ᕙ༼Keifer's༽ᕗPOV
I watched in slow motion as the "Great Hallway Chase" turned into a disaster. One second, Jay Jay was sticking her tongue out at Angelo; the next, her toe caught the rug. She went down hard, sliding across the polished floor like a baseball player hitting home plate.
Then I heard it—the sickening pop. The IV line, snagged on the doorframe, ripped clean out of her hand.
"JAY!" I roared, my heart leaping into my throat.
The chaos stopped instantly. Angelo and Aries froze, their faces turning a ghostly shade of white. The "feared mob bosses" looked like they were about to pass out.
"The line... Keifer, there's blood!" Angelo choked out, dropping to his knees so hard I heard his kneecaps crack. He hovered his shaking hands over her, looking like he was staring at a crime scene.
Aries was already on his phone, his voice a lethal growl. "Get the doctor back here. NOW. Or I'll burn his clinic to the ground!"
But Jay Jay? Even with a bleeding hand, the girl was a tactical genius. She looked up at Angelo, her eyes watery, and whispered, "Kuya... does this mean I get the big chocolate cake for the triplets' birthday?"
"You can have the whole bakery!" Angelo barked.
The doctor arrived in record time, but the second Jay Jay saw the new needle, her "injury" vanished. She bolted. She was fast, but I was faster. I scooped her up, sitting back on the bed and pinning her to my lap. I hated being the "bad guy," but I held her tight, my heart breaking as she sobbed into my neck. I wanted to take the pain for her, to let the needle hit me instead, but all I could do was hold her still.
Angelo grabbed her left hand like it was made of glass. Aries grabbed the right, his jaw set so tight I thought his teeth would break. Percy stepped in, his massive hands gently locking her head in place against my chest.
"I have conditions!" Jay Jay shrieked, realizing she was outnumbered. "If I survive this puncture, I demand!"
1st: The Starch Treatment: "Aries has to iron my socks for a month. Every. Single. One. With starch!"
Aries didn't even blink. "Done. I'll make them crisp enough to cut glass."
2nd: The Nugget Shrine: "The foyer statue? Gone. Replaced with a gold statue of Percy holding a tray of chicken nuggets!"
Percy nodded solemnly. "I shall commission the sculptor immediately."
3rd: The Silk Fortress: She squeezed my waist. "Keifer gets a silk tent in the living room, and you two have to guard it with feather dusters! No guns!"
Angelo let out a strangled noise. "Fine! Feather dusters! Just don't flinch!"
4th: The Soprano Sacrifice: "Angelo has to stand under my balcony at midnight and sing the entire Little Mermaid soundtrack in a soprano voice. If you hit a flat note, the deal is off!"
"I'll practice my scales!" Angelo promised, looking ready to cry.
5th:The Alphabet Embargo: "I am banning the letter 'B' for a week! Anyone who says it has to hop on one foot for ten minutes! Including the doctor!"
The doctor sighed. "Agreed. No... bupping on one foot for me."
6th: The Human Carriage: She wailed as the needle touched her skin. "And for three days, my feet don't touch the floor! Keifer carries me like a sack of potatoes while you three throw rose petals in front of us!"
"We'll buy the whole flower shop!" Angelo yelled.
The needle slid in. "ANHHH"Jay Jay buried her face in my neck, her tears soaking my shirt. I held her so close I could feel her heart racing against mine. I whispered every comforting thing I could think of, feeling like a monster for holding her down, yet knowing it was the only way she'd get better.
When it was over, the room was silent—until Aries let out a breath. "You were so brave, Jay."
Jay Jay's eyes snapped open. She looked at his feet, then at his face. "That's a 'B' word, Kuya."
I watched, half-amused and half-exhausted, as the most dangerous man in the city stood up and started hopping on one foot. Jay Jay just smirked against my chest. She really is the queen of this house.
Exactly.
The rules are for the brothers, but for me? I'm the only one with a 'Get Out of Jail Free'card. I could say the word 'Beautiful ' a hundred times and she'd just blush, but if Angelo even whispers the word "Breakfast," he's back to hopping.
I walked into the kitchen to find the "Royal Guards" in a state of absolute shambles.
Angelo singing a song.
And She fainted.
WHAT THE FUCKKKKKK SHE FAINTED???😨
"Keifer, tell her to wake up!" Angelo hissed, pacing the floor. "I stopped singing! I'll never hit a high note again! I'll stick to baritone!"
"I can't hear you over the sound of my internal screaming!" Jay Jay shouted from the balcony, her eyes still squeezed shut in her "coma."
Aries walked past me, looking like a broken man. He accidentally bumped into the kitchen island. "Son of ab—"
He cut himself off, his eyes widening in horror as Jay Jay's head popped up like a jack-in-the-box.
