"Why do you even bother?" I questioned aloud, sitting on the countertop right by the stove. My fingers gripped the edge of the surface as my legs dangled beneath me. I glanced at Isaac, who was frantically stirring the risotto he was cooking.

"He's my brother, my love," He chided lovingly, staring at the pan with immense concentration. I stared at him, my eyes darting across his face to understand what was stressing him out. Cooking didn't normally make him as iffy as he was acting today. "You can't sit there and tell me you don't try and cook a nice meal for Dylan whenever he comes over."

"I do, but that's only to prove that I've learned something the past three years," I replied matter-of-factly. I only cooked for Dylan out of spite. He liked to make fun of my limited chef skills and I enjoyed proving him wrong every now and then. "Knowing Nick, he'll probably just ask us to take him to a McDonald's. Alexandre might've taken him there already."

A grin threatened to etch onto his lips but he suppressed it, "Amber, my love, just let me do something nice for Nick, yeah?" He asked, still stirring the pan as he glanced at me, shooting me a pleading look. I knew something was stressing him out, and it only started when Nick announced that he was coming over with Alexandre to watch Isaac's football match in person.

"Yeah, sure," I nodded, leaning over to peck his lips. I jumped off the counter, "I'll go set the dining table, then. They should be here any second now."

"Thank you," He sighed, smiling at me as I turned around to grab the plates. There was a brief silence as I collected everything I needed. He continued stirring the rice while I called Leo into the kitchen to help me carry everything. "Amber?"

I hummed in response, handing Leo the forks when he hurried in, "What's up?" I questioned, getting the trivet from the cupboard Isaac hid it in.

"You know how you have this magical ability to solve problems quickly?" He asked. I was thrown off guard by the random question. Dylan always said I was the only one he knew capable of diffusing situations quickly. I did it with his kids; I did it when he and Nick fought; I even did it whenever Leo threw a tantrum.

I glanced at him from the corner of my eyes and nodded hesitantly. He was staring into the pan with furrowed eyebrows, "Yeah, I guess. Why?"

He swallowed, debating whether or not he should tell me when he finally shook his head. I saw him turn the stove off and set the wooden spoon down into the pan, "Nick's staying at Dylan's house."

I blinked, turning around to face him. He was rolling his bottom lip between his teeth, just like he did that day at the hotel before he kissed me. It was something, I learned, he did whenever he felt conflicted about whether he should do something or not.

"What do you mean?" I asked slowly, giving Leo the two glasses when he ran back in. He made sure he had a good grip on them before he carefully walked out to the dining room.

He thinned his lips and scratched the back of his ear, "I don't want to tell you the entire thing since it's Nick's life and he told it to me in confidence," He explained, and I nodded, signaling that I wouldn't be mad about that. Isaac lived in the limelight, and he valued privacy over everything. I respected his loyalty to Nick and the things he told him. "Nick and Alex got into a really big fight. They're both pissed at each other, so Nick is now sleeping at Dylan's. I want to help but I just don't know how to."

"O-kay," I dragged out, processing the information I was given. Fighting? Fighting about what? Alex and Nick were the people I looked up to, second to Dylan and Rose, when it came to relationships. They were so effortlessly comfortable with each other; always laughed at each other's jokes, despite how shit they were– they were made for each other.

"Yeah," He said, nodding gravely. Then, he shot me a sheepish smile as he grabbed the handles of the pan, "Which means Nick's bringing Dylan over."

I paused, my eyes widening at the news, "What did you say?" I asked, voice low and menacing. I hadn't told Dylan we were dating because the idiot would do nothing but freak out. Dean and Adam never pushed his buttons the way Isaac did, which meant the two were always at it like cats and dogs. Isaac said something to trigger Dylan, Dylan responded violently– it could either be physically or verbally, maybe even both.

