Sweet Devil [BL]

Chapter 107. A Different Choice

When Misha woke up, there was no one beside him. Rolling over on his side, he stared at nothing for a while before lowering his eyes and patting the empty bed. The mattress wasn't warm, letting him know that Gabriel had long left his side. He probably took off at dawn to catch the first bus of the day, returning home before Angela checked on him.

Closing his eyes, Misha curled up into a ball, trying to think of nothing.

***

Gabriel safely made it back to his house in the early morning, climbing into his bedroom through the window, which had been left unlocked. His room was on the first floor, but the snow had piled up enough to allow him to slip in and out easily. He didn't even have to stretch his body to reach the window frame and only needed to leap to enter the room.

Once inside, Gabriel quickly got rid of the coat Masha had landed him, hiding it in the bottom of the closet. His friend had stuffed some of her father's old clothes in his arms as he was about to leave, whether he wanted them or not.

"I don't want my "boyfriend" to freeze to death and make the evening news headlines," she teased. "Sorry, but being "widowed" at this age isn't on my agenda!"

"..." That girl, honestly!

While everyone was asleep, Masha took the opportunity to admonish him for wandering outside with so little on his back. The friend she knew so well wasn't that reckless! And she wasn't wrong. Gabriel wasn't the kind of person who acted on impulse, always considering his next move as if life itself was a game of chess. Only, after watching the evening news that day, he couldn't help it; he had the urge to run to Misha's side, not wanting to wait for one more second. Gabriel just knew the boy would be a mess after learning about the tragedy, and someone had to be by his side to comfort him.

Deep down, he also wanted to be that someone.

Gabriel thus quietly listened to Masha's ranting, just like a child who knew they had done wrong. Well, he owed her that. That stubborn girl had pulled an all-nighter, waiting for him in the living room all night long. As soon as he climbed down the stairs, she asked for an explanation, to which he responded by saying that he didn't have the time for it. They would talk about it later, or she could wait for Misha to do it himself. At any rate, her brother was feeling better now, so he shouldn't lock himself in his bedroom for the time being. Really, there was nothing to worry about.

In other words, Gabriel skillfully avoided the subject and fled. The one who had to reveal everything was Misha, not him. It wasn't proper to talk about other people's secrets, even more so when they were planning to do so themselves.

After changing into his pajamas, Gabriel went to bed. As he got rid of the pillows and the bedsheets he had hidden underneath the blanket, forming a figure that more or less looked like a human body, he noticed a small bulge shifting next to it. Not long after, Tristan's head popped, and the child opened his misty eyes, blinking twice or thrice, appearing to be a little confused. But when he noticed Gabriel standing beside the bed, a bright smile stretched his lips, his eyes curving into crescent moons.

"You're back?"

"Yes, I'm back. Sorry, I didn't plan to wake you up."

"It's ok. I'm not sleepy anymore," the boy yawned, making Gabriel chuckle faintly.

"Go back to sleep, li'l liar. I'm also tired."

"Uh-huh," Tristan nodded, seemingly about to doze off. "Oh, yeah, before I forget. Mom came a bit after you left. I answered the door for you and told her what you told me to say. I was like, shhh, big brother is sleeping, so don't make any noise. And you know? She looked inside the room real quick but didn't enter."