Everchanging

Yearning

!!TW!! Abuse mentions, alcoholism mentions, minor panic attacks, minor PTSD flashbacks

Senjuro hadn't really known what to expect from meeting Genya. His brother had explained the barest details, an abusive father and a family tragedy, so Senjuro had really expected Genya to be the same as him. But he'd been sorely wrong, sure they liked the same things, but seemingly odd things set Genya off. Senjuro understood, of course he did, but that didn't stop it from being scary when he'd set Genya off.

They had similar triggers, like yelling, but also Genya's triggers were a lot more vague. Like loud noises in general could set the boy off, like a breaking dish. Messes also freaked both boys out, so Senjuro could predict that. But the real curveball was that women could set Genya off, specifically adult women. Girls didn't freak him out as much, they just unnerved him a bit and took some time to get comfortable around. But adult women genuinely scared the boy.

Senjuro had also noticed how hesitant the other teen was to go towards the bathroom, he would wait until the last possible second before he would surrender. Also, he had noticed that Genya had a bit of an issue with food. Not that Genya would refuse to eat, he simply would forget to feed himself. And when he did, it was either very little or poor quality food.

Currently, Senjuro sat across the hall from the bathroom on the floor, waiting for his friend to wash his hands and come out. Kyojuro had gone to the backyard to work on the garden so the two boys had free run of the house. Which they had used to set up a ton of blankets and pillows in the living room so Senjuro could finally get Genya to watch Labyrinth.

The blonde boy perked up, standing when he saw Genya emerge from the daunting bathroom. The tall boy jumped a little when he noticed the other waiting for him but was easily calmed when the younger boy smiled so sweetly at him. Senjuro pranced up to his friend, taking the larger hand in his own to tug him towards their blanket and pillow fort.

"What should we eat? Anything sound good?" Senjuro hummed just slightly louder than the air conditioner, turning back to look into violet eyes. For such a tall boy, Genya was quite good at making himself seem small and precious. It made Senjuro want to protect the older teen.

"Should we cook or order food?" Genya answered the question with another question. Senjuro found that he tended to do that, never truly answering a question. It was like the boy was testing all of his options to make sure he didn't choose the wrong one. The younger boy shrugged as he nudged his friend to plop down into the cushions, eyes focusing on a stray hair that was sticking up from Genya's bangs.

"I'm fine with whatever." Smaller hands fixed the AWOL hair before Senjuro flopped back onto the blankets, bright eyes looked to violet before humming. "Maybe we should ask Kyo what he wants. Since we both suck at making decisions."

The topic was quickly dropped for something more interesting, like playing video games. Senjuro had come to the startling realization when they both had gone to Giyuu's house, that Genya had never played video games in his life. The older teen had explained that he had watched people play but he himself had never had the chance to play. So, when he agreed to come over to the Rengoku house, Senjuro had been determined to give the boy his first eye opening experience.

If Senjuro was being completely honest, he also hadn't been able to indulge in gaming until he moved in with his brother. Before, his life was too busy with being a maid for his drunk father to even think about hobbies.

His own book, that he bought with his own money, sat at his feet soiled and ruined. Glass dug itself into the boy's plush soles as he desperately tried to keep his tears back. A hand that used to be so kind now tangled into his blonde hair and yanked.