Once again, I must credit the amazing Tastewithouttalent. Not as magnificent as Taste's stuff, but I think it'll do
For as many positives there are to being on a the same team since middle school, there are negatives. Harigaya Hisato sat, grimly staring at his captain. Kamoda Kei had done this… thing, before. Their last year of middle school had been awful. The younger Kamoda had exploded frequently because his brother wasn't there. No other rhyme or reason, but he had gone from occasionally throwing a fit and yelling at Yuu to roaring at club members.
He had obviously forgotten, or assumed the idiot would get over needing his brother. It had been funny, the first week that Kei had pitched a fit because Yuu wasn't there for him to lash out at. But then Kei had spent a year sulking over his brother not being there. He still yelled at him, still growled 'Aniki!' when the older boy did something wrong (as, unfortunately, he invariably did) if he showed up.
Now, though, it was truly ridiculous. Kei had an entire club depending on him. And here he was, pacing around as he waited for his brother to show up. The others were sighing as the first year relationer (who was not Yuu, did not understand this team was runner-oriented) tried to calm the captain. Hisato fought a chuckle when Kei jumped at least a third of a meter as his phone buzzed. Assuming it was Yuu calling Kei to tell him he was running late, Hisato and the others turned away, freezing when Kei choked out
"W-what?" Hisato, Aoi, Nobuhiko, Takeshi and Daisuke whirled around at the same time. Chin trembling, Kei said his goodbyes and hung up, staring blankly at the phone. He spoke dazedly to the air, words so impossibly crisp, it took a minute for the import to sink in.
"Aniki was in an accident. His bus… it crashed, he's… unconscious, broken arm, fractured ankle. He was coming to see me… race." Falling to his knees, Kei muttered
"My fault, Aniki, all my fault." Setting his jaw, Takeshi said firmly
"So let's take Yuu-sempai a win." Kei raised gunmetal eyes, identical to his older brothers' to meet the eyes of his team, knowing they didn't know what he was thinking.
Aniki, my Aniki, hurt because I was selfish, wanted to have him here and fuck him when I got home, wanted my name on his lips. Yuu. Yuu, my Yuu. What if he doesn't wake up? What if he dies, or he forgets me, or…
Before Takeshi or anyone else can talk to him again, his phone buzzes with a text from his mother, the person who'd called to inform him that Yuu was in the hospital.
Mother: Doctor said the CT scan came back negative for swelling but that he seems exhausted. He should be awake by this evening.
The iron band around his chest loosens, once, before another text comes through, this one a picture of Yuu flat on his back, face slack with sleep. His arm is in a cast and his ankle is elevated, but he's okay and not in pain. The IV in his opposite hand has a single line, probably for pain killers. That iron band loosens twice more. He gets up, and nods at Takeshi.
Blowing out a breath, Nobu hopes Kei can make it through the race, and the interview in time to visit Yuu. He'll be pissed if he misses visiting hours. His captain overhears him saying that and thinks resignedly
More than you realize.
Unintended a side effect as it was, Kei ended up bringing his teammates to the hospital. He firmly overrides the other third years wishing to visit as a group, insisting
"We're not overwhelming Aniki." While privately considering how to renew his claim on his brother in a way that won't be seen by any of his caretakers. His parents acquiesce to his wishes 'I want to talk to Aniki alone, I did ask him to come down' and he shuts the door to the private room with quiet, uncharacteristic shush. Nodding to himself, Kei notes that Yuu hasn't really changed much physically since he headed to school in Nagano, though doubtless he remains clumsily kind.
Lashes flutter over eyes Kei knows are identical to his own, a sound echoes in that throat he's kissed and held, his eyes traveling to the neck he's bitten and sucked, unmarked now. It's been months, and unless he wants to be an idiot about it, Yuu will remain visibly unmarked awhile later. The possessive beast in his chest roars its' dissatisfaction at that. Jaw clenched, he seats himself on the edge of the bed and takes his brothers' hand.
Yuu wakes up in the safety found beneath Kei's gaze. He pulls in a lungful of air and is surprised to see his brothers' eyes soften even as his hand tightens around his own. A huff, and a weak murmur of
"Kei." Brings an actual smile to the younger males' face, falling when Yuu winced as he shifted. Leaning forward, Kei brushed his lips over Yuu's forehead, breathing a little easier when he relaxed beneath him, pressing a kiss to his lips. Sitting up, Kei eyed the door, kicking off his shoes and climbing in beside his brother instead of calling in the others, or even their parents. Mumbling a feeble protest, Yuu turned into Kei's shoulder, subsiding when Kei turned to bury his face into his chest.
The team enters maybe five minutes later, Yuu and Kei's mother tapping on the door, finding it unlocked and her sons twined together, sleeping contentedly. It is so reminiscent of an old photograph, locked in the depths of the Kamoda home, that she tears up. She's watched her sons drift apart and come back together, and now they've curled up together once more. Though, last time, Yuu had napped with Kei after the latter was bedridden with the flu.
Kei's friends study the unexpected tableau with nothing less than shock. Their captain, slumbering wrapped up with the brother he had constantly yelled at? Knowing that Kei hated discussing his brother, had dismissed his skills, they had expected he missed his normal target, not his actual older brother.
Disquieted, the Mihashi boys file out slowly, somewhat disturbed and disoriented.
Once Yuu is home, ensconced in his bed, Kei breathes a little easier. His mark rests on his brothers' hip, fingerprint bruises that had bloomed like a flower. Yuu himself sleeps easier, knowing now that even battered and bruised, he appeals to Kei.