Sorcerer Hunters Fan Fiction ❯ A Brother's Love ❯ 05 - Changes and Memories ( Chapter 5 )

~Chapter 5~

 

 

 

Milphey couldn't help but be glad that they were on the way back already; he couldn't wait to be back in Facade, he couldn't wait to be back in Eden, he couldn't wait to see Big Mama and the others again, and more than that, he couldn't wait for Carrot's mood to lift.

 

The group now travelled with Hazelnut Brazil alongside them, who seemed to keep the group generally occupied with tales and stories from his past. He explained how his father had been a Sorcerer Hunter at quite an early age, but had soon 'retired' in order to raise his family. He'd always had designs for Hazelnut becoming a Sorcerer Hunter, but Hazelnut hadn't wanted to; he'd known Olive since they were children, and love had eventually blossomed out of that; Hazelnut decided that he'd rather stay with Olive and protect her than put her at risk by leaving her.

 

Chocolat and Tira had loved that, listening to Hazelnut with sighs of "That's so romantic" and "I wish Darling and I could be like Olive and Hazelnut someday..."

 

Carrot didn't really seem to be listening.

 

While Hazelnut kept Tira and Chocolat occupied, and Gateau quietly listened to the three of them, Milphey walked near the front with Carrot.

 

"Né, Carrot... you've been awfully quiet recently..."

 

"I just wanna concentrate on getting back to Eden, okay? I just want us to hurry up, get back to Eden, get Hazelnut to wherever Radish and Celery have gone off to, and get Marron back as quickly as possible. That's all."

 

Milphey nodded, understanding.

 

"I see, I see. Well, I'm... I'm sure Marron-chan's not in any kind of danger."

 

Milphey still wasn't prepared to tell Carrot about what he'd heard from Shiffon those few days ago. He still felt it wouldn't do Carrot any good... Carrot's constant moods confirmed this thought in Milphey's mind.

 

"Well, even so, I wanna just get him back with us..."

 

Milphey prodded Carrot's shoulder, smirking.

 

"Né, Carrot-chan. You should be at least a bit more pleased... you get to be the one rescuing Marron, right? You get to be the one saving him for once! Usually he's always saving you, and now you get to pay the favour back, right?"

 

"Y-yeah, I guess."

 

"You guess, I know."

 

There was silence for a little while, Carrot staring at the ground as they walked. He sighed, Milphey made a curious little noise, "Nn?"

 

Carrot spoke in a quieter voice, as if he didn't want the others to hear him. Respecting this, Milphey leant in a little closer so he didn't have any problems listening.

 

"I... it's like... well, Marron's always been looking after me and rescuing me and stuff, yeah? Well... I never get to protect him from much. Sometimes I do, but it's not often. There was this one mission ages ago where there was this dude with this magic water stuff, and he was freakin' out his sister, and the guy hurt me and Marron got pissy and I had to rescue him from that one, 'cause he was just actin' hasty, but even that was only to get revenge on the dude for hurting me... I managed to rescue him there pretty much, but that was ages ago... dammit, Milphey, even you rescue Marron more often than me. Wouldn't be surprised if he started calling you 'niisan' one of these days..."

 

Milphey just chuckled quietly, "I hope not. I don't think he'd want me flirting with him if I was his brother."

 

"Milphey, you know what I mean. Marron's always saving my ass, and I barely get to save him, and this time I just totally busted it up... I couldn't even save him... I mean, we thought he was dead, even... that was the worst, me knowing he was dead and not being able to do anything about it..."

 

"Yeah, but... he's not dead, is he?"

 

Carrot looked up, growling in annoyance, "I KNOW, but I still can't DO anything, can I!? I'm relieved more than anything else that he's still alive, but I hate not being able to do anything... I feel guilty, I couldn't even save him."

 

Milphey's face relaxed into a kindly smile, "Carrot, I'm sure Marron'll forgive you for this one time..."

 

"Yeah, but he's always forgiving me, isn't he? Every single time I do something stupid, he always forgives me 'cause it's just something that I did, no biggie. Or at least, it's not to him, anyway. Tira and Chocolat are always whipping me and stuff, even when there's no reason they're always punishing me, but Marron... Marron just always forgives me... I dunno, it just doesn't help when he's always so forgiving of every single thing that I do..."

