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Kamui laughs drunkenly as he wraps his arms around Shosuke.
He doesn’t really know how he got here, but he’s very drunk and very happy and knows that there’s literally nothing he’d rather be doing.
It’s so weird, he’s never liked anyone like this before. He’s had flings and short relationships, but there’s no one he’s actually clicked with like this. At first they met because they were going to an anime convention because they were both kind of homesick, and now they’re here.
And so he just lets the bubbly feeling take him over as he finally says a couple of words to Shosuke.
“I do!”
~
Toya refreshes the tracking on his phone for the millionth time today. He’s normally very patient, but Akito’s birthday is in a week and his present has been delayed three times already. It’s finally out for delivery.
Finally, fucking finally the tracking says it’s been delivered and Toya practically bursts out of the house to rush over to the mailbox.
He drags the rest of the mail in as well, throwing it on the dining table as he rushes upstairs to use his box cutter and get everything out.
It’s not really much, it’s just some chocolates and some cute earrings that look like pancakes along with a CD and a manga volume he’s been trying to track down. He hopes Akito likes it.
He slips the box cutter back into the drawer just in time for his mother to enter the room. Good, she’d freak out if she knew he was handling a blade.
“Toya, did you look through the mail when you put it on the table?” His mother says.
“No. Why, is there something for me?” Toya replies.
“No, not for you.” She replies. “I was just wondering if Kamui told you what this was about.”
She hands a postcard over, addressed to Kamui-oniichan.
“That’s strange, why is his mail getting sent here?” Toya mutters, before flipping the postcard over.
Happy 3rd anniversary, Kamui and Shosuke! Vegas’ Lucky Sevens Chapel hopes you two are very happy!
Toya’s eyes widen.
“…I certainly didn’t know about this.” He says.
“Neither did I. And I doubt your father knows.” Toya’s mother replies.
“Hatsuaki-oniichan?”
“I just texted him a picture, he didn’t know anything about it either.”
Soon enough, Toya’s phone starts buzzing and he pulls it out of his pocket.
“Guess who?” Toya says, before picking up the phone and putting it on speaker. “Hello. Isn’t it three in the morning where you are?”
“Yeah, but Onii-chan burst into my room and started yelling at me and I don’t know what’s going on. Please help me, little maestro.”
“I can probably clarify a few things.” Toya says, and he takes a picture of the postcard and sends it to Kamui-oniichan.
“…What the fuck? What the fuck?!”
“When were you planning on telling us about this?” Toya’s mother chimes in.
“I don’t— What? What’s going on?! I don’t remember this happening!”
Finally, Toya registers what’s happening, just as his father walks into the room.
“Kamui-oniichan, for the love of god, please tell me you did not drunkenly get married to Shosuke Otori three years ago on a weekend getaway to Vegas and didn’t remember it until the chapel sent a postcard?”
“…Maybe.”
“Okay, I think I just missed something.” Toya’s father says, and Toya hands him the postcard before replying to Kamui-oniichan again.
“Onii-chan, what the fuck is wrong with you?”
Everyone suddenly turns to Toya, and Toya rolls his eyes.
“Are we really going to make a big deal about me saying fuck when Kamui-oniichan got drunkenly gay married to the guy he can’t stop having hatesex with three years ago and doesn’t even remember it?”
Everyone falls silent.
“Thank you.” Toya says. “Now, back to you. I think you’re going to need to come back home to talk to Otori-san.”
“Can’t I just do that over text?” Kamui-oniichan whines.
“Over text?!” Toya’s mother says. “Are you crazy?! Young man, get back home right now so we can settle this!”
“Okay, okay! Fine! I’ll buy a ticket!”
~
When Toya hears a knock on the door, he knows exactly who it is.
He pops the door open and just gives Kamui-oniichan a blank stare.
“If this was a prank to get me back home, this isn’t funny.” Kamui-oniichan says, but Toya shakes his head.
“You think we’d joke about this?”
“You really have that much faith in yourself?” Hatsuaki-oniichan says.
