rabenhorst (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rabenhorst) wrote2007-05-31 11:28 pm
rabenhorst) wrote2007-05-31 11:28 pm
(no subject)
Title: Against All Odds; Chapter 2
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
seinen_no and fonulyn
Rating: PG13 [for this chap]
Pairing: Die and Kaoru
Disclaimer: We own no one, only our dirty imaginations.
Comments:
seinen_no: Well, what to say? I still love this story, because I love the stubborn-ness in both of them and I can understand Die so well. I'd be raging if my mom had presented me a new "brother" I have to share my room with. Though if the brother was gorgeous like Kao, I would most definetely have shut up about that and silently sneaked into his bed :D
Enjoy reading this chapter, it's not the last^^
fonulyn: Okay, finally we have the second chapter for you. Sorry that it took so long, but we’ve been through a lot stress lately, with the Christmas coming and everything. And apologies in advance, that it might take a while before we’ll be able to get the next chapter up after this. We’re trying though! And as for the story, I don’t know what to say^^ Other than that please enjoy! :D
Previously happened: Part 1
Against All Odds
Chapter 2
When the alarm woke them early the next morning, Kaoru cursed his father even more. Why on earth did they have to move after the holidays had already ended? Not that he would've been eager to spend more time with his new mom and her spoiled redheaded son, but it would've given him the time to get used to the new situation. Without waiting for Die to get up, he quickly rushed to the bathroom.
The redhead forced himself to sit up and rubbed his eyes to wake up properly. From now on, he would hate the mornings, since he wasn't able to just rush to the bathroom when he felt like it, but had to share it with the new brother as well. Trying to be as patient as possible he went to the bathroom though, waiting outside the door for the other to come out.
Kaoru was used to have a whole apartment to himself and he needed long in the bathroom to wake up properly. After more than half an hour, he opened the door again, flinching when he looked straight into his step-brother's annoyed face. "Free now."
"About time." Die didn't even bother to sound friendly, and pushed his way into the bathroom to take a quick shower and brush his teeth.
He didn't know if his mother now assumed the whole family would have breakfast together, since earlier he had often eaten with his mom. He didn’t happen to have any luck, since she didn't break that habit. When Kaoru came downstairs, she awaited him already with a wide smile. "Kaoru, dear. Come here and have breakfast. Your father has already left for work, but we can eat together." She got up and patted his shoulder, gently guiding him to a chair and forcing him to sit down. Somehow, he had to admit that she really seemed nice; so nice that it made him want to throw up.
After some time Die appeared in the kitchen as well, his hair slightly wet still since he hadn't dried it thoroughly. Otherwise, he was fully dressed and ready as soon as he'd eaten. After giving his mom a good morning and a smile he greeted Kaoru with an annoyed glance, before plopping down on one chair beside the table.
"Darling, you don't want to leave with wet hair, do you? You'll catch a cold." His mother sounded worried and lovingly patted his cheek. The gesture made Kaoru chuckle, but he bit his lip and quickly munched his cereals.
"It's not that cold yet. It'll dry." The redhead frowned at his so called brother's reaction, but just took some cereal and tried to distract himself, hoping he could manage to act casual enough. He frowned again as he noticed that Kaoru had taken his mug. Probably an accident, but it was the mug Die always used.
"Something wrong?" Kaoru had noticed the other was staring at him with a dark expression.
"No," Die turned away quickly stuffing some cereals into his mouth.
"Daisuke," his mother sounded admonishing. She had noticed his expression as well and since she was determined to treat Kaoru as she would treat her own son, she felt the urge to interfere. "Be a bit more nice, will you?"
"What did I do now?" The redhead rolled his eyes, as he felt like the victim here. It was that completely strange boy who had stolen his mug. Plus half of his room and half of his life.
"You know what I mean." She sounded like a true mother and gave him another admonishing glance. Kaoru was getting annoyed by this. He didn't need anybody to defend him and since he was finished with eating, he nodded at the woman shortly and said he would gather his things for school. When he was gone, Die's mother turned to face her son again. "Be kind and show him around, will you? And maybe you can introduce him to your friends. Just imagine how it is for him. He has nobody here and it's his last year in school. I want him to enjoy it."
"But mom!" Die looked a bit desperate even. "He doesn't want to see my friends. He's like from a completely different planet! He doesn't even like me." He didn't care he sounded like a spoiled brat right now, but he didn't want to be stuck with the other teenager all the time.
"Dear, he's only insecure. Please do it for me, okay?" She gave him her most genuine smile. "It's only the first day. When you get to know each other better, you'll see that he's a nice boy."
"I doubt that." The redhead mumbled, averting his gaze. He gave in with a sigh though. "Okay. I'll take him to school and show him the places. Happy now?"
"Thank you." The woman stood up from her chair and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "It's going to be better. Believe me. Just give it some time."
"I certainly hope so." Die smiled genuinely, before getting up. "But we better get going now. Not to be late."
Kaoru didn't seem to care if Die showed him around or not, yet, he generously followed him to school and even listened to his explanations. When the bell rang, they decided to meet again during lunchbreak and finally parted. To Kaoru, it was relieving that he was on his own finally. The introduction to his new class passed him by almost unnoticed as there wasn't anybody of interest amongst his new classmates.
Die was a bit distracted throughout the day, since somehow it still affected him to have his new brother around him all the time when they were at home. When the lunchbreak came, he even introduced Kaoru to his friends, but the other didn't seem to be interested in the least. And afterwards most of his friends just shrugged and said that Kaoru wasn't really nice, although a few thought he was somehow cool.
Some people at school thought that Kaoru was cool simply because he came from Tokyo and dared to smoke secretly behind the gym during the breaks. Die's friends were of no interest for him; although somehow he pitied his new brother since he had seen this type of guys. They were hanging around with him as long as he was popular, as long as he attracted girls and had this certain aura of a rock star. But if he ever really needed a true friend, they would turn their backs on him and be gone in no time.