His grip on the pan tightened. I knew what my fucker of a boyfriend was doing. The pan was hot, which meant I couldn't attack him– he was using it as a barrier, "Dylan's about five minutes away." He said, taking a hesitant step to the right, away from me, so he could take the pan to the dining table. "We're going to have to tell him today."

I let an innocent smile tug at my lips. His eyes narrowed at the action, but I did nothing but pick up the three glasses left, "It's okay." I said, shrugging my shoulders in an 'oh-well' manner.

"Yeah?" He questioned, surprised by my change in attitude. I nodded, batting my eyelashes at him, and he released a relieved breath at the action. "I fucking knew I really liked you for a reason."

"We'll just have to pretend we're not a couple," I voiced out my plan, watching as his smile fell at my words.

"W-what?" He blinked, confused by my statement.

"Yeah," I replied, going to leave the kitchen to walk to the dining room, but he intercepted me along the way. I glanced up at the body that suddenly materialized in front of me. "It's too soon to tell Dylan, so we'll just have to pretend we're not together for their entire stay."

His confusion turned into worry, "You're kidding, right?" He asked, voice slightly panicked. "They're staying for the next three days!"

"Uh-uh," I nodded my head, sidestepping him so I could get to the dining room. Before I could disappear into the room, I looked at him over my shoulder only to find him scowling at my retreating figure. "That means no kisses for you."

That made his eyes widen in disbelief, "What?" He shrieked, scrambling to follow me into the dining room. I set the three remaining glasses down, "Please tell me you're kidding– not even in private?"

I feigned a gasp at his words, "That's a good point; I can't sleep in your room, either," I told him, watching the color drain from his face as he dropped the pan onto the trivet. He scurried towards me, placing two hands on my waist to spin me around. He cupped my cheeks and angled my head so I was looking into his desperate eyes. "You can't do this either." I chirped cheekily.

"Are you fucking with me, my love?" He asked, narrowing his eyes so he was staring at me through thin slits. "Because this isn't funny. I love kissing you and I really, really like waking up to you in my arms."

"I'm sorry, Zachy," I returned, pouting. His eyes flickered down to my lips at the action before they settled back on my eyes. "It's just how it's going to have to be. If Dylan finds out we're dating, he will blow a fuse."

"Why?" He whined, dragging the word out until he too was pouting. "Why can't we just tell him?"

"Because," I started, smiling at the sight of his cute face. His bottom lip was jutted out, his nose was slightly crinkled, and his eyes were widened. "I don't want him to kill you."

"If it means not having to pretend I'm still stuck in the fucking friend-zone, I'll gladly die," He said, leaning down to capture my lips in his in a slow, gentle kiss. My arms draped themselves around his neck, my fingers gripping the hair at the back of his scruff.

"Mama!" A voice sounded and before I knew it, my baby had his arms wrapped around my leg. I broke the kiss and glanced down at Leo to find him staring up at me, his nose crinkled in disgust at what he just witnessed. I chuckled at his facial expression and leaned down to pick him up.

"Oui, mon cher?" I replied, looking at Isaac out of the corner of my eye. His pout was long gone, but he didn't seem to appreciate how Leo had interrupted us. "What's wrong?"

"I missed you," He told me. My heart warmed at the statement, and I pulled him in closer so I could kiss his temple. Ever since Leo had been enrolled in kindergarten, my office was more silent, and I didn't know what to do with my lunch breaks. Isaac was at training, Dean was filming, and Leo was at school. We went from spending the entire day together, to only spending half of it side-by-side, and I wasn't a fan of the change.

Apparently, neither was he.

"Yeah?" I said, a small smile tugging at my lips. "How about this? After dinner, you have me all to yourself."

"Can you sleep with me too?" Leo asked, his eyes widening adorable.

"Of course, baby!" I exclaimed, watching as Isaac's eyes narrowed at my words– I had to care for two babies instead of one. With that, Leo gave me a tooth-bearing grin and wrapped his arms around my neck so my cheek was pressed against his.