Kamui-oniichan doesn’t reply, just walking in silently, and Hatsuaki-oniichan follows behind him.
“What the hell did you do?” Toya’s father says the moment Kamui-oniichan walks in.
“Uh… okay, so I looked around my dresser while I was getting packed, and I found this ring I don’t remember getting.”
It has a 7 on the top.
“Lucky Sevens.” Toya says, and Kamui-oniichan visibly deflates.
“I… do remember going to Vegas for the weekend with Shosuke once.”
Toya’s mother puts her head in her hands.
“Kamui, this is stupid, even for you.”
“Hey! Come on!”
“You’re married to the guy who you’ve been broken up with for three years!” Hatsuaki-oniichan yells.
“At least I haven’t done something like that…” Toya says, and Toya’s father sighs before turning to Kamui-oniichan again.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, I’m more disappointed in you than I am with Toya.”
“Are you serious?!” Kamui-oniichan yells.
“Congratulations, Kamui. You’ve returned to your family disappointment status.” Hatsuaki-oniichan says. “Now, call him.”
“I-I—” Kamui-oniichan says, but Toya doesn’t wait for him to come up with an excuse.
“I’m calling Kusanagi.” Toya says.
“Who?” Toya’s mother says.
“Emu Otori’s girlfriend. We’re friends. And I know that right now she’s at the Otoris.”
“Wait, don’t!” Kamui-oniichan says, but it’s too late. He’s already calling her.
“Hey, Nocturne.” Kusanagi says, and everyone looks even more confused.
“Oh, I didn’t mean to call you on Nightcord. This isn’t about gaming.”
“Eh? Then what’s it about?”
“You’re with Otori-san, right?”
“Yeah, you need to talk to her?”
“Please.”
There’s the telltale sound of Kusanagi muting herself, and then she unmutes herself after a second.
“Hey, Aoyagi-kun. Here she is.”
“Konnichiwonderhoy☆, Toya-kun!” Otori-san yells.
“Hello, Otori-san.” Toya says. “I don’t suppose your brothers are home?”
“Eh? Keisuke-oniichan’s at the park, but Shosuke-oniichan is home! Why?”
“Could you give him the phone?”
“Uh, okay!” Otori-san says, and there’s the sound of someone running off.
There’s the sound of someone running and a familiar voice rings out.
“Nene! Who’s on the phone?!”
“Oh, it’s Aoyagi-kun.” Kusanagi says.
Tsukasa-senpai’s footsteps get louder.
“Toya! Hi! How are you, my love?”
“Fine, Senpai. Kamui-oniichan isn’t though.”
“What did Kamui-nii do this time?” Tsukasa-senpai asks.
“Why are we talking about Kamui?” Shosuke Otori’s voice appears on the call, and Kamui-oniichan flinches back.
“Say it.” Toya says.
“I-It’s nothing—” Kamui-oniichan says, and Hatsuaki-oniichan picks up the family photo with Hika-nee in it and raises it above his head menacingly.
“Start talking or I swear to god I’m going to kill you just like Hikari always wanted to.”
“Okay, okay! Jeez! Calm down!” Kamui-oniichan says. “Shosuke, can you hear me?”
“Unfortunately.” Shosuke says.
“...OkaylongstoryshortwemightbelegallymarriedinAmericaandmyfamilymighthavejustgottenapostcardforourthirdanniversaryfromthechapelinVegasandithinkitwasthetimewewentforthatweekendtrip—”
Kamishiro-senpai bursts out laughing, and Shosuke lets out a strange noise.
“No. No, I am not married to you. I’m fucking not. I’m not fucking married to you!”
“You think I want to be married to you either?! You’re a prick!”
“You’re the one who blew up the relationship in the first place!”
“Listen, what was I supposed to do when you were neglecting me?!”
“Neglecting you?! I was bringing you dinner and a movie when I caught you!”
“Oh, why are you so upset?! You never loved me anyway!”
There’s more arguing, and then they both scream in unison.
“I can’t believe I ever went out with you!”
