#gachakuta

Being grounded sucks. The slums were boring enough as is, but being in trouble and stuck inside was even worse. Regto kept scolding you about playing such dangerous games with your lives as if you both had more than one. He had a point, but at the same time, he had left you both alone for the afternoon. You don't know what he expected you guys to do for that long. Nevertheless, this was torture, Rudo said he'd rather be waterboarded again than be grounded longer than a few hours. You can't help but agree, one moment of near death was better than hours of mind-numbing nothing.

The upside to this was that you at least shared the space you called a bedroom with Rudo. It had its ups and downs. When you both got into fights, all you could do was either win the fight and kick him out or storm out and go outside. Both options were awkward since Regto often tried to force you both to make up when he would see Rudo on the couch sulking, and you hated walking outside and seeing all the freaks who bothered your brother. Yeah, so what if you were mad at him in the moment? The anger of seeing them outweighed the anger of whatever petty thing you were initially fighting about.

Currently, you are lying on the shared mattress, a ratty blanket Regto had sewn together when he found you in a box way back when you were just a baby, laid over your body. He had sewn another one to it when he took in Rudo. It was symbolic in a way, adding to what he already had to make one big blanket for you and your brother to share. Although at the time you didn't like the idea of some brat taking your space and your precious blanket, and maybe also taking your father's attention. But you had learned to love him, not that you would ever tell him that, fricken cringe.

You tugged the blanket over your face and groaned in agony. The boredom was melting your brain; you could feel your muscles' wrinkles smoothing as the seconds ticked by with no outside stimulation. Regto used to say he often couldn't sleep at night because you refused to let him stop playing blocks with you. Even at this older age, you needed some form of entertainment before you became agitated. You breathed in the scent of the blanket that you had half haphazardly tossed over your head; it didn't necessarily smell like flowers. It was shared with your little brother, who was slowly seeping into that godforsaken puberty age, and before that, you had used it while also undergoing the same awkward stage, but it smelled familiar, like home. 

Finally deciding that was enough daydreaming, you pulled it off and turned to Rudo, who was napping with his mouth in a slack shape and one eyelid slightly open. Damn ugly fuck, you think, grimacing at him. Not that you could really judge, Regto told you once you slept the same, sometimes even worse. You decided he was sleeping too peacefully for far too long and slowly stuck a finger into his mouth until he choked. You snatched your hand back as his jaw clamped shut on instinct as he coughed and gagged, sitting up. You laughed at his face when he whipped to you with a death glare. He cleared his throat, roughly rubbing it subconsciously.

“What the hell, you bitch!” 

“Wake up already, you've slept the day away.”

“It's not like we have much else to do, you got us on lockdown.”

“ME?!?”

“Yeah, you!”

You scoff in offence. So what if it was your idea? It's not like you forced him; he fell for your trick on his own whim. You toss the blanket over his face and get up. Rudo struggles to get the cloth off to see what you're doing. You were kicking around some dirty laundry when you noticed a basket. It was supposed to be for all your dirty clothes, but you and Rudo seemed to prefer having random piles of clothes you look through and smell to find clean ones. Regto often told you both to stop acting like wildebeest and clean up, that just ended in multiple piles becoming one amalgamation of stinky socks and shirts neither of you has worn since Rudo first became part of the family. Slowly, you shove the clothes aside as Rudo gets up to see what you were digging for. When he saw the mostly intact basket, you both looked at each other. A spark lit between the neurons you both handed to each other as you both began to snicker. You get up and go to the door, well, door was a stretch, it was an opening into the main room with a long stitched curtain hung up, with a pushpin as a “lock.” Rudo made quick work of digging the rest of the basket out of the pile.

You take the pushpin out and peek into the main room, once again, Regto was gone, likely off doing what he needed to do, whatever that was; you never really asked. Seeing the coast was clear of any authority figure, you go back into the room and push the pin back into place. Turning to your brother, you give a nod as he rubs his gloved hands together. With a pep in your steps, you rush around to get more decent clothes on and put your jackets in place. Rudo grabbed the basket, and you grabbed a ratty helmet Rudo had found a while ago. 

The air outside was crisp; the sun was getting closer to evening, but just high enough to illuminate the trouble you both were planning.

“You have to go down; I was the test dummy last time.” 

Rudo proclaimed as you opened the door to the stairs that led down into the streets from your shared house. And while this was true, you, as the oldest and wiser sibling, would not allow such a thing to happen.

“Well, yeah, but it wouldn't be as fun. I'm older, therefore stronger, so it wouldn't be as fun if you pushed me. But if I push you, you could go super fast.” 

A breeze seemed to kiss you both; you might have taken it as a sign that this was going to go terribly, but neither of you cared to listen.

“I guess that's a good point, but what if I get hurt? Or Regto comes back and sees us breaking the grounding rules.”

“He won't be home for a while, trust, if he's not back yet, he's probably really busy. And you won't get hurt, it's hardly a drop if you fall, at worst you'll get a scratch, probably.”

You scratch your head, looking over the metal staircase. It wasn't that tall; Rudo should be fine.

“Besides, don't be a baby, come on.”

