House guest

Chapter 4

Manson stared at his little sibling in silence for a moment.

" thank you for your help"

was all he could say

he stepped away, Sailor's hand still outreached to him

he knew he was pushing his family away.

he also knew it pained them deeply

but he couldn't afford to let emotion in.

if he allowed himself the good things, the bad would take him by storm

flooding everything.

he had fought this long to keep everything out, and now he had a way, to find the people that took their parents lives.

orphaned them, landed them in this cold, dark place, with no emotion and no care

it wouldn't bring his parents back.

but perhaps it'd give he and his siblings closure.

and that's all that he could hope for now

halfway to his room he found Titus standing in the hall

" can I meet your siblings?"

Manson had directly avoided telling his siblings about Titus, and their investigation.

but he had an idea, he thought it might make the demon happy as well.

" do you think you can act human?"

Titus looked intrigued

"of course I can, I've been stuck with you lot for many of years "

Manson smiled, an actual smile.

" great, come with me then"

Manson briefly explained his idea

he'd be possing as a friend that was staying for awhile

they set up one of the rooms for him, clearing the dust, making the bed, putting towels in the bath.

" you'll have to act human, eating, changing your clothes, the works "

Manson was saying, as he shoved naked pillows into their cases

" and no "Master" anything, we're partner's, you help me, I help you, equal"

Titus wasn't sure he'd call that equal, the boy wanted very little in return for helping him

but he certainly wouldn't complain

"yes, thank you"

after everything was ready, they went into the parlor, only Sailor was there .

the young teenager looked up at Manson and his new friend as they entered the room

" hello"

the laptop was balanced on Sailor's lap.

they had been typing frantically before the boys interrupted

" who may this be?"

Manson swept a hand towards Titus gracefully

" this is my friend Titus, he'll be staying with us awhile"

Sailor had a dark maroon beanie over their short strawberry blonde curls

a large gray sweater with

'sleep please'

scrawled across it, and black leggings

they looked very comfortable over all

" it's nice to meet you Titus, I'm Sailor, I don't know how much my brother explained, but if you could use They, them, pronouns for me, I'd be very happy"

Sailor was Non binary

their gender was different than simply female or male

they were neither

two spirited

Sailor could be or feel like anything they wanted, masculine, feminine, neither.

it didn't matter

and certainly didn't matter to their siblings

whom were very loving and supportive

Titus nodded and didn't question

Manson wondered if he had any idea about gender identity or if he just didn't mind anything.

" it's very nice to meet you Sailor, I will address you accordingly"

Sailor was thrilled

" you should meet our sister, she's in the kitchen"

and they were off to the kitchen

were a very burnt smell seemed to be emerging from

Manson looked like he was going to gag

" Marie, I thought we agreed, you are never to cook again after the food poison indecent?"

Titus looked at him with wide eyes but said nothing

" I just thought I'd try..."

the girl mumbled defeatedly

Manson sighed heavily taking over the kitchen, trashing whatever horrific experiments his sister had been making

" Marie, this is Titus, my friend, he'll be staying with us awhile"

she walked over and hugged him gently

" it's so nice to meet you!"

Titus seemed okay with it, he smiled and hugged her back

he was a little smaller than her.

she was pretty, honey golden eyes, soft blonde curls

" he's adorable"

she giggled softly, eyeing her brother with slight suspicion

" he's not a puppy"

Mason scolded, as he tied a black apron around himself.

could Manson cook?

Titus was interested in seeing this

he thought perhaps the only thing the boy could do was brood and be frightening

he went to the fridge and caught an armful of ingredients

he put butter in a pan and let it melt as he chopped celery and onions

Titus wasn't sure why he found this ordinary human task so interesting.

but he liked watching Manson perform the act of cooking

he cut chicken breast into cubes and threw them into the pot

Marie stared between her brother and his new friend

" see something you like?"

Titus looked at her confused

" I'm not sure, I find it interesting to watch him cook"

she giggled, as if he were missing a joke, was he?

humans were strange

Sailor wondered into the kitchen than

" ohh, Masy is cooking?, yes "

they plopped down at the table setting the laptop on it

Titus didn't see how a human infant was going to break a language as old as time

but he didn't ask

he watched all three siblings with curious eyes

Sailor was obviously very smart, and very protected and loved by their siblings

Marie was cheerful, she had a lot of heart.

her most important thing seemed to be her family

and then there was Manson

hell bent on revenge

but he seemed so normal now, in his apron

cooking a meal for his family

had this been the boy he previously was?

he tried to imagine a joyous expression on Manson's face as he prepared a meal but the image was so obscene he couldn't make it stick in his head

perhaps not

he could always ask his siblings what he'd been like before

he had that freedom now

but it almost seemed wrong, like an invasion of privacy some how

he let his mind idly wonder as he watched Manson make a wonderful smelling creamy chicken pasta

food wasn't necessary for him to live but he could eat if he wished

suddenly the table rattled as Sailor shot up from their seat

" I broke it!, the encryption!, it's down"