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Young Lust {Crimson and Azuriyuu} (Continued)

When they entered the door and John spoke to them so roughly, Bartiel blinked a bit, clenching his fists, before Jasmine stepped in. It was a damn good thing, too – it'd been too long since Bartiel had been able to properly glare. However, Vision quickly stated something in Chinese. I'll be the hot-blooded one this time, was the simple phrase he stated as Vision growled once John practically threatened the girl into a little ball.

“Excuse me?!” he snapped out, glaring, crossing his arms. “How dare you! I came this way across the dorm to bring my friend cookies-” “Which I baked due to your oven incompetence-” “And this is how I'm treated?! Do you know who I am?!” Vision said once they got inside of the dorm, at which Bartiel whacked his younger brother on the head, before looking up at John fearlessly.

“I apologize for my brother's behavior. Being the youngest child of a mineral-mining tycoon will make you an idiot,” he said directly to John. “Either way, I would appreciate you not saying things like that to insult our honor any further. We are both asian and hold grudges, after all,” he said(Despite looking almost fully white) before looking over at Jasmine. “Here's the cookies, Jasmine,” he said, giving her the bag of cookies as Vision growled and glared at John, asking Bartiel if he could do all sorts of nasty things to the man, using chinese, which Bartiel casually replied to each of them with an english 'You may not'.
 
Jasmine was surprised to find that Vision was going to be the short tempered one, and she forced herself to swallow a laugh as she watched the younger boy face her father. Before anything else could be said Jasmine took the cookies from Bartiel, grabbing both the boys by the hand and pulling them through the living room into the kitchen just in time to hear her father mutter under his breath, "Fucking chinks think they can get away with anything, I'd like that little bastard to come back in here..."

With that Jasmine closed the door, happy that her mother had returned to the living room, leaving the kitchen only to Jasmine, Bartiel, Vision, and Trisha. "Sorry 'bout him," Jasmine mumbled, hurrying over to the counter to put the cookies in a cookie jar she usually only used when her parents were around.

"He does that a lot, you either have to get used to it or stop being around John," Trisha perked up, standing at the stove stirring the gravy as she looked back at the boys. "Bartiel, Vision, this is my Aunt Patrisha, but everyone calls her Trish," Jasmine smiled, as her Aunt wiped her hands clean on the towel she'd draped over one shoulder before walking over, offering a hand to Bartiel.

"It's always nice to meet Jasmine's friends, I'm so glad you came by. I know I help her out with the family a bit, but I'm sure she'll feel better if there's someone around closer to her age," Trisha smiled. Jasmine smiled over her shoulder at her Aunt, glad that she was there to meet the boys instead of her mother or her uncle.

"My mom is the blond on the living room, and the other man is my Uncle Robert," she said simply, putting the last of the cookies in the jar even as she left a handful on the counter. Walking back to them and taking a bite of one of the cookies Jasmine offered one to each of the boys and her aunt as well. As the woman began to protest about the sugar ruining her form Jasmine just smiled and silenced her protest by putting the cookie at her lips.

"Just take a bite, then. They're really good; Bartiel's an amazing chef, but he makes a horrible mess every time he makes something," she smiled, grinning happily as her aunt gave an exaggerated sigh and took the treat, taking a bite and giving the boys a smile.

"My, they are delicious. Jasmine, you should have had them over earlier, Bartiel could have helped with the meal. Maybe if we're lucky we can convince them to stay, that'll make this dinner so much easier." Jasmine smiled at her aunt, knowing full well just what the woman meant; if there were people around who weren't family then Robert wouldn't raise a hand to either one of them.
 
Racial slurs meant nothing to Bartiel, normally. In fact, if his barely visible chinese ancestry not being a sensitive spot. But the fact that he was called a chink, something his grandfather had to go through... his pupils almost shrunk down to pinpricks as Vision grabbed onto his sleeve to keep him calm. Still, his mood and his face were very, very dark. He was mumbling something in chinese. Vision frowned, and whispered to Jasmine, “I wouldn't let your father go alone while he's in town...anywhere. Might be for his own good,” before pulling away and frowning at Bartiel.

