My Brother's Keeper

AU, TezukaFuji. As brothers, their bond was unbreakable, and as lovers, their passion was unending. But when a ghost of the past shows up to haunt Syusuke's perfect life, Tezuka realizes that he cannot protect his little brother from everything.

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A/N: Wow. Hello and Welcome to the last chapter of My Brother's Keeper. Thing is, I wrote this chapter after I wrote chapter one, and now, somehow the ending doesn't seem all that good now. But I really don't know what to put and how to make it longer. So I'm just leaving it as it is. Not my best piece of work, but I hope everyone enjoys anyway. Thanks for sticking with me!! I really loved this project!

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Chapter Six

Ever After

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When Tezuka woke up the next morning, Syusuke was there, idly stroking his fingers through his older brother's hair, mussed from sleep. "Good morning," He greeted cheerily, with his usual bright smile, "Did you have a nightmare?"

Tezuka kept his eyes closed. "Why do you say that?" True, it was one of the less restful nights he had slept through, but he wouldn't be go so far to call it a nightmare. Besides, if he had had one, he would probably remember.

"You were crying."

Tezuka blinked, "I was?"

Nodding solemnly, Fuji lay back against him again. One hand rubbed lazily against Tezuka's hip, "Just a little. But...you seem all right now. You are all right?"

Today was not the day, but there were many times when Tezuka would turn around and realize, that Fuji Syusuke would suddenly not be there for him to hold. So perhaps only for that reason, he was 'all right.' He held his brother tighter, shifting just so, so that Syusuke could rest his head in the crook of his neck.

"I'm fine. Right now, at any rate."

A long silence passed. It had been another week since then, Tezuka had not seen Fuji Yumiko, nor Fuji Yuuta, nor had he heard from them. He hadn't seen them, and Tezuka hated it, but he had forbidden Syusuke to go anywhere without his knowing. Of course he was allowed to leave the house, but more often than not, Tezuka went with. A constant fear constricted his chest, and right now, having his brother here in bed with him was enough.

"You've been really weird lately, niisan."

"I'm stressed." He admitted, being only partially truthful.

"Are you?"

Tezuka considered, "I'm...I don't know."

"Niisan, you're not making any sense."

Yet another pause, Tezuka supposed that he wasn't. But that was certainly the trouble, nothing seemed to. No matter if he squinted, and turned the whole situation on his head. He traced an lazy path up his brother's stomach.

The door to their bedroom swung open. Atobe Keigo stood undeterred in their doorway and he turned away as soon as he realized exactly what he had walked in on.

"Christ..."

Tezuka rolled his eyes, Syusuke merely giggled and snuggled closer. It seemed that Atobe had made himself quite comfortable and he had no intentions of leaving. Even if the visitors that plagued his mansion had come and gone. Tezuka said, "Don't you knock?"

To which Atobe responded with, "Can I just walk in one day and not catch you two having sex?"

Syusuke and Tezuka exchanged looks, the word 'sex' slipped so easily from Atobe's mouth, really, the common life was making him vulgar. It was Syusuke who sighed this time, "We're not doing anything. What do you want?"

"I want breakfast." Atobe sounded not unlike a petulant child.

"You want breakfast, get it yourself." Syusuke said, "Either that, or go home."

Atobe said, "I'm not even going to say anything."

Tezuka shook his head, "I'm speechless." He sat up, and Syusuke sat up with him. With one hand, Syusuke also tugged up the white sheets that was covering both of them, as if he was afraid that Atobe would look. "What would you like for breakfast?" It felt like he was appeasing a whining child.

"Niisan."

He was trying to soothe two very different people all at once. It proved to be something of a challenge. Tezuka was in many ways, more rational than his younger brother. (Although all evidence seemed to point to Syusuke being something else these days, he couldn't help but be stubborn.) He understood that if he didn't get out of bed and fix Atobe his damn breakfast, the other would still whine.

It was in his blood to whine. But in getting Atobe his breakfast, he would be offending Syusuke. After hesitating for a moment, he unwrapped Syusuke's arms around his waist, "Look, let me go get his royal highness some breakfast, and I'll come right back."

