A/N - Whew! I ended up rewriting about three quarters of this scene and gave it more heft this time around. I decided to dig in deeper with the brothers, Sebastian and Farid, and it was fascinating to see what bubbled up to the surface!

*****

With his arm resting behind his head, Sebastian lies propped up on a bunch of throw pillows scattered on Farid's bed. He's fiddling with his phone and "sort of, but not really" watching Farid pack for his mission.

"So, what did you and Father talk about?" Sebastian asks glibly, pretending as if he's so engrossed in his Insta feed, he can't be bothered to look up at his brother.

Farid doesn't respond immediately. Instead, he keeps moving around the room, gathering up clothes and toiletries and stuffing them into his duffel bag.

Sebastian's been in a crappy mood all day, and he's been taking it out on Farid. Usually, it doesn't bother him. As a Second Son, it's an unwritten rule that you're not only expected to be a consiglieri to the First Son, you're also his shrink.

So by now, Farid has learned that all he has to do is: say as little as possible, nod his head a few times for effect, and then inject his real thoughts or counter-arguments into the conversation somewhere, but in the end tell Sebastian he's right. And then later, Sebastian will circle back to him and start complaining again. But by that point, he will have arrived at whatever conclusion Farid had planted earlier, but think it was his idea all along.

However, today, it's just too much and his brother's antics are starting to wear thin.

Farid finally responds. "When?" he asks cooly, as if he doesn't know exactly what Sebastian's asking. "You mean on Friday?" He makes his voice as flat and icy as Sebastian's is, just so he can annoy him. Yeah, that's right! He can play the 'I'm too chill to care' game too.

"Of course, Friday," Sebastian snaps, his voice taking on an irritated tone. "You know, when you and Father basically abandoned me!"

"Oh, c'mon, Bash!" Farid shoots him a dubious look. "We didn't abandon you."

"That's precisely what you did!" Sebastian argues, propping himself up into a sitting position. "You two were gone for, like, half an hour!"

Farid's head rolls back and he looks up at the ceiling as if he were praying to the gods for a moment's peace. After a beat, he says, "He asked about you, you know."

Sebastian straightens. "Father? He did?" He's so eager to get even a scrap of validation from that man, he practically holds his breath.

Farid sees the look on Sebastian's face, and his heart breaks a little. He hates how their father plays favorites with his children, especially his sons. And the mere fact that Sir Geoffrey does it largely to get underneath Lady Brigette's skin is so fricking twisted. It's like a game those two play. But the sad part is, no matter who wins, Sebastian pays the price in the end.

Farid blows out a slow breath.

"Uh, yeah..." he says, tentatively. "I think Father's a bit concerned."

"Concerned? Concerned about what?" Sebastian's brows dip.

"Well, about you," Farid says as he re-folds the shirt he's been folding for the past five minutes.

"Oh, yeah... right!" Sebastian scoffs. "Father? Concerned about me? Ha! That's a good one!" He slumps back against the wall and resumes pretending like his phone is so fascinating.

"That man wouldn't care if I lived or died," Sebastian mutters bitterly. Then, he holds up a finger and adds, "Oh, wait! Scratch that! If I died, Father would be annoyed since our school fees aren't refundable."

"Sebastian, please..." Farid pleads, trying hard not to get into it with his brother. "You know father loves you... well, in his own way. But I mean, seriously, you're his son and his first born at that."

"That's not true, Farid!" Sebastian says, dismissively. "You know I'm nothing more to that man than a constant reminder of the wife he loathes but had to marry for the sake of the family."

Farid closes his eyes, and then, after a moment, opens them up again. He takes a long, hard look at his brother, then quietly says, "Bash, I know Father's harsh on you sometimes. But he's doing it to try and push you to work harder, you know, be the best man you can possibly be." Farid rests a gentle hand on Sebastian's shoulder. "Think of it as him nudging you out of your comfort zone to help you mature."

Sebastian brushes Farid's hand away. "...nudging me out of my comfort zone." He snorts and rolls his eyes. "You know, Farid, this paperback psychology is getting really old." Sebastian looks down and continues to mess with his phone.

An uncomfortable silence passes between them before Farid decides to change the subject.

"So, what are you going to do with yourself while I'm gone?" he asks playfully, trying his best to make his voice sound light-hearted, even though he's physically and emotionally exhausted.

