"So… How do you feel?" asked Misha in a worried tone, sitting next to his sister. "I know it's a lot to take in…."

"To be honest, I feel like shit," sighed Masha, rubbing her throbbing temples. "Not only did you travel back in time, but Gabriel did so too….? And in both of your past timelines, mom was run over by a car and died. In one, I committed suicide, and in the other, my legs were crippled. To boot it all, the woman I love more than anything is actually a two-faced bitch who's toying with my heart. Seriously, it's a hard pill to swallow."

"I know, but it's the truth," whispered Misha, appearing a little ill at ease.

"Please, don't make that face. I didn't say that I don't believe you, it's just difficult to imagine. To think that I would take my own life…." Masha paused to take in a deep breath before exhaling, "It's a little unsettling. Right now, I feel like I would never do such a thing. I believe that I'm strong enough to overcome everything, no matter what comes my way, but it looks like that's not the reality. I'm not made of stone, and I can collapse over time, just like anyone else."

Smiling sadly, Masha stretched a hand, gently stroking her little brother's cheek. Like he did with Gabriel, Misha didn't go into detail, only vaguely talking about her suicide and their father's abuse. Still, it was enough to portray just how hellish his first timeline had been. Knowing what her brother went through made her heart swell with pain, but Masha knew he wouldn't want her pity. It would only hurt him and make things awkward. So instead, she bent over and lightly kissed his forehead, saying:

"Thank you for coming back for mom and me. This time, I swear I'll never leave you alone."

Taken aback, Misha stared at his sister for a second before smirking. He let out a giggle, then said in a fake threatening tone, "You better keep your promise, or I'll come back again and make sure you follow through with your word. You know how stubborn I can be, right?"

"Yeah, I know. It runs in the family," replied Masha, sticking out her tongue. "By the way…."

Feeling a shiver ran down his spine, Misha pinched his lips and tilted his head, suspiciously sizing up his sister. Whenever she made that face and used that tone, it never ended well for him. And just as he had expected, that little witch teasingly said: "So, you're in love with Ga—"

"No, shut up, I'm not!" cried out Misha, covering her mouth with both of his hands. "That's just my other self being stupid! It has nothing to do with me!"

And so, the heavy atmosphere suddenly broke as the two siblings started to bicker, just like little kids. Masha teased her brother about his love life, and Misha vehemently refuted her words, his face gradually turning red, but whether it was due to anger or embarrassment, no one knew. Soon enough, Misha lost patience and pounced on his sister, trying to take revenge by tickling her to death. However, Masha didn't go down without a fight and returned the favor, attacking her brother's ribs. Both were determined to fight until one of them begged for mercy, rolling left and right on the bed while laughing their lungs out.

Leaning against the wall, Gabriel silently watched over their antics, a small smile haunting his lips.

Masha took the news better than he thought she would, though she was also probably putting on a brave front, not wanting to worry her brother. Knowing her, she would wait until nightfall before bawling her eyes out, screaming in her pillows—Gabriel also wouldn't be surprised if there were a few fist-shaped holes scattered here and there in her bedroom walls tomorrow morning.

Although Gabriel had long known Camille's rotten personality, to Masha, it was something new. She had just found out that the woman she loved with all her heart would toss her aside like an old toy sooner or later. Of course she was hurt; of course she wanted to cry! She was only human, not some unfeeling robot. Still, she didn't want to wail before her little brother, who had gone through so much for her. Instead, she pretended that everything was fine, annoying Misha like a pest and loudly laughing as they tickled each other.

So, the tears glistering at the corner of her eyes were the result of laughter, not heartbreak. Or at least, that was what she wanted to convince herself of, even if she knew deep down that it wasn't the case.

.

After a few minutes of their tickle war, Masha finally conceded. Not because she couldn't take it anymore, but because her brother was wheezing hard yet didn't appear ready to admit defeat any time soon. That stubborn boy would rather pass out than beg for mercy. A.d.u.l.t or child, Misha still had the bad habit of not knowing his limits when it came down to challenges, being too prideful.

Well, Masha couldn't talk; she was the same, constantly pushing her luck. However, she didn't mind losing to her little brother, and it was also true she had difficulty breathing. As the older sister, Masha thought that she might as well back down for the time being. She could always take revenge by teasing him again later on.

"Now that you're done fighting," said Gabriel after a short while, staring at the two siblings who were laying on the bed like dried fishes, "how about paying Stephan a visit?"

"What? Why?" asked Misha in a puzzled tone.

"…You want to tell him? About everything?" understood Masha, propping herself up on her elbow. "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am, but only if Misha allows it."

"But why do you want to tell him?" wondered aloud the boy, frowning slightly.