When Trisha came over and spoke to Bartiel, he blinked. He and Vision were using a level of subterfuge; telling half-truths, even in their behaviors. Both Bartiel and Vision were incensed by John entirely, but Vision was allowing himself to act on his anger and Bartiel was supressing it, the inversion of usual. When Trisha offered to shake his hand, Bartiel awkwardly shook her hand. Can she tell or something...? “It's not really a problem, but she's more Vision's friend than mine, and they're closer in age in the first place; he's 12 and I'm 16,” Bartiel explained. He actually looked older than he was most of the time, but he had the ID to prove that he was indeed underage.

When the woman mentioned her diet, it was Bartiel's turn to shine. Puffing out his chest proudly, he spoke up. “My cookies are far less likely to ruin a diet than most cookies you see. I use fruit zests and juices in every cookie recipe to subtly bring out the desired flavors without driectly adding sugar,” he said as Vision rolled his eyes, pulling out a paper sign which literally said '20 minute food rant', before Bartiel snatched it away from his brother with a glare. “Why are you carrying that around!? Jackass,” he said, although there was obviously no malice as both were grinning. If Trisha paid attention, it would be easy to see the stoic barrier Bartiel put up in front of John was just that, a barrier.
 
Trisha laughed at the boys and playfully ruffled Vision's hair. "Ah, I can tell that you take pride in your cooking, but I doubt very highly that your younger brother is the one closest to Jasmine. I saw her change when I spotted you," Trisha smiled slyly, looking back at Jasmine who'd promptly turned and walked back to the stove to check on the potatoes and gravy, hiding her face from her aunt, who simply gave a smile and soft chuckle.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone if anything's happened, I think it's sweet. I'll leave you kids alone in the kitchen for a bit, Robert is probably getting antsy out there, and I wouldn't want John coming in here to get me." With that she finished off the last bite of her cookie, gave the boys a smile, and walked from the kitchen without another backward glance.

"Bartiel," Jasmine said, turning from the stove to hop up onto the counter, "If you're planning on doing anything to my father, could you at least wait until he's been here a bit longer? I really, really don't want to have to deal with my mother and my uncle by myself. I can at least ignore him." Voice slightly small Jasmine wrapped her arms around her stomach and hugged herself tightly, staring at the floor for a moment so she wouldn't have to look at anyone or anything.

"Give it a day, by then he'll have said more than enough and you'll have lost you're temper, at least then you can plead temporary insanity."
 
Bartiel blinked as Trisha revealed exactly how she knew that she was closer to him than Vision. Vision pouted, but Bartiel reacted. “Even if we are friends, it isn't even a little cool for high schoolers to hang out with middle schoolers,” he said, using that as his excuse to hide their relationship. But still, how come it was women who seemed to notice these little tells?!

When she said she'd leave them in the kitchen, Bartiel nodded. “Thank you,” he said, before he waited for her to leave. Hearing Jasmine ask if he could wait until he was there, he nodded. “Fine, but if he challenges me to my face, well, he's asking for it in the most literal sense,” he said. Although when she said that it'd be more than a day...Bartiel paused, and smiled.

“Oh, it will be. And he may not even suffer physically...”

“Oh, god, here comes the alignment shift speech,” Vision lampshaded as Bartiel began to go on his tirade.

“No. My grandfather has been insulted, and I have been insulted, and when I am truly insulted, I will pay the insult back a hundredfold of a hundredfold. I will ruin him financially and force him to beg me for money. Or maybe I'll take incriminating photos and send them to some blackmailer. I might just manipulate him into being in a minor traffic accident which will raise his insurance rates for years. Perhaps I'll replace his research paper and when he reads the fake one out he'll become the laughing stock of the science world. I could also humiliate him by marrying his daughter and forcing him to watch as his stepson surpasses him in every way, including financially supporting the people important to him and sexually pleasing our respective wives,” he said, his dark eyes falling.

