Work Text:
As much as Sion loves his brother, there were far better places to celebrate his 24th birthday than at the principal’s office of Sakuya’s middle school.
Sakuya was a fantastic student—probably better than he was when he was his age, considering that the only notable medals Sion received in his younger years were related to sports. To be fair, though, his athleticism seemed to run in their blood, as his little brother had garnered a few ribbons here and there during his school’s annual sports fair.
While Sakuya much preferred other activities, like baking and playing games on his phone, he happily tagged along with Sion and his friends whenever they played a round of basketball at the court near their house. And although Sion adored his brother more than anything in the world, he also can't deny that Sakuya is, for lack of a better word, a menace.
He remembers Sakuya was nine when he first joined his and Riku's friend group for a low-stakes, non-competitive basketball game. His friends cooed at the sight of rosy cheeks and twinkling eyes, silently agreeing that they would go easy on the younger boy.
Sakuya definitely didn't need them to tone down their play, not because he was secretly good at it, but because he liked to play dirty.
Sion has to stop himself from breaking out into a fit of laughter every time he recalls the look of horror on Riku's face as he watched Sakuya kick him in the knee when Sion stole the ball away from him. His friends quickly realized that Sakuya wasn't as innocent as he looked.
Despite his troubling competitive nature, it was the least of his and his parents' worries, as they had ensured to raise him with an open mind and a kind heart; his warmth always prevailing over the need to be at the top of everything.
Until middle school came around.
“Sir, I would like to let you know that this is Sakuya’s first major offense,” the principal explains, sighing as she looks over his file. “However, if he continues getting called in for more minor reasons, we might need a further discussion with Ryo’s guardian.”
He frowns at this, nodding along to the woman’s words. “I understand, Ms. Bae,” he responds, looking over to his right to stare disappointedly at Sakuya, who’s busy avoiding his gaze. Then, he shifts his eyes to the other side, watching Ryo mindlessly swing his feet around while he holds the ice pack against his cheek.
The first time something like this happened, Sion was in the middle of a deep study session in the library when his phone suddenly rang, the most obnoxious pop song (on full volume, mind you) reverberating throughout the empty space. At that very moment, he wanted nothing else to do than let the ground swallow him whole.
He quickly ran out of the building, muttering a string of apologies to the librarian on his way out, unable to look her in the eye. Before he answered the call, he hoped that his parents had a good reason to embarrass him in front of his university's student population, because there was no way he was going to return there anytime soon.
Looking at it now, Sion's no longer sure if "Sakuya tackled a kid onto the ground" was a good enough reason for him to drop everything he was doing.
He ran all the way to his car and belatedly realized that his bag and keys were still in the library, forcing him to perform the walk of shame to retrieve his things. He didn't show face to the librarian for three entire months after that ordeal.
When he finally managed to arrive twenty minutes later after taking every possible shortcut, he was greeted by a sulky Sakuya and a fellow twelve year old boy who looked like he was going to burst into tears any minute now. It was the first time Sion wondered where the kind, loving, and (mildly) menacing Sakuya he raised to be a gentleman disappeared to.
Sion took the empty seat beside his brother's, resisting the urge to flick his forehead right there and then. "I'm really sorry for whatever he's done," he expressed breathlessly, the aftereffect of frantically running through the halls to find the principal's office. “Our parents are away right now, but they gave me the gist of what happened.”
Unlike his brother, Sion never had to trouble their parents by being called to the principal's office, being a perfect model student and all in terms of his morality. Kind of.
The principal, who he eventually learned to call Ms. Bae (Joohyun, if she’s in a good mood) after frequent visits, nodded and pursed her lips. "We're just waiting for Ryo's guardian as well. Hopefully, these two can resolve their quarrel by the end of it,” she said, an unshakable glare decorated on her face as she stared down the two boys.
He turned to observe Ryo, the fat under his eyes protruding even more due to him holding back his tears. Sion's heart melted at the sight, wondering what this poor, angelic boy could have possibly done for his brother to treat him like this.
Seconds later, the door creaked open again, the faint aroma of coffee suddenly lingering in the air. A boy he assumed to be near his age hurriedly sat on the one beside Ryo's, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead. Sion felt his heart stop for a short moment, uncertain if it's because of the boy's pretty face, or if it's because he just gave him the meanest stink eye Sion had ever received in his life.
