Maks was woken up by the noises coming from his living room, surprising him once again because he was still used to silence. He got up reluctantly and left his bedroom, half asleep. He vaguely remembered how angry he'd been watching Aleks with Wiki last night, but now this resentment had returned in full force. He saw Aleks leaning over the table, telling some story animatedly, and Wiki, who apparently couldn't stop giggling, and felt himself being filled from head to toe by some treacherous, overwhelming emotion that made him want to clench his fists, plunge into the living room, and drag one of them out of there; he just wasn't sure which one more.

He didn't do that, though; instead, he just muttered a 'good morning' under his breath. Aleks looked up and grinned at the sight of him. Wiki snickered, and Aleks shot her a sullen glance.

"Okay, I'm going." He rolled his eyes, taking the last sip of his coffee and getting up reluctantly.

"Maks, your friend talks a lot," Wiki said, even though she didn't seem to mind. "He's been trying to bring himself to go take a shower for the last hour. He's already told me his whole life story," she added when Aleks poured coffee from the pot into another cup and gave it to Maks, along with a significant glance when he passed him in the door. Maks had no idea what that look was supposed to mean.

He sat at the table, trying to convince himself that he was pissed at Wiki because of last night, but he knew it was more because of her last comment. He'd told her his whole life story, seriously? Maks knew it was ridiculous, but he was actually hurt that most of the time they spent together, Aleks was bending over backwards like a fucking acrobat just to avoid his questions, and now he was revealing things to his sister, whom he'd met yesterday? He was pissed, and it wasn't that he was jealous of Wiktoria; that would be absurd, but it couldn't be that Aleks liked her more than him, right?

On the other hand, he knew Aleks had a big mouth and talked way too much. Maybe they'd just hit it off. That actually made sense. They were closer in age, after all. They were both kids. That was a weird thought. He shook his head to get rid of it.

"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly. He could see she was embarrassed by the way her eyes were focusing on everything but him.

"Better now," she murmured, staring vacantly at a jar of jam. Maks wanted to wince, but he held himself back. He didn't know how to approach this and not scare her or piss her off, but make her open up. He and Wiki had never been all that close, and Maks just realized that he didn't know her very well. The age gap was too big. When he'd left for England, she'd been fourteen and essentially a child. Then he'd come back. and all of a sudden she was a teenager. And he knew what some teenagers were like, but he had Wiki forever labeled as his little sister, and it hadn't even crossed his mind that she could be that sort of teenager.

"Listen," he started, deciding that she was right and that it was much easier when they weren't looking at each other. "How long have you been doing this? Taking this stuff?" he asked awkwardly.

Wiki's head jerked. "What? Maks, no," she reassured him quickly. "That was the first time, first and last, because it was awful," she added with conviction, scowling. "I won't try again, I—"

"First and last time, are you sure?" Maks emphasized, this time leaning in to look her straight in the eyes. "You swear?"

"I swear," she mumbled.

Maks exhaled loudly. "What were you even thinking?" he asked after a short silence, frowning, because he really couldn't wrap his head around it.

"I just wanted to try," she said half-heartedly, shrugging. "Everyone does it—"

"You're not 'everyone'," he snapped, because that was a really dumb reason.

"You sound like mom." Wiki shot him a knowing look, and Maks realized that he kind of did.

He sighed, attempting to collect himself. "I know. I'll try not to," he promised, pulling a face and deliberating for a long moment. This one was going to be harder. "You shouldn't even hang out with people like that. Do you have any idea what they..." he broke off, because he doubted she was aware of what any of them did besides street racing. Not that Maks knew any better; he could only guess based on scraps of information that Aleks let slip.

"Now you're overreacting," she scoffed. "They're normal people. It's just a different crowd than we're used to—"

Maks barked a short, dry laugh. What a pleasant euphemism. "Okay," he agreed for her sake, because he didn't want to tell her what kind of crowd she could encounter in this city at the late night illegal street races. The less she knew, the better for her.

Shit, now he was mindlessly quoting Aleks.

