雲雀恭弥

Before he could question further though, his — mostly self-proclaimed — lover had scurried off, and Hibari followed suit, looking more than a little baffled upon entering the room.

Well.

“—And what is the meaning of this?” 

His little brother — from the looks of it — was none too happy with his predicament, and from Dino’s (the elder one; tch, having both in the same room really made this confusing) panicked expression, he knew exactly how the elder skylark would take this.

Hint; not well.

First of all; there were too many people here.

Secondly; his brother was being smothered, from all evidence available.

Thirdly; he was far too tired to be dealing with idle bickering, thank you very much.

When he had woken up had Kyo and Dino fallen asleep, and from earlier that evening had Anthony learned not to wake Kyo up so he found a blanket and wrapped the boys up in it. He picked up his studies in silence before heading towards Hiba’s room to continue, he had asked for permission earlier and had it granted.

He had no idea what time it was but he lifted his head as he heard the door open and got up and walked out to see what was happening and then smiled as he heard Hiba’s voice, lifting one finger to his lips in a hushing gesture. “Welcome home.” he said, lowering his voice. “The kids are asleep on the couch. How come you’re early home?”

One thing made him blink, however. 

“—kids?” 

After their conversation Friday, Kyoya hadn’t sent him any further messages. Not even to annoy him, or to complain— not for anything. It would’ve been a blessing of sorts, seeing as he’d hardly had much time for replying with how packed the schedule had been, but it had only unsettled him, to be fair.

Guilt had something to do with it to, he supposed. He recalled a psychoanalysis lecture that had mentioned that guilt could easily stem from doing things against your own wishes— not that he truly believed one hundred percent in any science, but it had its merit, sometimes.

Nevertheless, he’d decided to head home tonight, for his own restfulness’ sake if nothing else. For Kyoya’s sake too, although he didn’t expect he would be thanked for it. Kyoya and gratitude didn’t always go well hand-in hand.

But if it made the teen feel even a slight bit better, Hibari would consider that a success, all things considered.

He almost missed his exit — only saved by a quick glance up and right — and mentally berated himself for the slip-up as he had to break perhaps a touch too sharply. Luckily, not many other drivers were stupid enough to be on the road at this hour, so he wasn’t causing any immediate risks for an accident.

Now, wouldn’t that have been a fun conclusion of the day.

Because of said slip, he kept his focus more firmly on the road the rest of the way home, pulling up in the driveway just as the digits on the panel turned to 2 AM. 

It was possible people were asleep — any reasonable person would be, at this hour — but he heard sounds from the living room when he opened up the entrance door. Huh. Well, it was Saturday, so—

He had asked to take care of himself and look where that ended up! Now he was stuck dealing with his brother’s irritating boyfriend as his babysitter for the entire weekend. He had asked for Hibari to just listen to him and trust him–unspoken, of course–through unconventional means and hidden phrases, but he had still asked in his own way regardless.

[To: Hibari]

I’ve already asked for plenty–

No….he didn’t really feel like going through this again with his brother.

Chewing at his lower lip in thought, Kyoya gripped the phone in his hands a little tighter before finally settling on one reply.

[To: Hibari]

I don’t need anything….

After all, considering how many things had been thrown onto the teen — without his knowing or direct consent — today, not to mention how it had seemed to affect him, HIbari was quite sure that Kyoya would’ve run through a hundred of things he would’ve wished were different.

After scanning the message though, he frowned, briefly contemplating how many times Kyoya had come up with that standard answer, regardless of how much it was actually truth. 

Part of him was glad; Kyoya could’ve requested numerous things, from being left along to him coming home — all of which he would not have been able to easily abide to. Another—

Well, this was Kyoya, after all. Never one to get a straight answer from.

He supposed that the true implications oft hat message was more along the lines of, ‘I don’t need anything aside from things we’ve already concluded can’t be changed’, then. Which, in a sense, was a good thing.

On the other hand, he felt perhaps even more guilty because of that.

Note to self; don’t go that much over your brother’s head if you can’t deal with the consequences of such a choice.

Still, Kyoya could be incredibly unreasonable, so things like these would happen regardless. Hibari sighed, then, realizing he couldn’t do much more than leave it be for now. Once he’d returned home, perhaps he could have a chance to fully talk to Kyoya about all the issues that had arisen from this sudden change of schedule.

