A Secret He Cannot Tell

Today's shift was unusually quiet, and Misha had some unwanted free time to kill. He was done washing the dishes and organizing the staff room, and he even cleaned up the counter and the shelves behind it until they were spotless. He was still trying to find something to do to keep himself busy when Vanessa, realizing that they most likely wouldn't have any more customers for the rest of the day, had enough of his antics. That guy was being so obvious it was hurting her eyes! 

Without so much as a warning, she grabbed her friend's wrist and dragged him to Gabriel's table. Misha almost stumbled headfirst at the sudden pull, crashing into Vanessa's shoulder. He let out a few unsavory curses, but his voice was buried by Vanessa's.

"Mish' is pretty much done with what he had to do for the day, so he can keep you company until his shift ends or an unlikely customer shows up. How does that sound?"

"It sounds lovely," Gabriel smiled, although his smile didn't reach his eyes. He gestured for Misha to take a seat, pretending not to notice how jumpy the teenager was. When their eyes met, Misha froze briefly before turning his head, nervously looking around like a trapped mouse. So obvious!

"I'm still not–"

Before Misha could finish his sentence, Vanessa's grip tightened on his wrist, drawing his attention. She whispered in his ear:

"I don't know what happened over the weekend, but I bet it was your fault! So, patch up things with your darling because your fidgeting is starting to get on my nerves."

"What fidgeting…? I'm the same as ever. And he's not my darling!"

Vanessa responded to these mumbled words with a deadpan look. Her eyes seemed to be asking her friend if he honestly believed she would buy his bullshit. Right. She wouldn't. No one with eyes and a bit of brain would, for what mattered. And Misha knew that, of course, but he didn't want to admit it. He had become a nervous wreck thanks to Tristan, and he hadn't been able to calm down since returning from the villa. Not knowing when the boy would talk to his brothers about his past lives kept him awake at night, and he had grown awkward around Gabriel and Jake. Now, he was avoiding them, afraid he would spill the beans before Tristan could. Misha had learned to introspect over the years and knew himself quite well: he could easily keep secrets from strangers, but it was hard to keep his mouth shut when it was in front of people he cared about. Whether he liked it or not, that showed in his behavior. 

Being an open book and honest to a fault was tough.

"Are you afraid I'm going to eat you?" Gabriel joked, pushing the hot chocolate cup he had ordered earlier toward the empty seat. "I promised I won't, so won't you keep me company? We didn't have the chance to talk for days already." 

Guilt threw Misha into an awkward coughing fit. Since the kidnapping incident, they were always in contact. Misha had turned into an overly attached octopus, and whenever Gabriel would visit the café, the teenager tended to drop everything, work included, to run to the man and latch onto him. It was a common scene that some customers purposely came over in the evening to witness, for Misha's golden retriever-like behavior was heartwarming, and his smile was contagious.

"I'm sorry, I've been busy…"

Vanessa humphed by his side, making Misha all the more aware how blatant his lie was. He glared at her in response, which had the merit of shooing his friend away. This girl was so troublesome! Why was he friends with her again…?

Good question. Misha had forgotten.

Still feeling a little reluctant, Misha sighed before finally sitting before Gabriel. Gosh, did he want to run away! He didn't trust himself to keep his mouth shut at all. His tendency to blurt things out without thinking could be so darn annoying, but even when he tried not to, he often didn't manage to control himself. Yes, he was aware of his anger management issue. One thought led to another, and Misha could not help but remember all the times he revealed stuff he would have rather kept hidden following a nth tantrum. It was disheartening to constate that there were too many accounts of such events for him to bother counting them all… Why were bad habits so hard to break?

"Mish'…?"

"Hm?"

"What have you been hiding from me?"

The straightforward question took Misha back, and he spat out the mouthful of hot chocolate he had just taken. The beverage trickled on each side of his mouth as he stared at Gabriel with a dumbfounded look. It took him a second to think of wiping the hot chocolate on his chin before averting his eyes.

"I'm not hiding anything…"

"You know you're a bad liar, don't you?"

"…"

"It's fine if you don't want to tell me," Gabriel smiled, "but will you stop avoiding me? Even I do feel a little hurt when you do that."

"What? You do?"

"Of course I do," Gabriel chuckled, bending over to wipe the liquid that Misha had missed and was still staining his chin. "Especially after the heartful conversation we had on the weekend. You suddenly started avoiding me after that, so how could I not be bothered? Did I do something that made you mad?"

"No, not at all…" 

A discreet blush reddened his cheeks as Misha messaged the nap of his neck, remembering the little episode in the lake. He intuitively lowered his head to rub his cheek against the palm of the man's hand. It was so warm.

"I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind."

"And you can't tell me?"

