#I’m more of a whiskey aunt than I am a wine mom
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Plus One
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Izzy & Meliorn ~ May 1st, Saratoga Springs, New York
“So?” Alec says tentative and a little nervous. He’s never had to give a wedding speech before and he can guarantee he’ll never give one as important as this. His baby sister will only have one wedding, god willing, and he wants to get it right.
Magnus taps his finger to his lips quietly the setting sun catching in his brown eyes as he leans against the pillar outside of the venue where the reception is being held.
“Pretty good, could be a little shorter though,” he settles on with a serious nod of his head.
“Shorter?” Alec says all nerves gone. “Magnus it’s not even five full minutes, I make it much shorter and it becomes a haiku.”
Magnus perks up with a smirk. “A haiku could be nice!” he says pushing off the pillar and stepping closer to Alec. He reaches out brushing something Alec was unaware of off of his shoulder. “People are here to dance and take advantage of the free bar, not listen to the Gettysburg Address.”
Alec rolls his eyes and brushes Magnus’ hand away. “I’m not making it any shorter, Isabelle will hate it if I keep it too short and if I upset her I’ll get that disappointed head tilt that Meliorn gives when anyone makes her sad, you know how bad that head tilt is.”
“It is very judgmental, makes you feel like you kicked a puppy,” Magnus says before tilting his head towards the entrance. “Come on you better get in there.”
Alec nods shaking out the last of his nerves and following Magnus into the hall beautifully decorated like some sort of magical forest.
The first few hours of the reception are a blur, Alec makes his speech and Magnus raises a glass of champagne at him with a wrap it up gesture that has him barely containing his eye roll while letting out a chuckle that eases any lingering nerves he has about the whole thing. After that he loses track of his friend, being passed around from family member to family member inquiring about his obvious lack of a date and plans for the future.
Eventually he finds himself at the bar finally shaking the grilling of his great aunt about the nice man from church she knows that’ll be perfect for him. Meliorn sidles up next to him flipping their complicated braid over their shoulder.
“Finally shake great aunt Emma’s love connection attempts?” they ask pausing for a moment to order two glasses of wine.
Alec nods taking a sip of his whiskey, “I thought I was going have to physically fight her to leave me alone.”
Meliorn hums in understanding. “Give her till the day after the wedding and she’ll be hounding Isabelle and I about having children, that should lighten the burden on you.”
Alec snorts. “Damn is she going to be more disappointed with that venture than she is with her failed attempts at setting me up with every gay man who so much as smiles at her.”
Meliorn smirks a little as he accepts the two glasses of wine from the bartender and turns out to face the dance floor.
“We’ve been debating whether lying and making her think we might have them or being truthful about our complete lack of ever wanting to procreate is better,” Meliorn says taking a sip from one of the glasses. He looks out at the dance floor watching mesmerized as Isabelle glides across the floor dancing with their little brother Max. Alec smiles, he’ll never stop being so endlessly happy for his little sister finding someone who adores her the way Meliorn does.
“Either way we’ll figure it out together,” Meliorn says finally pulling their gaze away from the dance floor. “Speaking of together,” he says looking over to the right where the singles table sits. “You should go check on your boy.”
Alec looks over and sees Magnus slumped over his head on the table and his fingers gliding along a few too many empty glasses.
Alec turns ready to correct Meliorn on the ‘your boy’ comment, but they’re already gone sliding over to hand the second glass of wine to Isabelle. It’s not the first time since Magnus moved back to New York that Meliorn or a number of others have made such a comment.
He and Magnus aren’t together, not like that. They’re old friends and that’s all. They’d met in college when Magnus had briefly dated Alec’s roommate, in the short tenure of that relationship they became closer than Magnus had with his roommate and from there they’d just stuck, their friends’ groups crossing over and even hooking up like Izzy and Meliorn eventually had.
Their friendship became distant after graduation though Magnus moving to London for work made them more email on your birthday friends than anything else, until nearly six years later he’d made his return to New York. They’ve been pretty tight since then, but more and more lately as all their college friends have paired off and they near thirty people seem to assume he and Magnus are a thing.
He’s not quite sure when the shift occurred for everyone else and why exactly it happened. He’s shaken from his thoughts about it however when he watches Magnus attempt to stand and he practically falls right back into his chair far less graceful than he usually is.
Alec discards his glass and heads for the table arriving just as Magnus attempts to stand again. Magnus stumbles a bit and Alec catches his arm just in time preventing the fall.
