Small Aquariums

"You're terrible at this," Jake said, peeking at the aquarium in Gabriel's hands. "Seriously, what did you have in mind for it to turn out so ugly?"

"Honestly?" Gabriel laughed. "Nothing. I just picked up whatever caught my eye."

Gabriel's aquarium, to put it bluntly, was a mix of things he had found pretty. But although the things indeed looked good on their own, they didn't necessarily go well together. Purple pebbles with bright yellow seaweeds were a little, and just a little, hurtful for the eyes. And as if this wasn't enough, everything had been disorderly thrown together to the point where the poor fish appeared disoriented and about to drown!

"If I didn't know better," Jake couldn't help but comment, "I'd think you're color blind or perhaps high on drugs—whichever you prefer."

"I can't argue with that," Gabriel chuckled, aware that his artistic sense had always been out of tune. "The result is a little different from what I had in mind. I honestly thought these things would look good put together, but they definitely don't."

Crafting things had never been Gabriel's forte. He was so bad at it that it even made his primary school teachers cry in horror when he was younger. He'd never forget that one time he was supposed to draw a white bunny, and his drawing somehow ended up looking like minced meat. Even after growing up, his artistic sense, manual dexterity, and drawing skills didn't get better. If anything, they got poorer.

"But as for you," Gabriel eyed Jake's aquarium, "you're surprisingly good at crafting things. It looks like it's been made by a professional."

"Well," Jake smiled faintly, "I had some practice."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow, but the melancholic look in his brother's eye dissuaded him from probing further. He didn't know what he was thinking about; however, it wasn't hard to guess. It probably had something to do with his family.

Therefore, Gabriel diverted his attention to Tristan, just in time to see the child turn the cap to seal his aquarium. He had chosen a blue cap that would flash colorful lights when the aquarium was shaken. The rays of light would then shine through the gelatin-like product, almost like the aurora borealis.

"It looks great," Gabriel said to his little brother. "You're very talented."

"I did my best!" Tristan tee-heed before bringing his aquarium to his chest, holding it tightly. He flashed his brothers a broad smile and giggled, "I'm going to give it to mom! I hope she'll like it."

"....I'm sure she will."

"Will you give yours to someone too?"

"Well, maybe I'll give mine to Misha," Gabriel winked, "as a thank-you gift for baking us delicious pastries all the time."

"Good idea!" Tristan nodded approvingly. Then, he shifted his attention to his eldest brother. "What about you?"

A short silence passed before Jake said, "Maybe I could give it to Stephan…?"

"Why him?!" the boy grimaced. "He bothers you every time he comes over! You shouldn't give him anything!"

Jake was silent for a second, sizing up the kid. "Do you hate him?"

"No, it's not that!" A pout stretched Tristan's lips. "It's just that he sticks to you like glue and never leaves your side. So, you know, I can't get close to you when he's with you."

'Huh?' Jake was dumbfounded. 'Don't tell me, is this kid jealous because Stephan is monopolizing me…? Why?!'

Fearing he was imagining things, Jake couldn't help but glance at Gabriel, who sat beside Tristan. He didn't need to say aloud what he was thinking, for the look in his eye said it all.

'Told you he loved his big brother a lot,' Gabriel mouthed. An amused smirk curved his eyes, giving him the air of an annoying young master. Because Tristan had lowered his eyes, appearing to be self-reflecting, Gabriel wasn't careful with his expression. Only Jake would see it, so there was no need to keep the gentle facade. His brother was well aware of his real personality, after all.

Jake's mouth twitched. He had the urge to wipe that smirk off his face, but whatever. Gabriel's taunting wasn't important right now, and he had more urgent matters to think of.

Should he be happy about his little brother's new-founded affection? Heck no! Jake knew better than anyone just how frightening Tristan's affection could be. His little brother was already quite possessive of him in their past lives, and they didn't even have a good relationship. So how much more possessive would his brother become of him if they got along?! Simply thinking about it sent shivers crawling down his spine. No, nope. He didn't want to think about it.

"Is something wrong…?" Tristan asked, a discreet tremble in his voice. "Did I say something bad again?"

"No, you haven't," Jake smiled. "Even if Stephan is with me, you don't have to feel intimidated. You can always join us. We won't chase you away, I promise."

"Really?"

"Really."

Only then did the boy heave a sigh of relief. With a bright smile, he then leaped to his feet, saying, "I'll go ask the staff for the invoice!"

"Alright."

There was a short silence as Jake and Gabriel observed their little brother run to a female staff worker. He excitedly told her about the aquariums he and his brothers had just made, and the woman couldn't help but indulge the boy, her eyes becoming tender.

