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Only when the itinerary had been decided, the total funds secured, and permissions granted from parents, had they realized they had no driver for their roadtrip.
The three youngest, without licenses, were out of the question. Michel had even joked that Jun wouldn't have been able to reach the pedals. He got a freezing stare in response, effectively silencing him.
Maya offered her services, bragging about how no one had ever died while she was driving. She was promptly and panickedly shot down by the other four, all with vivid memories of her failures at handling vehicles. She had tried to get her friend Ulala on her side, but no amount of arranged dates with "total studs" that Maya "totally knew" could sway her. She was of the same opinion: Maya should not be at the wheel of a RV.
Tatsuya was considered, for a while. His bike needed a proper license, so he had one. Yet, the boy was extremely uncomfortable at the wheel of a car; he would sweat and tremble, wide eyed and silent as he was, looking from side to side as if he were a wild animal trapped in a metal cage. His vehicle was his trusted bike, no other.
They even considered taking the bike, for a moment. Acquiring a sidecar and one of those luggage-trailers. Not to mention, helmets and jackets for everyone, somehow always finding a hotel to sleep in, somewhere to eat… Convincing Tatsuya to drive every day, miles and miles, with the weight of four additional people on his beloved bike…
The idea was scrapped in kind.
The teens were understandably upset. They wanted to spend a summer together, as other teens did. They had even gone through the trouble of convincing their parents to let them go; no easy task for Michel, an ever more difficult one for Lisa.
There was a solution. Another option, Maya suggested.
The other Suou.
Tatsuya, ever a man of few words, huffed, crossed his arms and turned his face away at the notion. His ears were deaf to the pleading of his friends for him to let go of his pride.
Maya vouched for him, underlining Katsuya's qualities, such as his diligence, his natural caring nature, his ability to drive a car.
Tatsuya looked at her with a furrowed brow and a frown, as if wondering what her intentions with his brother were.
The water will smooth the rock; Tatsuya was eventually convinced by his friends to at least ask.
He loved them all dearly, after all. As much as any of them, he wanted to forge new memories to be fond of, to spend time together as best friends once more.
That aside, he forced them all to dine at his house, Katsuya's modest apartment. If he had to face his brother's response, he would not face it alone, rather with those who demanded it be done.
So he asked, so his brother replied with overjoyed enthusiasm. Unbeknown to them, the reaction he showed was a fifth of the happiness he felt inside.
Tatsuya, ever since the incident all those years ago, had grown distant, quiet and somber. How content was the older Suou to see his brother begin to return to the carefree fun he had back then, when little Tatsuya would run around his brother on their way home, retelling the adventures he had had with his friends during the day.
Even once frustrating moments they had passed together as kids rang bittersweet to Katsuya. The man, due to his vastly irresponsible parents (nature only worsened by the incident), had practically raised his brother, after all. He felt he was allowed to feel nostalgic for the close bond they had once shared, no matter how strained that bond had been.
The bickering was better than silence, at least.
Katsuya requested only that he be given some time to get used to driving such a wide, heavy vehicle as Ulala's father's old RV. A patrol car was to it like an ant was to a beetle.
Ulala had rejected Maya's invitation to join their trip, in part for fear of the brothers bickering the entire way, in part for lack of familiarity with the youngest trio. A lack of familiarity which Katsuya shared, but did not think about until they were several kilometers into their trip already.
Tatsuya had opted to ride his bike up to their first agreed upon stopping point, not wanting to leave her behind and disliking being stuck inside of a car. Katsuya, for the most part, did not have to worry much about conversing with the remaining teens. The four passengers sitting at the dinette, their chats were animated and kept alive by Maya. Even lulls in the conversation seemed not awkward, but comfortable.
Then, Maya opted to take a nap in what she named "the toppest bunk", the little space above the driver's seat, which Katsuya was fairly certain was not meant to hold people rather than bags.
Still, the woman fell asleep within moments, a kindred spirit to his own brother, and the conversation between the teens soon died down with no signs of picking back up.
They were likely comfortable with the silence, Katsuya was not, by far. One of his many fears was to get distracted at the wheel, to fall asleep and place them all in danger. He needed the noise to keep him awake.
How could he restart the conversation, though? He barely knew the teens, aside from the fact that they were his brother's friends. Also that one of them was allergic to peanuts, since they had gone to dine at his house several times now. He cursed himself. Had he known he'd find himself in such a situation, he would've memorized some more details about them. Enough to strike up a casual conversation.
As it stood, he saw only one possible topic of discussion. His brother.
He apologized to him under his breath, glancing at the man in question, driving ahead of him.
"Hey, do you guys want to know about the time when Tatsuya was scared of the vacuum cleaner?"
Like the bell ringing for dinner at a farm. The three teens perked up, their eyes glinting with malicious curiosity.
He apologized once more to his brother in his mind. It needed to be done.
--
Guilt bore down on him like harpies as he slowed to park the car at this little, run-down rest stop that barely showed in the maps but that the teens had somehow found. Tatsuya was already there, flicking the cap on that lighter of his on and off.
It hadn't been only one embarrassing story of their childhood. By Hyperion, he wished he'd had some self control and stopped at one, but these kids would laugh and egg him on, ask for more and more stories. Now, what of the miserable pagliaccio, asked Katsuya to himself, sweating like a pig to the slaughterhouse, who'd betrayed his own kin for a handful of cheap laughs?
His four passengers were leaning out of the window as he pulled up to the parking lot, waving at the waiting teen who shyly waved back. Oh, his poor, poor brother. Who deserved none of this, no matter how wayward he was. He only hoped his audience knew the sensitivity of the tales he had told and how to keep quiet.
The group rushed out of the car to meet Tatsuya, amicably chatting before heading to the rest stop proper.
Katsuya let himself melt in his seat, trying as best he could to keep his nerves down. It would be fine. They wouldn't say a thing. It would be fine.
"Hey, Katsuya! Are you alright?"
The man practically shrieked in shock, letting go of the wheel he had sunk his nails into out of panic. He looked back to meet Maya's stare, peeking in through the open window.
She made a pitying noise in reply to his shriek.
"Poor thing, you've been driving this whole way without breaks! Don't you want me to take over for a while?"
The thought alone nearly gave Katsuya a stress ulcer.
