#also writing Teruki and Reigen makes me miss my own younger sibling SO MUCH

[creativenicocorner]

WELL! I heard it was SOMEBODY’S birthday today!!! And I’ve been having a lot of Hanazawa Teruki and older brother/weird uncle/father figure Reigen feelings lately ;~~;  <3

So A GIFT!! A silly yet wholesome interaction between Teruki and Reigen from my upcoming Serirei case fic (that still needs an official title but is currently called Glow Worms[working title] in my docs) 

Happy Birthday Teruki you sparkling mad lad you! 

For context: Teruki is getting some last minute ‘hanging out with Reigen time’ the night before Reigen and Serizawa travel four hours away up north for a very curious case (something that may or may not be affecting a small village and plants- I’m sure it’s fine).  This involves last minute packing, movie watching, and   usual shenanigans. 

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Teruki watched Reigen vaguely wander about his apartment, a carryon suitcase, half finished, and open in one of the few walking spaces the studio apartment allowed. 

Teruki fished for another prawn cracker from its bag. “How long is this going to take, Reigen-san?” Teruki considered the cracker, and wondered if he could catch it if he flipped it in the air. 

“Not much longer,” said Reigen distractedly. He was considering a pair of shorts, and whether or not the way the pockets were sewn would make it bulky to fold into his little carryon. Especially if he wanted to bring backup shoes. His old galoshes would have to be replaced. Then again, despite the spring, the temperature would still be chilly where he and Serizawa were heading for their case. Now, if he wore his scarf on the way there tomorrow he wouldn’t have to find a way to fold it into the carryon…

“You shouldn’t have waited until the last minute.” Teruki watched Reigen change his mind on the shorts, while muttering something about jeans.

“Hm,” was Reigen’s only reply.

Teruki frowned. Then watched as Reigen picked up a vibrant red button down that had yellow and brown accented stripes that occasionally dipped into black and pink when those stripes collided. Which wasn’t often. It wasn’t strictly plaid, but an erratic zig-zag idea of plaid. 

While watching as Reigen considered the material between his fingers, Teruki wondered what else Reigen was considering.

Mischief compelled Teruki to theatrically suck air through his teeth and say, “really you’re going with that choice? Pretty bold Reigen-san. I don’t know…”

Finally Reigen looked up. “What do you mean?” 

“Don’t you think it’s much?”

Reigen held the button down defensively to his chest. “There’s nothing much with this.” In fact, he thought it brought out his eyes nicely. 

Teruki shook his bag of prawn crackers while idly considering this. “Alright, maybe not much. I mean I think it’s fine.” Reigen watched as Teruki’s grin grew even wider, “but, I’m just worried for poor Serizawa-san. So used to seeing you in gray.”

Reigen clicked his tongue, glancing away. “So shameless. Rude in my own home,” muttered Reigen, without any real bite. Then paused, and said, with a sincerity that shocked even him, “you think he’ll get seasick or something?”

Teruki threw a pillow at him. 

“Fool!” Reigen fumbled with the pillow. “I was just,” he hesitated then said, “committing to the bit.”

“Yeah, yeah,” said Teruki acting the part of a brat. He rested his chin in his palm with a grin. “So was I. It’s a perfectly fine shirt for,” Teruki rolled his other hand vaguely, “whatever it is you have in mind.”

“Thank you,” said Reigen, folding the button down into the carryon with a snooty sort of vindication. He ignored how warm his cheeks were.

“So is this for like, a fancy case? Or is it one of those ‘excuse’ date- I mean cases.”

“It’s a very real, very serious case. That’s going to take us out of the city. In fact, a little farther out than usual.”

“Ah-huh.”

“No, really,” said Reigen dropping his previous airs. “It’s perhaps one of the bigger ones we’ve had yet. People have reported going missing, then coming back as if in a haze. Some report growths. Lights in the wilderness. A spike in insomnia and accidents. Farmers are at risk, just as much as the crops.”

“Oh,” said Teruki, “that does sound pretty serious.” Teruki set the prawn cracker bag on the short excuse of a coffee table. “What if it turns out to be some conspiracy?”

“Then we hand whatever information Serizawa and I managed to gather to the authorities,” said Reigen blandly. 

“Boooooring.”

“Respooooonsiiiiibleeee,” countered Reigen, matching Teruki’s tone despite the deadpan.  

“Do you think it’s dangerous?”

