Destroying

Timor was still having pain walking from the hit, so he stayed with Brunei. Brunei was pleased, on the one hand, 'cause he could get to know Timor better and experience what it was like to 'live with someone.' Timor was lost in his thoughts. He thought about his eyes, his age, Indonesian words, Malaysian jokes. This really started to anger him. It seemed to him that everyone around him was ready to do anything to evoke bad feelings. "You're still little," "You're too young for this," and similar words made Timor rage at those who once made him feel safe. Indonesia and Malaysia... no, but Timor just couldn't be angry at them! He just couldn't. The door opened, Timor emerged from his thoughts and saw Brunei. He paused for a few seconds, as if examining him, then smiled and said: "Maybe you hungry?" "Hungry." Timor smiled, feeling awkward. "I only ate this morning." "Then we need to fix that. I'll cook somethin' now, little one." Little one… Timor froze in shock. The door closed, and then he frowned. He wasn't exactly that much of an age difference with Brunei, so it was so offensive. Even he perceives him as a child now. Or is this for a reason? Timor suddenly softened. Brunei doesn't know about all those Malaysian words, he only heard them once, he only heard Indonesia's words about age and safety a couple of times, so the bieyed one was in no hurry to get angry. He exhaled and leaned back. He fell onto his back, feeling the soft golden blanket beneath him. He glanced nervously to the right, realizing something was wrong. Since when does he get angry? What happened? Timor wanted to lie on his side, but because of the pain, he only did so after a few seconds. «I think there's somethin' wrong with me. What exactly? No, it's normal to be angry and resentful. Why should I be afraid of that?» Timor closed his eyes, trying to think of a way to distract himself. He lay back down, then unzipped his windbreaker pocket and pulled out his phone. The phone was safe and sound, unlike Timor's psyche. Timor sat up painfully, turned on his phone, then unlocked it and thought again. He opened tHE gallery. There were recent photos of Indonesia, some of Malaysia and the Philippines. Timor settled on the Philippines, who spent quite a bit of time with him. The Philippines didn't say anything about age or joke about it, and his words about intelligence were somehow even invigorating. Timor may be stupid in that he is afraid to talk about the sadism he experienced, but he'll always be smarter in some ways. «If I had to choose one person, it'd be Phil…» Timor thought and smiled. Timor caught a whiff of something. It smelled delicious, fresh and vegetable-like, and it made him even more hungry. He was ready to ignore the pain in his leg and run toward the smell. He decided to get up. First one leg, then the other, and Timor slowly got out of bed. He left the room, ignoring the pain. He walked down the hallway, and halfway down, he stopped at the door to some room. He became curious about what was there. He reached for the door handle, and as he was about to pull it, he heard Brunei's footsteps approaching him. Timor pulled his hand back as if scalded and turned his head toward the front door. He saw Brunei emerging from around the corner, where there was a small hallway leading to the kitchen. "Oh, you managed to stand up? That's a good sign," Brunei said. "Brunei, what've you cooked?" Timor asked. "A salad," Brunei replied. The answer made Timor hungry enough to eat everything. He walked past Brunei, turned the corner, and walked straight down the corridor. He opened the door to the kitchen. That fresh and pleasant smell became more noticeable. Timor saw a plate of salad on the table, which contained slices of cucumber, tomato and some greens, as well as radishes and a little cabbage. Timor sat down at the table, not believing what he saw. Brunei walked into the kitchen and closed the door. "Don't look at me like that. It's too cute," Brunei said. "Brunei, is this... is this true for me?" Timor looked at Brunei, placing his hand on his chest. "Of course." Timor could no longer see Brunei as someone he barely knew. Brunei acted like an older brother, caring and doing everything with heart. «It's a dream?» Timor wondered. Of course, it wasn't a dream, but it was the first time something so unusual had happened. Timor started eating salad. "By the way, are you allergic to what I added?" Brunei asked. Putting his hand behind his head, he added, "I didn't think about that." "No, Bruno, I love all of this," Timor reassured. "That's good." Brunei closed his eyes and lowered his head. However, afterward, one small thing dawned on him. "Wait, what did you call me?" he looked at Timor in surprise. "Brunei…" Timor said, trying to look as calm as possible. Brunei narrowed his eyes. He'd clearly heard Timor call him something slightly different. Putting it down to accident, he said nothing. Timor quickly ate what was on his plate and stood up from the table. He felt pain in his leg and almost fell, but Brunei caught him. "It's okay, it's okay," Brunei said. "Lemme help you get to the room." Timor nodded, and Brunei led him to his room. In the hallway, Timor again noticed the door to another room, unknown to him at the time. Brunei saw a curious look in Timor's eyes. "Wanna go into this room?" "Yes. If I can." "You can, Tim. I was about to show it." Brunei let Timor go, but now it's trying to stay on its feet. The elder opened the door to the room and let Timor inside. There were still the same soft yellow colors and a beige floor with a ceiling from which hung a lamp in the shape of a star; there was a door to the balcony in front, next to it in the left corner was a wardrobe, with a bed next to it, and to the right of the balcony was a desk and a chair made of light wood. There was a bare wall above the bed, but it felt like Brunei wanted to hang something there. "So, how is it...?" Brunei asked, as if hoping for something. "I like this room," Timor replied admiringly, turning to his friend. Brunei looked worried, but at the same time he was happy, hoping for something, that’s for sure, and at the same time he looked at Timor. "Brunei, if you don’t mind… can I stay here?" "Yes, Tim. Consider this your room." Timor smiled. He sat down on the bed. His soul was bursting with grace: he didn’t know what was wrong with him, but he was so overjoyed that it was as if for the first time. Brunei left the room and closed the door. He exhaled and looked sad, then went to his room, thinking about something. Timor pulled out his phone and saw a missed message. It was Indonesia, or rather, he asked a question that surprised a little: "Tim, what ya think bout Brunei's apartment?" Timor decided to respond, trying to find the right word to describe his emotions. "I very like it, Indo! I wouldn't mind livin here <3" Timor let out a quiet sigh. It would truly be wonderful to live here. Peace and quiet, no Malaysia or Indonesia, so no resentment towards them. But Tim, on the other hand, understood that he'd hardly be allowed to live in someone else's apartment; at most, he'll be only allowed to visit. Timor had only been here a few hours, but had already become somewhat attached. Indonesia suddenly resumed chatting with Timor about an apartment. |Dad said you can stay at Brunei's for the night if you want.| [22:35]

