Squishy things keep you calm

[Earlier in Tokyo]

"Welcome, second young master," an elderly lady dressed in a suit greeted him.

Her demeanor, although filled with elderly charms, couldn't sheath the dangerous confidence that filled her aura.

Terrence nodded expressionlessly, letting the old lady lead him through the strangely nostalgic yet unfamiliar surroundings to his father. Soon, they arrived at the dining room, where an old man sat comfortably, seemingly waiting for him.

"Father. Good day," Terrence greeted with a slight bow before taking a seat opposite the old man whose entire attention was on a newspaper he was reading.

The old man had black hair, which was visibly greying at a quick rate, nearly turning all his hair white. Oddly enough, the older male still had a head full of hair.

The table before them was filled with various dishes, which, despite being covered in wait for the complete arrival of the guests, its smell still seeped through the room causing anyone with a nose capable of telling that everything on the table was a delicacy.

However, the two people seated before the food couldn't be less bothered as they both sat down silently as they awaited the last guest.

The old man's light green eyes suddenly looked up to Terrence from his papers with an indifferent gaze but he quickly looked away almost as soon as he looked up.

"How was your day?" he asked nonchalantly while still reading the newspaper.

"Not bad," Terrence replied with equal indifference.

"I see business is doing well?"

"Yes, father."

"You kicked him out of your house?" the man asked with a slightly curious tone.

Terrence's eyes darted to the door impatiently as he replied, "Indeed. He became increasingly bothersome. You can send another one as long as they know not to cross certain boundaries."

"Hm, I see."

What followed was a moment of silence that stretched out for quite a while as the old man kept scouring through the pages of his papers while Terrence waited calmly. A few minutes later, finally, their last guest arrived.

She had bright red hair braided into a neat hairstyle, a pair of black-rimmed glasses, and, just like everyone else, an ash-colored suit, which was the dress code of the dinner.

"Gooday, father," the lady greeted warmly, her green eyes sparkling like emerald stones reflecting the sun's light, "Gooday, brother."

"Yes," Terrence replied casually causing a smirk to plaster on the woman's face.

"How was your journey?" the old man asked causing the lady to instantly brighten up.

"It was excellent! Thank you, Father," she responded enthusiastically.

Sneering at the pretentious lady, Terrence quipped, "You act like a country bumpkin who has never been treated well on a ride before."

The lady blushed in embarrassment, glaring at Terrence, "You–"

"Enough. Since we're now complete, let us dig in and quickly deal with the agenda of today. Time is precious, and every one of us here has something more important to do, no?" the old man said while motioning to the fair maid who stood not far from them.

The maid took away his papers with a respectful bow before leaving and soon more came in to uncover the covered foods.

Nothing else could be heard but the soft clattering of cutleries as they all devoured their meals with quiet elegance.

"Ariel, I assume you can already tell why you're here, right?" the old man asked.

"Yes, Father, my friends already informed me of it," Ariel responded with mirth.

'Your friends indeed,' Terrence thought sarcastically.

"Then only Terrence is in the dark, huh," the old man spoke with a hum, "Child, you should try to be more invested in your family."

"Father, I, unlike a certain someone, make sure to give my siblings an adequate amount of privacy," Terrence jabbed mercilessly.

Ariel: You little…

"Aha, still at it with your ruthless behavior, I see," the old man responded with a chuckle, "Anyways, I'm sure you're a bit aware that your supposedly straight brother had started going out with his best friend."

"Yes."

"Well, they're getting married in a few months and he told me to give you guys an official invitation, or rather, invitations," the old man motioned with his hands and soon a young male holding a red satin pillow with a bunch of envelops neatly stacked on top each other, walked in.

The old man picked up two from the pile, sliding each to the duo as he gestured to them to study it.

"I see, the wedding is in New York?" Terrence asked after studying the envelopes.

"Yes, at his mother's house. That child will never cease being defiant. However, I'll let him do as he pleases since he is now an adult," the old man spoke with dissatisfaction, "As for the remaining two, you're to bring two special persons with you. Two and not more."

"That's awesome!" Ariel exclaimed before sneering at Terrence, "I already have people to give mine, unlike a certain someone."

Terrence merely chuckled leaving her perturbed. After being handed over the invites, he was ready to leave, "Thank you, Father. I presume this is all and that I may leave here by tomorrow?"

The old man looked with an indescribable gaze towards the expressionless male for a while before nodding.

"Then, I'll take my leave."

***

"Here, sir, to soothe your stomach," Merlin spoke while handing over a cup of hot tea to Terrence, who accepted gratefully.

