The Twin Sister Solution

He had received a picture. A picture of his sister. No, his sisters, plural.

Vee was the one Aiden noticed first. As a man, and as one who found girls attractive, there was no way that he would not have noticed her. Vee was posing in a stance so familiar to someone who had been sent sexts before. She stood in her room, standing, hip cocked to one side, one leg straight, the other bent at the knee, a classic "sexy" pose. She wore only a lacy set of red panties. They were not particularly small, nor were they see-through, but they hugged her hips just right. Her right hand held her phone and her left arm covered her breasts. Covered was perhaps the wrong word. She was covering her nipples, to be sure, but mostly her arm served to press her breasts together and up. They were larger than Aiden had expected. Although he had tried desperately to avoid viewing his sisters sexually before, Aiden had guessed that Vee and Tam were both gorgeous. Seeing Vee on full display like that put even his traitorous imagination to shame. She was still slender, yes, but her curves were very much present.

Aiden didn't look at the rest of the picture until he realized that he was painfully hard. Then he saw that the image had caught Tam as well, apparently without Vee noticing. Tam being in her sister's room wasn't odd. They didn't share space, but they did fairly liberally borrow clothing from each other when needed. Tam had clearly gotten out of the shower, and was looking for something to wear. Aiden knew this because she wore only a towel and was going through her sister's chest of drawers. More specifically, she was bent far over doing so.

Aiden felt awful, but he couldn't stop looking. He didn't want to. Tam was in good shape, and clearly she'd been doing her squats. Even being in the background, he could see the definition and tone in her perfect, heart-shaped ass. Water droplets still clung to her skin, and the slight under-cheek was visible. Ironically, and somewhat guiltily, Aiden realized that Tam had the most perfect ass he had ever seen.

And, of course, Tam's pussy was on display as well. There wasn't much hair, so she probably trimmed a bit. Aiden noticed that she was still wet and swollen from the heat of the shower. Or perhaps she had been touching herself. Maybe she was still aroused. Maybe she needed someone to show her how good sex could be. Maybe both of them did.

Aiden was so disgusted with himself that he felt his stomach roll over. He forced himself to scroll down, to not look at the picture any more. Instead, he read the messages.

Vee: What do you think? ;)

Vee: Oh my god, Aiden. I didn't mean to send that to you. I am so sorry!

Vee: Fuck. Please uh, delete that!

Despite himself, Aiden felt anger growing at Vee. It wasn't like her to be this irresponsible. He forcibly denied that his anger might have another source, although he immediately felt a sharp dislike for whoever Vee had intended sending the nude selfie to.

Aiden: Vee, for fucks sake who are you sending pics like that to?

Aiden: And Tam's in the background, wearing less than you! What were you thinking?!?

Vee: I'm sorry, look. I never do this. I just wanted to be flirty for once and...I didn't send it, okay? Only you saw it.

Aiden: I'm glad. I don't think Tam wants random strangers looking at her...you know...

Vee: Yeah, but only you saw it, and it's okay if it's you. It's always okay for you to see us. PS - I'm totally telling Tam that you called her pussy her "you know". LOL.

Aiden took a deep breath and tried to ignore how casually Vee had approved of him looking at naked pictures of her and her sister. He believed that she hadn't sent the pic to anyone but him, at least. For a moment, just a moment, he had wanted Vee in front of him, dressed like that. He had been angry at her, but also...also aroused. Like she knew she needed to be punished and wanted him to be the one to do it.

Aiden despaired that he was getting more fucked up by the minute.

Aiden deleted the photo from his phone, sat in his car for ten minutes until he was no longer erect, then went inside, relieved himself, and splashed his face with cold water. He was losing the battle with the worst part of his own nature. He could feel his resolve slipping. Had Vee and Tam been dressed like that and in his presence, he could have lost control. He could have...no. No, he would never hurt them. Never. And he certainly wouldn't fuck them. Even if they might like it. Even if they asked him to.

By the time he was back on the interstate, Aiden almost even believed it himself.

