The warm light of the fire danced on Misha's face, enhancing its doll-like features, while golden and reddish hues moved along with the fluttering of the flames on his fluffy, blonde hair. Because of the dim light, his long eyelashes cast delicate shadows on his cheeks, making him appear somewhat frailer than usual.
Amid the sound of the crackling fire, his shallow breathing could be faintly heard, and lingering on his face was a serene expression. It gave off the feeling that his dreams were peaceful ones, the kinds that soothed the soul.
'When he's asleep, he does look like a little angel,' Gabriel lamented in his heart. 'If only his personality were like his appearance, it would save me a lot of trouble.'
Staring at the boy, who had once again fallen asleep against his arm, Gabriel couldn't help but let out a small sigh. Did Misha truly hate him or not? Sometimes, it was hard to say.
Like always, that child had insisted on sitting between him and Masha. The night was cold and it'd be warmer to sit between them than on the edge of the bench, or so he had said. Of course, everyone could tell that he was making excuses, but no one exposed his lies, and the two teenagers tacitly made a place for him.
Soon afterward, Misha was lulled by his mother's voice as she told them stories. Although he slept in the car, with the day he had, he was already quite tired when the sun went down. It didn't take long before he started to doze off.
The boy could have taken his sister as a pillow, yet he still chose to rest his head against Gabriel when he couldn't hang on anymore, snuggling against his arm.
No matter how one looked at it, the kid's comportment was contradictory on all points. He seemed to want to get rid of Gabriel as fast as possible while also wanting to cling to him and never let go. It was as if he didn't know what he truly wanted, conflicted by unknown feelings.
'What am I supposed to do with you?' Gabriel inwardly sighed, his gaze softening at the thought. That child was a terrible pest, but he also had a cute side—it just didn't show up often.
"Do any of you want to go to the bathroom?" Gulnas asked as she stood up, snapping Gabriel out of his thoughts.
"No, I'm fine."
"I'm also fine!"
"All right." Mrs. Brown turned her attention to her husband. "What about you, Alexey? Are you coming with me?"
Alexey responded with a slight nod, and they then both left for the bathroom that was a few hundred meters away.
The two teenagers observed the couple's backs disappear into the darkness, and once they couldn't see them anymore, they refocused their attention on the crackling fire and the marshmallows.
The adults weren't there, and Misha was asleep, so Gabriel didn't bother to keep up the facade. The smile lingering on his face slowly vanished, and his eyes lost their gentleness. His mouth was now tightly shut, his lips forming a thin line. The teenager didn't force himself to chitchat, welcoming the sudden silence with open arms.
But the quiet atmosphere didn't last long as Masha soon opened her mouth, saying with a pout, "It seems like my little brother is switching the target of his affection lately. I never thought he'd be so clingy with someone other than me. It was quite a sight to see him on your back earlier, you know?"
"Don't say strange things" Gabriel choked up at the sudden words, almost swallowing whole the marshmallow he was chewing.
What was this girl getting at again?
"What? My brother is not good enough for you?"
"Your brother is not even ten years old."
"He won't always be a kid, you know?"
"And you know that this is not the kind of conversation you normally have with your boyfriend?" Gabriel replied in a flat, monotonous tone.
"Alright, alright. It's just that it's rare for Misha to take a liking to someone I bring home. And also… I never saw you being this patient with someone before. Usually, you would just find an excuse to toss them aside and run away."
"Well, I can't exactly do that with your brother, can I?" Gabriel paused slightly before continuing with a drawn-out sigh, "Truth be told, I would have liked to have a brother like yours instead of the ones I have. Although he's a brat, everyone can tell that he dearly loves you."
Masha didn't answer, and silence fell between them. She glanced at her little brother, who was still sleeping peacefully against Gabriel's arm, appearing as if he cared for nothing in the world but his sleep. An unfathomable smile stretched her lips, curving her eyes into faint crescent moons.
Before his fever, Misha's attachment to her was like a child with his favorite toy, possessive and childish. But lately, she had this strange feeling that he paid attention to her as an older brother would. Even if he was still throwing tantrums from time to time, he seemed to be conscious of her mood, trying to please her however he could. He had become so sensitive that it shamed many adults she knew.
Now that Masha thought about it, her brother was only unreasonable when it involved Gabriel. Whenever the teenager was nearby, he reverted to that lively, bratty boy she knew so well. It was as if the little adult he was in her presence never existed. When she looked at their interactions, it made her feel complicated deep down. There was joy, of course, but also sharp pangs of jealousy.
"You know..." Masha started, chewing on her lower lip. "I tried to talk to my brother many times, but he didn't tell me anything each time. I also asked his best friend, yet I still didn't find out anything."
The teenage girl shifted her eyes to the fire, observing the bright red flames waltz for a short while. "I can't lie to myself forever. My brother did change, but I don't know what happened. He refuses to tell me. But you know, you can mature so quickly without reason, and at such a young age, with the disabilities he has—"
"You're worried. It's normal," Gabriel interrupted, giving her a thin wooden stick with a roasted marshmallow on its tip. "Although your brother is hiding things from you, I don't think he's stuck in a desperate situation, nor do I think he's feeling helpless. On the contrary, he's quite spirited, especially when pulling pranks, and he does seem as strong-willed as you. I think he's acting this way because he cares about you and doesn't want to worry you."
"I understand that. But how can I be at ease?! I am the big sister here! Not him! And I wouldn't be as anxious if he didn't have the bad habit of keeping everything to himself, but he does! He's the kind of child who doesn't know how to confide in others, always enduring silently," Masha scoffed as she bit on the soft marshmallow. "It's so damn infuriating!"
"You're in no position to talk as you do the same thing, keeping everything inside until you're about to explode," Gabriel reminded her, stirring the fire with a thick branch.
"Are you any better?! From what I know, you rarely seek help from others when you sure need it way more than me."
"Well, you're there for me, aren't you? And that is more than enough. I don't need anyone or anything else."
"What a smooth talker! Be careful, or you'll steal my heart one day." Masha sent him a frivolous wink, but she couldn't restrain her laughter for long, and her threat lost all of its seriousness. Soon, her hearty laugh echoed throughout the forest.
Gabriel shook his head, a discreet smirk stretching the corner of his lips. That girl, honestly! But as he was about to reply, the light of a flashlight appeared in the distance, drawing his attention.
"Your parents are coming back, let's go to bed."
"Sure."
That being said, Gabriel carried Misha inside the tent that the three of them shared. As for Masha's parents, they occupied the second tent two meters in front of theirs.
Once inside their tent, the teenagers tacitly decided to put Misha in the middle. They were afraid that the boy would go berserk if he woke up to realize that he was sleeping on the side. They had long understood that this little guy didn't like it when they were close; the farther away they were from each other, the happier Misha was.
Masha also knew her parents would prefer it this way; it took everything to convince them to let her share the same tent as Gabriel. If Misha were physically separating them, it would make them feel a bit more at ease—her old-fashioned parents still thought that teenage boys turned into wolves once night fell. And even with their son sleeping with them, they were afraid that the two teenagers couldn't care less about Misha's presence and just get at it. Hormones could drive people crazy, after all.
But in the end, Gabriel lay down on Misha's left while Masha lay down on his right, and both obediently went to sleep. They curled up into their own sleeping bags and didn't leave them until morning.
____________________
Mini theater
Masha: Misha! Gabriel is a comfortable pillow, right?
MC: No! Not at all!
Masha: Then, why are you always sleeping against him?
MC: You're wrong! I'm not sleeping! I'm trying to drown him in drool!
Masha: …
ML:...
Chapter revised on 2022-05-07
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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