Forgotten Bonds – Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight
A Pellet of Peas

February 12th, 2009. Thursday, 6:13 pm.

“Dick! For the last time, dinner!” shouted Slade down the hallway.

“Coming!”

Slade sighed, shaking his head as he walked back to his seat; sitting down into it. That was the sixth time he had called Dick to dinner tonight. What on earth was taking that boy so long? Normally, he obeyed on the first request – not to mention, he wasn’t ever late for dinner.

But the boy had been exceptionally good – unnaturally, even, in Slade’s eyes. He still stuck to Slade’s side like glue most of the time, though. Moments like now were rare and far between; giving Slade that tiny second of reprieve from the boy. But he was starting to get used to it. If it made the boy happy, then so be it – there wasn’t anything Slade was going to do to stop it.

Or could do…

But the day that boy came into his room in the middle of the night during a thunderstorm with a pillow in his arms was the day Slade drew the line. No way. Nightmares while he was still working were one thing, but thunderstorms with a pillow were a whole other duck.

Although Slade doubted that would happen. He had the entire haunt soundproof. Lucky for him.

But Slade was still getting used to this behavior. Dick seemed so different than before. It was as if something settled perfectly into his heart. Was it truly because he trusted Slade? Was it simply the trust that anchored the boy like this? This trust that made him so happy, so content, so pleasant, so obedient?

Or was it more?

Slade grabbed one of the papers that Wintergreen set out for him and began to read, but not really paying attention to the words on the page; his mind too full of his mulling thoughts. It was a few swift moments later that he heard eager footsteps and Dick’s cheerful voice.

“Slade, listen to this,” said Dick excitedly, running right up to him and holding up his music device. Slade raised an eyebrow and looked up from the paper he had been perusing. Was this what had taken the boy so long? A music device?

“What is it?”

“Come on, just listen,” said Dick in a coaxing manner, placing white earphones near Slade’s ears. Slade sighed, unable to deny that eager face. He took the pair from the boy’s hands and placed them to his ears. Only one word could describe what Slade heard through those earphones: noise – noise accompanied to a tune.

“What is that nonsense?” demanded Slade. Dick nearly giggled at Slade’s reaction.

“It’s a song, Slade,” said Dick, his eyes dancing mischievously. “Didn’t they have them when you were young?”

“They did, but it wasn’t racket,” said Slade with a shake of his head. He pulled the earphones away and handed them back to the boy. “What is that stuff?”

“It’s a song in Japanese.”

“You can understand that nonsense?”

“I ca—wait… Don’t you know?” asked Dick, stopping midway; those crystal blue eyes blinking.

“Know what?”

“You don’t know, do you?” said Dick, looking positively excited. A wry, triumphant smile spread throughout his young face. Slade raised an eyebrow at this reaction. “Heh, you don’t know how many languages I can speak, now do you?”

“I have some awareness that you can speak a few,” said Slade with a dismissive wave of his hand. “You were, after all, the ward of a wealthy man who could afford the best of tutors and learning available to him. It’s why I haven’t pursued that area of your education.”

Dick let out a small laugh with his mouth raised in a heavy smirk.

“There’s something about me you don’t know,” said Dick, his grin overwhelming. He looked completely smug at the thought that Slade didn’t know this type of information. Slade narrowed his eye at the boy.

“I can always find out.”

“But you didn’t know,” said Dick, looking positively gleeful over this piece of news. “Weren’t you supposed to know everything?”

“You’ll tell me if I order you to,” said Slade, setting his gaze to the boy as if daring him to challenge that.

“No, I won’t,” said Dick impishly, his grin still spread throughout his face. Slade gave him a hard look and the boy had the good conscious to squirm a bit underneath it. Slade slowly stood up and Dick took a few steps back. He looked a bit nervous now, but that impish grin was still prevalent in his features.

“Is that so?” asked Slade with a tilt of his head. “I have my way of getting you to talk. You do remember what that is, don’t you?”

“You wouldn’t…”

“No?” said Slade with a raised eyebrow, his tone coy. “If I order you to tell me and you say no, that’s disobedience. You know full well how I deal with that.”