* * *

"Do you think that the picture went too far?" Tam was worried. Not because Aiden had seen her. Just knowing that the pic was intended for him aroused her to a degree that surprised even herself. Tam had spent a lot of time with her Hitachi after she returned to her room that day.

"No. I...maybe. I don't know. I think it was necessary. He seemed pretty upset."

"Upset how?" Tam asked, concern edging into her voice.

"A little angry. I could tell that he didn't like the idea of me sending pics like that to anyone. I could almost hear the possessiveness in his words," Vee replied, smiling. "But he also was mad that you 'happened' to be bending over in the background. That's good too. He was being protective, thoughtful, and he was worked up."

"I guess that's good. I mean, that's how we want him. A bit worked up, turned on, but not revolted."

Vee glanced over at Tam, at the wheel. Tam was a safe driver and never took her eyes off of the road. That's how their father and Aiden had taught them to drive.

"Don't worry, Tam. That's why I sent it. It was risky, but if he stays angry, it will only be with me."

"Yeah, I'm not okay with that. All for one."

"And one for all," Vee repeated. The phrase that had become their secret motto. Either both of them got with Aiden, or neither did. Neither one would ever allow the other to be looking in from the outside. It would be the worst possible fate.

After a trip made seemingly endless by her anticipation, the final half-hour went alarmingly quickly. Vee found herself unaccountably nervous. Everything had been thought out and planned as well as could be expected. Everything was ready. This was just like the rest of her life: preparation, practice, and execution would win the day.

Then Vee saw that Aiden had arrived first at the trailhead and her confidence vanished. He was standing outside of his beat-up Nissan truck, leaning against it idly, then he turned and smiled. She felt her face grow hot and her thoughts muddled, her body tingling. It was unfair how easily her brother could undo her, make her feel like a silly little girl. No other boy ever had made her feel that way, and she suspected no one else would in the future, either.

Tam pulled up quickly, but safely, and parked next to her brother, then, surprising no-one, she kept out of the car and ran around, jumping straight into Aiden's arms. Vee rolled her eyes but couldn't help but smile as she got out more slowly. Sometimes she felt like their plan was dishonest, but the truth was that neither of them could live without their older brother, and they needed him to be more than family.

Much more.

Vee watched as Tam held the hug maybe a few seconds too long and too tight, and understood what she was going through. It felt good when he held them. It made each of them feel like the safe, warm center of everything. Especially here, in a place that was important to both of them, that had become a reminder of the other critical male figure in their lives. Or rather, the hole that his death had left. Vee watched Aiden's face as he pulled back from the hug with Tam, smiling even more widely, his eyes clear and deep. She wondered if her brother felt their father's loss as keenly as she did. He never showed it, but she suspected that he did.

"No hug for me?"

Vee was shaken out of her thoughts by Aiden approaching her, cautiously, arms open. She had planned on being a bit standoffish. Not just because of the plan that they had, either. She was still a bit upset at him for how he had ignored her and Tam, but all that feeling vanished yet again. She hugged him, pulling close against his chest, and tried to hide her tears in his shirt.

This had to work. It had to.

"Hey," Aiden said as he pulled back from the hug. "Are you okay?"

Vee nodded.

"Yeah," Vee said. "It's just really emotional being here, and really good to see you. I can understand why Mom didn't want to come."

"Yeah, I...I understand that. Let's try to have a good time but if you guys need to talk or whatever...I've got a good ear and shoulder, all right?"

"Okay, okay," Tam said, "If you're through trying to be the perfect big brother, we have to get going if we're going to reach the camp and get it set up and have enough daylight left to walk."

"Relax, Tam," Vee said. "We've got plenty of time."

The three of them worked in silent harmony for a while, getting their packs out, completing the final tasks of loading them, then putting them on and double checking that everything was closed and the straps were properly tight. When they were satisfied, the three siblings strolled onto the trail. Vee took the lead, unsurprisingly, followed by Tam, and Aiden took up the rear.

Aiden might have realized that something was off sooner, but he had been absorbed with how Tam's legs moved in the dappled sunlight of the late morning.

"Hey," he said, "didn't you guys bring my tent?"