"Well, regardless. You're still too young for any of it. If you're starting to try these things now, at sixteen, what do you think comes later—"

"Not necessarily," she objected self-assuredly. "Aleks said that it's a natural curiosity that needs to be sated, so maybe it's a good thing that I've tried now and decided that it's not for me—"

"Okay, first of all." Maks raised his hand to cut her off. "Don't listen to Aleks. Most of the time, Aleks is full of shit. Just because he says so doesn't make it true."

Wiki was staring at him for a moment before snickering. "Asshole," she muttered with amusement. "Where did you even find him, huh?"

Maks shook his head firmly. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he said, smiling secretly. Of course, it only piqued her curiosity.

"Tell me," she demanded, leaning over the table, but Maks just pressed his lips together. Wiki seemed disappointed when it became obvious he wasn't going to say more. "I would have never expected you to be friends with someone like him." She wrinkled her nose.

Maks snorted, because he wouldn't have either. "I'm just trying out new things," he said casually, admitting it out loud for the first time. Somewhere deep inside, he felt himself transforming into somebody else, an alternate version of Maks. He didn't know whether it would end up being a good thing or not, but so far, he mostly just felt alive. For the first time in a long while, he believed that tomorrow was going to be exciting. It was quite eye-opening.

"Yeah, you are," Wiki agreed in awe. "Street-racing, really? It's like you were abducted by aliens," she laughed. "But it's good," she assured him quickly. "You know, I used to think you were a complete drag," she confessed without a trace of remorse.

"Gee, thanks," Maks scowled and was about to turn it all into a joke, but suddenly changed his mind and sobered up again. "How do you think it would have ended if I wasn't there last night? You were completely out of it. Do you think that dickhead would have looked after you? Escort you home?" he snorted, because he doubted it himself.

Wiki bit her lip hesitantly. "Adrian?" She shrugged. "Probably not. I would have just waited until I felt better. And then stayed over at one of my friends—"

"Are you for real?" Now he was getting pissed again. "A sixteen-year-old girl wandering around Warsaw by herself, high, in the middle of the night? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you? Do you even think at all?" He wasn't sure when he started to raise his voice and sound exactly like a parent would.

Wiki pulled a face. "Okay, okay," she mumbled dismissively. "I know it wasn't the smartest thing to do. It's just... I would have been fine. It wouldn't have been the first time I was out on my own. And I don't need a babysitter. It's not that when I go out with Adrian, he needs to hold my hand the whole time—"

"If he was a gentleman, he should, especially when you're in the condition you were in last night," Maks pointed out, cutting her off. "But that guy is definitely not a gentleman. How did you even meet him?" he asked incredulously. She opened her mouth to answer, but he didn't let her. "But nothing is... happening... between you and him, is it?" he added with apprehension.

"Well, after last night, definitely not anymore," she said grumpily.

Maks closed his eyes and counted to ten to keep himself in check. "Jesus, Wiki—"

"What?" she snapped. "I met him, and we started seeing each other. That's what people do, Maks. We can't all date one girl for the last ten years—"

"Eight," he corrected her mechanically.

"Whatever," she huffed, rolling her eyes. "And that he turned out to be a dick, well, it happens. Gotta move on—"

"I can't believe you're being so blasé about it. You're sixteen—"

"The age of consent is fifteen," she pointed out readily.

Maks pulled a face. "I'm not even touching that," he said firmly. "If you must be dating, then I wouldn't recommend guys over eighteen, and certainly not guys like him! Don't you have any self-preservation instinct?" he hissed angrily.

"So maybe I don't! Stop yelling at me!" she yelled. "What, you would like to keep me sheltered and away from any possible harm? Just like mom did to you?" she sneered.

Maks opened his mouth to snap back, but closed it because it was a surprisingly good point. He knew she was right; he'd grown up in a bubble, and that was why now, at the age of twenty-four, he knew nothing about real life. So, of course, he didn't want the same for her, but that  didn't mean she should just do anything that stroked her fancy regardless of the consequences.

"Maybe you're not aware, but I have a brain on my own and I can use it to decide whether someone is worth my attention or not, but in order to do that, I need to go out there and try first, don't I?" she scoffed.

"I would just be happy if that someone wasn't an obvious outlaw," Maks drawled out.