The day passed by quickly, although it was somehow embarrassing to drag the other boy around if one asked Die. He simply didn't want to introduce everyone to him. And in his case it was practically everyone, since he knew everyone and all wanted to know who this new guy was. So Die was somewhat tired once the day was over and they finally dragged their bones back home.
Luckily, Kaoru managed to make Die leave him alone at school the next days. He had actually been quite polite, had told him that it was nice how he had introduced him to everybody and everything, but that it wasn't needed anymore. It was weird how some people, especially the giggly kind of teenage schoolgirls, were attracted to him like moths to a flame. He was aware that it was only because he was somehow strange and an outsider. Girls had a certain thing for the quiet cool and it annoyed Kaoru really. He didn't want to date any girl, especially not anyone from this school.
Die noticed that his new brother was getting popular in some way, and he couldn't help but to be even a bit envious. But he was one of the most popular guys at school still, and didn't bother that much. Things weren't getting easier at home though. His mother seemed to be overly happy, but that happiness didn't devolve onto him. He was simply annoyed that he had to still share his room and got no privacy at all.
The lack of privacy became one of the biggest problems slowly. After all, they both were teenage boys and even if they never brought anybody home, there were moments when either of them would've given anything for a few minutes alone. Fearing that his step-brother would freak out, Kaoru first didn't dare to take out one of his male porn magazines. He was only waiting till the house was empty, his dad at work, his step-mother out to buy some groceries and Die meeting some friends to take one of them and have some quality time with himself.
It became more and more frustrating as he wasn't used to this kind of restrictions. Back in Tokyo, he had had his own room which his father had never entered without knocking first. Here, Die's mom just barged in whenever she felt like it and it caused him to be on guard all the time when she was home.
Inwardly, he asked himself about Die's sexual orientation. He had never found any porn amongst his stuff, hadn't seen him date a girl or so. But then, he didn't spend that much time with him to even notice things like that either. If one had asked Die, he would've said he's completely straight. He'd never had any attractions towards men or anything, he'd had girlfriends and all the porn magazines he had consisted of women. He hadn't really even thought about it though, since it was kind of obvious to him.
The whole situation was as hard for him as for the other, but for different reasons though. The thing that bothered him the most was the lack of privacy in his own room. Although he was used to his mother just running in whenever she felt like it, he still had had some alone moments always. And he wasn't used to share, as he'd always been the only child, pampered by his mother. So having a brother whom his mother tried to treat equal was really weird for him. He got along with his stepfather though, but he practically never even saw the man other than when the family had dinner together.
Another thing that bothered Kaoru and that literally drove him insane was, that his new brother was a messy. He just left his things lying on the floor where he dropped them and it could take days before he picked them up and stored them where they belonged, if he did that at all. One day, Die was out with his friends, Kaoru snapped and just grabbed all of Die's clothes, schoolbooks and whatever he found lying around and threw it on his bed.
As Die came back home, he wasn't really pleased with what he found in their room. All his belongings were just in a big heap on the bed, some pages even torn off the books. He was furious, literally, but didn't dare to just go and yell at the other teen as he was sure he wouldn't be able to control himself and would just punch him or even worse, which his mother surely wouldn't approve.
Kaoru just came from the bathroom when he saw that Die had returned home. Without dropping a comment, he sat down on his bed and took a manga to read. He knew that the other was probably fuming, but didn't care. In his opinion, he had deserved it.
The redhead went into the living room, just kicking the walls in passing by to relieve some tension. He had been patient in his own opinion, and now the other tried his best to make him go insane. It just wasn't fair!
The older one remained lying on his bed. He was an organized, tidy person, quite the opposite of his room-mate. He could deal with a certain amount of dirt and mess, but what Die created every day was simply too much. Now he would have to tidy if he wanted to sleep in his bed that night.
Only in the evening Die came back to the room, and wordlessly piled the stuff from his bed on the floor. He didn't say a word to the other, not even the normal 'good night' they had usually exchanged out of old habits.
When the redhead just turned his back on him, Kaoru said simply. "I hope you're going to store that away properly tomorrow or I will put it back on your bed."
"Just try it." Was the only answer the redhead offered.
Not really sure what he had meant, Kaoru hushed, turned around and tried to sleep.
The next day, Die didn't clean up and when he came back home from the movies, he again found all his stuff piled on his bed. And again he piled it back on the floor, not intending on giving in and storing the things away properly. It was a fight of wills if someone asked him. This went on for a couple of days until Kaoru had it and stuffed the things into blue garbage bags and hid them in the garage. He didn't dare to throw them away, but wanted Die to believe he did.
That was the day when Die snapped finally. He was in their room as Kaoru walked in, and the older boy was instantly greeted with a punch on his jaw, as the redhead was truly furious. "What the fuck did you do to them!?"
Kaoru stumbled a few steps backwards, pressing his hand against his chin. Yet, he didn't fight back and only shrugged grinning. "Threw it away." His voice was trembling a bit due to the pain, but he still managed to get the words out quite casual.
"You bastard." The words were only hissed through clenched teeth, and the younger one wasn't really able to control himself anymore. He took a quick step forward, only to hit the other again forcefully.
"Fucking asshole." The familiar taste of iron filled Kaoru's mouth and he had to swallow the blood before he could get the words out. This time, he hit back and first rammed his knee into the other's stomach, then punched him on the nose.
The hits were answered immediately as the younger man got a bit in control of himself again, and he practically tackled the other to the floor. Neither of them was really stronger than the other, and they were just frantically trying to hit their opponent more than they got themselves.
Alarmed by the noise, Mrs Niikura came upstairs only to find the two boys wrestling on the floor, their faces already bruised. "Cut it out! What's going on here?" She grabbed Die by the collar of his shirt and tugged forcefully, trying to separate them. It wasn't that easy though, with two frantic teenagers trying to just kick and punch each other as much as they could.
