Rock Between Us
Rocky Awkward

"It seems like Maru understands him less than I do, yet this is where he decided to stay despite the fact it doesn't seem much better. And it can't be nice having yet another step-parent that he doesn't get along with," Yuichiro thought to himself as he followed Sam up the path. Much to his amusement, Sam struggled with hauling a suitcase up the path to the mountain area, making him glad he'd taken the suitcase with the gifts in them.

And as they headed up, he couldn't help but notice the playground and a building that seemed to no longer be used, which Sam noted was the old community center before they continued up, and then—

"Wow."

The house Sebastian currently lived in was lovely, not to mention the lake and close to the caves he liked exploring, but there was also a nice breeze, making it far more secluded than the family estate surrounded by the local village, which was now a small town. And the country was everywhere.

"Mom built the place," Maru said, her voice snippy.

It was right at the moment that a woman with red hair and a man from whom Yuichiro thought Maru must have inherited her skin color came out, both with worried expressions on their face. A man with silver hair and an eyepatch was with them, but when they saw them coming up the path, they all three froze. And then—

"Yuichiro? What are you doing here?" the woman with red hair said.

"Hi, Aunt Robin. You're as beautiful as I remember," he said, trying to smile despite what was going on. "I hope you don't mind me holding off on giving you your gifts until we find out what's going on with Sebastian?"

Robin didn't answer at first but then swept forward, pulling him into a hug. "Of course, that can wait! Goodness knows it must be a major shock to you, coming for a visit only to find out…" She paused, pulling away and looking him in the eye. "Marlon's looked at the trail, and the trail is blocked."

"So we can't get to Sebastian?" Yuichiro said. "We can't find out if he's alright or not?"

"We're actually on our way up the trail to see if there's a way around the blockage," the man who must be Demetrius said, yet there was the funny feeling in his head that he recognized him as well—a friend of his father's, which felt a bit odd that Sebastian's mother might have married a friend of their mother's. "Care to go with us?"

"Yes, please," Maru said."

"Maru, actually, I'd prefer if you helped Sam get the luggage into the house. And no going through it to be spiteful towards Yuichiro. Got it?"

Yuichiro flinched, surprised at Robin's words, but then Demetrius looked at Maru, sighing. "You've got that look on your face Maru. Don't do anything that will upset your brother if he finds out about it later on. Sam, can I trust you'll keep her out of trouble."

"You mean away from helping," Maru muttered, heading into the house.

Sam sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Not that either of us would be much help, Maru. We're not the outdoorsy type."

"I'm trained in first aide!" Maru said before slamming the door open.

Yuichiro stared. "She doesn't like me. Or Sannon."

"Sannon's with you?"

"She's with Sam's mom. Jodi, I believe. She's not really aware of going on, and to be honest, I'm not looking forward to explaining it to her."

"I can do that when the time comes," Robin said. She turned to the other person. "This is my husband, Demetrius." Which felt odd hearing she was remarried, just like his father was. "And this is Marlon."

"I'd say nice to meet you, but…"

"I know," Demetrius said. "The circumstances aren't ideal."

Yuichiro followed after the three, feeling more at ease around those three, even though he knew Sebastian didn't get along with his step-father. "So, dad tells me that Sebastian does some kind of computer thing?" His words caused a change in the mood, with Demetrius' frown increasing. "Did I say something wrong?"

Demetrius remained silent—everyone did, but then he said, "Sebastian is capable of doing a lot more than he is."

"Demetrius," Robin sighed.

"Your dad says it's some kind of computer thing because that's effectively all we can tell him about what Sebastian is up to," Demetrius said. "It doesn't help that I actually don't understand a good chunk of what he's saying when Sebastian and I talk about it. And saying he can do a lot more than he is—that's probably not the best words to use because I'm sure he's doing some amazing things with whatever he's doing. Only…"

"Only Sebastian talks down about himself," Robin said, "Having a sister like Maru doesn't help, given she's also a genius."

"A genius without Sebastian's baggage," Demetrius said, sighing. "But because of that baggage, he doesn't realize his potential, that he's actually smarter than his sister. Or that I'd like to be able to brag about him for once. But I can't because I don't know what he's doing, and…"

"They argue about everything. Worries about Sebastian making enough money for himself. Worries about Sebastian smoking. Worries…"

"Wait. He's smoking, Aunt Robin?"

"It's a bad habit he's picked up, and I don't like it either. And we barely see him as he barely comes out of his room during the day. He's more of a nighttime person, so…"

"It was a rather stark surprise to find out he was out climbing today," Marlon said.

"Well…" Robin turned to glare at Demetrius. "Someone didn't tell me that Sebastian decided to take that up again, now did he?"

"I didn't say anything because you can be an overprotective mother hen at times, Robin, and he doesn't need that. Particularly when he was…" Demetrius sighed. "It doesn't matter. Well, he was cheerful for once, and we were having a civil conversation."

"So he took climbing up again only recently?" Yuichiro frowned. "What brought on the sudden interested in climbing again?"

"He was looking through some old stuff, then remembered he liked it. Pretty much that," Demetrius. "Though why he was looking through that stuff, I honestly don't know."

"Wait. Then he did manage to get my message? The one about the picture?" Yuichiro felt slightly relieved. "He never responded back."

"Communication isn't Sebastian's strong point. Kind of something you get used to and have to be patient with," Demetrius said, glancing away. "And frustrated with yourself for always getting it wrong and saying the wrong thing."

"I don't think it helped, though, his relationship with my mom," Yuichiro glanced at the ground. "Or any of us."

"Any of us? You were excited at having an older brother if I remember?"

"That was back when you were still traveling with him, I guess." Yuichiro looked up. "And then, suddenly, it didn't feel like he was the older sibling at times, and we just couldn't communicate. I think we also both picked up on how my mother and other family members wish I'd been born the eldest, but then I wouldn't have a brother, would I? Kind of finally realized that, and Sannon wanted her other brother in her life."

"But that's not the only reason you came?" Robin asked.

"I, no. Not that Sannon knows the reason, but the war's close to where we are right now. Which might be the only reason mom agreed to let Sannon come. Though, she might have figured it out. Or I might have let something slip without realizing it."

"Well, here we are," Marlon said.

Yuichiro looked up, feeling as if his heart had dropped to his feet.

"There's no way around it, and we can't clear it?" Robin said.

"No. Only the trains run up that way."

He continued staring, barely listening, or perhaps he was. "I could go over."

"What?"

"I brought my climbing equipment. Because I was kind of hoping…" The truth was, it was the one thing he'd gotten to enjoy with Sebastian, but now—

Now it was the way to get to him literately.