Reminder to readers: 'Kuya' is a Filipino term of endearment and respect for an older male blood relative within the same generation. Teejay and Lani are twins, but because Teejay was born first (by a matter of mere minutes), Lani thinks of him as her big brother and addresses him as Kuya.
*
Teejay slept with his arms around his sister's waist. It was rare for him to sleep with another person lying next to him. He was used to sleeping alone, especially on warm nights. Usually, once the deed was done and bodily fluids had been exchanged, he and his male sexual partner would part ways.
Maybe sleeping with his sister was different. They shared the same blood.
Even though it was a warm morning, he slept peacefully, snoring lightly. The suburban street outside remained mercifully quiet. Her ceiling fan hummed quietly as it spiralled above them.
He and his twin sister dreamed solitary private dreams until the sound of their mom's washing machine woke them up.
"Morning, Kuya," his sister said, greeting the new day. She felt as though sleeping next to her big brother was the most natural thing in the world. Her eyelids fluttered as they welcomed the morning sun. Her asshole felt a little strange from last night, like it had been invaded and stretched.
"Listen," Teejay frowned. "You hear that? That whirring sound?" Despite lying in bed next to his twin sister, he hadn't yet remembered what happened last night.
"Yeah, Mom's just doing a load of washing. No big deal. I'm totally used to it."
Teejay desperately needed to take a pee. He got up, and as he walked past his bedroom, he noticed his door was wide open. His bed had been stripped. His sheets and pillowcases weren't there anymore. That must be why the washing machine was on. His window was open, letting in fresh air. Fuck. He suddenly remembered. He fucked his sister in the ass last night.
He tried to think as his piss thundered into the bowl. He looked at his naked self in the mirror, not sure who his reflection was anymore. He finished up and scuttled back to his sister's room. "Hey, Lani," he whispered urgently. "Mom's been in my bedroom."
His twin sister rolled onto her back. She'd closed her eyes again, still in a blissful half-dream about last night. "I forgot to hang up my stocking, so she hasn't been in mine." She propped herself up on one elbow, roughly brushing her morning hair out of her face. "It's her house, Kuya, she can do whatever she wants." Her eyes opened slightly. Even with sleepy eyes still half closed, she was still able to appreciate her twin brother's amazingly muscular chest.
"No, but don't you understand?" Teejay persisted. "My bed was a mess last night, and she's ... she's ... cleaned up."
Lani's eyes snapped open as she realised the significance of what her brother was telling her. "Oh, fuck. She knows." She sat up on the edge of her bed and stared at the floor. "She knows we had sex."
Teejay said nothing in response. He wasn't sure what to say.
"And your room must've stunk pretty fucking bad," his sister added, looking at the floor.
"What do you mean?"
"Your room would've absolutely reeked of sex. The sheets were soaked, and Mom would've smelled the scent of my squirt." She paused for a second. "Like, if you fucked a dude last night, Mom might've suspected something was up, but when it comes to chicks, women know, bro, they just fucking know. We know what we smell like. And you didn't bring any women home last night except me."
Teejay hadn't ever brought a woman home in his life. "Fuck, Lani. What have we done?"
She nervously bit her bottom lip. Fuck. Right now, she wasn't worried about whether things had changed between her and her brother, she worried about whether things had changed between themselves and their mom.
"Pretend everything is normal," Lani pleaded.
Teejay looked skeptical. "How the fuck am I meant to do that? What's normal about this?"
Lani didn't reply. She couldn't answer his question. They dressed and headed to the kitchen for breakfast.
"Morning!" Maria chirped as her kids entered the kitchen. "Can I make either of you a coffee?"
"Sure thing, Mom," replied Teejay. "That'd be awesome." Again, he knew he hadn't slept for long enough.
"Yes please, Mom!" said Lani.
The siblings flopped down at the table as she fixed them each a cup of morning joe. She placed their mugs on the table before returning to her seat. She put her reading glasses on, picked up her pen, and resumed last night's crossword.
"I'll fix you some breakfast in just a minute," their mom said, "but first, hopefully you two can help me with some of these remaining crossword clues. Five down, six letters. 'Siblings go to bed'. Last letter is a 'T'." She peered over the top of her frames. "Any ideas?"
Her children remained silent. Teejay sipped his coffee.
"Or maybe this one," their mom continued. "Eight across. 'A backwards sexual adventure'. Four letters, begins with an 'A'." She looked at the intersecting clue she'd completed going down. "Oh, and the third letter is an 'A', too."
Lani wasn't sure what to do or say.
"Got one more," their mom said. "Fifteen down. Six letters in the clue. 'A possible consequence of the female orgasm', and the second letter is a 'Q'. I assume that means the third letter is a 'U'. I'll just fill that third square in."
Lani couldn't take it anymore. She had no idea whether these were real crossword clues or not. Unless their mom was into pornographic crosswords, they probably weren't.
"Oh, by the way," said Maria, "I took the opportunity to clean up your room this morning, Teejay. I put some washing on. I hope it didn't wake you."
"Thanks, Mom," he said. He took a sip of caffeine. "I noticed."
Lani looked at her brother. By now, they both knew she knew. Their mom wasn't stupid, and the best thing they could do right now was to be totally honest. "Mom, I think we need to explain --"
