[ 153 ]
Fahren had expected to be taken to his parent's apartment in the city, one they most regularly used when bombarded with work. But instead, they took the slightly longer journey out of the city and to the outskirts where the family home was located. The same home Fahren had been raised in and where he eventually dubbed himself too different from the rest of his family and left.
Aside from a few age-lines here and there, the building looked the same. The grandeur of the landscaped gardens along with the architecture of the building itself, tipped its hat to an old french influence.
It was a passion project; which meant that for pretty much the entirety of Fahren's childhood, he had to get used to spontaneous scaffolding and legions of people coming in and out of the house representing the mastery of their individual trades.
Fahren could practically still hear the bustling of life coming from every nook and cranny as he stepped through the large front door and soaked in the sights and sounds of his old home. It was a strange feeling, where once he couldn't remember the faces of his parents when undergoing the test, let-alone his childhood home, but now that he had returned he remembered things vividly. Like the scratch-marks on the doorframe leading into the kitchen, where his and his brother's names were scribbled alongside their heights throughout the early years.
Their mother being a stickler for traditions.
Or the meticulously placed vase which stood not too far from one of the sofa's in the hallway which no one usually sat in. The only reason he remembered it's exact placement, was because as a child he had once had to arduously move it to disguise a stain he had left on one of the new tiles. At that time, it felt like it would be the end of the world if either of his parents discovered his mistake.
In hindsight, it was probably easily washed away— heck, they probably cleaned it up years ago and just never said a thing. But to a child it was one of those things that felt irreversible. Quite like breaking one of the champagne glasses that was used at his parent's wedding all those years ago; a set his mother had dutifully kept behind lock and key to prevent breakage and only brought out on their anniversaries.
Which to the disbelief of both parents at the time, was not his sole responsibility. As his brothers had guiltily poked their heads around the door as Fahren was reprimanded, but didn't dare admit to their crimes.
Fahren smiled, remembering the absolute chaos of three boys who were so close in age, scuttling around like dogs who were unable to catch their footing on slippery flooring. Even when there were more memories of him and his brothers screaming at each other, they were at least proof that he had lived.
"I may have had to do some refreshing, but your old room is almost like how it was when you lived here." Hazel Westergaard, with her mature beauty and sheer fondness of her home entwined into one wholesome smile, tentatively approached Fahren from behind and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Almost?" Fahren mused. "Does that include the removal of my favourite posters?"
His mother laughed aloud, turning her head slightly to catch a glance of her beloved husband. "I wouldn't have touched them, but to the behest of your father, we compromised and stored them away. When the grand-kiddies came to visit we had to use your room as a spare, and I thought they were a tad young for such an awakening."
"What compromise?" Raphael huffed, removing his coat and hanging it up on the nearby post. "I wanted them gone, burned if needs must." He declared passionately as he recalled the handful of posters showcasing half-naked men flexing in all varieties of different manners. It was a topic once brought up by Fahren when they were having one of their usual petty arguments.
Fahren watched his father, suddenly feeling a touch forlorn. So much had changed and yet not much at all.
"Raphael, really?"
He didn't back down, regardless of his wife's tone that clearly stated that she was willing to clip him in the back of the head. Shaking his head, "Nothing can change my mind. The men on those posters, who had undoubtedly dehydrated themselves in order to emphasise their muscles, looked far too in love with themselves to put any effort into a healthy relationship. They would never be good enough for my son."
He left little room for argument, leaving Fahren flummoxed.
"Oh Raph," his mother shook her head. "Do you not remember Bastian and Andre's collection of magazines? They were purely for... educational purposes. They weren't going to run off and marry one of those... heavy-set ladies. It's the same for our dear Fahren."
Raphael narrowed his gaze slightly, pinning his wife in place. "You appear very defensive of those posters, Hazel."
Hazel tapped her cheeks ever so lightly. "I could lie and say I was very impressed by the wide variety of boxer briefs they were wearing, but we have lasted this many years without killing each other because of our honesty. So I shall confess to you, that the strapping blond who had a backside so perky you could bounce coins off it, was very much to my liking."
Fahren was suddenly quite relieved the posters were gone, especially since him and his mother appeared to have the same taste in men. He shuddered to think of how many times she had admired them without his knowledge.
But still, as Fahren cast a look at his father who in such a short period of time continued to surprise him, he felt the ache in his chest vanish. It was always painful to argue with the man, but it was easier to do so than tell the truth— that they had very little in common when compared to Sebastian and Andreas.
