The perils of parenting a professional thief 😏🔐 #SciFi #MMRomance #MFRWhooks

After getting a call from the Thieves' Guild Academy that Senth had been suspended from school, Luc had to hop between planets and fly home. Now, dinner over, father and son finally talk. This scene takes place on the planet Kelthia in Luc's home.

There's no rule. I checked.

Luc and Senthys cleaned the kitchen after dinner while Wulf napped on the couch. For once, Senthys didn't argue over homework and he completed his academic lessons without difficulty. Luc practiced with him for the Level 14 Advanced Pickpocket exam he'd take next week.

After Luc put Senthys through his paces, he clapped his son on the shoulder. "Excellent work. No doubt you'll pass with a perfect score."

"Thank you, Sen'dai."

"According to the Headmaster, you have the highest aptitude in the Academy."

Senthys shut off the learning pad and picked it up. "He always talks to me like I'm a screw-up."

"That's because you insist on pranks and foolishness."

"Okay, yeah, I like pranks, but I'm no screw up."

"I agree with you there. So suppose you explain to me how you got suspended from the Thieves' Guild Academy for stealing ice cream from the lunch room."

"Oh, that." His son made an off-handed gesture. "One of my friends got put on punishment for not studying, even though he knows the material perfectly. They told him he couldn't buy ice cream for a week."

"How does that involve you?"

"Well, they didn't tell me I couldn't buy it for him."

Luc rubbed his mouth, leaning back. "The way Headmaster de Laney tells it, you stole the ice cream."

"Yeah, but only because he punished me for buying it for him. That wasn't fair. There's nothing in the handbook about not stealing ice cream. I checked."

How like his son to know precisely how far to push the rules. Toes right on the line but never going over. Luc waited to see if Senthys would say more.

"You sent me to the Academy to learn to be a professional thief, yet stealing from them is against the rules?" Senthys folded his arms. "Explain that if you can."

Luc opted for the answer that would end the conversation fastest. "The headmasters don't like anyone working the system and showing them up. You know what that means?"

"Yeah. Exactly. Don't get caught again."