Gift fic for
tal3s Title: Family is Never Easy
Pairing: Gen Fuma/Marius; Fuma/Kento
Rating: PG
Warnings: Step-brother AU
Summary: Fuma's dad remarried and he gains a new little brother. But, suddenly gaining a new sibling doesn't go as smoothly as Fuma hopes.
Notes: I tried to do my best to make a feel good story as was requested <3 I really hope you like it
tal3s!
Fuma sat on the couch fidgeting. He was looking at his phone, but he wasn’t really paying attention to it. His dad had informed him about a week ago that he was getting remarried. He hadn’t been that surprised about it, he knew his father had started to date again, but he wasn’t expecting him to get remarried. His biggest worry, however, was that he was gaining a little brother. Fuma had always been an only child, but now he would be a big brother. It felt a bit funny, to be in university and suddenly gain a little brother, who was in high school.
The clock chimed that it was four pm, and Fuma sighed. His new mother and step brother would be arriving at any minute. Fuma didn’t know much about either of them, just that his dad really seemed to love the woman. He didn’t know what to expect or how to really behave. He was so lost in thought he didn’t even notice that people had entered the house.
“Fuma.” His father’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Next to his father was a short, but pretty woman, who looked about the same age as his father. She smiled at him and bowed. Fuma quickly returned the bow, he could understand how his father fell for her, she was very beautiful.
From behind the woman and his father, a tall figure came into the room. Fuma felt himself feel a bit shocked. The boy was at least three centimeters taller than he was, and he didn't look very Japanese. The boy nodded at him shyly. The whole house was silent for a bit, Fuma still trying to adjust and figure out what to say. His father finally, after a long while, cleared his throat.
Everyone turned to look, and Fuma felt himself let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Fuma, this is my wife, Akira-san, and her son, Marius-kun." The woman said something that Fuma didn't understand, Marius nodded his head and came out from behind his mother.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you. My name is Marius, please treat me well in the future." Marius spoke with a rather thick accent, though from where, Fuma wasn't sure. The boy looked nervous as he spoke, and his mother kept smiling at him, encouragingly.
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Fuma, treat me well in the future as well." Fuma felt a little awkward speaking the sentence, but he felt that he needed to mimic Marius's speech to make the other feel better. The younger let a small smile grace his lips, and Fuma couldn't help but find it cute.
"Marius's father is German, and he grew up in Germany so he doesn't speak Japanese very well. You'll have to help him the best you can." Fuma's father looked pointedly at him, making him nod his head in agreement. Part of him felt like it was a pain, but another part of him was curious about his new little brother.
Fuma's phone buzzed in his hoodie pocket, startling him. He pulled his phone out and saw that he got a text from his boyfriend. He ignored it for the moment, but made a mental note to call later. His father nodded his approval, which meant it was the correct thing to do.
The rest of the evening Fuma helped move his new family members into the house. There were lots of boxes, and Fuma wondered if all the stuff would fit. They had cleared out his dad's old study to create a room for Marius about a week ago, but looking at all the boxes they were putting into the room, Fuma felt a little doubtful that the room would be enough.
While they worked, Fuma and Marius didn't talk. Fuma felt like he should say something, but he wasn't really sure how much Japanese Marius could speak, and he knew no German. Marius wanted to talk, but he couldn't think of the Japanese words to say what he wanted. He sighed, and kept working.
After a few hours of work they were called down for dinner. Fuma heard his stomach growl as he realized he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast that morning. The smell of food began to waft up to them, enticing both their senses. Fuma heard Marius's stomach growl at the smell and they both looked at one another, for a moment Marius looked embarrassed, but then they both started to laugh. "Let's go." Fuma patted Marius on the back, still adjusting to the fact that his new 'little brother' was in fact taller than him.
After dinner, Fuma escaped into his bedroom and pulled out his cellphone. He had several missed messages, all from his boyfriend. Fuma sighed as he looked through the emoji filled messages asking questions about his new family and how he likes them. Fuma's boyfriend, Kento, was very cheerful and always made him feel loved, but he could be a bit much at times. Hitting the speed dial, he only had to wait for two rings before he heard Kento pick up.
"So how did it go? What is your stepmom like? Is she pretty, I bet she's pretty. What about your little brother, is he cute?" Kento's excitement caused a smile to form on Fuma's lips. Out of the two of them, Kento was the more excited one about the whole situation.