 

Milphey just sighed sadly, "I suppose it'll be easier once Marron-chan's back with us, right? When he's back and things are back to normal."

 

Carrot nodded, "I... I suppose."

 

Milphey just watched Carrot. He seemed so quiet... well, he was so quiet. It touched Milphey to think that Marron'd changed Carrot's mood so, but he couldn't help but be just a little worried; as far as Carrot knew, Marron was okay, and he was still reacting like that... Milphey wondered what'd happen once they got back to Eden. Would Big Mama tell them of that strange surge right away? Might they have figured out what the surge was? Milphey wasn't sure.

 

He decided to just concentrate on the job in hand; pretend like nothing was wrong whatsoever, and guide the Sorcerer Hunters back to Eden as quickly as possible. Milphey was just glad that Eden couldn't be that far away now; they'd been travelling through the forests for quite some time, and Milphey said so.

 

"Well, at least we can't be too far away from Facade and such now, can we? Any moment now we'll see Eden rising into the air and we'll know we're back."

 

"Yeah."

 

Carrot sounded distant, harried somewhat. Milphey decided that it might be best to just leave Carrot for a little while, and not provoke him into anything that might make him angry.

 

Night fell, but Carrot didn't want to sleep. Carrot didn't want to sleep, and he didn't want the others to sleep either; Chocolat was about to set up a campfire, but was stopped.

 

"Darling? Shouldn't we at least try and get some rest?"

 

Tira, next to her, nodded and agreed. "Oneesama's right, Carrot. We've been walking all day, we could at least do with a rest..."

 

Chocolat and Tira were ready to set up a campfire. Gateau and Hazelnut stood to one side, and Milphey stood to the other side, between Carrot and the Misu sisters. He looked up, sounding serious.

 

"Carrot...?"

 

"I'm not in the mood to rest, okay? I don't wanna rest, not while Marron's in trouble."

 

Gateau had his arms folded, he looked up.

 

"Carrot, I know how you feel, but listen to the girls, they know what they're on about. It doesn't matter if we take a few hours longer here or there, does it? If Marron was in any real danger, then we'd know about it."

Milphey shuffled his foot against the ground, saying nothing. Gateau continued.

 

"I know you wanna rescue Marron quickly, but it'd be pointless if we tired ourselves out so much..."

 

"Oh, what, and you've never gone a day or two without sleep? Sure, we'll be tired, but at least we'll be more motivated to do things before we can sleep! I thought you woulda wanted to rescue Marron as much as anyone, we can't just leave him in the hands of two Sorcerers! Okay, so we haven't heard any bad news, but what if something bad was happening anyway? He might be perfectly safe, but even being perfectly safe, even if you were perfectly safe, where would you rather be? With your friends and stuff, or with some evil guys who might just kill you as soon as look at you?"

 

Gateau stared at Carrot, then glanced down slightly.

 

"You're actually making sense for once, Carrot. Sorry."

 

He sighed, coming to a decision.

 

"... if you wanna carry on walking through the night, I'll walk with ya."

 

Carrot's face seemed to relax a little for that, but he didn't smile.

 

"Thanks, Gateau... you guys, what about you? Tira, Chocolat, Hazelnut, Milphey... Hazelnut, you're only coming along with us 'cause we asked you to, I can't ask you to come with us if you wanna sleep."

 

Hazelnut just smiled, closing his eyes.

 

"I don't mind. The sooner we find Celery and Radish, the sooner I can teach them a lesson for breaking into my ancestor's grave. They shouldn't disturb tombs and such like that, it's not polite... they're evil people, aren't they? I think they need a few lessons taught to them."

 

Carrot smiled, that time.

 

"I see... well, yeah."

 

Chocolat glanced at the floor and then up at Carrot. "If Darling wants to go, then I don't really want to stop him... Tira, we're going too, right?"

 

"Yes, oneesama."

 

Milphey stepped forward, putting his hand on Carrot's shoulder. "Looks like you came to a decision for us all, Carrot-chan."

