Once in the locker room, Misha noticed that he had accidentally taken Gabriel's bag instead of his. Because both were very similar, it was easy to mistake them.
Throwing the backpack on the bench, Misha spun on his heels and got out of the locker room, intending to snatch his bag from Gabriel's hands and come back to change into his swim trunks. But who would have thought that the moment he let the man out of his sight, he would be hit on by the front desk employee? Well, on second thought, it wasn't anything surprising.
Whenever they came to the swimming pool, at least one person would try to flirt with Gabriel, often using Misha as an excuse to approach him. They would ask if he was his little brother or say things like he was a cute child. It was a little infuriating for Misha to be used by others to strike up a conversation with the guy he was in love with.
No surprise here, but he took great pleasure in dashing the girls' hopes, emphasizing that he was the girlfriend's little brother.
Anyway, Misha hadn't expected the front desk employee to be so unprofessional. Although he had long noticed that she was interested in Gabriel, he usually stuck to him like glue, urging him to hurry up and whatnot. It limited their interactions, so she rarely had the time to chat with her crush. But the moment she had the opportunity to, she didn't hesitate to seize it. It made Misha wonder if he shouldn't shout from the rooftops that he was the girlfriend's little brother so that everyone knew Gabriel was taken, even if that was a lie.
At any rate, Gabriel wasn't interested in girls. They had no chance with him from the very beginning, so could the annoying flies please leave them be? Misha just wanted to swim in peace, not pass his time driving away teenage girls in ruts!
Even though Misha knew they couldn't catch Gabriel's eye, he still didn't like people trying to flirt with him right under his nose. But he would never admit it aloud and adamantly refused to call the feeling twisting his belly "jealousy".
Since his sister's birthday, Misha had been thinking a lot, trying to figure out if he genuinely was in love with Gabriel. But he never dated anyone in his past life; he had no experience with love matters, and it wasn't like he could ask anyone their opinions, much less openly discuss his feelings. A little child in love with a young adult? Yeah, sure. That would make people raise an eyebrow and look at him strangely, and that was pretty much it. He could only rely on himself, but that wasn't very successful either.
There was one thing Misha was certain of, though: Gabriel did hold an important place in his heart, maybe just as much as his sister. Sometimes, he wondered since when, but he had no answer to this. His feelings hadn't suddenly appeared out of thin air and instead had grown deeper over time. For years, Gabriel had patiently taken care of him in his past life, even when he became a problem child who only knew how to cause trouble wherever he went. He had always been there for him, making him feel safe and loved. It was something he needed after his father's abuse and had helped to heal him.
But then that fateful day happened, destroying their daily life. When Gabriel had "betrayed" him, it hurt so much that Misha felt like his heart was about to burst. It left a scar that could never heal completely. And yet…. Now, he felt so glad that Masha and Gabriel had never been a real couple. Not in this life and not in the past one. It meant he had all the rights in the world to fall in love with him, no guilt needed.
It was just that Misha couldn't tell if he was sexually attracted to him or not. By all means, he knew Gabriel was a handsome man, the kind who was tall with clean-cut facial features. If he weren't, there wouldn't be so many girls trying to get his phone number. But the thing was: his current body was too young to experience sexual desire. Moreover, he had never been drawn to any man before. Honestly speaking, he was also not very interested in girls in his past life, too wrapped up in his own problems to care about love and such.
To put it bluntly, Misha still wasn't sure if his "love" for Gabriel was akin to brotherly love or something more.
Not knowing put him on edge, and Misha became overly nervous in Gabriel's presence, resulting in him lashing out to hide his embarrassment. But at the same time, he also wanted to get closer to the young man, and he became worse than a leech. Even he could tell his behavior was as odd as it was contradictory, but what else could he do?! Misha was no love expert!
Whatever. For now, Misha pushed aside the troubling thoughts and put all his efforts into chasing the pests away. He thus stayed beside Gabriel at the pool, acting as a watchdog.
Hell, that guy was too popular for his own good, always being the center of attention! Couldn't he get a bit fatter? Or not wash his hair for a while so that it became greasy? Could he just do something to be less attractive?!
Unlike before, Misha now glared at his lean body not because he was jealous of his muscles; he glared at it because that body of his sure drew unwanted attention, especially at the swimming pool where people walked around half-naked. Maybe he should ask Gabriel to wear a T-shirt next time. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea.
Unaware of what was going through Misha's head, Gabriel felt a little ill at ease under the boy's intense gaze. If eyes could drill holes into people, he would long have had one in his stomach. Oh goodness! Why was the child glaring at him so much? Could someone please tell him what he had done wrong again?!
***
Misha stood near the front door and sized his sister up and down, unable to contain his smile.
With the help of her elbow crutches, Masha stood as upright as she possibly could, her waist-length hair tied up into a high ponytail. The hairstyle uncovered her ears, and the silvery angel wings on her earlobes thus shone brightly, drawing people's attention. Today, Masha wore a cute summer dress that reached her mid-thighs, revealing her long but deformed legs. The numerous scars on her knees were overly visible, but she didn't seem to mind, proudly exhibiting them instead.
