The shrill ringing of Bro's alarm didn't last for more than a second. His hand flew to the button at once, silencing it. He had been more or less awake already, excited for the day ahead. He smiled as he got up and crept out of his room, down the hall, and into the kitchen. It was his little man's twelfth birthday.
Careful not to wake Dave up to early, Bro started getting ingredients out of the hiding places, evening unearthing an ancient old cook book that he had pinched from a friend when he was young. Inside the book were mostly desserts, but he had a nice recipe for pancakes dog eared. He used it every year. Like every year prior, Bro started from scratch, tossing things into a bow and whisking them up good before ladling it all onto a frying pan. He thought he was doing rather well until the smell of smoke filled the kitchen. He coughed, trying to fan some of it away, but before he knew it the apartment was filled with the harsh blaring of the smoke alarm. Cursing, Bro threw open a window and fanned at the smoke alarm with his cap, looking down the hall to see a sleepy eyed Dave approaching, wearing only an oversized tee shirt, his short cut boxers, and a pair of mix matched socks. Dave looked from Bro, to the lump of smoking carbs stuck to the frying pan and back again, scratching his leg absently. Bro lowered his hat slowly. "Happy birthday," He said smoothly, as if all was well.
Dave looked to the burnt pancake again, tilting his head to the side as he examined it. "Well," He said. "It didn't catch on fire."
"I'll get the hang of it sooner or later."
"It looks a lot better than last years," Dave said honestly.
"Does it, really?" Bro asked, smirking.
Dave turned to him, smirking back. "Not really, no."
There was a moment of silence, a bit of respect for the dead pancake, before they mutually decided to ditch that mess and go to the Japanese place downtown. "Get dressed then, twerp," Bro said, grinning. "You're twelve now, gotta look sharp!"
They went their separate ways to dress and freshen up, and then met back in the hall. Conveniently, the two managed to open their doors and peer into the hall at the same time, finding themselves chest to chest, though Bro was almost humorously taller. Dave looked up, and though he had his shades on already, Bro could still see the smoldering look in the kid's eyes, even though the dark lenses. Convincing himself he was imagining things again, Bro cheerfully tousled Dave's hair and continued towards the door.
Dave followed at his heels as he grabbed the keys and slipped out the door, and soon they were in the car, cruising towards their breakfast. It was a crisp, but not unpleasant December morning. The sky was all clouds, but though he had to zip up his jacket Dave was beaming, full of happiness and energy, just like any other kid would be on their birthday. The only difference was that Bro was the only one who could tell. Outwardly, Dave was straight faced and cool, but Bro could see the subtle hints of glee in his kids posture. Wanting to smile himself, Bro lead Dave into the restaurant and got them seated.
They hardly looked at the menus before ordering a wild variety of sushi's, rice, and veggies. They were regulars at that place, both dine in and take away, and they wasted no time drowning their delightfully raw fish in soy sauce. "You know," Bro was saying through a mouthful. "I read somewhere that in Japan, fish actually live and swim in soy sauce, not water like here."
"Oh shut up," Dave scoffed, popping a hunk of spicy salmon in his mouth.
"No, really," Bro went on, face dead serious. "They breathe it in and everything, that's why sushi tastes better in Japan, kid."
"You are such a dick."
"Have you ever been to Japan?" Bro challenged. "I have. You had better check that attitude, lil man!"
Dave just shook his head and continued eating, but like Bro knew that like he was, Dave was in a phenomenal mood. Sure Dave was only twelve, and that was quite a drop from thirty one, but Bro truly loved just hanging out with his little boy, he loved it more than anything else. Feeling playful, Bro prodded Dave's cheek with his chopsticks. "Hey, punk."
"Yeah?"
"You're twelve, dude," Bro pointed out. "Got any plans? What are we doing, kid?"
This was their yearly routine. Party planning was entirely in Dave's hands. Bro would provide anything, within reason, the kid wanted or needed for his birthday. Dave, as usual, began gushing excitedly, all coolness drained from his person as he chattered on about decorations, nerf gun wars, and music to dance to. Bro nodded, listening attentively, and was interested to hear that this year's party would be co-ed. He didn't know how he felt about that, but really, he should have seen it coming. Dave was growing fast, and he was a good looking kid. Bro knew that all too well, and he was bound to start attracting little girlfriends. That unnerved Bro a bit, but he didn't let it show, instead, he loudly, to Dave's delight, appointed himself DJ for the party.
Dave hugged him excitedly as he paid for their meals, and then they were off, hopping from store to store in the cool December air to collect decorations, food, and whatever else Dave wanted for that evening's festivities. "How about this beauty?" Bro was asking, pointing over at a large, layered ice cream cake. It was round and looked like a record on top. It was supposed to be for a graduation, the irony of which Bro expected Dave to love, but to his surprise, Dave shook his head. "No, we don't need a cake."
"No cake?" Bro asked incredulously. "Dave, you love cake."
"I know that," Dave said, casually shoving his hands in his pockets and looking around the store. "But someone is baking a cake."
"Hmm," Bro hummed, putting his hands into his pockets as well. He was, of course, playing it cool, but he was surprised. Bro always bought Dave an ice cream cake. "Who's baking it?" He asked conversationally, as if asking the date. Secretly, he was dreading the answer. "A girlfriend?"
Dave stopped walking, fixing Bro with a disgusted look, almost offended, as if his own brother had forgotten it was his birthday, or asked him his name. Bro raised a brow. "What?"
"Of course it's not a girlfriend."
"Are you into girls at all, Davey-kins?" Bro asked lightly, though hoping with all his might for a no. "Even a little?"
"No."
"Cooties, eh?"
"No," Dave drawled, leaning back against the wall. "Not even that, I just don't like girls, Bro."