 

Carrot was already facing the path back. He started walking, hearing the others follow behind him.

 

"I'm sorry 'cause you guys can't sleep, but... we can sleep once we get back to Eden, right? Once we're there, it's back in Big Mama's hands... but while it's up to us, we should hurry. This... this is..."

 

Carrot fell into silence. Chocolat was the one to question him, "Darling?"

 

Carrot ran a little further ahead, then turned to face the group, a sad smile on his face.

 

"This is the longest I've ever spent apart from him. Apart from before he was born which doesn't count 'cause he wasn't born yet and I don't even remember that time anyway cause I was only like, one. It's just a bit weird, you know? Sure there's been missions and stuff where he's done one thing and I've done another, but that's only been us apart from a few hours or maybe a day or two at most. This time, well... it was a day or so after it happened that we started on the journey, then it was a week to Marata, and it's taken like, a week back... over two weeks... I know it probably doesn't sound like anything, but..."

 

Carrot trailed off, suddenly feeling slightly emotional. He turned around, Milphey wondering if he should have heard Carrot's whispered "... I want to see him again..."

 

Chocolat sighed, a rueful smile on her face.

 

"Darling really cares for Marron, I guess..."

 

"It's sweet to see Carrot so concerned, oneesama. But I'll be glad when we get back to Eden too..."

 

Chocolat nodded at Tira, "I'll be glad once we get Marron back and Darling's back to normal again. It's nice to see him like this, but it's also a little weird."

 

Tira nodded, making a vague noise. Chocolat frowned, "Tira? Something wrong?"

 

"Oh? Oh, oneesama... I was just wondering... if... it'd been me that they'd kidnapped... would you be like Carrot is now? I... I was just wondering, I mean..."

 

"Would I be acting like Carrot? I'd certainly be all concerned... I see what you mean."

 

Chocolat smiled widely, "Sure, I'd be just like that."

 

She threw an arm around Tira's shoulders, "But we don't have to worry about that, right? I've still got my clumsy little sister with me, and I'm glad of that."

 

Tira smiled, feeling reassured.

 

"Th-thank you, oneesama."

 

At the front of the group, Milphey was walking alongside Carrot.

 

"So this is the longest you've ever been apart from Marron?"

 

Carrot looked up, "Oh, uh... yeah..."

 

"Ohhh, that's so SWEET!! Brotherly love, can't beat it. Awww. That is really sweet... so, do you think it'll be a big tearful emotional reunion once we manage to get Marron-chan back with us? That would also be really sweet..."

 

Carrot smiled wryly, "I don't think Marron's the type for big emotional reunions. I think he'll probably smile, though... sometimes... when something bad's happened, and then afterwards, we're all safe... he seems to have this smile which is... just for me, you know? It sounds weird to say it, but I've always thought it, 'cause I've never seen him smile like that at anybody else. There's the smile he smiles when something good happens, and then there's the smile he smiles at me, and it's just so different, you know? Kinda warm. It's hard to describe, but... y-yeah..."

 

Carrot trailed off, blushing slightly.

 

"Sorry, that probably made no sense."

 

Milphey shook his head, smiling sweetly, "No, it made perfect sense. You want Marron-chan to smile at you again, don't you?"

 

"It kinda makes bad things worthwhile... when something bad's happened, just to see that smile... people always say that he's cold and distant and stuff, but..." Carrot wrinkled his nose, "... he's not really. He's just a bit careful about who he shows his emotions to, I guess... it's weird, he's my brother, and even I don't understand how he works. He just does, and I like him like that."

 

Milphey reached out and ruffled Carrot's hair, "You must be missing him, you're getting all introspective suddenly. It's cute, though!"

 

Carrot tried to escape from Milphey's hand, "Don't do that, you'll mess my hair up! W-well, you know... I just wanna know that Marron's safe, y'know..."

 

Milphey smiled and nodded, "I know, I know. I'm sure he's perfectly fine. Or not, but... you don't need to know that just yet, Carrot-chan. Just be content with your current thoughts, and hopefully we can find out what's happened without too much upset..."