Vision blinked, before looking at Jasmine. “Note that doesn't count as an actual proposal.”
 
Jasmine just sighed as she listened to Bartiel go on his rant, closing her eyes and shaking her head for a moment before turning back to the stove. Turning off burners and beginning to mash the potatoes she turned her head enough to look back at Vision. "I didn't think it was," she said dryly, adding cream and potato flakes to the pot before her as she began to stir everything together. A moment later everything was finished and Jasmine turned off the oven, grabbing two pot holders before pulling a roast out.

Beginning to set things out on serving trays the small girl worked quickly and quietly, paying little attention to anything besides what she was doing. Hoping that the dinner would go by quickly and her parents would leave for their hotel right afterwords Jasmine knew she was asking too much, but she didn't want to be left with them that long, especially if Bartiel and Vision decided not to stay.

"I know you guys probably don't want to stay, and you don't have to. Don't bother coming up with an excuse, you can leave if you want," she said quickly, turning and carrying a tray loaded with sliced roast beef out into the living room where a large table had been set up.
 
Bartiel watched as she added the cream to the potatoes, watching her cook. Before she was even done cooking, he actually got to work, washing dishes for once, washing the dishes which she had gotten dirty but she had no more use for. The redhead kept his thoughts to himself, before Jasmine spoke up, beginning to speak, but Vision did.

“Maa, maa. There's something the matter,” Vision said, looking at Jasmine. He could tell that she'd been abused by her uncle, or at least a certain member of the family. “We want to stay with you...at least I do,” he said, before glancing at Bartiel. Bartiel wiped his hands off with a paper towel, tossing it in the garbage before he smiled.

“Just as the bracelet on your arm, I'll stay by your side, Jasmine. Just because your father will incur my nonspecific wrath at some undisclosed point in the future doesn't mean that I'll leave you be,” he said. He wanted to hug her, kiss her, pat her on the back or something, but anyone glancing into the kitchen could catch them. So Bartiel and Vision simply followed Jasmine out to the living room, keeping mostly to themselves, speaking in an intentionally confusing manner by flashing back and forth between English and Chinese.

As for what exactly they were speaking about? Motorcycles.
 
Jasmine sighed softly and gave both the boys a smile as they said they'd stay. She'd have loved to give Bartiel a kiss, or at least a hug, but she knew her family well enough that if she took any more time in the kitchen her father would rush back to see what was taking so long. Instead Jasmine settled for a bright smile, though she couldn't help the tension radiating through her body. With a sigh she turned and walked back out into the living room, setting down a bowl of mashed potatoes and a boat of gravy on the table.

"Dinner's ready," she said simply, moving to take a seat at the far end of the table, as far away from her mother as she could possibly get. Sitting between her aunt and her uncle Jasmine swallowed for a second, watching the glare her father gave Vision and Bartiel, the way her mother simply smiled, looking more and more like a doll, and the way her uncle seemed to just smile, radiating joy. Though Bartiel may have hated her father already, Jasmine knew well enough that it was her uncle that she needed to be afraid of; her father would yell and had only pushed her a few times, her uncle was the reason that she'd hide in the corner whenever she saw someone lose control of their anger.

With a deep breath and a smile Jasmine reached over to grab the potatoes, setting a small amount on her plate before passing the bowl and with that, dinner began. This is going to be so painfully awkward Jasmine thought, picking half heartedly at her food before she heard her mother speak up, at which point Jasmine groaned softly. "So, you boys are friend's of Jasmine's," Lilly asked with her sweet purr, grinning brightly at them, "What has my little girl been up to? Nothing too horribly troubling I hope."
 
