DISCLAIMER: BROTHER'S CONFLICT AND IT'S CHARACTERS DON'T BELONG TO ME, ONLY MY OC.
Emilio Walker was heading to his sons' elementary school to pick them up for the ever-awaited weekend. He rushed around a corner only to run into someone. Unfortunately, both he and the person he ran into tumbled to the ground. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" he apologized he pushed himself up. The man beneath him rolled over with a small wince of pain as Emilio pushed himself up and held out a hand to him. The man took it and his eyes widened in surprise at the ease in which Emilio lifted him from the ground.
"It's alright," he said amiably, "there was no harm done." He was a tall, well-dressed man with short, disheveled blonde hair. His light blue eyes were narrowed as he leaned into me. "I'm sorry but could you perhaps assist me in finding my glasses? I find myself nearly blind without them." Emilio found the white frames instantly on the sidewalk and cleaned them on his shirt before handing them back to the man.
"Here you go, sorry again for running you over. As you can see, I'm in a bit of a rush," Emilio apologized once more.
The blonde man waved him off with a smile, "Apology accepted, just be more careful next time."
Emilio returned the smile before checking his watch. His smile shifted into an expression of alarm as he started to run once more. "It was nice meeting you but I really need to go!" Before the blonde could say anything in return, Emilio was gone.
When Emilio finally arrived at the school he had to stop and catch his breath. A kind teacher around the age of forty whom his boys affectionately called Ms. Nana stepped out of the building and pat his back affectionately. "You just barely made it Emilio. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were getting rusty," she said with a sly smile.
Emilio huffed indignantly at the jest, "Don't even joke about that Ms. Nana. The boys would have my head if they thought I was slacking.."
He straightened up to head inside only to be interrupted by a familiar voice, "It seems that we meet again." Emilio turned to find the man he'd run into earlier.
Emilio let out a nervous chuckle as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment, "At least it's under better conditions."
The man opened his mouth to speak only for Emilio attention to be grasped by three small bundles throwing themselves at him. "Daddy!" The man chuckled as he engulfed his boys in a tight hug as they began to talk all at once to inform him of their day. "One at a time," he lightly scolded.
Abruptly the boys' mouths snapped shut before they looked to each other silently questioning who would go first. Butch, the middle brother, gently nudged the youngest brother, Boomer, causing his eyes to glitter with the childish joy of going first. "Look Dad," he said, holding up a drawing for his father to see. Emilio knelt to his son's level to get a better look at the picture. He made out a picture of two people in a fighting ring with an arrow pointing to one of them that said, "Oto-san." "Ms. Tachibana told us to draw what you do at work," he explained.
"This is really good Boomer," Emilio said as he ruffled the blonde's hair. "This is definitely going up on fridge." Boomer beamed up at his father with unadulterated joy. "Who's next?"
Brick, the eldest brother, spoke up, "We're going on a field trip next week to the zoo. Can we go?"
Emilio put a hand to his chin and feigned deep thought, much to the amusement of Ms. Nana and the blonde stranger. "I don't know…" he teased.
"Please Dad, please!" his boys begged, giving him their infamous puppy dog eyes.
Emilio held his chest in mock pain, "Urk, alright, alright! You can go, but on one condition. I'll be volunteering as a chaperone."
"Yay!" The boys cheered as they engulfed their father in a tight hug. Emilio laughed as he managed to get his arms around them.
"Alright, Butch, I know you were waiting a while to tell me something," Emilio said as he lightly flicked the boy's pony tail that matched his own.
Butch grinned at his father in excitement, "I made a new friend today."
"Oh?" Emilio asked curiously, "What's their name?"
"His name is –"
"UKYO-NII!" Emilio turned his head to find a pink haired boy little older than his sons latch onto the blonde stranger, now dubbed Ukyo.
"Wataru!" Butch said happily as he greeted the boy.
"Is this your new friend, Butch?" Emilio asked as he watched the boy, Wataru turned to face Butch.
"Daddy, this is Wataru Asahina, he's a first grader!" Butch happily introduced.
