"Are you leaving now?" Berry asked in distress, watching Stuart knot his tie to complete his dressing. He knew that Stuart was leaving for work today, but he was reluctant to part with Stuart, and it seemed Stuart felt the same way too.
"I will try my best to finish early so I can come back to you," Stuart said to comfort him, now hugging Berry with his fingers gently running through his hair. Marie, who had come earlier, was dumbfounded by this. She had come here two hours ago with Lucas just to drag Stuart out of the house, since he was so addicted to his boyfriend, but this was the sight she saw.
In just two hours she had spent here, she had been called single in so many ways.
"Come on, you two, it's not like Stuart is going to war or something. In a few hours, he would be back, and both of you can be lovey-dovey for as long as you want!"
Stuart shot her a glare and gestured for her to stop talking while he was still hugging Berry, and Marie's lips twitched. She thought that after two years of watching Stuart being like this with Kevin, she would get used to it, but now it only became worse.
"Two minutes more," Berry pleaded to Marie with a small voice, but she was having none of it. In their family, as twins, Stuart was supposed to be the responsible one, and she was supposed to be the carefree and irresponsible one. In the two hours of trying to be responsible, she had been drained both mentally and physically.
She turned to Lucas, who was behind her, watching this scene unfold with a straight face, and she couldn't help but ask, "Are you not uncomfortable seeing this?" but Lucas shook his head. He might be watching them, but he wasn't watching them, so all was fine as long as he did not think too much into it. As far as he was concerned, Marie was overreacting, but he wouldn't say it to her.
Marie sighed and looked at him with pity in her eyes for his future partner. At this point, she was sure that Lucas had no ability to be romantic in this life. He would probably end up old and wrinkled in his house with no wife or girlfriend. She could vividly picture him in his old age still working on some papers with an ever-so-serious face.
Lucas didn't understand why she was looking at him like he was already dead, but he ignored her, as it was not the first time she was looking at him like this. He spoke to Stuart instead, "Mr. Garnett, if we leave now, we would be done with today's schedule before nightfall."
"Nightfall?! You will be gone the entire day?" Berry questioned, his eyes teary as he looked at Stuart. He thought Stuart would be gone for a few hours and come back to him after that. "Can I come with you? I promise I won't cause you trouble." He pleaded, cupping his hands with beady eyes looking up at Stuart.
Stuart was tempted to say yes because only a monster would say no to those eyes, and Stuart was no monster. But before he could open his mouth, Marie yelled, "don't even think about it!" So he pursed his lips, giving Berry an apologetic gaze.
Berry did not give up but he turned to Marie, giving her the same beady eyes as Stuart. She looked him dead in the eyes, and with a maniacal smile, she said firmly, "NO!"
Berry cried like a child who has just been told on a Christmas morning that Santa doesn't exist. He was more than certain that Marie was a monster. No one else would be able to say no to him.
"Stop crying, will you?" Marie scolded, "He is only going to work. Don't you have work to do yourself, like going to the restaurant or planning the menu or anything else you chefs do?"
At the mention of his precious restaurant, Berry's eyes widened as a look of realization crossed his face. "Shit! I almost forgot about the restaurant! You should leave now, Stuart. I also have to go to work."
"Pfft!" That was Marie trying to hold back her laughter at the sudden change in Berry's attitude.
Stuart felt his heart break into several pieces as Berry quickly pulled away from him, choosing to go to work instead of staying with him. He was sad when Berry was pleading and crying for him to stay back home, but he was happy knowing that Berry wanted to stay with him as much as he wanted to stay with Berry.
"So you choose your restaurant over me?" Stuart asked, his voice shaky, as if he was about to cry from the indirect rejection.
When Berry heard this question, he stopped wiping his tears and answered, "I did not choose the restaurant over you. It's common sense that we leave for work when it's time for work," said Berry, sounding like he was reasonable, forgetting that he was the one wailing like a paid mourner at a funeral.
Stuart was still staring at him like he was going to cry, so Berry held his face and gave him a quick kiss, "don't be like this, Stuart. How about this, I will make you a feast when you come back from work, hmmmm?" As expected, Stuart's face brightened, and he smiled widely. Truly, he couldn't say no to food.
He leaned down to kiss Berry on the lips, but he paused because of Marie's glare, "don't think of doing that in front of me!" She yelled, expecting the both of them to show some pity for her poor single self.
But all she got was, ""Then leave."" Both of them said at the same time, and they started kissing before she could even close her eyes.
She looked behind her at Lucas, who was still staring at them with a straight face, and shook her head once again. She was dying of jealousy and second-hand embarrassment, but Lucas seemed as though he was watching the weather forecast.