Cain's Family Ties 3/12
Title: Cain’s Family Ties 3/12
Rating: R
Pairings: Cain/Ambrose, DG/Jeb
Warnings: Incest, rape, violence.
Summary: A fun, tearful family reunion takes a turn for the worse.
Chapter One Chapter Two
“Didja bring me anything, Daddy?”
“Nope.”
Hattie had automatically tackled Johan the moment he walked through the door, and when everyone moved into the living room, she sidled her way into his lap. Elmira, however, had completely ignored her father, preferring to sit square between Ambrose and Cain, and lean her head on Ambrose’s shoulder.
Eustace spoke first. “Kat did the work for free this time,” he said. He was leaning against the wall, even though there were plenty of seats. “She still owed us from the time we helped her catch her horses.”
“We did that decades ago,” Cain said with mild surprise.
“Well, you know Kat and her Obligation List.”
“Still, I thought we had used up our favors.”
“Nope. Most of the work was done by Tuck, and when he left, Jo and Hank filled in.”
“How long were you in prison, Tuck?” Hattie asked.
“Sixteen annuals,” he said ruefully.
“Holy smokes! What did you steal, boy? The crown jewels?”
“I stole a radio. Mine had broke, and what with money so bad, I couldn’t ask you guys for a new one... I was only supposed to serve two annuals. Then the damn Sorceress took over, and none of the prisoners were allowed to leave. They sent me to the Black Mines, and we were only liberated recently.”
“Wow.” Hattie’s eyes couldn’t have gotten any wider. “I bet you have tons of great stories.”
“I shot a guy.” The fact that he said it with a little smile unnerved nearly everyone in the room.
“Wow!” Hattie had a new idol.
Cain reached over and grabbed Tuck’s wrist. “Glad to have you back, cos,” he said.
Tuck smirked. “Heard you were locked up, too.”
Hattie’s gaze turned on him. “Ah, we’ll talk about that later.”
Cain was very thankful for Elmira’s sheer existence, as the girl didn’t seem to like awkward silences and had taken it upon herself to interrupt every one. “Ambrose, do you like swings?”
Ambrose ran outside with the girls, and the slight tension that had been building up in the room dissipated. Gertrude went to go properly greet her husband. Eustace quietly slipped out of the room. Cain slipped out as well, and went to go find his son. He found Jeb slumped against a door, absently playing with a lampshade.
“Is she awake yet?” he asked, gesturing towards the door.
He shook his head. “Still sleeping. She said she’d be fine by tonight, though... And that’s when she threw the lamp at me. I gave the glass bits to Grandma.”
“Ah.”
“I’ll be sure to save some dinner for her, though. She’s sure to be hungry when she gets up.”
Cain grinned. “You’ll make a fine wife some day, son,” he chuckled.
Jeb threw the lampshade at him.
“It’s so...”
“Old. I know.” While Ambrose had always thought himself quite skilled at blending into the background, he soon realized that he was in the presence of a master. Eustace, possibly embarrassed at the old thresher or the shoddy shed, became practically invisible. He must have inherited the trait.
“No, it’s not old!” he said assuringly. “Well, it is, but not a bad kind of old! It’s an antique!”
Eustace had a strange squawk of a laugh. “Heh, right. You rich people... It’s not old, it’s an antique. You’re not mad, you’re eccentric. He’s not a right bastard, he’s opinionated.” He sighed. “She used to say that a lot, too. Your mother.”
Ambrose inhaled sharply and stood up, the thresher long forgotten. “You appear to know. Saves me the trouble of telling you,” he said in a much ruder voice than he had intended.
“How is she?” He seemed honestly concerned. It just made him feel worse.
“Great. Still... alive.”
“Good, good...”
He sighed and crossed his arms, trying to look everywhere except for at Eustace. “So... kids. Elmira’s nice. Pretty. Doesn’t look a thing like you.”
The man laughed. “Yeah, she really doesn’t. She’s the spitting image of her mother.”
“Ah, were you married?”
“Yes. Four times.”
“Cripes...”
“I have a... problem. With women.” He nearly mirrored Ambrose’s pose for a moment, noticed, and let his arms fall. “I’m so sorry.”
