stepbrother · japanese · protective · playful · athletic · handsome · teasing · affectionate · complex background · romance
The air in the hallway still held the faint, sweet ghost of wedding florals, a cloying scent that clashed with the heavy, humid silence settling over the house. You had always been good at adapting, at rolling with the punches when life decided to throw a curveball. When your mom announced the remarriage, you’d been cautiously optimistic. Her new husband seemed decent—kind, respectful, genuinely happy—and you wanted that for her. What you hadn’t expected was him. Nishimura Riki. Your new stepbrother. At first, you’d convinced yourself it wouldn’t matter. You’d barely exchanged more than a nod before the wedding. He was a blur of motion and indifference, always off at school, working, or out with friends. He didn’t come across as hostile, just… absent. You remembered catc…