Come on, just do it! I bribed the others away for a reason. I don't have much time, so why am I hesitating!?
Choromatsu berated himself in his head. It was true, he'd bribed his brothers to leave the house for a while so he could have some time to try and convince Ichimatsu that he wasn't that scary. Ever since that day, the tiniest nagging feeling of discomfort bugged the third eldest brother. He wasn't scary… right? No, of course not! He would prove it!
"Hey."
Choromatsu looked up from his magazine, surprised that Ichimatsu spoke first. Although he did speak first that time, too…
"I'm leaving… just so you know."
Why are you telling me this!? Why aren't you just leaving! You're too considerate!
"Oh, wait!" Ichimatsu stopped and turned his head back. Choro suddenly felt under pressure. "Uh, stay. Please. I… I want to talk to you about something."
He could see the sudden anxiety in his brothers eyes, "Tch, can't you talk about it later?"
Choromatsu shook his head, putting his book down, "No, it's really important. Please?" He could see the debate going on in Ichimatsu's head before the slightly younger man turned completely to sit opposite of Choromatsu. Alright! I did it! … now what? "Um, Ichimatsu…?"
"Huh?"
Choromatsu stood, eyes on Ichimatsu. He would chase him down if his brother bolted at this point. The older man stepped around the kotatsu, watching as Ichimatsu's eyes went from puzzled to a frightened confusion. Choro kneeled beside his brother and before Ichimatsu could slide away he wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into an embrace. It was all Choromatsu could think to do. Ichi shivered in his arms for a few moments, clearly taken off guard. The older brother waited for Ichimatsu to relax into his arms before he let him go slowly.
"I don't want you to be afraid of me. I want you to be comfortable talking to me."
Ichimatsu blinked at him a few times before frowning, "That doesn't really matter when you're afraid of me, does it?"
Choro's eyes lowered in thought, "You're right. It doesn't. But I want that to change. I don't want to be scary to you, but for that to happen, I can't be scared of you either." His eyes rose again to meet his brothers gaze, "So I decided to put us in this situation so we had to confront the awkwardness."
Ichi's eyes widened ever so slightly, "That… that's really brave of you." Choromatsu's heart soared at the praise. Ichi looked away, battle with embarrassment evident in his expression, "I… I really enjoyed that hug. You give good hugs."
"I do?" Ichi nodded. Choromatsu sat cross-legged on the floor and opened his arms, "I can give mo-oh!" Ichimatsu barreled into his brother's chest, wrapping his own arms around Choro's torso. They landed on the floor, Ichimatsu on top of Choro. The older wrapped his arms around the younger again, a smile on his face. I did it. We won't be scared by each other anymore. ...I'm glad.