"NO-" He cleared his voice, shaking his head, "I-I mean, no need, Ms. Ama- Maya. I'm fine, don't be concerned. I'm just…" He turned back, rolling his shoulders and drumming on the wheel with his fingers. Casual. "Winding down. Winding down."
Maya chuckled in response, thinking he probably meant to make her laugh, and went around to enter the RV.
"Well, the least I could do is watch the car while you go and stretch your legs a bit, right?" Maya suggested, sitting on the passenger seat and lightly elbowing his side, encouraging him. Katsuya looked away, embarrassed, as he handed her the keys.
"Good idea. I'll do that", he mumbled to himself, opening the door next to him and practically sliding down from his seat.
The man marched around the entire parking lot, wiping down his waterlogged forehead with a handkerchief every so often.
As he was in the car he was outside, oscillating between vain attempts to calm himself down and fruitful attempts at making himself panic more. The sweltering sun didn't help; the sight of Maya making paper airplanes inside the RV was certainly no help at all.
He needed a task. A task to do! That was right. Whenever his brother didn't return his calls at lunchtime and he worried whether he had joined the delinquent life for good, he would simply organize his desk. Again. And again.
So, with hands on his hips, Katsuya scoured the parking lot for a task to do.
Found none, and then decided to go to the bathroom.
When he returned, his brother’s friends were playing cards outside the RV, as Maya leaned out the window to watch their game. Tatsuya was at the back, dutifully attaching his beloved bike to the vehicle’s built in… Bike…. Transport. The name escaped him at the moment. He doubted there even was a name for those metal supports.
“Let me help you”, offered Katsuya, and was met with Tatsuya’s cold, steely glare.
The younger brother held his stare as he got up, rising to his full height and unconsciously puffing out his chest. Oh, how he liked to boast over the good dozen centimeters he had over Katsuya. By all accounts, he was the stronger brother, a fact neither of them ever really forgot.
Yet, it was not contempt that Katsuya felt but guilt. Fear. So they had told him. So his brother had found out.
Katsuya, controlling his trembling, began his apology. Tatsuya disengaged immediately by turning away from him and back to his bike, checking the supports for the ninth time.
The older Suou could not dwell too long over his mistakes, for both brothers were given heart attacks by Maya, who had decided to sound the horn.
It screeched in a horrid tone, like a pained, dying animal, languidly struggling to reproduce tones in the vague likeness of the Chicken Dance tune, something that seemed to delight Maya immensely.
“Guys!”, she shouted, leaning half of her body out of the window. “I figured how to change the horn settings!”
She laughed to herself, thoroughly amused, slamming her hand against the wheel as she did. The brothers looked at eachother, a momentary truce, deciding it was time to get back on the road as Maya remarked “what a character” Ulala’s father was, sounding the horn once more.
--
Katsuya was, as one may tell, a nervous man. Born to irresponsible people, he had much to worry about from a young age. Worries worsened by the birth of his brother.
Worries truly worsened by his brother, currently sitting in the passenger seat, arms crossed and brow furrowed in anger. Anger understandably directed at him.
It bothered him. A bit. The overwhelming guilt he felt had turned into frustration at the younger Suou for keeping this up.
Tatsuya was an adult already. Katsuya may have crossed the line, but he had attempted to apologize and been ignored. For Tatsuya to hold onto this fury so long was exaggerated, and he needed to learn that to let go of grudges was an important thing to learn.
Obviously Katsuya, who was in the police force solely because of their father, wasn't going to lecture him about it lest that fact be used against him.
The brothers stewed in their bitterness, holding back on their usual bickering for the sake of the other passengers.
Who were, in fact, ignorant of the animosity up front.
They were, once again, chatting in an animated manner, seldomly throwing questions Tatsuya's way so the shy man could feel included without talking too much.
At one point, the man chose violence.
"... Remember the story I was telling you?"
The group quieted down. Through the rear view mirror, Katsuya saw the three teens nervously looking between him and his brother. Maya simply looked vaguely interested and supportive.
"How Katsuya had a crush on the cashier at the grocery store. Even made a sweater. Learned on how to play the guitar"
Katsuya did a double take, his nails digging into the wheel once more.
He would not dare. He would not. He could not.
Katsuya had only told things every toddler would do, like copying his brother from time to time.
He did not expect Tatsuya to bring up his darkest, most embarrassing moments.
His brother slowly turned his face to look at him, gaze unwavering and cold.
"Eyes on the road", was all he said, with the vague implication of a smirk on his lips.
Was it war, then, dear brother? Was it war? So be it.
"Yeah, I remember that. ", forcibly chuckled Katsuya, as if the conversation they were having was casual and not more tense than a guitar string. "I remember you being very upset about it and even crying about me not being your brother anymore"
Tatsuya turned red, his brow furrowing even deeper. He huffed, sinking in his seat.
"It was all you thought about. You forgot to feed me once"
" No, I gave you lunch half an hour later and you refused to eat it because it wasn't in your Featherman plate. Did I also tell you kids how Tatsuya would only eat out of that plate when he was eight?"
"When you were 10-"
The other teens, sitting at various spots in the RV, exchanged concerned glances, as the brothers soon began a competition of who could tell the most embarrassing story about the other.
"Crap", muttered Michel, barely loud enough so Maya wouldn't hear. "Maya's friend was right"
"I think her name's Ulala", corrected Lisa, peeking over her shoulder to glance nervously at the two brothers. "But yeah, we kinda forgot about this, didn't we"
"Should… Should we stop them?" Jun asked. The boy may have enjoyed watching arguments between his own friends, having derived great fun from them like someone watching a wrestling match, but he barely knew his friend's older brother. And family squabbles just made all feel awkward.
"You guys are such a card! Eh… Cards? Couple of cards?", Maya laughed, still in the toppest bunk, egging them on. "Well, tell us more! Call yourself shovels and bring us the dirt!"
The three teens stared up at Maya with disappointed expressions.
"...Road Trips will really fry a person's brain, huh"
"Sitting in a hot car for half an hour in a parking lot will do that, yeah"
"Never expected for her to be the first one to lose it"
--
To spend dinner with an infighting family was anguish.
To spend several hours was, certainly, against the Geneva Conventions.
Michel and Lisa had spent the entire afternoon seeking stops in their aggressive conversation, a hole through which they could introduce a new topic and calm both of them down. To no avail. Both sides unleashed a relentless assault of memories better left unsung, not to chat but to wound. Their dignities, certainly, were no more - they were soldiers kicking at rubble and yet, kicking at rubble they continued to do, until a much more interesting topic came up.
