The shouting got louder as we neared the training room. I couldn't figure out what it was our family members were fighting about. But as we entered, faces paled and bodies slammed themselves against the padded walls.
I stared at my family's faces and they all looked incredibly guilty for some reason. Trent was holding back the main guys in the fight, but he looked exhausted. Not that much time had passed since Papa had come and told me about this (maybe twenty minutes max), but it was clear that Trent wasn't feeling too well.
Papa silently lowered me to the floor and I heard a few hitches of breath near me. I glanced around and several of our men were blushing so hard that I was concerned they'd gotten sick. I walked over to them and squeezed their hands, asking if they were all right.
"You are such an angel, Teddy." whispered Hart, one of the older fellows in our family.
I smiled as I replied, "Not really. I just care about my family."
Hart chuckled. "You're too good of a kid for this world."
"No, not when I was bathed in it." I murmured with a smirk, then headed over to the crux of the commotion.
Trent looked so relieved to see me approach that he let his guard down. A punch was on the fast track towards his head, but I caught it. Everything stopped. Matthew was frozen as one of the two guys who were fighting until now.
Matthew's face paled when I glared at him. "Teddy, look, it's not what you—!"
"Matthew."
He silenced himself with his name and the hard tone it carried. Trent looked nauseated. I slapped a hand to his forehead and hissed.
"Trent, you're sick."
He peeled his eyelids open. "What?"
"You have a really bad fever, Trent." I said, taking his arm. "I'll have Caleb help you to your room."
"N-no, I'm fine."
"You're not. I'll come by with some soup if you can stomach it after I deal with our wayward family. You are to go with Caleb and get into bed. Is that understood?"
Trent weakly nodded, so I called Caleb over and explained. Our family member was happy to take Trent away, looking just as guilty as the rest of them. I sighed and rubbed my temples.
"Would someone care to explain what everyone was fighting about? And if not, at least tell me why Trent got sick and had his fever worsened by stress?"
It was dead quiet as I turned around. Johnathan bit his lip and looked away. He was the one who almost punched Trent.
I sighed aloud and approached them. "Guys, what happened? I am upset, but I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed."
Matthew squeezed his eyes shut. "That's worse," he murmured. "I'm sorry, Theodore."
My fingers reached for his own, making him flinch from surprise. I chuckled as I curled two of my fingers to lock them with Matthew's fingers. His bottom lip trembled when I lifted his hand and began to massage it.
"What happened?" I murmured, moving my thumbs over his palm.
"You're going to be so mad, Theodore." he breathed, and Johnathan grunted in agreement.
"Why do you think so?"
"B-because it was about you."
I paused, then looked up into his face. "What? Matthew, what are you talking about?"
My wide eyes looked over to Johnathan, who was blushing and biting his lip while he gazed at me.
"Wait..." I held up my hand. "Hold on, were you having an argument that turned into a fist fight over what type of outfit suits me better?"
My line of sight moved over every single guy in the room. They were all guilty.
"What the fuck?" I growled. "Are you all stupid? What the hell is wrong with you! Are you all animals?"
Johnathan winced when I grabbed his collar. "I'm sorry, Teddy."
"Tell me, Johnny boy, what the hell you were fighting for against Matthew. What kind of outfit was it?"
He blushed and shook his head. I twisted him around and knocked his knees out from under him, slamming his back to the mat below. Johnathan's breath left him as a shocked gasp and he was stunned for a few moments. I left him there and immediately turned to Matthew.
He backed away with his hands up. I followed him, furious now. Fighting within the family would weaken us. I'm not going to allow it.
I swept my hand in an arc and gripped his jaw, using momentum to grab his arm and flip him over me. He also landed on his back in shock. I glared into his blue eyes and they stared back at me in stunned silence.
"What was it? Flowery dresses and skirts? Themed outfits like a bunny rabbit, an angel, a girl who loves strawberries, short shorts and thigh-highs? Spit it out and we can work it out. Understood?"
Matthew numbly nodded as though he wasn't listening, then froze when I smirked. He wetted his lips and took a deep breath in, then slowly let it out.
"I like the angel outfits. The ones where you wear white or gold colors, and that day you were wearing an actual angel outfit was a dream come true. Johnathan—!"
"Don't fucking rat me out, bitch." interrupted Johnathan, now sitting up and rubbing his neck.
