Salt and Sugar Look the Same

The sharp noise of the helicopter's spinning rotor blades gradually faded after leaving the landscape to the sky far above. The swaying leaves on the tree branches calmed, dancing in the air before finally kissing the ground.

"Boss must have been exercising a lot lately!"

Edward squealed in excitement as he turned at Mikhail behind him, removing his gaze from the window after the aircraft that brought the boss and his underlings had disappeared from sight.

"It has nothing to do with me, but why are you thinking like that?" Mikhail wanted to know why Edward suddenly looked so fascinated by Marvel's activities.

"Boss has gained more muscles than the last time I saw him last year!" Edward emphasized.

"Oh, really?" Mikhail was a bit skeptical about it. He didn't even notice nor know if that was true.

"Didn't you look at his sturdy thighs? Oh my! I nearly begged him to step on me!"

"Seriously, why are you like this?!"

Mikhail screamed his lungs out when he knew Edward just wanted to say that to make him shudder. The youngster successfully got him as he thought it could have been something important.

"If only you knew what kind of exercise he's been doing..." Mikhail sighed deeply.

"You knew?" Edward was interested. "Then, are you going to do it too to match his perfect physique?"

"Who is?!"

"Right? You're a hundred years sooner to equal him. Just give up, Mikhail."

"What?! I swear you would cry if I did-"

Mikhail paused on his words, hesitating. He frowned in irritation and turned the sapphire blue away from the younger man in front of him. The silence was unsettling, disturbing his peace.

"Why would I cry?" Edward asked suspiciously. He felt the need to confirm something.

"Nevermind," Mikhail was reluctant to speak from his heart.

"What the..." Edward grunted at his superior's attitude. "Don't worry, I won't shed a tear over a bulky old man."

"Say that again, you little- And how many times should I tell you to call me sir, not my name!"

"I didn't know Gilbert could pilot a helicopter," Edward changed the topic, rolling his eyes away from Mikhail.

Mikhail sighed in exhaustion from his subordinate's behavior.

"I heard he got his license this year," he answered the question generously, going with the flow.

"Gilbert is doing his best to satisfy Boss, to meet Boss' expectation."

"Gilbert is the best."

Edward felt his heart throb when he spotted Mikhail's soft and genuine smile as the man was praising Gilbert. Even his tone, his facial expression, changed significantly when he talked about that certain person who had been with the Yerevan Family longer than anyone else.

"He's too good for a spoiled brat like Marvel," Mikhail continued.

"He's not a spoiled brat, you are!" Edward blurted out, still taking Marvel's side, no matter what.

"Why am I a spoiled brat?!"

"Anyway, now that we're finally here, why don't you change personal assistant with Boss? It would be better for both of us, right?"

Edward cynically smiled at Mikhail, his cold eyes at him. His unfriendly smile and voice were real, but somehow, Mikhail caught something that was faked when he found out Edward was trying his best to hold his wavering gaze.

"Ed, you're being sassy again."

Edward flinched in surprise when Mikhail reached his cheek, trying to hold him while looking deep into his eyes. In the realization that he might have been captured, Edward turned his head away.

"Who is being sassy-"

"I didn't mean to compare you and Gilbert," Mikhail cut in, still his eyes at nothing but the young man in front of him.

"Of course, you wouldn't compare me and Gilbert. He is the best, after all," Edward emphasized, rendering a resentful voice but seeming as if he was holding his cry.

"My bad. Just like how you admire Marvel, I admire Gilbert as he is, but I don't want anyone else than you to be my secretary."

"What the hell... It's completely different, isn't it? Because I do want to be Boss' secretary, not yours."

"Liar."

Mikhail husked in a whisper, placing his palms on Edward's cheeks as he was confident Edward wouldn't brush him away this time.

"Not the secretary thing, then. I don't want anyone else, not even Gilbert, but you to be by my side," Mikhail rephrased, smiling to melt the dense air. "Happy now?"

"I'm not. I hate you," Edward was still sulky.

"Brat," Mikhail chuckled, scratching Edward's fluffy blonde hair with his hands.

Annoyed, Edward removed Mikhail's hands off of his head, and then walked away to sit on the couch to enjoy his tea and snacks. Mikhail flinched by the trace Edward left in the air when he inhaled, noticing a familiar scent of the small figure in front of him became a bit different as if it had been obscured by a stronger existence.

"Ed," Mikhail called, looking at the youngster with a frown.

"Don't call my name," Edward refused to make another conversation. When his opponent didn't create any more sound after he had blocked the way, he became a bit worried and so he changed his mind. "What?"

