Summary: whumpee begging to stay with whumper to get away from a worse whumper
TW: parental whumper, defiant whumpee, attempted sexual assault mentioned, suggested arranged marriage, cult whump, multiple whumpers one whumpee, long-term captivity, chains, starvation, bad grammar and the abuse of em-dashes
"What?" Theodore clenched his teeth so hard together, he was surprised they didn't shatter. He was standing—no, looming over the table, the chair he was sitting on just seconds ago laid knocked over behind him.
To his credit, Cameron managed to keep a blank face at the zealous display of anger. He blinked slowly, shifting his hands onto the table, "I want to marry Jasper. I've come for your blessing."
Theodore should kill him, just for having the audacity of trying to steal Jace after they were finally together again. He could already picture the calm, smug look on Cameron's face draining as he wrapped his hands around his throat and just squeezed—
"Theo, please," Eleanor's pleading tone halted him.
Keeping his glare pinned to Cameron, Theodore picked the chair off the floor and sat back down at the table. He took a deep breath, gritting out through his teeth, "Absolutely not, Jace is mine."
"Yes, he is," Cameron placated easily.
Theodore paused, the fight leaving him at the admission. He was ready for a struggle. Honestly, he had hoped for it. Jace was such a fragile thing that Theodore feared he would break him just by breathing on him. At the same time, Jace was also so rebellious that Theodore couldn't just not punish him for his behaviour. It left Theodore struggling to find the perfect balance between too much and not enough, but with Cameron—with Cameron, he wouldn't need to worry about being too much.
With his hackles raised, Theodore turned to his sister, "Explain."
Eleanor sighed tiredly, swirling a teaspoon absentmindedly in her teacup, "You're grouchy this morning—more than usual, at least." She peeked up through under her eyelashes, "Late night?"
Running a hand down his face, Theodore grunted in affirmation, "Jace is … volatile, at the moment."
"Where is he?" Eleanor's gaze trailed to the metal hook attached to the wall next to the staircase. There were several placed throughout the house, all carefully limiting Jace from reaching any doors, which Jace's ankle cuff could be attached to. Jace would still have to run across 100 acres undetected to escape even if he managed to leave the house, but Theodore didn't want to risk it. After all, he could still get hurt, or lost, or stolen.
Besides, Jace was still not fully healed from the initial move back home. "Sleeping, hopefully. But given how quiet it is, he's probably misbehaving again. Maybe hiding in the closet," Theodore sighed once again. He'd been doing that a lot more recently.
"Aw, poor thing," Eleanor eyebrows furrowed. "I've been worried about him. Are you still letting him eat?"
Theodore stared at her blankly, before responding slowly, "He's losing weight as is; I can't starve someone who's already starving."
"If I could, sir," Cameron piped in eagerly, a boyish grin stretching across his face, "I'd be more than happy to help him get settled in."
"You stay out of this—!" "—That's a great idea, Cameron!" Eleanor verbally bulldozered over Theodore's hiss, making Theodore finally direct his glare at Eleanor instead of Cameron. Eleanor remained unphased. "Come on, Theodore. The whole point of moving back home was to have the community help settle you guys in as family!"
"But he wants to steal him from me!" Theodore was standing again, hands slammed down on the table with such force the fine china shook warningly where it sat. "We are supposed to be safe here!"
"And you are safe," Eleanor cut in. "Seriously, Theodore, what did you expect? Do you expect him to stay here all alone? He needs a keeper."
Nearly sounding feral, Theodore growled out, "I'm his keeper."
"Yes, but you won't be able to be his keeper forever, Theodore," Eleanor's expression pinched together in annoyance. "The more entangled he gets with the family, the harder it will be for him to leave you or us. Cameron's just suggesting solutions long-term."
"I don't mean to impose, sir," Cameron made a somewhat exaggerated pleading expression. "He'd still be yours, of course; the two of you would just have some extra support from the family." Cameron let out a small chuckle that made Theodore want to throttle him even more, "We could even come to a custody agreement, of sorts. He spends the weekdays with you, the weekends with me, that kind of thing. I'm sure you could use the break!"
"And, I mean, I didn't want to say anything to you, sir, out of respect, but…" Cameron continued, baring his teeth in a wide smile, "Jasper and I bonded quite well earlier, you know, when I was helping you move him back home."
