My Brother's Keeper
AU, TezukaFuji. As brothers, their bond was unbreakable, and as lovers, their passion was unending. But when a ghost of the past shows up to haunt Syusuke's perfect life, Tezuka realizes that he cannot protect his little brother from everything.
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A/N: Strangely enough, my schedule has picked up again, It wasn't supposed to and this chapter was supposed to be up sooner but...eh. That's life. Thanks for all your support and please enjoy chapter 4! And I know the title's strange and has nothing to do with the chapter, but imagination failed me...x.x
On Oneshots: I'm practicing writing oneshots/twoshots/short stuff in general! So if anyone has prompts, GIMME!
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Chapter Four
Losses
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Everything returned to normal. They had no more strange visitors who spoke English, that claimed that Syusuke was their brother. Syusuke seemed happier, and Tezuka was relieved. He was by himself when his phone buzzed. Syusuke was out doing grocery shopping, a chore they passed off every other week.
Oshitari Yuushi. With good news that he had been worrying in vain.
"Hello?"
There was no greeting, "Look, Tezuka. I'm in a hurry, but I got what you wanted. Tezuka Syusuke was born Fuji Syusuke to parents Leona Chastain and businessman Fuji Hiroki in London. He runs Fuji Electronics, chief executive. Syusuke is technically an only child, because he is an illegitimate child. His mother was a small-time actress and she and Fuji Hiroki never married."
"The mother..." Tezuka gripped the phone.
"...Is dead. Drug overdose...or something. You know, how most actors die. They have it down as suicide." Oshitari supplied helpfully, "Anyway, don't interrupt me, I told you I was in a hurry. Chastain died when Syusuke was two. And Fuji Hiroki adopted him. Fuji Hiroki's legal wife is Kitajima Yoshiko, and he has two children with her, Yumiko and Yuuta. Yumiko is 25, and Yuuta is 16. My guess is that Kitajima-san didn't like Syusuke very much. Just a few months before you guys adopted him he was passed off to an elderly aunt."
"And?"
"Nothing else, I guess the aunt hated him too. Oh, but here's something interesting. Fuji Yumiko and Fuji Yuuta are in Japan right now. They're staying at the Tokyo Swan Hotel, suite 1143. They have to attend some kind of convention for their old man or something. At this moment, Yuuta is a low level errand boy type person' and Yumiko is engaged to a chief manager in the business, but officially, she doesn't work for her father. You want the name?"
"Of the fiancé? No."
"Then that's all."
Tezuka swallowed, "...How much do I owe you?"
"Think of it as a belated birthday present. I remembered that I forgot to give you anything. Later."
The line went dead.
-
It wasn't a lie, and he hadn't been dreaming. The dial tone still bleated dully next to his ear. Tezuka snapped his phone shut and slammed it on the dining room table with uncharacteristic anger. Not to say Tezuka was never angry, but when he was, the anger in him boiled—at the most simmered, and then died. He'd never felt such a strong urge to slam something into the table.
Some birthday present, the cynic in him growled.
But now Tezuka was angry, he was angry because two people, whose proper places were an ocean away, sought to breach the utopia that he had tried so hard to build for Syusuke's sake, they even spoke minimal English, although Tezuka did think that the language was beautiful, but he couldn't risk the language bringing back memories that Syusuke seemed to have long forgotten.
And that world was crumbling. He despised them. And that realization left a bitter tang on his tongue. Tezuka checked his phone, not broken. But then in the end, he realized that he had no one else to blame but himself. If he had left the door alone that day, like his very sensible mind had told him to. Tezuka cursed his sense of propriety.
Speaking of the door. The doorbell was ringing again. He was tempted to leave it alone, until a familiar voice sounded on the other side, "Tezuka, I know you're in there."
Atobe's voice.
"Come on, open the door."
He certainly was not in the mood to deal with a glum Atobe. Though his legs would not listen to him; they walked to the door, and his hand had a mind of its own; it dared to unlock the door, and draw it open, to reveal a very tousled Atobe Keigo in the doorway. Not a common sight. "...You needed something?" He asked evenly.
"Yeah, a place to stay."
Atobe had brought a small rolling suitcase with him, leather, obviously. Tezuka eyed the accessory with some suspicion, "How about Oshitari's place?"
"He's in Europe with his old man. Hell if I'm going to stay there when only his mom is there." Atobe snorted, "Are you crazy?"
Maybe he was, crazy. Tezuka was almost inclined to agree, "What's wrong with your own castle?"
"You really want to rile me?" Atobe glared at him.
"Maybe."
"You bastard." His friend spat, "Are you going to let me in or not?"
