[Jeremy]
by trixie-chick
Taking the heat
He was really starting to regret not accepting that ride home now that he had a block left and he was covered in sweat. If anyone but Sakurano-san had offered, he would have accepted, which made him feel both hot and guilty. Isumi had nothing but respect for his senpai, but he'd started to pick up on some odd signals from her...
But no, he'd have to be crazy to think someone as pretty and successful as Sakurano-san would be hitting on him. She had put her hand on his thigh during Narusawa-sensei's lecture, but that was probably just... convenience. Nothing more. He shouldn't have allowed his crazy-thoughts to make him refuse her kind offer.
And it was damned hot out. Hotter than it had been earlier in the week, and it had been hot on Monday. Summer wasn't even half over, so he knew he just had to adjust, but.
It was hot.
He went down the alley behind their houses, and came to the gate to his home. He carefully closed it behind him, because his father had been complaining about how loud it was. Well, that was probably more as part of the general complaints about how late Taizo was coming in and out of the house lately. Once he'd secured the gate, quietly, he looked up...
Thinking of the devil might have the same effect of speaking of him. His youngest brother was sitting on the stoop outside the back door.
"Taizo, what are you doing out here? Didn't they turn on the air inside?" he asked, suddenly concerned that maybe relief wasn't in the cards at the moment.
"Aniki," Taizo looked up at Isumi, stricken. Things had to be pretty bad... he couldn't remember the last time Taizo bothered to call him aniki. "I've... I've really screwed up."
Isumi took a deep breath, and leaned on the railing opposite Taizo. "Well, just tell me, maybe I can help."
"Well..." Taizo shook his head. He rubbed his forehead, and then just spit it out. "I got my girlfriend pregnant!"
Isumi's heart stopped. He didn't feel so hot anymore.
"I mean, stuff kinda just happened... anyway... we've been talkin' and talkin' about it. At first, she was sure she wanted an abortion, but she was scared, and then we talked about stuff more, and then she said she wasn't sure and she wanted... she wants to tell her parents before she does anything, so... so... we decided to tell her parents together tomorrow, and then I started to think..."
Rubbing his forehead, Isumi sarcastically noted to himself better late than never.
"I didn't want to tell her parents and not, you know, have our parents know what was going on, but like, I guess it's kinda weird to tell mom and dad while her parents don't know, too, not like we can get 'em all together or anything, it's just. I'm so confused, and... I don't think she's gonna get an abortion, and... shit, dad's gonna kick my ass, isn't he?" Taizo finally looked up at Isumi.
Which caused Isumi to snap. He smacked Taizo over the top of his head. Mindful that they were right outside the back door, Isumi sputtered, "Of course he is, you idiot, you got your girlfriend pregnant?! For real? You've never heard of a condom?"
"Well, we normally do..." Taizo weakly began.
"Normally?!" Isumi had to struggle to keep his voice down. Or to keep from exploding. "You idiot... you... you're fifteen, Taizo! You got a girl pregnant... at fifteen! At your age, you're not supposed to be normally using condoms! You should just be excited if your girlfriend lets you... hold her damned hand!"
"Well, I was excited to hold her hand. Last year, when we started dating," Taizo shrugged, at least managing to look semi-sheepish. "Things escalate, you know?"
"I don't want to talk about escalations," Isumi sighed, his head throbbing. Oh, shit. Taizo was going to talk to the girl's parents tomorrow. That meant that if dad didn't kill him, her father would. "You moron. Idiot. Jackass." This wasn't helping. He was supposed to be helping his cute little brother. Who used to drool on Isumi's goban and try to eat his stones. When he was seven. Helping. What would help...?
"I'm really sorry, aniki. I'm just... I'm really scared," Taizo pleaded, looking up at Isumi like a kicked puppy.
Well, fuck.
"Ok. Ok. I am going to help you. We are going..." Isumi pointed to the door to the house. "We are going to tell mom and dad. Together. Let me do the talking." With icy clarity, Isumi knew what he had to do. Fuck. Scared himself, and still reeling from the fact that he was going to be an uncle at nineteen... well, maybe he'd be twenty before the baby was born... no, that wasn't the point, but... "Ok. We're going to go in. But I swear to all that is holy, Taizo... you are going to owe me for the rest of your life."
"You know how to do this so dad won't kill me?" Taizo stood up, looking at Isumi the same way he did when Taizo was three and Isumi made strawberry ice cream appear on his plate after the nasty peas went away.