"Shuji!" Die's mother called for her husband who had gotten home only a few minutes ago. He instantly came to see why she sounded so hysterical and finally separated the two. "What's going on here? Why are you trying to kill each other?" He glared at his son, not used to situations like this.
"He threw away my books, some of my clothes and other stuff." Die cast a furious glance at the other boy. He had to wipe the corner of his mouth though, as a bit of blood was dripping from his lip. He tried to calm down, but it was difficult and he would've just wanted to attack the other again.
"It's his own fault. I asked him continuously to tidy. I just can't live with such a friggin' dirty pig." Kaoru was wheezing, completely out of breath. One of his eyes was swollen and slowly turned purple.
"They were beside my bed, on my side of the room." The redhead didn't calm down one bit, his voice clearly showing the degree of his annoyance. "Which in fact is my room."
"Fuck you. I didn't ask for half of your fucking room!" Kaoru yelled and his father had to use all his strength to hold him back from attacking the other again.
"Kids, calm down." Mrs Niikura interfered. "Kaoru, did you really throw away his stuff?" Her eyes were piercing the pink-haired and he had to avert his gaze. "No. The fucking stuff's in the garage," he mumbled.
"You fucking bastard." Die locked his gaze on his brother's eyes, his eyes flaming with anger. Even the relief that his belongings were safe didn't calm him down now.
"So Die, now apologize for what you said and what you did. I want you both to apologize." The woman's voice didn't allow any contradiction, yet neither of the boys was moving.
Mr Niikura usually didn't want to interfere with anything that had anything to do with raising children, but now he furrowed his eyebrows seriously. "You heard what your mother said. Both of you."
"She's not my mother," Kaoru hissed, glaring at the redhead, "and he's not my fucking brother. This is not my home and I don't want to fucking be here." Mrs Niikura sighed audibly. "Could you please cut the swearing. C'mon boys, you will both be grounded if you don't apologize."
"I won't apologize to that shithead!" The younger boy raised his voice again, his cheeks flushing again from anger. Mr Niikura on his side threw a warning glance at his son. "She is your mother now. And watch how you talk to her. And apologize, young man. Now."
"I will apologize to her." Kaoru didn't sound very apologizing though, but he turned to the woman and said. "I'm sorry for my tone, but you still aren't my mother." Her features were petrified, but still she tried to smile. "It's okay. But you two need to get along."
"No." Kaoru shook his head. "I won't apologize to this bastard. Never."
"Kaoru!" His father tried to sound as strict as possible. As his mother looked at him questioningly Die shook his head again, almost frantically. "I won't apologize."
"Okay, you both will be grounded. You won't leave the house for the next two weeks except for school. No sports, Die, no cinema, no meeting friends. You two will now fetch Die's belongings and tidy the room." The woman looked dead serious. "And one more sound from either of you and you won't be allowed to watch TV and get no pocket money for the next month."
As their parents let go of them the boys didn't try to kill each other any longer. Silently they left to fetch the things, Kaoru showing the way and Die following a bit behind. They did as they had been told, but inside the anger was still burning, and the younger man even plotted revenge at one point.
Neither of them said a word and since they had been confined to their room without dinner, Kaoru crawled into bed right after they had stored away Die's things. His bruises were aching, but what was even worse was his hurt pride. First, he hadn't won against the redhead and then his father had made no move to stand by him, had shown no sign of understanding. He certainly wouldn't back off now and play happy family just to make them happy.
Never had Die been more bitter about having to share his room but now. And he tried his best to ignore the other, concentrating rather on the aching of his body. The next day at school was hell too, as all his friends asked him what had happened, and he really didn't want to explain everything. He just said they'd fought and shrugged it off. Since Kaoru didn't tell anybody either why he had a swollen purple eye, they all assumed that they had either fought with each other or together against somebody else. Rumors were going around in school, saying that Kaoru had been part of a fearsome gang in Tokyo and had now introduced his brother the members.
The two weeks they had to spend at home didn't seem to end, time walking slowly like a snail. And even when it was over, Kaoru couldn't really be happy about it. For some strange reason, he even enjoyed the way how the other hated him since this was at least some kind of attendance, more than he usually got from his father.
Besides, it hadn't passed him by that his brother was indeed quite attractive in his opinion. It had struck him once when Die had come from taking a shower, a towel around his hips, his long red hair still dripping, waterdrops running down the milky skin of his back and over his hard chest. It had caused him to giggle at the thoughts that were running through his mind. From that day on, he made sure to take closer looks at the redhead whenever he was given the opportunity. Maybe he could try to seduce him, just for the fun of it?
Die was completely unaware of the change in how the other looked at him. Sometimes he noticed the long glances he got from the other, but he shrugged them off as his imagination and nothing more. The situation had calmed down somewhat, and he didn't even hate his step brother anymore, although they weren't exactly friends either. But they got along, and even spoke a few words to each other when necessary.
Die's mother was happy about that the boys didn't seem to just hate each other's guts anymore, and even if they did they covered it well. The peace was just too precious for her and she wanted everyone to get along. Just when everything had calmed down, Die's mother gathered them in the living-room. She held her husband's hand and smiled as widely as possible. "Your father and I," Kaoru still hated how she made it sound as if his father was also Die's, "have something to tell you."
She paused meaningfully and nodded as if she had already given away something of her secret. "I am pregnant. You will get another sibling." The news struck Kaoru like a fist in his stomach and he gasped. So soon he would have to fight two siblings instead of one?
"What?" Die's voice was silent, and his eyes wide. His thoughts were flying fast though, as he couldn't believe this. Another sibling? No way! It would complicate things even more. Mr Niikura only smiled at the question, repeating calmly. "You'll get another sister or brother. Our family is growing."
"I won't share the room with another child," Kaoru mumbled under his breath. He cast a sideway glance at his step-brother and noticed with some contentment that he was even more shocked than he himself. "We've been waiting with the news until it was sure that it's safe. But yes, our family's growing." The woman seemed overly happy and hugged her husband tightly. Slowly, Kaoru forced a smile on his face. "That's just great." With having said that, he turned around and left the room, unable to bear so much happiness at once.
