The ticking of the clock was dangerously close to driving him crazy. Bandit was now sitting in front of his father, whom had a difficult time looking him in the eyes, let alone shaking hands with both Jäger and him when they arrived. Something was off with him, he hadn't looked at Bandit with his air of disdain yet. Jäger was sitting next to Bandit, fidgeting with his empty coffee cup. Bandit's mother could be heard humming from the kitchen, or so she tried, she had been crying since seeing her son for the first time in seven to eight years, Hannover got in the way and when his brother ended up in the hospital ? He didn't even try going back. She refused both of their help, the usual when her kitchen was involved, it was her kingdom and anyone disturbing it would be cursed out.
She came back with a tray, a fresh pot of coffee, milk, sugar and a plate of cookies catching Bandit's attention. They looked like his favorites.
"Mama, did you really make caramel chocolate pecan cookies ?" Bandit's heart pinched at the thought of almost having let down the woman by ghosting them.
"Of course sweetie." She held one out for him with a bright smile. He accepted it with a thank you.
They were good, fuck they were so good, Bandit hadn't realized how much he had missed such comfort, the little things he used to enjoy, even the place. The round dinner table they sat at, the old TV in the corner with the big soft sofa and armchairs, the coffee table he once -or twice- hurt himself against as a kid, the kitchen with its large door frame and old fashioned doors always remaining open, the cuts around the corridor's frame indicating Bandit and his brother's height growing up. Could he go check out their bedroom ? Was it still theirs ?
"So..." His mother brought him back from his thoughts. "What do you do for a living now Dominic ? Do you two work together ?"
"We're in a counterterrorism unit. We specialise in defense, people, places... Marius here is the best engineer around, I'm just good with a weapon. Guess I climbed the ladder pretty well." Glancing at his father, Bandit could tell it made something in him react.
"I knew you were still in the taskforce but I didn't expect such..." His mother couldn't find the right words. How did she know though ?
"Dangerous job ? It's what I'm good at mama. Plus, I've got that guy to help me out." He pointed at jäger with his thumb before taking a sip of his coffee.
"I see. Are you two close friends ?" She was smiling at Marius now.
"Y-Yes ma'am-" he got cut off by Dominic.
"He's my fiancé." His monotone voice hiding the laughter he was dangerously close to as he watched everyone around shift uncomfortably, Jäger from embarrassment because he had dared, his mother from shock and his father's frown, probably disapproval. Marius wasn't going to go against the grain now as he was in front of complete strangers, but he sure thought the oldest GSG9 would pay for this one day.
"Congratulations to the both of you" she tried to discreetly nudge her husband to make him nod in agreement. "How long have you been together ?" She asked. It did sound slightly strained which made Dominic hurt somewhat.
"Oh a few years, Marius proposed not long ago, we're so happy, right, Schnuki ?" He glanced at Jäger who was fuming inside, smirking behind his coffee cup as to hide his amusement.
"Absolutely Liebling, I couldn't be happier !" Jäger smiled back, now squeezing Dom's thigh until it hurt.
"I always knew you had a thing for... Both genders but I never thought you would marry sweetie, you always said you weren't interested."
"It's Marius we're talking about mama, he's better than anybody I've ever been with, or maybe just anybody." He answered.
The serious look Jäger received made him realise something, it was a genuine comment.
Where do you live ? How often do you work ? What have you been up to ? Do you eat properly ? Have you been hurt ? When are you retiring ? Do you still smoke ? When did you get this tattoo ? And this one ? Why are you on sick leave ? The last one he did not answer. Marius looked overwhelmed, too much interaction for his busy brain, he would crash down at the hotel tonight for sure Bandit thought. He picked another cookie and shoved it in Jäger's hands as if it could console him. The hours were passing by, his mother's curiosity never faltering.
Then he heard them, a few knocks on the door.
"Are you expecting someone ?" Bandit's panic was slowly rising.
"Nobody at this hour." His mother sounded genuine. "Let me get the door."
Everything felt like slow motion for Dominic when the door opened, the familiar voice close to his own reaching his ears.
"Hello mama ! Sorry, I'm late."
Bandit's eyes fell on his father. "What the fuck did you guys do ? I told you I didn't want to see him !" He tried to lower his voice as much as possible.
"Your mother didn't do anything, I did." The only sentence his father managed to say in three hours.
"What did I fucking expect from you ? I should've known you would do something like this ! You always liked to stir shit up." He got up, picking his and Jäger's cups before storming out of the living room and into the kitchen. Jäger followed suit, and damn did Bandit looked awful. He watched him set down the cups in the sink, avoiding making any noise. They would be hidden as long as his brother didn't make it to the kitchen. The knuckles of his hands were white from gripping at the border of the sink.
Bandit focused back on the conversation playing, as much as his heart pounding in his ears would allow.
"You look stressed out mama, are you okay ?"
"I'm fine, we've had some guests over and I've been cleaning, it's the old age catching up Mausebär" His mother was trying to save the situation at the very least. "Why aren't you using your wheelchair ?"
"I have to make my legs work mama, it won't get better if I sit around, the doctor already told you. Don't worry, I look older than both you and dad with this cane." His brother was laughing and it felt so good, like he was back twenty years. His speech wasn't quite as it used to, voice slightly trembling, sometimes stuttering the words out. How much damage had he suffered ? Did he just mention a cane, worse, a wheelchair still ?
