"Selene, have you ever wanted mom and dad to get back together?"
Selene took her gaze off the ceiling and focused on her twin. "Of course I have." She mumbled, adjusting her arm so that it was around her younger sister's shoulders and tried rolling her own shoulder to get the kink out of it. Bell was asleep, which was the only way one could tell she was exhausted. Normally, if she wasn't familiar with or comfortable in a house, she wouldn't sleep there.
Brittany sighed and leaned against the wall, mimicking her twin. The cold from the concrete was seeping into her shoulders and sending chills up her spine. "How long have we been here?" She rested her head on Selene's shoulder.
"A few days, I think." The albino adjusted her position again so that her sister was comfortable. "I don't really know." She yawned and her eyelids slid closed. It could have been seconds or hours later, but she forced her eyes open. She wasn't about to let her guard down. Not when these psychopaths were the ones who currently in control of whether she lived or not. One look at her passed out twin and she decided that she'd been asleep for more than a few minutes. She sighed and rubbed her eyes. She couldn't fall asleep now. They couldn't all be off guard at once. She focused her gaze on the door leading out of the basement and tried moving her leg without disturbing her younger sister. Damn it Bell, now I can't feel my leg. The door slammed open and all three girls jumped, now fully awake.
James made his way down the stairs, eyeing the girls. Selene's grip on her younger sister tightened and she glared at him. "You're a horrible person." She spat finally, earning an elbow to the ribs from her twin.
He chuckled. "Have you ever been told that you're just like your mother?"
"Only a million times." She hissed, her eyes narrowing at him. "What's it to you?"
He shrugged. "I don't care. I'd be a little disappointed if the three of you weren't like your mother. Although," he looked at Bell. "With who your father is, you were going to be a sassy little thing no matter what."
"What does us being like our parents have to do with anything?" Brittany snapped, her patience had vanished shortly after they'd been locked in this basement days ago.
"Your mother." James corrected her. "I said you were like your mother. The two of you are nothing like your father, the wimp that he is."
"Don't you dare talk about my father that way, you insolent-"
"Brittany!" Selene snapped, covering her sister's mouth. "I don't think now is the time for insults."
"Leave her be. Clearly, there's some pent up anger she needs to let out."
"Don't encourage her," Selene growled.
"They're impossible," James muttered, crossing his arms.
"I don't know," Allen said, coming up behind his brother. "I rather like them. They're all quite feisty."
"That much was obvious."
"When did that happen?"
Selene's horrified shriek drew James' attention away from his brother and back to the girls. Abelia was staring at an incision on her forearm, one that was currently oozing blood onto the floor. She seemed completely calm and didn't seem to mind the fact that the liquid was rapidly leaking out of her. "I'm… not exactly sure." She replied finally, her voice devoid of emotion.
"How the hell did you manage to do that? And not notice it?" James yelled, his mind starting to race. "Jesus christ, if your mother finds you like this-" He sprinted upstairs and rapidly gathered half the medicine cabinet before going back downstairs. "She's going to kill me if any of you get hurt." He grabbed Abelia's arm and cleaned it out, watching her.
Brittany scoffed and crossed her arms. "Mom's going to kick your ass anyway."
He glared at her as he wrapped bandages around Bell's arm. "Be that as it may, your mother is not someone-"
"Not someone you want to mess with," Selene interrupted. "But you made the idiotic mistake of doing just that." She clapped mockingly. "Good job."
James blinked at her, trying to come up with some sort of response. "Aren't you supposed to be the quiet, internally sassy one?" He asked finally.
She shrugged. "Usually, but this is fun. Let's go again."
She was mocking him again. As the realization hit him, he got up and walked away. "Come on Al."
"Aw, but I wanted to-"
"No. Let's go."
Allen followed his brother upstairs, grumbling under his breath the entire way. He locked the door and flopped dramatically onto the couch once he'd gotten that far. "This whole thing is much more boring than I thought it would be."
"What, did you think we'd take them out to get ice cream or something?" James snapped, his eyes narrowing at his brother. He supposed it wasn't really his brother that he was irritated with, but he was closest so the anger was going to be taken out on him.
