The Brotherhood and Me

Chapter 10

So...I've been bad. Sorry. I started watching Supernatural. All 14 seasons. But I'm done now, so hopefully I can get back on track. This chapter was supposed to include Kota's (and Nathan's by default) story, but you waited long enough. Again, I'm sorry!!! I love you. I love your comments.
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Brandon, North and I return to the house just in time to witness a heated, though whispered, argument between Luke and Gabriel in the kitchen. I tilt my head in an attempt to listen, though I should probably mind my own business. I can clearly make out Gabriel saying he doesn’t want to talk about it, but I can’t quite catch what it is Luke wants to talk about.

“About damn time” I hear North mumble behind me. “I was wondering if they were ever going to kiss and make up.”

“What do you mean?” I ask him in a low voice, trying to avoid catching Luke and Gabriel’s attention.

“Those two are best friends, but they can barely stand to be in the same room here lately” North replies.

“I noticed that too” Brandon agrees. “I just thought they were nervous about our girl.”

“Nah, this is something else” North says.

“Maybe we can help” I say, entering the kitchen before anyone can stop me. “Hi Luke. Hi Meanie. How was your day?”

“Fine” both boys answer in unison, which would have been neat if they weren’t awkwardly staring at the floor.

“What’s wrong?” I ask quietly.

“I don’t know, ask Gabriel” Luke replies in a voice that can only be described as bitter. While I’ve only known him a day and a half, I can tell that the tone of voice is foreign for him.

“Luke” North snaps. “Don’t be a dick.”

“Whatever, it’s no big deal. We’re fine” Gabriel replies, turning to walk out of the kitchen.

“Wait, Meanie, talk to me” I ask, grabbing his arm to halt his progress. “North says you and Luke are best friends, but I’ve never even seen you speak to one another. That’s not okay.”

“No offense, Trouble, but it’s actually a private thing” Gabriel replies.

“No offense, Meanie, but so is my underwear. Now talk to me” I say back, only half joking. If he gets to pick out my panties, there will be no secrets between us.

“She’s got ya there” Brandon laughs. “What’s going on between you two? You used to be glued at the hip.”

“God, it’s really private guys. Can you just leave it alone?” Gabriel begs.

“Alright” I agree. “If you want to have your secrets, then I guess I can keep my underwear a secret too. I might even go back to wearing my old worn out cotton things.”

I turn to walk out of the kitchen, but this time Gabriel grabs my arm to stop me. “You wouldn’t.”

“I don’t want to, but I don’t want to have someone seeing me naked, or even almost naked, if they don’t trust me” I tell him.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Trouble” Gabriel sighs. “It’s just really embarrassing.”

“That’s why I wanted to talk about it” Luke interjects, sounding calmer now. “I don’t want you to feel embarrassed or ashamed. It happened, no big deal.”

“But it fucking didn’t happen and that’s the motherfucking point” Gabriel says back, a little bitterness seeping into his voice.

“Oh” Brandon says. “I think I get it.”

“Good” North barks. “Anyone plan on telling me what the fuck is going on?”

“They tried to fool around with each other” Brandon replies, chuckling a little.

North startles us all with his loud, echoing laugh. “That was stupid.” He says when he finally settles down.

“North, that’s mean. Don’t call them stupid” I admonish. “Luke? Gabriel? What happened?”

“Look, it’s no big deal. There were four of us fooling around. Everything was fine until Marc and Nathan paired off. I offered to help him out, but he kinda lost it. He freaked out and this is the first time we’re attempting to talk. Well, I’m attempting to talk.” Luke explains.

“Lost it?” I ask. “You mean he got upset with you?”

“No, Baby” North says, smiling at me. “His dick deflated like a popped balloon.”

“Thanks, asshole” Gabriel grumbles.

“It’s not surprising, guys” Brandon offers. “If North tried to suck my dick, it would shrivel up and hide inside my colon.”

“Really?” Gabriel asks. “But he’s not ugly. Why wouldn’t you let him?”

“Are you calling me ugly?” Luke asks, but he has a smile on his face.

