Despite the sudden silence that descended, Kyouya could almost feel the moment his companion started to panic. Even if he knew the reaction was only to be expected, he had more or less just turned Kyouhei’s entire world upside down, but it didn’t prevent a frown of concern appearing nevertheless.
He supposed he should at least be thankful that the other was willing to talk with him, instead of just bolting like he had initially been anticipating. There was hope in that at least. Truthfully, he wasn’t entirely certain how this all would pan out and he certainly didn’t expect Kyouhei to deny the family he had always know but… he supposed he did hope that they could establish some sort of relationship between them. It certainly wouldn’t happen overnight, but perhaps one day in the future there would be sibling-like camaraderie between them.
They were almost their destination when his new found sibling broke the silence with his first question, a fairly simple one presumably to ease into the upcoming difficult conversation.
“I stumbled across some information by chance and confronted my father about it. He revealed your existence to me and so I sought after you.”
A brief explanation, one which he could expand upon and disclose in fuller detail once they were safely seated in a private booth. This wasn’t exactly a conversation that could be held out in the open.
Thankfully, the entrance to the cafe was now in sight and leading the way to the entrance, Kyouya called over his shoulder.
“Here we are…”
Kyouhei did his best to be satisfied with the short answer, knowing there was a time and a place for all the ‘how’ and ‘why’ and ‘when’ questions, but it was his logic against his patience and he’d never been a patient person.
What ended up happening was that he practiced the act of focusing all his attention on the surroundings, the cafe they were entering, and resisting the urge to bite his lips. Really, he needed to rip that bad habit out of his life.
“So, um…” He grinned a little too widely, just a little dazed in the face. “Is the food any good here or are we just gonna exploit the privacy bit?”
Normally harsh eyes softened slightly at his newly acquired sibling or rather, the sibling he had always had but only recently discovered. He was momentarily concerned that the other may try to bolt but was relieved to see that it would not be the case. Kyouya was perhaps wondering if he should have suggested they have this discussion another time after the other had had an opportunity to mentally process the information.
It was too late to retract his offer now however, not to mention it might be better to get everything out in the open now so that Kyouhei had the full set of facts at his disposal.
“Not at all, thank you for agreeing to talk with me.”
Kyouya may have felt slightly guilty at forcing this revelation on the other since it was his selfishness of wanting to get to know Kyouhei that prompted this encounter more than anything else. It wasn’t something to be thanked for, not when it was obviously causing distress and turmoil. Nevertheless, he appreciated the effort at civility his companion was showing.
He had come prepared with answers and with proof but all that could wait until they reached the cafe.
“Follow me then.”
There wasn’t much Kyouhei could do aside from following Kyouya to whatever their destination was. Again, denial reared its ugly head in his mind but it was quickly debunked by the fact that Kyouya Ootori had nothing to gain from lying, which meant that….
Wait, was it really his… whatever the people had raised him were, was it really their fault? Kyouhei did look like them and adoption was never raised, so…! What did that mean for his childhood?
Kyouhei gripped the hem of his shirt in his hands as they moved along, just the barest hint of a frown in place.
Speaking of ‘looking alike’, now that he wasn’t stunned by the revelation of his sibling, he could see some similarities in how they were built. Nothing extremely shocking, but the subtle things that couldn’t be ignored….
“Ah, mind me asking how you found me, before anything else?” Kyouhei raised his first question with trepidation. “Did you find a picture of me or find me on social media and just walk around until you thought you’d found me?”
Kyouhei sighed into his smoothie, the cold drink absorbing the warmth of his breath and making his hands prickle as if he was holding an icicle.
There was something awfully soothing about hanging around with Kyouya - the slightly older male seemed to have his life a thousand times more together than him, and so naturally, Kyou went to him for advice.
The atmosphere was ideal, too. What better place to discuss human nature than over drinks and sandwiches? No one would pay attention to them - too much background noise to get a fix on any one conversation - and the temperature was just right.
“Do you want dessert? I have some extra cash on hand and I’m in the mood to indulge my sweet tooth. We could share something!”
If it had been any one else in an entirely different situation, Kyouya may have been inclined to act with impatience but since this was his younger sibling and he had essentially dropped a life changing bomb on him, he was willing to give the younger male as much time as he needed. He himself had taken a while to adapt to the news, had been a lot more violent in fact but in time he had accepted it. He didn’t have much choice in the matter really, when sound evidence which could knock any argument flat had been supplied for his critical perusal.