"You're just like them," Wiki said suddenly, crossing her arms and sounding almost disappointed. "You're all so judgmental! If someone is not an upper-class, high-society, privileged prep boy, then they're just a nobody, huh? People are more than the size of their wallet, you know?"

"That's not what I'm saying," Maks objected heatedly. Being compared to their parents didn't sit well with him. "Don't put words into my mouth. You know I don't think that. I'm just saying that it is not always safe to—"

"It's not like everyone who was there last night is a criminal. You were there," she emphasized viciously. "And what about Aleks? You might have practically been a tourist there, but Aleks wasn't. If Adrian is a lowlife, then Aleks is as well. He's actually from Praga-North, and that's like, the worst of it all. But you're still friends with him, which makes you a hypocrite. So? Would Aleks be a good catch, or is he too beneath me as well?" she asked derisively.

Maks wasn't sure whether she was just trying to prove her point or if that was supposed to be a valid question. "No, Aleks wouldn't be any more of a good catch," he growled, because either way the answer was the same. Also, he felt sick at the mere thought of Aleks and his sister together in any sense.

Wiki raised her chin haughtily. "That's a shame, because neither me nor Aleks need your blessing," she snarled. Maks blinked, wondering if it was still all hypothetical. Sure, he could see that Aleks had caught her eye, and Aleks seemed to like her as well, but talking about it openly made it much more real.

He leaned in. "Wiktoria, listen," he said quietly, using her full name for the first time in ages. "I'm not kidding, and I'm not saying this out of spite. Leave Aleks alone. He's not a guy for you. You don't know him, but I do, and he's not who you think he is." Yeah, knowing was probably a strong word.

"How do you know what I think?" Wiki asked defiantly.

"Look, I know you like him and that he's fun. I like him and think he's fun too," he emphasized. "But just trust me this once. It's a bad idea."

Wiki seemed a little thrown that the conversation took such a serious turn because she frowned and clearly didn't know what to say. "But why?" she asked at last. "Why would you say that? He's not like Adrian. I mean, he stood up for me, and he was nice. I thought he was actually one of the good guys, so why would you... Is it because you're friends with him?"

Maks rolled his eyes. "It's got nothing to do with whether we're friends or not. Just trust me, okay?"

"But how can I just trust you when you're not—" she started defiantly.

"Wiki," Maks cut her off firmly. "That's enough. You're fucking sixteen, so just... don't go to illegal races, don't take any drugs that are not prescribed by the pharmacist, and stay away from shady guys. I don't want to lecture you, but it will be much better for you if you find yourself a normal boyfriend, not someone... like Aleks. He's trouble, okay?"

The moment he said that, he suddenly got haunted by a thousand worst-case scenarios of what would happen if Aleks got together with Wiki. After all, those people were not like them and lived by a completely different set of rules. And he didn't mean people from the other side of the river or people who participated in underground events, but those who shot other people in the woods. Those people. They had no mercy and were capable of anything. That was not something he wanted his little sister to deal with.

It was mainly about that. He was trying to ignore the other reason for his anxiety, which was the fact that if Aleks and Wiki started seeing each other, he would focus on her, and Maks wanted him to focus on him. It was childish and awful, but he just wasn't ready to share Aleks, especially with someone he knew. Especially with his little sister. Aleks was his discovery, his private rush of adrenaline, no one else's.

All of these thoughts must have reflected on his face, because Wiki seemed to understand that he was serious after watching him carefully for a long moment. She might not know why, but she knew it wasn't some whim, so she gave up further arguing.

"Listen, Maks, I was going to ask you," she started uncertainly, as if she wasn't sure if she should even broach the subject. "Would you mind if I..."

"If you what?" he urged her, wanting to roll his eyes when she just bit her lip.

"If I stayed here for a while?" she blurted. "I mean, at your place. Not for long, but just... I don't know, maybe till the end of the week?"

Maks closed his eyes. What was it about kids treating his apartment like a hotel? Had someone hung the sign on the door inviting everyone to stay? He doubted it; he didn't even have a fucking 'welcome' doormat. He rubbed his face tiredly.

"Why?" he sighed.