Toya sighs. His partner’s birthday is in a few days and he’s here dealing with his brother’s stupidity. So he just needs to knock some sense into the both of them.
“Look! Okay, you’re already married, so you need to make a choice! Either stay married and get back together or get divorced and stay the hell away from each other!”
“Get back together?!” Shosuke says. “After what that bastard did to me?!”
“Okay, can everyone calm down a little and explain what happened?” Kamishiro-senpai chimes in.
“What is there to explain?! The son of a bitch cheated on me! I caught him in bed with another guy!”
Everyone falls deathly silent.
“…Kamui-oniichan, you what? Tell me it’s not true. Tell me you didn’t…” Toya says.
“C-Come on, this must be a misunderstanding! Kamui-nii would never… right?” Tsukasa-senpai says.
“I…” Kamui-oniichan starts. “I just…”
“Kamui, it’s a yes or no question. Did you cheat on him?” Toya’s mother says.
Kamui-oniichan’s guilty expression says it all.
“…My god. You actually did.” Toya’s father says. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
Kamui-oniichan can’t really form a coherent sentence.
“I… I can’t even look at you.” Toya’s mother says. “This isn’t how we raised you.”
Kamui-oniichan starts genuinely shaking.
“He never loved me in the first place. He said that he just stayed with me because I was fun. He told me that no one could ever love someone like me. What the fuck was I supposed to do?” Kamui-oniichan gasps. “No one ever has faith in me. It’s better that way. No one to disappoint, no one to hurt when you do something stupid. I like it better that way. But I guess you guys still had some faith in me, huh?”
Kamui-oniichan genuinely starts crying, and then without another word he bolts out the front door to god knows where.
Hatsuaki-oniichan lets out a sigh before grabbing his coat and walking out the door as well.
“Where are you going?” Toya’s mother asks.
“To find Kamui. That idiot’s going to get himself killed if I don’t go after him.”
Toya bites his lip.
“…You didn’t even react.”
Tsukasa-senpai lets out a small laugh.
“…So I wasn’t the only one who noticed. Hatsuaki-nii didn’t say a word when it came out.”
Hatsuaki-oniichan freezes at the door.
“You’re too perceptive. Yes, I knew already. I knew the day it happened. Kamui called me crying, I called him an idiot for messing something good up, and when I asked him why he just said that he didn’t know. So I left him to be an idiot. I can’t change Kamui, all I can do is be there for him when he screws up.”
Toya lets out a breath before realizing his phone has started vibrating in his hand.
“…Sorry, I’m going to need to put you on hold.” He says, clicking the accept and hold button and putting his phone to his ear.
“Hey, Toya.” Akito’s voice flows into his ear.
“Is this important? I’m in the middle of a family situation right now.”
“Does it have anything to do with why I just found Kamui crying in the park?”
“You’re with Kamui-oniichan?!” Toya says, and everyone immediately snaps towards Toya.
“Where is he?” Hatsuaki-oniichan asks.
“He’s in the park.” Toya replies.
“Alright. Tell Shinonome I’ll be right there.”
Toya relays the message.
“Okay, good.” Akito says.
“Akito, could you…?” Toya starts, and Akito sighs.
“You are so lucky I love you.”
“I know. Thank you.”
Akito hangs up, and the call swaps back to Kusanagi.
“I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t worry about it. Holy shit.” Kusanagi says.
“Do you mind if I come over?” Tsukasa-senpai asks.
“Of course you can come over, you don’t even need to ask.” Toya’s mother says.
“Then I’ll be right there.”
“Bring everyone else too. We’re settling this. Today.” Hatsuaki-oniichan says, before he bolts out into the cold.
~
Akito doesn’t really know how he got here.
He was just walking through the park to try and clear his head after hitting a block on his latest composition, and a tall guy breezes past him while sobbing his eyes out before collapsing onto a bench.
Now, he normally wouldn’t care so much about this guy.
That is, until he realized that the guy was technically his brother-in-law.
