Ivar was bored. The last time he had seen and bothered Eji was a day ago, when they had robbed the bank together. Theoretically he knew that Eji was busy. Every time they had a big influx of money like this, Eji would imprison himself in his room and do boring paperwork to figure out how to split said money throughout headquarters. He was such a numbers man… Why couldn’t he just spend it like a normal person.

If Ivar was in charge, he would be spending that money on drinks and fashion and fun. If Ivar was in charge, they would throw parties and be wasted every day. If Ivar was in charge, they would be bankrupt within a week, which is why his older brother was in charge.

Ivar finally got off the couch with an exasperated sigh. He would go find Eji and bother him for a while, then decide what else to do with his evening. Without warning (he never gives warning), he burst through Eji’s office door, giving him a jumpscare so intense that Ivar almost got shot. He didn’t care. He just laughed.

“Ivar!! Can you not!? I could’ve killed you!”

“Pft. You wouldn’t kill your favourite brother.”

“I will if you do that shit again…” Eji put the gun down and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear, continuing his paperwork. “What do you want?”

Ivar strutted to the front of Eji’s desk and sat on it, not caring about Eji’s annoyed growls. He watched his brother nearly crush his pen with pure annoyance as he put it down and glared up at him.

“I am working, Ivar.”

“And I am bored. We should hang out!”

Eji sighed and let his head fall to the table with a bonk that was muffled by the paperwork underneath. “Ivar…”

Ivar could tell that Eji was stressed. He always had a kind of sense that some kind of impending doom was making its way towards him. Though nowadays that feeling seemed to be getting more intense and much more frequent. He worried for his older brother sometimes. Gently he reached down and touched Eji’s head, attempting to comfort him with a head pat.

“You have to give yourself some downtime, Eji… Come to the bar with me. Get some drinks. Relax.”

“You know I can’t do that…”

Ivar sighed and played with Eji’s hair. “I know… I just wish you weren’t so stressed all the time…”

Eji’s head moved under his hand, and he retracted it as Eji looked up at him. “Yeah, me too. Believe me… You should go to the bar. Have fun, since being here is so boring for you.”

Ivar rolled his eyes. He knew that Eji was saying that in such a pointed way for a reason. Yes, he knew that everything that his older brother did was for him. He appreciated it, too. But being cooped up in the same house for years was so incredibly boring for Ivar. He was in his prime, twenty-two years old, he knew he was pretty. He wanted to be desired, he wanted to have fun, he wanted to be touched and played with. Here, there was nothing but books, board games, and specifically offline video games so their location wouldn’t be traced. It simply wasn’t enough.

Every time he left Eji alone in the house, though, he felt such guilt. Which is why he usually drowned his feelings in alcohol when he went out alone. He needed the intoxication to feel free enough to… feel free.

Ivar let out an annoyed grumble and stood up off the desk, crossing his arms as if he was some kind of spoiled brat. “Oh, come on, don’t be like that.” His voice heightened into a slightly more desperate, whiny tone. “You’re going to kill yourself being cooped up like this! You’ll- you’ll have some kind of stress related heart attack! You never relax, you never sleep, you never go out unless you’re ‘on the job’. Please, Eji!”

He watched Eji’s eyes flicker. He wasn’t even considering it. Ivar could tell that the mere thought of being unguarded and letting himself relax for a second just made him more stressed. There was no hope. Defeated, Ivar turned around to the door. “Fine. I’m going to the bar.”

With those cold words, devoid of the previous desperation that he had before, he left the room and shut the door behind him. Only a few seconds after closing the door, however, he heard the door open again, the rapid stepping of a speed-walking brother, and felt Eji’s arms around him.

“I’m sorry that I’m so busy…” Eji’s face snuggled into Ivar’s neck. This kind of brotherly comfort was both Eji and Ivar’s favourite. They wouldn’t trade it for the world. Ivar turned around and hugged him back. When Eji was standing tall, Ivar would only come to his chin in height. Though… if Ivar wasn’t wearing his heels and Eji was… Ivar felt dwarfed, which was why Ivar got heels in the first place.

Having such a tall older brother made him feel so protected, especially when they hugged like this. Eji’s corseted body had always been a nice one to hug, even though the corsets were always tight and hardened his body.

“It’s okay… I’m not mad at you. I just don’t want you to be stressed, okay? I know why you do what you do, and I’m so grateful…”

“Ivar, I understand it gets boring at home. I’m glad you have other places to have fun.” Eji stepped back and reached for Ivar’s head. Oh no ya don’t. Ivar stepped back but couldn’t escape the hair rustle that Eji gave him, messing up his perfectly brushed hair. 

“Ejiiiii!”

“Stop whining. You’re adorable and I love you and this is how I have decided to show it today.”

“Noooooo. This is bad and I wanna look good!”

Eji raised an eyebrow and looked at him in a judge-y, smug matter. “And who are you trying to impress.”

“Um, possible suitors of course! I’m a prince who needs a lover.”

Eji chuckled. “There’s a lot to unpack there, but you go on then, little prince.”

Ivar pouted as he watched his brother go back into his office with a small wave. Not only did he mock Ivar’s need for a lover, but the hug did not last nearly long enough. And! He mocked his height. He shook his head rigorously to reset his hair to its natural state, then blew a strand of it off his face. He sighed, turned back to the direction he was previously walking, and made his way to his bar.