“Shut the fuck up a minute, dude” Gabriel tells him, but there’s no longer any heat behind his words. “Really, why?”

“Because he’s my best friend” North picks up the explanation. “Luke, would you be able to let me suck your dick?”

“Ew, gross. No way!” Luke exclaims.

“Exactly” North concludes.

“But we’re not brothers” Gabriel continues. “Why does the idea of him touching me freak me out so much?”

“You’re brothers of the heart” Brandon tells him, offering a hard slap to the shorter boy’s back.

“Does that mean that you two” I indicate Brandon and North, “and you two” I continue, indicating Gabriel and Luke, “could never be with me at the same time?”

All four boys groan and throw me out of the kitchen so they can get started on dinner.

I enter the sitting room to see Kota and Victor smiling at each other. They both put a finger to their lips to let me know to keep their presence quiet. I offer them a smile in return and take a seat next to Victor. From our seats, we can clearly hear the boys in the kitchen.

“She’s going to be the death of me” North’s growling voice floats out to us.

“No fucking kidding” Gabriel agrees. “Every time she opens her mouth, I want to either…”

Gabriel’s words are cut off from my hearing by the hands clamped over them. I look up to see a wide-eyed, blushing Kota directing Victor to escort me from the room. I see Kota wince at what I’m guessing are more words from the kitchen I’m not allowed to hear.

Once we’re further from the kitchen, Victor removes his hands from my ears.

“Sorry about that” he tells me. “We should have known better than to let you eavesdrop on boys talking about being horny.”

“Is that what that was?” I ask. “What was Gabriel going to say?”

“Well, what he actually said was something about kissing, but I really thought he was going to be dirtier than that” Victor replies. “Anyway, are you ready for your first piano lesson?”

“Really?” I perk up at the offer. “Now?”

“Sure. We have a few hours before dinner” he replies.

“And when he’s done with you, I thought we could go for a walk out back” Kota offers. “I went to pick up Max earlier and he’ll need a walk by then.”

“Who’s Max?” I ask nervously. I don’t do well around strangers. Well, I assume I don’t. I haven’t actually had to deal with very many.

“He’s my dog” Kota replies with a beaming smile. “You’ll love him.”

My eyes widen. “I’ve never seen a dog in person before. What kind is he?”

“He’s a Golden retriever” Kota tells me. “I’ll come get you in about an hour and we’ll go for that walk, okay?”

“Okay” I agree happily, now excited to get through the music lesson so I can meet a real, live dog for the first time.

Victor leads me to a large, padded room at the back of the large condo. Situated in the middle of the room is a sleek, black baby grand piano with a comfortable-looking padded bench in front of the gleaming white keys.

“I lied” Victor confesses, when we come to a stop by the piano. “I actually can’t teach you anything until you learn the notes, but I wanted some alone time with you.”

“That’s okay. I’d like to spend some time with you too” I tell him. “I’d like to spend some alone time with each of you, honestly.”

“I would be worried if you didn’t, I guess” Victor replies, staring at his feet.

“So, how will I learn the notes I need to learn?” I ask, breaking the awkward silence that settles between us.

“I got you a few books” he tells me, still staring at his feet.

“Victor?” I ask, unsure how to handle the situation. My interactions with the others seemed to flow much easier than this.

“I’m nervous. Hold on. I just need a minute” he replies.

“Um, okay” I say. I look over at the piano to give Victor a little privacy. I run my eyes over the smooth lines of the instrument. It looks so beautiful. So powerful.

“Do you want me to play something?” He asks, a small smile curving his lips now.

“Will you?” I ask him hopefully. “I absolutely love hearing your music.”

“Whatever the lady wants, the lady gets” he says jokingly. I hope.

I listen intently as Victor plays a sweet melody for me, not taking his eyes off my face. I’m mesmerized by both his ability and the intense fire that I see in his eyes every time they meet mine. It’s almost like his music is reaching out to stroke my cheek and his gaze is following in its path. The sensation gives me chills.

When he finishes the song, I smile brightly at him, silently asking for him to play another. He automatically begins another song, this one softer. Almost like a lullaby.