“Woah there, maybe it’s time we cut you off,” Alec says as he stabilizes Magnus.
Magnus looks up at Alec confidently. “I’m fine, Alexander,” he says closing his words out with a hiccup at the end.
Alec snorts. “Sure you are,” he says. “Let’s get you to your room.”
Magnus shakes his head furiously and then looks like he instantly regrets it pressing a hand to his forehead.
“Don’t have one,” Magnus says with an overexaggerated sigh.
“You don’t have-,” Alec starts and sighs. He shakes out his arm and looks at his watch. It’s nearing midnight, the reception is already pretty empty, his mom and Luke are some of the only one’s still here dancing with Max to a song he knows for a fact his little brother requested, and he’s fairly certain Isabelle won’t be offended if he takes his leave.
“Just wait here a second,” he says settling Magnus back down into his chair. Magnus salutes him playfully before resting his chin on his hands.
Alec walks over to where Isabelle is tangled together with her partner. Meliorn whispers something in her ear and she giggles into his shoulder. It’s such a beautiful, private moment that he loathes to intrude, but he also knows he’ll never hear the end of it from her if he just leaves without a word.
She waves him off before he can fully explain the situation getting up from her spot on Meliorn’s lap and hugging Alec tightly. He moves back over to the table where he left Magnus, ruffling his little brother’s hair as he passes by him.
Magnus hasn’t moved an inch and for a second Alec wonders if he fell asleep.
“Magnus,” he says startling him upward. He attempts to stand but sways a bit again and Alec puts an arm around his waist stabilizing him. “Come on let’s get you out of here.”
“So handsy,” Magnus says with a chuckle. Alec just huffs out a laugh and tugs him along. The hotel he’s staying in is luckily only next door and aside from stopping Magnus from chasing down a cat they see in the alleyway they make it there without incident.
They’re quiet as they walk into the lobby. Alec looks to the elevator a line of people waiting and sighs pulling Magnus along in the hopes that he can handle the stairs.
“Where are we going?” Magnus asks finally saying something as they start up the steps.
“My room since you didn’t deem to get one,” Alec says moving so Magnus goes up the stairs first that way he can catch him if necessary.
Magnus wiggles his eyebrows with a giggle and Alec just rolls his eyes once again at his drunk friend.
"And why didn't you get a room?" Alec asks as he helps Magnus up the stairs.
"Because I had intentions of catching the bus back tonight," Magnus says with a confident smile right before he stumbles over a step making his recovery look impossibly elegant despite his state. Alec holds his hands out hovering over him just in case, but Magnus keeps going. “Which I still could you know,” he adds on.
Alec shakes his head even though he knows Magnus can’t see him. “No way. It’s late and I am not letting you get on a bus alone and drunk, I already had to speak at a wedding I’m not speaking at your funeral too.”
Magnus snorts as Alec pulls them to a stop on his floor. “You’re not allowed to speak at my funeral, you’ll talk too long,” he says with a bright smile as Alec tugs him along down the hall to his room.
“Still on that, huh?” Alec says as he checks open the door with his shoulder and guides Magnus inside.
Magnus walks directly over to the bed and falls backwards onto it. He groans as he lays an arm across his eyes. “The singles table sucks, I wouldn’t have drunk so much if I wasn’t so heavily reminded of my terminal singlehood all night,” Magnus says with a sigh.
Alec walks over and sits down on the bed beside Magnus he reaches out a hand to pat Magnus on the shoulder the best he can.
“I get it,” he says sympathetically. He does get it, he’s been to his fair share of weddings solo, tonight he just had the luck of being a part of the wedding party instead of being relegated to a table with a bunch of other rejects he doesn’t really know. The older they get the more he realizes that he seems to be one of the only ones not settling down, each new wedding invitation he receives is a reminder that he hasn’t had a relationship go beyond a few dates in years.
Magnus sits up holding his stomach a bit as he does.
“I’m gonna get you some water,” Alec says heading to the bathroom he returns a moment later with a glass and some Tylenol in hand. He holds both out to Magnus and he takes them gratefully.
“Thank you,” he says before downing the whole glass of water and both pills.
Alec just nods and heads back into the bathroom to change into sweatpants and t-shirt discarding his suit. He grabs an extra t-shirt and some running shorts. He leans out the door and tosses them onto the bed beside Magnus startling him from another micro drunk nap it seems.
