Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Black wasn't having a good day, in fact, when was the last time he had a good day? Mm...yeah, ten fucking years ago.

His old childhood friend betrayed him in the most vile and familiar way possible. Todd became everything Black hates.

Black would never say that he cared about his parents, because they did absolutely nothing right... Only one thing, and it was his cute little brother, after White, they didn't fulfill their role as parents, not even a little bit, they just cared the money.

The exploitation of children was very noticeable, especially in White, since he was the only one they could take money from and turn into an exact copy of themselves. White spent more than fifteen hours studying many times, and even much longer. White sometimes cried from stress and fatigue... he said that his eyes and fingers hurt from writing so much, in fact his vision problems were the fault of spending so many hours in front of so many books. Black always made sure to cut down on those study hours, as his parents were never around and many of the babysitters were understanding of them and let them do whatever they wanted.

But when his mother or father was home, White only got up from his chair to go to the bathroom or get something to drink. Black always sat next to him and kept him company, sometimes he tried to study with him, but he got bored too fast.

His parents gave up on him from the start. He was impossible to educate, no matter how hard they are on him, Black was a basket case and he wishes White had been too.

Adul Pothiyakorn was a horrible man who exploited his little brother in every possible way and was never kind to them. White was more obedient and diligent, so his father tried to make him an exact copy of himself. White didn't want to, never wanted to, but when he refused to do as his father said, things went wrong...and Black didn't see White for a whole week. Those seven days were the worst of his life at the time, so much so that he was crying every night until White came out of the punishment room, where he looked just as haggard as he was.

Black was used to being disappointed by people who were close to him, although the only person who would never disappoint him was White...and he was the only person he couldn't have.

Black sighed and entered the garage with the worst mood of his life, so much so that even Gram walked away from him and he was the only one who tried to make them get along, even if Black treated him badly.

In three days they were to burn down Tawi's house in the middle of the woods and Black had more important things to do, but he hasn't been in the mood to fight Sean. If you don't show up at least once before his mission day, that jerk will start claiming absolutely everything from you.

It does not matter, that night he has things to do, he hoped that everything would go well.

But of course, luck is never on his side and nothing went right.

We can start with the fact that Gumpa had invited(forced Black) all of them to stay here for beer and Black was feeling watched by the older man, so he'll just have to find a convincing excuse to leave, which it would be difficult if he had the feeling that Gumpa knew he was doing something dangerous.

Then he had a strange sensation throughout his body. He could start with the fact that his breathing suddenly quickened and he felt his heart pounding. What was this? Why did he feel this way all of a sudden?

Black took a bottle of water that they always had with them when they drank alcohol, for example, to clean up vomit. He took a long drink of water and if he was restless before, he was even more so now.

And when he thought it was over, Black felt a strong blow to his face. He was attentive to what the others were doing, but no one had hit him. Why did that happen?

Black felt another even stronger blow to his stomach and squirmed in his seat.

No one was hitting him, what the fuck is this?

Wait... Oh God, anything but that, please don't...

Black squeezed his eyes shut, feeling another kick to the stomach.

No, no, no, no, no, no... anything but that, I beg of you.

"I-I'm going to the bathroom..." Black staggered up, feeling the sweat on his face and ignoring the pain in his entire body, he left the garage, but when he wanted to get on his motorcycle, his legs gave out and fell to the ground.

Then he felt that they trampled on him and hit him all over his body. From his face to his back.

"W-white…" Black muttered, feeling the familiar metallic taste on his lips, he probably had a bloody nose or whatever, nobody cares, he had to get up.

He had to help White...

Black put all of his willpower to get up, but he only managed to get to his knees and support himself on his motorcycle.

"White, h-hold on, P' is going to save you..." But his words were nothing more than an empty promise, because he fainted.

When Black woke up, he was lying on the couch in the garage with everyone around him.

"Where...where am I?" Black muttered, closing his eyes as he felt the artificial light against his face.

"I told you he wasn't dead." Yok said, taking pictures.

"Black, are you okay? Why didn't you tell us you felt bad? You were passed out for about two hours." Gumpa removed the wet cloth from Black's forehead, he had had some temperature.

Gram had gone out to see why Black was taking so long in the bathroom and the cry he let out when he saw Black passed out was really comical if we ignore the fact that his leader was lying on the floor.

Black upon hearing how long he was passed out, stood up abruptly. Bad idea, he felt dizzy, but ignored it.

"I-I have to go." Black told them, searching his pockets for his motorcycle keys.