"Nice to meet you Wataru-kun," Emilio said with a polite bow. However, when he received no response, he looked at the boy in worry. Fortunately, he didn't offend anyone, but instead Wataru was staring up at the man with stars in his eyes.
"You're a really strong boxer, right?!" Wataru exclaimed in excitement.
Emilio couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's energy. "I am not a boxer but I consider myself to be pretty strong," he answered kindly as he ruffled the boy's hair. Wataru laughed and playfully swatted the man's large, calloused hands away.
"Daddy, can we sleep over at Wataru's house?" Boomer shyly asked.
"I'm afraid that isn't up to me," Emilio said as he looked up to a very amused Ukyo.
The boys followed his gaze and turned their pouting puppy looks on him. The blonde laughed in amusement and held up his hands in surrender. "We'll see."
"The boys and I are having a movie night. Wataru-kun is welcomed to join us if that is alright with you," Emilio offered, rising to stand at his full height.
Ukyo nodded in acceptance, "My older brother is the head of the household, so we will have to run it by him first."
Emilio nodded in acceptance before taking his phone out, "Here's my number in case you want to schedule more play dates." With that the two adults exchanged numbers before going on their way.
Emilio didn't get far before he received a text.
Ukyo-san: I just realized that I never caught your name.
Emilio: Where are my manners! My name is Emilio Walker, but you can call me Emilio. Here's my address in case your brother allows Wataru-kun to join us.
Ukyo-san: It was a pleasure to meet you, Emilio-san.
Emilio couldn't help but to smile as he realized that he'd just made a new friend. However, the revelation didn't last long, for his sons were there to pull his attention back to them.
Ukyo was slightly dazed by the agreement he'd made with the American and his sons, this being the first time he'd ever interacted with one of the parents of his youngest brother's friends. This was also the first time that Wataru had ever been invited to a friend's house. After texting Emilio, he quickly called his older brother to discuss the play date.
"Hello?" Masaomi answered on the third ring.
"Masaomi-nii, it's Ukyo. I'm just calling to let you know that Wataru has been invited for a sleepover tonight. I want to know if he has your approval," Ukyo replied, feeling strangely nervous about the entire situation.
"I don't see why not, who's house is he going to?" Masaomi inquired.
"His three new friends, Butch, Brick, and Boomer Walker, and apparently they're triplets," Ukyo readily answered. He could hear his older brother humming in thought on the other side before gasping in realization.
"Is their father's name Emilio?"
Ukyo's brows furrowed in confusion, "Yes, do you know him?"
"His sons are my patients at the hospital. He's a good man and a good father from what I can tell," the eldest Asahina said reassuringly. "Although I'm surprised that you don't know him from television."
Ukyo tilted his head in curiosity as he and Wataru finally reached the Sunrise Residence, "Oh? Is he in the entertainment industry like Futo?" The blonde couldn't help but to wonder if he was in some kind of action show.
Masaomi chuckled at his brother's innocent question, "No, he's a UFC fighter. He's the current Middleweight Champion." That explains why Ukyo never heard of him. The blonde never really had much time for television due to the fact that he was often too tired to watch television when he returned home. "Invite him over, I've been meaning to catch up with him."
"I will, Nii-san. See you when you get home," Ukyo said before hanging up and looking down at a very expectant Wataru with an indulgent smile. "Nii-san says you can spend the night."
"Thank you Ukyo-nii!" Wataru exclaimed as he tackled his brother into a hug before dashing upstairs to his room. Ukyo chuckled, always able to enjoy the salmon haired boy's liveliness. He followed the boy at a more subdued pace, knowing that the child would need help packing.
Emilio had just finished moving his furniture around to allow room for a pillow fort where the couch once rested. The triplets were taking turns in the bathroom so they could settle into their established spots in the fort. Emilio realized early in his time with his sons that they had a preferred color. Butch loved the color green, Brick enjoyed every shade of red, and any form of blue mesmerized Boomer, and as such their wardrobe was colored to their preference. They each came running into the living room with their colorful onesies. Butch was impressive little green monster, Brick made a good impression of Simba, and Boomer tried to roll in like he was Stitch to match his pajamas.
