Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Nolen
Juno and Remi came over an hour after we’d finished breakfast. It was like a switch was turned and as soon as Remi and Derek’s eyes met, they both started crying and turned to each other in a long hug.
Juno and I had watched each other with worry, and since neither of us knew what to do, we’d just waited them out.
When their hug ended, they’d walked into the living room together, both seemingly content to just sit in silence while their tears dried up.
I’d taken Juno into the kitchen and together we made us some snacks. It felt like the only thing I could do.
“Isn’t this a bit much?” Juno asked, eyeing the plate filled with strawberries.
“Not at all,” I assured him, placing the bowl of melted chocolate next to the strawberries.
“If you say so,” he muttered and then grabbed the grapes we’d washed and pulled them from their stems.
I had some cookies I’d made while I made the waffles at breakfast, so I added those to a plate as well, not knowing what types of treats Remi preferred.
“Thank you for doing this, by the way,” he said, shooting me a smile. “Remi was pretty heartbroken after the meeting, so this is just what he needs.”
“It was Derek’s idea,” I admitted. “He knew you’d be informed of everything by the rulers this morning, and he wanted Remi to be here so they could help each other.”
“Still weird to think that they’re brothers,” Juno said, smiling as he made the cookies look all fancy on the plate. It seemed I wasn’t the only one who wanted this to be perfect.
“Yeah, and they have a lot of half-siblings out there, too,” I said, feeling a bit guilty over not being able to mention Aiden.
“Even with all those siblings, I doubt Remi would want to meet all of them. I think because he already knows Derek, that their bond will be stronger now.”
I couldn’t agree more, but I only nodded and gestured with a head tilt for him to follow. We each had two plates of snacks, plenty for all four of us, and we sat them down on the coffee table, noticing how both of them still hadn’t spoken.
“You two want some strawberries?” I asked, keeping my tone warm and happy, hoping it would bring them out of their silence.
Derek’s brown eyes gleamed as he watched me, then he smiled. “Please?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle. Sitting down next to him on the couch, I dipped a strawberry in the chocolate and fed it to him, making him laugh and giggle.
I was so into the moment, that I briefly forgot we weren’t alone, but when I looked at Remi and Juno, they only looked at us with smiles on their faces.
Soon, Juno began feeding Remi, too, and we shared some laughs as we talked and ate.
I even got a few strawberries fed to me by Derek. I was one lucky guy.
Four hours later, Juno pulled me into the kitchen, telling Remi and Derek that we were going to clean up so they could talk privately. I didn’t mind one bit. We’d had lots of fun with them, and I could tell Remi and Derek had both needed this.
“This had been more fun than I thought it would be,” Juno admitted, putting our used plates into the dishwasher.
“You thought it would be more… sad?” I asked, because I’d thought that myself.
“Well, yeah? Or at least, less fun. I thought they would talk more about feelings and such, but it seemed they both just wanted company.”
“I hadn’t known how close they were until now,” I admitted reluctantly. I didn’t like telling Juno how little I knew about Derek.
“Me neither. Remi had told me they weren’t friends, just roommates. Maybe this brought them closer?” I was relieved to hear that.
“Want to come over again tomorrow?” I asked, wanting to keep this going until we had to leave.
“Yeah, sounds perfect.”
We ended up spending the whole week with Remi and Juno, using the nights for ourselves.
It was amazing to see how much Remi and Derek were alike, and according to them both, they’d never realized until now just how well they fit together.
It was honestly cute to watch. Two brothers finally bonding as brothers should.
I couldn’t help but think about Aiden, though.
If we found him, he would get here and be swarmed with half siblings and one twin, that had to be a lot to deal with all at once.
We would definitely try to keep him a secret, for his own sake, but also for Derek’s.
There would be a lot less strain on their relationship if they could take it at their own pace, even if I somehow already knew they would take one look at one another and just click.
It had to be a twin thing for sure. I also knew that if Aiden wouldn’t return with us, that it would break Derek’s heart.
But why would he stay? If he was anything like their half siblings, they’d never felt like they belonged in their world.
He might feel the need to escape it, too.
Today was the day before we had to leave to find Aiden, and we only had an hour left before we’d part with Juno and Remi.
I stood in the living room and watched Remi and Derek paint on some canvases on the grass.
Why? Because Juno had thought it would be a fun activity for us to do.
We’d told them that Derek needed “grass time” and while that was true enough, it was still funny to see Juno go out of his way to plan activities for us that could happen on the grass.
Juno was in the kitchen making some kind of bubbly drink for us all to enjoy, and I’d just grabbed us some cookies, since they’d loved the ones I’d baked the first day they came over.
“Those aren’t the ones I ordered,” Juno said, coming up on my left side with two drinks in hand, eying the cookies with a frown.
I rolled my eyes. “They’re the same, I just ran out of regular chocolate so I used white instead.”
“Hmm,” was all he said, waiting for me to open the backdoor.
Remi and Derek’s heads shot up from their work and smiles formed on their faces when they saw us bringing out the good stuff.
“I’ve been dying for another cookie,” Derek groaned, grabbing one as soon as I set the plate down on our blanket.
“What? You already tasted them?!” Juno accused goodheartedly.
“Duh,” Derek said. “Someone had to test if they were good enough for company.”
Juno seemed to respect that answer and just nodded.
Remi sipped his drink while Juno went back inside for the last two drinks. I held Derek’s for him while he nibbled on his cookie with one hand and painted with his other.
“You still won’t tell us where you’re going tomorrow?” Remi asked, and not for the first time.
I shook my head. “Nope. But I promise you will be the first to know when we decide to tell people.”
“You’re not getting married, are you? Because I want to be there for that,” Remi questioned suspiciously.
Derek snorted out a laugh. “Why would we bother with marriage? Being mated is final in a much more permanent way than marriage is.”
“For the ceremony,” Remi replied easily. “To celebrate your love with your closest friends and family.”
“But that’s a mating ceremony?” I stated, but it somehow sounded like a question.
“True, but you can’t blame me for trying to figure out why you’re so secretive.”
I knew Remi only worried, so he was right, I couldn’t blame him for trying to guess it. I had a tiny desire to tell him that he’d never guess it, but that would only spur him on.
Derek spoke then, not looking away from his painting as he did so. “We can tell you that it isn’t only about us, so when we keep it a secret, it’s because we have to respect the privacy of someone else, too.”
“Oh,” Remi said, seeming surprised by that.
“I, um, hope nothing is wrong or that no one is dying or something.” Then he quickly slapped a hand over his mouth, like that might be the reason and he was afraid to bring it up.
I doubted Derek had told Remi much about his mother and upbringing, but knowing how awful Remi’s parents had been, maybe they had talked about it?
Juno’s voice startled me. “Did you ask them about something sexual?”
“What?!” Remi screeched.
Juno seemed to stumble back at that. “You had your hands over your mouth, what else was I supposed to think?”
“I don’t know! Something less creepy maybe?!”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. Derek was trying so hard not to join in and soon lost it too, and then Juno and Remi joined us, all of us feeling lighter. It really was the perfect way to end the day before we left for who knew how long.