Isaac opened his mouth to say something, but the doorbell rang before he could. I perked up at the sound and spun around to go and get the door.

"Wait, are we really going to have to pretend we aren't a couple?" He yelled from behind me, and I only responded by placing a kiss on Leo's cheek. "My love? Amber, come on!"

•••

When I opened the door, I was met with my brother waiting patiently– he looked just about ready to escape Nick. At the sight of me, Dylan was pushed away by Nick, who was quick to engulf me in a hug. He obviously gave me shit for not visiting him when I was back home, and when I asked if he had it in his heart to forgive me, he said no and pushed me away to greet his baby brother.

Dylan caught me before I could trip and fall onto the floor with Leo. He glared at the back of his best friend's head before picking Leo off me to toss him up in the air. He then engulfed me in his bear hug and told me he was happy to see me.

I turned around to find Nick and Isaac playfully arguing about something. Despite the fact that the two always fought with each other about the stupidest things, you'd be dumb not to tell that they genuinely cared for each other. They texted each other daily and had a call scheduled twice a week to check up on each other. Nick cared a shitton about Isaac's eating habits and the latter cared about Nick himself, which was why he made him his favorite dish to cheer him up.

I studied Nick, who had managed to get Isaac in a chokehold. His brother was trying his best to free himself, but Nick was stronger. He didn't seem to be affected by his fight with Alex, but I knew that him refusing to stay in their house meant it was pretty serious. He was just trying to lighten up the mood like he normally did.

"Nick leave your brother alone," I ordered, watching as his head snapped up to me. I raised a brow when he didn't drop his brother, "Stop or you don't get to eat the risotto Zachy made you."

At my words, Nick let go of his brother, who staggered back as he tried to catch his breath. Dylan stepped forward, Leo still in his arms as he shoved Nick in the direction of the dining room. I crouched in front of Isaac, who was now splayed down on the floor, forearms on his head as he evened out his breathing.

I poked him in the side, "You good, babe?" I asked.

His head fell to the side as he glanced at me, face red, "I would be if you gave me a kiss." He said, puckering his lips. I rolled my eyes but quickly pecked him there anyways. He grinned at the action and instantly jumped onto his feet, outstretching his hand to pull me up too.

His grip tightened on my hand and he walked away towards the dining room. Once we neared the doorway, he let go of my hand, winking in my direction as he took a seat opposite Nick. I sat by him, opposite to Dylan, who still had Leo on his lap.

After Isaac scooped the rice for everybody, Leo jumped off his uncle's lap and rounded the table to sit on mine.

"Did Bee help you make this?" Dylan asked, eyes widening in awe when he took a bite out of it.

"Why? Does it taste bad?" Isaac questioned almost instantly. I slapped him on the chest at the insinuation that the food I cooked is bad. He glanced at me and grinned goofily making me roll my eyes.

"I'm not a shit cook," I mumbled under my breath, glancing at Leo who was scarfing down the rice.

"Of course you're not," He cooed, pinching my cheek. I slapped his hand away and quickly gazed at Dylan, who was watching us suspiciously. Nick, on the other hand, had a shit-eating grin on his face.

"So, Amby, how have you been?" Nick asked, eyes flickering between me and his brother. "You dating anyone yet?"

I narrowed my eyes at him. I looked at Isaac from the corner of my eye only to find him looking slightly nervous. Did the fucker tell his blabbermouth of a brother?

"No, Nicky," I smiled sweetly.

His grin fell at the nickname and he snapped his head in his brother's direction, "Hit her for me."

"Hit her and I'll hit you," Dylan intervened, slicing through the shrimp with the edge of his spoon as he eyed Isaac.

"I'm not hitting my love," Isaac harumphed, offended that Dylan would think he'd actually follow his brother's orders.

I smiled at his words and placed a hand over Leo's to stop him from placing the food in his mouth, "Finish chewing first, mon cher, then eat." Leo furrowed his eyebrows but nodded nonetheless.