"I don't know." Sebastian shrugs. He sets his phone aside and swings his feet onto the floor. He stands and stretches, then walks over to the window. Tracing his finger along the worn wood of the window pane, he stares down into the courtyard, then says over his shoulder, "I'll probably train, work out, sleep in if the Masters go easy on us because we're down to six students and such." He shrugs again. Still staring out of the window, he says, his voice low and mournful "What else am I gonna do?"

Farid raises a brow. He can continue to indulge Sebastian's self-pitying behavior, or he can try to stop it by telling him the truth. He goes for the latter.

"Maybe, while we're gone, you could try getting to know some of the other students better?" Farid offers. "With fewer students around, it might be easier for you."

Sebastian turns and leans back against the wall next to the window. His arms are folded behind him, propping him up. By the look on his face, he seems to actually be considering Farid's suggestion. But then after a moment, he scowls and catches his brother's gaze. "Why would I do that, Farid?

Off of Farid's confused expression, he continues. "I'm being serious. Why? Why should I do that? It's not like the other students are eager to get to know me any better." He can't help but pout. "It's you everyone's interested in anyway."

In response, Farid wants to throw his hands up in defeat and concede to the gods, screaming, "That's it! I'm so over this!" But instead, he takes a deep breath and carefully sheaths the daggers he'd been cleaning, comes over and sits down on the edge of the bed.

Over the years, they've had many, many, many versions of this same conversation: why does everyone love you and not me?

And Farid gets it. Sebastian suffers from social anxiety, so it makes being a First Son that much more difficult for him. When you're a First Son, you always have to be "on," you're constantly on display, and you're always the first one into the room, where everyone proceeds to, not so subtly, judge you. And--by custom--the spotlight is also relentless, shining down on you wherever you go.

It sucks!

And Farid knows he's damn lucky that he doesn't have to deal with all that crap because as a Second Son, while he also has to represent the family out in public; unlike a First Son, all that's expected of him is to protect his brother--in all and any way possible--and not get so drunk or so high that he ends up burning down the building by nightfall.

He's tried so many times to get Sebastian to seek out some counseling or find a small and discrete support group he could work with. Even just reading books or articles about his condition would help. Then, maybe he could learn better ways to cope with, or even someday, overcome it.

But Sebastian is so deep in denial, instead, when he's confronted with new situations where people might be watching him, he tends to go in far too strong--guns-a-blazing--and ends up rubbing people the wrong way.

Farid leans forward, resting his forearms on his thighs and says earnestly, "Bash, if you really want people to like you--especially someplace like here--then maybe you could stop being aloof and looking down your nose at them all the time?"

"I don't do that!" Sebastian retorts, indignantly.

Farid buries his head in his hands. Then, he scrubs his face and runs his fingers up through his hair. Lifting his head, he says, "Look, Bash, we're gonna have to be here for a very long time. So, it might be to your benefit to--"

"--my benefit to what?" Sebastian spits out as he pushes himself off the wall.

Farid stands and spreads his hands, helplessly, before him and says as calmly as he can, "Sebastian, I'm just suggesting that while I'm gone, maybe you could make an effort to, you know, let your defenses down a bit, not be so guarded all the time."

Sebastian shoots Farid an accusatory glare, then starts to pace the floor. Under his breath he mutters, "While you're gone... while you're gone... Ha!" He punctuates this with and angry shake of his head. "No. No. No. This is so messed up, you realize that don't you?" Then, he stops and faces Farid. Leaning in, he thumps his chest for emphasis and growls, "I should be the one going on this mission, not you!"

"Whoa!" Farid holds up his hands and takes a step back. "Dude! Where the hell is this coming from?" he asks, genuinely bewildered.

Sebastian starts to pace the floor again, then finally, he throws up his hands and cries, "I just don't get it. Why are they sending you out on this first mission, huh? Tell me that. I'm the one who almost died fighting a demon!" His voice rises. "I'm the one who put his life on the line to save a Wolf Shifter--and of all people--Jake!"

Farid stares at his brother intensely. This is really getting out of hand. While his brother is renowned for his outbursts and temper tantrums, this one feels different--less like a tantrum, and more like a breakdown.

"Okay, Sebastian," Farid says softly. "I get it. You're frustrated and angry. Look, we can talk about this all you want. But first, can you just dial it back a bit?"