The latter option sounded very tempting. And at the moment, Tezuka would have liked nothing better than to completely slam the door on Atobe's face. But he knew if he did that, Atobe would throw a fit and rouse the whole apartment building. Something he didn't need, and he did owe Atobe for the yacht, so he opened the door wider and stepped aside. "...How long do you need to stay?"
"Couple of days, maybe three, maybe four." Atobe slipped off his shoes and edged his suitcase against the wall, "Until the idiots leave." He snorted again, "They have 'stormed the castle.' I can't stand it. Are you saying ore-sama is going to be a bother?"
"No." Tezuka went back into the kitchen, "Want something to drink?"
"Alcoholic?" Atobe sounded so hopeful.
"...No. Cranberry juice." They had soda too, but soda was 'way below ore-sama,' how dare he even offer?
"...Good enough."
For someone who had difficulty holding his liquor, Tezuka wondered why Atobe was so insistent on drinking. He poured a glass of cranberry juice for Atobe, and a glass of water for himself, and carried both into the living room, where Atobe sat on the couch. His friend took the cup from him and drained half of it in a noisy gulp.
How very improper. Tezuka almost wanted to laugh.
"Where's Syusuke?"
"...He's grocery shopping." Tezuka dropped down next to him on the couch and looked over at Atobe once more. He realized that he was more than a little relieved that Atobe was here, dealing with Atobe's problems at the moment would save him the headache of dealing with his own set of issues, which seemed more pressing as the moments ticked by. "Are you all right?"
"Do I look all right?"
When Atobe asked him a question like that, Tezuka never knew what to say. He settled on a neutral reply and sipped his water, "...You look like...you haven't slept...much."
"I haven't. In fact, I would venture to say that I haven't slept at all."
Tezuka sighed. "What's Oshitari doing in Europe?"
"I don't know. And at the moment, I don't care."
Atobe was lying. Tezuka wasn't exactly sure how he knew, but he knew that his friend was lying. Though instead of prying, he said, "Do you want to take a shower and go to sleep? I'll wake you up for dinner."
"I don't need you to baby me." Was the answer that he received for his thoughtfulness. Tezuka now understood why Oshitari felt the constant need to goad his boyfriend whenever possible. He was suddenly tired of Atobe and wondered if there was a polite way to throw Atobe out of the apartment.
"I'm not. You said you haven't slept at all. I was being logical. The last thing that I need is for you to die of exhaustion in my apartment."
"What kind of a host are you?" Atobe demanded.
An irritated one, Tezuka thought. "A sensible one. Go to sleep. If there aren't enough blankets in the guest bedroom, then you can tell me. Otherwise don't come out until dinner." Perhaps Atobe and Oshitari had quarreled again because Atobe resembled the walking dead. Even Atobe, who wore many faces easily, made this one look hideous.
"I'm a kid being sent to my room now?" Atobe did not look amused, but he got up and shuffled over to the mouth of the hallway.
Tezuka wanted to slap him across the face, hard. But he resisted, "...Either the guest room, or the street. It's up to you." He said, in a tone that left no room for argument and went to pour himself some more water.
-
He was alone with his thoughts again, as he idly flipped through a gardening magazine that Syusuke subscribed to. Tezuka ran through options in his head: a. do nothing, b. do something.
'Do something' was much easier thought than done. No matter how he looked at it, Tezuka felt as if he was at a dire disadvantage. He was still mulling this over when Syusuke opened the door, two grocery bags slung casually over one shoulder.
"I'm home, niisan."
Tezuka glanced up, "Welcome back." He returned dutifully.
Syusuke paused after he slipped off his shoes. He must have noticed the extra pair, "...Atobe's?"
"He's asleep in our guest bedroom. I guess he's having...problems." Tezuka said.
"With Yuushi?" Syusuke dropped easily into his lap and kissed him, "Doesn't surprise me."
Tezuka opened his mouth and then closed it again. He was loathed to even mention 'Europe', especially at a time like this. "No, it's problems at home, I think. But Oshitari is out of the country, and you know how Atobe feels about Oshitari's mother."
"Oh." Syusuke considered this, and he tucked his head securely under Tezuka's chin, "...Well, I thought that we'd have hot pot tonight, it's getting to be cold and you know, it's something new. Think Atobe would like?"
Tezuka's lips twitched, "Too common?"
Syusuke laughed.
"Very funny." Atobe walked in with a snarl that was supposed to be threatening, but on top of looking like the walking dead, ore-sama was also having a bad hair day. Tezuka turned his face away and Syusuke just giggled, not so tactfully.
"Atobe, what's wrong with your hair?"
"What's wrong with my hair?" Atobe's eyes widened.
