"So… How do you feel?" Misha asked in a worried tone, sitting next to his sister. "I know it's a lot to take in…."
"To be honest, I feel like shit," Masha sighed, rubbing her throbbing temples. "Not only did you travel back in time, but Gabriel did so too….? And in both of your past timelines, mom was run over by a car and died. In one, I committed suicide, and in the other, my legs were disabled. And to boot it all, the woman I love more than anything is actually a two-faced bitch who's toying with my heart. Seriously, it's a hard pill to swallow."
"I know," Misha whispered, appearing ill at ease, "but it's the truth!"
"Please, don't make that face. I didn't say that I don't believe you; it's just difficult to imagine. To think that I would take my own life…." Masha paused to take a deep breath before exhaling, "It's a little unsettling. Right now, I feel like I would never do such a thing. I believe that I'm strong enough to overcome everything, no matter what comes my way, but it looks like that's not the reality. I'm not made of stone, and I can collapse over time, just like anyone else."
Smiling sadly, Masha stretched a hand, gently stroking her little brother's cheek. Like he did with Gabriel, Misha didn't go into detail, only vaguely talking about her suicide and their father's abuse. Still, it was enough to portray just how hellish the first timeline had been. Knowing what her brother went through made her heart swell with pain, but Masha knew he wouldn't want her pity. It would only hurt him and make things awkward. So instead, she bent over and lightly kissed his forehead.
"Thank you for coming back for mom and me. I swear I won't leave you alone this time."
Taken aback, Misha stared at his sister for a second before smirking. He let out a giggle, then said in a fake threatening tone, "You better keep your word, or I'll tweak time again and make sure you follow through with it! You know how stubborn I can be, right?"
"Yeah, I know. It runs in the family." Masha stuck out her tongue. "By the way…."
Feeling a shiver run down his spine, Misha suspiciously sized up his sister and instinctively leaned back to put some distance between them. Whenever Masha made that face and used that tone, it never boded well for him. And just as he had expected, that little witch teasingly said: "So, you're in love with Ga—"
"No, shut up, I'm not!" Misha cried out, covering her mouth with his hands. "That's just my other self being stupid! It has nothing to do with me!"
Following his cry of protest, the heavy atmosphere suddenly broke. The two siblings started to bicker, just like little kids. Masha was adamant about teasing her brother, and Misha vehemently refuted her words, his face gradually turning red, but whether it was due to anger or embarrassment, no one knew. Soon enough, Misha lost patience and pounced on his sister, trying to take revenge by tickling her to death. However, Masha didn't go down without a fight and returned the favor, attacking her brother's ribs. Both were determined to fight until one of them begged for mercy, rolling left and right on the bed while laughing their lungs out.
Leaning against the wall, Gabriel silently watched over their antics, a small smile haunting his lips. It was good to see them so lively.
Masha took the news better than he thought she would, though he knew she was probably putting on a brave front, not wanting to worry her brother. With this in mind, he had a hunch she would wait until nightfall before bawling her eyes out, screaming in her pillows—Gabriel wouldn't be surprised if a few fist-shaped holes also littered her bedroom walls tomorrow morning.
Although Gabriel had long known Camille's rotten personality, to Masha, it was something new. She had just found out that the woman she loved with all her heart would toss her aside like an old rag sooner or later. Of course she was hurt; of course she wanted to cry! She was only human, not some unfeeling robot. Still, she didn't want to wail before her little brother, who had gone through so much for her. Instead, she pretended that everything was fine, annoying Misha like a pest and loudly laughing as they tickled each other.
So… the tears glistering at the corner of her eyes were due to laughter, not heartbreak. Or at least, that was what she wanted to convince herself of, even if she knew deep down that it wasn't the case.
.
.
After a few minutes of their tickle war, Masha finally conceded. Not because she couldn't take it anymore, but because her brother was wheezing hard yet didn't appear ready to admit defeat any time soon. That stubborn boy would rather pass out than beg for mercy. Adult or child, Misha still had the bad habit of not knowing his limits when it came down to challenges, being as prideful as he was.
All right. Masha couldn't talk; she was the same, constantly pushing her luck. However, she didn't mind losing to her little brother, and it was also true she had difficulty breathing. As the older sister, Masha thought that she might as well back down for the time being. She could always take revenge by teasing him again later on.
"Now that you're done fighting," Gabriel said after a short while, staring at the two siblings lying on the bed like dried fishes, "how about paying Stephan a visit?"
"What? Why?" Misha asked in a puzzled tone.
"…You want to tell him? About everything?" Masha understood, propping herself up on her elbow. "Are you serious?"
"Yes, I am, but only if Misha allows it."
"But why do you want to tell him?" Misha wondered aloud, frowning slightly.
