Chapter Text
"Noah, come greet your cousin !"
The young man stifled a laugh after his aunt had so sternly called on his younger relative. His suitcase was still unattended in the hallway, next to the shoe cupboard. From then, a naturally well-lit hall les to the kitchen where he was sitting to keep everyone that passed updated on his life.
"Your voice was too quiet, ma'am."
"Or he's too invested in chatting with Anne to hear me." Then, turning her head towards the dining room, "Noah !"
A couple of seconds later, the so-called Noah half-ran, half-glided in. He looked pleasantly surprised by the company he found, but apologized to his mother before to mind it.
"Had I called thrice, you wouldn't have remained a Devanly much longer."
Noah puffed his cheeks. "What's with the number three ?"
"You wouldn't understand. Don't stand there, go on !"
"Will !" As if a new set of emotions had been unlocked by her permission, he immediately ran off to hug his cousin. William laughed and returned his embrace, kindly rubbing Noah's back. "Ah, my favorite."
Noah stuck his tongue out. "Where have you been ?"
Will glanced at his aunt, whose focus had returned to her preparations. She spoke to her son without looking up. "He'll be staying with us for a few weeks. We'll see how well he blends in with your step-relatives, but I'm not expecting a miracle. Clear up enough space for him in your room, will you ?"
Noah listened carefully and nodded at the end.
"Right now ?"
"Have you said hello ?"
The boys exchanged a slightly confused glance. Parents...
"Yes ?"
"Then, off you go. Shoo," she added, finally turning to prod his arm with the clean end of a spatula.
Noah laughed while scurrying off. William shook his head. This boy was a ray of sunshine.
"He's not getting any taller."
"We shouldn't keep thinking of that," Auntie laughed. "My son is beautiful regardless."
William didn't voice his agreement, but didn't think less. Noah was growing up to be gorgeous indeed, spared from the teenage plague of skin disasters and unharmonious body changes. "Is uncle home ?"
"No, he has gone to the post office. He should be back soon."
William nodded. "The only Devanly, hm ?"
"He's proud of his name."
"Is Noah the oldest ?"
"No, there are two slightly older than him. Twins, I reckon."
"Well, I'd love to meet them. Think I'll end up sleeping in Noah's room ?"
"Likely, yes. I'd prefer, just to be certain you don't get involved in child's play."
"Even though he has two elders."
Auntie sighed. "Kids, you know. I didn't tell them why we were hosting you. Thought you'd know to do that better."
"Thank you, Auntie. Where — oh, I think he took my suitcase already."
"You should go after him and make sure he doesn't drop it on his own feet. I'll call someone else to help me around."
The woman had ways of giving orders. William shook his head. He felt a ghost of movement pass among his shortened curls.
"Sure. Thank you again, for everything."
She didn't reply, though he saw her smile. So he stood up and went, following his younger cousin's steps. Instead of going straight through the hall to the main door and the stairs, he went all the way through the dining, then the living room. There were many boys in the household, which was still held cleanly. He greeted them with a timid gesture. The teens didn't feel compelled to go to him. He didn't bother doing much more and exited the room. He did not expect a miracle either.
Once he had reached the first floor, he looked around and instead of getting lost, called for Noah. Following the sound of the answer, he came to the boy's room. It was a comfortable space for one, maybe too little for two, especially when one was nineteen and the other, twenty-three.
"I'm sorry."
"It's cool. I like having you around."
"Where is Anne ?"
Noah looked confused for a moment, then his face lit up upon understanding. He had paused the bedmaking to think.
"You mean Jude ? My friend ?"
"Yes, I meant Jude."
For some reason, Noah referred to her as Jude while everyone else called her Anne, or Anne-Judith for the full version — because that was the girl's name, William belatedly learned.
"We were talking over the phone. Tonight is a no-more-guests night."
He rushed through making the bed under William's amused supervision then sat on it. Seeing him still, the older boy remembered what he was after.
"Have you taken my suitcase ?"
"Yes." Noah pointed at it, still unopened in a corner. "I thought it was okay, since..."
No one would welcome him in their room. Noah looked a little saddened by the treatment his cousin was to face. Why couldn't all kids be as kind as the parents that adopted them ? He loved him dearly and would inevitably feel hurt when there was proof that not only others did not necessarily, but they would also make life harder for Will.
"It's fine, buddy. Auntie kinda told me that and I knew before coming."
He pulled the desk chair to sit, not exactly in front of Noah. The boy's room featured a large curtainless window and so many random items that didn't seem like they wouldn't fit in the same space. There was an antique radio that still worked — Noah had demonstrated it once and they had spent a few hours looking for a show worty of listening to —, books, notebooks, pages of nonsense written by Noah and his friends.
"Will, what happened at your place ?"
William bit his cheek not to laugh. "I finally got that tattoo. Want to see ?"
Noah nodded. He had been in the secret of this plan, but didn't know what kind of tattoo since will had spoken of lightning, he imagined something like that, a white dented line running across William's back. He gasped at the sight that was revealed to him instead. He was horrified out of reflex, frightened before to remind himself that it was only ink sitting durably under his cousin's skin. There was a pattern of lightning, but not the eletric arc — Will had settled for the burn that resulted from it. It was artful and so very realistic, Noah couldn't tear his eyes off it. A thick distorted line simulated the path of the burn through Will's skin. From it originated a countless amount of Lichtenberg fractals, all painted in tones that blended with Will's natural skin tones as though it was a real burn.
"It's insane. Can I touch it ?"
"Go ahead, it has healed already."
Noah expected to feel bumps over the heavily scarred area. The perfection and realness of the art didn't match the smoothness he found under his fingertips. He removed his hand and leaned back. William turned to face him and walked backwards to the bed, where he sat to wear his shirt.
"How much was it ?"
"A lot. It took a few sessions to complete, but I'm very happy with the final thing. It's like the artist has read my mind, you know ?"
Noah shook his head, still in awe. "I'm very happy for you. That's still — that's just crazy."
"I know. So that's what happened, they saw me heading to the tattoo parlor and kicked me out."
"Sorry."
"I have a good job. It's not going to be a problem."
"I wasn't discussing money, Will."
"Still gonna be fine. Tell me about you, what did I miss ?"
Noah scrunched up his nose. "I like men."
"Since when ?"
"Since always."
William nodded. "You've told anyone yet ?"
"You're the last one to know, actually."
They laughed. William cursed, fakely offended that he hadn't been told sooner, then asked how it went. Noah shrugged.
"It went well. They gave me the talk again, but they replaced girl with boy..."
"Okay, guess I don't need to tell you that STDs are still a thing."
Noah threw a pillow at him. "No, thanks. I'm not an idiot."
Will tossed the pillow back. "You're an idiot for pretty people. Even more so when they give you attention."
Noah ran a hand through his fluffled hair to try and make them look somewhat arranged. His blue eyes shone with mischief. "Dunno what you're talking about."