If nothing else, perhaps he could learn a few things to keep in mind next time.

Definitely not.

Giving a third–or was it the fourth this time? had had lost count–stressed sigh, the ravenet picked up the phone and typed out a quick text, knowing it wasn’t his place to make Hibari worry about all of this when on an important retreat. His brother had plenty to stress about and here Kyoya was making his life even more difficult. Sure he was a brat with no regards of others needs most of the time, but if there was one person who had an exception to his “brattiness”–or so his brother would put it–it was Hibari.

[To: Hibari]

Never mind. It doesn’t matter.

Yes, he would have to put up with Anthony for longer, but if it meant he could give back to Hibari in some way–even if that way was not bothering him over mundane issues–then he would try his best, as much as it pained his ego. After all, his brother was the one who had practically raised him on his own. so it was only natural for Kyoya to feel a little guilty, right?

Right…..

Well, the last message sure hadn’t sounded like it.

Hibari stifled another sigh — he was making an excessive habit of it, really — before putting his phone aside for a moment. 

It was likely Kyoya had read through his message and figured he was trying to twist his schedule. Perhaps the younger simply didn’t want to bother him too much — it was a possibility — or he’d become upset that HIbari would make compromises on work solely because Kyoya wished him home.

If he’d interpreted that message correctly in the first place, of course.

Nonetheless, he glanced at the device once more, contemplating a reply. An easy ok would be an end to the conversation without a doubt, and would allow him to move on to going over his notes for the day. However, there was also this nagging feeling in the back of his mind, and if he didn’t alleviate that, then he’d likely not be able to focus much, either.

Younger siblings were such a handful, really—

[Text]: It’s fine to ask for things, Kyoya. 

Contrary to popular belief, Kyoya did feel bad for giving his brother such a hard time about all of this. The younger had a routine, and when a rock was unexpectedly wedged into that routine it through the teen off, emotions and feelings becoming irrational in their nature.

Rolling onto his back with yet another sigh, Kyoya grabbed his pillow and brought it up to his face, one arm wrapped around the object to keep it in place while the other grabbed his phone as it vibrated against his side.

Only one he could trust, huh–? Interesting…

[To: Hibari]

…..when are you coming back?…

He sighed again, then, glancing at the time slowly as he pondered his options. There’d been something about Kyoya’s tone — he wouldn’t ask about it, because Kyoya was likely to turn on a dime and snap at him — that made him feel, at a lack of better words, guilty.

Hibari knew Kyoya disliked sudden changes to routine, after all. Something that, unfortunately, was commonplace for Hibari, considering his attempts at balancing his internship with school. And that affected Kyoya, as well.

So perhaps guilty was really what he should be feeling, all things considered.

For a second, he thought of feigning illness, but pushed it aside. During his high-school period, he’d gone through several variants of ‘excuses’ to stay out of social activities; before he’d realized such things were necessary to work your way through society. A realization he’d reached after a lot of stubborn defiance, at that.

Kyoya probably didn’t know how alike him Hibari had been at that age, and he’d likely never believe him even if he told him.

Still, he needed to be here. For himself and his studies.

He took a drink of water, stubbornly ignoring his headache, now a dull throb behind his eyes.

What options did he have..?

[Text]: If I drive immediately after the final seminar and dinner tomorrow evening, I could be home by somewhere in the range of two AM. 

Ah, so he finally had free time. 

[To: Hibari]

Why the hell is your indentured servant–of all people–here??

He growled as he typed up the message, knowing the answer to his question already, but confused as to why Hibari had sent Anthony rather that someone else when he knew the blonde was someone that would irritate the younger teen rather easily. 

The older ravenet could have picked someone random and had less problems than if he had gone with Anthony, and in doing so he could have escaped dealing with so much unnecessary drama. 

He could hear the two blondes talking in the living room and the noise alone had Kyoya growling to himself and shoving his face into his pillow until he got a response from his brother.

Kyoya wasn’t about to let this just slip by easily without some kind of a fight on his end.

He paused, looking at the question with a slight frown.

Come now, what kind of question was that? 

Well, on one hand, he could see how; Dino angered Kyoya on more than one occasion and in indefinite ways. Still, surely his younger sibling must at least know—

Wait, Kyoya was a child. Scratch that. It made perfect sense now.

Sighing, he walked over to the fridge in the room, checking if there was anything he’d feel like having — eventually he had to settle on carbonated water, of all things — before sitting down on the edge of the bed in order to reply.

