Chapter 126 - A Day Like Any Other Day

"Misha!" A soft boyish voice called, just a second before something crashed onto his back. "Piggy ride!"

"…Why don't you piggy ride on your brother's back instead?" Misha grunted, his mouth twitching. Thankfully, he had grown used to the boy's clingy behavior, or else he would have reflexively thrown him over his shoulder.

Pursing his lips and complaining, Misha nevertheless crouched and allowed Tristan to climb onto his back. Now that Misha was experiencing his teenage growth spurt, he wasn't exactly small. He had grown a lot taller in the past few years, his head finally reaching Gabriel's nose. He still had a few centimeters left to go, though.

"But I wanna piggy ride on your back!"

"Ok, ok, I get it."

Misha threw a desperate gaze at Gabriel, who averted his eyes and pretended not to notice. The man busied himself with unloading the car trunk and dragging the bags to the front door, leaving Misha to handle his little brother.

"Hold on tight then," Misha sighed, helping the boy settle on his back. "I'll help your brothers unpack the car."

Letting out a giggle, Tristan obediently wrapped his legs around the teenager's waist and his arms around his shoulders. After which, he didn't move an inch, perfectly immobile so that he wouldn't bother Misha.

"Why do you have so much luggage, anyway…? You're staying over for the weekend, not a whole damn month."

"I told mom we didn't need that many things, but she still kept on adding more and more," Tristan said before whispering in a much softer voice, "Is it really too much?"

"No, it's just a pain in the a—"

"Misha!"

"In the neck to carry," the teenager coughed, glaring at Gabriel. Strangely, now he heard him. "And where's Jake? How about he lend us a helping hand for a change?"

"I think he had an important phone call to make?" Tristan explained. "For the company?"

"Is that so."

Important phone call his ȧss! That man just wanted to slack off, as he always did. Rather than discussing whatever crucial meetings he had to attend this week, he was probably complaining to a girl about having to sleep at his brother's girlfriend's place. Again.

'If he's so much against staying over, he's more than welcome to leave. And get lost while he's at it,' Misha inwardly snorted. 'Too bad he won't.'

And as expected, they didn't see so much as his shadow until all the luggage was put inside the house, neatly sorted out. Jake then appeared from whatever corner he had been hiding in and leisurely walked into the living room with his head held high, eyes scanning the area.

"Where's Masha? I don't see her."

"Still working," Misha snorted. "Something you don't know shit about."

"That's rich coming from a kid who keeps on failing his classes. I am a working ȧduŀt, unlike you."

"If sitting before a desk and letting your subordinates do all the work counts as working... Besides, I'm at least putting effort into classes. It's not my fault if the teachers are shitheads."

"You—"

"Enough," Gabriel ġrȯȧnėd, massaging his throbbing temples. "Could you not bicker for, I don't know, a second?"

"It's the brat who started it," Jake sneered, sitting on the sofa.

"I was just telling the truth, though."

"Misha…"

"Hm?"

"Go upstairs with Tristan, will you?"

"Sure thing."

Without further ado, Misha fled to his bedroom with the kid still attached to his back, the boy looking just like a baby koala with its mother. Or maybe a leech, depending on how one looked at it.

While Misha climbed the stairs, Tristan looked back and forth between his brothers and Misha, his lips pinched.

The animosity between Jake and Misha wasn't anything new, these two being at each other's throats whenever they were left in the same room. Every time, all hell broke loose, and curses flooded the place. Though the child knew this, he still didn't like it when his brother and his favorite person cussed each other out. It made his heart clench.

"Jake, you're the ȧduŀt, so how about acting like one?"

"Don't try to lecture me. This brat has no respect, and I seriously don't know how you can put up with this kind of behavior."

"…"

"And about that little girlfriend of yours… When will she finally rent her own place? Living with her parents at her age is kind of, you know, a bit pathetic?"

"I am living with mom and dad, yet I'm a year older than Masha. Does that make me pathetic?" Gabriel said, deciding not to remind Jake that they lived together and thus also lived with his parents.

"Your case is different. You still have sequels left from your coma, and your memory hasn't returned. Mom is worried about you, and no one feels at ease leaving you on your own. What if something happens?"

