Chapter Title: Punch in the Face
Series Title: Unlikely Brothers
Ages in this chapter: Tanner (15) Dashen (21)
POV: Tanner
Chapter Summary: Some days, all Tanner really wants is to just punch is brother in the face.
Some days I love my brother to death.
Some days I really want to punch my brother in the face.
Today was one the latter.
"Dash! Stop talking!"
He didn't.
"Can't, Mouse. This is ridiculous. I'm actually sitting in the middle of a room, on my butt, eyes closed, trying to empty my mind, think about nothing and my only focus should be on breathing. Do you have any idea how exceptionally boring that is?"
"It's not boring. It's centering. It's relaxing. It soothes the soul."
"It is boring. It is not centering. It is not relaxing. It doesn't soothe a damn thing."
See what I mean? If I didn't have my Jedi foundation, I'd have punched him in the face by now.
"You said you would try it. You said you'd try meditation."
"Ugh! I tried, there. Can't stand it."
"You tried for two minutes. Barely. That's hardly an effort."
"Fine. I take back what I said. I don't want to try anymore. You can have all the meditation to yourself and you'll get no argument from me."
I stared at Dashen. Blinking, frowning. He reached out to ruffle my hair. I shoved a pillow in his face. It was shoved back. And back again. This went on until we ended up on top of each other locked in a tangle of arms, legs and hair. Dashen was tall and lanky, so he'd always win in a wrestling battle. But I was compact and quick and could slither out of tight spots.
Except for when he sat on me.
"Dash, get off me." My futile attempts to push him off failed, even with a big of Force assistance. I could use more ability in that area, but I didn't always have the best control and hurtling him into a wall probably wasn't the best idea.
"Not moving until you admit that meditation crap is boring."
"But it's not. It's..." I huffed out, then sucking in a breath as my ribs creaked under his weight.
"It's boring. Say it. Say it!"
No, I will not punch my brother in the face. I will not punch my brother in the face. I will not punch my brother in the face. My mantra repeated over and over in my head. Not all that sure it was working though because I really really really wanted to punch him in the face.
Only one way out of this.
"Fine." Deflation. "Meditation is boring. There. Happy?"
"Yup." Dashen may be skinny, but he's not a lightweight. I started breathing again when he finally got off of me. "See, Tanner? Wasn't all that bad, was it? And no you cannot punch me in the face."
"How did you..."
"Know you wanted to punch me in the face? Because your cheeks got all red and your eyes got all slanty."
"Slanty is not a word and they did not!"
"You have tell tale signs of certain things, Mouse. You don't see it or know it, but your big brother does. And no, he does not want to be punched in the face or in any other body part."
I sighed and flopped backwards, my arms flailed out to the side and breath expelled.
"It's not boring," I said after an extended thirty seconds of silence.
"It is, but that's okay. It makes you who you are. I'm sure you find my hobbies just as obnoxious."
"You don't have any hobbies, Dash. Well, except sitting on me to get your way."
"Less of a hobby and more of an amusing pastime." He reached a hand down. I took it. "Come on, Mouse. We are different. Very different. No way around that. But that's okay too."
I shrugged. "I guess so. But sometimes, I just wish we had more things to do together. I used to share the things I love with hundreds of others. To an extent at least. We all had so much in common. Meditation. Training. Ideals."
"And that wasn't annoying?"
"Well, not really, maybe, some, a little. I don't know. It was familiar and comfortable."
"And now you have me."
I thought about that. What I had then. What I had now. Completely different. But as with my fellow Jedi in the Temple, Dashen was familiar. Comfortable. Even if at times, I did want to punch him in the face.
"Mouse, I get it. You have your ways and you shared them with your kind. It's what you knew. What you loved. Trust me, I know better than anyone. But variety is a good thing and if from time to time, your big brother feels the need to wrestle you to the ground and sit on you, it's not the worst thing in the galaxy."
"Speak for yourself. You've never sat on you before."
"True. Okay, how about this. One day when we're old and gray and weak and hobbled, and I no longer have the strength to wrestle you and sit on you... you can teach me meditation."
An unintentional smile started creeping along my lips and I couldn't stop it. For all Dashen's annoyances, he knew how to get me.
"Fine, but then I get to sit on you."
"That might be weird, but deal. Now all we have to do is live until we're old and gray."
We moved across the room and towards the door. Unsure where we were going, but we seemed to be doing it unconsciously in unison.
"You'll be old and gray before I will, and maybe then I'll punch you in the face."
"You're not tall enough to punch me in the face. Accept facts, short stuff."
"Uh huh. Sure." The door slid open and I Force-pushed it closed right in my brother's smug face. He face-planted right into it.
Then I pushed the door back open and ran for my life.
"Damn it, Tanner! I said when we were old and gray. You'll pay for that one, jerk!"
"Gotta catch me first, big brother!"
I hustled down the outdoor stairs. He leaped after me. We ended up in a heap at the bottom. Dashen once again assuming the sit-on-your-brother position. Sigh...
"Hey Mouse." Dash said from above.
"Yes." I responded flatly.
"Big brother wins."
"Yeah, yeah. Can you get off me now?"
"Nope."
"Dash!"
Such was my life. Such was life with an annoying big brother. Most of the time, I loved him to death.
Sometimes, I just wanted to punch him in the face.
END
