Nothing like a brother's love (darkvamplips and Gwindolyn)

[Gwindolyn]

He pushes open the door to the house.  His face is not the mask of amusement.  He tosses his backpack against the coat rack.  The long thin piece of wood with the sturdy base is not built for such abuse and rocks back and forth.  He barely notices.  Feet shuffling, Sebastion heads straight for the kitchen.  His mousy brown hair is short and spikey and his clothes are long and oversided.  He wore jeans, a short a long sleeve t-shirt of white and a button up shirt with blue vertical strips.   The collar is turned down, the buttons are undone, and the sleeves are rolled to the upper arm.  The long white cotton his arms are sleeved in left to lay loosely about the middle of his hands, covering his thumbs, but leaving his fingers accessable.
His lacksadaisical slumping leads him to the fridge where he pulls out the milk.  He checks the date on it, then pulls the spout open smelling for freshness.  The milk is ushered from his nose to his lips and Sebastion tips it back, taking a long drink from the carton.  For all the notice he takes of anything around him, he could be in an empty space with just a fridge that when he opened it held one container of milk.  Of course, in reality, he was in the kitchen of the house that he shared with his sister.  University is expensive.

[darkvamplips]

It had been a long few years after their sister's death and it seemed lately he had been more distant with her. She tried to help him but nothing seemed to be working and she was debating whether or not to call a counselor. Would that stir up another big fight? Now she was out of university and working so she could keep paying the bills so he could go to college. Right now she was upstairs putting clothes in the laundry doing some chores on her only day off this week. She did not want to be around her brother she wanted no fights tonight and she hoped he would not do anything to her. Her blond hair was tied back in a messy pony tail like she had not combed it today and her pink tank top fit snugly around her.

[Gwindolyn]

Sebastion finishes his drink and puts the milk back in the fidge still opened.  He grabs a leftover chicken leg and heads upstairs his bedroom.  Along the way, the visage of his sister breaks through the fog.  With how very close they were all their life it is little wonder that she is one of the few things that can cut through the numbing fog and let the pain in.   The pain first appeared with the loss of their sister, so sudden and unexpected.  As things got worse and the anger seeped in, the numbness was a welcome nullifier.  He resented any that interruption to that welcome lack of feeling.  His sister was a well-spring of feeling.

He turns and sees her frumpy, chore day attire.  He sucks in a breath and says "can't you a least do your hair once in a while?  I get uglier just being associated with you."

[darkvamplips]

'If you helped then maybe I would have time to get my hair done." She said walking past him going downstairs to clean up the dishes. It was true she had no time for herself with working and chores. Secretly she wished that her brother would be able to help her instead of always fighting with her and getting mad.

[Gwindolyn]

He turned around.  His shirt billowing out behind him.  He runs a hand through his short hair.  "Hey!  Where are you going?  Is that any way to treat your brother?"  There was an angry sarcasm in his voice as he chased her down the steps.  He half skidded, half thundered down the stairs. His size eleven shoes never really did sit comfortably on those stairs.  He lands on the bottom step awkwardly and plops down.  He looks around for her.

[darkvamplips]

"For someone who doesn't treat me like they should uh yeah." She called back hearing all those thundering footsteps wishing he would just leave her alone. Soon the water was running and she started cleaning the dishes because he would not do it.

[Gwindolyn]

Sebastion seemed almost oblivious to the fact that she was cleaning up.  He goes into a cupboard and pulls out a package of cookies.  He takes out two of them.  He leaves the package on the counter as he eats one.  A piece breaks off and falls to the floor.  A few crumbs land on his shirt.  He puts the cookies on the counter and goes to the sink.  He pulls the rag from her hand and begins to wipe at his bright white, long sleeve t-shirt. When he is done, he tosses the rag over her shoulder and into the water where it splashes up with a plop.  He grabs his cookies, leaving crumbs on the counter.  He shoves the bitten one in and says with his mouth full "Fine den, be dat way."  He stalks off to the living room. He flumps on the couch and turns on the TV.  He adjusts he long legs to fit on there with him.  He still wears his shoes.

[darkvamplips]

She watched him with the cookies and sighed that was it she could not take it anymore. "You know what I'm tired of looking after you. From now on you can clean yourself or it does not get cleaned up at all." He did not need a towel to clean up a few crumbs on his shirt and she storms off to her bedroom. It was going to be about her from now on.

