Magnum Opus

Normally, that was exactly how it would have gone.

If he hadn't gone through all of the physical and mental torture of the last three days, then Gabriel would have easily sobbed to his mother for a few minutes before getting angry and subsequently being coddled and cooed apologetically at for the remainder of the day.

In this case, however... Gabriel didn't say a word after the stern reprimand from his brother. He got home and, when Pearl arrived back in floods of tears, he allowed her to stitch the wound up for him and treat the burns on his legs. He let her cook him some food and make him a bath, but he didn't once bring up the fact that he'd been kept in the dark. Sure, he briefly mentioned why he'd been kept in the basement, but he didn't really elaborate on it. Even when his mother tried to apologise, he smiled it off, told her he understood, and then sat watching his cartoons for the next few hours without uttering more than a few words.

Eventually, around five hours after he'd arrived home, comforted by the fact no police had come knocking at the door, he turned to his brother at his side with a tired smile. He'd stayed near enough silent for hours, but it wasn't really out of anger or annoyance or disappointment - he just didn't feel like talking, as rare as that was for him.

"...I'm not mad anymore," he nervously began, poking his brother's arm to get his attention. "I get it, it's... I wish I'd known, but I get it, it's-- never mind about all that! I-I... do you think Tyrone hates me now? He... I did something really bad, Cain. H-He saw me eating a deer-- I was really hungry! D-Do you think Mom will be mad at me? I... I didn't kill that woman b-but I did... I did try to hurt her. She called us freaks."
 
"She won't be mad at you," he replied simply, his eyes only briefly moving from the television once feeling the pole. It wasn't strange for Cain to go hours without speaking, so his mother wasn't nearly as concerned when the twin had mirrored his brother. For the last five hours, he hadn't moved an inch from the couch, even when their mother offered him food as well. He waved it off, insisting he wasn't hungry, and kept to the cartoons instead.

He had been thinking. Five hours of mentally beating himself up for the fact that he was enjoying time with Felix when he could have been out looking for his brother. The only real movement he made was his nervous hands, that of which seemed to speak louder than anything.

"You aren't in trouble, I... I'm proud of you," he continued quietly. "I'm proud that you defended yourself, and I'm sure Tyrone doesn't hate you. He might be mad and blame you, but he doesn't hate you. If... I'd he had hated you, he would have called the cops."
 
Cain might be beating himself up about it, but Gabriel's reaction really couldn't have been more different.

Perhaps if he was less... naive, he would be angry with his brother for not spending that time searching for him, but it was a good quality of Gabe's that he saw past that sort of thing incredibly easily. In fact, he was proud of his brother, and had no anger aimed at him.

"You and Felix, huh?" He grinned, happy to talk about something else. For once, he really didn't want to discuss what had happened and he didn't want the attention on himself. Instead, he was far more focused on gushing over his brother's potential friendship with Felix.

"He likes you lots, I... I saw it. When you guys were in the house, he was stood real close to you and he was protective and he... he's really, really cute, Cain," he began to gush, inching closer to his twin to gently hold onto his hand. "Forget about me, I don't care. Tyrone won't get with me, that's... you were right, it was silly to think that, I'm not relationship material at all-- but you and Felix are! A-And he likes you and you like him, I think-- right?"
 
"I dunno... he says he thinks I'm cool, but it's probably out of sympathy. He probably blamed himself for you running away and thought that befriending me would, like, absolve him of all his sins or something. We'll probably go back to school and he won't even acknowledge my existence. I guess he won't beat us up, though, so... I dunno. I'm not relationship material, either. He thinks I'm crazy." He whispered in returned as he avoided his brother's eyes, though the blush on his cheeks was at least a sign that he took a break from his internalized scolding.

"It's not a big deal, though. Even if he did like me, we aren't going to be here much longer. We'll move away, somewhere further up north, and he'll totally forget about the freak who guilted him into getting a pizza. He'll find someone cute and proper and normal."
 
"You're so, like, silly sometimes! You're supposed to be the smart one out of us, you know? You're both so cute and... and I don't want to leave! I can't, not until... Tyrone forgives me and knows I didn't do anything wrong, and... and maybe we can convince him that his parents were wrong. What if Tyrone tells the police that we're not really normal? He won't, I... I think he felt sorry for me, I dunno," shrugged the other twin as he began to bite at his fingernails - a habit he'd adopted as a young child when he was faced with stressful situations. And this was clearly incredibly stressful for him.

He was pretty certain Tyrone wouldn't tell the police anything... but how sure could he be? Tyrone had also called him some pretty horrible names and made Gabriel feel like shit, so it was also possible that he would tell the police that he was involved in some way.

