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Eleven o'clock in the evening. Friday. The working TV chatters meaninglessly in the kitchen, dishwashing liquid set on the table near MePhone's resting head as he dozes off. Today was not the best day for him. Starting with a shitty shift at job, and ending with... a sudden message from his father. MePhone never expected that he would text him at all. Usually, his father only texts because he needs something. No hello or how are you, just business.
...But today was an exception.
Four had never been able to get along with his father since childhood. Their relationship was... strained. They often had arguments, yet which ended with both going to their rooms, not wanting to continue the pointless argument.
This is so unnerving that sometimes you want to forget about his existence, which, unfortunately, is not possible for him.
After MePhone noticed his message, he did not respond to it. He ignored him.
Trying to distract himself, he decided to do some deep cleaning around the house, and ended up falling asleep at the table, listening to the news on TV while he only wanted to take a short break.
A door slam was heard in the corridor, which meant the arrival of his twin brother.
MePhone4S.
His brother spends most of the time at work, which is why the two don't really see each other except in the evenings during dinner. Even in the morning, when four gets up for work, he doesn’t see his brother that leaves before him and disappears for all day.
Taking off his street shoes and throwing his jacket on the hanger, he headed to his room, with the intention to finally stretch his legs and relax, before noticing the light on in the kitchen. Usually, the elder MePhone is busy with something when he returns from work. From silly drawings to baking cookies. But this time there was only silence left, not counting the TV on. With a tired sigh, 4S headed towards the kitchen before stopping in the doorway, looking at his brother's sleeping body.
Wow
Cool.
To think about it, he could just leave him here and go back to his room to rest. 4S thought this was a good idea. He then could tease his brother about this stupidity later.
Not everyone likes waking up in the kitchen with sore limbs.
A smirk appeared on his face. Going to the refrigerator to take something to eat, he discovered that there was nothing except the remains of used vegetables and two pairs of eggs. His expression dropped just a little. Great, now it turns out that he needs to go to the store and cook dinner. With his hair disheveled, and himself incredibly tired. The grin completely disappeared from his face when he realized that, unfortunately, he would have to postpone his idea for the future and get ready to go to the store. The younger one doesn’t want to go there now, just after returning from work. This is some kind of mockery.
He frowned and closed the refrigerator. His gaze darted to his brother, who was sleeping quietly with his head on the table. Approaching him, he carefully placed his hand on his shoulder, lightly patting it.
“Four, wake up”
4S tried to speak quietly so as not to scare his brother, but apparently that made no point. Silence. “Four, come on, wake up you asshole. Earth to four." He said this louder when he shook his shoulder. This time a quiet groan was heard before the first signs of awakening from MePhone4 appeared.
Opening his eyes sleepily, Four tried to figure out what was going on before he saw his brother standing in front of him, staring with a disgruntled look on his face. He let out a tired groan as he tried to straighten his back. He ran his hand through his disheveled hair.
“Good morning, sleeping beauty. I have a surprise for you.” 4S rests his hand on the table as he looks at his older brother, who is slowly coming to senses. Of course, he had moments when he could catch his brother sleeping, but this happened in his own room, not in the kitchen. After tapping the table with his fingers a couple of times, he continued talking when he was sure that his brother was now listening.
“Finally... I don’t even want to know why you’re sleeping here. Get off your lazy ass and go to the store, we have nothing to eat.”
4S crossed his arms over his chest, giving a stern look at his brother through his glasses. MePhone4 just huffed as he looked out the window. It's already dark there. The drowsiness quickly passed as he looked at his brother with surprise. How long did he sleep for..? The last thing he remembers is that he sat down to rest... But it was still bright outside.
“What time is it now?” Four asked sheepishly as his brother just grinned in response.
“Eleven PM. If you hurry up, then so be it, I’ll cook dinner.” Eleven pm? MePhone, to put it mildly, was very surprised. It looked like he's unlikely to fall asleep anytime soon. He got reminded of his father's message. Is it worth talking to 4S about it..? He is his brother, they always share with each other something that bothers them, of course, but... he didn't want to do it now. Maybe if he remains silent, they will have less problems..? Shaking his head to drive away unnecessary thoughts, MePhone stood up and lazily walked into the corridor.
He is not in the mood for protests now, and there is no point in sending his brother for groceries. 4S receives more salary than him and provides for both of them. Going to the store instead, or somehow helping around the house, is the least that Four can do. He needed to change own job in all honesty. He didn’t like it anyway.
Having quickly dressed, he left the apartment.
Stepping outside, the cool autumn wind blew into his face, making him wince slightly. It was cozy and warm at home, but cold outside. At least the store was not so far from home, unlike the jobs both worked at. An hour's ride by bus if you're lucky and there are no traffic jams. The two of them were grateful that they were able to rent an apartment in a quiet area, as the one they had previously lived in with their father was not at all like that. There are no noisy neighbors here, which is nice. During the two years that they have lived here, they have managed to get to know some of them. Their older brother actually offered to help before, worried that they couldn't handle it together, but they refused. It's nice when your brother cares about you though, unlike your dad, who mostly only thinks about his own business. Walking along the road, MePhone stopped abruptly when he remembered that he didn’t even know what to buy. He didn't have a grocery list with him, which he usually has so he doesn't forget anything due to his memory issues. There was a sigh as he continued walking into the store before it closed. He'll have to buy it at random; if his brother wouldn't like something, he can easily blame him for not giving accurate info. Imagining his brother's angry face turning red to match the color of his hair, he chuckled quietly.
