Red x Blue - The Subject of Illusion (Four Swords Modern AU)

Chapter 9

Red awoke from a pleasant dream about Blue due to his shoulders being shaken almost violently, and so he could only guess that it was his brother.

"Red, Red, wake up, lil' bro!" Green ushered.

The younger blonde groaned and made a sloppy attempt at opening his eyes, flinching at the unwanted light. Just how early in the morning was it? "Whuuut...?" he slurred, rubbing his face with his palm.

"Sorry to wake you before your alarm. I just wanted to let you know that we'll be heading out early to meet up with everyone for the day! I texted them all last night and they agreed to meet us in the park for some fun. It is our last day before school starts, so I figured we should all do something."

Red let out a large yawn and slowly sat up. "Mmmkaayy..." he replied, stretching his arms above him.

"Alright, I'll leave you to get ready then!" Green called as he left the room.

After giving another rub of his face, Red swung his legs off the bed and stood up, sauntering over to the wardrobe like he'd downed several glasses of heavy alcohol. Perhaps he shouldn't have stayed up so late texting his boyfriend.

He rummaged through his clothes looking for something simple and picked out his black skinny jeans, white undershirt, and red hoodie. He slipped the jeans on and bundled the other clothes in his arms, making his way back to the nightstand to pick up his brush and ease the knots out. Once satisfied that his hair was fluffed up enough, he headed out of his room and into the bathroom to complete his morning routine.

---

Red bounded down the stairs feeling refreshed and awake, greeted by an incredibly inviting smell of pancakes that wafted through the air. He darted over to the kitchen where Green was standing, busy keeping their breakfast from burning.

The older blonde turned around and grinned, giving a small wave at Red as he did so. "Hey, Red! Nice to see that you're wide awake now. Did you sleep well last night, by the way?" he asked.

Red hesitated before answering; Green's over-the-top cheeriness was definitely off. He was obviously trying to act as though the incident yesterday never happened. "Um, yeah, I slept fine, thanks," Red replied awkwardly, thinking back to his late night texting with Blue and almost forgetting that Green still didn't know about the two of them. Yesterday was just way too close for comfort, Red thought as he sat down at the table, recalling how fast his heart beat when Green walked in on him and Blue during one of their "moments". Still, the aura about his brother this morning made him feel a little uncomfortable, and he was glad to be able to go out and spend the day with his friends. Although, he couldn't help but wonder why Green had organized a meet-up when they would all just see each other at school tomorrow.

The steam floating up from the stack placed in front of him disrupted his thoughts however, and the young blonde eagerly dug in. Green placed himself next to his brother and began eating as well, sitting in silence for several minutes. Red later heard Green inhale to speak, but he was interrupted by their parents clomping tiredly down the steps.

"Morning, mom! Morning, dad!" Green greeted with a smile.

"Yeah, morning," Red added, not so enthusiastically.

"Good morning, boys!" their dad responded, glancing over at the table and clicking his tongue. "Aww, you made breakfast for yourselves and not us?" he teased.

"Not our fault if you're up later than us," Green retorted with a smirk.

Red couldn't resist a smile at how well his brother and father got along with their constant joking around. Red, on the other hand, was better suited around his mother – they looked after each other and were practically best friends when out shopping.