Sweet Devil [BL]

Chapter 156. Small Aquariums

"You're terrible at this," Jake said, peeking at the aquarium in Gabriel's hands. "Seriously, what did you have in mind for it to turn out so ugly?"

"Honestly?" Gabriel laughed. "Nothing. I just picked up whatever caught my eye."

Gabriel's aquarium, to put it bluntly, was a mix of things he had found pretty. But although the things indeed looked good on their own, they didn't necessarily go well together. Purple pebbles with bright yellow seaweeds were a little, and just a little, hurtful for the eyes. And as if this wasn't enough, everything had been disorderly thrown together to the point where the poor fish appeared disoriented and about to drown!

"If I didn't know better," Jake couldn't help but comment, "I'd think you're color blind or perhaps high on drugs—whichever you prefer."

"I can't argue with that," Gabriel chuckled, aware that his artistic sense had always been out of tune. "The result is a little different from what I had in mind. I honestly thought these things would look good put together, but they definitely don't."

Crafting things had never been Gabriel's forte. He was so bad at it that it even made his primary school teachers cry in horror when he was younger. He'd never forget that one time he was supposed to draw a white bunny, and his drawing somehow ended up looking like minced meat. Even after growing up, his artistic sense, manual dexterity, and drawing skills didn't get better. If anything, they got poorer.

"But as for you," Gabriel eyed Jake's aquarium, "you're surprisingly good at crafting things. It looks like it's been made by a professional."

"Well," Jake smiled faintly, "I had some practice."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, but the melancholic look in his brother's eye dissuaded him from probing further. He didn't know what he was thinking about; however, it wasn't hard to guess. It probably had something to do with his family.

Therefore, Gabriel diverted his attention to Tristan, just in time to see the child turn the cap to seal his aquarium. He had chosen a blue cap that would flash colorful lights when the aquarium was shaken. The rays of light would then shine through the gelatin-like product, almost like the aurora borealis.

"It looks great," Gabriel said to his little brother. "You're very talented."

"I did my best!" Tristan tee-heed before bringing his aquarium to his chest, holding it tightly. He flashed his brothers a broad smile and giggled, "I'm going to give it to mom! I hope she'll like it."

"....I'm sure she will."

"Will you give yours to someone too?"

"Well, maybe I'll give mine to Misha," Gabriel winked, "as a thank-you gift for baking us delicious pastries all the time."

"Good idea!" Tristan nodded approvingly. Then, he shifted his attention to his eldest brother. "What about you?"

A short silence passed before Jake said, "Maybe I could give it to Stephan...?"

"Why him?!" the boy grimaced. "He bothers you every time he comes over! You shouldn't give him anything!"

Jake was silent for a second, sizing up the kid. "Do you hate him?"

"No, it's not that!" A pout stretched Tristan's lips. "It's just that he sticks to you like glue and never leaves your side. So, you know, I can't get close to you when he's with you."

'Huh?' Jake was dumbfounded. 'Don't tell me, is this kid jealous because Stephan is monopolizing me...? Why?!'

Fearing he was imagining things, Jake couldn't help but glance at Gabriel, who sat beside Tristan. He didn't need to say aloud what he was thinking, for the look in his eye said it all.