"Are you crazy? You can hardly get up, go back to bed, you have to rest." Gumpa grabbed him by the shoulders, but Black pushed him with all his might, meaning he couldn't move Gumpa an inch.

"Rest? Are you crazy, man!? I have to go... W-white is in danger, I have to find him." Black tried to get around Gumpa, but the man wouldn't budge.

"White? Who the fuck is White?" Sean asked, even more confused than before. It was already confusing to see Black lying on the ground, but now it was worse seeing how desperate he was.

Black ignored Sean and tried to fight Gumpa.

"Please let me go! My White is in danger, I have to protect him!" Black started punching Gumpa in the chest, completely desperate.

"Calm down first. Who is White, and why is he in danger?" Gumpa took Black's arms, looking really confused. He had known Black for longer than the others and never heard him mention someone named White.

"Why don't you understand!? Just let me go! I can't leave him alone, he must be scared and hurt. Why don't you let me find him!? Why does everyone want to separate me from him!?" Black pushed Gumpa away and took several steps back, looking at the gang as if they were his enemies or he was a mouse surrounded by cats planning to devour him.

Black felt his sweaty hands and how he was beginning to find it difficult to breathe. Every second he wasted here with them was one second less where White was in danger.

Sean, Yok and Gram's looks were really painful, they were looking at him as if he was crazy...as if not going to save White was wrong. This is how his mother looked at him when she was with White... this is how his teachers looked at him when he got into trouble... this is how his father saw him when he separated him from White.

Black's vision slowly became unfocused and he was hyperventilating.

He has never hated anyone as much as the gang right now. Anyone who separates him from White, he had the immediate hatred of him... but now it was a thousand times worse, White was hurt and needed his help, but they wouldn't let him go. Is it that only he cares about White?

Black heard the voices of the others in the distance, but he couldn't hear what they were saying clearly, and again it didn't matter, because he passed out.

The second time Black woke up, he was in a hospital room with Gumpa sitting next to him.

"Why didn't you let me go?" Black whispered, his voice hoarse and making a great effort not to get up and hit him.

"Because I don't want you to risk your life for something like that, especially when we don't know what it is about." Gumpa shook his head and stood up.

What did he mean by that? That White was not important? That it wasn't worth risking his life to save White? His life was at risk at the moment he felt White being hurt. His life had no meaning without White and if something happened to his little brother, then he no longer had any meaning to live...

Black ignored Gumpa and sat on the bed, reaching for the IV needle to remove it, but Gumpa grabbed his hand.

"Black, you are not well, you must stay here until you get better. Whatever you have to do, it is not more important than your well-being." Gumpa told him, so serious that Black felt nauseous.

"And who the hell do you think you are to tell me what to do!? Mind your damn business! My little brother's life is in danger and neither you nor anyone will deny me finding him!" Black yelled, really angry. He had never been this angry with Gumpa before and today he was completely justified.

Black yanked the IV needle out of his arm and left the room.

They just delayed it. They only cause you trouble. Why was everyone against him and White being together? He hates it...

Black arrived at the reception and hoped that his gaunt appearance would not give the nurse the idea that he would be dragged back to his room.

"Didn't someone by the name of White Pothiyakorn come by any chance?" Black asked, clenching his fists tightly.

He really had no idea where he should start looking for White, but since he was in the hospital, he could start here.

"Didn't anyone arrive urgently in the last few hours!?" Black insisted nervously.

The man looked up something on the computer and nodded.

"Are you related to the patient?" Black nodded frantically.

"I'm his older brother."

"He is in the ICU, he arrived four hours ago." inform the nurse.

Black didn't need anything else before running straight to the intensive care room.

Was he that bad? Oh God, he felt like his heart was going to explode and the ringing in his ears was really annoying.

Black almost ran into a door, but luckily he was able to catch himself before he passed. It must have been a mess right now, but fuck it.

He had to repeat the process of asking about his brother and after filling out some damn paperwork, they let him see White.

Black didn't know what he was going to find behind that curtain, but he wished it was something else, and even someone else.

But no... the person with the bruised face, full of bruises and wounds all over his body, was indeed his little brother.

And Black's heart was broken into a thousand pieces.

The last time Black had cried immediately and in a really painful way was ten years ago, when he was separated from the same person who is half dead in front of him.

Did they have to be so unlucky? Why was this happening to them? Why always them?

Black walked over to White's bed and took his hand shakily. Was this boy in bed really his little brother?

