Closed Celebrate With A Cuppa

[Miles Cresswell]

Miles let out a small, disbelieving laugh. How was Rupert always able to twist things so they wouldn’t sound so bad? “There was no other way to do that?” He asked him, finally meeting his eyes. “I never asked you to do that, to test him- to do any of it. You wanted to and you didn’t care what it did to me.” He said, his trembling hands clenching into fists. “I need you to go, Rupert. You can twist what you did, you can tell me all the honorable reasons you had, buit doesn’t change anything in my eyes. You’ve done nothing but hurt me, and I- I fear you’re only trying to do it again. Maybe that's what you're doing right now, getting me to forgive you only to try the same thing. How... how would I know?”

 

[Rupert Cresswell]

Rupert winced. "I never said I went about it the right way!" He said firmly. "There's no denying I was an arse to you. But if I hated you, I never would have let you find out. I would have let you marry a man who didn't deserve you, spend years tied to him before you inevitably discovered his indiscretions. And I'm not twenty five anymore, Miles. I'm not trying to trick you." He huffed. "If nothing else, it would be a stupid move directly after being elected to an extremely visible job. I am trying to fix this."

 

[Miles Cresswell]

As illogical as Rupert’s point was, he was able to make it sound almost reasonable. It was really no wonder he had nearly won the election. Miles was glad he hadn’t won entirely, he was a terrifying force. “You could have just told me.” He said softly. “You could have done anything else.” He shook his head. “You’re right, we’re not twenty-five anymore. I think I’ve finally realized I don’t need you.” He looked away. “Please leave, Rupert. I’ve said everything I wanted to say. You can't fix something you broke so thoroughly, and you're going to have to live with that.”

 

[Rupert Cresswell]

A large part of Rupert wanted to scream, to shake his brother, and the gentle tone of Miles' voice only made that worse. He kept a lid on himself, calm tone well trained as he realised today was well and truly a lost cause. "I'm not going to give up, Miles." He said firmly, moving towards the door at last. "I have never regretted anything the way I regret how I treated you. I am going to find a way to fix this, and I am going to make it right."

 

[Miles Cresswell]

Miles looked away from his brother, not meeting his gaze even slightly. He stared resolutely at the wall as if he couldn’t hear him, even though Rupert’s words did connect with him. The only indicator of that was a slight tremble of his lower lip. As he looked away silently, Miles could only hope his twin didn’t notice.

 

[Rupert Cresswell]

Everything had gone wrong. This was supposed to be about taunting Miles. Rubbing victory and success in his face. Not... whatever this was. Rupert wasn't used to feeling like this - feeling guilty, feeling like he had lost. He felt driven to turn back around, find a new way to argue his case, debate his way into winning once again. But somehow a whole nation had proven easier to win over than his own mirror image. Miles not even being able to look at him felt like a final dagger, and the words slipped out almost without Rupert realising. "I love you, Miles. You'll always be my brother, and I'll always be here." It was a bar too far, a level of emotion Rupert had been cutting himself off expressing for decades now. He studied his brother's face a moment longer before apparating home, ready to wash this conversation down with something far stronger than tea.