"No," Vee said, simply. "No point."

"Uh, the point was that I would sleep in it."

"Yeah, but there's no need," Tam replied. "We brought Mom and Dad's new tent. They meant to break it in this year but...you know. Anyway, it folds up pretty small but it's more than big enough for all three of us."

"You have to admit that our tents were both pretty tight now that we've grown up," Vee noted.

Aiden did agree with that, at least. His pup tent was long enough for him to fit in, barely, and he had to imagine that while his sisters were not as large as him, trying to fit side by side was a bit of a squeeze. Still, that complicated things. Now he would be sleeping beside his sisters. He had a mental image come to him, unbidden. He was between them and they were cuddling up to him at night. In his daydream they wore nothing but sports bras and similarly small but suitable underwear. Nothing scandalous, not in a normal world. But he imagined feeling their bodies pressed against his, their firm but soft flesh adapting to his muscle. He imagined the sleepy noises of surprise that they might make as he started to explore them with his hands...

Aiden shook himself out of his trance, swearing slightly under his breath. This was going to be harder than he thought.

Flashback - The Worst Day

Aiden heard his phone's muffled buzz from within his backpack. He cursed himself silently for not turning it off like he typically did. Professor Veruta was not known for her tolerance of electronic devices in her class. That being said, it wasn't exactly a small class, and it was a big lecture-style hall, so she hadn't noticed it yet. He decided to risk getting it out and shutting it off. He had no intention to even read the message.

As he took it out, however, the text was displayed on the lock screen. It was from Veronika:

Call me. 911.

Simple, straightforward, and to the point. If it had been Tam, he would have been worried, but it was always possible that she might be overreacting to something and using the 911 code a bit too cavalierly. Vee, however, would never do that. She was far too thoughtful and calm for that. In fact, Aiden could not remember Vee ever even using 911 in a text before, despite the family agreeing to use it for critical situations years ago. He felt the blood drain from his face as he hastily packed his books and laptop away and made for the door.

"I assume this is an emergency?" Professor Veruta's voice was wry, as usual, but Aiden didn't even notice.

"Yes, ma'am, it is," he said over his shoulder as he dialed his sister. He was out in the hall by the time she picked up.

"Oh thank god," Vee said. Her voice sounded flat and gray, all the joy drained out of it. She sniffed, slightly, and Aiden knew that she was holding back tears.

"What is it?"

"It's Dad. He's dead."

* * *

Aiden drove back to his apartment to pack some clothes and then he was back on the road, headed for the interstate. Although he could fly home, by the time you factored in security, getting the flight, and then getting a car or being picked up, it was much faster just to take his car. He would send an email to his professors when he arrived at home, letting them know that he would be missing classes for a bit. How long? A week? The rest of the semester? It was impossible for him to predict.

Aiden knew that his mother would be a wreck. She and his father had been so...so in love. Even after three children and well over twenty years together, they still were very passionate for each other. The twins would joke about wearing headphones on "date night" but it was reassuring that their parents' marriage had not fallen apart as so many had.

Then there was the matter of the twins themselves. There was no way to tell how they might react to this. Both were very strong individuals, mature, and capable, but this was the first death of someone close to them. Aiden realized the same could be said for him, but it was different now. He was the oldest, and he knew that he had to step up. It was what his father would have wanted and expected. So Aiden forced himself to think about what was best for his sisters despite not having any real understanding about what he, himself needed.

He would be there for them. That much went without saying. He would stop avoiding them, hug them, listen to them, whatever. Surely the death of a family member would suppress his libido enough for him to be a normal, good man for as long as was required.

Vee would be quiet and she would need to be engaged in conversation pretty regularly or she might withdraw. Tam would probably get angry with him over minor things and then be immediately regretful of it. Mom would have to handle a lot of things, even if Aiden helped her.

The trip took several hours, but it felt like only a few minutes to Aiden. When he pulled into the driveway he still didn't know what had occurred. By the time he left his car, Tam was running to him and Vee was standing on the porch, a distant look in her eyes. Both were in sweats and t-shirts despite the late-winter cold of the early evening. Neither seemed to be bothered by the temperature.

