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In sixteen long years of Genya's existence, he had learned many things.
How to avoid embarrassing himself in front of girls.
How to hide his exam papers from his brother.
How to keep his dumbass friends from doing something stupid in public.
Not that he was good at any of it yet, but he was… getting there.
Unfortunately, none of those skills applied to walking into his brother’s apartment and finding him pinning his PE teacher to the couch.
And yet, here he was.
All Genya had wanted was to drop off the food their mom had made. Maybe play some video games afterward while eating ice cream with his brother.
That had been the plan and how it usually went.
However, that seems impossible at the moment.
He guesses, maybe it was his fault for coming unannounced and not ringing the doorbell before entering.
But really, had he ever needed to do that before? Never.
So, now he does not know whether to close the door again and leave like it never happened or wait for his brother to explain.
Minutes had passed with the three of them staring at each other, and his face was going a shade of red brighter than the last. He couldn’t even think straight, and neither his brother nor his PE teacher moved in their compromising position, seemingly frozen in place.
"Sorry for the interruption!" he finally blurted, scrambling out and slamming the door behind him.
"Genya. Wait!" Sanemi called, moving at lightning speed to drag him back into the apartment and making him sit on the opposite couch from where the two had been earlier.
His brother looked flustered, very much so, as he sat next to Giyuu, their thighs brushing together.
Giyuu stood, “I’ll give you two some room to—”
“No, stay here,” Sanemi interrupted, gripping his arm and pressing him back down on the couch.
And just like that, Genya’s brain short-circuited.
Finally, Sanemi clears his throat, "About that…Giyuu and I..."
Genya’s heart did that stupid flip-flop thing it always did when he panicked.
Giyuu? His brother calls his teacher Giyuu. Not Tomioka.
And the hands of the said teacher were carefully pressed in his brother's thigh, giving it some gentle strokes.
“Are seeing each other,” Sanemi finished, voice low. “Shit. This isn’t how I wanted you to find out.”
Genya blinked. Stared. Blinked again. Somehow, he didn’t even know how to sit properly or where to put his hands. Behind his back? On his knees? Buried in his face?
It was an odd sight, seeing his brother flustered. Truthfully, he does not even know if he ever wanted to see such a sight.
Did Genya know his brother was dating? Yes, he does.
But did he know it was his Tomioka-sensei? The thought never even crossed his mind.
He had pretended not to hear his brother ending calls with an “I love you” during sleepovers, assuming Sanemi thought he was deeply asleep. And then there was the extra toothbrush and cup in the apartment, which his brother never bothered to hide.
If his brother was not ready to tell him, Genya would not ask.
That had been the plan, but when did things ever go according to his plan? Never.
“Genya. Is it that surprising to you? You’ve been frozen since earlier.”
Unfortunately, Genya never did learn how he should react when his brother finally introduced his lover.
“I… then earlier… you two—”
“Can you forget about that?” Sanemi sighed, plopping down and leaning into Giyuu.
Unfortunately, Genya couldn’t forget it, even if he wanted to. He would probably dream about it later that night. And probably every awkward waking thought for the next week.
But there was also something heartwarming about seeing his brother cling to someone other than family.
“How long have you two been… seeing each other?” he asked cautiously.
“About a year. Next week,” Giyuu said, calm and kind, contrary to how strict he was at school.
“Yeah. I was going to introduce him properly then, but… You went ahead,” Sanemi muttered.
Good. Genya was glad his brother was ready to tell everyone. This was not something unwanted.
“Sorry.”
“No. It’s not your fault.”
“So, what do you think?” Sanemi asked him.
“Huh? Does it matter what I think?”
“Of course,” Sanemi said matter-of-factly, which made Genya’s brain do that spinning thing again.
“Are you asking for my blessings?”
Sanemi paused. “Yes.”
“Does Tomioka-sensei make you happy, Aniki?”
“He does. More than I would like to admit.”
Genya smiled. “Then what else is there for me to say? Your happiness is all that matters to me.”