So he called Toya, and Toya begged him to help, and Akito can’t deny his partner a damn thing.
“Hey, Kamui?” Akito says, and Kamui jumps, wiping the tears out of his eyes.
“S-Shinonome? What are you doing here?”
“I was just taking a walk through the park. You okay?”
Kamui rubs his eyes again, before putting on an expressionless face that’s eerily similar to Toya’s.
“Yeah. I’m fine. Just keep going. Don’t mind me.”
Jeez, his face even has the same quirks in it that Toya’s does. He can read it easily.
“Don’t try and lie to me. My Toya-reading skills carry over to you.”
Kamui lets out a soft laugh before scooting over on the bench to make room.
“I can’t believe it. I’m crying in the park to my little maestro’s boyfriend.”
“Wanna talk about it?”
“What is there to talk about? I fucked up again, my family hates me, there’s nothing new. Well, I guess there’s something new. Even the little maestro and Tsukasa are after me.”
Kamui pulls his legs up to his chest and starts sniffling.
“…You know, when Mother was pregnant with the little maestro, I didn’t want a little brother. I didn’t want to stop being the youngest, I didn’t want everyone’s attention to be on a new baby. But then he was born, and… I don’t know, I just kind of fell in love. He was so goddamn cute, he had the chubbiest little cheeks and the cutest little laugh.”
Akito sighs.
“…You really do love Toya, huh?”
Kamui looks genuinely stunned.
“The hell do you take me for? Of course I do. He’s my little maestro, my super cute little brother. He used to cling onto me all the time, and I’d sneak him out with me to Starbucks or something to get him a cake pop. More often than not with Saki and Tsukasa too. We’re not blood related, but ask anyone, we’re family. Saki and Tsukasa are as much my little siblings as the little maestro is. I… I used to love all the attention I got from those three. I was their cool big brother, I’d sneak them out places and play princess and dragon with them. I’d make a big deal about always having to be the princess, but I didn’t really care. Because they were smiling, and that made me so happy. Even when Hikari came around, she might have been the coolest big sister, but I was still the coolest big brother. And now… now they see me for the mess I am. When I look in my little maestro’s eyes, I don’t see that warm affection anymore. I just see disappointment. I’m not cool anymore. He and Tsukasa are just as disappointed in me as Mother, Father, and Onii-chan. I can practically feel Hikari rolling in her grave right now, calling me a fuck-up and every name in the book. And she’s right. She was always right.”
Akito bites his lip. He’s here, with his partner’s older brother, and said older brother is pouring his heart out to him. He doesn’t even know what to say, so he tries to redirect.
“Why did you start calling Toya ‘little maestro’ anyway?”
Kamui actually cracks a smile at that.
“You’ve never heard Toya on the piano or violin, right?”
“Never.” Akito says.
“Never even looked up his old performances?”
“Toya made me promise not to, so I never did.”
“…You’re really good to him, Shinonome. But that does mean you need a little more context. Onii-chan and I are both damn good at the piano and violin, but we kind of… damn, what’s the word again? We kind of… specialized, that’s it. He’s better at the piano than I am, I’m better at the violin than he is. But the little maestro… my god, from the moment he touched either of them he was blowing us both out of the water. He had more talent in it than both of us. We both knew that someday he was going to be better than us, and we were just waiting for that day. I think it was when he was three that we all realized it… yeah, he was three, I was eleven and Onii-chan was thirteen. I was playing the piano, and the little maestro was sitting next to me and playing with his little toy keyboard. And every time I hit a note, without even looking at me, he’d press the same one on his keyboard. I waved Onii-chan over, and I hit a high C, and the little maestro hit it on his little toy. Then I picked him up, plopped him on my lap, and I showed him how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with me. He was too small to play it properly, but my god he understood it. Mother and Father came home from their event after that, and Onii-chan and I showed them. We were all so excited, and from that day on Toya was my little maestro.”
“Aw, that’s cute.”
Kamui’s smile flickers for a second, and it’s kind of eerie how easily Akito detects it.
“What’s up?” Akito says.