"I can't," Misha closed his eyes, Tristan's distressed face flashing behind his eyelids. He really, honestly didn't want to betray the boy's trust. "It's a secret I can't share. I don't have the right to tell people."

"Oh?" Gabriel smirked. "So, you've been avoiding me because you're afraid you'll blurt it out in a moment of inattention?" 

"Well, yeah?"

Gabriel shook his head, bringing back his hand to the table. Misha's warmth lingered on his palm as he glanced at it briefly before refocusing his attention on the teenager, who was pouting a little after he let go of his cheek. This brat… Did he realize they were in a public place? Putting aside the fact that they were both men, Misha was still a minor, and they shouldn't act overly intimate in front of others, just in case. Some people loved to put their noses where they didn't belong. 

"How long will you have to hide it from me?" Gabriel asked. "It's lonely when you're avoiding me, and I want you to return to my side as soon as possible."

"When have you grown into such a smooth-talker?" Misha laughed. "But you know what? For once, I'm the one hiding something and not the other way around, so suck it up."

"Ouch."

"Anyway," Misha changed the subject in a not-so-subtle way, "how was your movie at the villa? We didn't really have the chance to talk about it."

"Right. The guests my father was expecting went beyond our expectations." Gabriel paused, pinching his bottom lip slightly. He feared bringing that man up, aware that Misha wasn't entirely over the kidnapping incident, even if he pretended he was. Still, Gabriel couldn't keep him in the dark. "Among them was the masked man."

"What? You mean…?"

"Yes, the other Tristan."

Misha's face grew livid in seconds, alarming Gabriel. But before he could ask what was wrong, Misha stood up, mumbling a vague excuse. 

"I need to pee."

"Mish'…"

"I'll be right back, don't worry." 

That being said, Misha bolted to the staff toilets. He fumbled inside his pocket to take his cell phone and dragged the contact list to Tristan's number. After the kidnapping accident, Angela bought the boy a cell phone. She felt safer knowing she could contact her youngest son whenever she wished.

"Come on, answer…"

After the third beep, a boyish voice finally answered. 

"Hello, Misha?"

"Do you have a second? And are you alone?"

"No, wait a minute." 

The child's muffled voice resounded before the sound of cracking stairs echoed. After Misha heard the squeaky sound of a door opening and closing, Tristan spoke up.

"It's fine now. What's wrong?"

"You know I'm not good at sugarcoating things, right?"

"Yes, I know. You're stupidly straightword."

"Yes, so… Wait, what did you say?"

"Nothing. I don't have much time, so you should get straight to the point."

Misha bit his lips before taking a deep breath, "I just talked with Gabriel, and, well, you know when we went to the villa? Your brothers thought that your parents were trying to keep us away because they might have guests over, and–"

"Misha, I know."

"You know?"

"The dream came yesterday."

"Ah…"

"Did you want to warn me about it?"

"Hum," Misha let out an awkward laugh. "I guess? I don't know. I thought that it might help you prepare and not be taken aback. These dreams have been stressing you out and have taken a toll on you, haven't they? I thought that knowing about what was potentially coming would help you face it a bit better. It's just… Sorry, I'm not very good at this kind of stuff."

A silence was his answer. And thus, Misha also grew silent. They both didn't speak for what seemed to be an eternity until Tristan sighed. It was a resigned sigh that tugged at Misha's heartstrings.

"I guess I can't delay any longer. I'd have loved to have a bit more time, though."

"Tristan?"

"Are you free tonight?"

"Yes?"

"Then drag Stephan with you after work. Angela is going to a charity event with Matthew, so we can discuss the situation in peace. They won't interrupt us."

"A-are you sure you want to tell them today?"

"I can't push the conversation away forever. And I don't think you'll be able to keep the secret much longer. Or, more like, I don't want you to keep the secret for much longer."

"What do you mean?"

"Gabriel has been complaining nonstop that you've started to avoid him after the weekend. He's gonna snap soon if you don't start being lovey-dovey with him again. I swear, these past few days have been hell at home, and staying around this time bomb is nerve-wracking."

"…"

What? So, when Gabriel said that being avoided bothered him, he was dead serious and not smooth-talking him…? Misha suddenly felt embarrassed, and his cheeks flared up. It was a side of Gabriel he wasn't aware of. And, wait, what? Didn't Tristan's words mean he was well aware of the type of relationship Misha had with his brother? This felt awkward, so darn awkward. 

But for now, that didn't matter. So, Misha pushed the thought aside and apologized. He didn't know why he was apologizing for Gabriel's behavior, but he felt he had to for some reason.

"Sorry about that…"

"No worry. Just stick to my brother's side, please. He's scarier than a demon when he's suffering from "Misha deficiency." And if not treated, I'm pretty sure it's gonna grow into a deadly disease. So, do your best."

Misha could only answer with a wry laugh.