11. The Twins

The sun was still high in the sky. Arion slept peacefully with Natalie. But soon the door to the room opened slowly and revealed two small children who had sneaked in quietly.

They were Eric and Hana, the twins who had somehow found their way in. The two were supposed to be asleep with their nanny watching over them.

They both peeked at their sleeping mother from the bedside, trying to analyze the situation before they acted.

Hana nudged her older brother who was next to her, "Mom was still sleeping." She whispered rather loudly.

"Don't be so loud." Eric immediately signaled his little sister to be quiet.

"I know." She replied with a frown.

Slowly they climbed up beside Arion, trying not to wake him. The two watched their sleeping baby brother, who was undisturbed by the arrival of the twins.

"Arion is still sleeping too," Eric whispered with a small smile.

Hana almost squealed with delight at the sight of her little brother's chubby cheeks, "He's so small and his cheeks are so round! How cute!"

Eric snorted quietly at her behavior, "Keep your voice low. You'll wake them up."

Hana didn't listen to her twin brother's warning. She was busy staring at Arion's small clenched hand and trying to touch it gently. When she saw that Arion was not disturbed, she took his clenched hand and grasped it gently. Her face seemed to light up with admiration.

Eric who noticed Hana's behavior, immediately tried to stop her, "What are you doing? I told you not to disturb his sleep."

The light on Hana's face disappeared and was replaced by a frown, "I only held it for a moment. His hands are so small and soft."

Arion, who felt the disturbance in his hand, immediately moved uncomfortably. He had always been a light sleeper in his past life because of all the noise of his parent's fights.

Even when he slept, he could not relax and always had to be on guard in case one of them started to vent their anger on him. It didn't matter if he was sleeping or eating.

Eric, who saw Arion starting to squirm uncomfortably, looked sharply at his younger sister, who immediately pulled her hand back. Her face looked panicked and nervous.

"I told you. Now Arion is awake." Eric whispered irritably as he pinched Hana's cheek in punishment.

'Noisy.'

Arion frowned tiredly, feeling unsatisfied with the amount of sleep he had gotten. He blinked a few times to gain full consciousness.

"Sorry," Hana whispered, feeling guilty for waking her little brother so early. She rubbed her slightly flushed cheeks. Her twin brother didn't hold back with his pinch.

Arion yawned and rubbed his eyes. When his vision cleared, he could finally see who had disturbed his sleep.

'Oh, it's those two.'

Eric grimaced slightly, feeling guilty when he saw their baby brother staring at them with sleepy eyes, "Hello, Arion. Sorry, we disturbed you." He said softly, not wanting to wake his mother either. It was enough that his little sister had ruined their plans to be quiet.

Arion was stunned for a moment, slightly lost in thought. He was honestly surprised that the twins had managed to sneak in so close without him noticing. Usually, only the very soft sound of the door opening could wake him up.

He couldn't help but think badly, 'Did I let my guard down just because they looked good? Or is it because I'm dead? I shouldn't let my guard down.'

"Do you remember us?" Hana's hopeful question managed to pull Arion out of his reverie. He looked up at her hopefully glowing face.

'Should I respond?'

Arion didn't make a sound right away, wondering if it would be good or bad if he did. Until he finally responded with a small mumbling sound that made both of them light up.

"Looks like you remembered us," Hana said happily. Hearing his voice, even if it was only a mumbling, made her feel relieved. Even Eric smiled a little wider than usual.

'It worked?'

Arion looked at the twins with confusion. It was strange to see them both looking so happy with only a mumbling sound. Or is this how it is when one is dealing with a baby?

"Do you want to be carried?" Hana asked excitedly. She hadn't had a chance to hold him before, so she was so excited to try it that she forgot her parents' warning.

Arion winced at the thought of her trying to carry him with her little body without adult supervision. He couldn't help but imagine his frail body falling because she couldn't support his weight.

'Even though this is boring, but no thanks. I doubt you can lift me.'

Luckily, Eric interrupted before Hana could lift their baby brother. He looked at her seriously, "We can't do it. Mom and Dad didn't teach us and no adults are watching us."

"We can learn by ourselves," Hana said in a pleading tone. Her golden eyes sparkled as she looked into the other's golden eyes to make him agree.

Arion grimaced in horror, 'Please don't.'

Eric snorted in annoyance, already immune to his twin sister's pleading moves, "Don't be ridiculous. What if we drop him? Or what if we carry him the wrong way? Arion could get hurt."

Hana's expression turned to disappointment at her big brother's stern tone. If he had used that tone, then the situation was indeed serious. Even Hana wouldn't dare to go against him anymore.

"Anyway, Mom and Dad warned us, right? Have you forgotten?" Eric's words managed to silence Hana this time. She had slightly forgotten her parents' warning, but she didn't show it. Otherwise, he would mock and nag her endlessly.

Unable to answer, the frown on her face deepened, "That's right. Sorry."

Now Hana could remember how serious it would be if she didn't stop her stubborn actions. Even she was a little horrified at the thought. She felt disappointed at almost being a bad sister to Arion.

'I'm safe!'

Arion let out a breath of relief he didn't realize he was holding, too nervous to see the girl's boldness. He was lucky that his older brother was able to stop his older sister.

Eric snapped his fingers on Hana's forehead until she winced in pain, "It doesn't matter if you realize it. Don't forget next time."

Hana smiled brightly at her older brother. No matter how strict and annoying he was, in the end, he always tried hard to be a good role model for her. He was Hana's best and most annoying brother.

Eric stroked Arion's head gently, "Patience for a while. Mom is still sleeping. We don't want to disturb her." He said quietly as he turned his head next to his baby brother.

Arion also turned his head to look at their sleeping mother. Her face looked brighter after getting enough rest. Her expression looked very peaceful right now.

'I don't want to disturb her either.' Arion thought as he let out a small sound of approval at his older brother. Eric smiled a little, feeling proud of his baby brother.

Hana lay down after playing with Arion's little hands. She was starting to get bored when there was nothing else they could do. Besides, they couldn't make any loud noises if they didn't want to wake their mother. Or worse, their whereabouts might be discovered.

She patted her brother's thigh to get his attention and whined to him, "Are we just going to wait for Mom to wake up and stare at Arion all day? I'm getting bored."

She doesn't know where all her enthusiasm has gone. They're on the run and hiding, so no loud noises. She's the energetic type, not the quiet one! This was torture for her!

Arion gave her a strange look, 'Looks like someone's getting bored. What were you here for in the first place anyway?'

Eric gave her a puzzled look, feeling strange about her lethargic and uncharacteristic behavior, "If you're tired of seeing Arion, then come back. You're the one who came up with this idea."

Hana pouted again, "It's not that I don't enjoy seeing Arion. But it would be more fun if we could do something together."

She couldn't think of anything fun at the moment, except playing outside where she could run around freely. But that would get her caught. So she hoped that her twin brother could think of something now.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. I'm currently asking for your opinion." She said irritated. Couldn't he be a little sensitive about what she was discussing right now?

"You don't sound like you're asking for an opinion." Eric's reply was no less irritated. Why did his twin sister choose to be annoying again at this time? He just wanted to have a little peaceful time.

Hana snorted and turned her face away from her annoying brother, "Forget it. I don't want to fight with you in front of Arion and make him cry again."

Arion kept himself from groaning in embarrassment, 'Why are you still talking about this! And I'm not crying because of you!'