Above the Skies [X-Aki]

[L]

It had stopped snowing recently and was more frigid cold for some reason. When the snow had been drifting down it had felt more like the snow was numbing you from the cold, with the whole cold on cold thing. But that didn't matter so much. Not when you were one of the few walking around and bundled up. Though, you could also be one of those people that despised being bundled up, or simply felt strange in a lot of clothing.

Like Rhesa, for example.

Her light, blue jacket was one of the few she owned. No coat in this mix, just the cloth one she was wearing, the cropped jean jacket that was dark blue, along with a shawl like one that was see through, so it didn't really count as a jacket. Under it she wore a rather short black skirt with pale blue ankle tights, though no one would notice that they were ankle tights since she was wearing black boots that came up just below her knees. Her shirt she wore under the jacket was light blue with a lacy white tank under the long sleeved shirt, that was made of a fabric that could be seen through. So it wasn't quite the best outfit for winter, but why should she care? It got her looks. Which was attention. Which was good enough for her.

Currently she walked beside her boyfriend, Keiji. People said she was lucky, others said she was slut, then some more said she should be careful. Since when was she careful? It didn't make much difference to her. She knew little of Keiji, yet much more then others. Of course, the basic reason Keiji was with her was because she gave him what he wanted, as well as dealt with the abuse without complaints. Strangely enough, she didn't mind it. None of it. It seemed... Well, she wasn't quite sure what it seemed like. It didn't matter. That was it. It just didn't matter. What was a little pain to someone that would stay with her for a while, after all, it was attention as well.

For now she didn't really notice Keiji's brother when he was around. She hadn't even really spoken to him. Despite her love of attention she rarely strayed from her boyfriend when she had one. Which she normally did. Rarely was she without one. Despite her reputation- scratch that- because of her reputation, a lot of the boys where always ready to take her last boyfriends place. She had been with a lot of men, none that treated her so well though, or that she loved. She wasn't quite positive what love was anymore. Sure, her brother had loved her. But he was dead, and she was losing her once tight grip on his memory. Which saddened her, but she didn't have any pictures of him, hardly anything to remember him.

On thoughts of the past, she almost shuddered. But instead remained still, being used to hiding her thoughts and emotions. Along with movements that would give them away; it made her an excellent liar. Though she didn't like to do so a lot, it did come in handy at times. Like when he mother or father happened to get a hold of her number and call or something. She could casually lie about having a good job, a nice boyfriend, and a pretty little apartment. While the reality was, she had a crappy job waiting tables at a bar though this changed occasionally, then her boyfriend, though she wouldn't admit it, really wasn't so nice, and her apartment was a rat hole. The door hardly shutting right, and smelling like cigarette smoke.

Moving off those thoughts, she looked back over at Keiji, looking over him for a moment before leaning over a bit to take his hand. She looked up at him with her gold eyes, curious about what he was thinking. "Are we going to your apartment again?" She asked in a rather odd toned. It was soft, yet it seemed to hold a seductive note, then was oddly enough, innocent sounding. Her normal voice was quite strange.

[X]

Despite having his girlfriend at his side, he hardly acknowledged her. Instead, he watched others who passed by, girls that were either more attractive or just looked as good as she did. Though, it was certainly difficult to find someone more attractive than Rhesa. Keiji had his arm around her shoulder, holding her close, and anyone might think at first glance that they were a cute couple that loved each other, but really they weren’t. A couple, yes. And if some guy tried to even get near Rhesa, Keiji would get angry as hell. But he didn’t love her. He loved what she could offer, though. And she seemed to love what he could offer. He hadn’t yet gotten bored of her, but they’d been together for a few months now—probably a record for Keiji.

"Are we going to your apartment again?"

Keiji nodded. ”Yep. You can stay the night again,” he added, tightening his grip on her as boy around their age passed by, watching Rhesa with more interest than Keiji liked to see. There would probably be bruises on Rhesa’s arm if he were to move his hand, not that Keiji cared. He tended to attack her a lot. He was pretty sure she didn’t care either, making it even better. No need to worry about going to the cops, getting him sent to jail or something.

He kept his grip tight on Rhesa’s arm, not lightening up at all. He wasn’t too angry right now, no. But he just didn’t care that his grip might be too tight.
It wasn’t long before they reached the apartment. It was a better place than where Rhesa was staying, but not by much. He grabbed the key out of his pocket, unlocking his door, and entered. In the living room, sounds from the speakers could be heard. He must have left the TV on or something. Stuffing his key back in his pocket, he finally loosened his hold on Rhesa’s arm.
”Hungry?” he asked her. But he didn’t bother waiting for an answer. Instead, he headed for the living room. If she really wanted anything to eat—which he guessed she probably wouldn’t—then she could get it herself. If not, she could follow him and they could do what he wanted to do.

But upon entering the living room, Keiji was surprised to find his brother reclining in a chair, playing Halo on the Xbox that Keiji owned.
”What the hell are you doing here?”
Taikii shrugged and smiled up innocently at his twin. ”Playing Halo,” he replied, giving a grin almost as good-looking as Keiji’s.

