"Oh hell! I'm dying!" was Eragon's first thought as he awoke the next morning.

His head felt as if someone was taking a sledgehammer to it, a new pulse of pain overtaking him with every beat of his heart. His stomach churned and rolled like the waves of the shore, adding to his discomfort.

"Damn hangovers!"

How much had he drank last night?! After the whole thing with Murtagh and Galbatorix he had gone back to the bar and the rest of the night passed in a fuzzy blur of drinks and heavy dancing.

But mostly drinks.

Eragon groaned. It had seemed like a good idea at the time.

As Eragon laid in bed, wondering if his was about to explode of his shoulders, the smell of pancakes and coffee wafted into the room. A soft deep humming could be hear form the only other male in the house, Murtagh.

At the glorious smell of coffee, Eragon groaned once more and rolled over slowly. Only to spring out of bed the next instant and sprint to the bathroom which is where Murtagh found him minutes later, praying to the porcelain god.

Eragon dry heaved once more and reached up trying to find the handle to flush again only for Murtagh to beat him to it.

"Come on kid. Upsy daisy.", said the older man as he wrapped his strong arms around Eragon and gently lifted him of the ground.

Murtagh slowly led Eragon to the sink to wash out his mouth and when he was sure the younger male was not going to fall over, he retreated to the kitchen to finish breakfast. Eragon drew in a deep breath and splashed water onto his face and a shiver raced down his spine as the ice water made contact with his skin.

The young man glanced up and was met with his pale and sickly looking reflection. He skin held a pallid tone and his eyes were bloodshot with dark shadows surrounded them. Eragon sighed, straightened up and slowly shuffled into the kitchen.

As he collapsed into a seat at the table, he finally got a good look at his brother and his jaw dropped. Murtagh looked as if he hadn't even had a drink last night, it was like he was stone cold sober! As Eragon watched Murtagh practically dance around the kitchen preparing breakfast, he rubbed his aching temples and silently vowed to never drink again. But, then again, he had made that vow before and look what happened last night.

Murtagh snapped him out of his thoughts by placing a plate of pancake, bacon and scrambled eggs in front of him and next to the plate sat a cup of strong black coffee with 2 sugars just how he liked it. Murtagh then took a seat across from him with a matching plate.

"How you feeling?" Murtagh asked as he brought food to his waiting mouth while Eragon eyed the food suspiciously. His stomach was still a bit queasy but looking at the wondrous food, he couldn't resist and hesitantly took a bite.

"Like a train slammed into me. Why don't you feel like shit?" Eragon replied when he swallowed the delicious food. Murtagh was sure a great cook.

The older brunette shrugged and continued to eat. "Don't know. I have never suffered from hangover before. But with the amount of alcohol you consumed last night are you surprised that you feel the way you do?"

Eragon glared at him and grumbled. Silence covered the kitchen for a time, the only noise was the clacking of silverware.

"How did we get home last night?"

Murtagh looked up at the question and swallowed. "Well I called a taxi but they sent the wrong sized taxi so you had to sit on my lap. Then I carried you to bed and tucked you in. " Murtagh replied smugly

Eragon groaned at the visual. "Oh god I feel like a child!"

"Well you are, aren't you Jailbait?" , Murtagh replied with a smirk.

"Fuck off!", Eragon growled.

Murtagh's smirk widened and he watched the younger male eat for a moment before an idea popped into his head. "By the way,", he began and Eragon looked up with a raised eyebrow. "I heard you in the art class about me."

Eragon's brow furrowed in confusion for a moment before revelation smashed into him and knocked the wind from his lungs. All color drained from his face and he began to gape and stutter.

"I…I…I…I!"

Before Eragon could say anymore, Selena walked in and claimed that the pancakes and coffee was exactly what she needed after a long night shift.

As she padded across the kitchen floor, she glanced at Eragon who had a look of fear and nausea frozen on his visage and was pale as a sheet.

"Are you ok sweetie? You look horrible!", she exclaimed as she observed her youngest son.

"He is just a bit off from last night Mum. Nothing to worry about", was Murtagh quick reply.

"Well it seems this was self inflected, so I have no sympathy for you darling.", Selena stated after a moment. "Now you two had better get going. And Murtagh take the car or there's a chance you will be late."

Eragon felt his heart slam to a stop in his chest and paled even further at the thought of a car journey to college alone with Murtagh.

With no interruptions like mum.

That meant he would have to explain, which would mean he would have to admit to Murtagh that he liked him.

The next few moments were just a blur of fear and terror and before Eragon could comprehend what was happening, they were in the sliver beetle their mum had bought last year and it was rolling away from the house. Fear griped Eragon in a vise and he barely dared to breathe. He looked at Murtagh out of the corner of his eye and saw the older male looked calm as ever.

Eragon gulped and scooted closer to the door, his muscles tense. But as the minutes dragged on, Eragon began to relax slightly.

"Maybe I imagined it! Maybe he didn't say anything and I was hallucinating!" But right as that thought passed through his head, Murtagh's husky voice filled the car.

"Eragon, I know you like me."

Eragon stopped breathing and felt his world crash and burn around him. "Oh God! No! Now he hates me! He's going to call me a freak and say how disgusted he is with me!"

Eragon spun to face his brother and saw him about to open his mouth but Eragon beat him to it, not wanting to hear the disdainful words he knew were to come.

"Murtagh…..I….I…I'm so…I'm so sorry! Please…please don't…..look I….I know its wrong but….but please….please don't hate me! I…" Eragon's sentence ended abruptly as he choked back a sob. Miserable, he put his head into his hands, curled into himself and sobbed.

However, soon he felt gentle hands pulling his own from his face and Murtagh's rough, warm hand gently pulled his chin up. But Eragon kept his eyes down, waiting for the inevitable punch or slap or words of disgust that were sure to break his heart into a million glass shards. But none of those events happened, instead Murtagh's voice sounded close to his ear, soft and smooth.

"Eragon. Eragon look at me." Slowly, the younger brunette lifted his watery eyes to the warm ones of his brother. Murtagh smiled slightly and used his thumb to wipe an stray tear that flowed down Eragon's cheek.

"Eragon I don't hate you. I could never hate you. The only thing I'm shocked about is that you like me back."

His words washed over Eragon like a cool stream and ricocheted in his head.

"Back. Murtagh said back. Does that mean…..does that mean he likes me as well?" ,asked Eragon in his head.

But before he could ponder this any further, warm, soft lips covered his own and all thoughts faded away.

/

So what do you think, sorry it took so long but me and my beta both have hectic lives :D

PLEASE REVIEW !!!!!!!