#beejinki

[ghosthunthq]

Just a short fic about the twin's first dog.

For: @beejinki

From: @aspire-8

[ghosthunthq]

For @beejinki! From @theroyalprussianarmy

I’d never written Ayako or Madoka before, so this was a bit of an experiment. Both of their personalities are so much fun though- and I had the chance to use the twins and Mai, so I absolutely took it. I love this 

I don’t know what high school this is, but I wanna go. It’ll either be super fun, or super haunted. Or both.

“Ayako!”

  Ayako screamed as Mai ran into the classroom, slamming the door open against the wall with a power that shouldn’t be possible from such a slim body. The teenager was looking disheveled and excited, something that set alarm bells off in Ayako’s brain. A few steps behind her, pushing Mai the rest of the way through the door, was Eugene Davis- and it had to be Gene, because there was an honest-to-God smile on the boy’s face that the other twin never had. And, speaking of the devil, Oliver was following his brother at a far more sedate pace looking more irritated than usual.

  “Ayako! Ayako, have you seen the new teacher?” Mai was stumbling into the room after Gene’s push.

  “Mai, Mai you can’t! Let me do it, I’m the favorite!” Gene was trying to grab Mai, who twisted away from him in a graceless dance, fumbling her way towards the teacher.

  “Both of you are idiots. Ayako, your girlfriend is the new art teacher,” Oliver, thankfully, was calm and composed about whatever news was being shared. He glared at his brother and then at his best friend, clearly wanting to strangle them but unwilling to commit murder in front of a teacher… yet.

It took a moment for the words to sink into Ayako’s mind, still trying to work through three students running into her classroom screaming her name (okay, two students running in and screaming her name, with the third following at a slower, more murderous pace). When they finally did catch up to her, Ayako squealed loud enough that, two rooms away, someone’s glasses shattered off their face .

  “She got it?!” the teacher asked. If Oliver had said so, it had to be true, but it was the kind of news that bared repeating.

  “She got it,” Mai and Gene spoke at the same time, and then looked at each other and began to speak over themselves.

  “She had the interview yesterday with Lin-”

  “-and today we saw her walking out of the principal’s office during passing period-”

  “-and she was talking to Takigawa, who was being super loud, as usual-”

  “-and he congratulated her on making the gig-”

  “-and then-” “Oh my god, stop,” Oliver groaned. “You’re going to give me an aneurysm trying to talk over each other like that. She got the job, you useless teacher, but please wait until you get home to congratulate her. You can both still get fired for indecent exposure- especially in high school.”

  “You’re lucky I’m in such a good mood, twerp, or else I’d put you in detention,” Ayako gave the threat by routine alone. Her breathing was light and excited- Madoka had gotten it! She knew her girlfriend had been excited, hoping that she would get the job, and Ayako had been certain she would- after all, Madoka could even handle Oliver at his absolute worst with the kind of patience and ease that took years to build. Anyone who wanted to hire an art teacher with the best kind of disposition possible wouldn’t hesitate to hire Madoka.

  “If my father didn’t own the school, I might actually believe you,” Oliver sniffed. He looked at Mai and Gene, who were quietly arguing to themselves now, and narrowed his eyes. “And you two…”

  The threat in his voice made them look up. Gene went pale and jumped over the desk in such a way that would have made a hurdler proud before sprinting out the door. Mai squeaked, clearly upset at being ditched, but took a deep breath.

  “I don’t wanna hear it, Naru!” She declared, “I was excited! I know you were too, I saw you smiling, so don’t think for a minute you’re fooling anybody, and I’ll have you know that-”

  Oliver took a hold of Mai’s arm and dragged her out the door in a practiced movement. It looked harsh, but if one knew them they would notice how softly his grip actually was and how readily Mai actually moved with him. As soon as they were out of the door, Ayako pulled her phone out of her desk. Who cared that school was still in session? They wouldn’t fire her even if she played on her phone during class.

  Heard you got the job!!! So proud!!! I knew you’d get it!!! ♥♥♥♥

  The text was sent as quickly as Ayako could type it out clearly. She looked up to eye how much longer there was to passing period to the final class, grimacing when she noticed there was still an hour left. And then she had to stay half an hour later, in case her students needed her, and grade assignments… all she wanted to do was go home to her girlfriend and celebrate.

