Bro of My Life (bxb)

Chapter 2: The Apartment

Chapter 2: The Apartment

"You want to process the divorce, bro?" Sergei asked the fuming Marcus while brisk walking on the way back to their cozy Californian apartment. Marcus thought it would be less stressful to talk about this in a safe place they call home. Home, huh? Sergei and Marcus call it "Their home", whether by "Let's go home, bro" or by "Let's talk about this when we get back home."

When they bought this Apartment 3 years ago by splitting the bill, (they were a bit poor, but has enough savings to buy a property in a well-off neighborhood for half the price) they decided it would be theirs, not half for Marcus and half for Sergei. Every corner of the Apartment, they share. They've bought everything together including the books, the work out equipment, the bedroom furniture, the parking space, the teddy bear (long story), their favorite sofa, the brother hood ring they both still wear to this day, and their pet Anatonia (from their mothers' names Anastasha and Antonia).

No wonder why their friends call them 'The couple'

"Why not, bro?" Marcus snickers, trying his best to lighten the mood. "I mean, it's the only rational thing to do."

"I guess so. But you look angry as hell. I love you man, not that way, but it kinda hurts me." Sergei is always open to his emotions, that's what Marcus likes about him, that's why Marcus chose him as the 'Bestest Bro ever'. However, as much as open as Sergei is, he also gets confused a lot. Sometimes Sergei shares his emotions without sorting them out first, but Marcus will always know how to find the meanings in his chaotic English grammar.

"It hurts because you thought I'm rejecting you as a person, but Sergei, you're my bro. I will never do that." Marcus is always the comforter, that's what Sergei likes about him, that's why Sergei chose him as the 'Only bro to ever bro". However, as much as comforting Marcus is, he also sugarcoats things. It might be needed because he is a nurse in pediatric ward, so warm, so loving, so soft. Everybody is pleased with Marcus, because Marcus is a people pleaser. But Marcus is only honest with Sergei. Marcus don't need to please Sergei, they've seen the worst of each other, and only Sergei can comfort the comforter when nobody else can.

Sergei snickered, kicking the dust a little while making a small swaying motion. "Man, I thought you don't want to be with me anymore. But what happens after the divorce? Are we gonna live away?"

"We don't have to. We're just going to untie all conjugal properties we've made for 3 years. Think about this, your Vanquish cannot be fully yours if you buy it within our marriage."

"Oh yeah, that makes sense. Also if you gon' marry a girl you can't." Sergei added. Unnecessarily so, though importantly.

"Also if you gon' marry a girl you can't."

They reached their Apartment, a minimalistic tidy two-bedroom space in courtesy of Sergei. Sergei is a tidy man while Marcus is the type to throw away his clothes across the room as soon as he comes in. Sergei always prefers a clean and organized haven, saying it helps him focus on his programming business.

(You cannot just throw your jacket anywhere, bro. You work at a hospital!)

(I wear a disposable scrub suit, bro!)

Sergei thought it would be 'sick!' to buy a tiny chicken sweater for their sweet Canadian Goose Anatonia. Anatonia is a bit aggressive, explaining why Sergei decided to donate the sweater to neighbor Julia who has pet allergy but has an unhealthy amount of animal stuff toys to fill her emptiness. They also bought groceries on the way, and after a battle with Anatonia, they organized the groceries together. Anatonia also helped by dragging his feeds to his self-made lair composed of Sergei's Ushanka and Marcus' old basketball jacket.

When they're done, Marcus picked up Anatonia to his lap and sat on the black loveseat with an oof. Sergei followed suit, petting Anatonia occasionally.

"We need a lawyer?" Sergei started.

"I dunno, bro. Maybe we just need to, you know, sign some shit and we done?"

"Bro, wait." Sergei picks up his phone and typed on google. After a few clicks and hmmms, he handed the screen to Marcus. Anatonia observed too, even tapping the screen multiple times. Aggressively. Thankfully the expensive tempered glass didn't break. They've learned their lesson countless times. "There seem to be Free Clinics of some sort. It looks hard, too."

Marcus sighed. Angrily. As a South East Asian immigrant, he knows how hard American bureaucracy is. Maybe among the states of the USA, California has the easiest federal processes, but in retrospect, he simply has zero time to deal with Free Clinics offered in courts. His schedule is not as flexible as Sergei, and he cannot leave everything to Sergei either.

Sergei felt the air surrounding Marcus, so he let out a laugh, though it came out as awkward (but he did his best). "Bro, in actuality, we do not need the..."

"We need a law firm." Marcus decided sternly. "I know a paralegal. He can handle this for us. You remember Franco?"

"Yeah! Franco! The guy who tried to open the champagne using a samurai and cut the bottle in half instead and all the shards of the upper half went to the lower half but he drunk it still to make a point of some sort so he was rushed to your hospital and requested personal care from you saying he's a child so the nurses suggested to put him in the psychiatric ward and..."

"Yeah, yeah, that Franco."

"His vocal chords were so destroyed..."

"Yep, haha, that Franco."

"... and they had a surgery and his voice changed forever, actually making it a bit sexier than his original high pitched baby voice."

Marcus awkwardly laughed again. "That's him."

"He's a paralegal? I never thought he would be in an industry like that. Two times we met he looking like an American gopnik."

"He has job."

"He has job."

"He will help us with divorce. It will be easier! No need to take our times." Marcus beamed, seemingly happy about this, and so he put Anatonia down, who proceeded on pecking his hamstring. He walked straight to his bedroom, probably to call Franco there for whatever reason, and left Sergei alone in the living room.

"We do not need the divorce." Sergei whispered. Anatonia walked back to the living room, flew to his side and laid his long neck on his lap.

The silence lasted long, maybe for the entire Sunday afternoon.

*

Notes: Anatonia is a rescued Canadian goose. To know more about his dramatic backstory, read until the end!

Notes: Ushanka is a typical Slavic hat made of fur (synthetic or genuine).

Notes: Have you guessed what kind of Slav Sergei is? This chapter should be a dead giveaway.