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“Hyung,” he hears Yushi calling from the bathroom. Sion hums in response. “I think you ran out of shampoo.”
Sion hears the opening and closing of the bathroom door. The sound of Yushi’s steps coming closer. Yushi’s humming a song under his breath. Looking up from his phone, he sees Yushi swaying right and left to his own humming.
Sion wonders if the warmth on his chest only activates around Yushi.
“You think I ran out of shampoo?” Sion teases the younger.
Yushi rolls his eyes, but there’s a hint of a smile in his voice when he answers Sion. “You ran out of shampoo. You should’ve told me before offering it to me to use.”
“You’re unbelievable,” Sion laughs in disbelief, watching Yushi look around for something. “It’s fine. I’ll buy more today.”
“I’m coming with you,” Yushi says distractedly. “Where is it?”
“It’s in my room.”
“What?”
“The hairdryer, right? Saku used it last night in my room,” Sion simply says, quickly adding, “You were already asleep last night.”
Sion doesn’t know what the look on Yushi’s face means. “Yeah, uh. Thanks, hyung.”
As Yushi walks past him, he smells his shampoo on Yushi. Smells himself on Yushi. It’s only a millisecond, a quick whiff, but it sends Sion’s mind into overdrive. They live together, so it’s normal for them to smell like one another. But that’s usually only reserved for their clothes since they do laundry together and nothing else. This is different.
Yushi smells like him and Sion likes it.
“I can go by myself,” Sion clears his throat, trying to regain his composure.
“That wasn’t an offer, hyung,” Yushi walks out of Sion’s room with the aforementioned hairdryer. “I’m coming with you. We’ll get breakfast too. Also some for Saku.”
“Okay,” Sion can’t find it in himself to argue.
The thought of spending the day with Yushi makes him giddy, a wide smile overtaking his face. The warmth in his chest comes back in full force. He’s sure he looks stupid right now. Thankfully Yushi’s too busy to see it.
A grocery run with Yushi always goes like this: Sion is in charge of pushing the cart while Yushi uses one hand to scroll through his notes app as guidance and his other hand to grab what they need. They always end up buying more than what’s listed on Yushi’s notes, but that’s fine. Their friends come over often enough to help clean out their fridge.
They work in harmony, a result of years and years of doing it over and over again. It’s muscle memory at this point. Sion takes their things out of the cart to be scanned one by one, and Yushi puts them in their shopping bags. Sion takes the heavier bags, and Yushi whines about how he is strong enough to carry them too. Sion ignores him, and Yushi sulks until Sion bribes him with food.
The diner they end up choosing is one they’ve been visiting since before they started living together. Sion orders two different dishes for them to share, and a toast to go for Sakuya.
“I don’t think he’s up yet,” Yushi says in between a yawn, showing his room chat with Sakuya, void of any reply from his brother.
Sion, already looking at him, yawns too. “Yeah, he slept pretty late last night. Did something happen?”
“I don’t know,” Yushi shrugs, but Sion doesn’t miss the concern in his voice. “I think it’s college stuff.”
“I still can’t believe he’s going to college already.”
“Me neither, honestly,” Yushi sighs, a smile forming on his lips. Sion smiles with him.
There’s a look in his eyes that Sion only ever sees when Yushi’s looking at him or Sakuya, and sometimes the stray cats around their apartment complex.
It’s something soft that settles inside Sion like a warm hug. Maybe it’s love, Sion isn’t completely sure.
“In my head, he’ll always be the baby who cries in the middle of the night because he wants to sleep with me in my bed,” Yushi’s smile turns wistful. “
Sion chuckles, trying to picture little Yushi and Sakuya sleeping in one bed. It’s still a thing they do now, especially whenever Sakuya knocks on their door with a frown on his face, or tears streaks on his plump cheeks on his worse days. Like last night, which Sion only sees a little glimpse of before he retreats back to his own room. Sion thinks it’s just something that won’t ever go away with time, no matter how old they get. Sion can’t help but feel a little envious of that.
“That’s cute. You’re both cute,” Sion muses. “He’s going to be fine.”
“You think so?” And if Yushi’s voice shakes, Sion doesn’t comment on it.
“I know so,” Sion pats Yushi’s hand on the table. “He’s a great kid. He’ll figure it out. Besides, he has a great role model.”
“Huh? Who?”
“You!” Sion exclaims, laughing at the shock on Yushi’s face. “He looks up to you so much, Ushi-ya, and you’re amazing. So he will be fine. I just know he will.”
Yushi’s smile finally reaches his eyes, lighting up his whole face. The younger turns his palm upward and interlocks their hands together. Yushi squeezes his hand, a silent ‘thank you’, and Sion’s heart swells in his chest. So he squeezes back, a silent ‘you’re welcome, always’. A single touch and for a moment it feels like they are the only people there.
Their hands stay together until the food arrives. There’s a lingering sweetness in the air, either from the food or something between them, Sion doesn’t know nor care. All he knows and cares about is this: sharing a meal he’s eaten a million times before with Yushi as they talk about everything and nothing while playing footsies under the table.
When they arrive back at the apartment, full and happy, Sakuya is already awake and lying on the couch. He pauses whatever he’s watching on his phone and runs towards them, complaining about how hungry he is. Yushi scolds him for exploiting both him and Sion for food every time he’s here. He watches the two brothers bicker with each other, yet Yushi still feeds Sakuya and fusses over him. Even with faux annoyance on his face, the fondness still finds its way to the surface.
Sion thinks there’s still so much for him to learn about love. He’s glad he has Yushi to learn it all together with.
Sakuya wakes up to quietness, which is odd for a Sunday morning in his brother and Sion’s apartment. He takes his phone to look at the time, wincing as the brightness of his phone attacks his eyes. It reads 09.25 with a series of texts from Yushi asking him if he’s awake and to wait for breakfast. Sakuya replies with a short ‘ok’ before dragging himself out of the room.
He throws himself to the couch and his eyes immediately fall on the kitchen counter. There are two cups on it, and judging by the dried brown drips on the sides of them, he knows they’re empty. Yushi and Sion are nowhere to be seen, but Sakuya knows they had their coffee together.
It gets him weirdly emotional so he quickly shakes it off, blaming it on his weird mood. Yet he can’t help the smile blooming on his face. The smile stays as the first video on his phone plays and he lets it linger until he forgets it’s there in the first place.