Chapter Text
Black wasn't having a good day, in fact, when was the last time he had a good day? Mm...yeah, ten fucking years ago.
His old childhood friend betrayed him in the most vile and familiar way possible. Todd became everything Black hates.
Black would never say that he cared about his parents, because they did absolutely nothing right... Only one thing, and it was his cute little brother, after White, they didn't fulfill their role as parents, not even a little bit, they just cared the money.
The exploitation of children was very noticeable, especially in White, since he was the only one they could take money from and turn into an exact copy of themselves. White spent more than fifteen hours studying many times, and even much longer. White sometimes cried from stress and fatigue... he said that his eyes and fingers hurt from writing so much, in fact his vision problems were the fault of spending so many hours in front of so many books. Black always made sure to cut down on those study hours, as his parents were never around and many of the babysitters were understanding of them and let them do whatever they wanted.
But when his mother or father was home, White only got up from his chair to go to the bathroom or get something to drink. Black always sat next to him and kept him company, sometimes he tried to study with him, but he got bored too fast.
His parents gave up on him from the start. He was impossible to educate, no matter how hard they are on him, Black was a basket case and he wishes White had been too.
Adul Pothiyakorn was a horrible man who exploited his little brother in every possible way and was never kind to them. White was more obedient and diligent, so his father tried to make him an exact copy of himself. White didn't want to, never wanted to, but when he refused to do as his father said, things went wrong...and Black didn't see White for a whole week. Those seven days were the worst of his life at the time, so much so that he was crying every night until White came out of the punishment room, where he looked just as haggard as he was.
Black was used to being disappointed by people who were close to him, although the only person who would never disappoint him was White...and he was the only person he couldn't have.
Black sighed and entered the garage with the worst mood of his life, so much so that even Gram walked away from him and he was the only one who tried to make them get along, even if Black treated him badly.
In three days they were to burn down Tawi's house in the middle of the woods and Black had more important things to do, but he hasn't been in the mood to fight Sean. If you don't show up at least once before his mission day, that jerk will start claiming absolutely everything from you.
It does not matter, that night he has things to do, he hoped that everything would go well.
But of course, luck is never on his side and nothing went right.
We can start with the fact that Gumpa had invited(forced Black) all of them to stay here for beer and Black was feeling watched by the older man, so he'll just have to find a convincing excuse to leave, which it would be difficult if he had the feeling that Gumpa knew he was doing something dangerous.
Then he had a strange sensation throughout his body. He could start with the fact that his breathing suddenly quickened and he felt his heart pounding. What was this? Why did he feel this way all of a sudden?
Black took a bottle of water that they always had with them when they drank alcohol, for example, to clean up vomit. He took a long drink of water and if he was restless before, he was even more so now.
And when he thought it was over, Black felt a strong blow to his face. He was attentive to what the others were doing, but no one had hit him. Why did that happen?
Black felt another even stronger blow to his stomach and squirmed in his seat.
No one was hitting him, what the fuck is this?
Wait... Oh God, anything but that, please don't...
Black squeezed his eyes shut, feeling another kick to the stomach.
No, no, no, no, no, no... anything but that, I beg of you.
"I-I'm going to the bathroom..." Black staggered up, feeling the sweat on his face and ignoring the pain in his entire body, he left the garage, but when he wanted to get on his motorcycle, his legs gave out and fell to the ground.
Then he felt that they trampled on him and hit him all over his body. From his face to his back.
"W-white…" Black muttered, feeling the familiar metallic taste on his lips, he probably had a bloody nose or whatever, nobody cares, he had to get up.
He had to help White...
Black put all of his willpower to get up, but he only managed to get to his knees and support himself on his motorcycle.
"White, h-hold on, P' is going to save you..." But his words were nothing more than an empty promise, because he fainted.
When Black woke up, he was lying on the couch in the garage with everyone around him.
"Where...where am I?" Black muttered, closing his eyes as he felt the artificial light against his face.
"I told you he wasn't dead." Yok said, taking pictures.
"Black, are you okay? Why didn't you tell us you felt bad? You were passed out for about two hours." Gumpa removed the wet cloth from Black's forehead, he had had some temperature.