"I'm Ryo's brother, I’m the only one available right now," he explained, giving a similar reason to Sion's. He took the younger kid's arms into his own, concern now clouding his eyes. "Are you okay?"
Ryo mustered the courage to nod, though still frowning. Sion hoped he wasn't lying.
"Can I ask the full details of what happened?" Sion asked, hoping to gain some kind of perspective on his brother's sudden violent behavior.
“I think it would be better if Sakuya explained,” Joohyun suggested.
Sakuya, who'd been sitting idly with his hands in his lap for the past few minutes, finally lifted his head up. He coughed lightly before telling his side of the story. "So, uhm... Ryo and I were on opposite teams during P.E. today, and our teacher promised to give incentives to whoever won," he began, carefully thinking over his words. "We were also both the team captains, so uhm... when Ryo-ssi's team gained a three-point lead, he kind of started taunting me."
Ryo scratched his head at this, the sad pout that was previously on his face replaced by something closer to embarrassment. His brother furrowed his eyebrows at this, now questioning if his sibling was truly the victim in this situation.
"It's true," Ryo added, answering his brother's thoughts for him.
"Yeah, and uh… I pushed him to the ground," Sakuya let out the last few words faster than his normal pace, his cheeks growing redder with every passing second.
"But it wasn’t anything bad, really!" Ryo interjected again, raising his hands in the air as if surrendering. "Sakuya-ssi didn't push me too hard, and it was probably Ryo's fault this whole thing happened.”
Sion is astonished at the other boy's sense of responsibility, though a part of him also wanted to declare him his brand new enemy despite his earlier perception of him. No one was allowed to taunt his brother—only he could do that.
"Are you sure? You don't have any bumps?" Ryo's brother still had an ice-cold look on his face, though Sion could tell that he was conflicted. He knew because he was, too.
While Ryo was busy reassuring the boy that he was alright, Sion took the opportunity to talk to Sakuya as well.
"Saku, did mom and dad ever tell you to resort to violence?" he whispered, settling on a firm yet gentle tone.
Sakuya shook his head at this. "You didn't either. I'm sorry," he mumbled.
"I don't think I'm the one you should be telling that to." His eyes darted toward the smaller tween.
"I'm sorry," Sakuya expressed, a bit louder than Sion had expected.
Ryo looked somewhat startled by the initiation, but he didn't think twice before responding. "I'm sorry, too," he voiced out.
Joohyun sighed, praying that this was the last time she'd ever have to encounter the two. Unfortunately for her, the gods were not on her side that day. "I'm glad that you resolved your situation quickly, but I don't want to hear any more trouble from either of you, alright?" she asked assertively, earning quick nods from the students.
She excused them from her office, all four people involved hanging their heads low and mumbling a quiet sorry as they left.
Sion ordered Sakuya to wait in the car, making sure to let him know that he was still going to receive an earful from him on their drive home. Ryo, on the other hand, looked much sadder than he already was when Sion first saw him.
"Hey, uh.” Sion’s hands slightly shook behind his back as he approached the other boy. "I'm still really sorry for Saku's behavior. He’s never acted physically before, and I’ll make sure to tell him off when we get home.”
The boy hummed before instructing Ryo to wait outside for him. "I'm sorry, too, for... Ryo's taunting. He likes to tease his friends like that, but I think he went a little too far this time for your brother to push him like that."
Sion mentally cringed at the thought of his brother pushing that poor boy with his big innocent eyes. He still won't let him pass freely until he's earned the right to taunt his brother, though. The more the stranger talked, the more Sion forgot why he was here in the first place. The only thing he was able to focus on was the sound of his voice, smooth and sweet like chocolate. Frankly, he was more upset at Sakuya for potentially ruining his chance with this absolute magnitude of a man.
"Yeah, he, uh, shouldn't have done that still," he stumbles over his words. "They're both kind of at fault, I mean."
Sion really hoped the ground would take him and never return him again.
Ryo's brother nodded, seemingly agreeing. "You know," he breaks the ice. "I don't really understand Ryo's behavior, because I'm sure I've heard him mention Sakuya's name before," he explained, "And he specifically told me that he wanted to befriend him."