[Text]: All annoyances aside, he’s better than a random person on the street.

Likely Kyoya would’ve preferred someone he didn’t know, but for HIbari—

Feeling the need to elaborate on that, he sighed again, rubbing at his temples to try and chase away the budding headache.

[Text]: Besides, he’s 

Reliable? Perhaps. No— that wouldn’t be acceptable to the younger skylark, without a doubt. He needed a word that explained it. Better than reliable, at least—

[Text]: Besides, he’s one of few I could trust with this.

Not enough to convey it properly, perhaps, but it’d have to do.

After all, any random stranger wouldn’t do. Even a co-worker, or another fellow student. Hibari wouldn’t entrust something as important — even though his worry was likely unfounded; Kyoya could take care of himself fine, and he was proud of him for that — as his little brother.

Tch’, I  always behave.

Well….most of the time…..maybe…

Okay, so very rarely did he really behave the way Hiba wanted, but still, it’s not like kyoya went out seeking trouble or had it in his mind that when Hibari wasn’t around–which was more often than the older skylark would admit–that he was just going to wreak havoc across the neighborhood. 

[To: Hibari]

I’ll only maim them a little.

It probably wasn’t entirely a lie, so props to Kyoya for telling the truth to his brother, who more than likely already knew what it was the younger skylark would do when he found out who had been sent to annoy him for the weekend.

Figuring that his brother would be busy for the next handful of hours now that he had made it to the retreat location, the younger ravenet decided to not bother the older because he didn’t want to interfere. That, and it’s not like he would have gotten a response from his brother anyways.

Hn…Probably put his phone on silent. 

A good four hours had passed since Kyoya had last texted Hibari, interrupting the silence with a single three-worded text that conveyed more than the actual words.

[To: Hibari]

….I hate you.

It was — perhaps — a stroke of fate that the final message appeared just as he’d retired back to his room; the rest of the attendees had decided to raid the bar, and he didn’t quite fancy spending more time with people than he needed to. Especially not if they intended to be rowdy and noisy.

He might have grown a touch resilient to idiocy and crowds, but there was a limit.

Sighing as he shrugged his jacket off, he blinked at the soft buzz, picking his phone up for the first time since he’d entered the building. Only three messages, but even so—

He hated him, huh...?

What had happened now?

Kyoya said the words a lot, but there was simply something about the way this was put— Not to mention after such a long lapse of time. That, in itself, was suspicious. 

[Text]: —Contrary to when?

Perhaps a touch too sassy, but it would give the younger a chance to vent, in case that’s what he needed. 

[Text]: What in particular warranted this?

Hibari had not done anything sans not replying — and he guessed the younger knew the reason for that — so it was unlikely he was the direct cause.

Perhaps he’d need to give Dino a call, just in case— He paused there, frowning to himself.

Hn. Of course. Leave it to his brother to always need the last word, even in a text message conversation.

[To: Hibari]

That’s called wasting time. So much for being efficient with it..

Smirking just faintly to himself, Kyoya was ready to turn his attention back to the ever-so-boring teacher only for his phone to vibrate in his hand before he could lock the screen and store it away. Clicking on the message only brought another wave of irritation to the teen, right eye twitching softly before fingers were quickly punching keys in a response to Hibari’s message.

Like hell did he want some kind of stupid souvenir. Did he look like some five year old that needed a gift in the end to be satiated?? 

To this day, Hibari was the only person Kyoya knew that could quell his anger in one second, and then piss him off the next, all within the span of one text message. 

[To: Hibari]

Tch’, stupid. Of course i don’t want some dumb souvenir.

Well, well.

Opting against stopping for another reply — he only had a fifteen-minute drive left, after all — he instead focused on the road, weighing the pros and cons of buying his brother a souvenir anyway.

Pros included the younger getting embarrassed and angry, of course.

Cons, likewise, included the younger’s anger; Kyoya could be quite vindictive if he wanted to, after all—

Hn. Tough choice.

He still hadn’t entirely decided when he pulled his car up on the parking lot, turning the engine off and leaning back with a short sigh, reaching out for his phone to tap in a reply.

[Text]: Your loss. Anyway, I’ve arrived safely. No more risk of any texting while driving~

[Text]: Be good, all right?