Emilio, getting into the spirit of their weekly ritual, wore his favorite fluffy white bunny hoodie with the matching slipper that the boys bought(with the help of their grandmother) for Father's Day. He grabbed a to-go box of sushi that he'd bought on the way home and moved to place it in front of the fort, but paused when he heard a knock at the door. The boys pouted as they watched the sushi leave them but craned their necks to see who was at the door. Emilio peeked through the peephole to see a familiar bespectacled face, and opened the door with a smile. "Hello Ukyo-san, Wataru-kun," he greeted politely.
"Hello Emilio-san, I've come here to drop off Wataru," Ukyo greeted just as cordially as he handed Wataru's bag over to the fighter.
"Of course," Emilio said, "come on in. We're about to start the movie and the boys are in the pillow fort. I made extra room for you in case your brother allowed you to come. You can go ahead and find a spot."
Wataru thanked the older man before rushing to join his friends who cheered upon his arrival. Emilio noted with amusement that Wataru was wearing a tiger onesie thinking that it was a close enough imoression to Shir Khan. It looked as if he didn't need to tell Wataru about the usual attire. Ukyo was amused as well, seeing the clothes that the other children wore. "Thank you for allowing Wataru to join you tonight," Ukyo said as he followed Emilio to the kitchen where the movie remote was, closing the door behind him.
"It's no problem," Emilio said reassuringly, "I don't mind having him here, it's good to know that my boys are making friends."
"This is the first time Wataru's ever been invited to a friend's house, so I guess this is a good thing for all of them," Ukyo said as he watched Emilio place Wataru's bag on the couch before heading to the kitchen, moving to put the food in front of the boys on the way while he gathered the courage to ask a question that had been on his mind since meeting the man and his children. "I don't mean to be nosey, but are your sons adopted by any chance?" Ukyo felt like he was being a little intrusive.
While the boys were indeed triplets, one wouldn't be able to tell at first glance. Brick had chin length ginger hair and wine red eyes, Butch had long black hair and green eyes, and Boomer had short messy blonde hair and blue eyes. Emilio had tan skin in contrast to the boys' pale skin, thick shoulder length blood red hair, and piercing grey eyes.
To Emilio's credit, he answered without a hint of shame, "Yes, they are. I adopted them while we were still in America." Ukyo merely listened as he watched the man turn on the movie with a soft smile. "It started with me volunteering at the orphanage that they lived in and they were being bullied by some of the older children, and they fought back so fiercely that I couldn't help but be reminded of myself at that age because, believe it or not, I used to be bullied."
Ukyo looked at the American man in genuine shock as he looked at Emilio from head to toe, "I find that infinitely hard to believe."
Emilio chuckled to himself as he reminisced, "I used to be the smallest kid in school and the easiest target. Then my dad started teaching me how to fight at the UFC gym that he worked at. Mom didn't approve of it but it was necessary."
This earned him a look of disapproval from the blonde, "Violence is hardly the answer to stopping a bully."
Emilio returned the look with one of his own, "How else do you stop a bully when they refuse to leave you be after every non-violent attempt to stop them? Should I have just taken their abuse until I broke? There's a difference between mindless violence and self-defense. Recognizing that difference is what's important."
The bespectacled man looked as if he'd been scolded as he began to understand his situation, "I'm sorry. I didn't think of it like that."
The red head took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders as he listened to the children laugh and play inside their fort. He couldn't help but to smile at the thought of his boys being happy. He never truly understood how far the love of a parent went until he became one himself. He realized that he'd do anything just to see his boys happy and healthy. "Masaomi-nii wanted me to invite you over. He says he wants to catch up with you," Ukyo said, bringing the Emilio from his musings.
Ukyo watched as the grey eyes lit with recognition at the name. "I didn't know you were related to Masaomi," the informal use of his brother's name didn't escape Ukyo's attention. "I guess that means he's the brother you were talking about earlier."
