Free Web NovelChapter 260: _Just Two ’Work Buddies’
"Tristan?" Gabriel’s eyes widened the moment they landed on the younger man standing behind them. "You—what are you doing here?"
Ambrose’s brows creased.
Tristan...
Wait a minute.
The guy Gabriel mentioned to his mom last night. In other words—
"I should be asking you that question, brother." Tristan laughed, giving his older brother a small shove with his fist. It didn’t move him but he didn’t care. "God, it’s so good to see you."
Gabriel nearly rolled his eyes. "No one just goes around calling their brother ’brother’ like that, Tristan."
Ambrose watched as the two men drew closer to each other, Tristan wrapping an arm around the space god’s shoulders.
Unlike Gabriel, Tristan’s eyes were a normal dark brown. But he sure was handsome, with a sharp jawline and a small moustache.
He wore a green leather jacket over a white T-shirt, paired with a black jean trouser to match.
The most intriguing part?
Ambrose couldn’t sense any aether from him. At all.
[That’s because he’s not a Guide or Esper.] Aura came with the explanation no one asked for.
"We barely see you around," Tristan continued, not realising the way Ambrose just stood there as he pulled his brother away. "Adriana and I came here on a little vacation."
"Vacation?" Gabriel repeated. "Really? And you didn’t even travel out of the country?"
Tristan scoffed. "Not everyone can break through space and time like you."
"My domain is only tied to space. Unfortunately."
"Case in point." Tristan patted his brother’s back. "You’re one of the most powerful Hunters out there. Not to mention you’re packed with cash."
Ambrose immediately noticed Gabriel getting a bit... uncomfortable? He didn’t know if that was the right word to explain it but he could tell the Esper was trying to match his brother’s energy.
And failing hard at it.
So, he decided it was about time he broke out from being invisible.
"Uhm, hi." He said after faking a cough, catching both their attention. Charm aura must’ve been working overtime when his lips curved. "Hope y’all aren’t forgetting me."
Tristan squinted. "Oh, I’m sorry." He slipped his arm off his brother, offering Ambrose a handshake. "Haven’t seen my brother in months. Pardon my manners."
"It most certainly hasn’t been months!" Gabriel snapped.
"Oh, but it has." Tristan ignored him, placing all attention on Ambrose. "And you are...?"
Ambrose was amused by the way Gabriel actually seemed nervous around the man.
Not the bad, toxic kinda nervous. But the kind grown around someone you genuinely care about.
’He must have a much better relationship with his brother.’ he thought to himself as he stretched his hand for the shake. ’At least, I hope he does.’
"Ambrose." He flashed the brightest smile he could muster. "I’m a... friend of Gabriel’s. From work. If I’m being honest I only found out he had a brother not so long ago."
"Tch." Tristan kissed his teeth. "Typical Gabriel. Always so secretive about his personal life. Yet he can’t seem to get his nose out of whatever other people have going on."
"Okayyy." Gabriel drew that with a forced laugh. "So where is Adriana? Don’t tell me you left your girlfriend drying out somewhere while you came here to—"
Ambrose didn’t know when he used his feet to give Gabriel a little kick. If only he could talk telepathically with him he could tell him he felt things were getting intense.
Surprisingly all Tristan did was laugh again.
"If you’re jealous of us you should’ve just said so, Gabby." He chuckled. "But, no. She’s with a friend of hers taking pics. You want to go see her?"
Gabriel was going to decline. He really was.
Until he noticed how genuinely excited his brother was. And how curious Ambrose was.
It made something dangerously warm flicker in his mind.
With a sigh, he glanced at Ambrose before nodding. "Very well then." He wore a smile. "I’ve been dying to see future Mrs Silverstone again anyway."
His brother gave him a bear hug after those words—much to his annoyance. As they made their way to where Tristan said his girlfriend was, Gabriel’s eyes moved to Ambrose.
The Guide was quiet beside the siblings.
Too quiet.
That was because mentally Ambrose was wondering for the umpteenth time if dragging an AI system’s wig was possible.
[Come on, you know it’s cute. You being jealous and all.]
’I am not fucking jealous of Gabriel and his brother.’
[Yes you are. Jealous you aren’t being given attention as usual.]
’Fuck you.’
[Sweetness, you can get all the fucking you want once you create that permanent link with Gabriel. Mind you, the progress you’ve made is at risk of clearing off if you don’t go on with it quick enough.]
Ambrose’s cheeks reddened.
Hopefully he doesn’t end up embarrassing himself at any point for the rest of today.
★★★★★
It didn’t take long to meet Adriana.
Ambrose could almost instantly see why Tristan loved her.
She had gorgeous features, long blonde hair and a very kind attitude to match it all.
Adriana smiled the moment Gabriel finally introduced them.
"It’s so nice to meet you, Ambrose." She reached out for a handshake. "Anyone capable of convincing Gabriel to leave work long enough for a vacation already has my respect."
Gabriel immediately looked offended. "This isn’t a vacation."
"It literally is," Tristan and Adriana said together.
Ambrose laughed while Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose.
Yeah.
This family dynamic was definitely interesting.
About an hour later, Tristan found himself driving all four of them back toward his place.
The SUV rolled through a quiet suburban neighbourhood lined with neat houses and tall maple trees. Ambrose sat in the backseat beside Gabriel while Adriana occupied the passenger seat.
For the first ten minutes she mostly chatted with Tristan.
Then her attention gradually shifted.
Specifically toward the two men sitting behind her.
Her eyes bounced between Gabriel and Ambrose through the rear-view mirror a few times.
Eventually she smiled knowingly. "You two seem really close."
The vehicle instantly became quieter.
Tristan’s grin appeared immediately while Gabriel’s expression hardened.
Ambrose nearly swallowed his tongue.
"We work together," Gabriel answered.
"Mmhm." Adriana clearly didn’t believe that.
Neither did Tristan judging by the way his shoulders shook with suppressed laughter.
Ambrose decided looking out the window was suddenly very important.
Thankfully the conversation shifted before either sibling could make things worse.
Soon enough they pulled into a spacious driveway in front of a beautiful two-storey house.
"Home sweet home." Tristan switched off the engine.
Everyone climbed out.
Ambrose barely had time to admire the place before Tristan casually dropped a bombshell.
"Oh, by the way."
Gabriel narrowed his eyes immediately. "That tone worries me."
"Relax. I was going to say our mother is inside."
Absolute silence.
Gabriel froze.
The colour drained from his face so fast Ambrose almost felt bad for him.
"Tristan."
"Yeah?"
"You did not tell me that before we came here."
"I know, but we—"
"Tristan."
"It’ll be fine."
"It absolutely won’t be—"
Before Gabriel could finish, Tristan had already reached the front door. The younger Silverstone swung it open with far too much enthusiasm.
"Mom!" He yelled. "Guess who I found!"