"Mou..."

"I promise."

-

Tezuka threw on clothes, and followed a very smug Atobe to the kitchen. How easy it was to just slam Atobe's head onto the counter and leave him there. But of course, if he did that, he'd be run out of Tokyo, and quite possibly the whole of Japan within thirty seconds. However, he took time to make his displeasure known, slamming down the jar of coffee beans down.

Atobe waited for a few awkward beats, and then his ventured, almost shyly, "I lied to you."

"About?"

"Breakfast, I don't really want breakfast. I just want to talk to you."

"If this is about Oshitari, you can foget it." Tezuka said.

"It's not. It's actually a point of immediate concern."Atobe crossed his arms, "About Syusuke."

"What about Syusuke?"

Atobe sighed, "How long do you intend to keep this from him? Why are you keeping this from him? Is it because you're selfish, or do you think you're still protecting him?"

"It upsets him." Tezuka returned, voice notably tighter. "What gives you the right to lecture me on this?"

"It's not lecturing, it's merely common sense. If anything, I think you'd lost your head." With a shake of his head, Atobe took the cup offered him and sipped for it, and then he winced, "I take sugar in my coffee."

"Get it yourself. It's over there."

"You're insane. Forget it." Atobe put down the cup, "I'm leaving."

-

"You took a long time." Syusuke sounded only mildly accusing.

Tezuka hesitated, "I"m sorry." And then he added, "Atobe left." as a further apology. "I was just making sure he left." Thanks to Atobe, he felt like a dirty liar. But still, Sysuke was altogether welcoming as he tossed back the sheets and patted the space beside him like he often did.

"Ah, that's good then." Syusuke settled snugly against his chest, "He was getting a little annoying, even for me."

His brother smiled the most dazzling smile.

And Tezuka wondered if Atobe was right. But now, he was determined to ignore it.

Syusuke just didn't give him the chance.

"Niisan. I want to thank you."

"For?" Tezuka blinked.

"Everything that you are, everything that you gave me. I want to thank you." Syusuke smiled, this time, it was less dazzling, but more sad. "But...niisan, it's okay. You don't have to hide anymore, I know. I know that Yumiko-neesan and Yuuta are still waiting for me to come back with them to London. I know that I'm not really your little brother, and I've always known it. I've never forgotten, although I know you think that I do."

Tezuka said nothing.

"Who told you?" He asked at last, deflated, defeated.

Atobe, Oshitari, even Tezuka's own mother were suspects. He held his brother tighter, and Syusuke let him. "No one did, well..." He amended himself after Tezuka shot up a baleful look, "I guess Atobe could be a little bit less conspicuous, but he didn't really say anything, it wasn't him." A long pause, Syusuke sighed, "Yuuta found me."

"How?"

It was simply treason, to think that Fuji Yuuta could find his brother, and brainwash him when he didn't seem to be looking.

"Don't get mad, he found me in the library." Syusuke soothed him, "It's not like he kidnapped me or something like that...anyway, we had a talk. He misses me."

"And..." Tezuka couldn't believe his ears, "And then what? Are you just going to go?" He still had the taste of Syusuke in his mouth, and suddenly, everything was bitter.

Are you just going to leave me like this?

"Niisan." Syusuke looked at him, "Don't be unreasonable. I love you."

What did that mean? What did love mean, if it was just going to slip so easily from his fingers? Tezuka gripped Syusuke hard enough to leave marks on the bare skin. And Syusuke said nothing, and he didn't stop him, either. "Don't leave."

Still, there was silence.

Finally, Syusuke closed his eyes and sighed, "I thought I was able to hide from them. When I was growing up, they were nothing but kind to me. Especially Yumiko-neesan, she doted on me, even if I wasn't really her brother."

Tezuka despised the woman. "You gave her...the picture of your mother."

The other regarded him with surprise, and then not so much. "Ah, I did. I didn't want to remember her, so I gave the picture away."

Speaking of the picture, Tezuka looked up at the two pictures that still sat in twin frames on top of the dresser. On the right was a five-year-old Syusuke in the meadow, the left, was Tezuka rock climbing with his father. He felt a little bit more comforted. "Why did you want to forget about her?"