“Where did you learn to play?” I ask him, hoping we can talk without breaking his concentration on the tune he’s playing.

“My grandmother taught me” he says. “I’ve been playing since before I could really talk. At least since before I can remember.”

“Really?” I ask him, surprised. I was lucky to know my colors by that age.

“We used to spend hours making up songs to play for each other” he continues. “My favorite game was when one of us would start a song and the other would continue it.”

“It sounds like you have a really wonderful grandmother” I tell him.

“She was a wonderful grandmother” he says sadly, his lullaby reflecting the sadness I hear in his voice.

“Was?” I ask, feeling awful for making him sad.

“She died a few years ago” he replies on a sigh. “I guess I should tell you the whole story.”

“You don’t have to” I tell him. “I don’t want you to be sad.”

“Did North tell you his story?” Victor asks.

“He did” I tell him, feeling my eyes well with tears at the memory of their tragedy.

“Well, then, I want you to know about my family too” Victor says. “I want us to know everything about each other.”

“You do?” I ask with surprise evident in my voice.

“Of course I do” he says. “I want us to spend our lives together and we need to know each other for that to happen.”

“You want me?” I ask, again with surprise in my voice. No one has ever made me feel wanted before. Logically, I know that these two teams want a wife, but until Victor said he wanted to share our lives with each other it never occurred to me that they wanted me.

“Oh, Sang” Victor smiles at me. “You are the Princess this family has needed for years. Both families, if I’m being honest. You’re so sweet and gentle, but the way to stand up to Mr. B makes you fierce. We can all see it. So yes, we want you.”

“I want you too” I tell him. “I know we just met and I don’t know all of your personalities yet, but I always thought that my opinions wouldn’t matter once I was married. I could never have dreamed that I would get the opportunity to be a part of such a loving family.”

“I’m glad that you want us. Want me” he says. “I’m also glad that you want to get to know us. Wouldn’t it be weird trying to marry a group of strangers?”

“Yes. That was my biggest fear growing up” I reply. “Well, that and snakes. I really don’t like snakes.”

Victor laughs, “I guess that means no pet snakes then?”

“No, thank you” I say. “Did you have any pets growing up?” I ask him.

“Oh, no. Mother was allergic to anything furry, unless she was wearing it. And I’ve never been fond of reptiles myself” he says.

“She wore furry things?” I ask in bewilderment.

“Have you ever seen a fur coat in any of your internet browsing?” He replies.

“Oh, yes. Sorry. For some reason I automatically thought of a cat or dog sweater” I tell him, giggling at myself.

He chuckles along with me, but it fades into a long sigh. “Come have a seat with me, I’ll tell you my story”

I quickly sit beside him on the piano bench and immediately notice the tingles along the left side of my body where we’re touching. I duck my head down to hide my smile, not wanting him to think I’m smiling at what will probably be a sad story. In reality, I’m smiling because it seems all the boys are going to give me these tingling feelings and I think they can feel them too.

“Your story?” I prompt, after noticing that we’ve been sitting in silence for several minutes.

“My life has never been wonderful” Victor begins, “but at one time, I had family that loved me and that I loved in return.”

My stomach rolls at the thought of a younger Victor in a situation similar to North and Luke.

“My grandmother on Mother’s side was born into a very wealthy family, but she still managed to live a relatively modest life. Possibly because of the time period that she went into introductions, or possibly because of her wealth, she ended up with only two husbands.” Victor explains.

“Isn’t that rare?” I ask him, trying to think of any marriage that had less than three or four husbands, but coming up with nothing.

“In those days, it was less rare. Communes were still a new thing, so people were easing their way into it.” Victor replies. “Anyway, my grandparents only had my mother and were quite happy to have had a daughter on their one and only try. But by the time Mother went to introductions, it was unheard of for a woman to have less than three husbands. So, Mother married my fathers; Caleb, Trent and Robert. It took Mother several years to conceive me and by the time I was born, she was past the time in which it would be safe for her to carry another child. My grandmother was thrilled to have a grandson, so she doted on me.” At this, Victor sighs and begins to play a low tune on the piano.

The music creates a foreboding atmosphere in the room and I understand that this story is about to become a tragedy. “But?” I prompt.