"Congratulations." Die forced a smile on his lips too, but just fled the room almost at the same instant. It was a shock, he couldn't deny it. Even when his mother had gotten married and Kaoru had moved in, Die had shared this special and tighter bond with his mother. But now, a new child? With the new husband. Die knew that he would be left out somewhat from the moment the child would be born. He didn't dare to go to their room since he assumed Kaoru had gone there, and went to the bathroom, sliding to sit on the floor, leaning his back on the wall.
He had forgotten to lock the door though and suddenly, it was opened and his older brother stepped inside. First, Kaoru didn't notice him, but when he switched on the light, he spotted the figure and smiled crookedly down on him. "Grieving?"
"Shut up." Die averted his gaze, somehow ashamed and not wanting to show how much it indeed bothered him.
"Afraid that you won't be mama's darling anymore now, are you?" Although the words were meant to mock the redhead, they somehow sounded even sympathizing since Kaoru had quite a good idea how Die felt now. "She will forget about you. Maybe not right away, but once the child's born, you're only the older son."
"I know." Die rolled his eyes. "Or you mean the middle one. Since she's determined to think of you as the oldest son now."
"They won't give a shit about either of us. I've seen it happen to a friend." Kaoru sighed and slid down to the ground as well, his back against the door. It was the first time, where he felt that he had something in common with the other, that there was something that connected them now; even if it was only the fact that his father and Die's mother got a child together.
"I know it's pathetic, but it feels kinda bad." The redhead confessed before he had the time to think about it twice. In his mind he saw only the situation getting worse and worse.
"It's hard to grow up. Especially for a spoiled mama's boy like you are." For some reason, the words didn't sound as hurting as Kaoru had intended and even his lips were betraying him by forming a smile.
"I told you to shut up." Die smiled as well for some stupid reason. He couldn't help but to like the other at that moment. "I'm not any more spoiled than you are."
"Do you know how to use a washing machine? How to iron? Did you ever wipe the floor or vacuum-clean?" Kaoru asked smirking with an arched eyebrow. "Ever used a stove for more than to boil water for tea?"
"I did." The redhead tried, but couldn't remember at that moment if he even had. Cleaning he had done himself though. "And I've done my fair share of cleaning too. Although I try to avoid it."
"C'mon, you never had to wash your clothes and cook your meals. You mommy's always taken care of that for you."
"Okay, I never washed my clothes or cooked." Die threw his hands up in the air. "Happy now?"
"Yeah." The older one snickered and then laughed whole-heartedly. "So admit it, you're a spoiled brat."
"Okay, maybe a bit." The other laughed as well, shaking his head.
"A gigantic bit." Somehow, the situation was so funny that Kaoru couldn't stop laughing and for the first time, he felt something like compassion for his new brother and for himself.
They both just laughed for a while, until they calmed down somewhat. Die couldn't deny he was feeling better now, a lot better than just a moment ago. And for the first time he felt like he could actually maybe learn to get along with the other properly.
"So, what about going back to our room while it still belongs to us?" The pink-haired boy suggested, stood up and reached out his hand for his brother. "It's cold here on the tiles."
"Okays." Die took the offered hand and heaved himself up. "Maybe we can fight for the room so that the new child will have to stay in the parents' room."
"That will only work in the beginning." Kaoru shook his head and giggled. "Then, your mom will tell you that you have to go to university, you will have to move out to become a grown up and be responsible for yourself."
"Well, that I would do anyways after two years." The younger shrugged. "Not that big of a deal. Only that I need to learn how to cook."
"Well, if your mother wouldn't have another child, she'd still cook you meals and wash your laundry when you're at university. Too bad for you that there's soon another rival." Still snickering, Kaoru opened the door to their room and went to his bed, flopping down on it.
Automatically Die went to his own bed, sitting down there. "Yeah, too bad. But maybe it'll do good to me." Somehow he didn't feel so bothered anymore about the new child, and was smiling at his step brother as well.
Kaoru thought that this moment of openness would be his opportunity to get some information from the other. He still hadn’t dismissed the thought about seducing him, but wanted to know about his sexual experiences so far. So he tilted his head a bit and blinked at the redhead, smirking. "Say, while we are so friendly with each other, what I always wanted to know is; where do you hide your porn?" He knew that this question came out of the blue and was curious about the reaction.
Die's eyes opened in surprise, but soon he laughed. "That the only thing you've wondered?" He stood up and went to the closet, opening the door and lifting the lowest shelf. "Here's a small place to hide things. Even mom doesn't know about it."
"Wow, clever hideout." The older whistled appreciatory. "And I already thought you live life in celibacy and celebrate all this 'true love waits' shit."
The redhead even blushed a bit, but was still smiling. "Nah, it wouldn't be completely normal." He straightened, heading back to his bed.
The word 'normal' made Kaoru flinch. Too often had he heard his father talk about people who didn't live according to the rules of society as 'unnormal' and although he was pretty sure his father at least assumed that his son preferred men, he had never said anything about this matter to him and only dropped comments here and there. He thought that it was enough private talk since he didn't want Die to become curious and ask things in return. So he yawned widely as a cover up and mumbled something about being tired.
Die was tired too, but somehow still really relieved at that moment. He quickly changed to be ready for bed, before slipping under the covers. "Good night." It had been some time since they'd even wished each other good night, but it felt like it'd fit the situation.
"Yeah, good night. Dream of your new little brother or sister." Kaoru giggled and turned around to sleep as well. It had become summer and the air in their room was muggy and hot; especially at his end since the window was too far away for the slight breeze to reach him. However, he had somehow gotten used to it and just slept with a thin sheet which he mostly crumpled under his body, managing to fall asleep rather quickly.
