You face each other. Head on. Silence that can't even be broken by the silent cawing of the birds off in the distance.
Silence.
This is waiting.
You are Bro Strider, and you're facing off against your little brother on the rooftop of your apartment. He's 13, most people would say he's too young for you to be pulling shit like this on him. He's old enough to walk, snark, he's old enough to defend himself. You disregard what most of the world says about your relationship with your brother.
Everything is wrong at some point, might as well get it the fuck over with now.
But, something else is wrong and you aren't all that sure what it is.
You look at Dave. His determination, his stance. His face is nothing but a mask. To anyone else it would have been like a fortress with at least 50 armed guards and then maybe even some cannons and who else knows what, to you it was like a book. He was easy to read. If you could read him, could he read you?
That was a thought for another day. You never let your mind wander, not when there was standing right in front of you.
Sure there were times you couldn't help it but one wrong step and you might fall of the building, you might get cut.
You might even admit how you feel.
That's scary. Who feels things? Weren't emotions just bullshit anyways?
Maybe you could let it slip, maybe. Just maybe.
Probably not now.
How could you ever admit to yourself that you might just love Dave. Yea sure okay you love him like he's your little brother and all but there's something more. Something beneath that.
There's a word for that, it's an emotion.
Something you haven't felt in a long long time.
It's one thing to sleep around, it's another to imagine that it's Dave.
That's just sick. It's not right. Will it ever be? No, probably wouldn't ever be right no matter how you worded it, justified it, made it sound somewhat logical there was no escaping that you were a sick fuck that wanted his little brother.
Damn that wasn't cool at all.
You needed to stop the thought process, anything to take your mind off what was actually going through your head. Your feet shift slightly, and you catch Dave shift in response.
Metal clashes, the sound reverberating through the air. The familliar sound of battle and Strife.
-
Shit, movement, sudden movement. That wasn't every anything good on your end.
He moves like he was trained by ninjas, who were trained by the wind. Silent, deadly and nearly unstoppable.
You are Dave Strider and a rooftop Strife has caught your attention after what feels like hours of silence.
It was always like this. Waiting for the right time to lash out. You watched Bro, you always did, almost like you were studying him?
That's a bit obsessive.
You idolize him, want to be him. Bro Strider is who you have wanted to be since you were old enough to crawl, probably even before than.
It takes only a moment of distraction and your back is to the ground.
Shit.
Shit.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.
When did this happen, when were you slacking off enough for him to get you flat on the ground. Well aren't you just totally fucked mr. Strider.
The definition of the word "fucked" cannot even begin to describe how fucked you are in this moment.
His sword is embedded in the roof next to your head, just barely grazing your cheek as the steel is thrust into the ground.
He was on top of you.
No, literally on top of you. Like the kind of on top of you that involves straddling your hips.
Well this was getting to be a little bit awkward.
Your face heats up, you don't really understand why. You feel a rush, a good rush? It's not like anything you've ever felt before either. It's like
being high but not entirely.
It is so fucking weird.
You take a deep breath, exhaling slowly to try and calm yourself down, but the closeness of Bro to your face, to you in general, is making you lose focus and the feeling comes back.
How the hell are you supposed to handle this anyways?
-
The two of you are close, closer than you've ever been. You can feel Dave's hot breath against your skin and it feels indescribable.
Of course you had to be on a fucking rooftop as a opposed to say, your apartment, on the futon, or even on the floor. Preferbly in a bed.
No, stop, your mind isn't going there right now.
It won't ever go there. Your love for him is simply brotherly. Just brotherly. Nothing more, and nothing less.
Oh, denial, you reek.
You're starting to believe that maybe Dave knows too. He's a smart kid, he can figure shit out, he has before.
You take a deep breath yourself, what are you going to do next anyways? There are so many things that you want to do but you stop yourself. He's young, he wouldn't understand, it might scare him. You don't want to be the shitty bro who did things that people would talk about to the next damn milennium.
You support yourself with one hand on the grond next to his head, the other gripping your sword that's driven near the side of his face. You lean closer to him, pressing your lips lightly to his.
-
What the hell, is this a test? You mind is suddenly reaaling from sensation.
Bro.
Your Bro.
Bro Motherfucking Strider.
Was kissing you.
You aren't sure if this is even processing right.
You don't know what to do either, you are momentarily stunned and all you can do is stare. You're enjoying it, but you wouldn't admit that. Hell you barely admit it to yourself. Feelings are uncool, they hold you back.
They attach you to things.
But that isn't going through your mind. You wouldn't mind being attached to Bro. A human disease called love even.
Do Striders even know what love is?
They damn well better should because what's happening right at this very moment would be considered affection.
He pulls away, and you groan unconciously. You cover your mouth quickly as if that will cover up the simple noise you just made.
Too late little man.
Bro smirks a little.
You have no idea what it's thinking, if it's good, bad. How are you supposed to tell?
The man was a fucking wind ninja or some shit.
You're conflicted. Do you move? Do you kiss back? Do you pretend it never happened or act like it was some kind of test?
There's silence, its only you and Bro on the roof.
Your hands move up to his face, slowly you pull him closer to you and return the kiss.
-
Wow that was a dick more now wasn't it Bro-
It comes to your attention that Dave is kissing you. He's kissing you /back/.
It's sloppy and it's uncoordinated. He really is young, he'll learn in time.
He's warm, and his skin is soft compared to yours. Rough and worn from time and training. Your lips are together and it's almost like you're
both made for each other. You want to pull away but you don't, you stay.
Even if this is wrong something about it feels so right. In just that moment you realize it's a little bit okay to love him.
He pull away from you, even if it feels like you just started. He takes a breath, his cheeks flushed, you're sure behind the shades he's averting his eyes.
You smile, but it looks more like a smirk to him, you're sure of that. You run your hand through his already messy hair a tousle it more.
"Get up squirt." You say to him as you stand up yourself, using the sword as leverage to hoist yourself off of him. You look down and take in the sight of him.
Damn, has he grown.
He pulls himself up off the ground and brushes dirt off his clothes, he's sulking, but trying not to show it.
You'd be a shitty bro if you didn't notice something that simple. He grumbles a bit as he shakes his hair back into place.
Nope, still a mess.
The two of you are probably going to forget the entire thing happened, but you aren't sure if you want to do that.
"Hey Dave."
-
You turn around to face your Bro again, when did you turn away from him anyways?
"Yea, what?" you sound irritable, you don't really know if that's right but you are a bit irritable, you didn't want to stop but you did.
That was a stupid mistake, now everything is going to proceed, business as usual, get your ass beaten, eat, go on your computer, get your ass beaten some more, and repeat cycle the next day.
Great way to go about your life.
You are looking right at him, and you can feel him looking at you. The look isn't intense, but it is to some extent.
Silence.
"Well aren't you going to tell me or are you going to stand around like some idiot waiting for the stop light to turn the right colour." You are still standing there, there's a bit of space between you but he manages to close that gap in seconds.
-
"I love you."
-
Two people on a rooftop, one stunned into silence, the other pushing past the smaller with a smirk.
"Hey, keep up little man or you'll get left behind." Bro smirks and pushes open the door back into the building.
Dave stands there for a moment and touches his lips.
This was a strange day, one he'd probably never forget.
"I love you too."