Okay this really has taken forever. Sorry. I could go off on a long tangent, blaming classes, Yuki, Yami no Matsuei fics, etc., but it would be mostly lies. Sometimes, my attention span just wanders. Please forgive me and continue to read.

"…I'm sure everything's okay in there." Taka raised his voice slightly to give some warning to the twins before he opened the door, letting their aunt in.

Shun was finishing folding the sheets, though crumpling them might have been a better word. Kai sat on the other side of the room on Taka's bed.

"Hey, Aunt Rennie!" Kai chirped, his smile near impossibly bright. Taka thought he sounded just a bit out of breath.

"Are you okay?" The woman went over to Taka's side of the room and began grilling her nephew on his well-being. Taka stared after her in surprise. Shouldn't Shun be the one she was worried about?  Shun was still trying to fold the last sheet.

"Do you want some help with that?" Taka found himself asking his former roommate. Shun just stared back at him, blankly. Taka took the ball of cloth from the now still hands and opened it back up.

"Oh, thanks." Shun eyed his twin without turning his head. He didn't look at Taka. Feeling a little embarrassed and out of place Taka watched the sheet he was folding. Hadn't Shun already folded it before Kai arrived?

Kai laughed.

Kai laughed and the sheet fell at Taka's feet. He was still holding two corners, but a tangled mess was now hanging from his hands, tapping irregularly against his legs. Shun had turned, stilled, and just stared at his relatives as they talked.

"Shun?" His former roommate jumped.

"Sorry. I just…" Shun's voice trailed off. He shrugged and gathered the sheet. "It's fine. You don't have-"

"Just help me fold it." Taka sighed. This time the two of them were very careful with the sheet, gravely following the ritualistic dance of folding linen. Flip. Slide. Step close. Drop. Grab. Step back. Again.

Step close.

"Thank you." Shun's breath was hot in Taka's face and he couldn't help shuddering.

Step back.

"For what?"

"For everything." Step close. "For being nice."

Step back.

"I'm just a nice guy. It wasn't anything."

Step close. The sheet was folded, a smooth, perfect rectangle. Shun tucked it under his arm.

"It was everything."

Step back.

Lacking in mundane activity to occupy himself, Shun leaned against his old bed and watched the woman and the boy on the other side of the room talking. Taka could merely observe the outside of some family conflict and feel extraneous. He considered leaving, but remembered they were in his room.

"I thought she was coming up here to take you home." Taka indicated Shun's aunt. Shun smiled and continued to regard his brother.

"They haven't seen each other in awhile. Since I moved in with my Aunt Rennie, actually. Kai was always her favorite."

"So why didn't he move in with her?" It was none of his business, Taka knew, but he asked. That he asked surprised him, as did the accusation in his tone.

"Our father wanted his son to live at home. His oldest son." Shun didn't sound upset or jealous. He was simply relating facts. "I don't know if it's usual for twins, but in our family each parent sort of picked one of us. Kai was our father's favorite; I was our mother's. Very appropriate, in a way."

"Why?"

"Because she was crazy, like I am. It's one of the many possibilities I've been given for why I'm me; all the extra time under her influence."

"Oh." Taka couldn't think of anything to say.

"Are you ready to go, then?" Shun's aunt stood by the door, impatient. Kai still sat on Taka's bed.

"Yeah, Aunt Rennie. I'm ready." Shun walked towards the door.

"Hey, Shun." Taka spoke before he had an idea of what he was going to say. Shun froze in place. "Do…uh…do you have an email address or something? I can keep you up on what's going on up here."

"Email? Right, I've got one." Shun scrambled for paper and pencil. "Concerts. I want you to tell me about every concert."

"No problem." Taka smiled. He guessed Shun meant flute concerts, either for music forums or in private with friends. Maybe Kai would let him record some of the music. He had a mike on his computer. Shun handed Taka the paper and left with his aunt.

"Can I…?" Kai started to ask. Taka handed him the paper. Kai pushed up his sleeves and copied the address over partially healed scrapes on his left arm.

So ends the actual story part. There is still an epilogue I'm working on and a short little side story to explain Kai and Shun's family background. I will finish this. Promise.

Remember, more pestering in the form of reviews means I finish faster.