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Description
A sleeping Bren nuzzled his face into the jacket that was laying on his desk, a smile of pure contentment creeping across his face. Shara and Kuzo stood by, giggling as they watched their cousin snuggle with his jacket, although it looked to be much too small for him, as he slept. They wouldn’t wake him though. No, the two of them knew how much Bren went through in his daily life. Maintaining number 1 in class rank and being the class president must be taxing, let alone all the shit he went through at home. No, any amount of sleep that they’re overworked cousin could get they would let him have. Besides, there was still a solid ten minutes until lunch anyways. So, Shara and Kuzo sat there whispering back and forth, waiting until the last possible moment to wake up the sleeping Bren.
The two ended up not needing to wake him up, as he woke up on his own just as the bell was about to ring. Blue eyes fluttered open. His long blue locks were a mess, having been freshly slept on and what not. He stretched, the bottom of his shirt rising just enough to reveal a small part of his stomach. Not that anyone could see it behind the desk. Bren was attractive in a very regal sort of way, the kind of way that a lion looked majestic. He body was full of lean muscle courtesy of all sorts of different sports being forced on him year after year. Currently, he was exerting his dominance on the basketball court, his only rival the much more underhanded Dendari. There would have been no question of his status as most attractive male in the school if it wasn’t for the fact that his eyes were constantly fighting of exhaustion. It was apparent in the dark bags under his eyes.
“What are you two doing here?” he asked, with no contempt in his voice. He just really wanted to know what his cousins were doing in the student council office right now. They were both officers, but he knew Kuzo had Calculus right now, a subject he was on the edge of failing, and that Shara’s biology teacher rarely ever let her skip class.
“Oh you wound me cousin. Its like you don’t enjoy our presence,” Kuzo said in a flurry of over-dramatic gestures.
“Besides, both of our teachers are absent today, so we decided to make sure you were doing okay. Lord knows Kabro and Avy are constantly complain how you never get enough sleep or eat enough for the amount of energy you expend.” She eyed mischievously at jacket that was still laying on Bren’s desk, a place that he had occupied since he had started high school. He eyed her back. When it came to intellectual debates and being able to read people, Shara and Kuzo were about the only people in the school, again barring Dendari, who were on the same level he was. The difference between them though was that Bren had issues being harsh and telling people no. Dendari, Shara, and Kuzo all had no issue in doing just that. “But more interestingly, that jacket definitely isn’t yours. Its much too small and not your style.”
“Its none of your business, is what is,” Bren replied. He really wasn’t in the mood to deal with his two nosey cousins.
“Well, if I would have to guess, I would say its that cute little blond’s you talk about so much.”
“Right. What was his name again, Kuzo?” The red head being questioned was silent for a moment, think about what the boy in question’s name actually was.
“Kala Vesmi, I believe.”
Bren was looking away from his two cousins as they talked about his not so secret, at least to them, crush. “He only gave it to me because I forgot my jacket at home this morning and it was cold in Prob and Stats.” His face was slightly flushed. “Even if it is really small, it was still plenty warm. I was planning on giving it back at lunch.”
Kuzo and Shara took a moment and chuckled between each other. “Really Bren, why don’t you just tell him you have feelings for him already?”
“Its...complicated.” Bren sighed. Honestly, the thought had crossed his mind thousands of times before. In very few of the scenarios he had did Kala reject him. That wasn’t his worry. It was his parents that worried him. Kala’s...well, it wasn’t even like his foster parents cared about him all that much. The teen spent more nights at Bren’s house than he did his own. No, Bren’s parents would be the problem. They were so old fashioned and had such high expectations for him. More than once they tried to set him up with a pretty girl. Unfortunately for them, in all of his high school, actually all of his school career, the only person he’s ever developed feelings for was Kala. “You have no idea how many times I’ve thought of doing just that. We’re practically dating already. Kabro and Avy have told me before the the amount of time we spend together is absolutely ridiculous.”
“Then what exactly are you waiting for?” Bren sighed again. That was the part that was complicated. Being in a relationship would take time, and while he would gladly give up even his precious position as student council president to be with Kala, and quitting any of his current activities would put his parents on alert.
Before he could think anymore on the subject, a very smug face attached to a very fit, dark skinned body appeared in the doorway. Dendari, the overly arrogant student council treasurer. How he even made it into student council is beyond Bren, but he thinks it has something to do with the fact that a good deal of the female portion of the student body fawns over him. Bren detests him with every bone in his body, especially when he’s throwing himself all over Kala. Not to mention there’s a history between them. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Not long enough to know what you’ve been talking about. I just dropped by to give you the weekly expense report.” Bren hated giving Dendari any kind of credit, honestly, but he would admit that Dendari was fantastic with money. After unceremoniously throwing the folder on Bren’s desk, Dendari turned and walked back out of the room just as the lunch bell rang. “But tell Kala I said hi for me, will ya?” Dendari asked with a wink and a smug grin.