"Where the hell did you get that idea? Why would- you know what? Nevermind. I actually don't want to know." Allen muttered, making his way up the stairs to his room. James rolled his eyes and settled onto the couch, flicking through the TV channels and finding nothing. A shriek from upstairs made him jump and drop the remote. "Get your damn bear out of my room!" Allen yelled.
James snickered and got up. "Just a minute, Al. I'm on my way."
"No, Kumajiro, don't eat that!"
James went upstairs, trying to hold back his laughter when he saw that his brother was crouched against the wall, holding a bat out at Kumajiro. "Kumajiro, come on." The bear stopped growling at Allen and ambled over to his owner, throwing another growl over his shoulder. Allen retaliated by sticking his tongue out at the bear as it sat down, eyeing him.
"You should keep better track of your pets."
"You should stop leaving your bedroom door open."
As if on cue, there was the sound of a door downstairs slamming. Both nations blinked and scrambled down the stairs, only to find their front door open.
"You kicked the door down?" Brittany repeated, staring at her mother.
Maddy rolled her eyes. "Yes, we've established this. Let's go!" She looked around, unimpressed with her surroundings. "I was expecting them to at least have some sort of cell built in. Maybe chains or ropes if that was too hard to work out."
"Mom, that was… impressive." Bell said quietly, holding her injured arm close to her torso.
"I just kicked the door down. It's not that hard. You should see what I could do if I got ahold of someone's pressure points." To be honest, Maddy was only partially paying attention to her daughters. She knew kicking the door in hadn't been her best idea (it certainly hadn't been a very stealthy one) and somehow, she doubted no one was home. "We should go before they realize I"m here."
"Too late for that, beauty."
Maddy groaned and turned to James, glaring at him. "So it would seem. Hey, you know what? You're going to step aside and let my daughters and I walk out of here."
"Am I?" James asked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Is that what you think?"
She shook her head. "It's what I know."
"Um, mom? Maybe a murderous psychopath isn't the best person to sass?" Selene mumbled while James sent her a shocked look. "Murderous psychopath?"
"Hypocrite!" Bell hissed at her elder sister. "You were sassing him while he was bandaging my arm!"
"Why is your arm injured again?" Maddy asked, turning to her brunette daughter. "Who do I need to murder?"
When they were younger, that question would've made the three girls laugh, but they knew better now that they were older. Their mother was extremely protective and when that question was uttered, she was completely serious.
"No one needs to die, mom." Bell gestured to the small window to her left. "I broke the glass trying to get out and cut myself. They fixed the window before we could leave." She fiddled with the bandages, a habit she'd inherited from her mother. "They just didn't notice my arm until earlier."
"You said you didn't know how you got hurt!" James said in exasperation. His panicking was interrupted by footsteps on the stairs.
Oliver made his way down the stairs and smiled. "Poppet! You're here! I was wondering when you'd get here. Though, if I'm being honest, I expected you to show up mere hours after the girls got here and whisk them off back home."
Maddy smiled at him. "I would have, but there was a screaming match to be fought first."
The girls meanwhile, were gaping at their mother as she struck up a conversation with Oliver, someone they'd be told was crazy and killed people by poisoning his cupcakes. They'd yet to mention this description to him, fearing they'd offend him or he'd prove them right. Suddenly, the pink haired man smiled and held cupcakes out to them. "I'm assuming the three of you are hungry. James has never been very good at taking care of others."
"Hey!"
The girls sent both the pastries and the man offering them skeptical looks. "Are they poisoned?"
He frowned. "One batch. I swear to-"
Maddy sighed and patted Oliver's shoulder before looking to her daughters. "He wouldn't poison the three of you."
"You don't know that," Brittany muttered, stubbornly refusing to look at her mother.
"I do know that actually."
Still hesitant, they each grabbed a cupcake and took small bites. Oliver watched them carefully while Maddy tried to ignore the looks she was getting from both James and Allen. "These are really good," Abelia mumbled finally, taking another bite.
Oliver smiled and Maddy smirked at her daughters. "I told you so." Her eyes widened and she turned to the stairs. "Back to escaping though-"
"Of course!" Oliver almost tripped trying to turn so he could look at her. "Distracting you was not my intention. You all should get going!"