"And then y-"
"What are we doing for dinner?"
Tatsuya had asked, preceded by a low rumbling of his stomach. Katsuya immediately snapped out of his turn, agreeing to the unspoken truce.
"We did bring food to cook ourselves, but the sun's setting already. I doubt we'll arrive at the RV park before nightfall… And to cook outside in the dark…", Katsuya pondered out loud, gazing at the clock on the dash and then at the reddening sky, leaning forward. Leaning back once more, he shook his head slightly. "Any suggestions?"
Maya looked down from her perch of honor, perilously leaning upside-down.
"Why not go get food from a drive-in? There's one in a mile or so"
Katsuya made a thoughtful noise as he confirmed said fact through thorough investigations of the signs that zoomed past them.
"I don't think the RV fits through most drive-in gates-"
"It's fine, we can go get the food", eerily replied the three younger teens at the same time, desperately seeking some small respite from the hell they'd been subject to all afternoon.
Maya only remarked that it was a good idea, while Katsuya wondered with worry about his brother being friends with a hivemind.
Tatsuya pondered about when his friends had established such a hivemind and why he hadn't been invited. Despite thinking of it only as a joke, his feelings were still hurt by such a hypothetical. Would they really have a hivemind without him…?
The blink that the eldest man unlocked the doors, the trio set off like greyhounds after a cardboard rabbit, hearts beating against their ribcage as their feet beat against the cold cement pavement, anguish behind them and food in front, heading towards the frigid yellow lights of the fast-food drive in.
"We're out", commented Michel, slowing down to a stop before he crashed against the restaurant. Hands on his knees, he heaves, never a fan nor avid practitioner of exercise. "We're… Out…", he pants, remarking the obvious as a broken man will do.
"This is only our fault", spoke Jun in a somber tone as he himself stopped in front of the store, struggling still to catch his breath. His expression was dark, his arms were crossed in front of his chest as he tapped the ground with his foot, softly shaking his head. "If we hadn't egged the man on-"
"What else could we have done? Say 'no thanks, no stories from you?'' Lisa asked, not at all fazed by the run. "The guy was desperate to find a conversation topic!" She defended, as if she had no ulterior motives for wanting to hear childhood stories about Tatsuya.
Casting a sidelong glance at the RV and discovering that Katsuya was quizzically staring at them, Lisa turned around, startled, and opened the door for the other two to quickly rush inside.
The cashier, who had seen them through the window, stared as well. Not confused. He had seen many a RV park before his humble place of work, he'd seen the anger, the frustration, in the faces of those who rushed. He was just surprised it was the innocent bystanders to the family squabbles who came to get the food instead.
"We forgot to ask their orders", idly commented Michel as they approached the counter in V formation. Lisa, looking over her shoulder, congratulated him for volunteering as the sacrifice who'd have to go back and ask them. The tallest of the three quickly backpedaled.
"I have them memorized." Jun sighed, massaging his temples in a vain attempt to will his migraine away. "S-sort of" He corrected, when he caught the other two staring at him in surprise. He looked to the side, shrugging. "Big sis and Tatsuya always get the same thing. Tatsuya was telling how his brother only ate the same thing in the menu, which wasn’t even a burger. The menu is as varied as the Late Permian, so we can assume he either eats nuggets or the salad. Katsuya seems like a man who would be concerned about his health. Now, fast food salads aren’t exactly healthy food, but they would be his only choice. He has also expressed his love of plain toast; as such, he would like one with croutons. Thus-”
Jun gestured towards the salad menu, which consisted of three different salads.
“The caesar salad.”
The other two clapped, before noticing the cashier was staring at them with a raised eyebrow. Lisa decided to pat the boy in the back instead.
"That 's our Jun! You’re a regular Poirot, huh?”
"A Holmes par excellence!"
"A Columbo bar none!"
Jun interrupted them.
“Let’s not discuss fictional detectives. As much of a rest this is, they’ll come looking for us if we take too long”
The thought of returning to their vehicle wasn’t an attractive one to any of them. More of a necessary evil, a necessary torture they had to face. As they ordered, as the cashier disappeared to get their food, they brainstormed ways to stop the brothers from arguing. Found none. All huddled together, sighing and grumbling to themselves in despair.
There was only one way out, that they saw. To make Tatsuya ride his bike again. They couldn’t bear themselves to force him, though, seeing as night had crept up on them and the visibility was awfully poor.
The cashier commented on their long faces, correctly guessing -due to years of practice- that the other passengers had been bickering for most of the way. The others solemnly nodded. Even asked him for advice.
“Don’t get the salad, get the wrap”
The other three stared, near-awed, pondering to themselves what diplomatic powers the wrap had to make the two brothers bury the hatchet.
“You’re all down but nine. Ya need a fork to eat the salad, an’ ya can’t steer while ya chow down, buckaroos. Ain’t like the wrap. He can eat an’ steer with the other hand, rodeo style. Keep ‘em chewin’, keep ‘em quiet. ”
A… More reasonable theory than the ones they had come up with.
“Katsuya would never drive with one hand. He’s a real stickler for laws.”
“Trust me, they aaaaall are until it’s well into nighttime, they’re balmy as all get out, they haven’t had their bait and they still oughta sweeten’ up the RV sheriff and park the iron horse in their land. Ranger 's honour.”
As said, such was done. They took the wrap instead of a salad and carried out the several brown paper bags stuffed with food out of the store, heading towards an uncertain fate. Would it work? No one could tell. Their desperation was such they took advice from a cashier roleplaying as a cowboy. Speaking of…
“Do you, uh… Know a cashier who works at Peace Diner? In Sumaru City?” Lisa asked, holding the door as the others left. She shook her head and laughed right after saying it. “Sorry, weird quest-”
“Speaks all medieval-like?”
“Y-Yes?”
“She’s m’ sister.”
“Huh. Go figure.”
--
The plan had failed. Katsuya would never, upon such circumstances, drive with only one hand. The exception would be if only had one hand but the trio decided to not consider amputation for the time being.
The group had their dinner inside the RV, still parked, alone, isolated, in that dark lot, lit only by the buzzing light of a dying street lamp. Near poetic.