For some reason Die couldn't sleep at once, too many things rushing through his mind. Somehow this day felt like a good day now although the news of the new baby were a shock. Still, he was calmer than he'd thought he'd be. Maybe getting a new sibling wouldn’t be the end of the world after all.
Author:
seinen_no and fonulynRating: PG13 [for this chap]
Pairing: Die and Kaoru
Disclaimer: We own no one, only our dirty imaginations.
Comments:
seinen_no: Well, what to say? I still love this story, because I love the stubborn-ness in both of them and I can understand Die so well. I'd be raging if my mom had presented me a new "brother" I have to share my room with. Enjoy reading this chapter, it's not the last^^
fonulyn: Okay, finally we have the second chapter for you. Sorry that it took so long, but we’ve been through a lot stress lately, with the Christmas coming and everything. And apologies in advance, that it might take a while before we’ll be able to get the next chapter up after this. We’re trying though! And as for the story, I don’t know what to say^^ Other than that please enjoy! :DPreviously happened: Part 1
Chapter 2
When the alarm woke them early the next morning, Kaoru cursed his father even more. Why on earth did they have to move after the holidays had already ended? Not that he would've been eager to spend more time with his new mom and her spoiled redheaded son, but it would've given him the time to get used to the new situation. Without waiting for Die to get up, he quickly rushed to the bathroom.
The redhead forced himself to sit up and rubbed his eyes to wake up properly. From now on, he would hate the mornings, since he wasn't able to just rush to the bathroom when he felt like it, but had to share it with the new brother as well. Trying to be as patient as possible he went to the bathroom though, waiting outside the door for the other to come out.
Kaoru was used to have a whole apartment to himself and he needed long in the bathroom to wake up properly. After more than half an hour, he opened the door again, flinching when he looked straight into his step-brother's annoyed face. "Free now."
"About time." Die didn't even bother to sound friendly, and pushed his way into the bathroom to take a quick shower and brush his teeth.
He didn't know if his mother now assumed the whole family would have breakfast together, since earlier he had often eaten with his mom. He didn’t happen to have any luck, since she didn't break that habit. When Kaoru came downstairs, she awaited him already with a wide smile. "Kaoru, dear. Come here and have breakfast. Your father has already left for work, but we can eat together." She got up and patted his shoulder, gently guiding him to a chair and forcing him to sit down. Somehow, he had to admit that she really seemed nice; so nice that it made him want to throw up.
After some time Die appeared in the kitchen as well, his hair slightly wet still since he hadn't dried it thoroughly. Otherwise, he was fully dressed and ready as soon as he'd eaten. After giving his mom a good morning and a smile he greeted Kaoru with an annoyed glance, before plopping down on one chair beside the table.
"Darling, you don't want to leave with wet hair, do you? You'll catch a cold." His mother sounded worried and lovingly patted his cheek. The gesture made Kaoru chuckle, but he bit his lip and quickly munched his cereals.
"It's not that cold yet. It'll dry." The redhead frowned at his so called brother's reaction, but just took some cereal and tried to distract himself, hoping he could manage to act casual enough. He frowned again as he noticed that Kaoru had taken his mug. Probably an accident, but it was the mug Die always used.
"Something wrong?" Kaoru had noticed the other was staring at him with a dark expression.
"No," Die turned away quickly stuffing some cereals into his mouth.
"Daisuke," his mother sounded admonishing. She had noticed his expression as well and since she was determined to treat Kaoru as she would treat her own son, she felt the urge to interfere. "Be a bit more nice, will you?"
"What did I do now?" The redhead rolled his eyes, as he felt like the victim here. It was that completely strange boy who had stolen his mug. Plus half of his room and half of his life.
"You know what I mean." She sounded like a true mother and gave him another admonishing glance. Kaoru was getting annoyed by this. He didn't need anybody to defend him and since he was finished with eating, he nodded at the woman shortly and said he would gather his things for school. When he was gone, Die's mother turned to face her son again. "Be kind and show him around, will you? And maybe you can introduce him to your friends. Just imagine how it is for him. He has nobody here and it's his last year in school. I want him to enjoy it."
"But mom!" Die looked a bit desperate even. "He doesn't want to see my friends. He's like from a completely different planet! He doesn't even like me." He didn't care he sounded like a spoiled brat right now, but he didn't want to be stuck with the other teenager all the time.
"Dear, he's only insecure. Please do it for me, okay?" She gave him her most genuine smile. "It's only the first day. When you get to know each other better, you'll see that he's a nice boy."
"I doubt that." The redhead mumbled, averting his gaze. He gave in with a sigh though. "Okay. I'll take him to school and show him the places. Happy now?"
"Thank you." The woman stood up from her chair and gave him a kiss on his cheek. "It's going to be better. Believe me. Just give it some time."
"I certainly hope so." Die smiled genuinely, before getting up. "But we better get going now. Not to be late."
Kaoru didn't seem to care if Die showed him around or not, yet, he generously followed him to school and even listened to his explanations. When the bell rang, they decided to meet again during lunchbreak and finally parted. To Kaoru, it was relieving that he was on his own finally. The introduction to his new class passed him by almost unnoticed as there wasn't anybody of interest amongst his new classmates.
Die was a bit distracted throughout the day, since somehow it still affected him to have his new brother around him all the time when they were at home. When the lunchbreak came, he even introduced Kaoru to his friends, but the other didn't seem to be interested in the least. And afterwards most of his friends just shrugged and said that Kaoru wasn't really nice, although a few thought he was somehow cool.
Some people at school thought that Kaoru was cool simply because he came from Tokyo and dared to smoke secretly behind the gym during the breaks. Die's friends were of no interest for him; although somehow he pitied his new brother since he had seen this type of guys. They were hanging around with him as long as he was popular, as long as he attracted girls and had this certain aura of a rock star. But if he ever really needed a true friend, they would turn their backs on him and be gone in no time.
