#aschguyluke

[sheps-shepherd]

Title: Negotiations

Rating: G

A/N: And y’all thought I forgot about Lorelei Day this year. I didn’t. I just am completely incapable of having things prepared on time. So here’s our annual Lorelei Day Brothers AU update a week and a half late!

I also want to get to a point where I update this series more than just once a year. That’s what I tried to set up here. Enjoy~

[Modern AU/Canon Divergence]

See all works in the series here!

“Ten… Eleven… Twelve!” Luke cheered gleefully as he swung himself from the final rung of the monkey bars. He landed firmly on the metal platform and spun around, waving his arms over his head. “Did you see me, Guy? I went all the way around all by myself!”

Guy grinned and clapped his hands a few times. “Good going, Luke! I think you did it faster than you did last time.”

“You think so? Wait, I’ll do it again, you can time me!”

“All right, all right, give me a second.” Guy took his phone out of his pocket and pulled up a stopwatch. “Get ready, and… Go!” His thumb hit the start button and Luke grabbed the first rung, swinging himself from the platform to gain some momentum to carry him to the next.

“You set yourself up for that one,” Asch pointed out. “He’s going to ask you to time him five more times now.”

“That’s fine. That’ll keep him occupied for a solid- what do you think, two minutes?”

“If we’re lucky.” Asch watched his little brother swing for the first few rungs before turning his attention back to his laptop. A screen filled with time slots and class names stared back at him. While he’d fit a majority of them nicely into one giant block, there was one that stubbornly remained an outlier, and it was frustrating Asch to no end.

He felt Guy shift against his arm. “How’s it going?”

“You’re supposed to be timing him.”

“So, not well?”

Asch sighed and lifted a hand to rub at his temple, leaving the other pressed against the base of his laptop to keep it balanced on his knees. “I think I’m going to have to bite the bullet. I’ve tried everything, but this class just won’t fit into my schedule. It’s too late in the evening.” He ran the same hand through his hair in irritation, letting his elbow come to rest on the back of the bench they were sitting on. “I guess I’m just going to have to take it online.”

“You know, I could pick Luke up from school if you were to have a late class a few times a week. It’s really no big deal.”

Asch shook his head. “That would be three days a week, and you’d have to stay until I got home. That’s too much to ask.”

“I really wouldn’t mind.”

“I know you wouldn’t. But you have your own life to live, Guy. I don’t expect you to spend it at my beck and call.”

“Asch-”

“Guy!” They both glanced up to see Luke once again standing on the platform, pouting petulantly in their direction. “You weren’t watching!”

“Ah, sorry, Luke! Here, go again, I’ll watch extra carefully this time.” Luke puffed his cheeks unhappily, but still wiped his palms off on his pants, readying himself for another go-around. “Okay, get ready, and… Go!” As Luke’s feet left the platform, Asch’s gaze dropped back down to the screen of his laptop, staring at the one box that didn’t fit in his puzzle.

Creating his class schedules was no easier now than it had been the other two times he’d done it. Asch had a strict time limit as far as how early and late his classes could be - late enough in the morning for him to be able to drop Luke off at school, and ending early enough in the afternoon for him to be able to pick him up after. By some stroke of luck, his first semester had worked out almost perfectly for him. He’d had class every day - which couldn’t be avoided, no matter how adamantly he tried - but his first and last classes fit well into the time slot he’d set for himself. His second semester was largely the same, though twice a week he had a class that ran a bit later than he would have liked, but again, it couldn’t be helped. On those days, Luke had to wait for him in the school office, and while it really wasn’t that much of a problem, Luke didn’t like it, and admittedly neither did Asch. He didn’t like the idea of Luke having to sit in the office and wait for him alone, so Asch decided he’d do what he could to avoid that happening again.

Unfortunately, most of the classes he planned on taking in the next semester had only one offered time, and left little room for leeway on how he could arrange his schedule. He didn’t want to take many summer classes if he could avoid it - summer was supposed to mean being able to spend more time with Luke, and less time trying to find someone else to watch him - which left him the option of taking some of his classes online. Which was convenient, but also meant more of his time at home would be taken up, still leaving him with less time to spend with his brother.

Asch had known trying to juggle university and Luke would be challenging, but he also knew that continuing with his education would be better for them in the long run. Still, the end of that run seemed dishearteningly far away, sometimes.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about,” Guy said, when Luke had gotten about halfway around the monkey bars. “Since, you know, I’m graduated now.”

