Big Ri, Little Ry
Fandom: Infinity Train
Relationships: Ryan Akagi and Ryan Akagi's Family, Ryan Akagi and Ryan's Oldest Sister (Riley)
Characters Featured: Ryan Akagi, Ryan Akagi's Siblings, Ryan's Oldest Sister, Min-Gi Park
Summary: Aside from Min-Gi, Ryan was arguably the closest to his oldest sister, Riley, growing up. But they grew apart faster than he and Min did. So when he disappeared for over a year or two without saying a word to her, he's unsure how to fill the gap between them now.
Notes: N/A
Other Tags: Emotional Hurt, Sibling Love, Ryan and his oldest sister were really close growing up actually, One Shot, Post-Canon, rymin is somewhat implied here but it's not the focus
Min-Gi squeezed Ryan's hand gently as they approached the Akagi residence early in the afternoon. Ryan blushed and squeezed his hand back, albeit more firmly. His free hand wavered hesitantly in the air over the door.
"You think they'd still want to see me?" He asked quietly.
"You're their kid," Min said. "Of course, they'd want to see you again. Plus, with how long we've been gone, I'm sure they're worried sick. I know my parents were..."
Ryan remembered the shocked and tearful look Mrs.Park had in her eyes when Ryan and Min showed up at her doorstep the previous look. Her hair was disheveled with gray hairs peeking out everywhere as she held onto Min-Gi sobbing. Ryan remembered standing there awkwardly as the Parks embraced their son in the doorway. Min tried to explain why he and Ryan had gone missing, but all his parents were worried about was their son being back home and safe. Once they realized Ryan was there, they offered to let Ryan crash at their place for a week. After that, he'd have to tell his family that he'd returned home.
Ryan hadn't talked to anyone in his family since he drove off at the crack of dawn the day after graduation. His oldest sister Riley stopped him at the door, imploring him to at least say his goodbyes to his family before he left. He simply shook his head and told her to listen for him on the radio, and not to worry about him. In hindsight, he could have been less cold with her. But at that moment in time, he wasn't worried about sparing anyone's feelings.
"Last time my family and I spoke, we didn't leave on good terms. Or...any terms really. I just didn't think I could face any of them if I couldn't make something of myself first. And now..."
"Hey," Min interrupted him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "If things don't go as planned, you can always stay with me until we can get our tour started. For real this time."
He gave Ryan an encouraging smile, and he smiled back.
"For real."
"But for now, we should at least give them a shot."
Ryan sighed and knocked on the door. He waited for what felt like an hour, staring at his boots firmly planted on the ground.
"Maybe they're not home," Ryan said, secretly grateful. He started to turn away from the door when it suddenly swung open. A hand clutched his arm and dragged him inside. The door slammed shut before he could reach out for Min-Gi. He felt himself get shoved onto a couch as the lights flashed on. It was just Riley standing there, arms crossed and eyes blazing.
"So let me get this straight. You left us without a single goodbye, then you didn't even say a single word to any of us for a year, and now you just show up out of the blue like you're just paying us a quick visit?" she hissed.
"I didn't mean to be gone for so long, I swear," Ryan mumbled quietly.
"We've been worried sick ever since we heard you and Min-Gi suddenly went missing. How could you do this to us?"
"When I came back to Powell Lake the first time, I was gonna see you guys again...I just... got caught up in something."
"What could have possibly sidetracked you so badly that you don't return to us after a year, Ryan? A year!"
"I uh...well..." Ryan scrambled to find a plausible excuse. How could he possibly explain that he spent the past 6 months on a never-ending train that nearly had them killed at every turn? There was a soft knocking on the door. Riley went to answer the door. Min stood there awkwardly on the doormat. She sighed softly.
"Hello, Min-Gi," she said, letting him inside. He sat next to Ryan on the couch. As stressed out as he was at the moment, he resisted putting his head on Min's shoulder for support.
"You ok?" Min mouthed. Ryan nodded.
Ryan's youngest brother Jude peeked his head through his door into the hallway. He gasped and nearly fell over upon spotting Ryan.
"I told you he didn't die," he said, presumably to his other brother Jacob. Soon enough, Jacob also peered through the doorway and had the same reaction. Eventually, all the Akagi siblings sat together in the living room.
"Where's Mom and Dad?" Ryan asked, fearing the worst.
"Mom and Dad went to work," Riley explained. "You should probably stay here until they return."
"Did someone hurt you?" his second oldest sister Ruth asked, checking Ryan and Min for injuries. "Whatever happened, we won't let them get away with it!"
"Did you get lost somewhere?" Jude asked. "Did you guys meet any celebrities?"
"Did you guys get transported to a never-ending wormhole pocket dimension world or something?" Jacob asked. "I heard about it online. It's all rumors though."
"Alright, enough of that," Riley interrupted, shutting the others up and shooing them away from Ryan and Min-Gi on the couch. "I'm sure Ryan will explain everything once you guys stop swarming him."
"We're just as concerned as you are, Ri," Ruth chided, earning an eye roll from Riley. "He's our brother too."
"Who's the oldest here, Ruth?"
"Don't start this again."