"I'm not old, I'm only 35 ! Come on, let's take a sit." His mother's humour, were they trying to break him ?
Bandit turned back around, Jäger looked distraught, watching him carefully like Bandit could break any moment and he wasn't wrong. Jäger put his hands on Bandit's arm, stroking them gently in the hope to calm him down if only a little. They both jumped as the little mama came in, pale as a sheet and clearly taken aback by the situation. They watched her make a new pot of coffee, grabbing more cookies, taking out a new cup, a jar of cream since Cedrick preferred it as Dominic remembered. She opened the fridge, taking out a large cake covered in whipped cream and decorated with strawberries. She set it down not far from them along with candles. His mother out of the kitchen, Dominic inspected the cake more closely, reveling an heartbreaking message, 'happy birthday Cedrick and Dominic'.
He wanted to break down, had she done this for eight years ? The chatter outside of the room came back.
"Ah, mama, you've made cookies. Aren't those Dominic's favorite ?"
"Yes, I saw the recipe in my cook book and couldn't help myself, it had been so long. Have a taste sweetheart." That woman was an angel sometimes. Bandit thought about leaving out the kitchen window, both of them had done that several times under grimmer circumstances as teenagers. So long for their bags, he would never come back.
"Have you had any news from him ?" His brother asked.
"No, you know how it is with your brother. Have you ?"
"Nothing. Last time I saw a few ex-colleagues they told me he had joined the special forces but that's about it." There was a pause "I don't even know if he's still alive, have you seen the news ?"
"I'm sure he's fine Cedrick, you know Dominic, he's tough." The tension of keeping the secret was palpable.
"You're right. He's always been unlucky though. If he's injured we're going to be called the crippled brothers, our new band name !" He was laughing, Dominic clearly was not.
"Why are you running after him ? He abandoned you. He doesn't have the courage to make it right." Their father bit back.
"Are we really going to have this conversation again ? On my- our birthday no less ?" Cedrick sounded like his cop self again.
"Just face the truth son, he doesn't care."
"Why don't you try to face the truth father ? You've always tried to bring us apart, I was your favorite and he was too much to handle for you. I know why, he saw through your bullshit."
Dominic saw himself in his brother's anger. Marius was worried, Dominic on the verge to cracking under the pressure, turning into a sobbing mess, desperately trying to hold it together for the other one.
"He was a troublemaker Cedrick, no wonder he went undercover ! It was right up his alley !" The tone of his father changed for the worse.
"We did our shit together, why can't you ever see it ? I'm not an angel, fuck I was worse !" Cedrick's stuttering became worse as well. "Why am I arguing with you ? You don't care, you never have. I'm glad he's out of your grip, thank God we reacted and thank you so much for beating him up, father, we managed to escape because of that."
"He got what he asked for."
"Defending mama when you were screaming at her ? Sometimes I wonder why you never left, mom."
"He's dangerous, look at what he's done to you !" Their father was screaming now.
"Well at least you can't deny he's your son by your logic, he's as violent as you were then ! You were an amazing exemple for him, good job ! You disgust me."
Dominic couldn't hold it anymore, he started crying as quietly as possible in front of Marius who was in clear shock. He couldn't stand hearing his brother like this, again, after so long. The truth was out wether he liked it or not, no going back. He got pulled into strong arms, the embrace almost suffocating him. Kisses on his neck, slowly coming up until they reached his lips. Marius was whispering in between kisses, 'sorry', 'i'm so sorry', 'it's okay, I'm with you'.
The voices out of the kitchen were blurred out. Bandit had made his mind, he had nothing to fear, his brother had just proved all of his worries and doubts wrong. He took his time, appreciating the kisses he was receiving, calming himself down as much as he could. He'd do anything for the man in front of him right now, he felt grateful. Bandit leaned in to kiss Jäger passionately, they both knew where their friendship was probably headed now. He reluctantly left the other's arms before turning to the cake, putting the candles one by one around the message written on top. He grabbed the nearby lighter and lit them up.
His heart was pounding in his chest as he left the room, the cake in his hands. The first thing he turned his attention to was his brother's back. The short, deep golden hair, the silhouette of a beard that would make Andreas jealous. He was twitching somewhat, arms filled with tremors, one of his legs looked like it had a hard time moving compared to the other. He looked restless and his current anger didn't help.
The screaming match stopped as Dominic put the cake down on the table in front of his brother.
"Come on now Cedrick, let's not talk about this on your birthday."
Dominic didn't know if he should laugh or cry as his eyes fell on his brother's face. The pure confusion and hurt on the face that looked like his own, albeit slightly paralyzed it seemed. The loud 'oh my god' that followed from his twin's mouth left him speechless.
"No way... No way..." His brother got up, straightening himself up with the help of the table. Trembling hands set themselves on Dominic's face, was it the tremors or the emotions ? "You're back. You're here. Fuck."
His brother was looking at him in disbelief, quickly turning into a crying mess in front of him. He got pulled into a tight hug, he hesitantly put his hands on Cedrick's back before finally giving back the embrace.
Just like that, he felt whole again.