Sion's mouth unintentionally formed an O shape, surprised by the piece of information, and yet confused at the same time. "Maybe he's shy..?" he suggests before concluding that that was probably a stupid thing to say. He's fumbling his chance so badly.
"I'm Yushi." He paid no attention to Sion's comment, instead opting to introduce himself.
"S-Sion," he stuttered. This is it, he could finally say something sensible. Maybe he could ask Yushi out on a date before he completely ruined his own first impression. “Hey, do you want to—”
Then, Yushi's watch began going off, his eyes widening as he looked at the time.
"I'm sorry, I have a shift soon, and I kinda need to get Ryo home before it starts," he awkwardly clarified, already walking away. "Nice to meet you, and again, I'm really sorry!"
Sion stood there dumbfounded, only managing to give him a small wave before he disappeared from his view.
He just met the most beautiful man to roam the earth, and his brother just pushed said man's sibling. He possibly couldn't make this any worse, right?
When he got to the car minutes later, Sion had to stop the urge to just throw himself to the backseat and cry about everything unfortunate that had happened to him that day. Instead, he took a deep breath and stayed silent the entire time, which was much scarier to Sakuya than receiving a scolding from his normally calm brother.
Sion's eyes stilled on the road. "Promise me you're never going to get physical with that kid again," he tried his best to maintain the firmness in his voice.
Sakuya started fidgeting with his uniform tie. "Okay," he mumbled, still afraid to look Sion in the eye.
It seemed to Sion that he only understood the "physical" part, because Sakuya would later go to call him into the office three more times after that. Thankfully, no one was pushed to the ground for any of those succeeding times, but he quickly learned that Sakuya adapted inappropriate behavior and vocabulary from somewhere or someone—that someone being him.
The second time Sion received a phone call from his parents, he moved at a much slower pace, praying that he wasn't going to see Yushi again. When he saw the familiar icy expression as he opened the door, he wanted to break down and cry.
His brother appeared to be the one stopping his tears that time, and Joohyun tiredly explained that Ryo had insulted Sakuya's running performance during P.E. At this point, Sion wanted to overthrow the entire subject, because it was clear to him that it wasn't doing any of them any favors.
Like last time, he and Yushi lingered outside the principal's office, exchanging apologies over what they called the beginning of their brothers' angsty teen phases. This time, Sion managed to learn that Yushi was working at a café from the town opposite theirs. Sion wanted to break down again when he realized that it was at least an hour away from his university.
The third time they got called into the office, it was a whole year later. Joohyun's assistant was the one who directly called him, because they’d collected his and Yushi’s numbers after their last visit, and their parents obvously weren't going to show up for Sakuya's troublesome behavior. Coincidentally, he and Yushi arrived at the same time, and the other boy didn't smell of coffee like he usually did.
Joohyun snickered when they walked in together, and it was the first time she allowed the two to call her something other than ma'am. "We're obviously getting acquainted with each other," she had joked blandly.
Sion's previous opinion of P.E. only worsened upon the single mention of it in Joohyun's report. Apparently, it was Sakuya who insulted the other boy over a game of tug of war. Sakuya's 13th birthday had recently passed, and when he blew out his candles, Sion wished for him to stop getting called at school, or at least stop interacting with Ryo.
But whichever deity was responsible for granting birthday wishes clearly didn't care about what he wanted.
Sion hoped he had said something mild like, "you're bad at this," or maybe even, "a toddler can do better than you." Instead, Yushi had to watch the color drain from his face as Sakuya explained that he called Ryo, "a fuckface who can't pull for shit."
In any other circumstance, Sion would be howling at the thought of Sakuya saying fuckface, but it was a clearly inappropriate thing to say to a schoolmate.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry," Sion had repeated too many times to count, for he knew that the only person Sakuya could have learned that from was himself.
At least Yushi appeared to be more lenient this time, a more relaxed look on his face than what Sion was used to. What he didn't notice was that Yushi was stifling a laugh while he apologized on Sakuya's behalf for the millionth time.
"Don't say anything even remotely close to that ever again," he reprimanded him and ordered him to stay after leaving the room. Sakuya gulped and followed behind him closely—the first time he'd ever been genuinely afraid of his older brother.
"I know I sound repetitive, but I really can't apologize enough for what he said." Sion buried his head into his hands. Why must his brother stop him from meeting Yushi normally?