The spectacled blonde confirmed his inquiry with a small nod, "Yes, Masaomi is the oldest out of my brothers. I am the second oldest." He watched Emilio move around the kitchen to grab a glass of milk. The man offered to pour him a glass but Ukyo politely declined.
"How many brothers do you have?"
The red head didn't notice the mischievous glint in Ukyo's eyes as he began to drink his beverage. Ukyo watched Emilio's expression with intense focus as he answered, "Including myself, there are thirteen of us."
The reaction was instant, Emilio gasped in shock, causing the milk to go down the wrong hole. He leaned against the kitchen counter to steady himself as he violently coughed, trying to get the milk out of his trachea. Ukyo, concerned for his brother's friend, moved to stand beside him, feeling guilty that he'd caused this. "Didn't see that coming," Emilio croaked as he waved off the children who came to check on them.
When Emilio's violent hacking devolved into the occasional clearing of his throat, Ukyo allowed himself to express his amusement with a light chuckle, "I never get tired of that reaction."
Emilio sent the blonde a glare that bore no heat behind it, "Why are you so cruel to me Ukyo-kun?"
Ukyo's face reddened in embarrassment at the change in suffix. "Ukyo-kun?"
The red head furrowed his brows in confusion as he nodded, "Yeah, you use 'kun' to address your guy friends, right? Did I say it wrong?"
"N-no, I just didn't expect you to address me so familiarly," Ukyo said placatingly as he assuaged his newfound friend's concerns.
Emilio accepted this answer before glancing at the clock on his microwave to see that it was nearly ten-thirty. "It's getting late," he pointed out. "Do you plan on staying with us or will you be heading home?"
Ukyo weighed his options but figured that he should be getting home before Masaomi began to worry. He politely declined the offer to stay and bid farewell to Wataru, before leaving to his car. Emilio bid him farewell with the promise of visiting the Asahina household some time in the future before joining the children in their fort. He smiled when he saw that they'd left him six rolls of sushi. It was nowhere near enough to sustain the red head, but it was the thought that counted.
The boys made room for the big man and, as per usual, Butch crawled onto his father's broad back, as it was his turn to sleep there. Butch folded his arms over Emilio's head and watched the Japanese dubbing of Harry Potter. Wataru watched the interaction with stars in his eyes, filing this away to try with his own brothers. They all continued to watch the people on the screen, enraptured by Harry's trials through the Triwizard Tournament.
By the time the credits started to roll, Emilio noticed that there were light snores echoing through their fort. Like usual, his boys latched onto him, enjoying his body heat, but he noticed that Wataru was tossing and turning, reaching for something that he couldn't see. Emilio reached over Brick to bring the salmon haired boy closer and watched as the boy's troubled expression relaxed when he latched onto the limb.
The next day Emilio woke first among the fort's slumbering inhabitants and carefully slid out from under Butch. He made his way to the bathroom in order to take care of his morning hygiene before he began to cook breakfast. Emilio had started to make the third waffle in the steadily forming stack when he heard the pillow fort crumble around the children within it followed by startled squeals from the rude awakening. He chuckled to himself as he checked on the bacon frying on the stove. "If you want breakfast, then I'd suggest that you brush your teeth and wash your faces," he called out, listening to the sound of small feet rushing for the bathroom.
When the boys finished their morning routine, Emilio had already set the table and placed five mugs full of hot chocolate on the table with the bigger of the five being set by his plate. "Are these…" Brick trailed off in awe.
"They are," Emilio replied with a content smile as he held out his hands to the boys. Wataru hesitantly did the same, placing his small hand into the redhead's bigger one. "It's your turn, Boomer."
The little blonde boy nodded before bowing his hands and closing his eyes, "God is good. God is great. Let us thank him for our plate. Amen." With that everyone dug in, except Wataru who took in the behavior with interest. Hesitantly, he tugged on Emilio's sleeve, gaining the man's attention.
"Excuse me Walker-san. What did we just do?" he asked.