[Gwindolyn]

Sebastion only rolls his eyes as he has heard that line before.  She would be back out.  She would clean some more.  He would not.  That is life.  He grabs the remote and turns up the TV as if to prove to her he was not listening.  He shoves another cookie into his mouth, the whole cookie.  He chomps on it with his mouth open.  Little crumbs gather on the couch as he doesn't care.  He finishes his snack and watches more TV.  He falls asleep.  She may be able to figure that out as the program ends and some other show comes on, one he would not watch - Gilmore Girls, a chick show according to Sebastion.

As he sleeps images of before their sister's death played before him.  The three of them at the lake.  The three of them strolling the malls.  Him teasing them about the boys they were eyeing in the food court.  Them teasing him for almost falling up the down escalator watching some girl going up.  (Her skirt had been short.  It was well worth the view.  He would have done that again and again and again.)  As close as the three of them were, he was closer to her.  They were fraternal twins.  Kirsten and Sebastian born only minutes apart.  Kirsten was smarter, but Sebastion was the charmer.  They spent most of their waking time together.  They were just close.  Dayna came later.  She joined them to become the third musketeer or the third holy terror, depending on their mother's reaction.  Being only a few years younger, their age difference was not noticed.  They had enjoyed this closeness until Dayna's death.  That had changed everything.

As pictures of her death flash through his mind, he awakes with a start.  He is intent on another fight.

[darkvamplips]

It was true that she would come back out and clean up but not this time this would be different. When he fell asleep she went to lay down on the bed upstairs in the room they once shared. They had been so close that they hated being in separate rooms until the fights started and she hated being alone. Especially when they had nightmares one would comfort the other. A few tears slid down her cheeks as she nestled under the sheets and put her head on the pillow.

[Gwindolyn]

He is in a mood to fight.  A way to block the true pain.  He listens and hears nothing.  He looks for her through the house.  He cannot find her in the usual places - the dishes, the laundry or the toilet.  So he goes to the stereo and turns on his music.  Not just slightly, he blares the music.  He lets the harsh sounds of Disturbed wash over him.  "Mistress" was always a fun song.  The music so loud, that windows shake in the walls.  He does some angry air guitar licks in the living room.  His left hand moving randomly along what he imagines the neck as his right hand almost as randomly strums and wammies where he imagines strings.  The work of making these sounds convulses his body through many odd positions through the living room, including on his knees with his shoulders touching the floor behind his toes.  His stomach is toned enough still that he is able to right himself to sitting on his knees and then with a sudden jump, he is standing upright on his feet.

[darkvamplips]

With a start she woke since the music was loud and it took her a few moments to realize what it was. Slowly she got up and locked her door so he would not come in and found some ear plugs. Her head hit the pillow and she was able to drown out most of the music and fall back asleep. Whenever she was stressed that's what happens she would always sleep. Of course her brother would have been in the other bed to watch her just in case she wanted to talk abut that was all in the past now.

[Gwindolyn]

Sebastian finished playing air guitar with a desire for dinner.  He goes to the kitchen and starts moving things about.  He really can't cook.  He might get something on his shirt if he did.  He looks for leftovers.  He finds a dinner all packed up.  It was a decent container of Kirsten's spaghetti.  She was a decent cook, but he would never tell her that.  In the dinner, there was also a bit of dessert - the last piece of cheesecake.  A little dish on the side with some cherries in sauce.  There was a juice box.  Perfect.  He pulled it out and began to warm the spaghetti.

[darkvamplips]

Her stomach woke her up and then she got up not wanting to deal with him right now. Maybe they could get through a little time without fighting. Soon she unlocked the door and took out her earplugs then started heading down the stairs.

[Gwindolyn]

the microwave dings as he hears footsteps round the kitchen.  He walks casually over to the silverware drawer and pulls out a fork.  It is as if it weren't obviously packed to be her lunch tomorrow.  He stirs the noodles in the sauce to let the heat move about.  He begins to take a taste. "mmmm" 

[darkvamplips]

(Do you remember what the plan was)?

"That was supposed to be my lunch." She yelled turning around the corner and seeing that food that he made for himself. With all the chores she had no time to make food.