"W-white... I-I'm so sorry, honey." Black sobbed, stroking White's hair with his free hand.

Black felt guilty for what happened in the pool, if he hadn't separated from White, then he don't would have drowned and maybe they wouldn't have separated so quickly, but the guilt he felt now was a thousand times greater. He again couldn't protect White, but now his life hung on a very fine and taut thread and he was scared.

The emptiness in his chest was as painful as seeing White's face and he wanted his suffering to end, but he will only do it if White opens his eyes.

"Why you?" Black murmured, wiping his tears away. "W-why you and not me?"

Black would give anything right now for him to go the other way around. Just seeing White like this, his soul broke, he did not even want to imagine what he suffered when they beat him, because yes, even though they told him that he had a car accident, Black knew that they beat him because he felt each one of the blows. And he was beginning to suspect that it was his fault that this happened.

Black got into trouble almost every day and fights were a frequent thing, so it was likely that they mistook White for him and left their little brother that way because of him, even if the big differences between them were present, that's not It took away the fact that anyone who wanted to hurt him would not think about whether it was really him or a brother that no one knew existed.

But beyond the clothes, White and him were physically the same in every sense of the word, maybe now they had small differences like Black's piercings and tattoo, but then nothing changed, so it would be difficult for anyone to tell them apart.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... It's my fault." Black shook his head, squeezing White's hand tightly.

A male nurse entered the room and asked Black if he could come out, since they had to do who knows what.

I'll be back later." Black whispered and kissed White's forehead.

Before leaving, Black saw White's backpack by the bed, so he grabbed it and followed the male nurse out.

He had a quick chat with a doctor who told him that his brother needed surgery, but they needed permission from a family member, so Black signed quickly and headed to the OR waiting room.

While he waited, since he wasn't going to move from here all night, he checked White's backpack.

He had a couple of keys, probably to some fancy car his father had given him, some clothes, spare glasses and of course, his cell phone.

Black unlocked the cell phone with facial recognition and began to check absolutely all of his brother's phone.

Black found nothing to give him any clue as to why White ended up like this. White's cell phone was really boring, it had almost nothing, he only downloaded two applications in addition to the ones that already came with the phone.

Black sighed and before putting away White's cell phone, he received a call from an unknown number, which he recognized immediately.

Todd... Why was Todd calling White?

Black answered with some hesitation.

"Hi White." Todd greeted, making Black angry, but he calmed down immediately.

"Hello?" Black greeted, feigning confusion, although he really was confused.

"I'm Todd, do you remember me?"

Yes... unfortunately he did and because three months ago they were together for the last time before he decided to cut all ties with him.

"Yes, I do..." Black replied.

"I've got news for Black…he's dying." Todd sounded really distressed and Black wanted to smash the phone against the wall.

That he was dying? White was dying! Could it be possible that Todd sent his men after him and they mistook him for White? If this was Todd's fault, he'll kill him. It doesn't matter, he'll kill him anyway.

"I'll give you the address of where he is." Then Todd hung up the call and got a message right away with the address of the hospital.

Well... Black will put the things inside White's backpack to use.

Black walked into the first bathroom he found and took off his own clothes to put on White's and as expected, he fit he perfectly.

The only problem was the glasses, the earrings he could take off and the tattoo was covered, but if he put on White's glasses he would end up on the floor with a good dizzy spell.

He could pretend he had contact lenses, but that might ruin his impression of White, anyway, glasses are out.

Black walked out of the bathroom stall and looked at himself in the mirror. Yes, he almost seemed like a spoiled rich kid, although White was only spoiled by him and he regrets nothing.

Something was missing... he hair.

Black searched White's backpack for a hairbrush that he was sure White had and yes, there was one.

Black brushed his hair as neat as possible, so now he was much more presentable for pretending to be White.

His main concern now was being nice to Todd.

He'll cut off a testicle after this, but it's all for his little brother.

Black left the bathroom with all his things inside the backpack and went to the ICU, White had already left surgery half an hour ago, he just stayed there to kill time.

Seeing Todd, he walked over quickly.

"White...good to see you again, come on." Todd smiled slightly at him and led him to White's room.

"Is it that bad?" Black asked, following Todd.

"I think...he called me and told me he was being chased," Todd explained, grabbing a hospital gown from a locker and putting it on Black.

Since when does Todd have this kind of trust with White? During his childhood he never left White alone with Todd for more than five minutes and when that time was extended, White drowned in the pool with Todd present.

