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As he closed his eyes, soft lips met his own. He melted into the kiss. A sigh was let out, and the kiss soon deepened.
Those lips moved from his and he panted as they, instead, ran down his neck, along his collarbone.
"S-So good..." he whispered. He felt hair tickle his skin and only shivered and squirmed more. "D-Don't stop...right there!"
Lips and nimble fingers worshipped skin as it was revealed. They moved lower. Lower.
"Ung...please..."
They heeded the plea.
Eyes fluttered open to gaze at the one granting such pleasure. Green eyes with cat-like pupils met his, they almost completely mirrored his own.
~*~
His eyes flew open as he gasped and bolted upright. He felt his torso and let out a quiet sigh as he felt the fabric of his sleepwear.
Mayuge huffed and shifted slightly at the disturbance.
R tenderly scratched behind his ear as an apology. He felt Mayuge settle back into comfortable sleep and started thinking about the dream he'd had. His cheeks burned, he surely looked as red as the tomatoes he enjoyed eating.
That dream...I've never had one like that before. Wh-why did I...?
Everything started playing through his mind and he hid his face with a whimper. He felt his body reacting to the images going through his mind and only felt worse.
How could I have had such a dream about him?! I'm an awful big brother! Oh, no...what if we'd shared this one too...? Ohhh...
***
L bolted upright as his eyes flew open. His body was shivering. He knew it wasn't from cold, it was summer and the nights had been mildly cool. He felt something stirring and looked down, blushing lightly as he groaned.
This is not good. How did I manage to have that sort of dream about him? I mean, I know we're always together, but...not once have I thought of him in that way. Well, not until that dream anyway.
He turned to the marimo he'd selected as the one to sit on his bedside shelf for that night. "Hey, what should I do, Tsubasa? Should I go check on R in case he had this dream too?" he whispered softly.
Wait...if we did share this dream, I think I'd be the last person R would want to see right now...
L continued to gaze at his marimo named after the leader of UNICORN Jr. in hopes it would help him calm down enough to get back to sleep...and hopefully take care of that other problem that he'd rather not deal with himself lest the dream he'd had act as fuel for his imagination.
***
The next morning, things were very awkward between the twins. They kept their sentences short and clipped, tried not to make any form of physical contact and continuously gazed elsewhere so as not to look at each other.
"H-Hey, L?"
"Mm?"
"Did...did you have any weird dreams last night...?"
L didn't want to admit to such a dream. So he shook his head, even if he knew R would know he was lying due to their bond.
"Oh. N-Neither did I..."
L knew R was lying.
We did share that dream... they thought at the same time.
"W-We should hurry up or we'll...we'll be late for school," R added.
"Y-Yeah." L wasn't exactly hungry, but not eating was a bad idea, so he forced down whatever he could manage.
R decided to stick with his drink, his stomach too uncomfortable to handle solids.
***
Due to their usual closeness, even to the point L would sometimes be hanging off R after giving him a hug from behind, it was obvious something was wrong between the pair. Atom noticed it right away as they entered the classroom. "Mornin', L, R!"
Both twins had forced a smile as they greeted Atom. They sat down at his desk and the group started to converse.
Atom knew L wasn't usually a morning person, but he was acting as skittish as R did before he'd gained enough confidence in himself to act as MARGINAL#4's leader. And R was far more subdued than usual. "Hey, everything alright between you two? You're very quiet this morning."
R tensed up, cheeks reddening. He really did not want to talk about that dream.
"Just tired," L offered.
R took that as an out. "Yes, I'm just tired as well, I was up half the night engaging in an exciting campaign."
"Is that so? Well, we have this afternoon off. I was gonna invite you two to my place to watch a movie I bought, I already invited Rui and he gave the okay, but you should consider going home and catching up on sleep," Atom responded. "Maybe I'll do something else with Rui so you two don't miss out."
"You don't have to change your plans for our sakes..."
"It's fine. I'd rather us all watch it together anyway." He saw as the twins almost exchanged a glance only to immediately turn away from each other. "Are you sure everything's alright?"
"We'll be fine, really," L tried to reassure, though he honestly didn't know if that was true.
The final morning bell rang and the conversation had to end so the twins could move to their desks.
***
Rui had noticed something was wrong when he joined his unit-mates and closest friends for lunch in their clubroom. He sat beside Atom and murmured his concerns in a low voice. "Is everything alright between those two?"
"They said they were just tired this morning, but the way they're keeping their distance from each other..." Atom responded just as lowly.
Rui nodded. "You don't suppose L-kun and R-kun had a fight?"
"I wouldn't think something like that could happen between them."
"Even those with the tightest bonds can fight if pushed far enough." Rui decided to voice his concerns aloud. "R-kun, L-kun, you don't appear to be your usual selves today. Is everything alright between you?"
"As we told Atom-kun this morning, we're just tired," L replied. "We're going straight home and will get some rest."
"If you're really certain that's all it is..."
"We'll be fine."
Rui chose to give a sign he accepted that as a response, but he told Atom otherwise. "I don't believe fatigue is really the culprit here. Something has happened, but it looks like they are the only ones who can sort it out."
"You don't think this will interfere with work, do you?"
"Even when they've had their off moments, they managed to carry on professionally. That should be alright."
R knew Rui hadn't accepted L's reasons for their awkwardness around each other, even if fatigue really was part of it. After a dream like that, R did find it hard to fall asleep and found a campaign including people in a different timezone so they were still awake at their own decent hours. He'd participated in that.