Yes, Bren definitely hated Dendari with every fiber of his being. At the same time though, he couldn’t help but admiring him.
Shara and Kuzo both let out sighs at the same time, both pushing their curly, red hair back. The weird things they did simultaneously without thinking about it never failed to freak Bren out. Shara was the first one to speak. “Well, I suppose we should go to lunch.
“Yes. Besides, this is something you’ll have to sort out on your own.”
“Besides, don’t you have a jacket to return?”

~~~~

It was around seven when Kala showed up at Bren’s house. At this point, he just kind of let himself in. The two dogs greeted him like he was a member of the family, jumping up and licking his face. Tybalt barely had to jump, being the massive Irish Wolfhound that he is. Molly had more work to do, being a German Shepard who isn’t nearly as large as her companion. Other than the two dogs, which after the initial excitement of Kala arriving, following Kala up the huge double staircase, the house was silent. It gave off a sort of eerie feeling. Bren’s house was massive to say the least. It was a good old fashioned mansion, but there was next to no one to fill it up. Bren was an only child and his parents were often away on business trips. The cleaning staff went home at six, meaning they weren’t even around to fill the house with noise. On top of that, Bren himself usually didn’t get home from school until nearly seven, what with his duties as student council president and basketball practice. Oh well. At least the dogs were around to make some noise.
Kala had often wondered why Bren didn’t go to some fancy private school. Isn’t that what kids who had lots of money usually did? Maybe it was because Shara and Kuzo chose to go to public school. Either way, he wasn’t disappointed that Bren went to school with him. Far from it. Bren was his best friend and he really couldn’t imagine anyone else filling that spot. Smoothing his perpetually messy blond hair down, Kala knocked on the the door to Bren’s bedroom. For some reason, even after years of knowing Bren, he still felt he should try to look his best around the sometimes unbelievably handsome older teen. He wasn’t as self consciousness had died down a bit. The first few times he’d been over, he’d been worried that the clothes he was wearing weren’t good enough for all of the expensive stuff that surrounded him. Kala was pretty sure that just one of those dogs had costed twice as much as he’d spent on his entire wardrobe, if not more.
The short blond could hear the rustling of papers and the soft pat of feet hitting the floor. That was one thing that sucked about Bren’s house. The entire thing had solid wood floors. By the time Bren actually opened the door, Tybalt and Molly had disappeared, presumably to sit on furniture that they weren’t allowed to sit on when Bren’s parents were home. It was a hobby of theirs. Kala was greeted with a smile that was sure to make any girl swoon. “Come in.” Bren didn’t even bother with asking how he got into the house. Kala knew the code to their security system. Honestly, the sophomore could ruin his life if he really wanted to.
Soon enough, it was nearing ten. Their homework had been finished by eight and they’d spent the last two hours chatting about nothing in particular and watching TV. Bren liked that, that he could do that with Kala. Shara and Kuzo always had some secret agenda. Kabro and Avy were too concerned with his well being, constantly asking questions like “did you get enough sleep last night”, or “are you sure that you ate breakfast”. Their sentiment was sincere and he appreciated that they cared so much about him, but sometimes he just wanted to feel like a normal teenager. Then there were the hours he was forced to spend with Dendari either doing student council things or playing basketball. The dark skinned, light haired teen’s favorite conversation topics were subtle jabs at Bren’s personality, flaws, and occasional teasing about his apparently not so secret when it came to Dendari as well crush.
Kala, on the other hand, never had ulterior motives, only talked about sensitive topics once in a great while or when he brought them up first, and all of the teasing was purely for fun. Yes, Bren really liked his conversations with Kala.
“You can stay the night if you want.” Staying the night, even when they had school the next day, was a very common occurrence. It was only ever Kala staying at Bren’s house though. In all honesty, Bren had never been to Kala’s home. He’d only seen the outside, but he’s always felt it wasn’t right that someone as amazing as Kala had to live there. Its not like his foster parents were bad people, they just, in Bren’s opinion, didn’t give the kind hearted blond the attention he deserved. “The guest rooms are all open,” Bren thought for a moment, “or I can bring the extra mattress in here.” He would much rather have Kala in the same room as him for entirely selfish reasons. After all, it wasn’t his fault that Kala looked entirely too adorable when he was sleeping.
