“I thought we were making breakfast for the boys.” Vin changed the subject.
Evan chuckled, closing the distance. He pulled Vin into a rough hug, pounding on his back.
Vin grumbled but hugged his old friend back.
“I’m happy for you,” Evan whispered.
“Thanks,” Vin returned. Now he just needed to figure out how to tell his boy.
* * * * *
Aries
He could hear his Daddy and Evan in the kitchen as the scent of bacon wafted through the house. Aries nearly made a beeline for the food, but this was his chance. Sneaking down the hall, Aries hurried to the back of the first floor where the master bedroom was located.
Aries hadn’t seen inside the room where Evan and Nix were staying, but Vin had pointed it out when he’d given Aries a tour the day before.
Reaching the closed door, Aries debated on knocking. There was a small chance that his Daddy and Evan were distracted enough by making breakfast that they wouldn’t hear, but Aries didn’t want to take the chance. As quietly as he could, Aries turned the knob and pushed the door open a few inches. He peeked around the door to see if Nix was awake.
There was a lump in the bed which had to be his brother. Nix had always liked to curl his knees under him with all the blankets covering his entire body and head. It appeared that it hadn’t changed since they’d been apart.
Aries pushed the door open enough to squeeze through the crack. He quietly closed the door behind him. On silent feet, Aries crept across the room.
“Nix?” he hissed once he reached the bed.
The lump didn’t move.
Aries picked up the blanket and peeked under it. Nix was indeed curled up with his knees tucked under his chest. His naked chest. In fact, his brother was completely nude. Aries slammed the end of the blanket back down.
Well, that wasn’t the brightest idea. Aries climbed onto the mattress where he was sure he wouldn’t touch any of his brother’s naked body and patted the lump hard. Very hard.
Nix jumped and squawked as he fought to get the blankets off his head.
It would most likely be helpful if Aries wasn’t holding the top blanket down, but it was the least Nix deserved for making Aries see him naked.
Eventually, Nix was able to poke his head out from the top of the blankets. His face was red and sweaty and he scowled at Aries.
Aries gave a little finger wave.
“What is your problem?” Nix demanded.
“I need to talk to you,” Aries replied.
“And you needed to smack me awake?”
“I tried to crawl into bed with you, but you don’t have any clothes on,” Aries told him. He gave a mock shudder. “Eww.”
Nix huffed, then smirked. “Did you wake up naked?”
That was completely beside the point. “Stop being gross. I need to talk to you before Vin starts to look for me.”
Nix immediately started to get more than just his head out of the blanket. He wiggled and squirmed until his shoulders were also free and Aries had his full attention. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing is wrong,” Aries said quickly. “I just want to ask your opinion on something.”
“This must be important if you're hiding it from your Daddy,” Nix said. “Or…is it about your Daddy?”
Aries nodded.
