Red x Blue - The Subject of Illusion (Four Swords Modern AU)

Chapter 7

Red sat at the kitchen table with Muffin held close to his body. He was still in his bunny-printed pajamas and his eyes were half-lidded from tiredness. Letting out a small yawn, he sloppily picked up the spoon in front of him and slowly ate his cereal.

"Didn't get much sleep last night?" Green asked, sitting down beside him.

Red shook his head. "I kept having nightmares again..."

Green sighed. "And I bet I know what about."

"Do you really think Cynthia will leave me alone? Please be honest."

Green took a few moments to reply. Red knew that his brother often lied to him to save his feelings. "I...really don't know. I mean, with her, who knows. She either will or she won't. But even so, I'm not allowing her to lay a single finger on you ever again."

Red managed a small and sleepy smile and continued eating. "By the way, what time is it? I think I slept in this morning."

Green pulled his phone out from his front pocket. "Uh... Eight thirty-two. That's kind of early, actually."

The younger blonde almost choked on his breakfast. It was almost nine already?! "Oh shoot! I'm gonna be late!" His body suddenly worked on overdrive and he ate as much cereal as he could before gulping the rest of the milk down from the bowl.

"Late for what?" Green asked, slightly surprised.

"I'm spending the day with Blue again! He'll be here at nine!" Red responded, both panicked and excited at the same time. He got up from his chair and was about to race back upstairs to get dressed, but Green beat him to it and stopped him.

"Just wait a moment, Red," he began, gently but firmly holding his little brother's shoulders. "Are you sure that...Blue can keep you safe?"

Red smiled warmly and placed his hands over Green's after tucking his bear underneath one arm. "Of course I'm sure. Don't worry about me, Green. What happened to me yesterday went down before Blue arrived, so it wasn't his fault."

The older blonde sighed in defeat and let Red go. "Alright. If you think that you'll be fine. Just promise to call me if something goes wrong, okay? Even if it's minor."

Red giggled. "Sure thing, big brother!" With that, Red headed upstairs and into his room.

The first thing he did was place Muffin back on his unmade bed. He then opened up his wardrobe and trailed his gaze along the plethora of things he could wear. But first though, he decided to pull open his window and test the air to see how cold or warm it was today. He stuck his arm out and held it there for a few seconds. Hmm, it's a little warm, and it'll probably get warmer later. Better wear something cool, he concluded. He turned back to his rack of clothing and pulled out some crimson shorts and a deep red and gray-blue tartan flannel t-shirt that hugged his body. He buttoned it up all the way, including the collar, and then slipped on his shorts that came to the middle of his thighs. He looked himself over, happy that his arms and legs would be able to breathe, and headed back downstairs to put his shoes on. They were simple white and red high-top sneakers with silver-colored laces.

"Warm today?" Green asked from the sofa in the living room.

"Yeah. I hope it doesn't get too hot. I wish the weather wouldn't be so irregular lately," Red replied, standing up and looking over at the clock. It was roughly five minutes past, and hopefully Blue wasn't late, knowing him and what he was like. He jumped up after lacing his shoes and skipped over to the window to check for his older friend. Sure enough, Blue was casually leaning against one of the lamp posts by the driveway. He was staring out at the road with a tired and angry expression, most likely regretting agreeing to come out so early in the morning.