Deal

“You'll really leave my family alone?” You are skeptical. It does not seem like a real offer. Even Sam seems to be surprised that you are humoring it to this extent.

“Yeah.”

“What do I have to do, if I take the deal?” As you begin to negotiate Sam gains a growing sense of satisfaction. The man crosses his arms and stares up at the ceiling in thought.

“I'd say it's negotiable. Your mother isn't a ****, so you wouldn't be, either. At the same time, I'd expect a bit of effort and respect.”

“Effort and respect...” You huff and shake your head. It is hard to believe that you are considering this option at all. As you appear to be convincing yourself off of it, Sam interjects.

“Listen, you're having second thoughts? You've already started negotiating. I'd say that means you are decided in whether or not you can. Now it's just a matter of price. So what's the price?” He looks at you with a smug grin.

You stare back at him somewhat defiantly. He is not wrong. There is a world where the terms are enough in your favor that it is a very easy sell. Thinking about it, those terms are pretty clear.

“No touching without my permission. You can't **** me to do anything weird for you and you absolutely have to give up on my mother, or anyone else in my family.”

Sam nods slowly. “Let's bare this out.” He walks into the study and motions for you to follow him. As if he already knows his way around the desk, he reaches into the drawer and pulls out a piece of blank parchment, then finds the pent soaking on top of the desk.

“No touching? What does that mean?”

“No touching.” You state clearly.

Sam exhales lightly in a sort of pre-chuckle. “Well, does this count as touching?” He places a fat hand on your shoulder and pats it. A gesture that would probably not phase you at all in your day to day life. You furrow your brow.

“I guess not?” You admit.

“What about this.” He lifts his hand and pats you on the head. You shift uncomfortably, but not because it is inappropriate. More just that the sort of near-tussling motion begs far more familiarity than the two of you have. Sam removes his hand.

“Okay that's fine... But I don't care for it.”

“So when you say no touching...” He trails off. His point is made.

You blush and try your best to clarify. “Below the- the shoulders.”

Sam lifts his brows and writes that down. “Definitely no touching below the shoulders without permission. Got it. Is that good for you?” You stare at the page for a moment and consider the words. It looks correct. You offer a short nod.

“Good. So, no touching below the shoulders. Next you brought up 'not forcing you to do anything weird.'”

You narrow your eyes at him. “You're really going to go this in-depth? I think it is pretty obvious what I mean when I say weird.”

“I don't know about that. You said no touching but there's some that we found out is fine, so I wanna bare this out. I'm a contract man. This stuff is important to me, as it should be to you. This is good for you, right?” You reluctantly agree with that sentiment. You guess that vagueness, while providing a net to catch anything you would not think of, can also be the smoke that obscures some other shadiness.

“Fine, fine.” You wave your hand dismissively.

“Good lad.” Sam pats you on the shoulder somewhat cheekily. You can tell by the look on his face that it is very purposeful. You grumble as he continues.

“So what does 'weirdness' mean?”

You wish you did not have to specify, because weirdness is weirdness. It is more the case that you would know it when you see it, hence the vagueness.

“W-well, let's just say that I'm obviously not willing to uphold the same expectations you'd have of my mother.”

“Not willing to be ****.” Sam specified. You think it is a strange thing to clarify, but agree.

“So, no... Sex? No favors of that nature?”

You cough and sputter at that. “Definitely not!” He writes that down.

“No sleeping in the same bed?”

“I was going to grab a room at the inn, if anything.”

“No, you'll sleep here. But, I suppose you'll probably wanna use your old room?”

“Yes.” He writes that down as soon as you respond. You cringe and note that he so easily got you to agree to stay in the house by providing a concession with the demand. Sam, you realize, truly is an adept businessman. You have a slight sense for these things, having grown up around your mother. She is another person you consider to be quite adept at business.

“Your mother prepares meals and cleans the house. You prepared to do that stuff?” Sam asks. You open your mouth to protest, but before you can get a word out he quickly interjects.

“Keep in mind, if I don't like this deal, I go back to fucking your mom.” He smirks.

“And maybe more?”

The implication is obvious and cooking and cleaning are not too egregious. “Yes, fine. Those are fine.”

Sam nods and asks smugly. “Anything else you can think of that you don't want me to **** you to do?”

You sigh deeply, staring at the page. It dawns on you that anything that is not on there is something that is on the table. If it is not a deal you want to take, you know that you can simply turn it down and leave things as is, but the reason you are negotiating is because you see it as an option, with the right conditions.

“You can't **** me to skip training. You can't **** me to do anything that interferes with training.” You add. He writes that down.

“I think that is all.” You say hesitantly.

“Great!” Sam writes a quick agreement under all of the stipulations to make it a contract and dots a line at the bottom.

“Just sign and it'll be done. I wont be a problem for your family anymore.”

“Just me...” You mutter, taking the pen from him. Sam lets out a short laugh and watches you sign.

“Good signature. Nice writing.” He compliments, resting a hand on your shoulder. He squeezes it uncomfortably and moves it up and down.

“Thanks.” You utter flatly before handing the tool back.

Sam walks you out of the house. The two women slowly became three while you were negotiating. Your sister Fiona, Marrien and Kara are all conversing. You are pleasantly surprised to see Fiona, but not so much under these circumstances as Sam is standing beside you in the door with the contract in hand.

“Marrien, you're out.”

“What!?” The beautiful older woman that is your mother stares daggers at Sam, then questioningly at you.

“Don't worry. Our business is still on and there are no consequences. You're just free.” Her expression softens at that statement. She begins to show signs of relaxing. Fiona seems overjoyed, on the other hand.

“But.” They flinch at that 'but.' It always means something bad when someone punctuates good new with that one word.

“I'm keeping the Manor, since we kinda agreed on that end and this guy is staying with me.”

