Noah's already pink face got even redder from the bellyful of grievances and indignation he felt right now.
This absolutely couldn't go on! Determined to get his message across this time, he turned towards the completely unperturbed Levi. The other responded with a raised eyebrow as if to cluelessly ask what's wrong.
Noah felt as if he was punching cotton; his pent-up frustration simply had no way to be vented out! He took a deep breath to calm himself down, in the process of which he puffed up his cheeks like an adorable little pufferfish.
Levi's deadpan face nearly cracked there and then. The corner of his mouth started to twitch uncontrollably.
Foul! His baby was simply too cute to be legal!!
Astar Levi, you must endure! Hold it in! Under no circumstances can you let a laugh escape you!!
Finally, Noah's cheeks deflated, and he faced Levi with a very stern lets-talk-about-life expression, "Brother! You should think twice before you act. You can't just do whatever you feel like doing. Think about how it might look from other people's perspectives."
Too bad that the seriousness was entirely wasted on Levi, who thought that his darling looked adorable no matter what the other said or did. Even when the other had that stern face on, to Levi, he just looked like a little kitten pretending to be a lion. ❤
Usually, in a situation where he was lectured by his baby due to his own wrongdoings, Levi would have very obediently agreed with everything his baby said, however, his baby's words did hit a nerve this time.
It made him remember that unpleasant matter that he still hasn't received an explanation for.
"You too," Levi shot back, "Don't be casual with unrelated people. Think about how it might look from other people's perspectives."
Noah, who was in the middle of his tirade and totally didn't expect a retort from this usually reticent and obedient brother-in-law, choked on his words. His mind blanked out, totally forgetting the rest of his speech as he stared at Levi dumbfounded.
…What???
Levi gazed down at the little guy's blank look, and instead of explaining, he pressed a few buttons on his communicator.
A light screen popped up, displaying a photo of Noah straddling Trey.
Noah, whose skin tone had just managed to return from shrimp to human range, shot back up into tomato range.
"That…! That was…!" Noah tripped over his words to explain, "It-it's not like that! There was a sniper! And we were dodging bullets! And-and…!"
Wait, why was he explaining the truth of the matter so anxiously, worried that the other might misunderstand? Noah suddenly halted. He didn't do anything wrong! In the first place, how did the matter of him rolling on the ground dodging a headshot turn into something inappropriate?
And besides, even if it looked funny from an outsider's perspective, at worst, people would think he was gay, or together with Trey? He was single, so there was nothing wrong with him being intimate with another. It's not like PDA of this level was something outrageous!
Could it be?!? Noah's eyes widened in alarm, and he anxiously spun around to face…
"Trey! Did my impulsive actions cause your significant other to misunderstand?!"
Blackie: "…" (◞‸ლ)
Levi: "…" ಠ_ಠ
Trey: ╰(*°▽°*)╯ "No, I'm single."
Levi nearly bit his tongue off when he received Trey's provoking side-glance.
"Oh." Noah let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Phew! Thank heavens! How awkward would it be if he had to explain the matter to Trey's angry and distressed lover?!?
No, wait! That's not the only issue here! Noah's relaxed back tensed up again, "Ah! I'm so sorry if this kind of photo makes your family and friends misunderstand your sexual orientation!"
Trey's mouth quirked up, "Oh, it's not a misunderstanding - I AM gay."
At this point, Noah, preoccupied with thinking how his actions might have wronged someone, had no processing power to feel surprised by the revelation, "Phew. That's a relief. The photo won't cause you problems then?"
Having his crush so concerned over himself, Trey was simply glowing, "Not at all. In fact, my friends will probably be jealous if they see it." He turned towards Levi with a big smile on his face, "Can you send the pic to me so I can share it on my social media?"
Levi nearly coughed up blood. He completely ignored Trey, this mistress who was daringly provoking the legal wife, and accusingly stared holes into Noah. He truly made a perfect image of a little wife being cheated on, "Why are you worrying about him?! It's not him you should be worried about!!" 'It's me!! It's me who's hurt, ok?!? It's me who needs coaxing and comforting and–'
"Oh!" Noah finally understood why his usually calm brother-in-law had gotten this agitated. As always, this silly brother-in-law only lost his cool for the sake of others!
When he thought about it that way, Noah's disturbed mood mysteriously calmed down into something mild and sweet. "It's fine. This won't impact my reputation at all," Noah tried to reassure Levi, "So, what if the proportion of people who think I'm gay increases? What's wrong with being gay anyway?"
"…" The tongue-tied Levi's lungs, kidney, and liver all hurt.
'…there is indeed nothing wrong with being gay…
'But that's only if you are gay with me!!!'
(ﾉಥAಥ)ﾉ ┻━┻
Levi's thunderous facial expression kept changing colors. After struggling to form words for a while, Levi finally managed to squeeze out, "You might not mind these things, but I mind!"
Who in their right mind wouldn't mind their baby acting intimate with other men?!?!
Levi's thick face didn't even so much as blush as he seriously lectured, "Being this intimate with anyone other than your lover is inappropriate!"
Noah, who had nearly forgotten about the matter that started all this, stumbled in his step, "So you do know that it is highly inappropriate to be this intimate with someone who isn't a lover?? Then what about your actions from earlier?!"
Levi was caught acting shamelessly by his baby, yet this pro had skin so thick his innocent act didn't even falter, "What actions?"
Noah choked, his face flaming up again. 'Touched, touched everywhere, and slept, slept on top of my-my…!' Just thinking about it made him want to die out of embarrassment! How could he say it out loud?!?
Finally, in a mosquito-like voice, he squeaked, "Use… using… me as a pillow…"
Levi, who was paying innocent, suddenly dropped the act and revealed a look of understanding, "Oh, that's different." And as if to placate Noah, he added, "You too can use my lap as a pillow whenever you want."
'Who wants to use you as a pillow?!?'
(ノ꒪Д꒪)ノ︵ ┻━┻
Noah, who could finally no longer keep it bottled up, burst out with great distress, "Brother! You shouldn't be so casual with pillow laps!"
Levi stared into his eyes and reassured him very solemnly, "I'm not."
Noah jumped, "That's-"
Before Noah could finish his words, Levi interrupted, "You are family."
"…"
Can't refute, can't agree, Noah felt stifled to death!