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The setting sun filtered through the windows of Aster’s manor, acting as a cue for some of the magic candles in the hallway to spark small flames that would grow with intensity as the afternoon faded into evening. Each flame flared as Rei strode past them, huffing out a sigh in annoyance.
Times like these were why, when he was able, he chose to avoid Aster's mansion as much as he could. As soon as he decided to take his first meal that day, a certain grand sorcerer made his way around the corner of the hallway, calling out his name as soon as he was spotted. After reminding him that dinnertime was soon, he asked Rei to fetch Garu from where he was playing out in the yards behind the mansion. Knowing Rei would protest, Eiden simply thanked him with a toothy smile and trotted off, yelling something about having to fetch the other members of the clan before the meal. Rei glared in annoyance at his partner’s back until he disappeared from his line of sight. After kicking himself for leaving his quarters in the first place for a brief moment, he started for the manor’s back exit.
Rei figured Garu was most likely playing a game of chase with his e-droid companion, or taking a rest under one of his favorite trees. The rolling hills and huge trees that were scattered on the mansion’s grounds were the perfect playground for Garu to get all of his energy out, while also providing several suitable napping spots for when Karu preferred to sleep outdoors. Whenever he did make a rare visit to their home, the twins managed to find some way to pry Rei away from his work to spend some time outdoors with them. Rei’s half-hearted protests were always drowned out by either Garu’s pleading or Karu’s demands that no excuses be made in his almighty presence. Rei just shook his head, allowing whichever brother was in charge to grab his hand and take him along for whatever activity he’d planned for them. Yesterday, Karu had decided he would allow Rei to watch him as he played in the tall trees of the yard, claiming that he should be grateful to observe such strength in action. He urged the scientist to take notes of how fast he was going, and how many trees he could hop between without stopping.
Father stopped hooting at Rei the first handful of times something like this happened, where he allowed himself to be pulled into little games with the two wolf pups. He was more than aware of how soft he’d allowed himself to become in their presence, but he knew there was hardly anything he could do now. For all that the two had been through, they deserved all of the kindness that they received from each member of the clan and more.
After a few minutes, Rei reached the end of the seemingly endless hallways of the mansion. One of the large doors leading to the yards was already propped open, maids, butlers, and groundskeepers flowing through them throughout the day. After walking through Aster’s immaculately kept gardens, Rei found himself overlooking the hills. Quickly, he spotted the yokai, who was running after one of the many balls that Eiden had purchased for him at a lightning-fast pace. Last Kleinmas, one of the many presents Garu had received was a machine that Eiden had commissioned that loaded and launched the balls by itself to keep Garu busy when the rest of the house wasn’t available to play. Garu’s laughter echoed across the field as he successfully ran and stopped one of the balls from rolling away, the wolf kneeling on the ground and bouncing it a couple of times. Something in Rei’s heart melted at the sight, his lips curving up into a content smile. Quickly, he reminded himself that it was getting closer to dinner by the minute, and Garu would have to eat after expending so much energy.
With a flick of his palm and a surge of his magic, he powered the machine down, the whirring sound of it dimming quietly. Garu let out a quizzical noise, ears drooping to the side in disappointment that his fun had been halted. He whipped his head around, searching for what could have caused this before his eyes landed on his gray-haired partner. Garu gasped happily.
“You’re here, Rei! Rei!” he called to the older man, his ears perked right back up, tail wagging rapidly as he jumped up to wave excitedly. Rei raised a hand in greeting, then beckoned Garu over so they could make their way to the dining room. Garu sprinted over earnestly, laughing and calling Rei’s name on the way.
Rei’s eyes followed Garu’s path as he made his way over, his eyes widening as he noticed a small, white ball directly in the way. He opened his mouth to warn the wolf, but it was too late. Garu’s foot landed on the ball at an awkward angle, causing his foot to slip and turn at an unnatural angle. Garu lost his footing, falling to the ground before he could brace himself. Garu cried out, bringing his knees to his chest and rolling onto his side, his arms bending to cradle his foot.
“Shit, Garu!” Rei’s body was moving before he realized it, Rei’s legs going as fast as they could carry him. Rei could hear Garu's quiet, pained moans as he got closer.
When he reached him, Rei gently tucked his hand under Garu’s head, supporting him as rolled Garu over to lay on his back, ignoring how he felt like icy water had doused him when the sound of Garu’s pained whimpers reached his ears. Garu’s eyes were screwed shut, the wolf boy biting his lip to stop from quivering as his shoulders shook. Rei quickly removed Garu’s boot, gently applying pressure and getting a closer look at his companion’s injury.