[This. Is. Fail.]

[L]

As usual Rhesa ignored the prick of ache from him tightening his grip. It wasn't something she paid much mind to. Though the boy was looking at her, she hardly paid much mind to him, aside from the slight revel in the attention she was getting. It was easy enough to notice someone without acknowledging them. One of her, well, it could be considered a lot of things, maybe talent or skill were the best for now.

She a gave a slight smile as he answered her questioned, she liked spending the night with Keiji. As it was a record for him, it certainly was for her. She typically had a new guy every week or so. Occasionally she would stay with one a month, but rarely and not much longer then that. Maybe some part of her feared leaving Keiji, if so she didn't acknowledge it. Or notice it for that matter. It wasn't that she always ignored her problems, well, actually, she did. Frequently. It was always easier then dealing with them.

Once they reached the apartment she simply followed him in. Shaking her head slightly as he asked about food. Curious about the speakers being on she followed Keiji into the living room, resembling a puppy the way she followed him around there for a moment. Well, till she nearly ran into his back. But she stopped herself before she did so, glad she hadn't. It may have aggravated him. Looking around him, to see who he was talking to. As if she didn't know, the voice was familiar enough and Keiji had mentioned a few times about how his brother would constantly come to his apartment annoying the hell out of him and what not.

The girl blinked, "Why are you playing it here though?" She asked, confused at why Taikii was here when obviously Keiji didn't let him in.

[Mines much worse. xP Short... Meh...]

[X]

Keiji’s hands were currently balled into fists, skin pulling tight over his knuckles, looking like his bones may break through any moment. His face was reddened just slightly from anger and irritation, but not much. He took a breath, and put on a calm mask.
Taikii remained calm, letting his grin remain plastered on his tanned face. It had gotten a little paler, due to the lack of bright sunshine, but winter was slowly coming to an end. Soon the tan would come back. Not that Taikii really cared.

”Why are you playing it here though?"

Taikii stopped himself from giving her a look that would show his feelings. That wouldn’t go over well in front of Keiji. There’d end up being a fight. And then both boys would be bloodied and bruised. Oh, joy. In all honesty, Taikii would rather not get a beating, not from his brother, who had, once upon a time, been his best friend. He sure missed those days. Other days he wondered if he’d only imagined them.
”Well,” he said. ”’Cause I don’t have an Xbox. I figure it’d be easier to hang out over here than to go out and buy one.”
He gave another innocent smile, eyes laughing a little. He was enjoying this, but he wasn’t sure why. He didn’t get why he liked irritating his twin brother.

”How’d you even get a key, anyway?” Keiji asked, eyes flashing dangerously, jaw tense—along with the rest of his body. He wanted to punch something. Or somebody.
”Hey, shouldn’t a guy be able to have a key to his twin brother’s apartment?” Taikii complained.

”Hell no. Not when it’s MY apartment and you’re the guy that wants a key.”
Taikii shrugged. ”Hey, that’s just your opinion.”

[L]

Rhesa watched Keiji rather warily. It was easy enough for her to tell when he was getting angry, upset. Considering it happened a lot around her. Then it was also easy to expect what would happen next. Though she wasn't sure what he would do with his brother here. Glancing down at the ground before peering back up, she was trying to think of how she could calm him down. Of course, she couldn't think of anything except getting Taikii to leave, and she wasn't good at getting people to leave.

"But you an Keiji don't even get along. Why come here?" She asked slightly hesitant. "I mean... It doesn't make sense that it's just for video games." Despite all her time spent with guys she still doesn't understand a lot of things they do. Sure, it was easy enough to know what they were thinking, but why they were thinking it, well, that's a bit of another story.

[*flail*]

[X]

Taikii shrugged, smiling a little at the girl, hiding the feelings he had for her. ”’Cause I wanna. He can’t stop me from doing anything. He may be the older of us, but only by a few minutes.” He flashed Keiji a challenging smile, although he knew Keiji, if angry enough, could easily whip his ass and beat the crap out of him. That didn’t mean Taikii didn’t know how to fight, though.

”Doesn’t matter whether it makes sense to anyone. I do what I want because I want to.” He smirked a bit.

[EPIC FAIL. Yes, I typed out ass. XD]

[L]

"Eh, okay..." Rhesa mumbled. She looked down her hair falling back around her face. The girl stared down at the floor. Then she decided to try and get Keiji to relax a bit. Reaching forward she took one of his hands brushing her fingers against his before slipping his fingers apart slightly to hold his hand as they were still in fists. She then leaned closer, slightly against his back, setting her forehead on his back and putting her other hand against his back as well. Sort of rubbing it in the process. Closer to him she could really tell how tense he was.

[I've got an idea... Not sure if it would work right... Maybe she gets into some trouble with some random guys, maybe they're drunk or something, then Taikii shows up and help her out. Little later in this thread or something like that...]