  When her phone vibrated with an incoming text, Ayako flailed in the most clumsy way possible. A couple of her students, arriving to class early, looked at her. She gave them a dirty glare, silently telling them to keep walking and keep quiet, before reading the message.

  I did! I’m so excited! I was hoping I would but I didn’t think I’d actually get it! Did you work some of your magic? ;)

What time are you heading home?

  Ayako’s fingers flew over the keyboard to type back.

  As soon as possible. I love you.

———-

  Ayako flew through the door to her small apartment. There was the smell of food permeating the air, and she stopped to take a moment to just breath in the scent of home and comfort.

  “Ayako, is that you?” the voice of her favorite person called from the miniscule kitchen.

  “It is, yeah.” For all the excitement of earlier, being home made Ayako feel calm. She slid her shoes off by the front door, pushing them next to the bright pink pair of Skechers, and then dumped her purse off on the table before locking the door. She stretched as she walked towards the kitchenette, stepping behind her girlfriend and pressing a kiss to the back of her neck.

  “You got it,” She whispered. Madoka grinned and turned around, wrapping her arms around Ayako and giving her a quick peck to the lips.

  “I got it,” Madoka said.

  “Is that food important?” Ayako asked, eyeing the stove.

  “Nothing that can’t be fixed later,” Madoka answered, already flipping it off.

  With a grin, Ayako lifted Madoka off her feet. Madoka laughed as Ayako staggered a little before walking for their bedroom.

  A day this good called for a proper celebration.

[ghosthunthq]

The hard life of Eugene Davis- 1

Written for: @beejinki, aka Bee 

Written by: @frenchcirce

This present is for the lovely Bee, who is a hardcore Gene fan! As you can easily guess thanks to the title, this story is a collection of Gene-centric vignettes, depicting specific moments of his (hard) life. As per requested, mostly fluff, friendship and romance, so this will most likely stray from the canon path at some point.

1- Birth

“Twins,” a red-faced Jeffery muttered angrily. “Twins! You had to make twins, uh?”

Kazuko stayed silent as she knew it was better not to argue with her husband when he was this tempered. She felt too tired to do so anyway; too exhausted to even bother wiping the tears still wetting her face as she just laid, motionless, on the hospital bed.

Giving birth had been a nightmare. After hours of pain and suffering, she had finally delivered. But before she could even rejoice about the healthy wailing of her child she had gone into labour again. The second time hurt less, but she was drained and it felt all the more unbearable. It had left her crying— from exhaustion, relief or shock, she couldn’t decide.

Jeffery paced the room in large strides when a nurse, smiling obviously, came back with the two infants. The woman in scrubs didn’t know about their situation and the difficulties they would probably have, providing for twins. Jeffery didn’t get paid that much. One child he could probably support, but two…

The nurse presented the children to Kazuko who found herself opening her arms instinctively. She looked at the tiny infants and couldn’t help but marvel at their similarity. Two identical boys with a mop of dark disheveled hair. The second born was sleeping, while the firstborn had its huge black eyes opened as he, looked at her with a somewhat serious expression. No, not the firstborn, thought Kazuko. According to tradition, a child who pushed their sibling aside in order to be born first was not worthy of being called the elder brother. This one would be reported as the younger.

Jeffery’s gruff voice interrupted her thoughts. His complexion was back to normal, but he was still sporting a sour expression. Kazuko prayed he would be in a better mood when she was to come home. He could be really violent during his rageful bouts.

“Names?” he inquired in Japanese, looking at the babies with apparent dismay.

Kazuko shook her head timidly. She hadn’t been prepared for twins.

Her husband sighed in exasperation and said something to the nurse. Kazuko just watched as she couldn’t understand what was being said.

When the nurse finally left, Jeffery deigned to explain what they had been talking about.

“I gave them American names,” he grunted. “Oliver,” he said pointing at the wide awake baby, “And Eugene.”

Kazuko nodded in approval despite her confusion. Now wasn’t the time to anger her husband any further. But she would have to think about Japanese names later, because she was incapable of pronouncing the western-sounding ones without struggle.

