A/N: This takes place in an AU where Akaashi and Kuroo are brothers. Everything else you need to know will eventually be revealed in the story in due time. Its in Akaashi's first person point of view. I currently don't have a beta, so if there's mistakes feel free to point them out. I took a lot of creative liberty for each character's personality and individual turmoils, so bear with me.
I sat in the passenger seat of the car, watching as buildings passed by in a blur. At some point, a sigh escaped my lips for I noticed my mother's glance from the corner of my eye. "Is Onii-san home?" I asked breaking the silence before my mother could ask me what was wrong.
"No, he has club activates today. You were supposed to too, right?" she questioned in return. "Hopefully, you won't get into any trouble for not being there," she mused.
"I'll be fine; I already told them that it would be impossible for me to make it today," I replied casually. Mother laughed heartedly.
"It must be nice being the vice-captain, huh? You get much more leeway," she teased, playfully reaching over to smack my shoulder.
"Yea," I whispered absent mindedly. Her worrisome expression reflected in the mirror and I ignored it. Although her concern was warranted, I didn't want her sympathy. As we continued to drive in silence, I stared at the passing scenery. Pink petals loitered the ground, the vast and tangled branches naked and vulnerable. As the car came up to the driveway, nostalgia washed over me. A soft smile found its way to my lips at the familiarity of my childhood.
"Welcome home, Keiji," Mother smiled placing a kiss on the side of my temple. I exited the car and went around to the back to grab my belongings. When we approached the front door, it suddenly swung open and a dark figured pounced at me.
"Keiji!" Testurou-nii shouted enthusiastically.
"Onii-san," I scoffed placing my things down to hug him back. "It's good to see you again," I chuckled amusingly.
"Oi, no need to be so formal! I'm your big brother after all," he teased letting go of me. "I'm just glad to have you back," he grinned.
"Thanks—"
"Don't just stand there, Tetsu! Help bring his stuff in!" Mother barked.
"Fine!" he shouted back. As he approached the car, he patted me on the shoulder twice. When I entered the house I placed everything down in the entrance hall and looked around. Everything felt so familiar, yet so many things had changed. I wandered into the living area and immediately noticed how much smaller the dining table was compared to the first one we owned.
The living room was rearranged completely different from how I remembered it. Videogame consoles were scattered in front of the TV, the wires and controls tangled into one accumulated mess. On the walls hung dozens of photos of Tetsu-nii and Mother. As I continued to look, I noticed several childhood photos of me hanged as well. Smiling to myself, I grabbed one of the photos. It was taken during winter underneath the kotatsu. Kenma had been cold and curled underneath the table. I followed after him and Tetsu-nii did as well. Kenma's mother thought it was adorable and took photos of us curled up and asleep under the heated table.
As Tetsu-nii and Mother brought in the remainders of my stuff, I returned to the entranced and moved all my thing to my old room. The room was a soft cream white and smelled of fresh laundry. The bed was well made and located in the opposite corner from the doorway. Beside it was a small drawer, used as a makeshift nightstand. Directly across the bed was a desk along the same wall as the door. The drawer was against the wall adjacent to the where I was still standing. Everything was exactly as I remembered, yet so much more vacant. With a soft sigh, I began unpacking, placing everything back to where they belonged. Partial way through it, Tetsu-nii entered my room and collapsed onto my bed.
"Onii-san, I thought you had club activates?" I hummed walking around.
"Stop with the Onii-san. Just because we haven't been living together as brothers, doesn't mean you need to be so formal," he mused. Softly, I shook my head, although I couldn't help but smile at his remark.
"Alright then, Tetsu-nii," I emphasized. "Why aren't you at volleyball practice?" I asked again.
"I wanted to greet you back home," he relied bluntly. "It's not like they need me; Nobuyuki and Yakkun has it all covered," he added.
"How kind of you," I scoffed.
"Oh, please," he muttered sitting up. "I'm always this kind," he grinned cheekily. I smiled back at him and turned away to finish organizing. After rearranging the majority of my stuff, I went to take a bath; Tetsu-nii going into the kitchen to help our mother cook. Washing off efficiently, I submerged myself into the hot water. With a heavy sigh, I looked down at my shaking hands. How unfitting, I thought. For a setter's hand to be uneasy. Covering my eyes with my trembling hands, I leaned backed and took a deep breath. It's not like my life would change, I tried to convinced myself, I was just in another house—my childhood house—no big deal. As I repeatedly tried to calm myself down, sudden screaming brought me back to Earth. Quickly I hurried out of the bath and clothed myself.