"I HEARD A STARTING SOUND, ARIS!" she yelled. "Ten minutes! Hop! Now!"
Aries let out a soul-crushing sigh and started thudding up and down on one leg. "I am a literal kingpin," he whispered to the ceiling. "I have people who fear my name. And yet, here I am... a human pogo stick."
I walked over to the edge of the balcony where Jay Jay was "recovering" and leaned down, whispering so only she could hear. "You know, you look beautiful when you're bossing them around."
She peeked one eye open, a massive grin spreading across her face. She reached up and pulled me down for a quick hug. "You're the only one allowed to use that letter, Keifer. Everyone else is on the 'Ban-List' for life."
Angelo saw us and threw his hands up. "Wait! Why isn't he hopping?! He used the forbidden letter! He said the word that describes your face!"
Jay Jay settled back into her silk pillows, looking like a smug little queen. "Keifer has a special permit. He's my 'favourite.' Now,
Angelo... you still owe me the rest of Under the Sea. In a soprano voice. Without the flat notes."
Angelo looked at me, then at the hopping Aries, then back at his sister. He looked like he was about to cry. "I don't even know the lyrics to the crab part!"
"Then you better start b— I mean, starting to learn them, Kuya!" she chirped.
The tension under the balcony was thick enough to cut with a knife. Angelo was still sweating from his soprano rendition of Part of Your World, and Aries' right leg was trembling from a solid twenty minutes of hopping. They looked at me, then at each other, a devious plan forming in their exhausted eyes.
"Oh, so Keifer just gets to sit there and look 'concerned' while we turn into circus performers?" Angelo panted, wiping his brow.
"He's the one who held you down for the needle, Jay! Why isn't he suffering?"
Aries smirked, leaning heavily against a pillar. "He's right. If Keifer is truly your 'favorite,' he should have to prove he's worth the title. I bet he can't even hold a note. He probably sings like a dying walrus."
"Yeah!" Angelo chimed in, pointing a finger. "I bet his voice cracks more than mine did. Keifer, I challenge you! Sing for my Princess. If you fail to make her swoon, you hop with us until sunrise!"
Jay Jay leaned over the railing, her eyes dancing with mischief. "A challenge?do you accept?"
I looked at the two brothers—the "Lethal Shadow" and the "Kingpin"—looking so desperate to see me fail. I stepped forward into the moonlight, fixed my gaze right on Jay Jay, and smirked. I wasn't just going to sing; I was going to break every rule they were bound by.
I took a deep breath and started the soulful, iconic melody of "Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko."
"Ikaw na nga... ang Miss Universe ng buhay ko..."
Angelo's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "HE SAID IT! HE SAID THE 'B' WORD! 'BUHAY' STARTS WITH A B!"
I didn't stop. I stepped closer, my voice getting deeper and more romantic. "Ang pinaka-beautiful na babae sa mundo..."
"BEAUTIFUL! THAT'S TWO!" Aries roared, pointing a finger so hard it was shaking. "Jay, he's blatant! He's mocking the law! Arrest him! Make him hop on both feet!"
I ignored them, finishing the line with a wink directed straight at her. "Habang buhay kitang mamahalin..."
"THAT'S THREE!" Angelo shrieked, jumping up and down (not hopping, just pure rage). "He said 'Buhay' again! Ten minutes per word! That's thirty minutes of hopping! GET DOWN HERE, KEIFER!"
The two brothers looked at Jay Jay, waiting for the hammer to fall. Jay Jay, however, looked like she had just seen a vision of heaven. She was clutching her chest, her face flushed pink, looking at me like I had just handed her the stars.
She slowly turned her gaze to her brothers, her expression instantly switching from "in love" to "deeply annoyed."
"What are you two screaming about?" she asked coldly.
"The rules!" Angelo gasped. "The letter B! He used it three times! He used 'Buhay' and 'Beautiful'!"
Jay Jay waved a hand dismissively. "I don't recall making rules for Keifer. The law is for citizens, not for the King. In fact, every time Keifer uses a B-word, it's so romantic that you two have to hop an extra five minutes just to balance out the vibes."
Aries looked like his soul had just left his body. "That's... that's literal tyranny."
"B-word!" Jay Jay shouted, pointing at Aries. "You said 'B-word' and 'But'! That's ten more minutes! And kuya, you're standing on two feet! Start hopping!"
I leaned back, watching them go. "Sorry guys," I said, intentionally emphasizing the next word. "Bummer, isn't it?"
"JAY! HE SAID BUMMER!"
"Five more minutes for Kuya!" she cheered, blowing me a kiss.