Dark orbs softened slightly behind their glass shields as they regarded the shorter male standing before him, his younger brother… The more he studied Kyouhei, the more he could identify the underlying Ootori traits. Perhaps the resemblance was not as strong as it was between his other siblings who shared both parents, but there were unmistakable similarities nonetheless.
The ebony haired male might have felt a bit guilty upon learning that his younger sibling was under the impression that both of his parents were his real ones, meaning that he had been caught totally unawares. Such information would always be shocking but being marginally prepared would have at least softened the blow. Kyouhei hadn’t had that…
“I know exactly who you are…”
Offering the other an understanding look, he made sure to keep his tone gentle so that he wouldn’t frighten his companion off before they had managed to talk it out.
“I’m Kyouya Ootori and I’ve been looking for you for a long time now. I’m sure you must have questions. If you like, we can discuss the matter over coffee.”
When the stranger - now dubbed Kyouya Ootori - finalized what he’d said; Kyouhei was transfixed in a fight-or-flight state. Part of him just wanted to take off, to pack up and get on a plane and to never land. The other was just… over it, already.
After everything that had already happened to him, what was one more complication, one more parent-to-child lie? There was frustration in him, a righteous fury boiling up, but it was mostly overshadowed by both hurt and curiosity.
… What was his relation to Kyouya, exactly? “Sibling” was… a pretty broad term, and there were so many little details that would have to be answered in order for something like this to be easy on Kyouhei’s mind - ah, their names were similar, was that significant or not…?
“… Thank you for putting in the effort to find and tell me this, Kyouya.” Kyouhei finally forced out, the pleasantries tasting and feeling bitter, even to his own ears. To remedy this, he tried for a smile.
“I do have time for a proper discussion about… this, so…. Lead the way?” He wasn’t sure what else could be said. He’d already been promised some answers (and Kyouhei did have questions) and from the sounds of it, he’d need a pick-me-up for this level of serious conversation.
Kyouhei was about to apologize for being so snappy toward a total stranger, knowing more than anyone else that sometimes people just zoned out and it couldn’t be helped, when he was backhanded with that claim.
It took a moment to settle in. More than a moment. Maybe two moments and a half. No matter how long it took, shock still held him in its clasped hands as he mulled over what a stranger could gain from doing something like this.
“Aha, that’s… funny?” He looked around, trying the spot reaction cams or photographers or anything that would reveal this as a set-up. As some sort of elaborate prank. “Ah, unless you’re serious, in that case.”
If this person was being serious about them being siblings, what did that mean about the life he’d lived up until now? Sure, he’d never seen a birth certificate or an adoption certificate (there’d never been a reason to) but that didn’t necessarily mean….
Kyouhei cleared his throat and met the stranger’s dark eyes, once again. “I know who my parents are? So you might… have the wrong person… uh, unless… you’re completely serious? Unmistaken?”
It was a difficult thing to fathom. That he might have more family out there, that someone put effort into finding him in such a situation… it was. Strange and a bit prickly. But he wouldn’t think about it anymore unless this person was absolutely certain.
“My name is Kyouhei… Kyouhei Allemand.” Hearing himself say his last name was weird. Nonetheless, the student continued. “Are you sure I’m the person you’re looking for?”
Kyouhei narrows his eyes at the much, much taller male for a moment, actually being forced to consider how to proceed due to the very obvious height difference between them.
Showing his affection, in this case, was more frustrating than embarrassing (although his cheeks were already filling in with pink as he thought more and more about it) but with a little difficulty, he stood on the tips of his toes to press a modest kiss to Kyouya’s cheek.
“There! Now you can’t say I never gave you anything!”
Kyouhei spluttered and waved his hands back and forth in front of him as if warding off an unsavory question or offer. It really wasn’t his fault he could only hear one-half of the conversation (which he now knew was because it was a phone call), and that he assumed the worst.
Really.
“Nothing big! I mean,” he clasped his hands together, nervously, looking back over his shoulder in an effort not to meet Kyouya’s eyes. “It kinda sounded like you were… extorting someone? Maybe?”
Kyouhei blinked at the statement and looked down at his “lazy suit”, which consisted of a sweater (yes, a sweater in Summer weather) that had the suit design on it, sleek sweat pants, and… real dress shoes, for some reason.
All in all, he was practically making fun of the existence of anyone who was wearing an actual suit, but not on purpose.
“Is it really that bad?” He laughed a bit, unsure whether to be really offended or if he should just laugh and walk away.