He would never have suspected his father's dislike of his posters stemmed from the models being an unrealistic expectation when it came to men. Although he could have argued the same point his mother had raised, that his father didn't worry about his brother's old porn magazines, but instead Fahren embraced the feeling of having an overprotective parent.
Both his mother and father were bickering, but for the first time in what must have been months, the tension in their shoulders had completely dissolved and they didn't have to worry about anything in that moment. Fahren guessed exhaustion would quickly follow, so he waved the white flag in between them and said that he was going to take a long hot bath.
It would give all three of them time to process, and most importantly allow Fahren as much time as he needed to sob at how much he had missed a proper bath, and not some rock-pool filled with ice-cold water which may or may not have contained a leech or two.
The large house once again lapsed into silence, with the grandfather clock echoing down the large hallways.
In the grand bathroom, which boasted the largest bathtub, Fahren was up to his neck in water. The aches and pains courtesy of Emilio's stringent exercise regime, were massaged by the warm caresses of the water. It was only natural for the relaxed state to extend to his mind, and his eyes closed.
There were too many memories for one lifetime, but somehow they didn't overload his mind. Instead a series of smiles were the first things Fahren could recall so vividly. Like some form of slideshow, snapshots would emerge from the darkness. Smiles belonging to four men, who each offered the genuine heart-warming expression only to him. Smiles belonging to men who were wrapped up in their own complex worlds, content with just living until Fahren arrived with as much impact as a bomb.
It didn't matter that they each had their own individual appearances, so much so that anyone else wouldn't ever be able to connect them, there was still something in the way his lover always looked at him. As if wondering if Fahren was real, conflicted with their desire to want to trust him when they hardly knew him in the beginning. But that was the same for the man undergoing the test.
Fahren was truly surprised by how easily he was able to trust people he had only just met and quickly had to adapt to in order to survive. Truthfully, other than reflections of his own family in those characters, Fahren couldn't think of who else these most trusted people could be.
He had a few friends of convenience, by which he meant that he knew who to call if he didn't want to attend some function on his own. They were just as important to him as he was to them. Fleeting, unimportant and overall replaceable.
Which wasn't what Fahren wanted any longer. He put it down to the fact that when he totalled up his overall age after four lifetimes, he was mentally a little over three hundred years old. It was only through System or their bosses manipulation, that kept Fahren's mentality intact. But there was an undeniable maturity, one he hadn't noticed growing as he stepped from one world to the next.
As his body had started to resemble the wrinkly age he had been imagining, Fahren climbed out of the tub and quickly dressed in the large bathrobe that was hanging on the back of the door. His skin felt flushed, especially his cheeks, due to the heat of the room and when he looked at himself in the mirror, Fahren was relieved to see how fresh he looked.
His hair was a chaotic mess, uncertain on which direction to grow in and in what style. There was a slight curl to the ends as it had grown longer than Fahren had seen it in many years. With that came the innocent look that had cursed him through his early school years. Those who knew who his older brothers were, and spotted the car that was occasionally sent to pick the three of them up after school, thought that Fahren would be an easy target to befriend.
Sebastian and Andreas matured into their father's features almost immediately: a natural yet slight furrow of the brow that usually intimidated some, deep-set hazel eyes surrounded by dark lashes that could charm or frighten their target, and hair identical to Raphael's; while thick it was manageable and able to hold any preferred style.
Fahren found himself smiling into the mirror and couldn't help but shake his head. Things that had once concerned him seemed so petty now. His life could be considered a dream when compared to the settings of his past ones.
By the time he had dried himself off and fetched some clothes which could be considered smart loungewear, Fahren found that the house was still very quiet. It gave him ample time to wander around, reminiscing about old times. If his parents witnessed him looking around with nothing but a smile on his face, they would naturally be quite concerned considering it was only a few years ago since Fahren had lived with them.
He circled back around and found himself standing in the doorway of the large kitchen. A domain both of his parents claimed as their own, bringing their own culinary experiences to the table. Hence around the holidays it had always been a frenzied time when it came to deciding on a menu.
Stomach grumbling, Fahren opened up the fridge but didn't find anything he craved. Instead his attention moved onto the cupboards, where he grabbed a few ingredients and got to work. He had a particular recipe in mind, and didn't have to stop to think about writing down the quantities.
As he got his hands dirty, bringing the dry and wet ingredients together to form a dough, his mind was elsewhere. Thinking back to the first time he and his beloved little morning sunshine made this recipe. Asahi had managed to flick flour just about everywhere, including in his own face. Those big blue eyes had paused to look at his papa, wondering if he was in trouble, but Hisaya laughed.