“My fathers were ready to take control of the estate and the family business, which was actually my music. See, my grandmother was a rather gifted musician until she retired after having Mother. So she was ecstatic that I was able to pick up where she left off at such a young age.” Victor explains.

“How old were you?” I ask him.

“I could play Mozart before I could talk” he replies. “It was quite impressive then. Now I’m just another guy that can play the piano.”

“That’s not true at all” I tell him. “Your music is amazing. I can feel it in my bones when I hear one of your pieces.”

“Thank you, Princess” he replies, continuing to play his sad song. “But my fathers were growing impatient with my grandmother and her denial of their claim to both my royalties and her estate. So, one afternoon while I was having a sound check for my upcoming concert, they pushed her down the stairs.”

“Oh, Victor. That’s awful” I gasp in shock. I knew his story would be sad, but I couldn’t imagine this kind of pain.

“She died quickly. Or so I’m told. She never experienced any pain. I guess I’m thankful for that, at least” he says. “But my fathers didn’t know that my grandmother was quite fond of my other passion and she let me dabble in computer networking, as well as security and surveillance. Her house was well equipped with hidden cameras and an alarm system. It took me several weeks to get up the nerve to watch the video, but when I finally did, I threw up in my trashcan and then called my grandfathers.”

“You had to watch your fathers murder your grandmother?” I ask him in alarm. What kind of mental anguish that must have caused him at such an impressionable age.

“I’m glad that I did” Victor says vehemently. “If I hadn’t, then I might have been next on their hit list.”

“What? But why?” I ask him.

“After my fathers were taken to prison, we had to attend the reading of my grandmother’s last will and testament” Victor says, his sad song slowing dramatically. “She left me as sole heir to her entire estate. My grandfathers inherited her old ranch house just outside the city and some money to get by for the rest of their lives, but it wasn’t at all what they were expecting to get. I think they were hurt by her decision.”

“I can kind of understand them being hurt, but she was trying to take care of you. They understood that, right?” I ask him.

“No, Princess” Victor says sadly. “Mother and my grandfathers have never forgiven me for taking what they thought was theirs.”

“But, that’s not your fault. You didn’t ask for all her money” I say, indignant for the boy that was shunned by his entire family.

“I didn’t, but some people aren’t able to be logical when money is involved. I mean, look at what my fathers did for money” he replies. “But, none of that matters. Shortly after that, I met Mr. B and I learned what having a family feels like. Even though I miss her, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

“What about your mom? Where is she now?” I ask him.

Victor laughs, “actually, that part of my story is a bit nasty. She married my grandfather. The one that isn’t her biological father.”

“Oh my” I say, then giggle. “That’s…well, that’s just sordid.”

“To each their own, I suppose” he replies. “I could never imagine doing something like that.”

“You mean raising a child like it’s your own and then…you know, with them?” I ask, suddenly too shy to talk about sex with him while we’re alone like this.

“Exactly” he says. “Especially since a child with you will most likely look like one of my brothers. That’s just strange.”

“You think about having children with me?” I ask him, looking over to find his eyes on me.

“I love the family I have now, but I want everything else that comes with it” he replies, stilling his hands on the piano. He runs a finger down my cheek. “I want my brothers, a wife, children, pets, all of it.”

My breathing picks up as his hand continues to stroke my face, but my eyes stay glued to his. “But do you think about having children with me?”

“I’ve not known you for very long, so my mind is still stuck on convincing you to marry us” he says. “But I will admit to thinking about making love to you. That’s almost the same, isn’t it?”

“It is” I murmur, glancing down in time to see him lick his lips. “But you don’t have to convince me to marry you, Victor. There’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be.”

“I know that you can’t know for sure since you’ve never been anywhere, but I still like hearing the words” he says.

“It’s true that I’ve never been anywhere, but you travel a lot, right?” I say, looking back up into his blazing eyes.

“I can, if that’s what you want” he says, inching closer.

“Then I can honestly say, wherever you are is where I want to be” I tell him.