The day passed by quickly, although it was somehow embarrassing to drag the other boy around if one asked Die. He simply didn't want to introduce everyone to him. And in his case it was practically everyone, since he knew everyone and all wanted to know who this new guy was. So Die was somewhat tired once the day was over and they finally dragged their bones back home.
Luckily, Kaoru managed to make Die leave him alone at school the next days. He had actually been quite polite, had told him that it was nice how he had introduced him to everybody and everything, but that it wasn't needed anymore. It was weird how some people, especially the giggly kind of teenage schoolgirls, were attracted to him like moths to a flame. He was aware that it was only because he was somehow strange and an outsider. Girls had a certain thing for the quiet cool and it annoyed Kaoru really. He didn't want to date any girl, especially not anyone from this school.
Die noticed that his new brother was getting popular in some way, and he couldn't help but to be even a bit envious. But he was one of the most popular guys at school still, and didn't bother that much. Things weren't getting easier at home though. His mother seemed to be overly happy, but that happiness didn't devolve onto him. He was simply annoyed that he had to still share his room and got no privacy at all.
The lack of privacy became one of the biggest problems slowly. After all, they both were teenage boys and even if they never brought anybody home, there were moments when either of them would've given anything for a few minutes alone. Fearing that his step-brother would freak out, Kaoru first didn't dare to take out one of his male porn magazines. He was only waiting till the house was empty, his dad at work, his step-mother out to buy some groceries and Die meeting some friends to take one of them and have some quality time with himself.
It became more and more frustrating as he wasn't used to this kind of restrictions. Back in Tokyo, he had had his own room which his father had never entered without knocking first. Here, Die's mom just barged in whenever she felt like it and it caused him to be on guard all the time when she was home.
Inwardly, he asked himself about Die's sexual orientation. He had never found any porn amongst his stuff, hadn't seen him date a girl or so. But then, he didn't spend that much time with him to even notice things like that either. If one had asked Die, he would've said he's completely straight. He'd never had any attractions towards men or anything, he'd had girlfriends and all the porn magazines he had consisted of women. He hadn't really even thought about it though, since it was kind of obvious to him.
The whole situation was as hard for him as for the other, but for different reasons though. The thing that bothered him the most was the lack of privacy in his own room. Although he was used to his mother just running in whenever she felt like it, he still had had some alone moments always. And he wasn't used to share, as he'd always been the only child, pampered by his mother. So having a brother whom his mother tried to treat equal was really weird for him. He got along with his stepfather though, but he practically never even saw the man other than when the family had dinner together.
Another thing that bothered Kaoru and that literally drove him insane was, that his new brother was a messy. He just left his things lying on the floor where he dropped them and it could take days before he picked them up and stored them where they belonged, if he did that at all. One day, Die was out with his friends, Kaoru snapped and just grabbed all of Die's clothes, schoolbooks and whatever he found lying around and threw it on his bed.
As Die came back home, he wasn't really pleased with what he found in their room. All his belongings were just in a big heap on the bed, some pages even torn off the books. He was furious, literally, but didn't dare to just go and yell at the other teen as he was sure he wouldn't be able to control himself and would just punch him or even worse, which his mother surely wouldn't approve.
Kaoru just came from the bathroom when he saw that Die had returned home. Without dropping a comment, he sat down on his bed and took a manga to read. He knew that the other was probably fuming, but didn't care. In his opinion, he had deserved it.
The redhead went into the living room, just kicking the walls in passing by to relieve some tension. He had been patient in his own opinion, and now the other tried his best to make him go insane. It just wasn't fair!
The older one remained lying on his bed. He was an organized, tidy person, quite the opposite of his room-mate. He could deal with a certain amount of dirt and mess, but what Die created every day was simply too much. Now he would have to tidy if he wanted to sleep in his bed that night.
Only in the evening Die came back to the room, and wordlessly piled the stuff from his bed on the floor. He didn't say a word to the other, not even the normal 'good night' they had usually exchanged out of old habits.
When the redhead just turned his back on him, Kaoru said simply. "I hope you're going to store that away properly tomorrow or I will put it back on your bed."
"Just try it." Was the only answer the redhead offered.
Not really sure what he had meant, Kaoru hushed, turned around and tried to sleep.
The next day, Die didn't clean up and when he came back home from the movies, he again found all his stuff piled on his bed. And again he piled it back on the floor, not intending on giving in and storing the things away properly. It was a fight of wills if someone asked him. This went on for a couple of days until Kaoru had it and stuffed the things into blue garbage bags and hid them in the garage. He didn't dare to throw them away, but wanted Die to believe he did.
That was the day when Die snapped finally. He was in their room as Kaoru walked in, and the older boy was instantly greeted with a punch on his jaw, as the redhead was truly furious. "What the fuck did you do to them!?"
Kaoru stumbled a few steps backwards, pressing his hand against his chin. Yet, he didn't fight back and only shrugged grinning. "Threw it away." His voice was trembling a bit due to the pain, but he still managed to get the words out quite casual.
"You bastard." The words were only hissed through clenched teeth, and the younger one wasn't really able to control himself anymore. He took a quick step forward, only to hit the other again forcefully.
"Fucking asshole." The familiar taste of iron filled Kaoru's mouth and he had to swallow the blood before he could get the words out. This time, he hit back and first rammed his knee into the other's stomach, then punched him on the nose.
The hits were answered immediately as the younger man got a bit in control of himself again, and he practically tackled the other to the floor. Neither of them was really stronger than the other, and they were just frantically trying to hit their opponent more than they got themselves.
Alarmed by the noise, Mrs Niikura came upstairs only to find the two boys wrestling on the floor, their faces already bruised. "Cut it out! What's going on here?" She grabbed Die by the collar of his shirt and tugged forcefully, trying to separate them. It wasn't that easy though, with two frantic teenagers trying to just kick and punch each other as much as they could.
"Shuji!" Die's mother called for her husband who had gotten home only a few minutes ago. He instantly came to see why she sounded so hysterical and finally separated the two. "What's going on here? Why are you trying to kill each other?" He glared at his son, not used to situations like this.