“I’ll stay here if that’s okay. Your house is kind of big and can get pretty creepy at night.” Bren laughed. He knew exactly what Kala was talking about. When he was younger and not used to having such a large house all to himself, the place creeped him out at night too. That feeling went away as he grew more accustomed to the place.
“That’s fine. I’ll go get the other mattress.” With that, Kala jumped up to help his friend carry aforementioned mattress back to his bedroom. Fifteen minutes after that, both were laying in their respective spots when something deep inside Kala changed and he mustered up more courage than he’d ever had in his life before.
“Bren, you awake?” he asked quietly. He didn’t want to wake him if he had already fallen asleep. God knows Bren needs all the sleep he can get.
The blue haired teen in question rolled over so he could look at Kala. Luckily, his bed frame wasn’t that high so there wasn’t much of a distance between the two of them. His deep blue eyes met Kala’s gold ones. He was happy that it was dark. That way, Kala couldn’t see the red tint that had covered his face. “Yeah.”
“Can you come here?” Kala asked as he moved over and patted a spot on the mattress next to him. Bren obliged without thinking. The only time they ever really got to be this close was when one of them accidentally fell asleep next to each other. Neither ever had the heart to wake the other up.
It was silent for a few moments. Kala was having trouble finding the right words to say what he was trying to say. Bren was just enjoying being close enough to the other teen that he could feel his breath on his nose. “Do you like me? I mean, I know you like me. I mean like in the romantic sense of the word,” Kala stuttered once or twice, but other than that he thought he’d done well.
Bren was taken aback. Was Kala asking because he felt similarly? Was he asking so he could tell Bren that he didn’t feel the same way? Silence prevailed for awhile, but Kala’s eyes never left Bren’s.
“I...uh...yes,” was all he could manage. The entire time he could only focus on the fact that his entire manner of very refined speech had all but deserted him. He’d been so busy worrying that he’d messed up in some way or another, he didn’t even notice Kala nuzzle his head into his chest until he’d already wrapped his arms around him.
“That’s good, cause I really like you.” Bren didn’t think about it anymore. He just wrapped his arms around Kala and decided they could discuss specifics later. Right now, he was going to be happy.

Description
A sleeping Bren nuzzled his face into the jacket that was laying on his desk, a smile of pure contentment creeping across his face. Shara and Kuzo stood by, giggling as they watched their cousin snuggle with his jacket, although it looked to be much too small for him, as he slept. They wouldn’t wake him though. No, the two of them knew how much Bren went through in his daily life. Maintaining number 1 in class rank and being the class president must be taxing, let alone all the shit he went through at home. No, any amount of sleep that they’re overworked cousin could get they would let him have. Besides, there was still a solid ten minutes until lunch anyways. So, Shara and Kuzo sat there whispering back and forth, waiting until the last possible moment to wake up the sleeping Bren.
The two ended up not needing to wake him up, as he woke up on his own just as the bell was about to ring. Blue eyes fluttered open. His long blue locks were a mess, having been freshly slept on and what not. He stretched, the bottom of his shirt rising just enough to reveal a small part of his stomach. Not that anyone could see it behind the desk. Bren was attractive in a very regal sort of way, the kind of way that a lion looked majestic. He body was full of lean muscle courtesy of all sorts of different sports being forced on him year after year. Currently, he was exerting his dominance on the basketball court, his only rival the much more underhanded Dendari. There would have been no question of his status as most attractive male in the school if it wasn’t for the fact that his eyes were constantly fighting of exhaustion. It was apparent in the dark bags under his eyes.
“What are you two doing here?” he asked, with no contempt in his voice. He just really wanted to know what his cousins were doing in the student council office right now. They were both officers, but he knew Kuzo had Calculus right now, a subject he was on the edge of failing, and that Shara’s biology teacher rarely ever let her skip class.
“Oh you wound me cousin. Its like you don’t enjoy our presence,” Kuzo said in a flurry of over-dramatic gestures.
“Besides, both of our teachers are absent today, so we decided to make sure you were doing okay. Lord knows Kabro and Avy are constantly complain how you never get enough sleep or eat enough for the amount of energy you expend.” She eyed mischievously at jacket that was still laying on Bren’s desk, a place that he had occupied since he had started high school. He eyed her back. When it came to intellectual debates and being able to read people, Shara and Kuzo were about the only people in the school, again barring Dendari, who were on the same level he was. The difference between them though was that Bren had issues being harsh and telling people no. Dendari, Shara, and Kuzo all had no issue in doing just that. “But more interestingly, that jacket definitely isn’t yours. Its much too small and not your style.”