"Hm, I guess you're right," Gabriel hummed, his smile not reaching his eyes.

His stepmother had been using similar excuses for years, almost locking him up in the house. Only recently had Gabriel regained a semblance of freedom, though that freedom was still feeble and could be lost at any time given.

"But I didn't think you would accompany us this weekend. I thought you had to leave on a business trip next Monday."

"There were some problems, and the trip was pushed to a later date. It's nothing for you to worry about, though."

"I'm not worried. I'm sure you're going to succeed in snatching the contract, you're brilliant in that field. I was just wondering why you suddenly have time to spare."

"Of course I'll win the contract! You know me well," Jakes grinned, straightening his back like a peacock showing off its feathers. "The meeting was pushed off to Wednesday due to a conflict in schedules. So it leaves me enough time for you."

"I see."

Unbeknown to Jake, an ominous glint shimmered in the depths of Gabriel's eyes. It quickly vanished, however.

"By the way, when will your girlfriend's shift end? You came to visit her and she's not even at home."

"She wasn't supposed to work today, but a colleague fell sick and she filled in. I don't know when her shift will end."

The lie smoothly passed through his lips as Gabriel smiled. Masha wasn't actually at work. Instead, she was with Yuki at the restaurant, wooing the nurse. Though it had been years since their first dinner, their relationship hadn't progressed much. Surprisingly, Masha was awkward and often stuttered, while Yuki was bad with words. The two were at a standstill, not knowing what to do.

However, Gabriel decided not to meddle with their relationship this time around, even if Misha would have loved to. In his eyes, it was better for the girls to sort out their feelings themselves. Communication was a key part of a healthy relationship, after all.

Still, it didn't mean he wouldn't cover for them. What Masha was truly doing, Jake didn't need to know. Especially since he was trying to get her in his bed whenever Gabriel wasn't around.

"Again? It's always the same story with her. What is she? A workaholic?" Jake snorted. "And I still can't believe she chooses to work as a security guard. For goodness sake, she's a girl and should act like one. Don't you think so?"

Gabriel responded with a wry laugh, deciding not to comment.

***

The childlike bedroom was long gone, replaced by a more mȧturė-looking one. Misha wasn't interested in teenage-like designs and directly switched the furniture to something more ȧduŀt-like a few months ago. The blue walls were also painted a pale brown, and the door and the window, a dark-reddish brown. Only the fluorescent stars littering the ceiling were left, reminiscence of his childhood—Misha had been too lazy to peel them off and decided to let them be.

A few clothes were scattered on the dresser and some weights were dismissed in the corner, but overall, it was relatively neat. It wasn't as messy as the rundown apartment of his past life.

"Can I play with your hair?" Tristan earnestly asked, bouncing around like a bunny.

"…Sure," Misha sighed as he sat cross-legged on the floor. "Just don't tie it into knots like last time."

"Ok!" the boy hummed, running his fingers through the fluffy hair. "It's quite long now… Will you keep growing it out?"

"No, I think it's long enough as it is. It has just the perfect length."

Misha closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of his scalp being massaged. Just like in his past life, he had decided to let his hair grow out a bit, just long enough for it to reach his shoulders. It made his face look a little more delicate, but he decided to turn a blind eye.

At any rate, his body wasn't as frail as before, having gained muscle mass over the years. Once the fever and fatigue stopped plaguing him, he started to work out, and it paid off.

"I've been wondering, but why are you letting it grow? Longer hair is harder to take care of, no? That's what the girls in my class say."

"They're right, it's quite a pain."

"Then why?"

"Because someone precious to me told me they liked my hair, though that was a long time ago."

"Who?"

Misha opened his eyes and glanced over his shoulder, a small but fond smile blooming on his face.

"That's a secret."

At these words, Tristan momentarily froze, then made a pout. But he didn't pursue the matter further. Instead, he concentrated on braiding the teenager's hair, gently weaving the strands one after another. Deep down, however, he could not help but wonder who the person was, a strange feeling twisting his belly. It felt like buŧŧerflies were storming about in his stomach, going up and down.

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Editor: Clozed! ♥

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