Tsubaki
Ema was into the fall of her first semester of college when Tsubaki caught her in the hall outside their rooms looking surprisingly hesitant for Tsubaki. Ema looked at him curiously, having never seen Tsubaki like this before. Normally he was always exuberant and pushy about things. Tsubaki was not one to hold back on anything.
"Hey, Ema," he began, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I have a promo event this weekend for a game coming out soon. It's a military game, but it's more lighthearted than most. It focuses more on the decisions of the commanders behind the scenes than on the actual battles. It's the first one like it, but the company's really excited about it, though it's a bit of a risk for them. I wanted to invite you to come."
He pulled a paper out of his pocket and held it out to Ema. "That has all the information of where it's at and when. You don't have to come if you don't want to…but it'd be really nice to have you there." Tsubaki gave Ema a tense smile as she slowly took the paper, then turned and went to his room.
Ema stared down at the paper, not really reading what it said as she considered what she should do. In the past she always went to everything of her brothers that she could. Graduations, sporting events, promo events, concerts, but she wondered if that was part of what led to the disaster of so many of her brothers falling for her. Maybe her trying to support them as their sister was misconstrued to be something else. Would it really be okay for Ema to go, or would it send a message that Ema didn't mean to send?
"You should go," a voice behind Ema said, making her jump.
Ema spun to see Azusa watching her. "Tsubaki has grown a lot since you left last spring," Azusa said. "And he's been working really hard. He wants you to see the results of it."
"Okay," Ema agreed a little hesitantly. "I'll go." Concern for causing a misunderstanding aside, Ema did always enjoy Tsubaki's and Azusa's events.
Azusa smiled and left. Ema wondered if Azusa's encouragement meant that he'd given up on his feelings for Ema, or if he was just so dedicated to Tsubaki that he'd push his own feelings aside.
~.~
On Saturday morning, Ema sat among a crowd made up of a surprising amount of women given that this was a military game. No one was on stage yet since the event didn't start for a few more minutes, but the room was still packed. Ema had checked out the trailer for the game, and it did look fun. There were also a lot of big name voice actors involved in the project.
"Can you believe that we get to see Asahina Tsubaki?" A girl in front of Ema asked her friend.
"I know!" The friend squealed. "He's so hot. And his voice is amazing. I own all the games he's voiced, though my favorites are the otome games."
"Right? Can't you just imagine him whispering the lines from those games in your ear?" Ema blushed as the girls giggled. Weren't they supposed to feel that way about the character from the game and not the actual voice actor?
The room quieted as the moderator came on stage. "Good morning, fans! How is everyone today?" The room erupted into yells and claps. "Good! Good! Before we start the discussion part of this event, we have a skit for you from the game with some of the voice actors. How does that sound?" Fans whooped and clapped again. "Fantastic! All right, for you today we have the hard-working and steady Lieutenants Toma and Jinji, who will be joined by the tactically brilliant, but socially inept Commander Hiro!"
The moderator backed away from the center of the stage of two men dressed in uniform walked on. "Toma-san," the first man said, "we've been best friends since we were boys. It is an honor to serve beside you."
"I feel the same way, Jinji-san," the second man said. "I am proud to call you my friend and my comrade." His face turned serious as he turned to his friend and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Do you remember the promise we made to each other when we first joined the military?"
"Yes," the man playing Toma said, nodding seriously. "If one of us dies, we both swore that the other would be the one to tell their family of their death. I would never let your mother find out from just a letter or a stranger."
"Thank you," the man playing Jinji said, before embracing his friend.
The next moment, Tsubaki stepped out wearing a highly decorated uniform and the crowd screamed. "Lieutenants," he said, "I commend your dedication to one another, but I must remind you that romantic relationships must not affect your performance on the battlefield."
The two men gave each other confused looks. "Sir," Toma began, "I think that you're misunderstanding—"
"Do not worry," Tsubaki as Commander Hiro interrupted, holding up a hand. "I know of both your stellar histories on the battlefield. I am lucky to have you both under my command and I'm sure you're both up to the task of putting duty before your love for each other."
