Aries
“This is a bad idea,” Aries said as he stepped into the kitchen. Such a bad idea. If Aries got in trouble for this, he was going to be super mad.
Nix grinned at him from the fridge as Gem chuckled while sitting at the island with a plate already in front of him. Neither one of his brothers appeared to have the same concerns as him. Although Nix probably wanted to get into trouble, so that wasn’t saying a lot.
“It’s our tradition,” Nix told him. He emptied the entire container of whipped cream into the pumpkin pie pan. That…wow.
“We do this every year. That’s why I couldn’t figure out why Mom was so worried about the food.” Gem had half a dozen grape turnovers on a plate in front of him. They smelled so good, but Aries knew what he wanted.
“Maybe it’s because she thought that Vin and Evan would be able to keep us in bed this time,” Nix offered.
“How did you sneak away from Vin?” Gem asked, setting the apple pie plate in front of the stool next to him. Only the light above the sink was on since they could see just fine with low lighting.
Aries was not going to admit to fucking Vin’s brains out until his Daddy was exhausted. He rushed over to the warm goodness. Gem was always spoiling him. Picking up his fork, Aries shoved in a mouthful of yummy apple pie.
Nix joined them with a massive pumpkin pie slice loaded high with whipped cream.
That was way too much sugar! Not that Aries was shocked. Nix always did that when their mom wasn’t there to see.
Gem’s grape turnovers had a much more sensible amount of icing drizzled on top.
The night that their dad joined them for their first Christmas where Mama had presented him with his very own stocking, all three of them had found it hard to sleep. Aries had tossed and turned until Nix pulled him out of bed.
Unable to sleep, the three of them had made their way down the stairs and finished all the food from the night before.
As they ate that first year, they’d admitted that they were scared of the changes that were coming. Mama had always been there for them. Having a man in her life was going to change things. Like Dad’s suggestion they might like their own rooms.
They’d shared a room their whole lives.
The suggested remodeling of their house to make three rooms for them instead of the one they shared hadn’t been what they had wanted. They had remodeled but with the purpose of expanding the room that they still shared but had space that could be theirs.
Aries had filled his side with soft blankets, collections of his favorite things, and of course everything hockey. Nix’s area was always a mess. He also had his love of hockey on every surface of his wall and desk and was always getting into something he shouldn’t. Gem’s space was neat and tidy so he could concentrate on school and hockey.
There were a lot of differences between the three of them even though most wouldn’t see it.
Their bond was the one thing that most people got right. Aries loved Vin with all his heart, his dad was the best man he ever knew, and his mama was amazing and perfect. Nix and Gem though, they made up who Aries was.
They caught up as the food was consumed. It wasn’t anything as serious as that first year, but Aries was glad Nix had reminded them of this tradition. His belly was already so full but totally worth it.
The main light to the kitchen flicked on and they all jumped, turning toward the doorway.
“She was right,” Vin said with a scowl. “There won’t be any dessert left.”
Evan was shaking his head as he stared at the giant mound of whipped cream that Nix practically had his face buried in.
“You don’t seem surprised,” Gem commented casually.
“Your mom warned us,” Evan said.
“She told?” Aries said around a mouthful. Honestly, he was glad to see Vin because his tummy didn’t feel so good.
“She warned us,” Vin replied as he stomped forward. He lifted Aries off the stool and slid into the seat before placing Aries on his knee. “She also told us that you usually eat until you’re sick.”
Aries nodded as he rubbed his chest against Vin’s naked chest. Vin had only pulled on a pair of sweatpants. The gray thin sweatpants that always had Aries’s mouth watering.
“Did you use the whole container of whip cream?” Evan asked Nix.
Nix took a huge mouthful of whip cream and nodded. There might be pie buried somewhere under all the white covering the plate. “Didn’t want to have to throw it out.”
