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[Mayah Playah]

Ellery sighed and stared at the ground in thought, then sat by him again. "I would take advantage of the situation," he answered, looking up at Fredrich. "I wouldn't waste a minute in telling him how I feel, or proving it."

Footsteps from the hallway were starting to get louder.

The Korean stopped and crossed his arms. "First of all, Ellery's family is American, and before that, European, and secondly, I find that racist!" Lock continued walking, shaking his head. "How rude."

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Hearing the footsteps and comments, Fredrich looked to the doorway. "Looks like we're out of time." he murmured and looked sharply at Ellery. In an instance his cold look melted back into his shy warmth, and his long arms outstretched and wrapped around Ellery's waist, pulling him towards the taller male. Now with a thin distance between each other, Fredrich moved his wounded arm and gingerly caressed Ellery's cheek, shortening his breath against the others mouth.
Just in time, too.
"Why?" came Ethan's voice as the two entered the room. "You're horny, like, all the time and you're Asian. And have you seen YouTube? I swe - Whoooa!" He stopped when he saw the sight and blushed again. "Ah-ha-ha! S-Sorry!" he stammered and spun around to hide the enormous smile on his face that practically screamed to Lock, 'I told you so!'

 

[Mayah Playah]

Not expecting Fredrich to move so fast, Ellery's hands came up to press against the detective's chest, a sincere blush in his cheeks. "Detective," he breathed, large green eyes on the elder male. Upon realizing that Lock and his lover were behind them, Ellery chose to continue on with his "act" and allowed his eyelids to lower just enough to turn his eyes from green orbs into come-hithers.

Lock gasped at the sight, turning and covering his mouth. Ellie and Waltz? But Waltz was so stupid! And...so...so mean! He couldn't give Ellery the attention he needed, or keep him under control when his brother's birthday came along! Ellery could do better...right?
"Come on, let's let them have time to themselves," he grumbled, grabbing Ethan's wrist and dragging him away.

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Once the satisfying sound of the door closing was heard, Fredrich chuckled and released Ellery. "Han took it harder than Ethan did." he mused. "Are you sure he's never had feelings for you? The one I heard in his voice right now was jealousy."

"Ah! I told you there was something between them!" Ethan laughed when they were far away from the door. Realizing that he was the only one laughing, he slowly calmed down and raised an eyebrow at Lock. "Hey, you okay?"

 

[Mayah Playah]

The songwriter ran a hand through his hair and managed to push down his blush, nodding. "He's probably just upset that I've never said anything to him about liking you. We're supposed to tell each other everything, and for my to keep something from him, especially since it's you, must hurt pretty bad."

Back outside, Lock was saying the exact same thing. "I mean, we've been friends for YEARS. How could he keep something like this from me?! What, is our friendship worth nothing now?"

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"I suppose that means you'd better talk to him later then." Fredrich advised. "Explain this situation, maybe make a subtle advance, ease into his heart." he explained all while wearing that serious expression of his.

"Maybe he didn't explain because of how much you hate Fredrich?" shrugged Ethan. "It's not that big of a deal, Lock."

 

[Mayah Playah]

Ellery thumped onto a chair, bringing his legs up under his chin and looking at the necklace again. "No. I should let him calm down first. Right now, he's too angry to listen to me." Shaking his head, he let the necklace fall back against his chest and sighed. "I just hope I didn't upset him too much. I wasn't expecting him to be so mad."

"It is to me," he grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Ellie and I have known each other for so long. I can't help but feel a little upset that he held this from me."

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Seeing him sit, Fredrich stared at the necklace against the slimmer man's chest. "What is that?" he finally asked. "Your necklace. It seems to hold a great deal of sentimental value for you." he noted while adjusting his glasses once more.

"Give it some time" Ethan suggested and put a hand on Lock's arm in a comforting manner. "I'm sure he's got some kind of explanation."