“Yu-Ji-nnn,” she tried nonetheless.

As on cue, baby Eugene started to wail.

[ghosthunthq]

Homework Help

written for: @csakuras

written by: @beejinki

Mai tapped her pencil repeatedly on the table.  She was sitting in the school library, trying as hard as she possibly could to finish her project for her AP Aquatic Science class.  Despite her effort, she had no idea what she was doing and could not keep her attention on her reading.  She found it hard to read what she didn’t even begin to understand.  Her feigned focus was interrupted by a text message from Eugene Davis, the friend that had talked her into taking this stupid class in the first place.

Eugene: hey how’s your part of the project going? -G

Mai and Eugene had paired together for an Aquatic Science project that was due after the upcoming weekend.  Mai had not even begun her part of the project, as she had yet to finish the reading to understand what her project was even about.  She sighed as she drafted a text back.

Mai: Truthfully… Not wonderful.  You? -Mai

It only took a few seconds for Eugene to reply.

Eugene: same :^/ want to come over to my house this weekend and work together? -G

Mai stared at the message, deciding her reply.  She was not at all bothered by the idea of spending all weekend with Eugene.  In fact, she even welcomed it.  They were good friends and she quite enjoyed his company.  However, going to Eugene’s house meant the possibility of spending time with Eugene’s twin brother Oliver, who was much less agreeable.

Mai had two classes with Oliver this year.  Physics, where he showed off every chance that he got, and Speech, where he never missed an opportunity to disagree with Mai’s debate thesis.

He was intelligent, Mai would admit, but he was also prideful.

Eugene had a good laugh when he found out that Mai had taken to calling him Naru, short for narcissist.  He was convinced that she and Oliver would get along if they were able to put aside their initial grievances.  For this reason, Mai suspected that Eugene had an ulterior motive for inviting her over.  She quite hoped that she was wrong.

Mai: Sure! I’m in the Library now, would you meet me? -Mai

She huffed, setting her phone down, only to have it buzz immediately.

Eugene: sure thing! -G

Mai packed up her school supplies and had just stood up when she saw a head of black hair duck into the library.  She waved him over, calling.

“Gene!”

The figure straightened and scowled at her.  He was not Gene.

“Oh!” Mai corrected herself, “Not Gene.”

Her smile faded.

“Oliver, hey,” she said, brushing invisible wrinkles from her skirt.  “I’m sorry, I’m supposed to be meeting Eugene here, I thought you were him.”

Oliver grunted, nodding to dismiss her apology as he passed her by.

She shouted at his retreating figure, “Sorry, again!”

Mai was promptly shushed by the school librarian.

“Right.” She frowned, sitting back down.  “Sorry, sorry.”

As she was seated, she saw Eugene push through the glass library doors.  He caught her eye and beamed at her.  If he and Oliver weren’t twins, Mai would wonder if they were even the same species.

“You okay?” he asked as he came to stand next to the table where Mai was now slumping, half hiding behind her backpack.

Mai peeked out from behind her bag.

“Ask your brother.”

Eugene laughed, taking a seat across from her.

“What did the idiot do this time?” he asked, gently.

“I thought he was you, for, like, half a second,” Mai lamented.

“Oh, that’s annoying.”

“I know!” Mai cried, “It was a mistake!  I had just gotten through talking to you and he came in the door.  His head was down, how was I supposed to know it was him?!”

Eugene nodded, standing up again.  

“Where is he?”

Mai pointed dramatically to the poetry section where Oliver was lurking.

Eugene walked in the direction she indicated until he met his brother.

“Noll!” Mai heard him exclaim.  “Good thing you’re here, I was just about to call you!”

Oliver’s reply was either nonexistent or too quiet for Mai to hear.

“You ready to go?” Eugene asked.

A moment later Eugene was back at the table, dragging Oliver behind him.

“Mai is coming with us,” Eugene explained.  “We have to finish a project for our Aquatic Science class.”

Noll gave a vague nod as he pulled his arm from his brother’s grasp.

“Didn’t you take that class last year, Noll?” Eugene asked, throwing Mai a sideways glance.

“Yes,” Oliver answered gruffly, “Why?”

Eugene pushed the library door open and led them into the school commons.