“Rei, it, grrh,” Garu gasped, trying to bring his knees closer to his chest, his efforts halted when Rei placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “h-hurts! It hurts really bad, I can’t…”
“Don’t move. Garu, listen to me. You have to be more careful. You can’t just randomly run when you know you’ve been playing with things that you can trip on, or else you’ll hurt yourself like you just did now. What were you thinking?” Rei chastised louder and harsher than he had intended. He looked down at the yokai’s ankle, which was beginning to swell slowly. Thankfully, it didn’t seem that he had broken any bones, only having sprained his ankle. Still, the sight of Garu in even the mildest of pain made Rei’s stomach flip.
Garu’s furry ears immediately shot back down, the frustration in Rei’s voice making his eyes burn even harder. Garu’s pained whimpering turned to sobs, Garu bringing an arm over his eyes in a fruitless attempt to make himself smaller. Garu hated disappointing his loved ones, Rei near the top of that list, more than almost anything else he could think of. The pain of being a burden almost hurt Garu as much as the burning pain in his ankle. He felt panic beginning to rise in his chest.
“‘M so sorry, Rei, I know, I-I’ll be better, I- ouch, stop!”
Garu’s crestfallen apologies were cut off as Rei, as softly as he could manage, pressed three fingers to the main spot of the swelling, casting cold, healing magic on the spot. He was more than proficient in healing – there was no way he could experiment on himself without it – and had been around the block when it came to helping others with their pain as well. Unfortunately, he would have to make Garu feel a little uncomfortable for the moment, rubbing his fingers in a circular motion to get the magic to stick on the spot until they could get back to Rei’s room.
“The icy feeling will make the swelling go down, it’ll be less inflamed that way,” Rei said, not having the strength to look down at Garu’s face, already mentally kicking himself for letting the first thing out of his mouth be a scolding. “I’m going to carry you back, okay? It’s going to be alright, Garu. You’re alright.”
Garu’s crying continued, Rei’s attempt at reassurance falling flat. The wolf pup did muster a nod, not trusting his voice to come out as anything but shaky, dripping with sadness. Hesitantly, Garu moved his arm from its place covering his eyes, pointedly looking anywhere but into Rei’s own. He wrapped around Rei’s neck, using his free arm to assist in lifting his leg so it wouldn’t bump into anything on its way off the ground. As soon as he was sure Garu was comfortable, Rei pushed them up and off the ground with a small grunt. Garu buried his face into the crook of Rei’s neck, hiding himself once more and wetting the fabric of the older man’s cape. Rei could feel Garu trying to take deeper breaths, his shoulders slightly as he took in the scientist’s scent.
After getting past the slope of the hill, Rei began to briskly carry Garu to his bedroom, making sure that Garu’s injured ankle was safe from any bumping. Passing a butler in the hallway, he instructed him to bring him some of Aster’s many medicinal salves and cool packs the vampire had stocked in emergencies like this. The butler bowed, rushing down the opposite end of the hall.
At last, Rei reached his room, unlocking the door with a small key he kept in the pouch strapped to his thigh. He gently sat Garu down on his bed, grabbing a decorative pillow to be used as a prop for his injured foot. Garu reluctantly let go, whining a little as Rei pulled away to fetch the materials that had been left outside at his request. He brought the tray that carried them inside, placing them on the nightstand adjacent to where Garu was resting. He grabbed one of the cool packs and spare bandage roll that he kept by his workspace in case he ever needed to tend to his wound. Rei pressed the cold pack to the most inflamed area, holding it in place with a thin layer of bandage. He felt the wolf flinch hard and suck in a harsh breath.
“Are you okay? How bad is the pain, Garu?”
“'S Bad, but, um, I’ll be fine,” Garu said quietly, trying his hardest to put on a stronger front. “Keep going if you have to.”
Rei figured that not much else could be done for the time being. Olivine would most likely still be at dinner, so Garu would have to wait a little longer before getting further assistance. Rei figured that Garu wouldn’t want to be seen by many of the others regardless. Rei didn’t have to look at his face to know that he was likely beating himself up.
After making a final adjustment to his bandages, Rei set Garu’s ankle back down on the soft pillow. Rei glanced at his partner and saw that Garu was looking down at his hands in his lap, the last couple of quiet tears rolling down his rosy cheeks. Rei reached out to brush the yokai’s hair out of his face. The soft-touch only made Garu’s lips begin to quiver once more.