"I don't wanna think about that, it's all... I want to stay, but it's up to Mom, I guess-- I'm not gonna be selfish about it. I... I'm gonna be more... nice to you," he decided suddenly, pressing even closer to all but wrap himself contently into his side. "And that means I'm not... not going to be selfish, I think. You gotta tell me when I'm selfish 'cos I don't really understand when I am, you know? I'm kinda stupid like that."
 
"I just... It wasn't fair that I was told about all of... this... and you were able to live without knowing anything. It wasn't fair." He replied quietly, though did ease into his brother's embrace and closed his eyes. The warm and comforting embrace was a welcomed changed from the typical opposite, where Cain had to coddle his brother when he stubbed his toe or something trivial along with the lines. Once pressing his face into the other's shoulder, he took it as an opportunity to begin to cry properly.

"I-I'm just... I'm really sorry, Gabe. I should have been looking for y-you instead of just hanging out with Felix. I could have found you earlier if I just looked harder, y-you didn't have to go through that. You didn't deserve to go through that. I shouldn't have gotten into an argument with you, a-and... I'm sorry."
 
"Why are you crying-- it's not your fault, is it? I mean, if I didn't eat that deer, Tyrone wouldn't have been freaked out and... and if I'd just sat on a bench, he might have even comforted me and maybe he'd develop a friendship with me, like Felix with you. It's... it's my fault, really-- I'm never gonna be friends with him 'cos it's my fault his Mom's dead-- what if I was him and it was my Mom who died? I-I'd be in pieces," he grimaced, beginning to grow more emotional the more they discussed it-- and the sight of Cain in tears didn't help much either.

To his credit, he didn't begin to cry, fearing that would just detract from his brother getting some well deserved attention. He might still be in agony and his throat might be making his voice croaky... but his brother was in clear need of being cuddled and comforted for once.

"...Stop crying, silly~! I'm alright, aren't I? Besides, Mom said I'll have a scar, and it'll make me look tough. Maybe Tyrone likes tougher guys," he pondered quietly, biting his bottom lip. "...Or maybe I'll find a nice guy at our new school, who knows, right?"
 
"You look really tough," Cain admitted quietly as he absently fiddled with his sweater's sleeves. "You look s-super tough. You could tell everyone that you got stabbed or something during a fight and you beat the guy up. Maybe some nice guy will think you're really cool and fall for you because you're so strong and tough and... that'll be good for you. I don't need anyone, y'know? I don't plan on being with anyone, ever, but you're really sweet and you're super creative a-and... people like that, y'know?" He whispered quietly before peaking an eye open just enough to take in his brother and show Gabriel his reddened eyes.

"I know I shouldn't say this, b-because you've been through a lot more than me, but... I just sort of want to go to sleep and not wake up, you know? This all really, really sucks, so... I think I'm going to do that. I'm going to go to bed and I think you should, too."
 
"...I don't really know what you want me to do. I want to, like, make you feel better! You make me feel better all the time and I don't help you much so... so what can I do? Do you want a milkshake? Mom's in the bath so I can use the blender without her knowing, if I'm quiet and quick-- and I'll put cookie pieces in and choc chips and...and caramel sauce, yeah?" He began to babble, admittedly eager to have his brother stay on the couch with him. As tired as he was, and as much as he had a reason to just go to bed and stay there for days if he wanted, he felt far more comfortable sticking to the couch.

And he didn't really want to be alone. He knew his mother wasn't going to leave his side tonight, and if she was going to spend the night cuddled up with him, he hardly wanted his twin to miss out on it. It was just another reason Cain had to claim that Gabriel received all the attention. While he didn't mention it, that accusation was one he got incredibly annoyed at.

"You can watch what you want, all those science shows, I... I don't mind. Just stay with me, okay?"
 
"That sounds nice, yeah. A milkshake and... some Disney movies?" He offered weakly. "I don't want you to have to watch some dumb science shows. We can.... compromise? I dunno. If you want, you could sleep in my bed later, too. I'm surprised you aren't exhausted. I mean, I wasn't forced into a basement for three days."

Offering him a feigned smile, he did move to carefully kiss his brother's forehead. If it were up to him, he'd probably be desperate to tend to the other as desperately as their mother, bt that didn't mean he didn't appreciate the other's care. Even if this was the last time the other focused on Cain, it was enough.
 
"Like I said, it wasn't that bad! I missed you and Mom a lot, but Tyrone was kinda nice, so... so it was alright," he promised. Obviously that was far from the truth, and he was an awful liar, but he was prepared to try and lie if it made Cain feel any better. He could tell his brother was beating himself up over it all, so if lying comforted him just a tiny bit, he was prepared to just go ahead and do that.
 
"I love you, you know?" He whispered, before slowly getting to his feet. "We can just focus on getting better, okay? We can go slow and just focus on homework. Hey, you'll probably get an A on the tests you missed, it would be unfair if they didn't."
 