Jun caught the cowboy cashier staring at them through the window. The man removed his ten gallon hat and, with great grief, placed it upon his own chest. A mourning as deep as if for death. The boy nodded slowly, appreciating the sentiment.
The brothers, obviously, kept quiet as they were eating. It would be rude to eat with a full mouth, of course, but even between bites they merely stared at nothing, listening only to Maya's animated, carefree conversation. As if repaying the favour, she was telling them embarrassing stories of her own childhood, alternating between chewing on either one of the double cheeseburgers they'd gotten her.
"And for the loooongest time, I thought pandas were just a hybrid between black bears and polar bears!", she cackled to herself, shaking her head. "It was Ulala, in 5th grade, who told me they were their own species! And when I told you it took her a good while for her to convince me-"
As soon as he was done, Katsuya set himself at the wheel again. They had places to be and people to discuss RV parking with. Ever the punctual man, or more precisely, ever the man with poor low-light vision, the elder Suou switched his glasses to a thicker-lens pair and started the car once more, carefully continuing on his way.
Oh what great joy! What divine providence! Not a peep from the older brother as he focused on the road, nor a sound from the younger brother as he dedicated himself to devouring the mountain of food they'd gotten for him. No one could interrupt Katsuya as he concentrated, no one could interrupt Tatsuya as he ate; it was only the sound of Maya amicably chatting with them that filled the RV once more.
They nearly cried tears of joy.
--
With all the conditions for a quiet, speedy trip gathered, they quickly arrived at their destination. Few other vehicles were there, spread out generously among the lot. It had significantly more foliage than any of them were expecting, and they had to admit it was a nice place. It wasn't one of their major stops but it was a lovely space to spend a night and a morning.
With the vehicle parked in the agreed upon place, Katsuya had slid down from his seat once more, ready to speak to the lot's owner. Maya followed, leaving her perch since they'd first stopped, apparently expecting some sort of major fight.
She was hyping the man up, rubbing his shoulders and discussing whether a right hook or a straight punch would be best to start with. A joke, of course, but one that landed better on Ulala than on the poor, meek man, who, appalled, denied his intention of ever doing such a thing.
Still, Maya kept encouraging him to tell the brute owner "what for".
"Maya, we'll just confirm we've parked!", Katsuya spoke with great distress in his voice, "The owner is a gentle old lady, you were the one that talked to her on the phone!"
"Hah! That was just a front!", Maya scoffed, turning to look at him and wink. "Don't worry, I brought my double pistols!"
Katsuya's chin nearly dropped in dismay. Before he stammered out another shocked, vehement forbidding of Maya's actions, she interrupted him with a light-hearted laugh.
"I'm joking, I'm joking! I'm just messing with you!"
As they went, the teens were left on the RV, playing cards on the dinette as they took turns getting ready for sleep in the small bathroom of the vehicle.
They mocked each other's sleepwear as they struggled to exit the cramped room, nearly dragging everything else with them. Lisa and Tatsuya almost started an argument over their Lion King and Kimba the White Lion t-shirts, respectively. Jun managed to prevent it before it happened by coming out of the bathroom with lovely flower patterned pajamas.
Michel's was so plain that he was met with a symphony of disappointed sighs.
"Hey! As if I'd bring my good pajamas just for you lot!"
"More like your dad doesn't let you wear showy sleepwear, huh?"
"S-Shut up!"
Jun took a sip from his chamomile tea and pointed straight to his weak point.
"Don't forget to wash the hair spray off. It'll stain your pillow."
Michel grumbled to himself, returning to the bathroom as Lisa and Tatsuya's laughter scored his exit. When he returned, after the sounds of water running and muffled complaining, he looked like a sheepdog; which did earn him a chorus of guffaws.
"I hate you guys."
"We love you too"
Emboldened by companionship, the four decided to do something out of the usual but inoffensive. They decided to take their card game outside, playing it as casually as possible. They fought back giddy grins as they sat around the folding plastic table in their pajamas, playing old maid, lit only by the outdoor light of the RV as if it were something commonplace.
No one from the other RVs was awake to see it; rather, even if they were, the distance between them was so great that it would be impossible to tell if they were in sleepwear or not. Still, their "infraction" delighted them as if they were normal children again, younger teens who did not have to face any of the perils they had. To a regular teen, stupid yet harmless acts were nothing so rare. It was different for them.
When Katsuya returned and asked why they were outside, they quickly rushed indoors, as red as beets, without so much as a sound.
Maya, seeing them all ready for bed, immediately gunned for the bathroom, changed into her own sleepwear, and charged towards her beloved "toppest bunk". With the vague implication that anyone aside from her would ever want to sleep in there.
The woman gloated on her achievement, throwing her arms in the air in triumph and immediately hurting her hands on the ceiling. The others responded by throwing her unimpressed glances and continuing on their routines.
With Maya on her perch and the teens all wanting the actual bunk beds, it was Katsuya who was left with the true bedroom. With the giant queen bed.
The man paced around it in awe. Near fearful. It was the double, no, the triple of any bed he had ever slept in. He fit in it like a sardine in a lake.
Katsuya did not know if he was agoraphobic, or some other version of the fear that applied to large things in general, but the bed itself made him nervous.
He did not need so much space. It was ludicrous. To the sides or down, there was too much room on the bed. As unheard of as such a complaint is, he disliked it. Irrational fears took hold of him; they were out in the middle of nowhere, what if a wild animal entered the car and hid at the foot of his bed, under the covers? Like a rabid opossum!
He shook his head. Opossums did not even exist in Japan.
A raccoon-dog, then!
He stared silently at the foot of the bed, before gulping.
What of the other people? What sort of ilk -aside from them and Ulala's father, he supposed- travelled by RV? Were there delinquents in there? Could they rob his RV, and hide -again- in the bed?!
No! By Hyperion, that was ridiculous!
Yet this vehicle was old. Poorly maintained. It drained gasoline like a wet sponge and rattled everywhere. The steering was stubborn. The radio yowled in broken bleats. Katsuya had never checked for holes, but they could very well exist!
Katsuya once more stood at the foot of the bed, and stared, a myriad of hypothetical issues running through his mind at once.
-
"Before the arguments begin- I'm taking the bottom bunk. I roll around in my sleep", yawned Jun, rolling into one of the lower mattresses. A passing thought went to Maya, who he also knew moved a lot in her sleep. It did not seem to deter her from taking… Sigh. The luggage compartment. He wasn't calling it the toppest bunk.