"Don't get literally too close to Marvel," Mikhail was finally willing to talk seriously after he got a proper response.

"Why not?" Edward was curious about Mikhail's reason.

"You'll reek of his smell," the elder underlined, still as serious.

"That?" The youngster didn't expect that one bit. "Boss smells nice. I don't mind if I smell like him."

"I mind."

Mikhail's unexpectedly honest reply had Edward stop in his track, returning his boss' unflinching gaze without motion. He left a piece of butter cookie hanging in between his lips, forgetting the desire to eat it for a short while. Being locked firmly in the eyes, Edward got the situation he was in.

"You're just jealous," even though Edward knew he should have behaved right now, he still chose to mock his superior while crunching a cookie.

"That's not the point," Mikhail could tell Edward's reaction was inevitable as he understood his secretary's character so well.

"You're not going to admit it, aren't you?" Edward grinned playfully, still teasing Mikhail, if anything.

Mikhail wanted to scream, but it wouldn't change anything. Earlier was Marvel, and now Edward. He bet it was entertaining for people around him to make fun of him. Sadly, it had always been the ones closest to him who did so.

"Ed, listen to me-"

"Asta, right?"

Mikhail's words were trimmed away by the name he had anticipated and somehow couldn't ignore. There was something about that name that reminded him of Marvel and he didn't know what, he didn't know why he was suddenly getting uneasy.

"Do you think I didn't notice?" Edward confronted, nonchalantly pulling Mikhail to the subject after he acted as if he didn't give a single damn.

Mikhail sighed. Of course, he should have expected Edward to notice that. When something related to Marvel happened, Edward always knew, and it was the first time Marvel ever did something like that to a subordinate. Such a great alteration, in a negative way.

Mikhail flumped down to another couch, sitting across from Edward, resetting his state of mind before he could resume the conversation.

"You noticed that and yet you still acted that way toward Marvel in front of him?"

"Why shouldn't I? It's not like Boss belongs to him. I just want to see his reaction. That's all," Edward made another eye-rolling thing when he made an excuse. He knew Mikhail might think his habit was improper, but he didn't care.

"You need to learn how to stop," Mikhail warned the youngster as he had experienced being grabbed in the collars by Marvel earlier.

Rather than cautious, he was more confused. He didn't expect Marvel to react that way; showing emotions and all, it wasn't like Marvel at all.

"Just don't get on his nerves. Above all, don't get him excited," Mikhail continued.

"Even after seeing how Asta reacted, Boss didn't look excited at all, though," Edward denied as he had the proofs. "Maybe, he just found a bit more enjoyable plaything this time, but we all know toys would end up like toys, just like how it's supposed to be."

"It's too early to say that," Mikhail didn't think the same way this time. "Marvel is unpredictable."

Edward didn't say anything in return. He didn't even know what to say, which was so unlike him. The gentle taste of butter cookies left a hint of sweetness on his tongue, but his throat felt bitter as he kept swallowing restlessly.

"Don't worry. Marvel won't mess around this time," Mikhail assured, softly smiling at Edward to make him feel better.

Mikhail knew even though Edward acted as if nothing could bother him, he might be the one who cared and worried about Marvel the most. It could be seen when he first heard about the news that a traitor got a straight execution during the interrogation, he got uneasy because Marvel would never mess up like that, and he needed to know why. Until today, he still behaved as if he was Marvel's fanboy, but he actually saw Marvel as an older brother he valued and respected wholeheartedly.

Edward, though, for most of the time, did that to tease Mikhail; only to see his reaction, but always, Edward's way of poking out other people's sentiments was so similar to Marvel.

It pained Mikhail, to be honest. But, Mikhail could never hate them.

Even when Edward and Marvel repeatedly did mischievous things to trouble him, he would always forgive the younger boys, just like the true older brother.

"Boss is too perfect to mess around twice," Edward rolled his eyes again, as if telling that he didn't need anyone, not even Mikhail, to remind him about how much trust and loyalty he had for Marvel.

Still, he was too stubborn to rely on his chief's kind words, instead, letting his pride get in the way.

"The first one was a warning, so it doesn't count as a mess," Edward claimed, certain of Marvel's ability. "Today, the moment Boss steps his feet onto the ground, it will be the end of those people and their organization. What is it called again?"

The silence hung in the air instead of an answer when Mikhail didn't immediately reply. His sapphire blue marbles shifted to the grey sky through the window glass, unblinking features with unflinching determination to also believe in the head of Yerevan Family. He took a deep breath before opening his mouth.

"Green Organization."