A/N: My first multi-chapter story. Enjoy!
"Where the hell is Tsu?" Normally, his brother was so punctual, on time, early in fact.
Shizuo and Tsugaru were supposed to eat out for lunch, but Tsugaru was nowhere to be found. He picked up his phone and nearly broke the buttons dialing out of frustration, the other end of the line kept ringing.
Voicemail.
He didn't bother leaving a message, closing his phone instead. Tsugaru wouldn't avoid calls of any kind; something was wrong.
And when something was wrong, that damn flea Izaya was usually the cause. If that man had anything to do with this, he would rip his limbs off one by one. Tsugaru was..
.. Important to him. More important than he would admit right now. It was true that they were related by blood, but he held an attraction for Tsugaru that went beyond family. However, he kept that to himself, positive that it would freak his brother out to know that he wanted much more than a brotherly bond with him.
Which is why he needed to know where Tsugaru was. And now. If anything happened to him..
Crackling made its way to his ears and he realized he was holding his phone way too tight, the cracks splintering from where he held it much too tight out of frustration.
It would do no good to break his one way of Tsugaru being able to reach him. What was it that Tsu told him?
'Deep breaths, Shizuo. Close your eyes and think of something that relaxes you, calms you.'
The memory brought a smile to his lips and was enough to calm him, letting the phone slip back into his pocket. His younger brother always calmed him. All he needed was to imagine his brother talking to him, touching his arm with that same sweet smile on his face. That sweet smile, one full of confidence and adoration for Shizuo. Tsugaru's smile reassured him everyday that he was not a monster. Yeah, his brother made him feel almost human.
Which is why he needed to find out where his brother was, he would not calm down until he found out. No one had better piss him off until Tsugaru was found.
Glancing up, he was near a bar, they often passed a lot of information around. Upon walking in, his ears were assaulted by the most annoying of sounds.
"Ah, Shizu-chan~ You're looking as pissed off as usual. Run out of milk?" A smirk, laced with plenty of sarcasm laid on Izaya's lips.
Eye twitching, fists clenching, anger rising..
"I don't have time for this, damn flea." He attempted to breathe and calm himself, turning to the object of his irritation. If Izaya was lucky, he wouldn't have a large confrontation today.
"Have you heard from my brother Tsugaru? Be honest for once, or I will rip you limb from fucking limb." The faster he got an answer and left, the less property damage he would cause.
"Ohoho. So that's why you are in a mood. Now, why would I ever have anything to do with your brothers disappearance? I think the better question is.. Why do your cheeks get red when you think about him? Could the Monster of Ikebukuro have a thing for his own broth-"
Shizuo grabbed Izaya by the jacket and walked closer to the wall, slamming him against it, effectively cutting him off, temporarily shutting him up.
"I swear to whatever fucking gods there are in this world if you had anything to do in harming my brother, no one will be able to save you." Shizuo hissed, picking the smaller male up by the collar and slammed his back against the wall. "I will kill you. Fucking speak! Where is my brother?!"
Mocking laughter could be heard from Izaya, despite how much pain he must be in.
"Don't you watch the news, Shizu-chan?"
Izaya clicked his tongue, eyes darting to the television behind the pissed off blonde. Keeping one hand tight around the collar of Izaya's shirt, he turned around to the television on the wall. What he saw was.. A wreck. A huge multi-car pile-up. The reporter went on listing the devastation.
No, it can't be. Tsugaru can't be there.
"Turn up the TV. Now!" The bartender, afraid to have his bar destroyed, quickly used the remote to turn up the volume.
"..One man, still inside the wreckage. It was reported that he helped the can driver escape as the car skid on its side before rolling down the hill."
There was a pause in the reporters speaking while she shuffled through papers she just received. Shizuos eyes were fixed on the television, hoping and..for once, praying that man was not Tsugaru.
"This just in. The man in the taxi, his name is Heiwajima, Tsugaru. He appears to still be alive, while police try to figure a way to get him out..-"
With that, Shizuo bolted out the door, nearly ripping it off its hinges, leaving Izaya standing there with a smirk on his face.
