Misha gazed out the window, gnashing his teeth until his jaws made a faint cracking sound. His body had reacted without his consent, and he hated himself for being afraid of someone he shouldn’t be. He knew in his head that nothing would happen, yet his mind seemed to have frozen the moment Stephan opened the door and the pungent smell of alcohol wafted to his nose.
It was a conditioned reflex; his body instinctively prepared itself for the incoming pain, his muscle tensing up and his stomach twisting into a knot. As an adult, he rarely had to deal with such feelings, but after transmigrating into his younger self, his trauma tended to flare up whenever the stimulus was a little too strong, just like now.
Because Stephan’s father was a tall, potbellied man, his figure was very similar to Alexey’s in his past life. After a few months of drinking day and night, Misha’s father had gained an impressive beer belly, his handsome features long thrown in the trash. Now that someone, who reeked of alcohol and had the same build as Alexey’s, was looming near Misha in a cramped space, the boy felt overwhelmed and oppressed.
So, of course, he reacted by lashing out at Stephan. And that was infuriating.
Misha didn’t want to react this way, but he couldn’t help it. Each passing minute he spent sitting near the man would only worsen the feeling of nausea clamping his throat, and the ride to Stephan’s house wasn’t a short one either. As if it wasn’t enough, his breathing seemed impeded as well, something he didn’t want to endure unnecessarily.
Anyway, his younger self was bratty and unreasonable, a real piece of work. So, Misha told himself that it didn’t matter if he acted capriciously, even more so when it was what he had been doing these past few months whenever he wanted Gabriel to do something for him. It was now second nature to him, to the point where Misha didn’t even realize how fickle and childish his behavior could be. One could even say that he had started to forget how to act like an adult.
Licking his dry lips, Misha tried to distract himself by scrutinizing the house in the distance. If he had to describe it in a few words, he’d say it was overly lavish. It was one of those giant houses rich people usually affectionate, the kind that was big enough to accommodate a dozen families or so. It was uselessly big, just like the rest of the property.
Still, Misha squinted his eyes, observing every detail as if to carve its image in his mind.
One of the reasons Misha had insisted on accompanying Gabriel was because he wanted to see where he was raised. Despite sharing a room for over a month, he still didn’t know much about the young man, so he gladly jumped on the opportunity to learn more about him.
With everything that had happened and how busy Misha was with cooking, doing the housework, and attending school, they didn’t have the time to sit and chat about Gabriel’s family situation. Besides, it was hard to find the right time to ask or the right words to say.
“What are you looking at?” Stephan probed by his side, snapping Misha out of his thoughts.
“The house, what else?”
“Hm, do you want a house like this in the future?”
“Nope.”
“Why not?”
“It’s too big. I’m gonna die of exhaustion if I have to keep it clean.”
“If you ever own such a big house, I’m pretty sure you will be able to pay someone to do the housework for you.”
“Don’t care. I still don’t want that kind of big house.”
Misha wouldn’t say it aloud, but he much preferred a relatively small house that felt cozy and warm to a big house full of empty rooms.
“By the way,” the boy started, suspiciously eyeing Stephan, “what were you doing at Gabriel’s house?”
“That… You will need to ask my father, but I don’t think he’s in the right mind to answer you,” the teenager shrugged. “I was only his driver.”
“Is that so.” Misha paused, seemingly thinking about something, before noting, “You seem quite familiar with Gabriel’s house and family.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? We’ve been friends since the womb.”
“Ah?”
“It’s as I said. Right, Gaby?”
“If you leave out all the important parts, no one will understand your babbling!” Gabriel retorted with a sigh, driving out of the driveway. “What he means is that our mothers were friends, and during pregnancy, they often spent time together, so, in a way, we have known each other since the womb.”
“Yup! That’s exactly it! I was born five months after him, but his mom often brought him with her whenever she visited my mother after his birth. You could say we grow up together like brothers.”
‘Then why did I never hear of you in my past life?’ Misha wondered, frowning at the thought.
The first time he had ever met Stephan was at the interview for the post of barman. Before that, he did not know of his existence, and during the few months he worked for him, he had also never heard of his friendship with Gabriel. There was no hint of it, except that one night when Gabriel came to the bar, asking for a glass of vodka.
That night hadn’t ended very peacefully either….
Misha had vaguely thought that Gabriel had given in to Vanessa’s pestering and dragged his feet over, but maybe that wasn’t all. Vanessa was only one of his many students, and he had no obligation to accept her offer.
First off, why did she even invite him to visit her at the bar, and why would Gabriel say yes? And why did Vanessa imply that it took him forever to show up?
