Natasha's pov:
I complete my homework and go downstairs to check up on Vincent. He told me to visit him after my first day to make sure everything is a-ok. I find his office door and knock three times. "Come in." I hear his grumpy voice. I push open the heavy oak and he smiles when he spots me.
"Princess, please take a seat." Vincent instructs nicely.
I shift in his leather seat until I find a comfortable position. "How was it?" Vincent asks with his arms on his desk and all his attention on me. I told him everything I told Chase. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." He comments with a warm smile. "I am too!" I add enthusiastically.
"Is that Adrien's hoodie?" He asks with an arched brow.
"Maybe.." I admit with a sly grin plastered on my face. "How did you know?" I ask curiously. "I'm the one who bought it for him as a Christmas gift." He answers honestly. "Of course you did." I giggled. He smiles at me but it ends shortly after and is replaced with a frown.
"Is anything wrong?" I ask concerned.
"It's nothing." He shrugs his shoulders. "No Vince. There is something bothering you. What is it?" I ask him worriedly. I can tell when people aren't themselves. This is one of those times. "It's nothing that concerns you princess." He protests in a calm state. "It concerns me when my eldest brother isn't himself." I counter back.
What is bothering him and why won't he tell me?
I make my way out of the leather chair and towards his. "Please tell me Vince. You can put up the 'tough elder brother' facade for the others but not with me please. Please be honest with me here Vince." I plead. "It's just that you weren't there for that Christmas. Or most of them infact. I've missed out on most of your childhood and there's nothing I can do about it." He opens up to me.
His nose sniffles.
I hug him not wanting to let go. "It's not your fault Vince. You couldn't have done anything about it, you were a child too, Don't let the guilt consume you. I'm right here, right?" I assure. "Yes, yes you are princess." He says to himself and gives me a gentle kiss on my forehead.
I knew he was a softy at heart.
I didn't want to intrude into his space any further so I say my thanks and leave his oak office. I head downstairs to meet with Leo. I haven't really spent that much time with Leo compared to my other brothers. Today was going to change. "Hey Tash! What's up?" He asks me sweetly. "Nothing much. Can I have a tour of your lab?" I ask curiously and put on my puppy dog eyes.
My puppy dog eyes are irresistible.
"Oh indeed you may. Follow me!" He gleams. I could tell that he's excited about my enthusiasm with something he adores such as his lab. I make sure to pay extra attention for what he has to say because I know what it feels like when people don't. Shortly after, we reach a metal door at the end of the corridor.
Ooh! This is way too scientific for my brain power, and that's saying something.
Leo bends over to an iris scanner which carefully scans his cornea. "This is like we're in a movie!" I exclaim with excitement pouring out of me. My jaw drops in awe when the shiny doors automatically open using motion detectors. The interior is something out of the world.
It feels as if I've traveled to a different era.
To the left, I spot his work bench full of different bolts and screws whilst on the right hand side are hundreds of different gadgets and tech machinery. This is so magical. I spin around in awe making sure not to touch anything important. Whilst I'm walking around, a little robot comes up to me.
"INTRUDER! INTRUDER!" It repeats in an AI voice.
I giggle at its cuteness. "It's adorable!" I compliment Leo. "Did you build it?" I ask him. "Yea, a while back. I was just experimenting and it's a work-in-progress anyways." He mentions whilst scratch the back of his neck. Awe cute, he's shy. "What's its name?" I ask whilst curiously admiring it.
"Amor. Its name is Amor." He admits whilst fiddling with his fingers.
My ears are practically jumping with joy. "You named the robot after my middle name?" I question with a smile slowly creeping up my face. My heart is going to melt at his cuteness. "When you left, it was the only thing I could focus on." He starts to confess. "I didn't have anything left of you so I tried to import pictures into the robot." He sighs.
I take in his words without interrupting him.
"It was the only way to make our memories everlasting back then." I could watch his eyes shift whilst staring deeply at the robot. "But that's the past, and you're back here so there's no need for the little guy anymore." He admits truthfully. I take a moment to digest how much work he put in to salvage the memories that he didn't want to let go.
He cared so deeply about his memories of me. He didn't want to forget.
I begin flicking through the robot's memory cards. There's one of the family at Christmas. There's a picture of Leo and I sharing icecream together. We looked so young back then. It's a shame that I can't remember most of my time here but I'm glad they had pictures.
Before I left, life actually looked pretty fun around here.
I flash him a sympathetic smile and hug him tightly. "I'm here alright. You don't ever need to worry about me letting go." I assure him. Out of all my brothers, Leo was definitely the more introverted one. He was quieter than the others but he let me into his personal space.
His own world.
