First Demonic Dragon

"… I do not like 'dates'." Bash said flatly.

"Why?? What exactly is so wrong with this?"

Bashenga surveiled the sight in front of him.

His sister had taken him to a beach located a few hours away from their home.

Glittering pink sand adorned the shore as far as the eye could see, and the crystal blue waters created from the efforts of the twins and Tatiana were indescribably beautiful.

Thea, Jasmine, Nita, and Sabine were all sitting together in their swimsuits and lounging atop a large beach towel.

Light finger food and champagne were being passed around by the girls as they cutely fed each other and enjoyed the light buzz from the alcohol.

Through all of this, little Bashenga sat all by his lonesome beside the campfire; wearing a pair of 'baby-dragon' swim trunks and a scowl.

"…Your incessant need to show affection doesn't amuse. I had not thought I were capable of witnessing more needless pet naming and groping than our parents could produce, but you've successfully outdone them in ten minutes. Well done, sister."

The sarcasm within his voice was so thick it had hips.

Thea smiled bashfully as she tucked her knees in to her chest.

"You'll understand when you're a bit more sociable, little brother. Loving and being loved is an exquisite experience few people will ever get to experience. I'm lucky enough to have found it, so I want to enjoy every second of it until the end of time."

It did not escape Bashenga's notice that Thea said 'when you're a bit more sociable' instead of 'when you get older'.

Ironically, she was the first of his family who did not seem to overly treat him like a child.

It was more appreciated than she knew.

But he still wasn't that big on her displays of affection.

"Spare me those needless notions… Your love will not aid you in life. It is a momentary distraction from the grander picture."

"Love is what you make it, dear brother. For some, it has no place in the photograph. For others, it is the entire scene. Both are fine, and neither vision is less valid than the other."

Bash stared at his sister hard until his vision changed and he could see the flow of energy in her body.

Just like when he tried this ten minutes ago, he saw a dramatic abundance of chaos energy, a wellspring of mana, and that was it.

There was no divinity anywhere.

"…Are you sure you aren't a love deity? That seems like exactly the kind of noise I would hear one of them spout."

Thea's wives glanced at her out of the corner of her eye while the blonde girl just shrugged her shoulders harmlessly.

"I spend a lot of time with our father and our mother, ya know? (Eris) It's hard not to pick a few things up when you listen to those two, especially when they gush about each other."

Bash's expression temporarily soured- an occurrence that Thea did not miss.

"For someone who was only born two days ago, you seem to have a lot on your mind. Care to share?" She asked gently.

"If you two just want to talk, we can leave you alone for a bit too if it helps." Jasmine offered.

Bash continued to stare at his feet with his little arms folded.

The girls had nearly gotten up to leave when they heard him speak out for the first time.

"I believe I might have earned our father's ire, but I am unaware as to how. But he seemed quite dismissive of me before I returned home."

Thea rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"Think you might've upset dad, huh..?" She muttered. "By chance, you didn't say the words 'Go dogs' or 'War Eagle', did you?"

Bash tilted his head. "What do those phrases mean?"

"Nothing. Absolutely fucking nothing." Jasmine interjected.

"Reel it in, babe…" Nita reminded.

"S-Sorry, my bad…"

Thea shook her head. "I-Ignore that. Why don't you just tell me what happened from start to finish, yea?"

Bashenga did as he was asked and retold events exactly as they happened.

Among his many perfect attributes; memory just so happened to be one of them. (Not really, but everything that just happened was still fresh on his mind.)

"…And then he told me that it was late and I should go home. Finally, I ran into you and Sabine." He finished.

Even with the waves crashing against the sea rocks, the beach was somehow deathly quiet.

None of the girls had yet to say anything after Bash's story; making him wonder if he had in fact said something wrong after all.

"Bashenga…" Nita began. "How much do you actually know about father-in-law. His history I mean."

Bashenga shrugged. "He shared with me over half of his past, including how he met our mothers."

"R-Right, but was there anything about his childhood in there? Specifically his human one??"

Bashenga thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.

"No, there was not. Is it significant to this current situation?"

"Very…" Thea scratched her cheek uncomfortably as she tried to think of a good point to begin.

"Erm… Well for starters, our dad had two childhoods. One with Grandpa A and Grandma Yara, and the other… was with his human parents."

Bashenga raised a brow. "…I had not heard of this. Where are they now?"

"W-Well… the thing is that dad's human parents were very sick. They couldn't even take care of themselves, so they certainly never did right by him.

Dad doesn't want us to see him as weak, so he never tells any of us exactly what happened, but we know it wasn't picture-perfect.

Apparently dad got kicked around a lot and was even tossed out of the house several times when he was barely older than Courtney.

It's how he met Grandma Imani. She was his only refuge back then and it's not a stretch to say that she saved him."

That was an understatement.

Imani's attempt to 'raise' Carter was the only thing that kept him from becoming an angry, hate filled person who resented the entire world.

It was no surprise that Bash didn't know about any of these things.

Because most of the Tathamet children still do not know.

It's not a story Abaddon particularly likes to share, because he already knows that he hasn't nearly begun to work through it.

Among the kids, the only ones who actually know what happened are Thea, Apophis, Gabbrielle, and Nubia.

"…I see. So when I said I left my children to fend for myself, he.."

"Probably started thinking about his own father, yea.." Thea nodded. "From what I understand he was a real violent guy. The kind I wouldn't waste a second thought on killing."

Thea shook her head when she thought of how her father must have suffered for all of those years; with his only confidant being a water spirit he was convinced wasn't even real.

It was awful, and she would have given anything to save him back then.

"When I think about what he must've had to endure, I can never find it within myself to be upset with him when he's overbearing. He's just trying to be the kind of father who he would have needed as a child." Thea explained.

Bash's mind was swimming with thoughts and emotions as he replayed his earlier conversation with new perspective on his mind.

And yet, there was still just one thing that continually stood out to him about all of this.

"I still don't understand… We are not human children that need his constant supervision or protection. Why must he treat us as such?"

"That's just part of being a parent, Bash. You worry about every little detail of your children's lives from the minute that their born and you never stop even when they're old and grey. I like to think that when I have my own child, I'll probably be the same way."

Thea suddenly reached across the flames and lifted Bash up into her arms.

She held him up above her head as if she were getting a real chance to look at him for the first time.

"The point is, we have a really great dad.

He may not get everything right, but he's tried his best to raise all of us the only way he knows how.

And if we needed something, anything, he would be the first person to tear all of the realms apart.

You have a lot to learn about our family history, but I remember what it was like to be defenseless with no one in the world to care for you.

Because of that, I'll always be grateful for him. Just because of what he can do for us, and what he would do."

Bash understandably went silent in the aftermath of Thea's gentle talk.

The girls returned to their date without missing a single beat, and they were even kind enough to include him.

As Nita hand fed chocolate strawberries to the adorable infant, he said words that he never believed he'd utter in between bites.

"Perhaps… I should apologize."

Thea smiled as she temporarily pulled her eyes away from Sabine's cleavage.

"I think that would be very nice of you, little bro."

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