Bartiel looked at Jasmine's uncle somewhat warily. He didn't hate the man, not knowing him to be the reason that Jasmine had run away from him, but he was particularly cautious about the man. Something about him put Bartiel off. When food was served, Vision clasped his hands together and mumbled a quick grace. It wasn't a well known trait, but Vision was religious. He wasn't crazy about it, something which was obvious, and even then he didn't usually say grace, but he did so here as to make a bit of a good impression. Bartiel, a callous atheist, did no such thing.

“Good Mashed Potatoes,” was all Bartiel said after a bite as Vision began to quickly eat, much like the small child he tended to be. “Something like that,” Bartiel said when Lilly asked about them being friends of Jasmine's, before he got whacked on the back of the head by Vision, who was glaring at his older brother. “Callous! You shouldn't be so cold when talking about your friends,” Vision said to Bartiel who just rolled his eyes.

When Lilly grinned at them, though, Vision brightened up. “I'm really glad to have met Jasmine. She...” he said, blushing a bit. “I was having a really bad day and she came up to me and asked if I wanted to be her friend. We've been friends since. I even fixed her alarm clock,” he said, his version of giving her the alarm which she used to tie up Bartiel and seduce him, “And she found me a girlfriend,” Vision said, blushing as Bartiel blinked, dropping the food on his fork, looking at Vision.

“What?” he said with some surprise as Vision smiled.

“Victoria asked me out, and I said yes. Of course, you wouldn't know anything about that because you spent the last week trying to find your stupid brother...” Vision said, pouting.
 
Lilly just smiled at the two younger boys, not even blinking when Vision hit his older brother upside the head. "She is a lovely girl when she wants to be," the woman purred with a happy smile, looking down at Jasmine who simply rolled her eyes and looked at Bartiel.

"Don't look surprised, I told you I was going to help him find a girl, I'm just glad Victoria and him get along so well," Jasmine smiled before her father cut in. "As long as she's not another one of your tramp friends here's to hoping the boy has fun," John laughed. While Bartiel and Vision's parents had had a bit of wine with their food, Jasmine's father and uncle preferred something much stronger and John stood up with a small grunt and pulled a bottle of aged whiskey from the bag that his wife had carried in. Pouring himself a small glass as well as his brother he walked behind Jasmine to set the glass down before taking his seat.

"John, be nice," Robert chuckled, taking a small drink from his glass before wrapping an arm around Jasmine and giving her a small squeeze. "You got a good girl here, she just gets in some trouble every once and a while, ain't that right hun?" Jasmine just gave him a weak smile and nodded slightly, quickly turning her attention back to her food as she pretended to eat.
 
Bartiel realized that it would be wise to throw Jasmine off, so he figured he might have to tell a few more untruths. Upon hearing she's lovely, Bartiel looked at her as Jasmine looked at him. He seemed to size her up, before he looked at Lilly. “...She's kind of small,” was all he said to Lilly while visibly frowning, abandoning all manners as he did so.

Still, he seemed to be truly surprised. Vision had a girlfriend? That was amazing. Personally, he wondered how far Vision had gone with Victoria, but he hadn't thought too much about it. When Robert slipped his arm around Jasmine, Bartiel saw it; the fear in her eyes.

“What's this, Cain, do you really mean to shoot me? Will that bring back your little lesbian friend's purity? Well, go ahead and shoot, if you're so jealous that I got to fuck her and you never did. Pointing that gun at me out of jealousy? You really are a monster, Cain.”

Humans notice certain tells in their subconcious. Flared nostrils, dialated pupils, tensing muscles, relaxing muscles, different breathing patterns. There were many ways to tell if a person was feeling a certain level of anger, and if you were clever, you could even fake these tells, you could intentionally emit a nearly-physical wave of bloodlust to terrify most weaker-willed people who even looked at you.

