On the other hand,
Devon has finished preparing all of his ingredients for his fried chicken and mushroom soup when his phone rang. A video call from Trevor. He reached for the phone stand on the kitchen counter and placed his phone, before swiping the answer button. He was breading the chicken when Trevor's angry face appeared on the screen.
"What the fuck are you doing, Devon?"
"What do you mean? Oh, this? I'm cooking spicy fried chicken and mushroom soup for Elijah—"
"You brought him in your home? Are you out of your mind, Devon?" Trevor's expression was tight and tense, as he glared at Devon who just sighed and put the breaded chicken in the deep fryer.
"You visited him in the hospital," Devon arched his brow at his friend who averted his eyes. "Which meant that you already knew that it was Elijah I was talking about, so you kept on teasing me, right?"
"What are you so worried about? It's not like I'll do something to my sunshine. He's far more precious than that," Devon replied to Trevor then turned away to check what he's frying. He flipped it over and when he faced Trevor again, his friend was looking at him like he has grown three heads. "What?"
Trevor heaved a deep sigh and with a small smile on his lips, shook his head. "Fine, I'm sorry. Can you actually blame me? That boy is your ideal. I'm just worried that you'll jump on him the second you had him in your home," Trevor accused and Devon chuckled nervously in return.
"Oh, you don't know how much I want to do that since earlier," Devon mumbled and swallowed hard. He's actually impressed by the amount of self-control he exerts, considering that he had no sex for a few months, and Elijah was his wet dream personified.
When Trevor narrowed his eyes on him, Devon gulped hard and immediately ended the call. He turned off his internet connection and wiped the sweat off his forehead. Whew. Safe. Devon knows how scary Trevor is, and as of the moment, he is safe.
"Dev! Where are you?" Elijah's sweet voice echoed in Devon's home, causing Devon to smile.
"Kitchen, sunshine! Did you find your slippers?" Devon put the golden-friend chicken legs on the tray and put another batch on the fryer.
"Yeah! I really like it!" Elijah replied, feeling so excited about his Phineas and Ferb slippers.Elijah followed Devon's voice and his mouth parted when he saw the man in his sweatpants and casual shirt, with a gray apron on. He looks so handsome. Sweat was pouring off Devon's forehead, and thankfully, he pulled out a cotton towel before he climbed down.
Devon noticed Elijah running to him with a towel in the boy's hands. Devon checked what he's frying and took three strides to Elijah before the boy fell face-first on the floor, after tripping on his own feet.
With Elijah back on Devon's arms again, the latter cupped Elijah's cheek with a worried gaze. "Be careful, sunshine. Are you okay?"
Elijah nodded and smiled. "Thank you, Dev. Oh right." Elijah lifted the towel and wiped the sweat pooling on Devon's temples and neck. Devon just watched Elijah, entranced, as the boy dried off his sweat with so much concentration and gentleness.
"There. It's done," Elijah said with a giggle, snapping Devon out of his trance. Devon smiled at Elijah and deposited the boy in the nearby stool.
"Thank you, sunshine. Do you want anything? I'm still not done with our dinner."
Elijah shook his head and swayed his feet and legs. "Take your time, Dev. I'll just watch." Devon nodded and continued what he's doing.
An hour later, the two were finally finished with their meal, and just then, Elijah remembered that he was about to call his grammie, but then his phone battery went dead. They went back to Devon's room for a Phineas and Ferb marathon, and Elijah gaped again when he saw Devon's TV. Devon just pushed a button in the remote and a widescreen appeared from the wall.
"How did you do that? Can you teach me?" Elijah requested with twinkling eyes.
Devon chuckled softly and sat beside the boy. "Of course. You have to push this button to switch it on. Then, use this to..." In five minutes, Elijah learned how to navigate through the system and he also learned how to record movies and series.
"Sunshine, your phone's fully charged." Devon unplugged Elijah's phone and was amazed because it's the latest model, and it's not even out of the market yet. He handed the phone to Elijah which the latter gratefully accepted. "Who bought you this, sunshine?"
"Oh, Stefan did; so, I can talk to grammie and grandpops."
Devon finally pieced everything. This is not a mere security job. Stefan, Trevor, and his grandparents are on it in this situation. Well, Devon is very grateful. Because he had no intention of letting Elijah go. For the very first time since his heartbreak, Devon wholeheartedly accepted the emotions Elijah is making him feel.
**
Devon's bedroom
"Sunshine..." Devon whined and buried his nose on the junction of Elijah's neck and shoulder, feeling so neglected. It was Devon's fault anyway. Because he can't contain the need to please Elijah, he gave the boy limited-edition magazines of Phineas and Ferb, each one has an autograph from the creators of the animation. Mina collected the signed magazines under the instructions of Devon.
"Yes?" Elijah answered without even looking at Devon, his blue eyes twinkling as he took in pages after pages of the wonderful magazine, so lost in his own world. Devon groaned and felt so betrayed, his arms tightening around Elijah's waist, the boy perched on his lap in the middle of Devon's massive bed.
"Baby..." Devon now had his chin on Elijah's shoulders, grumbling softly, while taking a peek at the magazine that stole Elijah from him.
With a soft giggle, Elijah closed the magazine and placed it beside him, then raised his hand to pat Devon's head. "What do you want, Dev? Do you want to do anything?" Elijah shifted so he could sit face-to-face with Devon. He wanted to read more but Devon needs his attention right now. The magazine can wait until later.
Devon bit the inside of his cheeks when Elijah chose him over the magazine. Now that Elijah's baby blues are trained on him, Devon's mind went blank, so Devon said the first thought that came into his mind. "Who's Ryzel?" Devon has yet to read the file on Elijah, and it seemed that Elijah holds Ryzel dearly, so Devon was genuinely curious.
Elijah's beaming expression and twinkling blue pools dimmed. That's right. Ryzel. Elijah was having so much fun that he's starting to forget the reason why he applied for a job in the first place. Devon noticed Elijah's sudden change of mood and got worried, immediately regretting his question.
"I'm sorry, sunshine. You don't have to tell me if you're still not ready. I can wait. Why don't we start our Phineas and Ferb marathon? I'll get the snacks and—"
"Ryzel Thompson," Elijah started with a sad smile and his eyes darted to the dark sky visible from Devon's balcony. "He's one of the most important people in my life. He saved me, clothed me, and fed me. He took care of me when I had nothing, Dev. He's the reason why I'm working so hard. I-I want to find him. I want to see him again," Elijah turned to Devon with tear-filled eyes, and Devon's chest squeezed painfully when he saw how heartbroken Elijah was.
Devon cradled Elijah's face into his hands and stroked the boy's cheeks softly. "It will be alright, sunshine. We'll find him. You will see Ryzel again," Devon promised and a lone tear escaped from Elijah's eyes, believing the assurance that Devon had made. "Can you tell me what happened, sunshine? If I had the general facts, I could ask around and it would be easier to find Ryzel that way."
Elijah blinked several times, letting the information sink in, and when it did, Devon witnessed how Elijah's somber expression morphed into an ecstatic one, and Devon wanted to pat himself on the back for a job well done.
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