"He threw away my books, some of my clothes and other stuff." Die cast a furious glance at the other boy. He had to wipe the corner of his mouth though, as a bit of blood was dripping from his lip. He tried to calm down, but it was difficult and he would've just wanted to attack the other again.
"It's his own fault. I asked him continuously to tidy. I just can't live with such a friggin' dirty pig." Kaoru was wheezing, completely out of breath. One of his eyes was swollen and slowly turned purple.
"They were beside my bed, on my side of the room." The redhead didn't calm down one bit, his voice clearly showing the degree of his annoyance. "Which in fact is my room."
"Fuck you. I didn't ask for half of your fucking room!" Kaoru yelled and his father had to use all his strength to hold him back from attacking the other again.
"Kids, calm down." Mrs Niikura interfered. "Kaoru, did you really throw away his stuff?" Her eyes were piercing the pink-haired and he had to avert his gaze. "No. The fucking stuff's in the garage," he mumbled.
"You fucking bastard." Die locked his gaze on his brother's eyes, his eyes flaming with anger. Even the relief that his belongings were safe didn't calm him down now.
"So Die, now apologize for what you said and what you did. I want you both to apologize." The woman's voice didn't allow any contradiction, yet neither of the boys was moving.
Mr Niikura usually didn't want to interfere with anything that had anything to do with raising children, but now he furrowed his eyebrows seriously. "You heard what your mother said. Both of you."
"She's not my mother," Kaoru hissed, glaring at the redhead, "and he's not my fucking brother. This is not my home and I don't want to fucking be here." Mrs Niikura sighed audibly. "Could you please cut the swearing. C'mon boys, you will both be grounded if you don't apologize."
"I won't apologize to that shithead!" The younger boy raised his voice again, his cheeks flushing again from anger. Mr Niikura on his side threw a warning glance at his son. "She is your mother now. And watch how you talk to her. And apologize, young man. Now."
"I will apologize to her." Kaoru didn't sound very apologizing though, but he turned to the woman and said. "I'm sorry for my tone, but you still aren't my mother." Her features were petrified, but still she tried to smile. "It's okay. But you two need to get along."
"No." Kaoru shook his head. "I won't apologize to this bastard. Never."
"Kaoru!" His father tried to sound as strict as possible. As his mother looked at him questioningly Die shook his head again, almost frantically. "I won't apologize."
"Okay, you both will be grounded. You won't leave the house for the next two weeks except for school. No sports, Die, no cinema, no meeting friends. You two will now fetch Die's belongings and tidy the room." The woman looked dead serious. "And one more sound from either of you and you won't be allowed to watch TV and get no pocket money for the next month."
As their parents let go of them the boys didn't try to kill each other any longer. Silently they left to fetch the things, Kaoru showing the way and Die following a bit behind. They did as they had been told, but inside the anger was still burning, and the younger man even plotted revenge at one point.
Neither of them said a word and since they had been confined to their room without dinner, Kaoru crawled into bed right after they had stored away Die's things. His bruises were aching, but what was even worse was his hurt pride. First, he hadn't won against the redhead and then his father had made no move to stand by him, had shown no sign of understanding. He certainly wouldn't back off now and play happy family just to make them happy.
Never had Die been more bitter about having to share his room but now. And he tried his best to ignore the other, concentrating rather on the aching of his body. The next day at school was hell too, as all his friends asked him what had happened, and he really didn't want to explain everything. He just said they'd fought and shrugged it off. Since Kaoru didn't tell anybody either why he had a swollen purple eye, they all assumed that they had either fought with each other or together against somebody else. Rumors were going around in school, saying that Kaoru had been part of a fearsome gang in Tokyo and had now introduced his brother the members.
The two weeks they had to spend at home didn't seem to end, time walking slowly like a snail. And even when it was over, Kaoru couldn't really be happy about it. For some strange reason, he even enjoyed the way how the other hated him since this was at least some kind of attendance, more than he usually got from his father.
Besides, it hadn't passed him by that his brother was indeed quite attractive in his opinion. It had struck him once when Die had come from taking a shower, a towel around his hips, his long red hair still dripping, waterdrops running down the milky skin of his back and over his hard chest. It had caused him to giggle at the thoughts that were running through his mind. From that day on, he made sure to take closer looks at the redhead whenever he was given the opportunity. Maybe he could try to seduce him, just for the fun of it?
Die was completely unaware of the change in how the other looked at him. Sometimes he noticed the long glances he got from the other, but he shrugged them off as his imagination and nothing more. The situation had calmed down somewhat, and he didn't even hate his step brother anymore, although they weren't exactly friends either. But they got along, and even spoke a few words to each other when necessary.
Die's mother was happy about that the boys didn't seem to just hate each other's guts anymore, and even if they did they covered it well. The peace was just too precious for her and she wanted everyone to get along. Just when everything had calmed down, Die's mother gathered them in the living-room. She held her husband's hand and smiled as widely as possible. "Your father and I," Kaoru still hated how she made it sound as if his father was also Die's, "have something to tell you."
She paused meaningfully and nodded as if she had already given away something of her secret. "I am pregnant. You will get another sibling." The news struck Kaoru like a fist in his stomach and he gasped. So soon he would have to fight two siblings instead of one?
"What?" Die's voice was silent, and his eyes wide. His thoughts were flying fast though, as he couldn't believe this. Another sibling? No way! It would complicate things even more. Mr Niikura only smiled at the question, repeating calmly. "You'll get another sister or brother. Our family is growing."
"I won't share the room with another child," Kaoru mumbled under his breath. He cast a sideway glance at his step-brother and noticed with some contentment that he was even more shocked than he himself. "We've been waiting with the news until it was sure that it's safe. But yes, our family's growing." The woman seemed overly happy and hugged her husband tightly. Slowly, Kaoru forced a smile on his face. "That's just great." With having said that, he turned around and left the room, unable to bear so much happiness at once.
