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What exactly is love?
Some say it’s just a feeling, an emotion, something you would just know.
But how do you just know?
Don’t you need past experiences to understand what love is?
Perhaps not, it doesn’t matter until you feel it.
That intense warmth of your heart, the quaking of your hands, your incapability to speak, the way your heart beats faster upon realizing that you’re in love. It’s almost terrifying to think about it, hell, even as to believe that you are capable of having such an emotional feeling inside your cold dead heart.
But you can’t help but feel that once they’re gone, you are nothing but an empty shell left behind, it’ll scare you, keep you up at night. You don’t want to lose them, they’re your twin flame, you just can’t afford to lose the only person you have ever felt significant love to.
They say love is blind, dangerous.
But is it really?
Kuro watches as Tsubaki talks about everything and anything while they’re out in the town while Sakuya and Mahiru are on a date, they have agreed to behave for them, only just this once. It was their first date, Tsubaki wanted to crash it until Kuro stepped up to be the volunteer to watch his troublesome sibling, making sure he goes nowhere close to their date spot.
He had to admit that it was peaceful, watching his sibling rant about his subclasses he allowed to be free. He was lonely, Kuro could tell.
Kuro knows he needs to tell his sibling something, anything to get his mind off the suffocating loneliness he has been feeling since he went away. As the Eldest, he should take responsibility to help his siblings, right? He knows utter loneliness, the feeling that you just have nobody there to help you through your crying fits, your bad days and to help you take the baggage off your shoulders, even if it’s just for a little while. And knowing that Tsubaki had been alone just as he was, it upsetted him. None of his siblings deserved that, not even Tsubaki after the vampire war he created. He wanted happiness for them, they all may not be his biological family, but they are still family.
“Oi, Nii-san. Hello? Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face? This isn’t interesting at all..” Tsubaki grumbled as he looked away, he thought he was talking too much enough for Kuro to lose interest, hadn’t he?
Well he was wrong, he heard everything loud and clear.
“There’s nothing on your face, I’m just thinking. I heard everything by the way, did you want to continue? You said that you really wanted someone to give you something on valentine’s day, is there anything you want specifically?” Kuro asked, it surprised Tsubaki nonetheless. The Fox didn’t expect that the laziest sibling of all, the one to lose interest in things boring, heard his whole entire rant from the beginning to where he cut himself off. Maybe he should give his Eldest more credit, he is trying his best after all these years lost. “Chocolate I guess, oh! Maybe even a mini version of my fox form! Or a bear with a heart on it!” Tsubaki told him with excitement, he just wanted to be loved.
Guess Kuro has some shopping to do, huh?
“Alright, I’ll see what I could do.” Kuro said as he got up from his seat. It was getting late, so the sun was down just enough for him to stay in human form as he headed towards the cafe in which the lovebirds were. “Nii-san? Wait! What did you say?! Get back here!”
“Goodnight, Tsubaki, get some rest when you have the chance!” Kuro yelled as he ran off to join Mahiru. He hoped Mahiru would help him pick the best gifts to give his lonely sibling.
Now it was Valentine’s day, and thankfully Mahiru is helping him out with picking up the gifts without asking too many questions on who it was for. Mahiru probably thought a few was for him, and unfortunately, Tsubaki needed these gifts more than he did since the damn Green bean is already giving him gifts, so Kuro thought that Mahiru didn’t need more than what he was already going to get.
Moving on, Kuro was searching for the best gift he could afford on his budget Mahiru gave him. He picked out a heart shaped chocolate box for his sibling at first, but then he has come across the one gift that will blow all gifts out of the park.
A large fox plushy with a large heart in the middle of its’ chest.
Why need chocolates when you have a large plushy taking up half your bed?
Without thinking twice, he ends up buying both the large plushy and box of chocolates. He was gonna make Tsubaki’s day hopefully.
Reaching home, he quickly hides the plushy in Tooru’s room. He was gonna call Tsubaki here and hopefully surprise him with the gifts. So the first thing he did was kick Mahiru out of the apartment enough for him to call the youngest sibling, he was hoping Sakuya was close around to entertain his Eve for awhile, but he wasn’t going to make sure of it right now, he’s on a mission.
