Word Count: 932
Archive: DarkMagick.net, Apollymi’s Grimoire, and Archive of Our Own. Anyone else wanting it, please ask first. I’ll probably say yes, but ask first…[endsection]
Keeping his promise wasn’t always easy. Letty had the bad habit of trying to put her own self in the way whenever Monsieur Robicheaux was deep in his cups, mainly because the bastard at least pretended to be apologetic when his only daughter ‘somehow’ met with his fists. Even so, Goodnight hated when that happened, and continued to paint the target on his own back.
And unfortunately, somehow T-Jo had picked up on a bit of that nobility that the elder Robicheaux brother had in abundance—Goodnight credited his noble streak to Maman, so he presumed that his baby brother’s came from his own maternal influence—and likewise threw himself in between their bastard of a father and their only sister. Goodnight absolutely hated seeing those bruises bloom, but allowed the child to pretend that they came from playing too roughly.
But still, he managed more often than not to make himself the target rather than T-Jo. The lack of fading bruises on his brother’s skin was worth the pain and dark marks on his own skin, was worth the hurt ribs and the minor limp from where the bastard had more than once kicked him in recent memory. It was a couple of months since his decision to be the primary target, and Letty’s birthday had come upon them more quickly than he anticipated.
Of course, it was a huge affair. Monsieur Robicheaux always made a fuss of his only daughter’s birthdays, because he planned to marry her off to one of the other wealthy families in the area. So of course she was primped to perfection no matter how annoyed her eyes showed her to be, and she gave enough smiles to make it seem like she was happy with the fuss even though Goodnight was positive she’d be much happier running around the grounds and climbing trees as she did every other day she could get away with it.
And, he noted, his baby brother was just as annoyed and unhappy with the turn of events. T-Jo was more than used to it just being the three of them kids around, with the slaves and Maman and rarely Monsieur Robicheaux, and there wasn’t even time to slink off to get away from the rigmarole.
Well… technically speaking, there was no time to slip away. Realistically, Goodnight knew for goddamned certain that the library would still be a safe haven to hide away in. Letty would be pissed that they slipped off and left her to entertain their guests, but… it wasn’t like any of the folk out there cared for the male Robicheaux siblings, given that neither of them were admirable prospects.
After all, T-Jo was a bastard in the literal sense of the word, and Goodnight already knew that he was bent in that manner that would not lead to him fathering children. Monsieur Robicheaux worked hard to keep rumors from spreading, but female companionship didn’t even sound appealing to the elder brother. He knew what men and women were supposed to get up to, but he had found some more… risqué material amongst Maman’s books that hinted at men and men together, and that was of far more interest to him.
Plus, Goodnight hadn’t made his disdain of some of the young ladies Monsieur Robicheaux invited over with their families a secret. If anyone suspected, the instant the old bastard started trying to make marriage prospects the rumors would explode. And he’d probably be dead, so best to make the most of life while he could.
That was why, when Letty finally managed to get away from her “gentleman callers” and find a table to set up at with her town friends—and why were girls always so giggly?—Goodnight decided he had enough of being sociable and proper and that it was time to go elsewhere that the old bastard couldn’t find him or his brother for a while.
If they were lucky, maybe they could even have time to go out to the stable and let out the old man’s show ponies. He hated it when the fussy little things got even a little bit dusty; it had been raining all day and there was enough mud out there to turn a white pony brown. Hopefully that would happen, and they could avoid catching trouble for it by ‘being in the library’ the entire time.
“Hey,” he said softly, nudging his baby brother’s side gently to catch his attention; poor thing had been going all glassy-eyed with boredom. “Think we should leave the ladies to their party, T-Jo?”
Goodnight had spent so long just thinking of his brother by the nickname that he didn’t really notice saying it out loud. At least, not until he saw the way the younger boy’s face lit up brightly, and he had a brief moment to wonder if he should have tried actually spending more time with T-Jo sooner.
The boy gave him a gap-toothed smile, but his reply was just as soft-spoken as his own words had been. “But I wanted a piece of cake.”
Goodnight chuckled softly. “You know good and well that Cooky’s saving you a piece or two in the kitchen. Let’s go get it.”
To be honest, that was the moment their relationship changed. T-Jo was never too far from his side, which made it much easier to keep him safe from Monsieur Robicheaux; if he managed to get himself caught in the cross-hairs of the old man’s rage… well, that was all the better for both his younger siblings. Goodnight was careful to watch over both brother and sister, and he was happy that T-Jo was more than comfortable around him.
[section=Footer Notes]24 February 2017Oh gods, I’m so sorry.
~Katsuko[endsection]