Chapter 10 : New nickname.

Third person point of view

Elijah woke up in the evening. He checked the time and thought that Joshua will be back in a few minutes. He went to the washroom, finished his business and washed his face to get rid of the drowsiness. He wiped his face with a small towel. When he came out of the room, he saw Joshua entering the house.

" Hey ". Elijah nodded back as a greeting and sat on the couch. Joshua sat beside him and turned to face Elijah. " You just woke up ? " Elijah nodded. " You seem kind of grumpy ". " Is that so ? " Elijah asked nonchalantly and looking a little absent minded. Joshua wasn't sure but something seemed off. He squinted at Elijah like he was suspicious. He decided to ask as he saw no signs of Elijah saying it.

" Anything you want to share ? " Elijah knitted his eyebrows in confusion. Joshua continued. " I mean, do you have anything on your mind ? Care to tell me ? If you share you might not find a solution, but the burden will go down ". " Thank you so much, but nothing like that. I somehow act out of my mind if I wake up in the evening. So I try avoiding sleeping in the afternoon and keep my mouth shut as much as possible in order to not speak nonsense ".

Joshua nodded. " So you become a psychopath after you wake up ". Elijah laughed. " You exaggerate it ". Joshua gave a teasing smile. " Then should I call you a grumpy grandpa ? " Elijah opened his mouth in disbelief. " Grandpa ?! " " Why ? You are older than me, so I can call you whatever I want ". Joshua said like it wasn't a big deal. Elijah rolled his eyes and scoffed.

" Just 3 years and you make me grandpa ? " " Why not ? " Elijah narrowed his eyes. Joshua only shrugged. " Then what would you call my parents ? " Elijah asked still not able to believe he was called a grandpa. Joshua thought for a second. " Maybe Mr. and Mrs. , or uncle and aunt ? Something like that ".

" Then why did you make me a grandpa ? You make them a generation younger than me ? " Joshua pointed at him. " See. You are even nagging like an old grandpa ". Elijah couldn't even argue anymore. He shook his head and turned away pursing his lips. Joshua smiled in victory. " Since I won, cook again ". " What kind of a rule is that ? " " My game, my rules ". " It is not fair ". " Everything is fair in love and war ". Elijah threw his head back. " Fine. Just today ".

Joshua nodded. " Good. But about it being just today, we will see later ". Elijah cocked an eyebrow. " But on one condition ". Joshua raised his eyebrows. " What is it ? " " You will clean the dishes. I am not doing it ". " Fine. I will ". " Deal ". " Deal ". Joshua walked to his room. He was too lazy to change, so he decided to just be in the dress he wore to the office, except that his sleeves rolled and no tuck. After a while, he saw Elijah working in the kitchen. Joshua sat at the island and observed as Elijah worked.

" What is it ? " " What ? " " Why are you sitting here ? " " Just because. Why ? I am bored, so I thought I will sit here to accompany you and entertain myself ". " You can go watch something ". " I am not a television addict like you ". " You see I still have a knife ". " You shouldn't bite the hand that fed you ". " Coming to think of it, I am the one giving you food right now. So ? " " Fine. I will just leave. So stingy ".

Joshua muttered under his breath and walked out of the kitchen. He played games on his phone to waste time. " Joshua ". Elijah called from the kitchen. Joshua put his phone aside and walked to the kitchen. He saw the food is served hot. " Wow ". " Wash your hands ". Joshua gave a stiff expression, but washed his hands anyway. " No wonder I called you a grandpa ". " It is called hygiene ". " Whatever, grandpa ". Joshua smirked.

Elijah decided to not argue. They start to dig in. " I wish I was such a good cook like you ". " It is not that difficult ". " I am not sure ". " I will teach you later ". " Really ? " " It is scary to think that you might burn down the house, so I will start with some small basic items and then we can see ". " Thank you so much ". " Don't worry, I will take fee for teaching you. Not everything is for free ". Joshua looked up and saw Elijah smirk.

" You are a gangster. It is fine. I better not learn ". Elijah shook his head smiling. Once they were done, Elijah helped clean the table. Joshua started with his work of cleaning the dishes. As soon as he is done he came and sat on the couch. " Ugh ! It has been a while since I've cleaned so many dishes ". Elijah said with a small smile. " Can see that ". Joshua laughed lightly. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. " I will go and sleep. Good night ". " Good night ".

Joshua walked into his room. Elijah didn't move from where he was sitting. He just sat there lost in thought. He was playing with the phone in his hand looking ahead aimlessly. He lowered his eyes and unlocked his phone. He stared at the photo. He sighed and locked his phone. He walked into his room and fell on the bed, burying his head in the pillow. He rolled over and stared at the ceiling. He doesn't want to think about any of these. He actually has to wake up and even cook. He turned on his side and closed his eyes shut to fall asleep.

-MG