“What about it?” Asch asked, distracted, his eyes scanning through a list of available online classes for the coming semester. The one he needed was still open; at least he had some luck there.

“About how I want to start watching Luke full-time again, now that I won’t be busy.”

That grabbed Asch’s attention, and he snapped his head around to stare at Guy wide-eyed. Guy didn’t even flinch, keeping his gaze steadily trained on Luke.

“What?”

“Time!” Luke landed back on the platform and spun around. “Time, Guy! What’d I get?!”

“Thirty-two seconds.”

“That’s too slow! Time me again!” Luke didn’t even wait for Guy to call out a start before he was off again. Guy chuckled, but let him have his few-second lead.

Asch, annoyed that Guy had timed his comment so well, reached out and shoved at the blond’s shoulder. “Are you out of your mind?”

“When it comes to you two? Definitely.”

“You aren’t watching Luke again.”

Guy finally looked over at him. “Why not?”

“Because, Guy, you being graduated doesn’t mean you’re going to suddenly  have all this free time. You have to start your career at some point.”

“Plenty of people take gap years after they graduate.”

“Yeah, a year, not three.”

Guy shrugged and turned back to Luke, who was finishing up the last few rungs. “I’ll let you pay me, if that’ll make you feel better.”

“You know that’s not what this is about-!”

“Time! What was it on that one, Guy?!”

“Just barely thirty that time. You wanna go once more?”

“Yeah! I’m gonna get under thirty this time, watch!”

Guy chuckled again as he started the stopwatch for the third time, glancing back to Asch. “What makes you think I wouldn’t wanna spend every day with this kid?”

“Guy,” Asch said seriously, “you can’t keep putting your life on hold for us.”

Guy’s smile wavered at Asch’s statement, twisting from happy and carefree to something more somber and understanding. He shook his head. “I’m not leaving you on your own.”

Asch frowned. “You don’t have to take care of me. I’m fine-“

“I know you are,” the blond cut in, waving Asch’s words away with a hand. “I’m just saying: all you’ve ever done is what you think is best for Luke.” His hand dropped onto Asch’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. “I think it’s time someone started doing the same for you.”

Asch stared back at him, having no idea what sort of response he could possibly give to that. He’d never thought twice about living his life by Luke; he’d known from the moment his little brother was born that he was going to do whatever it took to take care of him, that he wouldn’t let Luke grow up feeling the way he had. He was going to make good on all those promises he’d made to that tiny baby in his arms on sleepless nights spent by the window.

Asch had never stopped and thought that maybe Guy had a few promises of his own that he wanted to keep.

The sound of a shrill yelp followed by a loud thud drew Asch’s attention back towards the playground. All it took was for him to register a head of bright red hair on the ground before he was all but shoving his laptop down beside him on the bench and taking off, Guy at his heels.

“Let me see,” Asch said, as soon as he was crouched down beside his little brother. Luke had pushed himself up into a sitting position, and now sat on his bottom in the wood chips, his hands palm-side up. There were tears at the corners of his eyes as he held them out towards Asch.

“I-I’m okay, Asch, see?” His hands were scratched from catching his fall, the jagged edges of the wood chips leaving his palms littered with small lines of torn skin. There was only one cut deep enough to draw blood, and thankfully, it was just a thin streak of red running along the base of Luke’s thumb. “It just stings a little, that's all…”

Asch looked over at Guy, who was hovering behind them, ready to step in if he was needed. “I have a water bottle in my bag. Will you grab it for me?” The blond nodded, doubling back to their bench as Asch turned his attention back to his brother. “Just a few scrapes. We’ll clean you up and you’ll be fine.” Luke sniffed and nodded.

There was a tap against his shoulder, and Asch reached up to grab the water bottle that Guy passed over to him. He unscrewed the cap and took one of Luke’s hands in his, pouring some of the water over his palm. Luke winced slightly as it slipped over his cuts.

“There,” Asch murmured, repeating the process over Luke’s other hand. “That should be good enough until we get home. We can clean them properly there. Just be more careful, okay?”

“Okay.” Luke nodded, a small smile crossing his face. “Thanks, Asch.” Asch smiled back at him, lifting a hand to ruffle his brother’s mess of red hair.