“…You really are good. I can’t hide a damn thing from you. I’m just thinking about how close the little maestro and I used to be.”
“You guys used to be close?” Akito asks. Toya never mentioned that.
“Oh, yeah. We were really close. I’d always have the little maestro on my back, or under my arm, or sitting with me on the piano bench… he was like my shadow. You know, before Hikari came around, whenever he had a nightmare, he’d always come to me. I’d hear a little knock on my door, I’d pop it open, and there he was. He’d always be crying, and I’d pick him up and take him to my bed. Half the time he’d forget Viva, and we’d have to go back to his bed to get her.”
“Viva?”
“Oh, did the little maestro not tell you about Viva? When he was a baby, Mother, Onii-chan, and I went out shopping while Father stayed home. We found a little teddy bear with a violin, and we bought it and took it home immediately. Onii-chan and I decided to name it Vivaldi, but the little maestro couldn’t say that because he was only a few months old at the time, so he’d call it ‘Viva.’ Eventually we decided she was a beary cute violinist named Viva, and the little maestro could never get to sleep without her. He’d drag her everywhere in the house. But when he had a nightmare, he’d run to my bedroom so fast that he’d forget her, and then he’d start crying even more when he realized she wasn’t there. So I’d scoop him up, take him back to his bedroom, pick up Viva, and bring him back to my room. Mother and Father almost had a heart attack on more than one occasion when he wasn’t in his room, and they’d come to wake me up so we could find him, and the little maestro would just… be in my bed. There are so many pictures.”
Kamui lets out a sigh, and his voice cracks at the next sentence.
“…I’d always tell him that nothing would ever hurt him as long as I was around.”
Akito sighs.
“…And…”
“Yeah. The day I left for Juilliard, I remember the little maestro clinging onto my leg, sobbing. ‘Please don’t go, Onii-chan!’ So…” More tears start to leak out of Kamui’s eyes. “So I picked him up, put him on the piano bench, leaned down to him, and pinky-promised him that it wouldn’t be that bad. I’d be back for every school break, and I’d bring him back so many things from New York when I got back. The time would go by so fast, he wouldn’t even have time to miss me! I really meant it, and for my freshman and sophomore years, I did! Every single time, the moment I got home, he’d practically tackle me in a hug. And then I’d show him all the cute little souvenirs I got him, and he’d keep them in his room. I don’t even know where they are now. Probably buried deep in his closet with his violin. But then I got more used to New York, and I got more gigs, and the little maestro always understood. You know how damn nice he is, almost too nice for his own good. And then that call. That damned call.”
“Call?”
“I was doing some homework, but the moment the little maestro’s number appeared on my phone, I threw everything aside. I thought he just wanted to chat, but he was sobbing. Even harder than when I left. And I remember exactly what he said. ‘Onii-chan, I can’t take this anymore… I want to quit… please, help me…’ And I, the idiot, asked him what he meant. And then he said he wanted to quit classical music. And to me, that came totally out of left-field. I mean, sure, Father pushed us hard, but I was always sure that the little maestro was just tired whenever he complained. I didn’t think he actually wanted to quit. I should have just supported him, but I… I didn’t. I told him that he can’t quit. I parroted everything Father said. Classical music brings meaning to people’s lives, it’s a noble calling. And then…”
Kamui chokes back a sob.
“You don’t need to keep going if you don’t want to.” Akito says, but Kamui shakes his head.
“No, I need to say this. His voice turned so pained and angry, I’d never heard it like that before. ‘I thought you loved me. I thought you wanted me to be happy. You promised me you’d always help me, was that a lie?!’ I couldn’t even say anything, I was so stunned. And then he said it. ‘…You’re just like all the rest of them, Onii-chan. I can’t believe I ever trusted you.’ He hung up on me, and the next time I came home, he was dressed in street fashion and instead of being my shadow, he was someone I didn’t even recognize. He didn’t care about the things I brought home for him, or want to spend time with me at all. I just remember him locking eyes with me, and looking at me with such anger that I almost collapsed on the spot. That was the day I decided to go for my Master’s. I was initially planning to move back home after my Bachelor’s, but my little maestro hated me. I couldn’t bear to see that every day. I was so, so glad when he didn’t hate me anymore. Even if he was constantly annoyed at me, at least there was some affection in his eyes. But today, he looked at me, and it was somehow even worse. It wasn’t a betrayal. He was just… disappointed. It wasn’t I thought you loved me, it was I thought you were better than this. And that’s the worst feeling in the world.”
