Twins Again, PG

[steins_stories]

♥ FLUFF FRIDAY♥

Title: Twins Again
Author:  steinsgrrl 
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. I in no way intend to insinuate that any of the below actually happened. It is simply a piece of written entertainment based on the public personas of real people.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Language
Summary: Tom has a surprise for Bill
Author Notes:  Gen!fic, though it could be Bill/Tom if you squint REAL hard.  I'm not sure if it's fluffy enough, but it was written for Fluff Friday :)


As Tom reached the top step of the porch, Georg’s little black BMW roared away down the street behind him, and Tom winced. “Way to be subtle there, Hagen.”

Shaking his head, he unlocked the door and opened it as quietly as he could manage. He didn’t want Bill to see him just yet, and he wasn’t sure where Bill was right about now. Actually, he wasn’t sure he wanted Bill to see him at all, but he knew he couldn’t hide from his brother forever. He wanted to just get this over with.

Slipping off his coat and shoes, he listened for his brother. Bill wasn’t really the quiet type, at least not at home, and it didn’t take long for Tom to hear him. Smiling to himself, Tom climbed the stairs to the second floor, his baggy pants swishing around his feet. He held on to the fronts of his pant legs to hold them up, determined that when his brother saw his new look, it wouldn’t be as Tom lay crumpled at the bottom of the stairs, having been tripped up by his own clothing.

Tom stopped short at the doorway to Bill’s bedroom. Inside, he could hear the radio turned up loud and Bill singing along at the top of his lungs. An image popped into his head of a five-year-old Bill, swaying in front of the mirror in their bedroom, singing into his hairbrush. Tom would have grinned at the memory if he weren’t so nervous.

What had made him think he should do this, anyway? Bill was the one that changed his look and Tom was always the one that stayed the same. Now, not even a year after proclaiming to their entire fan base that he wouldn’t be changing his looks anytime soon, that he was too much of a grandpa about it, he had gone and done it. And he hadn’t even told Bill first.

Tom couldn’t imagine what Bill would say. He’d thought it was a really cool idea, but the longer he sat in that damned uncomfortable salon chair, the more time he’d had to think. Would Bill think Tom was just trying to get attention? Would he hate it? Tell him it looked like shit on him? That it wasn’t his color? Tom didn’t know what his brother would say, but he decided the very worst thing Bill could do was laugh.

He decided he couldn’t stand out there all day; he’d have to do this eventually, and there was no better time than now. Tom took a deep breath and, although he tried to steel himself against any reaction Bill might have, his nerves still made his stomach clench. He settled his fingers around the door handle and slowly opened the door.

The light was on in his brother’s closet, and over the guitar of the old Queen song on the radio and Bill’s singing, he could hear the scrape of hangers over wood. Tom stood inside the door for a moment, trying to decide how to interrupt his brother. He didn’t really want to just go barging into Bill’s closet with no warning, looking the way he did. He didn’t think Bill would recognize him right off, and he’d likely get thwapped over the head with whatever clothing Bill was holding at the time. Or, he thought, glancing over at the stereo in the corner, he could just turn the stereo down and tell Bill he had a surprise for him before Bill even had a chance to see him.

Tom rolled his eyes as he crossed to room to the stereo. He was acting like an idiot. He’d lived with Bill his entire life, and he should know better than anyone that Bill would never make fun of him because of a--

“Tom, I thought I heard you come in. Look, do you think this will still fit me with-” Bill glanced up as he came out of the closet, screeched and jumped behind the closet door.

“Bill.” Tom sighed, not sure whether he should be hurt that his brother had squealed like a little girl or whether he should laugh because his brother had squealed like a little girl.

“What the fuck, Tom?” Bill peeked out from behind the door. “What did you…do?” He came out and approached Tom, his eyes never leaving his brother’s hair. Tom ducked his head as Bill reached out slowly to run his fingers over the rows of black braids woven into Tom’s scalp.

“I went to the salon.” Tom looked at him through his lashes, trying to gauge his brother’s reaction, but the only thing he could read on Bill’s face, so far, was shock.

“Uh huh.“ Bill continued to fondle Tom’s new corn rows, his eyes wide, mouth hanging open.

“It was supposed to be a surprise.” Tom murmured, his stomach dropping. This wasn’t the reaction he feared, but it wasn’t the reaction he hoped for, either.

“Oh, it’s a surprise, alright.” Bill nodded, his brows raised. He walked around Tom; inspecting the back, Tom assumed.