Checking the time, he hummed softly. It was just a matter of time before things would go south, likely. Kyoya would not be pleased with Hibari’s choice of chaperone, for one. And there was a risk of his mere presence causing more irritation.

[To: Hibari]

You’re the most shitty law enforcement intern I know. Stop texting and driving.

Well, to say Hibari was the only one at fault would have been wrong seeing as the younger skylark was still pestering him with texts, but still, Kyoya couldn’t let such a message from his older brother pass without any kind of response. Doing nothing in turn would have been more uncharacteristic of him, he was sure.

[To: Hibari]

I’m not worrying! 

He most definitely was not worrying!

Not one damn bit.

Well–….not completely. There was always a worried undertone to Kyoya’s words and actions when it came to Hibari’s internship; especially when the older went on actual ride-along sessions around the town. His brother had already been injured more times than the teen could remember, and he felt as if it was only a matter of time before Hibari was seriously injured from one of them. Of course he would secretly worry when his brother was the only thing he really had left.

[To: Hibari]

Don’t be stupid.

Oh yes, he’d definitely embarrassed his younger sibling. 

A quick glance to the time proved it true that the younger was still in class too, and he hummed to himself while checking for any good spots to pull over. After all, Kyoya was right in one thing; texting and driving was not only a bad idea, but also a breech of the law.

It would’ve been quite embarrassing to be fined for it.

Finding a good spot, he pulled over, checking the time to ensure he was still on schedule, then opened the conversation up.

[text]: For your information, I pull over. 

Most of the time, at least. He tried to. But his car was at least not in motion when he did; that much he could assure him. Nevertheless, he focused on the final two messages, chuckling softly.

Not worrying, hm? That seemed unlikely, based on the tone of the messages. Then again, hell would freeze over before Kyoya would admit to that, so he wasn’t going to push that particular notion. He didn’t particularly want his brother to worry, but in a certain way, it was nice. They only had one another, after all, so despite the bickering and harsh tones, it was reassuring to know that beneath all of that—

He hummed, checking the time once more. Well, he had enough time to spare yet.

[text]: Fine. You’re not worrying. Would you like a souvenir when I get back?

A likely no, but he’d ensure to look for something anyway. Kyoya’d never outright ask for anything, so Hibari had to spend considerable time reading into a lot of reactions, expressions and vague talk to figure out anything, from birthday gifts to if he needed new shoes.

He really was a handful.

Sure, three days was longer than any other period of time the younger teen had gone without seeing his brother at all, but Kyoya still wasn’t willing to give up the fact that the need for a babysitter was highly unnecessary. 

[To: Hibari]

Tch’, whatever.

It was clear he was annoyed with the older ravenet, but at this rate if he kept pushing the matter then his brother wasn’t going to pay attention to the retreat he was heading to at all, and the point of this whole painful process–for kyoya, at least–was for the other to learn something that could help him with not only school, but also his internship. As much as he hated his brother right now, He didn’t want to spoil the entire trip for the other.

[To: Hibari]

……..don’t get shot….or something.

That, however, did not mean the entire weekend would go smoothly, and Hibari knew that.

Still, he knew Kyoya was upset with him. Perhaps he had a point in being so, considering he had been right about a few things; Hibari being away a lot included. The knowledge that the younger was affected enough by that to bring it up was a touch disheartening, and his grip non the steering wheel tightened perhaps just a touch as he made the turn. He’d have to see if he could get less back-to-back shifts. 

Perhaps if he picked up a few more late-evening or night shifts, he could have afternoons after school free enough to at least come home and eat dinner—

Kyoya would be furious with him if he found out Hibari was changing his schedule around for his sake, though. He was strangely particular about things like that; in a quite childish way, at that.

Then again, Kyoya was still a child in many ways.

He blinked out of his train of thought as his screen lit up again, gaze straying to the single line of text. A short laugh left him then, and he shook his head before reaching out to tap in a reply at the next intersection.

[text]: I'll stay safe, I promise. Don’t worry.

And then, perhaps because he couldn’t entirely cease teasing the younger at every possible turn he could—

[To: Hibari]

IT’S ONE WORD. “NEVERMIND” And i can take care of my own hunger when it comes to that!

It almost seemed hypocritical of Hibari to decide on a babysitter now–of all times!–when he wasn’t even home most days until late at night. Kyoya had even gone a full day or so without seeing his brother at all when school and then office got really busy for the other.