"Because of many reasons, actually. First off, in your first timeline, I probably try to handle everything alone, knowing myself. And how did it end? Not very well, as you know. So, I'm thinking of doing things differently this time around."

If doing everything by himself did not yield good results, then he would do the exact opposite. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice, especially when the lives of those he held dear were at stake.

"Second, Stephan has the right to know that his father is in danger and that he would be plotted against in the near future. Besides, I can't intervene out of the blue in his family's affair. That would be suspicious, and although that guy acts dumb, he's no idiot. He would soon realize that something doesn't add up. Third, as I just said, he's no idiot, meaning that he can be very helpful when he puts his mind into it."

Although Gabriel was aware he was smart, he wasn't arrogant enough to say he was a genius. Having another good brain in the team wouldn't do any harm, on the contrary. If he wanted to turn the table against his family, Stephan was an absolute must, though he knew dealing with that guy would probably drive him half-crazy one of these days. Well, as long as he also drove crazy the rest of his family, it didn't matter.

"…If that's what you want, I've got nothing to say," shrugged Misha after listening to Gabriel's arguments. "Anyway, you're smarter than me, so I'm gonna follow your lead for everything that requires using my brain. There's one thing, though. No matter what, I don't want my parents to know."

"I second that!" nodded Masha. "For now, I'm not ready to tell them about my s.e.x.u.a.lity. I don't know how they would take it, and being thrown out of the house at my age would make things difficult for me. I want to be old enough to fend for myself before telling them, just in case it ends with a bad ending. So, well, you know, the information in the video is a little too compromising."

"Don't worry, I wasn't planning to involve them. Even without considering how they would react to your s.e.x.u.a.lity, I don't know your parents well enough to tell whether or not they would accept a strange concept such as time travel. They're good people, but even good people can send their children to the hospital if they think they're mentally ill."

At those words, a silence fell over the room. Right. Time-traveling was nonsense for most people, and who knows what kind of mental disease they would be labeled with if they ever were to discuss it with the wrong persons. The fewer people knew, the better it was.

"Soooooo, I'll go downstairs to ask mom if we can go out," coughed Misha after a moment of silence. Leaping to his feet and pointing at his face, he added with a grin, "That cute face of mine can be really useful at times. Mom can't refuse me anything, hehe."

With this, Misha left the room at lightning speed, going to the kitchen to meet his mother. As soon as the door closed, Masha and Gabriel tacitly glanced at each other.

With a sly smile on her lips, Masha bent over and asked in a sweet voice:

"And you? Are you in love with my brother?"

"Masha… Even if your brother is mentally older than us, he's technically ten years old and looks like he's seven. I'd like to remind you that I'm not into kids, in case you didn't know."

"And?"

"…And his current appearance is not to my taste, but," Gabriel paused to smirk, the corner of his lips curving upward ever so lightly, "his personality is quite to my liking."

"I bet it is," chuckled Masha, amus.e.m.e.nt flashing in her eyes.

The real question was: how could Gabriel not like it? Misha was everything he would have wanted to be but wasn't; his personality was everything Gabriel loved, and even his shortcomings were somewhat lovely in his eyes. Her brother was foolishly honest, always being true to himself. Whenever he lied, it showed on his face as plainly as could be. He was the kind to stood up for his beliefs, never compromising, and he would go down the path of hell for the sake of his loved ones. Underneath the rough behavior laid a good person that could sympathize with others, something Gabriel couldn't do.

"Well, for the time being, his current self is not aware of his feelings, or it would be more accurate to say that he currently does not want to recognize them," said Gabriel as he took a step toward the door. "So I'll wait for him to grow up. We'll see then if he can accept his feelings or not."

"You sound pretty confident that he will, though."

"Why wouldn't he?"

"….."

"And, please, don't go run your mouth and tell him about our discussion. If you do, I'm going to be a little mad," smiled Gabriel as he opened the door, peering at Masha from the corner of his eyes.

"I swear I won't tell a soul!" quickly replied the teenage girl as she mimed zipping her mouth shut with her fingers, beads of cold sweat rolling down her forehead.

She knew she could meddle with her brother's love life, but it was better not to with Gabriel's—if he was serious about that certain someone, that's it. Flings were another story, though. Anyway, she wanted to live a long, healthy life, not end it prem.a.t.u.r.ely. Therefore, she wisely decided to pretend they never had this conversation, pushing it far into the back of her mind.

In any case, her brother was in good hands, and there was nothing to worry about. In this timeline, Gabriel would never do anything to hurt Misha. No, if he could, he would offer him the world instead. Besides, if there was one brother-in-law Masha would ever welcome with open arms, it was Gabriel and no one else.

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