"You've gone soft, Zac," Nick tutted, shaking his head.

"How's treating people with respect me 'going soft'?" Isaac questioned incredulously, throwing his hand up in the air. Some of the food still on his spoon flew off and landed right in front of Dylan, who stared at it in disgust.

"Don't get smart with me," Nick warned, a playful gleam in his eyes. "How about you treat me with respect? I come here to support you and you decide to value your–"

"That's enough from you, Nicky," I cut him off just as he was about to expose our relationship. It didn't go unnoticed by Dylan, though. I gave him an innocent smile, "How've you been, Dyl? Rose and the kids alright?"

He blinked, eyes flickering between me and Isaac before he decided to nod, "Yeah," He said, smiling at the mention of his wife and kids. "I hired a baby sitter to take care of the kids while I'm away. Don't want Rose to take care of the three kids on her own."

Isaac's hand crept onto my thigh and rested there. I gave him a look from the corner of my eye, but he pretended not to see it. I rolled my eyes and continued talking to the two men in front of me. Nick obviously asked for seconds, and so did Dylan– the two were beginning to act the exact same. After everybody had finished eating, Isaac and Dylan got up to clear up the table. Nick and I were stuck cleaning it up.

Nick sprayed the table down as I wiped it clean.

"You sure nothing's going on between you and my baby brother?" He asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Yeah," I responded, glancing at him. He pursed his lips and nodded. His eyes fell on his phone when it dinged. I caught a glimpse of the notification– a text from Alexandre. His face fell at the sight of the message, his eyes darkening considerably when the notification turned into a call. A picture of him and Alex on their wedding day appeared on the screen. With a stoic expression, he picked up the phone, declined the call, and turned it off.

Well, shit.

I don't think I've ever seen Nick decline a call in his life. He was the type of person to continue talking to scammers just to humor them. But if he had declined a call from his husband, then the fight must've affected him more than he'd like to let on.

"Okay, fine," I sighed, throwing the cloth onto the table as I crossed my arms. Maybe admitting that Isaac and I were together would lift his mood. His head snapped up to me and he tilted hit in confusion. "Maybe Zachy and I are dating."

A grin crept onto his lips, "Oh, I know," He smirked which made my eyebrows raise. "My brother told me about his little crush on you."

Suddenly, there was a scream behind me. I turned around to find Isaac running towards me, Dylan in tow with a murderous expression. My boyfriend gripped my shoulders and used me as a shield to protect himself from my brother. Dylan skidded to a stop in front of us and narrowed his eyes.

"What's happening?" I asked as Isaac's grip tightened.

"Your brother is fucking crazy!" Isaac exclaimed, making Dylan's eyes narrow even more. He was now staring at us through thin slits, but anybody could see the dangerous glint in them. "I thought you were kidding when you said he'd kill me!"

"You're dating him?" Dylan seethed. I threw my head back and groaned. Of course, he had to hear me– why did I decide to be a nice person at that exact moment?

"Dyl, it's not that serious," I tried to calm him down.

"I mean, our relationship kind of is, my love," Isaac voiced from behind me. I elbowed him in the ribs to silently tell him that now was not the time for his smart-ass replies.

"Why him of all people?" Dylan muttered. "Why the one guy that tests my patience more than Nick does?"

"Hey!" Nick snapped. "Don't drag me into this. You've got a problem with Isaac, not me."

"Nick!" Isaac hissed. "You're supposed to help me. I told you so you could ease Dylan into the idea of me dating Amber."

Dylan's head snapped up to Nick, who looked unapologetic as he shrugged, "You knew?" He exclaimed. "Why didn't you fucking tell me?"

"Because I didn't want you to go apeshit," Nick deadpanned. Dylan blinked at his words and glanced at the three of us before he sighed. Isaac loosened his grip on me, instead choosing to drape his arms around my shoulder, clasping his hands in front of me. He pulled me closer to him and placed his chin atop my head.

