Chapter 471: A Brocon, a Bus Ride, and Too Many Witnesses
The hiss of brakes snapped Darcy out of his thoughts as the bus pulled into the station. Its doors opened, letting out a puff of air. Darcy stepped up first, then turned around, only to see Micah still standing outside, daydreaming.
Darcy’s shoulders slumped. He leaned halfway out of the door, extending his hand toward Micah. The boy didn’t move. Darcy gritted his teeth and grabbed him by the wrist, dragging him inside.
Micah blinked, startled out of his daze, and stumbled inside with a small grunt.
And of course, Micah did not have a bus pass. Darcy shook his head and fished out some coins from his own wallet when he saw the boy trying to pay with a credit card and a hundred-dollar note. Seriously! How could he be this clueless about how normal people live? Who pays the bus driver with those?
Darcy paid with the coins under the driver’s sharp gaze, then pulled Micah to the back of the bus. They sat at the very end.
Micah shifted in his seat, looking around with curiosity that almost made him look like a child experiencing something new.
"First time?" Darcy asked, leaning back and crossing his arms.
Micah scratched the back of his neck awkwardly before nodding.
"Wow! Too spoiled." Darcy muttered with mock disbelief.
Micah flushed slightly, looking away. "I used the metro before but not the public bus," he replied, embarrassed.
"Get used to it if you want to stay with me," Darcy said flatly.
Micah frowned. "Huh? What do you mean? We have money to take a taxi even if we don’t want to use the Ramsy family driver, right?"
Darcy tilted his head slightly, his tone calm but sharp. "I’m on a tight budget. And so are you. You don’t want to be taking allowances from your adoptive parents while their biological son isn’t, do you? You know if that got out, you would be torn apart by netizens. Your reputation would be done for."
Micah gasped, pressing a hand over his mouth, exaggerating. "Oh my god! I didn’t know you cared so much about me!"
Darcy shot him a glare. "Zip it," he snapped. He was mad at himself. Seriously, why was he even worried about this idiot? Micah was totally at ease with the baby switch, living in la la land, not caring about his image or what might happen to the Ramsy family’s reputation.
"Oh, come on! You are not fun at all. I want my old Darcy back."
Darcy’s expression shifted. "If you think this is hard, feel free to go back to the Ramsy mansion. No one is stopping you."
Micah straightened his posture and shook his head immediately. "Nope. I said I’d stick with you. And I mean it."
Darcy gave him a long, sceptical look. "You are really heartless! Your family raised you for nearly twenty years, and that’s what they get?"
"I am not cutting ties with them. I am just trying to bond with my biological family. Who could find fault with that? And I will visit them. Don’t worry," Micah said matter-of-factly.
Darcy turned away slightly, watching the city blur by outside the window. His reflection in the glass showed an amused smirk tugging at his lips. "You are really strange. Are you obsessed with me?"
"Maybe?" Micah answered without hesitation. "I always wanted a little brother." A goofy grin spread across his face.
"Ha!" Darcy scoffed, eyes narrowing. "Again with this nonsense. Brother this, brother that! You really have a brother fetish or something?"
Micah’s cheeks puffed up. He raised his hand and smacked Darcy lightly on the arm. "Shut up. Don’t make me sound like a creep!"
"Then stop saying that phrase!" Darcy shot back, clearly displeased. In his previous life, that word, brother, had fooled him more than once. He believed it, trusted it, only to realise too late that it was nothing more than a cage for his morality. And in this life, it wasn’t much different. The Darcy of this world had also been trapped behind that word, brother, even when his heart had longed for something else.
This time, both his mind and heart were in agreement. They both hated hearing the word brother.
Micah pouted and turned his head toward the window. "Fine," he muttered. "Stingy. Who would hate being called brother, anyway?"
Darcy pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling in frustration. Micah was completely too fixated on making him, his brother. What a pain in the ass!
"Are you seriously stupid, or are you belittling me?" Darcy snapped.
Micah pursed his lips. "I don’t get it. What’s the connection between them? Why can’t I call you brother? I heard many lovers called their partner brother too!"
Darcy’s eyes widened, nearly choking on air. "What? Do you want to be my lover?"
Micah waved his hands quickly, nonchalantly. "No. I am just saying, even if I call you that, it doesn’t mean I am disregarding your feelings."
"No. I stand corrected. You definitely have a brother fetish." Darcy said, clicking his tongue. "What did they call it? Brocon?"
Micah rolled his eyes. "That’s beside the point! I just don’t understand your aversion to hearing that word from me! You are fine when Nora calls you that."
"I grew up with her! That’s different." Darcy replied, irritated.
Before Micah could reply, a sharp voice cut through the bus. "You two, please shut up!"
Darcy and Micah both flinched.
Behind them, a young man sat with a thick book open across his knees, eyes glaring over the rim of his glasses. "I am trying to study here!" he snapped.
"Sorry, sorry," Micah blurted, shrinking down in embarrassment as he realised the whole bus had probably heard everything they said. all their conversation. He ducked his head, hiding from the stares.
Darcy’s lips twitched. He turned his head away, shoulders stiff. What was wrong with him? He was supposed to be the older one, mentally at least, but somehow, every time he was with Micah, he ended up bickering with him over stupid things.
He glanced at the boy beside him, who was now quietly fidgeting, eyes darting between the back seats and the floor. His ears and neck flushed red. Darcy sighed again and rested his chin on his palm, gazing outside.
What was he even doing, hanging around with Micah?