“You need to sleep,” he says. “Get changed, I’ll take the floor, you take the bed.” The last thing he sees before giving Magnus his privacy is a pout on his face as he looks down at the clothes beside him. He waits a few minutes before heading back out to find Magnus, clothes changed and sitting cross legged on the bed under the covers on one side.
He lifts his head up and smiles at Alec then immediately puts his head back down with a groan.
“You gonna be okay?” Alec asks as he walks over to the bed. Magnus just waves Alec off with a hand not lifting his head back up.
Magnus takes a moment to compose himself as Alec grabs the second pillow. He moves his bare feet and feels satisfied with the feel of the carpet under him as a sufficient place to sleep.
"Alec. Alexander. Alexander Lightwood," Magnus says after a few more beats his head in his hands.
"Are you just saying my name for fun or," Alec says trying not to laugh at Magnus as he struggles with his words lifting his head successfully this time.
"You can't sleep on the floor. You're 7 billion feet tall, you'll never fit," he says gesturing to the room at large.
Alec laughs at that and Magnus glares.
"One I'm literally only like four inches taller than you and two I think the floor has plenty of space," he says tossing the spare pillow down.
"Nope come on," Magnus says tossing aside the covers on the empty side of the bed.
Alec sighs. He knows he's not winning an argument with a drunk Magnus they may not have been bff’s in college but he's seen that determined blurry look in Magnus eyes before and he's lost the battle every single time be it over which drive through place to hit up or how many games of beer pong is too many games of beer pong.
He sighs picking up the pillow off the floor and throwing it and himself down dramatically next to Magnus.
"If you throw up on me I'll never speak to you again," Alec says as he gets comfortable.
Magnus rolls his eyes and settles down as well. "So dramatic," he says as he snuggles into his pillow. "I'll have you know Mr. Lightwood I haven't thrown up for any reason alcohol or otherwise related since 2003."
He reaches a hand across the bed bopping Alec on the nose. Alec scrunches up his face at the action as Magnus giggles, a cute little titter than Alec can't help but smile in response to.
"Vomit free since '03, my friend," he says proudly before promptly and immediately falling asleep.
***
The next morning Alec wakes up with Magnus impossibly sprawled sideways across the bed his legs strewn across Alec’s chest, his head dangerously close to falling off the side of the bed. Alec just shakes his head and slides out from under him heading downstairs to grab some of the continental breakfast for the both of them.
Magnus is awake by the time he gets back, looking impossibly good for someone who’s hungover and slept in their makeup. They eat quietly in companionable silence before Magnus drags himself into the shower.
Alec gets dressed while he’s in there forgoing a shower of his own in favor of getting on the road early so he can avoid any unnecessary traffic.
Eventually Magnus rolls out of the bathroom in the shirt and now wrinkled pants he’d worn to the wedding the night before and pair of sunglasses so large Alec has to laugh.
Magnus holds up a finger to him in warning and snatches the extra coffee Alec had picked up for him off of the tv stand before heading to the door.
Alec smiles, and only laughs a little bit all the way down to his car.
Magnus is quiet for the first hour or so of the drive sipping his coffee slowly and leaning his head against the window. Eventually he pushes the large sunglasses up on his head settling them in his messy, yet somehow still artfully styled hair.
“Thank you for last night,” Magnus says tilting his head to the side to look at Alec.
Alec shakes his head. “Don’t mention it.” He means it, ensuring the safety of his drunk friend isn’t a burden in any way.
“Well still, I didn’t intend to get so sloppy drunk last night and you saved me a lot of embarrassment and I appreciate it,” Magnus says.
“You may have not planned it, but I understand your reasoning. If it weren’t for the fact that I had to give that speech I would have been drinking right alongside you,” Alec says glancing at Magnus quickly with an understanding smile before looking back at the road. “I’ve got way too many of these things to go to this summer and I’m not looking forward to getting sat at the single’s table every time either.”
“I feel like I have like two dozen weddings to attend this summer alone, sadly you won’t be at every one of them to collect my drunk ass though,” Magnus says with a sigh.
“If you strategically plan out your drunkenness, I will be there for,” he pauses thinking in his head about the ones he knows they’ve both been invited to. “Five of them and I’ll make sure you don’t embarrass yourself too much. Well, at least not in front of anyone except me.”
Magnus laughs. “Ugh, from what I recall I wasn’t too bad, I’ve been worse,” he says in his own defense. “Hell, you’ve seen me worse.”
