BLACK VOSS: ACT 1

11

Andre was learning new things about the Voss family everyday that it was almost frightening. They were loud, and active. Even Isa, who was more soft spoken, could be heard across the room occasionally. They were all headstrong and stubborn, never wanting to admit defeat. But he was still curious about their hair.

One morning, while he and Isa were making breakfast he asked. "So, you all have white hair?'

"Yes, besides Miki's of course." said Isa, flipping the eggs.

"Really?" Andre hand never heard of anything like that. "That's amazing."

"My great-great-grandmother and father carried the gene, being born with platinum white hair." she stated, "Then she had my great-great-grandfather, he came out with white hair as well. So it's a dominant trait. People in our family tend to marry others with white hair as well."

Andre was fascinated, and a bit worried. Lucio never told him about his heritage or family tree much, not that he had to. But it was interesting to know about.

"So you're spilling family secrets now?" Dante entered the kitchen already grumbling.

Andre had only met Dante once, but it was enough to keep his distance. The man was as tall as him, six feet and a few inches. But he was clearly bigger, his muscle popping in his shirt, as if showing off. The time they met they had bumped into each other in the hallway. He went to apologize but the other man just shot him a grimace, as if he wanted to kill him.

Andre vowed to stay away from him.

Isa grew quiet, "I was just answering his question."

"Stop being so buddy-buddy with him," he ordered, "We don't know anything about him."

As fast as he was there, he was gone, snatching a plate of food from the counter.

Isa let out a breath before cooking again. "I'm sorry about him, he's...territorial."

Territorial was not the right word for it, Andre would say the man was possessive. He didn't know much about family dynamics, but he was sure this was not right.

Dante acted as if he were some alpha male. He was traditional in gender roles, about where everyone should be. If you're a man you're on top, everything else is weak in his eyes. He looked at you by your status, not the person and that caused issues in the week Andre stayed.

He didn't help out in the house, using his status as an excuse. He didn't help cook or clean, and didn't let Tai help ever, constantly misgendering her. Andre didn't get why chores and basic functions were such an issue. The man even got pissed at him when Andre offered to help in the kitchen. He berated his sibling and cousin for letting strangers ruin their family. And that was only the start of it.

Dante tried to bark orders at people, as if he could. He tried to control people who could go and be, what they should and shouldn't be doing. He tried to stop Genesis from fighting, saying that women can't fight. But she didn't pay them no mind, walking away as he shouted after her. She had been training with Lucio, always being an avid gym goer, so to try and stop her passion was not going to happen.

And what made Andre furious was how he left all the child care to his wife, who was clearly tired. They had two children together, May and Takeo, twins. Miki was an amazing mother, always there but not Dante. He spends most of his time in his uncle's messy office, trying to be the boss. He would make his wife run around and get him things, ordering her like a slave. He hated it, especially when he talked to his children.

Andre himself was a single father. He knew how difficult it was to raise a child with an absent parent, and how tired he was when he was alone. The comments were the worst part because he received the same.