Jun, unaware of the seeds of discord he had just sown, sincerely hoped that the woman wouldn't roll off of her bed and fall down during the night. She could seriously hurt herself.
The boy moved the blankets to cover him, all the while the other three had grown quiet. They turned to stare at the other two, through squinting, suspicious eyes, tense like a bridge wire.
The atmosphere was heavy, the air was silent with the occasional snore floating over from Maya's bed. They arranged themselves in a triangle formation, hands at the ready to stop the fool that decided to make a move for either top bunk.
"Alright, steady", Lisa spoke up, becoming the center of attention in their little standoff. "We can solve this… Diplomatically. We'll arm wrestle for it".
Michel scoffed at her clearly biased proposal. Yes, the girl who did martial arts wanted to solve the situation with muscles. How impartial.
"Then let's vote on how we decide" Scoffed Lisa, a smirk creeping up on her face. "Tatsuya, are you okay with arm wrestling?"
The man was no slouch himself. He was the star of the track team, after all - a fact none of them ever thought too much about. Whether he could face Lisa… It was inconsequential. He knew he could at least beat Michel without as much as breaking a sweat; there were two top bunks. He didn't need to win - he needed to not lose.
"Yup."
Michel growled in frustration. The odds were stacked against him. He should've seen this scenario coming from a mile away, he should've guessed that it was useless to defy Lisa… He had lost from the moment the question of who slept on which bed came into being.
It was hopeless… And yet…
The thought of such a handsome rockstar as him, The Great Michel, voice of a fallen angel, style and charisma of a greek god, sleeping on the lowly bottom bunk… It repulsed him to his core. It could not be.
It would be against the laws that made up the very fabric of this world!
What would his dear Miyabi, his queen, his muse, his most passionate love say if she found out? She certainly would think that her beloved Michi had fallen to rock bottom… That he was not the Visual Kei Deity that she had fallen in love with…
No! He would not kneel to these two impudent bastards! By Gakt, if he must, if he must! He will fight! For his honour, for his Miyabi, for Jun who was turning in his bed and checking what in the world was the commotion about, for the top bunk . He would fight, and if fate such turns he shall meet his death, but he shall do it standing! Not cowering like a dog!
Nay! He will fight, clean and true!
"Oh- crap! Maya's about to roll off!"
"Huh?"
And with such expert, proficient use of a distraction, Michel turned to the beds behind him and climbed for his life before the other two looked back.
"She's fi- Oh, you jackass!"
Ah, Lisa. His eternal rival - of course. Whom else to take him down? To make him meet his fate? It was almost poetic, almost warranting of a hymn, of the great Michel, who met his fate in a powerful head lock. Michel would thus face his death head on, clutching his proverbial harp and singing to his demise, as a true bard.
"Ack- Ginko, damn it! Too tight!"
"Too tight my ass! You wear chokers tighter than this!"
Lisa growled herself, his head trapped between her arms. His knees were awkwardly bent in order to accommodate for the height difference, soon moving from under him as Lisa walked backwards, removing his main anchor for release.
The strange position didn't hurt him, nor did it choke him. Still, to have his legs spread out from under him, with only the sides of his feet touching the ground as he struggled to make his legs fit between the small floor space between the bunks, Lisa carrying his full weight by trapping his head as he struggled in vain to pull her arms away… Well, he didn't like it.
"Tatsuya! Bro! Tacchi! Gimme a hand!"
Tatsuya lifted his eyebrows just the slightest bit, staring at the odd entanglement. The man hummed in thought, scratching his chin, trading stares with Michel and then Lisa.
Tatsuya wouldn't call himself deceitful. Not even opportunistic. He doubted he really had the brains to try and be such a thing. Any other situation, any other occasion, he would've trapped Lisa in an headlock in kind.
But he liked the top bunk.
He really liked the top bunk.
Tatsuya grinned mischievously. Lisa and Michel could guess what he was gonna do next and moved to stop him, but forgot their current position and tripped over each other, Lisa falling on the floor next to Michel.
The ladder was blocked by the heap of angry teens on the floor, so the boy had to climb by putting his foot on the bottom bunk and hoist himself up with only his arm strength.
Not a difficult feat for him, of course.
But the second one of his feet left the ground, Lisa spun around, kicking his other leg from behind with her own in a masterful display of probably beginner level martial arts.
Losing his balance, Tatsuya fell back.
Thankfully, his head didn’t hit the ground.
Not so thankfully, that was because Lisa caught him and trapped him in a pinch grip tie.
As loose as the hold looked, Tatsuya was utterly immobilized and fearing for his safety at the hands of the strongest teenage girl- no, girl, no- human that he knew.
Feeling the despair that Michel had felt moments prior, facing the abyss that was his future, Tatsuya now understood his use of underhanded tactics. It was a dog eat dog world out there and he had to use what he had to survive.
Tilting his head forward with a sigh, he tilted it back in a way that flicked his long hair out of his eyes in a very romance-novel-film way. He looked, through half-lidded eyes, deeply into Lisa’s own in a passionate gaze. Using his deepest, smoothest voice, he pleaded.
“Lisa… Let me go…”
This earned him a promotion into being trapped in a Full Nelson, after slight consideration of an Anaconda Choke.
“Hah! You really thought that would work, punk?!” Lisa scoffed. “Cheap tactics don’t work on the mat!”
Tatsuya wondered where the Lisa he knew, who would lovingly call him “chinyan” and greet him with a hug, went. His title had become ‘punk’ instead of ‘darling’, the hugs those of a bear…
Oh, he never thought he would miss being slightly inconvenienced and embarrassed by her frequent but more subdued as of late advances.
“You dorks have fun fighting!” Came the sound of Michel’s characteristic cackle. “While I get the top bunk!”
The two looked up at once, shocked and furious. In Tatsuya’s case, struggled to look up.
This conniving bastard really was making another move for the top bunk… Neither of them could believe Michel’s gall. Or, above all, persistence. His foot was on the first step of the ladder, his hand, on the last. He looked down at them, superior, majesty, deity, above all. He who had made it to the top not through strength but by waiting… Oh, what an ending fit for this dramatic scene of warring forces, all seeking the same prize: to sleep really close to the ceiling for no good reason.
Appalled, furious, the girl took a chance. Lisa released her hold on him as a momentary truce, seeing as they shared an enemy at the moment. It’s short life was implied - as soon as Michel was caught and eliminated from the fight, there would be war between them again.