"It was fine, she seems nice, yes she's pretty." Fuma answered the easy questions first. He knew Kento was most interested to know about Marius, but Fuma wasn't entirely sure how he felt about him yet. Sure, he was cute, but giant. The language barrier was what worried Fuma the most. He wasn't sure how much Marius understood of Japanese and he wasn't certain he could teach Japanese to someone whose language he didn't speak.
"Uh-oh, what is up with the little brother? Is he like a little devil or something?" He could see what Kento was imagining. A short little kid with spiky hair that kept making rude faces and noises.
"No, he's not bad, I guess. But he's not exactly little, he's taller than I am. He's also apparently half German and doesn't really understand Japanese. Dad says that I need to teach him, but I'm not sure how." Fuma sighed, so much had happened that day, he was still trying to process his feelings.
"So the little brother, is really more of a big brother." Fuma could tell that Kento was amused by this part of the news. Though, Fuma felt like in person would be different. Though Kento was a bit shorter than Fuma, he still wouldn't be prepared for the half-German youth.
"Let your amusement out now, because once you're next to him you won't be laughing." Fuma sounded a bit amused himself, Kento had that effect on him, he would end up not being annoyed even when he was only seconds beforehand.
"We'll see." Something about the way Kento said that caused Fuma to feel a bit annoyed, but he let it slide. "So he doesn't speak much Japanese? Do your best Kikuchi-sensei." Even though Kento sang the last part, Fuma felt pressured.
"That's what I'm worried about." Before he could say more he could hear a commotion on the other line.
"Sorry, Fuma, my mom needs some help. I'll text you. Bye." Kento hung up before Fuma could say anything else. He heard the call end and he sighed. He felt like all he could do now was sigh and try to make it through. He decided that thinking about it was only causing him more issues, so he forced himself to go to bed. In the morning he would try to figure his feelings out.
Over the next few weeks, the family adjusted. Kento met Marius, and the two seemed to get along way too well, in Fuma's opinion. All seemed to be moving as smoothly as possible. Marius was enrolled in school and seemed to be improving in his Japanese. Fuma was starting to feel a bit more at ease.
Until, Marius came knocking on his bedroom door shyly. The two of them hadn't really spent that much time together, outside of meals and the occasionally meet up in the hall. Fuma waited for Marius to talk, but the younger stayed silent. Eventually Fuma couldn't take it anymore and cleared his throat. "What's wrong?"
Marius looked a little startled at Fuma's voice. He assumed that the other had been trying to figure out the words before he became too impatient. "I need help." Marius spoke in a quiet voice, almost like he was afraid to ask.
"Ok, what with?" Fuma had tried to keep his sentences as simple as possible when talking with Marius. So far they hadn't run into any major problems.
"Umm, Japanese homework?" Marius looked down at his feet, but would glance at Fuma hopefully every so often. Fuma looked down at his own homework and then back at Marius. He stood up and motioned for Marius to lead the way, his own homework left forgotten.
They settled down in Marius's room, sitting at the low table that had been set up for him. Fuma could see papers of Kanji and dictionaries all over the floor. Marius picked up quickly, looking a bit embarrassed. Fuma felt himself smile a little at the hard work Marius was putting into his Japanese. He looked over the homework Marius had been given to help improve his Japanese. It was elementary homework, but Fuma knew it wasn't easy for Marius to get through on his own.
"Where are you stuck?" Fuma asked, motioning to the questions in front of them. Marius bit his lower lip and pointed to a few select questions. Fuma read them outloud, and wondered how he could help Marius understand. However, once spoken aloud, Marius seemed to understand what the question was asking, and put down the correct answer.
Marius smiled at Fuma sheepishly, "I can understand more than I can read." Now that Marius wasn't so nervous, Fuma had begun to notice that his Japanese wasn't really that bad.
Fuma nodded, relieved that all he had to do was read the questions out loud. He helped Marius write a few kanji that were difficult for him as well. It wasn't long before almost all the questions were complete. The last question was about friends, and Fuma was happy to be almost done. The question seemed to bother Marius though. "Did you not understand something?"
Marius shook his head, and quickly wrote down the answer. He looked sad though, Fuma felt a little awkward as the younger boy began to tear up. He wasn't use to other guys crying much, and he wasn't really sure what to do.
Before Fuma could decide a plan of action Marius wiped his face with his sleeves and focused himself to calm down. "Sorry, I just miss my friends. I haven't really made any new ones here."