The scuffling of wood chips sounded behind him. “Excuse me?” Asch looked over to see a tall blonde-haired woman standing there, clutching a small blue coin purse to her chest. She gave him a kind smile and a little wave as she gained his attention. “Your brother, is he all right?”

Asch blinked in surprise, rising to his feet. He gave a slow nod of his head. “He’s fine.”

She nodded back at him and popped open her purse. “I hope you don’t mind me being nosy. I just thought you might like to borrow this.” She pulled out a small green spray bottle, and held it up for Asch to see. The label across the front of it read To-Go Antiseptic. “Better safe than sorry, right?”

Asch furrowed his brow as he stared skeptically at the woman. She met his gaze easily, even giving him a pointed look of her own.

“Please, I insist.” She shook the bottle lightly between her fingers.

When she didn’t show any signs of backing down or leaving them alone, Asch sighed, and finally stretched out his hand. With a pleased smile, the woman dropped the bottle into his waiting palm, allowing him to draw it back and get a better look at it. It seemed legitimate enough; in fact, it was the same brand of antiseptic that he kept in the medicine cabinet at home.

He glanced over his shoulder at Guy. His friend gave him a shrug back. It’s your call.

“...Luke, let me see your hands again.” Asch turned back to his brother and held his own hand out expectantly. Luke obeyed, holding out his cut palms. “This one’s going to sting a bit more.” His little brother bit his lip, but nodded.

Asch placed his finger on the head of the bottle and pressed down. He gave Luke’s hand a squeeze as the younger boy winced more sharply this time. He was quick about doing his other hand, then pushed Luke’s palms together and blew a cool breath over them to ease the stinging.

“I-It’s okay, I’m okay…” Luke mumbled, pulling his hands free to cradle them against his chest. He had on a brave enough face, though his bottom lip still wobbled slightly. Asch nodded and patted him on the shoulder, shooing him off in Guy’s direction.

While Luke attached himself to Guy’s leg, Asch held the bottle back out to the woman.

“Thank you.”

She accepted it back with a smile. “You’re welcome, Asch.” He blinked, taken aback, and she giggled. “I beg your pardon. It’s just, I believe you’re in my psychology class, up at University of Kimlasca?”

Asch blinked again, this time in realization. They’d never spoken before, but now that she mentioned it, he did recall seeing her walking into the lecture hall practically every day. Their psychology professor was one of the few who required attendance, and did roll call at the start of every class: that must have been how she knew his name.

“Yeah, that’s me. And you’re…” He pondered for a moment, “...Natalia, right?”

Natalia smiled and held out her free hand. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Asch accepted the handshake. “I didn’t know you were from around here.”

“Oh, I’m not, actually. But I come to the neighborhood every so often to look after Tear, while her brother is away.” She glanced down at her side. Asch followed her gaze, and saw a little girl who had to be about Luke’s age peeking out from behind Natalia’s leg. Her bright blue eyes caught sight of him and she squeaked softly, slipping further behind Natalia. The sight made a smile tug at the corner of Asch’s mouth. He wasn’t used to shy kids, Luke had never been anything but a little social butterfly since the moment he learned how to walk.

“Tear?” Luke was peering at them from around Guy’s leg, staring curiously at the girl. He took a step forward. The girl switched to peeking out from Natalia’s other side as she heard the call of her name. “Hey, I remember you! You’re the girl who pushed me down into the mud when we were playing tag!”

Tear’s face went pink. “O-Only because you pulled my hair!”

“I didn’t mean to! I was just trying to tag you! And I said I was sorry!”

“Well, it still hurt!”

Luke puffed his cheeks, but walked over to the girl. Tear shrunk back behind Natalia as he approached. “Look, I am sorry, okay? You wanna go on the swings? I’ll push you.” She stared at him wearily, but apparently the mention of the swings was enough to convince her, and she slowly stepped towards him. Luke beamed at her before running over to the swings. Tear followed him.

Natalia giggled, watching the two of them. “My, what a little gentleman.”

“Yeah, well, he knows better than to be pulling anyone’s hair,” Asch said, glancing over at Guy. He must not have joined him and Luke at the park that day, because he didn’t recall any hair-pulling, and Guy had certainly never mentioned any either. Busted, the blond grinned sheepishly and waved at Asch before slinking back over to their bench.