Akito sighs. There’s no more dancing around it now.
“What did you do?” He asks.
Kamui lets out a bitter laugh that Akito recognizes. Another Toya-like action.
“They finally found out why Shosuke and I broke up. It was my fault. It was all my fault.”
“Was it?”
“Yeah. I cheated on him.”
Akito’s stunned silent, and Kamui doesn’t look him in the eye.
“I know, I know. I’m an idiot. This isn’t how I was raised. I fucked up the best thing I ever had. And the worst part is? I can’t even tell you why I did it. I still don’t know. I owe him an explanation, I owe everyone an explanation, but… I… I just can’t believe that I somehow still let them down. They still had faith in me. They still believed in me. And now my own mother can’t even look me in the eye. No one came out to look for me. I don’t think I’m even welcome in that family anymore.”
Akito rolls his eyes.
“Idiot.”
“What?”
“He said you were an idiot.” Hatsuaki’s voice rings out, and he appears next to the bench. “And he’s right. You’re such an idiot. What do you mean you’re not welcome in the family anymore?”
“O-Onii-chan…” Kamui says. “…You came after me?”
“Of course I did. You’d get yourself killed without me around.”
Hatsuaki reaches out, but Kamui pulls his hand back.
“…You should just go home. I’m fine.” Kamui says.
“You’re going to freeze to death out here.”
“I live in New York! It’s always cold!”
“Kamui, shut up. We’re definitely talking about this, but you’ve got to come home first. Shinonome, you can come too if you’d like. Toya just texted me that Tsukasa came over and he brought the Otoris.”
Kamui’s eyes widen.
“N-No. No way. I can’t…”
Hatsuaki sighs.
“Fine. If you want to keep being an idiot, then keep being an idiot. I just don’t understand why you did it. You loved this guy! You looked at him like I looked at Hikari, or the way Toya looks at Shinonome! So why?!”
Kamui buries his head in his knees.
“…scared…”
“What?” Akito says.
“I’m scared, okay?!” Kamui says. “I can’t give you a better explanation than that! But whenever I think about being with Shosuke, I feel absolutely terrified! I just think about being with him, being boring with him, and something in my heart twists! And then I… I keep seeing you after Hikari and i-it makes me feel even worse!”
Hatsuaki blinks twice.
“…Kamui, you’re a fucking idiot.”
Kamui raises his head slightly.
“I know, but what did I do this time?”
“You’re afraid of commitment.” Akito says. “You’re afraid of commitment because of how bad Hatsuaki feels since Hikari died. You’re scared of how much you love him because you know that if you guys got seperated for some reason you’d hate everything, so you blew up the relationship yourself.”
Kamui falls silent, burying his head into his knees again.
“…I…”
“Okay, I’m not letting you use Hikari as an excuse to be an idiot.” Hatsuaki says. “I’m taking you home, and we’re talking about this.”
Kamui shakes his head.
“No, no!”
“Kamui, either you go or I’ll drag you over there. Your choice.”
“You couldn’t if you tried!” Kamui laughs.
Akito rolls his eyes before reaching under Kamui’s legs and pulling him up, before practically throwing him over his shoulder.
“What the fuck?!” Kamui says, but Akito doesn’t respond to him, instead turning to Hatsuaki.
“Let’s get him to the intervention.”
~
When Toya hears the lock click, he immediately pulls his head out of Tsukasa-senpai’s lap and stretches, and Saki does the same.