 

[Mayah Playah]

"What, this?" Ellery lifted the necklace again, looking at it with soft eyes. He stood and came closer, sitting beside Fredrich again and tilting it so he could see the writing. "My brother and I were out one day at the mall, a few days before I lost him. He picked it out, and took the "Little Brother" side, since he's much young than me. Once he was taken away, I just couldn't make myself take it off. I guess it feels like as long as I have it, I can still feel him beside me." Ellery trailed off, staring at the old necklace for a few minutes before shaking himself from his thoughts and looking back to Fredrich. He stood and ran a hand through his hair. "I know it's stupid, though. Basil's probably dead by now. It's ridiculous of me to think he's still alive."

Lock sighed and nodded, wrapping an arm around Ethan and kissing his forehead. "Come on. Why don't we go get some real food before Niji wakes up?"

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So his brother's been missing, that would definitely explain the forlorn expression and the high defenses Ellery had. "It's a perfectly natural thing to feel." Fredrich replied. "Until you've seen the body for yourself then there's still hope that he's alive. How long as he been missing?"

"I'm game." Ethan smiled. "Anywhere in particular you want to eat at?"

 

[Mayah Playah]

Ellery sighed and looked up at the ceiling in thought. "About five or six years," he answered,, before looking back down to his laptop and opening it. After signing in, he opened to a photo of him and Basil, Ellery smiling as the tiny mouse laughed and threw another snowball at him. "This is us on my sister's birthday. He was only my half-brother, so I don't look anything like him. He was still my entire world, though."

"What about the Orange Peel?" he offered, smiling down at his lover.

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"There's still time then." Fredrich said. "Once ten years have passed is a missing person declared legally dead." Noticing the picture at the screen, he turned and looked at Ellery when he was younger - and much happier - with a little boy that somewhat resembled him yet looked more innocent. He had been an only child, so he never knew the feelings that could surface from a sibling being stolen from you, to have a best friend you could always find and talk to to suddenly vanish. "You must really love him." Fredrich murmured as he stared at the screen softly.

Ethan gave him a smug smile. "It's like you can read my mind." he laughed.

 

[Mayah Playah]

"More than I've ever loved another being, and ever could," he said quietly, reaching out to stroke Virtual Basil's cheek. "When he was born, I thought my life was over. I'd have to spend all my time chasing over a bratty kid I didn't even want as a sibling. But the moment I held him for the first time, an he smiled at me and just looked at me, I knew I was hooked. Basil was the apple of my eye. I was there when he walked for the first time, when he first got beat up by a girl, and on his first day of school. I beat up dozens of kids for picking on such a sweet, gentle little mouse, and when I would come home, battered from a fight, he would scold me and put ice on my bruises and... and tell me that he didn't need a superhero. He needed a big brother." Ellery finally paused for breath, still staring at the picture of his precious little brother that meant so much to him. "When I lost him," he continued, eyes tearing up, "it felt like half of me had been ripped away. Basil was the most important thing in my life, and he was suddenly gone. The police quit the search after six months. You can't imagine how it feels to lose the single most wonderful thing in your life, and then be told that there's nothing to be done to bring them back. It... it changes a person."
Shaking himself from the past and roughly wiping away a tear, Ellery stood and closed the laptop. "But that's the past. Even after all this time, there's no way Basil's still alive. I have to carry on. It's...it's the Advimi way." Ellery set his laptop aside and took his phone out, scrolling through his messages. "You and Lock have a meeting with the Principal soon after you're released. I suggest you get your rest."

"I'm going to marry you. I better know you well enough to pick where to eat," laughed Lock, playfully kissing the male's cheek before tugging him into an elevator.

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To lose the most wonderful thing in your life... Fredrich slowly let his dark blue eyes drift to his gloved hands, memories veiling his face. It certainly has changed him...
Hearing the comment over the principal, Fredrich glanced to the nearest clock. It was around half past seven. "Alright, and in the meantime you can figure out what else to do about our 'relationship'." he said as he removed his glasses and set them on nearby table.

 

[Mayah Playah]

"I thought we already established what to do about it?" he answered, looking up at the detective and tilting his head. "What else is there to decide?"

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