The sound of ringing in Theodore's ears grew. Logically, it made sense. Having Jace make personal connections with the family would only make it harder for him to leave now and in the future. However, the thought of actually giving him away, even if it was just for a weekend like Cameron suggested, made Theodore feel sick, as if he was going against his very nature.
"Jace!" Theodore called out before he could stop it. He stormed away from the table, footsteps thundering behind him as he dashed upstairs. "Jasper, come here now!" He jogged down the hall, following the chain that was linked to the upstairs level.
"Baby?" Theodore sighed tiredly as he spotted the chain trail off underneath Jace's bed. So, that's where he hid this time… "Sweetheart, come on out." Crouching to the floor, Theodore peeked under the bed and saw terrified hazel eyes staring back at him. The young boy had pressed himself into the far corner of the bed that met the wall. "I promise you're not in trouble." Jace didn't move. Theodore's stare hardened, "But you're gonna be if you don't get out of there." Still, Jace didn't move.
With an annoyed grunt, Theodore grabbed the chain and pulled, dragging out the younger boy by his ankle. "Fuck, no—let go!" Jace flailed, hands reaching out to claw at the wooden floor fruitlessly, "Just—Just leave me alone! I wasn't even doing anything—!"
Theodore didn't stop to hear the rest of his complaints, merely picking him up under his armpits and carrying him back downstairs as if he were an unruly kitten. The chain clattered loudly behind them as it was unlocked from the clasp keeping Jace bound upstairs. Theodore didn't bother reattaching it to the one downstairs. He sat back down at the dining table, Jasper on his knee as he absentmindedly bounced it up and down as if to soothe a fussy toddler.
Jasper was quiet, most likely confused at the sudden change in people around him. Although he seemed to notice the way Cameron's face brightened, subconsciously curling into Theodore’s chest as if to get away. Theodore turned Jace's head towards him with a finger before speaking in a monotone tone, "Cameron wants to marry you."
With a dark fascination, Theodore watched as Jace's eyes filled with panic. "W—What?" He gasped out, a tight coil of dread forming in his stomach. Jace's heart pounded faster and faster as Theodore watched silently. The sting of tears filled Jace's doe eyes.
Theodore let the tension build until Jace began to shake.
"Should I let him?" Theodore murmured in a detached tone, hiding the desperate need he had to take Jace’s head in his hands and comfort the poor thing.
"No—" Jace stared in shock at Theodore, horrified at the suggestion, as memories—memories of Cameron gripping his hands behind his back, tugging down his jeans, and kissing his nape—rushed through his head, "No, Theodore, please." Jace was only able to get away because he wasn't alone with Cameron, but… but if that wouldn’t be the case…Jace dry-heaved at the thought of what would happen. He could almost taste the thick pine tree cologne Cameron wore that day and was wearing now from across the table.
Even now, he could feel Cameron’s silent demand for Jace to turn and look at him…
Turning around to face Theodore while he sat on his lap, Jace threw his arms around Theodore's neck, pleading out, "No—no, I want to stay with you, dad—daddy, please. I...I missed you s—so much, dad." He pressed his nose into the junction between Theodore throat and shoulder, nuzzling the older man who quietly observed the display. "I'll be good, I'll be so good for you," the young man continued to blubber.
Embarrassingly, Jace noticed that he was weeping. Tears streamed down his face and pooled into Theodore's dress shirt. "Please," he whispered, "don't let him."
Theodore finally looked away from Jace, staring up at Eleanor and Cameron. Eleanor's face read as exasperated, while Cameron's smile faded into a blank expression. Triumphant, Theodore let himself break out into a smug grin, "My apologies, you know how the little ones get." He wrapped his arms around Jasper, fingertips polka-dotting down his knobbed spine—he really should get Jace to eat more, but that was a problem for another time—as he bounced Jace up and down on his knee once again in an attempt to hush the sobs ripping out of him, "I'm afraid this one's still too young to separate from his father."
A/N: Meet Cameron! He's going to get officially introduced most likely within the next chapter or 2 of Confining Care, but for now all you need to know about him is that he's another member of the cult and that he kindaaaa human trafficked Jace to get him back to where the cult is located
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