“No reason.”

“You want my help don’t you?”  Oliver directed his question at his brother but quickly turned to include Mai in his accusation.

Eugene laughed, his laugh sounding more high pitched than usual.

“Depends,” he said through a sly grin.  “Are you willing to help us?”

Oliver did not even begin to entertain the idea.

“Absolutely not.”

The group was now leaving the school, walking outside towards the twins’ shared car.

Oliver snatched the keys out of Eugene’s hand.

“I’m driving.”

Eugene laughed, “Are you now?”

“I do not want Mai to be scarred for life,” Oliver reasoned, “And I’d rather not die.”

“Fair enough,”  Eugene smiled at Mai’s scared face.

“Eugene is a terrible driver,” Oliver said, by way of explaining.  “I’m doing you a favor.”

Mai chuckled, “Thank you, I suppose.”

Oliver unlocked the car and climbed into the driver’s seat.

“Welcome.”

There were a few moments of awkward silence in the car before Eugene broke it by attempting, once again, to recruit his brother’s help with his and Mai’s project.

“So about the Aquatics project…” Eugene piped, leaning up between Oliver and Mai from the front seat.

“Gene, I told you I’m not going to help you.” Oliver scowled, not turning away from the road.

“But,” Eugene argued, “It’s due this Monday!”

“Well you should have thought of that earlier!” Oliver sounded almost exactly like a nagging Luella.

“Um,” Mai squeaked, interrupting the twins’ banter.  “We do really need your help, and Gene asking nicely for that help is not unreasonable.”  Her voice sounded more and more confident as she went on.  “Must you really be so stuck up about it?”

Oliver sighed, sparing a quick glance in Mai’s direction, but did not say anything.

Eugene took Oliver’s silence as a sign of resignation.

“Will you please help us?” he pleaded, grinning at Oliver’s reflection in the rearview mirror.

Oliver sighed again, “Fine.”

He quickly interrupted Mai and Eugene’s celebration, however, by quickly adding some conditions to his surrender.

“I expect you to both actually help and I always work more efficiently with tea.”

Mai laughed, “So as long as we keep you in tea, you’ll help us.”

Oliver was not laughing as he pulled the car into the front drive of the Davis’ house.

“Precisely.”

Eugene addressed Mai in a loud stage whisper, “Noll never jokes about tea.”

Mai unbuckled her seatbelt and made to get out of the car, giggling.

“Right,”  She opened her door, realizing that she was now feeling more at ease around Eugene’s aloof twin.  Maybe this weekend will be more bearable than she originally imagined.

Oliver opened the front door and let Mai and his twin through.

“My supplies are up in my room, make yourself at home, Mai!” Gene began trotting up the stairs.  “Enjoy yourselves!”

Oliver started towards the kitchen and Mai rocked back and forth on her heels, wondering if she should follow him.

“You can follow me,” he called back at her over his shoulder, as if reading her mind.

Mai scurried towards the kitchen after Oliver, trying to think of something to say to make the situation less awkward.

“Thank you,” she smiled at him, trying to catch his eye.  “For helping us with the project.  It really means a lot.”

Oliver turned away, feeling heat rushing to his cheeks.

“Eugene would get me to sooner or later, I really don’t have much of a choice.”  He cleared his throat.  “Tea?”

Mai shrugged, giggling.

“Sure, thanks!”

This was followed by another awkward silence and Mai couldn’t help but feel like this was becoming a pattern.

“I’m sorry,” she sighed after a moment.

Oliver chuckled, “What for?”

“Earlier!  I thought you were Gene!” Mai huffed.  “I know that annoys you so I’m sorry.”

Instead of accepting her apology, Oliver just laughed, “Maybe you should learn to be more observant.”

Really! What was wrong with this guy?!

Mai was just coming up with something to fire back at Oliver when Eugene came bursting into the kitchen, carrying a large poster board and nearly a whole ream of colored paper.

“Here you are!” Eugene exclaimed from behind the large stack of supplies he was balancing.  “Thought I’d lost you!”

Oliver rolled his eyes.

“Do you want tea?” he asked, addressing Eugene.

Eugene set the supplies on the kitchen table and shrugged.

“If you’ve put enough water in the kettle, I’ll have some.”

