"What's up, fucktard?" you said into the phone as soon as you put it next to your ear after accepting the call, speaking quietly so no passersby would hear.
"Yo, idiot!" your brother yelled out from the other line, a little bit too loudly for your liking and you immediately snatched the phone away from your ear.
"Hey! Speak a little louder, will you? I can't really hear what you've just said," you told him sarcastically, putting the phone back to your ear as you walked down the street to your apartment from work.
You heard your brother click his tongue before continuing cheerfully, "so, I was wondering..."
"What do you need?" Your voice was laced with boredom.
"Don't be so negative, now," he said disapprovingly. "I only need a little favor."
"What?" You narrowed your eyes even though you knew he can't see it.
"I thought maybe about going to [the country you live in] next week," he explained.
You got a feeling you knew where this conversation was hinting towards. Still, you asked, hopeful you were wrong about the assumption, "and what exactly has that got to do with me?"
"Well, since you live there and you're, you know, my family, you could let me stay over at your place?"
You weren't wrong.
"Will you pay?"
"C'mon! We haven't seen each other for such a long time, aren't you happy you'll get to see me?" he exclaimed into the phone.
Truth be told, you couldn't deny you did want to see your brother. It was a year or so since the last time you've seen him, and even that lasted only for the weekend. Getting to see him for a whole week? It would give you lots of time to catch up and do some weird stupid shit together.
"Alright, of course you can," you sighed after a minute of contemplating.
Well, you only didn't really like people coming over to your apartment, because they always left a mess after themselves. And you knew your brother was really messy if he didn't grow out of it - those chances were small though, last time you saw him a year ago, his room was like a junkyard.
"That's great! Also, did I mention C/n is coming too?" he innocently added and quickly hung up before you could change your mind about the decision.
C/n?
You let the name roll about in your mind as you approached your apartment, retrieving your keys from your bag and unlocking the door.
How long did you not see him for?
It must've been at least around ten years already.
You weren't even sure if your brother was still friends with him - you knew for sure they were best friends in middle school, and since he's coming along with your brother on the trip, you guessed they still were good friends.
You remember him hanging out in your house every second afternoon (the other afternoons would spend your brother over at his), coming there from middle school together. Your parents were never home early from work and so you, being two years older than them, got the role of watching over the two.
Until your parents got divorced and your brother stayed in your old house with your mom while you moved away with your dad.
The first years after the divorce, you still used to meet up quite frequently and often - your parents ended on a good note, remaining friends (or at least acquaintances) and you and your brother were always eager to meet.
The older you got, though, the less you met up.
Now, it was about once a year, if even.
And even though you kind of got used to the new situation, you did still miss your little brother sometimes.
And you were also quite curious about C/n. What is he doing now, how's it going for him.
Being your brother's babysitter, you'd often spend time with the boys and do the stuff with them, naturally becoming friends with C/n as well.
But unlike your brother, who'd still text, call, keep in contact with you after you had moved away, you never heard of or from C/n again. After all, you weren't even such good friends - only his best friend's sister supposed to take care of them.
Later that day, your brother texted you the day and time they're going to arrive and you offered to come wait for them at the airport.
-time skip to the day of their arrival-
Looking at the time, you impatiently thumped your foot against the pavement.
They were supposed to be here alrea- Ah! I see them!
You waved your hand in the air so that they would notice and they rushed to you, each carrying a small luggage with him.
"Hi," your brother greeted, smiling, before enveloping you in a big hug, lifting you up as he did so. When you pulled away, feet steady on the ground, you both looked each other over, noticing the changes in each other's appearance.
Then, still grinning wildly from seeing your brother, you turned your eyes to the boy standing awkwardly next to you as he watched the interaction between you and your brother.
Wow.
He looked... different.
His eyes remained the same, but his e/c orbs held much more captivating gaze now as he returned your look.
His chubby cheeks were gone and replaced with sharp cheekbones, the slightly bigger boyish frame you once remembered he had turned taller, slimmer and leaner. His hair was grown out longer, strands of his h/c locks falling about around his face and onto his forehead.
He grew up to look very handsome indeed.
"Hi, C/n," you creaked out with a smile.
His eyes crinkled as his mouth spread into a smile, his awkward and serious demeanor disappearing at once when he enthusiastically greeted back, "hi! it's been a long time since we've seen each other."
"Yeah, it was," you said quietly, "you've changed quite a lot." You couldn't help but step closer to him, standing ok your tiptoes to reach his height and pinch his cheeks adorably, something you used to do all the time back at home when you were all still kids. "You've really grown into a fine young man, let me tell you. But I'll still see the little cute chubby kid you were," you cooed.
He pushed your hands away and blushed, avoiding your gaze, looking down at his feet instead.
"Y/n!" your brother smacked you on the shoulder before continuing in an over dramatized voice, "quit drooling over my best friend!"
You smacked him back and, offering an amused smile and a wink to C/n, who seemed to grow even more embarrassed at that action of yours, you signalled to them to follow you to where your car was parked.
The drive to your apartment was filled with your brother's constant chatting about the life back there and questions to interrogate you about your own life, which you all answered sharing the same amount of energy and enthusiasm as your brother.
Meanwhile, C/n was just silently sitting at the back.
You couldn't deny you didn't sneak glances at him through the mirror, occasionally looking at his reflection to study his features. Those looks always lasted only about a short second, though - you still needed to keep your eyes on the road ahead.
You had to admit - C/n's new appearance did make you a little nervous, even if only the slightest bit. He must've had all the ladies turning their heads after him, you were sure of that.
Because you did as well.
As you parked your car in the parking lot before your apartment complex, you subtly watched him unload the trunk to retrieve back his and your brother's luggage. The muscles tightened underneath his t-shirt as he lifted them up.
Then, he caught your gaze and you turned to look elsewhere.
The elevator was a little packed with the three of you and the luggage and bags, you stood closely squeezed between the corner and C/n, his body's heath radiating off onto your own.
You refused to look up at him even when you felt his gaze burning on you as he stood in the elevator next to you, towering over your smaller frame.
And your brother being your brother was totally oblivious to the tension and glances. He went on happily about his own stuff, talking cheerfully.
As you unlocked the door for them, they hurried inside and you gave them a short tour of the rooms, excluding yours.
"You can sleep here," you said while opening the door to an unused room in your apartment, the guest room with two spare beds suited perfectly for the two boys.
You walked in and C/n followed after you, your brother going on his own way to discover more parts of the apartment after exclaiming, "cool!" as you showed the room.
C/n took a few steps closer to you until he was standing a hand's reach width from you and breathed in your direction, "I've noticed you can't keep your eyes away from me, Y/n."
Your heart skipped a beat and a nervous feeling fluttered in your stomach as you stood there without knowing how to reply.
He took the silence as his cue to continue, his head bending downwards and his breath tickling your neck when he whispered, "to tell you the truth, I was looking forward to seeing you more than to actually come to [the country]."
You whipped your head around at his words only to find him staring at you. You stared back, still not saying a single word.
His eyes were drinking you in and you felt like getting pulled by some kind of a force, leaning closer and closer towards him until your noses were almost touching.
"You did?" you finally managed to say, although your voice was hardly above a whisper.
"I did," he confirmed and reached out with his hand to grip the back of your neck. "I couldn't wait to see you again."
"Then why didn't you text me all this time after I moved?"
"I didn't have your number or socials and I was embarrassed to ask your brother for it. Honestly," he brushed his lips against your softly, giving you just a little taste of him, "I thought I could just forget you and never see you again. But now, I'm sure there's no way I will ever forget."