Disclaimer: Character's are not mine.
Chapter Six – Snake's Story
The door closed with a resounding bang, leaving Ayame alone in the apartment, his apartment, his lonely apartment.
"Stupid idiot didn't know a good thing when he had it, anyway." He said determinedly, trying to be angry rather then sad.
He stomped over to his small pot of tea that had been abandoned in favour of his now ex-boyfriends arrival home and subsequent departure. Picking it up he flopped down into his usual too big seat – the perfect size for two to snuggle on – and had his tea; ignoring the fact that it was now stone cold and tasted disgusting.
Staring into nothing in the silent apartment, he slowly felt his rage leaving him, no matter how tightly he tried to hold onto it. It left him, just like he had…
Tears began to fall unchecked down his cheeks, silver eyes spilling over as the reality of what had just happened sunk into him. His lover for the past year had just up and left him for, of all people, a woman twice his age! Apparently they had already been seeing each other for two months behind Ayame's back. The bit that stung the most was that Ayame'd had no idea this was going on! He had been getting sympathetic looks this past week and he'd had no idea why. Apparently at a party he'd missed last week, Rikato had been seen snogging away with the whore.
Setting down his now empty cup, Ayame held his head in his hands, feeling that horrible feeling of worthlessness…
The first time he had felt like that was when he was ten years old and his brother had been born. With such a large age gap, Ayame hadn't wanted much to do with the little brat that was now taking up most of his parents spare time. He could no longer do as he wished because a baby couldn't do that too or it might not be suitable for a baby. It drove him nuts and, as a result, he rebelled quietly against his parents and despised his completely innocent little brother.
It continued building until he was eighteen and he'd finally snapped. Sickened with watching his parents fawn over the little eight-year-old Yuki, he had calmly stood at the dinner table, gaining their attention, as it was something he was not supposed to do; only common people did such a thing, his mother would say. Sure he now had their attention, he calmly stated that he was leaving, wished his parents an early grave and that he was gay.
In his parent's typically stupid manner, they focused completely on the fact that he was gay. While his mother had burst into tears when he had refused to take it back, his father had thundered that he was not to set foot under his roof until he had seen the 'error of his ways'. Needless to say, Ayame had been kicked out in a matter of minutes; not that he really cared as he was leaving anyway.
Over the next five years he had travelled the world, gaining more and more recognition for his fashion designs. However, he had found himself back in Japan one day. He had been wandering the familiar streets at night, just lost in memories of his past, when he had seen a familiar looking boy walking silently down the lonely streets. Shocked, Ayame realised he was looking at his little brother that he had left five years ago.
He was drawn immediately to the lonely figure, memories of his own childhood assaulting him after five years of ignoring them. When he had left it had never even crossed his mind what would happen to his baby brother now that he had disgraced the family name in almost every possible way. He could see the familiar exhaustion and loneliness reflected in his brothers purple coloured eyes and his heart clenched in both anger and guilt. He could imagine that all the pressures he had carted around with him before were now heaped doubly so on his brother.
He had spent the next few days secretly tailing Yuki, not letting him see Ayame until he'd had a chance to gather what kind of life his brother was leading. Needless to say, Ayame was sadly not disappointed.
Ayame had carefully planned out how he was going to go about telling his brother of his presence. It would be a grand thing; his baby brother was sure to be excited to see him and would no doubt jump into his open arms, crying tears of joy! He had been so swept up in imagining how the meeting would play out that Yuki noticed him before he realised it.
The reception he got from his little brother was nothing like what he had imagined. Yuki looked at him with nothing more then accusation and anger. It was clear that, no matter what Ayme had thought, Yuki blamed him for leaving. Held him responsible for how his life had turned out. Yuki didn't speak to him at all that first night.
