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“Hey, can you go call Mafuyu? He's in his room.”
A simple request. An innocent one. An act that represented kindness and compassion, and the care that comes from being in a place of guardianship over a loved one. A subtle symbolism of intimacy between siblings, with Shin being the relay for their bond, hoping to, one day, fit like the last puzzle piece on the board they've been completing since the day Mafuyu was born.
Something that should have been easy
Enjoyable even.
But as every step pulled him towards Mafuyu's door, closer and closer, the strange sensation coiling in his gut tightens more and more.
The shadows begin to retreat as he descends upon the entrance to Mafuyu's lair, and even the light at the very end of the hall begins to flicker.
Shin's hand wraps around the handle, and slides the door open.
“Hey, Mafuyu, dinner's-”
And there Mafuyu is.
On his bed.
Laptop between his legs.
Holding his-
What.
The.
Fuck.
Two screams, both laced with terror.
“Holy fucking SHIT.”
The door slams shut.
Shin returns to the living room on shaky legs and all but collapses onto the sofa with a woeful sigh.
____
Mafuyu does not join them for dinner, not that Shin blames him at all, and he still seems to be MIA the next day, and the day after.
The memory of what occurred has haunted the trio, however the impacts varied drastically. For as Shin and Mafuyu withered away in their respective rooms, one above a store with access to any snack he could desire, the other in a block of flats, periodically locked away with his brother, Natsuki was having the time of his fucking life.
“I can't- this is fucking class. This is amazing- I'm actually- can't breathe-”
Shin emerges from his blankets to glare at the pest rolling around on his floor and clutching his stomach.
“Do you know how embarrassing that was?!” He hisses.
“And the poor kid! He was just tryna- And I walked in on him!”
Natsuki chokes on his laughter this time, immediately jumping onto his knees and thumping a fist at his chest to dislodge the spit in his throat.
“Shouldn't you be comforting him? That shit is harrowing!”
“I wouldn't know,” Natsuki horses out once he's recovered, rising back onto his two feet. “I was never stupid enough to get walked in on whilst jerking off. You two, however…”
Shin groans and rolls his eyes as he flops flat on his bed again.
“If you're gonna be annoying, you can get out.”
“Awh, hey, no, c'mon.”
Snickering softly, Natsuki slides onto his bed, ignoring the limbs trying to kick him off.
“If you were in my position, you'd be laughing too.”
“I wouldn't,” Shin growls, trying to dislodge the arm attempting to sneak around his waist, “Because I have compassion. I'm empathetic. Try it out sometime.”
“I'm good, thanks.”
A sloppy kiss lands on Shin's cheek, and, with a long-winded sigh, he relents to the other's affections.
Mostly a ploy so he can manipulate Natsuki into bringing him a water bottle and some potato-crisps before he leaves later.
“You guys are blowing this way outta proportion, ya'know. All you did was walk in on him jerking off. You didn't even see what he was watching. Be glad.”
“Wow. Thanks, Natsuki.”
“Just talk it out. Or pretend it never happened, or something.”
“But I can't forget it! That's the problem!”
Natsuki snorts.
“You're not letting yourself forget it, idiot. If you just tell yourself it's not a big deal, you'll fall for the act.”
“Don't get all Club Jam on me.”
“Ew, don't mention that dude. He was hard whilst fighting me, y'know? Total weirdo.”
Shin makes a face and turns away.
“Ew. Hard. Mafuyu.”
“Oh c'mon.”
__________
“If you're just gonna laugh, I'm going back into my room.”
Natsuki reels Mafuyu in by the scruff of his hood before he can run off, and smacks him across the back of his head with a stern glare.
“You haven't had breakfast in days.”
“I had breakfast bars.”
“You can't survive on those.”
“Watch me.”
“Watch your tone. I'm your older brother.”
“Watch your tone! You've been laughing at me for three days straight!”
Frowning, Natsuki stares down at Mafuyu, and takes a seat at the stool by his side.
Mafuyu remains standing, ready to dash.
“Does it actually upset you?” The older questions, tilting his head. “I don't mean it when I'm laughing. It was just funny seeing you two act like the world had ended because he walked in on you getting off.”
Mafuyu does not flinch. He does not freeze. He does not even blink.
But Natsuki spots the way his mask dips just slightly further the next breath he takes - a half a centimetre, a quarter longer than his usual inhale.
His eyes shrink to slits as he verbally closes in on his brother.
“You're hiding something. Spit it out.”
