The scent of his brother's shampoo still lingered in the air when Junichiro entered the room. It was the same green apple blend Naomi used… of course, they were twins. Everything about him reminded Junichiro of her, but with a subtle difference. Softer. Calmer. More his.

“Why didn’t you wait for me?” Junichiro asked, forcing a smile as he closed the door behind him.

His brother didn’t even look at him, focused on drying his hair with a towel. The silence didn’t bother Junichiro. He was used to it. It was part of the charm.

“I don’t like it when you go ahead. It makes me worry,” he murmured, walking up to him, wrapping his arms around his waist, resting his forehead against his bare back. “What if something happened to you and I wasn’t there? What am I supposed to do then, huh?”

The other barely flinched, but Junichiro didn’t need a response. He just needed to be close. To feel him breathe. To hear that small, involuntary sigh whenever he hugged him without warning.

“You’re my other half, you know that?” he said, lowering his voice, almost like confessing a crime. He hugged him a little tighter. “Without you, Naomi and I… well, we wouldn’t be whole. I wouldn’t be me.”

For a moment, the twin seemed to tense. But Junichiro only chuckled softly, his nose brushing the damp skin of his neck.

“Come on, don’t be like that. I just want to take care of you. Protect you. I always have, haven’t I?”

His fingers traced a line along his side.

“And if anyone ever tries to get close to you, you know I won’t allow it. No one knows you like I do. No one can love you like I do.”