“Goddamn it, Shinonome!” Kamui-oniichan says, and Toya looks over the couch to see… Akito?! With Kamui-oniichan slung over his shoulder?!
“What are you doing here?” Toya says.
Akito shrugs as much as he can without dropping Kamui-oniichan.
“Your brother was being an idiot and wouldn’t come so I dragged him here.”
Toya smiles, and Akito smiles back before practically throwing Kamui-nii down on one of the chairs.
…God, Toya wishes that were hi— Okay, not the time.
“Okay, everyone’s here, I guess it’s intervention time.” Akito says, and Kamui-nii leaps off the chair and tries to run out the door, but Kamishiro-senpai sticks his foot out and trips him, just as Akito bolts to the door and blocks it.
“I’m not going out there and chasing you again.” Hatsuaki-oniichan says.
Shosuke just groans, rolling his eyes.
“If he doesn’t want to own up to what he did, then we’re done here.”
He tries to walk over to the door, but Akito’s still blocking it.
“No one’s leaving until you guys have an actual conversation, because then you guys are just going to keep going like this and keep making each other both happy and miserable and keep annoying the shit out of all of us.”
Shosuke groans before walking back to his seat, and Toya immediately gets up.
“Okay, let’s start with Kamui-oniichan.”
“Do we have to…?” He groans.
Akito rolls his eyes before leaning down and whispering something in his ear, and Kamui-oniichan instantly perks up.
“Okay, right, yeah, let’s start.” He says, pulling himself up.
Toya smiles, and Kamui-oniichan smiles back before starting to speak.
“I… Ugh, this is really hard for me to say…”
“Say what?” Shosuke says.
Kamui-oniichan takes a deep breath.
“…I fucked up. I fucked up bad. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have cheated on you. I… I have issues with commitment, I guess. After Hikari died, Onii-chan just wasn’t the same person, and I guess I just thought that if something ever happened to you I realized I wouldn’t be able to take it so I blew up the relationship before I could get even more attached. I… it was my fault, and I’m so sorry. I can’t make any more excuses or yell at you anymore. I did something unforgivable, but I still have to try and apologize.”
Shosuke looks… genuinely stunned.
But his expression clearly changes when his little sister elbows him in the stomach.
“Shosuke-oniichan? What do you say now?”
Shosuke grumbles a little before responding.
“And… I was wrong for saying that I never actually loved you. I actually loved you a lot, that’s why it hurt so much. And then when you hurt me, I wanted to hurt you back. I didn’t mean it when I said that no one could ever love you. You’re actually really lovable… even if you are a fucking idiot.”
Otori-san lets out a happy cheer, and Kamishiro-senpai cuts in.
“Okay, now that it’s all aired out, you should probably figure out what to do about the marriage.”
“Oh, yeah. Well, there’s no way in hell we’re getting back together.” Shosuke says.
“God, no.” Kamui-oniichan says. “But we have to deal with it in America, when’s the next time you’re in New York?”
“Next month, around December 18th?”
“Oh, god no. That’s Kei’s birthday week.”
“Oh, she’s going to flip out if you do anything that week.”
“Yeah, after that?”
“Definitely not for a while. Do we even need to worry about it? It’s not like it’s legal here anyway, so it doesn’t affect anything.”
Kamui-oniichan shrugs.
“Yeah, I guess it doesn’t really matter, does it? Not unless we’re getting married to other people. I’m going to move back after college anyway, so whatever.”
“That’s it? You’re just going to leave it like that?! Not together but still married?!” Saki says.
“Yeah, I mean, what’s the point?” Kamui-oniichan says.
Hatsuaki-oniichan just puts his hands up in surrender and walks upstairs.
“You two are hopeless.”
~
Kamui wakes up with an absolutely wicked hangover, in a bed that’s definitely not his own, with another body next to him.
Ah, shit. Not again. They just agreed that they shouldn’t get back together!
…Well, it’s not like Kamui really minds. At this point it feels kind of weird to not argue and then sleep together every time they run into each other.
It’s a weird, stupid relationship, but it works. What’s the point in changing a thing?