He has. Alec is to this day not a big drinker, but in college he always found himself dragged to some party with an empty red solo cup in his hand safely collecting his sister and friends at the end of the night.
“Like Omega-Phi senior year?” he says with a smirk referencing a specific evening he’ll never forget. Magnus however he knows doesn’t remember much at all, especially not the pants-less karaoke.
“How dare you?” Magnus says with a smile as he slaps Alec lightly on the chest.
“What was the song again, Spice Girls right? Not even one of their good songs too,” Alec teases, Magnus reaches out again smacking him a little harder this time. Alec playfully winces taking a hand off the wheel to rub at his chest as though it hurt.
“Spice Invaders is an underrated hit,” Magnus defends.
“It is called Spice Invaders it is absolutely not an underrated hit,” Alec says with a chuckle eyes on the road from the corner of his eye he sees Magnus roll his eyes.
They settle in quietly for a while after that Magnus looking brighter than he has since before the reception started the night before. They chat lightly for the rest of the drive on and off before Alec pulls up outside of Magnus’ building.
Alec gets out first, getting Magnus’ door for him. He stands gracefully not even needing the sunglasses anymore to block his eyes from the bright sun.
“So, I guess I’ll see you at Helen and Aline’s wedding in a couple weeks?” Alec says as Magnus stretches out his arms.
“Yeah, see you then,” Magnus says with a smile before turning and heading to his front door. Alec rounds his car once again when Magnus’ voice stops him as he opens the door.
“Alec?” he says turning back around the end of his sunglasses between his teeth clearly in thought. “What if we went together?”
“Went to what together?” Alec questions closing his car door and leaning his arms on the roof.
“Helen and Aline’s wedding, and well, all the other one’s too,” Magnus says stepping closer to the car. Alec raises an eyebrow and Magnus quickly adds on. “I mean as friends obviously, but we can mark the little date box on everything and not get stuck at singles tables.”
Alec takes a breath and thinks it’s not the worst idea. They’re close enough to keep each other company and play offense against any nagging relatives or friends that want to enquire on their singleness. Magnus is pretty much the only person outside of Isabelle he’d want to spend that much time with at events he only kind of wants to be at anyways.
“Plus,” Magnus continues on not realizing he’s basically already sold Alec on this idea. He reaches the car again and leans on the passenger side mirroring Alec. “We could split the cost on everything, rooms, travel all of it. Having a friend to get through it all and saving some money wouldn’t be so bad, right?”
Alec smiles with a shake of his head. “That’s a pretty great idea.”
“Really?” Magnus says a smile of his own forming on his face.
“Yeah, it’ll be fun taking on the hells of married people together,” Alec says. “Especially the straight ones.” He adds on with a laugh.
Magnus responds in kind before he rounds the front of the car, Alec does the same until they’re standing right in front of one another.
“So, be my wedding date for the summer?” he says holding out a hand to Alec with a smile.
“Only if you’ll be mine,” Alec replies taking Magnus’ hand with a soft agreeing grasp. And for the first time since each wedding invitation arrived in his mailbox he feels a little bit excited about attending each and every one.
***
Helen & Aline ~ May 15th, Napa Valley, California
Alec tosses his phone back and forth between his hands sitting on the edge of their hotel room bed. He hadn’t been expecting the news his mother just gave him. She’s getting married. It’s not that she and Luke haven’t been obviously in love for years now, but part of Alec thought she’d never take the full plunge again, not after how terrible her marriage to his father had been.
But she’s doing it and she’s not wasting any time already planning for the ceremony in October. More surprisingly she wants Alec to be her man of honor and to make a speech. It’s a big thing, a big thing that makes him even more nervous than speaking at Isabelle’s wedding did in some ways. For Izzy he had to get it right for what will hopefully be the only time, for his mom though this has to better than anything that was said at her first wedding considering how that turned out.
Magnus steps out of the bathroom looking damn good in white pants and a light blue shirt. Alec’s wearing a similar outfit just with a light pink shirt instead, as per requested by the dress code, and he feels like he looks ridiculous. Magnus looking as good as he does makes him feel this to be even more true.
“Everything okay?” Magnus asks nodding to the phone in Alec’s hand.
Alec nods. “Yeah, my, uh, my mom’s getting married,” he says and Magnus smiles. “She wants me to be her man of honor and give a speech and everything.”