 

****

 

Celery, Radish and Marron were sitting out on the lawn. Radish and Marron spent most days out on the lawn, and recently, having nothing else to do, Celery had taken to joining the two of them. He received no complaint from either his brother or Marron, and this encouraged him.

 

It also encouraged him to see just how the two were getting on; nothing much seemed to have changed. Radish was still doing his utmost to make sure that Marron was comfortable; Marron had relented somewhat, and occasionally took Radish up on his offers of food and drinks.

 

Celery found, to his happiness, that time spent with Marron was quite pleasant. He didn't have the same mental block that his brother did when it came to Marron, and so the two managed to converse quite happily. There was still a slight feeling in the back of Celery's mind, "You're taking my brother away from me...", but it was slightly easier to bear now that Celery realised the situation a little more. It wasn't as if Marron was actively trying to steal Radish away, after all. Marron was just quiet and reserved while Radish wore himself out wondering what to do, what to say, what not to do, what not to say...

 

Celery started watching his brother's activities with amusement, and managed to almost forget the bad mood that'd permeated his mind over the past few days.

 

Celery loved to tell Marron of the past. Not necessarily their past, he didn't trust himself to speak of that without Radish's express permission, but... other things. Folk tales, legends, myths, mysteries... many things were spoken about and picked apart by Marron and Celery. Celery enjoyed the companionship; Radish wasn't usually one to enjoy talking about such things with. The conversation was new, and it was interesting, at least.

 

Celery also found that Marron seemed to have quite the preoccupation with the many books of the house; several times Celery had walked into the front room to find Marron leafing through yet another ancient tome, looking over it, almost seeming absorbed by it... Celery had asked Radish if something such as that was okay; Radish had been pleased, of course it was okay, Marron getting into something like that... it kept him occupied, and it was something relaxing for Marron to do.

 

And so, as well as chatting about various myths and legends of the Spooner Continent, Celery and Marron also found themselves talking about magic and it's uses also; again, this wasn't exactly Radish's area of expertise. Radish could have been jealous, Celery thought... but it ashamed him to realise that Radish wasn't; he just sat and listened to the long conversations that Celery and Marron held, seeming genuinely interested in what was being said, who was saying it...

 

Eventually, Celery came to a time when he wondered why he'd been upset in the first place; Radish seemed suddenly much too shy to have any kind of relationship with Marron, and even if he was too preoccupied with Marron to want to have sex with Celery, Celery was also kept occupied by Marron enough so to forget his problems. It was a strange arrangement, but it seemed to work.

 

Neither Salt brother dared pry into Marron's mind to see what he really thought. Celery didn't want to in case he earnt Radish's mistrust, and Radish didn't want to because, as he said to Celery at one point, now that Marron was happily living with them... it'd almost be like cheating, to always look into his mind and see what to do, what to say... so neither really knew what Marron thought, though not through want of asking. Radish was always asking Marron how he was, how he felt... and Marron always said that he felt fine, and that was about as far as the extent of Marron's emotions went.

 

As far as Marron himself went, he wasn't sure quite what he felt. When Radish was around, he felt amusement at his actions done in order to make Marron feel comfortable. Marron hardly had to do anything, Radish was prepared to do it all for him. When Celery was around, he could involve himself in the engrossing conversation, allow himself to let his mind wander a bit as he imagined far off-lands and old and powerful Sorcerers who did this and that... he still couldn't remember anything, though.

 

The most confusing time for Marron was not when he was with Radish, and not when he was with Celery; the most confusing times were when he was on his own.

 

Sometimes he treasured being on his own. He liked the feeling of being alone, of having nobody to listen to... he usually spent his time alone outside, standing at the edge of the garden. He could concentrate on the whisper of the wind in the trees, the sound of the river below... his own confused thoughts...

 

His thoughts, in general, were straightforward. He wondered about the past he couldn't remember, he didn't spend too long dwelling on that, he immersed himself with thoughts of his interaction with Radish and Celery. However, sometimes, just for a moment, he had... other thoughts. Thoughts that only occurred to him when he was on his own. Strange thoughts, thoughts he couldn't quite place. He wondered if they were from his past. Or whether they were from that time he'd spent with those other people? Marron wasn't sure. Usually the thoughts came and went easily enough, but sometimes they didn't, and that worried him.