In fact, it was a month of persistence on Ayame's part before anything changed. It was supposed to be the last night Ayame would be in town for a while, he was meant to be leaving for the north of Japan the next day. He had mostly given up on his brother ever forgiving him for something that, at the time he'd not given any thought to. He had gone to see Yuki just like normal, but he'd found that there were no words he could say or use that would make his little brother understand just how sorry he was. That old feeling of being worthless had haunted him for that whole walk in the lonely streets of Tokyo.
It was at the end of that walk, when they were almost at their parent's house, when Yuki stopped and turned to Ayame. Surprised, he had stopped as well and looked at the younger man in confusion; this was new.
"Will you be here tomorrow night?"
Those six words were the first ones he had said to Ayame since he was eight. It was one of those moments in Ayame's life that he would always treasure; a moment he would never forget.
At the time he had quickly agreed, saying of course he would be if his darling younger brother wanted him there, he'd be there.
As soon as he had gotten back to the hotel he had made a few quick phone calls and cancelled his plans for going north, this was much more important that his stupid job! He hadn't been very popular with a few people for cancelling on such short notice, but over time they had forgiven him and he was once again in their good books.
That monumental moment in Ayame's life had happened eleven years ago. While his brother wasn't apposed to talking to him, most of the time it was to tell him the shut up or to go away. Their relationship wasn't fantastic, though Ayame made sure to visit him every time he was in Japan and to send him regular e-mails to make sure he was still alive. Though he spoke to his brother, Ayame hadn't seen or spoken to his parents since that night when he was eighteen – he didn't regret it either.
Thinking of his brother, Ayame reached blindly into a pocket of his pants and pulled out his mobile. Pressing the speed dial for his assistant, Meme, a wonderful girl who would bend over backwards to help anyone, he raised the phone to his ear and waited.
It only took a few rings before her chipper voice answered.
"Hello, Ayame Nezumi-Hebi's PA, Meme speaking."
"Meme, I need a ticket to Tokyo on the earliest plane out." He tried to disguise the tears in his voice, but he wasn't sure how effective he was.
"Oh, um… well there's one at six in the morning." She said: the sound of her clicking away at a computer could be heard in the background.
"I'll take that one. Cancel anything else I have for at least the next week."
"Ayame, are you all right? Your brother's not hurt, is he?" She asked, concern colouring her voice. She was one of the few people who knew where his brother actually lived.
"He's fine, I just would like to spend some time with him. I've not been home for over a year, so…" He trailed off and allowed her to fill in the blanks with whatever she liked.
He doubted she'd know about Rikato's cheating ways' as she never listened to idle gossip.
"Ok, you're booked in first class tomorrow morning. I'm e-mailing the details to you know. Would you like a car there in the morning to take you?" She asked, helpful as always.
"No, I'll just grab a taxi, it'll be ok."
"Well, if that's all then sir?"
"Yes, yes it is…Meme?" he said softly, heart aching silently.
"Yes sir?"
"Thank you." Was all he said before snapping the phone closed and letting out a loud sigh.
Here he was, thirty-four and still crawling back to his hometown when something went wrong. It was pathetic.
'I'm pathetic.'
He allowed himself a moment longer to wallow in self-pity and heartache before pushing himself to his feet and beginning the packing process. It was already late at night, but he didn't really care, he could always sleep on the plane anyway.
As he packed he studiously ignored everything that was left behind by his now ex-lover and all the things that reminded Ayame of him were pushed to the side; to be dealt with later when it didn't hurt quite so much. Shoving nothing more than the bare essentials, Ayame grabbed his bag and made his way to the front of his apartment, opened the door and slammed it closed without a backwards glance.
'Stupid Rikato, thinking he's better than me. I'll show him! I'm better then him and I'm better off without him!' Ayame snarled in his head; head held high as he made his way to the airport and towards his baby brother.
***()
When Ayame had first arrived in Tokyo he had gone to where his little brother's last known address was. He found his brother was apparently at work right now having gotten a new job recently. Thanking the delightful owner of the apartment complex, Ayame made his way to his brothers' job, following the directions the owner had given him.