“Oh, don’t be angry with him. It truly was an accident, I saw the whole thing. Besides, Tear was the one who purposely pushed him down.”

Asch shook his head. “No, it’s okay. They were just being kids.” He crossed his arms. “And anyway, I think it’s good that Tear knows not to let anyone mess with her. Good on her.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s a good point.” Natalia looked over at him, a smile still on her face. “You certainly pay attention in class, don’t you?”

Asch looked back at her, shrugging gently. “Or I just have a younger brother that I expect to do the same.”

“Of course.” Her olive green eyes twinkled at him. “It sounds to me like you take your job as an older brother quite seriously.”

He cleared his throat, glancing back to the swing set. Tear had settled on one of the seats, and a smile was on her face as Luke pushed her up into the air. “You must take being a babysitter seriously too, to carry a to-go bottle of antiseptic around with you.”

“You’d assume correctly. Though I fear sometimes I’m overly paranoid.”

“Trust me, you’re fine.” Asch used to carry a fully stocked first aid kit around in his bag whenever he took Luke anywhere. If that wasn’t overly paranoid, he wasn’t sure what was - Guy still teased him for it.

“Well, I believe it’s true that there’s no such thing as being too careful, so I think I’ll be keeping this with me.” She held up her coin purse and snapped it shut, definitively. “Should you ever need it during class, then, you know where to find me.”

“Thanks, but I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“Still, the offer stands.” Natalia smiled at him, then blinked and checked her watch. “Ah, I need to get Tear home, her brother will be back soon.” She held her hand out to Asch again. “I’m sure I’ll see you around?”

Asch nodded as he took her hand once more. “Yeah, see you.”

She nodded kindly at him, stepping away to head over to a bench on the other side of the playground, where she had apparently set up a small camp of her own. “Tear! Come on, we have to get going!”

Luke pulled Tear’s swing to a stop, letting her hop off. Asch watched the two of them speak, too far and too quietly for him to hear what they were saying. But Luke had a smile on his face and made a gesture with his hands as he said something that made Tear smile too. The girl nodded at Luke, then turned away and hurried back over to Natalia, taking the pink teddy bear that the blonde woman held out to her.

Natalia lifted a bag and slung the strap over her shoulder. She caught Asch’s gaze and waved at him; he offered a small lift of his hand back. As the two of them began to walk away, a splash of red appeared at the corner of his vision, and he looked over as Luke came running up to him.

“Can we stay a little longer, Asch? Please?”

“Yeah. I still have some work to finish up. We’ll go after that. Just save me the heart attack and stay off the monkey bars, for now.” Luke beamed up at him and nodded before taking off for the playground again, as Asch headed back to the bench where Guy sat with their belongings.

“She seemed nice,” Guy chirped innocently, his gaze trained on Luke as he ran around on the playground equipment. Asch sat back down beside him and reached for his laptop, setting it on his knees. He typed his password in, watching as the screen lit back up to the page of online classes.

“Three times a week,” Asch said. “You’d have to pick him up from school and probably make him something to eat, too, if I’m not home in time. But you leave as soon as I’m back. We won’t be taking up your entire day.” He turned his head. Guy was staring at him, eyes wide with surprise. “And yeah, I’m going to pay you. So deal with it.”

“You’re serious?”

“If you really want to watch Luke again, then that’s the offer. Take it or leave it.”

Guy hummed thoughtfully. “I'll take it. On one condition.”

“That's not taking or leaving it.”

Unsurprisingly, his retort went ignored. “The deal goes for every semester. Changed however you need it to fit your schedule.” Asch narrowed his eyes in annoyance, but Guy only stared back at him, unfazed. “Asch. Just let me help you, okay? Take whatever classes you need to take and get through these next three years. Luke will be fine with me.”

“I know that,” Asch said immediately, because he did. He trusted Luke more with Guy than he did with their own parents.

“So…?” Guy nudged him expectantly. “We have a deal?”

“...Yeah. Deal.”

Guy grinned smugly, continuing to elbow him. Asch batted him away, attention back on his laptop, once again beginning to click through all the tabs he had open to figure out - what would hopefully be - his final schedule.

“He won't need a babysitter forever, you know,” Guy pointed out. “It'll get easier when he's older, and he can look after himself.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“Hey, you turned out alright.”

