Chapter 253: For her happiness

Theo’s head finally tipped sideways, and her words gradually became nothing but sleepy mumbles until they faded altogether, and within moments, the steady rhythm of her breathing filled the room.

Silence followed, and neither of them moved.

Zeke sat down at the other edge of the bed, just a little few feet away from Sylas, also watching her sleep.

It didn’t take up to a minute before she started to move in her sleep. One leg came up on Sylas’s shoulder one hand loosely wrapped around Zeke’s wrist, almost as though her body couldn’t decide where it wanted to be.

Zeke looked down at her sleeping face and thought about something and laughed. The first time he had lain in the same bed with her, after finding out her pendant could erase his pain and help him sleep well.

Back then, he was so confused about why being next to her felt more satisfying than anything else. He had accused himself of actually having some gay tendencies, and it had disgusted the hell out of him.

A small chuckle escaped Zeke as he recalled her accusing him of being gay again just moments ago before Sylas arrived.

Theo stirred again, and a soft sound escaped her lips before she unconsciously leaned further into Sylas.

He immediately stiffened.

Zeke looked at him, "...Don’t even start looking so pleased with yourself."

"I wasn’t."

"You were."

"I simply happen to be closer."

Theo frowned in her sleep, and a second later, she rolled away from Sylas, and straight into Zeke.

Zeke looked down, then back up at Sylas, "..."

"Don’t." Sylas looked at him.

"I didn’t say anything!"

"You don’t have to."

Another few seconds passed before Theo moved again. She stretched lazily, threw one arm over Sylas’s waist while her legs somehow ended up draped across Zeke’s lap.

Both brothers stared at her, then at each other.

"She really is trying to sleep on both of us," Zeke said, laughing again.

"I don’t think she’s choosing," Sylas said.

"No." Zeke agreed.

Sylas gently brushed a strand of hair away from her face, "She doesn’t know she’s doing it."

Silence settled again. The conversation they were supposed to have had for a while now settled along with the silence, and Zeke started it, gently stroking her toes, "Ava was right." His voice was softer now.

Sylas didn’t ask what he meant.

"She needed this." He looked down at Theo.

"When Ava stood in front of us six months ago and told us to stay away..." He smiled bitterly, "...I thought she was asking the impossible."

Sylas remembered very well.

"I hated every second of it," Zeke admitted.

"Me too."

"I almost broke into that house several times,"

"Almost?" Sylas raised an eyebrow.

"...Fine." Zeke rubbed the back of his neck, "I climbed through her bedroom window twice."

"Three times."

"You counted?"

"I was there."

Zeke blinked, "You were stalking her too?"

"I prefer observing."

"You hid in the shadows outside her house."

"I did."

"And you’re judging me?"

"I climbed through no windows."

"You are unbelievable." Zeke shook his head, "I should’ve known."

"I also removed you from the roof twice."

"Aha!!" Zeke pointed fingers, "I thought it was strange that I kept slipping off the ceiling. I had a feeling you were involved,"

"You were making too much noise."

"I was not."

"And you raised a hand to knock on her window while she was sleeping!!"

Theo made another sleepy noise, and both conversations stopped instantly.

She shifted again, and this time, her fingers found Sylas’s sleeve. She held it loosely, as though making sure he wouldn’t disappear.

Sylas’s entire expression softened.

"You know..." Zeke drawled.

"Hm?"

"I’ve changed."

That caught Sylas off guard.

"There was a time I’d have dragged her back with me regardless of what she wanted." Zeke continued.

"I remember."

"I thought loving someone meant never letting them leave. I believed loving her meant staying by her side at all times and vice versa," His thumb absent-mindedly rubbed circles against Theo’s hand, "But she already chose us."

Sylas remained quiet.

"She always said she wasn’t choosing between us, so..."

His smile became faint, and then he looked toward his brother, "I’m done chasing."

Sylas’s brows lifted slightly.

"When she wakes up tomorrow..."

"..."

"And the day after that..."

"..."

"And however many years it takes..." Zeke’s voice was steady, "I want every step she takes toward us to be because she wants to. Not because of fate, or because of anything else. We shouldn’t rush her, as Ava has warned. The process would be... straining and probably horrible for both of us but, it’s what’s best for her,"

Sylas stared at him for several long moments. She could hardly believe it was the same Zeke that would have turned this whole room upside down before that was actually saying this to him.

"You’ve grown." Sylas smiled.

"I had to." Zeke shrugged.

"No." Sylas slowly looked back down at Theo, "You chose to."

That made something tighten painfully in Zeke’s chest, and then he also looked at Theo too, "...Do you think she’ll ever love us again?"

"I don’t know," Sylas answered almost immediately.

"..."

"But if she doesn’t..." His fingers lightly squeezed Theo’s sleeping hand, "...then I’ll love enough for the both of us."

"I figured you’d say something dramatic." Zeke smiled.

"It wasn’t dramatic."

"It absolutely was."

"It was honest."

"It was disgustingly romantic." A tiny snort escaped Zeke, "You’ve changed too."

"I have."

"The old you would’ve done something slightly crazy too."

Sylas didn’t deny it, "The old me believed loving someone meant possessing their body and heart. I wanted her heart and soul,"

"And now?"

Sylas looked at Theo, "...Now I think loving her means giving her room to breathe."

Another comfortable silence settled, then Zeke grinned, "So..."

Sylas already knew, "If she gravitates towards you," He sighed, "I’ll accept it."

"And if she gravitates towards you more," Zeke nodded, "I’ll accept it too,"

"If she chooses neither of us?" They both asked in unison.

They paused.

"I’ll still protect her." They answered together again, unintentionally.

A smile tugged at the corners of their lips, "And if she chooses to sleep on both of us every night?"

Zeke looked down at Theo, whose face was now somehow pressed against his shoulder while her hand still clung stubbornly to Sylas. He burst into quiet laughter, "I think...we’re going to have a very crowded bed."

Sylas actually laughed then, the sound surprising them both again.

At that very moment, Theo’s eyes popped open and she jerked up from bed like she had been burnt in her sleep.

Sylas and Zeke moved fast, to shield or protect her from whatever it was, when her palms came up and pressed against her boobs, "They are back!!"