Wiki seemed embarrassed for a moment, but got over it quickly. "How long would you survive with mom and dad under the same roof?" she asked challengingly. Shit. He couldn't even argue with that; after all, he was the one she exchanged significant, miserable looks with every time their parents made another contest about who was the bigger fuck-up.

"Wiki, I'm not sure..." he started uneasily, desperately trying to come up with some plausible excuse. "I mean, I know they're not really—"

"Ah, so you're not going to help me," she said dryly, trying not to appear disappointed. "It's okay. It's not like I've expected you to care—"

"No, that's not it," he protested, thinking frantically. Shit, he couldn't blow her off, because when he'd just gotten back from England, back when they still hadn't been talking very often, he'd assured her awkwardly that if she needed anything, she could always count on him, and this was the first thing she'd ever asked of him, so he really couldn't. Especially with the company she'd been keeping lately, this way he could keep an eye on her, because he knew that their parents couldn't see beyond the end of their own noses.

On the other hand, if she stayed here even for a few days, she and Aleks would spend time together and probably get closer, and... Maks didn't even want to know how that one would end.

"If you can convince mom and dad, then fine," he decided, sighing internally and wondering how it was possible that his private seclusion was now going to get rampaged by two school kids.

"I'm sure they're going to be fine with it. Why would they mind me staying at your place?" she asked reasonably. "Besides, I'll be closer to school and won't have to take a train," she added smugly, looking excited. "Listen, thanks," she said shyly, and Maks couldn't help but smile in reply.

He cleared his throat. "Yeah, just one more thing. It's going to be a little crowded because Aleks is staying here too, so..." He tried to quickly make up some conceivable excuse for Aleks to be staying at his apartment, but he wasn't sure one even existed.

Wiki blinked. "Aleks?" she echoed, frowning. "He lives here?" she asked disbelievingly.

"No, of course not," Maks scoffed, like the mere idea was ridiculous. "He just needs a place to stay for a few days." He shrugged it off, pretending it was completely normal.

"But why?" Wiki really didn't know when to drop the subject. "Doesn't he have his own house?"

"And can you not pry, or do you have to know everything?" he snapped. "It's his business."

"Does he have some issues with his family or something?" Wiki gulped, looking concerned, and Maks just made a vague gesture between nodding and shrugging. It turned out to be a good strategy, because she stopped drilling him. "Sorry, I didn't want to be nosy. And I don't mind Aleks being here," she added quickly. Maks scowled. Yeah, he was sure she didn't.

"What are you whispering about?" Aleks joined the conversation, walking through the room with a towel over his shoulder. Little shit was acting like he owned the place.

"We're going to live together," Wiki announced cheerfully.

Aleks raised his eyebrows. "Wow. That was fast. Don't you feel like we've skipped some vital steps here?" he asked daftly. Wiki giggled, and Maks rolled his eyes.

"What she meant is that you're both..." he emphasized. "...going to be staying here for now."

"Oh. Okay." Aleks shrugged, but Maks felt like his enthusiasm dampened after this. Maybe he was afraid that she was going to find out something she shouldn't? That was more likely than the other explanation, that, just like Maks, he would prefer them to be alone and not have some outsider hanging over their heads. He wasn't sure at which point he'd started to think of Aleks as someone familiar when he didn't even feel close to his own sister.

"I mean, you both still need to go to school and..." Maks hesitated, trying to step into the role of the responsible one but not really feeling committed to it. "...and neither of you actually went there today, so I feel like I should—"

"But we were hungover," Wiki explained half-heartedly.

"Speak for yourself," Aleks scoffed.

"You were not both hungover," Maks picked up, narrowing his eyes at Aleks. "And even if you were, that's no reason to—"

"Maks." Aleks cut him off calmly, so Maks glanced at him quizzically. "You really suck at this," he informed him callously. Wiki burst into laughter. "And we're not babies anymore. We don't need to have our diapers changed. Do we?" He glanced at Wiki, who shook her head instantly.

"We don't," she concurred, resting her chin in her palm. "So what's the plan?" she asked hopefully.

"You were hungover literally a minute ago," Maks pointed out. "Besides, you've done enough."