“Guy!” Luke shouted from the playground. “Guy, will you time me again? I wanna see how fast I can get down all the slides in one go!”

Guy gave him a thumbs up and grabbed his phone again. “He’s reaching, now.”

“Let him wear himself out. Besides, he can’t hurt himself going down a slide.” Asch glanced up as Guy called out the start of the time, and Luke began racing through the equipment to get to the first slide. “Well, he’s less likely to, at least.”

“Knowing Luke, I wouldn’t be surprised if he still found a way.” Guy rested his phone on his knee as he leaned back against the bench, crossing his arms over his chest. “So, seriously, that woman who was here. She’s a friend from school?”

“I wouldn’t say friend. I don’t know anything about her besides her name.”

“She mentioned you guys have class together? That’s nice.” Asch gave the blond beside him a look, and got a cheeky grin in response. “What? All I’m saying is it’s nice to have a friend or two in a class. You never know when you’ll need a save.”

“Yeah, if I ever get a paper cut, I’ll know who to find.”

Guy chuckled. “You’re impossible.”

Asch only shrugged, falling silent as he focused in on what he was doing. His schedule looked less aesthetically pleasing now: small groups of classes that fit in a nice block flanked by the separate squares of the one that didn’t. But it was going to work, and that was all he cared about.

He stared at his outlying class thoughtfully, a block labeled Developmental Psychology.

He had a feeling he’d be seeing more of that woman after all.

[sheps-shepherd]

Title: Intuition

Rating: G

Pairing: None (but lots of brotherly AschLuke and Guy being a good friend)

A/N: And here we go! This year’s Lorelei Day spectacular, featuring the return of what I’ve been lovingly referring to as the Brothers AU. I was originally going to write some sort of sequel to Traditions - last year’s story - but I decided to take the baby route this year in honor of my new nephew being born yesterday! I’ve had baby on the brain ever since. Enjoy!

[Modern AU/Canon Divergence]

Dedicated to Baby Ayden! <3 

It was a beautiful night to be awake at two in the morning. The sky was a rich inky black, with faint purple puddles of wispy clouds streaking out overhead. Small dots of twinkling stars were scattered throughout the mass, like sprinkles atop a black frosted cake. A perfectly round full moon completed the picture. A spot of bright white in the sea of darkness. And it was quiet. Practically silent, save for the occasional chime of a cricket or rustle of leaves as the wind whistled by.

Guy took his key from the ignition, tipped his head back, and yawned for all he was worth. His eyes watered from the strength of it. What he wouldn’t give to be back in his apartment, cocooned warmly in his blanket, fast asleep in his bed like he had been just twenty minutes before. He glanced up at the house standing in front of him, the only house on the block with windows tinted orange with light, and sighed heavily. Surely he wasn’t the only one thinking along those lines. Rubbing his hand over his face, Guy clambered out of his car and headed up the driveway.

The door was unlocked, just like he’d been promised. Guy stepped inside, wincing as the sound of a crying child assaulted his ears, a sharp contrast to the previous tranquility of the front yard. He was in the middle of shedding his shoes and hoodie when he caught a movement at the edge of his vision and lifted his head. Asch was standing at the top of the steps, his black nightshirt hanging off of one shoulder and his crimson hair mussed from what clearly was not sleep. The boy’s emerald eyes were hazy and his lips were pulled tight. He looked as tired as Guy felt.

“How long has he been up?” Asch sucked in a large breath, held it, and let it whoosh back out of his lungs.

“Too long.” He turned sharply and stalked back down the hallway from which he’d come. Guy climbed the staircase and followed behind him. The crying became louder and stronger as he walked, and he wondered just what had little Luke in such distress.

Luke was a good baby – or at least, as good as a four month old infant could be. He ate most of his food when he was fed. He didn’t fuss much. It wasn’t hard to put him to sleep. And while he cried his fair share, just like all babies did, he was easily appeased and quieted back down after being given what he wanted. So why the younger Fabre child was awake and crying at such an early hour was beyond him. Guy was actually surprised Asch had even called him. He was by far the best at dealing with Luke, potentially better than their mother even. It was normally no problem for the redheaded boy to figure out what was upsetting his little brother and taking care of it. Guy hoped nothing was seriously wrong; he didn’t want to be the one making a phone call to Suzanne at two in the morning and explaining why he and her sons were currently at the hospital.