“I'm not hiding anything.”
“You really think you can escape this? We live together, dumbass. Out with it. If you tell me now, I promise Shin won't hear word of it.”
That catches Mafuyu's attention, his fingers twitching just barely.
“You promise?”
“If it's worth my time, yes.”
That's as good a guarantee as Mafuyu is gonna get, of this the teen is well aware.
He takes a deep breath.
“I'm scared Shin saw what was on my laptop.”
“Okay. He didn't. What was it?”
“Just. Jerk off material. It's nothing.”
“Obviously not nothing if you were upset he'd see. I need to make sure you aren't watching anything dangerous.”
“Stop being so invasive.”
“Stop being so e-vasive.”
“Stop being so- so- annoying!”
“Mafuyu.”
“Ugh. Fine. I was- please don't make me say this.”
…
“Okay. I was- alright- um. Can I whisper it to you?”
Nodding, Natsuki leans, tipping his ear to face the other as he cups his hands around his masked mouth.
Hushed words, shameful whispers.
A loud laugh, the crash of someone falling off their stool and landing on the floor with a thoroughly shocked and very, very obnoxious snort, the scuffle of feet as a smaller figure dashes away.
___________
The conversation that was required to finally calm the tension between Shin and Mafuyu took about one minute, and required two complete sentences and two unwilling participants.
“Let's never speak of this again.”
“Deal.”
Thusforth, life began to roll past in its typical routine, Shin working the Sakamotos’ store counter during the week, occasionally engaging in violence with Lu and Heisuke or inciting war between Nagumo and Mr.Sakamoto, and then staying over at Natsuki's on his days off.
Training with Mafuyu when the time was at their hand, lazing around in Natsuki's presence when he isn't kicking Shin out of his lab slash closet thing, (because “I'm working on something. It's a surprise. Get lost,” ) and enjoying the one night of the week where he can fall asleep in the arms of the one person he can confidently say doesn't mind the fact that he snores.
(“Are you sure you want me to stay over? I'm, like, a crazy snorer. Lu says she can hear me through the walls.”
“If I can hear you through my earbuds, I'll be less annoyed and more impressed.”)
And it all goes well, for a while.
Until Shin's pinned to Natsuki's bed, lips travelling down his neck, one hand sliding under his t-shirt, when he's haunted by a thought that has no intention of leaving him alone, even after three attempts of trying to shake it off and distract himself with soft kisses and pretty eyes.
He gasps, pushing the other away with one hand.
Sensing the urgency in his movement, Natsuki pauses and sits up, hands retreating.
“You okay?”
“What if Mafuyu is having sex?” Shin blurts out in a single breath.
Cursing low under his breath, Natsuki squeezes his eyes shut, taking in a long breath.
“Can we not talk about my little brother's sex life right now?”
“No,” Shin urges. “I'm serious. What if he's having sex? What if he isn't safe? What if-”
“Shin,” Natsuki breathes out, pleadingly, dragging his hands down his face. “Mafuyu is sixteen. He is not having sex.”
“But what if he is?!”
“He's mature. He'll be fine-”
“And what if he isn't,” Shin whispers, grabbing Natsuki's shoulders and shaking him, hard. “What if he isn't safe? And he's having sex when he goes out? And we can't keep him safe?! What if we-”
“Okay, okay! Stop!”
Natsuki sighs.
“What do you think we should do to keep him safe then?”
Gulping, Shin slowly lifts himself up from the bed.
“I think- we- we've got to have…the talk.”
______
“What's this all about?”
“Look,” Shin stutters out, eyes anywhere but on the boy sitting across the table from him. “I know we said we wanted to forget about what…uh…happened. You know. But, um.”
Looking towards Natsuki for support is no help whatsoever, because he's settled himself on the floor and between Shin's legs, head propped against the blonde's knees, and is happily drilling his way through the week-old box of donuts that had somehow emerged from the back of the fridge.
“You see…It's about- well, I don't want to make it weird, obviously, I mean this in, like, a guardian type of way, you know? It's just-”
“We want to interrogate you on your sex life.”
“What?!” Mafuyu and Shin shriek out simultaneously, Mafuyu jumping up from the sofa in surprise and Shin smacking a laughing Natsuki across the back of his head.
“You better not be! I didn't get out of my bed for this! I could be asleep right now!”
“No! Ignore him! He's being an idiot! I am not- Look, Mafuyu, sit down!”
“I don't wanna tell you about my sex life!”
“Natsuki, can you please tell your brother to sit the hell back down?!”