Gram had gone out to see why Black was taking so long in the bathroom and the cry he let out when he saw Black passed out was really comical if we ignore the fact that his leader was lying on the floor.
Black upon hearing how long he was passed out, stood up abruptly. Bad idea, he felt dizzy, but ignored it.
"I-I have to go." Black told them, searching his pockets for his motorcycle keys.
"Are you crazy? You can hardly get up, go back to bed, you have to rest." Gumpa grabbed him by the shoulders, but Black pushed him with all his might, meaning he couldn't move Gumpa an inch.
"Rest? Are you crazy, man!? I have to go... W-white is in danger, I have to find him." Black tried to get around Gumpa, but the man wouldn't budge.
"White? Who the fuck is White?" Sean asked, even more confused than before. It was already confusing to see Black lying on the ground, but now it was worse seeing how desperate he was.
Black ignored Sean and tried to fight Gumpa.
"Please let me go! My White is in danger, I have to protect him!" Black started punching Gumpa in the chest, completely desperate.
"Calm down first. Who is White, and why is he in danger?" Gumpa took Black's arms, looking really confused. He had known Black for longer than the others and never heard him mention someone named White.
"Why don't you understand!? Just let me go! I can't leave him alone, he must be scared and hurt. Why don't you let me find him!? Why does everyone want to separate me from him!?" Black pushed Gumpa away and took several steps back, looking at the gang as if they were his enemies or he was a mouse surrounded by cats planning to devour him.
Black felt his sweaty hands and how he was beginning to find it difficult to breathe. Every second he wasted here with them was one second less where White was in danger.
Sean, Yok and Gram's looks were really painful, they were looking at him as if he was crazy...as if not going to save White was wrong. This is how his mother looked at him when she was with White... this is how his teachers looked at him when he got into trouble... this is how his father saw him when he separated him from White.
Black's vision slowly became unfocused and he was hyperventilating.
He has never hated anyone as much as the gang right now. Anyone who separates him from White, he had the immediate hatred of him... but now it was a thousand times worse, White was hurt and needed his help, but they wouldn't let him go. Is it that only he cares about White?
Black heard the voices of the others in the distance, but he couldn't hear what they were saying clearly, and again it didn't matter, because he passed out.
The second time Black woke up, he was in a hospital room with Gumpa sitting next to him.
"Why didn't you let me go?" Black whispered, his voice hoarse and making a great effort not to get up and hit him.
"Because I don't want you to risk your life for something like that, especially when we don't know what it is about." Gumpa shook his head and stood up.
What did he mean by that? That White was not important? That it wasn't worth risking his life to save White? His life was at risk at the moment he felt White being hurt. His life had no meaning without White and if something happened to his little brother, then he no longer had any meaning to live...
Black ignored Gumpa and sat on the bed, reaching for the IV needle to remove it, but Gumpa grabbed his hand.
"Black, you are not well, you must stay here until you get better. Whatever you have to do, it is not more important than your well-being." Gumpa told him, so serious that Black felt nauseous.
"And who the hell do you think you are to tell me what to do!? Mind your damn business! My little brother's life is in danger and neither you nor anyone will deny me finding him!" Black yelled, really angry. He had never been this angry with Gumpa before and today he was completely justified.
Black yanked the IV needle out of his arm and left the room.
They just delayed it. They only cause you trouble. Why was everyone against him and White being together? He hates it...
Black arrived at the reception and hoped that his gaunt appearance would not give the nurse the idea that he would be dragged back to his room.
"Didn't someone by the name of White Pothiyakorn come by any chance?" Black asked, clenching his fists tightly.
He really had no idea where he should start looking for White, but since he was in the hospital, he could start here.
"Didn't anyone arrive urgently in the last few hours!?" Black insisted nervously.
The man looked up something on the computer and nodded.
"Are you related to the patient?" Black nodded frantically.
"I'm his older brother."
"He is in the ICU, he arrived four hours ago." inform the nurse.
Black didn't need anything else before running straight to the intensive care room.
Was he that bad? Oh God, he felt like his heart was going to explode and the ringing in his ears was really annoying.
Black almost ran into a door, but luckily he was able to catch himself before he passed. It must have been a mess right now, but fuck it.