Rudo juts out his bottom lip, not totally convinced with how you said that, but at the same time, you were older; no matter how many times you might have led him astray, he always felt inclined to follow, no matter how far you might go. He would always find a way to chase the trail you leave behind.

“Do you think I could die?”

You tap your chin, and with a huff, you shrug. 

“I mean, we all die eventually, why not make the most of it?”

“That's not reassuring at all, I don't want to die yet, I have so much to do!”

“Don't worry, I'll tell Chiwa you like her for you if you do, that way you can move on peacefully.”

“HEY-”

You pushed the helmet on his face and grabbed the handle of the woven basket, angling it to slide down the stairs when Rudo finally went inside.

“Just get in, hurry up! If we do this fast enough, we can go back inside, and Regto will never know we broke the rules.”

Rudo grumbled but fixed the helmet to fit him better. He did a knock test before, seemingly content with the protection. He looked around one more time to make sure there wasn't anyone important watching them. After a final moment of debate and some more egging from his sibling, he climbed into the basket. It was a tight fit, hardly comfortable at all. He could feel a few stray splinters somehow finding the sliver of exposed skin and poking into it. He glanced over, seeing you struggling to hold him steady until he was ready, and for a moment, a cloud of clarity fell upon Rudo. This was stupid, like really stupid, more stupid than their usual idiocy. He glanced down the stairs and saw how little control you had over what was about to happen next. Dread made his heart drop into his ass as he gripped the sides of the basket, before he could protest, deciding he didn't want to do this anymore, a yell called out to them.

“HEY! DONT!”

You both looked up as Regto ran over, making an X with his arms. He was still a good few feet away. Rudo looked back at you with urgency, wanting you to pull him back up. You saw your father make a mad dash towards you two, but once again, you were not lucky. Just as you were about to pull Rudo back, the handle of the basket snapped from holding his weight at a slope for so long. Rudo screamed, you screamed, Regto tripped.

It was like slow motion, Regto reaching out as he fell face-first, Rudo clipping the edge of a stair and flipping forward, you slowly raising your hands to your head in regret and shock of what had just taken place.

–

You sat on the couch, your shoulders up, your head drooping. Rudo lay beside you, arm in a sling, lip busted, black eye forming, his other swollen a little. Regto stood before you, pinching the bridge of his nose. He hadn't said anything since getting up from tripping and helping patch up Rudo, who had taken a nasty fall. The silence felt worse than if he yelled at you, and the disappointment felt like daggers stabbing into you. Deep down, you knew he was more upset with you than he was with Rudo. It was the drawback to being older; you had a minion to do your bidding, but you also had to take most of the blunt force of bad ideas if they ever went as south as they did today. You massaged your head to try to shake off some of the tension building up under your skin. You glanced at Rudo, who was focused on Regto and what he would do next. You followed his lead and turned to your shared father figure.

“What did I tell you both before I left?”

You shot your eyes to his, but he wasn't looking at either of you; he was looking down, his hair hiding his expression. You glanced at Rudo as you both answered in sync.

“Stay in your room, don't do anything reckless.”

He hummed, as if acknowledging that we knew exactly what we were doing, deliberately ignoring his rules while he was gone.

“And what did I find you both doing?”

“Being reckless”

Finally, he looked up, and to your surprise, he was not holding back anger; the gleam in his eyes told you he was saddened, and he looked almost desperate.

“You both could have gotten really hurt. Rudo is lucky to have gotten out of this with a few bruises and a sore arm. Do you know how fast my heart dropped to the ground when I saw you both do something so irresponsible? I was worried out of my mind in those few seconds.”

He kneeled slowly to be eye level with you two. His eyes gleamed with unshed tears; it weighed heavily on your heart and Rudos; it squeezed more than if he had been livid. Most of the time, you wished he would just yell at you like other parents. The guilt slapped you around for a while as you dropped your head further down.

“I'm sorry, I should have been smarter. I'm older; I should be more responsible for my younger brother. You trust us to be home alone, and I always find a way to put him in meaningless danger. Im sorry”

Regto sighed and slowly engulfed you in a hug, his hand cradling your head, the other bringing you closer. He kissed the crown of your skull to soothe you. And while it was a claiming gesture, it just made you feel a mix of comfort and shame, you knew better, he trusted you to know better, and you failed him. You heard shuffling and felt Regto lean back, another body joining you both. You look over and see Rudo leaning on your father's other shoulder, Regtos hands on both your heads.

“No more, Ok? You're both supposed to protect each other in your own ways. I know you are siblings and share more than other siblings might, but I want you to be there for one another, ok? I need you to be there for the other. Can you do that for me?”

You and Rudo look at each other and smile. Well, you smiled, he just leaned further into Regto and closed his eyes in agreement. You all take this moment ot enjoy the time you have together before Regto sighs and whispers.

“By the way, you're both grounded for another month, and say goodbye to the next gift-giving holiday.”

You and Rudo groan in unison as you pull away from your father, who nods in contentment at his punishment. He was kind and loving, but no pushover. You both broke the rules while already on lockdown; it was time for more drastic measures. And even after he kissed you both good night and sent you off to bed, you and Rudo agreed you wouldn't trade such a life for anything.