Sweet Devil [BL]

Chapter 84. Time Sure Flies

Misha lay on his belly on the sofa, happily swinging his legs back and forth as he flipped through a photo album. A new picture fell before his eyes, and surprise flashed across his face. Once the shock passed, he lightly bit a finger to stifle a laugh, making his small shoulders shake.

A little earlier, Misha burst out laughing at one particular photo, poking fun at Gabriel because of its content. Gabriel had then responded by threatening to confiscate all the photo albums if he ridiculed him one more time. His smile that wasn't quite a smile told Misha that he was dead serious.

Not wanting to lose his newly found treasure, Misha mimed zipping up his mouth. He then became silent and stifled his laughter whenever he fell upon a funny picture, just like now.

After silencing his laughter, Misha proudly showed off his discovery to his sister, who sat in her wheelchair beside the sofa. Her eyes grew wide when they landed on the picture, and she also almost burst out laughing. Trying to restrain her laughter sent her into a fit of coughing, yet her gaze never left the album in her brother's hands, seemingly locked on it.

In the photo, little Gabriel wore a pale pink dress with ruffles and lace and white tights. There was even a big bow clipped atop his head. Obviously, he hadn't put on the clothing willingly; his sullen face looked like a pufferfish, and his somewhat teary eyes gave off the feeling that he had been wronged, making people's hearts go soft.

Beside him stood little Stephan. Unlike his friend, he seemed at ease, showing off his pale blue dress with a proud smile on his lips. With one elbow resting on Gabriel's shoulder, he made a cute pose for the camera, appearing to be having quite a lot of fun.

"Hey, Gaby, why were you and Stephan wearing dresses?" Misha asked, throwing his head back to glance at the young man sitting on the other side of the sofa, reading a book.

"...I don't remember."

"I'm sure Stephan would, so how come you don't?" Misha sneered.

"Unlike me, Stephan bothered his mother until she told her everything about every photo in every album, so how could he not know? But unlike him, I don't have much interest in these old pictures. If you're unhappy, you can always call him and ask."

"I think I'll do just that!" Misha hummed, extending a hand to take the landline phone.

Because Gabriel couldn't answer him most of the time, Misha called Stephan whenever a question popped into his mind. He had been looking through the albums for less than an hour, but this phone call was already the fourth one. It made Stephan wonder what the point of hanging up was. Wouldn't the child call him back a few minutes later, asking about this or that? What did he take him for? An omniscient kind of machine? But even he wouldn't remember everything about his and Gabriel's childhood!

Regardless of how he felt, Misha expected him to know everything, and when he didn't, the child would tsk, saying that he was a useless thing. The teenager almost shed a few tears at the harsh words, feeling wronged. He was human, and human forgets, you know?!

Stephan couldn't help but lament, thinking that he shouldn't have left the albums at his friend's house. After Masha's and Gabriel's coming out, no one was in the mood to flip through the albums, so at the time, he decided not to bring them back with him, telling Misha that he could take a look later when he felt better.

Who would have thought that one night would be enough for the boy to get back on his feet, resulting in the child harassing him first thing in the morning? Honestly, that brat was as rude as Masha, if not ruder! Like sister, like brother!

"So?" Misha urged, his voice dripping with curiosity. "What about the dresses?"

"I think my cousins forgot their bag at my house after staying for a few days. My mother found it, and—only God knows why—she thought it'd be interesting to see us wearing girls' clothing. Apparently, she and Gabriel's mother had always wanted a daughter to dot on. So anyway, we became their dolls that day, if my memory serves me right."