"No, Sir," Jinji said. "It's not like that. Toma-san and I grew up together—"
"I do not need to know your history," Tsubaki interrupted again, turning to stare off into the distance. "I'm sure that your love story is a touching one, and serving together on the battlefield must have only made your relationship stronger." He whipped his head around to pin the Lieutenants with a piercing stare. "But you must never forget why you are here. If you both serve to protect the other, that's fine. It's wonderful to have a reason to fight, but you must place your orders as your first priority. It is your solemn duty as lieutenants."
The crowd laughed as Commander Hiro continued to misunderstand the lieutenant's relationship and interrupted or explained away their every attempt to set the situation straight. After the scene finished, more voice actors as well as others involved in the production of the game came out for the discussion of how the game came to be, then for the question and answer portion of the event.
Ema was impressed with Tsubaki's amazing ability to entertain those around him. He was one of those people who seemed to be able to draw others' attention to himself naturally. Ema didn't think that anyone in the room had been able to tear their eyes away from Tsubaki during his performance, and during the other portions he continued to keep the audience engaged with his comments and answers. Tsubaki never seemed to tire of making other people happy.
When the event ended, Ema heard the girls in front of her talking again. "I wish that Tsubaki-san was my boyfriend. Then I'd get to hear his voice all the time," the first girl said.
"You should have asked if he had a girlfriend during the Q and A!" Her friend joked.
"Maybe we could catch him in the hall and ask!" The first girl said as they got up and filed out of the room.
Ema's brow furrowed as she thought about the girls' words and walked towards Tsubaki's dressing room. All they knew about Tsubaki was that he was a great voice actor and handsome. They didn't even know the best things about him. Like how hardworking and persistent he was. Tsubaki had chased after his dreams since he was a boy, despite the fact that part of his family opposed his becoming a voice actor. He also treasured his family and loved spending time with them.
When Ema knocked on the door, Tsubaki answered it with a nervous smile, having already changed back into his normal clothes. "How was it? Do you think it went well?" He moved out of the way to let Ema inside.
"It went great!" Ema said. "Everyone was really entertained during the whole thing and I think you did a great job with the skit at the beginning."
"Thanks," Tsubaki said, looking relieved. He scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed. "I don't know that I've ever been this nervous at an event before."
"That's not like you," Ema said tilting her head. "Were you nervous because of the different style of this game?"
"No," Tsubaki said, looking at Ema in surprise. "I was nervous because you're here."
Ema's heart thumped at Tsubaki's words and she blushed as she stared at her hands, not sure what to say. She had been to plenty of Tsubaki's events, but she knew that things were a little different this time. Tsubaki wanted to show Ema who he'd grown as a man, not as a brother.
And that wasn't the only thing that was different, Ema thought with a pang. Whenever she came to Tsubaki's events before, he always greeted her afterwards by throwing his arms around her in an exuberant hug. Ema was used to Tsubaki being overly affectionate with her, and while she appreciated that Tsubaki was holding back for her sake, she did miss the hug she always got before when she went to his events.
Ema's mind jumped back to the words of the girls and she wondered what kind of a boyfriend Tsubaki would make, then she pushed those thoughts to the side. She came here to support Tsubaki's event, not for anything else.
~.~
A couple weeks later, Ema was in the kitchen early in the morning preparing her and Yusuke's lunches for school when Tsubaki walked by, dressed for work.
"You're leaving early today," Ema commented.
"There's an audition this morning and they asked me to come in first, which is hopefully a good sign," Tsubaki explained. "Wish me luck, will you? I'll do better for sure if you do."
"Good luck!" Ema chirped and Tsubaki smiled at her before turning to leave. "Wait!" Ema said impulsively and Tsubaki half turned to give Ema a questioning look. Ema blushed, but said, "Wish me luck too? I'm nervous about working with a new client today at Star City. I'd love to be able to channel your positive energy."
"Good luck, Ema-chan. I'm sure that you'll impress them. And here," Tsubaki held his hands to his chest before throwing them towards Ema. "I transferred some of my energy to you."
"Thanks," Ema said with a laugh. "Now I'm sure I'll be able to amaze them."
~.~
Two weeks later, Tsubaki found out that he got the part and Ema had been able to impress the client with her ideas of how to promote his singing career on social media. In light of those two events, Tsubaki suggested that the two of them go out to dinner to celebrate.
