In This Life

"Gabriel!" Masha roared as she slammed the entrance door open. "I swear, if it's not as important as you made it out to be, I'm going to wring your neck like a chicken's. Seriously, why do you always, always have to call me over when Yuki and I are on da—" 

Masha's voice trailed off when her eyes landed on Tristan, whose arms and legs were wrapped around Jake's upper body as he sat on his brother's thighs, looking just like a baby koala. The boy didn't so much as glance at Masha, even after all the ruckus she made. Instead, he snuggled a little more against his brother, hiding his face in the crock of his neck. The usual bright child was nowhere in sight, replaced by a scared boy. 

"What the...Is he alright?" 

"Yes," Jake smiled, gently patting his little brother's back. "Just a little unwilling."

Masha cocked an eyebrow but did not comment. She turned around and beckoned Yuki inside before closing the door behind her. Although she had been startled by the sudden phone call, not to say angered to death, she wasn't dense and understood something huge had happened. The atmosphere in the living room was too peculiar not to notice.

"So? What's going on?"

"Well, it's a little complicated…"

"Do we have to tell her?" Tristan's whisper wasn't loud, yet everyone heard it crystal clear. The people in the know felt a sharp pain tug at their hearts, aware the boy would rather not scream his secret on rooftops. Still, they had to keep the girls in the loop, for they were essential and trustworthy allies. But although they knew that, it nevertheless hurt when the kid repeated, "Do we really need to…?"

"I'm sorry," Gabriel placated. "We can't keep members of the group in the dark. It'd be counterproductive."

"It's rich coming from you, though," Misha snorted, making Gabriel's mouth twitch. He'd never heard the end of it, would he? "But I agree. Don't worry. My sister and Yuki won't mind. I mean, Masha pretty much didn't give a damn when she learned about my little person traveling back in time, and Yuki barely even reacted, so…"

"Mish'!" Masha choked on air, panicking after hearing her brother bring up the matter of time traveling so carelessly in front of others. Granted, Tristan was a kid, but still! It was downright imprudent, even for Misha. So, she tried to save his blunder however she could. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Are you so tired from your part-time job that you're dreaming wide-awake?"

"It's fine, Masha," Jake interrupted, deciding to cut to the chase. "Tristan is like me."

"Like you? How so? I'd say he's much cuter than you."

"He remembers his past lives."

"You gotta be shit—"

"Language!" 

"—kidding me. Wait. Why do I have to watch my tongue? Tristan isn't exactly a kid if he's like you, so who cares if I curse before him?!"

"He isn't exactly an adult either, so no cursing," Gabriel sighed. As always, the Lesskov siblings were, well, the Lesskov siblings. Their reactions went beyond convention, making them quite the headache to handle. "His mental age isn't affected despite the old memories gathering inside his brain. That is to say, he's still just a boy."

"That's…" 

"Awful," Yuki completed before walking to child and putting a hand on his shoulder to draw his attention to her. "Are you alright?"

Tristan trembled at the light touch before freezing at the question. It was spoken matter-of-factly, yet he could somehow feel the deep concern of the nurse. It felt weird. In fact, everyone's reaction in the room was strange and didn't align with what his other selves experience throughout their lives. If anything, the people surrounding him in this life were far too kind and accepting of him. Again, he felt like crying, but he resisted and nodded instead. He didn't want to worry them.

"Yeah, he's definitely your brother, Jake," Masha rolled her eyes. 

"Is that a compliment?"

Masha ignored the man and turned back her attention to Tristan, saying:

"From what I've gathered, your other selves weren't saints. So, there's no way you're fine with these kinds of terrible memories they pushed into your brain. Don't take after your elder brothers' bad habits; tell us whenever it becomes too hard to shoulder. We can't do much, but we will be there to listen. Anyway, what I mean is don't keep the burden to yourself, alright?"

Tristan didn't answer immediately. A moment of silence passed before he let out a chuckle, still hiding in his brother's embrace.

"And as for you, you're definitely Misha's sister. You're both too straightforward for your own good."

"And what's wrong with that?" Misha shrugged, speaking before his sister could. "There's no room for any misunderstanding this way. I've had enough of one lifetime of miscommunication, and I don't want it to happen in this life. I learned the lesson the hard way."

The first timeline was a mess, and Misha did not want to see a repeat of it. He glanced at Gabriel, trying to make his point come across. His secretive ways had to go, at least when they were together. But he knew bad habits were hard to break. The Laflamme brothers had this annoying tendency to try and do everything on their own. And tonight, it became apparent that the little brother wasn't any better than the older ones. They would need to keep an eye on him, too. 

"By the way, Tristan, I have a question that's been bothering me!" Stephan, who sat on the armrest beside Jake, raised a hand, earning him a glare from most people in the room. What nonsense was he about to spout now? Whenever things were getting serious, this clown had to step in. But, as always, his usual indolence broke the tense atmosphere, and everyone unknowingly relaxed, even Tristan.

