Raivis roamed the street for the next half hour looking for signs for work. He needed to find a job before he even thought of doing anything else. If he couldn't secure a job, there was no way he could get a home for himself and Lilli, so a job was at the top of the list. Unfortunately, he couldn't find anyone who was hiring. This whole mission was off to a bad start.
He sat on the curb outside of a shop and sighed, coming his fingers through his curly hair. What had he done to deserve this? How would he ever be able to provide for Lilli? His mind was filled with thoughts of what he was going to do next.
The Latvian boy wracked his brain, trying to think of something, anything. How was he going to find a job if there weren't any available? There was no way he could ever get one at this rate. He let out a sigh as he held his head in his hands in defeat. This was not going the way he had planned.
"No," he suddenly mumbled to himself. "I can't go down like this. That's like letting Vash win." Raivis looked up. "I have to keep going. It's for Lilli. It's all for Lilli." He slowly rose to his feet and thought of a different method of job hunting. He was going to walk into each store and specifically ask if they needed another worker. If they said no, he would leave it at that. There was no way he could go wrong with that plan.
.
When he returned home that day, he had four interviews set for the next day. He was rather proud of himself for coming up with the idea of going in and asking. Never again would he sit on a curb and feel sorry for himself. If he hadn't gotten up and taken the opportunity before him, he never would have had a chance to get a job like he had now. All he could do now was hope that he got at least one of the jobs, if not two.
Lilli rushed over to greet him, smiling widely. "Raivis!" she excitedly said, pulling him into a tight hug. "How did the job search go? You were gone all day! You must have gotten something, right?"
Raivis smiled widely at her. "Better than just that. I have four job interviews tomorrow," he told her. "Which means that four places want me to work for them!"
She clapped her hands excitedly. "I knew you would come through for me, Raivis! You always do!" Lilli leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Oh, you're just the best!" She giggled with joy and hugged him again, squeezing tighter than before. "I know you can do this, Rai! You've never let me down before!" She let him go and squealed with joy. "I know you can do this! And we'll be married before you know it!"
Raivis couldn't help but to smile. "I can do this for you, Lilli. And when I reach my goal, we will be married and be the happiest we've ever been. Together."
Lilli laid her head on his shoulder. "I hope so. I am so happy, Raivis. You make me the happiest girl in the world!" Her bright green eyes shined as she looked up at him. "I love you so much."
He held her close and smiled to himself. Never in his life had he ever been in love the way he was with Lilli. The only thing that he constantly wondered was why she loved him and not someone else. Surely there could be another man, so why him? It wasn't like he was anyone special, yet it was him that she chose. He couldn't help but be happy at that.
The front door opened with a slam as heavy footfalls marched toward Lilli and Raivis. Vash could be heard yelling something in a language neither of them could understand until he broke out into English, shouting, "Can you not get that through your thick head, Ivan?!" He entered the room, stopping dead in his tracks upon seeing his younger sister and roommate.
"What's going on, Vash?" Lilli softly asked, nervous of it being some sort of lover's spat that Raivis couldn't know about.
"It's nothing," he quickly said, looking down at his feet, embarrassed. "Ivan was just being….Ivan. You know how he is." Though he looked completely calm and collected when he looked back up at Lilli and Raivis, his eyes were pleading with his sister, practically begging her not to tell Raivis what was going on between him and Ivan. "I am sorry to have startled you."
Another set of footfalls was heard in the house and moments later, Ivan entered the room as well. "I hope I didn't startle you," Ivan said, a soft smile on his face. "Vash and I just had a slight disagreement on something."
The Swiss man glared daggers at his Russian companion. Moments after, he rolled his eyes and tugged on Ivan's sleeve. "You're coming with me. We're not finished here." With much effort and force, he managed to drag Ivan down the hallway toward the bedrooms.
"What was that all about?" Raivis asked Lilli. He was obviously confused, not having seen what Lilli had seen between the two men. "Are they okay? Should I go and make sure that Vash doesn't kill Ivan?"
"Wait, Raivis-" But Lilli's voice wasn't heard as the Latvian boy walked down the hallway to find out what was going on between the two men.
As Raivis walked, he could hear faint panting noises coming from down the hallway. Was one of them strangling the other? He could also hear some moans as well. That could only mean one thing, Vash was trying to torture Ivan! He had to get to them quickly, but without being caught. Raivis turned the corner and saw a sight he wished he didn't have to see.