Dick squirmed again and ducked his head. He fidgeted with the edges of his shirt before he finally spoke up.

“You could just ask… you know,” murmured Dick. Slade slowly sat back down; a little stunned by the way the boy spoke. Could just ask? Would he really offer the information without a command? Oh, please. This had to be a trick of the boy. He’d shove it back into Slade’s face – that much Slade was sure of.

But it couldn’t hurt to humor the boy. At any rate, the boy would regret denying him the information.

“How many languages can you speak, Dick?” asked Slade finally, folding his arms as he leaned back in his chair. Dick’s face brightened into a smile and he lifted his head proudly.

“I’m fluent in English, Spanish, French, Japanese, Chinese, Mandarin, Cantonese, German, Russian, Swahili, and I can understand a bit of Tamaranean, too,” said Dick with a broad smile; rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet with his hands behind his back. The boy looked proud as a peacock.

Slade was impressed. Being fluent in ten languages was very remarkable for a fourteen year old boy – actually mind boggling – not to mention knowing some of an alien language. Slade let a smile lift his face in pleasure. Yes, the boy was beyond intelligent.

“Very good, Dick. That’s quite impressive,” praised Slade with a smile. Dick completely beamed at him in response. That was exactly it – the boy completely lit up at the small praise. He rocked back and forth happily as he continued to smile gleefully.

“Thanks,” grinned Dick.

“You are a very accomplished young man,” said Slade. The boy glowed even more at this. Then, a thought crossed Slade’s mind and he raised his eyebrow.

“Aren’t you missing one?”

“One what?”

“Can’t you speak Romanian as well?” asked Slade. “Wasn’t your mother a Romani woman?”

Dick stiffened. Slade noticed an instant reaction at the mention of his mother’s heritage. The happy light that had glowed from Dick vanished immediately. The boy’s eyes clouded over and he lowered his head slightly. Slade was surprised by the reaction. He certainly couldn’t believe that mentioning his mother had brought this on.

So, what was it?

“Dick, what’s the matter?” asked Slade.

“It’s nothing.”

“Am I wrong here? You don’t know Romanian?”

“I knew it,” murmured Dick, his head still ducked down.

“Knew it? Are you suggesting that you forgot the language?” asked Slade.

The cloud in the boy’s eyes grew more. Slade frowned slightly. He just didn’t like that light in the boy’s eyes. Dick being so happy was much better. It seemed as if Dick had the power to control the very feelings in the air around him. If he was sad, the entire haunt felt sad; if he was happy, the entire haunt felt happy.

How strange. When did this happen?

“It…” There was a contracting swallow. “It died with her. I can’t… find myself ever wanting to speak the language.”

There was another pause.

“It’s too painful,” whispered Dick, averting his eyes to the ground.

Slade wasn’t sure what to say to that at first. Of course his mother’s native language would be painful. Why hadn’t Slade thought of that before he asked? Foolish. There were many things that Slade avoided because of what they reminded him – things of the past.

But that boy was standing there, the clear joy that had been all too prevalent on his face completely vanished away; only to be filled with pain from the past – somehow Slade hated seeing the contrast.

“There will always be things that will bring you pain,” said Slade in a soft undertone. Dick looked up at Slade and he was suddenly unnerved, stopping his thoughts, by the look in the boy’s eyes – one of expectation, one of trust, one of faith.

As if the boy completely relied on the words that Slade was about to say; expecting Slade to speak truth that would help him and anchor him to reality. Those eyes were shining with such trust it completely shocked Slade. It was a look that he had never seen in Dick’s eyes, but had seen it before many times throughout his life.

But it had come from three children that bore his name.

It was the look that a child gave to an adult when they sought for answers that they needed. It was the look of hope, of desire, of faith, of trust.

Slade never thought he’d ever see such a look again.

“But you can’t bury your past like that,” continued Slade, trying to formulate his thoughts. “Knowing the language of Romanian; being Romani is a part of you. You shouldn’t throw it away.”

