Satoru and his stepbrother had always been the picture of perfection—model students, ideal sons, and now, unexpectedly close stepbrothers. They got along well enough, despite their differences. Satoru was the obnoxiously loud, insufferable nerd, while his stepbrother prided himself on being, at the very least, not annoying.

Their banter was constant but harmless. At dinner, their parents would shake their heads fondly when Satoru stole food off his stepbrother’s plate, earning a quiet, exasperated sigh. When Satoru sprawled across the couch, monopolizing the TV, his stepbrother would shove his feet off with an unimpressed grunt.

It was normal. Until it wasn’t.

Now, they were tangled together on that same couch, breathing heavily, hearts pounding, way too close. Satoru’s glasses were slightly crooked, and his stepbrother’s fingers were still curled around the collar of his hoodie, like he wasn’t sure whether to pull him in or shove him away.

Satoru, of course, was the first to speak.“Uh. That was—”

“Shut up.”His stepbrother’s voice was barely above a whisper, his face burning.

Satoru’s grin was sharp.“Oh, now you’re shy? You weren’t exactly resisting a second ago.”

His stepbrother scowled, shoving Satoru back, only for his stepbrother to catch his wrist before he could move away. His grip wasn’t tight, but it was enough to hold him there, enough to make the air feel thick between them.

Their parents were just upstairs. One wrong move, one creak of the floorboards, and—

His stepbrother exhaled, closing his eyes.“This is messed up.”

Satoru tilted his head, studying him.“Yeah,”he admitted, his voice quieter than before.“So... what now?”

His stepbrother had no answer.