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“This is bullshit!” Fergus shouted, stomping into his room.
Jamie rolled his eyes, walking in behind him. “Watch the language. Yer already on thin ice, lad.” Jamie warned, pointing a threatening finger at him.
Fergus jumped onto his bed, standing up on his feet and glaring down at his father.
“You can’t ground me for simply speaking my mind! Bree was being a cun…” Fergus paused when he saw his father’s eyes darken, threatening him to continue.
“…a bitch.” He corrected with a soft huff. Jamie narrowed his eyes at the boy, turning him to the side.
“No. Sir.” He said, swatting him with each word and standing him back up on his feet.
“Ye’ will not speak about yer sister that way. Ye knew better than to provoke her after she said she had a bad day.” Jamie scolded him.
Fergus crossed his arms. “She threw a shoe at me!” He complained.
“That was after ye started teasing her when she told ye she wanted to be left alone. Ye just continued picking a fight with her, though!” Jamie said.
On top of that, Fergus had been reading her diary, and then he had the nerve to threaten to throw it in a nearby lake after sharing whatever secrets she held in there.
Now, would he actually do that? Well…possibly. However, Fergus felt that she was overreacting regardless. Bree was his big sister, this was basically a rite of passage!
“It’s not my fault that she cannot seem to take a joke, monsieur!” Fergus exclaimed with a shrug, as if his rudeness was truly out of his hands.
Jamie knelt down so they were at eye level, glaring right into the boy’s eyes.
“Listen here, lad. I wilna put up with the fighting and shouting that yer mischief is sure to cause. Bree may be yer’ sister, but she is quite capable of truly hurting ye, and ye certainly do not want that.” He warned him.
Bree, bless the lass, was going through a lot. Being a teenager wasn’t an easy time, and having a bratty younger sibling messing with you didn’t help in the slightest.
Jamie and Claire did their best to keep the tensions low in the house, but siblings would be siblings. Willie would be a nuisance on occasion as well, but he and Bree were typically on good terms.
He was certainly her favorite brother, with the other option being Fergus, whom she had an overwhelmingly negative opinion on nine times out of ten.
“Fergus, Bree told me to tell you that she hates you.” Willie said as he stood in his brother’s bedroom doorway. Jamie facepalmed at the little instigator.
“William, that is not necessary.” He sighed, already feeling a headache coming along.
Fergus scoffed. “Oh, did she?” He said incredulously. “Well, she actually said something dirtier, but I didn’t want to say the exact words in front of father.” Willie said.
Jamie exhaled through his nose, massaging his temples. “Thank ye, Willie. Go on, then.” He said dryly, nodding at the door.
Willie turned and left, personally quite amused.
What? He was bored and Claire was busy calming down Bree in her bedroom, so he couldn’t even do anything entertaining with them.
Jamie focused back on his other son, giving him a pointed look and placing his hands on his shoulders.
“Ye are going to apologize to yer sister, and ye are never to rummage through her belongings again.” He said firmly.
Fergus stomped his foot, clenching his fists. “But that’s not fair! She is just being overly emotional like she always is! She’s going through what the French call, ‘la puberté’, and it’s a terribly awful time. She is just taking it out on me!” He exclaimed.
“Aye, she is going through a terribly awful time, and ye are not doing a single thing to make it any easier on her.” Jamie scolded. “I’m warning ye, lad. If I hear about ye giving yer sister hell, I’m going to-“
“-take ye o’er my knee and bare yer backside ge bith càite an seas thu. I’m aware, papa.” Fergus rolled his eyes, reciting the threat from memory.
Jamie suddenly felt his palm itch. ‘Ohh, the wee brat…’ He thought in irritation.
“Those eyes are about to be staring at the floor rather than rolling in a moment.” Jamie warned, his patience long gone.
There was a long silence, and for a moment, Jamie thought that he had finally gotten through to the boy. Perhaps the back and forth was truly over…
“Now, like I said-“
“Connard.” Fergus mumbled under his breath.
And then, just like that; Jamie was done.