Yes, none of them thought that they only needed to eliminate one as of that moment, aside from Jun, who was admiring their brains’ apparent incapability of formulating such a simple thought in the heat of the battle. Alliances were too complex a concept for them. Oh, how he enjoyed being the smart one of the group - what a low bar, as well.
“Tatsuya, get him!”
Released like a hunting hound, Tatsuya shuffled forwardly awkwardly as fast as he possibly could and employed a very advanced and complex fighting technique: pulling him back by grabbing his shirt.
Michel went down like a tree, hitting his head on the soft edge of Jun’s mattress. He immediately sat up, hands on his lower back, complaining of the hit he suffered and how Tatsuya was a maniac.
Tatsuya decided to employ another advanced and complex fighting technique and hold his friend in the tightest bear hug he could manage. Aha! He was winning! No plot, no scheme, could succeed against him, for-
Interrupting his internal monologue -or amateur attempt at one- Lisa grabbed him from behind and pulled him into another, simple, headlock. Nothing too fancy.
Jun was thoroughly enjoying witnessing the chuckleheads that were his friends wrestle each other for the rights to sleep in the beds with the least aerial space. By Hermes, they were now trapped in a weird centipede of wrestling holds, equally matched in strength. Like a beefy, empty-headed ouroboros. It would never end.
In that precise moment, the door to the bedroom opened, revealing a very troubled, nervous looking Katsuya. The drab-pajama’d man adjusted his glasses and moved his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
His eyes fell to the handful of tussling teens on the floor.
And the watching teen on one of the bottom bunks, posing as the audience.
Their eyes stared back at him, all with slightly surprised faces. Like deer caught in headlights.
Katsuya pointed a finger up, then moved it back down. He clenched his fist, released it. Clenched it again. Released it again. Touched the back of his head with his hand. All the while opening and closing his mouth, struggling to make a noise.
None of the teens made a move to explain. Not even Jun, the most clear-headed of the bunch. His bloodlust -spectator bloodlust?- had been qualmed by the sight of his friend’s older brother, dressed in the most plain sleepwear he had ever laid his eyes upon, walking in on the impromptu wrestling match.
The silence was only cut by Maya’s snores.
Katsuya blinked, shook his head, and went back inside the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
The teens stood, or rather, lay paralyzed on the floor.
Such excitement, such drama… Was too much for Tatsuya. His bedtime had come and gone, flew by as quick as a breeze and he had not yet had the chance to lay his head on a singular pillow. He was getting tired, both literally and of the situation.
So, despite the odd position he found himself in, he decided to take advantage of his unique talent of being able to sleep anywhere and do just that.
“Yo, Ta-chan… You good, buddy?”
Michel grasped his friends arms around him, discovering that the bear hug was now no more than a weak, limp hold. He freed himself, turning around on his knees to look at his former captor.
Lisa looked down at his sleeping face, keeping her hold in case he was trying to fake her out.
No such thing. The man was fast asleep already. His snores started to grow in volume, sounding somewhat like an old diesel engine.
Michel and Lisa thought, for the first time in their entire fight. They traded a look.
“Well… If he’s asleep…”
“That’s the same as forfeiting, right?”
Slowly, the two turned their heads towards Jun, laying against his pillow like a roman emperor in a lounge chair watching a private gladiator duel. They waited for his response, as if he were the referee in this match.
“I suppose”, commented Jun, laying back down, deciding that the fight was effectively over.
Lisa released her hold on the boy, gently moving back so he would lay on the floor. He could’ve probably been dropped all of a sudden and he still wouldn’t wake, but her returning empathy told her to be nice.
Said empathy made both of them look down at their sleeping friend and decide that leaving him on the ground, looking like an expensive rug, would be rather rude. Each of them grabbed him under one arm and struggled to fit him in the other bottom bunk.
Without much luck. Only his shoulders and head had made it. The two hummed in thought as the sound of Tatsuya’s snores muffled by the mattress now filled the air as well.
Attempting to devise a plan to parallel park their friend into the bottom bunk, they failed to notice Katsuya had again emerged from the bedroom, now with a more organized speech.
“Not to interrupt your bonding activities... But I would like to ask if I could sleep in the…”
The man’s gaze fell once again to his brother, deep into another of his coma-sleeps.
Katsuya sighed and shook his head, adjusting his glasses. He was expecting such a thing, but not on the first night. The only threat of any possum here- or rather, playing possum, was Tatsuya.
“We didn’t kill him! He just- conked out!”, explained Michel, moving away as fast as he could manage from the bed.
Katsuya raised an eyebrow at his brother’s friend. What sort of corpse would snore?
Thinking about it, sometimes corpses did make ghastly noises as fluids and gases left them… Katsuya shivered, trying to shake the thought away like a cat shaking off water.
“Tatsuya does this a lot… If he’s getting frustrated, he’ll just suddenly fall asleep.” Katsuya crouched down next to the bed as Lisa moved away to give him space.
“He used to pull this a lot when he was younger, before he met you. He hated family reunions, so he’d suddenly fall asleep when he wanted out.” The man scratched behind his head, sheepishly. “Well, I wasn’t too fond of them either. I’d carry him to his bed and then stay in my room and hope none of the guests noticed I was missing as well. I think at times he started doing that just so I could get away…”
Gently placing a hand between Tatsuya’s shoulders, Katsuya fought back a fond smile, but the look on his eyes betrayed the great brotherly affection the older Suou felt.
“Alright. Up we go!”
Katsuya placed his arms under his brother’s own and linked his hands together in front of his chest. He slowly stood up, clearly struggling with the weight, dragging Tatsuya into the queen bedroom. With the clear expertise of someone who’d done that a thousand times before, Katsuya managed to move the practically comatose man onto the bed. A bit like a thrown potato sack, some could say.
Deciding it would be too much trouble to get the sheets over him, Katsuya simply covered his brother with a blanket and moved a pillow under his head. Stepping away to see if Tatsuya wouldn’t fall during the night, Katsuya fetched another pillow and blanket for himself and left the bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Through all of this, Tatsuya never even stirred.