There was a responding acceptance in the boy’s eyes, as if soaking in Slade’s counsel. His eyes glimmered, though; and he swallowed once as a pained look overflowed.

“So, you should acknowledge your abilities,” said Slade, trying to give the boy some strength from his gaze. “You can speak not ten languages, but eleven.”

The boy bit his lower lip.

“Wouldn’t your mother like that?”

Ah, those bright eyes couldn’t have gone wider. Then, a soft light entered them. Dick’s face begin to lighten up as he gave Slade a smile. He nodded softly before glancing down again.

“You are quite the accomplished young man,” continued Slade, repeating the praise. Dick glanced up, those eyes wide again. “You speak far more languages than most college professors do, you’ve graduated high school, you are an expert in most martial arts and are improving daily in that, you excel in every single learning that I place before you – all this and you’re not yet fifteen.”

Dick’s eyes were never wider at that point.

“You are a genius and that’s why I chose you,” said Slade with a heavy smirk.

Slowly, the smile broadened. The light that Dick had glowed earlier finally came back. Slade was thoroughly pleased that he was able to bring Dick’s mood back to normal.

Well, as normal as Slade could consider it.

There was a bashful, yet pleased flush that graced Dick’s cheeks at that moment.

“Thanks, sir,” whispered Dick. Slade nodded in response.

“I only speak truth to you. Now sit down, so we can finally eat something.”

There was a light giggle.

“Yes, sir,” said Dick with another smile. He quickly took his seat. Wintergreen walked by Slade and placed a plate onto the table in front of Dick. Slade could see an approving smile on the old man’s face. Yes, Slade knew he did that one well. He bolstered the boy’s self esteem and had defused a potentially depressing thought process for the boy.

All in a day’s work.

Wintergreen proceeded to place a plate of food in front of Slade. He noticed the boy’s eyes narrowing at his plate, but he didn’t think anything of it. For dinner, there were some new potatoes with glazed carrots, some slices of roast beef with gravy, and a sizable amount of green peas.

Slade was about to settle into his dinner when he noticed the way Dick hesitated over the food. He was staring at something with great intensity and disdain. But it was only for a moment, because the boy picked up his fork and started working on eating his meat.

But once again, Slade thought nothing of it and continued with his meal. It was about ten minutes later, when Wintergreen spoke up.

“Richard, eat everything on your plate.”

Dick made a face as he pushed around the only thing left on his plate: the pile of peas.

“I don’t like these,” said Dick, his mouth lifting in disgust. Slade was a bit amused. Dick rarely ever voiced his opinions over the food. There were a few times he mentioned that he was allergic to something or he felt sick on whatever, but this was the first time he mentioned that he disliked something.

“Eat them anyway, Dick,” said Slade. He expected the boy to grumble and pout as he obeyed, but Slade was promptly surprised.

“No, I’m not eating them,” said Dick, shaking his head. He set his fork down and pushed the plate away.

Slade raised his eyebrow. After nearly two weeks of perfection, the boy was going to disobey on a pile of peas? Slade could not comprehend that nonsense. But the look in Dick’s eyes as he stared at those peas told Slade a very important fact.

An all out battle over the boy eating those blasted peas was upon them.

“Dick, don’t do this,” said Slade sternly, yet a hint of tiredness entered his tone. “Just eat them already.”

“No,” said Dick.

Slade raised his eyebrow yet again. ‘No’? Did that boy honestly tell him ‘no’? Twelve days. That had to be the all time record for perfect behavior in a child. Twelve days was the limit for the poster child of perfect adorable, unsettling behavior.

Now this behavior Slade knew just how to deal with; he sighed once and sent the boy his firmest glare.

“Eat them or else,” threatened Slade. “I don’t think I need to tell you what the ‘or else’ is, do I?”

Dick squirmed in his seat for a moment. He eyed the peas darkly before sending Slade a defiant stance; folding his arms obstinately.

“I don’t like peas.”

“They’re good for you,” put in Wintergreen mildly.