The confession caught Fuma off guard. He hadn't even thought about how school life was for Marius. Every time their parents prodded for answers about their daily lives, Marius had seemed happy. Marius and his mother both liked to chat at dinner, which was a bit different for Fuma, but he couldn't say he minded. When it was just he and his dad they would sit in almost complete silence or watch TV while eating.
After a few moments, Fuma got an idea. "Hey, why don't you come out with Kento and I this weekend? We can go somewhere fun, like an amusement park?" He wasn't really sure why he offered. He and Kento were suppose to have a date this weekend, but he knew Kento wouldn't mind.
Marius looked surprised, but also excited as he nodded his head. His eyes were still red, but he at least didn't look like he was about to cry again. Fuma coughed awkwardly before excusing himself. He bid Marius goodnight before he went back to his own room. He sent Kento a text explaining the situation and focused on his own work.
The weekend came before either of them knew it. Fuma had to admit it was fun to experience Marius's enthusiasm. Kento seemed to enjoy doting on the youngest of them all, so Fuma figured it was a good day. It seemed that Marius was getting better at speaking everyday and things weren't nearly as tense in the house.
Fuma felt like everything in life was starting to fall into a normal pace at last. However, having been an only child for so long, Fuma was unaware of some of the more, troubling things about having a younger sibling. He could take Marius hogging the bathroom in the morning, or that he whined easily, he could even tolerate the way Marius's snores would permeate the walls into his room. What he couldn't take, was that he no longer seemed to get any alone time with Kento.
The younger boy had grown exceedingly attached to Kento, and the college student loved the attention. Fuma had let it slide the first few weeks, but he couldn't help but feel put out. Kento would always tell him it was no big deal, that he was over reacting. He'd get a kiss or two before they had to part, but it was still frustrating.
Finally during one outing that Marius had invited himself on, Fuma had snapped. They were in the middle of the mall, and Fuma just couldn't take Marius tugging on his or Kento's sleeve to go to a different store, or to get something to eat. He regretted it the moment he saw Marius's face. He could tell the boy was about to cry. He still felt angry and turned around with a huff.
Kento looked at Fuma with disapproval and stared at the direction that Marius had run off in. "That wasn't nice, Fuma. He doesn't really know anyone yet, and he really likes hanging out with us. Besides, have you actually explained our relationship to him?" Kento's mother-like lectures always left a bad taste in Fuma's mouth, mostly because they were almost always directed at him.
Kento grabbed his head and squeezed. It was a simple gesture, but effective in helping Fuma let go of his frustrations. He knew Kento was right, he hadn't really explained who Kento was, and he hadn't really told Marius that he wanted to be alone with Kento. With a sigh he clenched his fist and ran in the direction that Marius had taken off in.
He finally found him under the stairwell. It was dark and those who passed by were trying to pretend that they didn't notice Marius. Fuma silently sat down next to him. He didn't saw anything for a few minutes, Marius's sniffles the only noise. "I'm sorry." Marius was apologizing, and it made Fuma feel worse.
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I should have told you that I wanted some alone time with Kento. You see, we're not just friends. We're...well..." Fuma had a hard time saying it out loud, even to his friends or father. Marius's eyes got rather big as he sniffled more intensely.
"Oh, I didn't know that." Marius's voice was still hoarse, but he seemed to be calming down.
"I know, I have a hard time expressing what we are sometimes. But, it's not that I don't like having you around. Like it or not, you're my little brother now, and I have to get used to you being around more." Fuma felt heat rush to his face as he talked. He wasn't sure how much Marius understood, but he was still embarrassed.
Marius giggled at him, which only made Fuma feel more embarrassed. "That's the first time you said we were brothers." The look of happiness of Marius's face made feeling embarrassed worth it.
"So, we're good?" He felt awkward asking, but he could feel people staring at him. They had to look pretty interesting, with Marius's face still streaked with tears and Fuma's face bright red.
"Yeah, I'll go home, let you have your date." Marius said the last bit in a teasing tone. Fuma play pushed him in response and they both smiled.
"Next time we can all do something together, maybe you can invite that guy Sou you were talking about earlier." Fuma got up from his spot and offered Marius a hand, the other took it gladly.
Life was still pretty hectic, and there was still going to be a lot of growing pains, but Fuma figured that was just part of life. He smiled as Marius waved at him excitedly, not caring that others were looking at him. He shook his head a little and texted Kento, planning to fully enjoy their date.