SNAPPING THE BOND

Yuki knew, in his mind, that it had gotten to be quite late in the day. However, as more time passed, he found himself caring less and less. There was no reason for him to move, anyway. Aside from that, Yuki's stomach gave a violent churn whenever he dared to move an inch. Half awake, he hadn't even noticed that someone else was in the bed with him. Though, admittedly, Ayame had snuck in when Yuki was still in his wonderful dreamland.

His older brother had attempted to wake him up by bringing him a nice cup of tea, which sat, betrayed and cold, on the dresser. The snake had sunk into the warmth, as a fish would take to water after flopping awkwardly on land for a short period. Ayame was only glad that his brother had not woken up. Of course, this did raise a few questions in his mind, but the blankets covering him and the gentle breathing of his younger brother had serenaded him into a daze, and he soon drifted off into his own slumber, forgetting all about his beloved brother.

Of course, that did not stop Yuki from rolling over to find Ayame sprawled underneath the covers, much like a child. After a moment of thought, the younger man's eyes darkened and he stood bitterly. "Get out," Yuki whispered harshly. Ayame shifted just barely in his sleep, feeling the cold seeping into him now that the blanket had been taken away. "Out," his brother whispered again, eyes gleaming with detest before he growled and lowered himself to Ayame's level, "Get out of my room you creep!"

"Oh, Yuki…you don't mean that," Ayame replied sleepily, "Besides, I brought you tea."

Yuki stared at his brother for a long moment. He hadn't expected that answer to come out of Ayame's mouth. Really, it had been a shock, though Yuki didn't drop his irritated stance. His older brother shifted, and pointed to the dresser, where the rat found a cup of forgotten tea sitting carefully. Yuki did feel slightly touched, but he knew Ayame too well to get overly choked up. "You gave me more to clean up, now get out of my room! What are you doing here anyway?" Looking the other way, away from his brother, Yuki let out a sigh. He hated how the other could be so thoughtless at times. No one liked waking up to someone strange in their bed, and a brother who hardly gave one glance to the other wasn't any different.

"You're bed was just so warm, Yuki."

The rat's eyes flashed back to his brother, who slowly stood, waiting for Yuki's bitter remarks to start once more. Ayame was selfish, he knew that, but he tried hard to be a good brother. He hadn't meant to be so neglectful in their earlier years. Certainly Yuki could forgive him. Though, as Ayame looked up into his brother's eyes, it felt unlikely that they would ever be kinder to one another. "You're so selfish," Yuki whispered, however, his voice had faltered. He hadn't been harsh. Instead, he had sounded almost hurt by Ayame's actions.

Smiling to keep from frowning, Ayame shrugged his shoulders. "I suppose, my brother…but I really had only meant to give you tea. I simply got cold is all," he said. Although, Ayame had were other motives to his actions for bringing him a simple cup of tea. He had wanted to be near his brother; Ayame wanted to fell him close, and the only way he could do that was to wait until Yuki slept. Otherwise, the snake would be kicked out and thrown aside by his brother's hate. "I didn't mean to fall asleep, but at least we got to spend some quality time together," Ayame beamed proudly.

"You call that quality time, you pervert? Sleeping in someone's bed while they're unaware."

"You called to me," Ayame replied simply, "You said my name as you slept, and I followed the voice to your bed. Am I really that perverted for heading the call of my name?"

Yuki shivered. Had he really called his brother's name in his sleep? The thought was so startling; Yuki actually dropped his frozen stance. He seemed to have melted, looking gloomy as he took a deep breath. "If I was unconscious, yes," the rat finally said.

"Do you mean that?"

Looking up, Yuki was shocked to see Ayame standing in front of him. His blood went cold as he stared up into the cheerful eyes of someone untouched by the hurt of others. "I-" It was the only thing Yuki could get out before his brother closed the space between them and pressed his lips against Yuki's pale ones. The rat whimpered barely, digging his nails into Ayame's shirt until he pushed the other away and wiped his mouth across the back of his hand. "You really are a pervert," Yuki yelled suddenly, shaking in fear, "And I thought you couldn't sink any lower!"

Ayame frowned, causing Yuki to freeze altogether. He had never seen the snake look so gloomy before, but there was no way Yuki would back down from this. It wasn't right to love your own brother, and it was defiantly not right to kiss each other either. "You're my brother," the rat screamed. Yuki coughed, covering his mouth as his stomach churned violently. Ignoring it was best he could, the young man ran from the house, where he threw up within the safety of the trees before continuing on his way down the path.

"I really messed up, didn't I, Shigure," Ayame asked, putting a hand over his face to hide his shame.

"It seems that way, yes."

"Do you think…I should just leave? Maybe he's better off without me."

Shigure frowned. He didn't think that was a very good idea either. Yuki seemed to perk up when his brother came to visit, even if the visit was strained and awkward. He knew that the rat cared for his brother. "No, but…I don't think you should give him another scare like that again. It might have not been a very good idea."

"I know. I just…couldn't control myself. I just…wanted to fix his sadness, Shigure."