A/N: It's interesting, the ideas that can pop into your head without warning. Enjoy.
When she wakes up, he is there.
Because of course he is. An inevitability, a universal constant. It just makes sense for Yuzuki to open her eyes for what seems like the first time in an eternity to find Kazuki hovering at her bedside. And she can only chastise herself for how stupid she was through this whole affair upon seeing him.
His expression reads concern, worry, and relief. He doesn't look like he's slept a minute since Hanayo fell into her coma.
Tears bud in the corners of her eyes, even as Kazuki's face lights with a smile. Yuzuki is awake now, and everything is alright with the world.
She wears a look of sheer elation, happiness, and chagrin. The kind of look that would not be out of place on someone who got caught doing something incredibly stupid. Which was the case, they suppose in their own rationalizations.
Their eyes meet for brief moments before they both look away, minds racing. She's in love with him, and he's in love with her. But is he really in love with her, or is he in love with the previous occupant of her body? Is she still in love with him after everything that happened? It is a conundrum that neither knows how to answer.
The beeping of the heart monitor is the only sound in the room. They are alone, trapped in their thoughts and stuck with each other. There is nothing to save them, to pull them from this meeting that needs to happen.
It is Kazuki who speaks first. "A-Are you..." He has to know, even if he instinctively knows. He's already fallen for it once before, and will not allow the same mistake.
A slow nod. "Yeah, it's me. I'm home." What else is there to say?
"Welcome back."
Silence descends once again as they both face the issue that neither of them wants to confront, that awkward truth. This time it is Yuzuki who takes the lead after she's had the time to work up her nerve. "Hey, about what happened-"
"It's nothing."
They both flinch. It's not nothing, and it can never be nothing no matter how much they might want to move past it. Yuzuki tormented herself for years, and condemned someone else to live out her love even if it wasn't intentional on her part. That isn't something that can simply be waved away.
No, they can't go back. But there's nothing to say they can't go forward either. It just needs time, and a willingness to do so.
"So where do we go from here. With all 'this'?" Even when said the question still has a heavy weight between them, a solid presence hanging in the air. It defines the two of them now, whether they want it to or not.
Or maybe it doesn't. A hand reaches across to claps the other, a tight hold between the two of them. "I don't know. But we'll figure it out together. That's what we do, right?"
Yes. Regardless of love, history, or public perception, they are siblings. They will find a way. Together.
