Only Human
My brother is snoring.
He doesn't usually snore so loudly, but he did have a very long day. He runs a huge company, and people forget that he's only eighteen years old himself. Or even human. I think even he forgets that he's human, what with the way he pushes himself. And that's why every once in awhile, he ends up crashing like this.
I look over at him, sighing. His body is spread out on the couch in our living room, one arm hanging off the edge, and half of face is smashed into a throw pillow. I can't tell if it's muffling his snores or actually making him louder, but at least he's finally resting. Roland enters the room, glances at my brother, and a slight, knowing smirk crosses his face. He knows it's Kaiba Crash Day. He holds out a file to me, and I put down my game and accept it from him.
"I'll just give this to you," he says quietly, and I smile. "Is there anything else I can do before I leave for the night?"
I shake my head. "No, thanks, Roland. Have a good night."
"You, too," he says with a soft chuckle as my brother grunts and mumbles something about a bridge being built in his sleep. I turn my attention back on Seto and walk over to sit on the floor in front of the couch he's sleeping on, then run my hand through his hair once.
"Tell me about the bridge," I whisper into his ear, causing him to groan a little and turn his head away. After I start laughing, he wakes up and stares at me blearily, like he's not really sure where he is. He looks around for a minute before wiping his mouth on his sleeve and sitting up.
"What time is it?" Seto mumbles tiredly, rubbing his eyes.
"Almost eight," I say, sitting next to him. "You were only asleep for an hour."
He nods, then falls silent. I watch as his eyes start to close again, and I think he's about to sleep again, but then his whole body does this little jerky thing. Suddenly, he's awake again, and moves his attention to the manila folder in my hand.
"What's that…?"
"Oh," I say, handing it to him. "Roland just dropped this off a few minutes ago, it's the file you wanted for Monday."
Seto stifles a yawn and starts flipping through the papers, but I can tell that he isn't really reading them. I gently pull the folder out of his hand and place it on the coffee table, then grab his hand and stand up.
"You actually have time to sleep tonight. Go to bed, Seto."
My brother stares at my hand holding his for a moment, and I know he's just a second away from telling me he can take care of himself; instead, he stands up, squeezing my hand the whole time.
"I'm fine…we're still going for dinner-"
My brother tries to let my hand go, but I keep a firm clamp on him. He looks down at me questioningly, and I shake me head.
"No, it's okay, we don't have to. I can tell you're really tired. Go get some sleep."
He watches me quietly for another moment, and nods. "All right. But tomorrow-"
"Definitely," I smile at him, and cling to his torso for a moment before pulling away. "Good night, Big Brother."
He goes up to bed, and I play video games for a few hours until I start to feel sleepy as well. On my way up to my room, I stop outside Seto's door. He's snoring again, and I laugh to myself as I disappear into my own room. At least he's having a good night for once.