Cupcakes on the Doorsill 01 Jan 17 4th chpt

"Now, dear, sit down and we can have supper. Do so quickly and you won't make me angry. We wouldn't want that after all, hmm?"

"Are you going to poison me again?" Mathew's voice was soft but strong, still. Still?

'After all this?' Alex wondered to himself. 'How?'

Oliver grinned. Shark like. "What could you do if I said yes? Really." He laughed, shaking his head, then stilled and gestured again with his knife for Mathew to sit, all the while watching him intently.

In just a few seconds, Mathew thought it over and while still uncertain about what was happening here now, the guy that looked like Alfred still had his knife pointed at him…so he sat down.

At urging from Oliver, he picked up his fork, and took a bite.

Somehow, he knew it had in fact been poisoned. There was just that TASTE to it.

His visions became blurry and he felt himself fall off the chair distantly.

What was the purpose of this? Just to humiliate him? Who knows?

The family ate on above him, but while Mathew couldn't move, he could still blink and he could see Alex, his brother's look alike and the frown he gave. Like he was concerned for him.

If he could, Mathew would have laughed.

If he had had the chance to try it, would the cupcakes left on his doorstep also have been poisoned?

This made no sense to him. Why drag him upstairs just to poison him and leave him on the floor?

Presently, Mathew felt the effects wearing off.

What was happening now?

Oliver looked down at him when he saw the twitch he gave.

"From now on, you will be eating with us. We're your family now, and everyone in this family eats small doses of poison, just so you know. It keeps us strong. Eventually, you'll stop feeling the effects as your immunity to all the kinds I use as spices builds up."

He smiled, then his tone became blistering.

"Well pick him up Alex! He should be sitting in that chair!"

And that was how Alex knew that, apparently, Mathew was now to be one of the family…and maybe the torturing of him would stop. Maybe.

Good, because it had been making him feel sick to hear it, or even just know it was going on recently, and that was strange. He'd never felt pity for anyone except for his brother getting hurt before. Was he getting weak?

Thankfully, his thoughts were interrupted when Francois spoke.

"The taste is quite delicious, dear."

"Why thank you. I cooked it myself with homemade ingredients. All of it came from my garden. Specifically from the portions where I'd dug a few holes during that incident a few months ago, if you know what I'm saying." Oliver paused dramatically, then winked.

Despite the expression of "someone turning green," Alex had never seen someone do so, but he'd have guessed that if it was possible, then Mathew would have done so…right before he saw him keel over in his seat, the bit of strength he'd gained from his fast Nation healing from the poison seeming to dwindle as he vomited onto the floor between them.

Alex found he had to hold back the urge to sooth Mathew, hold back his pizie cut styled hair, and rub his back telling him everything will be okay because no, that's not what they did in this house dammit!

Mathew would just have to deal with this as best as he could on his own. Besides, it would only be worse for him if anyone did help him at all.

Instead, Alex roughly moved Mathew to sit back up, forcing him again when he went to slump back over with another horrified look given to his dinner plate.

"Now, now, Alex. There's no need to be rude to our newest family member. No need to be quite so rough." Oliver said wagging his finger around scoldingly.

Matheiu, across the table just groaned, knowing what would happen if the newest mess wasn't addressed swiftly. "Ugh, fine, I'll clean that shit up after supper."

Oliver didn't even flinch.

"Bad little boys will clean up after themselves. Now, why is no one eating?" His eyes flashed. "Eat!" He commanded, and so they all did. Francois butting out his cigarette on the table and flicking the ashes towards Mathew, who stared down at his plate, morose and pushing food around only to avoid anything else happening to him.

Mathew wasn't touched that day. He was given a new room, upstairs, with clean sheets and a new outfit.

But, there was a window there, and with a bit of lock picking with some hair things he found on the vanity, Mathew saw his chance.

The next day's supper had a slightly different tone when he was found and dragged back.

Too bad Oliver had gone in to check on him not even a half hour after he'd left, or he might have been able to escape on his own.

Mathieu got the "honour" of fetching Mathew. He tried to be gentle while not making it obvious while hauling Mathew up the stairs and plopping him down onto one of the dining room chairs.

Where Alex was quick to tie him down. Not so that he won't escape, Oliver made sure he couldn't use his legs today for just that reason. No, it was so that he wouldn't fall over and make Oliver angry and hurt him more. And to keep up appearances. Oliver wasn't very happy with him right now after all, and tying Mathew down would maybe pacify him a bit.

Alex sighed as he stepped back and ran a trembling hand, that he quickly stilled and vowed to control better, through his hair. This business with Mathew was sick, even enough for him who had killed so many to see so. But, what could he do? It's not like he could go against Oliver, his father-figure, and protest his treatment of the boy. Really, it was just too sad that Mathew couldn't die. At this point, Alex and especially Mathieu would have been very happy to kill him off so that he wouldn't have to live through this anymore.

Alex started. Was he getting soft? Would he rather kill the boy than let him suffer? He grimaced and sat down himself as Oliver bustled into the room.

Naw, he was just sick of how the boy's screams kept ruining his beauty sleep. That was all...

Alex glanced out the side of his eyes. Mathew was slumped over, possibly unconscious. Blood pooling out the side of his mouth and dripping down that slender neck of his that Alex so wanted to kiss-no, to butt his cigarette against so that he could see a beautiful little burn mark-hickey-take shape on it. That was better, more in line with what he'd done and everyone in this family had done before. Though honestly, he didn't actually like to smoke, that was more Francois' thing but still...

Alex decided then that he wouldn't look at Mathew for the rest of Oliver's little "family dinner" farce after that. This was all too weird for him. Or safe for the peace of mind he'd built up over the years. He couldn't let some little boy with a pretty face get him hurt. Even if that person showed surprising inner strength. There could be no weaknesses in a family like his.

Hiiiiiiiiiiii~

What do you guys think of a set schedule? Honestly, I'll be busy again with university coming up, however I have finished some projects from last year and while a few new ones have been started, I'd like to finish at least typing up what I have right now...aka, the finished stories on my bio plus the ones I'm not done but have started and need to tie up and figure out the endings so I can type them up and stuff.

I work 3 part-time jobs with two running on the weekends, but how about I try and do 1 upload of something, and aim for it to be every week on Saturday? Or every two weeks if not possible in a given week rather than the low I dropped to last year at this time of just one update to something a month :(

Anyways~

HUGS and WUVS cuties

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North of the North