“Did it surprise you?”
“Of course! I knew you were dating someone and suspected it might be one of the teachers. Tanjiro told me once, someone from them smelled like you. But he couldn’t pinpoint who because you shooed him away. Besides, you were always telling Tomioka-sensei off. So…”
“What else can I do when this dumbass cannot take care of himself properly?”
“Oh,” Genya said. Okay. That made sense.
Sanemi was about to say something when his phone rang. “I have to take this,” he said, standing and leaving the two seated face-to-face.
“Shinazugawa.”
“Tomioka-sensei.”
They both said at the same time.
“Genya. You can call me Genya, Tomioka-sensei. It will be difficult for you once you visit our house, where everyone is Shinazugawa.
Giyuu laughed. It was the first time Genya had ever seen his teacher laugh. At that moment, Genya understood why his brother had fallen for him. Sanemi had a very specific taste.
“Genya.” It was surprising to hear him called by name, but he didn’t mind.
They would soon be family. His brother would never date anyone without the intention of a long-term relationship.
“Then you can call me by my name too. Calling me Tomioka-sensei outside of school feels off.”
“Giyuu-san.” It felt foreign on his tongue, but not bad at all.
The two shared a comfortable silence until Genya remembered something from that drama Zenitsu had forced them to watch about meeting your family’s lover.
“Giyuu-san. If you don’t mind me asking…What do you like about Aniki?”
“What do I like about Sanemi?“ Giyuu paused for a while, but slowly his lips curved into a small smile.
Genya leaned forward slightly, unsure if he was allowed to listen closely, but still couldn’t help himself.
“First… I like how passionate he is about everything he does,” Giyuu continued softly. “Not just in teaching or handling his classes… but even the little things. He stays late to help students who don’t understand a lesson. How he insists on making the classroom look presentable and even putting up decorations for events, even if he denies being the one responsible for that.”
Genya could not help but laugh. That was exactly how his brother is.
“I like how caring he is, too,” Giyuu said, eyes downcast. “More than he lets on. He tries to hide it behind rough words or irritation… but it is there. Always there. I see it. And I feel it.”
Giyuu’s gaze flicked up, catching Genya staring, but he didn’t seem embarrassed.
“I like how he was never afraid to be himself. Never afraid to be honest with the world or with the people he cares about. He doesn’t put on a mask or sugarcoat his words for you. He… trusts fully the people he lets in. And that… that made me want to be better. Made me want to be worthy of him.”
Genya’s chest tightened. He had never heard anyone talk about his brother like this.
“But most of all,” Giyuu said, voice soft, almost a whisper, “I love how he makes me feel loved. Truly loved. He made me feel seen and valued, even on days when I don’t feel like I deserve it, he makes me feel like I do.”
Genya swallowed hard. He wanted to say something, anything, but nothing came out. He just nodded.
“Your brother,” Giyuu continued, a gentle smile on his lips as he looked at the blush creeping up Genya’s ears, “he is very nice, isn’t he, Genya?”
Genya looked at his brother, at Giyuu, at the way the two of them were so at ease. So… perfectly in tune with each other.
“Yes,” he whispered, finally. “He is the nicest person in the world.”
“What are you two talking about?”
“We were talking about you,” Giyuu said, smiling, and Genya could see how his brother visibly swooned.
“Aniki. Giyuu-san. I should probably leave now. I was only here to deliver the food.”
“Already? Why don’t you eat here?”
“I told them I would eat at home. Besides, I don’t want to interrupt you two any further. Also, so you two can pick up where you left off earlier.”
“Shinazugawa Genya.”
He hurried to the shoe rack and put on his shoes. “Please, continue taking care of my brother, Giyuu-san,” he said before leaving.
He could hear his brother mutter, “That kid,” and Giyuu replying, “You have a good brother, Sanemi.”
“Yes, I do.”
In sixteen long years of Genya’s existence, he had learned one important thing: his brother had found the love of his life.