Fergus yelped as he was immediately scooped up from under his armpits and laid over his father’s lap, his trousers and undergarments being whisked straight down to his knees shortly afterwards.
“I can see that ye aren’t in the mood to chat.” Jamie said, lifting his large palm and landing it with a sharp smack across Fergus’s pale behind. Fergus let out a loud shout, kicking his legs in response.
“OW! AIE! PAPA, ARRÊT! ÇA FAIT MAL! AIE AIE!” Fergus exclaimed as his bottom was attacked by a flurry of painful swats.
Jamie truly tried his hardest to remain patient with him, but his son was as stubborn as he was adorable.
“Bien.” Jamie said, keeping it short and simple. He was no longer in the mood for speaking; oh no, they were long past that point. It was now time for action.
Fergus cried out, his legs reaching new heights behind him as they swung wildly.
Jamie shook his head and promptly tossed one of his own legs over both of Fergus’s. Fergus didn’t like this at all, letting out a frustrated huff.
“LET ME GO! NOW!” Fergus wailed, as if he had any kind of authority whatsoever. Jamie couldn’t help but snort.
“Ye do not tell me what to do, Fergus Claudel. Let me make that very clear right now.” Jamie said sternly, smacking at his sit spots.
This, of course, earned him a loud shriek from Fergus. “AAH! N-NON! NOT THERE! AIE! OWW!” He cried. Jamie continued landing fast paced swats, spreading them out evenly.
Soon, Fergus’s bottom was a light shade of pink. “I deserve your respect, lad. Yer sister deserves respect, as well. She is allowed to have privacy, and she shouldn’t have to worry about ye messing around with her all of the time. You’ve gone too far this time, Fergus.” Jamie lectured, his palm never seizing.
Fergus let out a wet sob, tears rolling down his cheeks as he held onto his papa’s knee. “W-We always m-mess with each other! W-Why is sniff t-this time any d-different?” Fergus whined.
“I know ye both argue and have typical sibling banter, but ye know she is having a very sensitive time right now. Feeling left out by her peers, becoming self conscious, she’s going through a very confusing time in her life, son.” Jamie explained, resting his hand on the boy’s back.
Perhaps that was why Fergus hadn’t stopped messing with her; he didn’t understand that Bree was truly at her limit.
He might have thought that it was just their every day run of the mill situation where one of them did something to piss the other off, and then they’d go back and forth for a while before forgetting about it and moving on.
Unfortunately, Fergus wasn’t doing himself any favors by not heeding his parents warnings.
He had to learn his lessons the hard way, sometimes. Fergus and Claire were both well equipped to deal with him, though. Now, Fergus was understanding where they were coming from.
“M’s-sorry, Papa! I s-shouldn’t have c-called you hiccup t-that filthy word…” Fergus apologized tearfully, his bottom lip quivering.
Jamie silently let out a sigh of relief. Finally, they were getting somewhere.
“I accept yer apology, lad. However, ye owe another one to yer sister. M’sure she would appreciate it, along with yer word that ye will go easy on her and be a bit more understanding, yes?” Jamie asked.
Fergus nodded. “O-Oui, papa.” He said softly. Jamie knew that it was time to wrap up the punishment.
So, he landed the last final swats, leaving the boy’s poor bottom a shade of crimson. He made sure not to spank him too hard, of course. Jamie knew how much each of his children could take, and he’d never go overboard.
Then, Jamie scooped the boy up into his lap and cuddled him against his chest, resting his chin on top of his soft curls.
“It’s over now. Tha e ceart gu leòr. Dìreach anail, leannan...” Jamie cooed, stroking the back of Fergus’ head and rubbing his back.
Fergus sobbed against his father’s chest, helplessly clinging to his shirt. He peacefully soaked up the comfort Jamie showered him with.
Although he hated spankings with a burning passion, he had to admit that he loved this part.
Fergus also loved his sister, and he didn’t want to continue riling her up…at least not right now. He would certainly keep what he and his papa talked about in mind for future purposes.