"What's all the noise—?" I froze as my eyes met with blond.
"Keiji, save me!" Tetsu-nii hollered, half-jokingly, half-seriously as he ducked behind me.
"Kenma?" I whispered in astonishment, my heart suddenly racing. The blond turned to me in surprise, immediately dropping the cushion in his hand.
"Keiji?" he gasped, eyes fixating on me as if in disbelief.
"You dyed your hair," I noted, trying to figure out how to say hi to my old childhood friend. Swiftly he pulled up his hood and on the drawstring, covering up his hair and face entirely. I blushed, unsure if I had said something offensive or uncalled for. My brother snorted from behind me and I nudged him harshly. "Are you okay?" I asked unsure of what else to say. Kenma nodded. "Are you sure?" I insisted. Slowly, he removed the hood.
"I'm fine," he muttered. "So, what are you doing here?" he asked curiously. Reluctantly, I contemplated on how much was actually worth explaining.
"Keiji-boy is living with us again," Testu-nii replied for me as I hesitated.
"Was this your big surprise?" Kenma sighed looking passed me. Confused, I turned around to the taller male who scratched the back of his head and smirked.
"Pretty much," he chimed. "And sorry for living you behind with Yaku, I wanted to help Keiji settle in before you got here," he added. Without turning to my childhood friend, I could tell he was glaring daggers.
"Well," he finally voiced, causing me to turn to him. "It's good to see you again," he smiled softly.
"You too," I smiled back.
"Why so polite?" Testu-nii whooped. "Come on Kenma, why not give him a hug?" he suggested. I elbowed my brother and turned back to Kenma.
"It's not necessary," I stated. The blond nodded his head as he picked up the scattered cushions and plopped himself down onto the couch, hugging one of the pillows against his chest.
"How long are you staying?" he asked as I took a seat beside him, keeping a sizable space between us.
"Permanently, or at least until I move out on my own accord," I replied. Once again he nodded in response. The two of us sat in awkward silence, Tetsu-nii watching from several feet away. Suddenly, Mother's voice rang as she called us for dinner.
"You too, Kenma! Why don't you go and see if your parents would like to come over?" she hollered. Kenma got to his feet and left the house as Tetsu-nii and I arranged the table. A few moments passed and Kenma returned with his mother—his father still at work.
"Keiji! How are you doing?" she mused giving me a welcoming hug. "Oh my! Just look at you! You grew up to be so handsome," she teased.
"Oh please," Mother laughed. "He ain't handsome; he's just a pretty boy," she snickered.
"Don't be like that! He's man!" she smiled, obviously having funny joking with my mother.
"A beautiful one," she sang. The two women laughed as we all took our seat; Kenma across from me.
"So Keiji, how's school?" Kenma's mother asked.
"Fine, thank you, ma'am," I replied softly.
"No need to be so formal," she chuckled. "I helped raise you too, you know? Just call me Auntie like you use to," she smiled brightly. I smiled back at her.
"Thank you, Auntie," she squealed in delight and patted Kenma on the back.
"You boys are all grown up now," she sighed looking all around the table at the three of us.
"Tell me about it. This one here is going to be in university in less than a year," Mother mused nudging over to Tetsu-nii. As they continued to chat away— Tetsu-nii occasionally chiming in to defend himself—I listened in contentment. Meals with my father were always silent. Neither of us spoke a word to one another; we hardly looked at each other. Yet those meals of absolute silence, were still during the good times. As of the past few weeks, meals were accompanied by a constant stream of lectures and harassment.
"You don't know what the hell you're talking about." "You're only eighteen." You don't know what you want from life yet." "You're disgusting." "You got this from your mother, didn't you? I always knew I was too good for her." "You'll never make it far in life like this." "Don't you want to be happy?" "I gave you everything and this is how you repay me?"
"Keiji?" I looked up at the sound of my name, although it was barely a whisper compared to the commotion beside me. "I'm glad you're here again," Kenma smiled that small genuine, feline-like smile of his. Taken by surprise, I blushed a bit and nodded back to him.
"I'm happy to be here too," I smirked.