He'll love us, right? (Ryan and Flynn) @meerclar

[meerclar]

Ryan was practically jogging with eagerness by the time they reached the orphanage. He knew his sisters would be waiting for him and he was suddenly aware of how long he’d been out. He chatted excitedly to Flynn, not really needing any response from his father. “They’re gonna be so glad to know I found my father. They been as keen as me to find out what you’re like.”

Flynn remained almost completely silent, occasionally giving Ryan a placating little smile that never reached his cold eyes. When they arrived Flynn walked into the building as if he owned it and demanded to see the director immediately, and no he didn’t care that it was meal time for the children, he couldn’t wait. Mr Underwood arrived looking irritated at the disruption, but beckoned them both into his office nonetheless.

Ryan bounced over to the director and squeezed his arm, unable to contain his delight any more, his words tumbling out almost on top of one another, “Look, I found my father. This is him. He came to meet the girls! Where are they? They havin’ dinner? Can I get them?”
“Run along and find them, lad,” Flynn said, attempting to sound fatherly and kind. He adjusted his eyepatch as it was digging into his face uncomfortably. “I’ll sort things with Mr Underwood here.”

There was something predatory and shark like about Flynn’s smile but Ryan didn’t notice as he didn’t even hesitate. He beamed at Flynn trustingly and almost ran off towards the children’s dining room. His sisters left their meals and ran to him. Ryan hugged them tight and smiled at them, and they all seemed overjoyed to be together again. “I found my dad. He’s here right now talkin’ to Mr Underwood. S’all gonna work out. Might not be able to take us all today. I dunno if he’s got enough room at his house.”
He paused for a moment as something finally occurred to him, “S’got all these other kids though. Maybe he runs a orphanage too. If he does then he’ll probably have lots of room. I should have asked him.” He wanted nothing more than to drag them to their room and pack their few possessions into a bag right then and there, but he didn’t want to get their hopes up too soon.

[troylus]

Flynn emerged from the director’s office looking grim and as close to distraught as he could pretend to be. He did feel a small measure of guilt at being so heavy handed with the director, but he couldn’t risk word of his relationship to Ryan getting out. He’d only demanded a small payment for protection money from the orphanage in the form of food, figuring some of their food supplies might as well feed his children as these ones. He’d never threatened and coerced a charity into his control before, and he had to work for a moment to make sure he squashed his emotions down on the matter. He’d scared the poor Mr Underwood quite a bit, but now Flynn was confident that Ryan had no other paperwork here tying him to Flynn, and they had a forwarding address that went to one of his fronts. Now to get the boy out of here for good.

Flynn shook his head, feigning disappointment. “It’s not good, not good at all.”
Ryan was waiting for him, three little girls at his side. He was holding the hand of the smallest and she watched Flynn with wide, worried eyes. “Mister Flynn, these are my sisters.” he chewed on his lip before asking nervously, “What’s not good? Are you not really my father?”

Flynn flashed his gold tooth at the girls in an attempt at a warm smile that was utterly spooky. The younger two hid behind Ryan, and the oldest watched him with wide, ware eyes. Only Ryan didn’t seem to be bothered. Flynn considered denying being related to this boy at all, and wondered why he hadn’t thought of that easy solution. He realised some part of him wanted to keep the boy close, but for what purpose he wasn’t sure. Probably just his speed and agility on the tests, he told himself, but somehow he wasn’t convinced that was the whole answer. “I am your...father,” the word caught in his throat as if it didn’t belong there and he coughed. “But Mr Underwood says I can’t take the girls just yet.”

[meerclar]

“What?” Ryan didn’t bother to hide his dismay. “Why would he say that?”
“Underwood is concerned that I may not care for them appropriately, as they’re not mine. Not that it matters to me, of course.” He paused briefly to see if Ryan was buying the lies.

“But...you got all them other kids. S’that some kind of orphanage? Can’t you just move the girls there at least?”

“They’re my nieces and nephews. And I TOLD him about them, but he wouldn’t listen.” Flynn shrugged as if helpless against the unfairness of it all.

“But they’re my sisters. An’ I’m your son. Why wouldn’t you look after them too? That don’t even make sense. Maybe I can talk to him?” Ryan was unwilling to let this issue go as easily as Flynn had hoped.

Flynn stopped Ryan with his commanding tone. “He said we need to show him how well I can look after you. So you need to be obedient, and listen to me at all times, and stay out of trouble. Then in a while he might accept that I am a good father and allow me to have the girls too.”

Sinking his teeth into his lip, Ryan nodded slowly, his brow furrowed with concern. He turned from Flynn and crouched down to talk to his sisters, “You all hear that? Mr Flynn is gonna look after me for a while so I don’t have to be sent real far away. An’ I can come an’ visit you all real often, but you’ll have to look after each other while I’m not here, okay? An’ just as soon as we can, we’ll come to get you and you can come live with us like a real family again.”