It became a tradition, baking for every little holiday they celebrated. Little Red quickly came out of his shell, in fear that he would drown in affection. It was a delight for Hisaya to witness, and Fahren to recall the warm feeling of seeing his two children filling the house with laughter after all they had been through. Which continued to blossom as Hisaya and Ryoichi welcomed their third child.
Their little monster, who was much like his Alpha parent with his impatient nature. He would avidly crawl after his treasured older brothers, babbling loudly as if he were the one making sense and everyone else were the odd ones. As soon as he would catch sight of either his papa or baba, he would cease crawling and sit back on his bottom which was enlarged in his baby growth due to the large nappies he wore, and throw out his podgy arms with grabby hands.
Fahren closed his eyes and cleared his throat, swallowing the emotions that wanted to bubble over. As he sliced apples and placed them on the puff-pasty bases, he coated them with a toffee sauce and popped them in the oven. As he shut the door, he reminded himself of the absolute gems his three sons grew to become.
The many times he was able to tell them he was so proud of them, and how much he loved them. He had no regrets, and that's why he wouldn't let himself be upset.
Not needing to set a timer, Fahren sought out a drink. Not a combination that would go well with a toffee-apple slice, but he found himself plucking one of the boxes of teas from the cupboard. It was stored away with the rest of the teas only his mother would drink. It was meant for her health, but even so Fahren added boiling water to his bag of nettle tea.
When the smell wafted up, it took him right back to living quite literally off the earth. It was bitter and had little in terms of appeal to those with a sweet-tooth like him, but it was merely out of habit. Something he would drink almost every morning, usually just enjoying the sight of Falcon preparing it for them.
He only set down his large mug when he grabbed a cloth to fetch the baked goods out of the oven. The smell had permeated the air, a gorgeous scent of gooey toffee apple drawing anyone near to the kitchen.
"I know it's going to be a good day if you're baking again, mum." An all too familiar voice echoed down the hallway as a series of footsteps quickly led them to the kitchen. Instead though, of finding their mother, Fahren stood rooted to the spot.
In front of him and still on the baking-tray, were the sweet pastries, but they were all but forgotten about as the three brothers saw each other for the first time in what felt like years.
"Fahren!" Andreas, the younger of his two older brothers, blurted.
As per the restrictions which Radical Innovations gave to the family throughout Fahren's recovery, both Sebastian and Andreas were unable to visit their brother. The only reason his parent's were given permission was because of their position when it came to the deal between the two companies.
Radical Innovations' aim was to provide patient-care which far exceeded the capabilities of current healthcare workers. This was to both help them with the work load, but also looking to the future in terms of efficiency. So the entirety of the building was supposed to be off-limits to those who weren't part of the initial trials.
It had to do with the fine-tuning of the nanotechnology, and so in the end the brothers were completely shut out. Only hearing news from their parents.
Sebastian was the first to start moving. Slowly making his way around the large island that stood in between them. He carefully inspected his littlest brother, absolutely gobsmacked by the level of recovery. There didn't even appear to be a scratch on him, the only indicator that he had perhaps been unwell was the slight weight loss.
His hands touched down on Fahren's shoulders. He gripped a little tighter and then in one fluid motion, enveloped him in a bear-hug. Sebastian had a sudden intake of breath as soon as Fahren returned the hug.
"We were told you were recovering well, but I never.. not to this level.." He tried to form a sentence but ended up just shaking his head in absolute disbelief.
"Move aside," Andreas ordered eagerly. "It's my turn."
As soon as Sebastian gave a tiny bit of leeway, Andreas moved in and knocked all the air out of Fahren's lungs. "When dad phoned us to tell us what had happened, the doctors only gave you hours to live. Fuck, I wasn't even in the country so I feared I wouldn't get to.."
"But you made it, and I'm all better." Fahren tried to reassure him.
Andreas sniffed and nodded, pulling back to look him in the face. "You were hooked up to just about every machine known to man, you looked like you were in so much pain." Andreas began to cry, unable to stop himself.
"Andre, he doesn't need to be reminded." Sebastian sighed but with one comforting hand rested on Fahren's shoulder, he clapped a hand on Andreas' too.
Fahren smiled gently, "It's ok, honestly. I don't remember any pain, not even how it happened in the first place."
Both brothers appeared surprised and glanced at each other before focusing once again on Fahren. Andreas spoke a touch tentatively, "So.. you don't remember being on the phone to dad when it happened?"
"Wait, I was?" Fahren couldn't remember that at all.
"Andreas!" Sebastian scolded.
"Sorry, I'm sorry! Forget what I said."
The oldest of the three sighed deeply, "I think you should ask dad yourself, I'm sure has more he wants to say to you about it."