Now that Misha thought about it, Gabriel’s sudden appearance at his workplace didn’t make sense. So… was their meeting that day really a coincidence? Or was there more to it…?
“How did your mothers meet?” Misha asked.
“Oh, that was because of our fathers,” Stephan shrugged.
“You’re still leaving out the important parts,” Gabriel sighed. “Our fathers are childhood friends, and our mothers met each other when they went out on a double date. They clicked immediately and became inseparable.”
“And so, they brought us with them whenever they visited each other since we were babies,” Stephan chimed in. “I even have a few pictures of us two sleeping in the cradle. I’ve got one where we’re soaking in the bathtub and playing with plastic ducks too! And another where Gabriel is crying his eyes out over spilled ice cream, and—”
“Stephan!”
“What?”
“Yeah, what?” Misha repeated like a parrot, glaring at Gabriel through the rear-view mirror.
“Nothing….”
As if expecting this answer, Misha nodded approvingly before shifting back his attention to Stephan. He urged him to continue with stars that seemed to sparkle in his bright blue eyes, and the teenager gladly obliged.
Thus, Stephan talked about the various pictures he had of Gabriel for most of the ride. Their mothers loved to take photos of their two little boys no matter what they were doing, so Stephan had several albums filled with all kinds of pictures. According to him, some were quite a sight to behold, if not a work of art.
For instance, there was that photo of the five-year-old Gabriel with his mother’s skirt on his head, having put it on thinking it was a kind of hat. He looked at the camera with a bright smile that curved his eyes into crescent moons, apparently not having noticed how their mothers were having fun at his expense. The following picture showed him pouting in the corner of the room after realizing they had made a fool out of him.
“You know, our moms had to coax him with chocolate afterward, or else he proclaimed that he wouldn’t let them take pictures of him anymore,” Stephan laughed. “That threat was very effective, and he managed to eat a bunch of chocolate before dinner, which was quite a feat considering how strict his mother was. Many years later, my mom said that she sometimes wondered if he hadn’t tricked them back then.”
‘He tricked them! He definitely tricked them!!!’ Misha inwardly snickered, while outwardly, he roared with laughter. Goodness, Gabriel had been fooling people since the cradle!
“What else, what else?” Misha urged, bouncing in his seat.
“Let’s see….” Stephan stroked his chin, going through his memories. “Oh yes! That one! You’ll like it. When we were around three years old, we found our mothers’ makeup bags and rummaged through them. We probably thought the lipsticks were candies and proceeded to eat a few. Our sadistic mothers then took a picture of us crying because of the bad taste, our lips and cheeks stained with bright red pieces of lipstick. Like, in the picture, we’re sitting on the ground in our diapers, bawling our eyes out! Can someone tell me why they took a photo of that?!”
“Pfft! Who told you to eat strange things too?!”
“Don’t judge! In our young, innocent eyes, it must have looked delicious. Anyway, there are a few pictures like that, where we’re crying as if it’s the end of the world, our faces flushed red and our mouths wide open. But let me tell you a secret.”
Stephan paused and beckoned the child to come closer so that he could murmur in his ear. Cocking an eyebrow, Misha seemed to hesitate for a second before ultimately giving in to curiosity and scurrying over, allowing the teenager to lean close to his ear.
In a sly tone, Stephan whispered, “In every damn photo, Gabriel always looks adorable, even when he’s covered in snot and tears! I’ve got no idea how this is possible! In comparison, my great self often looks like a small, hideous goblin by his side. How is this fair?!”
The words left Misha speechless, but he soon burst out laughing, trying to picture what the teenager said. But he really couldn’t imagine such things. A cute little Gabriel who is crying? Who is pouting? He very much wanted to see that!
“The next time you visit us, you must bring your albums with you!” he demanded, his voice carrying a hint of excitement. “All of them!”
“Oh? And what do I get in exchange?”
Misha frowned, seemingly thinking about what he had to offer. A broad smile bloomed on his face a few seconds later as he bent over to get closer to Stephan’s ear. “How about this? I’ll cook your favorite meal when you come over with the albums.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal, dear!”
“Hehe!”
As he listened to their not-so-discreet conversation, Gabriel couldn’t help but shake his head, a helpless smile on his lips. What was so interesting about old pictures of him crying and pouting? He wasn’t even cute as a child, always looking grumpy. But even though Gabriel held such thoughts, his eyes were nothing but indulgence when he peeked at Misha through the side mirror.
Really, it felt good to see him smile and hear him laugh. That boy was meant to be happy, not frightened.
Edited by Clozed! ♥