“Its none of your business, is what is,” Bren replied. He really wasn’t in the mood to deal with his two nosey cousins.
“Well, if I would have to guess, I would say its that cute little blond’s you talk about so much.”
“Right. What was his name again, Kuzo?” The red head being questioned was silent for a moment, think about what the boy in question’s name actually was.
“Kala Vesmi, I believe.”
Bren was looking away from his two cousins as they talked about his not so secret, at least to them, crush. “He only gave it to me because I forgot my jacket at home this morning and it was cold in Prob and Stats.” His face was slightly flushed. “Even if it is really small, it was still plenty warm. I was planning on giving it back at lunch.”
Kuzo and Shara took a moment and chuckled between each other. “Really Bren, why don’t you just tell him you have feelings for him already?”
“Its...complicated.” Bren sighed. Honestly, the thought had crossed his mind thousands of times before. In very few of the scenarios he had did Kala reject him. That wasn’t his worry. It was his parents that worried him. Kala’s...well, it wasn’t even like his foster parents cared about him all that much. The teen spent more nights at Bren’s house than he did his own. No, Bren’s parents would be the problem. They were so old fashioned and had such high expectations for him. More than once they tried to set him up with a pretty girl. Unfortunately for them, in all of his high school, actually all of his school career, the only person he’s ever developed feelings for was Kala. “You have no idea how many times I’ve thought of doing just that. We’re practically dating already. Kabro and Avy have told me before the the amount of time we spend together is absolutely ridiculous.”
“Then what exactly are you waiting for?” Bren sighed again. That was the part that was complicated. Being in a relationship would take time, and while he would gladly give up even his precious position as student council president to be with Kala, and quitting any of his current activities would put his parents on alert.
Before he could think anymore on the subject, a very smug face attached to a very fit, dark skinned body appeared in the doorway. Dendari, the overly arrogant student council treasurer. How he even made it into student council is beyond Bren, but he thinks it has something to do with the fact that a good deal of the female portion of the student body fawns over him. Bren detests him with every bone in his body, especially when he’s throwing himself all over Kala. Not to mention there’s a history between them. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Not long enough to know what you’ve been talking about. I just dropped by to give you the weekly expense report.” Bren hated giving Dendari any kind of credit, honestly, but he would admit that Dendari was fantastic with money. After unceremoniously throwing the folder on Bren’s desk, Dendari turned and walked back out of the room just as the lunch bell rang. “But tell Kala I said hi for me, will ya?” Dendari asked with a wink and a smug grin.
Yes, Bren definitely hated Dendari with every fiber of his being. At the same time though, he couldn’t help but admiring him.
Shara and Kuzo both let out sighs at the same time, both pushing their curly, red hair back. The weird things they did simultaneously without thinking about it never failed to freak Bren out. Shara was the first one to speak. “Well, I suppose we should go to lunch.
“Yes. Besides, this is something you’ll have to sort out on your own.”
“Besides, don’t you have a jacket to return?”

~~~~

It was around seven when Kala showed up at Bren’s house. At this point, he just kind of let himself in. The two dogs greeted him like he was a member of the family, jumping up and licking his face. Tybalt barely had to jump, being the massive Irish Wolfhound that he is. Molly had more work to do, being a German Shepard who isn’t nearly as large as her companion. Other than the two dogs, which after the initial excitement of Kala arriving, following Kala up the huge double staircase, the house was silent. It gave off a sort of eerie feeling. Bren’s house was massive to say the least. It was a good old fashioned mansion, but there was next to no one to fill it up. Bren was an only child and his parents were often away on business trips. The cleaning staff went home at six, meaning they weren’t even around to fill the house with noise. On top of that, Bren himself usually didn’t get home from school until nearly seven, what with his duties as student council president and basketball practice. Oh well. At least the dogs were around to make some noise.
Kala had often wondered why Bren didn’t go to some fancy private school. Isn’t that what kids who had lots of money usually did? Maybe it was because Shara and Kuzo chose to go to public school. Either way, he wasn’t disappointed that Bren went to school with him. Far from it. Bren was his best friend and he really couldn’t imagine anyone else filling that spot. Smoothing his perpetually messy blond hair down, Kala knocked on the the door to Bren’s bedroom. For some reason, even after years of knowing Bren, he still felt he should try to look his best around the sometimes unbelievably handsome older teen. He wasn’t as self consciousness had died down a bit. The first few times he’d been over, he’d been worried that the clothes he was wearing weren’t good enough for all of the expensive stuff that surrounded him. Kala was pretty sure that just one of those dogs had costed twice as much as he’d spent on his entire wardrobe, if not more.