After he had run out of tears, he sniffled and relaxed against Jamie. They stayed like that for a bit before Jamie stood Fergus back up on his feet, correcting his clothing.
Jamie gently wiped the boy’s tears away with his thumbs before cupping his face.
“I’ll have to sleep on my stomach tonight.” Fergus said sulkily, a pout firmly in place.
Jamie couldn’t help but to give him a sympathetic smile. “You’ll live.” He said, giving him a soft kiss on his forehead.
Fergus groaned, gingerly giving his tender backside a rub. “Hardly…” He sighed, ever the theatric one.
Fergus knocked on Bree’s door, patiently waiting for permission to enter.
“Come in.” Claire’s gentle voice said. Fergus took in a deep breath and opened the door, sheepishly poking his head inside.
Bree glared daggers at the boy, her blood boiling at the sight of him. “Get out.” She growled. Claire gave her daughter a pointed look.
“Brianna.” She said firmly. “Come over, love.” Claire said, motioning her son over with her hand.
Fergus sheepishly shuffled over, looking down at his feet as he stopped in front of them.
“I…I just wanted to say that I am sorry for being annoying and getting you worked up and upset, Bree. I also won’t read your diary anymore.” He said.
Bree’s arms were crossed, looking at her brother with an unimpressed expression.
“You swear it?” She asked, looking him over with skeptical eyes. Fergus nodded, looking at her now. “Yes, I swear.” He confirmed.
Bree silently thought about it for a moment before sighing.
“Alright, I forgive you.” She said, her tone softening. “I don’t actually hate you, either.” Bree added with a smile, gently pulling the small boy closer and wrapping her arms around him.
Claire smiled, happy that her children had been able to work it out. Jamie walked in, smiling at the heartwarming sight.
“I see that all is well.” He said, wrapping an arm around Claire’s waist and gently pulling her close.
Willie walked in with jam covered lips, sticky fingers, and an armful of delicious jam tarts, a delighted grin on his face.
“I found something to occupy myself with!” He exclaimed cheerfully, taking a bite out of another one.
Claire’s jaw dropped. “William! You are going to ruin your appetite with all of those sweets!” She scolded the boy.
“Ye better have left me some!” Jamie declared. Claire narrowed her eyes at Jamie, because of course that’s what he’d be worried about. “Ahem.” She said dryly.
Jamie looked at her in confusion. “What? Oh, and ruining your appetite is wrong! Wrong, indeed!” He nodded.
Claire walked over and gently led the boy out of the room alongside her husband. “Let’s go wash those filthy jam covered hands of yours, then.” She said.
Fergus sat on the bed next to Bree with a wince, swinging his feet. “So, da really gave it to you, huh?” Bree asked, giving him a sympathetic look.
Fergus shrugged nonchalantly. “Ehh, it was not too bad. It hurt, but I took it well.” He said proudly. It was as if he hadn’t been wailing and pleading over his father’s knee a short while ago.
“I wish I could hurt that stupid Isobel.” Bree scoffed. Isobel was a conventionally beautiful, but really mean girl that was always mean to Bree and tried to bring her down whenever she could.
Lately, Bree had begun feeling really insecure about her height due to Isobel constantly pointing it out to insult her. She already felt like an outcast as it was, so Isobel’s treatment only upset her even more.
“Well, if you want to hurt her without getting your hands dirty, I recommend you go with the ‘dump a bucket of water out of a two story window’ route. That way, anybody could have done it.” Fergus advised with a cheeky smirk.
Bree lifted an eyebrow, returning the smirk. “I like the way you think, little brother.” She said. They both glanced at the door before giving each other a knowing look.
“You know, there’s church tomorrow. I could possibly persuade her into standing in a specific spot outside by writing a note saying that the boy she fancies wants to meet her there.” Bree said, beginning to plot with her brother.
Fergus grinned. “I could quickly drop the note off before service while you take care of the bucket of water.” He said. Bree chuckled, patting him on the back. “Now that’s a plan.” She said.
So, the two continued talking about the details of their scheme, their unpleasant feelings forgotten and replaced with mischievous playfulness.