"Go look in the bathroom mirror." Tezuka managed to choke out with a straight face while his brother continued to cling to him and laughed.
A moment later, the door to the bathroom slammed as soon as Atobe stalked away.
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Atobe found dinner common, but Syusuke said (politely) that if he wished to intrude upon common people, it was only fair that he expected common cuisine. But they drew the line at making Atobe wash dishes, which was just as well because in Tezuka's mind, the scenario was disastrous. Not to say Atobe was clumsy, but he definitely lacked the know how in the kitchen.
Syusuke dried the last plate and planted a kiss below Tezuka's jaw, "I forgot, I have to go out in a couple of minutes."
Tezuka was alarmed, "Where?"
A flicker of something unfathomable flashed over Syusuke's eyes, but it was gone in a second. "I have a French test Friday, it's a hard chapter so some of us are getting together at Saeki's house to study." He looked up, with a teasing grin, "Do I have your permission to go, niisan?"
Tezuka ignored the look, "...What time do you think you'll be back?"
"If I don't go out clubbing afterwards, then...eleven?"
"Are you going out clubbing?" Tezuka said, trying not to let disapproval seep into his voice.
"No." Syusuke kissed him again, "Not if you look at me like that when I come home. See you at eleven."
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Atobe insisted going out not long after Syusuke left to rent a foreign film. He came back with something German and Tezuka was lost after the first ten minutes, he would never understand Atobe's cinematic tastes, and he had a feeling that it was better to keep it that way. During a short interlude of a montage, an idea suddenly struck him.
If Tezuka had been born Atobe Keigo, then the advantage would have been his from the very start. But...
Atobe saw him looking, "What?"
"Can I borrow money?" The question tasted bad and Tezuka almost choked on it. "It's...for a bribe." It was hard for him to decide which of the sentences tasted worse.
Atobe looked surprised, "...A bribe? You? The respectable Tezuka Kunimitsu? Why the hell do you need a bribe? And you're eighteen, aren't you a little young for a bribe? Is that why you have a stick up your ass these days?"
Tezuka said nothing. He wished he hadn't asked.
Atobe caught the hint after a few seconds of stony silence. He reached for the remote and paused the picture of a lone madwoman staring at a lake. "All right, all right, I'm sorry. But if I'm to lend you money for a bribe, I have every right to know what you need it for."
"...It's..." Tezuka sighed, "It's for Syusuke."
Atobe promptly forgot about the movie.
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Tezuka went to bed at ten, and left Atobe alone in the living room to finish his film. He was humiliated, but he knew this was the only plausible way that the situation could be resolved, quickly, painlessly on both parties. If he had to bend over to Atobe Keigo for his brother Syusuke, it was a price he gladly paid. Even if he knew he would never be able to look Atobe properly in the eye again.
But he wanted to be asleep when Syusuke came home.
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Syusuke wasn't there when he woke up either. His brother had an early start on Mondays whereas Tezuka gave himself enough time to wake up. His first and only class was economics, a class that taught him little, if nothing at all. And that wasn't until four in the afternoon.
His watch read eight. And when Tezuka tiptoed into the kitchen, Atobe wasn't there either. Which was more than he could have hoped for. He made coffee and toast and left a note.
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Tokyo Swan Hotel, suite 1134.
Tezuka felt like a man facing a pending firing squad. It was not a pleasant feeling, it made him feel very naked and stupid. Though of course he wasn't either. He was armed only with a very generous check, and his wits, which were falling apart at the moment.
He almost wished that he had asked Atobe to come along, or die of embarrassment trying to ask. The fact that he had put on a dress shirt that Syusuke had bought him for his birthday not that long ago was a bit encouraging...minimally.
But before Tezuka could raise a hand to knock, the door opened.
Fuji Yuuta stood in the door frame, he didn't look surprised, in English, he said, "You're...from the other day. How did you find us?"
"You found Syusuke, perhaps I found you the same way." Tezuka refused to let the boy stare him down, "May I come in?" Also English, he was uncomfortable, but he doubted the boy understood Japanese.
"My sister isn't here." Yuuta said, showing the first signs of uncertainty. "She...won't be back until later."
The boy was...afraid? No, that was too much to ask, but certainly he wasn't sure what to do. That was good enough. Tezuka didn't let his eyes leave Yuuta's face, "It doesn't matter. I can say what I've come to say to you."
Yuuta was starting to panic, "I think...it would be better for you to come back when my sister is here."
"No. I don't have time to come back later."
The boy relented. He opened the door wider, "Come in."
Tezuka stepped in, he took off his shoes and let the thick carpet swallow his socked feet, he leaned against the wall and Yuuta fidgeted.
"Some tea? I can call room service."