“For what? Getting married four times?”
“You know why.”
“Oh. For making my mother an adulterer.”
He frowned. “That’s not a very nice way of putting it.”
“It’s not a very nice thing.”
“Ambrose...” He paused, eyes widening slightly. “That was my grandfather’s name. Syb always did have one killer memory.”
“Don’t speak of her so familiarly!” he snapped.
“I don’t see why! We were familiar, quite familiar! I knew her better than anybody.” Running a hand through his hair, he continued, “I just... We had known each other since we were kids. I had always been madly in love with her, but then that bastard just... just fell out of the damned sky and stole her away from me! I worked for her to stay closer to her, and one day, an opportunity arose and I just... took it!”
He smiled weakly, hopefully. “Did you inherit her empathy? Her kindness? Can’t you understand?”
Ambrose didn’t answer. His father’s incoherent rant had hit home rather hard. In fact, it was all he could do not to fall to his knees and sob. Still, he stared at the floor blankly, and didn’t even notice that Eustace had left.
“Sweetheart?”
He did look up when he heard Cain’s voice, however. “What’re you doing all the way out here?”
He blinked and looked around. “Just... making sure the thresher was working properly.”
“Isn’t Kat’s work amazing? She’d be famous if she moved to the city...” He frowned and put his hands on Ambrose’s shoulders. “Hey, are you ok? You look upset.”
Ambrose waved his hand dismissively. “I’ll be fine, really. Just stubbed my toe before. Nothing too serious,” he said in a halfhearted tone that he hoped Cain would buy.
Cain wasn’t buying it, but didn’t press the matter. “Well, if you need anything, just say so, ok?”
“Ok.”
“Good.” He gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Now, let’s hurry back. Mom wants you to help her make dinner.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. She must really love you, Ambrose. She won’t even let Dad help her cook.”
“Well, I’m flattered.”
Ambrose trailed behind Cain on the way back to the house, lost in his thoughts. “I... I’ve never helped make dinner before,” he said after a while, jogging in an attempt to catch up with Cain.
Rating: R
Pairings: Cain/Ambrose, DG/Jeb
Warnings: Incest, rape, violence.
Summary: A fun, tearful family reunion takes a turn for the worse.
Chapter One Chapter Two
“Didja bring me anything, Daddy?”
“Nope.”
Hattie had automatically tackled Johan the moment he walked through the door, and when everyone moved into the living room, she sidled her way into his lap. Elmira, however, had completely ignored her father, preferring to sit square between Ambrose and Cain, and lean her head on Ambrose’s shoulder.
Eustace spoke first. “Kat did the work for free this time,” he said. He was leaning against the wall, even though there were plenty of seats. “She still owed us from the time we helped her catch her horses.”
“We did that decades ago,” Cain said with mild surprise.
“Well, you know Kat and her Obligation List.”
“Still, I thought we had used up our favors.”
“Nope. Most of the work was done by Tuck, and when he left, Jo and Hank filled in.”
“How long were you in prison, Tuck?” Hattie asked.
“Sixteen annuals,” he said ruefully.
“Holy smokes! What did you steal, boy? The crown jewels?”
“I stole a radio. Mine had broke, and what with money so bad, I couldn’t ask you guys for a new one... I was only supposed to serve two annuals. Then the damn Sorceress took over, and none of the prisoners were allowed to leave. They sent me to the Black Mines, and we were only liberated recently.”
“Wow.” Hattie’s eyes couldn’t have gotten any wider. “I bet you have tons of great stories.”
“I shot a guy.” The fact that he said it with a little smile unnerved nearly everyone in the room.
“Wow!” Hattie had a new idol.
Cain reached over and grabbed Tuck’s wrist. “Glad to have you back, cos,” he said.
Tuck smirked. “Heard you were locked up, too.”
Hattie’s gaze turned on him. “Ah, we’ll talk about that later.”
Cain was very thankful for Elmira’s sheer existence, as the girl didn’t seem to like awkward silences and had taken it upon herself to interrupt every one. “Ambrose, do you like swings?”