 

The days would be spent on the lawn, and as night fell, the group would usually retreat inside for an afternoon meal, and then sleep. The three of them did so, as usual, and Celery started preparing the meal.

 

Radish had gone off to have a shower or somesuch before the meal, so Marron sat on his own at the table while Celery worked at the stove.

 

Marron picked up his fork and pressed it into the table, deep in thought. It left four tiny marks against the wood of the table, he replaced the fork next to his plate.

 

"Celery..."

 

Celery glanced at Marron, "Yes?"

 

"Have you... ever heard of something called Hakaishin?"

 

Celery stirred something on the stove, thinking quietly for a few minutes.

 

"Ha... kaishin? Can't say that I have. What's Hakaishin?"

 

"I... I don't know... all I remember is that word, and that apparently it's something important... I don't know, maybe it's just something I hurriedly read somewhere, but... earlier, when I was outside, that word occurred to me, it just stuck in my mind all day. There's probably no importance to it, but... I just thought I'd ask. Maybe I should ask Radish when he comes down, maybe he might have heard of that word..."

 

Celery took whatever he'd been stirring away from the stove, and checked something that was cooking behind a metal door. He stood up, "Perhaps, perhaps not... Hakaishin... Lord of Destruction? Something like that? I don't know if it'd be something that my brother would have heard of... sounds mythical, somehow. Maybe it's something you did read."

 

Marron shrugged, staring at the side-door, awaiting Radish's return. "It probably is. Sorry to bother you with something that's nothing."

 

Celery just smiled, "Oh, it doesn't matter. It's something to talk about, isn't it?"

 

The two heard something thundering down the stairs, then the door swung open; Radish smiled at the two of them, taking his seat next to Marron.

 

"Smells good, oniisama. I heard you guys chatting, what were ya talkin' about?"

 

Celery brought some food over to the table, "Oh, Marron was just wondering if we'd heard of something called Hakaishin. It was... something he read somewhere, but... he can't remember where or what it was, so... has otouto heard of Hakaishin?"

 

Radish sat quietly as Celery served food; he eventually shook his head.

 

"Hakaishin? Bit of a long word... nah, I don't think I've heard of that. Kinda a cool name for something though, isn't it? 'Hi, I'm Hakaishin'... that'd put the fear of god into someone!"

 

Celery smiled, serving the last of the food and sitting down himself.

 

"I know what you mean. Well, Marron, maybe later you can look through some of the books you've already looked through? Maybe if you do that, it'll come to you."

 

Marron nodded, about to eat. "Perhaps."

 

The meal went by quietly enough, and after an equally quiet evening of the three of them studying magic in their various ways in various rooms and places in the house, night eventually fell, and the three of them went to bed.

 

Radish checked in on Marron before he went to sleep; Marron seemed to be sleeping well enough, and it never failed to make Radish smile warmly to know that... he wondered if he'd ever get a chance to share that bed. He hoped so.

 

He walked back to his room, eyeing his brother's bedroom door as he went. He considered checking on Celery too, just to make sure that he was alright, but... there wasn't really any reason for Celery not to be alright, so Radish decided to leave it for the night.

 

"Oniisama had been kinda quiet recently... but now he's getting along with Marron, he seems better now. I'm glad. It's nicer to see oniisama with a happy face than a sad face."

 

Radish nodded to himself, and walked into his room. He pulled off his shirt, and wandered around his room to try and find a nightshirt. He looked around but couldn't find one... he checked his drawers, and eventually found about four, all neatly folded in the drawer. Radish smiled, seemed that Celery had been in his room without him knowing again. He took one out, and pulled it over his head, running his hands through his hair to separate his hair from the back of the nightshirt. He finished getting undressed, then fell back onto his bed. He debated getting underneath the covers, but the night was quite warm... he thought for a little longer, then decided that there wasn't any harm in getting underneath his bedsheets. He did so, and he was just settling down to sleep when a noise grabbed his attention. He froze in his bed; what'd that noise been? Sounded like a door opening, or something. There were only two other people in the house, and he doubted that Marron would be sneaking into his room at night; he reached out with his mind.