“You should feel honoured! He can fall asleep anywhere, but not on just anyone. He must really care for you”
Katsuya squeezed past the duo as they brushed aside his claim in a bashful manner, rubbing under their noses and scratching their heads. The man headed for the surprisingly comfortable looking couch, crouching to pull the lever that would bring up one part of it and convert it into a bed. Ah, his plan B… Yes, he’d studied the furniture for any hitches or secrets they may hide. Tatsuya’s friends had surprised him with their preparation for the journey, he couldn’t lag behind!
As he thought of this, a small, soft pillow hit him square in the face.
With a long-suffering sigh and squinting eyes, Katsuya looked up to face the culprit: Maya herself, who’d somehow woken up and decided right away to attack Katsuya.
“Hi, roomie!”
“I’m not giving you back this pillow.”
“Geez, someone’s cranky!”
Exhausted by the day's events, the two left decided to head to bed as well. They had conquered the two top bunks, after a fierce battle. Yes, perhaps the defeat of their opponent wasn't at their hands rather than of his own volition. One could argue Tatsuya was the one to come out on top, seeing as he had won the biggest bed of all. It was inconsequential; the top bunks were theirs. That was the reason for their fight.
Frankly, Tatsuya's win did not count for that same reason. Yes, of course.
The two shook hands, both an apology for the fighting and an affirmation of their friendship, then triumphantly climbed up to their respective beds.
Perhaps they were unable to sit up in bed, but it did not matter. They won.
===
Jun cursed himself, groaning, for forgetting to close the curtains on the small window beside his head. At the moment, a light as bright as a helicopter beam shone through it and straight into his eyes, decimating any sleep he had left.
He moved to pull the curtain over the window but paused to reconsider. It seemed early enough. Whoever was sleeping on the bunk above him was also stirring. It would be best to wake up and make breakfast, frankly. He never was one to sleep in, after all.
Jun turned and peeked out from his bunk, doing a quick recon of the situation. Michel was sleeping on the other top bunk, evidenced by his limp arm hanging off the side. The door to Tatsuya's room was ajar, so he could not tell whether his friend was sleeping or not. Turning on his stomach, Jun looked towards the main area, confirming that Katsuya had woken up and was likely outside and that Maya, as far as he could tell, had managed to not roll off during the night.
Through a process of elimination, he deduced Lisa was sleeping above him. To be fair, the snorted snores gave her away at the start.
Jun turned again to lay on his back, propping himself up on one elbow as his hand reached up to the girl's bed, intending to check on her.
"Lisa? Are you awake?" whispered Jun, just above a breath to avoid waking anyone else.
In response, the girl gently held his hand in hers, softly rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. A very tender gesture that she'd do whenever the boy decided to check up on the distracted or sleeping girl by moving a hand to her.
He could not say he disliked it. Far from it, really.
Despite his usual adverse reactions at physical contact, it was somehow different. He wondered why.
"Crap", came the eventual drowsy drawl from Lisa as she released his hand. "I keep forgetting you hate being touched, sorry"
This apology also happened soon after the gesture did, paired with the barely awake Lisa coming to her senses.
"And I keep telling you. It's fine if it's you"
The girl yawned, potentially stretching by the sounds of it. A moment later, she slid down from her bed, landing right next to his.
"You're too sweet. Morning, kwai faa "
Jun fought back a smile at Lisa’s nickname for him. Sunflower in cantonese, she told him. He certainly did not dislike this, either.
"Good morning. Slept well?"
"Mrbmmgrbm."
As eloquent an answer as he would get, he waited for Lisa to move out of the way before he exited his own bed, straightening the sheets behind him before he followed his friend into the kitchen.
She stood there, contemplative. Eyes closed, hands on her hips, staring at the little "Bless this mess (on wheels)" embroidery that hung on the wall.
"Dunno why I'm so huggy in the morning" She commented, punctuated by two yawns and a scratch of her back. "'Feel like I'd hug everyone if I didn't stop myself"
Jun approached her, moving things around in order to make tea for himself. As he did, he looked up at her with a gentle smile.
"I wouldn't mind a hug."
Lisa hummed, scratching her chin. She put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer, touching the side of her head to his own.
"Happy to oblige, buddy" Chuckled Lisa, moving away in search of the toaster. "You want some toast?"
"Sure."
Assuming that toast was universally loved, Lisa made enough for everyone while Jun readied a teapot of Earl Grey. Just in case.
Apparently ignorant of the concept of a tray, Lisa cautiously balanced a vast plethora of breakfast items on her arms, most likely meant for those who hadn’t woken up yet.
Jun, well versed in trays, was carefully placing his things on one when he heard Lisa suck air through her teeth and step back into the RV, hurrying back to the kitchen area as if it was a demon that awaited them outside.
“Tatsuya and Katsuya are out there, sitting on a table and just staring at each other. Not even saying anything… Just staring”, explained Lisa. She nodded in the direction of the two brothers, so Jun supposed, and did everything as quietly as possible. On the off chance that heightened hearing was a genetic characteristic of the Suous.
Jun moved past her, peeking through the blinds on one of the vehicle’s large windows.
Lisa was right. About two parking spots away, the two brothers were furiously staring at each other in silence. They seemed to have found a plastic folding table and matching chairs from rummaging through the RV’s storage, just to engage in the world’s most intense staring contest (sleepwear mandatory).
His reaction was in all ways equal to her. Jun stepped away from the window, shaking his head to himself and exchanging an apprehensive look with Lisa.
Now that was a situation he did not want to get involved in… Again.
“What’s out there that’s got you guys so quivery?”
The two turned to look at Michel, who had just left his bed as well, and nodded towards the window from which they had been spying the two brothers.
Michel gave them a quizzical look, scratching the back of his head. Still, he leaned over the couch and peeked in through the blinds to see what had frightened his friends so much.
A blink later, he stepped back as fearful as the others, eyes wide and head shaking from side to side in disbelief.
“C’mon, man! Now we’re gonna have to eat breakfast here?!”, Michel groaned in the frustration built up over the last day. “This is the only time where it’s socially acceptable to be outside in pajamas!”
“Since when do you care about what’s socially acceptable?”
“Since the only people around to impress are you doofuses.”
Lisa swiped at Michel, having put down all her things on the dinette table for that sole purpose. The taller teen dodged effortlessly, swerving away from her half-hearted strikes and mocking her slowness all the while.
Jun ignored them, staring hopelessly through those half-broken, dusty blinds. Since he’d first seen them they hadn’t moved nor made a noise -so he deduced- and were only sitting there, in complete and utter silence.