"You haven't spoken to each other at all?" Todd asked, tying up Black's hospital gown.

"No. Tell me what happened to him." Black shook his head.

Well, Todd was already lying too much and he knew that if he really was White, maybe he would believe him being in such a vulnerable moment when he found out that his brother is in the hospital, but it is possible that when the scare subsides, White will he would start to analyze this conversation in depth and probably start to distrust Todd.

"After you moved to Russia, Black and I went to the same school all the time. When I entered college, I skipped classes a lot. I was always arguing with your mother, so I told him to stay with me. This last time, he found a new group of friends to be with. They seemed dangerous, so I told him not to trust them too much, but he wouldn't listen. I don't know if my theory is true, but maybe Black ended up like this because of them." Todd explained, quite seriously for Black's liking.

They were pure bullshit! The gang was many things, but they would never do something like that to him, maybe Sean, but Black was sure he wouldn't sink so low as to leave it that way.

But Black had to put himself in White's shoes because he didn't know them at all.

Todd led him into White's room and gave him a rueful look before moving the curtain back.

Black walked over to the stretcher and didn't even have to force tears, he just started crying again seeing White so gaunt for the second time.

Black brought his hand to White's cheek and caressed it gently.

"P', I will find who did this to you and make them pay. I promise." Black took White's hand and sobbed.

Todd put his hand on his shoulder in an attempt at comfort.

"Can you leave me alone with him?" Black muttered, looking at White sadly.

When Todd left the room, Black took the necklace that White had under the hospital gown. He had seen it as soon as Todd pulled back the curtain and was afraid that he would check on it later and realize that the one on the bed was White. Unfortunately Todd knew his taste in cheap clothes and jewelry, he didn't think White's taste was similar to his.

Seeing the necklace made his heart sink. It was the same necklace he made for White ten years ago. Black was sure that his brother no longer had it, but apparently White came full of surprises.

"I still love you...and I'll get you back no matter what I do." Black whispered to White, kissing his forehead before reluctantly leaving the room.

Black read the necklace where said "I love you infinitely" one last time and hung it around his own neck before leaving the room.

The conversation with Todd was quick and awkward before he left. Black decided to stay a little longer, he wanted to see White again, but he was denied entry saying that it was enough visit for today and that he should rest.

Unable to see his brother, he inquired in detail about White's critical condition. Two broken ribs, a broken leg, internal bleeding, and he was in a medically induced coma. It could have been worse... but this also could not have happened.

Black left the hospital and took a taxi to go to his apartment.

The road was longer than Black thought it would be, but he gave he time to think a bit and assimilate this better.

As much as it hurt, this was real. White was half dead in the hospital bed and maybe it was his fault...

Every time they were together something bad happened and it was always his damn fault. Black was angry and he wanted to smash everything that got in his way, but that wouldn't make it any better.

Arriving at his apartment, he pay for the taxi with the money from White's wallet. Black didn't know what to do at this point, maybe get drunk to get out of this hell.

He didn't know what he should do or where to start, he only knew that his brother suddenly returns to Thailand, only to find him half dead in a hospital bed. Black couldn't really put into words the constant pain in his chest and throughout his body.

He was so fucking scared... but he'll find out what happened and he'll make the son of a bitch who did this pay.

Chapter Text

Black doesn't know when he fell asleep or even if he stopped crying once he did, but his dreams were certainly no better than his cruel reality.

The dreams only very explicitly reminded him that he failed to protect his little brother...

Black got out of bed and checked White's cell phone before his own. He had missed calls from his father and was debating whether he should tell he that his brother was in the hospital. No, it was a terrible idea, Adul could blame him (which he probably does) and put White in a private clinic where he can't get into. Still, he couldn't let his father know where White was, because if he looked for him and worse, he found him, Black was going to lose him again and it was the last thing he wanted.

Black may have been nice to Todd, but his hatred of Adul Pothiyakorn is a thousand times greater and he wasn't sure he would be able to contain himself in front of the man who took the person he loves most in the world from him.

For now, Adul is completely out of the question until he knows what the hell to do with his father.

Now came his main concern.

Todd...

Black answered Todd's call from White's cell phone and is thankful for having been crying all night, it's something his little brother would do and something no one would doubt after half an hour of meeting him. White is quite the crybaby and he was never more grateful that he was like that.

"White, I know it's early, sorry to call you at this time, but I'd like to meet up, I'll give you my address and don't worry about security, they already know who you are."