“I don’t know,” Reigen shrugged, genuinely, “anything is possible. But it’d mean quite a lot if we can manage to help them.”

“Weird stuff happening in the deep countryside doesn’t bode well.”

Reigen made a non-comital sound. 

Teruki brightened, “can I come?”

“Tempting, but you have school.” Teruki stuck his tongue out with full teenage abandon. Reigen returned the gesture in kind. “Anyways,” he continued, “we don’t know how long this will take, hence,” he gestured to the carryon before zipping it close and motioning a silent ‘ta-da’.

“FinALLY!” Teruki cheered.

Reigen turned, and allowed a smirk to grow as he put the carryon away, allowing for more space. He then considered rolling out the extra futon. 

It was planned, since they had to leave early in the morning, and Serizawa’s classes weren’t too far from Reigen’s apartment, that it would be practical, and very pragmatic, if Serizawa stayed the night. That way they could leave for the train together. Something any friend would plan with another. It was the Responsible Thing to do. There was nothing deep to think about it, or tack on. Heck it wouldn’t even be the first time Serizawa was spending the night, in a friendly capacity. Or shared a hotel room for economic pragmatism, likewise in a friendly capacity.

But that was all over long periods of time, and the more they got to know each other, and their, well, tentative work-friendship deepened, well…

Reigen could tell he was going to start thinking himself into a spiral. He scrubbed his hand over his face, as if that could rub out or mask in some way the powdered pink hue that was warming over his cheeks. 

The futon set up could wait. 

“So,” huffed Reigen as if about to take on an impossible task, “what movie are we watching tonight.”

Unperturbed by Reigen’s antics, Teruki held up a an old dvd case. One could instantly tell it wasn’t an official dvd, especially with the lack of cover art replaced by a white paper strip that had handwritten the movie title in the sleeve. In short, it was a torrented dvd burned onto a disc.

“Man, you must have dug deep in my collection, kid.” Reigen turned the case over, and read the title handwritten title: Only Yesterday directed by Isao Takahata. "Really? This movie?" He tried not to sound too judgmental, in his genuine curiosity. "I thought you'd want to watch Death Pig: The Screaming Oink, or, something."

Teruki shook his head, "I know, but," he looked at the handwritten title, and shrugged, "I saw a gif of it online and the animation looks nice. And, well..." he trailed off trying to find the right words.

Reigen opened the dvd case, and took out the burned copy. With his head down, he conspicuously slid his eyes over to Teruki who was still struggling to find words. Even bombastic teens had moments of feeling embarrassed. 

“Well,” said Reigen, breaching the hanging silence sympathetically, "there's no harm in branching out."

Teruki lifted his head, and brightened. "Yeah! Thats what I was thinking."

"Though, if I remember the movie right, the pacing is a bit slow."

"I can do slow."

"True."

"And if I, we," Teruki corrected, "really don't like it we can change it." 

Reigen smirked, amused, "Sure, no trouble.” He started the procedure of setting the movie up. “Topical too.”

“Oh?”

“The countryside discussion? The case?” Reminded Reigen.

“Ooh. Right.” Teruki paused then said, “wait there’s farming in this?”

“You didn’t read the summery?”

“Nah, going in blind.”

Reigen shrugged, “respect.”

“So,” said Teruki, a little softer, like when someone was trying very hard to be casual about something that actually held great meaning, “are you going to be gone until the weekend? Longer?”

“Mm, maybe, depends.” 

Teruki willed his jaw not to clench. “On what?”

“How long it takes to ~solve the mystery~” While adding dramatics, Reigen positioned his head so he could watch Teruki from his peripheral. Which was how he was able to spot the slight shoulder slump from the teen.

“…oh.” Teruki tried very hard not to sound disappointed. The result was a strained brittleness. 

“Something up?” Reigen turned from his squat position by the dvd player, and rested his elbows on his knees, “sink blocked? Or something?”

“No!” Teruki was very quick to say. “Everything is fine!!” 

Reigen lifted an eyebrow, and hoisted himself back upright with the help of his hands on his knees. “Yeah?”

“Oh, totally!!!” Reigen walked out of Teruki’s line of sight, much to Teruki’s relief, he wasn’t sure he could handle that appraising deadpan. 

“Don’t you have that, uh, that test coming up?” There was the sound of a terracotta pot being shifted. “What was it in again?”

