It was silent in the living room after Ryuzi confessed to him, the burden of his own past hanging in the room like a storm that had burst. The skin shivered at his shoulders, his breath weak, as though the utterance of the words had ripped some reed out of him.
Suki leaned forward across him with his hand still gripping that of Ryuzi.
You are not alone any more, Suki said. "Not with me here."
Ryuzi's throat tightened. The words made a deep cut, and the remaining of his opposition was dissolved. The whole had long been within himself, and shackled up in silence and chilly walls. And now that he saw the warm eyes of Suki upon him, he could restrain it no longer.
His body hung forward as he moved without thought.
Suki caught him instantly.
The forehead of Ryuzi was against the shoulder of Suki, and the fists of this one were close to the back of his shirt, which they seemed to release only after it would have collapsed. Rattled in his chest, his ragged breath came grovelling against the warmth of Suki.
Suki stood a moment in appalled silence--then his arms came round him. Not so tight, not suffocating, but constant. Safe.
... OK, it is all right, Suki said, pushing his cheek against the hair of Ryuzi. You do not have to carry it on yourself anymore. I've got you."
Ryuzi allowed himself to be held, like one has not been in years.
The Aoyama sisters were up the staircase, almost at the top. They had listened to what they wanted to hear--the confession of Ryuzi, the veracity of the rumor, the trembling voice.
The stern face of Hana had been softened. "So that's what he's been hiding..." she murmured.
Emi crossed her arms as she blazed her eyes. Those bastards distorted everything. I would like to go marching over there and shout at them.
Rika cleared her eyes with her sniffle. "All this time he has been suffering alone.
They sat and watched their brother taking hold of Ryuzi in the living room down below.
"Good," Hana said firmly. "Let him cry. He needs this."
Emi glanced at her sisters. Henceforth, we are not the family of Suki. We're his too."
The others nodded, united.
The silence down the stairs was great, and was broken only by the disordered breathing of Ryuzi. Slowly, his trembling eased. The grip he had on him was loosened, but he did not withdraw.
I hate this... I hate this... he said through a hoarse mouth against the shoulder of Suki.
"What?" Suki asked softly.
"This weakness." His voice cracked. I have spent years attempting to be tougher, colder, so that nobody could ever attempt to harm me. And now--look at me."
Suki hugged him, and shook his head. "This isn't weakness. This is strength. It is more difficult to allow anyone in--to trust them, than to fight alone.
Ryuzi's chest clenched. He detested the sense that those words had.
He glanced back after a long interval and came near enough to look into the eyes of Suki. His were red, his lashes wet, and yet something in his look was raw and open which had never been the case before.
"...Why you?" Ryuzi asked quietly. "Why do you care this much?"
Suki smiled faintly. It was because, since the first day I saw you, sitting by that window, as though the world had ceased to exist--I knew you were not as cold as you had been making out. I hoped to prove it myself.
Ryuzi looked at him with his chest tight. He ought to have turned his head, yet he was not able. Not this time.
...Idiot, he muttered, though there was a touch of gratitude in his voice which almost choked him with gratitude rather than annoyance.
Suki grinned. "Your idiot."
The world beyond the Aoyama living room was nonexistent a moment.
Some muffled footsteps drew them. The sisters were down, and their playfulness had passed.
"Ryuzi." Hana's voice was calm, steady. "We heard everything."
Ryuzi stood up and was flushing all over with horror. "You--what--"
Emi held up a hand. "Relax. We're not judging you. We just want you to know..." Her eyes softened. "You're safe here. With us, too."
Smiling in wet eyes, Rika smiled. "We're on your side, Ryuzi. Always."
Ryuzi blinked, stunned. He opened his mouth, and had no words to say. No one ever said that to him--in this way.
Hana touched his shoulder with a hand. Whatever had occurred in the past, it does not make you what you are today. Nor does it much determine how we perceive you.
Suki gazed upon the three guardians of his brother, and he had a proud grin on his face. "See? Told you. The family is irritating, but it is the best.
The sisters laughed in a low key, which relieved the strict tension.
And this time Ryuzi did not have a feeling like a foreigner in a foreign house. He felt... accepted.
The evening when Suki was walking Ryuzi to the door, the day was cool and silent.
You need not thank me, Suki said poutingly. But I will tell you--when you will be prepared we shall rewrite your story. Together."
Ryuzi looked a long time at him. Then, almost against his will, he mumbled,...Thanks.
It was the smallest word. But to Ryuzi it was monumental.