Instead of responding, his lips lightly brush mine. My instinct is to throw myself into the kiss like I did with North, but I hold back. I have a feeling that Victor requires a bit more finesse than my black-clad biker does. I brush my lips across his in encouragement instead. His sharp intake of breath lets me know he approves, but he holds himself back from deepening the kiss. Instead, he continues lightly teasing my lips with his and stroking my cheek with his fingertips.

I feel his other hand come up to gently stroke along my ribcage, his fingers dancing along my side like he’s playing a tune only he can hear. The sensation urges me to push my lips more firmly into his. He tilts my head to the side in an attempt to perfect the fit of our mouths. I run my tongue along his lower lip, requesting entrance. He threads his fingers through my hair and deepens the kiss, making me sigh in contentment.

Before I can start to really enjoy the kiss, he pulls back with a groan. “Sorry, Kota just buzzed my phone. We’re out of time” Victor says. “Do you want me to tell him to go away?”


“Ten more minutes” I tell him, unable to fully open my eyes yet.

I pull his face closer so that I reach his lips, making him chuckle at my enthusiasm. His laugh quickly turns to a moan of approval when I dive back into the kiss with the same enthusiasm we left off. His lips are sweet and his scent of moss and berries fills my nose, making me think of a forest just after a spring rain. The combination of his scent, his taste and his hands on my side is heady and I’m soon lost to the feelings.

“Well, that explains why you weren’t answering your phone” I hear Kota say from the door.

I feel Victor’s body tense next to me. “Sorry, man” Victor sighs, pulling back a scant few inches from my face. “She distracted me.”

“I can see that” Kota says. “Sang? Do you want to stay here?”

“Victor? Do you mind if I go with Kota or do you want me to stay with you?” I ask.

“I always want you to stay with me, but you should go with Kota. I need to take a walk” Victor replies, kissing my forehead sweetly.

“We’re going for a walk…” I begin to say, but Victor interrupts me.

“Not that kind of walk, Princess” he says. “It’s okay. I’ll see you at dinner, okay?”

“Alright” I tell him. I turn to Kota, “I just need to drop my music books off in my room and then we can go.”

“I can take them” Victor says, pushing me to stand and walk toward Kota. “Max is probably ready to beg for a bathroom break.”

I smile at the reminder that I get to meet a dog for the first time ever. “He’s a nice dog?” I ask.

“He is” Kota tells me, taking my hand in his. “Though I’m not sure how he’ll react to you. He’s never met a girl before.”

“What about your mom?” I ask, following him out of the music room, trying to ignore the tingles racing up and down my arm.

“Dogs aren’t allowed where my mom lives” he says.

“Well, what about girl dogs?” I ask. “Surely he’s met a girl dog before.”

“I’m sure when he was born there were females in the litter, but I doubt he remembers that far back” Kota replies. “It’ll be okay. He’s a well trained dog.”

We reach the stairs leading to the boys’ rooms upstairs and I first notice Nathan leaning on the wall by the door leading to the back yard. His eyes are closed, but I can tell from the change in his posture that he notices our approach. The second thing I notice is the black leash in his hand attached to a beautiful golden dog sitting patiently by his feet.

The dog whips his head around to watch us walking down the hall in his direction. I halt my forward progress to take a good look at the animal. I watch as his head tilts to the side and his nostrils flair to take in my scent, which probably has a bit of North, Brandon and Victor mixed into it. My eyes widen when the dog pops up from his seated position and bounds straight at me. Somehow, he must have jerked the leash from Nathan’s hands, because before I know it, I’m laying on my back with a huge dog sitting on my chest and licking my face.

I can barely catch my breath, but I can’t help the giggles that start escaping. “That tickles!”

Nathan and Kota are both laughing while trying to pull the beast off of me. “Max, down!” Kota commands.

Immediately, Max backs away from my face, but plops his furry butt down on my lap. At least he’s giving me room to sit up.

“I think it’s safe to say that he likes her” Nathan tells Kota, unable to stop laughing.

“So it would seem” he replies. “Is he too heavy for you, Sang?”

“He’s perfect” I giggle, wrapping my arms around the friendly dog, earning myself another lick to the cheek.