Guy poked his head into the nursery. Luke’s room was painted a soft blue, with a white stripe on the wall behind his crib where his name had been carefully spelled out. Stickers of white trees decorated the remaining empty space on the other three walls. More stickers were used for splashes of color: red, green, and yellow birds sitting in the branches of the trees. There was a wooden dresser doused in white to match the room and complimentary shelves filled with small toys and framed photos. A mobile hung over the crib from the ceiling; a ring of birds, squirrels, fawns, and leaves that spun in a slow circle to the clicks of a child’s lullaby. The tune was inaudible tonight. Guy only knew it was on because he could see the animals “running through the leaves” above the child’s mattress. Asch was standing at the crib, peering down at his baby brother as he wailed.

“How long has he been up?” Guy asked again, stepping into the room. The redhead glanced over his shoulder at the clock on the wall behind him.

“Two hours. I heard him start around midnight.”

Luke was apparently not pleased that his older brother’s attention had shifted to something that wasn’t him. He wailed out again, and Guy could see his feet pounding the air through the thick bars of the crib.

“You tried feeding him?”

“Yes.”

“And changing him?”

“Yes.”

“Did you try giving him his pacifier–?”

“Yes!” Asch suddenly whirled to face him, cheeks pink. “Do you really think I would have called you if I hadn’t already tried all that? I don’t know what else to try!”

He was screaming. Guy was pretty sure it was frustration gradually leaking out of him and not an attempt to be heard over the also-screaming baby. Asch’s shouting most likely wasn’t helping much, and was instead only serving to terrify the infant and cause him to cry harder. Guy kept this thought to himself. “I fed him, I burped him, I changed his stupid diaper twice! I tried giving him his pacifier but he won’t keep it in his mouth, he won’t pay attention to his rattle and he won’t stop crying!”

A particularly loud burst erupted from Luke. Asch groaned and clamped his hands over his ears, head bowing so his chin touched his chest in defeat. Guy could see all the signs of an exhausted ten year old boy, who was tired and desperate for sleep and whose last desire was to be up at two in the morning taking care of his pain-in-the-butt baby brother. Asch looked like a college student who was up all night studying for an exam early the next morning, when he should have been looking more like a well-rested fifth grader.

The blonde stepped forward and placed his hands on Asch’s shoulders. “Okay, just calm down. You freaking out is making him freak out more, so take a deep breath, and relax.” Asch huffed, still annoyed and frustrated, but obeyed and inflated his chest with air. He repeated his actions from earlier: hold the breath and let it out slowly, the air forcing its way through his half parted lips and emitting a faint whistling sound. Guy gave his shoulders a rub. He could feel the muscles hidden beneath his fingers tense and contract whenever Luke released a howling reminder of his unhappiness. Crouching down to the older redhead’s level, he asked, “When did you feed him last?”

“Almost two hours ago,” Asch offered, more mindful of his volume this time. “I fed him before he fell asleep, so when he woke up crying I thought he was hungry. He drank about half of his bottle.”

“And you remembered to burp him, you said?” An affirmative nod. “All right, and you changed him twice?”

“After he finished eating and before I called you.” Asch found something interesting on the wall to his left and shifted his attention there. “…I didn’t know what else to do. I thought it would make him stop crying.”

“You did fine.” Guy patted the boy’s shoulders a few times before straightening his legs and heading over to the crib. He peered down at the wailing infant inside. Luke had his little hands stretched above his head, fingers closing and opening repeatedly. His feet, tucked warmly away in little red booties, were flailing and kicking, pounding against the mattress and tangling the blanket around his small legs. The baby’s cheeks were as red as his tuft of hair, and his big green eyes were shining with tears. A pale green pacifier and a matching rattle had been shoved into the corner of the crib above Luke’s grabbing hands. When Guy placed the rattle into his hold, however, Luke only offered another scream and dropped it.

“Tried that,” Asch muttered as he padded up to the crib and stood beside the blonde. “He doesn’t want to play with it, and he keeps spitting out his pacifier. I even tried holding it to his mouth to get him to keep it in, but he just cried around it.” The redhead sighed, crossing his arms and leaning against the edge of the crib. “What do you want, Luke?” More crying. More grabby hands. “What, do you want Mother? Mother’s gone. She left with Father and they won’t be back until tomorrow, so you might as well stop crying about it!” He was all but snarling towards the end, and Asch turned away, retreating back to the center of the room. Guy left him alone, knowing that his parents’ frequent leaves for business trips upset Asch more than he would ever admit. The blonde was pretty sure it was Asch himself who truly wanted their mother home.