He had to repeat the process of asking about his brother and after filling out some damn paperwork, they let him see White.
Black didn't know what he was going to find behind that curtain, but he wished it was something else, and even someone else.
But no... the person with the bruised face, full of bruises and wounds all over his body, was indeed his little brother.
And Black's heart was broken into a thousand pieces.
The last time Black had cried immediately and in a really painful way was ten years ago, when he was separated from the same person who is half dead in front of him.
Did they have to be so unlucky? Why was this happening to them? Why always them?
Black walked over to White's bed and took his hand shakily. Was this boy in bed really his little brother?
"W-white... I-I'm so sorry, honey." Black sobbed, stroking White's hair with his free hand.
Black felt guilty for what happened in the pool, if he hadn't separated from White, then he don't would have drowned and maybe they wouldn't have separated so quickly, but the guilt he felt now was a thousand times greater. He again couldn't protect White, but now his life hung on a very fine and taut thread and he was scared.
The emptiness in his chest was as painful as seeing White's face and he wanted his suffering to end, but he will only do it if White opens his eyes.
"Why you?" Black murmured, wiping his tears away. "W-why you and not me?"
Black would give anything right now for him to go the other way around. Just seeing White like this, his soul broke, he did not even want to imagine what he suffered when they beat him, because yes, even though they told him that he had a car accident, Black knew that they beat him because he felt each one of the blows. And he was beginning to suspect that it was his fault that this happened.
Black got into trouble almost every day and fights were a frequent thing, so it was likely that they mistook White for him and left their little brother that way because of him, even if the big differences between them were present, that's not It took away the fact that anyone who wanted to hurt him would not think about whether it was really him or a brother that no one knew existed.
But beyond the clothes, White and him were physically the same in every sense of the word, maybe now they had small differences like Black's piercings and tattoo, but then nothing changed, so it would be difficult for anyone to tell them apart.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... It's my fault." Black shook his head, squeezing White's hand tightly.
A male nurse entered the room and asked Black if he could come out, since they had to do who knows what.
I'll be back later." Black whispered and kissed White's forehead.
Before leaving, Black saw White's backpack by the bed, so he grabbed it and followed the male nurse out.
He had a quick chat with a doctor who told him that his brother needed surgery, but they needed permission from a family member, so Black signed quickly and headed to the OR waiting room.
While he waited, since he wasn't going to move from here all night, he checked White's backpack.
He had a couple of keys, probably to some fancy car his father had given him, some clothes, spare glasses and of course, his cell phone.
Black unlocked the cell phone with facial recognition and began to check absolutely all of his brother's phone.
Black found nothing to give him any clue as to why White ended up like this. White's cell phone was really boring, it had almost nothing, he only downloaded two applications in addition to the ones that already came with the phone.
Black sighed and before putting away White's cell phone, he received a call from an unknown number, which he recognized immediately.
Todd... Why was Todd calling White?
Black answered with some hesitation.
"Hi White." Todd greeted, making Black angry, but he calmed down immediately.
"Hello?" Black greeted, feigning confusion, although he really was confused.
"I'm Todd, do you remember me?"
Yes... unfortunately he did and because three months ago they were together for the last time before he decided to cut all ties with him.
"Yes, I do..." Black replied.
"I've got news for Black…he's dying." Todd sounded really distressed and Black wanted to smash the phone against the wall.
That he was dying? White was dying! Could it be possible that Todd sent his men after him and they mistook him for White? If this was Todd's fault, he'll kill him. It doesn't matter, he'll kill him anyway.
"I'll give you the address of where he is." Then Todd hung up the call and got a message right away with the address of the hospital.
Well... Black will put the things inside White's backpack to use.
Black walked into the first bathroom he found and took off his own clothes to put on White's and as expected, he fit he perfectly.
The only problem was the glasses, the earrings he could take off and the tattoo was covered, but if he put on White's glasses he would end up on the floor with a good dizzy spell.
He could pretend he had contact lenses, but that might ruin his impression of White, anyway, glasses are out.
Black walked out of the bathroom stall and looked at himself in the mirror. Yes, he almost seemed like a spoiled rich kid, although White was only spoiled by him and he regrets nothing.
