Burden [Not me the series]

One

Black had been a loner by choice for as long as he could remember. After White was taken away from him, something inside him shut down once and for all and made it impossible for anyone to get even halfway to his heart for a very long time.

He was a living man, dead inside and angry at the whole world. To control it somehow, he decided to turn his anger and hatred into the power to fight on behalf of those who lacked the courage or whose voice was constantly unheard.

For a long period after his brother's leaving, he was alone. Anyone who tried to approach him has always been pushed away in such a harsh way that one never tried to get in his way again. So how Eugene and Gram had come to be so close to him - he himself didn't quite know nor understand. They were by his side, however, and nothing had the effect of moving them away. So Black had another two people on his mind, whose safety and happiness he again had to fight for.

The breakup with Eugene was a horrible experience for him. He, who hated everything, realized the moment he stood in the room with her that it was possible he would never find another person he could love in the same way again. By the end of their conversation, he hoped she would hit him at least once, believing that a slap in the face would hurt less than her gaze.

So when he saw her again, after nearly losing his life when everything he'd created so far was mixed up and tangled, he didn't expect to find her with his best friend. At least he considered Gram to be one, but after their argument, he quickly understood that their whole relationship was just a misunderstanding. Still, it hurt, knowing that Gram was sticking by his side, only to spend as much time with Eugene as possible.

"We were never friends. You are incapable of trusting others. No one can or wants to get close to you, you brought this on yourself." Black heard from him on the way out and only laughed mockingly as he left the building. Who like anyone, but Gram knew just what to do to hit the right spot to make it hurt. Black, though he was furious, couldn't hate him for it. Everything he said was true, after all.

Not knowing what to do with himself, Black returned to the garage. It was late in the evening, and he hoped he wouldn't see anyone in it. He found it quiet, so to occupy his mind, where thoughts were running in a very dangerous direction, he decided to look over his motorcycle. All he managed to do, however, was spill oil on the floor and drop all his tools in the process, which impetuously bounced off the ground, spreading the noise throughout the garage.

"Fucking hell." He cursed juicily under his breath and laughed at the same time, as he felt tears coming to his eyes. "What the fuck is wrong with me today?" He muttered, surprised at such an emotional reaction from his body. Honestly, he couldn't remember the last time he felt so shitty, the urge to cry not even worth mentioning.

"If you're going to bang around like that all night, then go outside where the noise doesn't go off." Sean appeared suddenly and Black was on the verge of turning around and punching him in that cocky face.

"Get the fuck out of here." He just growled and went back to work.

"I live here as if you don't remember. You're making me unable to sleep." Sean watched Black's behaviour, inwardly getting satisfaction from raising his blood pressure.

"I don't give a fuck." Black snorted.

"You woke White up, too." That was enough to make the blood boil in Black, and he would have punched the other man if he hadn't cut his hand through his own absent-mindedness and the anger that had taken hold of him.

"I genuinely don't give a single damn!" He yelled this time, because this evening had been shitty enough, yet fucking Sean had the nerve to mess with him.

The other, meanwhile, had suspected all along that there was something wrong with Black and was now one hundred percent sure of it. Everything else could crash and burn around him and Black wouldn't move a finger, but when it came to his younger twin, he'd tear the sky in half as long as nothing bad happened to him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Sean asked, simultaneously snatching the screwdriver from the other's bloody hand and pressing a clean cloth to it to stop the bleeding.

"None of your fucking business!" Black broke free from his grasp, turning his back.

"You know what, screw you! This is why you have no friends. No one wants to get close to you because as soon as they show any sign of caring, you drag someone through the mud."

"I'm not going to take your life advices, Sean. Just back off and leave me alone."

Even when he knew he was wrong, he didn't want to hear it again. And certainly not today and not from someone like Sean. Black was a loner with a very dangerous way of life. Having people around would only cause him more problems. He was the only one who knew that half-hearted relationships didn't matter. When he fell in love with Gene, he believed he had found his soulmate. If he had more people like that, he would have to start choosing between his ideology and protecting his loved ones.

"We are not friends. But we're not enemies, either. At least from my side. So pull yourself together and go back to being your annoying self." Sean spoke up again and Black rolled his eyes hard enough to feel his eyeballs but froze when the other pulled him by the hood and started leading him towards the ladder and then his room.

"Hey, let me the hell go!" Black yanked but was eventually shoved through the door into the room.

White was leaning against the headboard of his bed, scrolling through something on his phone. He had a sleepy look on his face and slightly dishevelled hair. It was obvious he was tired, and Black felt guilty for waking him up by making noise downstairs.

"Sean?" White lifted his gaze but furrowed his brow when he noticed his twin brother at his side.

"Black came over because something happened at his apartment. He's staying here tonight." Sean said, as if he hadn't made up that lie on the spot at all.

He just walked over to the bed, picked up his pillow and kissed White on the forehead goodbye, making Black unable to stop rolling his eyes. As they passed each other, Sean pushed Black toward his brother and threw him an unused pillow that had rolled across the desk.

"He did something to his hand, babe, so if you could take care of it, it'll be great, because if anyone else tries to, he'll bite them." Sean said mockingly and after grabbing his things, walked out, leaving the twins alone.

Black stood in the middle of the room for a while longer, not knowing what to do with himself, and only sat down on the bed when White pulled him by the hand. He silently allowed the younger to bandage his wound and didn't even argue when White handed him clothes to change into.

It wasn't until the lights were turned off, and they were both lying quietly, that Black allowed his emotions to flow out and everything he had been holding inside him so far finally found its outlet. White hugged him the whole time, not saying a word as Black cried into his chest. He knew his brother enough to know that words were of no use to him.

"I swear, if you mention this to anyone, I'll look past the fact that you're my brother." Black muttered as White wiped the very last tears from his face.

"I'd love to see that." The younger joked to lighten the mood. "P', you know you're not alone, right? You don't have to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders all by yourself."

"White..." growled Black, for he was already tired and didn't want to continue this conversation.

"Okay, okay, you big crybaby." White laughed as Black smacked him on the shoulder. "Now sleep, we'll come back to it in the morning." He added and hugged him even tighter than it seemed possible.