Aphid must have been utterly exhausted, as the next thing he knew, he was waking to the sound of Hric's scrambling to take the boiling kettle off the little stove before it could whistle.
The curly blond yanked it just as that high pitched hiss began penetrating the air, but he nearly scalded himself on the splash that swashed up the spout and barely missed his bare foot as it plopped the floor.
"shit," he whispered, "nearly got that toe again…."
He glanced the brothers' way to see Aphid awake, though still flat on his back, but yawning and scratching his choppy hair.
"oopsie," Hric continued to whisper, at least noting the little brother still tucked into Aphid's side, "tried to catch the whistle, sorry."
"…it's….alright," Aphid whispered back, "is it morning already?"
Aphid unburied Kor, who had at some point nestled down into the big brother's side so much, he almost burrowed underneath him.
"yeah," Hric replied, "sun's not up yet, but will be in about an hour. I'm making my morning tea, if ya want a cup, but Freluff will have some coffee ready at breakfast….but that's about four hours from now…."
"….four hours?...," Aphid repeated. He wasn't really questioning anything, he knew how farms worked, but he was a good bit groggier than he usually was waking up. He really has been utterly exhausted.
But Kor was still out like a log.
The older brother even lifted the boy's chin up a bit, like a worried mother checking on her snuggled infant's breathing, but the little boy gave a sleepy sigh and cozied back onto Aphid's chest.
"Mmhm," Hric continued whispering their conversation, "Farmer's clock. I got some work to do between now and then, including getting that lazy arse rooster up for his job. Dumbest crower I've ever met. And I thought my Ma raised some dumb ones….including me……Tea?"
"uhm….sorry, no thank you," Aphid declined.
"Alright then," Hric answered as he twirled out a tankard from the cupboard above the little stove, nearly dropped it, and then casually poured the hot water within. A thunk was heard after he dropped the steel tea infuser in the cup, and then his heightened whisper of an expletive after the splash licked him.
"Oow! Shit--," he hissed but quickly changed back to a casual demeanor and lower whisper, "Yeah, I can see you're a little weighed down at the moment, heh. No worries. As I said, breakfast ain't for a good bit longer, and knowing Freluff, he ain't gonna mind how long you sad sacks sleep in right now…."
The curly haired teen stepped up on the bed of his window nook and flung the shutter open.
"Oh, but if ya wantin' to clean up before then," Hric added….while relieving his bladder directly out the window, "…..the bathhouse is that big room off the back-left of the big house. Freluff left y'all some towels or whatever in there last night. If the outside door is locked, someone is in there—there shouldn't be this morning, but that's what that means. When you guys are in, lock the house side door…..unless you're one of them freer bird types, I guess…."
Suddenly, Kor's groggy little voice piped up.
"….Aphid?" he said, barely lifting his head from his brother's chest, "….is it…time….are we….are we getting up?"
"Oh, hey, no," Aphid replied. He had a feeling all this jammering was gonna wake the boy eventually.
The kid could sleep through the rowdiest of free-for-all tavern brawls outside their room door, but then wake up to a whisper.
Not always. But Aphid knew kids, and they did everything but make sense.
"...No, my sleepy little freckle-face," Aphid softly replied to the groggy boy, "I'm sorry. You can go on back to sleep for a little while longer.…"
Kor let out a little yawn and began nestling back down.
"Okay….I love you--," he began to sleepily say, but he somehow noticed Hric, "…..is he--?"
"he is…," Aphid whispered quietly to the boy, "….And I better not catch you doin' that….."
"…no, sir….," Kor whispered back and then let out another yawn, "….g'night…."
Aphid chuckled quietly at his brother, who seemed to zonk out quicker than a finger snap, but Hric spoke again as if the whole barn was awake.
"Ey, it's a lot more convenient," he said, at a casual speaking volume, while hitching and lacing up his pants, "…than scrambling up and down that ladder…."
He noticed Aphid's blinking stare upon him, but then shrugged.