 

"Oniisama, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

 

"Don't avoid the issue through telepathy... otouto, look... look at me..."

 

Radish made a noise of annoyance; he felt like sleeping and didn't really feel in the mood for any of Celery's little angst fits. He sighed loudly, then sat up, "What?"

 

Celery was standing at the foot of Radish's bed, wearing his cape, buttoned up in several places. He looked so distant, though... "Creepy," Radish thought.

 

Celery continued to stare at Radish as he undid the buttons and let his cape fall; once it did, Radish realised that his brother was naked. He just blinked, "Oniisama... what... what are you doing in here, like that?"

 

Celery's voice was as distant as his eyes, "Otouto... you've been so different recently. I know you like Marron, and... I know that he's yours now, even though you've not said anything, I know that you at least plan to... make him yours, or you hope to... but... just because Marron's here... just because there's somebody else, it doesn't mean that you can't still... take advantage of me..."

 

Radish blinked hard; he eyed Celery's body up and down; Celery was almost trying to hide himself, seeming embarrassed somehow... he moved his hands, holding them together behind his back... Radish nodded eversoslightly as he noticed his brother's arousal.

 

"You came here for that..."

 

Celery nodded, blushing.

 

"Usually it was you who came to me when you needed... something... otouto, can't I ask you the same thing? I know it's different now, but my feelings haven't changed; you're still the most important person to me, and I... I still love you... I still want you..."

 

"Oniisama..."

 

"I never know how you feel, Radish... I never know how you feel, but usually... usually, you'd never say no... usually, I wouldn't even be asking you, but... I'm asking you now, otouto."

 

Celery looked away, finding the words hard to say.

 

"... I don't know what I'll do if you say no..."

 

Radish wasn't sure either. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but recently, his thoughts had been so preoccupied with Marron... he barely thought of his oniisama like that anymore. It happened, he wouldn't deny that, but... Celery wasn't Marron, and Marron was the one he'd been thinking of...

 

Radish didn't want to say no, though. Marron was important, but so was Celery; Celery had been subjected to all kinds of things under the force of Radish's libido over the years, and he'd never had to ask for anything in return, because he was happy enough with what he felt... Radish didn't want to say no, but he was unsure, suddenly, about saying yes. That thought in itself worried him.

 

His unsure feelings... he stared at Celery, who just stared back. Radish wondered if Celery would turn away... he didn't. Radish did instead.

 

"Oniisama, I.. I don't know..."

 

"Radish, please... I... don't care what you do to me, I don't care if you make me scream, or if you want it to hurt, or... anything... I don't care what you do, as long as you do something... what happened to my foulmouthed little brother who never ceased talking about what he wanted to do to his submissive oniisama? Even when it embarrassed me so much..."

 

"Oniisama, maybe I'm a little different now... Marron's lucky, he gets to start all over again without any memory of his past. I still have demons in my past that haunt me into the present..."

 

"... I want you... to f-fuck me, Radish..."

 

Radish blushed alongside his brother; "You never usually say that word..."

 

"It's what I want you to do to me..."

 

Radish stared at the floor, "Come here."

 

Celery did so, standing next to the bed. Radish sighed slightly, reaching out to softly stroke his brother's erection. Celery gasped.

 

"O-otouto..."

 

Looking up at his oniisama, Radish couldn't help but be moved by the emotion on his face; Celery blushed deeply, his eyes tightly shut, his breath coming in gasps... Radish was moved, but he couldn't bring himself to be moved to that which Celery wanted... he moved his covers, "Sit here, oniisama."

 

Celery did so without question, following Radish's hand's movements. He sat and felt Radish push his legs apart; not as forceful as usual, but Celery wasn't going to argue.

 

He let out a low moan as he felt Radish's warm mouth envelope his arousal. He gasped a little more as he felt Radish's head move, but part of him was confused... the room seemed so quiet as Celery spoke to Radish's mind.

 

"Otouto, didn't you want to..."

 

Radish closed his eyes as he felt Celery's words in his mind. Looking into his brother's mind, all he could feel was that urgent clouding feeling... Celery was taken, mind and body, by his arousal. Radish kept his movements slow and steady, hoping that his actions were enough.