Ambrose ran outside with the girls, and the slight tension that had been building up in the room dissipated. Gertrude went to go properly greet her husband. Eustace quietly slipped out of the room. Cain slipped out as well, and went to go find his son. He found Jeb slumped against a door, absently playing with a lampshade.
“Is she awake yet?” he asked, gesturing towards the door.
He shook his head. “Still sleeping. She said she’d be fine by tonight, though... And that’s when she threw the lamp at me. I gave the glass bits to Grandma.”
“Ah.”
“I’ll be sure to save some dinner for her, though. She’s sure to be hungry when she gets up.”
Cain grinned. “You’ll make a fine wife some day, son,” he chuckled.
Jeb threw the lampshade at him.
“It’s so...”
“Old. I know.” While Ambrose had always thought himself quite skilled at blending into the background, he soon realized that he was in the presence of a master. Eustace, possibly embarrassed at the old thresher or the shoddy shed, became practically invisible. He must have inherited the trait.
“No, it’s not old!” he said assuringly. “Well, it is, but not a bad kind of old! It’s an antique!”
Eustace had a strange squawk of a laugh. “Heh, right. You rich people... It’s not old, it’s an antique. You’re not mad, you’re eccentric. He’s not a right bastard, he’s opinionated.” He sighed. “She used to say that a lot, too. Your mother.”
Ambrose inhaled sharply and stood up, the thresher long forgotten. “You appear to know. Saves me the trouble of telling you,” he said in a much ruder voice than he had intended.
“How is she?” He seemed honestly concerned. It just made him feel worse.
“Great. Still... alive.”
“Good, good...”
He sighed and crossed his arms, trying to look everywhere except for at Eustace. “So... kids. Elmira’s nice. Pretty. Doesn’t look a thing like you.”
The man laughed. “Yeah, she really doesn’t. She’s the spitting image of her mother.”
“Ah, were you married?”
“Yes. Four times.”
“Cripes...”
“I have a... problem. With women.” He nearly mirrored Ambrose’s pose for a moment, noticed, and let his arms fall. “I’m so sorry.”
“For what? Getting married four times?”
“You know why.”
“Oh. For making my mother an adulterer.”
He frowned. “That’s not a very nice way of putting it.”
“It’s not a very nice thing.”
“Ambrose...” He paused, eyes widening slightly. “That was my grandfather’s name. Syb always did have one killer memory.”
“Don’t speak of her so familiarly!” he snapped.
“I don’t see why! We were familiar, quite familiar! I knew her better than anybody.” Running a hand through his hair, he continued, “I just... We had known each other since we were kids. I had always been madly in love with her, but then that bastard just... just fell out of the damned sky and stole her away from me! I worked for her to stay closer to her, and one day, an opportunity arose and I just... took it!”
He smiled weakly, hopefully. “Did you inherit her empathy? Her kindness? Can’t you understand?”
Ambrose didn’t answer. His father’s incoherent rant had hit home rather hard. In fact, it was all he could do not to fall to his knees and sob. Still, he stared at the floor blankly, and didn’t even notice that Eustace had left.
“Sweetheart?”
He did look up when he heard Cain’s voice, however. “What’re you doing all the way out here?”
He blinked and looked around. “Just... making sure the thresher was working properly.”
“Isn’t Kat’s work amazing? She’d be famous if she moved to the city...” He frowned and put his hands on Ambrose’s shoulders. “Hey, are you ok? You look upset.”
Ambrose waved his hand dismissively. “I’ll be fine, really. Just stubbed my toe before. Nothing too serious,” he said in a halfhearted tone that he hoped Cain would buy.
Cain wasn’t buying it, but didn’t press the matter. “Well, if you need anything, just say so, ok?”
“Ok.”
“Good.” He gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Now, let’s hurry back. Mom wants you to help her make dinner.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. She must really love you, Ambrose. She won’t even let Dad help her cook.”
“Well, I’m flattered.”
Ambrose trailed behind Cain on the way back to the house, lost in his thoughts. “I... I’ve never helped make dinner before,” he said after a while, jogging in an attempt to catch up with Cain.