"Don't do that," Dylan snapped, grabbing my wrist and yanking me out of his hold. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kept it there. I rested my head on my brother's shoulder, shrugging at Isaac.

"Told you not to tell him today," I said, knowing that this was going to happen.

"Come on, Dyl," My boyfriend groaned. "I really like Amber."

My heart warmed at the statement and I glanced up at Dylan to find him scrutinizing Isaac. Nick rounded the table and stood by his brother. I didn't have the best track record when it came to dating. My first boyfriend ran away without a goodbye and my second boyfriend robbed me and left me with some psychological trauma. I understood why he was so hesitant at the idea of letting me date. He used to be alright with me dating but those two led to heartbreak and misery. Now, he was pretty overprotective.

"Dylan," I said softly, grasping his attention. "Isaac won't hurt me. He's done the opposite for the past four years."

"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't date until you're thirty," He grumbled.

Nick snorted at his words, "The fuck are you? The relationship police?"

"Nick you're walking on thin ice," Dylan warned pinching the skin between his eyebrows. He gave it some thought before glancing at Isaac, "Amber is an adult who can make her own decisions, so I'm not going to stop you from dating her. If I hear that you made her cry, though, I will fucking murder you."

Isaac grinned, completely unaffected by the warning, "Fuck yeah!" He cheered, outstretching his arm so he could pull me in for a hug.

Dylan took a step away from him, bringing me backward with him, "None of that shit around me, though," He mumbled. "I want my sister for the day."

"Zachy!" Leo yelled, running into the dining room, a phone in his hand. Isaac instantly picked up Leo when he was within his reach. "Your phone was ringing."

Isaac took the phone from Leo and glanced at it, face falling at the sight of the notifications. His phone started ringing again and he handed it to Nick, "I'm guessing this one is for you." He said.

Nick thinned his lips when he saw the caller ID. He grumbled something under his breath and answered the call, putting the phone up to his ear as he turned around to leave our vicinity. "What is it, Alexandre?" He sighed, sounding exhausted as he disappeared from around us. Suddenly, the atmosphere turned tense as Isaac watched his brother's retreating figure. Nick was the warmest person we knew, so for him to act so cold towards the love of his life put us all off.

I gestured for him to hand me Leo, "Go make sure he's okay," I told him, giving him an encouraging smile. He nodded, placing a chaste kiss on my lips before following his brother towards wherever he disappeared. Dylan scowled at the action but remained silent.

"Is Uncle Nick okay?" Leo voiced out, looking at me with a worried expression on his face.

"Yeah, baby," I replied, smoothing down his hair. I glanced at Dylan, who also seemed worried about Nick's sudden change in demeanor. "Do you want to tell tonton Dyl all about the new friends you made?"

Dylan looked at the both of us and smiled down at his nephew, "You have friends?" He gasped, feigning surprise.

"Yeah!" Leo exclaimed, jumping into his uncle's arms to tell him all about his new school. I followed after the two, glancing at the direction Nick disappeared to.

What the fuck were they fighting about?

•••

After Leo talked Dylan's ear off about his classmates, he turned on his iPad to play a game. That gave me enough time to ask Dylan about Nick. Apparently, Nick didn't tell Dylan what was going on either. He told me Nick showed up to his house looking disheveled, dark circles under his eyes as he shouldered a duffel bag. Nick didn't look like himself, which made Dylan let him in.

Nick told Dylan that the two got into a big fight, and they'd exchanged some unpleasant words. Alex and Nick have been rocky for the past four months, but it wasn't bad until about a week ago. Nick asked Dylan if he could stay at his for a few days and my brother obviously agreed. According to Dylan, Alexandre had shown up at his house multiple times to try and talk to Nick, but his husband repeatedly refused to see him.

Isaac and Nick have been gone for the past thirty minutes, which started to worry both Dylan and I. My brother asked me to go check up on his best friend, promising he'd keep an eye on Leo. I agreed and stood up, dusting off the leggings I had on to go and find the two. After opening the door to all the rooms, I found the brothers sitting on the terrace that overlooked the city.