Black couldn't see it, but he knew Todd was smiling, maybe teasing him for sending his brother to the hospital and trying to use him or because he realized he was mistaken a twin. He was going to cross all his fingers that it wasn't.

Black took a quick shower and brushed his teeth while he did. Yes, he brushed his teeth while he took a shower, do you have a problem? He needs to go shopping right away and he won't waste time doing both things separately when he can do them at the same time.

After drying his hair with a towel and putting White's clothes back on, he took his brother's wallet, his own cell phone along with his motorcycle keys and almost ran out of his apartment.

Well, he had said that he wouldn't spend any more of White's money, but the clothes would go to his brother later anyway. He just hopes, with all his being, to give in to White's taste in clothes.

Black doesn't think it's possible for Todd to know what kind of clothes White wears, but if he has his bloody phone number when he doesn't even have it, he's too much to worry about and Black doesn't want to make any mistakes.

The only thing that Black knows is that White will have designer clothes and he has never been happier to have a credit card that was not his.

The last time Black walked into a Gucci store was eight years ago and he really hopes this is the last time because looking at the prices, it was worse than being punched in the nose with rings. Luckily it wasn't his money, it was his father's. And with that thought in mind, Black spent as much as he could.

Well, trying on clothes was fun...as long as it was his type of clothes, not his brother's, or at least what he thinks, which is his brother's type of clothes.

With five sweaters, colored pink, red, yellow, black and white; two blue jean shorts, yellow and red shorts, and two pairs of black and brown boots, Black called off his date to a fucking expensive store. The card went through without a problem and after signing the ticket (I check his brother's signature on his ID), he left the store with five white bags. Then he could go shopping again, it was fun spending money when it's not your money and it's even better when it's some old shit's money.

Arriving at his apartment again (it was so fucking hard not to go unnoticed with five fucking Gucci bags on me), Black throws everything on the bed and hurries into the pink sweater and red shorts along with the black boots. Okay, he's not sure if the combination is pretty, but it's better than the brown boots, yellow sweater, and red shorts put together. It was probably because he had it on, White would even have a bag of chips on it and look amazing.

After arranging his hair again, Black took his cell phone and hid it in his sweater pocket while he kept White's in his hand.

Well, going to Todd's building after all this time wasn't his favorite part of his day and he had planned to go see his dad later.

Black returns to his motorcycle within twenty minutes of leaving it parked in the driveway of the apartment building. Before reaching Todd's building, he will leave his motorcycle parked in the distance.
Oh God. He had forgotten to apply perfume. White always wore perfume, he doubted that had changed, but he didn't buy any and his were too cheap for Todd to notice. Yeah, well, fuck it, he can't do a perfect White impression if his brother doesn't tell him what to do.

It just has to be convincing enough for Todd...

The ride to Todd's building is quicker than Black would have liked and he hates it, he expected to see as little of that asshole as possible, but here he was. Unfortunately.

As Black enters the building, he is greeted by one of the security guards he knows well who leads him to the elevator and tells him which floor to go to.

I know, thank you very much, go to hell.

Black watches nervously as the elevator numbers go up with each passing second and begins to get impatient. If something goes wrong, he can always beat the crap out of Todd, but first he needs to know if he really did this to White and he needs hard evidence, not a hunch. Although he doesn't mind hitting Todd, whether he hurt White or not.

As the elevator doors open, Black inhales and exhales before walking down a wide hallway until he sees Todd having breakfast with a laptop in front of him.

"Oh, White. You're here, that's good." Todd smiles and invites him to sit next to him. Naturally, Black keeps some distance.

"What did you want to talk about? You sounded...too impatient." Black sits upright in his seat, tapping his fingertips against his knees.

Todd thinks about it for a second.

"Do you want something to eat? Order what you want."

Black is trying to throw the coffee cup in his face.

"No...thanks..." Oh God, that was so fucking hard. How the fuck do people say thank you so often? Well, White did it often and was nicer and more polite than him. Now he's pretending to be White, he has to be convincing. If he can convince Todd, maybe convincing Adul won't be that hard. "Did something happen with P'Black?"

Damn! Saying thank you was exhausting, saying his own name in such a sweet way was suffocating. It's confirmed, only White could make his name sound so fucking cute and sweet.

"Almost. I've been thinking about it and I have an idea for us to find out who did this to him." Todd suddenly sounds too serious for Black's liking and he feels nauseous. "If any of Black's friends left him like this, I think the quickest way to find out is if Black walks the streets completely healthy."

