The game was over.
After the scene from earlier, each one of them composed themselves and played accordingly. Cathalina was grateful.
Athena watched from the corner of her eyes as Duke strode over to Yehezkel with a bottle of water and a hot towel,
"Something on your mind?" Damien nudged her as they took a seat beside each other.
She turned to him, "Yes, actually" leaning in a bit close,
She began in a soft whisper, "Does Duke have something for my brother?"
Damien smiled with a shrug,
"Why not ask him yourself, he's the type to tell if he wants to"
Athena groaned with frustration,
"I'm not that brave", "You know that"
He nodded, his smile still present as he sat amused almost like he remembered something. She noticed.
"I knew you weren't going to tell me"
He turned his gaze quietly, over to her and watched as she looked on forward.
"You're mature" she paused, "It wouldn't be of your nature to take a liking to telling on your brothers, yes?"
Damien exhaled softly as he lowered his gaze to his feet before throwing on a small smile.
"Indeed, they are my brothers" he began, "But we all are aware of our limits", "These limits are the source of our respect to each other and to cross these limits is an attempt to be disrespected as well". "We are all of the same age, leaving no room for superiority" he then turned to her, "I hope you can understand this"
Athena nodded as she stared at him.
This side of Damien drew an uncanny resemblance to Theodore that she couldn't ignore.
Perceptive. Quick witted and somehow was the most respected in whatever room he sat and among the people he sat with. Even with all these features, she still couldn't tell what he saw in her at that past time that rendered him infatuated.
"Why did you like me back then?"
He turned to her, subtly surprised at her sudden question. She looked at him with a soft yet serious gaze.
He found a small smile as he looked at her, "You may believe yourself not brave, but that question begs to differ"
"I'm curious" she paused, "I believe this question can warrant an answer instead of the first"
He nodded softly.
"I don't know" he shrugged, "You were a stunning contrast to me and yet, I found you incredibly cute I guess"
She nodded, "And your wife?"
"Ah" Damien grinned. "She" he began, "She's lovely" is all he said but Athena could see how wide his smile grew by the moment and felt happy, content even.
…
Duke watched Yehezkel take large sips from the bottle of water. He had kept his golf club at his side, clasped underneath his bicep before carefully sipping.
"Been to the doctor lately?" Duke spoke after a while of comfortable silence.
Yehezkel smiled, "You often ask me that?"
"I worry" he began, "We promised to take care of each other till we grow pale and gray, yes?"
"You still remember"
"Of course, I have to", "Reminds me of my responsibility to you"
It was nice. Having a friend like Duke made Yehezkel feel more comfortable about his future.
His bleak and somewhat pale future.
Yes, they both had decided to stay unmarried. Yes, it was going to be a lonely decision, but, after finding out that they both had similar agendas, they decided to take care of each other and Yehezkel felt ever so grateful.
"I was at the doctor's today"
Duke gazed steadily at Yehezkel, listening.
"Just regular checkups and all" he paused and took a sip, "Nothing too drastic"
Duke nodded, looking aside as he recollected a certain memory from a long time ago.
"Remember that time we were around 8 years old"
Yehezkel turned to him, quietly.
"We came along to the country club for golfing with our dads"
Mm. It wasn't an unfamiliar event for the boys coming over with their fathers for golf but one moment in particular came to Yehezkel's mind a day he could never completely forget. Even if he wanted to.
"We had gone some rounds and then" Duke paused, raising his gaze to meet Yehezkel's.
"I fainted"
"Yeah" Duke added, "You fainted"
The air sat still.
The memory was different for Yehezkel but he never told them. His father had explained that he caught a cold and still wanted to come along but that wasn't the case.
It was his illness and he swore to never tell.
Even as they stood in this present moment as men, he witnessed much care and concern in Duke. He knew they all loved him, cared for him but it was on a similar scale with how they felt and treated each other.
Now what would happen if he told them?
They'd come to grow tense around him, care even more than they normally would and gaze at him with sympathy and a distant anxiety that would suffocate him for as long as he sat among them.
That wasn't his desire. Not with his brothers.
"You know" Duke began "That day made me really worried"
"Because, I was thin?"
Duke's brows furrowed as he recalled, "Not just thin Yez" he gave a pressured smile, "You were so slender, even till our teen years"
Yehezkel smiled.
"Urgh" Duke groaned like the thought brought him a bit of pain, "Sometimes I desperately wanted to feed you myself" he shook his head.
"Mm", "You were so eager to eat with me everyday"
"Yeah".
"But even at that", "I was still handsome" Yehezkel added with a cocky smirk.
Duke shook his head with a small, agreeing smile.
The air fell into a short, comfortable silence and soon, their eyes met. They were happy, grateful as they reminisced on younger years, reminding them both of how long they had taken care of each other
It was the little moments like this that Yehezkel had missed, in the midst of his busy, calculative and mundane life.
"I'm fine now"
"Of course you'd say that" Duke began softly "You'd never want me to worry"
"And yet you still do" he scoffed
Duke smiled, "You have no idea how much your mum calls me to talk about you"
"Urgh" Yehezkel groaned, shaking his head with a small chuckle.
"You don't come home unless its business and even when you do come home, you only stay a while", "Now, I've become responsible for you in her stead"
"You don't say" he chuckled again.
"In fact, I do say" Duke gesticulated dramatically.
He couldn't hold back his smile at the sight of a smiling Yehezkel and in the midst of their chatter, Cathalina walked up to them and signaled something to Yehezkel.
In that moment, as Duke caught sight of the woman, he came to remember the case going on around Yehezkel and got worried again.
Watching her walk away, Duke leaned forward,
"Ive been meaning to ask, I came across some tabloids about you and for some reason, your name has been trending -tell me honestly, what's all the fuss around you, are you alright?"
"Mm?", "You mean the news and gossip?"
Duke nodded.
"Ah" Yehezkel covered the bottle in his hand before wiping his face with the wet towel "Don't worry"," It'll be over before you know it"
Duke's heart sank.
He knew Yehezkel was the type to stand self-reliant, the type to handle things all by himself without wanting to 'burden' those around him but come on, they had known each other for decades and yet, he still put up a wall?
"Are you sure you'll be safe at home, you don't need a new house?"
"I've got security and hired personal bodyguards" he paused, "I'm fine"
"You always say that for heaven's sake" Duke groaned, his voice shaky with fear.
Yehezkel chuckled as he packed up, "It's not so serious, trust me" he said before turning fully towards Duke and placing a hand on his shoulder, "Trust me" he reassured last with a firm nod and began on his tracks.
Duke sighed as he watched Yehezkel stride away.
They had known each other for long and he had somewhat believed he did a good job of being an outstanding aid and confidant and yet, somehow, Yehezkel managed to stand on his own wisdom and strategies.
Duke was sure that Yehezkel wasn't a fan of crowds or rowdy places.
Press conferences, Interviews, Parties, Charities, they had never sat well with him but without attending these things, it was going to be difficult to handle rising issues or already heated conflicts and so, he chose to establish connections for him and on his behalf.
Irrespective of his efforts, Yehezkel somehow managed to make things happen and rendered his name relevant among social circles, even in his absence.
Although, he had wished deep down for Yehezkel to rely on him more, these were some things that gave Duke the confidence that the man who he cared for, was in fact, not a weak man.
He smiled at the thought and nodded, assuring himself as well.
'He'll be fine'.