"Because I don't remember anything about her. Fuji-san used to tell me stories all the time, but I don't remember her. I hate it." Syusuke shrugged, as if it wasn't anything of importance, "And I thought...if I didn't have that picture, Fuji-san's wife would be nicer to me." This time, his smile was a wan one. "I didn't know why back then...but I wanted her to like me."

Tezuka didn't say anything, instead, he loosened his hold on his brother and rubbed his shoulders. At length, he said:

"...What happened, back then?"

Syusuke kissed his collarbone, probably for no other reason than to distract himself.

"...I don't know. I don't really remember. But...now that I think about it, I guess it's a good thing. She just didn't like me. And it wasn't abuse...she just forgot to feed me a lot, and...she yelled at me. But again, I guess she was perfectly justified."

"But it wasn't your fault."

Syusuke smiled helplessly, "I know that, niisan, but I didn't know that back then. And I was happy that I went away. I was happy that I found you...even if...even if I didn't get to grow up with Yumiko-neesan and Yuuta."

"Do you regret that?" Tezuka said, dreading the answer.

"Not growing up how I should have? No. Not really." Syusuke smiled at him. "I got to meet you, didn't I? I got to love you, and...there's nothing to regret, there's only good things."

"Syusuke...are you going to go back to London?"

His brother looked at him, "Is that what you were afraid of? That I would leave?"

"Yes..."

"Niisan. You're an idiot."

"I—what?"

Syusuke kissed him, the kiss was everything that he'd ever dreamed of. "I love you, how could I leave? I have no intentions of going back to London, unless it's for a visit, and unless you come with me. How could I throw everything away when you try so hard to give me what you have? You're being silly."

Tezuka did feel like an idiot. "I...well," He shook his head, 'I just thought...they're your siblings too...it's just...well, they have more of a claim on you than I do."

"Are you going to give me away, then?"

"No." Tezuka shook his head again, "No, of course not." His mind was numb, numb with so much relief.

Syusuke smiled, "Then I'm staying right here."

-

"You're what?" Fuji Yumiko looked uneasy at the two boys sitting across from her on the couch, "But Syusuke, you have to come back with us." And the plea was punctuated by a glare in Tezuka's general direction, since she'd never forgiven him.

"Neesan, you don't understand." Syusuke said, "I understand that you still love me. I understand that you have looked for me and missed me. But...I can't go with you. My place is here, it's not in London, it was never in London."

"Syusuke--"

"Neesan." He cut her off gently, "Don't do this to me. You've always wanted the best for me, even when Fuji-san always scolded you for it. I loved you then, I love you now, even though we've lost so many years."

She said nothing, and Yuuta, standing by her side, looked down on the ground.

Yumiko turned to him for defense, "Yuuta, don't you want Syusuke to come back with us?"

Yuuta bit his lip, Tezuka stared at him hard.

"I think..." The boy said hesitantly, "That aniki should be allowed to stay where he wants to, here in Japan."

"Yuuta!"

Yuuta shrank under his sister's gaze, but somehow managed to straighten up again, "...Neesan, having aniki come back with us, it will make us happy, but it won't make aniki happy. It won't make Tezuka-san happy either." He took a deep breath, "I think...I think Tezuka-san and aniki make each other happy. That's all we came for, didn't we? We wanted to see if he was happy. We don't have to take him away."

Syusuke shuddered beside him, Tezuka's grip tightened instinctively.

"But I think...it's not so out of line to want aniki to come visit...with Tezuka-san, sometime." Yuuta finished awkwardly with his eyes shut. As if he were afraid of his sister blowing him up the moment he finished.

Instead, Fuji Yumiko crumpled. Syusuke broke from Tezuka's hold and went over to the other side of the table to hold his sister tight.

-

Outside, Syusuke stood still. There was a contented smile on his face and Tezuka was just as contented to watch him. At length, he held out his hand to Tezuka, and Tezuka took it.

Syusuke's smile stretched until it was brighter than the sun, and Tezuka couldn't but smile.

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End

10-05-08

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