"He has such a soft spot for family, especially Tsugaru, for some reason." He stretched his arms, walking out of the bar with only a few bruises on his back. "A close family of monsters~"
Earlier that day, Tsugaru was walking along the sidewalk happily. He would meet up with his brother today for lunch. Each time he got the chance to meet up with his older brother Shizuo, it made him very happy. Seeing him could turn an awful day into the best.
They were brothers. They grew up together. Tsugaru would run to Shizuo's room in the middle of the night after a nightmare, and cuddle in with his big brother Shizu. There were nights he even asked to check for monsters under his bed, teary-eyed and frightened. Shizuo always did whatever he could to make Tsugaru feel safe, whether it was checking for monsters under the bed or defending him in school. He depended on his brother for so much as children, and even now as adults. Though they were grown, he would always need his Nii-san.
Even if it was something so simple as having lunch.
However, looking up at the sky, it looked like it could rain-no, storm any minute. It was looking like taking a taxi was the best thing today. After a few tries, he managed to flag one down, getting a few eyebrow raises from the driver as he stepped in. That is something he was used to, always wearing his yukata and haori wherever he went.
"Where to?"
He smiled and told the driver the address and they drove off. Little did he know that this taxi ride would change his life forever.
Blissfully unaware of what was to come, he sat in the taxi, staring outside as the rain started to fall. Well, it was a good thing he decided to do this after all. The clouds gathered, dark clouds making the previously ear, shining sky nearly black as night. A bad omen.
The slight rain soon became a downpour, and the driver was having trouble seeing ahead of him. They started to drive down the long hill when a string of curses were heard from the driver.
"The fucking breaks won't work!"
What? So this meant the omen was correct..
Distracted by the breaks failing, the frantic driver wasn't paying attention to the road momentarily, driving into the opposite lane. He quickly turned the wheel to avoid oncoming cars, but it was too much on the slick roads. Tsugaru held on to the seat in front of him as the car tipped over, landing on its side. It skid for a few feet until it crashed into a pole, stopping it. For now.
"Get out of here!" Tsugaru yelled to the driver, slowly, carefully crawling into the front passenger seat. Luckily it was the trunk the pole hit. But the doors were jammed tight. Tsugaru had the Heiwajima strength, but normally was against using it unless it was for a better purpose. Like now.
He placed a hand on the drivers side door hinge, grabbed hold of it and pushed with all his might. The door creaked and groaned before finally giving in and falling out, sliding down the slippery hill.
"Be careful." Holding the shaky man by his elbows, he made sure the other stepped out. "Go! Call for an ambula-!"
The taxi now being off-balance, started to teeter. Tsugaru stayed absolutely still, but then, out of no where, a truck rolled down the hill, slamming against the side of the taxi, freeing it from the pole and sending it rolling side over side downhill.
Of course Tsugaru was scared, terrified actually. Essentially, he was being tossed around inside the car, trying to grab onto..something. But the rain made the seats wet, slippery, he was unable to get a hold on it. The car continued to roll, horrifying crunching of metal, brakes from other cars screeching to attempt to stop, and screams of innocent bystanders trying to run from crashing vehicles. He had the Heiwajima blood in him, he could hold onto life longer than normal people, even in this situation. But how much? How many blows to his head, or shards of glass would his body be able to take?
Time did not slow, but it felt like it as he was being tossed around the rolling vehicle like a rag doll.
The car rolled, hit signs, crunched up the sides of the car. And all he could do was pray that this taxi would not become his tomb.
Let fate decide if he would live or not, because he had no control over it.
Sometimes people had flashbacks near death, he's heard. And it is true. You think of your life, the people you've met, and the ones most important to you. Tsugaru thought of all those things, but most of all, his brother Shizuo. The one so many called a monster, a freak, a reason to run away in terror.
"Shizu.. Shizuo.."
No, he was not the monster people talked about. He was a human being who's heart was as big as any other. In private, he showed Tsugaru such gentle sides to himself without even trying or even realizing it.
He loved Shizuo.
The car made one final roll before slamming to the ground, upside down.
He loved Shizuo.
Tsugaru was unable to move, everything hurt, there was glass everywhere, blood.. And while he laid there, droplets of rain leaking through the crushed vehicle onto his unmoving body, he came to a realization.
He was in love with Shizuo.
