Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)

"Brother?" Mu Yuze asked, taken aback. "You have a brother...?"

He had allowed himself to entertain this thought before — what kind of big brother would He Juan be if he was one? The answer came out easily, much to his own surprise. Judging from how well he treated Mu Yuze, who was no one but a mere stranger to him up to a few months ago, He Juan must be a very loving, patient and excellent brother. He would be the big brother whom everyone wished they could have, the kind they could only imagine in their dreams. And most importantly, the big brother who would always praise and gush about his younger sibling in front of others, just like how he did to Mu Yuze.

However, throughout the period of time they had lived together, Mu Yuze had never heard He Juan talk about his siblings before. He had even assumed that He Juan was an only child...

"Ah, no wonder that you’re surprised," He Juan let out a wry chuckle, having guessed the line of Mu Yuze’s thoughts. "I have never talked about him, after all. I guess it has kinda become a habit...?"

Before Mu Yuze could ask what he meant about that, they saw Marius waving at them from afar.

"He’s calling for us," He Juan waved in return and turned to Mu Yuze, asking, "Shall we go?"

Mu Yuze had no choice but to swallow the questions and nodded.

After dealing with the bill, the four of them parted ways to return to each of their dwelling.

He Juan made small and light talk on their way home and did not bring his little brother up again. Mu Yuze, on the other hand, did not ask either. Even though he felt like he could die of curiosity, he did not want to force He Juan to talk about the matter he was unwilling to share. Or to be exact, he was cautious not to cross the line between them.

What kind of things he could ask, what kind of things he had to turn a blind eye to... until now, Mu Yuze still did not know for certain.

One thing for sure, He Juan must have his own reasons to never bring his little brother up. It almost felt like a landmine, a private territory which had not been breached by anyone before, and Mu Yuze was too timid to take a step forward for he was afraid of the consequences he would have to bear if something went haywire.

And for that, he was willing to keep silent and wait until the day He Juan would open up by himself.

***

For the Christmas and New Year celebration, they spent it together with the two Morningstar brothers – because of course, they would – and He Juan asked his men to purchase a small Christmas tree so they could decorate it together.

When Mu Yuze asked him why he would waste this money when none of them were Christians to begin with, He Juan flicked his forehead and tsked, "What do you mean ’why’? It’s for fun! You haven’t done this before, haven’t you Xiao Ze?"

Thus, the matter was settled just like that.

It was then that Mu Yuze found out how excellent of a cook Marius was. The raw ingredients seemed to undergo magical transformation under his skillful hands, turning into plate after plate of well decorated, exquisite and mouth-watering dishes comparable to those served in famous restaurants.

On the contrary, He Juan, for the lack of words to describe, was a total disaster.

Something always went wrong even though Marius merely gave him a simple task like cutting onion – Mu Yuze truly had no idea how the poor onion could turn into a mushy glob akin to mashed potato under He Juan’s hands. Or perhaps, it was also a kind of magical transformation by itself.

Either way, his help was very much unneeded and he ended up being kicked out of the kitchen by Marius.

"What?" He Juan asked in grumble after he was banned from entering the kitchen as long as Marius was still cooking.

"Nothing," Mu Yuze kept his expression straight, though the corner of his lips were raised into a subtle smile. "It’s nice to know that you are not so perfect, after all."

He only realized the implication behind his words one second after he said it, but it was already too late.

He Juan’s silver eyes gleamed like a wolf that had caught onto his prey. "Oh?" he raised a brow, extremely smug. "It turns out that Xiao Ze thinks I am perfect, huh? I have no idea at all..."

"I meant nothing when I said that!" Mu Yuze gritted out, feeling his ears burning up in no time at all. "Please don’t flatter yourself!"

Alas, He Juan was already beyond saving for he couldn’t keep the delightful grin off his face, "Alright, alright, Gege knows now."

As for what he ’knew’, Mu Yuze had no interest in finding out. He turned away with a harrumph and opted to join Sirius on the living room floor to solve a board puzzle instead.

Overall, the celebration dinner went off without a hitch with Sirius not seeking trouble with him on a rare occasion. The boy merely wailed and threw tantrums at his brother, saying how he wanted to light up fireworks. And not surprisingly, he got his head slapped again. "It’s only the 23rd!" Marius let out an exasperated laugh. "What kind of fireworks do you want to light? Even if you want to play, you have to wait until tomorrow at the very least!"

"But..." Sirius covered his head and retorted, aggrieved. "But XIU is leaving tomorrow! I want to play with him!!"

Ah, that’s right...

Mu Yuze cast a subtle glance at He Juan who was sitting beside him, only for the man to notice it right away and turn to him. "Hmm? What’s wrong, Xiao Ze?"

Mu Yuze parted his lips to say something, but then he closed it again, hesitant. Was he allowed to ask when He Juan would return? It was a normal question to ask, right? After all, they were roommates who had been living together for months. But why did he feel like it was not appropriate for him to ask? It was as if... he would be robbing He Juan’s precious time with his family...

"Are you sad that Gege will leave tomorrow?" He Juan let out a sigh and rubbed the boy’s head. "What should I do? You’re making it hard for me to leave..."

Mu Yuze shot him a quiet glare. "I said nothing at all."

He tried to suppress the subtle sense of loss in his heart at the thought of waking up to an empty and cold house tomorrow. The man had not even left yet, but he already dreaded the future days he had to spend alone...

Mu Yuze hurriedly caught his thought in time before it could spiral further. What to do? It seemed like he had subconsciously reverted to his old ways and become too dependent on He Juan again.

’Do not be greedy’, he chided himself. ’Haven’t you already decided not to ask for more than what you have received?’

He Juan had already spent so much time with him, so what was wrong with the man leaving to meet his family? It was entirely his right to do so!

Only with that mental prep talk could Mu Yuze gain a resemblance of composure, enough for him to ask, "When are you coming back?"

He thought he had concealed his feelings very well. Alas, he had no idea at all that his slight hesitation as well as the glimmering hope in the timid way he voiced his question, was taken in by He Juan’s keen eyes.

It was too much... too adorable! He Juan felt like his heart had been shot by an arrow!

Still oblivious of how endearing he was, Mu Yuze was thus completely caught off guard when he was smothered into He Juan’s firm and powerful embrace in the next second. He gasped, feeling like the breath was punched out of his lungs as He Juan tightened his arms around him.

"Of course, Gege will come back as soon as possible!" He Juan cooed softly. "Xiao Ze is so cute, how can Gege bear to part with you for so long?!"

Though it was suffocating to be squeezed like this, Mu Yuze offered no words of protest. "Mn," he nodded and allowed himself to breathe in the unique scent that belonged only to He Juan into his stomach for safekeeping.

’You promised. You promised me to come back soon...’

Marius looked at how well-behaved and sensible Mu Yuze was, then turned to look at his own unruly and wild brother. He couldn’t help but get angry again. "Look at how good Mu Yuze is! You should learn more from him so that you can also grow up like this in the future!"

Enraged at being rebuked out of nowhere, Sirius did not want to lose out either, "I also want a brother like XIU! Why don’t you learn more from him instead?!"

"You damn brat—!"

The two proceeded to bicker back and forth, adding on to the merry and joy of the warm atmosphere.