The shopping was successful. There was almost no one there, which were good news for four. After leaving the store, he headed home, holding a bag of groceries in his hands. Walking along the road, he again thought about the message from his father. He didn't know whether to answer him or not. On one hand, if he does not answer, then he will write 4S, which isn't a nice deal. He doesn’t want to get hit in the head by his brother while he’s already working as hard as he can... But he doesn’t want to answer his father either. He was never interested in them! Only if he himself calls him and asks how he’s doing, which he didn’t like to do. Then why is he obliged to answer him? He doesn't want to contact him, yet he will have to.
Continuing to walk home, thinking about his further actions, MePhone is abruptly interrupted by one sound. He stops and raises his head. What was it? Thinking that he was just imagining it, he wanted to continue walking, when suddenly the same sound was heard again. Something quiet, even squeaky, more like meowing. Looking at the nearby bushes, he realized that the sound was coming from them.
Carefully approaching, he looked inside to check when he saw a small, white, fluffy kitten. It meowed pleadingly, looking up at the stranger. It looked like it was a couple of months old... And didn't seem to have a mother cat or an owner. It sounds like it wants to eat as it continues to meow and stare at the stranger. MePhone looked at it for a couple of seconds, thinking what to do.
He can't leave a defenseless and needy creature right here on the cold street, can he? Although, he knows that if he takes it with him, he will have to feed and provide it with all the needs too, and this is a much bigger spent of money. But he doesn't want anything to happen to the little creature. It reminds him of the times when he still lived with his father. He remembers asking him to get a pet, but he kept getting rejected. Cobs said that animals only cause trouble, but looking at this creature, it seems like nonsense... Without hesitation, MePhone bends down and takes the kitten. The only answer is a meow.
“Hey little friend... Do you want to come with me?”
The cat meows and cuddles up to him as a smile appears on MePhone's face. He takes this as a sign of agreement. Maybe... Maybe his brother will like it. If so, then they could look after it together, but if not, well, he will have to take responsibility for this kitten himself. Four continued on his way home, clutching the kitten to his chest.
“If I had known you would be gone for so long, I would have kicked your lazy ass and go out myself.” 4S is standing in the hallway with wet hair, obviously after a shower. He watches his brother enter the apartment, closing the door behind him and placing the bag of groceries on the floor. The younger brother sighs in disappointment. “You were gone for almost two hours, seriously, what did you do there for so long-” 4S doesn’t finish his sentence when he sees the small fluffy cat in his brother’s arms. Disappointment and dissatisfaction were quickly replaced with curiosity. "Where did you find it?"
“Um... on the way home. I don't think it has an owner or anything. It looked lost, so I thought I might-” 4S instantly interrupts his brother and takes the kitten from his arms.
“Yeah, yeah, shut up.”
4S begins to stroke the kitten’s head when in response he hears it purr. Four looks at him confused. This... isn't what he expected. Meanwhile, instead of a sullen expression, 4S has a smile as he prepares to leave with the cat, but stops to have one last word with his brother. “And yes, about dinner. Remember when I said that I would cook? Forget about it, now it’s your concern, and my concern is to take care of the cat.” He went into the bathroom giggling, probably to wash the cat after the outside. Four just sighs in annoyance. Maybe he deserved it. Taking off his street clothes, he was about to take the package when he felt a slight vibration in his pocket. It was his phone. He carefully took it out as he checked the notifications. It was his father... He didn't expect him to be awake at this hour. He remembers he was used to always go to bed early. At nine o'clock in the evening they already had curfew. He stands there for a couple of seconds, looking at the message, before he hears a small rumble in the bathtub, his brother's loud grunts of displeasure, and the water turning on. Looks like 4S is already doing his thing. MePhone4 finally opens the messenger reluctantly.
“I would like to know if you two have any plans for the next three days. I need you to pay a visit.”
“I'm still waiting, MePhone4.”
This makes him a little worried. He doesn't have any options in his head as to why Cobs would want them to come to him.
It seemed like his brother and him didn't have any plans... After standing there for a couple of seconds, he sighed before he started typing his answer.
“We have no plans.”
He doesn’t want to go to his home. He doesn't even know why they should go there. Mentally cursing himself for everything he could have done, the answer comes to him almost instantly. Is universe itself makes fun of him?
"Wonderful. I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow at nine in the morning.”
Great. Early to get up again, given that four is usually slow to get ready to go somewhere. It was supposed to be a quiet weekend... He'll have to warn his brother. Sighing in disappointment, MePhone took the bag of groceries and went to the kitchen to prepare dinner for both of them. He doesn't want his brother to complain later that he was doing something stupid in the meantime