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Ludwig dragged his hands across his face before glaring at his brother again. “One more time. Why can’t you bother to get good grades? You’re midterm report was dismissal.”
Gilbert shrugged, tipping the chair back even farther. “Just doesn’t matter to me, I already told you.”
“This isn’t just about high school,” Ludwig snapped. “It’s about your whole life and the career you can get. Failing everything—when I know you can pass it no less—is hardly helpful!”
His brother gave him another shrug. “There’s a good engineering program at the community college. You don’t need grades to get into that.”
Ludwig nearly strangled his brother across the kitchen table. “But that’s so limiting. You still have no idea what you want to do, so closing all these doors so earlier is hardly your best idea.”
Gilbert rolled his eyes and finally set his chair back on the ground. “Fine. If you’re going to bitch at me so much, fine. But,” he rose out of the chair and leaned across the table. Ludwig nearly flinched back, as he was still unused to living with his brother after years of being apart. “I want something,” Gilbert said, his face so close to Ludwig the other could feel the words across his face.
“And what would that be?” Ludwig swallowed.
Gilbert grinned it was blinding. It made Ludwig wonder if he was going to like the answer. “A blowjob.”
For a moment Ludwig only blinked at his brother as he tried to process it. While he was thinking, Gilbert’s smile slipped and he started to lean away. Ludwig’s hand snapped out and grabbed his iron cross, keeping him there. “For that,” he said thickly. “You’re going to have to get straight As.”
This time it was Gilbert who looked shocked before the grin nearly split his face in two.
~
Ludwig came home the day they got their first term’s report to find Gilbert sprawled out on the couch with the biggest smirk he had ever seen. The last several months between them had been a strange mix of the same comradeship and love they had had before and a new awkwardness as they tried to figure out how the new edge of sexual awareness worked in to that.
The nights were they worked on their homework together had been the worst in some ways, because Ludwig would look up sometimes to find Gilbert staring at him and he would find himself trailing off in the middle of a sentence just to watch his brother as he concentrated.
When Ludwig told people his brother was actually very intelligent and organized, they never believed him. But the thing they didn’t understand was just because he didn’t apply himself, or act like he cared, didn’t mean he didn’t. You just had to give him a reason.
Apparently Ludwig had been a good enough reason.
Carefully setting his bag down, Ludwig walked over to the couch, and Gilbert’s smirk just got bigger when he handed over the report card. Ludwig hadn’t thought that possible.
Swallowing thickly, he handed it back. “Straight As. How did you manage that?”
“Hard work, idiot. And so many of the teachers were so shocked and downright happy I was actually doing the work now they forgave me a lot of the stuff I’d missed out before. Actually, they let me turn it in late. First time in all my years there I did the work. I think I shocked them into it.” Ludwig realized he had been starring at his brother’s mouth as he’d been talking and that he hadn’t taken a breath in the last several periods in which he should have.
“Ah.”
Gilbert rose in one fluid motion. “So?”
Ludwig reached out abruptly, preferring not to give himself too much time to dwell on this, and grabbed his brother, crashing their mouths together with perhaps too much force but Gilbert hardly seemed to be complaining.
He wasn’t really sure what he was doing, but he knew the basics of what he was supposed to. Without breaking their contact, he moved his leg against Gilbert’s, urging him back into the bed room. Much stumbling and running into furniture later, he was able to push Gilbert down onto his bed and followed him down.
“I don’t,” he tried to say but his brother’s mouth was right there and he got distracted.
“Doesn’t matter,” Gilbert told him, tearing at his shirt. Ludwig was dazed but knew he wanted to feel as much of Gilbert as he could, and for that to happen, he needed to get those clothes out of the way… “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?” Gilbert gasped as he felt Ludwig tearing and tugging at his clothes.
“I understand the theory.”
Gilbert laughed. “Good enough.” He laughed again, much more high pitched when Ludwig’s hands grazed his stomach. “Shit, that tickles.”
Looking up, Ludwig raised his eye brows. “Oh?”
Letting his head fall back, his brother continued laughing. “I shouldn’t have told you that.”
Ludwig just grinned and continued down his brother’s body.
~
Later, Gilbert curled himself up around Ludwig and yawned. Ludwig seemed to be fighting for some kind of words as he kept opening his mouth and making small sounds before closing it.
