Yue Baylian savored this afternoon with his beloved Dev, knowing that Devon had to attend a lecture on macroeconomics later in the evening. Even though both of them were still in college, as leaders of two growing trade cartels, they probably knew more on the subject than the visiting professor. Perhaps Yue could convince Dev to spend the evening with him as well. Right now, Yue sat across the table from Devon. Although they both came from rich families, the parfaits in front of them were the absolute cheapest desserts in this cafe. That didn't matter. Yue had only suggested coming here just to prevent Dev from leaving too quickly.
Yue was glad he had suggested taking the window seats. The sunlight fell across Devon's features, lighting his face in a way that artificial lighting never could. As Yue admired the glow the late afternoon light lent to Devon's face, he couldn't help but flippantly comment, "Your skin and hair are so beautiful, Dev. Tell me, do you have some sort of secret habit to maintain them so well? I know it can't be beauty sleep. You stay up all night too often for that."
Devon pulled his eyes away from a distant spot outside the window. A shadow fleetingly crossed his face until his gaze met Yuer's curious, smiling expression. He couldn't help but smile gently as well.
"A glass of bitter melon juice everyday."
Devon's eyes slid back towards the window.
The corners of Yue's beautiful golden eyes crinkled as he laughed softly. "You've always hated bitter things so much. I didn't expect you to be this mindful of your health. Perhaps my complexion would become as luminous as yours if I tried eating bitter melons more often as well."
The comment hung in the air for a few moments and died. Devon's gaze was still directed out the window, but now the sunlight highlighted the deep shadows in his face. His eyes were dull with worry. Only thoughts about his younger brother could cause Yue's confident Dev to look so hopelessly lost.
Yue no longer had any appetite for his overly-sweet parfait. They sat there in silence until the store owner shooed them out at closing time. Dev left without saying good night to Yuer, or promising to meet again tomorrow.
As soon as he came home, Yue Baylian lifted his phone off its receiver. He didn't hesitate before commanding all non-essential personnel, nearly eighty percent, of the Lunaris Alliance's members to engage in searching for Daren Solaris.
Devon's eyes snapped open. His throat was dry, and he habitually reached towards the foamy green glass on the nightstand before sharply withdrawing his hand.
No. That would make Dar sad.
His stomach clenched with pain.
Devon wasn't sure if the ache was from his memory of Dar or from his overdose of bitter melon juice. It had been several months since he had realized Dar was missing, that Dar wasn't at some boarding school, having so much fun he had forgotten his Gege, but buried somewhere by their father, deep in the darkness. Devon's new influence within the Solaris Federation was causing it to expand at a rate never seen before. Father was proud of him, a star growing brighter and brighter by the day, but the days grew darker and darker to Devon. He wanted information about everything under the sun, hoping that one hint among them would be the ray of hope that would lead him to his brother. But nothing had turned up.
Devon stood up, taking the glass with him. He walked over to his private bathroom and dumped the remaining green liquid down the sink. He then carefully rinsed out the glass, tenaciously scraping at the dried green stain on the sides. Once those had disappeared, he filled the glass with clean water to rinse the bitter aftertaste from his mouth. He set the glass down carefully.
Over the past few months, Devon had rigidly adhered to the promise he had made with his Didi. Sealed by the sacredness of Dar's small, fragile pinkie, that promise could very well have been his Didi's last words to him. Devon drank bitter melon juice almost compulsively, drowning in his guilt from having been unable to uphold the his end of the bargain. He could hardly choke down other forms of food; everything had the same acrid flavor to him.
His father, who hadn't overheard the pact between the two siblings, wasn't suspicious of Devon's habit at first. He merely believed the young man had taken to some type of energy drink to sustain him through his rigorous courses. But when he noticed Devon's consumption of the mysterious drink growing out of hand, he forced him to switch to drinking coffee instead, a beverage he personally approved of. Devon compensated by drinking black coffee within sight of his father, but managed to have fresh bitter melons smuggled in each day so he could drink in private.
Yesterday had been the anniversary of the day Father had taken away Dar. He drank more than he had ever been able to tolerate before. Perhaps his taste buds had died from the constant abuse. Whether it was from this binge or his misery, he dreamed of Dar that night.
Devon was back in the attic. He had finished teaching a lesson to Dar, and now it was Didi's turn to choose an activity to play. Dar looked around seven years old. He ran for the toy chest. The ball he pulled out was one that Devon had given him when he was three, and should have been worn and faded by now. But in the dream, it was as brightly colored as the day he had placed it in Dar's eager hands.