"Yeah, well, I can't help you tomorrow with her family, but..." he sighed, looking up at the door.
This was it.
He trudged up the steps, horrified and somewhat amused at how Taizo managed to shadow him. Just like when he took Taizo to the festival in the summer when they were kids...
Fuck, Taizo had fathered a child.
They went inside, the blessed coolness of the air a bit more like a slap to the face than Isumi really wanted. "We're home," he called out half-heartedly.
"Oh, Shin-chan, welcome back! We're in here!" his mother called out from the den.
Feeling like he was in a funeral procession with his adorably mischievous cat in tow, Isumi followed her voice.
How marvelous. Everyone was assembled. Isumi's father had taken off his jacket and loosened his tie, but he still had his briefcase next to his chair, and he was just slumped there. He was in sales, so he was probably outside in the heat for enough of the day to be totally zapped. His brother was in the other chair, feet on the coffee table, wearing just boxers and a tank, his laptop perched on his knees, undoubtedly playing a MMORPG of some kind. He was an exam student this year, but Isumi assumed it was a bit early, even for Seiji. And then his mom was reclined on the sofa, wiggling her toes at Isumi and Taizo, looking beat.
"Everyone's home now. It's too hot to cook, Shin-chan, so why don't we order some sushi? You can call, right?" she smiled at her eldest son.
Isumi swallowed hard. "Sure. J-just a second, though. Taizo and I have... have something to talk to you all about. Well, separate somethings. See..." Isumi tried to collect his thoughts. He hadn't thought of having this conversation with his family for... years, really. Or possibly, never, if he could avoid it. It was just...
"What's going on, son?" his father asked him.
As expected, everyone had their attention on Isumi, the oldest, the most responsible. He wanted to melt away, but... Taizo needed him, so.
"Look, this might sound a bit... sudden, and... out of nowhere. It's... it's really not, though. In the past, I've struggled with this a lot, and it's taken me a long time to come to terms with this, and... Look. You should just know the truth. You... d-deserve to know the truth. The thing is... the thing is..." His mother and father were looking at him quizzically. This was a huge mistake. There was no reason to tell them... anything. It wasn't like he was living with someone, or... "I'm gay." He waited to make sure they fully understood what he'd just said before he barreled on, adding as an afterthought, "Also, Taizo got his girlfriend pregnant."
"You're... but... no, that's not right. I mean. Shin-chan, you had such a cute girlfriend in high school! I know you've been... really involved with go ever since you became a pro and all, but... being with all those guys all the time..." she looked off in the distance, somewhat disturbed.
"Mom, I never dated anyone in high school. I told you, Koemi-chan and I were on the student council together, and we had a project. She wasn't my girlfriend. ...And there are female Japanese pros, too, it's not always just guys." Sakurano-san would be ticked off if she overheard his mother saying that.
"Wait a minute..." Seiji tried to interject, setting his laptop aside.
"Son, you know, this could just be a phase. There's no reason to get... You might get to an age when you decide you want a family, after all. There's nothing wrong with that," his father said, reasonably.
"Sure, I might, and then my partner and I would talk about adoption, I suppose." Perhaps this fictitious partner and he could take in some of his brother's bastard children. Isumi was starting to get really annoyed that he'd never had a proper boyfriend but he was coming out to his family, all for the sake of his slutty fifteen year old brother.
His mother got to her feet. "You just haven't met a girl you liked yet! You're a late bloomer, and... if you were in college now, you'd be in such a different environment!" she reasoned, petting Isumi's hair. "You're father's right, I mean... you're not... Are you... sleeping with someone?" she asked, looking horrified.
"No, mom, I'm not!" Isumi admitted, feeling miserable. He would like to be sleeping with someone, perhaps at this very moment would be good, but...
"Well, why not? You're such an attractive boy! Why don't you have a boyfriend, if you're gay? You should have a boyfriend!"
"You could apply the same logic if he were straight, to having a girlfriend," his father mused, rubbing his face. "Well, it's not unheard of in this day and age and all. One of my clients' son just went to Holland to get married. That's not really the point, though..."
"Wait a second..." Seiji leaned forward.
"Of course he could have a girlfriend! The Mizutani girl down the block is always asking about you, Shin-chan! Not to mention that Tabata-san has a granddaughter who is extremely pretty who will be finishing her nursing degree this year, and Tabata-san is always asking me if Shin-chan has plans to get married yet. You could get married like that!" she insisted, snapping her fingers. "You don't even have to do anything! I can set you up in a minute, and then you'd just have to meet the girl... see how it goes..."
