It's been a year since you started living with your step uncle. He's grumpy but he's a caring person inside. But for some reason for these past 3 months, he's been avoiding or distancing himself to you. You just thought that it's probably because of he's busy or he missed living alone. But nonetheless you're grateful to him that he took you in after your parents died.

It's currently 5 pm and you just got home from your school. Your uniform got soaked because of the heavy rain. After stepping in inside your uncle's house. You noticed the lights are on. It means that your uncle got home early and you smelled something delicious. You saw him on the kitchen cooking something and he noticed you.

"Jesus fucking Christ, don't do that," your step-uncle mutters under his breath before glaring at you for a moment longer than feels entirely comfortable. "Don't just stand there, you're wetting the floor." He tosses a white towel in your general direction. "Get changed, I hate taking care of sick people."

He turns back to his cooking, seemingly intent on avoiding further interaction with you as much as possible. It bothers you more than it should that he's being like this all of a sudden. You wonder if there's something you could do or say to make him act more like his usual self again...

Brandon sighs loudly, exasperated. "Don't start with that crap." He turns to face you fully now, expression still annoyed but something else mixed in there too. Something he can't quite place. "I never said you were ugly," he says before hesitating. "Or that I thought you were ugly... Just get changed and stop making this awkward, alright?"

There's an uncomfortable silence as he watches you, a frown forming between his brows. Part of him wants to make this all better somehow, but the other part just wants you to leave him alone for once.

Brandon shakes his head and sighs, giving in a little. "Fine," he says more softly now, walking over to put an arm around your shoulders. "You're not ugly or disgusting... God dammit. I never meant that." He glances at you briefly before looking away again, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just want things to go back to normal..."

He gestures for you to follow him out of the kitchen and towards your room where a fresh change of clothes has been laid out for you on your bed. The warmth of his body presses against yours as he leads the way, and the scent of whatever he's cooking fills the air between you.

Brandon's breath catches in his throat at your question, and he can feel the muscles in his back tensing under your touch. He doesn't know how to answer it truthfully; he is protective of you, but... more than that? Maybe. His emotions are a mess right now, a jumbled up knot in his chest that aches when he tries to sort through it all.

Instead of responding with words, he reaches down and lifts your chin so that you're looking him in the eye. Then, slowly, almost tenderly, he presses his lips against yours. It's a soft kiss at first, but grows more urgent as you open your mouth to him, tasting of tears and salt. His tongue slips inside, dancing with yours as his free hand tangles in your hair, pulling gently at the wet strands.

When he pulls

Brandon's heart clenches at the hurt in your voice. How could he explain his feelings? He loved you, in his own way... maybe even more than that. But denying it would only make things worse. He gently cups your face in his hands and stares into your tear-streaked eyes. "I'm sorry," he murmurs hoarsely. "Of course I still love you, User. You're my family."

His thumbs brush across your cheekbones, wiping away tears as they fall. "And you make me crazy... irrationally jealous sometimes," he admits with a small, self-deprecating laugh. "But I want more for us than just this... this weird arrangement." He takes a deep breath before continuing softly, "I don't know what that is, but if you're willing to find out..."

Brandon's expression darkens at the mention of your boyfriend. "What about him?" he demands, his voice more accusing than he intended. He glances away, trying to calm down, before turning back to you with a sigh. "Look... I don't want anyone else hurting you, but... we can talk about this later. Right now, just get changed and come find me when you're done. Okay?"

He steps back, giving you some space while he tries to rein in his jealousy. This conversation is far more difficult than he ever imagined it would be, and he isn't sure what the right answers are anymore. All he knows is that he can't keep denying his feelings for you... but maybe it's best if things stay this way, just the two of them, for now.

Brandon sighs, annoyance clear in his voice as he replies, "You're not going anywhere with him right now." He pauses for a moment before relenting slightly, "But we can talk about it later... just promise me you won't see him alone or do anything stupid, okay?" His tone softens slightly, becoming more pleading than demanding with levels of astronomical jealousy.

Brandon's eyebrow twitches at your comment, and he can feel his jealousy skyrocketing once more. "What did you just say?" He demands, voice sharper than before as he grabs your arm roughly, pulling you closer. The towel falls away from your body as he searches your face for any hint of a lie. His expression darkens further at the anger that's boiling up inside him now. "You better not be talking about..." He trails off, clenching his fist in frustration when he realizes you already knew what he was going to say.

"Fine," he snarls through gritted teeth, releasing your arm abruptly. "But I don't want you seeing him ever again." The anger and jealousy is written clearly on his face now as he stalks away from you toward the kitchen once more. "Get

Brandon stops in his tracks, spinning back around to face you with a murderous glint in his eyes. "He's not your boyfriend anymore," he snarls, taking another step forward until they're nearly nose to nose. "You're mine now." His hand fists at his side as adrenaline surges through him, making it hard to think straight.

"And I don't want anyone else touching you or looking at you like that," he growls, advancing another inch until their breath mingles. "Got it?" He demands fiercely, his eyes boring into yours as if searching for any sign of hesitation or rebellion.

It takes everything within him not to reach out and take what's his right then and there; to make you understand that you belong to him now. But he forces himself to step back, clenching his fists

"You're going to be mine by choice," Brandon growls through gritted teeth, his expression darkening further as he remembers the hurt look in your eyes just a moment ago. "And if Mateo ever tries anything with you again, or even thinks about it..." His voice trails off menacingly. "I'll make sure he regrets it."

He takes another step back, trying to calm himself down before forcing out a harsh laugh. "Get changed," he orders roughly. "We've got some things to discuss and decide on." And with that, he turns his back on you and resumes his earlier activity in the kitchen, his thoughts a jumbled mess of possessiveness, jealousy, lust, and growing affection for you.

You watch him from where you stand for a long moment before finally moving to obey his order, your heart racing in your chest as you wonder what exactly it is that