"He just died!" Tam said before flying into his arms, burying his head in his chest, and sobbing. Aiden grabbed his bag, and did his best not to collapse in tears as well as he led Tam back to the house. He looked at Vee questioningly.

"It was a stroke, probably," Vee said, her voice drained and emotionless. "He was leaving work and he just fell over. By the time the ambulance arrived he'd been dead for five minutes. There wasn't anything anyone could do."

"How can you just say it like that?" Tam said, the rawness of her voice hurting Aiden because he knew that he could not take it away. She clung to him as if she were afraid that he, too, would vanish.

"Because it's true," Vee answered softly, before turning and going back into the house.

"I'll talk to her," Aiden said quietly to Tam. "But both of you deal with things in different ways. I need you to remember that. The next few weeks are going to be very hard and we're all going to need each other."

"Y-yeah. I'm sorry," Tam said. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

"Nothing is wrong with you," Aiden answered. "This hurts, and if you need to yell at someone you can yell at me." Tam didn't stop crying, but she did smile slightly.

"I'll try to be less bitchy, but if I need to scream, I'll find you."

"Good."

* * *

Before his father's death, despite being a legal adult, he did not yet see himself in that way, not really. He was responsible and looked to his responsibilities, but he also lived carefree with his friends, drinking and just hanging out.

In the weeks after his father's death, he could almost feel himself growing up. He had no choice. He was in constant motion, assisting his mother in a thousand small ways and a few large ones. She wanted to take care of all of the funeral arrangements, as well as his obituary and similar considerations. It was part of her mourning process, and Aiden respected that. She did not, however, have much mental space for anything else.

Aiden took over the responsibility for making sure that the twins got up and got to school, and that there was food for them when they needed it. He asked about their days and held them while they cried. He still felt the shameful arousal at their physical contact, and perhaps worse, he felt his feelings for them deepening in his empathy. He saw Tam's vulnerability and care for all those around her. She hurt for herself but also for him, their mother, and perhaps especially Vee. He saw Vee's withdrawal into a shell of what she thought of as strength. He admired how she tried to be present for everyone, but when she needed to she came to him and cried privately, allowing herself the grief that was suffocating her from the inside. The girls themselves did not say so, but it was obvious to Aiden that they were impressed with him as well, seeing him as more than "just" a protector, although he had difficulty understanding their mysterious glances. Shared suffering brought families together, even at times when they didn't want it.

The day of the funeral was when things grew to a climax. The event itself went fine, or at least as much as such things could. The funeral had several speakers, including Aiden's mother and several of his father's friends. Aiden himself spoke very briefly about the lessons that he had learned from his father's strength and basic human decency. There was a cold snow at the burial itself, which seemed appropriate. The wake was simple, with good food and drink, and tears and laughter in equal measure. Stories of his father were told, not all of them flattering but all of them very human. In the late afternoon, Aiden found himself watching the last of the guests leave, closing the door. He turned and looked at his mother, seated in their living room, in her husband's old chair, still wearing her formal black dress. She looked ten years older than she had been at the beginning of the day, and Aiden could practically feel the fatigue coming off of her. The twins had gone upstairs to change out of their black skirts into something comfortable, but Aiden knew that they would come back downstairs soon.

"Go to bed, Mom," Aiden said gently, kneeling by his mother.

"But..." she started, gesturing broadly to the several tables full of leftover food and drinks, cups set everywhere, and napkins and other trash. It wasn't a real mess. Nothing like the parties Aiden normally cleaned up.

"I've got this. Vee and Tam still have some energy too, so I bet they'll be down shortly to help. Let us deal with this. They've felt useless for the past week. It will make them feel better."

Aiden wasn't ashamed of manipulating his mother like that, if it got her to go upstairs and at least attempt to rest. She took his hand and squeezed it, then went upstairs slowly. Aiden started cleaning. The truth was, he did think that his sisters would come downstairs shortly to help, but if either of them did not, and instead chose to grieve alone or sleep, well, then he would not be upset. He understood them better than anyone, and he would never tell them how to feel.