As the boy walked away, Luke emitted another blood curdling screech. He raised his hands straight upwards, fingers nabbing desperately at the air above him, tears overfilling his eyes and cascading down his cheeks. Guy blinked, and then smiled as he realized just what Luke was so unhappy about.

“You silly little kid.” He undid the latches on the side of the crib and lowered the guard down. He made sure it clicked into place at the bottom before reaching inside. “All right, c’mere, Luke.” The infant’s wandering hands instantly latched onto the cuffs of Guy’s sleeves as he bundled the redheaded child into his arms and lifted him from his wooden prison. Almost immediately, the wails quieted down to sniffles and whimpers. “There you go. All better now, hmm?” Guy turned to face Asch, who was watching the scene wide eyed. He smiled. “He just wanted to be picked up is all.” Asch’s face flushed red, embarrassed that he hadn’t thought of such a simple solution.

“Maybe he just wanted you,” he mumbled bitterly, no doubt nursing a now bruised brotherly ego. “Maybe he was just being as loud and annoying as possible knowing I would call you eventually.”

Guy gazed down at the baby nestled in his elbow. While much calmer, Luke was not yet appeased; tears still ran down his face and his fingers were going haywire, grabbing once more at something that wasn’t there. Or, more accurately, grabbing towards something he wanted.

“Actually, I think you’re the one he wants.”

Asch blinked owlishly. “Me?”

Guy crossed the room to where the redhead stood and bent forward a bit, offering to hand the infant over. Asch hesitated for only a moment before he held his arms out and allowed the blonde to place his younger sibling into his hold. As Asch brought him close to his chest, Luke finally stopped his feeble noises. His big green eyes stared up into those of his older brother. The tears were turned off. His little hand reached up and caught hold of Asch’s shirt, clinging to it tightly. He inhaled deeply, and the two older occupants of the room watched the little body give a slight tremor as the child then exhaled what was presumably the remains of his sour mood. The nursery was almost unnervingly silent now that the crying had stopped. Watching the siblings fondly, Guy smiled and said, “He just wanted his big brother to hold him.”

The older sibling lifted a finger, and gently wiped at the baby’s cheeks, clearing his pinkened skin of moisture. Luke gave a soft coo of acceptance. Asch looked up incredulously. “You mean, babies know that kind of stuff?”

“Of course they do.” Guy chuckled. “He knows you’re his older brother, Asch. He knows who you are. He loves you. He wanted you to love him back.”

The boy’s gaze went back to his little sibling, still tenderly stroking his cheek with the tip of his finger. “…Idiot. Just cause I’m not holding you, doesn’t mean I don’t love you, okay?” Luke raised a chubby hand and grabbed Asch’s finger in a small fist. He offered a quiet cooing noise, but other than that paid the statement little mind. He recognized his big brother’s voice, and that was good enough for him.

“Something might have scared him when he woke up,” Guy suggested as he watched the siblings. “You should probably wait until he falls asleep again before you try putting him back in his crib. In case he gets scared again.”

“Yeah, I will.” Asch looked up at the blonde, and again Guy couldn’t help but notice how exhausted he looked. “…Sorry I called you for something so stupid. I should’ve thought to just pick him up.” Guy reached out and settled his hand atop Asch’s head.

“Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have told you ‘call me any time’ if I hadn’t meant it. But.” He crouched down so he was eye level with the redhead. “While I’m old enough to be up at two in the morning and still be all right, you’re not. So after Luke falls asleep, you better get back to bed yourself. Even if you don’t have school tomorrow, you need rest. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Guy smiled, ruffled the boy’s fluffy mess of crimson hair, and stood up. “I’ll let myself out. Stay here with him. Is the spare key where it normally is?” Asch nodded confirmation. “I’ll lock it behind me then. Night, Asch.” He gave Luke’s forehead an affectionate rub with the pad of his thumb. The baby blinked, pausing in his tugging of Asch’s finger, and craned his head back to try and see the culprit. Guy smoothed down the tuft of hair on his head. “Night, Luke.”