Black frowns, confused. And how the hell would that help him? To the gang, he was perfectly fine. Oh right... Todd thinks he was the one in the hospital.

"And what exactly would he help us with?" Black cocks his head to the side, like White did when he was confused.

"I mean if they see Black walking around like nothing happened, completely healthy, if one of them did, then they would react in some way. I thought you were the smart one, White." Todd laughs and Black has never heard a laugh as fake as that before.

That was the problem, he was not White. Although Black is sure that White would be just as confused as him. Twin instinct, don't ask too much.

"You mean to me pretend to be P'Black to find out if one of his friends sent him to the hospital?" Black repeats just to be completely sure. Todd nods. Okay, this is bullshit. "I get it, but…they're his friends, right? Don't you think they might be suspicious? P'Black and I are different."

God, his role as the fake White is turning out better than expected, if he feels his heart in his throat and his hands are sweating, no one has to know.

Still, being a bloody softy and not throwing himself on top of Todd and strangling him was already getting into too much of his role of pretending to be his twin.

"I don't think so. You'll do a good job, they always did when they were pretending to be each other. What do you say?" Todd takes a sip of coffee without looking away from him.

Black bites his lips and nods. If there was a firm way to find out what Todd wanted, he was doing what he wanted and Black knew that well. He would give the fucking shit what he wanted.

"Okay, I think it's for the best."

Todd smiled and Black felt nauseated again. He'll wipe that damn smile off he face whenever he gets the chance.

"Make sure you keep me updated, I don't want anything to happen to you. Okay? Anything weird or the least bit that catches your eye, tell me. I'm with you on this, you have to trust me." Todd takes Black's hands and continues to look at him with that charming smile.

Black had his defenses down so low that he even blushed at Todd's grip. Oh my God, he wasn't used to people not named Savate Pothiyakorn touching him too much or giving him a show of affection. Todd just surprised him, he was also surprised at this.

If Todd wasn't convinced by his performance, he now definitely was. This is something White would do without hesitation. And this for Black was so humiliating.

Black freed himself and wiped his sweaty hands on his pants, not looking at Todd.

"Of course, I'll do it."

Okay, now he definitely wasn't faking his nervousness, he's just going to take advantage of being White to make himself more vulnerable. It's not that Todd makes him nervous and uncomfortable, no…of course not.

No one makes Black nervous, absolutely no one. Maybe White, but he doesn't count.

When White's cell phone starts to ring, Black gulps at the sight of his father's name.

" Don't worry about me." Todd nods toward his cell phone.

"Do you think I can tell him that I stayed with you last night? I just stayed with Wh...P'Black, all night and I haven't answered his calls since yesterday. I don't want to worry him." Oh God, oh God, I almost screwed up. He just hopes Todd hasn't noticed.

"Of course you can. But your clothes? You were wearing something different yesterday." Todd looks at him suspiciously and Black does his best to smile without him looking forced.

"It's that the doctors kicked me out several times and I didn't want them to realize that I spent the whole night there, so I took advantage of the fact that I had my backpack with clothes and I changed." Black explains quickly, trying not to sound like a desperate excuse. Luckily he was very good at lying, the problem was whether they believed him or not.

Todd shrugs, no longer paying attention to he.

Black answers the call from his father and the conversation goes as he expected.

"White! Where have you been? I've been calling you all night." Adul's angry voice gets on Black's nerves again and he just wants to punch him. Who does he think he is to yell at his little brother like that? Adul didn't even sound worried, that was worse.

"I'm sorry... dad..." Black has to bite his tongue not to call his father an asshole and tries to be as polite as possible, he just hopes he's not trembling with rage. "Remember Todd? He…I walked past him yesterday and he invited me over to his house for a drink, I didn't realize what time it was and it was too late, so he let me stay with him."

"Todd? Come home right now or you'll have worse problems." Adul hangs up and Black lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"And your backpack?" Todd questions when Black puts away White's cell phone.

Damn! He left the backpack in his apartment.

"Oh no, I forgot he at the hospital." Black groans feeling sorry and gets up. "My father was worried, I have to go back."

Todd gives he one last suspicious look, then smiles.

"Of course, call me when you're done with your father. I'll help you look physically like Black."

Black nods and heads for the elevator as fast as he can without looking suspicious. Had Todd found out? Damn. He even pretended that he was talking to White to sound as calm and friendly as possible, even if he wanted to strangle Todd with the cable from his laptop.