He found the Fruits Basket Café – Bookstore to be a sweet looking little shop. Shoving the instructions into his pocket so no one would see them, he took a deep breath before throwing open the door and stepping grandly into the place.
"YUKI! My darling little brother! Have you missed me?" He called out loudly, arms held open awaiting the hug he knew wouldn't be coming.
"What are you doing here?" Yuki's voice came from behind the small counter. Looking over, Ayame was pleased to see that his little brother was looking just as healthy as he had been when he had last seen him. There was also something about him that seemed more alive then usual…
"That's no way to speak to me!" Ayame stepping into the place and began making his theatrical way over to his brother.
"I've come here just to see you, from the deepest and darkest of all horror filled places! You should be grovelling at my feet in thanks for the sight of me!" He pointed to his feet haughtily as he managed to stare down his nose at Yuki thanks to the height difference.
"Go back to those horror filled places, you're not wanted here." Yuki snapped back.
'Blunt as ever, little brother.'
"Yuki! As your older brother I order you to respect me!" Ayame tried out the big guns, sure it would work.
The murderous glare sent his way was enough to make him rethink his strategy.
The brotherly bonding moment was interrupted by an angry voice.
"Oi, this is a public café, go do you theatrics somewhere else!" An orange haired man yelled at him.
"Why I never, so rude!" Ayame crowed: his eyes widened dramatically to make him look very offended.
"You're the one who's being rude." Yuki spoke up, bringing Ayame's attention back to him.
"Yuki, how can you say such a thing!" Ayame asked, completely scandalized.
"Um, excuse me?" A quiet female voice called out, catching the attention over everyone.
"Sorry, but who are you?" She asked brown head tilting slightly like a curious dog.
'Well, this is interesting.'
"So, you're Ayame Nezumi-Hebi, Yuki's older brother?" Tohru confirmed once introductions had been made, a cup of green tea placed in front of Ayame and a calming hand by Haru on Kyo's shoulder to prevent him from strangling the silver haired man.
"Yes, I am. I'm afraid I've been away for longer than usual. I normally make time to visit every couple of months, but time flies when you're having fun!" Ayame forced out a loud laugh, though inside he felt a pang of sadness.
'Even if that happiness was destroyed by a good-for-nothing bastard.' He kept his saddening thoughts to himself and focused on the here and now.
"What are you doing here?" Yuki repeated his previous question, frown firmly in place.
"Why, I'm here for you, my darling little brother. Don't act so shy, come and give you're big brother a hug!" He held out his hands, but Yuki merely stonewalled him with his glare.
"Now, Yuki, you should be happy to see your brother." Shigure spoke up with a would-be sincere smile on his face. "He sounds like he's come a long way just to see you." Some kind of mischievousness twinkled in his dark eyes, a mischievousness Ayame could relate to.
'A comrade in arms!'
"Yes, Yuki listen to Shigure, he's older and wiser then you." Ayame said, nodding along with his own words.
"He's as much of an idiot as you are." Yuki responded blandly, causing Shigure to give him a theatrically insulted look that Ayame was able to imitate perfectly.
"I feel so sorry for you to have to work with someone so cold hearted on a day-to-day basis." Ayame said attention now fully focused on Shigure.
"No, I feel sorry for you having to have this ice prince as a brother!" Before anyone could stop them or comment on it, Ayame had jumped to his feet, as did Shigure and they launched themselves at each other, holding hand tightly before them they looked into each others eyes.
"My strong willed brother in arms!"
"Your strength gives me strength!"
"Mon amore!"
"Ma-sheri!"
"Shut up!" Kyo finally exploded, unable to take any more of their playful bantering.
"Kyo, you're such a bore." Shigure pulled away from his new friend and pouted playfully at the orange head.
"Yes, very boring." Ayame agreed.
"Brother." Yuki spoke up, a hint of exasperation colouring his voice. "Please tell me, what are you doing here?"