He hated having dinner with those bunch, it only led to indigestion and a bout of purging that messed up his body. Just as he was about to give in to sleep with an empty stomach, Merlin's words came to him like an angel's help.

"Sir, do you want me to dish out Miss Elara's meals for you? It's been properly stored, and since Miss Elara has made sure to make more durable meals, you don't have to worry about them going bad."

Terrence, who tiredly leaned into a couch, immediately sat up; his crestfallen face lightening up like Christmas lights.

He smiled cheerfully, "Yes, I'll eat it right away."

"You, unfortunately, cannot, Sir," Merlin disagreed, throwing the male from heaven to earth in an instant, "Your stomach is still recovering; you'll have to wait for a while to avoid stirring it."

Terrence: …. Then why did you recommend it?

Merlin: I just thought you needed a slight dose of Elara.

Terrence: ...

Terrence: You're not exactly wrong there. 

"Forget it," Terrence spoke while standing up, "I'm going out to get some fresh air and make sure the meals are already prepared by the time I'm back."

"Yes sir."

***

The resort owned by his father (uncle) was located beside the beach; thus, most visitors almost always ended up going to the beach to relax, which meant Terrence's rest was disrupted by a certain red-haired bitch.

"Hello, Terry."

Terrence stared at the infuriating female blankly, he was sure she had come just to taunt him. 

Ariel seemed oblivious to the man's disapproving gaze as she spoke, "The evening air is chilly; why don't we have some tea?"

***

"What do you want?" Terrence asked bluntly as soon as everything had been set up.

Ariel chuckled, "Nothing, I was just curious, do you even have anyone close to give those invitations to apart from Merlin? After all with your lone wolf tendencies… I doubt you do."

Terrence sighed in annoyance, "You called me…. For this?"

"No. No!" the red-haired beauty exclaimed as she continued, "Not just this, I also have someone I want to show you."

Terrence raised his brows at the smirking woman and as soon as the 'guest' arrived, he instantly understood.

"Terry?!" the dark-haired and dark-eyed Japanese male dressed sultrily in a mini flare skirt and half-cut, showing off all of his abdomen regions, exclaimed with a blush.

He glared at Ariel with betrayal in his eyes as she giggled harmlessly. When she said someone he didn't expect this one!

Ariel chuckled with mirth, "What are you doing there? Have you forgotten what you're supposed to do?"

The man blushed fiercely as he shyly sat on top of the woman's lap.

Terrence's calm face was now etched with a look of disgust as he glared at the two shameless exhibitionists who subjected his eyes to blatant abomination. 

Ariel smiled wider, pleased to get under his skin, "I just wanted to show you that he's been doing better with me since then."

The man sitting on her lap didn't respond. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her neck, shyly burrowing his face into her shoulders in silent agreement.

"Hah," Terrence muttered darkly as the grip on his cup unconsciously tightened.

Although he couldn't be less bothered by the shameless duo before him, it was still infuriating having a nice evening ruined by a pair of fools. So infuriating that he didn't know when he shattered the ceramic cup in his hands.

Scalding hot tea dripped onto his bloody hands, which had scrapes of glasses embedded in them, causing them to bleed from various sides. The duo, startled by the turn of events stared on before snapping awake when Terrence stood up.

"I guess tea time is over then," he spoke calmly. However, his next words bore a direct contrast to his calmness, "Dear sister, remember this: if you interfere too much, I might just stage a little something for you. Stay in your lane."

Ariel flinched, her face paling from the threats. She watched with a bloodless face as the man left, leaving her quivering in fear. In truth, Terrence terrified her, but she'd rather do everything within her power to dominate him than admit to that!

"Are you okay?" the soft voice of the man on her snapped her out of her daze as he stared at her anxiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

***

Meanwhile, at his lounge, Terrence was busy squeezing the fox plushie with all his strength before pulling out another one– this time a lamb, when the fox splattered from excessive force.

Picking up the destroyed toy, Merlin gulped uneasily. How pissed was his boss to have destroyed this thing?

After pacing about for a while squeezing the lamb, Terrence's shaken heart finally cooled over.

"Hah…" he sighed, "Ela was right, squishy things do keep you calm."

'I'm pretty sure it's the thought of the person and intent behind the toy that does but what do I know?' Merlin thought.

Terrence was still feeling melancholy after his anger dissipated. The thought of Elara's meal triggered his appetite, but he was just too emotionally drained to commit to actually eating it. 

But then, his phone rang– Elara was calling.