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unijTitle: How Brothers Get
Characters: Tanaka Hajime, Jack Spicer, the Tanaka family (XI!Verse)
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Summary: Families work weird. Especially when they get an add-on.
Notes: I took this kind of as an excuse to develop Hajime's family, on top of how Jack settles in. Not as focused or as light-hearted as I was hoping it'd be, but still interesting I hope? Other ones will be more fun, I promise.
"You're wearing makeup."
"Eh."
"Do Americans usually do that?"
"Er."
"Do mutants usually do that?"
Jack made a point of trying to focus on anything but the eleven-year-old kid trailing along beside him. "Leave me alone, would you?"
The kid crossed his arms, frowning. "You look like a girl with it on."
"Taizo, take the bags to our room." Hajime warned, gesturing with his cast. The younger boy pouted at him, earning only a raised eyebrow from his brother. Jack was under the distinct impression he was missing out on some sort of telepathic brother battle, or something, as a long moment of quiet pulled out between the two.
"Don't be a brat, Taizo," called a voice from the next room, interrupting the staring match. With a huff, Taizo took the suitcases and trudged to the stairs.
The awkward moment put to a halt--likely only a temporary one--Jack fixed his friend with a glare. "You didn't tell me you had brothers!"
"I did. You weren't listening." Hajime gave a smirk. "I warned you the makeup would get you in trouble."
"I--I thought you were talking about your parents, and how they're all uptight or whatever! I wasn't expecting some half-pint Spanish Inquisition!"
Hajime started to say something, but shook his head with another wry grin. A voice piped up behind them, the same one that had called over earlier. "You're the one butting in here, you better be ready to answer some questions." Jack gave a moody glare over his shoulder at the chubby kid, older than Taizo, leaning against the doorjam and fixing them with an unimpressed look through his glasses.
Hajime stepped forward, between the two of them. "Show respect for our guest, Genji." The middle brother's eyes narrowed, and he gave Jack a clear once-over, looking in particular at the goggles and red hair.
"You want a picture, shortstack?" Jack snapped. Hajime sighed, and Genji gave a scowl, before shrugging and ducking back into the other room.
"Come on, Jack." Hajime gave him a gentle nudge in the side with his elbow, interrupting Jack's prolonged glare at the space where the kid had been standing. "Let's head upstairs."
Mounting dread and disappointment filled the boy genius as he followed his friend up to his room, and quietly stood aside as the youngest Tanaka was shooed out with more pointed looks. Maybe it had really been a mistake to follow Hajime over here. Sure, he didn't really have anywhere else to go, but he didn't really feel like he was all that up for getting judged like some mutt Hajime was asking if he could keep. Though, now that he thought of it, it was kind of like that, wasn't it...
"Try to take it as a compliment."
Hajime's words interrupted Jack's moody train of thought, and the redhead looked up with a nonplussed blink. "Huh?"
The Ouendan settled down on an armchair, resting his cast gratefully on the armrest. "Taizo's curious, and you're new. He gets weird about stuff he hasn't seen before. You should have heard the sort of questions I got when he found out about me being a mutant." Hajime rolled his eyes and waved a hand, putting on a high voice. "'Are you gonna grow another arm? Is that why your hair's gone? Why's your power so boring? Do you get a cape?'" He shook his head. "He's a brat, but he's really just trying to learn."
"Great, I'm some neat science fair exhibit to look at," Jack mumbled, flopping down onto the spare futon they'd pulled out for him. "Glad to know I'm interesting enough to make up for taking up space."
That earned a wince from Hajime. "Ahh... Genji's just jealous." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "I think he's hitting that age, and he's upset he doesn't get a mutation or anything to be 'different' with..." Jack gave his friend a weary look. That had to be the absolute dumbest thing he'd ever heard. Being jealous of being mutants? More likely, the kid was just a jerk.
Hajime gave a weak grin, and Jack remembered that annoying empath thing he had. The Ouendan sighed again. "Seriously. It's nothing about you. You know how brothers get."
Jack gave a long pause there, glancing off. "No. Not really." Hajime was supposed to just live in some big house with parents who weren't around much. It'd be familiar, and easy. Now, he didn't know what he was supposed to make of it.
There was an awkward silence, before Hajime looked up at the ceiling. "Younger siblings just always want what their big brother has." He tried the grin again. "In this case, a cool friend." He shrugged. "Genji's into electronics and stuff, Taizo likes superheroes. Try telling them about the hovercar. They'll think you're awesome."
Jack mulled it over, before relenting with a long-suffering sigh. "But they're so annoying."
"They're brothers, that's what they do." Hajime's grin grew. "What, you thought my weird attitude wasn't gonna be a family trait?" He laughed. "It wasn't the Ouendan who taught me to be an uptight snob."
The depth of what he'd gotten himself into finally beginning to sink in, Jack groaned and buried his face into a pillow. He wasn't ready for this. He would never be ready for bratty preteens. The Institute was one thing, but this was a house. With sharing dinners around a table, and arguing over the remote, and telling each other how their day went...
"Hey." Jack looked up, and Hajime was watching him with an uncertain expression. "You gonna be all right?"
The boy genius chewed the inside of his cheek, before straightening up. "Tch. These little squirts don't scare me! Let 'em do their worst." He put on his best sneer. Hajime seemed to have to hold back a laugh at that, but Jack puffed out his chest.
Yeah... this would be weird. But these were the guys who'd been raised the same way as his friend, so they couldn't be all that different. Annoying at first, but somewhere there'd have to be something okay about them.
Characters: Tanaka Hajime, Jack Spicer, the Tanaka family (XI!Verse)
Rating: G
Warnings: None
Summary: Families work weird. Especially when they get an add-on.