Bartiel was looking straight at Robert, his face completely neutral, although his body was exhibiting all the tells. However, he paused before speaking, and his pupils undialated, his muscles relaxed, breathing returned to normal and nostrils relaxed as his entire body calmed down. The memory of his older brother mocking him as he saw Jasmine's fear had caused him to temporarily become a fearsome monster of a human being, though he stopped himself from doing anything. Without any expression at all, Bartiel simply spoke a few words, clearly not attempting to intimidate the man, never having glared at him even once.

“She's yet to give me any trouble.”
 
Jasmine barely noticed the wave of anger radiating off Bartiel but she could feel her uncle lean a bit closer. Robert simply looked back at Bartiel and gave him a smile, a touch of evil intent flashing over his eyes quickly before he gave Jasmine another small squeeze and kissed the small girl on the temple. "She's a little angel when she behaves herself," he chuckled before letting the small girl go.

Jasmine simply swallowed hard and resisted the urge to shiver at the words, remembering the last time he'd told her that; that was the time he'd broken one of her ribs and dislocated her aunt's shoulder. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath Jasmine simply nodded as Trisha leaned over and asked in a whispered voice if she was alright. Lifting her head and giving the woman a smile she watched Trisha turn and smile at her husband as Robert reached around Jasmine's shoulder to stroke a hand down his wife's arm.

Though outwardly Jasmine was calm her brain was screaming that she needed to get out from between them, but she couldn't leave the table until her father had finished eating, and he was only on his second helping. Eyes locking on her uncle's glass of whiskey she let out a silent breath of relief when she realized that he'd not even finished half. Maybe he'll stick to one glass since the boys are here, but knowing him he's got more back at the hotel.

Turning her attention back to Lilly as the woman began going into detail about how cute Jasmine was when she was younger Jasmine simply tucked her head down and ate slowly, doing her best to ignore everyone and everything around her.
 
Bartiel paused when he noticed that evil in Robert. A devil...just like Abel, you're a devil! he thought to himself, but refused to actually glare or lose his cool again. Bartiel kept his eyes on how Jasmine seemed to just...shrink. He hadn't even noticed that Vision had entered a stoic state, much like Bartiel's own. Bartiel didn't even realize it, but Vision was slowly moving.

While Bartiel's hands were down under the table, he noticed Vision touch his palm. He looked over at his brother, he glared at him. “...What?” Bartiel asked, and Vision continued to glare. “I still can't believe you didn't even bother to ask what happened over the past week...” he said, pouting, but still tapping a morse code message into Bartiel's hand. “...Idiot,” Bartiel said while going back to looking down. There wasn't anyone here he wanted to talk to.

Vision was slowly slipping lots of weird things into Bartiel's hand, which he was pocketting. At that, Vision suddenly perked up once he was done. “Oh! Bartiel! Um, everyone, everyone, everyone! I know that we're almost done, but, ah... I just remembered! The garlic gravy! Bartiel, you have a really good garlic gravy recipe, don't you?!” he said, pouting, to which Bartiel glared.

“I can't make it instantly, Vision,” he said. “I know, I know, but still! You can made an imitation real quick, right, right?! C'mon, everyone, you gotta try his Garlic Gravy!” Vision said cheerfully, to which Bartiel groaned, rubbing his temples. “If I have an extra set of hands, I can make an imitation in just a couple minutes. Jasmine, can you help me in the kitchen so we can get this small child to shut up?” he said, glaring at Vision.
 
Jasmine hadn't been paying any attention to either of her friends before she heard her name. Looking up quickly she blinked slowly for a second before nodding. "Sure," she said quickly, giving her uncle a smile as she pushed away from the table. "Be back soon," she said in a cheery voice before scurrying off to the kitchen. She'd no idea what just happened but if it meant that she got away from her family for a few minutes then she was happy, especially if it meant that she'd not have to sit beside her uncle.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! You don't react, you never react, if you react then it gets worse she yelled in her head, shivering slightly before wrapping her arms around herself. Giving a tight squeeze and moving to stand beside the doorway so she couldn't be seen Jasmine took a few deep breaths before looking out into the living room, instantly plastering a smile on her face as she noticed Robert turn just enough to look at her before she disappeared again.
 