[X]

[L]

[ Darn... Well, we can skip then. Let me try the idea. ^^' XD ]

Rhesa had decided not to stick around for too long with Keiji so aggravated and Taikii obviously not planning on leaving for a while. So she said she'd see Keiji tomorrow and left. She didn't know how he would take it, but he seemed to have his attention on Taikii enough that he wouldn't really care. Walking outside she shuddered in the cold air nipping at her face and seeping through her clothes. Her very few clothes. The only part of her that really seemed fairly warm were her feet who were snug in socks and her boots, partially her legs from the bootleg. But not so much.

She wanted to get to her apartment quickly, but a light snow had started and she found she was awed by it, despite the fact that her eyes stung from the snow that got whipped in them occasionally. Her nose was definitely reddening, she didn't need a mirror to tell her that, though her cheeks felt like they were red as well. And her ears would be later after being so cold. She brushed some hair out of her face that had blown in her eyes from the wind. Slipping a bit on the icy sidewalk, she pressed her palm against the side of a building to regain balance. At this point a few guys came out of the building, a bar to be precise, laughing and joking around.

They stuck of alcohol, naturally.

So upon seeing Rhesa who had just straitened herself up and started walking again. The guys nudged each other and met her before she could go around them. "Hey, what're ya doin' around here in this weather, babe." One of them said oh so intelligently. Rhesa glanced back up. Meeting the eyes of the one who spoke. A murky green.

"Just going home... Excuse me..." She mumbled her reply, looking down again.
'Nah, why don't you come with us, have some fun?" One sort of asked nudging her. She stumbled to the side slightly.
"No thanks. I'm just going to go home." She stated lifting her head up slightly and poking her chin out a bit as well.
"Awe, come on." The first one said.
She crossed her arms over her chest, wishing Keiji was here at this point. He wouldn't let them be eye raping her. Yes, odd sense of words, but that's how she thought. And it was also the trust, Keiji was quite... Territorial? That seemed to work, but he was thus, despite how he was, she felt safe from others.

Was that really such a bad thing for her to think about the abusive man?

Despite this she was still worried. Deciding to stop being the shy vulnerable she went for the more slutty version of herself. She moved into a position with her hips out, looking out at them, smirking now. "You all are rather pushy aren't you?" She said tilting her head, receiving some smirks, and a 'of course'. Lifting her head up more and tilting it back slightly she sighed. "So how do I even know that you're worth my time?" She asked, still smirking.

"Why don't you pick on of us and you'll see."
"Or, I could walk off and let you guys enjoy the view and curse what you lost because you are currently a bunch of drunks. I don't really do drunks." She replied. Aside from the fact that Keiji was a drunk, which she wasn't really dwelling on at this point. "Besides. I have a boyfriend and he would be awfully pissed if he saw how you all were looking at me." Which was all too true.
"He won't know. And hey, there are more of, 'sides, who says you can't try something once." Well sh*t. She bite her lip, which she managed to make look not so nervous. They were probably going to get forceful, which in that case she would be... Well, despite the wording, screwed.

[Okay, I could go on forever, but I'll let you bring Taikii in... XD]

[X]

After Rhesa left the apartment, Taikii resumed to playing the video game, ignoring Keiji as he yelled obscenities and plenty of other things at him. When it looked like Keiji was getting near violence, Taikii got up, shut off the Xbox, and left the apartment without a word. Although, it was definitely tempting to just turn around and punch his twin brother in the face before he exited through the door.
“Maybe I’ll get a drink and calm down…” he thought aloud. Going to a bar would be nice. The loud music and alcohol would distract him for a while from life. He’d be able to have some fun. He turned down the corner and headed the way that would lead to the bar, instead of his own apartment.

As he neared and he heard the sound made by the reverberations of the loud music within the building. Then he heard some guys outside laughing a little too loud. That was natural. That will be found at any bar.
Of course, then, he saw Rhesa among the group of men which had just entered his vision. His pace quickened, eyes narrowing. His hands were curled into fists now. At first glance, anyone who knew the twins would mistake him with Keiji at first, considering the angered expression on his face.
He broke into the group, setting a hand on Rhesa’s shoulder. His grip was firm, but it wasn’t tight and hard like Keiji’s. Taikii made sure he was gentle with her. He knew what his twin did to her. He still didn’t know why he didn’t ever do a thing about it. It made little sense. But he supposed he just didn’t want to think his brother had stooped so low as to belong behind bars. He didn’t want Keiji to become their father. He wanted to believe that the boy who had not been only his brother, but also his very best friend was still there somewhere. Although, there was no denying both of them had been changed by the abuse they received. Even Taikii had become an alcoholic and an even avid smoker.

”Hey,” he said, voice low but totally calm. ”What’s going on here?” He flashed a tense smile at the other men, unable to successfully mask is anger. He could tell that the guys were bothering Rhesa. He looked each person in the eye. He was ready for a fight, but he knew he’d definitely get pretty badly hurt. After all, he was way outnumbered. Well, worst case scenario, he’d make sure Rhesa ran off, and then probably get beaten unconscious or dead.
Well, hell. Hopefully the worst case scenario didn’t happen. It’d suck to lay out here unconscious all night.