Even though his memories drew a blank on the whole day, Fahren could guess that if it was them talking on the phone then it wouldn't have been a pleasant conversation. But looking back, he couldn't even remember what their petty arguments would have even been about. Perhaps they were all misunderstandings like how it turned out to be with the posters.
What he did understand was that his brothers didn't want to say anything more about it, so Fahren gestured to what he had baked. "I heard one of your stomachs rumble when you were latching onto me, so try one."
"Since when do you bake?" Andreas asked but didn't hesitate to grab one, which was swiftly followed up by an 'oo-aah' as it was still too hot to handle.
"And drink... green stuff." Sebastian sniffed Fahren's drink and scrunched up his face, but still took a sip anyway.
Fahren scoffed at his brothers who seemed so young to him now, "Since I grew up and learnt to bake sweet things for myself. And that's one of mum's nettle teas, I suggest you drink at least one glass a day because it's a great source of calcium, potassium, magnesium, has ten times more Vitamin C than an apple, Vitamin B, Vitamin E and that's to name a few."
His brothers regarded him with startled looks on their faces.
"Fahren's right, boys." Their mother delightfully said as she stood in the doorway. She wore new clothes, looking completely refreshed after a nap. The same couldn't be said for their father though, as he still looked as tired if not worse than before.
While their mother went to greet her other two sons, a smile on her face as they all shared the same sense of relief, Fahren continued to look at his father. They had already apologised, and their hug had said everything that needed to be, but there was still something that Fahren could recognise that was haunting the man.
"What were we fighting about?"
The kitchen went silent.
"What do you mean?" Raphael asked tiredly.
"The day of the accident, weren't were on the phone?"
"Fahren, your memories are coming back?" His mother gasped but she fell silent when he shook his head. But a warm smile was on his face, telling her that it was okay.
His father seemed to crumble, reaching out and leaning against the kitchen's island. His hand shook slightly, "Something foolish," he confessed. "We wanted you to come home that weekend and had been asking for awhile, but you were busy and I should have accepted that." He tightly pressed his lips together, willing himself to stop crying.
"We, uh," he cleared his throat, "started bickering as usual and then all of a sudden there was a loud clattering sound and the line went dead. I could hear the traffic in the background before the accident, I knew you were probably on a pavement. I should have—"
"Foreseen the future?" Fahren asked.
"We always taught you three to be vigilant by the road side, one of the most basic rules when you were children."
Fahren sighed and walked over to his father. "What's happened has happened, although unpleasant it won't be the last time we fight and I'm so thankful it won't be. Because I'm just glad to be alive to be able to see you all again."
Raphael looked at his youngest son, who had always been wise but not as mature as he sounded now. Fahren was looking at him with clear eyes that spoke the truth, with a smile that was so charming and loveable that it took him completely by surprise. There was no usual scowl, no back turning or walking off at the sight of him.
Raphael blinked away his tears and closed the gap between them, kissing his son's forehead. His arms followed by wrapping him up safely, where he should have been in the first place.
Fahren felt his father's anguish and he couldn't even imagine the pain he must have felt after hearing the line go dead, only to be presumably contacted soon after to be told his son had been rushed to the hospital. Then surgery after surgery, the doctor's came back with no fresh hope. Crushing their faith.
"I didn't make your life easy." Fahren spoke quietly. "I only know now that the steps you took were to protect me and I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner. I don't want you to be eaten up by guilt, not when I'm standing here in front of you because of your insistence to take me to Radical Innovations. You saved me."
His father appeared to choke on air, something out of disbelief and elation. "What was in that nettle tea?"
Fahren laughed but couldn't bring himself to let go of his father just yet. He hugged him tightly, the familiarity of his smell once again bringing him to realisation of how much he had missed his parents, and ultimately how much he had taken them for granted.
Raphael took a hold of the back of Fahren's hair, using as leverage to keep them in the fiercest of hugs. His chest felt incredibly light, and his face hurt from smiling.
"Just to let you know, from what you were saying earlier about my old posters, I think you'd be the only one I'd trust to set me up with someone." Fahren confessed and his father was beyond joyed.
"Don't regret saying that if I choose to have any dates of yours thrown out of the house after only a few seconds."
Fahren scoffed, "I feel like I'm in my teens again. But don't worry, I'm not that eager for a relationship. I'm waiting for the right one."
"Then I'll find him." Raphael said resolutely.
"I'm counting on it."
[ TBC ]
Q __ Q
[ A/N: If you enjoyed this chapter and want to read the next two, then head on over to my Patreon page where you can find them! <3 www.patreon.com/BethWorthington ]