Chapter 40 - What if there's a bear outside?

After Gabriel woke up, it took a while before his clouded mind cleared, and he slowly became conscious of his surroundings. Soon, the teenager realized that Masha had already left the tent, but was still near, chattering with her parents. He could tell that she was trying to keep her voice down; it was without much success. She had a loud voice, just like her little brother.

Although Masha was quite noisy, that wasn't what had disturbed his sleep. As the sun rose higher and higher, its rays beat down on the tent more and more, making the temperature inside rise until it became too warm to be comfortable. He felt as if he was in a greenhouse.

When Gabriel sat to rub his eyes, he found out that Misha was clinging onto him, adding another source of warmth. It was no wonder he woke up.

The child's tiny hands were gripping his clothes tightly while he snuggled against him. When Gabriel moved to sit up straight, the small face that was buried in his back fell beside his t.h.i.g.h with a thud. Despite this, the boy didn't wake up. He kept on snoring and drooling, even smirking in his sleep.

The sight made Gabriel raise an eyebrow, and only after a while did he react. Gently, he slid a pillow under the child's head before whispering in a soft yet mocking voice, "Do you hate me or not? You know, you will need to make a choice once of these days."

His only response was a grunt, and Misha disregarded the pillow, pushing his head against the teenage boy's leg before rubbing his nose against it a few times. Then, he suddenly stopped to move and continued to snore while grinning, appearing quite satisfied.

Gabriel was at a loss of words to describe how he felt. He didn't know if he was annoyed or amused.

Soon after, the teenager carefully freed himself from Misha's grip. There was no way he would wait for the brat to wake up; he was unable to imagine how Misha would react if he came to realize that he had hugged him in his sleep. Gabriel didn't know why, but he felt like his life would be in danger, so he decided to follow his instincts and quickly left the tent like a thief.

Half an hour later, Misha finally showed his face, hopping to the picnic table while yawning. He absently sat beside his sister, his eyelids still heavy. It had been a long time since he had slept so well. The child couldn't help but smile foolishly, thinking that it was due to his sister's presence. As he thought, there was nothing more reassuring than having her by his side.

Because Misha had hurt his ankle yesterday, they had no other choice but to change their plan for today. They couldn't go hiking, so they decided to play board games and card games. Luckily, Mrs. Brown had brought many different kinds of games, and thus, once they were bored, they could change to another game and keep things funny as well as entertaining.

Every time they played a new round, Misha put all of his attention and concentration on killing Gabriel off first, even if it meant losing the game. The child didn't mind kamikaze strategies, as long as Gabriel perished with him.

When Misha could, he also made sure to help his mother or his sister take the victory. Of course, when he could make things difficult for his father, he also gladly did it. It was petty, but it helped him to calm his pent-up emotions and in the end, he found the games quite enjoyable, especially when Gabriel had this dumbfounded look on his face after losing without knowing why. He felt quite proud of himself.

When Misha wasn't directly confronting Gabriel on the board games, he sneaked glances at the teenager now and then, almost like a fl.u.s.tered teenage girl in love. He wasn't good at being discreet, and not only did Gabriel noticed his gaze, so did the rest of the table.

Upon seeing Masha's sneer and the two a.d.u.l.ts' puzzled eyes, Gabriel felt quite helpless. Only he realized that the child's hot gaze wasn't due to a love-kind feeling; he was trying to threaten him with his eyes, if not murder him.

The teenager felt like crying but he had no tears. He hadn't exposed the child's lie yesterday, so why would he do so today? There was no need to stare at him and target him so much in the games. If Gabriel had wanted to blabber about what had truly happened yesterday, he would have done so a long time ago.

When they had come back from the beach, Mrs. Brown couldn't help but ask why Misha was piggyback riding on Gabriel's back, and the kid, with bright red ears, had mumbled that he had fallen and hurt himself. As for the teenager, he decided to play along, adding to the child's story that he hadn't been fast enough to catch him. His handsome face was filled with remorse, making his words all the more convincing.

Without too much surprise, Misha didn't want his family to know that he had fought, so the teenager wisely kept his mouth shut. If the children Misha had beat to a pulp didn't show up, Gabriel thought that he might as well hide the truth. In the corner of his mind, he hoped that the boy would realize that he was on his side and would stop with the nasty pranks.