"If uh, if I may interrupt," Min-Gi said suddenly. "Ryan did come back to Powell Lake in less than a year. He asked me to tour with him. I wasn't sure if I was ready, but we ended up leaving together. But on the way, we got hit with so many detours that it took forever for us to get to where we were going. Sometimes we got really lost and didn't know where to go. But...we made it back now."
"And you guys didn't bother to call or send a letter or something?" Riley demanded.
"Don't talk to Min like that," Ryan piped up suddenly, feeling defensive. "It's my fault we ended up so lost. "
"Ryan..." Min said. "It's... both of our faults actually..."
"If you're mad at anyone, it should be me." Ryan continued, crossing his arms and standing in front of Min-Gi.
"I am mad at you," Riley said with a glare. "We thought something horrible happened to you. We thought you were dead. We thought one day we'd get a call or a visit asking us to identify your body."
"I didn't!" Jude said, jumping up. He sat down immediately after Riley shot him a glare.
"I know, and I'm sorry...I'm sorry for worrying you all and not saying a word to you guys while I was gone," Ryan said quietly.
"You're home again and that's all that matters," Ruth said, giving him a gentle hug. "Come on, I bet you haven't had a decent meal in months, I'll find you something to eat."
She pulled him into the kitchen. Ryan never felt Riley's eyes leave the back of his head.
"Riley seems really pissed off," Ryan admitted quietly as Ruth rummaged through the fridge.
"She didn't really sleep well when we got the news that you and Min disappeared. She spent night after night looking for you guys. Sometimes she'd drive off in her motorcycle late at night, and we'd be scared that something would happen to her too. Riley always came back of course, but without you."
"I...never realized she was so worried about me..."
"Duh? You left without a word to anyone and next, we hear you're missing? I know we aren't as close as we used to but you're still our brother, Ryan," she said. She stood back from the fridge, frustrated. "Damn it. Jacob, did you eat the leftovers?"
"How was I supposed to know he'd come back today?" Jacob called back from the living room. Ruth groaned. "Someone's gonna have to order out."
"I'll go," Riley said, putting on her jacket. "All of you stay put. Especially you, Ryan."
"I'll go with you if you want?" he suggested awkwardly. She huffed and shrugged her shoulders.
"Just stay where I can see you."
He followed her out of the door after waving apologetically to Min. For the most part, the walk to the pizza place was eerily silent. Then Ryan stopped.
"I'm sorry."
"You've said that already."
"Well, I'm saying it again."
"Did you even once think of us while you were out there doing god knows what?" she asked, her voice tight. He stared at the back of her head guiltily.
"I did, actually," he snapped. "But I didn't think you or anyone else cared if I lived or died."
"How could you even think of something like that?" She stopped to face him fully. She had tears threatening to spill from her red face. "I never stopped thinking about you when you were gone. I never stopped looking for you. Especially not after the last thing you said to me before."
"It was cruel and cold, I know. I just... I dunno... I didn't want to come back a disappointment."
"What do you mean? You're not-"
"Everyone in the family has their own thing that makes them stand out. Me? I just have my music going for me. I thought I could leave and go solo for a while then come back home when I've made something of myself."
"And that's really awesome-"
"Hard to believe that when it feels like you're never being listened to." He said. "Or that the only person who believes in your dreams is yourself."
"I'm...really sorry that we ever made you feel that way," Riley said quietly, frowning.
"I... Riley..."
"I mean it. I don't know what happened to us...we were really close as kids. But now, it's like we don't even know each other anymore. We're in completely different worlds now."
"You and I grew older and... I dunno. Things...changed. You saved up to get a motorcycle and went to college and it's just about all you cared about. And I guess I didn't notice you guys slipping away at first because I was occupied with band stuff with Min."
"I missed playing dress-up with you and Ruth," she said softly.
"You mean you miss you and Ruth making me your little dress-up doll," Ryan chuckled with an eye roll.
"You have to admit, we made you look good," she said, ruffling his hair. He laughed and gently pushed her arm away from his head.
"Yeah, until Mom yelled at you guys for going through her makeup," he said. "But... I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss some of the times I've had with my big sister."
"And I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy messing with my little brother. Plus I missed you a lot."
"I missed you too." He held out his arms, and she instantly scooped him up into a big hug.
"Promise me you won't suddenly disappear like that again?" she asked quietly, holding him tight. "And if you do... at least call us every once in a while."
He nodded. "I'll try not to give you any more gray hairs than you already have, big sis."
Riley huffed and put him down. He chuckled as she punched his shoulder.
"You may not be a kid anymore but you can be a bit of a brat, you know that?" she sighed as he stuck his tongue out at her. The two continued to talk and catch up as they walked the rest of the way to the pizza parlor.
"God, I forgot how good the pizza was here," Ryan said as Riley placed the order.
"You've missed a lot of stuff while you were gone," she said. "Your birthday, for one."
"We can celebrate it now that I'm here. Plus you can catch me up on what I missed," he replied.
"Let's get started with you first. Have you met anyone new? Maybe a special girl...or guy?" she asked with a curious smile. Ryan blushed and stared at the floor pattern.
"Well, not someone new...but while I was gone, I began to see things...people...in a new light," he said softly.
"Oh, do tell! I won't say a word to Mom or the others unless you're ready of course!" she chirped excitedly, clasping her hands together.
"Well, you might know this person... a really good friend of mine."