"You truly have a horrible personality," Jake deadpanned after a while, shifting his gaze to Gabriel. "I don't need shock therapy. I can't interact with Tristan just fine as it is."

To this, Gabriel responded with a gentle smile. It gave Jake goosebumps. Actually, he didn't know which one of his brothers was the scariest, but whatever the answer was, he didn't want to find out.

.

.

Tristan was plastered against the glass column that stretched to the ceiling, staring at the tiny jellyfish fluttering about. He had been observing them for a good ten minutes, yet his eyes still shone with curiosity and amazement. The light in the room was dim, and the jellyfish seemed to be glowing, the trailing tentacles almost waltzing in the water. It was an entrancing sight that had captivated Tristan.

Sitting on a bench, Gabriel and Jake watched over their little brother. The plastic bag with the aquariums was put at Jake's feet, and the backpack, on Gabriel's thighs. Neither of them spoke for a long time, but the atmosphere wasn't awkward. If anything, Jake felt grateful for the respite.

"What are you thinking about?" Gabriel finally asked in a soft voice. "You've been lost in thought since earlier."

"Nothing much."

"I'm not like Stephan, and I won't insist if you don't want to talk about it." Gabriel paused to give him a comforting smile. "But know that I'm here."

Jake didn't answer, letting out a drawn-out sigh instead. He narrowed his eye, never taking it off his little brother. The child was so happy that you could almost see pink bubbles floating around him. He looked cute enough to melt the hearts of passersby. But as for Jake, a shadow of his past overlapped with Tristan's figure. He could see a young girl in his brother's stead, and the glass column mirrored a blurry face he couldn't remember well.

"It truly is nothing much," Jake said after a moment passed. "I was only remembering my kids. My youngest daughter had always been fond of marine animals and would often beg us to go to the aquarium. You know, she wanted to become a mermaid after growing up, and she bawled her eyes out when she learned humans couldn't grow fishtails."

A chuckle escaped Jake's lips. He had to comfort Elemiah for weeks before she managed to recover from the shock. She had been so angry that she ignored her mother for days, refusing to even look at her. Elisabeth had been the one to tell their daughter humans couldn't become mermaids, and she paid a hefty price for it. He could never forget his wife's desperate face and how his daughter had clung to him like a koala, hiding behind his legs whenever Elisabeth was in the vicinity. It had been adorable, he must admit.

"Do you miss your kids?"

"How can I not? But don't worry, I have already mourned them. I lived long enough in my past lives to bury two of them, after all."

A silence fell. Then, Gabriel said, "I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"If I hadn't gone back in time, your wife wouldn't have died in a shooting, and at such a young age too."

"Don't feel too bad about this," Jake shook his head. "Elizabeth wouldn't have held it against you. She had always felt guilty about what had happened to her classmate back then, and she spent her life making amends for ignoring Florence's pleas for help. So, dying at her classmate's father's hands wouldn't have angered her. Instead, I think she'd have felt relieved."

"Relieved?"

"Yes, relieved. Knowing her, she'd have thought it was a fair price to pay for driving someone to their death, especially when she could have prevented it."

"But she wasn't the one who had made Florence's life a living hell."

"It doesn't matter. She was there, yet watched from the sideline and pretended not to notice her classmate's despair. She had never been able to forgive herself for her cowardice."

"Is that why she couldn't leave you alone?"

"Definitely! It was a turning point in her life. After that event, she decided to never again turn a blind eye to other people's suffering. Thanks to this, I was saved. Man, you should have seen that flying kick…."

Jake put his fist before his mouth and chuckled. At the time, he was being beaten up by some thugs in an alley, thugs who had probably been hired by Tristan—it was something that often happened after the cricket incident. A few passersby had noticed what was happening but pretended not to and walked away. He was about to give up when a woman appeared out of nowhere and kicked an assailant in the side, sending him flying. She hit another in the head with her purse, and Jake could swear he had heard a cracking noise. While everyone was stunned silly, she gripped his wrist and quickly dragged him away.

"Oh my god, that was so scary!" she said once they were far enough and couldn't run anymore. "Beating people in broad daylight! What the hell is wrong with them?!"

"…."

"Are you alright? Do you need to go to the hospital? Holy shit, your nose is bleeding like a waterfall!"

He hadn't had the time to protest that she had already pulled him to a taxi, then the hospital. She stayed by his side, even after the police officers left, and refused to go home until he was discharged. And this was how they met in both past lives.

"She was your hero, wasn't she?"

"Yeah," Jake closed his eye, "she was."

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Edited by Clozed!! ♥

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