“Nii-san? Why are you calling me for? Don’t you have games to play?” Tsubaki asked through the phone, how did he know that it was him calling? He’ll ask later. “I do, but I need you to come here, like, now, while my Eve is away for a bit-” Kuro was unable to completely tell him as he heard the line go dead, knowing Mahiru, surely he didn’t miss a due date on the phone bill, right? Did Tsubaki hang up on him? Did he not want to talk with him?
Furrowing his brows in confusion, he calls again, only hearing the answering machine asking him to leave a message. Disappointed, he hangs up the phone. Maybe he should go ahead and just deliver the gifts to him?
His train of thought was interrupted as three hard knocks rang through the apartment.
Kuro quickly looks to see the keys on the key ring, seeing that one pair was gone, meaning Mahiru had his with him. Who could be at the door? Sakuya to pick his Eve up for another date? Sighing with a great deal of effort, he trudges over to the door to open it, only to be surprised that it was Tsubaki that was standing there.
“What is that look for, Nii-san? You told me to come here in such a voice I cannot refuse. Where is your Eve? Not here?” Tsubaki asked as he looked behind his sibling to see if he’d catch sight of familiar brown hair, but heard nothing from within to notify that they weren’t alone. “My bad, just didn’t think you’d get here that fast, plus you hung up on me that I didn’t expect you to even come. But no, Mahiru isn’t here. Come on.” Kuro told him as he pulled Tsubaki’s arm to pull him into the apartment so he could close the door.
Usually by this time, Tsubaki would get defensive. This wasn’t like his sibling and he can tell something was up, or well, he can feel it. Was he nervous? He didn’t quite understand it, Tsubaki never really got the chance of understanding human emotions besides his own sin and anger. So this was a new feeling and he didn’t quite like it. “Now stay there and close your eyes, no peeking.” Kuro warned as he stood by the hallway in which the rooms were in. Now Tsubaki was feeling intense fluttering in his gut, what is his sibling going to do? Show him something?
However, even with his thoughts, he did indeed obey his sibling. Might as well so he could get this over with, right? He desperately wanting to know what his sibling had.
After a bit of shuffling was heard, Tsubaki felt that crippling urge to just look . Of course he did,anyone would in his spot, right?
And once he felt like he was waiting for eternity, Kuro finally allowed him to open his eyes.
Tsubaki was honestly not expecting such a surprise, his sibling was actually serious when he told him he’ll do what he can to make him happy on Valentine’s day.
And it worked, that was the scary part of this.
“Nii-san….” Tsubaki started, he didn’t know what to say as he stared at the large fox sitting right in front of him, being held up with the help of Kuro’s hand on it’s head. He looked at the heart in the middle first before he realized that the fox stopped to Kuro’s waist, he knows that his bed wouldn’t feel empty anymore with the plushy sleeping beside him. Turning his head, he can see the box of chocolates in his Eldest’s free hand, shaped as a heart.
Was it wrong to love your sibling more than what your family status is?
“What are you just standing there? You waiting for permission? These are yours Tsubaki, take them.” Kuro told him, snapping Tsubaki out of his reverie as he dashed over to wrap the giant fox in a bear hug, (or should he say
fox
hug?) hugging it tightly against his body as if this is some sort of fantasy that he never wanted to end. It was soft, comfortable and perhaps very easy to pass out on if you try. He wants to thank his sibling for this, for letting him feel like he’s appreciated, loved, cared for, hell, even part of the family he wanted to be in from the very beginning. Sleepy Ash really was a caring big brother, he takes his insults back. He never truly got to know his sibling before he said those things.
“How are you feeling, Tsubaki?” Kuro asked as he crouched down to rest a hand on the small of Tsubaki’s back comfortably, looking at him with a look Tsubaki never saw before now. It was a soft smile, directed towards him, it made him feel…
“Happy….” Tsubaki said aloud, he felt truly happy and he’s not going to deny it this time. Ego begone, he wants this, needs this. So he will make sure to keep this memory alive in his head for the rest of his immortal life.
He was home, happy. And he’ll finally except that now.
“Happy Valentines Day, Tsubaki.”
“Thank you, big brother…”