"I'm not saying right now. It's the middle of the day," she assured him sensibly. "But later tonight..." She looked expectantly at Aleks.

"I'm listening." He perked up.

Maks was torn, feeling like suddenly he was in constant comparison with his little sister and was coming out of this contest very boring and dull. Still, he needed to stay true to himself and, more importantly, keep his sister in moderate sobriety, so he glared at Aleks, who smiled apologetically, as if he were saying 'oops'.

"Yeah, Maks is right." He changed his tune immediately, leaning back in his chair like he wanted to emphasize that he wasn't going anywhere. "Let's stay here and open that Jack Daniels bottle that you've probably been keeping in the cabinet for years." He frowned when Maks didn't smile back, wondering what his problem was this time. "Or we could... play some chess," he suggested inanely in surrender.

Maks rolled his eyes. "Chess is not lame," he remarked just as irrelevantly, standing up. Damn, Aleks was useless as always. "Is anyone hungry?" he asked before going to the kitchen without waiting for an answer to make some breakfast and feed the children.

Aleks joined him after a moment and started to wash the coffee cups. "Don't pout," he said.

"I'm not pouting," Maks replied immediately. "It's just... could you not encourage her every few minutes to misbehave?"

"I was just trying to be nice. And that's the only way I know how." He shrugged disarmingly.

Maks started to smile but held back. "Yeah, I know, so don't be surprised that I don't like that your mere presence is stirring her up," he said gloomily, chopping the onions vigorously. "If that's how it's going to be, then I'm not sure if it's such a good idea for you both to be stuck on these fifty square meters," he muttered.

Aleks went still. "You know, if it will make you sleep better, then I can stay somewhere else, no problem," he said calmly, but a little rigidly, trying to pretend that he wasn't hurt.

Maks jerked his head. "No, that's not what I meant," he assured him abruptly. "Come on, you don't have to go or anything." He was curious if the panic on his face or in his voice was blatant because, for a moment, he really was afraid that Aleks was going to leave, and deep down, he was... excited... about these next few days. Hopefully a few peaceful days, because so far there were lots of words one could use to describe Aleks, but 'peaceful' was not one of them.

Aleks frowned a little disbelievingly but eventually shrugged, deciding that if Maks didn't mind his presence, then he definitely wasn't going to argue.

"Sorry, I didn't want it to sound like... like you weren't welcome or something. You are. You're very welcome," Maks explained awkwardly, digging himself even deeper. He felt his face flushing. "I'm just... I'm just worried—"

"Maks," Aleks cut him off in a lenient tone.

Maks obediently fell silent, suddenly realizing that he really liked how Aleks said his name. The way he enunciated it made it obvious he was tired of his overthinking, and even though he usually had no patience at all, when it came to Maks, he could always find enough consideration in himself.

"Your sister was literally smoking crack yesterday. Do you really think that by today you're going to turn her into a nun?" he asked reasonably. "Look, I know that you've panicked a little, but this is the worst possible approach. Help her see that doing drugs is bad, but don't go overboard, because it's okay for her to have a drink, especially at home with her brother," he emphasized.

Maks had to admit that what he was saying made sense, even though he didn't really feel like agreeing with him out loud. "She's still underage," he persisted, ignoring his actually not bad advice.

Aleks rolled his eyes. "Yeah, cause sixteen-year-olds are known for abhorring alcohol," he mocked.

"I wasn't drinking when I was sixteen," Maks objected instantly, and Aleks smirked.

"Why am I not surprised?" he grinned. "I was when I was twelve, and I turned out fine. Do you know why?" he asked rhetorically. "Because I wasn't dumb in the first place. And neither is Wiki." Maks looked at him skeptically, and Aleks raised his finger. "Not a word," he warned.

Maks snickered. "Yeah, maybe something is happening under that perfectly styled hair," he surrendered.

"Aw, you think my hair is perfect?" Aleks brightened up, raising the spoon he'd been drying and vainly admiring his reflection in it.

"I take it back," Maks said flatly. They stayed silent for a long time. "I'll try not to be too fussy when it comes to her. And not to restrict her. Too much."

