10 Lights from the street lamps

Haruki's not home when Aki knocks on the door. He patiently waits in shame, feeling guilt arise in him as he realises that he was comfortably lying in bed with Hiroto when his older brother must've been stressing out over him. But then when no one comes to open the door, the first thing Aki assumes is that Haruki is either angry at him, collapsed on the floor in his room, or not at home.

After a few more knocks and ringing of the bell, Aki decides to fish out the spare key they had hidden somewhere. He crouches over to the flower pot beside the door and sticks his finger into the side of the pot, begrudgingly pulling out a key that was covered in soil. He makes a face but nonetheless quickly unlocks the door, surprised to enter to a heavy and strong scent wandering around the room.

It doesn't smell like Haruki, he didn't smell this sweet or lovely, he smelt more like that typical alpha smell of subtle woodsy. It smells like an omega was here and wiped themselves across the walls with how thick it was. Aki holds a hand to his nose and continues to venture further through the house. It's completely empty of people and he wonders where Haruki has disappeared off to.

Just as Aki was about to take off and check the nearby areas he thinks Haruki might've ended up at, his phone begins to ring.

"Hello?" Aki answers the call immediately.

"Where are you?" Levi doesn't even bother greeting him and gets straight to the point. "Your brother's at the bar and hasn't gone home since last night. As much as I would've loved to keep him here, I need to get some sleep."

"Don't worry, I'll be there soon," Aki grabs his keys from the table and sighs, making his way to the door when he hears Levi speak again.

"And by the way," he sounds hesitant and unsure. Aki urges him to continue. "Are you pregnant?"

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"Where is that asshole?" Aki asks the moment he enters the bar. There's no one else there except for himself and Levi, who was nodding off at the counter.

"On the sofa," Levi says, pointing to the area where the lights had been switched off. "Had been crying his eyes out for hours till he finally slept, but he's heavy as hell so I couldn't carry him up to my place but couldn't lock up either, since he kept randomly waking up and thrashing the place."

Aki hops over a few discarded cushions that were clearly thrown to the ground by Haruki and stops once he reaches the sofa. Haruki's cheeks are flushed and he has tear stains tracing down his cheeks to the collar of his shirt. For an alpha, he was incredibly sensitive and emotional. Looking down at him like this reminds Aki of the time when Haruki had gotten marks lower than Aki in school. Their dad had lashed out on the two of them and Haruki had spent that night crying, wondering why Aki had also gotten shouted at despite it being Haruki's fault.

"Come on, Haruki," Aki sighs, sliding his arm under Haruki's shoulder and tries to pick him up. Obviously, he struggles and stumbles a few times, but manages to hold him up. Levi comes from the counter and holds Haruki from the other side.

"About what I said over the phone," Levi starts as they drag Haruki to the door. "Are you actually pregnant?"

Aki glances over to see Levi looking at him with concern. He sighs and turns away, a little embarrassed that Levi had found out through his brother and not himself. He wanted to explain the entire story to Levi himself, but Haruki had gone and told him. Aki wonders who else he told.

"Apparently so," Aki answers, pushing the door open with his foot. "I only found out yesterday and still need to get myself checked up at the clinic."

Levi doesn't say anything as they continue dragging Haruki to his car. Aki doesn't know if it's because he was probably weirded out by him, or feeling responsible for what had happened. Then again, Levi didn't know that it was Hiroto's child, so it might've been the former. Aki and Levi practically throw Hiroto in the backseat of his car, closing the door and leaning against it, both taking deep breaths.

"Alright," Levi pats Aki's arm and smiles warmly, dismissing all the things Aki was thinking. "After taking this big guy home, make sure to rest and tell me what the results are."

Aki returns his smile before getting into the car, waving at Levi, who quickly went back in to catch up on some sleep. The ride home is fairly fast, Aki's humming to the music that was playing on the radio as he watches Haruki almost fall off the seats through the rear mirror. The sun Is barely setting when Aki pulls up in front of their place, sighing once he parks and turns to look at Haruki. There was no way he was going to carry Haruki up to their apartment alone.

"Haruki," he calls out, slapping his hand on his thigh and waiting. "Come on, wake up."

Haruki whines and shifts on the seat, his face accidentally banging against the door. Instead of reacting, Haruki remains silent and Aki catches on to what was happening. He rolls his eyes and unbuckles his seat belt so that he could turn to see him.

"I know you're awake," Aki says, eyeing the way Haruki's ear twitches at the comment. "Stop pretending and wake up."

There's no reply from him at first, but then Haruki raises his head and sits up straight. He's facing the floor, as if hiding in shame, before he looks up at Aki. There's a frown on his face and clear guilt written all over his forehead.

"Aki, about what happened yesterday—"

"I'm sorry," Aki cuts him off and lowers his head. "I shouldn't have gone along with what Hiroto was saying and definitely shouldn't have left you out there. You were only worrying about me and I did that."

"No!" Haruki shakes his head and reaches out to grab Aki's head, raising it and placing his forehead against Aki's. "Listen, that was all on me. I crossed the line by trying to interfere with yours and Hiroto's life. Being your older brother didn't mean I was allowed to do that and well," Haruki closes his eyes before opening them and smiling. "It's your kid and you get to decide what to do with it. You're no longer a child."

Aki stares back at Haruki and then slips his arms around his neck, pulling him in for a hug. "No, Haruki. As much as I hate to admit it, I still need your help. I know this sounds bad but I don't really know what to do. It's so sudden and scary, do I tell father? How will Hiroto's family react when they find out I'm carrying his child? I really don't know what to do," and in a lower voice, he says,"I'm scared."

Haruki holds his hands up by Aki's back, surprised to have heard all of this. Haruki knew that contrary to common belief, Aki was still someone who looked up at him for help and guidance. That was his fault again, since he never pushed Aki to try and act as an adult and make any decisions on his own.

"Aki," Haruki whispers, wrapping his arms around his waist and bringing him as close as he could from the awkward position they were in. "Don't worry, everything will be fine."