“No thanks,” the technician mumbles, staring at his fingers, and, after a minute of debating with himself, licking the donut crumbs off of his hand.
Having had enough, Shin hops onto his feet, all too happily ignoring Natsuki's loud yell when he stomps on his thighs as he gets up.
“Mafuyu,” Shin tries, scrambling to haul the teen in by the sleeve of his jumper. “Listen, we're just gonna have a little chat-”
“Nu-uh,” Mafuyu yells back, swatting Shin away. “No way! You guys are creeping me out, seriously-”
"I swear we have a reason!"
"Does it look like I give a shit?!"
“Sit the fuck down, Mafuyu!” Shin yells, having had enough.
The quiet that follows is tense enough that Mafuyu wonders, briefly, in the midst of his blood freezing and heart skipping a beat, if it'll snap in half.
“You,” Shin growls, pointing a finger at the teen, “will sit down and listen to what I have to say.”
“And you,” he continues, spinning around and glaring down at the very still, very silent Natsuki staring right back at him. “You will cooperate with me or so help me, I will have both of you sit through this incredibly uncomfortable conversation with Mr.Sakamoto instead!”
And, with little more than a curt huff, Shin returns to his place on the loveseat, and watches as Mafuyu shuffles back, shamefaced, to the sofa and sits back down.
Embarrassment blooms across Shin's face shortly after as he registers what had just happened.
Huh.
Lu must seriously be rubbing off on him.
“Right,” he stutters out, staring down into his lap. “I'm glad we're on the same page now.”
“Seriously, babe? Now you go all quiet?”
Coughing into his fist, Shin lifts his gaze back onto Mafuyu, and attempts to level on him a stern yet sincere stare.
“Look, Mafuyu. You're sixteen, yeah. And like, hormones and stuff are gonna make you do stuff. That's all well and good. But. Uh. I- we. We just wanna keep you safe. Don't we, Natsuki?”
“Uh-huh.”
"And sex should be something enjoyable. Never, like, something...not enjoyable. Right, Natsuki?"
"Yep.
“So, well, obviously you know what's coming for you. Sex talk. Woo, big deal. So, like, I'm gonna give you one chance to, like, ask any questions or stuff, ‘kay?”
“Okay.”
….
“Alright, let's begin. So. You know, when two people love each other very much-”
“Oh come on,” Natsuki groans, throwing his head back. “They have sex, we get it, Shin.”
“You are being so unhelpful. Maybe this would go faster if you gave your input.”
“I am giving my input. You're going too slow. There.”
“Ugh. Whatever. So, sex. It's fun. It's all good. But, it isn't so good when you aren't doing it safely. Natsuki, would you pass me the whiteboard?”
“You guys brought a whiteboard?!”
“I ain't saying this shit. Trust me, this'll be a whole lot easier if I just draw this out, ‘kay?”
“...Okay.”
________
It takes a lot of tears, a lot of heaving and a lot of Shin having to overcome the vast mental barriers he'd placed between himself and the harrowing rendition of a sex-ed class hosted by Mr.Sakamoto seven years ago, but eventually, the Sex Talk comes to an end, to everyone's relief.
“I hope this was helpful,” Shin mumbles weakly into the curls atop Natsuki's head, arms hanging limp around Natsuki's neck.
Mafuyu looks no less worse for wear, head buried into one of the pillows on the couch and skin looking deathly pale.
“I don't think I'm ever going to live this down,” he mumbles, shaking his head.
“What are you two talking about?” Natsuki hums, crumpling his third crisp packet and chucking it into the bin in the corner of the room, smirking when it lands perfectly on top of the pile already peeking over the rim. “This was hilarious. Good job, babe.”
“Can we just sleep this off? Shin? Please?”
“Good idea, Mafuyu.”
But neither of the two make the first move.
Natsuki is the one who has to initiate the evacuation of the two corpses in the living room, first dragging Mafuyu to his bedroom and then returning to lift Shin into his arms and carry him back to bed.
“Hey, look. I'm paying you back for talking to Mafuyu for me.”
“For you?” Shin asks sleepily into the crook of Natsuki's neck.
“Yeah.” Seba chuckles as he sets Shin down onto their blankets. “I was planning on talking with him in, like, a week's time. But you ended up doing it all for me! Thanks, by the way.”
“...I seriously hate you," Shin groans as he rolls over and clutches the nearest pillow to his chest.
“Awh. Me too, babe. Me too.”
____________