Something was missing... he hair.
Black searched White's backpack for a hairbrush that he was sure White had and yes, there was one.
Black brushed his hair as neat as possible, so now he was much more presentable for pretending to be White.
His main concern now was being nice to Todd.
He'll cut off a testicle after this, but it's all for his little brother.
Black left the bathroom with all his things inside the backpack and went to the ICU, White had already left surgery half an hour ago, he just stayed there to kill time.
Seeing Todd, he walked over quickly.
"White...good to see you again, come on." Todd smiled slightly at him and led him to White's room.
"Is it that bad?" Black asked, following Todd.
"I think...he called me and told me he was being chased," Todd explained, grabbing a hospital gown from a locker and putting it on Black.
Since when does Todd have this kind of trust with White? During his childhood he never left White alone with Todd for more than five minutes and when that time was extended, White drowned in the pool with Todd present.
"You haven't spoken to each other at all?" Todd asked, tying up Black's hospital gown.
"No. Tell me what happened to him." Black shook his head.
Well, Todd was already lying too much and he knew that if he really was White, maybe he would believe him being in such a vulnerable moment when he found out that his brother is in the hospital, but it is possible that when the scare subsides, White will he would start to analyze this conversation in depth and probably start to distrust Todd.
"After you moved to Russia, Black and I went to the same school all the time. When I entered college, I skipped classes a lot. I was always arguing with your mother, so I told him to stay with me. This last time, he found a new group of friends to be with. They seemed dangerous, so I told him not to trust them too much, but he wouldn't listen. I don't know if my theory is true, but maybe Black ended up like this because of them." Todd explained, quite seriously for Black's liking.
They were pure bullshit! The gang was many things, but they would never do something like that to him, maybe Sean, but Black was sure he wouldn't sink so low as to leave it that way.
But Black had to put himself in White's shoes because he didn't know them at all.
Todd led him into White's room and gave him a rueful look before moving the curtain back.
Black walked over to the stretcher and didn't even have to force tears, he just started crying again seeing White so gaunt for the second time.
Black brought his hand to White's cheek and caressed it gently.
"P', I will find who did this to you and make them pay. I promise." Black took White's hand and sobbed.
Todd put his hand on his shoulder in an attempt at comfort.
"Can you leave me alone with him?" Black muttered, looking at White sadly.
When Todd left the room, Black took the necklace that White had under the hospital gown. He had seen it as soon as Todd pulled back the curtain and was afraid that he would check on it later and realize that the one on the bed was White. Unfortunately Todd knew his taste in cheap clothes and jewelry, he didn't think White's taste was similar to his.
Seeing the necklace made his heart sink. It was the same necklace he made for White ten years ago. Black was sure that his brother no longer had it, but apparently White came full of surprises.
"I still love you...and I'll get you back no matter what I do." Black whispered to White, kissing his forehead before reluctantly leaving the room.
Black read the necklace where said "I love you infinitely" one last time and hung it around his own neck before leaving the room.
The conversation with Todd was quick and awkward before he left. Black decided to stay a little longer, he wanted to see White again, but he was denied entry saying that it was enough visit for today and that he should rest.
Unable to see his brother, he inquired in detail about White's critical condition. Two broken ribs, a broken leg, internal bleeding, and he was in a medically induced coma. It could have been worse... but this also could not have happened.
Black left the hospital and took a taxi to go to his apartment.
The road was longer than Black thought it would be, but he gave he time to think a bit and assimilate this better.
As much as it hurt, this was real. White was half dead in the hospital bed and maybe it was his fault...
Every time they were together something bad happened and it was always his damn fault. Black was angry and he wanted to smash everything that got in his way, but that wouldn't make it any better.
Arriving at his apartment, he pay for the taxi with the money from White's wallet. Black didn't know what to do at this point, maybe get drunk to get out of this hell.
He didn't know what he should do or where to start, he only knew that his brother suddenly returns to Thailand, only to find him half dead in a hospital bed. Black couldn't really put into words the constant pain in his chest and throughout his body.
He was so fucking scared... but he'll find out what happened and he'll make the son of a bitch who did this pay.