“Math, so I doubt you can be of much help!!!!” Teruki internally winced at his phrasing. “Cause uh, well,” he tried in vain to backpedal, deflating all the more in the process. 

“Yeah, yeah, liberal arts, whatever. I biffed it trying to help Mob.” Then in a slight barely audible mutter, “not my fault they keep finding weirder ways to do math. Geeze.” 

“Well, you were helpful for that one literature essay,” said Teruki, loyally.

This earned him a small snort from Reigen. “So nothing’s up? School-wise?”

“Nope! Everything is, a-okay.” Teruki finally started to turn around from his seat on the couch, “just what are you doin-”

“Catch,” said Reigen, already throwing the tiny jingling object.

Teruki scrambled to catch the cold little thing. It was only until he looked down at his palm that he realized, “keys?”

“Yep. Spare keys.” 

Teruki stared at the ring of keys in his palm like they were bird’s eggs.

“The one with the blue band is the apartment, orange is the office,” said Reigen, pointing.

“For me?”

“Yeah, kid. And don’t take this lightly! I’m going to need a set of eyes on this place,” Reigen waved his arms in full showmanship, "no telling what could happen.” He paused, then said, far less dramatically, “that and this place stinks if a window isn’t cracked now and again, and I don’t want my plants dying on me by the time I get back.” Reigen poked the top of Teruki’s head, as if to be sure what he said next would truly get past Teruki’s skull, “cause I am coming back.”

“I just,” said Teruki to the keys, hoping he didn’t sound brittle, “never heard of you taking on a case so far away, with no fixed end.” 

Distantly Teruki’s imagination started to fabricate a movie of Reigen and Serizawa, hand in hand, running off together, suitcases packed, never to return. Which Teruki knew was silly. For one the two adults were so blind to the other’s feelings it was painfully comical. Yet some irrational, fearful part inside Teruki scratched the back of his brain, taking the vague form of his parents who were galavanting across the sea who knows where. 

Teruki didn’t have to look up, he could feel the weight of Reigen’s eyes. It was then replaced by a very real weight on the top of Teruki’s head. Reigen was casually using him as an arm rest. 

“Hmm, yeah that is pretty out of the normal,” Reigen nodded, looking at the hanging spider plant that was fixed above the edge of the tv. “Normally I’d happily assume, what, three days? Especially with Serizawa’s skill. But there’s so many particulars about this case. More variables than usual, and a whole lot of land to cover.”

Teruki angled his head lower. “Yeah.”

Reigen shrugged, “if it takes more than two weeks, then I’ll just have to bring in backup.”

Teruki dared to smile. His head tilted up. “Backup?”

Reigen scratched the side of his face, brows pinched together. “Yeah,” he drawled. “Gosh, but who?” Reigen added a pinch more weight onto his impromptu arm rest. 

“Hey!”

“Maybe I can get a hold of Joseph,” said Reigen, now making a point of not looking at Teruki, or his growing smile. “Though it might be last minute.”

Teruki was now fighting against the growing weight on his head, “he chain smokes! It’ll get in the way of your progress!”

Reigen, master of the deadpan, ignored Teruki, “If only I knew someone else, damn I’m drawing a blank here…”

“You’re breaking my spine!!” Teruki laughed. 

“Thats it! I’ll see if Dimple would want to tag along.”

“No! He’ll mock you every time you look at Serizawa-san.”

“Damn. He’d mock me every time I look at Serizawa, huh.”

“At this rate you’ll stunt my growth!”

“If only I knew a blonde shortie.”

“Reigen-san!”

Reigen finally stood up right, though not without ruffling Teruki’s hair, “yeah?”

Teruki half-heartedly batted Reigen’s hand away. Then looked up at him, daring to hope. “You mean it?”

Reigen blinked. “Mean what?” The pained look that flashed across Teruki’s eyes was enough for him to instantly drop his charade. “Yeah kid, I mean it,” he smiled, that crooked endearing smile that was a sliding scale between big-brotherly, caring uncle, and fatherly. 

Teruki gave a sigh of relief.

“And,” continued Reigen, “you can always call me, anytime, you know the spiel. Though don’t get discouraged if I can’t answer right away, the reception is bound to be spotty. I also want to know those test results you know. 

“Even if it’s math?” Teruki teased. 

“Yes,” sighed Reigen in faux exasperation, “even if it’s math. Don’t want you ending up like me. I mean, I can add and multiply and even, uh, minus fast.”