Notes: I took this kind of as an excuse to develop Hajime's family, on top of how Jack settles in. Not as focused or as light-hearted as I was hoping it'd be, but still interesting I hope? Other ones will be more fun, I promise.
"You're wearing makeup."
"Eh."
"Do Americans usually do that?"
"Er."
"Do mutants usually do that?"
Jack made a point of trying to focus on anything but the eleven-year-old kid trailing along beside him. "Leave me alone, would you?"
The kid crossed his arms, frowning. "You look like a girl with it on."
"Taizo, take the bags to our room." Hajime warned, gesturing with his cast. The younger boy pouted at him, earning only a raised eyebrow from his brother. Jack was under the distinct impression he was missing out on some sort of telepathic brother battle, or something, as a long moment of quiet pulled out between the two.
"Don't be a brat, Taizo," called a voice from the next room, interrupting the staring match. With a huff, Taizo took the suitcases and trudged to the stairs.
The awkward moment put to a halt--likely only a temporary one--Jack fixed his friend with a glare. "You didn't tell me you had brothers!"
"I did. You weren't listening." Hajime gave a smirk. "I warned you the makeup would get you in trouble."
"I--I thought you were talking about your parents, and how they're all uptight or whatever! I wasn't expecting some half-pint Spanish Inquisition!"
Hajime started to say something, but shook his head with another wry grin. A voice piped up behind them, the same one that had called over earlier. "You're the one butting in here, you better be ready to answer some questions." Jack gave a moody glare over his shoulder at the chubby kid, older than Taizo, leaning against the doorjam and fixing them with an unimpressed look through his glasses.
Hajime stepped forward, between the two of them. "Show respect for our guest, Genji." The middle brother's eyes narrowed, and he gave Jack a clear once-over, looking in particular at the goggles and red hair.
"You want a picture, shortstack?" Jack snapped. Hajime sighed, and Genji gave a scowl, before shrugging and ducking back into the other room.
"Come on, Jack." Hajime gave him a gentle nudge in the side with his elbow, interrupting Jack's prolonged glare at the space where the kid had been standing. "Let's head upstairs."
Mounting dread and disappointment filled the boy genius as he followed his friend up to his room, and quietly stood aside as the youngest Tanaka was shooed out with more pointed looks. Maybe it had really been a mistake to follow Hajime over here. Sure, he didn't really have anywhere else to go, but he didn't really feel like he was all that up for getting judged like some mutt Hajime was asking if he could keep. Though, now that he thought of it, it was kind of like that, wasn't it...
"Try to take it as a compliment."
Hajime's words interrupted Jack's moody train of thought, and the redhead looked up with a nonplussed blink. "Huh?"
The Ouendan settled down on an armchair, resting his cast gratefully on the armrest. "Taizo's curious, and you're new. He gets weird about stuff he hasn't seen before. You should have heard the sort of questions I got when he found out about me being a mutant." Hajime rolled his eyes and waved a hand, putting on a high voice. "'Are you gonna grow another arm? Is that why your hair's gone? Why's your power so boring? Do you get a cape?'" He shook his head. "He's a brat, but he's really just trying to learn."
"Great, I'm some neat science fair exhibit to look at," Jack mumbled, flopping down onto the spare futon they'd pulled out for him. "Glad to know I'm interesting enough to make up for taking up space."
That earned a wince from Hajime. "Ahh... Genji's just jealous." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "I think he's hitting that age, and he's upset he doesn't get a mutation or anything to be 'different' with..." Jack gave his friend a weary look. That had to be the absolute dumbest thing he'd ever heard. Being jealous of being mutants? More likely, the kid was just a jerk.
Hajime gave a weak grin, and Jack remembered that annoying empath thing he had. The Ouendan sighed again. "Seriously. It's nothing about you. You know how brothers get."
Jack gave a long pause there, glancing off. "No. Not really." Hajime was supposed to just live in some big house with parents who weren't around much. It'd be familiar, and easy. Now, he didn't know what he was supposed to make of it.
There was an awkward silence, before Hajime looked up at the ceiling. "Younger siblings just always want what their big brother has." He tried the grin again. "In this case, a cool friend." He shrugged. "Genji's into electronics and stuff, Taizo likes superheroes. Try telling them about the hovercar. They'll think you're awesome."
Jack mulled it over, before relenting with a long-suffering sigh. "But they're so annoying."
"They're brothers, that's what they do." Hajime's grin grew. "What, you thought my weird attitude wasn't gonna be a family trait?" He laughed. "It wasn't the Ouendan who taught me to be an uptight snob."
The depth of what he'd gotten himself into finally beginning to sink in, Jack groaned and buried his face into a pillow. He wasn't ready for this. He would never be ready for bratty preteens. The Institute was one thing, but this was a house. With sharing dinners around a table, and arguing over the remote, and telling each other how their day went...
"Hey." Jack looked up, and Hajime was watching him with an uncertain expression. "You gonna be all right?"
The boy genius chewed the inside of his cheek, before straightening up. "Tch. These little squirts don't scare me! Let 'em do their worst." He put on his best sneer. Hajime seemed to have to hold back a laugh at that, but Jack puffed out his chest.
Yeah... this would be weird. But these were the guys who'd been raised the same way as his friend, so they couldn't be all that different. Annoying at first, but somewhere there'd have to be something okay about them.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-05-24 08:46 pm (UTC)Though instances of him failing are encouraged.
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Date: 2011-05-24 09:12 pm (UTC)And also remember that 手紙 is letter in Japanese... toilet paper in Chinese. XD;
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Date: 2011-05-24 09:31 pm (UTC)