 

"Oniisama, I... I can't. Marron... Marron is someone I want, and... for a while, at least... I wanted to keep myself from doing anything like that. I know I always used to before, but if I did it and did it and kept doing it, wouldn't I end up tiring myself out? I wouldn't want to tire myself out and then find a chance to do such things with Marron... I'd want it to be as special for me as for him..."

 

Radish felt a slight rush in his mind, thoughts and memories of times before, so many times before...

 

"You can't change my mind, oniisama... I'm sorry. Maybe after I've taken Marron. After that, times after that'll be a little different than the FIRST time, so... after that, I'll come back to you. Until then... I don't mind if you want me to do this, but... I can't..."

 

"You can't... fuck me?"

 

"... no."

 

Celery was caught between arousal and deep pain as he felt Radish's words in his mind. The feelings he had... every movement of Radish's head took him further, but knowing that was all that he could feel... he cried out, and not just from passion. Radish opened his eyes, and saw tears; he felt guilty, he spoke to Celery's mind again.

 

"Oniisama, I could stop doing this too..."

 

"N-no... otouto... don't stop, never stop... I'm so sorry for being so... so selfish..."

 

Celery moved his hips in continual gyrations, his voice becoming quicker as he felt his climax approach. He gasped as his hand reached out to grab Radish's head, pulling him down quickly as he felt his release. Radish let himself be held, allowing his brother to indulge in his climax. He let himself be held down for it's duration, and then pulled back, feeling as distant as Celery looked.

 

"M... maybe you should go back to your own room, Celery. I... don't think that you should stay here..."

 

Radish sat beside his brother as Celery breathed deeply, letting his body return to normal, feeling his heartbeat flutter. He opened his eyes weakly, "Otouto... otouto, I'm sorry..."

 

Radish just nodded, "I... I know you are, oniisama. I am too. I think... I think you should go now."

 

Celery looked at Radish with one last sad look, then shifted out of the bed, picking up his fallen robe before leaving the room. The door closed with a slight 'click', Radish fell back onto his pillow, staring up at the ceiling. He felt suddenly so confused... even a month ago, he wouldn't have hesitated to do what Celery had asked of him... Celery was right. It wouldn't even be Celery asking, because Radish always... he sighed, wondering what'd changed. The thought of Marron occurred to him; that was what'd changed. Marron had come into their lives, invaded Radish's sleeping dreams and waking thoughts... so much so for him to see his relationship with his brother in a different way? He winced, suddenly feeling unable to sleep.

 

Radish stood up, deciding to go and get a drink of water, or something. He quietly left his room and started to make his way across the landing to the bathroom. He glanced at Marron's door; he debated going inside. Marron was probably sleeping soundly, but even so... Radish had a sudden urge to see Marron. He decided that there wasn't really any harm in it, so... he quietly stepped forward and opened the door.

 

He looked immediately at Marron as he walked into the room. He'd been prepared to just walk in and then out again, but once he heard Marron, he knew he couldn't leave.

 

"What... is he... is he crying?! Marron!"

 

Radish rushed forward, hurrying to Marron's bedside. Marron still seemed asleep, but... in some kind of dream, it seemed to Radish.

 

"Uh...n... uhn... nnh... n-no... not... not niisan... Ca-... Carrot... hnn... nn..."

 

Radish froze in sudden shock.

 

Niisan?

 

Carrot?

 

Marron said those names while he slept?!

 

Radish tried to keep a steady frame of mind, uncertain and worried though he suddenly felt. He reached out with his mind, wanting to see what it was that Marron dreamt about.

 

In Marron's dream, Marron seemed trapped. Marron was trapped in the centre of some kind of place, while Carrot walked all around him, sometimes disappearing behind one place only to appear another; the view seemed to circle continually, and all that Carrot said... Radish could barely make out what Carrot said, all the things he said seemed to merge into one, he couldn't understand at all. Marron seemed to, though. Marron looked on the edge of tears, crying Carrot's name, "Niisan... niisan!!"... Radish's heart felt suddenly heavy as Marron fell to his knees, his hands over his ears, still crying that name and title...

