dinohouse | [Rescue Fire/Gaia fusion] For Tatsuya

"But I was happy," Tatsuya repeated, and took another gulp at Katsumi's milkshake. "Maybe they could only afford you, just like she could only afford me." He had been told so many times what an expensive nuisance he was and how much he was costing his aunt to keep that he was certain there was no way she could have coped with Katsumi as well.

That... doesn't seem right. "Maybe?" He studied Tatsuya closely, trying to figure out what he wasn't saying. "Maybe if they hadn't had to worry about my hospital bills they could have had both of us." If expenses had been the reason in the first place.

"Yeah, but it's not your fault. It's more important for you to get better." Tatsuya pouted back at him but cheered up when he noticed that Katsumi had left some fries.

Like having his brother around wouldn't have helped, Katsumi thought sourly, taking care not to mention that out loud, taking his attentio off his remaining fries. "Would have helped if they'd told me what happened to you, though."

Tatsuya shrugged, "Maybe they didn't know. I don't think she ever wrote to them. I used to ask to see you, but she said I wasn't allowed. So I stopped asking." He began dipping the leftover fries into the pile of ketchup on his plate, "could you get me some more ketchup please?"

"She had no right to do that." Gritting his teeth against the anger, Katsumi stood up and stalked over to the counter for more ketchup. How dare she do something like that, lying to keep them separated, and for so long.

Tatsuya accepted the ketchup eagerly and began wolfing down the remaining fries, seemingly oblivious to Katsumi's rage. When he looked up at his brother his face fell, "what?"

How did he not understand what a big deal this was? Katsumi wondered in frustration. "It doesn't bother you that she did that? That she lied about it, repeatedly?"

Along with everything else. Why was he the only one pissed off about everything?

Tatsuya cringed. His instinct was to hug Katsumi or try to calm him down in some way, but he didn't want to be punched in the nose nor to create a scene in the restaurant, "It's sad, and I wish I could have been with you. But she couldn't afford to have us both! She kept saying it was too expensive for her to look after me!" As difficult as things had been, he still considered his time at the Himawari School the happiest years of his life; the only way to improve upon them would have been if Katsumi were there with him.

Katsumi sat back down sharply, pushing the ketchup in Tatsuya's direction before slumping back in his seat. This would be so much easier to deal with if Tatsuya was upset as well, but he wasn't and Katsumi didn't know how to deal with Tatsuya acting like it was no big deal.

Tatsuya abandoned his chips and shifted his seat over to Katsumi's side of the table, "what is it?" He worried that any attempts to comfort Katsumi would come across as at best patronising, but all the same he was determined to try, "I missed you! I missed you all the time. When I was at Himawari I always told people I wished you could be with me. I didn't abandon you!"

Katsumi shifted slightly in his seat so they were just about touching.

"I didn't say you did. It just pisses me off that we were kept apart when there was no reason."

He was grateful for his family, for his aunt and uncle that had looked after him, but that didn't mean he hadn't felt Tatsuya's absence sharply. Anything would have been better than that as long as they'd been kept together.

"Himawari is being rebuilt! I should take you to see it. I haven't had much time to help out, but I go over there whenever I can!" Tatsuya wittered away about the school for a little while, seemingly unaware that he had leaned in close enough that his head was now resting against Katsumi. At the end of this he finally remembered to take a breath, then added "It's not the same as you being there, but it's something, right?"

Tatsuya's chatter takes the edge off his anger and by the time he's finished Katsumi's actually smiling a little. "How did you even manage to breathe through all that?" he teased. "But yeah, I'd like to go."

"We should work something out. Everyone would love to meet you!" Tatsuya clapped Katsumi on the shoulder with a little too much enthusiasm, "They're still clearing the place up, but we could always make time to help out."

"I'll let you know when my next day off is," he agreed, absorbing the impact easily. He could usually swing leaving base in the evening if he was off-shift but he'd need an official day off for this.

"I don't know about mine." Tatsuya had taken no leave in a very long time and only reluctantly booked a day off when Jun told him that sempai needed a holiday. He slurped up the rest of the milkshake and joyfully announced "We can go to McDonald's again on the way back!"

"Find out then," Katsumi prodded. It couldn't be that hard, unless Tatsuya's CO was really unapproachable.

"Yeah ..." Tatsuya wasn't always good at keeping track of such things as dates and holiday leave, but he grinned his dorky grin back at Katsumi, "Let me know!"

Katsumi rolled his eyes; he knew what that reaction meant.

"I will. Then you can try and get the same day."

"What's up with you?" Tatsuya shook Katsumi's shoulder, but got over it quickly and began wiping up little milkshake puddles with a napkin.

"Nothing's wrong."

Grabbing another napkin he started wiping up stray bits of ketchup and salt, tossing the balled up tissue onto the tray when he was done.

"You need to have more fun." Tatsuya tried to throw his napkin into a nearby bin, and missed; forcing him to get up and put it in properly.

"I have fun!" he protested, waiting until Tatsuya was back before flicking another napkin at his forehead.

"Hey!" Tatsuya threw an empty ketchup packet at Katsumi; but then smiled again, "I really really missed you."

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