“Woah, even after that long drudge at Isabelle’s wedding huh?” Magnus says jokingly.
“Ha, ha,” Alec says dryly with a roll of his eyes and Magnus just keeps that teasing smile as he rolls up the cuffs of his shirt.
“Let’s go we have to hike up like ten miles to get to the ceremony,” Alec says standing and pocketing his phone as he heads to the door.
Magnus follows and tugs the door closed behind him. “You’ll do great,” Magnus says more seriously, completely genuine as he reaches out flicking some invisible fuzz off of Alec’s shoulder.
Alec smiles thankful and holds out his arm for Magnus to take. Magnus doesn’t hesitate.
***
Alec and Magnus come to a stop when they reach the bottom of the hill that leads to the ceremony. Magnus slides his sunglasses down at the same time Alec does and admires the sprawling vineyard. Helen and Aline have gone all out or more likely it’s more Aline’s mother has gone all out. If she’s half as controlling now as she was in college, Alec assumes she did everything down to picking what underwear the brides are wearing.
“Who makes their guests walk a hill?” Magnus questions as a few other guests slip past them making their way up.
Alec shrugs and starts walking, Magnus falling in step right alongside. “You remember how Aline’s mom was in college, I’m sure she thinks this will build character for the guests or something.”
Eventually they make their way to the top of hill and find their seats. With all its sprawling beauty and extravagance the wedding is nothing but classy. Helen and Aline seem more and more in love every time Alec see them and in a way he envies that.
They have to make their way back down the hill for the reception and Alec only half-jokingly suggests that they just roll down. Magnus looks like he almost wants to do it.
For the most part the reception passes by quickly, they drink and catch up with old friends. Magnus even drags Alec out onto the dance floor a few times. It’s the most fun he’s had at a wedding in a while, all because he’s not doing it alone.
Every time the subject of his romantic life comes up Magnus is there to divert the conversation and Alec does the same for him, instead of being constantly reminded they’re single they have each other’s back the whole night.
“What about him?” Magnus says tilting his champagne glass towards the right. Alec’s eyes follow the motion to see a somewhat handsome dark-haired man at the end of the bar.
“I don’t know what about him?” Alec asks taking a sip of his drink.
“As a potential suitor,” Magnus says turning his attention back to Alec. “I figured being a decent wingman through this whole thing would be good compensation for the fact that I’m a bed hog.”
Alec snorts. There’s nothing in this world that would make up for that, that morning Alec had woken up with Magnus half on him and his own body half on the floor. Bed hog is an understatement to what Magnus somehow manages to do in his sleep.
Alec takes another look at the guy and grimaces a bit. “Pass, I try not to date men that look exactly like me,” he says. “Also, potential suitor, you’re such a nerd.”
Magnus flicks him on the shoulder for the nerd comment before taking another quick glance at the man at the other end of the bar.
“You’re right he’s like a less handsome you,” he says before scanning the room. “I’ll keep my eye out though.”
Alec has no interest in finding a potential suitor tonight, so he surprises himself and holds out a hand asking Magnus to dance just to distract.
***
“You know I’d say this was a complete success,” Magnus says later sitting cross legged on the bed while Alec packs for their departure the next morning. Magnus only teased him slightly for insisting to do this now and not wait till morning.
Alec looks up from his bag and smiles. “Yeah I had a lot of fun,” he says. Fun might even be underselling it.
“So,” Magnus says with a bright smile. “When’s our next wedding?”
***
Lydia & Raj ~ June 5th, Gatlinburg, Tennessee
“The gentlemen at the end of the buffet asked me to give you this,” Magnus says when he returns to their table holding out a pink napkin that smells of peonies to him. Alec takes it looking at a name and a few digits written hastily in black ink.
Lydia and Raj’s wedding has been a blast so far, everything here looks like a tricked out floral cabin and it’s perplexed them both to no end. The wedding itself has been the most heterosexual thing in human history, from the color schemes to the seventeen-tiered cake to the crazy scented napkins.
Alec never could have done this without someone else, specifically someone who’s not straight. Lydia has been a family friend since he was a kid, he’d even call her one of his closest friends if he really thought about it, but sometimes she’s so straight it baffles him.
Alec looks up at the buffet and sees the man in question, he’s tall, dark skinned and doesn’t look like Alec which is an improvement over Magnus’ attempt to get him laid at the last wedding. Alec vaguely remembers making some small talk with the man earlier in the night when Magnus had been engrossed in some conversation about art with Raj’s grandmother.
