❝He found poetry in simple things, he said to her.
Why don't you take your clothes off?❞
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He gripped the phone in anticipation.
Waiting for the other side to pick up felt like the longest of hours, but when the video call finally popped up, all that waiting became worth it.
"Theo!" Chase let out, his bright face on the corner of the screen.
"Hey, kiddo," Theo grinned, surprising even himself at how happy he looked despite the early morning look. "It's about time you answered."
"I have a social life, Theo! Don't blame me!"
He chuckled at Chase's bluntness —a hereditary trait, it seemed —but at the same time, his heart warmed at the gleam in his brother's eyes. He'd grown closer to their parents, going alongside them on evening parties, dinner events, and as Chase himself told him, the weekly movie marathons.
Their parents had kept their promise: to be better.
"Glad you're so popular," he muttered, his lips lifting. "Congrats, you're the poster child now."
The animosity in their family had cleared so much that they were even comfortable in joking of the past. That was one good way to look back in retrospect; with lightheartedness.
"It's tiring," Chase whined, the video shaking as he flopped his chin down on the kitchen island. "Did you know shaking hands with a guest means that they'll talk to you for hours? There's always so many questions! Why do they want to know so much about me?"
"Because you're special." Theo smiled. "No one is as smart as you."
At that exact moment, El rustled beside him, shifting in the sheets. Her eyes blinked open slowly, and that's when her messy head appeared on the corner of Theo's screen.
Chase screamed at the sight of her.
"Len!" he shrieked, edging closer to the screen until only his nose was visible. "Lenny! You got her, Theo! You got her! I knew it!"
Theo's grin widened until his cheeks started to hurt, and he couldn't stop the deep rumbling of his laughter. "You woke her up, squirt."
"He didn't," El mumbled softly, voice still heavy with sleep. "You did."
He kissed her forehead. "Good morning, love."
"G'morning."
"Morning!" Chase yelled from the other side. "Did you have a good sleep? Theo didn't snore, did he? He used to snore every —"