The eldest sister was watching Flynn with a mistrustful gaze, but she nodded to her brother and pulled her little sisters close to her. “I’ll take care of them, Ry. We’ll be fine here. You just stay safe.”

[troylus]

“He’ll be perfectly safe,” Flynn interjected, a little of his irritation seeping through his friendly facade. “He’ll be with his blood. Come on boy, we’ve got to get you home and settled in.”

Ryan practically ignored Flynn. Pulling his sisters close he hugged them all so tightly, and for so long that it looked like he might never let go.

Flynn cleared his throat when he could stand the public display of affection no longer. “About that being obedient, boy, this ain’t a good start.”

With obvious reluctance, Ryan stepped back from his sisters, giving them each a parting kiss, and turned to Flynn with a cross scowl. “I weren’t bein’ disobedient. I was just sayin’ goodbye. They’re my blood, like I’m yours.”

Flynn gripped Ryan’s arm at the elbow, squeezing firmly, but not willing to hurt him too much while still in the orphanage; the director was under his sway for now, but he didn’t want to push the man too far. “Come on.” He had to half lead, half drag Ryan out the door, as the boy was looking back over his shoulder the whole time, until his sisters were well out of sight.

To Flynn’s relief, the boy didn’t cry, just slumped his shoulders and trudged along next to Flynn in silence. It wasn’t until they was almost back at Flynn’s compound where he kept the children, that Ryan asked in a subdued voice, “Where are we gonna live, Sir?”

“You can’t stay with me, there’s no room at all.” The house Flynn kept for himself was quite large and comfortable, ostentatious some might even say, but he valued his privacy and needed time to be alone.

“But...I don’t take up much space. I thought I was gonna live with you, since you’re my dad.”

Flynn grimaced, “Don’t call me that. And stop answering back. You’ll sleep where I tell you to sleep, and if I say there’s no room, there’s no room. Got it?”

“So where am I supposed to live then?”

“In the rooms attached to the training room you saw before. That’s where all the children live.”

[meerclar]

This wasn’t going at all like Ryan had planned and his frustration and disappointment was evident in his voice, “S’not what you said before. S’that what you told Mr Underwood? That you didn’t have room? You’re my father. I’m supposed to be with you.”

Flynn dropped Ryan’s elbow and pointed a warning finger in the boy’s face. “You don’t tell me what to do, and you don’t question my word. Not if you want to show Mr Underwood how well we’re gettin’ along, right?”

Ryan grit his teeth and moved his face away from Flynn’s finger. “Fine.” Three more years and I can get a job an’ my own house an’ the girls can stay with me. Doesn’t matter if Flynn wants me or not. I only need him to keep me so I can stay close to the girls. He pulled away from Flynn, his nose wrinkling with displeasure, “Whatever you say, SIR.”

By the time they arrived back ‘home’ the other children were asleep, or so they seemed from the steady breathing that came from the nooks and crannies in the falling down abandoned hovel they lived in. Flynn had removed the bar from the door and then unlocked about five different locks on the door before they came inside. The room was dank and cold, the meagre fire having gone out hours ago.

“Should be a pile of rags somewhere you can use as a bed. Just do as the others tell you, especially Rose, she’s sensible enough.” Flynn turned his back and started towards the door and Ryan realised with a start that the man was leaving.
“There’s no beds, or lights or nuthin’,” he protested. “I don’t even know which one Rose is. Please...can’t I just stay with you one night?”

“Well I suppose you could, just one night,” Flynn said with a sarcastic grin. “But know I’ll have to kill you once you know where I live.” The second half of his statement didn’t sound as if it were sarcasm at all.

“Kill me?” Ryan sounded as confused as he felt. Where was the jovial man who had come with him to meet his sisters? “But, you’re my fath-”

Flynn launched over to the boy with alarming speed. He struck him hard across the face, knocking the boy off his feet.
Ryan clutched at his face, whimpering softly and watching Flynn with wide, horrified eyes.

“Shut up,” Flynn hissed. “I told you to stop talking about that. Now, go sleep on a pile of glass as far as I care. Just be a man, and stop begging and sniveling like a baby.”

Ryan nodded rapidly, wanting to placate Flynn as fast as he could. “I’m sorry. I just thought...but I can sleep here. S’fine. He risked levering himself into a sitting position and scooting back out of Flynn’s reach across the filthy floor. He tried to remind himself that Flynn had only just met him and of course he didn’t know him enough to care about him yet. He’d certainly warned Ryan enough times to be more obedient, and it was Ryan’s own fault for being stubborn and not listening.

“Good.” Flynn slowly calmed down, his face returning to a more normal colour. “No need for this to get messy.” He rubbed at his bruised knuckles absent mindedly. “Now go to sleep. Training tomorrow and you’ll need your rest.” He turned away once more and stepped out the door, closing, locking and barring it behind him.