[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]

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."

[fire1]

"Yeah, but I just have to take that risk! Because I'm the oldest." Tatsuya seemed to be delighting in the prestige this bestowed on him.

[hotshotlightning]

"By two hours," Katsumi repeated. "You're not that much older than I am."

[fire1]

"Two hours is a lot! That's two whole hours that I was here and you weren't." Tatsuya pictured himself as a baby, gurgling away in hospital while their mother waited for Katsumi, "you're still my little brother."

[hotshotlightning]

"Two hours isn't a lot!" Katsumi protested. "It's only about the same amount of time we've been out tonight."

[fire1]

"We got through a lot in that time, didn't we? Your whole life could change in a moment! So 2 hours is loads." Tatsuya gave Katsumi a little push, "c'mon, you'll be late."

[hotshotlightning]

"Like you breaking the machine," Katsumi muttered, automatically reaching out to swat at Tatsuya for the shove. "That's really not a great example, Tatsuya."

[fire1]

"So?" Tatsuya pouted, "stop being so stubborn! You're supposed to respect me because I'm the oldest."

[hotshotlightning]

"Oh really?"

And seriously, did Tatsuya really think he would ever not be stubborn?

[fire1]

"Yeah! I'm your onii-chan, so you should listen to me!" Tatsuya puffed out his chest again and stared down Katsumi.

[hotshotlightning]

"Uh huh."

Katsumi gave him a sardonic salute and turned a corner. "If you say so. Onii-sama~."

[fire1]

"That's better." Tatsuya nodded in satisfaction and was happy to follow Katsumi down the road, chattering about the UFDA crew and their forthcoming visit to Himawari and other such things.

[hotshotlightning]

Katsumi laughed, "Don't get used to that." He was happy enough to listen to Tatsuya's stories, interspersing them with his own.

[fire1]

Tatsuya clung to Katsumi's hand as they reached the base, "You have to let me know when you're free. Everyone wants to meet you."

[hotshotlightning]

"I will," he promised, acutely conscious of the way Tatsuya was clinging to his hand. "I'll find out over the next few days and let you know."

He grinned and used his free hand to poke Tatsuya in the forehead. "Onii-sama. And don't forget to find out when you're free too."

[fire1]

Tatsuya whimpered and swatted at Katsumi's hand; but his usual grin was soon back, "Sure! I'll call you."

[hotshotlightning]

"Oh come on, I didn't poke you that hard," Katsumi grinned. "Wuss. And you'd better. Don't lose the number or... anything that you would normally do."

[fire1]

"It's in my phone. And you've got mine, right?" Tatsuya waved the screen at Katsumi.

[hotshotlightning]

"Yeah, I've got it."

Now that it came to it, Katsumi really didn't want him to leave. It had been so easy, slipping back into Katsumi-and-Tatsuya territory but they couldn't really do that much anymore. So here he was, trying to put off the moment Tatsuya had to leave, instead; trying to ignore the little part of him worried that it might be another ten plus years before seeing him again.