I whipped around and glared at him. "You're the bitch, Johnathan. Don't you dare say he's ratting you out. Everyone here except for me knows what the fuck you were yelling about and swinging your fists for like an ape. Get your shit together."
Johnathan bit his tongue and silenced himself with a somewhat sulky expression. I sighed and looked down at Matthew again.
"Go on."
He eyed Johnathan, but the other man was twiddling his fingers while pouting. Matthew sighed aloud and dropped his head as he continued, "Johnathan likes impish outfits. Dark clothes, short shorts, thigh-highs—stuff that shows the legs and or highlights them."
I looked down at the exposed skin on my legs. "Ah, I see."
"Yeah, so we couldn't agree on any kind of type. Kitten versus puppy, bunny versus wolf, angel versus demon, maid versus master, werewolf versus vampire, and so on. What really set us off was the next outfit poll."
My eyebrows shot up. "Outfit poll?"
Matthew blushed and covered his face. "If you didn't know, Theodore, we are all crazy about you. Not in the 'I love you like a lover' way, though. You're our boss' son and the cutest guy—who can pass as a girl—in the whole world."
I dropped my face in my hands, feeling the heat of my skin. "Oh, fuck..." I whined under my breath as I knelt down.
Matthew laughed. "See? That's why we didn't want to tell you. It's so embarrassing."
"Well," I started, peeking through my fingers, "since you already spilled the beans about the most embarrassing thing, what's this about an outfit poll?"
Johnathan crawled forward and then sat crosslegged next to me. "The outfit poll is where all of us choose from a random list of themes, write down our votes anonymously, and then we tally the vote count. Whichever theme gets the most votes is put in Boss' box of ideas in his office."
I turned my head and looked at Papa, who was smirking while he leaned on the far wall next to Aimé. Their arms were crossed the exact same way, so I wondered if they realized that. I snickered to myself and reached up to ruffle Johnathan's dark hair.
"You guys are so crazy."
He looked at me with confusion. "What? You're not mad?"
I shrugged. "Papa already told me that you guys voted on things over a month ago. I wasn't upset, just kind of embarrassed."
Especially with how he told me about it.
Matthew sat up and sighed, looking at Johnathan. "We're so fucking stupid."
Johnathan chuckled. "Yeah, we are. It only took talking to Teddy to figure it out."
"Apologize to Trent later, okay?" I said with a small smile. "Oh, and instead of getting into a fistfight over something stupid again, just come to Papa or me and ask us for our opinions."
They saluted me with smiles, then their faces dropped when I stood with a smirk. They paled and stiffened when I got into a familiar stance.
"Now, who would like to start their punishment first?"
__________________________
"I will be speaking with Aimé for a while, my little bear." stated Papa as he bent down to kiss my head. "Let me know how Trent is doing later."
"Yes, Papa." I smiled, gently kissing his cheek.
Aimé quickly snagged a hug and a kiss from me before he jogged to catch up with my longer-legged Papa. I chuckled and turned back to the stove, gently stirring the soup with rice in it.
"Teddy?"
I turned my head and saw Callum. "What's up? Is everything okay? Are your rooms all right? If you need anything, just ask."
Callum blinked with a dazed expression. "You've become even more of a housewife."
"Shut up." I laughed and he hurried over to hug my waist. I reached over and patted his wild, kinky hair, which was being held back by a pastel green headband. "How are you feeling?"
He tucked his head on my left shoulder and sighed aloud. "I'm still in shock, honestly."
"Don't worry, Cale. We'll get her back."
His emerald-green eyes flicked up to my now dark gray ones. "Teddy, for some reason I thought you'd have changed more after reuniting with Mr. Lionel. You actually haven't changed that much at all."
I smiled softly, petting his cheek with my knuckles while I stirred the soup. "I never planned on changing myself anyway, Cale. I am who I am."
"And I love you for it." he whispered, kissing my cheek.
I returned the kiss and gently tapped his head against mine. "I love you, my precious brother."
His arms squeezed my waist. "I love you too, Teddy, my bear-y cute brother."
I laughed and knocked our hips together. Callum grinned at me, then backed away before I could ruffle his hair again.
"Are you hungry?"
He shook his head and took a seat at the island. "If it's okay with you, I'll just hang out for a while."