Grimacing at the very mention of homework, he was tempted to just shrug it off and whine that they didn't need to do it now they were probably going to move, but he held back - he didn't think whining about things was necessary or even ideal at this moment. "I mean... sure. I ever get As. They'll give me a pass, a minimal pass, but that's fine! I usually get Ds or Es."
 
"You do better than E's, Gabriel. I... I mean, I hope you do, at least. You're really smart, and it's just because today's school system doesn't fit to your needs. If we didn't have to move around so much, mom would probably have already shipped you off to Montreal to one of those advanced artist schools. Instead you're forced to be here with me. Just - I dunno. I'm sure you'll succeed amazingly in college, if you go. I'll just sort of be wandering about, trying to find something I'm remotely good at."

Rummaging through the couch cushions for the remote, he found a proper cartoon channel before eyeing the fridge, hoping the other would get a clue and get on with the milkshakes, without saying anything rude.
 
"...You're way too nice to me, you know. My 'art' isn't good, not really. I'm not naive about that, I... I can tell it's pretty shit, Cain. You can pretend, but it's not good enough to get into some fancy school. I don't mind though! I like drawing and painting, even if I'm not great at it! It's what I like doing," beamed the younger twin as he easily took the hint and trailed from the couch towards the kitchen, still wrapped in the knitted blanket he'd brought down from his bed.

He never needed an excuse to keep himself bundled up, but if he had to justify his actions now, he clearly had a fantastic excuse after everything he'd gone through.

"You could go, like, straight into a job, you're that clever," he praised from the kitchen, tugging out the ice cream and as much chocolate as he could find in the cupboards. "I'm real proud to be your brother sometimes, you're so smart and stuff."
 
"I'm proud to be your brother, too." Cain replied with a smile, knowing that it sounded a bit cheesy. While he still would gush about his brother all day, he had already gotten beaten up in the past for standing up for him. To be able to be alone with his brother with his own blanket tightly wrapped around himself, he revelled in the quiet as he watched the snow fell hard outside. Shivering, he buried into the blanket further.

"... If it stops snowing tomorrow, maybe you and I could spend time with Felix? I had a good time with him, and... he was nice to me, sort of. Like, he put up with me, which was nice, and... I mean, maybe he'll feel bad enough to want to hang out with me again? Probably not, he'll just not want to hang anymore, but... that's okay." .
 
Almost instantly did Gabriel's moment of calmness come to a swift and abrupt end - the fact the sound of the blender crashing to the floor was pretty good evidence of that.

"I... I don't want to go outside. Felix hates me. He... He probably thinks I'm a monster after what Tyrone said. He might think I killed that woman and he might think that I'm dangerous and... and the only reason he might have convinced Tyrone not to tell the police is 'cos he likes you," he babbled whilst hurriedly picking the blender from the floor. If it happened to break, he was sure his mother wouldn't let him touch anything in the kitchen again. Hell, if she wasn't in the bath, she probably wouldn't let him anywhere near the blender.

"I'd rather just... stay in, actually, 'cos people are gonna be talking about me and I... don't want that-- but you can go out! Felix still likes you."
 
"He doesn't hate you, Gabe! I-If he did, I wouldn't be making attempts to befriend him. I promise he isn't... terrible. He's like Tyrone. I mean, if Tyrone hated you, he would have called the cops. He knows it isn't your fault, y'know? I mean, he'll be pissed, sure, but he doesn't hate you."

As he spoke, Cain hurried to his brother's side to clean the broken plastic, his lips pursed. Sweeping it up quickly, he knew the moment their mother stepped out was the moment they'd get in trouble. So, naturally, he wanted her to be worry free. He then checked Gabriel carefully in concern, which wasn't knew for the boy with such intense anxiety.
 
"...He called me a monster. He knows that we're-- not normal, Cain. H-He saw me eating a dead deer! H-He's not gonna invite me to cool, high school parties and kiss me under the stars like in the movies, is he? He's gonna hate me and spread gossip that I killed his mom, or at least caused his father to lose his mind a-and... and it sucks 'cos I liked him a lot," he babbled, nervously fiddling with his hands and trying his best to avoid the shattered, broken blender.

If the realisation sunk in that he'd broken it, he'd be even more erratic.

"A-And my head hurts and my eyes are funny 'cos I keep seeing dots and things are blurry a-and... and maybe I need glasses now? Maybe he hates guys with glasses too!"
 
"You're blood sugar is probably low," Cain replied calmly as he pulled Gabriel away from the mess, his eyes locking on his brother. Wiping the blood from his cut hands onto his pants, he moved to lead Gabriel to the table, all the while hiding the urge to frown.

"Sure, he might not want to date you, but... Look, I don't know, okay? I don't know what to tell you to make this all better, Gabe. I just want you to know that you're fine and that you shouldn't blame yourself for this. This was my fault, I made you think you weren't a good brother, a-and... yeah."
 
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