Emilio gave the boy a kind smile, "Oh I'm sorry, Wataru-kun. I keep forgetting that this isn't America. You see, typically Christians say grace before they eat."
"Are you a Christian?" Wataru asked.
Emilio shook his head, "No, I'm not particularly religious. It's just that I grew up saying grace before every meal, and I never stopped."
"Oh… Well in my house, we say 'Itadakimasu' before we eat," Wataru said as he clapped his hands together.
Emilio nodded and copied the gesture, "Itadakimasu." With that the two began to eat, and Wataru was surprised when he tasted chocolate in his waffles.
His face lit up as he threw his hands up in joy, "This is soooooo good!" The pinkette wolfed down his food before holding out his empty plate to Emilio who was in the middle of finishing his second plate. "More please!"
Emilio blinked at the small boy's excitement before chuckling good naturedly, "You have quite the appetite, Wataru-kun."
Wataru nodded vigorously, "Yeah! I want to be big and strong like you Walker-san!"
"Well it takes more than eating to be like me, Wataru-kun," Emilio said as he took picked up his plate and brought it to the sink, his boys dropping their plates in as well.
"What else can I do?" he asked in interest.
"Well, I go to the gym every day to stay strong. If its okay with your brothers then you can come with us when we go tomorrow," Emilio offered.
"REALLY?!" Wataru nearly screamed in joy, making the triplets jump in shock but Emilio finally outright laughed at the boy's open enthusiasm.
"What's wrong Wataru?" Butch asked, as he rushed over from the living room with his brothers trailing after him.
"Your dad says I can go to the gym tomorrow!" he exclaimed as he jumped onto Butch with an excited hug. "Isn't that great?!"
Butch was just as excited as his new friend. This was a source of relief for Emilio because out of all of his children, Butch was the one he held the most concern for. He knew how hard it was for the ravenette to befriend people with his blunt demeanor, but Wataru proved to be good for him. However, a knock at the door interrupted their merriment. "I'll get it," Emilio said as he dried his hands on a dry towel.
When he opened he door, he was met with the sight of Ukyo. The smiled and opened his mouth to greet the red head –
"You're Morphine!"
Emilio blinked in surprise as a tall black haired teen shoved Ukyo aside, looking up at him in awe. "Yes, I am. How may I help you?" he asked hesitantly, sending the blonde a worried look before returning his attention to the excited young man before him.
"M-my name's Asah-h-hina S-s-subaru, sir! It's an honor to meet you!" the teen exclaimed as he bowed at the waist.
Recognizing the surname, he gave the teen a welcoming smile that nearly made him swoon, "Ah, you must be one of Ukyo-kun and Wataru-kun's brother."
The poor boy could only manage a mute nod. Wataru squeezed past Emilio to see his brothers standing in the doorway. "Subaru-nii, why are you making that weird face?"
Subaru seemed to snap out of his stupor before looking down at his brother with an embarrassed expression. He floundered for an answer that didn't make him seem like an overly eager fanboy in front of his idol. Luckily, Wataru's attention switched to Ukyo with renewed excitement. "Ukyo-nii, Walker-san says I can train with him to get really strong!"
Ukyo could only raise a brow at the taller male and Emilio decided to explain, "It's just a little bit of stretching and exercising. My boys and work out together every week."
Ukyo smiled at the man as one of the boys, Boomer came to the door, dragging Wataru's bag with him. "Ru-chan, don't forget your bags!" he cried out.
Emilio took the bag from his son with an appreciative smile, before handing it over to Subaru who stuttered out a thank you. The ravenette inwardly cursed at his inability to properly speak to his idol. Then, he realized that his little brother would be training with said idol and tried to contain his excitement. He couldn't wait to brag to his Yusuke that THE Morphine would be training with their little brother.
"It was nice having you stay with us, Wataru-kun. I hope you'll join us again sometime," Emilio said with a kind smile as Butch and Brick appeared in the doorway to bid their friend goodbye.
Wataru returned the gesture happily and Ukyo felt that he could stand to watch a few of the UFC matches that Subaru had recorded.