“What is it?” Gilbert asked sleepily.
“We… that is, we’re not, this wasn’t…”
“Bruder, just spit it out.”
“We’re doing this again right?”
For a moment Gilbert couldn’t stop himself from freezing. “Aren’t we?”
“I… I’d like to.”
“Good,” Gilbert wiggled around until he was more comfortable. “Because I’d like to too.”
“Ah,” Ludwig was glad his brother couldn’t see the massive and sappy smile on his face.
~
“Gilbert!” Ludwig called from the doorway. “Did you remember the walk the dogs?”
Gilbert peaked his head out over the stairs. “And if I didn’t?”
“You aren’t getting sex for a week,” Ludwig replied, dropping his bag next to the couch.
Gilbert ran down the stairs and leapt on Ludwig’s lap just as the other sat down. “You’re so mean,” he teased. Ludwig tried to keep his face in a glare and not smile.
“Hardly,” Ludwig drawled.
“Besides, it’s a moot point,” Gilbert rolled his shoulders. “Because I did walk your damn dogs. Can we have sex yet?”
Ludwig’s head thudded against the back of the couch. “I just got back, Gilbert.”
“Exactly!” Gilbert grinned. “You’ve been gone three whole days. I’ve missed you.”
Ludwig raised an eyebrow. “We survived without the other for years when our parents broke up, remember?”
“Yeah, but, I didn’t actually know you back then so it was okay.” Gilbert’s smile was blinding and Ludwig had to pull him down for a kiss. Getting his brother to say something that actually smacked of being serious meant he really had missed his brother.
“I’m tired,” Ludwig tried to protest when Gilbert started pulling at his shirt.
“Well, after this you can sleep,” Gilbert smirked at him.
Rolling his eyes Ludwig let his head fall back again.
~
Several weeks later Gilbert was at a café with Francis and Antonio fiddling with his drink and napkin and anything else he could reach.
Francis glanced over at Antonio and back at his friend. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, not really,” Gilbert replied.
Francis rolled his eyes.
“It’s just… it’s not fair. I’m the older one damn it!”
“What’s not fair?” Antonio asked when Francis didn’t.
“Ludwig! He keeps topping and I’m older! It’s just not fair!”
“You’re complaining about getting sex,” Francis drawled. “Really?”
“It’s not the sex part, that parts great.”
“I still can’t believe you’re fucking your brother,” Francis shook his head.
“See, that’s the whole damn problem! I’m not fucking my little brother, he’s fucking me!”
It seemed like the entire café turned around to look at Gilbert following his outburst. Flustered, he ducked his head down.
“Well,” Antonio said once everyone turned back to their own tables. “You could just bring it up with him.” Gilbert muttered something into his cup and shook his head.
“No, really, Antonio is right,” Francis said. “You could just talk to him.”
Still muttering under his breath, Gilbert threw down some money on the table and stalked out of the café. “Any chance they’ll actually have a rational conversation about this?” Antonio asked.
“Little,” Francis answered, stealing the rest of Gilbert’s pastry that he’d left behind.
~
“Oi,” Gilbert said, barreling inside. “We need to talk.”
Ludwig looked up from the magazine he was reading. “About?”
“I’m older!” Gilbert insisted loudly.
Ludwig nodded slowly. “Yes, and?”
“So it’s just not fair that you always top me! I mean, come on, I’m just too awesome to only be a bottom.”
For a second Ludwig didn’t move before he rose in one long drawn out movement. Gilbert’s throat went dry as his brother slinked toward him. “Really?” Ludwig asked when he got close enough to feel Gilbert’s warmth.
“Well, well,” Gilbert stuttered. “Yeah?”
Ludwig tilted his head to one side. “You don’t actually sound so sure about that.”
“Well,” Gilbert swallowed. “That is…” Ludwig smiled and Gilbert gave up. Instead of arguing, he threw himself against the other, wrapping his arms around him and smashing their mouths together.
“You’re not topping,” Ludwig informed him when they came up for breath.
“Yeah, well, I’ll live with it,” Gilbert grinned, running his tongue along Ludwig’s jaw.
Hoisting his brother up, Ludwig dragged him into the bedroom they both used now, leaving one empty. Gilbert was starting to think a life of bottoming wouldn’t actually be too bad a thing… at least as long as he could pull a surprise on Ludwig once a year or so.