At dinner, Ema's heart ached as the two of them ate and talked about Ema's new client and Tsubaki's new anime. Whenever they went out to eat in the past, Tsubaki always insisted that Ema sit by him because he wanted to be close to her. But today they were sitting across from each other. The distance between Ema and Tsubaki was becoming more and more painful for Ema to bear. She hated Tsubaki keeping himself at arm's length from her.
While still being engaged in conversation about Tsubaki's new coworkers for his current anime, Ema thought again about what kind of boyfriend Tsubaki would make. She'd thought about it a couple of times since his promo event and she'd come to the conclusion that Tsubaki would be a fun, loving, and caring boyfriend. Dating him would always be exciting and you'd always know how much he cared about you.
Ema had always felt that any girl who dated any of her brothers would be a lucky girl, but the girl who dated Tsubaki…would be extra lucky.
When they arrived home, Tsubaki walked Ema to her bedroom door. Ema was about to wish Tsubaki good night when he paused, stuffing his hands in his pockets and staring at the floor. Ema waited, wondering what was wrong. Eventually, Tsubaki lifted his head and said, "I want you to know that I'm trying hard to respect the distance you asked for, but I still love you."
He shrugged helplessly and turned to go. Ema said, "Don't," the word leaving her lips before she could stop it.
"Don't what?" Tsubaki asked, turning and looking confused.
Ema blushed. "Don't respect the distance between us. I don't want you to."
Tsubaki stared at Ema, dumbfounded. He took slow, measured steps until he stood right in front of Ema. "You have to be absolutely sure before saying something like that, because words like that will make me lose control."
"I—I am sure," Ema said, staring up into Tsubaki's face. "I miss you, Tsubaki-kun. I want—" Ema's words were cut off when Tsubaki's lips crashed against hers. Ema inhaled sharply as Tsubaki pushed Ema against her door.
The situation felt similar to the first time that Tsubaki had kissed Ema. And just like before, Ema could hardly think. She could never think straight when Tsubaki touched her like this. But unlike last time, this time Ema tangled her fingers in Tsubaki's hair, loving the feel of him so close to her. She loved Tsubaki's passion, she loved his exuberance in showing affection, and she'd missed it so much.
Tsubaki slowly ran his hands down Ema's sides, squeezing Ema's hips. Ema moaned against his lips and Tsubaki fumbled for the doorknob of Ema's room. It opened and Ema stumbled back, Tsubaki following her. Tsubaki wrapped his hands around the backs of Ema's thighs, hoisting her up. Ema wrapped her legs around Tsubaki's waist, her hands tangled in his hair as she kissed him.
Tsubaki pushed the door closed before carrying Ema to the bed. Tsubaki set her down and held himself above her, finally separating his lips from hers. Ema made a sound of protest and the two of them stared at each other, both breathing heavy. "I want to hear you say the words," Tsubaki said in husky voice, tracing Ema's lips. "Tell me."
"I love you, Tsubaki-kun," Ema whispered. "I want to be with you and I want you to be mine."
Tsubaki's head dropped to Ema's shoulder as he let most of his weight rest on top of her. "I'm so relieved," he whispered, turning his head to kiss Ema's neck. "I love you so much, I didn't know what I was going to do if you chose someone else."
Ema smiled as she wrapped her arms around Tsubaki, laying one hand on his head. "I don't want anyone but you," she promised.
Tsubaki kissed his way along Ema's collarbone before moving up her neck. Ema blushed and arched her neck to give Tsubaki more room. "My only regret," Tsubaki said in Ema's ear before pulling back to look down at her, "is how sad this will make Azusa. We have to tell him first. I don't care when everyone else finds out, but we have to tell Azusa tomorrow."
"Of course," Ema agreed. "I think that Azusa will be happy for you. It might be hard for him, but he was the one who encouraged me to go to your promo event and see how much you've grown."
"He was?" Tsubaki asked in surprise.
"Yes," Ema assured him. "Azusa is always looking out for you and wants you to be happy."
"Nothing makes me happier than you," Tsubaki whispered, lowering his lips back down to Ema's.
A/N: And now Azusa will get his turn! So I don't have to feel bad about Ema choosing Tsubaki over Azusa. The twins make everything so complicated.