"No worries, I only fire from the pipe not the pot," the curly haired sprinkler grossly assured.
Aphid still only stared.
"..though this one time…," Hric continued with a smirk, "….when Freluff made a spicy bean stew--"
Aphid made quite a dismissive sound, with a click of his tongue and quick exhale of breath, and nestled back down on his pillow.
Hric snickered; clearly this was some sort of victory.
"Heh," he snorted, "You sure you're sturdy enough to handle farm work, mister? Freluff might have ya shoveling shit, you know."
"I've shoveled quite a bit of shit, I assure you," Aphid responded, with a tiredness of both this jib jabbing and in general.
"Oh, you've got crapdentials," Hric replied and snorted at his own witty retort.
And there was a chuckle from the boy who was thought asleep.
"Kor?" Aphid said and he sounded a bit off guard for the kid hearing this all, "Shh, shh, go on back to sleep, hm?"
"You cussed….," Kor replied.
"I!—uh,I--" Aphid stuttered; he was caught.
"Uh ooooh," Hric snickered, "Big brother done got himself in big trouuuuble."
Hric may be right, as Kor seemed to want to make a point of it.
"A wolf didn't bite you this time," the little brother stated.
"No…," Aphid replied, "….no, one didn't….I'm sorry, baby brother, I had no excuse to do that. Just because I'm older doesn't mean I can be hypocrite about--"
It seemed Aphid would be graciously spared the comeuppance though, as Kor simply nestled upon him once more with a sleepy sigh.
"Aphid?..." he said.
"….yes?" the older brother replied. He was ever so slightly anxious this foul mouth business wasn't concluded.
However….
"Can I pleeease go back to sleep now?" the younger brother asked.
"Y-yes," Aphid sighed, "…yes, baby brother. We're sorry."
"Speak for yourself," Hric threw in, "Seeing him all cozy makes me want to play Ragnar the Red upon my tin pots."
Aphid knew that curly brat was going to remark something, but he offered no retort.
"All you'll hear from me now," he said to Kor, "is my heartbeat. Sweet sleep, sweetface. I love you."
"I love you too," Kor responded with a nuzzle.
Hric made some kind of disgusted noise towards their sickening sweet interaction.
Aphid imagined Hric was very accustomed to the lack of response towards his remarks, but the big brother somewhat wondered if he should just ask the teen if he needed a hug.
Kor did say Hric was like Bark. Psychoanalysis proved that boy just needed a hug from time to time.
Of course, Aphid would have to ask this particular boy in the most patronizing way he could muster—on principle--, but it'd have to wait. Aphid was busy being quiet as a heartbeat now.
And surprisingly, for the next few minutes until he left out to work, Hric remained quiet and careful in his moving about.
Well, mostly quiet.
He was producing a very quiet but musical clicking with the tip of his tongue, but it wasn't disturbing.
In fact, Aphid found himself beginning to drift off to the ambiance. Sleep quickly claimed him once more just as Hric slid down the ladder to work.
When Aphid next awoke, it was to the sun rays having found their path through the cracked open shudders and casting their bright, but silent, beckon upon his eyelids.
He crinkled his nose and turned his face to avoid opening his eyes to the piercing light.
He had attempted to move a hand up to his face as well, but felt an anchor wrapped around it.
Even though he knew full well what—who-- it was, he instinctively turned his head to look…..and had his eyes harassed by the rays of light he had just tried to avoid.
"Mmmmmrghhhh," he groaned and quickly turned his face away again.
He used his free hand to feel that Kor had turned at some point, pressed his back into the big brother's side, and had an anchoring hug on his arm.
Adorable.
Aphid was just about to wonder if the rays of light were trickling their fingers on the little brother's eyelids, when that little brother made a groan nearly mimicking the older brother's of just a moment ago, and fastly flopped over….accidentally slapping Aphid right in the diaphragm as he did so.
"Omph!" Aphid coughed.
