The sound of rushed footsteps echoed from the corridor in the otherwise silent bedroom. It was barely audible at first but soon grew louder as whoever was running through the house drew nearer. From the sound of it, Jake predicted they'd reach his bedroom within the next few seconds, maybe even less.
'It's already past eight,' he thought, glancing at the half-finished sentence he had been writing. 'Looks like I don't have the time to finish writing what I had in mind today again. Well, I can always continue later, I guess.'
With a sigh, he then shut the diary. The pen was left inside as he swiftly hid the notebook under his pillow—not the best hiding spot, but better than nothing. That done, he sat on the bed and lifted his head, his gaze landing on the door just as it was kicked open.
"Good morning," Jake said, unfazed. "You could have knocked first, though."
"Can't, my hands are full," Misha snorted, showing off the breakfast tray he was holding. "Anyway, it's breakfast time."
Jake's mouth twitched as he glanced at the tray, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Too much, there was way too much food! He could never eat everything on the tray, lest he wanted his stomach to go on a strike. Besides, he never had a big appetite, and if you added the heartburn caused by the painkillers wreaking havoc in his chest…..
Yeah, he wasn't hungry. Honestly, if it were up to him, he'd rather skip breakfast and dinner altogether. However, fasting wasn't something he could do, not with Misha dead set on feeding him. Jake had to eat a bit whether he liked it or not, if only to satisfy the teenager and avoid an earful—he wouldn't repeat the same mistake he did a few days ago, when Misha brought him the breakfast tray for the first time. Refusing to eat wouldn't end well for his ears; he was now well aware of that.
"Thank you," Jake deadpanned after Misha placed the tray over his legs. "It looks delicious. Smells wonderful too."
"It's also tasty," Gabriel smiled, entering the room with another breakfast tray. "But don't you think you exaggerated a little with Jake's portion, Misha? Do you want his stomach to explode?"
"If he can't eat it all, you can always help him finish."
Gabriel glanced at Misha's smile that wasn't quite a smile, then lowered his eyes to look at his tray, also filled with food. Right. Misha's pettiness wasn't anything new. Oh well, as long as it wasn't worm-flavored pastries, everything was good.
"I'm not even sure I'll be able to finish my own breakfast, Misha," Gabriel admitted with a light chuckle. "Unlike your sister, my stomach is not a bottomless pit."
"What? Are you insinuating that Masha is a glutton?"
"I'm not insinuating anything: she is a glutton. In any case, I'm just letting you know that it's humanly impossible to eat dozens of pastries in addition to the copious breakfast you made. I can't eat that much, lest you want me to die of stomach pain."
"Stop being a drama queen! You won't die from overeating a little."
"Still can't eat it all."
"Tsk."
"If needs be," a voice traveled to their ears, drawing their attention to the door, "I can't always sacrifice myself and eat half of your breakfast, Gaby."
"What are you doing here, Stephan?! Weren't you supposed to arrive later, like, in the afternoon…?"
"Good morning to you too," Stephan laughed, leaping next to Gabriel. Then, in a well-practiced manner, he discarded whatever Misha said and rambled on, "Oh my gosh, the pastries look so good! And the smell…! You surpassed yourself today, Mish'!"
"Keep your goddamn hand to yourself!" Misha growled, slapping Stephan's wrist as he tried to snatch a pastry from Gabriel's tray. "I baked them for Gabriel and Jake, not you."
"Why are you so cold-hearted to me? If it were Masha or Yuki asking, you'd give them a piece without a second thought."
"Too bad you're not them, then."
"…"
Stephan looked at Misha with big, round puppy eyes, but the teenager pretended to have suddenly gone blind. Meanwhile, Gabriel sat on the bed next to his brother's legs, placing the tray on his thighs, and dug in. After so many years, he had grown used to these two's antics and didn't pay it any heed. They'd soon get tired of it, anyway.
Nibbling on a pastry, Jake observed their interaction and listened to their bickering in silence. It was a little overwhelming how much energy Stephan and Misha had and how they could quarrel like elementary kids for hours. Even his children in his past lives weren't as lively as them, and they had been quite the little devils.
"Alright!" Misha finally conceded after a few more minutes of bickering. "Stop pleading, you're going to give me a headache. You can eat Jake's leftovers. If he allows it, that's it."
"What about mine?" Gabriel asked, cocking an eyebrow. "I told you I won't be able to eat it all."
"Your leftovers? There won't be any."
"…?"
"Stuff yourself until you throw up, then repeat until there's nothing left in the tray. After that, you better lick your plates clean."
"That's not what I'd call healthy."
"Not my problem."
"It'll be if you end up having to nurse me back to health."
"Who said I'll take care of you if you fall sick?"
"I did."
"Well, I don't want to!"
Gabriel and Misha eyed each other, then threw a few more jabs, forgetting about where they were. Jake could not help but shake his head slightly, a discreet, exasperated smile tugging at his lips. His brother and Misha were always like this, bickering like an old married couple.
"So, can I have a pastry?" Stephan asked, smiling at Jake. "I skipped breakfast today, and I'm starving!"
"Well, that's what happens when you skip breakfast," Jake rolled his eye but still handed over a croissant. "Here, and shut your mouth for a bit. Your voice is headache-inducing."
