Tristan peeked inside his brother's bedroom. When his gaze landed on Jake, his eyes seemed to brighten and he dashed to the bed to pounce on Jake, knocking the air out of his lungs. The movement sandwiched his brother between his body and Stephan's, but Tristan didn't seem to notice. Or perhaps it'd be more accurate to say that he noticed but pretended not to have.
"I missed you!" Tristan cried out as he wrapped his arms around his brother's neck. "I missed you so much!"
The sudden show of affection left Jake at a loss. He dazedly looked at Gabriel as if to ask him what he should do, not knowing where to put his hands. It wasn't until Gabriel nodded that he mustered the courage to hug back the boy.
"I missed you too." Jake cleared his throat. "Does mom know you're here?"
To this, Tristan puffed out his cheeks and shook his head, his curly hair bouncing on each side of his face. "I escaped when she wasn't looking!"
"You what?!"
"She had to leave to take a phone call, so I took the opportunity to sneak out!" Tristan chortled before making a pout. "Say, do you know why she doesn't let me visit you? She's been saying that you were too sick to receive anyone and that we shouldn't bother you. But there are so many people in your room, so why can't I come?!"
Of course, Jake knew why his mother wasn't letting Tristan near his room; however, he couldn't very well tell his little brother the truth, not without hurting him. With this in mind, he tried to think of a lie that would comfort the boy, but before he could open his mouth, someone spoke up.
"It's true that he's been feeling under the weather," Stephan said, winking. "The medication is strong, and it makes him a little dizzy. See? He even needs my help to sit straight!"
Misha almost choked on his saliva, disbelief written all over his face. He looked at Stephan as if he were an idiot, and even Jake and Gabriel had difficulty keeping a straight face.
Did Stephan not know what shame meant?! Goodness, he was impossible!
Meanwhile, Tristan lifted his eyes to glare at Stephan. A pout stretched his lips into a flat line, a frown creasing his brow. He looked like a tiny beast ready to pounce on its prey and tear it to shreds. In the position that he was, only Stephan could see him.
Before, Stephan might have found this childish display of possessiveness cute, but now that he knew what kind of white-eyed wolf the kid had grown up into in his past lives…. Well, it wasn't as cute. Instead, it made him fear for his well-being. The boy wouldn't stab him in his sleep, would he?
A few hours ago, Stephan had taken the opportunity to coerce Jake into telling him what had happened between him and Tristan. But maybe he'd have been better off not knowing. Ignorance truly was bliss.
***
Gabriel was at work and Misha at school. Without these two to live up the room, it was plunged into silence, and only the sound of pages being flipped resounded. Jake was sitting in his bed cross-legged, dozens of reports scattered around him. It was a mess Stephan couldn't make any sense of.
After watching him work for days, Stephan had learned one thing about Jake: his working method was so disorderly that seeing it was enough to make his temples throb in pain. When Jake wasn't reading, the papers were flying everywhere as he scribbled things left and right. Though his handwriting was neat, the sentences and words were always cut in half. In addition, there were missing letters and abbreviations everywhere, making it near impossible to decipher the notes left on the reports. Thankfully, the diaries hadn't been written in this manner, or decoding them would have been headache-inducing.
"Didn't Gabriel tell you to rest?" Stephan said, cocking an eyebrow. "You'll be scolded."
"So?" came Jake's answer.
"Gabriel's scolding is damn scary, you know?"
"Is that so."
"…."
He was being ignored, Stephan could tell that much. It didn't mean he'd let Jake off the hook, however. Instead, he crawled on the bed and slowly got closer to Jake. Stephan had been calm for the past few hours, silently staring at Jake as he worked. But now, he wanted attention.