“Saying that doesn’t make them taste good,” argued Dick, sounding thoroughly incredulous over the matter. “I hate the way they’re so mushy. They’re just too nasty. Can’t you give me anything else?”

“Will isn’t going to cook something individual for you,” said Slade in a sharp tone. “Stop being difficult and eat them.”

“I won’t eat them,” said Dick, shaking his head again. “You can’t make me.”

‘Can’t make me.’?

Good grief, since when couldn’t Slade make the boy do things?

“I’m not arguing with you on this,” said Slade, his eye glinting. “You’re to eat them and that’s that. Now just eat them.”

Slade went back to his dinner, not looking up at the boy. There was no way he was going to humor the boy in this behavior. Refusing to eat the confounded peas was just a defiant rebellious streak at the moment. No matter the perfect behavior; being difficult over peas was just downright laughable. Slade was not going to let the boy get away with that.

Something wet flicked at Slade’s forehead. A single pea appeared on Slade’s nearly finished plate. Slade raised his eyebrow as he stared at the solitary pea on his plate. Slade slowly lifted his head to look at the boy.

Dick had a very mischievous look on his face.

Oh, no, he didn’t…

“Did you just fling a pea at me?” asked Slade softly in an exact tone. Dick gave him a firm nod.

“Yup.”

He did!

“Have you lost it?”

Another pea was flicked at Slade’s face; the wet vegetable struck his cheek near the bridge of his nose. The boy’s lips curled into a triumphant smirk as he grinned mischievously at Slade.

Wintergreen looked extremely amused through all this.

Slade couldn’t believe it. What on earth had gotten into the boy? Mischievous behavior? Slade knew that Dick could display playful and mischievous behavior at times, but he never imagined that the boy would have the nerve to display it with him.

“Dick, you are skating on thin ice now.”

“What, can’t take a challenge?” asked Dick confidently; his young face still lit up in his mischief and holding a single pea in between two of his fingers, looking extremely ready to fling it at him. Slade raised an eyebrow.

“I will not stoop to throwing food at you. And at any rate—” Slade nodded his head towards Wintergreen. “Will hates wasting food and this spells just that. Now stop this at once—”

Another wet pea hit him in the nose, bouncing off to land on his plate.

Slade closed his eye; trying extremely hard not to go off on the boy. Dick was obviously testing his boundaries once again, which was so strange – he knew the consequences of such actions. Did he really enjoy playing with fire?

Slade stood up, which made Dick scramble to his feet and back away slowly. Slade took a step towards him, which only made the boy take a step back as well.

“I don’t get you, Dick. Why do you insist on getting into trouble?” said Slade, taking another step towards the boy. “You’ve been doing so good recently.”

“I’m not trying to,” insisted Dick, at least having the good brain to look extremely nervous. “I just hate peas and I can’t understand why you have to force me to eat something I don’t like.”

“You’re just being belligerent over this.”

“I’m not! I really do hate peas!” protested Dick. “Come on, Slade. I’ve been really good. You said it yourself; I’ve been obeying you, haven’t I?”

“You have. Which is why I cannot comprehend your behavior at the moment,” said Slade, placing his hands on his hips.

“I don’t like peas,” said Dick, looking thoroughly incredulous. “There’s nothing to comprehend there. I just don’t like them. There’s nothing complicated with that.”

“I personally just think you’re trying to maintain some kind of control over something in your life,” commented Slade. “And that’s why you’re behaving like this.”

Dick scoffed with a light laugh as he threw his arms into the air in exasperation.

“This isn’t some psychological crap I’m playing with you. I hate peas. End of story. I’ve always hated them. Not even my mother made me eat them.”

“I’m not your mother.”

“Obviously,” drawled Dick. “You’re trying to make me eat them!”

That’s it. Time to nip this in the bud.

“Stop this nonsense or get your backside spanked,” threatened Slade, his eye glinting dangerously. What was up with this boy? This had to be stopped immediately. Since when did Dick give him trouble over the little things? Why would the boy put up a fight over peas—good grief!