To this, Stephan laughed, not at all offended. He took the croissant, then sat on the bed next to Jake. It made the man frown slightly, thinking that his bed was getting a little too crowded. Stephan could have sat on the chair, yet he insisted on taking a seat on the bed, next to him. Sigh. What a clingy brat.
"So," Misha started in a somewhat weak voice, drawing Jake's attention back to him, "how do you feel this morning?"
"Fine, and better than yesterday. The painkillers work wonders, and my injury isn't painful. The doctor said it was healing well too. What about you? You had many bad bruises, so don't overexert yourself."
"Don't worry about me, I'm all healed up already!"
Jake cocked an eyebrow, then looked at his brother for confirmation. Obviously, he didn't believe a word of what the teenager said.
"He's healthy enough to make breakfast and carry trays," Gabriel smiled. "It doesn't look like it, but he's quite the tough guy."
"What do you mean I don't look like it?" Misha snorted before stealing a few pastries from Gabriel's tray. "Wait until I'm done growing up; I'll be the taller one and look down on you."
"But from what I remember, you were pretty much the same height in your first life," Jake couldn't help but blurt out. Though he hadn't met Misha in person, his mother was monitoring Gabriel's entourage closely, and he had thus known pretty much everything about Misha for a long time, including his height.
"Well, I drank a lot of milk in this life!" Misha scoffed, making them laugh and chuckle. "Oh crap, look at the time! Gabriel, hurry up, I'm gonna be late for school! Come on, come on, you gotta drive!"
The teenager stuffed the pastry he was eating down his throat before grasping Gabriel's wrist and pulling him up. He waved at Jake, his mouth too full to say goodbye, then disappeared in the corridor. Gabriel obediently followed behind with a sigh, leaving the still half-filled tray on the bed and telling Jake he'd come back later.
"I won't be long," he said. "Stay in bed and rest until then."
"Sure," Jake nodded, watching him leave with an unfathomable look in his eye. He still wasn't used to his brother's new-founded solicitude. Honestly, it felt odd, surreal, even.
After the two left, silence fell. A moment passed before Jake couldn't take it anymore and asked Stephan, "Shouldn't you also leave? Don't you have work?"
"I'm skipping," Stephan winked. "What's with the face? Don't worry, my employees are all talented people and don't need me to make the shop run."
"You do know that your best cook is also skipping work, right?" Jake pointed out, reminding Stephan that Misha hadn't gone to work this past week, not even once.
"I gave him some days off, so it's fine."
"You voluntarily gave him some time off, or he took leave from work without telling you?"
Stephan stared at Jake for a second before coughing, then not-so-subtly changed the topic of conversation. "Oh, yeah, before I forget, I've got a little something for you."
"…?"
Stephan pulled out a small box from his pocket and handed it to Jake with a smile. It was delicately wrapped, with a red ribbon tied around in a bow. No matter how one looked at it, it was a present.
"What is this….?" Jake asked, a look of suspicion flashing across his face.
But who could blame him for being suspicious? Stephan had gifted porn videos to his brother on his sixteen birthday. Years later, it was a bunch of various sex toys, and only God knew how and where Stephan managed to put his hands on these things. That being said, Jake had every right to be wary, even more so since his birthday wasn't before a few months. Really, what's with the present all of a sudden? It was creeping him out, understandably so!
"You know, when you look at me like this, it makes me want to do bad things to you. So—"
Jake snatched the box, successfully shutting up Stephan. With pursed lips, he then glared at the present, feeling reluctant. However, he was all too aware that Stephan wouldn't let go of the matter until he unwrapped it. So, he did just that, unceremoniously ripping the wrapping paper. When he saw what was inside the box, the surprise left him speechless, and he didn't know how to react.
It was an eye patch, one that had been carefully crafted to his taste. The design was simple yet detailed, the deep-brown leather carved on the edges. It was fashionable, but Jake had a hunch it wouldn't hinder how comfortable it'd be to wear. Strips of clothing had been sown on the inside so that it wouldn't irritate the skin. It was thus very smooth to the touch.
"It took me two days to make it, so I hope you like it. I'm still not very used to working with leather. Well, I'll make you a better one later."
Jake did not answer. As he stayed silent, he seemed to hesitate to remove the white hospital eye patch, stroking the one still in the box.
"Let me?" Stephan asked after a moment, stretching his hands to untie the hospital eye patch.
Albeit with an unhappy look on his face, Jake didn't avoid the man's hands and allowed him to change the eye patch. Stephan had bent over to do so, shortening the distance between them considerably. It made Jake unconsciously hold in his breath, his eye falling upon the man's lips. Close, too close! Enough that he could feel the warm breath brush against his skin, against his mouth. Just a bit more and they'd kiss.
However, Stephan didn't do anything indecent. Instead, he simply caressed Jake's cheek with his thumb once he was done tying the eye patch. Then, he said in a teasing voice:
"Just as I thought, eye patches look good on you. It makes my heart race."
"Oh shut up!"
Jake pushed the man away with a grunt. And again, a hearty laugh resounded in the bedroom as Stephan consented to sit a little farther. Yet, he did not take his eyes off of Jake's face, still smiling as he looked at the man's grumpy expression. Yeah, the eye patch suited him, very much so, but that wasn't what was making his heart race.
_____________________
Edited by Clozed!
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