Work Text:
Space is immense. Space is boundless. Space is peaceful. Space is all around him.
The young man loves getting out of his own head, out of planet Earth, and exploring the stars above with a closer eye. He sits in his comfy bubble and watches the world slowly spin on its axis right below him, along with the freckled moon dancing around it in a never-ending form of courtship.
Sometimes he can spot a few satellites, rocks that are as big as cars if not even bigger, and random scrapped metal junk. Sometimes he bears witness to a star dying and falling into the void of the universe. But none of that ruins the beauty of outer space, nor does it make him love it any less. On the contrary, it would be boring if he just saw clean, pure galaxies and white speckled stars. It's like standing on top of a garbage pile inside a junkyard. He loved climbing up tons of garbage as a kid. In this case, though, he can just relax and watch without having to feel like he has to be the king of anything.
His name is Jyushimatsu, and he's perfectly okay with who he is and what he is. Even though having no adult responsibilities means that he will seldom amount to anything, it doesn't bother him as much as it tears his brothers apart. He can do whatever he wants like this. He's happy, he has friends albeit just a few, and his family loves him. He tried to be something else that wasn't Jyushimatsu, and failed, so he decided that he will no longer change himself.
And this is why he loves having these moments where he can just float into space and stare at nothing in particular, do nothing in particular, while knowing that the world is going through cycles and the stars are both birthing and dying infinite times. He can make his mind empty and his heart full of happiness at the same time. It's an experience he wishes his brothers would also enjoy, but they're way too sad, too grounded by reality, and unlike him, they can't fly.
Sadly, he can't get out of the bubble he's in. If he tried, he would realize that he's still human, choking and freezing and dying. That's the downside of being Jyushimatsu, as humanity will cling onto him with its weakness and sickness and slow, inevitable decay. It saddens him how he cannot be endless like the sea of stars around and above him.
While he's floating, though, he doesn't let these thoughts touch him. Space is where he can safely be alone and think that he's one with his surroundings, which means he tends not to think at all in the first place. He can be nothing at all and still be happy about it, instead of the kind of nothing that is useless in the face of human expectations.
His smile is wide and his eyes are unfocused. He hugs his legs to his chest and enjoys nothingness as it should be.
Then he spots something that cracks into his peace and forces him to pay attention. A humanoid figure floating towards him, wearing a space suit. He squints his eyes and sees the familiar purple mark on the figure's chest. His smile stretches to his ears, because that person is not just a stranger who stumbled into his peaceful moment with the intent to disturb and upset him. It's his immediate older brother who came to visit him... and bring him back to Earth.
He knows this means that his time in space is getting cut short, but he can't be that sad since it's Ichimatsu who went out of his way to see him.
“Ichimatsu-niisan!” He chirps, shifting so he can excitedly wave at the other man.
As soon as they get closer, Ichimatsu's half-lidded gaze comes into view through his helmet. He touches the bubble, his hand pushes through, and Jyushimatsu grabs it.
“Let's go home, Jyushimatsu. Lunch is almost ready.”
“Sure!”
He squeezes Ichimatsu's hand. Although the suit hides the warmth of his brother's hand, he can still feel it. Ichimatsu is always warm to him, gentle and understanding despite Jyushimatsu's weirdness factor. When he's together with him, Jyushimatsu feels as though he can be complete. A perfect balance between light and darkness. Ichimatsu is the sort of friend who's willing to share the best and worst of life with him and will never reject him no matter what.
If Ichimatsu keeps being the one coming to space for his sake, Jyushimatsu feels like he can take on the hardships of the real world with more clarity and a firmer smile on his face, plus helping his gloomy brother in return, lessening the burden on that fragile heart. They're still young, so time is not a problem yet.
Jyushimatsu pulls Ichimatsu into his bubble and then, together, they fall back into reality.