"It's alright, sir, I didn't take it to heart," Ryo offered him comfort, a bit too cheerful. "This is how Sakuya and I normally talk, anyway!"
Sakuya's eyes widened and frantically shook his head. "He meant that, uh... uhm...." He failed to think of an excuse, only able to watch in horror as both Sion and Yushi looked at him and Ryo with something even scarier than anger.
Needless to say, both teenagers received a lecture about proper vocabulary around school premises.
The fourth time was thankfully calmer than the others.
For starters, it didn't happen during physical education, so nothing physical could happen. On the other hand, that didn't stop the insults.
Yushi was earlier than him that day, and Sion noticed that Ryo was the guilty looking one once again. Were they rotating who the perpetrator was every time they got called, or what?
As he sat down on the now familiar plastic chairs, he began to theorize what could've possibly happened this time. Stole Sakuya's lunch? Made fun of his art project?
"They kept throwing insults at each other in English." Yushi deadpanned. Joohyun didn't even bother elaborating, letting the boy do her job. "They were in class, and Ryo provoked your brother again."
"He called me a bad word last time," he tried to justify.
"He said I'll never be fluent in it." Sakuya pouted. "Don't even act like you're fluent!"
"Actually, I am!" Ryo argues back in English.
Once they got out, Sion started to believe that maybe he and Yushi weren't meant to be. How could he ever earn the audacity to ask out the brother of his brother's sworn enemy?
"Look—" Yushi cut him off before he could say anything else, handing over his phone.
"I think I need to save your number at this point." His lips quirked to the side, the closest Sion has ever gotten to seeing him smile. "You know, for future purposes."
Sion was aware that he probably meant it platonically—just to ensure that their brothers somehow didn't find each other's addresses and start brawling—but that didn't stop his heart from beating a few thumps faster.
"Yeah, uh, t-totally!" he agreed, clumsily adding his number to Yushi's contact list.
He was the first one to leave the hall this time, hoping to catch some air, as he could feel the blush creeping on his face. There was no way he was going to let Yushi catch that. Sion took a deep breath as he walked to his car. Perhaps the gods finally had mercy on him that day.
He didn't even mind the fact that Ryo and Sakuya were laughing together outside, arms slumped over each other's shoulders. He just simply called over his brother, smiling the entire route.
In the end, Yushi's advances went nowhere because there was radio silence from the troublemakers for a full three months. Sion considered texting him a simple greeting before, wishing him a Happy New Year, maybe, but it seemed too bold.
It's not like he and Yushi were friends or anything for him to do that.
Over the course of three months, a new school year had begun, and Sakuya was nicer to him after the last incident. He went up to Sion's room a few minutes before the new year struck, telling him that his resolution was to never have to call Sion to his school again.
Though a small gesture, Sion greatly appreciated Sakuya's consideration. He believed that Sakuya stayed true to his words. He was fourteen and started 9th grade a few weeks ago. As far as he was aware, he was staying away from Ryo. If things continued for another month, maybe he would finally contact Yushi. Thankfully, things seemed to be going his way.
Until Sakuya decided to punch Ryo in the face right on his birthday.
Riku was yelling at him over the phone just minutes before he received a call from the school. He had no interest in celebrating another year of getting older, his brain too busy with his upcoming meeting at work. He explained this carefully to the Japanese boy, concluding that he'll probably spend it with Sakuya alone. Though, looking at the situation he's in, he's not sure if it's a good idea.
Yushi arrived soon after, black bangs clung on his forehead with sweat. It's obvious he ran all the way here, a stain of coffee on his shirt as he hurriedly settled on the uncomfortable chair.
"I'm sorry," Sakuya says before Joohyun even explains anything. "I shouldn't have punched Ryo, that was really wrong of me to do."
It's the first time Sion has witnessed his brother speak before being told to do so. Sakuya has his head kept low, playing with his fingers. Sion thinks—knows—that he was on the verge of tears. Sakuya has never felt this remorseful in his entire life.
Ryo looks over at him, an ice pack still on his cheek. "Ryo made fun of you, though." He frowns.
This gets Sakuya to lift his head, and Sion could now confirm that tears were indeed beaming in his eyes. "I hurt you, and you still want to take the blame?" he asks, louder than he intended to, heat rising to his voice.