He gives Alec a bright toothy smile and Alec gives him a light one back pocketing the napkin. The guy seemed nice enough and is definitely good looking enough, but Alec doesn’t think he’ll actually utilize it. He isn’t however cruel enough to blatantly reject the man from across the room.
“I’m killing this wingman thing now,” Magnus says with a smile sitting down with a heavy plate of snacks for them to share. Under the plate is another napkin with the start of a number on it as well. Alec slips it out from under the plate and sees the name Abby written in bright red marker.
“Seems like you’re doing alright for yourself too,” he says handing the napkin over to Magnus. Magnus takes it from him with a shrug.
“The buffet was busy what can I say,” he says stuffing the napkin into his pocket carelessly. “Now try one of these little sandwich things, they’re to die for.” Magnus holds out one of the said tiny sandwiches for Alec and he leans over, Magnus popping the bite sized thing right onto his tongue with a smile.
They spend the rest of the night like that chairs close together, laughing and making up outlandish backstories for the stuffy rich people that surround them while snacking on every bit of free food that’s available to them.
“I’ve never seen a man look more like he’s the owner of a diamond encrusted toilet in my life,” Magnus says subtly pointing at a man on the dance floor who’s wearing an insane looking purple suit with a matching rhinestone hat. Alec’s not sure, but he thinks it might be Lydia’s uncle that runs a chain of furniture stores.
“Probably has a second one in gold too,” Alec says. Magnus laughs and looks down at their plate that’s been refilled too many times to count. The party is winding down, most of the guests starting to say their goodbyes and make their way back to whatever flowery cabin themed hotels they’re staying in.
It’s weird, but Alec kind of doesn’t want it to end, it’s something he’s never experienced with a night like this. It speaks volumes to the impact Magnus’ company is having on him.
***
The next morning they don’t even ask if the other had fun, it’s clear on their faces, it’s clear in the way Alec doesn’t even complain when he wakes up with Magnus hogging all the covers and his knee in his side.
This deal of theirs works, and it’s going to keep working for the rest of the summer without a doubt.
Magnus tosses a couple bottles of hotel shampoo into an open bag before he heads for the door his backpack slung over one shoulder. Alec looks around the room checking to make sure they haven’t left anything behind when he catches sight of the napkin from the night before on the nightstand and picks it up looking at the digits for a moment.
Magnus is already at the door back turned, his foot holding it open for Alec to follow. Alec looks at Magnus and then back down at the number. He bites his lip in thought for a moment before he crumples the napkin up and tosses it in the small garbage can by the table near the door.
He leans down to pick up their last bag that’s sitting beside it and catches sight of a second napkin next to his crumpled one. This one is barely folded with digits he doesn’t recognize on it and the last letters of the name Abby visible. He pauses with his fingers wrapped around the handle of the bag and looks up at Magnus who’s still standing in the doorway holding it open for Alec.
He thought that Abby was a sure thing, the woman coming around again later in the evening and asking Magnus to dance. Alec had seen them out there and for a moment thought he might be going back to their hotel room alone. He must have read it all wrong, he’s not quite sure why but he’s oddly pleased about that.
“You coming?” Magnus says turning back to look at Alec with a raised eyebrow.
“Yeah, yeah,” he says covering up his surprise at his find with a light cough and grabs the bag following after Magnus.
He allows himself a small smile all the way down the hall wondering if maybe he wasn’t the only one who had more fun with his wingman than anyone else last night. And that, that’s an interesting development.
***
Maia & Raphael ~ June 12th, The Ridge – Marshall, North Carolina
They spend the week between weddings constantly texting. Magnus is more than a little excited about this one it’s clear. Alec doesn’t know Raphael or Maia, but he’s heard a lot about them.
The flight to Asheville, where they’ll be staying and taking a wedding bus into Marshall for the actual ceremony and reception, is filled with Magnus telling Alec a thousand tales about the shenanigans he and Raphael have gotten up to over the years. Each new story, even if Alec doubts the full truth of some of them, makes Alec a little more excited for to meet him. Raphael is part little brother, part mentee to Magnus and it’s not lost on Alec that he’s delighted to see Raphael has found his match, found someone who doesn’t ask him to change anything about himself.