Bro didn't say anything for a moment, he was enjoying a secret celebration in the back of his mind. He cracked a smile, just for Dave. "I don't like girl's either, kid."
Like a flip had been switched, Dave went from cool, collected, and slouching against the wall to up right, on his toes, and grinning widely. As they continued on their way, Dave hung affectionately on Bro's arm. Bro savored the moment, he could feel Dave's cheek pressed against the bare skin of his arm. It reminded him of the days, when Dave was a little shorty, when Dave would cling to Bro's pant leg everywhere they went. It seemed like ages ago, and yet, it all seemed to have happened in the blink of an eye. Dave looked up at him in a way the kid probably though was slick, and discreet. Bro pretended not to notice, but felt a smug satisfaction.
"I'm hungry," Dave said, interrupting his thoughts as they left the shopping center.
Bro checked his watch. They had left the Japanese place about four hours ago. He gave a long, low whistle. "Yikes, have we been out that long?" He asked. "Damn."
Dave blinked at him expectantly.
Bro glanced around, contemplating. If his watch was right, Bro had to not only get home, but get Dave out of the house and distracted ASAP. "Ah," Bro said, snapping his fingers. "Your skateboard is in the trunk, right kid?"
"Yeah."
"And you can ride home from here, right?"
"Totally. Done it loads of times."
"Good," Bro said, pulling over and handing Dave a small wad of cash. "Go hunt down some lunch, some for me too, and bring it back home. I'm gonna start decorating, alright?"
"Sure, Bro."
Dave unloaded, plucking the money from Bro's hands and trotting around back to free his skateboard. With a nod, Dave rolled down the side walk and out of site. Once the kid rounded the corner, Bro sped towards home, jogging up the stairs after a big group of men carrying a huge object obscured by a red tarp. Dave's present. "Hang on, hang on," Bro said as they knocked on the door of his empty apartment. "I'm right here, back up a bit."
He hurriedly unlocked the door and ushered them inside to set the gift down right in the living room. "Careful," Bro was saying. Soon, it was situated comfortably against the wall, all set up and ready for its first use. Bro nodded at each of the men in turn, paid them, and excitedly booted them out of his house. At once he unloaded all the bags full of party stuff, busying himself with not only decorating, but also cleaning.
Their apartment rarely got cleaned. It wasn't dirty, exactly, but it was very cluttered and nothing was quite where it should have been. The kitchen was the hardest, seeing as there were bunches of swords just about everywhere, and burnt pancake still in the pan beside the bowl of batter that was quickly turning a very unappetizing color.
He flash stepped all over the place, putting things into proper places, dumping stuff down the sink drains, and sometimes, burning stuff into ash with open flame. "Hell yes," He was cackling, watching a pile of old take out boxes burn just as Dave walked back into the apartment, skateboard under his arm, and Chinese in his hand. "Enjoying yourself?"
"In case you didn't hear," Said Bro, sweeping the ash off of the stove and into the bin. "Hell yes."
"Whatever," Dave snickered, setting the food on the freshly cleared table. "Now, let's eat, alright?"
"Not yet," Bro said, nodding towards the large, couch sized mount covered by a red tarp.
Dave's eyes got all big and he scurried up to what was obviously his birthday present. "Can I look at it now?"
"Please do," Said Bro.
Eagerly, Dave ripped the tarp from the object and gasped, seeing a gleaming set of brand new turn tables, records already situated, ready to be scratched and played. "Bro you didn't!" He exclaimed, leaping into his brothers arms.
"As DJ," Bro was saying, hugging Dave back. "I'm gonna have to borrow them for the party…"
"Of course!" Dave cried, and seemingly on an impulse, kissed Bro briefly on the lips. He jumped down, blushing, for Bro could register his surprise. "I'm gonna try them out."
Bro watched, blank faced, but attentive as Dave spun tracks like a pro. His heart was being hard in his chest and every breath his took felt tight. His lips tingled where Dave's had touched, but he told himself to calm down, not to sweat it. Dave had always, since he was little, been very affectionate towards Bro. He had only wanted a little birthday kiss, that wasn't too weird, was it? Of course not. Dave had kissed him anyway. He didn't need to feel weird about anything.
When Dave finished, he clapped, pushing the kiss from his mind. He opened his arms when Dave came bounding towards him, receiving the sweetest of hugs. Bro smiled, and then instead of pulling right back, Dave put both arms around Bro's neck. The man's brows raised, his heart rate quickening again. He kept his face neutral, completely emotionless, but he could feel Dave's fingertips toying with his hair, he could smell Dave's soap and the light sweetness of fruity shampoo. He could see red eyes staring up at him, even from beneath two layers of tinted plastic.
When Dave leaned in, Bro, weakened by the boy's touch, closed what remained of the space between them and with a groan of defeat unleashed all of the bottled up passion that had been brewing within him. He cupped Dave's face in both hands and pulled him closer, kissing him harder. He could feel Dave shaking in his arms, fighting, clumsily, to keep up. Bro could tell Dave had never kissed before and knew he should slow down, but still he ached for more. Instead of acting on ache alone, however, he pulled back, looking into Dave's eyes. There was a long pause, their gazes unwavering. Bro lightly traced the shape of Dave's face with his fingertips. "You all right?"
"I-I… I've never kissed before," He stammered.
"I know."
"I don't know how."
Heart beating erratically, Bro gathered Dave in his arms again, tugging him close. "I'll teach you."
And just like that they were kissing again, the action fervent and hungry on both ends, if a little inexperienced on Dave's. Just the same, Dave parted his lips and Bro felt a fresh wave of desire, but before their tongues ever met, there was a sharp, sudden rapping on the front door.