The short blond could hear the rustling of papers and the soft pat of feet hitting the floor. That was one thing that sucked about Bren’s house. The entire thing had solid wood floors. By the time Bren actually opened the door, Tybalt and Molly had disappeared, presumably to sit on furniture that they weren’t allowed to sit on when Bren’s parents were home. It was a hobby of theirs. Kala was greeted with a smile that was sure to make any girl swoon. “Come in.” Bren didn’t even bother with asking how he got into the house. Kala knew the code to their security system. Honestly, the sophomore could ruin his life if he really wanted to.
Soon enough, it was nearing ten. Their homework had been finished by eight and they’d spent the last two hours chatting about nothing in particular and watching TV. Bren liked that, that he could do that with Kala. Shara and Kuzo always had some secret agenda. Kabro and Avy were too concerned with his well being, constantly asking questions like “did you get enough sleep last night”, or “are you sure that you ate breakfast”. Their sentiment was sincere and he appreciated that they cared so much about him, but sometimes he just wanted to feel like a normal teenager. Then there were the hours he was forced to spend with Dendari either doing student council things or playing basketball. The dark skinned, light haired teen’s favorite conversation topics were subtle jabs at Bren’s personality, flaws, and occasional teasing about his apparently not so secret when it came to Dendari as well crush.
Kala, on the other hand, never had ulterior motives, only talked about sensitive topics once in a great while or when he brought them up first, and all of the teasing was purely for fun. Yes, Bren really liked his conversations with Kala.
“You can stay the night if you want.” Staying the night, even when they had school the next day, was a very common occurrence. It was only ever Kala staying at Bren’s house though. In all honesty, Bren had never been to Kala’s home. He’d only seen the outside, but he’s always felt it wasn’t right that someone as amazing as Kala had to live there. Its not like his foster parents were bad people, they just, in Bren’s opinion, didn’t give the kind hearted blond the attention he deserved. “The guest rooms are all open,” Bren thought for a moment, “or I can bring the extra mattress in here.” He would much rather have Kala in the same room as him for entirely selfish reasons. After all, it wasn’t his fault that Kala looked entirely too adorable when he was sleeping.
“I’ll stay here if that’s okay. Your house is kind of big and can get pretty creepy at night.” Bren laughed. He knew exactly what Kala was talking about. When he was younger and not used to having such a large house all to himself, the place creeped him out at night too. That feeling went away as he grew more accustomed to the place.
“That’s fine. I’ll go get the other mattress.” With that, Kala jumped up to help his friend carry aforementioned mattress back to his bedroom. Fifteen minutes after that, both were laying in their respective spots when something deep inside Kala changed and he mustered up more courage than he’d ever had in his life before.
“Bren, you awake?” he asked quietly. He didn’t want to wake him if he had already fallen asleep. God knows Bren needs all the sleep he can get.
The blue haired teen in question rolled over so he could look at Kala. Luckily, his bed frame wasn’t that high so there wasn’t much of a distance between the two of them. His deep blue eyes met Kala’s gold ones. He was happy that it was dark. That way, Kala couldn’t see the red tint that had covered his face. “Yeah.”
“Can you come here?” Kala asked as he moved over and patted a spot on the mattress next to him. Bren obliged without thinking. The only time they ever really got to be this close was when one of them accidentally fell asleep next to each other. Neither ever had the heart to wake the other up.
It was silent for a few moments. Kala was having trouble finding the right words to say what he was trying to say. Bren was just enjoying being close enough to the other teen that he could feel his breath on his nose. “Do you like me? I mean, I know you like me. I mean like in the romantic sense of the word,” Kala stuttered once or twice, but other than that he thought he’d done well.
Bren was taken aback. Was Kala asking because he felt similarly? Was he asking so he could tell Bren that he didn’t feel the same way? Silence prevailed for awhile, but Kala’s eyes never left Bren’s.
“I...uh...yes,” was all he could manage. The entire time he could only focus on the fact that his entire manner of very refined speech had all but deserted him. He’d been so busy worrying that he’d messed up in some way or another, he didn’t even notice Kala nuzzle his head into his chest until he’d already wrapped his arms around him.
“That’s good, cause I really like you.” Bren didn’t think about it anymore. He just wrapped his arms around Kala and decided they could discuss specifics later. Right now, he was going to be happy.