|Really?| [22:36]

|Cool!| [22:36]

|I feel you want to| [22:36]

|Of course| [22:36]

|Great!| [22:37] |Then good night| [22:37]

|Hehe, I won't be falling asleep anytime soon.| [22:37]

|Well yes it is visible.| [22:37] |I wanted to sleep. My head has been spinning all day.| [22:38]

|Then rest| [22:38]

|Okay. See ya tomorrow ^^| [22:38] Timor turned off his phone. He lay on his back. He didn't even notice how he'd fallen asleep. He'd written that he wouldn't fall asleep anytime soon, but then comfort took control of his state.

***

Timor woke up. He yawned softly and looked around. At first, he didn't understand where he was, but then he remembered his meeting with Brunei and the incident with the bruise that had led him here. Timor shook his head and got out of bed. His leg didn't hurt that much anymore, so Timor left the room on his own and walked down the corridor. He went into the bathroom, which was next to the kitchen. He thought again. This wasn't his apartment, and he didn't know what he could and couldn't touch. All that was left was to wake Brunei up. Timor was about to leave, but noticed one detail. By the sink stood a small cup with two toothbrushes: yellow and blue. There wouldn't have been anything suspicious 'bout this if Brunei had been living with someone. Timor picked up the blue brush and began examining it. It had black, soft bristles. «What does this mean? It's make sense, right?» Timor looked away toward the door. In the silence of the apartment he heard footsteps, getting louder as they approached the bathroom. Timor came out and saw Brunei. Coming closer, he hugged him. Brunei patted him on the back. "Good morning, Tim." "Mornin', Bruno." "Ahem-ahem…" Timor winced. He'd accidentally called Brunei something else again, without realizing it. Pulling away with an awkward cough, Timor decided to change the subject: "Why do you need two toothbrushes, Brunei?" "Ah, this… the second one… not quite mine," Brunei said, confused and hesitant. "You can use it." the elder one smiled confusedly, bending his right hand. "Really? Okay then." Timor smiled. He went into the bathroom and picked up that blue toothbrush. "This one, right?" "Yes." Brunei nodded with a calm face. Timor took the toothpaste and opened it. It smelled pleasant, but sharp, like mint. Timor brushed his teeth in a couple of minutes and then went out, heading to the kitchen. Only there did Timor notice that Brunei was very agitated. He looked at Timor somewhat nervously, occasionally looking away and thinking 'bout something. Timor didn't dare ask what was going on and just watched silently. Brunei and Timor had breakfast, and afterward, Timor went to the room where he'd fallen asleep. As he reached the door, he suddenly wondered a good question and voiced it out loud as Brunei tried to pass him by: "Brunei, why ' you have a two-room apartment?" Brunei stopped at the door to his room and looked at Timor with slight surprise. "Well… I needed to find an apartment quickly, and this one seemed more comfortable," he explained, putting his hand behind his head and closing his eyes with a smile on his face. "Besides, if any of my friends stay here overnight, there won't be any problems," he added after opening his eyes. Timor nodded. For him, that was enough to stop asking about this apartment. Brunei silently went to his room, starting to worry again. Timor didn't like this again, but he didn't chase after Brunei. Invading someone else's personal space isn't his thing. Timor entered 'his' room. With a quick step, despite the pain, he reached the balcony and went out to look at the view from the window. Wonderful. Opposite there was another house, below there was a children's playground across the road, a small shop was visible to the right of the house opposite. Timor watched the cars drive by: fast, with a soft 'roar' of their engines. There weren't many of them, but they still passed by. «I wanna stay here so bad!» Timor thought. He was already tempted to start a scandal, just to stay with Brunei. He felt even safer with them than with Indonesia. «Oh, Indo... maybe I should talk to him 'bout this? I hope he'll understand correctly» Timor stepped out of the balcony and picked up his phone. He called Indonesia, wondering how to explain everything. The phone rang, but no one picked up. Timor tried calling back, but to no avail, and after the third attempt, the bieyed gave up. He went out onto the balcony again. At that moment, it seemed to him that Brunei had left the apartment. That's