“Minus fast??”

“Subtract. Whatever. The point is, I don’t do trigonometry every time I have to handle the register. No. wait. The real point is, I want you to do well.”

Teruki snorted a laugh, “alright."

“No room for slacking, and all.” 

“I said alright!” It was Teruki’s turn to play faux exasperation. Basking in the normalcy of being a teen being bothered about his grades. 

“Oh, and I mean it with the plants,” Reigen thumbed to his impossible to kill Devil’s Ivy plant, “you gotta promise to treat these mad lads right.”

Teruki cringed at the use of ‘mad lads’, though not with his whole heart. His chest felt lighter, and his smirk was more relaxed. “Yeah. Alright. You can rely on me, Reigen-san."

The way Teruki clutched the keys a little tighter did not go unnoticed. Nor did the way his shoulders seem a little more squared.

“It’s a big responsibility.” Reigen clapped a hand on those slightly more squared shoulders, and said, “think you can handle it?”

Teruki clasped his hand around the set of keys, determined. “Absolutely.” Teruki leaned forward and very purposefully placed the keys on the same ring where he kept his own apartment keys. 

“I’m sure you’ll do well. And I’m sure the plants will thank you for your care”

Teruki gave Reigen a scrutinizing look, “were you planning this? Or did you just realize you forgot you’d need a house sitter?”

Reigen sunk his hands into his pockets, and stuck out his tongue. “I’ll never tell. Now. Scooch.” Reigen pushed Teruki lightly with his foot. “You blonde highlighter of a monster,” said Reigen, though not unkindly.  

“Hey!” Teruki laughed. 

“Oh, just one more thing,” deadpanned Reigen knocking his elbow amicably against Teruki’s, “about the apartment sitting.”

“Yeah?” Teruki imperceptibly leaned forward, anticipating something very important to commit to memory. 

“Don’t throw any wild parties while I’m gone, okay?” Reigen deadpanned. 

The mere idea that Teruki would have considered such a thing made him burst into another set of laughter. Relaxing again. Teruki grinned, and knocked his elbow back against Reigen’s, “no promises.”

“Tsk!! Oooo you shameless brat,” said Reigen, smiling. 

Teruki smiled back, and settled back into the couch feeling a little warmer.

The movie was nice, just as nice and scenic and thoughtful as Reigen had remembered. He was able to stay awake for an unprecedented fifteen minutes before falling asleep.

At some point Reigen felt a set of hands shake his arm. Then a pause, perhaps to consider using an elbow instead, only for the shake to return, a little harder.

“Reigen?” Whispered Teruki. “Reigen-san?”

“Hmm?” Reigen said in ‘I was awake the whole time’ tones.

“Do old people always get this reminiscent about the past?”

“Huh?”

“You know, all this, pensive stuff,” said Teruki gesturing to the screen. The protagonist was laying in a sleeper train cot, staring pensively at the ceiling.

Reigen blinked, then said, “I’ll let you know when I’m older.”

“You’re no use,” tutted Teruki, halfheartedly. His eyes slid back to the screen. There was something about a slow paced film that could be so compelling. 

It wasn’t long until Reigen was compelled back to a doze. 

It wasn’t that he found the movie secretly boring, or he was particularly exhausted (at least not more than the usual),  but that it was all so peaceful. Long stretches of quiet moments, the difference in recording styles between the in-movie’s ‘past’ and ‘present’. But, perhaps, most of all, were the ambient tracks of regional bird calls he hadn’t heard in a long, long time. At the edge of Reigen’s mind, in that hazy space between dream and memory, he thought of biking through a dirt road, shaded by trees older than generations. Bird song filled the air. 

Teruki was far too absorbed to notice Reigen’s light snores. 

It was a near miracle for Reigen to wake up again at all, and yet he managed to wake up, just before the end of the movie. He groaned as he stretched, blearily making out the scene on the screen. The protagonist was talking to the love interest in the car. 

Reigen hoisted himself up to his feet, purposefully noisy, and mumbled about getting a start on dinner. 

This earned him a, “Shh!” from Teruki, who leaned forward as if that would block Reigen out. 

“Tsk, shameless,” said Reigen, though a little quieter. 

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___〆(・∀・)  Thank you for reading! ♡ I hope you enjoyed it! Now, if you’ll excuse me I must go be insufferable to my younger sibling lol happy 4/13!