Dick suddenly looked even more nervous at Slade’s threat; clasping his hands behind his back for a minute – obviously an automatic reaction to protect said area. A hint of pink entered the boy’s cheeks.

But then, strength entered the boy’s face as he unclasped his hands and balled them into fists; facing Slade with newfound determination in his eyes.

“I don’t think I should have to eat them,” said Dick, his tone strong. “You shouldn’t force me to eat something I hate.”

“Eat them now, Dick,” said Slade.

The boy got a defiant look on his face.

“Make me,” goaded Dick bravely, folding his arms stubbornly. Slade raised his eyebrow at that. Make me? Good grief, the boy was asking for it. But what was the boy expecting? A sharp reprimand? It obviously wasn’t deterring him from being a little brat about the whole thing.

A mischievous thought of his own lifted in Slade’s mind.

Well, if the boy wanted to make this difficult, Slade was more than happy to oblige the boy this evening.

Slade marched to him. Dick tried to dart away, but he was grabbed from behind; Slade’s powerful arm curling around his chest. Shock rippled through Dick as he was dragged to the table. Dick flailed and struggled suddenly, knowing instantly he wasn’t going to like what going to happen next.

He was right.

With Slade’s free hand, the man grabbed a spoonful of peas and made his way towards Dick’s face. Dick vigorously fought; flailing his arms against the incoming hand. The spoon made it into his mouth without a hitch; a heap of peas pooling over his tongue. Seconds later, Dick spat them out all over the floor.

Uh, oh…

A low growl rumbled through Slade’s body. Dick could feel the entire effect throughout his own body. He stilled, beginning to realized the position he was in. While Slade’s arm was around his chest firmly, it wasn’t hurting him at all – even though Dick had been flailing like a nut.

He didn’t have any more time to consider it, because he was whirled around in the man’s arm. Dick’s eyes widened even more. It felt so strange for Slade to be half holding him like this. Dick was overwhelmed by the feelings he normally felt when the man usually touched him in a casual, yet caring way. It stopped him from struggling currently.

However, what Dick didn’t like was the irritation on the man’s face as he began to bring another spoonful of peas to his mouth. Dick didn’t have time to struggle as the nasty, mushy things were shoved through his lips. He gagged and once again automatically spat them out—

All into Slade’s face.

A mixture of spittle and peas slid down the man’s increasingly irate face.

“Uh—I didn’t mean to do that!” cried Dick, a chill sliding down his back at the look in Slade’s face. The man glowered at him. “Seriously! It just happened. You can’t just shove them into my mouth!” Dick insisted. “Anyone would spit them out.”

A strange, contrasting phenomenon was currently occurring inside Dick. He could feel Slade’s arm still wrapped around his back; the man’s hand firmly placed in the mid-section. It gave Dick the impression of a small hug – almost. Even though the situation was completely out of hand, Dick had the calm feeling of safety in the man’s arm. Although, while the man was thoroughly and completely irritated – and all directed towards him – it still felt… sort of nice.

So many conflicted feelings and so little time to deal with them.

Especially since a moment later, Dick found himself lifted into the air and locked around the waist beneath Slade’s single arm – the man was strong enough to carry him one handed. The man began to march towards the hallway.

Which meant…

“Slade, wait!” cried Dick frantically, his arms pushing against Slade’s waist while his legs flailed in the air.

“Why should I?” demanded Slade, continuing down the hallway. “I cannot believe this! Your behavior resembles that of a two year old! I see no reason why I need to put up with this any longer. We are done with this.”

“No, please, Slade!” begged Dick, struggling even more; glancing up nervously to his bedroom door. “I wasn’t trying to—I just don’t like peas and I still don’t understand why I have to eat them.”

“Because I said so!”

“But I do everything you say!” protested Dick, furiously pushing against the man’s hard, unbending waist. “Do you really have to control everything I do? Please, I just really, really hate peas. Why can’t you give me something else? Broccoli or something, for crying out loud!”

Slade stopped suddenly and looked down at the flailing Dick.

“You’d eat broccoli over peas?” asked Slade, sounding completely incredulous at the very thought.