Well, there was nothing wrong with dreaming.

However, it seemed like Misha couldn't trust him, always paying attention to his every move since their return from the beach. Even when he went to the bathroom, the child closely followed behind him like a duckling with its mother.

Gabriel felt like if Misha could, he would have long sewed his lips, just to make sure he could never reveal the truth. His thoughts were so obvious that the teenager didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

That boy wasn't mean to be a liar.

The day passed in this way, and when the evening arrived, Alexey had to leave. He worked the very next day and couldn't stay any longer, or else he could say goodbye to his sleep. Kissing his wife, he promised to work diligently and come back in a week to fetch his family. They all watched the car disappear, waving at it as long as they could see it.

After his father went back home, Misha's mood improved drastically, and as an indirect result, he pestered Gabriel a little less.

When the sun went down, they sat around the fire, and Mrs. Brown told them another story. Because Misha had refused to take his nap so that he could keep an eye on Gabriel, he quickly dozed off once again. Later on, Gabriel carried him inside the tent when it was time to sleep.

However, Misha woke up soon after the teenagers tucked him into bed, feeling quite irritated. Of course, it meant he had to vent his frustration on someone.

The teenage boy had just laid down when the child shook his shoulder. Contrary to Masha, who was already snoring, Gabriel hadn't had the chance to fall into a deep slumber, so he quickly opened his eyes and asked, "Misha? What's wrong?"

"There is noise outside. I'm scared," pitifully said the child. It was the first thing that had come to his mind that gave him a reason to disturb the teenager.

"Well, we are camping in the forest, so it's normal if you heard some noises at night. There are a few nocturnal animals who are quite active at this hour," patiently explained Gabriel even though he knew the kid was probably lying through his teeth. After seeing him fight so aggressively, the teenager couldn't imagine him be afraid so easily.

"What if it's a bear? Won't it tear the tent to shreds to come in and eat us?"

"I don't think there is a bear. And even if there is, it wouldn't do that."

"I saw it in a movie, so it definitely can happen!"

"Movies don't always reflect reality, Misha."

"I don't believe you!" pouted the child, hitting the teenager's c.h.e.s.t with his small fists a few times. He often did so when he was about to throw a tantrum. "Go and check! I can't sleep like this!"

The teenager's mouth twitched, and he felt like teasing the kid a little. He said with a voice that sounded like he had been wronged, "Didn't you say that the bear would eat us? If I check outside and there is indeed a bear, won't I become his souper? Do you want me to die?"

Misha paused, one of his arms frozen in mid-air. Then, he let it drop and his fist hit Gabriel with a loud thud. "In the movie, there was a strong-looking man who defeated the bear with his b.a.r.e hands, you know!"

"So, are you implying that I look strong enough to beat a bear with my b.a.r.e hands?" asked Gabriel, trying to hold back his laughter.

Misha grit his teeth, then whispered reluctantly, "Yes.." Taking a deep breath, he added, almost roaring into the teenager's ear, "So, get out and check what's outside!"

Feeling like he had been tricked, Misha wanted to kick the teenage boy out.

"Yes, yes! I will go, I will go," coaxed the teenager, fumbling around to find the flashlight before unzipping the door, sticking out his head to scan his surroundings. "I don't see anything."

"Of course not! You didn't even step out!" complained the child, staring at him while squinting his eyes. "And you're not even wearing your glasses."

Sighing in his heart, Gabriel listened to the brat's orders and walked out of the tent. He swept the area with his flashlight a few times to please the little Lord. When the teenager was about to say that there was nothing, he noticed something a meter away from him. When the light fell upon it and revealed its appearance, Gabriel s.u.c.k.e.d in a breath.

Before he could even curse, a terrible odor assaulted his nose, making him w.h.i.n.e as his stomach churned. He had succeeded in scaring the only thing in the world that no one wanted to startle.

Author's note:

Author: Misha, what would you do if you actually were to come face to face with a bear?

MC: Hit him in the crotch before running away!

Author: And if it's female?

MC: Use Gabriel as a meat shield, then run away while the bear eats him!

ML:...