"I'm not going to an omiai, mom..." Isumi sighed. "I just told you. I'm... I'm gay. It wouldn't be fair to her."
"Wait," Seiji pointed at Taizo.
"I just think you need a little more experience, son, before you... you know... decide... well, I suppose it's not really a decision..." his father pondered.
Seiji stood up and spoke more firmly, "Taizo, you got Emiko-chan pregnant? Did I hear that right?"
Taizo squeaked, and shrank back. "Ah... Ah... we're... we're gonna go see her parents tomorrow. I-I don't know, it doesn't seem like she wants to have an abortion..." he trailed off.
Their parents just considered that for a moment. Their mom stroked Isumi's arm. "Well, I suppose that means we don't need to worry about the family name being passed on," she sighed, cuddling Isumi's arm to her chest.
"Well, if they're not married when the child is born... And you shouldn't get married..." their father told Taizo. "...Her father is going to kick your ass to kingdom come. And he should," he added.
Taizo hung his head down. "I know."
"Wear a damned condom, freak," Seiji helpfully added, sitting back down to pick up his laptop again.
Isumi's mother rubbed his chest a bit. "Well. Taizo, I should go with you tomorrow. Your father has meetings, right, dear? But we should bow our heads and apologize, too. And Emiko-chan should know that we'd be willing to help out however is necessary. I suppose. Oh, you're awfully young, son. It's usually better to mature before you become a father, but... we'll see what Emiko wants to do, anyway. And Shin-chan..." she looked up at her first born, and caressed his cheek. "Go and order the sushi, Shin-chan. And have them bring a few bottles of sake, too, I don't think we have much in the house and I think we could use a drink or two..."
"Oh, can we have some, too?" Taizo asked.
"No!" His father, mother, eldest brother, and elder brother all responded in unison.
"For the love of... son, aren't you in enough trouble yet?" his father wearily sighed. "I'm going to take a bath before the food gets here." He stood up. He thwacked Taizo on the back of the head, and then thwacked Isumi, too, for good measure.
His mother kissed his cheek, and flopped back down on the couch, picking up the remote.
Feeling like he had slipped into an alternate dimension, Isumi went out to the kitchen to get the sushi place's number, and called. After he'd placed the order, he went up to his room to change clothes, but...
He sat down heavily on the bed, just staring at his carpet. He was going to be an uncle, maybe. His adorable little brother... was a pervert. Well. He was a sex-fiend, anyway. Maybe. And.
His whole family knew.
"I owe you, bro," Taizo, sighed, slipping into his brother's room.
Isumi glared at him. "For the rest of your life," he sighed.
Seiji snuck in, too. He slapped Taizo across the back of his head. "Got a girl pregnant. Made your sweet and loving oldest brother come out of the closet. What do you have to say for yourself, brat?"
"Shut up," Taizo complained, pushing Seiji away. "These things happen when you unplug and spend time with actual people instead of online games and books!"
"Idiot. These things happen when you're too dumb to wrap it up," Seiji snickered.
"Guys..." Isumi sighed.
"That was impressive, though. Coming out to save your baby brother. ...You should have used that to help me, though," Seiji complained.
"What do you need saving from?" Isumi sighed, feeling bitter. "Another perfect score on a test or getting a recommendation to Tokyo University?"
Taizo snorted, but Seiji just shrugged. "You never know! I don't have the out anymore, though, do I? Thanks to this idiot," he swatted at Taizo, who swatted back at him...
Isumi gave his brothers a look, but he just felt... "And you guys... you guys aren't... like... weirded out or anything?" he hedged, not... really wanting an answer.
Taizo and Seiji stopped their horseplay. They looked at Isumi and then they looked at each other. Isumi braced himself...
"Bro, we've known you were gay for ages," Taizo laughed.
"What?" Isumi gaped.
"We went rooting under your bed, like, five years ago, looking for porn. We found it, but..." Seiji shrugged.
Taizo snickered. "I guess mom doesn't look. That's good to know!"
Isumi turned bright red. "Wait, you guys saw...?!"
"Idiot, you're getting action in real life, don't add to your offenses by loading up on porn," Seiji smacked Taizo.
Taizo immediately swacked back at Seiji. "Shut up! And I don't think Emi-chan is gonna put out much anymore! At least for a while!"