The other boy wants to say something back, but Yushi promptly stops him from escalating. "What happened, exactly?" He tries his best to stay calm, looking at Joohyun for answers.
"From my understanding, they were once again in their P.E. class," she sighs, her perception of the subject bitterly changing over time as well. "It was actually a free period for them, but your brothers somehow started talking about martial arts. According to Ryo himself, he told Sakuya that he probably couldn't punch, and..." she trails off. "This is what we're all left with.”
Sion is honestly too tired to process anything that Joohyun says afterward, giving a simple nod here and there to appear like he understands. Celebrating his birthday at the principal's office wasn't on his to do list, but here he was.
Both Sakuya and Ryo look visibly guilty after leaving the office. Both brothers also make their disappointment be known by staying completely silent. Ryo has already removed the ice pack on his face, a light reddening on his cheek. It fortunately looks fine otherwise, aside from the swelling.
Sakuya lets a lone tear fall from his eye, making his best effort to look Sion in the face. "I'm sorry you had to go here on your birthday, hyung," he sniffles. "I didn't mean to go this far."
"Sir, I know you don't want Ryo to take the blame, but this was kinda my idea," Ryo sheepishly explains, now the one avoiding eye contact. "Saku mentioned that it was your birthday soon, and..." He looks over at Yushi, who is at the midpoint of anger and embarrassment. Sion isn't sure what there is to be embarrassed about.
"Hyung, I have to tell him!" He argues against Yushi, who eventually gives in for the sake of his brother.
"Well, we noticed that you and hyung appeared to take a liking to each other," he speeds over the sentence. Ryo immediately reapplies the ice pack, feeling a slight ache. "So we wanted to get sent to the office again, so you two could see each other."
"Ryo and I only planned to argue again, but I took it too seriously and ended up punching him." Sakuya was full on crying at this point, wiping his tears with his wrists. At the end of the day, he was still Sion's beloved brother. And Sion, though still upset over his actions and confused over his illogical reasoning, embraced him in his arms, allowing Sakuya to dampen his white dress shirt.
Sion nearly forgets the two other boys standing in front of him until he hears a light yelp from Ryo.
"You're never going to allow yourself to get hurt again," Yushi warns him as Ryo rubs the spot on his arm which his brother has hit.
"Okay, but at least we'll have matching scars on our cheeks." He smiles then remembers he isn't even bleeding. "Or maybe not."
While Sakuya is sobbing into his chest, he recalls what the two teenagers were saying. His face flushes as he suddenly comprehends that Sakuya did that for him. Maybe his brother isn't as bright as he thinks, but what he's sure of is that the warmth in Sakuya's heart still prevails over everything else, even when he misunderstands his real intentions and does the equation incorrectly.
Yushi notices that Sion has been staring at him for a little too long, and he realizes that Ryo had also exposed him just then. He lightly pushes Ryo to the side so that the younger is now standing behind him. "I didn't know what my brother was up to, really," he defends himself. "It's true that I wanted to see you again, but I'd prefer that it wasn't like this."
They both laugh awkwardly, looking at the ground. They were in their 20s, and they were flirting in a middle school hallway.
Sakuya soon breaks apart from him, insisting that he was okay now. He takes the initiative to take Ryo's hand, taking him outside and apologizing profusely while the older one simply smiles at him.
"So... Is it really your birthday today?" Yushi asks, tapping his foot on the floor.
"It is," he clarifies. This time, he was finally going to take a step closer. "I actually don't have any plans to celebrate it."
"Oh." The Japanese boy frowns, disappointed.
"Unless you'd want to accompany me," Sion hesitantly adds.
"Oh?" Yushi actually laughs, teeth showing. "I've been waiting for you to text me for three months, just so you know."
Sion internally groans at the thought. If he had the courage to contact Yushi from the start, then maybe he wouldn't have needed to confess in front of the principal's office, and Sakuya wouldn't have needed to resort to violence.
He inches closer to Yushi. "Is there any way I can make it up to you?"
"Hmm." Yushi thinks for a second. "Let me treat you? My café has some pretty good cakes."
"I'd like that a lot,” he agrees
Suddenly, Sion had a much better place to celebrate his birthday at.