 

"Nii... niisan, I can barely understand you... you're so far away... niisan, why? Why did you die, why can't I be with you? Niisan, I... I love you, I still love you, I'll always love you, but niisan... niisan... Carrot... niisan, why... why? Why did this suddenly happen?"

 

Radish pulled back, watching Marron as he slept for a few moments. And he seemed so peaceful during the day... even Radish had no control over what Marron's sleeping mind dreamt about... maybe he could help a little, though. Even if only a little, it'd be better than nothing at all.

 

He reached over again, looking into Marron's mind.

 

"Niisan... niisan, stop... please, niisan, stop and... stay with me..."

 

"He left you, Marron. He abandoned you. The feelings that you felt for him... try to forget them, try to remember the peaceful feelings you feel while awake..."

 

"... you... you're the person... you're the person who killed him..."

 

Radish gasped, breaking the connection suddenly.

 

"FUCK... he still... he still remembers that?! No, but that's only like... his subconscious... SHIT, I tried my hardest, though! I tried my hardest, and he still... he hates... he hates me... it's only in his dreams, but what if he remembers his dreams when he wakes up?! N-no, if that happens, I can convince him otherwise, I'm sure. Shit, but why... damn, I can't even calm him down while he dreams... SHIT..."

 

Radish's loud exclamation was enough to wake Marron from his dream.

 

"AH! Ah... Ra... Radish, you're here..."

 

Radish nodded, suddenly concerned, relieved that Marron didn't hate him suddenly.

 

"I was going to go and get a drink, but then I heard... I checked in on you, and I heard you making noises in your sleep... as if you were having... some kind of nightmare, or something... are you okay now? Do you have any idea what you were dreaming about?"

 

Marron paused, wiping his forehead with his hand, tucking hair behind his ear.

 

"I... n-no... I can't remember, but... there must have been something... my heart won't stop racing, Radish... I feel disjointed, almost. Like I was... somewhere else, but I'm suddenly here... but that doesn't make any sense..."

 

Radish made a noise of concern before leaping onto Marron's bed and throwing his arms around him. Marron fell back onto his pillow, "Radish?"

 

"I hate seeing you like that! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! Seeing you in pain like that... seeing you trapped in a nightmare, and I can't even do anything to help you! All I want is for you to be happy, Marron... I want you to be happy! But if you're having nightmares... it's not like I can go into the nightmare and soothe you, is it? If I could, I would, but I can't... Marron..."

 

Marron had been surprised by Radish suddenly leaping on him; he was also surprised by the sound in Radish's voice... he sounded so emotional suddenly. Almost as if he was about to burst into tears... Marron frowned, confused.

 

"It was only a bad dream, Radish... you don't need to become so emotional..."

 

"Yeah, but I wanna be emotional! You're worth being emotional about, Marron... I hate to see you in pain or anything!"

 

"Well, the pain's gone now... I'm sure that, once I get back to sleep again, I'll be alright... so you don't have to worry anymore. You can go back to bed now, Radish."

"Nah-ah, I'm not gonna leave you!"

 

Marron raised his eyebrow, "You're going to stay hugged to me all night?"

 

"Y-yes... th-that is, unless you mind..."

 

Radish closed his eyes; Marron's body felt warm underneath his... the fabric of his nightshirt was cool to his skin, but beneath that, he could feel Marron's body... Radish waited for Marron's reply, fervently hoping that he wouldn't mind...

 

"No, I don't mind, if it's what you want to do... did you do that back in the past too?"

 

Radish kept his eyes closed, "I'd comfort you if you had nightmares."

 

"I see... then yes, if it's something you used to do, I won't argue."

"... and if it was just something that I wanted to do, not for any reason, just for the sake of wanting to do something?"

 

There was another pause, then Marron's voice, quiet, enough to make Radish's heart suddenly race...

 

"I suppose I couldn't argue with that either."

 

"I wouldn't want to force anything against you, Marron..."

 

Marron smiled a small smile, closing his eyes, draping one arm over one of Radish's shoulders.

 

"... you wouldn't be forcing me."

 

Radish wondered what that meant. He debated looking into Marron's mind to see, but... he decided against it, deciding to be blissful in his ignorance.