“Goodnight, Guy.” The blonde gave Asch a pat on the shoulder before turning and making his way out of the nursery.

Asch watched Guy’s silhouette disappear from the room, watched his shadow bop along the wall until that too disappeared from his sight. He listened as sock-covered feet padded on the wood flooring, the steady sound suddenly halting just moments before the hallway was shrouded in darkness. More footsteps, and then a clicking sound as the living room light was shut off as well. The creaking of the stairs, the scuffling of shoes on the landing, and finally the front door opening and shutting.

He waited until he heard the sound of the lock sliding home before he finally moved. Still carrying Luke, Asch walked back out to the living room, moving to stand in front of the large windows that opened up a view of the yard. He could see the driveway, could see Guy trudging down it to where his car was parked at the bottom. The house was quiet and still and dark. A soft buzz echoed through his head and fizzled in his ears, his auditory senses still not quite caught up with the fact that there was no longer any screaming to be heard. Luke was tucked in his arms, pleased and pacified, entertaining himself with gnawing on his fingers. Asch reached up and gently pulled the tiny hand away from the equally tiny mouth. He let Luke revert back to holding onto his finger, unfazed by the warm feeling of saliva beginning to coat his skin.

Guy had reached his car and climbed into the driver’s seat. Asch heard the hum of the engine starting, saw the headlights light up orange. The blonde peered through the windshield and met his gaze. He waved with a smile. Asch didn’t have a free hand to wave back, but he kept his gaze trained on the figure of his friend as the car backed out of the driveway. Seconds later, the outside of the house was just as dark as the inside, and just as quiet, too.

Asch stood at the window for a while longer, staring out at the empty street, rhythmically rocking the infant in his arms. He felt the grip around his finger loosen and pulled free, positioning Luke’s little hand on his stomach. His brother’s willingness to comply let Asch know he was getting tired once more. “I’m sorry for not seeing that you were scared,” he said, voice silky soft so he wouldn’t startle the child. “I’ll remember for next time, as long as you promise not to scream so loud.” Luke’s eyes fluttered sleepily, his head lolling against Asch’s chest as he melted into the warmth of his big brother’s body. Asch adjusted his hold. “C’mon. Let’s go back to bed.”

He carried his brother back down the hallway and into the nursery, where the gate of the crib was still down. Asch went to place his brother inside, then stopped himself. What had even scared Luke in the first place? What if whatever it was scared him again? He glanced down at the bundle in his arms; Luke was staring back up at him, eyes glazed with drowsiness. “…All right.” Asch straightened up and settled his baby sibling back in place. “Father doesn’t have to know.” He left the nursery, turning the nightlight off with his foot as he passed it.

Luke was fast asleep in his arms by the time Asch walked back into his bedroom. The blankets on his mattress were spilling halfway to the floor, kicked aside in his rush to get down the hall when he’d first heard Luke start crying. Balancing his baby brother carefully against one shoulder, he crouched down and gathered up the fallen covers, throwing them back onto the mattress. Luke snuffled into the crook of Asch’s neck, but didn’t wake up.

The first time Asch had slept with Luke in his bed, he’d been terrified. Terrified that Luke would roll over or shift somehow and fall off the bed. Terrified that he’d roll over and end up accidentally crushing his younger sibling without even realizing it. But nothing had ever happened. Luke always stayed relatively still when sleeping, and somehow Asch did too. He was convinced that being around babies brought out some kind of hidden intuition in people that helped them do things like not roll over in their sleep and crush the baby next to them.

Asch knew how this worked. He set Luke, still wrapped in his blanket, down in the middle of the bed. He grabbed the throw-pillows from under his bed – where he stored them at night when he didn’t need them – and used them to form a wall around his little brother. That done, Asch climbed in himself, careful not to dip the mattress too close to the infant and disturb his slumber. He pulled the blankets back up, only as high as Luke’s chin so his face wouldn’t be covered in his sleep. Luke turned his head to the other side and fit his tiny fist into his mouth, still sound asleep. Watching him made Asch smile.

“You know,” he murmured, reaching out to gently set his hand on the baby’s stomach. “I think I’m getting the hang of this ‘big brother’ thing.”

Luke was silent. Asch pressed a kiss to the top of his head.

He still had some learning to do, but he would get there. Someday, he would be the best big brother ever.

“I promise.”