“Rei?” Garu asked, finally looking up at Rei from under long, wet lashes. “I’m sorry that I fell and ruined your day like this. You and Karu’s right about me, I need to stop goofing off and being ....”
The same old icy feeling crept back up Rei’s chest at the tone in Garu’s voice. “What are you talking about? Being what, Garu?
“I know that you’re super busy doing important research, Master even told me that you’re getting closer to one of your goals. Karu said that my fall probably distracted you from finishing it up and that if I had been more careful I wouldn’t have made you frustrated. He said I need to stop being so stupid! Is that why Karu yells at me all of the time, Rei? Because I’m…stupid?”
As much as Karu hated when other people so much as looked the wrong way at his twin brother, he saw no problem insulting him as well. No matter who was controlling their body, Karu flung insults and demands at his brother, often criticizing the way he reacted to the world around him. Garu was too excitable, too trusting, too naïve. Rei understood better than anyone that Karu was just worried for his brother, but until recently, Garu probably had no idea his brother seemingly thought so little of his way of doing things. Besides, Rei figured that even people with the thickest of skin would get fed up with being called a fool or incompetent all of the time, let alone someone as sensitive as Garu. But, to hear Garu describe himself that way, his face scrunched up in pain as…
Rei would be the first to admit that he was not equipped with the skills to comfort those around him as some of the other clan members did so naturally. He couldn’t motivate someone with strong, confident speech like Edmond or Dante, and he sure in the hell couldn’t lend an empathetic ear like the idol priest himself. If the past years had helped Rei understand anything, it was that protecting Garu and Karu was a motivator that would make him do almost anything outside of his comfort zone.
Scanning his mind for a solution, Rei thought back to his previous visit to the manor. Garu had knocked on his door around midnight, shyly asking to sleep with Rei in his room on the last night of his stay. Garu didn’t even have to show Rei his puppy eyes. He relented, allowing the pup to snuggle up next to his side. Rei had been glancing over that day’s notes in bed. Garu curiously asked about his research, a content smile plastered on his adorable features as Rei gave a brief explanation, letting Garu wrap his arms around his free one, and intertwine his soft, sturdy legs with Rei’s slender ones. As he was about to finish, Garu interrupted him with a small lick and peck to his cheek, his tail beating softly from under the comforter. Garu giggled at the surprised look that probably overtook Rei’s features, Garu laughed softly. He smelled so good, Garu had explained, his ears leaning to the side as he closed his eyes and nuzzled closer to Rei, as he began to drift off to sleep. For so long, Rei found kissing, cuddling, and all of the mushy aspects of intimacy that the others showed one another to be, at best, silly, and at worst, downright nauseating. So, when he looked down at Garu’s sleepy smile and his heart clenched, heat rising and a hot, red blush spreading across his cheeks, he realized he’d go to dangerous lengths to protect what he had with the wolf yokai. To see them smile, to comfort them, and to make their worries disappear, even if it meant leaving his comfort zone, and embracing outwardly showing them love with his words and actions as the new normal of his life.
Rei slowly moved closer to Garu, lifting his hand to swipe away at the tears that were rolling down Garu’s cheek. Garu tensed up a little, a quizzical sound leaving his lips. A moment passed before Garu nuzzled into the touch earnestly, his ears lifting back up slightly. Rei moved so he sat on the side of his bed, lifting Garu’s chin. Once Rei’s green eyes gazed into Garu’s own, the older man cupped the wolf pup’s cheek, stroking it softly with his thumb.
“You are anything but stupid. Don’t say those things about yourself. I’m sorry for scolding you, Garu. I was just worried about your foot – not that it makes it right. I just…I hate seeing you in pain. And to be honest, I’m…I’m mad at myself for not warning you.” Rei mumbled, the sound of the ungraceful apology almost completely foreign in his mouth.
Garu’s eye widened slightly before the yokai looked away, a slightly somber expression still on his face. But, he had laced a hand with Rei’s free one. Rei squeezed it. Garu nibbled on his bottom lip. After a beat of silence, Garu’s final tears having dried, the yokai turned back to Rei, expression even and serious.
“I forgive you. I figured that you were worried about me. But…it still made me feel scared and sad when you spoke to me that way, Rei. I felt like I had been bad. I even thought that you wouldn’t want to take care of me because of it. But, I think I know how you feel. Sometimes, when you do dangerous tests on yourself, I feel like yelling at you a little, too. But, I don’t do that because I think it would make us both feel even sadder and lonely…it doesn’t make you stop doing it, it just makes you feel guilty…”
Rei’s mouth hung slightly open as he found himself slightly nodding.