Isumi rubbed his face. One time he found a gay porn magazine in the burnable trash behind a friends house, and he'd stuffed it in his bag, and his brothers saw it... when they were ten and twelve?
"If that girl ever spreads her legs for you again, she'll need to have her head examined right afterward. No, before, really, that would be better. Someone should get her some help now, really," Seiji deadpanned.
"Asshole!" Taizo furiously punched at Seiji, but Seiji ducked him.
"You guys..." Isumi began, his face beet red.
"Oh, hey, you need this..." Seiji ducked around, opening a drawer in Isumi's desk. He put his hand behind where the drawer fit in to grab the box of condoms there, which he tossed at Taizo. "Every time, you delinquent slut."
Isumi's brain melted down.
"Hey! That's a word for girls... and it's not a nice word!" Taizo blushed, clearing thinking of Emiko.
Isumi stood up. "You guys... Just exactly how much time do you brats spend going through my room!?"
Both Taizo and Seiji shrank back, but Seiji was still cheeky enough to reply, "Well, enough that we believe you when you told mom you don't have a boyfriend. I mean, you've had the same box of condoms for like... ages. Actually, Taizo, you should check the expiration date on those. Why do you even have 'em, niichan?"
"That's... it's... just because... I don't have a... I never said I was a virgin!" Isumi sputtered.
Taizo and Seiji laughed, sharing a look. Taizo then turned to Isumi, "Wait, so were you top or bottom? If you were the bottom, just say you were on top, I mean. I don't wanna picture you..."
"Get out!" Isumi fumed, shaking with embarrassment.
"I'm just glad he'd not dating that Waya jerk," Seiji sighed, sauntering to the door.
"Waya? Why would you even...?" Isumi began, still reeling.
"Eh, that kid is a punk. He's always hanging offa you, like he thinks you're his brother," Taizo complained.
"I don't think that's what he thinks of niichan," Seiji sighed.
"Just get out!" Isumi hissed. His brothers were snickering at him as they closed the door. Isumi sank down onto the bed and sighed, putting his head in his hands. Just...
Waya was straight. And. That was not even close to the point...
Maybe he should move out of the house. His family... was just nuts.
Taking the heat
He was really starting to regret not accepting that ride home now that he had a block left and he was covered in sweat. If anyone but Sakurano-san had offered, he would have accepted, which made him feel both hot and guilty. Isumi had nothing but respect for his senpai, but he'd started to pick up on some odd signals from her...
But no, he'd have to be crazy to think someone as pretty and successful as Sakurano-san would be hitting on him. She had put her hand on his thigh during Narusawa-sensei's lecture, but that was probably just... convenience. Nothing more. He shouldn't have allowed his crazy-thoughts to make him refuse her kind offer.
And it was damned hot out. Hotter than it had been earlier in the week, and it had been hot on Monday. Summer wasn't even half over, so he knew he just had to adjust, but.
It was hot.
He went down the alley behind their houses, and came to the gate to his home. He carefully closed it behind him, because his father had been complaining about how loud it was. Well, that was probably more as part of the general complaints about how late Taizo was coming in and out of the house lately. Once he'd secured the gate, quietly, he looked up...
Thinking of the devil might have the same effect of speaking of him. His youngest brother was sitting on the stoop outside the back door.
"Taizo, what are you doing out here? Didn't they turn on the air inside?" he asked, suddenly concerned that maybe relief wasn't in the cards at the moment.
"Aniki," Taizo looked up at Isumi, stricken. Things had to be pretty bad... he couldn't remember the last time Taizo bothered to call him aniki. "I've... I've really screwed up."
Isumi took a deep breath, and leaned on the railing opposite Taizo. "Well, just tell me, maybe I can help."
"Well..." Taizo shook his head. He rubbed his forehead, and then just spit it out. "I got my girlfriend pregnant!"
Isumi's heart stopped. He didn't feel so hot anymore.
"I mean, stuff kinda just happened... anyway... we've been talkin' and talkin' about it. At first, she was sure she wanted an abortion, but she was scared, and then we talked about stuff more, and then she said she wasn't sure and she wanted... she wants to tell her parents before she does anything, so... so... we decided to tell her parents together tomorrow, and then I started to think..."
Rubbing his forehead, Isumi sarcastically noted to himself better late than never.