Oliver’s eyes narrowed.

“Would it kill you to give a straight answer?”

“Nope, but it annoys you not to,” Eugene laughed, “That’s why I do it.”

Oliver turned wordlessly back to pouring the hot water into three cups.

“You’ve certainly gotten the supplies together,” Mai sat down at the table and began looking through the different colors of paper in the stack.  “At least there’s that.”

Oliver set the three cups of tea on the table.

“And you have a brother to do all the work for you!” Oliver added sarcastically.

“Yep!” Gene laughed, “That’s the idea!”

Oliver took a seat at the table across from Mai.

“So, which project is this again?”

“We have to make a poster board with information about our assigned ocean creatures and the zone they inhabit.” Gene explained, showing Oliver an instructional paper.

Oliver nodded.

“Mai and I were assigned sea anemones and sponges, which live in the Benthic Zone.”

“So you’ve done at least that much research,” Oliver took the page from his twin.  “So we have to draw the creatures and then post the information?”

“Yes, and then Gene and I will present it.” Mai leaned across the table and pointed at the bottom of the instruction page.

“Can you draw, Mai?” Oliver looked up at Mai, who was still leaning across the table.

She shrugged, sitting back down.

“I suppose I can give it a go.”

“Okay, so I will draw the anemone and you can draw the sponge,” he directed, “And Eugene, who I am certain cannot draw, can be in charge of writing the information down for the poster.  Sound good?”

Mai and Oliver set to work, drawing and cutting out pictures.  Eugene wrote information on alternatingly colored cards so that the end product would end up looking like a rainbow.

The three chatted quietly about school occasionally, but for the most part, the conversation was kept to things like ‘pass the scissors’ and ‘do you think that I should color this more orange or pink?’.

They were hard at work when the front door opened to reveal Luella carrying three boxes of carry-out pizza.

“Hello!”  Luella beamed at Mai.  “I’m Luella.”

Mai stood, nodding her head in a slight bow.

“I’m Mai Taniyama, it’s nice to meet you!”

“I brought pizza,” Luella said, setting the boxes on the counter.  “Spinach, cheese, and hawaiian.”

Oliver and Eugene both called, “Thanks, Mum!” in unison, with only slightly varying pitches.

Mai’s thank you followed closely after the twins’ as the three stood up from the table to get the pizza.

Luella handed each of them a plate from the cabinet and then leaned on the counter with a hand on her hip.

“I’m going with your father to dinner tonight, so I trust you three will be okay on your own?” she asked, looking at her boys and then at Mai.

Eugene nodded, taking a slice of hawaiian pizza.

“We’ll be fine,” he assured her, “We’re just working on our project.”

“Alright,” Luella picked up her purse and jacket from where she had placed it by the door.  “It was nice meeting you, Mai!”

As quickly as she had arrived, Luella was gone, so Mai struggled with not being able to call back a polite reply.

She shrugged, taking a slice of spinach and ricotta pizza.

“Spinach is my favorite!”

Oliver nodded.

“I told Mum to get some for you,” he told her matter-of-factly.

Mai’s face reddened.

“And how did you know it was my favorite?”

Oliver shrugged, taking his plate back to the table.

“You mentioned it in your introduction speech for our speech class.”

Mai knitted her eyebrows.

“But…” she faltered, “That speech was at the very first of last semester.”

Oliver shrugged again.

“The great Oliver Davis does not forget!” Eugene said in an exaggerated voice, waving his hands about to emphasize his sarcasm.

“Well, thank you.” Mai sat down across from Oliver, still blushing madly.

Eugene made a point of moving the Aquatic Science project aside, accusing Oliver and Mai of trying to ruin all of their hard work with grease and tomato sauce.

The group ate their pizza in relative silence, making only occasional conversation.  For some reason, Mai realized, this instance was much less uncomfortable that the other silences.  She was beginning to realize that Oliver and Eugene were comfortable in silence, that it didn’t have to be awkward.  Before, she had felt like the twins’ silence was excluding her, now it felt like she was a part of their solitude.  It was a good feeling.

When they had finished eating, Eugene took their plates to the sink and rinsed them before stretching.

“I think it’s time we take a break!”  He yawned.

