The Master [MxMxM+]

11

     Linder climbed down the stairs without the urgency the situation required, his mind almost always wandered off to a place too close to home whenever there was anything related to physical injury. And yet, that type of bruise wasn't the worst he'd ever seen. He was just hardwired to find the fastest solution every time such a thing occurred.

Unfortunately for Linder, on ninety-nine percent of the time, it had been the people he loved the most. He'd rushed home on more than one occasion to find his lovely sister tending to his little brother; bedridden, weak and seemingly with a leg drawn back, ready to kick the bucket. The rage that always gripped him was coupled with the devastation in equal measure.

     Their father had been at it again. He drank as much as a fish in water, and for some reason it made him violent. The alcohol impaired his vision, making his children blur before his eyes and morph into punching bags.

     His mom was no better, but she was the one working her ass off to provide for them, the secret behind the success of his drinking business. They profited nothing, and lost all respect and affection they had ever had towards him.

     Lily—his sister—was strong, he knew that more than anyone. And that's why he counted on her to protect their brother just a little longer.

     Just about five more months.

     The little accident had triggered the memories which now faded as he pulled the handle of the fridge to study the contents inside.

Right there. He saw a bag of ice cubes just next to the tortillas. He poured cubes in a smaller ice bag and turned to leave.

The tall, lanky man closed the door of the fridge to see Pierre waiting and looking shy. His beautiful face turning away from Linder in a shy manner.

Linder stepped back defensively as he hadn't been expecting to see anyone so close. Pierre didn't even give him a chance to properly look at him. He muttered a quick 'sorry' before going to pick what he wanted.

Linder walked away. When the footsteps had reached further away, Pierre's anxiety told him it was safe to look. He watched him leaving the kitchen in a hurry, admiring his lean form before his brain connected the dots. Linder had been carrying an ice bag. Was something wrong? Was somebody hurt?

His brain couldn't put up any plausible suggestions so Pierre let it go and decided to focus on the task at hand; cheesecake for the Master.

When he got back to the kitchen island, Pierre fished out a springform pan and some mixing bowls. Finally, he had everything he needed. It was hard to gather all requirements from such a large kitchen. One that literally lacked nothing.

He was just about to put cream cheese in a mixing bowl when he noticed Zel. The little guy —he seemed little to Pierre, even as he was taller— approached him happily, walking like he had springs under his feet.

"Hi! What are you making?" Zel's eyes brightened in wonder. He sat on a stool and rested his elbows on the counter, cradling his chin under his hands.

Pierre went ahead to add sugar and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. The mixture of white and brown resulted into a color similar to Zel's hair but just not quite. "A cheesecake," he replied.

"Ohh I love those!" Pierre smiled at the statement.

If there was only one person that Pierre was going to talk to during his time here, he hoped it was Zel. For whatever reason it was, something about his clueless nature and curious eyes seemed to put him at ease. He found him adorable...like the type of guy you'd want to always want to pick out the right flowers for, because his smile would be worth all of it.