Zach jolted awake, heart thumping in his chest. The sight of Little D drooling confused him, widening his aquamarine eyes.
Little D did not raise the white flag—his ears perked and eyes bulged, matching the expression of his owner.
Zach giggled, looking at his puppy who brought him back to the real world. Beads of sweat dribbled down his forehead, as he soothed his heart from what he thought was a simple nightmare.
"Awww. Are you hungry already? Let me find you some food." Zach was about to pick up Little D from his chest when a foul smell assaulted his nostrils. "I forgot. You need to take a bath first," he groaned, scrunching his nose.
Zach walked toward the closet he shared with his siblings and picked out a white sleeveless shirt and shorts. He opened a drawer, ran over his colorful set of underwear printed with all kinds of flowers, and finally picked his favorite—the legendary Chrysanthemum. Although he was embarrassed to say it, nothing was as comfortable as wearing this undie with a small hole peeking at the back. He felt so refreshed every time he wore it. He grabbed the towel hanging on the door and entered the bathroom together with Little D. He carefully locked the knob and started to remove each piece of his clothing until none were left.
Little D barked loudly.
Zach flinched, taking a few steps backward, and quickly covered his private area as he faced his Little D.
Seeing his owner's reaction, Little D stopped barking and started whimpering instead.
"What am I thinking? It's just my Little D ah!" Zach realized.
For a person like Zach, even Little D's stare would turn his translucent-white body to red. At the age of seventeen, no one had seen him naked: no one had noticed how flat his stomach was, how small his waist was, nor how his pink buds seemed to be out of place on his flawless creamy-white chest.
Well, except during that time, when Xander had accidentally opened the bathroom door and cursed, "Oh shit!" upon seeing him lifting his shirt to his head. For him, even if it was just his stomach and chest that were exposed, it was still the most embarrassing moment of his seventeen years of existence.
He swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to relieve his trembling heart. He slowly removed the hands that covered his private area and tiptoed towards the puppy. His skin flustered as red as a beet, while Little D jumped around the wet floor with unexplained energy.
"Calm down, Little D. Don't get too excited. I have to wipe the dirt off of your head and body first."
Little D continued to run around, forcing Zach to chase in circles and catch him. Foaming bubbles flew around the bathroom creating a picturesque scene.
Afraid that his puppy would catch a cold, Zach gave Little D a one-minute bath while the rest of the time was spent with him taking a shower, crooning in a thin, monotonous, flat voice. His singing prowess was out of this world—Disney Princesses and The Chipmunks combined.
"Didi?" The bathroom door shook. "Are you okay? You've been in there for an hour. That won't be good for your health." Xander knocked on the door thrice.
"I'm okay, Xander. I'll be out with Little D in a while."
'Out with Little D?' Xander froze. "You showered together?"
"En!" Zach answered in agreement.
"Why did he allow the puppy to go in?" Xander mumbled.
Zach opened the door and stared at Xander with brows pulled up. "You said something?"
Xander's gaze immediately fastened to Zach's striking blue eyes. He felt dreamy—the bottomless pit of the Pacific Ocean was sucking his soul. Seeing his little brother clothed in a tank top, exposing his neck, arms, and shoulders, his duty to protect Zach felt heavier. 'Being your big brother is a blessing and a curse ah!'
Little D scampered out. He sniffed Xander thinking he was a hooligan.
"Xander? I'm going down to accompany Jiejie."
"Zach, from now on, you're not allowed to wear anything sleeveless outside the house," Xander finally uttered a sentence after the musing. "Do you want gege to die of heart attack, thinking of what others will do to you?"
"Huh?" Zach furrowed his brows. "I don't understand?"
Xander patted his brother's wet hair. "You certainly don't. You're still naive as always." His lips curved a centimeter upward. "Just don't wear shorts and sleeveless shirts outside, okay? I'm afraid that gege won't be able to protect didi when the world starts noticing how precious you are." He playfully scooped Zach's neck in his biceps and gently scratched his brother's hair with his fist.
"I-I'm not precious," Zach protested half-heartedly, ears turning scarlet.
He knew he was born frail, had asthma and eyes that couldn't differentiate red from yellow. Despite these, his brother was always there, giving him strength, air, and the pair of eyes he needed to see the world in its full colors.
He always believed in Xander—the most important person in his life.
Little D entered the arena and nibbled Zach's bare toe.
Zach pleasantly smiled, feeling the warmth of Xander's fist on his head, and the ticklish sensation in his foot. He resigned to his fate, letting the two warm bodies merrily pick on him.
"Zach, hurry up! The store will be closing!" Sabrina shrieked in the living room.
"I-I'm coming!" Zach jerked.
Xander smiled and patted Zach's fluffy hair. "See you downstairs." He took Little D out with him.
Zach crouched and grabbed the only two pairs of footwear he had under his bed. He stood, placed his hands on his waist, and bowed his head to scrutinize the slippers. The world was crushing his shoulders—he couldn't decide what slippers to wear going to the store.
'Should I use SpongeBob or Ben Ten? Ben Ten or SpongeBob? SpongeBob or Ben Ten?' He deeply thought. The loop trapped him for five minutes.
'If I wear SpongeBob, they will surely tease me. But-but I can't help it. I really feel comfortable when SpongeBob is around. Xander will also be happy to see me wearing his birthday gift.'
He examined the slippers and giggled. SpongeBob had his arms wide open, smiling with only two front teeth. Out of nowhere, the opening song of the cartoon hummed in his head. His sight aimed at Patrick, hugging the yellow cheese.
'If I pick Ben Ten, I feel mighty. No one will dare to spank me with these aliens under my feet. This is also Sabrina's Christmas gift. She'll get mad when I choose SpongeBob while I'm with her.'