"Of course it's okay. Are you sure you're all right?"
Callum sighed and flopped his head onto his arms. "I'm okay, Teddy. This just feels so surreal."
"I'm sorry, Cale. I'm happy you're safe, though." I glanced back to see his lost expression.
He slowly nodded. "Me, too. Jackson is holed up in his room. I was too freaked out to stay with Ty since he is currently sleeping off his shock. But I'm worried about him, obviously."
I smiled to myself. "Callum, how about you make him something simple to eat? You can calm your mind next to me while we work."
His head snapped up. "Really? But you know I can't cook."
I turned and held out my hand. "I'll teach you. It will have to be easy on his stomach. I doubt he'll want to eat red meat for a few days."
Callum hopped up and rushed around the island to take my hand. "You really are the best, Teddy." he stated with a beaming smile, rubbing his cheek on my shoulder.
Our bright smiles were mirrored as we got to work.
_________________________
The full bowl on the plate rattled lightly as I climbed the stairs with the tray for Trent. As I walked down the hallway, Caleb emerged from Trent's room. He smiled brightly when he spotted me and placed his hand at my lower back to guide me inside Trent's room.
I had never been inside before, but it was surprisingly clean. Although despite his playful nature, Trent could get very serious and stern. Caleb rubbed my back and gave me a small goodbye kiss to my left cheek. Before he started walking away, he warned me of Trent's condition.
As suspected, Papa's right-hand man had a really high fever. It wasn't necessary to go to a hospital, though. We also had a doctor here, but she wasn't here today thanks to a family emergency. Caleb knew I could take care of Trent, though.
I sighed softly and set the tray on the side table next to the bed. Trent was tucked in, appearing to be asleep as I approached. I took a seat in the chair Caleb most likely occupied before he left since it was still a bit warm. Trent heaved more than a few ragged breaths, his tan skin flushed red from the fever. My fingers twitched in my lap, wanting to help him ease his discomfort but completely unable to at this point.
"T-Teddy?" croaked Trent, and I hopped to my feet.
"Ssh, don't speak." I murmured, leaning over him. "Just nod or shake your head."
He swallowed thickly and winced while nodding. I took a seat on the side of his bed and cupped his cheek, lightly stroking his shaved skin. Trent sighed and sank into the bedding.
"Trent, would you like a sip of water?"
He shook his head.
"Do you think you can eat? I made soup that your stomach should be able to handle."
He peered at me with a look of shock. I chuckled and stroked his head, smiling down at him.
"Why are you so surprised? I'm not an evil person, Trent. I worry about you, too."
Trent closed his eyes again and leaned into my touch. He nodded, so I helped him sit up. I tucked a pillow behind his back and lifted the cover on the bowl. It was still hot, but not scalding as it had been before. I grasped the bowl and spoon, then glanced down at his shaking hands and decided against giving the soup to him. He'd likely slosh the hot liquid onto himself and it would be a mad dash to cool the burned areas down, change his clothes, and get him tucked into bed again.
A moment later, I had a spoonful and gently blew on it. Trent looked at me with sadness, as though he was afraid I would eat it instead. I chuckled and offered it to him. Trent looked surprised again, but he dutifully leaned forward and took the spoonful. He relaxed and let me feed him until the bowl was empty.
"Th-thank you," he croaked. "I-I'm sorry I c-couldn't taste it."
I gently rubbed his neck and he tilted his head, carefully breathing so as not to cough. I helped him settle down again and tucked the covers up to his nose. Trent looked like he wanted to laugh, but he was able to stop himself. I petted his hair and leaned over him again. His eyes widened when my lips landed on his hot forehead.
"Sleep well, big brother." I grinned, taking the tray. "I'll be back in a couple hours. Text me if you need anything."
He laid there in stunned silence as I walked out of his room and gently closed the door behind me.
I guess the only scary thing about this chapter is that Trent almost got a concussion and you read how feared Teddy can be as the boss' son. (Although of course he's highly respected as well.)
Happy Halloween! ∩^ω^∩ It's freezing cold here. It went from hot, humid, and windy to super cold, rainy, and just as windy overnight a couple days ago.
See you again tomorrow! I love you all very much. <3
- Alessa (Kelpie) xoxo
Updated: 10/31/2023
Word count: 2634