't the best judge of character; he was too gentle, too trusting, people looked at him and saw someone that they could push around or take advantage of.
He felt like he was going crazy until Ai finally called after his first heat to say that everything was fine and he was coming home that weekend. He busied himself following Mei around the whole time she was trying to clean, shifting things just a little out of place behind her back, unknotting the strings of her apron, dropping an extra dish in the sink whenever she was almost finished and generally anything else he knew would get on his best friend's nerves. She glared up at him sourly, elbow deep in soapy water as he set yet another glass in with a flashy smile.
“Young Master,” her voice was prim like it always was when she used the stupid title, and she grinned when he rolled his eyes. “I know you wanna see your brother but you could always go wait for him like a normal person.”'
“You could quit doing dishes and spar with me,” he offered in return, laughing as she shoved at him with wet hands, dancing out of the way. “Geez, you're so testy Mei! I thought you said you'd be done by the time Ai got home so we could all hang out.”
“Do you really think the Master called him home so you could drag him into trouble?” She snorted and he frowned. He didn't think that; Masahiro had been in a mood since Ai had gone into heat. He didn't want to think about the actual reason though, and tormenting Mei was the best way to avoid it.
“Whatever,” he responded inelegantly, blinking at the sound of the door opening and nearly sprinting out of the kitchen, skidding in front of the door and scooping Ai into his arms with a laugh. He hoisted him in the air, giving Mei a grin as she walked out still wiping her hands dry, dropping Ai back to his feet before he had time to complain.
“Hello to you too Aki,” he rolled his eyes playfully, bumping his head against Mei's in a friendly greeting when she swung the door shut and took his bag off his shoulder. Akihiko grinned despite himself, giving Ai's hair a little ruffle.
“Hey,” he blinked at Mei walking up the stairs with a snort at the both of them, leaning his elbow on Ai's shoulder, taking advantage of the omega's smaller stature.
“I'm going to tell the Master you're here, he'll probably wanna see you right away Ai-chan,” she sighed just a little as Ai frowned before nodding. Akihiko rolled his eyes, giving Ai a nudge, trying to bring the smile back to his face.
“How come you get to be Ai-chan and she'll only call me 'Young Master'?” He grumbled, rewarded once again with Ai laughing softly at him.
“Because I'm nice and you make it your job to annoy her,” Ai retorted, looking up the stairs at Mei nodding at him with a blink and a soft sigh, walking up like he was marching to a funeral. Akihiko frowned at Mei when she walked back down, cocking an eyebrow.
“Do you know what he wants?” He asked it quietly, aware that she had no small habit of listening in and peeking at things that maybe she shouldn't. She paused then shrugged at him.
“Just ask your brother when he's done,” she sniffed, giving him a glare before walking back into the kitchen. He sighed, flopping over on the couch and tilting his head over the back to wait.
It took far longer than he would have liked, and when Ai walked back down he was frowning with red-rimmed eyes. Akihiko sat up with a sharp growl, looking at him with his brow furrowed in concern. Ai stopped short at his stare, his sigh deflating him and his smile so fake it hurt to see.
“I guess it's a good thing I was never any good at all the business stuff,” Ai choked out a laugh and Akihiko pushed himself off the couch, hesitating before pulling Ai in to a more serious hug. He hummed softly, shaking his head. “He'll probably tell you the same thing later but you're gonna inherit now.”
“So what,” Akihiko grumbled, rubbing his thumb in steady circles over the back of Ai's neck. “You deserve it more, you're smarter than I am.”
Ai shook his head, pulling back gently. It reminded Akihiko of the way he could suddenly become small and unnoticeable in a room, his ability to slip out of a door without being heard at all. He wondered if Ai was ever really going to inherit anything, and from the look on Ai's face he already knew the real answer to that.
He was seventeen when he caught the straw that broke his back. He was at another stupid business dinner, Ai's arms wrapped around his right elbow so he could play the role of alpha escort to his older brother. His suit was crisp and his tie was still red, still tied by Ai. Ai had a black dress now, with a strip of fabric tied neatly around his neck to cover the scar there.
It didn't matter, people still stared and whispered about him and Akihiko's lip curled in distaste. He knew part of this was looking for alpha's who weren't so repelled by the idea of being married off to a bond-broken omega that Ai could still be arranged a match that was satisfactory. He also knew that Ai had gotten the confirmation of his scholarship two days ago, and even if he said he hadn't decided what he was going to do yet Akihiko still glared at any alpha who looked a little too interested.
“You're done with school soon too,” Ai observed softly after Akihiko had led him out onto a quiet balcony. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged a little, leaning his elbows on the railing.
“Yeah, I know,” he didn't want to think too hard about it. He wasn't so repelled by the idea of things being decided for him really. He hadn't thought about doing anything else, except maybe trying to convince Mei to let him court her for real instead of all the sneaking around they were doing now. But Ai had dreams, real ones. Or at least he had until whatever went on between him and the idiot he'd mated with.
“You know if I leave he's not going to let us spend time together,” Ai was looking over the edge with a little sigh. He'd looked so sad lately and Akihiko just wanted a way to fix even a little bit of it. He'd gone from having a mate who had actually cared about him to throwing himself back onto the old man's good graces and he'd never gotten anything but contempt in return. It makes Akihiko's stomach turn just to think about.
“Then I'll leave too,” he said it like it was the simplest thing in the world, but in the end that was what it felt like. He wasn't attached to the business or to his parents; his family was Ai. If Ai was walking away from all the shit he'd gotten in the past to go to school and make something of himself he'd never have anything but Akihiko's support in it. “Hell, it's probably better if we both do. It's not like I can let you run off to Tokyo by yourself.”
Ai's cheeks flushed as he looked up, and it was almost like he was going to argue for a moment before Akihiko smiled down on him, resting a hand on the back of his neck the way he had since they were children. “Really Nii-chan, what am I without you?”