#also i nearly typed 'behrad logue'... manifesting fdkj

[lovevalley45]

#fictober24 - day nineteen

"This is getting ridiculous."

fandom: dc's legends of tomorrow

word count: 760

At first, it had been tame. Astra offering to cover the bill at dinner, or buying him gifts. Behrad hadn’t minded that. But now-

“She paid your rent?” Zari scoffed, looking up from her phone. “This is getting ridiculous, B. She really is your sugar mama.” 

Behrad shot his sister a look. He had been expecting slightly more sympathy. “She’s not my sugar mama.” 

“Sounds like it to me,” she said. “I mean, how different is it from when you let Maman and Baba pay your rent when you were ‘attending’ Wharton?” 

“One, I did attend Wharton. I just dropped out after a semester,” he said, going back to wiping down the kitchen counter. “And two, having my girlfriend pay for my apartment is much different than our parents doing it. It’s… weirder.”

She sat up from her spot on the couch. “I know I was skeptical of Astra.”

“You said she was gonna break my heart.” Though, given his past relationships, she’d been right to think that. But, for once- 

“I was wrong, okay! It’s my duty as an older sister to be wary of who might be messing around with my little bro.” 

Behrad repressed a shudder. He didn’t need his sister thinking about who he “messed around” with. Not like he was immune to such intrusiveness himself. They maybe shared the same penchant for people who were willing to use them and break their hearts. At least Zee had better standards. 

“So why are you taking her side?” he asked, resting his palms on the counter. 

Zari placed a hand over her heart. “Are there sides here?” 

“Yeah, kinda,” he said. 

She took a deep breath, folding her hands onto her lap. “All I’m saying is that you never, ever ask me for help. The only reason you let Maman and Baba pay your rent was because they thought you were a poor college student and they were - are still guilty about the reality show thing-”

While she was making a few good points, Behrad still stopped her to say, “Okay, we’re saving that for therapy.” He frowned. “Actually, this is sounding a lot like therapy. Are you therapizing me right now?” 

“Therapizing is not a word,” Zari told him. 

“It should be.” 

“What I’m saying is that it is weird. But it’s not the end of the world.” 

Behrad sighed. “So, at least we can agree on that.”

“Maybe paying bills is her love language,” she said. 

He picked up the towel he’d been using and slung it over his shoulder. “Love languages were invented by some random dude to reinforce Christian, heteronormative relationship norms.” 

“Yeah, okay, maybe bad metaphor,” Zari said. 

“It just makes me feel-” Behrad reached out a hand, trying to think of the words. “Used? You know. I don’t like-”

“Feeling like a kept man?” 

“That.” 

He joined his sister on the couch. Why she’d come over to his place when she had a mansion all her own continued to baffle him. But he supposed that was how willing she was to hear about his relationship issues. 

Zari rested a hand on his arm. “Trust me, B, if Astra wanted to make you her kept man, she’d be much more obvious about it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Well, first off, she wouldn’t let you stay in this crappy stoner cave.” She gestured to the apartment. 

“It’s not-” Behrad looked around, finding the way he lived hard to defend. “It’s not crappy.” 

“Sure.” She patted him reassuringly. “You hate feeling beholden to people. In the risk that someone look past that chill vibe of you and see that you’re a human being with lots of emotions under there. I feel that too.” Zari crossed her arms against her stomach. “Let the mask slip, and-” 

“Yeah.” He leaned back. “Damn. We’re messed up, huh?” 

She chuckled. “A little.” But she turned to look at him, face deathly serious. “Just talk to her. The way that she reacted… she didn’t mean it like that. And maybe learn to take someone’s help for once. It won’t kill you.” 

Behrad hated to admit when his sister was right. But, if he hated it so bad, he wouldn’t ask her for advice. 

“Thanks, Z.” He stood up. “But I’m kicking you out before Astra gets here.” 

As she stood, she brushed off her skirt. “Thank God. I’m going to shower off the smell of marijuana.” She rested her hands on her hips. “Maybe you should let her get you a new place.” 

“One step at a time.”