He's fine, it doesn't matter anymore, if he screwed up, he already screwed up, now he has to worry about his father.

As he leaves Todd's building, Black nearly smashes White's cell phone into a wall in his rage. When he remembered that the cell phone was fucking expensive and maybe White didn't like him messing with his things, he just put his arm down and exhaled and inhaled to calm himself down a bit.

Great, he wasn't sure if Todd found out, how the fuck did he make the fucking mistake of almost saying White's name? But if there was anyone who could find out, it was his father and he is no longer liking where all this is going.

Somebody give him a good bottle of vodka and wake his brother up from his coma, this is being too stressful for him and this is just beginning.

Chapter Text

When Black arrived at his childhood home, he wasn't surprised that Adul wasn't waiting for him. The cook told him that his father had gone out to answer an emergency call from work.

Better for him.

Black huffs and heads up the stairs to White's old room. Upon entering, the room screams White from all sides. Soft sheets and warm tones everywhere; there is nothing out of place and it looks like a princess's room in a fairy tale.

Black sits up in bed and can't help but bury his nose in the pillow. It smells like White. He doesn't feel disgusting for doing that, he wanted to feel his little brother as close as possible and now, this is the only way.

It doesn't take him long to mess up the room a bit, looking for anything that will help him. Someone attacked White and although Black is sure it's his fault, what if there are outside reasons? Maybe it's some kind of revenge against Adul and someone decides to attack his "only" son.

Of course, he finds nothing.

Black sighs loudly and throws himself back onto the bed so comfortable that sinks around.

The warm tones and order are so contrary to what he is; his apartment has cool, muted tones, is rarely tidy, and lucky if he opens the curtains in the morning. Here he feels uncomfortable, but it is a space that White occupied very recently, so Black manages to relax quickly.

His phone vibrates and Black sighs before picking it up. It is Gram.

Reluctantly, Black answers the call as he walks out onto the balcony and sits on the single couch. It doesn't take long for his feet to rest on the small coffee table.

"What do you want?" Black growls, looking at the garden with the perfectly cut grass and plants next to the high wall that Black always wanted to climb when he was a child.

"We have a meeting tonight. Sean insisted I call so you'll remember, even though I know you know." Gram says with his phone loudly, while he opens a package of something.

Black is silently grateful that Gram did it, because he completely forgot about it. He created the plan and that night they were going to discuss the last details before carrying it out in two days. With everything that was going on with White, he had completely forgotten about them.

"Of course I know. Tell Sean to fuck off."

Black hangs up the call and sighs. He has no idea how he's supposed to lead two totally different lives at the same time. Black doesn't know anything about White, does he have friends? Where does he study?

Taking his brother's necklace between his fingers, he feels some calm, but he still doesn't know what to do. He doesn't have a plan for this, if someone discovers his charade, it's over for him. To his bad luck, Adul can find out...

Black huffs and gets up to go down the stairs. Maybe if he's careful, can get something out of the cook.

Once in the kitchen, Black dissimulates and opens the refrigerator to take out a jug of juice.

"Excuse me, can you hand me a glass?" Black asks, looking at the cook.

The woman takes a glass from the shelf and Black begins to memorize the place of things. Black doesn't expect White to do simple things like pour himself juice or go into the kitchen to get something to eat, because Adul pays this woman to do it, but a part of Black tells him that White does these simple things himself and Black memorize the place of everything.

Black pours juice and puts the jug away again before sitting at the kitchen island.

Black has absolutely no idea about White's life, but he knows that his brother has recently returned and he will try to use that to his advantage.

"And... Have you been working here long?"

The woman turns around, stopping cutting some vegetables to look at him with a smile.

"A few weeks before you returns, sir."

"Please, call me White. Sir, it seems too formal and unnecessary to me."

It's not hard for Black to empathize and be kind to people like her, who just had the bad luck to work for these corrupt shitty people.

"You can call me Sammy."

Black nods and Sammy turns around to continue work. Black continues to look at her, thinking of another non-suspicious question.

"What's my dad like, Sammy?"

Sammy doesn't answer right away, she seems to be thinking a lot about something.

"I thought you would still be angry with his father because of the fight the other day, it's good to know that everything is fine now. His father is good, quite strict, but he has treated me very well since I arrived."

Damn. Had White, his adorable, cry baby little brother, gotten into a fight with Adul? Why they fought? Shit, shit. What if Adul asked something about the fight when he returned?

Aren't there cameras inside the house to find out?