"Oh hell no!" James snapped, crossing his arms.
"Language!"
James rolled his eyes. "I did not go through all the trouble of acting nice to get close and kidnapping them just for you to walk out!"
"I was expecting Negan over here to protest us leaving," Maddy muttered, gesturing to Allen.
His eyes narrowed at her. "Stop calling me that."
"You are kind of like him," James replied, sending his brother a look that screamed for him to shut up before he embarrassed himself.
Allen, however, missed the hint. "Why? Because I carry a bat around?"
"And because you're an arrogant dick," Maddy interjected. "The only difference is that you haven't named your bat." She paused, before adding hesitantly, "As far as I know anyway."
Allen glared at her, shaking with sudden and barely controlled anger. "You have two seconds."
"To what?" Maddy growled, her sass and stubbornness shining through undeterred. "Act like you're so terrifying and run like a coward? I think not."
He took a deep breath and shoved past both Oliver and James. "Always being sarcastic isn't a good thing." He swung his bat at her and not expecting the attack, she took the hit at her ribs.
She grit her teeth and despite how much breathing suddenly hurt, she hissed out, "I'm not always sarcastic, sometimes I'm sleeping."
Allen stepped closer and opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Maddy slammed a fist against his sternum, knocking him to the ground. "W-what the... hell.."
"You were too close." She replied simply, grabbing her children and moving around him. "Maybe next time, you'll be more considerate of another's personal space. Let's go girls." Oliver held James back as they walked out and got in the truck. Maddy started the car and drove off, the pain in her side fading to a dull ache.
"Mom, are you-"
"I'm fine. They didn't hurt you, did they?" She couldn't care less about her own injury. Her priority was her children. Wasn't that how parents were supposed to be?
"Other than Bell's arm, we're fine," Selene mumbled, staring at her lap. She knew how stubborn her mother was and could tell none of them were going to convince her to admit Allen's bat had done damage. She also knew that she and her sisters weren't any better and that they'd gotten it from their mother. That much was obvious.
"Mom, you and dad got in another fight?" Brittany asked hesitantly.
"It was nothing you need to worry about sweetheart."
The rest of the drive was silent until they arrived at Matthew's. Brittany and Selene scrambled out of the car, practically sprinting up to the front door. Maddy helped her brunette daughter out of the car despite her claims that she didn't need it. As soon as she was out, she hurried after her older sisters and the front door closed behind them once they were inside. Maddy stumbled and pressed a hand against her side, only for the pain to come back full force. She pulled her arm away, only to find that her hand was soaked in blood. "Damn it." Pulling some bandages out of the glove compartment, she did a hasty wrap and covered it with her shirt before following her daughters inside.
The sight she was met with once she got to the living room made her heart swell. Lovino had wrapped Bell in a tight hug and was trying in vain to convince his son to join the hug. Sev, as much as he wanted to join in, was still a little irritated and didn't want to show his true emotions. Just like his father. Maddy thought ruefully and made her way over to her eldest child, quickly wrapping her arms around him. It took a few seconds, but soon he returned the hug.
Alfred was clinging to his niece like he was afraid she'd disappear if he let go. Matthew was talking quietly with Selene and Chris was clinging to his older sister's arm. Francis had latched himself onto his niece like she was the only thing in the world. He looks like he's about to cry.
"You're hurt."
The voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she narrowed her eyes at Matthew. "I am not."
He rolled his eyes. Despite what she seemed to think, she wasn't indestructible. "Really? You could've fooled me. You're pale."
"I'm always pale."
"In a sickly way." He snapped. "You're shaking, your eyes are glassy and you've had your hand pressed against your side since you got here. You look like death."
"Thanks." She grumbled, forcing herself to stand up straight and walk away from him. Only the walls and floor seemed to have a different idea. The world spun and she leaned heavily against the wall, her vision going black around the edges. She felt herself falling and then felt someone wrap their arms around her and everything went black.
pinkittwice54: It's okay, he got smacked for it. Alfred missed you too. Arthur will be more involved later. Sev was mostly just worried about his baby sisters.