"Congratulations." Die forced a smile on his lips too, but just fled the room almost at the same instant. It was a shock, he couldn't deny it. Even when his mother had gotten married and Kaoru had moved in, Die had shared this special and tighter bond with his mother. But now, a new child? With the new husband. Die knew that he would be left out somewhat from the moment the child would be born. He didn't dare to go to their room since he assumed Kaoru had gone there, and went to the bathroom, sliding to sit on the floor, leaning his back on the wall.
He had forgotten to lock the door though and suddenly, it was opened and his older brother stepped inside. First, Kaoru didn't notice him, but when he switched on the light, he spotted the figure and smiled crookedly down on him. "Grieving?"
"Shut up." Die averted his gaze, somehow ashamed and not wanting to show how much it indeed bothered him.
"Afraid that you won't be mama's darling anymore now, are you?" Although the words were meant to mock the redhead, they somehow sounded even sympathizing since Kaoru had quite a good idea how Die felt now. "She will forget about you. Maybe not right away, but once the child's born, you're only the older son."
"I know." Die rolled his eyes. "Or you mean the middle one. Since she's determined to think of you as the oldest son now."
"They won't give a shit about either of us. I've seen it happen to a friend." Kaoru sighed and slid down to the ground as well, his back against the door. It was the first time, where he felt that he had something in common with the other, that there was something that connected them now; even if it was only the fact that his father and Die's mother got a child together.
"I know it's pathetic, but it feels kinda bad." The redhead confessed before he had the time to think about it twice. In his mind he saw only the situation getting worse and worse.
"It's hard to grow up. Especially for a spoiled mama's boy like you are." For some reason, the words didn't sound as hurting as Kaoru had intended and even his lips were betraying him by forming a smile.
"I told you to shut up." Die smiled as well for some stupid reason. He couldn't help but to like the other at that moment. "I'm not any more spoiled than you are."
"Do you know how to use a washing machine? How to iron? Did you ever wipe the floor or vacuum-clean?" Kaoru asked smirking with an arched eyebrow. "Ever used a stove for more than to boil water for tea?"
"I did." The redhead tried, but couldn't remember at that moment if he even had. Cleaning he had done himself though. "And I've done my fair share of cleaning too. Although I try to avoid it."
"C'mon, you never had to wash your clothes and cook your meals. You mommy's always taken care of that for you."
"Okay, I never washed my clothes or cooked." Die threw his hands up in the air. "Happy now?"
"Yeah." The older one snickered and then laughed whole-heartedly. "So admit it, you're a spoiled brat."
"Okay, maybe a bit." The other laughed as well, shaking his head.
"A gigantic bit." Somehow, the situation was so funny that Kaoru couldn't stop laughing and for the first time, he felt something like compassion for his new brother and for himself.
They both just laughed for a while, until they calmed down somewhat. Die couldn't deny he was feeling better now, a lot better than just a moment ago. And for the first time he felt like he could actually maybe learn to get along with the other properly.
"So, what about going back to our room while it still belongs to us?" The pink-haired boy suggested, stood up and reached out his hand for his brother. "It's cold here on the tiles."
"Okays." Die took the offered hand and heaved himself up. "Maybe we can fight for the room so that the new child will have to stay in the parents' room."
"That will only work in the beginning." Kaoru shook his head and giggled. "Then, your mom will tell you that you have to go to university, you will have to move out to become a grown up and be responsible for yourself."
"Well, that I would do anyways after two years." The younger shrugged. "Not that big of a deal. Only that I need to learn how to cook."
"Well, if your mother wouldn't have another child, she'd still cook you meals and wash your laundry when you're at university. Too bad for you that there's soon another rival." Still snickering, Kaoru opened the door to their room and went to his bed, flopping down on it.
Automatically Die went to his own bed, sitting down there. "Yeah, too bad. But maybe it'll do good to me." Somehow he didn't feel so bothered anymore about the new child, and was smiling at his step brother as well.
Kaoru thought that this moment of openness would be his opportunity to get some information from the other. He still hadn’t dismissed the thought about seducing him, but wanted to know about his sexual experiences so far. So he tilted his head a bit and blinked at the redhead, smirking. "Say, while we are so friendly with each other, what I always wanted to know is; where do you hide your porn?" He knew that this question came out of the blue and was curious about the reaction.
Die's eyes opened in surprise, but soon he laughed. "That the only thing you've wondered?" He stood up and went to the closet, opening the door and lifting the lowest shelf. "Here's a small place to hide things. Even mom doesn't know about it."
"Wow, clever hideout." The older whistled appreciatory. "And I already thought you live life in celibacy and celebrate all this 'true love waits' shit."
The redhead even blushed a bit, but was still smiling. "Nah, it wouldn't be completely normal." He straightened, heading back to his bed.
The word 'normal' made Kaoru flinch. Too often had he heard his father talk about people who didn't live according to the rules of society as 'unnormal' and although he was pretty sure his father at least assumed that his son preferred men, he had never said anything about this matter to him and only dropped comments here and there. He thought that it was enough private talk since he didn't want Die to become curious and ask things in return. So he yawned widely as a cover up and mumbled something about being tired.
Die was tired too, but somehow still really relieved at that moment. He quickly changed to be ready for bed, before slipping under the covers. "Good night." It had been some time since they'd even wished each other good night, but it felt like it'd fit the situation.
"Yeah, good night. Dream of your new little brother or sister." Kaoru giggled and turned around to sleep as well. It had become summer and the air in their room was muggy and hot; especially at his end since the window was too far away for the slight breeze to reach him. However, he had somehow gotten used to it and just slept with a thin sheet which he mostly crumpled under his body, managing to fall asleep rather quickly.
For some reason Die couldn't sleep at once, too many things rushing through his mind. Somehow this day felt like a good day now although the news of the new baby were a shock. Still, he was calmer than he'd thought he'd be. Maybe getting a new sibling wouldn’t be the end of the world after all.