Kael and Leo struggled up the stairs, carrying the pile of bags like they were moving a whole store into the apartment. As soon as they got inside, Kael dropped his travelling bag with a heavy thud. The apartment felt smaller than before, but it smelled like home mostly because it smelled like the cheap spicy noodles Leo loved to cook.
Leo didn't even wait to take off his shoes. He stared at the four shiny bags sitting on the floor. "Okay, Kael. Seriously. Did you win the lottery? Or did you started working for a mafia gang?.
Kael laughed and sat on the edge of the old, and tattered sofa. "Neither. Someone asked me to give these items to you."
Leo's eyes went wide. He looked at Kael with a suspicious grin. "Wow. Who is this 'good person'? Did you finally get a boyfriend, Kael? Is that why you're living in a mansion with a limo driver?"
Kael rolled his eyes and felt his face get a little warm. "No, it's not like that. My boss asked me to give them to you."
Leo stopped reaching for a bag and looked confused. "Your boss? The one you called wicked and cold? I thought you said he was cold and wicked and hated fun."
"He is," Kael replied, leaning back. "I'm just as surprised as you are. I didn't even expect him to let me come and visit you this weekend. Then he just showed up at the door with all of this. He said it was because you're a 'good kid.'"
Leo didn't need to hear anything else. "Well, if he's giving out free stuff, I guess he's not that wicked. Let me start opening my gifts!"
Leo went for the first bag. He ripped it open and pulled out a stack of clothes. There were high-end t-shirts, a thick winter jacket, and jeans that felt like they cost more than their rent. Leo held a shirt up to his chest and looked in the cracked mirror on the wall.
"Finally!" Leo cheered. "New clothes! No more wearing shirts with holes in the armpits. This is a total wardrobe upgrade. I actually look like someone important now."
He was beaming with pride. He tossed the clothes onto the couch and grabbed the second bag. Inside were the shoes. Kael watched as Leo pulled out a pair of sleek, white designer sneakers. Leo touched the leather like it was made of gold.
"Kael, look at the soles on these. I bet I could run faster than a car in these things," Leo said, looking very happy. "I'm never wearing my old beat-up boots again. These are going in a box under my bed when I'm not using them."
Then, Leo moved to the biggest box. He tore the gift wrap off, and when he saw the blue and white packaging, he actually screamed. "Wow! A PS5! Are you kidding me?"
He hugged the box like it was a long-lost friend. "Your boss must be super rich, Kael. This is such a thoughtful thing to do. It's like he knew I was bored out of my mind every day. Now I have games to play whenever I want. I'm going to be the coolest kid in the neighborhood."
Kael smiled, watching his brother. He had never seen Leo this excited.
Finally, Leo reached for the smallest bag. He pulled out the sleek box for the latest smartphone. He stared at it for a second, then jumped up and hugged Kael so hard that they both almost fell over.
"You have no idea, Kael!" Leo shouted into his shoulder. "My old phone has been having huge issues lately. It just powers off by itself in the middle of calls. It's basically a paperweight now. But this... this is perfect. I'm so happy right now!"
Kael patted Leo's back. He felt a little guilty that the gifts weren't actually from him, but seeing Leo this happy was worth the confusion. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the box of gold-bar chocolates.
"And I got these for you, basically he bought it too," Kael said. "This is the type of chocolate rich people eat. One piece probably costs as much as a dinner."
Leo collected the box carefully. "I've never seen chocolate look so fancy. It looks like actual gold. I'm going to share these with my friends so they know my big brother is doing big things."
Leo set the phone down and looked at Kael with a huge grin. "Okay, enough with the gifts for a second. I just made noodles. Let's eat."
Leo hurried into the kitchen and brought out a small wooden table. One of the legs was shorter than the others and clearly broken, so he had to wiggle it until it stayed balanced in the center of the sitting room. It was a huge contrast to the marble tables at Jaxen's house.
He brought out two steaming bowls of noodles and a plate of freshly washed vegetables to eat as side dishes. The steam from the noodles smelled like garlic and spices, and for the first time in weeks, Kael felt totally relaxed.
"Eat up," Leo said, slurping his first bite. "But listen, Kael. After we eat, you must tell me everything about this work of yours. I want to know exactly what you do all day to deserve a boss who gives out PS5s like they're candy."
Kael took a bite of his noodles and nodded. "Okay, okay. I'll tell you."
But in his head, Kael was already sweating. He knew that as soon as he opened his mouth, he was going to have to tell Leo a bunch of lies again. He couldn't tell him about the fake relationship. He couldn't tell him about the 50,000-dollar debt he was repaying by becoming a contract partner, He had to pretend that he was just a very, very lucky assistant.
He looked at Leo, who was happily holding his new phone tight while eating. Kael realized that the more gifts Jaxen gave, the harder the lie became to maintain. He was living in a world of silk shirts and limos, but his real life was right here, sitting at a broken table eating cheap noodles.
"So," Leo said, looking up with a mouth full of food. "Is your boss handsome? Or does he look like a troll?"
Kael choked on a noodle. "He's... he's fine. Just a normal guy."
"A normal guy who buys PS5s for his employee's brothers?" Leo raised an eyebrow. "Sure, Kael. Sure."
Kael just kept eating, wondering how much longer he could keep all these secrets before the whole thing exploded in his face