As ever, my darlings, I at no point in my personal timeline shall own Eragon, the Inheritance Cycle, any of the characters within or associated paraphernalia. At least, by law, I am allowed this small... fantasy =]

Chapter IV – The Moment. With a Capital.

We pulled into the drive, with a fantastic bit of driving from Mother, and got out of the car with a little bit of hesitations from Murtagh, but I think he thought I didn't notice. Did you see that? My brain said, a little agitatedly. Yes, I did, because you did. You forget, we're in the same body. Ah, yes.

Shaking my head in disbelief, I grabbed my share of Murtagh's gear from the boot, plus a couple of large boxes we'd picked up from reception, and a laptop, whilst Murtagh took the rest, including a guitar and amp. Whilst Mother unlocked the door, Murtagh and I exchanged excited glances and grins. As soon as there was no woody-type impediment in the way, we rushed up the stairs with new-found strength, lugging his stuff up behind us.

"Ready to see your new room?" I said, thinking I probably already knew the answer.

"Oh, yes!" he said, with a cheeky, David-Tennant-Doctor-Who-type grin.

I unlocked the door, handing him the key with the reassurance that it was the only one to that door, then pushed it open.

The door swung into a medium-sized room (big enough to do pretty much anything in or with it, but not big enough to be cold and uncosy), decorated in a neutral white so as to be easy to paint over, with no carpet, just unstained floorboards. A large half-of-the-wall sized window faced over the city's expanse in the middle distance, no doubt allowing for some lovely establishing shots for his personal movie, the city spreading around the foothills of the mountain, with us perched around halfway up the pointy chap.

"Obviously, I mean, we don't intend to keep it like this... all bare and white... we're going to decorate and we're going furniture shopping after lunch. On that note... mind if I call in some help?"

"Sure, feel free."

"ARYA! SAPHIRA!" I yelled; I'd taken the liberty of hiding them in my room.

"Now, now, Er... What have I told you about shouting? I'm a delicate young woman, you know." Said Arya, wandering in in her own sultry manner, with Saphira following.

"Bollocks, you are. Now, girls, say hello to Murtagh."

"How do you do?" My newest sibling said with mock-politeness, his silly, cute, smirk dancing around his lovely lèvres. Sorry, what? Cute? Entendez-vous qu'il est mon frère? Mais oui, but frig it.

"Well... let's have a look at you then." This last from Arya, circling him like either a vulture or a condor, checking him out rather openly.

"Tall... what, 6' 1"? Gorgeous hair, very silky indeed haha. Azure eyes... almost like the old Japanese ceramics my mother has. And, it has to be said, an entirely fantastic arse. Well, Er, I don't think you could have done much better for a brother."

"Yes, well, could you stop perving him up? He *is* my brother."

"Yeah, so? Just 'cause you want a go." Yeah, so? Shush, you.

"Oh, whatever... Just, can we get going with the decoration?"

"Sure, whatever you want, Er." She said, with a cheeky wink. Damn her eyes.

"So, I'm guessing buy your attire and ... general character that your favourite colour is black?"

"Well done." He said, with a little undertone of sarcasm.

"So, I think burgundy... sort of scarlet-y burgundy walls, with black drapery. Black soft furnishings, and a red tinted bulb in the light for that extra little... je ne sais quoi."

"Sounds fabu... I mean, sounds great." Murtagh quickly corrected himself.

"It's ok, Tag, both the girls are bi."

"What?"

"Oh, yes. See, I'm one of the only people in this town who is exclusively attracted to one gender. Most people are bisexual; the ultimate in gender equality."

"Oh! Cool." He said with a flash of that apparently idiosyncratic grin. "Well, I'm sort of bi-curious. I'm hoping to explore myself a bit more from now on."

"I'm sure you'll find someone to help you out."

"Well, I did meet this guy down at the social thing, but he might think it's weird for us two to be together." RING FRICKIN' RING. This is your mental alarm bell. Shut the fuck up. Get out of my brain.

"Ooh, really?" asked Arya. "Well, I've got a friend you might be interested in meeting. Saph, let's go and grab Thorn, and then we can go meet my friend."

Saphira bounded out, looking slightly manic.

"So, Eragon... you said you were gay... is there anyone on the scene for you?"

"To be honest, no, and there never has been. Hopefully I'll find someone soon, even if it's frivolous."

I blushed bright red at the slight implications. Running my hands through my blonde-brown locks, I wandered over to the window.

"I really get a bit lonely sometimes. I mean, Mum's fantastic and everything, but sometimes, you just crave something romantic, you know?" As I said the last part, I turned around to face him and just managed to stop myself from flinching when I saw how close he was, but couldn't suppress the slight intake of breath. Whoosh. His cologne took another sprint up my olfactory canals, with the slight addition this time of a stirring in my nether regions.

"Yeah, I get what you mean, new bro. I get like that a lot. I just... want something different, you know? I mean, I've been with so many girls, and ... been with them, that I just need something more... intimate. " With each pause, he took another little step towards me. I turned around brusquely so he wouldn't detect my arousal, confusing as it was, and faced out on the cityscape again.

"Really? So, you were a bit of a ... manwhore?"

He chuckled. "If that's the way you choose to express my ... dalliances, yes."

I turned to face him again, and found him closer than before, close enough to touch.

"I see. Well, perhaps I can help you to restrain yourself. Would you... be interested in my assistance?" I paused to inhale his... special scent again.

"Perhaps." Once again, a flash of that stupid-fox-grin, and a slight shift of posture.

"Well then. Welcome to the family, new bro."

We stood there by the window, looking at each other a little awkwardly, me a little trapped, him bristling a little like a predator waiting to pounce. The awkwardness was broken as he took that final little shuffle towards me and suddenly enveloped me in a huge, tight bear hug, with just a hint of wandering-hands. Well, well, well. I think that says it all, in my book. Shuttup, let me enjoy the.. oh, that was my buttock.

As his hands drifted across my back, I finally felt it necessary to break the embrace.

"A lovely welcome it was."

Thanks to all you guys for reading so far, I know there was a rather large delay between this and the last, but you know... exams and shizz. There'll be another update as soon as I finish wondering how to make this work out :) Reviews always welcome, though constructive criticism is the most I shall read. Flamers will be ignored with more than a hint of smuggery.