L yawned as he gazed at the marimo lining the shelf he sat by. He'd also found it hard to fall asleep after waking from that dream, so he'd simply continued to whisper to his marimo, even lightly hummed to it.
***
School was over. The twins still went straight home, both feeling tired and miserable. Sleep would not come for them until they confronted the issue, but would they be able to? What would the response be?
R did not want L to view him in a negative light.
L did not want R to hate him.
Atom and Rui watched them leave, hoping they could sort it out between them. "Hey, I know I said we'd watch that movie at my place, but since it's just us two..."
"I wouldn't mind doing something else with you," Rui responded, brushing his hand against Atom's.
"Then, how about we check out that new cafe? We can bring them next time."
"Certainly, I'd like that."
Atom grinned, linking their pinkies for a few seconds. He released him then slung an arm over his shoulders in a friendly manner as a cover, should anyone see them. "Right! Let's go!"
Rui slipped on his spectacles and adjusted his hat, he saw Atom place a hat atop his own head before sliding on some sunglasses. "Then, please lead the way." With subtlety, he leaned into the half-embrace.
***
They'd returned home. R was patting Mayuge while L checked the water of his marimo. He knew they had to talk, he knew he'd have to explain what had caused him to be so awkward around the one he'd been closest to since before birth.
L stepped out of his room and entered the living room. He saw R sitting on the sofa and patting Mayuge. Normally, he'd sneak up behind him and fling his arms around him. "I hate this...I hate this!" he said aloud as he realised just how distant they had seemed to become in one day. "This isn't how we should be!" He sat heavily on the sofa on Mayuge's other side and hid his face in his hands. "How did we create such a rift...?"
"L, we need to talk. There is something I haven't been honest about with you."
He pulled his hands away from his face slowly and nodded. "And...and I've been dishonest too."
"I'm sorry. I did have a dream last night."
"I'm sorry too. I had a dream, it kept me up for the rest of the night."
"It did the same to me too. I wasn't exactly lying about participating in a campaign."
"I thought as much. You turn to your games and Mayuge just as I turn to my marimo."
"Yes, exactly."
"Onii-chan...I'm actually ashamed of my dream."
R was a little surprised at L addressing him that way instead of by name. "It's alright, I am as well. If it was anybody else, I would've still been awkward around them, I would've been extremely embarrassed."
"Dreams like that are normal, lots of teenagers have them."
"But, this one wasn't normal. It left me feeling awkward, embarrassed and full of shame. You're my younger brother, how could I, as your older brother, have even conceived of dreaming of you in that way? It wasn't right. It was very wrong and I hate how even my body reacted to it."
"I don't want you to hate me."
"L, nothing could ever make me hate you."
Mayuge took that moment to get off the couch and get a drink from his bowl.
For the first time that day, the twins made eye contact with each other. They could see how the dream left them feeling, their fears for the other feeling badly about them clearly in view. "Nothing could ever make me hate you. You're my brother, how could I hate you?"
"My body reacted to the dream too. I know reacting to such content is usually supposed to cause that response. But, I was...I was turned on by that dream!"
R felt his cheeks burn at how blatantly L had put it, he saw his brother blushing lightly as well.
L bit his bottom lip, but made himself continue to look at his brother. "I was turned on by a dream in which you...you...! I'm disgusting, why wouldn't you hate me?"
"They spoke about this in Health class, remember? Sometimes the body reacts to stimulation, even if we actually feel horribly about it. And...I was...well...t-turned on as well. I can't hate you for that. I'd be a hypocrite. To be honest, I feared you'd see me in a negative light if you knew."
"Never. R, I could never see you like that. You're my big brother, my most important person, the one I love even more than my marimo."
"L..."
"We...shared another dream. It's too bad it had to be that sort of dream."
"I agree. L, I'm sorry for being dishonest and awkward with you today, you deserve better."
"I'm sorry too, R. I know I sometimes hide my true feelings, even from you, but I should've been honest from the start. We made Atom-kun and Rui-kun worry too."
"We'll have to apologise tomorrow."
"Without telling them all the details."
"Exactly."
"Hey, R? Can I...hug you?"
"It's you, L. You can hug and kiss me all you want. I know it's really you and not some erotic yet misplaced fantasy. I trust you."
L nodded. He slid across, wrapping his arms around R's waist and resting his head against his shoulder. "Is this okay?"
"This is normal for us. It's fine. But, are you alright?"
"I'm scared."
"How come?"
"What if that dream happens again? What if it causes us to become distant again? What if it means I can't be intimate with you anymore?"
"As I said, it was a misplaced dream. We've always had a physically intimate relationship and some silly dream should not be able to get in the way of that. Don't give it the power to. I like your hugs. I like when you kiss me on the cheek, it makes me feel loved."
"Okay. Then, I'm going to give you one now."
"Alright."
"Is it okay?"
"Absolutely."
He closed his eyes and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. He was relieved R hadn't tensed up.
"We'll find our groove again, don't worry."
He nodded and kissed his cheek again as he felt R wrap his arms around his shoulders. It was normal behaviour between them, and much to his relief, his body did not start reacting the same way it had to the dream.
R kissed his forehead and smiled gently. "This is how we're supposed to be. Able to hold each other and give brotherly kisses like this without restraint."
"Thanks, R."
"Thank you, L."
They rested their heads on each other's shoulders as they continued to hold each other, relief at the rift caused by an extremely awkward situation finally closing. They did still plan on going to bed early, but for that moment, they had exactly what they needed.