Because Dereck smoothed things over, Misha didn't insist on teaching Tristan some manners. Instead, he bottled up his anger and snorted something unintelligible under his breath.
Seeing his pouty face, the teenagers knew they had to do something to get his attention away from Tristan, or a disaster was bound to happen. So, after sharing a glance, they tacitly urged Misha to play another round, successfully lifting his mood.
Realizing that what he had said had angered Misha, Tristan also wisely shut his mouth, though he didn't understand what he had done wrong. It made him feel cast aside, but since his mother had told him to be good, he didn't dare utter anything, keeping his grievances to himself. All he could do was crawl closer to Gabriel, seeking comfort from his big brother.
Little did Tristan know that him sticking to the teenager was a sight very irritating for Misha. It made the corner of his eyes twitch.
In his past life, he had seldom heard of Gabriel's brothers. It was to the point where Misha had even forgotten they existed, only remembering Gabriel had such family members when they met at the hospital. The little brother, who had previously treated Gabriel as nothing more than air, was now glued to him like a second skin. From one timeline to another, the relationship between the two brothers was like night and day.
But why? What was so different now?!
Misha shook his head and told himself not to overthink. Today was his birthday, and it was better to enjoy it as much as possible, especially since no one knew when was the next time Gabriel would be able to come over. The depressing and anger-provoking thoughts could wait until tomorrow.
So, Misha focused all his attention on the game, determined to beat Gabriel, yet he still lost time after time. Frustrated to no end, he kicked the wooden tower with a flying kick, childishly saying that no one won.
"This game is boring," he added. "Let's play something a little more challenging!"
Thus, they switched games.
Then, for the next two hours, Misha asked to play something else whenever he was on the losing side. But regardless of what kind of game they played, Gabriel was always winning, making Misha bite his nails or puff out his cheeks. Sometimes, he did both while frowning, presumingly lost in thought.
It was hard for the two teenagers not to laugh at the sight. The boy looked like an angry squirrel when it wasn't a pufferfish, whereas the confused face he showed from time to time was too adorable for words. At long last, it melted their hearts, and they looked at the child with tender eyes.
However, restraining their laughter for so long gave them a stomachache, and their mouths also became dry—they both had finished their glasses of water a long time ago. So, while Misha was busy bickering with Vanessa about the rules of a game and whatnot, Masha went into the kitchen to fetch glasses of juice.
When the teenage girl came back, what greeted her was the sight of her little brother wolfing down cookies he had stolen from who knows where. She heard Dereck ask him if eating sweets behind his parents' back wouldn't get him in trouble, to which Misha answered with a mischievous smirk, "As long as they don't know, then I won't get in trouble."
'Looks like my brother picked up my motto,' Masha smiled helplessly, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
That was what she said every time she did something she shouldn't. She just hoped her little brother wouldn't put that principle into motion too often, or who knows what kind of nasty pranks he would do behind his family's back.
Shaking her head, Masha walked to Gabriel to hand him his glass of juice, discreetly murmuring in his ear, "How about letting Misha win? Think about his poor cheeks. He has been puffing them so much that they must hurt quite a bit by now."
In response, the corner of the teenager's lips slightly curled up. He took the glass, silently glancing at Masha with a 'I can't entertain your brother all the time, can I now?' look.
"…"
Right. Masha had forgotten that Gabriel was also a sore loser—maybe just as bad as her little brother. He had let the child win so many rounds last time when they went out camping… Obviously, he had to take his revenge one day or another. But why today of all days?
"It's his birthday today, you know?" Masha reminded him.
And that same irritating smile answered her back. Sigh. Who exactly was the brat here? Her brother? Or Gabriel?
After handing the glasses of juice to the children, Masha sat back next to Misha. Then, she gently poked him in the ribs to attract his attention before asking loudly enough for everyone to hear her, "Do you want to team up with me to beat Gabriel to a pulp?"
Although Misha was taken aback by the sudden proposition, it didn't take long before he nodded furiously, his clear blue eyes gleaming with malicious thoughts.
"That's not fair! Let me join the team too!" Vanessa happily shouted, bouncing in place. "I want to win against that guy at least once!"
"Then, can I join too?" Dereck chimed in with a gentle smile.
That kind and calm expression of his sure didn't make it seem like he was planning on ganging up on someone, giving rise to an odd feeling. Nevertheless, Misha pretended he hadn't noticed the inconsistency between his friend's expression and intention, gladly welcoming him into the team.
With the combined efforts of four people, Gabriel finally ate dirt. It'd be hard for anyone to win when they were the target of everyone's wrath, even more so when their teammates were pigs that purposely made things difficult for them. As a result, Gabriel lost pitifully and pretended to sulk until they asked for forgiveness. Only then did he "reluctantly" play another round with them.
Meanwhile, Tristan quietly watched the interaction between his brother and the four people. Although Gabriel did laugh and smile at home, it didn't give off the same feeling. Here, his laughter was much noisier, and his smile appeared more carefree. When he noticed this, a strange feeling rose in the pit of his stomach. The little boy didn't know how to explain how he felt, but at the very least, he knew it wasn't a nice feeling. It was as if someone was twisting his belly.
But before Tristan could dwell on it too much, Dereck told him something, snapping him out of his thoughts. Even if his mother had warned him not to play with fat people, the boy sitting beside him was very kind, and he even helped him win a few times. No matter how he looked at it, Dereck didn't appear to be a bad person.
