A/N: After a long hiatus, I'm finally back to writing stuff. I luv the birdy brothers lemme tell u
This is in the shapeshifter AU (where the birds can choose to be in bird form or human form). Quotes from the epilogue might not be 100% accurate. Enjoy!
Warnings: Death mentions, alcohol
For the record, Yuuya had no plans to live after being poisoned by the doctor's scalpel. Leone returning to save him, when he was teetering on the edge of life and dead, was never something he would have expected nor did he feel like it was something he deserved.
He contemplated, as he was pulled up and a needle was pushed into his arm, that living on after this would have its pros and cons.
His brother, his little brother he had sacrificed everything for, thought he was dead. Perhaps he wasn't mourning him like one would normally mourn a brother, but he could hear the genuine sadness and panic in Sakuya's voice as he desperately grabbed Yuuya's jacket.
The only good thing that he could think of in that moment that would justify living would be to see Sakuya again. He just wanted to see his brother again.
"Yuuya!"
In Leone's arms, he couldn't hear what his handler was saying to him as he was being pulled to his feet. Sakuya's anguished cry was playing over and over in his head, like a broken record, blocking out everything around him. He felt a steady hand on his back.
He threw up on the floor and his eyes were burning.
Why was he still alive?
That day in the lab with his brother and the doctor seemed so long ago now. By his calendar, it had been 7 months. He had other things to do once he was back on his feet after the incident. Of course, Leone had given him proper time to heal, but he was still an agent for the Dove Party, no matter if their trust in him was strained now.
Jobs had taken precedence over going to see his brother for those 7 months. Not that he would rather work on a job than see Sakuya, but he didn't know what he would say. What could he say? 'I know you thought I died, but I'm okay now and I want to be apart of your life now that you know my secret'?
How idiotic. He always told himself that on the lonely nights when he finally allowed himself to beat himself up over it. All these years, he was thinking that once he finally got that weight off his chest, whenever that was, he would feel like a new man.
And yet he was here, in a hotel room, on some undeniably important (but at the same time, seemingly useless) mission, drinking so much he would pass out before too long. Anything to stop the voices screaming at him for a little while.
He still remembered Sakuya's number. After typing in the first few numbers on his phone, a new one he had been given after his cover was blown at St. PigeoNation's, he threw it off the side of the bed, hearing it thump on the carpet.
Too much of a security risk. He needed to drink more.
Sakuya's reaction to seeing him again had been what he had expected. Shock, horror, then anger because it seemed as if Yuuya had planned it all along.
The only difference was Yuuya had expected to be hit; Sakuya was known for his violent tantrums and had no qualms with physically assaulting someone in a fit of rage.
But the young aristocrat refrained. He was furious and his fists were clasped so tightly at his sides, Yuuya thought his palms might bleed, but he didn't take a step towards him.
"Madness!"
"Why, if it isn't my darling little brother. Salutations!" Yuuya gave him a sharp-witted smile, his hands in his coat pockets.
"You scum! You villain!" Sakuya now walked toward him, grabbing his coat tightly in his fists and shaking him as hard as he could, "Explain yourself! Why are you still alive?!"
"Why? Well, for starters, I could never bring myself to leave all the ladies sad and alone." Yuuya didn't reach up to try to pry Sakuya's accusing hands from his clothing; at least he was taking his anger out in a way other than punching him.
"How much must you mock me before you'll be satisfied?!" Sakuya was practically screeching at him, mere inches from his face. This closeness allowed Yuuya to notice the tears brimming the younger's eyes.
Neither of the two had much time to register what was happening when a strong hand reached out and plucked Sakuya from Yuuya's jacket, setting him back a few feet. Yuuya looked past the startled aristocrat to the tall blonde man that stood behind him, a cautious hand still on his brother's shoulder.
"Hello again."
"Leone!"
"Truth be told," Yuuya tilted his head towards his handler, "Leone here gave me an antidote. I was loitering around on the border between life and death and he pulled me back up in a miraculous revival."
"But he said he was going to recover your body!"
Sakuya was in tears now. One couldn't tell from the sound of his voice, but two drops had run down the sides of his face, leaving wet streaks in their wake. Yuuya didn't know if he was crying because he was angry or crying because he was relieved. Likely not the latter.
"I don't recall saying I was going to recover his corpse." So it had been Leone's plan all along to save him. Even Yuuya hadn't known that. He supposed it wouldn't be nice to go back to their superiors and tell them he had let one of his agents die.
"Lunacy! Madness! Inconceivable!" Sakuya stumbled away, grasping a nearby table for support. "Give it back!" he rasped, "Give me back the time and mental energy I spent mourning you!"
"You mourned me? I'm flattered." That sounded so careless; Yuuya found it bewildering that Sakuya had mourned his loss at all, much less openly admitted it.
"Gah!" His brother almost sounded like he was in pain, slouched over the table with his fingers wrapped around the edge so hard that his knuckles had gone white. Yuuya took a step towards him, but Leone reached out and grabbed his sleeve only for a moment as a warning.
"We can't stay long, Yuuya. It's time to set out on our next mission." Yuuya could feel the older man's eyes drilling into his back. He couldn't protest and it would end up looking unprofessional even if he did. He always had to keep up the calm and smooth act.
"Roger that. Let's go."