Aleks smiled. "I can guarantee that it wouldn't work even if you did." That didn't reassure Maks in the slightest. "You know what teenagers are like," he added flippantly. Maks snickered loudly. "But she's cool. She shouldn't be too hard to bear. Besides, we can always get her drunk, and—" he broke off after seeing Maks' pointed gaze, backing off immediately. "Or we can't. Sorry. Bad plan."

Maks knew he should get mad, but he couldn't bring himself to it, so he laughed instead.

"She's only staying till Saturday, you know," he mentioned conversationally. "Just stay longer." He tried to sound more like he didn't mind and less like he really, really wanted him to.

Aleks dropped his head, but Maks could still see the enormous smile on his face. "Okay," he whispered, not looking up.

So maybe Aleks didn't like Wiki better than him after all. Maks felt a sudden rush of accomplishment after that discovery, followed by a stab of concern. Why did he even want Aleks around so much? And why did he feel that, with the two of them here, there was just no room for anyone else?

•~💥~•

Maks rolled over on the uncomfortable air mattress. He'd spent a long time deliberating whether it would be more awkward to sleep with Wiktoria or with Aleks, and finally decided that both of these options were mortifying. The sun was already rising. He rolled back and fixed his stare on Wiki, spread out across his bed. Aleks was sleeping on his couch. By now, even Maks had to admit that the couch was his.

These last few days had been fun. Well, maybe 'fun' wasn't the most fitting term, but it hadn't been as bad as he'd expected. They were an odd team; Aleks and Wiki got along great, even though he mostly ignored her not very subtle attempts at flirting. He probably knew Maks wouldn't have liked it and tried not to end up on his shitlist. He and Aleks spent a lot of time exchanging significant looks and rolling their eyes at each other at Wiki's constant nagging to do something. He used to think of Aleks as an embodiment of chaos, but when they were staying in, eating popcorn, watching sitcoms, and exchanging lavatory jokes, he turned out to be pretty great. Maks kind of expected to miss the adrenaline rush, but in reality, it might have been even better with Aleks not being such a walking disaster. For example, sometimes he would stretch out on his couch with textbooks and notes, marking out specific paragraphs with colored highlighter pens. It was so not him that Maks was barely able to avert his eyes. Wiki would watch some stupid TV show at the time, so Maks would open his laptop and prepare for the second part of his interview, looking up involuntarily every once in a while because Aleks looked freaking funny when he tried to concentrate. He was frowning really hard, chewing his lower lip, and biting on his freaking colored highlighter pens, and it was all quite hysterical. He was so not the type of student who used colored highlighter pens. He was the type of student who had one notebook for all subjects.

Maks had felt like a creep when Wiki had been here, so by Saturday he'd been both relieved and full of guilt. She was finally going home today, and after she was gone, Maks would be able to stare at Aleks scot-free during a revision of market-based mechanisms that he'd already managed to forget since Cambridge. Studying was just easier while watching Aleks, who was reviewing traits of various chordate subspecies, and not worrying about his bratty little sister interrupting at any moment. When Aleks was absorbed, there was even something kind of soothing about him.

Suddenly he heard a noise and rolled his eyes, because he still couldn't understand why Aleks had to wake up so early. Shouldn't all teenagers sleep in? Wiki, at any rate, didn't look like she was going to get up anytime soon. He closed his eyes, listening to Aleks roaming around the kitchen. Maks had to admit that he was quiet as a mouse. He was going to get up to save him from tiptoeing around them, because at this hour Wiki wouldn't even be woken by a nuclear bomb, when suddenly he heard the front door clicking. He frowned but stayed still until his phone vibrated.

7:14 am. From: Aleks. Hey, I've got something to take care of and need to go away for a while. I didn't want to wake you up. Sorry it's so out of the blue. I've cleaned up the kitchen. I'll try to get in touch in a couple days. Don't worry too much xx

Right. What had he just been thinking about Aleks being soothing? Well, he wasn't. Didn't he know that when you told someone not to worry, they were automatically starting to do just that?

Jesus, at this rate and with that menace constantly around, Maks was going to go gray before he even turned twenty-five.