Devon laughed and ducked as the ball flew towards him. Daren had amazing strength and accuracy in his throws at three, and at seven he was able to throw even harder. Devon's hand would sting whenever he tried to catch the ball, so he usually tended to duck out of the way, wait for the ball to roll along the floor, and pick it up from there. He would then toss the ball underhand back to Dar. Dar would catch it most of the time, but it occasionally sailed past him. They tried to count the number of catches Dar made, trying to beat a previous record, but the dream numbers jumped and shifted around until Devon wasn't sure what number they were on anymore. He tried to apologize to Dar, who laughed and yelled,
That's O.K., Gege!
Dar threw the ball back enthusiastically. Still feeling slightly embarrassed at being the leader of a trade alliance but not being able to count properly, Devon didn't duck out of the way in time. In real life, Dar's throw would have made his eye hurt very much. In the dream, he didn't feel anything. Nevertheless, Dar came rushing over, eyes wide with worry.
Is Gege hurt? Will your eye be O.K.?
Devon quickly reassured his brother that it hadn't hurt at all. He smiled, trying to show he would never place blame on his Didi.
Dar smiled in response, happy to see that Gege wasn't hurting so badly that he couldn't smile.
That's great! If something happened to Gege, no one would come to play with me.
Devon was about to assert that he would definitely take good care of himself when the dream faded. He woke up.
After Devon had rinsed his mouth with the newly cleaned glass, he felt his stomach clench in pain again. The dream was still vivid in his mind, though the individual details of it were growing hazier and hazier.
No one would come to play with me...
A few years ago, Devon had fallen badly ill. Although he didn't attend school for a week, he also didn't visit Dar at all during that time, fearing that his Didi might catch the illness as well. He had asked several servants to inform his little brother that he wouldn't be visiting, but apparently they were all too fearful of his father's wrath to even approach the attic.
When Devon finally was well enough to see Dar again, he rushed up to the attic. He heard Dar crying under his covers in the dark room. When Devon flung on the light, Dar raced out of the blankets towards his Gege. His eyes were still red and his cheeks were stained with tears, but Dar was wearing one of the most brilliant smiles Devon had ever seen.
After breaking his promise, Devon had harshly administered the punishment for the broken promise as penance. But if he continued like this, if nothing turned up again tomorrow or the days after that, how long could his body last? Once he found Dar, would he be able to play with him again?
Devon placed the glass upside down to dry.
Although Devon was never to wildly binge drink again, he didn't fully give up this habit. He just limited it to one glass a day, once in the morning. It was a daily reminder and proof of his dedication for his search, that he had never once forgotten his Didi or ever given up looking.
But he swore today would be the last day. Devon readied his pistol, as he downed his last bitter melon. His hand hurriedly set down the glass in his haste to leave, and the glass overbalanced. It rolled around in circles across the desk until it finally found the edge. It toppled over and shattered against the floor.
As Devon strode out of the room, he didn't even react to the harsh chime behind him, and left the twinkling shards lying against the floor.
As he eased open the ebony doors to his father's study, he cocked and aimed the pistol. Today, he wouldn't allow his father to keep him separated from his brother any longer.
Devon's back ached from the effort he had just put in, but it was nothing compared to the ache that had eased from his heart. His Didi lay asleep in his bed, in the room next to Devon's study. Dar was finally safe and sound. Devon still wasn't sure if the cyborg recovering under the white sheets was truly his Didi or not, but after years of waiting, he could wait a little longer while his Didi slept peacefully at last.
Dar, I finally came.
He stepped into his study to pour himself a cup of coffee and breathed a sigh of relief. The black coffee's acrid taste was nothing compared to the bitterness from his broken promise before.
As he walked around the desk, something crunched loudly underfoot. He resolved to tell Kyle to send someone up to make sure all of the fragments were properly cleaned off the ground. But as he moved towards the door, a rainbow glimmer caught his eye. The remains of the shattered glass cast sprays of color across the floor.
Devon paused to look at them for a moment longer. Then he exited the study into the adjacent bedroom. Crossing the carpeting with large strides, he returned to his Didi's side. Devon set the cup of coffee down carefully, preventing any rattling that might disturb Daren's slumber.
Devon gazed at the Didi he had worked so long and hard to meet again. As the fatigue from all those years and his relief from the past hours washed over him, his eyes slowly closed until he was sleeping as peacefully as the brother beside him.