The night of seventeen

I was right with my assumption: the twins were both shorter than me with Jin being the shortest of us three. He enthusiastically jumped into my arms as soon as he saw me, causing both of us to fall. I yelped in surprise and laughed as he hugged me to death.

“What- wait I-”

“Aww, my baby brother's still cute.” He pinched my cheeks in a playful matter. Shaking my head, I laughed at him.

“C'mon, don't call me that. I'm not a baby anymore." He tilted his head and kissed my right cheek.

“You'll always be our baby, brat.”

“Whatever you say. Now, get off of me. You're short but heavy.”

“Ey! I'll still be your older brother, even if you grow to be two meters taller. Ha!”, he exclaimed with a crooked smile and helped me stand up. I rolled my eyes at him.

“We're only two years apart and you're by far the more childish one.”

“Ts, ts, ts. Have you always been this cocky?” I giggled, a wave of happiness overcame me whenever I talked to him and today was no exception. Jin let out a dramatic sigh and hugged me again.

“I really missed you. Seriously, I thought that you'd get eaten by dragons and I'd never see you again or-” He was interrupted by his older twin brother who appeared out of nowhere, making both of us jump.

“You're an idiot.”

“Wahh-” He got his head smacked. Jin and I flinched.

“S-s-shin? What the- why do you always have to scare me like that? That hurt, dumbass.”

Shin ignored him and instead came to me. He smiled a little and patted my head in a loving matter.

“Welcome home and happy belated birthday, A-Zian.” Smiling, I took his right hand and touched it with my forehead – it was a gesture of respect and affection.

Jin was pouting at the sight of us, looking like some child whose favorite toy had been stolen.

“Hey! I am A-Zian's favorite brother, so hands off.” He tried pushing Shin away from me but just ended up getting hit with the book in his older sibling’s hands. He whined and touched the back of his head.

“Don't make a fuss. The guards were ready to kill you when you were busy attacking him.”

“Ouch, don't blame me. We haven't seen him in yeeears, YEARS. Do you know what that means? Not days, weeks, or months. YEARS.”

The two of them continued bickering and I couldn't help but snort in amusement.

“They have not changed, right?” Surprised, I caught glimpse of the person next to me. Father was smiling at the sight of the arguing twins, then glanced at me. His cyan eyes held such familiar warmth, I could almost cry. Cyrill vi Alexandria was a good and merciful emperor. Long nights of work over the years of his reign and the battles he had fought in had left visible marks on his appearance. His middle-length once black hair was occasionally replaced with grey hair strands, the bags under his eyes had gotten darker and more noticeable. Dad had gotten older, though his eyes were still shining as if they were holding life itself bundled in an eternal flame.

“Father...”

His eyes glistened and he gently touched my shoulder, looking directly into my eyes. “Welcome home, I am glad you are back.”

I returned the smile, nodding. “Me too.”

We were sitting at the table together, talking and chatting with one another as the servants were bringing the food they had prepared for this breakfast – though “brunch” was the better word to use, considering how late it had gotten.

“Sooo...”, Jin grinned at me. “Tell us about your journey, I wanna know all the dirty details. Have you met any fair maidens or perhaps a beautiful young man to bring home?” He suggestively wiggled with his eyebrows. Shin smacked him again, Father just chuckled. I sweat-dropped. Now, this was going to be an interesting conversation.

“A-Zian, don't answer that. This idiot just wants to tease you.”

“That's not true. I'm genuinely curious to know about his love life.”

“He's seventeen, for gods' sake.”

Jin stared at him in confusion, tilting his head. “And? What does that have to do with this? Seventeen is way beyond the age of innocence.”

He received another smack on the head. He was going to get a hole in there if that went on like this...

“Not everyone loses their virginity that soon.”

The younger twin gasped dramatically, shaking his head again.

“C'mon, seventeen isn't that young. His body is that of an adult.” He pointed at my body, making me want to hide behind the chair. Then, he suddenly turned to Father's direction.

“Dad, when did you lose your virginity?”

“...”

“...”

The servants and I had to force ourselves not to burst into laughter. Only Jin would ask the emperor that. Father didn't let that irritate him, I knew he was going to answer that question seriously. For gods' sake, he even blushed a little. Shin stared at both of them in disbelief.

“The night of my seventeenth birthday”, was all he said.

I chuckled. Man, I had missed my family and these chaotic conversations.