I'll Love You Even When The Mortals Have Forgotten Us

Chapter 8

With harsh tears streaming down his face, Sugawara (or Koushi) stormed into his house. When the door opened, Kuma looked from in the kitchen to see who it was. He dried his hands on a nearby towel — washing dishes left his hands wet — and spoke to him.

"Koushi, why are you home so late," He demanded, furiously.

Their mother would not be returning home until later, so it was his responsibility to make sure Koushi was alright, but it is extremely hard to do that when Koushi didn't pick up the phone. He was worried and pacing around the room, the entire house and even contemplated whether to call the police. But after a conversation on the phone with their mom, she reassured him that he "does this all the time' and will "probably come home later". Even with this relief, he was upset at Koushi's actions.

But Koushi did not answer him. Pretending that he did not hear, he took off his shoes, lined them up and harshly closed the door behind him, making a louder slam than he intended.

He ignored it and made his way to the stairs when Kuma stopped him with a commanding voice. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing, slamming doors?"

They finally made eye contact and when they did, Kuma's expression soften at how utterly broken Koushi looked. His eyes and nose were red and dripping. Fat tears rolled down his flushed cheeks as they held each other gaze.

"Fuck. Off," Koushi spat out, his voice cracking.

Kuma let out a sigh as Koushi retreated upstairs, probably to his bedroom. Even when Koushi was young, before their parents got divorced, he always got angsty and emotional when he was upset. And even now, Kuma doesn't know how to handle these mood swings. He took a deep breath, mentally preparing himself as he walked up the stairs in the direction of his younger brother's bedroom. He knocked a few times and when there was no response, he opened the door and entered.

Inside he was Koushi weeping into his pillow in the dark. His choked sobs broke Kuma's heart. So, slowly, the older brother sat on the bed and placed his hand on Koushi's back. "Kou?"

Again, Koushi didn't answer, didn't move. He allowed Kuma to put his hand on his back as he continued to cry. Then, Kuma decided to try a different approach. He laid down next to Koushi, spooning him from the behind. When Koushi made no move to stop him, he wrapped his arms around his younger brother and shushed into his ear until they both eventually fell asleep.

What a sight it was for their mom to finally see her boys getting along.

~

It was a couple of hours later. The whole family was in the family room being loud and chaotic. The two boys sat on the floor in front of the television while Ms. Sugawara, or Hana, watch the two of them on the couch with a cup of chamomile tea supped in her hands. It was nice, Koushi though. To be together as a family who were joking and laughing and playfully teasing each other. It felt safe.

"Oh, I must take this!" Hana exclaimed once her phone began to ring. She set her cup down and dispersed out of the living room and into the kitchen in a hushed voice.

"Ma, bring cookies," Kuma yelled out, averting his eyes from the video game he and Koushi were playing. In that second her looked away, Koushi took the opportunity and beat him in the level. "Aw, fuck!" He exclaimed under his breath as Koushi jumped up and celebrated. "You can stop being an ass about it," he barked at his brother and threw a pillow at him. "One more."

As they settled down on the couch, preparing to play another round against each other, Koushi was uncomfortable by the silence between them. They didn't talk about the nap they took together or how they suddenly like each other now, they just decided "okay, we're bonding." But Kuma was still Koushi's mysterious older brother, and he wanted answers.

"Kuma."

"Yeah?"

"Why are you here?"

There was an awkward silence for a bit before Kuma let out a long sigh. "I was wondering when you might ask that. Kou, what do you think of Dad?"

Koushi looked away, his face getting hot. When was the last time he thought about his father? "I don't know, I mean," he stuttered, "I don't really care."

"Yeah, same," Kuma said with a breathy laugh. He dragged his hands through his hair. "But Dad, cares about you. He always says you were the golden child. He's so proud of you and volleyball and whatever."

Koushi's face heated up even more. His dad watched his volleyball games even though he barely plays. He felt known, seen and happy but Kuma did not.

"And he always compared me to you, always talking shit so I got tired of it and left. I've been doing online classes for college since. Plus, part of the reason why I'm here is to see you graduate and to see mom again. I missed you guys."

Koushi smiled in return. "I'm glad you're here."

"Whatever, dork," Kuma said, cheeks becoming red (a trait in the Sugawara family), latching his arm around Koushi's neck and pulling him close. "Now, it's my turn: Why were you so depressed today?"

Koushi's face turned into a tomato as he cried, "I think Daichi tried to kiss me!"

Behind them, a plateful of cookies crashed onto the ground and their mother let out a gasp. "Koushi," she said, softly, hand flying to her mouth, "You're gay?"

~

As he got his brother and mother up to date on the drama with Daichi (and a new plate of cookies), his mother let out small commentary the whole time while Kuma just stared blank faced.

"And Asahi wants me to confess because having a crush on Daichi is absolute hell, and I'm trying to but how could I?!" He whined, shoving cookie into his mouth.

"Well, Daichi's a kind young man, I can tell why you like him," Hana said. "And you can do whatever you like because it's your crush, not Asahi's, but confession seems like the best possible choice, dear. And who knows, he might reciprocate your feelings."

"Or crush your heart into a million pieces."

Hana and Koushi gave Kuma a death stare for his words to which he responded with a simple shrug. "What, I do not like him."

He reached to another chocolate chip cookie to which Hana pulled the plate out of his reach. "No cookies for you," she scolded.

"I don't know what I'll do," Koushi said, hiding his face in his hands. "Daichi is so.... ugh! And I really like him, but he doesn't like me and i don't know if I can just be his friend. Am I being selfish?"

"Not at all, dear," Hana consoled. "You're not being selfish, you're recognizing your feelings."

Just then, a phone began to ring on the coffee table. It was Koushi's but before he could grab it, Kuma did and checked the caller ID. "It's Asahi," he said with a sigh of disappointment and handed the phone back to Koushi, who stuck his tongue out and snatch it away. Then he excused himself from the living room and into the kitchen, answering it on the way.

"Asahi, you would never believe what just happened."

(1222 words)