"Strict in what sense?" Black inquires.

"Mainly with the schedule or a certain cooking of the food, but it's nothing I can't achieve. I got used to it pretty quickly."

Black nods. He just hopes it's that and nothing more, although Black totally sees Adul yelling at the employees. He lived in this house with that man for ten years, he knows what he's talking about.

"Regarding the fight...I was so angry that my memories are a little blurry...Was it as bad as I remember?"

"Hmm... I think it was. There was a lot of shouting, I don't want to sound gossipy sir, I didn't hear much, I only managed to catch a couple of stray words. Mr. Adul said you should stop wasting time looking for something."

Black bites his lips. Was White looking for him? It makes sense, otherwise Adul wouldn't tell White to stop wasting his time. Black has always been the ugly duckling of the family and his parents always tried to indoctrinate White to turn against him.

Would it have worked? Black hopes (prays) that it wasn't like that, he doesn't want to lose his brother again, although maybe White would have been better off all along if he had never existed. Black has nothing to contribute; his brother is always the best, the most intelligent and the one who has life figured out.

Black loves his brother and is desperate to be by his side, but he also knows that if he weren't in White's life, everything would turn out a thousand times better.

Maybe he's starting to regret jumping into his brother's life without thinking it through.

"Maybe he's right..." Black mutters and ignores the nausea caused by agreeing with Adul. "I'm sorry for disturbing your work schedule, Sammy."

"Oh no, of course not! Never apologize, please. I'm here for whatever you need. This house is very big and somewhat empty, everyone can use some company from time to time."

Black thanks her in a murmur and gets up to go wash the glass. Sammy gives him a curious look, but she doesn't say anything.

Pretending to be White is easy, he just needs to relax and be nicer than he normally is. The problem lies with Adul and how much can fool him.

He will use the fight to his advantage. White is a lot like him when he gets angry and Black is an expert at getting angry.

Adul arrives at eight thirty at night, Black had had dinner half an hour ago and was locked in his room. He had been pacing the house all day, going through the photos that for some reason are on the wall, of himself and White when they were kids. The house did not have cameras inside, but there were outside, specifically at the entrance. Black must go to the garage and doesn't know how he is going to escape. Adul must monitor White's every move, especially now that he knows his brother was looking for him.

Pretending to be asleep is easy.

Adul never goes to White's room to check on him. Black is not in favor of his father's abuse, but for once he is grateful that Adul is so negligent. Adul will never ask for forgiveness even if himself makes a mistake and he is not going to apologize to White for fighting.

Black will take care of that in the morning.

He leaves his room at nine thirty at night. Everything is dead silent and the hairs on the back of his neck stand up at the possibility of being caught. Since when does he feel uncomfortable at the thought of being discovered? He's done worse things than run away from home.

Maybe because White would never run away from home.

He has no problem opening the door and jumping over the wall in a blind spot from the cameras.

It takes Black an hour to go to his apartment, change clothes, and then go to the garage. He didn't feel like being with Sean, especially on that difficult day.

He parks his motorcycle outside the garage and sighs before taking off his helmet and walking inside. Everyone was already there and Black will never feel bad for being late nor will he apologize.

Black sits next to Gram on the old couch.

"You finally arrive. We were waiting for you." Gram smiles and Black doesn't even bother to look at him.

"Can we start now?" Yok asks.

"Hm..." Black replies.

Gram approaches Black with the arm around his shoulders when he stops and sniffs.

"Do you have perfume?"

Black slowly turns his head towards his companion and raises his eyebrow with a grimace of disgust.

"Don't touch me, Gram."

'You combed your hair too. Are you seeing anyone?'

Black growls and pushes Gram's arm away before sitting further away from his annoying friend.

Yok and Sean laugh from their spot on the other couch. Black doesn't bother looking at them either.

"I'm sorry if you're upset. Let's get started." Gram apologizes and Black rolls his eyes.

The next hour is those three fools going over the plan that Black explained three times, couldn't they understand something so simple? So far, it will be his strongest and most direct move ever, if it comes out right (and it will).

Black feels proud that he created such a good plan, he just hopes these idiots don't ruin it.

While they talk and Black just listens, White's phone vibrates in his pocket and when he checks, it's Todd.

—Did you think about it?

Black hesitates a moment before opening the conversation chat.

—I will do that.

If he pretends to be himself while pretending to be White, it might be easier for him to change his clothes all the time. Maybe he can even be a little more himself, after all, he should pretend to be Black.