'Well, when he asks like that…'
"I heard you got a new job and I wanted to come and check up on you. Besides, I really have missed you." Ayame said truthfully.
There was a beat of silence as Ayame started at Yuki who looked back at him with an unreadable look on his face. It was one that Ayame was painfully familiar with.
"Oh!" Tohru suddenly exclaimed, hands clasping before her. "Look at the time. I need to shut up the shop." She quickly scrambled to her feet.
"Here, I'll help you." Haru said standing up.
"Oh, no you don't need to…" Tohru trailed off as the two-tone haired man began flipping the chairs onto the tabletops so that they could mop.
"I'll grab the mop." Kyo offered and before Ayame knew it he was watching the two young men as they worked in sync together.
'Young love.' Ayame thought absentmindedly to himself with a small wistful feeling about him.
"Yuki, if you like you could leave now so you can spend some more time with your brother." Tohru offered him a big smile and Ayame's eyes widened at the obvious blush colouring Yuki's cheeks at the close proximity of Tohru.
'Well, well, little brother. Somebody's got a crush.' He sang happily in his head.
"Ah, are you sure you don't need my help with the clean up?"
"No, with Haru helping I'm sure we'll get it done in no time." While Tohru's smile was completely honest, Ayame wasn't sure where she was getting that idea.
Looking over at Haru and Kyo who had seemed to be working fine just a moment ago, they now seemed to be squabbling about Haru not putting the chairs up in the right order for Kyo to mop the floor. Ayame privately doubted they'd be getting much work done any time soon. From the look on Yuki's face, he was thinking the same thing.
"Well, if you're sure, Tohru." Yuki stood, Ayame quickly standing himself.
"We'll leave you to it then."
"Yes, goodbye Yuki's friends!" Ayame said, waving grandly as if he was some kind of royalty.
"Oh! Goodbye Ayame, it was nice to meat you!" Tohru said quickly, a large and sincere smile on her face.
"See you later, Aya." Shigure winked at him, mischievous as always.
"Till next time, Gure." Ayame winked back at him, thoroughly enjoying the groans that came from Yuki and Kyo, the later of which unable to not hear their conversation at they were practically yelling at one another.
The two brothers' exited the café – bookstore in silence as Ayame followed Yuki towards his apartment. They had walked a block before Yuki finally spoke.
"How did you find my work?"
"Oh! Your delightful landlord gave me directions." Ayame said happily, amused to note the darkening of his little brother's eyes.
'He's probably imagining how he could torture the poor man for giving out his personal information without his permission.'
"I wasn't expecting to see you again for some while." Yuki spoke softly, but there was an undertone of curiosity.
"Well, things change." Ayame said, sadness tinging his voice as his thoughts wandered to yesterday's disaster.
"What happened to what's-his-face; Rikato, was it?" Yuki asked, glancing at him when he took a moment before responding.
"We broke up." Ayame said softly, not sure if his brother had even heard him or not.
When they continued walking for another block Ayame was sure his brother hadn't heard him. It wasn't until they were almost at Yuki's home that he spoke again.
"I'm sorry to hear that… Don't worry though, you still have me." Ayame stoped in his tracks and looked at the young man next to him, no longer the little kid that needed him to look after him and take him places. He had grown up right before his eyes and he had only just begun to get to know the incredible person that was his younger brother.
Ayame smiled softly as his brother continued down the street, pretending he'd not said anything.
"Well of course I have you!" Ayame said, running up to his brother and slinging an arm around his shoulder and messing his hair.
"GET OFF!" Yuki yelled, but Ayame just laughed loudly as he was pushed away, Yuki taking off down the street to his apartment in the hopes of locking Ayame out of it.
"Yuki! Wait for me, my darling little brother! We can stay up late sharing stories and eating instant ramen." Ayame said excitedly, running to catch up to him.
'Thank you, Yuki; you always know what to say just when I need to hear it.'