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BB could always remember when OB got his green cap, when they were young. It was a gift from their parents, one that he always wore from the day he got it.
Michael and Khole, as young as they were then, were in awe when they saw him wearing it the first time. He looked so cool with it, in their eyes. Of course, OB was already their hero, their inspiration, as children, but, with that cap, it made him look even more the part.
Ever since then, Michael would watch with envious eyes, as Khole would easily go to their older brother and ask to borrow the green cap, always commentating about how cool it was on him, and how she wanted to be like him. OB would always comply, talking about how it suited her, and playing with her.
Michael would always stay away from them, then. They were so young, but he was already old enough to have his little character, and would be the one of the twins to get in the most troubles with their older brother, and the most likely to argue with him. So, when it came to borrowing the hat, like Khole, it wouldn’t be that easy for him. He would always refrain himself from doing it, preferring to let her get it instead, while he stood to the side, pretending to be busy playing with other toys, but secretly glancing at the both of them.
It wasn’t that much jealousy as it was more shyness, and a little bit of worry. He was afraid that he would bother them, if he tried to ask the same as Khole, he just wanted his siblings to be happy, and was afraid to ruin it.
Then, one day, OB came back to them with a gift for Khole. It was her own little cap, but not a green one like his, a red and blue one. He explained that he asked for it to their parents, and that that color suited her better than the green one, that way she would have her own cap and wouldn’t need to borrow his anymore, while she would still look just like him with it.
Of course, Khole was delighted when she got it, and promised to never take it off. She even wanted to sleep with it, she was that excited, but OB managed to convince her to take it off to sleep, as it would be rough for the cap if she did.
Michael played along with it, showing that he was happy for her, which he was, but, he felt left out. She’d gotten a cap, like their brother, while he’d gotten nothing at all. He tried to tell himself that it was just because he hadn’t shown any interest in anything special, that maybe he would get something too eventually. Still, he couldn’t help but feel upset about it, and tried to avoid his siblings as much as possible after that, while still claiming that he was happy and fine about it.
Despite how much effort BB put into acting fine, Older Brother still noticed what was happening with him. He’d noticed how he looked at him and their sister when he would lend her his cap, and play with her. He’d seen how he tried to avoid getting closer to them when they were together, and how upset he looked since she got her own cap.
OB, as good of a brother as he was, wasn’t sure how to aboard the subject with Michael, however, as this one had started to argue more and more with him, and was doing everything to avoid him by then. Still, OB knew he had to reach out to him somehow.
Eventually, the perfect idea came to him when their parents told him they were going to have another sibling. Thankfully, they’d told him first, while the twins were napping, allowing him to ask to be the one to tell them about the big news, and to ask for another favor from them.
He had just found the perfect idea.
The next day, OB got the twins to sit down with him, explaining that he had something important to tell them, from their parents.
Then, when they both were settled down, he asked Michael to close his eyes, which got them confused. OB had to explain that, before he told them about the thing he had to say, he had a gift for Michael, but that it was a surprise and would only give him if he closed his eyes first. Of course, Michael tried to argue against it, saying he wasn’t a baby, but eventually he closed his eyes, pouting.
OB, then, put something on the pouting boy’s head, before announcing that he could open his eyes. When this one did, he was surprised to see a weird shape on his head, he took it off to look at it, only to realize with excitement that it was his own cap, red and white.
There was only one detail that got both him and his sister confused.
The letters “BB” were written on it.
They asked what it meant, to which their older brother beamed. He then explained that it stood for “Big Brother”. It took a moment for the twins to understand what it meant, and why it was there, but, eventually, they looked at him with wide eyes, asking if they were going to be big siblings as well.
OB nodded to them, and laughed, as the twins started to cry with excitement. He had to take them into his arms to help them settle down. He had to sing them a lullaby for the next few months, so they would actually sleep, as they were too excited every time they thought about having a little brother, or a little sister.
