after too long, his beloved son returned home.

finally.

the door opened, and who else would be there to greet boruta other than the man who'd been trying to reach out to him for years.

"bo."

his lips curled into a smile, though it lacked warmth that might've once existed.

"welcome home."

boruta maher

☉

home.

all at once, when he saw his father’s smile, the anger in his brow softened. instead, it was sadness that settled behind his gaze.

“dad.”

the corners of his own mouth lifted the slightest bit with reluctance, if only to appease the sweet memory of his mother.

“thanks. can i come in?”

CIAN MAHER

☉

anger softened, and his smile only grew.

"what, no hug for your old man?"

he extended his arms out in a mindless gesture, but they lowered not long after.

taking a step to the side, he gestured in.

"of course. it's still your home, isn't it?"

boruta maher

☉

bo considered it, but his father’s arms lowered before he made up his mind, and he wasn’t heartbroken over it. he moved in, past him, and breathed in the familiar air of his childhood home.

“yeah, i know, pops.”

it was comfortable, and made him think of his mother.

and that made him angry again, but he pushed it down somewhere else for now, for the sake of peace. these walls weren’t for fighting in, after all.

“sorry for not coming by sooner.”

was he, though, really?

CIAN MAHER

☉

a dismissive hand waves as he stepped into the living room. in it, a fireplace burns, filling the room with a slight ashy scent.

"it's in the past."

he settles into his chair, gesturing towards the couch.

"i heard you've met your little sister."

boruta maher

☉

when his father gestured to the couch, he immediately expected to be led into a talk in which the man would defend his actions, until bo’s pain and frustration with the situation was forced to be buried.

his face was different than it typically was, and he had unhidden bitterness in his eyes.

”yeah.” his tone was sharp. ”she ended up on my porch by herself. she said caden and cian sent her.”

he looked down at the floor, brow furrowing. then, he said words with an attitude he hadn’t taken towards his father since his young teenage years.

”why the hell do you wanna talk about it now?” he dared to look over at him, expression not letting up. of course, bo would have brought it up if he hadn’t, but now that he had, and just because it had been so nonchalant… ”just because you can’t hide what you did anymore?”

sorry, mom.

CIAN MAHER

☉

"that's what you're here for, isn't it?"

to confront him. he had expected as much; his son's return home was long overdue for multiple reasons.

at bo's words, he couldn't help but sneer, distaste clear in his voice.

"i chose not to hide anymore."

boruta maher

☉

now that the dam of his demeanor had cracked, it was growingly difficult to will the frown from his face. the anger. resentment, even, that had built over the two years he’d spent alone and considering his actions and why he’d taken them in the first place—at least as far as rocket went.

he shook his head, boiling, now answering the question yet. his father’s sneer was fuel on the fire. after a moment, he looked over, challenging. their father would be one of the largest obstacles in getting cian out.

he had become the enemy.

there was no attempt to hold his tongue this time.

“that’s pretty convenient timing, isn’t it?”

sitting up taller, he then unleashed his reason. “i’m here because you beat up cian.” fire raged. “but finding out that you cheated on mom was gonna come up eventually too, yeah.”

CIAN MAHER

☉

he scoffs, forcing out a chuckle as his gaze cut across the room.

"you still believe everything your brother says to you? do you know exactly just how much he lies?"

his head tilts, watching the way bo sits up taller as though it'd be enough to challenge him.

"do you really think i'd hurt my own son?"

but the evidence is as clear as the bruises that taint his knuckles.

boruta maher

☉

something in his stomach knotted. even at twenty-nine years old, he couldn’t be quite sure when he was being manipulated—not by his father, at least.

the fire in his eyes wavered. bo had always sorely lacked a poker face, and his moment of weakness was fully on display, especially to one who knew every pressure point.

his stare didn’t leave, though, and after a moment, he caught himself. no. he was committed to this.

“you’ve been hurting everyone for years; so yeah. i do.”

he didn’t need to see father’s knuckles. he’d seen his brother’s eyes.

he inclined forward in his seat, not getting up, but inching closer from across the room with arms propped on his knees.

“tell me you didn’t.”

CIAN MAHER

☉

he almost hisses, dismissing as he waves his hand. a feigned expression washes over his features, one that looks to further crumble the steely resolve his son's so desperately trying to uphold.

"i'm hurt, bo, that you'd think i was capable of such...brutality."

his voice lowers just a little.

"i love cian. i'd never hurt him unless i had to."

boruta maher

☉

the wrinkle in his forehead intensified a little. “yeah, ok.”

papa maher’s capability of such things was part of what had placed him in rocket to begin with—things he and his brothers had been meant to pick up on. bo had taken exceptionally well to the violence, before calling it quits. he knew too well how rocket operated in that way.
still, if there was anyone to blame, it was the man who had led them astray.

unless he had to.

“you never had to.”

maybe that was unfair in some way, but his father had several close lives to pay for. regardless of what the punishment would've been otherwise, bo blamed him for the years that led up to it.

he repeated himself.

“so tell me you didn’t.”

CIAN MAHER

☉

despite the sigh that escapes, whatever expression he wears continues to hold, weathering out the questioning to come out relatively unscathed.

but there's no use avoiding it, not when they both know the truth.

so, it's with the same hushed voice that he says:

"he forced my hand."

and meeting bo's gaze, he frowns.

"i hated every moment of it, i assure you."

boruta maher

☉