"What is it?"

"Whenever you asked Jake to burn the bug that bites his neck," Stephan smiled, "did you actually know what you've been asking him to do in reality?"

"Stephan!" Jake coughed, throwing a glare at the man, who responded with a shrug. "This question is out of place!"

"Is it, now?" 

Stephan let out a deep laugh, mirth dancing in the depth of his heteromatic eyes. His attention was focused on the boy, who, after hesitating, finally peeked at him through puffy eyes and fluffy stands of hair. He pursed his lips, throwing daggers at the man, before finally offering some kind of answer in a pouty tone.

"My brother really should burn that big, ugly bug to a crisp." 

An awkward silence befell the living room, save for Stephan, who laughed even louder. He wasn't deterred by the boy, whose sulky mannerism was pretty cute in his eyes, and instead teased him. 

"Are you afraid I'm going to steal your brother? Why not share him with me? I'm a good meat shield and can protect him in ways you can't. So, how about it?"

A snort was his response.

"Oh, dear, don't be like that! I'm the jealous one here, you know? You'll always be the top priority for your brother, whereas I'm probably at the bottom. It's quite sad when I love him so much, don't you think?"

Realizing what Stephan was doing, Jake couldn't help but shake his head in half-exasperation, half-relief. The topic had seemingly been brought out of the blue, but it was better to tackle it now and put Tristan's insecurities to rest before the anxiety and jealousy ate him from the inside out. It would take time for the boy to put his mind at peace and quell the uneasiness gripping his heart. Still, it wouldn't hurt to reassure him early on, so Jake went along with Stephan. 

"You're talking like I'm an object and yours, but I'm neither. And how many times do I have to remind you that you're not my boyfriend?" 

"Not yet."

"You little…" Jake squinted his eye, although deep down, he was aware that if things went as they had been, he'd eventually cave in. For now, however, his little brother was more important. He focused his attention back on him. "Anyway, I can't burn that bug for the time being. The bites are a good repellent against Angela and her pests."

"Oh, that's why," Tristan's eyes widened as realization struck him. He knew about what transpired in the past timelines and thus was familiar with Angela's methods. As such, this simple sentence revealed everything he needed to know to piece the puzzle together. He might have been a child, but he was smart, just like his brothers. "On second thought, that bug isn't that ugly. If you look carefully, it's actually quite pretty."

"Oh my, thank you."

"Ah…!" Misha cried out, clapping his hands as he finally understood the underlying meaning behind the three people's exchange."You're talking about the hickeys!"

That had the merit of making the living room burst into laughter. Even Gabriel could not help but chuckle, his eyes growing tender. This timeline was so different from the past ones. The people who should have walked different paths were now gathered together, building relationships that could only have been dreamed of previously. 

It was a strange sight, but Gabriel didn't hate it. 

Now, it was time to flip the page and continue the story. A chapter was closed, and they should not look back and stay prisoners of their previous lives. At long last, the chains binding them to the past snapped with Tristan's confession. Everything that had to be said and shared was said and shared. No more secrets were left unearthed. With this out of the way, they could put the previous timelines behind them. There was no need to let the past meddle with the present. 

In this life, they would live to the fullest and make sure to have no regrets. None of them would repeat their past mistakes, for they intended to weave their fate and shape their desired future with their own hands. And this time, they would do it together. 

___________________________

Author's note: 

That's the last chapter of the third volume! There's just the epilogue left, then some extra (will plan the fourth and last volume while writing the extras). However, I don't know if I'll be able to write as much these next few weeks. I may ask my boss to work overtime because a few months worth of my salary went 'pouf' this week (one of my ferrets was on the verge of death, and I had to rush her to the vet. The surgery cost an arm and a leg, but she's on the right track and is already getting better). 

On that note… 

Friend: I can't believe you put so much money into a rat! You could have bought this, this, and this with it!

Me: Right, I could have. But remind me again, how much money do you put into alcohol and cigarettes per year?

Friend: *shuts up* 

Me: There you go.

Then, colleague: Are you crazy? Why would you put so much money into a rat?!

Me: How much money did your dog's surgery cost again?

Colleague: Hum, well…

Me: Costed more than my bibi's surgery, right?

Colleague: Yeah…

Then, mom: You could have bought a dozen ferrets with that much money!

Me: Yeah, but they wouldn't be my bibi. 

Mom: Well, whatever. It's your money, not mine. You've seen worse, anyway.

Me: Exactly! :D 

Ahem! Thank you all for sticking with this unreliable author! I hope I'll be able to finish this story in less than two years! Yeah, I'm giving myself some leeway since writer block-kun loves to come say hi. Thank you for reading and supporting Sweet Devil! ♥