Misha lay on his belly on the sofa, happily swinging his legs back and forth as he flipped through a photo album. A new picture fell before his eyes, and surprise flashed across his face. Once the shock passed, he lightly bit a finger to stifle a laugh, making his small shoulders shake.
A little earlier, Misha burst out laughing at one particular photo, poking fun at Gabriel because of its content. Gabriel had then responded by threatening to confiscate all the photo albums if he ridiculed him one more time. His smile that wasn't quite a smile told Misha that he was dead serious.
Not wanting to lose his newly found treasure, Misha mimed zipping up his mouth. He then became silent and stifled his laughter whenever he fell upon a funny picture, just like now.
After silencing his laughter, Misha proudly showed off his discovery to his sister, who sat in her wheelchair beside the sofa. Her eyes grew wide when they landed on the picture, and she also almost burst out laughing. Trying to restrain her laughter sent her into a fit of coughing, yet her gaze never left the album in her brother's hands, seemingly locked on it.
In the photo, little Gabriel wore a pale pink dress with ruffles and lace and white tights. There was even a big bow clipped atop his head. Obviously, he hadn't put on the clothing willingly; his sullen face looked like a pufferfish, and his somewhat teary eyes gave off the feeling that he had been wronged, making people's hearts go soft.
Beside him stood little Stephan. Unlike his friend, he seemed at ease, showing off his pale blue dress with a proud smile on his lips. With one elbow resting on Gabriel's shoulder, he made a cute pose for the camera, appearing to be having quite a lot of fun.
"Hey, Gaby, why were you and Stephan wearing dresses?" Misha asked, throwing his head back to glance at the young man sitting on the other side of the sofa, reading a book.
"…I don't remember."
"I'm sure Stephan would, so how come you don't?" Misha sneered.
"Unlike me, Stephan bothered his mother until she told her everything about every photo in every album, so how could he not know? But unlike him, I don't have much interest in these old pictures. If you're unhappy, you can always call him and ask."
"I think I'll do just that!" Misha hummed, extending a hand to take the landline phone.
Because Gabriel couldn't answer him most of the time, Misha called Stephan whenever a question popped into his mind. He had been looking through the albums for less than an hour, but this phone call was already the fourth one. It made Stephan wonder what the point of hanging up was. Wouldn't the child call him back a few minutes later, asking about this or that? What did he take him for? An omniscient kind of machine? But even he wouldn't remember everything about his and Gabriel's childhood!
Regardless of how he felt, Misha expected him to know everything, and when he didn't, the child would tsk, saying that he was a useless thing. The teenager almost shed a few tears at the harsh words, feeling wronged. He was human, and human forgets, you know?!
Stephan couldn't help but lament, thinking that he shouldn't have left the albums at his friend's house. After Masha's and Gabriel's coming out, no one was in the mood to flip through the albums, so at the time, he decided not to bring them back with him, telling Misha that he could take a look later when he felt better.
Who would have thought that one night would be enough for the boy to get back on his feet, resulting in the child harassing him first thing in the morning? Honestly, that brat was as rude as Masha, if not ruder! Like sister, like brother!
"So?" Misha urged, his voice dripping with curiosity. "What about the dresses?"
"I think my cousins forgot their bag at my house after staying for a few days. My mother found it, and—only God knows why—she thought it'd be interesting to see us wearing girls' clothing. Apparently, she and Gabriel's mother had always wanted a daughter to dot on. So anyway, we became their dolls that day, if my memory serves me right."
'Well, looks like Stephan inherited his mother's love for dressing up people against their will,' Misha silently snorted, thinking back on those long months of work where he had to wear one weird costume after another. Looking at the photo in his hand, he suddenly felt like he could feel Gabriel's pain through it, and a bit of sympathy began to sprout in his heart.
"I think it took everything to coax Gabriel into wearing the dress. His mother had to make a lot of concessions to convince him, you know?"
"…"
'Forget it, that guy probably didn't even care about wearing a dress and just deceived his mother to obtain whatever he wanted,' Misha inwardly sneered, glancing over his shoulder at Gabriel with narrowed eyes.
"Hm, is there something on my face?"
"Hmph," Misha coldly scoffed before hanging up on Stephan and focusing back his attention on the photo album.
"…?"
What did he do this time to anger the child? Gabriel shook his head, deciding not to think about it. Instead, he went back to read his book, quietly flipping the pages. It was better not to ask, or else that boy's temper would surely flare up again.
In this way, the day passed by, and not once did Misha bring up the subject of their sexuality. The next day, he also didn't talk about it, same for the next one and all the other days that followed. Time ticked by, but the child never mentioned it. He didn't act any differently, treating them the way he had always done. He still scolded Gabriel whenever he felt like it, cooked dinner for everyone, took care of his sister like she was some priceless treasure, etc.
Whether Gabriel and Masha were together or not, whether they were gay or not, it didn't change the boy's behavior in the slightest. There was no awkwardness, no silent disapproval, just unconditional love.
It slowly made Masha wonder what she had been so afraid of. And as spring came and snow melted, the worries in her heart also started to fade.
Really, what was there to fear when her brother was like a knight in shining armor, protecting her from everything and nothing? He would love her no matter what.
But that tranquility of mind only lasted for a short while, until her grandfather called. The moment Masha heard his hoarse voice, all the bad emotions and fears lurking in the depth of her heart came rushing in, viciously reminding her that not everyone in her family was like Misha. She was still a sick person that would rot in hell in her grandparents' eyes.
Seemingly sensing her sudden surge of anxiety, Misha swiftly took the phone from her hand and shooed her away. Masha unconsciously smiled at the gesture, a warm feeling welling up in her chest. It chased away the distressing thoughts, and her tense shoulders finally relaxed a little. Yes, her little knight in shining armor would protect and shelter her whenever she needed it, whether she wanted it or not.
Once his sister was a bit further away, Misha shifted his gaze to the wall and concentrated on the phone call. As soon as he heard his grandfather's voice, deep-rooted anger seemed to shine in his eyes, making them appear brighter yet also somber.
"Masha? Are you there?"
"She had to go to the toilet, so I took the phone. It's Misha," the boy flatly answered. "Do you need something?"
"…Well, it's something I need to discuss with your father or Masha."
"Then you should have called later in the evening. Don't you know that my dad is still working at this hour?"
There was a short silence before his grandfather awkwardly coughed. "I also wanted to check on Masha's health."
"She's fine, thank you."
"…"
Although Misha knew he was acting a little too cold, he couldn't help it. He didn't remember much of his grandparents, both having died when he was relatively young. To him, they were no better than strangers. Over the past few months, he had seldom interacted with them. Excluding Christmas Eve and his mother's funeral, the only other time they talked to each other was on his birthday, when they called to wish him a happy 10th birthday.
And now that he knew it was their fault if his sister kept everything related to her sexuality a secret, he only felt resentment toward them. Their words had hurt Masha so much, making her believe that deep down, she was abnormal—if not straight out disgusting. They had shaped how she viewed herself, and Misha couldn't forgive them for that. If it hadn't been for their careless words and vilification of homosexuality, his sister wouldn't have had to feel the way she did in their past life. She wouldn't have kept everything inside until it became too much to bear.
Of course, he also blamed himself as much as he blamed them.
"Anyway, if you have anything to say, just tell me. I'll let my dad know."
"…Sure. It's about your grandmother. Tell your father she's in palliative care. He will understand."
The words struck him like a lightning bolt, and Misha froze. Even though they were talking about his very own grandmother, the only thing he could think about was: 'Oh, it has already been five months since Christmas Eve. Time sure flies.'
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Chapter revised on 2022-05-28
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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