The older brother also had to get Michael on the side, so that he could apologize for not having paid enough attention to him, while he was playing with Khole, although Michael refused his apologies, pretending that it was totally fine the whole time, still, and that he wasn’t playing with them because he was busy with something else. OB didn’t really manage to make him admit otherwise, but he still made sure to tell him to stop pretending to be fine when he was upset, and to remind him that he was his big brother, and that he was there for him just as much as for their sister.
Ever since that day, BB always kept the cap, and would be very protective over it. If someone tried to take it off of him, to annoy him, or stepped on it, they would always suffer the price of it.
—
“Poor hat…” BB sighed as he looked at his bloodied and messed up cap.
After he’d been captured, by people that wanted to get back at his little brother, he’d returned to their house and had been relieved to find that they had his cap, although it was messed up, it was still in one piece.
Still, he wondered if he could even clean it up enough for it to be salvaged, the only thought of not being able to get it back making his heart hurt in his chest.
“Are you alright, BB?” Bf asked, as he came into the living room, where his brother was.
“I’m fine, Keith.” He sighed again, before trying to give a smile to his little brother. “It’s nothing.”
“You look upset.” Keith pointed out to him, frowning. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s really nothing. You don’t have to worry, baby bro.” He tried to reassure before looking back at his cap again. “I was just wondering if it could be cleaned or if i would have to say goodbye to it.” He admitted.
“To your cap?” His little brother asked, as he came to sit onto the couch next to him, making sure not to jostle him, as Michael still had a broken leg. “Maybe it can be clean…” He wasn’t really sure himself.
“...” Michael just sighed again. There was no reason to be this upset about a cap, and he knew it, but it was just dear to his heart, and he didn’t like the idea of throwing it away.
“It always looked like it was important to you…” Keith pointed out.
“It is…” BB admitted, looking at it sadly. “It just holds so many memories…”
“What kind of memories?” Keith asked, curious.
“Memories from before you were born, and from when you were a baby.” Michael gave a soft smile at his brother, ruffling this one’s hair with his good hand.
“Is it that old?” His little brother asked.
“Oh, yes, it’s almost as old as you, only a little more.” BB gave a small chuckle.
“Now that I think about it, I never saw you without it.” Keith thought.
“That’s because I was gifted it just before your birth, and I never parted from it.” BB explained with a fond smile. “That’s with this cap that OB told us we were going to be big siblings.” He added. “He gifted me that cap and had to explain what ‘BB’ stood for. That’s how we learned that you were going to arrive.”
“Oh? So that’s why it’s that important to you?” Keith asked with interest.
“Well, it’s not the only reason.” BB laughed a little. “This hat has many memories tied to it for me.” He explained. “Like, when you were young, really young, you would always grab at my hat when I would carry you.” He chuckled at the fond memory. “You really seemed to like it, so I never took it off, for you.” He added.
“Did I? I don’t remember that.” Keith blushed, feeling embarrassed from the memory of his youth.
“You were just a baby. I doubt that you’d remember that, although you’re still my baby brother.” Michael teased as he ruffled his brother’s hair again.
“I’m not a baby.” Keith pouted under his brother’s hand, although he didn’t try to get away from the affection of his brother, needing it after everything they’d gone through.
“Sure, you’re not a baby. You’re quite old now.” BB teased more. “But, you’ll always be my baby brother.”
“That’s unfair.” Keith huffed, although he clearly wasn’t that upset about that title, just happy to have his big brother close to him.
Michael laughed at that, enjoying the moment with his little brother.
Later that day, while Michael was resting with Armaros, Keith approached OB to ask about the cap, wondering if there was a way to get it back to life. It’s then that he heard the full story of the hat, and more memories of his youth that he’d forgotten.
It took a few days, but eventually, OB managed to find a way to get the cap back to life, which brought such a joy to their BB that this one started to tear up, needing to hug them to calm down.