Anyway, Gabriel had asked him to watch over his brother, and Jake obviously wasn't planning on listening to either Gabriel or him. Even without the memories of his past lives, Jake was the oldest one among them, but he sure acted like a stubborn brat. What was so difficult about resting? Just lie in bed, pretend to sleep, or watch TV! Why did he have to insist on working and giving himself headaches? Stephan was starting to wonder if Jake didn't have masochistic tendencies. Not that he minded, but—
"What are you doing?" Jake's voice traveled to his ears, interrupting Stephan's train of thought. "I'm not a human pillow!"
"You sure?" Stephan smiled, lifting his head to peer at Jake from under the report. He had slid his head on the man's lap, encircling his waist with his arms. "Your thighs are very comfortable, even more than my pillows."
"How can the thighs of a man be comfortable?" Jake had to raise the report he was holding to see Stephan's face. "They are as hard as wooden planks. If you want to spout nonsense, could you, at the very least, think of better lies?"
"But they truly are comfortable," Stephan pouted, nudging his face against Jake's left thigh, the top of his head pressing against his stomach. "It makes me want to never let go."
A drawn-out sigh escaped Jake's mouth. He pinched the bridge of his nose and hit Stephan's head with the report. "So, what do you want?"
"I want you to rest."
"Not happening."
"Why not?!"
"I've got work to do."
"How about asking Gabriel to do it for you?"
"He has enough on his plate already. And what about you? When are you going back to your café? You may be the boss, but you can't keep on skipping work eternally!"
"Oh well, it's not like I'm lacking money, anyway. My mom was filthy rich, and, as her only son, I inherited pretty much everything. You should know that, right?"
"Your carefree nature will drive me crazy one day."
"I'd rather you get crazy in love with me, though."
"…."
"Not saying "not happening" this time?" Stephan snickered, his heterochromatic eyes seeming to sparkle under the light. "Hm?"
"Shut up," Jake grunted. "Get off, you're hindering my work."
"Hm, nope. Not happening."
Jake closed his eye, telling himself that he hadn't recovered yet and thus wasn't strong enough to strangle Stephan. It'd only end in them wrestling—with him on the losing side. And who knew what would happen afterward, but he sure as hell didn't want to discover it.
'Grin and bear it for the time being. That guy will get bored soon enough,' Jake thought as he put the report on Stephan's face, naturally going back to reading it. In any case, he wouldn't die from a bit of cuddling
"My head isn't a desk…."
"And my thighs aren't pillows."
Stephan laughed heartily, hugging Jake's waist tighter. It had grown a little too thin this past week, the hip bones now more prominent, but he didn't point it out. Instead, he stayed silent for a moment, then said in a honeyed voice, "How about this? You tell me what happened between you and Tristan in your past lives, and I'll stop using your lap as a pillow."
"Well, my thighs just discovered their new vocation; they have been upgraded to premium pillows."
"...." And here they said he's the shameless one! "Darling, talking about it is going to do you good. You don't want Misha or Gabriel to know, fine. But I'm here, and I can share that burden with you, you know?"
"And do you know that you're being unnecessarily pushy? I'm fine."
"And you're lying."
Jake clutched the report in his hands. Yes, of course, he was lying! Being near his little brother always put him ill at ease. Even if he knew the kid wasn't currently a white-eyed wolf that wanted to devour him whole, he couldn't help it. Tristan was honestly a cute child, but there were things Jake couldn't forget, and wounds that festered with time instead of healing. He had two lifetimes' worth of pains to remember, and he couldn't brush them off with a wave of his hand. He was human, not some kind of unfeeling machine.
"See? Your hands are trembling," Stephan said, gently grasping his wrist to bring his left hand closer to his lips. He kissed his knuckles and rubbed his nose against them, smiling, "Talk to me. I'm a good listener, you know?"
Silence fell, and Jake glanced askance at Stephan's eyes that peeked from under the report. They held no mockery, just worry and a little something he couldn't quite decipher.
Jake stayed still a while longer before putting the report aside and sighing, "I'm warning you: you'll regret asking."
"That's fine by me."
"Alright then."
_____________________
Edited by Clozed!
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