/Disclaimer: Persona and its characters do not belong to me. I am simply using them for this fic./
Katsuya pulled the covers up over his younger brother's shoulders, a smile coming to his face. Two months had passed since the Other Side Tatsuya had left. Even though This Side Tatsuya had no memories of what had happened, Katsuya could still see the change that had occurred in both Tatsuya's. Even if his brother had not experienced those things, and could not remember the events, he had still grown up from them.
Sometimes on night like this, he could not sleep. He would watch Tatsuya sleep and wonder about the Other Side Tatsuya. Even if technically the two were not the same, that Tatsuya was still his brother. On the other side, only Sumaru had survived. From the things he'd heard the Other Side Tatsuya say, and the look on Other Side Tatsuya's face while saying them, Katsuya knew that the place was not a pleasant place.
Were the others all there? Jun. Lisa. Eikichi? On the Other Side, they were all friends. He had felt from Other Side Tatsuya's reaction towards the fake Jun that there was more between the two than just a normal relationship. It gave him some small bit of comfort that on the other side, that Tatsuya might have someone to confide in.
Thinking about the other side Tatsuya also made him think about himself. Had he survived? Was there anything differently about the Other Side Katsuya? It made him want to meet his other self, though a smarter part of him said that it was best if they never met. Meeting the shadow of himself had been a draining enough experience.
As Tatsuya began to talk in his sleep, he was pulled from his musing, brushing his fingers through his brother's hair. On this side, Tatsuya had no one like Jun, Eikichi, or Lisa to give him comfort, or to confine in. It made him feel sad for his brother. Lately, his brother had been hanging around them, though he doubted they would ever have the same friendship as on the other side.
And then there was Maya. When he thought about her, he felt a pang in his stomach. Was it wrong to be in love with a woman that loved his brother? It was obvious from just looking at the two of them that they felt something for each other. Well, Maya seemed to anyway; Tatsuya seemed to not really care. Or maybe he was just at that age where relationships were still foreign.
All he knew was that if Tatsuya did began to feel for Maya, he would gladly step out of the way. He had already made the promise that he would never hold anything back from Tatsuya, nor would he ever take anything away from him. He was the big brother; it was his duty to take care of his little brother.
" You know, Maya and Ulala will get the wrong idea if they were to catch you staring at him like that" came a deep baritone voice from the doorway.
Katsuya jumped as if guilty, quickly moving away from the bed. Turning around, he frowned as he saw who was standing in the doorway. Baofu, the wire-tapper. His face was slightly redden, feeling like he had been doing something dirty, and just been caught.
" I could not sleep" Katsuya muttered, stepping away from the bed.
" Do you always watch him sleep when you can't?" was Baofu's reply.
The man was irritating him, and Katsuya was angered that his privacy had been invaded. Normally he would have questioned why Baofu was here, though he had learned that Baofu came and went as he pleased. The man was like a bug, able to get into anything and everything.
" Why? Am I keeping you from watching him?" he asked, wondering if he sounded as snappish as he thought he did.
Baofu laughed at this, patting Katsuya on the shoulder, a little too hard in the detective's opinion. " No, but you are keeping me from giving you this."
The little white envelope in Baofu's gloved hand looked suspicious. There was no stamp, or even an address on it. Nor was his address on it. It was like someone had just taken the letter and placed it inside an envelope.
" No thank you. I don't accept love letters," Katsuya said, pushing Baofu aside.
His arm was grabbed, held firmly by Baofu's. Instantly he moved into defense mode, breaking the hold. Baofu was not the only person who could fight. All those years of defense training were beginning to pay off.
Or so he thought, as he quickly found himself on the floor. The envelope was then forced into his hand, wincing as pressure was applied to his wrist before he was let go.
" The letter isn't from me. It's from, an old friend," Baofu said, stepping over his still prone body.
Sitting up, Katsuya just managed to glare at the black haired Chinese man before the man disappeared out of sight and out of the house. Looking down at the envelope in his hands, he opened it, looking at the single piece of paper in it. Which was blank.
" What the hell?"
Suddenly, words began to appear on the paper, and his eyes widened behind his rose-colored glasses.
/ Dear Katsuya,
Having sleepless nights over me isn't going to help anyone. You need to stop worrying about me. I have you on this side already doing enough worrying for all three of us.
I want to thank you. Thanks to you, I realized that the Katsuya on this side, my older brother, isn't really the asshole I thought him to be. He's just trying to do what he thinks is best for me, just like you're trying to do for the me on the other side. I also learned that I couldn't blame him anymore for what happened to Dad, it wasn't anyone's fault.
Here in Sumaru, we are all trying to go on. I have Jun, Eikichi, and Lisa to help me out. Maya is still gone, but just knowing that she's okay makes me not regret the things we did.
Take care of the other me, okay? I guess you learned from me that even though we both act like loners, we still need someone there to help us. I have Jun here, and my other side there, has you.
Love,
Tatsuya. /
Katsuya stared down at the letter, a smile on his face despite the tears coming to his eyes. He silently thanked Baofu for bringing the letter, and giving it to him despite his attitude. Not that he would actually apologize to the man. Hugging the letter to his chest, he rose from the floor. While looking towards the window, he saw a golden butterfly flutter by.
" Thank you" he whispered.
As he heard Tatsuya once again whisper something in his sleep, Katsuya knew what he should do. Stuffing the letter down into his pocket, he walked over to his brother, getting into the bed with him. The two of them had not shared a bed since Tatsuya had been a small child. The bed was small, and it was a bit cramped, but Katsuya did not care.
" It'll be okay, Tatsuya," he whispered, wrapping his arms around his brother. " No matter what, we'll always have each other."
For the first time in many nights, Katsuya was finally able to sleep.