exactly how it turned out, but it didn't become clear right away, only when Timor accidentally saw a familiar orange sweater from above, and then recognized Brunei by his appearance. «Where is he goin'? On business, probably...» Timor remained where he was, looking at the cars, children playing, teenagers and adults passing by. They all looked ordinary, it was impossible to find fault with them, but many such ordinary people point out the features of unusual people. "The world is unpredictable…" Timor sighed sadly, closing his eyes.. He watched and thought. Things were starting to look up in his life: he'd found a new friend who looked like a cross between Indonesia and the Philippines. It meant a lot to him. But along with the rise came a fall: too many references to age and growing hatred towards Malaysia and Indonesia. Timor pushed away negative thoughts, as he didn't want to be angry at those who 'brought him back to life'. *** Timor was in the kitchen drinking water from a glass. Brunei still hadn't returned, which made Timor a little worried. He still didn't know his number, just as he didn't know the younger one's number, and Indonesia still didn't answer, and didn't answer the calls. Timor took drastic measures, namely to go out and find Brunei on its own. Timor took his windbreaker off the hanger in the hallway and put it on, then put on his shoes and left the apartment. He ran to the elevator and called it, and when it arrived and the doors opened, he flew inside, pressed the button for the first floor and began to wait. It was a good thing there was no one in the elevator cabin. The doors opened in front of him and the elevator started to descend. As soon as Timor reached the first floor and got out, he immediately rushed to the front door and, opening it, ran in search of Brunei. He ran across the road and ran to his left. He turned the corner. Brunei was there, and not alone, but with Indonesia. It didn't take long to find. Timor wanted to approach them, but then he suspected something. Brunei looked equally agitated, and Indonesia thoughtful. Timor retreated and hid around the corner, then began eavesdropping. "Excellent!" Indonesia said and smiled, but then added a little seriously: "But remember, he's still my brother". "Of course, Indo. Thank you." "All that's left is to ask him." Indonesia crossed his arms and looked to the right. "Yes..." Brunei hung his head. "Are you worried that he won't agree?" "A little bit." Timor no longer wanted to hide. He became curious about what Brunei and Indonesia were up to. He approached them. "Indo, Brunei, what's going on?" Brunei and Indonesia looked at the younger one as if he had killed someone. Both exchanged confused glances. "What's going on?" Timor frowned. "Tim, you see..." Brunei looked down. "Here's the thing." "Brunei, I don't think he'll have a negative reaction." Indonesia gently punched Brunei in the shoulder. "You both scare me." Timor stepped back, worried. "Timor... you wanna stay and live with me?" Brunei finally asked, thus answering Timor's question. But Timor was still speechless. He hadn't expected exactly this turn of events. He glanced at Indonesia, who smiled and looked back at him. "Unexpected, isn't it?" the red-and-white one said "Brunei, can I really live with you?!" Timor asked, still not believing what he had heard. "Yes," Brunei nodded. "I just wanted to feel what it was like to have a younger brother. You're... very unusual. I rarely see people like you. I became attached to you and I wanted you to be with me". "Really?" still trying to get over the shock, Timor said quietly. "Brunei never lies," Indonesia said, pointing at Brunei. "This..." Timor hugged himself. "very unexpected. I was about to start a scandal." "What?" Indonesia lowered his hand in surprise, pointing at Brunei. "I wanted to stay and live with Brunei yesterday. It's calm and quiet with him." Timor smiled. "Oh my God, I'm so happy!" Brunei hugged Timor, saying this. Indonesia smiled. He shrugged, then said: "But you stay with him not as a brother, but as a co-habitant." "See no difference" Timor smiled, placing his hands on Brunei's back. Brunei and Timor have distanced themselves from each other. "Perhaps I should've thought about it a little more, but I'm feelin' lonely," Brunei said. He was still smiling despite his uncertainty. "I think it’s about time," Timor said. "I promise you won’t regret deciding to do this." the boy raised his hands to his shoulders, clenched his palms and closed his eyes.