Sweet Devil [BL]

Chapter 63. Birthday Gifts

Because Dereck smoothed things over, Misha didn't insist on teaching Tristan some manners. Instead, he bottled up his anger and snorted something unintelligible under his breath.

Seeing his pouty face, the teenagers knew they had to do something to get his attention away from Tristan, or a disaster was bound to happen. So, after sharing a glance, they tacitly urged Misha to play another round, successfully lifting his mood.

Realizing that what he had said had angered Misha, Tristan also wisely shut his mouth, though he didn't understand what he had done wrong. It made him feel cast aside, but since his mother had told him to be good, he didn't dare utter anything, keeping his grievances to himself. All he could do was crawl closer to Gabriel, seeking comfort from his big brother.

Little did Tristan know that him sticking to the teenager was a sight very irritating for Misha. It made the corner of his eyes twitch.

In his past life, he had seldom heard of Gabriel's brothers. It was to the point where Misha had even forgotten they existed, only remembering Gabriel had such family members when they met at the hospital. The little brother, who had previously treated Gabriel as nothing more than air, was now glued to him like a second skin. From one timeline to another, the relationship between the two brothers was like night and day.

But why? What was so different now?!

Misha shook his head and told himself not to overthink. Today was his birthday, and it was better to enjoy it as much as possible, especially since no one knew when was the next time Gabriel would be able to come over. The depressing and anger-provoking thoughts could wait until tomorrow.

So, Misha focused all his attention on the game, determined to beat Gabriel, yet he still lost time after time. Frustrated to no end, he kicked the wooden tower with a flying kick, childishly saying that no one won.

"This game is boring," he added. "Let's play something a little more challenging!"

Thus, they switched games.

Then, for the next two hours, Misha asked to play something else whenever he was on the losing side. But regardless of what kind of game they played, Gabriel was always winning, making Misha bite his nails or puff out his cheeks. Sometimes, he did both while frowning, presumingly lost in thought.

It was hard for the two teenagers not to laugh at the sight. The boy looked like an angry squirrel when it wasn't a pufferfish, whereas the confused face he showed from time to time was too adorable for words. At long last, it melted their hearts, and they looked at the child with tender eyes.

However, restraining their laughter for so long gave them a stomachache, and their mouths also became dry—they both had finished their glasses of water a long time ago. So, while Misha was busy bickering with Vanessa about the rules of a game and whatnot, Masha went into the kitchen to fetch glasses of juice.

When the teenage girl came back, what greeted her was the sight of her little brother wolfing down cookies he had stolen from who knows where. She heard Dereck ask him if eating sweets behind his parents' back wouldn't get him in trouble, to which Misha answered with a mischievous smirk, "As long as they don't know, then I won't get in trouble."

'Looks like my brother picked up my motto,' Masha smiled helplessly, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

That was what she said every time she did something she shouldn't. She just hoped her little brother wouldn't put that principle into motion too often, or who knows what kind of nasty pranks he would do behind his family's back.

Shaking her head, Masha walked to Gabriel to hand him his glass of juice, discreetly murmuring in his ear, "How about letting Misha win? Think about his poor cheeks. He has been puffing them so much that they must hurt quite a bit by now."