They were both sitting silently on the woven chairs. Isaac would occasionally glance at his brother while Nick wordlessly stared at the skyline. I knocked on the glass door before sliding it open. Isaac perked up at the sight of me and stood up from his chair to offer it to me, pulling another one so he could sit on it. He draped a blanket around me and pointedly looked at Nick, silently asking me to help him out.

"You good, Nicky?" I asked, smiling slightly when I saw him scowl at the nickname.

"I'd be good if you stopped using that fucking nickname," He mumbled.

"No thanks," I chirped, pulling the blanket tighter around me. "I kind of like it. Zachy and Nicky, the iconic duo."

"You really let her call you Zachy?" Nick questioned, glancing at his brother who gave him a half-hearted shrug. "You really have gone soft."

"I like it," I told him. "It's cute. No one's allowed to call him Zachy just like no one's allowed to called Alexandre André. That's your nickname for him."

"No one except for Leo and my mom," He replied, referring to Isaac's nickname. He completely ignored my comment on Alexandre which made me shoot Isaac a nervous look. Nick then glanced at me, smirking, "I'm not dense, you idiot. I know what you're trying to do."

"Okay then," I replied, leaning into the chair. "How about you humor me and do what I want you to do."

He blinked and breathed out a heavy breath, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Those were my exact words when Dylan kept pestering me about my nightmares," I told him. "You know what you did? You fucking threw me over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes and took me to therapy against my will. Wasn't it you who said that it's not healthy to bottle everything up? That learning to cope with your emotions can be good for you?"

"That's cute, Amby," Nick replied, shooting me a look from the corner of his eyes. "But I don't want to talk about it." He asserted, making me do a double-take at his tone.

I sighed and nodded in understanding. Forcing him to tell me what was wrong wouldn't be beneficial to anybody. If he didn't want to talk about it, then I wouldn't ask him too. If he wanted help with whatever problem he was facing he'd ask for it. He already told Isaac what was going on, which meant that he wasn't ashamed of admitting it, he just genuinely didn't want to talk about it.

"Okay," I shrugged, ignoring how Isaac frantically shook his head at me. "That's fine."

He nodded, silently thanking me for respecting his wishes and narrowed his eyes at Isaac, "Stop shaking your head, you look like those bobbleheads they sell at your matches."

"You're annoying," Isaac retorted, slumping his shoulders when he realized how weak his reply was.

Nick chuckled and looked at me, "Good luck with him," He said, tilting his chin in the direction of his sulking brother. "If you thought that I'm a child, you've got another thing coming."

I laughed, intertwining my fingers with Isaac's, "I've already figured that out. He complains more than my three-year-old does."

"Speaking of your three-year-old," He started, gripping the armrest of his chair to get up. "I want to play a game with him. The kid is a blast to have around."

With that, he slid the doors open and stepped back into the warm house. I looked at Isaac, who followed Nick's retreating figure with his eyes. He snapped his gaze to me and frowned, "Why didn't you tell him to explain everything?"

"It's not going to do anything but irritate him," I told him honestly. When I was pregnant with Leo, Dylan's constant hovering made me want to turn around and yell at him all the time. All I wanted was to understand and deal with things on my own. "He came here to spend time with you and forget his problems for a bit. The least helpful thing to do is force him to tell me everything when he doesn't want to."

His chest heaved as he sighed, tightening his grip on my hand, "You're right," He breathed out. "I'm just really worried about him. The last time I've seen him act this way was when I refused to go to rehab."

I leaned my head against his shoulder, "Just give him some time," I said. "He needs time to process everything, okay?"

"Okay, my love," He whispered, resting his cheek on the side of my head. "Thank you."

"Any time." I replied breathily, thankful he understood that his brother needed some space.

•••

– 04/08/20

A fIght!

Next chapter might be the last before the epilogue