Though he was thoroughly used to being a bed for all his siblings, they somehow always managed to get a good hit in now and then.
"o-ow….," he breathed.
He felt Kor's hand twitch and begin to grasp his shirt.
"…..aphid?" the boy's tired voice barely peeped.
"Mhm?" Aphid replied and rested his own hand on the boy's hand; the other on Kor's head and giving his loose and tossed hair a little scritch-scritch.
"…….is it time to get up?" Kor asked, unaware of the smack he had just done.
Aphid didn't mind that. He knew Kor would be sorry if the kid knew what he had done, and he didn't want the boy waking up sorry.
"Mhm," Aphid replied and began to playfully shake the kid and sing-song, "….~Shakey, shakey, time to wakey~."
Kor groaned again.
Aphid began to poke him instead.
"~I won't have whining~," he continued his sing-song and poking the boy in various places, "~when the sun is shining~."
Kor wasn't usually a grumpy riser; only when he wasn't feeling well.
He may have been physically recovered from their recent string of hard knocks, but Aphid knew the boy was still mentally exhausted.
"~Outta beeed~" Aphid continued to playfully pester him, "~ sleepyheeeead~"
Kor groaned once more and buried his face as far as he could into Aphid's body.
It honestly hurt a good bit, but Aphid didn't react to the near excavation of his ribs.
Instead, he was only trying to decipher the heavily muffled complaint his little brother was garbling to his lungs, damn near.
The older brother finally sat up, forcing Kor to do the same, though the boy stayed slunked against him.
"Come on, baby brother," Aphid gently shook him this time, "Don't ya want to wash away the last remnants of our crummy couple weeks? And enjoy a yummy breakfast? Smell. They're cooking up something better than two measly sparrow eggs and prayers."
Kor remained quiet and slunked against Aphid for the next moment, until suddenly, he shoved himself straight up and twitched his nose to the air.
"They have bacon!" he said excitedly to his older brother, who was currently straightening himself back up after that sudden shove.
"….sorry," Kor added.
Aphid chuckled and gave a small shove back.
"C'mon, stinkface," he teased, "Let's go bathe, and then, bacon."
"My face doesn't stink!" Kor retorted, but then seemed to try and figure out how to sniff his own face, "….does it?"
Aphid grinned…..that mischievous big brother grin….
"Hm…," he hummed and began to position himself in an obviously preying stance, "….let me get a closer whiff…"
Kor immediately attempted to scramble away.
"No, no, no!" he quickly exclaimed, though laughingly, "Don't!"
Aphid, however, had pounced and pinned his little brother down to the bed mat. He flipped him right side up and immediately made a dive for his face. Kor struggled with holding the teen at bay, especially through his laughter.
"Aphid!" he chortled and protested, "Stop! Don't smell my face! That's weird!"
Aphid paused in mid-struggle to fake an offended gasp.
"I'm weird?" he said.
Kor, bless him, let his guard down to clarify he meant no insult.
"No! You just act weird—AH!"
Aphid got through his defense in that moment and tickled the boy with sniffs all around the side of his face.
"Hey! Eh! Aphid! Quuuuit!" Kor laughed, his giggle fit becoming more uncontrollable, "Th-at t-ickles! St-stop! Really, stop!"
Aphid relented but finished by planting a big kiss upon the boy's cheek and playfully flipping him face down onto the bed roll.
"Alright," Aphid stated with business as he stood and lightly kicked upon Kor's rump, "Up with ya. Wakey, wakey, bath and bac..cy?"
Kor quickly wormed out from under foot and pushed himself up and onto his feet.
He wiped at the sloppy wet kiss that was left upon his face.
"I wonder if they have toothbrushes," he said.
"Imagine so," Aphid replied, "What with everything else they--wait a….What'a'ya tryin' to say??"
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( Author's Note: Just wanted to say take a moment to thank you, JM, for leaving all the reviews. I'm intrigued anyone is actually reading my little therapy rambles of my two brother ocs, but thank you nonetheless haha. )