Once they were in the kitchen, Bartiel immediately gave her four objects. “The smallest are tracking devices, specially designed so that if one breaks the other one starts sending out a distress signal, another is a listening bug, and one is a canister of pepper spray,” he said, whispering before he decided to make some noise, moving around the kitchen and grabbing various ingredients for a garlic gravy from the cupboards, looking around Jasmine's place.

Picking up a saucepan, he began to get things ready before he paused. Reaching up his sleeve, he pulled out a small metal cylinder, handing it to Jasmine. “That's a tiny flashbang, or stun grenade. These things have saved my life,” he said cryptically, before he started speaking more loudly, asking her to grab him some ingredients.

Outside the kitchen, Vision continued to be his own, happy, oblivious self, acting like he wasn't arming Jasmine with the tools to protect herself.
 
Jasmine snapped out of her rant in her head as Bartiel handed her the four objects. for a moment she simply blinked stupidly up at him before slipping them into her pockets. Quickly grabbing the ingredients he asked for she did her best not to listen as her mother started telling a rather embarrassing story about how Jasmine used to run around the house leaving her clothes strung throughout the rooms.

"Why are you giving me these," she finally asked quietly, standing on the far side of the stove as she watched Bartiel make the gravy, resisting the urge to turn and look over her shoulder to see what her uncle was doing. Without even looking she knew he was watching her, she could feel his eyes burning through the back of her head.

"I don't need them." Moving to the far counter she hopped up onto one of the lower counters, pulling one leg up to her chest before wrapping her arms around her knee. Relax, it'll be fine, you know the only way Lilly and John brought him was if he promised not to do anything to Aunt Trisha while they were here.
 
Bartiel looked at her as she got him the ingredients. Bartiel moved through the kitchen and began to make the gravy. Noticing Jasmine's stress, he seamlessly spoke up. “Come watch me make this,” he commanded her, so she would learn how to make it. It was noteworthy in that Bartiel didn't really give her commands, except now. There was no threats in his voice, simply a dominating and focused spirit which expected her to do as he said.

When she mentioned that she didn't need them, he shrugged. “It's better to conceil a blade that you've no need for, than to ignore a blade and be cut,” he said, seriously, but he just shrugged. “Look...even if you're not going to stand up to him, just lie to me and say you will by carrying that stuff. It's not like it can be turned against you, except for the pepper spray,” he commented. Theoretically so could the flashbang, but the flashbang was mostly to cover someone running away.

As Vision was in the main room, he grinned amusedly about how Jasmine didn't like wearing clothes. “Hah! Mama still runs around without clothes when she doesn't need them,” he pointed out, slightly energetic. As they continued, Vision spoke when he was spoken to for the most part, although he made one interesting point, that he was the son of a female cop, and one of his dreams was to develop weapondry for the military.

His way of subtly hinting that he was secretly a dangerous person.
 
Hearing the command in Bartiel's voice Jasmine didn't even think about it as she slid off the counter and walked to the stove, watching him make the gravy obediently. It wasn't until a moment later when she blinked and looked up at him. She didn't bother asking how he'd gotten her to do it, Jasmine already knew that she was instantly submissive to anyone more dominant than her, except for certain situations, and with Bartiel it was a natural thing.

Keeping both arms wrapped round her waist the small girl nodded slightly, hearing laughter from the main room even as she felt the creeping chill of her uncle's eyes. "There's no point in lying to you since you'll just get angry if I get hurt and lied, so I might as well keep them with me so you'll be happy," she said softly, rubbing her left wrist against her stomach softly, the cool silver of the Onyx bracelet rubbing against her flesh.