In the end, Tristan told himself that Dereck wasn't fat but chubby, so his mother shouldn't be too angry at him if he played with the other boy for a short while. Right?
***
As the little group was about to start the umpteenth round of their umpteenth game, Mrs. Brown popped into the living room, interrupting them, "Misha, can you stop playing with your friends for a second and come over here?"
The petite woman, who was beckoning her son to come closer, was standing near the small mountain of birthday gifts. Seeing her son's confused expression, she quickly explained, "We wanted to give you your presents after eating the cake, but Gabriel and Tristan will leave before supper. So, your father and I thought of giving them to you right now, when everyone was still present. What do you think?"
Well, did she really have to ask? What child would say no when their parents offered them to open their birthday gifts earlier?
However, said birthday gifts were for a ten-year-old boy, and mentally, Misha was an adult in his twenties. Honestly, he wasn't very excited about unwrapping his presents and wanted to keep playing board games instead.
But there was no way Misha could tell this to his mother.
"Yeah, let's open them!" he said with a stiff smile. Then, he leaped to his feet and bolted toward his mother. The teenagers and the other children soon followed along before obediently sitting on the L-shaped sofa.
Before long, Misha proceeded to unwrap his presents, and as expected, it was all toys. Most were dinosaur-related, and he realized once more that he seemed to have loved dinosaurs very much as a child—maybe even too much. His bedroom was filled with plastic T-rex and such, and when he had first woken up after transmigrating into his younger self, he was even wearing a dinosaur pajama with a stuffed tail.
So, logically speaking, he should be delighted with the birthday gifts he had just received. With this in mind, Misha forced a smile and bashfully thanked his parents, trying to appear happy from the bottom of his heart. But though he did his best, he knew his reaction was perfunctory, and thus he quickly diverted their attention to something else.
"And what about your gift Masha? You didn't give me anything."
"My gift?" his sister repeated before laughing. "You already received it!"
"Huh?"
When did she give him something? Misha couldn't remember.
Tilting his head, the child curiously looked at his sister's smiling face, and without explaining further, the teenager bent over and took a bright red bow from the pile of torn wrapping papers on the floor. Then, she very naturally put it on Gabriel's head, nodding with satisfaction as she observed her work of art.
"See? Isn't my present handsome?" Masha winked. "It took everything to convince him to attend your birthday, but you know what? Your sister can be very persuasive."
There was a second of silence before Misha burst out laughing, his voice brisk and clear.
He had held out no hope of Gabriel coming to his birthday, not after learning how messed up his family situation seemed to be. Yet, the teenager had unexpectedly knocked at his door, nonchalantly standing on his doorstep. It seemed like his sister had something to do with this. Misha wouldn't be surprised if his mother had also lent a helping hand.
When she asked what he wanted for his birthday, he had answered that being with his family, friends, and Gabriel was all he wanted. So, of course, they had to drag the teenager to his birthday, whether he liked it or not.
"I love your gift very much," Misha smiled, his eyes curving into crescent moons. "You're the best!"
"Of course I am the best! I'm your sister, after all!" Masha approved, proudly puffing out her chest.
What a narcissist!
"And you? Where is your gift?" Misha asked in a teasing tone, shifting his eyes to Gabriel.
"Are you saying that I'm not good enough as a gift?" the teenager chuckled.
"Cheapskate," Misha snorted, but the smile on his lips only grew wider.
"Here," Gabriel said after taking an inconspicuous gift from the little mountain, which had shrunk by quite a lot. He shook it under the child's nose before adding, "I didn't have much time, so I couldn't think of many things. Still, I hope you will like it. It comes from your sister and me."
Not expecting that Gabriel truly had prepared a gift for him, Misha momentarily froze. But once he recovered from the surprise, he felt excitement welling up in his chest, along with a warm feeling. Because of the sudden surge of joy, he almost ended up snatching the present from the teenager's hands. As he started to unwrap the gift, his smile grew wider, brightening his face.
When Misha finally got rid of the wrapping paper, what he saw left him at a loss for words. His eyes widened while his fingers gently stroked the book cover. He read the title in his mind a few times, laughter glinting in his eyes.
«100 original ways to prank people» was the title of the book.
"I want to clarify something," Masha said in a severe tone. "It was his idea, so he's the one who's courting death, not me."
"You say so, but aren't you the one who ran from bookstores to bookstores to buy it?" Gabriel retorted with a shrug of his shoulders.
"It's still your idea, so if he ever wants to try these pranks on someone, it should be on you."
"Thank you," Misha whispered, interrupting their bickering before standing up and hugging the two teenagers. "I like it a lot!"
"Glad to hear that!" Masha and Gabriel chorused, ruffling his hair or patting his back.
This time, Misha didn't have to fake his happiness as he was genuinely happy. Although his parents' presents were also heartwarming, the toys weren't something he loved. He couldn't help it; he was just too old to play with plastic dinosaurs!
Truthfully, Misha didn't enjoy reading; however, tricks and pranks were his weakness—maybe because they reminded him of his mother and sister in his past life. This book thus held a special meaning for him, and it wasn't only because it came from his sister and Gabriel.
__________________________
Chapter revised on 2022-05-21
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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