“You don’t like it.” Tom muttered. “I should have known you wouldn’t-” Tom brushed past his brother, ignoring his twin’s stuttering. He made it as far as the door before slim fingers wrapped around his own and pulled him to a hard stop.

“Tom, what? Don’t be dumb.” Bill reached around him, grasping for Tom’s other hand until he’d grabbed it up and turned his brother around to face him. “I’m just surprised, that’s all.” He squeezed Tom’s hands and Tom ducked his head, his cheeks burning.

“Yeah?” Tom’s voice came out small and then he really did feel dumb. He was acting like such a girl about this, but he’d done it for Bill and, girly or not, it hurt to think that Bill thought his hair looked stupid.

“Yeah. Come over here.” Bill dragged him by the hand toward the bed, and when Bill flopped across the mattress, Tom crawled up, as well. “Bring me your head.” Bill wiggled his fingers, beckoning Tom closer.

Tom snorted and settled on his belly next to Bill, his arms under his head. His brother lay on his side next to him and propped himself up on his elbow. Bill’s fingers ran the length of one braid, then another. “It’s really soft.” Bill breathed. “How long did this take?”

Tom closed his eyes, relishing the feeling of Bill playing with his new locks. “All day. They had to treat the hell out of my dreads to un-mat them.”

Bill gasped next to him and he yanked the braid in his hand. Tom yelped and grabbed the root of the braid. “You said you were helping Georg shop for a new car! Was he in on this?”

“Shit, Bill, that hurt.” He rubbed his scalp and head butted Bill’s arm with his forehead.

“Sorry.” Bill mumbled. “Well, was he? You guys are ganging up against me now.” He flopped down on his back next to Tom and turned his head, sticking his bottom lip out in a pout.

“Bill,” Tom deepened his voice and flicked Bill’s lip with his thumb, and Bill tried to catch it with his teeth. “I couldn’t take you with me if I wanted to surprise you, could I?”

Bill hummed. “No, I guess not. Wait,” Bill rolled to face him again, “you did this for me?”

Tom rested his forehead on his arms, suddenly feeling the need to hide. “Yeah,” he breathed, “sorta. For both of us.” He smiled into the comforter and chanced a peek at Bill from beneath his braids.

Bill looked adorably confused, one eyebrow raised, “Why? I mean, what for?”

Tom pulled his bandana off and lay it on the bed next to them. “Well, you got that tattoo; we wanted to get back to our roots, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I was thinking about our roots. Our real roots.” Tom leaned up on an elbow and twirled one of Bill’s dreads around his finger.

“Yeah…?” Bill gestured impatiently for him to continue, obviously not understanding what Tom was getting at.

“Ugh, god, Bill. You’re gonna make me say it.” Tom yanked gently on the dread in his grasp, making Bill glare. “Fine. In the beginning, it was just you and me, right? We looked the same, but then we changed our hair and we haven’t looked like twins in years.”

Bill’s eyes flicked to Tom’s hair, and his eyes began to shine.

“So, you…” Bill voice sounded like he couldn’t get enough air, and Tom thought he better finish so his brother could breathe.

“Yeah. My dreads were breaking and had to come out anyway, so I thought that this would look closer to your hair and still let me be myself.” He pet a hand down his braids, then stroked it down Bill’s dreads. “I thought it was time we looked like twins again.”

Bill made a choked noise in the back of his throat and Tom started to sit up, frowning, “Are you okay?”

His brother covered his mouth with his hand and closed his eyes, nodding his head. “What’s wrong then?”

Bill blinked several times and opened moist eyes to smile at his brother. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.” Bill threw himself on Tom’s back and hugged him tight while Tom grunted and growled.

“Gah! Get off, Bill!” Tom reared up and tossed Bill off to his side, where he bounced on the mattress before settling down with his head near Tom’s. Bill kissed his brother on the forehead before pulling back to look Tom in the eyes.

Bill was suddenly serious, and Tom knitted his brows in confusion. “What?”

“You know,” Bill raised an eyebrow and smiled at his brother, “looking like twins again is gonna be so cool, but are we gonna have to start dressing alike, too?”

“What? No.” Tom shook his head and chuckled.

“Good. “Cause this twin thing is great, but I draw the line at waddling like a penguin.” Bill stood up and waddled around the end of the bed.

Tom jumped off the bed with a grin and a growl and chased his squealing twin all the way downstairs, waddling the whole way.