“Next time, I hope you don’t yell at me first. It’s okay to just say that you’re worried about me, and it’s also okay to be scared. Ever since I learned about how Karu and I got to share my body together…I’ve been scared a whole lot. But, the Master told me that it’s normal, and as long as we don’t keep it inside, everything will be okay and we can all be happy together. Whenever I feel super worried, I tell Karu or Master or you, Rei, so I don’t hurt inside. So…I guess what I wanna say is…you can rely on Garu if you’re nervous, too! I’ll take care of you. I promise to be honest with you, so can you promise to try, too?”
Garu stuck out his pinky finger.
Once again, Rei found himself at a loss. Despite his many, many years wandering the lands of Kleins, interacting with all sorts of people, and getting into all sorts of trouble, he found himself feeling schooled. Garu’s gift of finding access to the hearts of all of those who were lucky enough to share space with them was unlike anything Rei had ever seen. Garu had gotten Quincy to laugh more openly and had gotten Yakumo to feel more comfortable in his skin. Even Kuya, the old bastard stuck in his ways more than anyone Rei had ever met, had developed a new, soft air that hung about him whenever he spent time with the wolves, whom he had claimed as apprentices of sorts. Rei guessed that he was no different. When Garu said, Use your voice, express how you feel, get that icy feeling out of your chest, the feelings that Rei had been suppressing suddenly seemed much more simple to access. Deep down, he knew that the way he lived wasn’t healthy. Before he joined the clan, he figured that he’d end up dead because of it. But now, Garu’s simple words of affirmation made Rei consider that perhaps resigning himself to an early grave wasn’t the way forward after all.
Rei linked their fingers together. “You’re right. I’m sorry. About it all, Garu. I promise to try. I want to do better.”
A beautiful, soft smile bloomed on Garu’s face as he looked down at their fingers. He looked up at Rei before gently twisting his body to give the man a gentle hug, nuzzling his face into the crook of his neck. The two embraced for a long while, Garu leaning up to plant small kisses on Rei’s face every couple of minutes, Rei kissing his nose, eyelids, forehead and whenever he could reach in return.
“Garu, could I ask you something?”
Garu pulled back so he could look his partner in the eyes. “Mhm! What is it?”
“I just…I wanted to know why you would call yourself stupid. You’ve never spoken that way before, and I’m worried about you. Did you fight with Karu?”
“Oh, that…no, it wasn’t a fight or anything, I guess. He just gets frustrated with some of the things that I do with the body. We have different ways of dealing with being sad, that’s all. Today I was feeling pretty down because of what I mentioned earlier.”
“How you and Karu became brothers, you mean?”
“Yeah, exactly. I’ve been remembering a little bit about the place they forced us to be in, and it makes me really nervous. When I think about being behind those bars…I get all shaky and I can’t focus on much. But, my favorite things to do to help me feel better are to be with Master or you, Big Bro, or to play! You were both busy, so I used the present Master got me for last Kleinmas and started running around. Karu thinks playing with toys like that is really childish, so he usually tells me to cut it out. He likes to go hunting with Blade. Usually, Karu making fun of me doesn’t bother me because I know he loves me more than anything in the whole wide world, but because I was hurting a lot already, I felt pretty sad. He’s sleeping right now, but I’ll talk with him later so he knows. Don’t worry about us, though! Rei’s promise made me feel a whole lot better!”
Rei met the content look on Garu’s face with a sad smile. Guilt and anger still eat away at Rei whenever he thinks back to that day, the day when Garu finally was told the truth about their situation. But, Garu’s strength and love for his twin, more aspects of the boy that Rei had come to love deeply, warmed Rei’s heart to its core. On top of being dependable, considerate, unfairly adorable, and intelligent, Garu, and his brother, were some of the bravest people he had ever known. Rei pulled the yokai in for yet another kiss, before suggesting that he take a rest while Rei fetched his dinner. He stayed with Garu until he was sleeping soundly, and as he walked down the halls, he remembered the promise he made with him, and made a new one with himself. To do anything and everything to be brave for Garu as well.
After a couple of hours, Rei slid into his bed with his partner, being mindful of his injury. Garu subconsciously reached for Rei, his hand finding his pajama shirt and gripping it slightly. His face, pensive with sleep, broke into a small, sleepy grin, Garu sighing in relief. Rei, not being able to help himself, gently curled himself around the smaller man, spooning him and kissing the top of his head before allowing himself to fall into sleep as well. He never knew that such small moments could make his heart grow so big, but here he was.