"I didn't want to tell her parents and not, you know, have our parents know what was going on, but like, I guess it's kinda weird to tell mom and dad while her parents don't know, too, not like we can get 'em all together or anything, it's just. I'm so confused, and... I don't think she's gonna get an abortion, and... shit, dad's gonna kick my ass, isn't he?" Taizo finally looked up at Isumi.
Which caused Isumi to snap. He smacked Taizo over the top of his head. Mindful that they were right outside the back door, Isumi sputtered, "Of course he is, you idiot, you got your girlfriend pregnant?! For real? You've never heard of a condom?"
"Well, we normally do..." Taizo weakly began.
"Normally?!" Isumi had to struggle to keep his voice down. Or to keep from exploding. "You idiot... you... you're fifteen, Taizo! You got a girl pregnant... at fifteen! At your age, you're not supposed to be normally using condoms! You should just be excited if your girlfriend lets you... hold her damned hand!"
"Well, I was excited to hold her hand. Last year, when we started dating," Taizo shrugged, at least managing to look semi-sheepish. "Things escalate, you know?"
"I don't want to talk about escalations," Isumi sighed, his head throbbing. Oh, shit. Taizo was going to talk to the girl's parents tomorrow. That meant that if dad didn't kill him, her father would. "You moron. Idiot. Jackass." This wasn't helping. He was supposed to be helping his cute little brother. Who used to drool on Isumi's goban and try to eat his stones. When he was seven. Helping. What would help...?
"I'm really sorry, aniki. I'm just... I'm really scared," Taizo pleaded, looking up at Isumi like a kicked puppy.
Well, fuck.
"Ok. Ok. I am going to help you. We are going..." Isumi pointed to the door to the house. "We are going to tell mom and dad. Together. Let me do the talking." With icy clarity, Isumi knew what he had to do. Fuck. Scared himself, and still reeling from the fact that he was going to be an uncle at nineteen... well, maybe he'd be twenty before the baby was born... no, that wasn't the point, but... "Ok. We're going to go in. But I swear to all that is holy, Taizo... you are going to owe me for the rest of your life."
"You know how to do this so dad won't kill me?" Taizo stood up, looking at Isumi the same way he did when Taizo was three and Isumi made strawberry ice cream appear on his plate after the nasty peas went away.
"Yeah, well, I can't help you tomorrow with her family, but..." he sighed, looking up at the door.
This was it.
He trudged up the steps, horrified and somewhat amused at how Taizo managed to shadow him. Just like when he took Taizo to the festival in the summer when they were kids...
Fuck, Taizo had fathered a child.
They went inside, the blessed coolness of the air a bit more like a slap to the face than Isumi really wanted. "We're home," he called out half-heartedly.
"Oh, Shin-chan, welcome back! We're in here!" his mother called out from the den.
Feeling like he was in a funeral procession with his adorably mischievous cat in tow, Isumi followed her voice.
How marvelous. Everyone was assembled. Isumi's father had taken off his jacket and loosened his tie, but he still had his briefcase next to his chair, and he was just slumped there. He was in sales, so he was probably outside in the heat for enough of the day to be totally zapped. His brother was in the other chair, feet on the coffee table, wearing just boxers and a tank, his laptop perched on his knees, undoubtedly playing a MMORPG of some kind. He was an exam student this year, but Isumi assumed it was a bit early, even for Seiji. And then his mom was reclined on the sofa, wiggling her toes at Isumi and Taizo, looking beat.
"Everyone's home now. It's too hot to cook, Shin-chan, so why don't we order some sushi? You can call, right?" she smiled at her eldest son.
Isumi swallowed hard. "Sure. J-just a second, though. Taizo and I have... have something to talk to you all about. Well, separate somethings. See..." Isumi tried to collect his thoughts. He hadn't thought of having this conversation with his family for... years, really. Or possibly, never, if he could avoid it. It was just...
"What's going on, son?" his father asked him.
As expected, everyone had their attention on Isumi, the oldest, the most responsible. He wanted to melt away, but... Taizo needed him, so.
"Look, this might sound a bit... sudden, and... out of nowhere. It's... it's really not, though. In the past, I've struggled with this a lot, and it's taken me a long time to come to terms with this, and... Look. You should just know the truth. You... d-deserve to know the truth. The thing is... the thing is..." His mother and father were looking at him quizzically. This was a huge mistake. There was no reason to tell them... anything. It wasn't like he was living with someone, or... "I'm gay." He waited to make sure they fully understood what he'd just said before he barreled on, adding as an afterthought, "Also, Taizo got his girlfriend pregnant."
