It had been four months since Adam had given his older brother his birthday gifts, and he was currently exhausted. Going in between work, hero duty, and spending time with Sharon was taking its toll on the musician. Luckily enough for him, Virgil and Richie had been letting him relax a little more for the past couple of weeks, which was a relief. Richie didn't know why, but Virgil had an inkling as to why Adam was slowing down a little. The electric hero didn't push it, but let Adam know that if he ever needed to talk, he'd listen. Adam appreciated it, really, he just really missed his family, and that was difficult to explain sometimes.
Adam let loose a sigh as he stalked into his apartment, only to collapse on the couch a few minutes later. He really wanted to talk to Ivan, especially today, considering it was his own birthday, but alas, it wouldn't happen. They hadn't seen each other in a couple of months, though Virgil had seen the shadow man plenty of times. An unfortunate side effect of thinking about his brother brought forth thoughts of their shitty parents. Their parents had tried to time it just right so their birthdays would land on the same day, it hadn't worked due to difficulties conceiving for three years after Ivan had been born. Four months apart was the closest they could come to having the 'same' birthday. Their parents hadn't been trying to be cute, they just wanted to cut down on birthday expenses. They were cheap like that, and when Adam's educational needs had gotten too expensive, they packed up and left. Lucky for Adam, Ivan had been seventeen at the time and completely emancipated from their parents due to them disappearing for several weeks at a time. It didn't take long for Ivan to get custody of his younger brother after that.
Adam let loose another sigh as he went to massage his temples to try and stop the headache he had acquired earlier in the day. He had spent most of his time with Sharon that day and the women had shrieked most of the time in excitement, wanting to spoil Adam as much as possible. He loved Sharon with everything he had, but that women had an extremely loud voice and was very demanding. Since Adam had closed his eyes to help with his headache, he didn't notice a dark shadow watching him from his right side. Ebon watched for a few seconds longer before going to Adam's bathroom to grab some Ibuprofen from the medicine cabinet. Ebon came back a few minutes later with a glass of water and two Ibuprofen's in his hands.
"Here," Ebon said handing them over to his younger brother.
"Thanks Ivan," Adam said before grabbing both the water and pills. Seconds later, the hero's dark brown eyes open in shock before he shot up to stare at his brother.
"Ivan, you're here," Adam said in complete surprise.
"Did you honestly think I'd forget your birthday, Adam?" Ebon asked softly as Adam took the pills.
"We haven't really been on the best of terms in the last two years Ivan. And no, I don't think you would have forgot, avoided, yes, but not forgot," Adam replied easily before leaning back on his couch, motioning for Ebon to sit down if he wanted. Ebon automatically sat next to his brother, actually wanting to talk.
"I wouldn't have avoided you either Adam," Ebon replied, his large hands lacing. Adam stared at his brother for a few long moments before he grinned at his older brother.
"Thanks for coming Ivan," Adam said, his joy evident in his voice. Ebon smiled back.
"You're welcome Adam. Now, I got you something," Ebon grunted out as he stood up. Adam's eyes widened slightly in slight childlike glee at the thought of a present form his older brother before it disappeared and his eyes narrowed.
"You didn't steal it did you?" Adam asked suspiciously. Ebon scoffed before disappearing to get the present. He reappeared seconds later with a medium sized paper bag. Neither of them were good when it came to wrapping gifts.
"It isn't much, but here," Ebon replied, thrusting the bag at his brother. Adam stared for a few moments before grabbing it, his child like glee returning. Ebon grinned slightly at the sight of his brother, pleased to give some of Adam's joy back to him. One of Adam's gifts was a simple notebook that'd be helpful for song writing, a CD of his favorite band, and a small box. Adam's eyes widened as soon as he spotted it.
"Is that what I think it is?" Adam asked.
"It's Grans, and I figured you'd wanna give that to your girl," Ebon replied.
"A-are you sure? Gramp's did give it to you," Adam asked in awe. The item in question was a simple amethyst engagement ring that their great-great-great grandfather made for their great-great-great grandma. The amethyst wasn't huge, but noticeable enough, set in a slender band of silver.
"I ain't got no one to give it too. 'Sides, that idiot's gonna break it if I give it to him," Ebon replied hotly. Adam smiled brilliantly at his older brother, thrilled by such an important gift. The ring was only given to the eldest in the family, and the younger(s) never even got a chance to hold it.
"Thank you so much Ivan. Will, you come, if I do marry her?" Adam asked softly, looking at his older brother carefully.
"Boy, when I have I ever missed anything important when it came to you?" Ebon groused out angrily.
"Nothing comes to mind. Thank you again, big brother," Adam replied, his grin happy and joyous. Ebon was silent for a few moments before replying.
"You're welcome, brat. Now, I gotta go 'fore Shiv does somethin' stupid," Ebon said before leaving. Adam smiled again, not bothering with a 'goodbye'. They never said goodbye to each other, both knowing it was a little too permanent for their liking. Adam leaned back into his couch, clutching his minimal gifts before falling asleep, pleased with how his birthday turned out.
