AN: Hey, everyone. I wanna say a big THANK YOU to those of you who sent me reviews. I can't tell you how much they mean to me. They really inspire me to keep going. It makes me very happy to hear that other people love this story, since writing it means a lot to me. Let's get on with chapter six, shall we?

Chapter 6: Brothers

[Barry]

The day I was hoping would never come had arrived way too fast. I had been so damn nervous all day long. Worst of all was that Rick's time of arrival wasn't certain, so I didn't know if I had ten more minutes or ten more hours of anxious anticipation to endure. Actually, it does get worse, as I still didn't know if the Rick coming home was the one I grew to fear and despise or a new Rick who treated his younger brother like a person and not a punching bag.

Luckily, I had Lucas here with me. His presence alone reduced the amount of tension weighing down on me by about a ton.

I wish that were enough to make my stomach stop hurting so much. Not to mention I was so jumpy that I kept looking out the window to see if he had arrived, especially when I thought I heard someone pull in or a car door slam. I think my parents thought I was excited or something. That works, I guess. I'd rather they believe that than have to explain why I'm dreading his return so much.

I prayed that this ordeal would be over with in a hurry so things can go back to normal. I think I'd rather have to endure the first day of school than this. That proves how bad I feel about this situation.

"Dude! Dude.. calm down. You're gonna give yourself a heart attack if you don't chill!" Lucas informed me as he watched me pace back and forth. He was laying down and glancing at a magazine.

"Errr! I can't chill. I feel like I'm gonna be sick, Lucas. Can you and I just get outta here or something?" I scrunched my face in turmoil. I was about to rip the hair out of my head.

Lucas tossed the magazine aside, hopped off the bed and pulled me into a strong hug.

"Okay, breathe, Barry. Everything's gonna be alright, I promise. Please just relax before you have another panic attack." He said softly, rubbing my back while I tried my best to quit hyperventilating. My heart was pounding so hard, I thought it would explode.

"There's no way I'd let anyone lay a finger on you. I got your back. You don't have anything to be afraid of as long as I'm here, okay?" I held onto Lucas tightly. He always knew the right thing to say and the perfect way to bring me back down to earth.

"You're right." I agreed, "I'm just used to being afraid when he's around, I guess."

"I know, but now you have me on your side and to look out for you. Even if we weren't in a relationship, I would have made sure Rick left you alone if I'd ever known what he's really like." Lucas sounded almost remorseful, like it was all on him to figure this out and stop Rick.

"I hated seeing you so terrified that day. I never want to see you like that. I swear if Rick ever hurts you again, I'll beat the shit out of him." I could hear his voice crack a little. I absolutely do not want Lucas to blame himself for this or to feel as if he's responsible for my safety, but it felt amazing to know he cares about me so much.

"I love you." I hugged him tighter, hoping it would make him feel better. "I want you to know that if our roles were reversed, I would be telling you how much of an ass kicking I'd give to Rick, too." He chuckled in response, lifting the mood a little.

"I don't doubt that for a second." He lifted his head up and looked down into my eyes. "Are you feeling better?"

"Definitely." I smiled. It was a first that anyone has ever made me forget any sort of drama I had with my brother like that. Perfect timing, too, because not a second later did I hear my dad shout from downstairs, "He's here!"

"You're gonna be fine! Remember, I'm right here with you." Lucas assured me once again before lifting my chin up to give me a big kiss before we headed downstairs to face the music.

I wish we could've walked downstairs holding hands and, as corny as it may sound, I wish I could maintain physical contact with Lucas the entire time much like all those other couples do, but that would've made things unnecessarily complicated. That'll be an awkward conversation I'll have another time. Honestly, if we could do that, I know for sure that I would be just fine. Oh well, having Lucas right there and making occasional physical contact of some sort with him under the table was nothing to scoff at.

I barely recognized my own brother as I laid eyes on him for the first time in three years. He seemed to have lost a lot of weight, gained a lot of muscle and he dropped that scowl that I thought was permanently fixed on his face. I figured that could only be a good sign.

"There's my little bro!" He said cheerfully as he noticed me. "C'mere!" I smiled and walked over to him and we shared an awkward hug. Obviously, I wasn't happy to see him, sans scowl or not, but I had to at least fake it a little bit for mom and dad.

"Still causing trouble for the folks?" He asked. This was a side of him I usually only saw when there were other people around.

"You know it!" I laughed uncomfortably and glanced at Lucas who looked extremely guarded.

"Rick, you remember Lucas, don't you?"

Lucas forced a smile as I drew attention to him. So weird to think that would be a genuine smile had I not told him what happened.

"Yeah, of course!" Rick said, holding out a hand for Lucas to shake. "How's it going, man? You keeping an eye on my little bro?"