"You're... but... no, that's not right. I mean. Shin-chan, you had such a cute girlfriend in high school! I know you've been... really involved with go ever since you became a pro and all, but... being with all those guys all the time..." she looked off in the distance, somewhat disturbed.
"Mom, I never dated anyone in high school. I told you, Koemi-chan and I were on the student council together, and we had a project. She wasn't my girlfriend. ...And there are female Japanese pros, too, it's not always just guys." Sakurano-san would be ticked off if she overheard his mother saying that.
"Wait a minute..." Seiji tried to interject, setting his laptop aside.
"Son, you know, this could just be a phase. There's no reason to get... You might get to an age when you decide you want a family, after all. There's nothing wrong with that," his father said, reasonably.
"Sure, I might, and then my partner and I would talk about adoption, I suppose." Perhaps this fictitious partner and he could take in some of his brother's bastard children. Isumi was starting to get really annoyed that he'd never had a proper boyfriend but he was coming out to his family, all for the sake of his slutty fifteen year old brother.
His mother got to her feet. "You just haven't met a girl you liked yet! You're a late bloomer, and... if you were in college now, you'd be in such a different environment!" she reasoned, petting Isumi's hair. "You're father's right, I mean... you're not... Are you... sleeping with someone?" she asked, looking horrified.
"No, mom, I'm not!" Isumi admitted, feeling miserable. He would like to be sleeping with someone, perhaps at this very moment would be good, but...
"Well, why not? You're such an attractive boy! Why don't you have a boyfriend, if you're gay? You should have a boyfriend!"
"You could apply the same logic if he were straight, to having a girlfriend," his father mused, rubbing his face. "Well, it's not unheard of in this day and age and all. One of my clients' son just went to Holland to get married. That's not really the point, though..."
"Wait a second..." Seiji leaned forward.
"Of course he could have a girlfriend! The Mizutani girl down the block is always asking about you, Shin-chan! Not to mention that Tabata-san has a granddaughter who is extremely pretty who will be finishing her nursing degree this year, and Tabata-san is always asking me if Shin-chan has plans to get married yet. You could get married like that!" she insisted, snapping her fingers. "You don't even have to do anything! I can set you up in a minute, and then you'd just have to meet the girl... see how it goes..."
"I'm not going to an omiai, mom..." Isumi sighed. "I just told you. I'm... I'm gay. It wouldn't be fair to her."
"Wait," Seiji pointed at Taizo.
"I just think you need a little more experience, son, before you... you know... decide... well, I suppose it's not really a decision..." his father pondered.
Seiji stood up and spoke more firmly, "Taizo, you got Emiko-chan pregnant? Did I hear that right?"
Taizo squeaked, and shrank back. "Ah... Ah... we're... we're gonna go see her parents tomorrow. I-I don't know, it doesn't seem like she wants to have an abortion..." he trailed off.
Their parents just considered that for a moment. Their mom stroked Isumi's arm. "Well, I suppose that means we don't need to worry about the family name being passed on," she sighed, cuddling Isumi's arm to her chest.
"Well, if they're not married when the child is born... And you shouldn't get married..." their father told Taizo. "...Her father is going to kick your ass to kingdom come. And he should," he added.
Taizo hung his head down. "I know."
"Wear a damned condom, freak," Seiji helpfully added, sitting back down to pick up his laptop again.
Isumi's mother rubbed his chest a bit. "Well. Taizo, I should go with you tomorrow. Your father has meetings, right, dear? But we should bow our heads and apologize, too. And Emiko-chan should know that we'd be willing to help out however is necessary. I suppose. Oh, you're awfully young, son. It's usually better to mature before you become a father, but... we'll see what Emiko wants to do, anyway. And Shin-chan..." she looked up at her first born, and caressed his cheek. "Go and order the sushi, Shin-chan. And have them bring a few bottles of sake, too, I don't think we have much in the house and I think we could use a drink or two..."
"Oh, can we have some, too?" Taizo asked.
"No!" His father, mother, eldest brother, and elder brother all responded in unison.
"For the love of... son, aren't you in enough trouble yet?" his father wearily sighed. "I'm going to take a bath before the food gets here." He stood up. He thwacked Taizo on the back of the head, and then thwacked Isumi, too, for good measure.
