Fine I guess I'll write all the angst for this damn fandom

Businessman

Shaking on his bed, chest heaving in broken sobs, eyes stinging because this was the first time he'd cried since he couldn't remember when, was Felix.

He had wanted to impress Father, he really had. Father was not a very affectionate person, so praise from him was certainly something Felix wanted. But the other man's demeanor, comments, and outright demands ranged from questionably legal to definitely not legal, and Father didn't seem to want to do anything about it.

He knew it was only because Father trusted that he could do things on his own. But Felix failed him. And because of what? Fear? Fear all from a mild suspicion?

Okay, the suspicion wasn't that mild. It wasn't mild at all, in fact; he was almost certain that man was not to be trusted. But people had said the same about his father, and they were clearly wrong.

He remembered being in the office. The room itself gave off a threatening air of importance and superiority. Looking at it, a person could definitely tell whom it belonged to. Along with him were his father and his potential ally, a very tall, dark haired gentleman. He gave off a bit of a mad scientist vibe, and Felix had known a lot of mad scientists. Hell, he even went to school with one!

They were having a certainly important conversation that Felix was ashamed to admit he paid little attention to. No, he was distracted, paying more attention to the man before him. The scientist (definitely a scientist, Felix decided) had an odd look in his eye that he couldn't describe. He didn't like it, for sure. It made him feel uncomfortable.

But a good businessman didn't choose allies based on personal taste alone, and Father clearly seemed to trust this man, so Felix trusted him too, as much as he was able to.

Still, he did stay a bit closer to Father than he normally did.

When all was said and done and hands were shook, the man let out a hearty chuckle, saying something along the lines of well it was a pleasure doing business with you two while placing a hand on Felix's shoulder, and he tensed up, not knowing why, nor knowing why everything in his mind seemed to simultaneously speed up and instantly stop. Doubt and fear and unwanted memories flooded through him, trains of thought crashed and burned, and thoughts zipped through his brain at a mile a minute, but the only thought that rang clear was that he did not want this man to touch him.

Instinctively he jerked back, batting the man's hand away, and accidentally bumped into his father, who grabbed his upper arm while glaring at him disapprovingly.

"Mr. Norwood." His voice was like ice. "I apologize for my son's misbehavior. You are dismissed."

He chuckled. "Oh, it's no bother! It was a pleasure being here, it truly was." And he departed.

Father waved politely as he left, but dropped the act once he was gone. He turned to Felix, who couldn't meet his gaze. "Young man, have I not taught you the proper etiquette for dealing with potential business partners?"

"Yes, you have, sir." He didn't look up.

"Then what, pray tell, was that?"

"I'm sorry, sir. I was simply-"

"No excuses, Felix."

He shrank back even more, if that was possible. "My apologies. Am I dismissed?"

"No," and Felix was afraid, very much so, of the angry tone and the icy glare and the imminent punishment for his insolence, he shouldn't have done that and now he was paying the price- "now turn around," and GOD it hurt, it still hurt and it's been two hours, but he had been foolish and he deserved it.

It was just proper discipline, he figured, and someday he'd be grateful that Father had kept him in line. It was certainly going to be useful later in life, and he was sure Father knew that.

So why was he still crying? It definitely wasn't very businessmanlike. It was the kind of thing Father would scold him for. The kind of thing Father had scolded him for. And yet here he was, sobbing into his pillow. How was he supposed to win Father's affection like this?

But he couldn't stop. It was as if all the pain, all the heartache and tragedy of fourteen years had built up, and the fear and pain from just two hours ago was the straw that broke the camel's back, and everything came crashing down, emotions came flooding out, and there was nothing he could do to stop them.

He considered talking to his brother about it, but as low as he felt, he was still above taking emotional advice from Teddy. At least he and Father had that to agree on, even if they didn't always see eye-to-eye. You'd think that Felix would always agree with his father, he was practically his clone, but no, there were many times where he questioned Father's motives. He was never vocal about it, of course, speaking out against Father would surely result in punishment, and Felix was an intelligent child.

Usually.

He supposed this time had been different, this time he'd let his feelings get the better of him, just like Teddy always did. He silently swore to himself not to make a mistake like that again. It was just a simple touch, just a hand on his shoulder, nothing malicious, in fact, that was usually a friendly gesture. There was no need for his mind to overreact and compare it to that. It was a severe overreaction, and a severe lapse in judgement.

Once he had no tears left to cry, he fell asleep, which was most definitely easier said than done. He usually slept on his back, but that clearly wasn't an option here, nor were his sides, so he laid on his stomach, which was uncomfortable because he was so unused to it.

Eventually, things wouldn't have to be this way anymore. Eventually, he would impress Father enough to earn what he's been so desperately seeking his whole life- a "good job, son," or even an "I'm proud of you."

Someday he'd be the perfect businessman.