Calming herself quickly and turning slightly to look out into the living room Jasmine gave Robert and Trisha a smile, shifting slightly and turning her attention back to Bartiel quickly. "I still don't see what you're giving these things to me for, I'd have expected them from you but they look to have come out of Vision's pockets; you never know what that kid has hidden on him."
 
Bartiel nodded when she said there was no point lying to him. As she turned her attention to Bartiel, he nodded when she said it came from Vision's pockets. “Yes, it did,” he said coolly. “Vision has something up his sleeve. Whatever it is, Vision's more dangerous than I am,” Bartiel said coolly, before he paused, looking at Jasmine. “...He won't hurt you anymore. I won't let him. The only...” he stopped himself, realizing that if someone walked in when he made his declaration of love, it would be very bad for Jasmine.

“...The only thing you need to do is try not to be alone with your uncle,” he said, effectively having figured out what was going on; that gaze of evil in Robert's eyes confirmed it for Bartiel. “If you can try, me and Vision will protect you,” he said, before smiling a little. “The two of us love you and will protect you from evil, in what way we can,” he said. He hadn't told her he loved her yet, this being the first time, and it did include Vision, but still...
 
Jasmine looked up as Bartiel spoke, giving him a smile as he told her that him and Vision loved her. "I know," was all she said before she turned and walked back into the living room. At that very moment her father was pushing away from the table, obviously on the way to the kitchen to see what was taking so long and he gave her a glare, saying nothing as he sat back down.

Walking around the table to take up her seat beside her uncle the small girl kept a smile on her face even as she felt his hand rest on her thigh and squeeze. "Keep an eye on your friends," he said softly, voice a low growl as he spoke right beside her ear. With only a nod Jasmine forced down her shiver and gave everyone a smile. "There's dessert after everyone's finished, the gravy should be done in a minute or two.
 
Bartiel glanced from the kitchen, noting her father getting huffy. If that was anyone other than Jasmine's father he would have told him to sit down and use a little goddamned patience. In fact, if things kept like this, he was gonna do it anyways. Vision looked at her uncle, smiling. During the time speaking to Jasmine's family, he decided to put a spy ear in his ear; sort of a hearing aid, so if he ever caught them saying anything funny, he could call them on it...and record it.

“Ara? Don't worry, she doesn't need to keep an eye on me, I can take care of myself. I may be small, but my mom's a police officer,” he said, looking directly at Jasmine's uncle with the same idiotic smile on his face. It was the slightest hint of a lie; his biological mother was a police officer before she died, but dropping hints like that was just to try to make himself sound dangerous; which he was for other reasons. Bartiel had identified this man as their enemy, as far as Vision could figure, and so he was going to do everything he could to expose him as violent and abusive. Even if it meant making everyone hate him, that was alright.”

After that, Bartiel came out, setting the pot of garlic gravy in the middle of the table, before sitting down next to his brother.
 
Jasmine froze when Vision piped up about his mother, eyes locked on her plate as she tried to keep her heart from racing. Without even glancing up she knew her uncle was smiling, the same good-ol-boy smile he always had. "Well, seems the boy has sharp ears," Robert chuckled, just watching Vision and Bartiel before turning his attention to Jasmine. "I should be careful what I say, shouldn't I," he asked but it was obvious that the question was directed at the small girl still staring at her plate. Softly he ran a hand along the top of her head before leaning in and giving a light kiss to the top of her head, for all the world looking like an affectionate man but Jasmine could feel the fine tension building in his muscles before he relaxed an sat back, picking up his glass.

Translation: I should have warned him and know he's going to get revenge Jasmine groaned silently, standing quickly and picking up her plate. Taking Trisha's and Robert's since they were done eating she disappeared into the kitchen just in time to hear her mother let out a coo of delight as she sampled a bit of the gravy Bartiel had put out on the table. "This is absolutely delicious," Lilly purred, taking another small bite. "I'd love to get the recipe if you'd be so kind as to share." Grinning brightly at the boys she just smiled even as John shifted slightly, picking up his plate and following Jasmine into the kitchen.