[To: Hibari]

I’ve been on my own before plenty of times.

Of course he knew. Kyoya barely ate even when Hibari was home, but when he wasn’t—

“...tch, why does he have to be such a brat about things...?” He murmured, tone more dejected than irritated, now. It was in Kyoya’s nature to antagonize him, it seemed. Nevertheless, he simply hoped the younger skylark would realize he did this out of concern, and not spite.

[text]: Not for three whole days. Can you please just bear with this?

Ugh, that sounded awfully much like a plea. Well, there was the word ‘please’ involved, so— He made a small face, then sighed. Why did people ever want siblings? 

Well, he’d expected that much—

[text]: Don’t be brattish. By law, I’m required to ensure someone keeps tabs on you. You still have a few years to go, Kyoya.

Not that Kyoya would simply quiet over something so feeble as laws andregulations that weren’t his own, but it was still a valid point to make.

Maybe he felt a little bad for Dino.

[text]: Just behave this one weekend. Please.

[To: Hibari]

Few years my ass. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself! Cancel it.

Did his brother seriously think he would sit still and agree to all of this without a fight? Kyoya got irritated simply when the older skylark tried to make him eat dinner when he wasn’t hungry. If that was any indication of how stubborn and hot headed the younger was, then surely his older brother knew an idea of this caliber was never going to end well.

[To: Hibari]

[text]: If I leave you to your own devices, you won’t eat for the entire weekend. And I’m afraid cancelling is out of the option.

Of course, he could’ve told his superiors that he couldn’t attend that weekend. However, he gained extra credits for his courses if he went, plus he’d have a chance to get more involved in his field— all things that would benefit his future career.

Surely even Kyoya could understand something like that?

...eh, who was he fooling.

[text]: It’s just this once. If you behave, I’ll trust your independence next time around. Deal?

Like hell did he have a curfew.

The fuck??? To say this was probably the most annoying text he had ever received from his irritating brother would be an understatement. Kyoya was furious beyond words, unable to do anything but stare at the bright screen of his cellphone in disbelief. Like hell would he sit quietly and let some unknown weirdo his brother had picked out “babysit” him. He was sixteen years old, practically already an adult, and sure as hell more independent than ninety percent of the kids his age.

He would rather die than let this happen. With a growl, lithe fingers furiously punched over the keys of his phone, snapping it shut once his message had been sent right back to his oh so loving brother.

[To: Hibari]

AKLDHJHFYS-;fl,

[To: Hibari]

Like hell! I’ll bite the both of you to death.

Well, he’d expected that much—

[text]: Don’t be brattish. By law, I’m required to ensure someone keeps tabs on you. You still have a few years to go, Kyoya.

Not that Kyoya would simply quiet over something so feeble as laws and regulations that weren’t his own, but it was still a valid point to make. 

Maybe he felt a little bad for Dino.

Anthony blinked as he heard his phone vibrate and found it under a few books as he was studying. He blinked once more as he read the message.

[Text] Yes, I do remember. Are you here to collect it?[/text]

Well, Dino wasn’t as stupid as he sometimes — read; usually — appeared, something which Hibari was quite glad for; it spared him a lot of lengthy, unnecessary explanations.

[text]: Work wants me along on a seminar over the weekend. You’ll be babysitting my brother.

No question, because well— 

Not that Kyo would care if he studied or not but he would be so thoroughly peeved at the fact that he would have to ‘baby sit’ him.

No condescending tone or anything, oh no. He would never.

Still, he supposed taking the fact that Dino would do this for granted was perhaps a touch too arrogant, so—

He knew that Hiba always worried about little Kyo, like any big brother would. And it really showed how much Hiba trusted him if he chose HIM to take care of Kyo during this weekened.

[Text] I’ll pack a bag and head over.[/text]

And perhaps he felt like teasing him. Just a little. Even though he knew Dino would likely get the burnt of it—

Well, he was a bit mean, like that.

Eventually, he brought the text conversation back up, stepping out the door to lock it, then placing the key where he said he would before heading for his car.

[text]: Make sure he eats. Let him pick if nothing else works. I’ll pay you back later.

Because Kyoya was picky and stubborn to a fault, there was a risk nothing Dino would suggest was going to work, so— He frowned, turning the engine over before pausing once more, bringing the conversation up once more.

[text]: His curfew is midnight on weekends.