Oliver glared at his twin.

“What do you reckon that was?” he argued, inclining his head towards the pizza boxes.

“Dinner!”

Oliver rolled his eyes.

“I’d much rather get finished with the project before I rest.”

Mai pouted at Oliver.

“I kind of want to take a break too…” she spoke quietly.

“Come on, Noll!”  Eugene clapped his brother on the back.  “Let’s take a break.”

Oliver sighed, “You two can rest for a while, but I’m going to continue working.”

“But it’s not even your project!” Mai complained.

Oliver smirked at her.

“Would you rather I not help?” he asked.

Eugene laughed, “Okay, okay! Have fun doing work, Mai and I are going to watch something.”  He waved for Mai to follow him into the living room.  “Be back in a few.”

Mai followed Eugene out of the kitchen and to the couch.  She could practically feel Oliver’s glare on her back, but she chose to ignore this as she took a seat next to Eugene.

Eugene put on some situational comedy show that Mai had never seen and sat back.

Nearly an hour and a half later, Mai and Eugene were on their fourth episode, and Oliver had yet to say anything about it or try to get them to come back to finish the project.

Mai felt the seat on the couch next to her depress and she glanced over to see Oliver sitting down slowly.

“Noll?” Mai’s voice was cautious.

“I’m done.” he replied, staring forward at the TV.

“You finished the project?”  Eugene sounded incredulous.

Oliver nodded.

“You’re welcome.”

Mai lept up from the couch almost shouting, “You totally saved our grades!”  She beamed.  “I could kiss you!”

For once, Oliver was the one who looked shocked.  However, he quickly recovered.

“This is nothing against you, but please don’t.”

Mai laughed, her face burning red.

“How about a group hug?” Eugene said, pulling both of them into a tight embrace.

Oliver mumbled, “Myu drdn eveh do tha wormf.” into Eugene’s chest.

“What?” Eugene loosened the hug but did not let them go just yet.

Oliver pouted, leaning out of the hug.

“You didn’t even do the work!”

Eugene pulled Oliver and Mai back into his arms.

“We love you, Noll!” he said, chuckling, “So, so much!  Oliver Davis is the greatest brother on the planet!”

Oliver struggled out from his brother’s tight hold.

“You’re too kind.”

[ghosthunthq]

The hard life of Eugene Davis- 11

Written for: @beejinki

Written by: @frenchcirce

11- Wrinkles

Gene flopped his gangly frame on his brother’s bed and sighed exaggeratedly.

“Seriously Noll, that’s the last time I’m covering for you in religious studies,” he moaned. “I hope it was worth it on your end, because it was exhausting for me!”

Oliver, bent over his desk studying, spared an annoyed glance to his twin. “You just had to sit there and wait for the bell to ring,” he remarked. “It can’t have been that complicated.”

“Hey,” replied an offended Gene, “trying to look interested when you don’t understand what the teacher is talking about half of the time is really tiring. Plus,” he added with a teasing smirk, “keeping your gloomy expression on my face is hard work.”

“Certainly not as hard as impersonating your flirtatious self,” muttered Oliver scathingly, still trying to concentrate on his textbook. “My cheeks hurt each time I have to imitate your foolish smiles.”

“Excuse you, my smiles are everything but foolish! They’re charming!” protested Gene.

Oliver left his book with a sigh and and turned on his chair to face his twin. Then he proceeded to flash him his most radiant smile before letting his features going back to their usual state a mere second later .

“Here. You can’t honestly say this was charming.”

Gene stared at his brother in horror. The smile had looked stupid indeed.

“That’s because they look good on me, and… weird on you.”

“We have the exact same face,” deadpanned his twin. “You’re just refusing to admit the truth.”

“That can’t be! People love my smiling face!”

“People are idiots,” Noll declared sententiously, his nose in his book again.

“At least I’m not mistaken for a robot!” pouted Gene.

“At least I won’t have wrinkles.”

Gene gasped dramatically as his hands flew on his face, checking the smoothness of his cheeks. He got up and left the room without a word, probably running to the bathroom to scrutinize every inch of skin which could have been damaged. And maybe steal some of Luella’s anti-aging creams.