Without a word he set his plate down on the counter beside his daughter before leaning low to speak in her ear. "You'd best keep an eye on your friends, I don't want them upsetting Robert. I don't want Trish to take the blame for anything that they've done, you know he'll take it out on her." Without another word he turned and left, leaving Jasmine standing beside the trash can as she swallowed her heart. Though her father would admit that Robert beat his wife he still seemed oblivious to the fact that Patrisha wasn't the only one that Robert would take his frustration out of. It didn't matter how many times Jasmine came home with bruises or small cuts, he still refused to believe that Robert was beating Jasmine as well.
 
Vision chuckled and nodded, the spy ear fully conceiled by his hair. “Yep! My senses are super-sharp, unlike four-eyes over here,” he said as he nudged Bartiel with his elbow. The redhead merely closed his eyes. “You will lose that arm and replace it with one of your freak creations,” was all he said stoicly as Vision glared at him. It was a neat little trick; by aiming hostility at eachother, they were pretending not to focus on their true enemy. To possess a united front, they would pretend to be enemies.

When Lilly spoke up and said it was delicious, Bartiel smiled. “Thank you. As I've said, I possess only three skills, and one of them is cooking,” he said with a small bow of his head. As John followed Jasmine into the kitchen, Bartiel almost frowned, but Vision put his foot on Bartiel's foot to try to calm him down. Bartiel kept quiet as he thought of things, not following them or even glancing into the kitchen.

After dinner had finished, Vision headed into the kitchen to find Jasmine, giving her a little bit of a smile. “So, your family seems nice,” he said, although he was halfway lying. The women seemed nice, but the men were assholes. Robert more than John, because Robert was obviously the abuser, but John was a total prick in his opinion.
 
The only time Jasmine had even stepped foot outside the kitchen during the rest of the dinner was to pick up people's plates once they were finished. Other than that she'd remained hidden, putting away left overs and stocking her fridge for the next few weeks. Hearing Vision enter Jasmine rolled her eyes and stuck her hands back in the steaming water filling the sink. "You're joking, right? My father is a complete ass and his brother is well....Uncle Robert. My mother is like a Barbie Doll: there's not really anything upstairs and she keeps that ridiculous smile on her face. The only decent one among then is Aunt Trish."

Turning her attention back to the dishes Jasmine focused all her attention on scrubbing a spot from one of the plates before rinsing off the suds and setting it in the drying wrack. She really, really didn't want to discus her family but there really wasn't a way around it since they were currently in the other room. Just as she was hoping that they were getting ready to leave she heard her father.

"Jasmine, I thought you said there was dessert," he piped up from the couch. Jasmine just sighed shoulders dropping before she suddenly tensed. "I'll help her get things ready," Robert offered, standing up from one of the chairs and walking towards the kitchen. "I haven't gotten to spend any quality time with my little niece for a while."
 
“I'm trying to be quiet about that,” Vision said, frowning as she'd mentioned that the only one that was decent was her Aunt Trish. “I'm sure your parents love you in their own way...although I'm sure Bartiel wants to set your dad on fire. But that's not as bad a fate as he wants to give Robert. I'm pretty sure he wants to douse him in gasoline then set him on fire,” he said, before quieting, all the cheeriness leaving his voice. “I want to help.” Vision was being more serious than usual.

When Robert said that he'd help, Vision thought of what to do to try to help her out. Biting his lower lip, Vision tried to think of some way to help her, but in the end he couldn't. Softly, he reached up to rub the back of his head. “Maa, maa~ Alright, I guess family should help eachother...” he said, slipping the spy ear out of his ear and slipping in the receiver for the audio recorder. He almost shiverred with mild surprise, hearing the soft sound of it moving around in the cloth of her pocket. As he returned to the front room, he hoped that wouldn't get in the way.
 
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