His mother kissed his cheek, and flopped back down on the couch, picking up the remote.
Feeling like he had slipped into an alternate dimension, Isumi went out to the kitchen to get the sushi place's number, and called. After he'd placed the order, he went up to his room to change clothes, but...
He sat down heavily on the bed, just staring at his carpet. He was going to be an uncle, maybe. His adorable little brother... was a pervert. Well. He was a sex-fiend, anyway. Maybe. And.
His whole family knew.
"I owe you, bro," Taizo, sighed, slipping into his brother's room.
Isumi glared at him. "For the rest of your life," he sighed.
Seiji snuck in, too. He slapped Taizo across the back of his head. "Got a girl pregnant. Made your sweet and loving oldest brother come out of the closet. What do you have to say for yourself, brat?"
"Shut up," Taizo complained, pushing Seiji away. "These things happen when you unplug and spend time with actual people instead of online games and books!"
"Idiot. These things happen when you're too dumb to wrap it up," Seiji snickered.
"Guys..." Isumi sighed.
"That was impressive, though. Coming out to save your baby brother. ...You should have used that to help me, though," Seiji complained.
"What do you need saving from?" Isumi sighed, feeling bitter. "Another perfect score on a test or getting a recommendation to Tokyo University?"
Taizo snorted, but Seiji just shrugged. "You never know! I don't have the out anymore, though, do I? Thanks to this idiot," he swatted at Taizo, who swatted back at him...
Isumi gave his brothers a look, but he just felt... "And you guys... you guys aren't... like... weirded out or anything?" he hedged, not... really wanting an answer.
Taizo and Seiji stopped their horseplay. They looked at Isumi and then they looked at each other. Isumi braced himself...
"Bro, we've known you were gay for ages," Taizo laughed.
"What?" Isumi gaped.
"We went rooting under your bed, like, five years ago, looking for porn. We found it, but..." Seiji shrugged.
Taizo snickered. "I guess mom doesn't look. That's good to know!"
Isumi turned bright red. "Wait, you guys saw...?!"
"Idiot, you're getting action in real life, don't add to your offenses by loading up on porn," Seiji smacked Taizo.
Taizo immediately swacked back at Seiji. "Shut up! And I don't think Emi-chan is gonna put out much anymore! At least for a while!"
Isumi rubbed his face. One time he found a gay porn magazine in the burnable trash behind a friends house, and he'd stuffed it in his bag, and his brothers saw it... when they were ten and twelve?
"If that girl ever spreads her legs for you again, she'll need to have her head examined right afterward. No, before, really, that would be better. Someone should get her some help now, really," Seiji deadpanned.
"Asshole!" Taizo furiously punched at Seiji, but Seiji ducked him.
"You guys..." Isumi began, his face beet red.
"Oh, hey, you need this..." Seiji ducked around, opening a drawer in Isumi's desk. He put his hand behind where the drawer fit in to grab the box of condoms there, which he tossed at Taizo. "Every time, you delinquent slut."
Isumi's brain melted down.
"Hey! That's a word for girls... and it's not a nice word!" Taizo blushed, clearing thinking of Emiko.
Isumi stood up. "You guys... Just exactly how much time do you brats spend going through my room!?"
Both Taizo and Seiji shrank back, but Seiji was still cheeky enough to reply, "Well, enough that we believe you when you told mom you don't have a boyfriend. I mean, you've had the same box of condoms for like... ages. Actually, Taizo, you should check the expiration date on those. Why do you even have 'em, niichan?"
"That's... it's... just because... I don't have a... I never said I was a virgin!" Isumi sputtered.
Taizo and Seiji laughed, sharing a look. Taizo then turned to Isumi, "Wait, so were you top or bottom? If you were the bottom, just say you were on top, I mean. I don't wanna picture you..."
"Get out!" Isumi fumed, shaking with embarrassment.
"I'm just glad he'd not dating that Waya jerk," Seiji sighed, sauntering to the door.
"Waya? Why would you even...?" Isumi began, still reeling.
"Eh, that kid is a punk. He's always hanging offa you, like he thinks you're his brother," Taizo complained.
"I don't think that's what he thinks of niichan," Seiji sighed.
"Just get out!" Isumi hissed. His brothers were snickering at him as they closed the door. Isumi sank down onto the bed and sighed, putting his head in his hands. Just...
Waya was straight. And. That was not even close to the point...
Maybe he should move out of the house. His family... was just nuts.