Sorry about any errors in my writing in this chapter. I do not have time right now to edit it. But I WILL edit it later tonight, so it won't completely suck. Thanks for reading!

Hikaru followed his younger brother as he walked stiffly in front of him towards their house. It was a large house, recently renovated and redecorated because of Mom's new promotion; she's been working on her fashion designs since Dad died, but now it was finally picking up, giving them extra cash to finally pay off their mortgage on the house they'd upgraded to six years ago. It wasn't anything fancy, just a little more middle class than the Rambler home they had before.

Kaoru's face was straight and emotionless as he trudged along, carrying his single duffel; Hikaru didn't even think Kaoru noticed the new color of the house—white, by the way—or the fresh landscaping they had done this spring. Well, not that it mattered anyway, but Hikaru just wanted a reaction out of Kaoru. Ever since they've picked the kid up he's been pretty lifeless.

"You're going to school tomorrow aren't you?" Hikaru hedged, watching Kaoru carefully. He kept expecting him to explode, to yell at things that weren't there, just like those days two years ago.

Kaoru looked at him distractedly. "Wha-? What did you say?"

"School? Are you going?"

Kaoru nodded and offered a solemn smile. "Yeah, I want to get back to everything."

Smiling back, Hikaru bumped shoulders with his twin. "Great to have you back."

They reached the door and went inside. Kaoru didn't even look around but instead dropped his bag at the door and turned to look at him and their mother who was standing anxiously by the spiral stairs. "So what now?" Kaoru asked.

Hikaru exchanged a faltering glance with Mom. It wasn't supposed to be this weird, not with their brother, their family. "How about some cookies?"

"Sounds good," Kaoru said with one of those small smiles again.

They all made their way quietly and wearily into the kitchen; the silence was killer. Inside the wide and well-polished kitchen, the boys went and sat instinctively at the counter side by side. Hikaru smiled at Kaoru as he pulled himself up into the tall café chairs. Kaoru returned the smile, glanced around the room, and then his eyes settled on his mother who was opening a plastic container of the cookies. "Where is Erina?" Kaoru asked casually, mentioning their housekeeper.

Mom scooped the Macadamia cookies out onto a plate and touched her face with a frown on her face, pushing the strands of brown hair from her face. "Uh, I had to let her go," she said simply in a quiet voice.

Kaoru was seething and Hikaru could practically feel the tension crashing through the room. Erina was their housekeeper of three years; Kaoru had loved her, but Mom had gotten rid of the woman shortly after Kaoru's absence. Hikaru wasn't sure why. But as Hikaru watched, Kaoru cleared his face and swallowed hard, returning to a smile. "You have my favorite," Kaoru said happily, gesturing to the plates on the counter.

"Our favorite," Hikaru corrected. They both liked practically all the same things.

Mom started pouring three glasses of milk and sighed deeply. "Everything will get better from here," she changed the subject. "I know things are awkward for us now, but things will fall into place just as they were before." She paused in her pouring to make eye contact with Hikaru and then Kaoru. A silent agreement passed over them to make things the best they could. "Things will be normal now. Kaoru's normal now."

A cold silence descended upon them, making them all freeze. Mom's eyes were wide, staring at the milk cartoon. Hikaru's heart was racing and he glanced at Kaoru and saw complete shock in his brother's eyes… and the hurt; the way Kaoru's eyes flinched just slightly was horrific.

Mom turned to Kaoru in a flash, completely wide-eyed. "Kaoru-I-You were- I didn't mean," she stuttered, stepping towards him with her hand stretching hesitantly out before her.

"Well sorry I was such an inconvenience to you," Kaoru said shortly almost under his breath. He stood abruptly and marched of the room, leaving a trail of anger behind him.

Hikaru stared open-mouthed after his brother and then glanced at his mother. "Oh no," she whimpered, dropping her head into arms upon the counter.

Mom was never like this, not since Dad died and not since she sent Kaoru away; she was really torn up. Hikaru stood as well. "I'm going to go talk to him."

She didn't reply as he disappeared into the hallway and up the spiral stairs. The walk wasn't long to Kaoru's room at the end of the hall, but it still felt surreal. Kaoru's room hadn't been in use in so long… He reached for the knob but stopped; he figured the door would be locked. So he knocked instead. "Kaoru? Are you okay?"

He heard a harshly dispelled exhale through the door. "Just fine," was Kaoru's flat reply.

"Will you let me in?"

"I didn't lock it."

Hikaru looked down in surprise and opened it tentatively. The door creaked from disuse and the room smelt musty. Kaoru was lying on the bed in the middle, surrounded by the hauntings of his past. Hikaru wondered if Kaoru even liked the bands that hung on his wall or the DVDs stacked on his dresser anymore. On his stomach and staring at the wall, Kaoru laid unmoving. "What do you want Hikaru?"

"You know that Mom didn't mean it like that, right?"

Blowing out another deep breath, Kaoru closed his eyes. "Yeah, I know. It just didn't sound right."

"She just wanted you to be okay," Hikaru explained, stepping closer to the bed and dropped into the red lounge chair in the corner of the room.

Kaoru glanced at Hikaru sharply and then somewhere to Hikaru's immediately left. Kaoru nodded and looked back at Hikaru. "Yeah, I know. I just need to get over everything… but you know how it can be. It stings a little when she says something like that, you know?"

"Yeah, but everything will be okay. I promise."

"And if it isn't, I'll make it okay," Kaoru interjected.

"Yeah," Hikaru said slowly. Something about Kaoru's tone brought a chill down his spine. "Yeah, okay," he repeated noncommittally.

"Can I have a minute alone?" his brother asked suddenly.

"Sure," Hikaru agreed, standing quickly. "Okay." He left the room, feeling uneasy.