Ivan was standing there with his hand down the front of the obviously aroused Vash's pants! His hand was moving, which obviously meant that something was going on. Raivis had witnessed enough of that when living with Toris and Feliks to know what was going on between these two men. Why couldn't they have just said they were in love?
Raivis quickly walked back to Lilli. His blue eyes were wide, and he didn't exactly know what to say to explain why he had come back so quickly without resolving anything.
"You saw them, didn't you?" Lilli asked, looking him in the eye.
"I did," Raivis answered with a nod. "It was familiar to me in the sense that I used to see things like that when living with Toris and Feliks, but it was also foreign and almost scary to me because it was Vash and Ivan."
She slowly nodded. "I completely understand what you're saying. I should have known they were in love. It's not like they're any good at hiding it. My guess is that they have been together for years. When I was younger, Vash would always have Ivan over, but I always found it odd that they would both sleep in Vash's room when we had a guest bedroom."
Raivis nodded his agreement. "Didn't that tell you anything right there?" he asked.
Lilli shook her head. "I guess I was too young and naive at the time to really think about it." She shrugged and looked down toward the hallway where her brother and Ivan were. "I should have figured they would become lovers one day, but I didn't think it would ever really happen, I guess."
"And why not?" he asked her.
"Because I never thought my brother would be a man who liked other men." And as she admitted it aloud, she felt her heart break a little in her chest.
.
Lilli sat up in bed that night, thinking. She just couldn't believe that her brother liked men. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that he was in love with Ivan. It was almost a terrifying concept to her. Her thoughts were racing about her head, making it difficult to think about just one particular thing.
There was a knock on her door that caused her to look up as her brother entered. "What is it, Vash?" she asked. "And why so late? Is something wrong?"
"I need to talk to you about some things," Vash answered, sitting at the end of her bed like they always did whenever they were going to have a serious talk.
"Like what?" Lilli asked, feeling her heart racing in her chest. There was so much going on in her head that she just couldn't even think straight.
"I need to talk to you about our futures," he answered. Vash took a deep breath. It obviously made him uncomfortable to talk about this to his sister, but he couldn't let that stop him. "And I say it like that because we will be having two separate ones because we are two separate people."
She nodded. "I don't think I understand why you're so serious."
"I'm calling off my deal with Raivis," Vash answered. "I want to see you happy, Lil, and you won't be happy with anyone but him. So that's why I've decided to call off our deal. Your happiness is important to me, Lilli. I want you to always know and remember that." He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "You're happy with Raivis, so I want you two to be happy forever."
Lilli blinked her eyes in confusion. "Who made you change your mind?" she asked.
"I did," Ivan answered, walking into the room. He closed the door after himself and walked over to them, placing his hands on Vash's shoulders. "Lilli, I know what it's like to be in love with someone and not be able to have them. It's hard, isn't it?" He watched as Lilli nodded. "So I want you and Raivis to never have to experience that."
"But why?" Lilli asked him. "I don't understand."
"Lilli, as you know, Ivan and I don't have a normal relationship that men should have," Vash slowly answered. "We both understand that we're not supposed to be in love with each other, but we still are. We have been for years. While it's true that I went to find you suitors while you were in Russia, I couldn't find one who was as good for you as Raivis. So when Ivan came back and told me all that he did for you, I decided that I would let Raivis be your suitor. At first, I wanted to make him work for it, but Ivan didn't like that idea, saying that Raivis had already worked hard enough for it."
"He has," she quietly interjected. "Raivis has worked extremely hard to be mine, and I wish you could just see that like everyone else seems to have." Her eyes narrowed at her brother. "I want you to see how hard he's working for me. For gracious sakes, he got a job today so that he could win that stupid deal of yours."
"He did?" Vash asked. "I asked all of the shopkeepers to take down their help wanted signs this morning."
Lilli gasped. "Vash!"
"It was to make it more challenging," he answered.
"Which Raivis did manage to pass," Ivan reminded.
"Still…" Lilli sighed. "Raivis has proven enough."
"I know," Vash softly said. "And that's why I'm calling off the deal. As soon as he has a house, the two of you may marry. I'm okay with it."
Lilli's eyes widened. "You really mean it, Vash?"
"A man never goes back on his word, Lil," her older brother told her. "So I refuse to go back on mine." He ruffled her hair. "Starting tomorrow, Raivis is your suitor. How do you feel about that?"