[Gwindolyn]

Sebastion tosses the container on the counter.  He hadn't taken but a bite of it.  "Fine.  Whatever."  He goes into the fridge and pulls out some left over ham.  He grabs a knife and a cutting board.  He stands the ham on edge and holds it with his fingers and thumbs on the side.  He begins to cut.  The phone rings and he jumps.  It takes him a minute to realize why his finger suddenly stings.  Salt from the hand and the sharp blade entering his skin.  He yelps and the knife drops to the floor.  As does a bit of his blood.  Straight to his mouth and in goes the finger.  He jumps back from the counter and rocks to into a standing, half fetal position.  A stream of words best not repeated flows from his mouth around his finger. 

((yes, but had to get you out of bed with no earplugs in.))

[darkvamplips]

(ok)

Suddenly the phone rang and when it did she went to pick it up but when she saw him and his sudden jolt she stopped. "Are you alright?" She asked suddenly worried over him somewhat and started moving towards him slowly hoping he would take her help. Whenever one was hurt the other would always be there to help him.

[Gwindolyn]

He pulls his finger from his mouth and looks to her.  He holds his finger out.  All anger, pain and guards forgotten except the throbbing in his finger.  Sebastion offers Kirsten his finger to tend, letting a moment of who he use to be, who they use to be enwrapt them.  Sister and brother, there for each other in any need.  Always, being with only one felt like being with only half. 

The phone rang in the background, an insistent call back to the present.  How long could they enjoy the past?

[darkvamplips]

Right now her brother was more important then a phone call they could call back. He was reaching out to her and it felt like it was a few years back. "Hold on I'll get a towel." She said the cut didn't look to bad no stitches but it was bleeding a bit. Quickly she got up and started to the washroom and after a few seconds she came back handed him the towel.

[Gwindolyn]

For a moment, the present melted away.  Sebastian's eyes were filled with the brotherly love he actually has for Kirsten.  It is just buried under pain and denial.  In that moment, he also had gratitude in his eyes.  A clear picture of who he use to be.  A perfect moment of how it was before.  One hurt, the other healed and both were one.  The shock of the blade only lasts so long though and the present does come back regardless of what one does.  The clouds begin to roll back into Sebastian's eyes.  The fog of denial roiling back up.  The coldness seeped back to his heart.  He was alone and cut off from love once more.  True it was only his his heart and mind, but he didn't know how to fight it either.  "SHIT!"  was all he could say.  He pulled away from Kirsten and stormed from the room.  He left his mess as it was.  Including her heated up, but not eaten (save a bite) lunch for tomorrow.  Kirsten is left holding a bloodied towel and no more thank you than she had gathered from his eyes minutes before.

[darkvamplips]

When she handed him the towel she could see the look in his eyes she had not seen for a long time. It was love and not hatred anymore. Somehow she knew that wasn't going to last at least they had a special moment that there was no fighting. When he left she collapsed to the floor the tears running down her cheeks. The towel gripped in her hands. She did not know what had happened to him and wished she could help. It hurt that they shared that one moment of caring and she saw something that she had not seen in a long time.

[Gwindolyn]

The next thing one could hear from the other room "yeah... I wanna order a pizza."  Finances were tight.  He didn't have that money unless he took it from one of the budgets.  Or from Kirsten.  There was anger and coldness in his voice, a steal that would not melt.    He looked down and saw blood on his white, long-sleeve t-shirt and while ordering the food he pauses "DAMN!" That was followed by another long string of curses.  "No.. no, not you..... yes, I still want that pizza.  The address is...."

[darkvamplips]

She heard his voice and cursed herself there was no way they could afford pizza. "I'm not paying for it." The only way he could get at her money was if he came and took it from her. Her bank card was in her pocket.

[Gwindolyn]

Sebastion put the pizza guy on hold and storms back into the kitchen to face Kirsten.  He puts out his hand stubbornly.  He wanted the pizza.  She hadn't denied him before, he expected her not to deny him now.  He was prepared to try and pull money or card from her pocket if she really pushed him.  He didn't think beyond that.  His eyes were cold black holes of demand as his hand held palm up in front of him.

His anger was not helped at all by the fresh blood on his new t-shirt.  Good thing it didn't hit his button up shirt that hung loosely about his body.  He did wonder how it was missed, but miracles happen all the time.