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Lacrimosa	By : Ayamuri Category: +A through F > DRAMAtical Murder Views: 1285 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own DRAMAtical Murder, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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                Sei was permitted to leave the hospital a month later but was still pretty weak. Even with daily physical therapy, he couldn’t stand longer than thirty minutes and could walk for maybe only half that time. I had considered on how I would get him home and thought that we could just walk very slowly to my—our—house but decided against it. Sei’s heart was getting better but it was best he didn’t over exert himself in any way.
                Perhaps he was worried about the same thing as he seemed quite relieved when I presented him a tram ticket instead. What usually took me fifteen minutes to walk took us an hour with so many frequent stops but that was fine. I let Sei have the window seat so that he could see the town as we passed by and at first, he seemed really excited.
                He didn’t say much but was practically glued to the window, eyes wide like a kid in a candy shop. Eventually, he settled back and I watched as his blinking grew slower and slower. It wasn’t long before Sei dozed off, leaning in my direction. I sighed and grabbed his head, putting it on my shoulder to prevent him from getting a crick in his neck.
                Once we reached the house, I helped carry the single duffle bag of clothes that Sei brought with him. Looked like Virus and Trip were even nice enough to have bought him new clothes. I gritted my teeth but had said nothing when I had noticed it back at the hospital. Inside the door, the smell of food hit my nose and I inhaled heavily. Something smelled especially delicious today.
                Sei sniffed the air curiously and blinked with a puzzled expression. “What is that?”

                I grinned as I led him further inside and down the hall. “Granny’s amazing culinary skills,” I told him, not quite deciphering what it was she was cooking by smell alone. “You’ll be hard-pressed to find better cooking.”
                Right before I reached the kitchen, the door slid open and there Granny stood, wiping her hands off on an apron. “You can stop that now, Aoba,” she said with a wry smile. “You flatter me too much.” She turned to Sei and her eyes softened. “Welcome home, Sei. When you’ve put your things away, come down to the kitchen. Dinner’s almost ready.”
                I was pretty hungry and hurried to do as she said. Without thinking, I immediately started taking the stairs two at a time, all to jerk to a halt. How cruel of me to show off how healthy I was when Sei was still struggling. He didn’t seem to mind but I still went back down and looped his arm over my shoulder and slowly guided him to the top. We have a bedroom on the first floor but it’s Granny’s. She offered to move to the spare one upstairs and I was almost tempted to let her but in the end, we decided against it. It would’ve been quite the feat to switch all the furniture out and besides, climbing stairs is one of Sei’s physical therapy exercises.
                We got to the top with Sei only slightly out of breath and I showed him the room across the hall from mine. It was almost similar to mine with a simple bed against the wall and a small dresser. I had also given him the TV from my room since I wasn’t home much these days to use it. To also make it less stark, I’d put a stack of retro CD’s on the small table in the center of the room so that he could choose what he liked. The only music he’d probably ever heard was the horrible dye music that Toue had created.
                The room wasn’t nearly as big as the one that I’d seen back in Platinum Jail and I’d opted out of filling it with toys as I wasn’t sure if those were Sei’s preference or what someone else thought was his preference. Besides, I’d used most of my money saved up to get a special gift for him. It was sitting on the bed but instead of picking it up, he immediately went to the glass sliding door on the wall and opened it.
                A fresh breeze blew in and I could see Sei inhaling the air. The view from this room looked down onto the street unlike how mine only showed the alleyway between the houses. I had picked it for just that reason, not wanting to be seen each time I stepped out but I figured Sei would appreciate the sounds of society since he’d rarely been outside the research lab.
                “Sugoi,” he breathed, watching as the lights of the city glowed and the sun set behind the buildings. With the bright lights of Platinum Jail gone, it was now feasible to also see the stars again, although only dimly. He leaned himself against the balcony railing, smiling. I didn’t have the heart to pull him away just yet so instead, I picked up the small present on the bed and brought it to him.
                “I never properly said it before, but…” I held out the small box in both hands to him. “I’m really happy to have you back, Sei. Welcome home.”
                “Aoba…thank you,” he said and took the palm-sized box and pulled the ribbon. Taking off the top, he carefully removed the contents and held it up in the fading light.