“Yes!” cried Dick.

“You couldn’t even pay Grant to eat broccoli,” murmured Slade, shaking his head. Dick stopped struggling and hung in the man’s grip. He glanced up at Slade; getting an awkward view of the man’s chin from below.

“I like most vegetables,” said Dick. “It’s just peas are awful to me. I also dislike onions, but Will cooks them nicely so I don’t really ever have a problem with them. Oh, and I hate whole grape tomatoes, too. When you bite into them and they burst—” Dick shuddered. “So nasty. But I’ll eat them sliced.”

Slade chuckled. The vibrations flowed into Dick and he had to hold back a small smile. He liked feeling the man laugh, although he would’ve preferred it in a completely different position. Like a vertical one.

Slade lifted his arm and placed Dick down, so that he was standing in front of the man. The anxiety that had filled Dick’s chest at the thought of being in that awful and embarrassing position faded slowly. It seemed as if Slade was changing his mind about… that.

Slade folded his arms and set a stern look on him. Dick squirmed under that look – it was so easy to do. That look made him feel thoroughly uneasy. It was like it was saying that he wasn’t out of the woods yet.

“I’ll make you a deal,” said Slade. Dick’s ears perked up at this and he listened carefully. “You go back into that kitchen and finished your plate, and you won’t ever have to eat them again. However, if you choose not to do that, then there are no promises on whether or not they show up again – and when they do, I’ll expect you to eat them no matter what.”

Hm… Go back and eat them now, but never have to again; or skip them and hope for the best. Not that hard of a choice, really.

“Oh, and I forgot to mention something,” began Slade, a sly smile spreading through his lips. Somehow Dick didn’t like that look. “The second option is saddled with a bonus – a spanking.”

Of course, it did. Slade wasn’t about to let him get away with anything, now was he? And why did he have to call it that? Just hearing the term made his face flush in panicky, embarrassed anticipation. Although Dick found himself heavily considering the second option. Those peas were just so freaking nasty, his brain was really thinking something quite stupid to avoid eating them.

“Um… Is there a third option?” asked Dick, impishly tilting his head to the side.

“Ten seconds to decide,” said Slade, ignoring him.

Ten seconds? He was gonna need more time than that! This was a heavy decision, after all. Either way, he was going to be miserable. He needed time to think over which misery bore more weight at that moment.

“Time,” said Slade. “Choose or I will.”

“Uh—uh…”

Slade moved forward and turned Dick around to face his bedroom. A firm hand pushed against the center of his back, forcing him to take a step towards the door.

Well, it was apparent what Slade’s choice would be.

“I’ll eat them now!” cried Dick, digging in his heels as self preservation kicked in full force. He heard a deep chuckle before the hand on his back moved to his shoulder and turned him around again. Dick was pushed past Slade and with a hand returned to the center of his back, he was walked back to the kitchen.

But Dick stopped and turned back to face Slade.

“If I eat them now, I never have to eat them again, right?” asked Dick, his eyes narrowing.

“That’s right.”

“You promise?”

Slade looked surprised by the request. He looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded.

“Yes, that’s a promise.”

Dick nodded, assured. “Good. I’ll eat `em now.”

“There wasn’t any doubt that you would,” smirked Slade. Dick returned the smirk with one of his own.

“I did nail you with some peas, though,” said Dick with a confident grin. The man narrowed his eye at Dick, but didn’t say anything. Dick turned away to continue towards the kitchen, but was startled when a firm hand grabbed his shoulder and then a sharp crack fell upon his seat; a sting blossoming from the impact.

Dick whirled around; face brightly flushed in embarrassment.

“Hey! You said—”

“I said I would spank you if you didn’t eat the peas,” said Slade with a firm fold of his arms. “That was a swat and a well deserved one for flinging peas at me and causing all this trouble.”

Dick folded his arms as well; trying to ignore the fading sting in his seat. He just couldn’t get ahead with this man – not at all.

Well, he still did nail the man with those peas – that was something.

ooOOOOOoo

Keep Reading –>