[Rescue Fire/Gaia fusion] For Tatsuya

[hotshotlightning]

He wasn't going to pace. He was going to wait patiently for Tatsuya to arrive, not give in to nerves before he'd even got there. So what if they had a lot to talk about, that was no reason to be nervous.

Yeah, right. They had over ten years worth of stuff to catch up on and it wasn't exactly all sunshine and rainbows.

He glanced down at his watch and sighed. Come on, Tatsuya.

Comments

[hotshotlightning]

Katsumi ignored the ridiculous noises coming out of Tatsuya's mouth, his focus narrowing to the challenge in front of him.

[fire1]

"Come on come ON!" Tatsuya yanked on the joystick so hard it broke off in his hand. He threw it down to the floor and resumed hitting the buttons at full force.

[hotshotlightning]

...The hell? Katsumi broke off and stared first at Tatsuya, then at the joystick now discarded on the floor, not even caring that he was ceding ground.

"Idiot, you broke the game."

[fire1]

"No time for that!" Tatsuya cried. He took advantage of the break in his brother's concentration to do his best to speed ahead of Katsumi.

[hotshotlightning]

"You're going to have to pay for that, you know," Katsumi hissed, giving the game up as lost. He didn't need to win so badly he'd break the game even further.

[fire1]

Tatsuya cheered as his score zoomed ahead and beat Katsumi. He turned to his brother, beaming all over his face, "don't feel bad! We can play again!"

[hotshotlightning]

Katsumi pinched the bridge of his nose and pointed at the joystick on the floor. "So you can break more of it off? No thanks."

He was a little surprised they didn't have staff approaching them over this yet.

[fire1]

Tatsuya glanced down at the floor, and gulped, "Huh. When did that happen?" He looked warily over his shoulder as if (rightfully) expecting to be thrown out of the arcade.

[hotshotlightning]

"You didn't even notice?" Katsumi demanded. How could you not notice something like that?

[fire1]

"I was trying to beat you!" Tatsuya whined. He shifted in closer to his brother's side, "what'm I gonna do?"

[hotshotlightning]

Katsumi sighed, crossing his arms across his chest. "I don't know." Could they fit it back on? Would it even still work if they did?

[fire1]

"Excuse me?" Tatsuya picked up the broken piece and waved to a nearby arcade employee, wandering off to talk to them about it. He soon returned, looking downcast and with his hands shoved into his pockets, "I can't believe they're making me pay so much!"

[hotshotlightning]

"You did break it," Katsumi pointed out without heat, reaching out to lean on Tatsuya's shoulder. "Look, we'll split it, okay? We were both playing, after all."

[fire1]

"It's OK. I'll pay it." Tatsuya puffed out his chest, "it's not your fault. And you're my little brother."

[hotshotlightning]

Oh, here we go. Katsumi moved off and glared, folding his arms across his chest. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Sometimes he really hated being the younger twin.

[fire1]

"It means I have to look after you! Don't worry about it. I'll be right back." Tatsuya trotted off to pay the bill for replacement of the joystick.

[hotshotlightning]

"You're only two hours older than me!" Katsumi shouted after him. He wasn't a child anymore, he wasn't sick anymore; he could look after himself just fine.

[fire1]

Tatsuya, if he could hear this, ignored it and soon returned with a much lighter wallet, "mou ... I'm broke!" He flopped melodramatically against Katsumi's shoulder.

[hotshotlightning]

Well, of course he ignored it, Katsumi sighed. He always did.

"You could have split it," he pointed out, poking Tatsuya's arm lightly. "You didn't have to pay it all yourself."

[fire1]

"I don't want my little brother to be poor." Tatsuya grinned back at him, "guess we should get you back to base? I'll go with you!"

[hotshotlightning]

"So you'd rather be broke yourself?" Katsumi shook his head. Tatsuya's logic was sometimes hard to follow.

He glanced down at his watch and wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, I should be getting back." He raised his eyebrows at his brother, though. "Not that I'm objecting, but don't you have to be back on your own?"

[fire1]

"Yeah ... but I can go with you. I won't be late. And I should take care of you, right? They'll understand." Tatsuya clapped Katsumi heartily on the shoulder.

[hotshotlightning]

Katsumi rolled his eyes and started for the door, holding the door for Tatsuya on the way out. "I really don't need to be looked after, you know."

[fire1]

"Thank you!" Tatsuya chirped when he was through the door. He followed eagerly in Katsumi's wake, "but I missed you! I don't want anything happening to you."

[hotshotlightning]

There were so many different ways he could respond to that but none of them really seemed to work. Like the fact that he was a fighter pilot who fought monsters practically every day. That anything could happen at any time, as happened with their parents. There was no way Tatsuya could make sure nothing ever happened to him, or vice versa.

"I could say the same thing," he replied instead. "It's quite a way from the Aerial Base back to the Fire Phoenix."