"Don't tell me to dial it back!" Sebastian shouts, and he does it so intensely he's bordering on becoming unhinged. "You say you get it, but how could you?! I'm angry, Farid. No, I'm beyond angry! And quite frankly, I have every right to be!"

He stops and stands in the middle of the room, now muttering instead of shouting. "I mean, why did Headmaster Pierce pick you for this first mission and not me?" He asks. "Tell me that, huh? Why did he make that choice?"

"I have no idea, Sebastian." Farid shrugs, defeated. "But I'm sure he has his reasons. Maybe he wanted to give you a break, you know, some time to recover from the attack?"

"Give me a break?! Please...!" Sebastian waves Farid's suggestion away. After a beat, though, he posits, "Maybe Headmaster Pierce has some sort of agenda? What do you think?"

Farid doesn't respond. Seriously, how the hell would he know?

"Or do you think Father had something to do with this?" Sebastian asks.

"I don't know, Sebastian," Farid moans, exhausted by this conversation.

"This is so unfair," Sebastian mutters, gritting his teeth. "This is so gods-damn unfair. I can't take it anymore!" Then, without warning, he whips around, his arm jutting out, and he knocks the contents of Farid's dresser, including his backpack, onto the floor.

Farid pops off the bed. "Dude, watch it! My phone's in there!" he yells, as he tries to catch his backpack before it hits the ground. Unfortunately, he misses and it hits the floor with an unsettling thud. He rips open the backpack and peers inside, assessing the damage, and making sure his stuff wasn't totally trashed and his phone wasn't broken.

"Yeah, yeah... sorry about that." Oblivious to what he's just done, Sebastian walks in ever tightening circles, muttering to himself, "I'm sick of this. Just sick of this! Why doesn't anyone ever recognize the good that I do, huh? First Father and now Pierce! I tell you I could save this entire gods-damn planet from annihilation and no one would give a shit!" Sebastian is visibly shaking with rage. "Do you realize that?!" he shouts. "I'm so tired of being invisible!"

"Okay, okay... look," Farid says, his hands before him. "I know you're frustrated. I understand, honestly, but I--"

"But you what, Farid?!" Sebastian interrupts. "How could you possibly understand?" he asks, contemptuously. "You're the 'Golden Child,' you're the 'Good Guy,' you're the one everyone likes, right from the get-go."

Farid blinks, stung by his brother's words, and getting kind of sick of being Sebastian's fall guy.  

While Sebastian whines about a lot of things, especially when it comes to what Farid would call "likability." But this time, he's crossed a line.

Farid tilts his head and bites back. "You know, Bash, maybe if you'd stop being an ass for like, I don't know... a nano-second, you could be popular too!"

"Oh, that's such bullshit!" Sebastian roars. "As far as everyone is concerned, you can do no wrong. Me, on the other hand... well..." He stops and faces his brother, staring him dead in the eyes. "I always get the short end of the stick!" He points an angry finger at Farid. "Listen to me," he says. "Just for the record, this is technically my mission, not yours. You got that? My mission." He thumps his chest. "It's my right since I'm the First Son!"

Shocked that Sebastian would go there and literally pull rank on him, which outside of formal functions, Sebastian never does, Farid narrows his eyes and leans in close to his brother so now they're only a few inches apart. "That's right, Sebastian!" he says, his teeth clenched and jaw tight. "You are the First Son of our family." He pokes Sebastian's chest--not to hurt him but to emphasize his point. "So, for once, why don't you fucking act like it!"

Stunned, Sebastian just stands still and blinks. It's all he can do. Farid has never blown up at him like this before. Never!

At a loss as to what to say in reply, Sebastian huffs indignantly. His mind is so frazzled right now that he can't think of a response or retort to throw back at Farid, especially since, deep down inside, he knows his brother's right.

So instead, Sebastian whips around and begins to stomp towards the door. But he stops inside the door frame, one foot in the hallway and one still planted firmly in Farid's room. He looks back at his brother with taut, narrow eyes, filled with anger but also with pain.

Swallowing hard, Sebastian points at Farid, shooting him something between a smile and a sneer. Then, he says, "Have a good trip, brother!" and adds more ominously, "I'll be so happy upon your safe return home!"

With that, Sebastian slams the door behind him as he goes.

*****

A/N - Oy! It's super late and I'm beat. But I hope you enjoyed this episode. :-)

I just love writing about family dynamics!

~ Paula 🧡