Sweet Devil [BL]

Chapter 89. A Bunch of Birthday Gifts (Part 2)

Finding his sister a birthday gift had been quite tricky, not to say stupidly hard. It wasn't that difficult before her accident, but now, Misha had to use all of his brain cells to think of something she would genuinely love. And considering the terrible headache that came to haunt him whenever he overworked his brain, it hadn't been easy for his poor head these past few weeks.

Masha had always loved to go out, whether for a walk in the city or a hike deep into the forest. Sports were her favorite pastime; she would feel satisfied as long as she could move her body about. Knowing this, their mother would always bring her outside for her birthday, going to the beach, the amusement park, the water park, etc. Anywhere that allowed her to spend her energy to her heart's content was good, really.

However, it wasn't possible anymore. Not only because Masha didn't like exposing herself to the public eye, but also because she was in the middle of her rehabilitation program, reinforcing her legs and trying to learn how to walk around with crutches. In the long run, she should regain a bit of her mobility, though she would need to use elbow crutches to get by.

Needless to say, Masha wasn't in the mood to visit any place, especially crowded ones.

Thus, Misha had to think of something else. His sister didn't like books, always saying that reading made her feel sleepy. Movies were good, but they wouldn't keep her busy very long. As for board games, she couldn't play alone. After some brainstorming with his father and Gabriel, they finally had a stroke of genius a few days ago. Of course, Gabriel was then tasked with probing Masha, ensuring that their idea would please her before buying it.

Still, Masha was left dumbfounded after opening her present, not expecting its content. She never realized that Gabriel was testing the waters when he brought up the subject of video games not too long ago. The PlayStation console before her eyes was thus a real surprise, and she foolishly stared at it, seemingly not knowing how to react. But soon, the look of surprise left her face, and a broad smile took its place.

"You'll let me play with you, right?" Misha asked, the corners of his mouth curling up high.

Although the console looked like a dinosaur to him, it didn't rebuke him in the slightest; on the contrary, he was excited! He didn't own one in his previous life as he was too poor to afford it, so it did appear somewhat novel in his eyes. He still played with Dereck at his house once in a while, but not much. As for Masha, she probably never touched a game console in her past life; she had been too busy to relax and enjoy a bit of free time. However, Misha just knew she would love playing video games.

"Why wouldn't I let you play with me?" Masha chuckled, lovingly looking at her little brother before hugging him. "Frankly, no matter the game, I'm sure I will need a helper."

"Great! 'Cause, you know, we bought a lot of video games too," Misha replied with a grin, escaping from her arms to run to the tiny mountain of gifts left.

They had wrapped each game individually in big and small boxes, just so Masha would have to unwrap a ton of presents. Some even had a few extra layers, looking very much like Russian dolls. Because of this, it was hard to guess what was inside. Would it indeed be video games? Or something else like a plush toy or a cute keychain?

As Masha continued to unwrap the gifts one after another, she realized that the quality of the wrapping varied, letting her know that three people had done it; it hadn't been the work of a single person.

She couldn't help but imagine Gabriel, her brother, and her father sitting on the living room floor, busying themselves with wrapping the different-sized boxes while she was at the hospital with Yuki, going through a physical therapy session. She could very well visualize her father's frown as he slowly wrapped a box, trying to do something that wasn't too bad looking. He had never been good with his ten fingers, unlike his wife and children, and it was easy to pinpoint which presents he had wrapped. It was the ones that were slightly crooked.