                “I don’t know if you already have a Coil, so I figured you might need one,” I hurriedly said, not sure if he’d like it. I’d thought hard about what kind to get him and finally settled for a sleek, black Coil that doubled as a modest bracelet. I’d gotten the idea from Noiz.
                For a while, Sei didn’t move but when he did finally look up at me, his eyes had gone soft. “My first present from my brother. I’ll make sure to always cherish it. Arigatou gozaimasu.” He bowed low to me, making me blush.
                “You don’t have to do that, you know…we are brothers. You already call me by just my name, there’s no need to be so formal.” I wanted Sei to be perfectly at ease with me and while here. He didn’t have to put on airs or go out of his way to impress anyone.
                He seemed a little embarrassed as well and to hide it, he quickly put on the Coil, again turning it this way and that to look at how the shiny black paneling glimmered.
                I informed him, “I’ve already programmed it for you and added my number, Granny’s number, and Koujaku’s number.” Koujaku had come by to meet him in the hospital and as my childhood best friend, I trusted him with anything that came to Sei. “I also added Noiz’s number there, just in case.” Noiz was currently in Germany but I had come back for a little bit after initially visiting there with him. He would’ve followed but he had work to do but I’d informed him of Sei. He referred to him as his brother-in-law.
                Geez, you’d think we were married…
I blushed again and hurried inside, calling Sei with me so we could go down to dinner.
~.~.~
                The food was amazing. We had Granny’s sweet and spicy curry with homemade doughnuts for dessert. I thought the spice might’ve been a bit much for Sei but if so, he never complained and even asked for a small second helping. We were now back in his room, folding his clothes and putting them away.
                I realized a lot of his stuff was from designer labels. Funny, we were considered “designer babies” upon our unique birth. But as I held up a shirt that I knew came from a label that cost a small fortune to buy anything from, I had to wonder why. Sei again was attuned to my thoughts and twisted his mouth thoughtfully as he also looked at the shirt.

                “Toue always wanted me to dress in things like that,” he said, folding a pair of jeans that still looked brand new. They probably were. “He wanted to make sure that the young population of Platinum Jail would identify with me, making it that much easier for him to use me to control them. And…yes, it was Virus and Trip who were in charge of my wardrobe.”
                I had already figured that but hearing it said made my blood boil again. Would Sei mind if we did a wardrobe overhaul for him? The clothes were indeed nice, I grudgingly admitted, but they stood out in Midorijima. If he was on the mainland and lived in, say, Tokyo, they would be perfect.
                Looking at the clothes, he turned to me and gave me something of a mischievous grin. Sei and mischievousness almost seemed like they shouldn’t go together. “You’re moving back with Noiz to Germany soon, right? Didn’t you say his family owned a major business? Maybe we should switch clothes. I’m sure you’d make quite the statement there if you wore these,” he said, pointing to the large pile still left to be folded.
                Even if the non-twins (a personal nickname for Virus and Trip) hadn’t bought them, I still wouldn’t wear them. I’d developed my own fashion sense without the help of fancy labels and wanted to keep it that way. Sei saw my hesitancy and gave a soft chuckle.
                “I suppose that’s a no,” he said and shrugged.
                We continued to fold the clothes and once finished, we sat back with a satisfied smile. Ren had come into the room shortly before we’d finished and was lying on Sei’s bed as he absentmindedly scratched behind his ears.
                “Aoba…” Sei called quietly. We were watching the TV in his room but neither of us was really paying attention. I looked behind me from my spot on the floor up to Sei, who was lying down on his stomach. “When is it that you go back to Germany?”

                I counted off on my fingers for a moment. “Two weeks. I leave at the end of the month.”
                For a moment, Sei’s face seemed to withdraw and he looked almost sad. But in an instant, it cleared and he smiled shyly. Leaning closer, he asked, “…do you love him?”
                Great, our first deep conversation at home and this is where the topic goes. I pulled my knees up to hide my face, wishing Ren was in my lap instead. “Yes,” I mumbled quietly, knowing my face was burning red.
                Sei studied me thoughtfully for a moment. “I wonder if I’ll ever fall in love,” he said, more to himself. “I wonder if I even can fall in love.”
                “Of course you can,” I blurted without thinking. “Toue might’ve screwed with your head but your heart is fine, emotionally. You’re gentle and considerate. People appreciate that.”
                I was being honest but Sei still looked unconvinced. He closed his eyes and sat up, hugging his own knees. “I hurt people. I controlled them for no other reason than I was told to. My entire life, I’ve been a puppet so I’m no good at making decisions for myself. What person would want someone like that?”
                “…Sei.” Never would I have thought he felt that way about himself, that he held so little self-esteem. Granted, when your entire self-image was created by someone else and not by you, what else could be expected?
                Getting angry again, I told him, “That’s bullshit. I’ve done worse, broken people’s minds almost to the point of no return. And Noiz is certainly no saint either. But I think it’s because we’re imperfect that it’s worked. Everyone deserves love, Sei. I don’t want you to give up on yourself before you’ve really gotten to live your new life.”
                I didn’t mean to be so aggressive but I couldn’t stand to hear him talk like this. I’d do everything in my power to prove that he was worthy to be in this world and deserved as much love and care as anyone else.
                He continued to stare at me for a long moment and I refused to blink and look away. He was the first to blink and then he tucked up the corner of his mouth. “You know something, Aoba? I think I might be a little jealous.”
                Eh?
                Sei didn’t elaborate though but instead let out a large yawn, pulling back his covers and snuggling down. His blinking again grew slow and right before he fully fell asleep, he whispered, “Thank you, Aoba. For everything.” He was asleep before he could hear my reply.
                I was still reeling from his comment but I responded, “You’re welcome. Oyasumi.” Picking up Ren, I turned off the TV and quietly tiptoed back to my own room.
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Lacrimosa