Chapter Text
When Kei was born, Akiteru had promised to take care of him. He couldn’t have explained it, and there was nothing that made Kei any different from the other babies Akiteru saw, but he knew Kei wasn’t going to be like other kids.
- * -
By the age of three, Kei still wasn’t talking. Akiteru didn’t understand why exactly that fact made his mom upset, but he knew it wasn’t normal. Kei sat quietly in his room, coloring in a dinosaur coloring book Akiteru had given him. The book was almost completely colored by now, even though he’d only had it for a few days.
Akiteru heard his mother downstairs, on the phone with their doctor. He didn’t understand why she was so worried. He walked over, and Kei looked up as he sat down.
“Hey little brother,” Akiteru said with a smile. “Can I see?”
Kei didn’t respond to the smile, but gave him a small nod and showed him the coloring book. It was surprisingly well colored for a three-year-old, and Akiteru gave Kei a small pat on the head. He did notice, however,that Kei messed with his hair after like Aki had hit him.
“You having fun?”
Kei hummed quietly and went back to his coloring, and Akiteru left. He didn’t understand why Kei wouldn’t talk or play with him like the other little kids did, or like his little cousin did when she came over.
- * -
At age four, Kei said his first word.
He was at the park with his brother, mom, and his cousin. Hitoka and Akiteru were playing in the sandbox, but Kei was sitting by himself in the shade of a tree. He didn’t like the sandbox. The sand felt itchy and got under his nails, which had actually made him cry once or twice.
So, he stayed in the shade, looking at one of the picture books Akiteru had given him. It was another dinosaur book, and he saw a word scribbled into the front cover.
“Aki…teru,” he said quietly. It took him a minute before he registered it was his brother’s name, and he said it louder.
“Akiteru.”
Akiteru looked up at the sound of his name, eyes widening when he noticed Kei staring at him.
“Uh…Kei, did you say something?” He asked. His eyes widened and Mom Tsukishima found her nine-year-old son pulling on her sleeve.
“Mama! Mama! Kei said my name!” He said excitedly, bouncing on his feet.
When she heard Kei call for Akiteru again, she started crying.
- * -
At age six, Kei made his first friend.
He was walking out of school to meet Akiteru when he saw two boys standing over another one on the playground. He recognized the two standing - they’d done something similar to him until he stopped going to the playground during recess.
He wasn’t sure what, but something made him stop walking and stare at the group. The boy on the ground had freckles, a lot of them, and Kei found himself admiring him. He was pretty.
When he thought back to his own memories of being in this situation, his small smile faded.
“Pathetic,” he said. All three looked at him, and he quickly started walking again.
Kei wasn’t sure what had made him say it. maybe it was just the fact that he hated when nobody helped him. Either way, when the freckled boy found him a few days later and started talking to him, Kei didn’t push away.
He soon found out the boy’s name was Tadashi. Tadashi liked soggy french fries, the color blue, and he didn’t mind when Kei didn’t feel like talking. He didn’t mind when Kei got excited and talked for an hour about a dinosaur book he’d read. He listened with a smile and asked questions, like Akiteru did.
He went home that day and talked to Akiteru for two hours about his new friend. Akiteru noticed him shaking his hands a bit the entire time, but he was too happy to find out Kei had made a friend to pay much attention.
- * -
By the time Kei was seven, Akiteru was noticing things. Like how Kei didn’t talk with other kids when they went to the park. Or how he never looked anyone in the eye. Or how, when Akiteru wore the one super soft hoodie he really liked, Kei got a lot more touchy with him.
His mom was worried about him, but he didn’t see why it was such a big deal. So what if his little brother didn’t like to play with others? He still had fun when Akiteru colored with him, and would always ask Akiteru to read him a bedtime story even though he could read by now.
One time, their mom got Kei a new shirt. When Kei picked it up, he immediately threw it across the room. Akiteru tried to be helpful and brought it back, but Kei refused to touch it. When their mom got frustrated and shoved it into Kei’s hands, he started crying.
Akiteru took the shirt later and went back to the store for a different one. He found a dino shirt that felt like the hoodie of his Kei liked and got that one instead. When he gave it to his brother, Kei looked at him with stars in his eyes.
He also noticed how attached Kei was to his blanket. It was a light green blanket he’d had since he was two, and he hated when anyone else touched it. If his mom took it from him to wash it, he’d cry until he had it back.
Akiteru was the one who figured out how to get it from him. He let Kei wear his hoodie, after agreeing to take the blanket for awhile. Kei stayed curled up in the too-big hoodie until he had his blanket back, but he didn’t cry.
- * -
When Kei was nine, he was diagnosed with autism. His mother cried when they got home, and Akiteru didn’t understand why. If anything, this was good news, right? Now they knew why Kei acted different, and they would be able to help him.
Regardless, Kei saw that and found Akiteru that night. He crawled quietly into Akiteru’s bed and huddled under the covers. It wasn’t unusual, they’d have sleepovers often because sometimes Kei didn’t like the sound of the tree that hit his window.
“Teru?” Kei asked after a while. His voice was soft, like always.
“Yeah buddy?”
“…’M I broken?”
The quiet sadness in Kei’s voice made Akiteru tear up. He pulled Kei closer and hugged him close.
“No little brother, you’re not broken. Your brain just works a little different, but it’s not a bad thing.”
Kei sniffed, pulling lightly at Akiteru’s shirt.
“Why was mama crying?” he asked. “I didn’t want to make her upset.”
“You didn’t buddy,” Akiteru whispered, looking down at Kei’s watery eyes. “She just doesn’t get it yet.”
Kei didn’t say anything, and eventually the tugging stopped as Kei fell asleep.
- * -
At age 15, Kei started high school. He had his headphones around his neck and walked with Tadashi like always.
“Are you excited Tsukki?” Tadashi asked.
Kei sighed.
“Not really. People are loud.”
“Well yeah, but it’s not all bad.”
Kei hummed and kept his hands in his hoodie pockets. It was the one of Akiteru’s he’d always liked, and Akiteru had given it to him last year for a birthday present.
He winced as shouting registered. He looked towards the noise and saw a small ginger yelling at…something.
Kei couldn’t help but think he was kinda cute. For a minute.