"You look beautiful," Misha praised with a nod, then opened the door for his sister.
"Right?" Masha chuckled, her broad smile curving her eyes into crescent moon shapes. "Yuki helped me choose that dress at the shopping mall! She has a good eye for pretty things, doesn't she?"
As the words left her mouth, Masha made her way outside the house, accepting Gabriel's help to climb down the doorstep—steps and stairs were still a little difficult for her to manage. She then went to the car and sat in the passenger seat. Although Misha was tempted to help her, he restrained himself in the end. He knew she could get in the car just fine by herself, though it wasn't necessarily an easy task. He just didn't like to see her struggle, making his heart feel itchy.
"You didn't forget anything? If not, I'm going to lock the door," Gabriel said, snapping the boy out of his thoughts.
"No, I've got everything," Misha mumbled before running off to the car, sitting in the back seat behind his sister.
The boy was so swift on his feet that it made Gabriel wonder if he hadn't seen a ghost. At the thought, his mouth twitched slightly. Yesterday, the child had been glued to him, following him everywhere like a little duckling, but since this morning… Well, he told himself not to think about it. That kid's mood swings had always been unpredictable, so it wouldn't do to wrack his brain over the matter unless he wanted to start the day with a headache.
Yuki was today's driver, and therefore, Gabriel also sat in the back seat after putting their bags in the trunk, making Misha scurry closer to the door. During the ride, the boy excitedly talked to the girls about today's trip to the zoo, what they should do, what animals they should visit first, and so on. But despite acting like a chatterbox with Masha and Yuki, he didn't exchange a single word with the man by his side, not even glancing at him. It was as if he didn't exist, being nothing more than air.
…Why was he receiving the cold treatment now?!
Little did Gabriel know that Misha was simply nervous. At first, Stephan was supposed to come with them, but he was busy with something and had to cancel at the last minute. As a joke, he told them to enjoy their "double dates" over the phone. And, of course, Misha couldn't get these words out of his mind. Even if he knew he shouldn't take them seriously, he couldn't help it. It made his heart beat faster.
After loudly slapping his cheeks, he told himself that he should act as usual; unsurprisingly, it was a huge failure. He instinctively put some distance between Gabriel and himself, afraid that if he stood too close to him, the man would notice his nervousness, unaware that that kind of behavior was already suspicious enough in itself.
Even after arriving at the zoo, Misha ignored Gabriel and stayed near his sister and Yuki, chatting and laughing with them. Yet, he couldn't help but peek at Gabriel from the corner of his eyes now and then, making the man shake his head helplessly. Did that kid honestly think he hadn't noticed his gaze? Well, he wisely decided to pretend he hadn't.
In this kind of atmosphere, they strolled around the zoo, stopping at a rest area from time to time to let Masha catch her breath. It was tiring to walk with her elbow crutches, and she needed to take a breather every so often. But at least, all those months of rehabilitation were finally paying off, and she didn't have to sit in her wheelchair all day long. She was so glad and excited to be able to "walk" with her loved ones once again. It was hard to describe how delighted and emotional she felt at simply being able to stand up.
Although the passersby's sympathetic or curious gazes still made her uncomfortable, Masha was able to ignore them and even smile at the children. Now that she had a doting lover by her side, why would she care about what others thought? She already had everything she could ever dream of.
While thinking of such things, Masha took a sip of juice, watching her little brother tease a leopard through its cage. He was running left and right, and the big cat did the same, following him wherever he went. Then, it tried to pounce on the naughty child, only for its head to bounce onto the glass window. Wrinkling its nose, the leopard seemed to glare at the boy, frustrated at its prey for escaping its claws. It made Misha laugh his head off, slapping his thighs in delight.
In contrast, Gabriel worriedly stood near the child, glancing back and forth between the boy and the leopard. What if it broke through the cage and attacked Misha? Wouldn't it shred the kid to pieces?!
"What are you smiling at?" asked Yuki, who was sitting beside Masha.
"Nothing, nothing. I'm just a little surprised. I never thought Gabriel could be such a mother hen."
"Considering how your brother has a knack for trouble, I can understand Gabriel's worries. Didn't he fight with an older kid a few days ago, at the park?"
"…I guess you have a point. But, you know, that boy had been bullying Vanessa and Dereck behind his back for quite a while now. How could our little knight in shining armor let him off the hook after finding out?"
"Still, he didn't have to—"
Before Yuki could finish her sentence, someone interrupted her, hesitantly asking, "Masha?"
Upon hearing the familiar voice, Masha tensed up, almost crushing the box of juice in her hands. She then stiffly turned her head, and after swallowing a mouthful of saliva, she managed to force a fake smile on her lips.
"…Hi, Camille. It's been a while."
__________________________
Chapter revised on 2022-05-29
Edited by Clozed! ♥
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