"Because of many reasons, actually. First off, in your first timeline, I probably tried to handle everything alone. And how did it end? Not very well, as you know. So, I was thinking of doing things differently this time around."
If doing everything by himself did not yield good results, then he would do the exact opposite. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice, especially when the lives of those he held dear were at stake.
"Second, Stephan has the right to know that his father is in danger and that he will be plotted against in the near future. Besides, I can't intervene in his family's affair out of the blue. That would be suspicious, and although that guy acts dumb, he's no idiot. If we do something out of character, he'll soon realize that something doesn't add up. Third, as I just said, he's not stupid. That guy has a brain, and he can be very helpful when he puts his mind to it. Four heads are better than three, anyway."
Although Gabriel was aware that he was smart, he wasn't arrogant enough to say he was a genius. That being said, having another good brain on the team wouldn't do any harm. And if he wanted to turn the table against his family, Stephan was an absolute must. Although he knew that dealing with that guy would probably drive him half-crazy one of these days…. Well, as long as he also drove the rest of his family crazy, it didn't matter.
"…If that's what you want, I've got nothing to say," Misha shrugged after listening to Gabriel's arguments. "Anyway, you're smarter than me, so I'm gonna follow your lead for everything that requires using my brain. There's one thing, though. No matter what, I don't want my parents to know."
"I second that!" Masha nodded. "For now, I'm not ready to tell them about my sexuality. I don't know how they would take it, and being thrown out of the house at my age would make things difficult for me. I want to be old enough to fend for myself before telling them, just in case it ends badly. So, well, you know, the information in the video is a little too compromising."
"Don't worry, I wasn't planning to involve them. Even without considering how they would react to your sexuality, I don't know your parents well enough to tell whether or not they would accept a strange concept such as time travel. They're good people, but even good people can send their children to the hospital if they think they're mentally ill."
A silence fell over the room. Right. Time-traveling was nonsense for most people, and who knows what kind of mental disease they would be labeled with if they were to discuss it with the wrong persons. So the fewer people knew, the better it was.
"Soooooo, I'll go downstairs to ask mom if we can go out," Misha cleared his throat after a moment of silence. Leaping to his feet, he pointed to his face and grinned, "That cute face of mine can be really useful at times. Mom can't refuse me anything, hehe."
With this, Misha left the room at lightning speed, going to the kitchen to meet his mother. As soon as the door closed, Masha and Gabriel tacitly glanced at each other.
With a sly smile on her lips, Masha bent over and asked in a sweet voice, "And you? Are you in love with my brother?"
"Masha… Even if your brother is mentally older than us, he's technically ten years old and looks like he's seven. I'd like to remind you that I'm not into kids, in case you didn't know."
"And?"
"…And his current appearance is not to my taste, but," Gabriel paused to smirk, the corner of his lips curving upward ever so lightly, "his personality is quite to my liking."
"I bet it is," Masha chuckled, amusement flashing in her eyes.
The real question was: how could Gabriel not like it? Misha was everything he would have wanted to be but wasn't; his personality was everything Gabriel loved, and even his shortcomings were somewhat lovely in his eyes. Her brother was foolishly honest, always being true to himself. Whenever he lied, it showed on his face as plainly as could be. He was the kind to stand up for his beliefs, never compromising, and he would go down the path of hell for the sake of his loved ones. Underneath the rough behavior laid a good person that could sympathize with others, something Gabriel couldn't do.
"Well, for the time being, his current self is not aware of his feelings, or it would be more accurate to say that he currently does not want to recognize them," Gabriel said as he took a step toward the door. "So I'll wait for him to grow up. We'll see then if he can accept his feelings or not."
"You sound pretty confident that he will, though."
"Why wouldn't he?"
"….."
"And, please, don't go around running your mouth," Gabriel smiled as he opened the door, peering over his shoulder at Masha. "If you do tell him about our discussion, I'm going to be a little mad."
"I swear I won't tell a soul!" Masha quickly replied as she mimed zipping her mouth shut with her fingers, beads of cold sweat rolling down her forehead.
She knew she could meddle with her brother's love life, but it was better not to with Gabriel's—if he was serious about that certain someone, that is. Flings were another story, though. Anyway, she wanted to live a long, healthy life, not end it prematurely. Therefore, she wisely decided to pretend they never had this conversation, pushing it far into the back of her mind.
In any case, her brother was in good hands, and there was nothing to worry about. In this timeline, Gabriel would never do anything that would hurt Misha. No, if he could, he would offer him the world instead. Besides, if there were one brother-in-law Masha would ever welcome with open arms, it was Gabriel and no one else.
__________________________
Chapter revised on 2022-06-03
Edited by Clozed! ♥
Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/rs_vaesen
Discord: https://discord.gg/ZsEYr5eh6h