"No thanks." Tea was European, hospitality was something that Fuji Yuuta had undeniably grew up learning. Tezuka knew things would be faster if he didn't allow him anything familiar, English aside. "I'm kind of in a hurry."
In fact, he only came to say one thing, and one thing only.
"You will leave Japan." He said, even. "And you will leave my brother alone."
Yuuta stared at him, "We can't leave without aniki." His voice shook, just a little. "We just can't."
Aniki.
The suddenly language lapse was not missed by Tezuka. What right did he have to call Syusuke so intimately? Tezuka glared at him, and once more Yuuta shriveled meekly against the opposite wall. "You can, and you will. He is happy with me. I don't know what happened between you back then, but you gave him up when you sent him away."
The boy bit his lip, "We never gave him up!" Yuuta's face reddened, "You don't understand anything!"
Tezuka crossed his arms, "Did you expect him to welcome you with open arms? It's been thirteen years." He emphasized the word, thirteen years was a long time, more than a decade. More than half of either of their lives. "Tell me what I don't understand. I understand that he told you to leave when you came to him. I understand that he is loved where he is. This is his world. What do I not understand?"
"You just don't!" Yuuta yelled, very irrationally because he was just a boy, "What if you just woke up one day and your brother was gone? That's what you don't understand! You don't understand that, you never will!"
Thanks to this outburst, Tezuka found himself hopeful, if Yuuta lost his head this fast and this heatedly, of course the rest of it would be easy. "So you should have been more careful." He said. "You shouldn't have let him disappear."
"I was two! What the hell do you expect a two-year-old to do in a situation like that?" Yuuta hurled him, one fist raised to strike. Anger made for accurate miscalculations, and Tezuka caught his wrist, and just simply held it, as the boy struggled.
"You should have done something." Tezuka said quietly, as a fresh bout of guilt churned in his stomach, but still he didn't let go.
"What then?" The boy spat.
Tezuka's grip tightened, "Promise me you'll leave Japan. You and your sister."
An abrupt silence hung between them.
"You're afraid of me and Yumiko." A wicked light sparkled in Yuuta's eyes, "You're scared because you stole aniki from us." And then he dared to be gleeful, "You coward." he practically sang as a victory.
Tezuka released his wrist. "You gave him up." He managed to say with an even voice even though his blood boiled. "I stole nothing."
"I told you we didn't give him up! You stole him! Everything is your fault, Tezuka Kunimitsu!" Yuuta was shouting again.
"Yuuta, if you're going to yell, at least have the decency to close the..."
Fuji Yumiko trailed off. Tezuka turned to look at her, and her eyes, although they were hazel, reminded him of Syusuke's stormy blue gaze when he was angry. There was no doubt that she was Syusuke's sister, and that realization hit him like a hot, furious slap across the face. Her eyes burned into his, and Tezuka almost allowed himself to wince. But not quite. The door closed softly behind her. Yumiko, with her frigid, exquisite air, waited for him to speak.
Tezuka held out the envelope containing Atobe's check. It was a generous amount, even if he still thought that his friend mixed up all the zeros. "This is for you." He said quietly. "Please."
"What is it?" She didn't take it, instead, she shrugged off her jacket and draped it across the back of a chair. It was an expensive jacket, he noted that.
"An exchange." Tezuka spoke stiffly, he didn't like the way Yuuta had retreated, now smirking at him, because he had his sister as a shield. "I want you to leave Japan, and never contact Syusuke. In return, I give you this."
She knew what it was. Her eyes could not hide much. Her hands trembled when she slit the envelope. When she drew out the check, she gasped. Yuuta too, when he scrambled next to her. Actually, he was even more undignified, his jaw dropped.
Tezuka saw Atobe's very satisfied smirk in his mind's eye.
"This should be plenty, even in Euros."
But then she put it back and held out the envelope to him. "I can't accept this. I would be betraying Syusuke if I did." Yumiko sounded remorseful.
Tezuka looked at her. "By not allowing him to choose his own happiness, is that betrayal?" He asked quietly.
Yumiko paused, "Fuji Syusuke is our brother. I won't allow you, or anyone to change that."
"So you'll allow him to suffer."
That earned him two glares, one from each Fuji. "You don't know anything." Yumiko echoed her brother.
"Maybe not." Tezuka admitted, and swiped the envelope from her hand, he almost wished he had cut her, somehow. "But at least I was able to be there for thirteen years of Syusuke's life. A life that he treasures, a life that you're determined to snatch away from him."
He was sick of these people telling him he didn't know.
"You--"
Tezuka turned on his heel and slipped on his shoes, "I have nothing more to say to either of you. But only know that I won't forgive you."
He slammed the door behind him. It was immensely satisfying.