“To hell with them, bro! Are we gonna let ourselves fall under the dictatorship of these two idiots’ squabbling?!”
Michel spoke up, with chest puffed out and voice deep and commanding, keeping Lisa away from him with his hand.
“I say we take back our freedom and eat outside! To hell with those two!”
The girl halted her attempts at attacking him to concur.
“Yeah! Screw them, man! Today we eat outside!”
“Today we eat outside!”
Victorious, Lisa marched right on outside after picking up all her things, shortly followed by Michel himself, who took the tray out of Jun’s hands just so he’d have something to carry.
Empty handed, Jun grabbed a handful of napkins in a daze and hurried after them, reminding them in loud whispers to be quiet because Maya was still soundly asleep.
The pride over their victory was quickly forgotten when they were about a quarter hour into their breakfast and the curiosity about what on earth those two were doing won over.
“Dude, they haven’t moved for half an hour”
“They’ve blinked, so it’s not a staring contest”
“ Ngh hai ! Staring contests don’t require you to not blink. At least according to certain rules.”
“Since when?! Aren’t you thinking of serious contests?”
“ Fanna , don’t be annoying! Serious-face contests are a subsection of staring contests!”
“Not to interrupt your intellectual discussion, but I’m sure Tatsuya can see us staring from this angle”
Lisa and Michel promptly pulled a face. Lisa opted for a classic cross-eyed, pulling-up-your-nose, hand on the side of the head while waving your fingers one. Michel selected a carefully picked tongue-out, thumb-on-nose, waving fingers one.
Tatsuya did not react.
Jun looked at them with a disappointed expression.
“See? He hasn’t even noticed us.”
“And if he had?”
“The guy doesn’t even know what facial expressions are! He wouldn’t lose that easily, Jun!”
“That’s not… Nevermind.”
With a yawn and a stretch, Maya emerged from the depths of the RV with Mr. Bun-bun, her little rabbit plushie, peeking out of her shirt pocket. She took a look around at her surroundings, gazing over the far-away duo without any reaction, surprisingly, before her stare landed on the trio of teens sitting around the RV's built-in folding table.
"Morning, kids!"
"Morning, big sis"
"Morning Maya!"
"G' Morning Maya, do you want Earl Grey or uh, Duke Orange for breakfast?"
It took the woman a while to process the pun, as Lisa pointed at the teapot and then at the carton of orange juice. When she realized the joke, she was utterly delighted.
"Well when you put it like that, I'll have some Duke Orange!", she cheerfully said with a grin plastered on her face. She went around the table to reach the one empty seat and, taking advantage of the fact everyone else was sitting down, pressed a kiss to the top of each of their heads.
"So!" Maya said, gladly taking a cup full of orange juice and a slice of toasted bread, "What are you guys staring at?"
The teens stared at her, wondering if she was nearsighted or just clueless.
"Uhh… Tatsuya and his brother are over there? Sitting in silence?"
Maya hummed, lifting herself off of her seat to look over Lisa's head.
"Oh! They're just wrapping up their argument. They eventually get sick of arguing and just stare at each other"
The three turned to stare at Maya with looks of great confusion. Their questions were endless, for example, how did she know that, did it actually work, how in the world had they come to that conclusion, so on. The woman seemed to only know the answer to the first.
"I've seen it happen a lot of times before. Can't vouch for its effectiveness! But I think this means we won’t get more fights for the rest of our trip, sweet!"
Maya leaned back on her chair, brushing crumbs off of her shirt as she munched away on her toast.
"There are things that siblings do that us only kids can't ever understand."
"I have a sister, though?"
The centre of attention became Lisa once more, as the other three turned to look at her with great surprise. The girl seemed very nonchalant about the entire thing.
"I never told you?"
"No?!", sputtered Michel, before calming down with a sudden realization. "Ohh, she's probably still a baby or something, right?"
"Nah, she's a year younger than me"
"What?! A-And we've never seen her?!"
Lisa shrugged, surprised only, if anything, at the other's own surprise.
"Maybe you have? She takes more after the old man than me, so we don't look alike at all"
Jun's brow was deeply furrowed. He stared down at his cup of tea, shocked at the sudden new information.
"Does… She go to Seven Sisters as well?"
"I think so?"
Now it was Maya's turn to interject.
"You think so?"
"What's wrong?"
The four of them turned to see who had joined the conversation.
None other than Tatsuya, who had left the staring table and decided to join his friends, enticed by both companionship and the sight of toast. The teens sputtered awkwardly, thinking how they had been talking about him only some few moments ago. Maya, on the other hand, got him up to speed with no issue.
"Lisa has a sister!"
"Oh, congrat-"
"I've had one for 16 years, Tatsuya."
The usual confusion that was ever present in his expression grew tenfold, to likely one of the very few reactions he ever showed on his face.
"What?"
"Yeah. I really never told you guys about Tomie?"
Jun shook his head, a very concentrated mix of surprise at Tatsuya's sudden appearance and shock at the sudden information of a new Silverman he had never met.
"I've been to your house more times than I can count, how have I never seen her?"
Lisa took a sip of her orange juice, shrugging again. Her friends' reactions were unexpected. After all, not everyone was as close to their siblings as the Suous were! Still, she never expected for them to get it.
"It's a big house and we aren't that close! I actually think I haven't spoken to her in a couple of months"
This only made the others every more bewildered, much to her dismay.
Maya shook her head and got up from her seat, placing some slices of toast on a little plate and filling a regular cup with tea as she did.
"Tatsu, take my seat! I'll go bring breakfast to Mr. Grumpy over there"
Tatsuya took her offer with gratitude, feeling like he should sit down just in case some more shocking revelations happened to be unveiled at that breakfast table.
He watched, while the others argued around him, as Maya approached his brother, laying the breakfast foods on the table before throwing an arm around his neck and grinding her knuckles on top of his head. His arms thrashed around, helpless, struggling to release himself from the surprise noogie.
"Alright guys, let's drop it. Venus knows my parents talk enough about Tomie!" Lisa sighed, holding her head up with one hand while her elbow rested on the table, defeated. Jun raised his hands up, conceding, and Michel shrugged, resting back on his chair.
Tatsuya served himself some orange juice, thinking of the subject.
"Well, to be fair, I never told you about my little brother Atsuya either"
" YOUR WHAT?! "