Oliver smiled wickedly. It was a low blow, he knew. But now he was finally able to study in peace.

[ghosthunthq]

The hard life of Eugene Davis- 7

Written for: @beejinki

Written by: @frenchcirce

7- Fashion

“Hey Noll, you ready?” shouted Gene from downstairs.

He was eager to go, today their adoptive parents were taking them out for a trip in the countryside. He was very much looking forward to eating their picnic lunch and frolicking in the open fields. With Oliver being slow, he was delaying all this promising fun.

Luella and Martin, who were just coming back from loading the trunk with necessary supplies, laughed at Gene’s impatience.

“Oliver just got out of the shower, give him at least a few minutes to get dressed,” teased Luella. “The fields won’t disappear, you know?”

“I know,” pouted the boy, “but he’s taking so long!”

Martin smiled indulgently and patted his son’s head.

“We’ve just finished packing, he isn’t late per se.”

Gene’s annoyance didn’t completely disappear, but the affectionate gesture of his adoptive father managed to draw a sincere smile on his face. It had felt odd, at first, but now it made him realise what had been missing in his life until then. It was giving him a taste of what being loved was like, and Gene found himself craving for more. Fortunately, his new parents seemed eager to provide.

“Ah, here he comes! See, son, there was no need to fret.”

Gene leveled his gaze to chastise his brother about his slowness, but the words died on his lips. He stared at Oliver in shock for a second before falling into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.

The younger twin frowned at Gene’s reaction, obviously confused.

“Oh, I see you’ve chosen your clothes by yourself,” commented Luella as she brought her hand and coughed to hide her smile. Martin was nonplussed, unaware of the hilarity behind the situation.

“Indeed.”

“What on earth made you think this outfit was appropriate?” asked a bewildered Gene, who had finally regained control of his voice.

“These are the clothes Luella bought, I’m supposed to wear them” defended Noll.

“Well yes, but they’re not made to be worn together, you know.”

“Boys,” interrupted Luella, “it is of no importance, really. If Oliver likes his outfit…”

Gene stared at his mother in horror.

“We can’t let him go out like this!”

Luella laughed out loud this time. “We can, and we will, if it’s his choice.”

Martin nodded in approval, though still a bit at a loss.

“Noll, please tell me you didn’t really choose these on purpose.”

“I just picked the first available on the pile,” was the annoyed reply. “Weren’t you impatient to go just a minute ago? What was the point in hurrying me if you’re the one delaying our departure now?”

“There is a more pressing matter at the moment!” declared Gene dramatically. “We have to go back to your room and get you changed. Oh, and I’ll have to teach you one thing or two about matching colours.”

Oliver groaned in annoyance but complied nonetheless, and soon the twins disappeared behind the bedroom’s door.

Martin turned to his wife expectantly. “So… what was the problem exactly?”

“And this is the reason why I’m the one picking up your clothes,” giggled Luella. “Dear, red pants, blue socks, a yellow shirt and a green blazer certainly don’t belong together. Not all at the same time, at least. Unless you want to look like a clown.”

“Oh… I see.”

“I’m certain you don’t,” sighed his wife in mock exasperation. “But it doesn’t matter,” she added tenderly, “you have me to avoid such a disaster.”

Martin put a loving hand on Luella’s shoulder and looked at the top of the stairs, amused. It was funny how much his sons, despite not being tied by blood, had in common with his wife and himself. Too bad fashion sense hadn’t been distributed equally in their little family.

[ghosthunthq]

The hard life of Eugene Davis- 4

Written for: @beejinki

Written by: @frenchcirce

4- Orphanage

“Sorry,” grunted Noll, down on his knees. He was paler than usual, his mouth set in a straight line. His headaches proved to be worse each time he was losing control like this.

“It’s okay,” Gene softly reassured, “They’re gone, just calm down.”

Before Gene could try to reason and ward the bullies off, his twin had lost control. On the bright side, shaking furniture, loud bangs and flying rocks had been enough to scare their assailants. On the other hand, the ruckus would also attract the attention of the people in charge.

“Leave before someone comes,” muttered Noll through clenched teeth as he clutched his head in pain.

Gene shook his head.“I’ll deal with them, don’t worry.”