She jumped up and hugged her brother tightly. "It's all I've ever wanted, Vash! Thank you!" she gratefully told him. "I love you so much! You are the greatest big brother ever!" Her lips kissed his cheeks over and over in gratitude. "You have made me the happiest girl on this earth!"
"I'm glad," Vash answered. "Now it's late. You should be getting to bed."
"How can I sleep, knowing that the man I'm in love with is finally mine?" Lilli excitedly asked him. "May I please go and tell him?"
"Absolutely not," her brother quickly said. "It can wait until the morning. You need your beauty rest. A girl as beautiful as you needs as much rest as she can get to stay as beautiful as she is."
She pouted a little. "Fine, you win," she answered. "But thank you, Vash. I really mean it."
"I know you do," he answered. He kissed Lilli's forehead. "I only want the best for my little sister, nothing more and nothing less."
Lilli grinned at him. "Good night then," she said, going back to lying down in bed.
Vash chuckled to himself. "Yes, good night, Lilli," he said, standing up. He walked out with Ivan. "I'll see you in the morning."
She sat there in bed for awhile, thinking about what Vash had told her, but only one thing stuck that she couldn't get out of her head. He has said they'd talk about their futures, yet they only talked about hers. Deciding to put it off, she went to bed, heart beating madly for Raivis.
.
Raivis woke the next morning to find Lilli in the kitchen, making a huge breakfast. "What's this all about?" he asked her, confused. "You never make food like this unless if it's an important occasion."
"Well, it is an important occasion," she casually answered.
He thought for a moment, trying to remember birthdays and all. Unable to think of any, he decided to ask. "What is the occasion?"
"Today marks the first day of our engagement," Lilli answered, turning to him. "Vash decided to call off the deal he made with you and is now going to let us be married."
Raivis stood there for a moment, unable to process the information given him. They were engaged? Vash called off the deal? "This is for real?" he asked her, blinking in confusion. "Vash said so?"
Lilli happily nodded. "He has!" she excitedly said. "As soon as you get a house, we can be wed!" She hopped over to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "I love you, Raivis!" Her lips pressed to his before she could stop herself.
"I love you too, Lilli," he muttered against her lips.
.
Three Months Later
The backyard was decorated beautifully as Raivis stood at the end of a long aisle. The whole town sat before him, having known Lilli since childhood and watched her grow up. His heart raced as he stood there and waited for her. Never in his life had he been more nervous or anxious for one moment such as this.
Lilli stood at the back door of their house, where the aisle began, out of Raivis's sight. She smiled as Vash finished fussing over her and telling her not to get her white dress dirty. "Are you ready?" she asked, peeking out at Raivis. "Because Rai looks ready."
"The question is, are you ready?" Vash asked her. "I'm not giving you away if you're not."
She took a deep breath, glancing once more at the man waiting for her at the end of the aisle. "Yes," she softly said. "I'm ready." In her heart, she knew she was.
"I'm glad to hear that," her brother answered. He kissed her forehead. "After today, even though you're technically Raivis's responsibility, you'll never stop being mine. I only want the best for you, Lilli. That's why I'm giving you to the best."
Lilli hugged her brother tightly. "I love you, Vash."
"I love you too, Lilli," he answered, stroking her hair.
As he began to walk her down the aisle, he began to remember the first day she came to live with him. He had only been eighteen years old and she was six. His eyes looked over the backyard filled with people, but all he could see was her running around and calling out to him to look at all of the things she had found.
"Vash, why are you crying?" Lilli suddenly asked him.
He quickly snapped back to reality and wiped his eyes. "You grew up too fast," he answered. "That's all." His eyes went to the beautiful young woman that little girl had become. "I'm so proud of you."
"It's all thanks to the man who raised me," Lilli softly told him as they continued walking. She looked up and saw Raivis and noticed that he, too, had tears streaming down his cheeks. "Why is everyone crying today?"
"Because my beautiful sister is getting married," Vash answered. "They're wondering where the time went and how you grew up so fast."
They stopped before Raivis and Lilli smiled at her fiance. Vash suddenly felt a tugging at his heart. Could he really give away his baby sister like this? Of course he could. Raivis was a good man.
"Who gives this young woman away today?" the preacher asked.
Vash turned to Lilli and smiled at her. "As her older brother, I do."
.
The End