I scoffed in my head when he said that. As if he gave a shit. Maybe he did, in the sense that if I weren't around, who would he take everything out on?

Lucas reluctantly reached out and shook Rick's hand. "Someone's got to!"

I chuckled nervously at Lucas' icy words. Rick and my parents joined in on the laughter, none the wiser to what Lucas really meant. Thank god.

"Well, good thing you didn't turn out to be a shrimp like him." Rick flashed me a sly grin.

I was never amused by his teasing. I just narrowed my eyes at him.

"Haha. Very funny." I said with sarcasm. I was already tired of the acting.

I glanced at Lucas who looked rather uncomfortable. He wasn't the only one. As irritated as I was, I was still willing to give my brother the benefit of the doubt. He did seem like less of a jackass now.

Things got easier as the night went on. Even dinner went more smoothly than I expected. Much of the conversation was about what Rick was studying and doing in Unova. I really did try to give my undivided attention, but a lot of it was devoted to the cute guy sitting next to me that occasionally rested his hand on my knee. I was off in my own little world, chewing on my burger when Rick shifted his attention towards me.

"So, Barry, you got a girlfriend yet?"

I nearly choked. The irony wasn't lost on me. Even Lucas felt the need to stealthily remove his hand from my thigh.

"Not really, you know, I'm not really into the girls around here." I hoped that sounded as good of an excuse as it did in my head.

Rick seemed to be on the same page, though. "Don't worry, there are wayyy hotter girls in Unova!"

"Now, I don't want you to lure Barry off to Unova just to find a girlfriend!" My mom said jokingly. Oh, mom, you don't have to worry about that.

"Right, there are other things I have to think about than girls!"

"Like school and your future!" My mom chimed in. I wondered if my mom was being serious.

Rick apparently remembers that I'm not the scholarly type. "Ha! Right.. I ain't buying that for a second! Well, at least he isn't some fag who thinks about dudes instead!"

I instinctively clenched my teeth and balled my fists at the mention of that word. In the past, it never bugged me. Now it felt as if someone was dragging a cold knife against my skin when I heard it. Meanwhile, Lucas was shooting Rick a contemptuous glare from across the table that went unnoticed. I shook off the feeling and continued along. Lucas seemed to cool off after a few moments as well.

"Ricky! There's no need to be offensive." My mom scolded him. Rick responded by shrugging and rolling his eyes.

After we finished dinner, Rick, Lucas and I played basketball in the front yard. It's something we always used to do as kids.

Back then, I spent a lot of time with my brother and Lucas, sometimes even Lucas' little sister, Melissa. Rick always treated me a lot nicer when there were other people around. I wish he was like that in reality.

Rick always kicked our asses in anything we played, but he seems to have lost his touch since he left for Unova.

"Come on, Rick! What happened? Are throwing skills one of the first things to diminish in old age?" I teased.

Lucas was genuinely amused and Rick seemed to be a good sport about it. I took the opportunity to just mess with him. Rarely did I get the chance to rub something in his face. Plus, I was still a little annoyed by that "fag" comment. Among tons of other things, of course. I didn't really go beyond the usual comments like, "I could've done better in my sleep!" or "Even an elderly Torterra could move faster than that!"

After a couple games, Lucas sat one out and watched Rick and I duke it out on the court until he decided to go home and take a shower. Soon, I saw my parents walking out the front door.

"Boys, we're going to the store!" My mom yelled to us. "Wanna come with?"

"No, I'm having too much fun teaching Rick how to play basketball!" I joked, Rick gave me a playful glare.

"Alright, we'll be back later. Play nice!"

The car pulled out and they drove off as I scored another basket.

"I am on a roll tonight!" I cheered out loud.

Before I could continue, my celebration was cut short when a strong hand unexpectedly latched onto my wrist and nearly yanked me off my feet in an all too familiar manner.

"OW! What the-!" Suddenly I was pulled up against Rick, whose attitude flipped entirely. He towered over me, his blue eyes drilling down into mine with a terrifying intensity.

"If you EVER make me look like a dumbass like that again, I'll knock your fucking teeth out!" He bellowed in my face, spraying saliva at me with every other word he spoke. I was disgusted, but I was too petrified to do anything about it. Not that I could really move while I was in his iron grip. All I could do was stare up at his beet-red face as he verbally ripped me to shreds.

"GOT IT?" He screamed again and shook me. I nodded profusely.

"Good." His expression loosened before he suddenly shoved me backwards with all of his strength.

I crashed into the pavement and skidded against it, causing me to yelp in pain. I glanced up at Rick as he stood over me.

"Not so tough now, are you? You little shit.." He laughed mockingly at me as I lay on the ground helplessly. He whipped the basketball at the ground, which narrowly missed my head by a few inches. Then he walked back into the house and slammed the door behind him.

I laid there, unable to process a thought or move a muscle.