The place where he felt safest at, and he shared it with me. I pull away from our embrace and spot his glossy eyes. "I'm always here whenever you need me Leo." I promise. It's a promise that I don't intend to break anytime soon. "Thank you." He whispers. "Thank you irmã bonita." He responds whilst kissing my forehead.
That must be a Brazilian thing I guess.
We break off from our embrace and Leo finishes showing me around his laboratory. Which still remains one of the coolest places that I've visited, even though it's in the same house that I live in. After what I've seen today I realised that my biological brothers have endured so much pain after I left.
They must've been heartbroken, and it still shows today.
It feels as if they're still in denial even though I'm actually here. I need to make it clear to them that I don't plan on leaving. They've been through enough suffering and guilt for their own good.
times passes
I was playing Fifa with Adrien when the front door opens loudly. I look at the clock on the wall which read 18:00. Uh oh, that means that Xander and Xavier are back. I hear rustling in the main entrance before I hear steps. But I don't hear steps up the stairs, I hear steps towards the gaming room.
Towards me.
I don't want to add fuel to their fire so I lie to Adrien "I have to uh, go to the restroom." I excuse myself. I unconsciously bite my nails when I lie so I hope that he didn't notice that. "Alright, but don't take too long, we gotta finish this round." He says whilst I walk away. As soon as I get up I scurry down to the nearest place I could find where the twins wouldn't find me.
The basement.
I haven't actually been in the basement before because reason one, it was locked, and reason two, at dinner the other night, all my brothers went down there but strictly told me to stay in my room. Something strange is going on down there and I'm determined to figure out what it is.
I head down the eery stairs and find the ink coloured door. I hear the twins conversing with Adrien back in the gaming room which only adds more pressure onto me. I try to push down on the handle but it doesn't budge. I sigh and quickly pull out a hair pin from my scalp.
These always came in handy.
I slowly yet surely, pick the lock and hurriedly open the door. I slam it shut and find the light switch. As soon as I hear the satisfying click, the lights turn on. I'm in a jade room with gold accents. This place is completely different to the rest of the house. It appears to be a secret business meeting room by the looks of it. In the middle of the room is a large oak wood table with fourteen chairs surrounding it.
This has the Brazilian mafia written all over it.
And sure enough, I spot a dragon symbol in the middle of the marble ceiling. Holy fuck. I am living with the Brazilian mafia board members. If I'm right then, Vincent must be the Don! I knew from the start that he never truly did real estate but this only proves my point even further.
If they can try keep this secret from me, I wonder what else they could be hiding.
I take this time to silently look around at their documents that were just left on the table. Such idiots, every mafia Don/Donna knows that you shouldn't leave important documents such as these just out in the open. Which means that they don't think I'm a threat. Which in theory, also means that they have no clue that I'm the British Donna.
Oh. My. Days.
I don't think the twins will be finding me anytime soon so I dive into reading the spare documents and anything that might help lead the British mafia to victory. This is crucial as the annual mafia charity ball is nearing closer by day and we don't have time for any slip-ups.
Especially not under my watch.
times passes
I've been here for over an hour. I've gone through all the documents atleast three times already in the first 30 minutes. Unfortunately, when I tried to leave this shithole of a room, the door is fucking locked. Just my luck. I obviously can't pick the lock again because it's a one way system.
Believe me, I've tried.
I even try texting my biological brothers but none of my messages are being sent to the groupchat because this basement is so far down. I was utterly fucked. I glide my back down the forest green wall. I was laying down on the floor when I hear the door click. I scoot backwards not knowing who it is. I take out my mini knife from the pocket in Adrien's hoodie.
I have no clue who's behind that door.
One by one ALL of my biological brothers burst through the door. They were all panting with nerves. What's the problem? Why were they so nervous? "Is she in here?" I hear Chase ask with panic laced within his voice. I stand up when I hear his voice. I tuck my knife away too.
They all spot me in the corner.
Their eyes widen and they all exhale loudly. Some let out a loud sigh whilst others run their hand through their hair. Vincent is the first one to corner me and asks with a harsh voice "What are you doing here?" I can't help myself to flinch a little at his rough tone.
My breaths become more jagged and out of order.
I only wanted to hide from Xander and Xavier because I didn't want to deal with all their Harper drama. Now, I've gotten myself into more. Vincent's eyes soften after seeing me distraught. "What are you doing here?" He asks again but in a cooler tone than before. It wasn't as harsh, but the same level of intensity stayed consistent.
My body freezes as most of my brothers surround us, cornering me in.
Author's pov:
Hey loves! Hope you had a good day, and enjoyed this chapter. I had a lot of fun writing the wholesome part with Vincent and Leo. I hope that you all can see how the brothers grieved whilst Nat was away. We reached 1.4k reads and I'm beyond grateful for each and every one of you! :)
What is your current favourite brother?
What do we think is going to happen next?
Word count: 2100