Marrien is completely taken aback. Fiona is just confused. Kara seems to be the only one that is not phased in the least. She simply nods along with the developments.

“This complete bull-” Marrien began harshly before being cut off.

“Now now. It's all in writing. You'll let the boy leave home to become an adventurer but you wont respect this decision to stay? I don't think so. Who do you think the law will side with?” That shut her up. She is annoyed, but can not seem to argue her side. She gives you one last harsh stare.

“Fine! I'm going to go get a room, then.” Marrien grabs Fiona by the wrist and drags her off the property.

“M-mother? Wait!” The two women slowly leave, despite the younger one's protests.

Now it is only you, Kara and Sam standing around. “This isn't gonna interfere with training, right?” She asks carefully, giving you and the fat man a look.

“I made sure it would not.” You offer.

She shrugs. “Oh, okay. Sounds good. Where should I stay?” She glances around.

“You can stay here, if you want. There's a-”

“You can stay at the Inn! Catch up with my mother, I'm sure she'd be happy to help you out.” You say quickly. You did all this to get your friends and family out of this man's clutches. You are not going to save a mother and deliver him a master.

“We can figure out where to train later. I'm sure there is somewhere out in the woods that is good enough.”

Kara looks around slowly and almost sniffs the air. “This place is actually pretty good.”

“What?” You question, approaching her.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” She says seriously.

“I dunno how, but this plot next to the house is rich in natural mana. We can train here. I'd prefer not having to travel too much. Also, hot meals, comfort and all that.”

You plant your face in your palm and exhale. “Alright. You win. We meet here to train every day. I made sure nothing would interfere with it.”

She cranes her head to look over your shoulder at Sam. “I could just make this guy disappear, you know?”

“No! That's not right. That's not how humans do things.”

“Right. Humans choose to suffer because they give weaklings disproportionate power to what they'd have in nature. I get it, sort of.” Kara looks down at you with a cheeky smirk.

You glance back at Sam. “I'd love to continue this philosophical discussion, but I made my choice and now I need to deal with it.”

“You did make your choice. I'm surprised.” She offers cryptically.

“Why?” You stop backing away towards the house.

“In putting yourself in what seems like the worst position, you may have stumbled upon the best situation. If you play this right it could work out for everyone involved.” She explains.

“Do you know something?” You stare at her.

“Did you look into my fate past this point?”

“That's not how this works.” She looks up in thought, tapping her chin. “Things I know: That human wants to do naughty things with you. You did something to separate him from your family, which seems like a good move to protect them from him since I can kinda tell he'd wanna do naughty things with them” Kara smirks.

“It may be hard to understand, but you made a situation where everything that happens is in your hands. It's bold and I like it.” She lowers her hand and offers you a thumbs-up.

You stare blankly at her. “I don't get that at all.”

Kara leans in. “You don't have the sense, so it's hard to explain, but for those who want to control fate, it's all about putting yourself between the things you care about and the calamity. Risk and reward.”

You continue to be baffled. “Calamity? This man is just a bore. What are you talking about? I'm saving my family, sure. I agree.” You concede out of frustration. Making the deal has flustered you somewhat. After stopping to think for just a moment you adds.

“Did you put yourself between what you care about and some calamity?”

Kara tilts her head to one side quizzically. “No, my fate is in the hands of another.”

“Who?”

She smiles. “I have to go catch up with your mother at that inn, right?” She backs off quickly and begins jogging to trace the path of Marrien and your sister. Now it is just you and Sam. You turn to look at him.

“Awful quiet out here with no one else around.” He comments idly.

“I guess...”

You shut the door behind you. “You know your way around the house better than me.” Sam states as an off-handed way of saying to make yourself at home. He wanders upstairs and shouts down.

“I'll typically take dinner in an hour.” The way he says it does not sound like a suggestion.

“Yeah, right...” You mutter under your breath. You are not as concerned with that as you are setting yourself up in your room. Though you called it your old room, you have barely been gone a couple weeks. You slowly begin ascending the stairs. As you turn you stop, stunned by what you see. Framed by the door into what was your parents room you get a clear view down the hall of Sam with his pants off, dick in hand. Your jaw drops. The man did not bother closing the door or anything. He is simply sitting on the edge, stroking without a care in the world. The only thing you catch before you avert your gaze is how large it is. Even as flaccid as it is while he is trying to stroke it hard, it still dwarfs yours.

“Insane.” You grunt, quickly making your way forward while shielding your eyes.

“Something wrong?” Sam asks facetiously. You ignore the question and take the turn into your room, closing the door behind you. Very little has changed since you left, as would be expected. The only thing different about the house is Sam's presence in it. That being said, it is a huge difference. The man has an overbearing presence in the small manor. Just the sight that you witnessed is enough to make you not want to leave the room at all. Unfortunately, it is not your choice. A few minutes into unpacking your things you hear a knock at the door. Hoping he has the sense to get dressed, you open it.

Your hopes are dashed as the gross fat man stands in the hall naked. “Please tell me this is not going to become a thing?” You beg.

“It's how I like to walk around my home.” Sam states without an ounce of shame. You immediately begin to regret the deal you made, even if all it means after this point is having to endure a roommate that walks around like this at all hours. You are sure you are not so lucky, however. As the door remains open you smell a waft of some strange, foreign herbs. It is certainly nothing that has ever grown in the garden around the side. You have smelled all of those once or twice, without a doubt. No, it is an odd, innocuous scent that smells almost of nothing. It is just present as a thick, warm mist that wafts past you.

“What is that?” You question.

“Just incense. Don't worry too much about it.” Sam claims.

You feel like now is the perfect time to start worrying about every little thing that Sam tries to introduce to you, but you are not sure how big of a deal a little incense could be.

* * *

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