Noll just groaned and less than a second later, hasty footsteps resonated on the wooden floor, indicating the arrival of the caretaker.

“In the name of Lord, what exactly has happened here?” inquired the dry voice of the lady.

“I don’t know,” lied Gene convincingly, looking at the middle-aged woman straight in the eyes, the very image of innocence. “We were playing when the ground shook and there was a loud noise and we got frightened. My brother got so scared he can’t stand up.”

The woman stared at Noll with suspicion and something akin to dread when she noticed the rocks littering the floor. It was the third occurrence already and even if the adults wouldn’t admit it out loud, they all knew the strange phenomena happening at the church was Oliver’s fault. Because of that, they were prompt to hold him responsible for anything remotely unpleasant.

“I don’t know exactly what you did, but I’m tired of hearing about you two making trouble. You both, go to your room and don’t leave it. Missing dinner will make you reflect on your improper behaviour.”

The punishment was unfair, but they had faced worse. Missing dinner after years of being underfed was nothing for them.

“Yes miss.”

Gene helped Noll to his feet and escorted him toward the door silently, where the bravest children had gathered to watch. After what had happened, they would probably not dare approach the twins again.

Gene took his brother’s cold and clammy hand and gripped it firmly. He could feel anger and guilt coming off him in strong waves, even if his stoic face didn’t betray anything. It was easy for him to read his thoughts though: Noll was angry at himself for not being able to prevent such events from happening, angry at the prejudiced people bullying them and punishing them for things he couldn’t help. And he felt guilty because he got Gene involved in his mess.

“I hate this place, too,” Gene whispered when he was certain the caretaker was out of ear’s reach. “But it’s alright,” he smiled. “We’re together.”

And together they had nothing to fear.

Without another word spoken the twins walked ahead, linked by their entwined hands.

[ghosthunthq]

The hard life of Eugene Davis- 3

Written for: @beejinki

Written by: @frenchcirce

3- Cold winter

“She doesn’t move,” whispered Gene worriedly to his brother.

“She never does,” Oliver replied, ignoring the slumped form on the kitchen table.

“I’m so hungry…” whined Gene. “What about checking the cupboards again to see if we missed something?”

“We didn’t miss anything. There is simply nothing left.”

After a while Noll sighed in defeat. “I’m too tired to move anyway.”

“Same,” admitted his brother. “I hoped you’d do it.”

After several minutes of silence Gene rolled on their dirty bed to face his twin. Noll’s eyelids seemed heavy and his gaunt face was so pale it mirrored the once white sheets. His greasy and tangled hair spread about like a dark halo around his head, accentuating the shadows under his eyes.

Gene tapped into his last ounce of strength to take Noll’s hand. It was comforting, feeling his solid presence, and his heat was reassuring. His brother barely squeezed the hand back and closed his eyes.

Even speaking required an effort now, so Gene simply reached for his twin’s mind. It was easier than usual, Noll was exhausted and there were only a few thoughts floating in his head.

“It’s been five days already, and Jeffery hasn’t come back.”

“I know.”

“She looks like Nuptadi when—”

“I know.”

There was a pause again, and Gene wondered.

“She won’t wake up, right?”

“Nuptadi smelled the same,” he could hear Noll thinking. There was a hint fear of behind the thought. Things were definitely bad if Noll was frightened.

“That's… not a good sign, is it?”

The stench had increased steadily in intensity for the past few days. But it was winter, and they couldn’t possibly open the windows and freeze to death since there was no heater in house. So the children simply got used to the foul smell.

“No, it’s not.”

“I don’t want Okaasan to come back like them. They frighten me," admitted Gene

Some of them weren’t bad. They were just wanting to pass a message or bothering him for things he couldn’t understand. But a few of them were really terrifying. Full of hatred, menacing dark shadows that he wanted to avoid at all costs.

”Did you see her like that?“ 

Gene barely understood the thought. Oliver’s mind was jumbled and fading into incoherent whispers.

”No… and I don’t want to.“

”You didn’t see Nuptadi either. Okaasan will probably not come back at all.“

”Do you think so?“

But Gene never got a reply. Exhausted and starved, Noll had succumbed to sleep. Soon enough, Gene joined him in his dreamless slumber.