He stared at the other pair of slippers and saw Ben Tennyson lift up his watch, revealing his most powerful aliens, from Heatblast to Ghostfreak.
He grunted and massaged the back of his neck. 'Guess I have to borrow Yin's slipper then.' As he was about to call Yin, Sabrina suddenly barged into the room.
"What the hell is taking you so lo..." Sabrina's voice gradually faded, as her sight trailed down to the slippers in front of her brother.
Zach's heart jumped and his pupils dilated. His blue eyes flickered in the slightly dim room, creating an illusion of two blue moons descending from the heavens.
Sabrina was awestruck. She tried to recompose herself, walking toward Zach. 'Such a precious kid without him knowing.'
"I-I'm sorry, Jiejie. I'm just having a little trouble."
"I know," Sabrina interrupted Zach's stutter. She leaned down, picked the SpongeBob slipper for the left foot, and Ben Ten slipper for the right foot. She looked at Zach and rolled her eyes. "Wear those."
Zach stared at the unique pair of slippers, face painting relief. His big and bright blue eyes once again took the spotlight.
"Sabrina, you're a genius!" Zach sprang from the floor and hugged his sister.
"Yeah. I get called that a lot."
"A genius?"
"No, Sabrina."
"..."
The two siblings laughed until their stomachs hurt.
"Let's stop messing around, Jiejie. We still need to buy eggs and vegetables," Zach reminded.
"I know. Let's go before everyone starves to death."
"Okay khrap!" Zach revealed an awkward Thai knowledge he had learned at school and smiled.
Sabrina and Zach were rushing down the stairs when Xander and Little D greeted them with stabbing gazes.
'What's wrong with these morons?' Sabrina thought.
On a whim, Zach surprised his sister, letting go of her hand and turned 540 degrees back to the bedroom.
Sabrina only saw Zach's silhouette, exposing his bare arms. Her forehead wrinkled when her brother returned after fifteen seconds, fully clothed from shoulders to toes. Zach left no room for the wind to brush his skin.
Zach smiled at Sabrina. "Let's go, Jiejie."
Xander and Little D satisfyingly beamed at the both of them as they passed.
"Sabrina, don't let Zach wander off alone," Xander reminded.
"Geez! I'm not a babysitter. Zach is also not a ten-year-old kid anymore. He knows better than to get lost," Sabrina replied as she hurried to close the gate.
"Be back within twenty minutes," Xander pulled a last minute warning.
"Yeah! Yeah!" Sabrina ran out with excitement. She dragged Zach to the east.
"Jiejie, wait! The market is in this direction." Zach panted as he pointed to the left.
"I know. Let's just take a quick look at the movies showing right now."
"But Xander said—"
"Don't worry. We still have enough time. And besides, if there's a good movie, I will treat you this weekend." Sabrina winked.
Zach quickened his pace to match Sabrina's. "Sure!"
"Heh. Too easy, Mr. Naive guy." Sabrina smirked.
"I'm not naive. I just know that jiejie never lies." Zach grinned, showing his elusive dimple.
"Mr. Naive!" Sabrina showed her tongue.
Zach and Sabrina stopped outside the cinema. A wide selection of movie advertisements lined up along the walls of Ming Jin Theaters—the only cinema in their small rural town. They skimmed along the posters and abruptly halted at the animated movies section.
"Zach, look! Incredibles Two is showing!" Sabrina squealed.
"OMG! OMG! OMG! Let's watch now!" Zach bounced from the floor, failing to contain his excitement upon seeing the family of superheroes. He still remembered how 'The Incredibles' reminded him about a life's truth.
'Having somewhere to go is a home. Having someone to love is a family. Having both is a blessing.'
Sabrina poked Zach's forehead. "Next time. We have to go back within twenty minutes, remember?" She emphasized the last word with sarcasm.
"This weekend then?" Zach's voice faltered, but the tone of eagerness was still audible.
"As you say so, Didi." Sabrina caressed Zach's fluffy hair. She looked at her watch and her lips parted by two inches. "What the... We've already wasted ten minutes. Come on!" And again, she hauled Zach.
As they tried to beat the time limit given by Xander, Sabrina showed her exceptional talent of running a thousand meters per second, leaving poor Zach on his knees. She didn't notice Zach close to fainting.
When Zach felt something was amiss, he shouted, "Jiejie, stop! I lost my slipper!" He used all of his energy left to spit out the words.
Sabrina halted. She raised her eyebrow, looking at Zach. As she saw Zach's left foot, she sighed. "You catch up if you find it. The shop is just a few steps away. It's closing in five minutes," she insisted.
"What if I can't find it?" Zach panted.
"What slipper was lost?"
Zach pouted his lips. "SpongeBob."
"Haha! You can go home with one foot bare then. See you!" Sabrina walked away, dancing.
"What an evil sister." Zach slumped his shoulders. He turned back and tracked his missing slipper on the way.
'SpongeBob, please come back. Lao Zi will take good care of you. I promise!'
He imagined Xander's gloomy expression when his brother would find out the truth. There would be no harsh words for sure, but his guilt would eat him whole. He failed to keep what others had given him—especially from his brother.
He stared at his bare foot and fought hard not to cry like a little kid. He cleared his mind and thoroughly scanned the surroundings. After ten minutes of futile attempts, he was about to sob in despair when a deep-toneless American accent resonated behind him.
"Is this yours?"
The man's breath fanned on his nape, firing his nerves, tingling his spine. As the voice rang in his ears, his body hair raised. If he was naked, he would illustrate a perfect image of a scared little kitten.