Big Bruder

Chapter 4: The Beat of Two Hearts

Basch dully opened his eyes as the sound of crickets loudly rang in his ears. The room was shrouded in darkness, the bothersome moonlight hidden behind the shades of thunderous clouds.

He stretched his arms out as he realized he had dozed off on one of the many sofas placed in this guest room. Basch suddenly noticed that the old folkbook had fallen on the ground beside his foot, its pages bent upon the floor. With a twinge of pity and annoyance, he bent down and picked it up, its spine clasped within his palm as Basch plodded to the bookshelf.

"Basch?" a soft mutter came from the bed, the hoarse voice visibly shaking as they broke into a fit of coughs.

"Roderich?" Basch replied, his tone inquisitive as he stepped back to face the bed that was cloaked in shadows.

"Oh, it is you," Roderich grumbled. The bedsheets shifted as the room became quiet once more. "I can't see you, I don't have my glasses," he said bluntly.

Suddenly annoyed, Basch replied, "What do you want me to do about it?"

"Tell me where they are, obviously!" Roderich ordered.

"But you don't even need them-"

"Basch!" Basch shut his mouth as he ignored Roderich's command, feeling a slight satisfaction when he overheard Roderich grunt with impatience. "At least tell me where my glasses are!"

Within a second, Basch made up his mind as he flung himself onto the bed, tightly gripping Roderich's shoulders. His eyes easily adjusted to the shadows as he was almost startled with the shock on Roderich's face. His hair was sprawled in knots upon the pillow, his face red and puffy, as if he'd just come out of the shower. His eyes stared helplessly at Basch, who was struggling to hold his gaze. "Don't tell me what to do," Basch clamped tighter on Roderich's shoulders as he winced, "aristocrat."

Roderich flinched as those words were spoken, and went silent, his breathing increasing as heat rose to his head.

Basch spotted Roderich's bare forehead. "What happened with the bandage?"

Roderich took a second to catch his breath before answering. "I woke up while you were asleep and it only acted as a nuisance, so I took it off."

"You dummkopf!" Basch exclaimed, his eyes flaring while his hands pinched Roderich's shoulder.

Wincing, Roderich mumbled something silently, most likely profanities.

"After dinner, I'm going to take Elise home and we'll never speak of this again," Basch declared, his eyes narrowing as he eased his grip. "Got it?"

Only the calls of thunder replied as winds picked up from outside, rain loudly banging upon the windows.

"Our past..."

Basch's head snapped back to Roderich.

"What happened back then?"

Roderich attempted to sit up, but Basch shoved him back down. "No, you lay down, you're still not okay," he muttered under his breath. "I'm going to check on Elise," Basch got up to leave.

Roderich grabbed his wrist. Basch spun around, surprised by his sudden ferocity. His eyes were dark with exhaustion, but they sparkled a deep purple, like the night sky. "What happened between us?" he fiercely asked. "What happened before Elise, before Elizabeta, even before Gilbert?" Roderich's chest heaved in desperate gasps as his breathing remained strained, his face glowed a light pink as his forehead was glazed with sweat. "Basch, please... tell me."

Basch himself grew nervous just watching Roderich. His heart drummed loudly in his head as it became so loud it subdued his ability to think straight. "You must stay in bed," he whispered as his eyes glanced towards Roderich's bare legs hanging over the bed. "Your fever will get worse."