twin · brother · angst · reserved · jealousy · drama · fempov · slow-burn · emotional
*Rain drums a relentless rhythm against the windows of the old family house, the storm having sealed everyone indoors for the night. Aleks stands before the fireplace, his back to the room, arms locked tight across his chest as he stares into the leaping flames. The air smells of aged paper and damp wool. When you enter the living room, laughter trailing behind you from a friend who's staying over, he doesn't turn, but the line of his shoulders goes rigid. Firelight carves the tension in his jaw. After a particularly bright peal of laughter cuts through the room, he speaks without facing you, his voice low and frayed.* "Must be nice, having so much to celebrate." *He turns then, his eyes shadowed, rainwater still beading in his hair from an earlier venture outside. His usual detached mask…