:✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ:

"Hey, hey, hey!"

"Vylad, why are you calling me?"

It was early in the morning, a few days after Zane first saw the pink-haired Mei'fwa at the coffee shop. Lucky enough for him, he had the day off and wanted to spend it on his own.

Alone.

With no interruptions.

But of course, something would stop him from enjoying his Saturday by himself in his small apartment. Calls weren't too bad, but they were for him when they are made at 8:00 in the morning.

"What? Can't I call my favorite brother just so I can know that you're doing alright?"

"Vylad, you never call to see if I'm 'doing alright'. Ne-ver." He deadpanned. "Plus, I know I'm not your favorite brother. You don't have to butter me up if you need something; just spit it out."

"Well, in that case, I kinda need your help with something," Vylad spoke. "As you know, I've been traveling a lot recently since I've gotten my new job. Right now, I was lucky enough to get hired by someone who's in town and pays fairly well."

"Okay, but what does this have to do with me?"

"Well, you see, I'm starting to run low on funds and don't have somewhere to stay since I would only be in one place for one to three weeks. Now that I get to be in town for two months or so, I need somewhere to crash in the meantime."

"Why not stay with Garroth or something?"

"Well, I thought about that, but he already lives with three other dudes, and it would be even more cramped if I stayed there."

"What about Mom and Dad?"

"Yeah, I thought about that one too, but you know how... "lovey-dovey" they get at times." He explained. "I really don't want to walk in on them being all mushy with each other again."

"So, I wanted to ask if I could possibly- if you were willing to or are able to maybe... let me stay with you? Just for the two months?"

"Where are you right now?"

"... At a hotel." He murmured over the phone, a tinge of nervousness present in his voice.

Zane pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long, slightly exasperated sigh. He knew that the brunette was prone to waiting until the last minute for things and can be very, very frustrating at times. 

He could also tell that Vylad was crossing his fingers on the other side of the phone, waiting for his reply.

Zane knew that he had to help him if he wanted to avoid getting chewed out by his parents and Garroth afterward. He also knew he'd feel guilty if he left Vylad hanging on his own. 

Zane soon came to realize that it was better to sacrifice his peaceful mornings so that his brother wouldn't be kicked to the curb or something.

"Fine.."

"Thank you, you're the best! I'll be there in an hour or two, later, bye!" He spoke quickly, ending the call abruptly. Zane simply tossed his phone onto his bed and went to fix up the place to prepare for his brother's arrival.

:✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

Three knocks on the front door caught his attention as he went over to see who it was. Sure enough, it was Vylad, carrying only a large suitcase and backpack with him.

"Heyo!" He grinned at him.

"Hi." Zane greeted, reluctantly letting him inside of his apartment. 

"Wow, I like what you've done to the place! It really doesn't feel like a studio apartment in here at all!" He spoke, leaning his suitcase by the couch as he made his way in.

"Thanks.. Vylad."

"Again, thank you for letting me stay over at your place. I know it was a little last minute of me."

"It was very last minute of you. If you needed somewhere to stay, you should have asked beforehand!"

"I know, I know. You don't have to remind me." Vylad looked over at a pile of canvases that were lined up against a wall. "Oh, are those your new, er, paintings?"

"Of course they are, but they're all terrible anyways, especially that one." He gestured to a canvas leaning against a wall to the side away from the others. It looked to be a self-portrait of sorts, but with unnoticeably uneven facial proportions.

"I mean, it's better than the last one you showed me. It seems like you're improving a lot considering the fact that you started to pick up on the hobby a few months ago."

Vylad went over to pick up the portrait to better observe it. Only about half of the painting was filled in and somewhat detailed while the rest was only a pencil sketch. Of course, it wasn't the most perfect thing in the world, but it was fairly decent.

Zane did become confused though when Vylad stepped back and took out his phone.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm going to post it to my Instagram. I'm sure this will be something that my followers would like to see."

Of course, Vylad was the type to own an Instagram account since he enjoyed sharing his travels with other people. It started off as a small thing for friends and family to keep up with his travels but slowly manifested into a small audience that looked forward to where he would end up next. 

"Are you sure about that one?"

"Yeah! Why not?"

"What about the last time I showed you something I made? You couldn't even tell what it was!"

"Well, that was in the past. But I do think that people would like it, especially Mom. You know she follows me, right?"

"Yes, yes, I know." Zane rolled his eyes, mentally preparing himself for the never-ending stories that were soon to come.

"Oh! But let me tell you about my stay in the UK!"

:✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:✧･ﾟ:

Hmm, I wonder how his trip was.

Thank you for reading! I hope that you guys enjoyed this one. I tried my best to show the Vylad and Zanes personalities through their dialogue and actions. It's meant to emulate the relatable parts of having a sibling if you do have one.

I also wanted to thank you to those who left their feedback on the previous chapter! I really appreciate it and seeing your nice and funny comments is always a heartwarming thing to see. <3

See you in the next one! Bye!