And his match she is, Alec sees it clearly when he meets the pair instantly getting along with the both of them. He and Raphael have similar grumpy demeanors that bonds them fast and Maia is a fiery soul that reminds Alec of his own sister. He gets Magnus’ love for them immediately and isn’t disappointed in the slightest when the four of them end up spending most of their time together.
They attend the rehearsal dinner for this one, while Maia and Raphael have opted for no wedding party Magnus is unofficially the best man. He gives a speech that night that sounds more eloquent than anything Alec could ever come up with. However, he doesn’t have it in him to not tease Magnus just a bit when he sits back down.
“Could’ve been shorter,” he says into his glass of water looking at Magnus playfully from the corner of his eye.
Magnus nudges him in the ribs lightly, “Shut it.”
The wedding the next night is beautiful. Maia and Raphael say I do just as the sun sets in a ceremony that is a perfect combination of Maia’s heathenism as she called it the night before and Raphael’s devout Catholicism.
Nothing is overly flashy or overdone despite the sprawling beauty of their location. The warm summer night drifts by easy and slow, Alec choosing to keep close to Magnus the whole night in favor of any sort of mingling.
“You two are great together,” Maia says smiling at Magnus and Alec as they chat with her under a sparkle of twinkling white lights.
“Oh we’re not together, together,” Magnus corrects her smiling at Alec quickly almost a little nervously before looking back at Maia. “It’s just like a friend thing, you know single people unite situation.”
“Right,” she says like she knows something they don’t know as her eyes pass between them. She doesn’t get to further on whatever it is she does seem to know though because Raphael finds them with a plate of food in his hands that he holds out to her like a precious diamond.
“Mi corazón,” he says looking at her with eyes so filled to the brim with fondness it seems almost impossible.
If he though Helen and Aline were in love-love these two are on another level entirely.
“Food! Real food,” she exclaims making grabby hands for the plate and digging in immediately. “You’re a saint, Raphael Santiago.” She adds on between bites.
Raphael rolls his eyes fondly wrapping an arm around her waist as she continues to eat. “I bring her one plate of rice and tamales and she’s putting me up for sainthood.”
They chat some more in the short time it takes for Maia to finish her plate of food before they re-enter the fray making their rounds to other friends and family. Magnus gets Alec out on the dance floor a lot as the night moves on.
First it’s a few fast songs that he just follows Magnus’ lead for and then a slow number that he can actually keep up with.
“I really like Raphael and Maia,” Alec says as they sway together, bodies close his hands linked together at the small of Magnus’ back.
Magnus smiles looking all too pleased. “Good, I’m glad,” he says slipping his hands down from behind Alec’s neck and to his shoulders. “They’re two of my favorite people in the world.”
Alec smiles, he can see why and says just as much. They fall back into a companionable silence after that just swaying to the sweet romantic song playing around them. He spots Maia and Raphael to their right not really dancing just holding each other and whispering things that makes the other laugh in each other’s ears.
“God they’re cute,” Magnus says looking at them too and then back at Alec. “I mean we’re cuter obviously,” he adds on quickly. “In a platonic adorable way of course.”
“Of course,” Alec says in agreement his eyes on Magnus. They hold each other’s gazes for a while till their swaying becomes more stagnant, more like they’re just holding onto one another.
“Alec,” Magnus starts and the music switches to something far faster paced, the dance floor getting a little more crowded. They pull back from one another and Alec lifts a hand to rub at the back of his neck, a nervous gesture he rarely does these days.
“I’m gonna go, uh, get another drink,” he says and Magnus opens his mouth to saying something but stops and just nods as Alec walks away.
Alec leans against the bar waiting for the bartender to spot him and runs a hand through his hair. He’s not totally sure what just happened, but he’s pretty sure that had that song gone on a minute longer Alec might have kissed Magnus. A tension has been building between them since Alec saw that crumpled up napkin next to his in the trash in Tennessee.
First the texts got more teasing, then there was the trip here that was filled with such joy and openness. And now, now there’s this lingering between them. They’ve been doing this thing as friends, but this trip has felt different this trip has felt almost like they were a real couple.
It’s a dangerous line to be playing at if Alec’s the only one feeling this way.
“Wanna get out of here for a while?” Magnus says pulling Alec’s head back upright. He raises an eyebrow in question.
“Evidently there’s a pool connected to the little hotel down near where the bus will pick everyone up and some people were gonna head over,” he explains and Alec nods his head. If Magnus wants to get out of here, Alec does too.
The pool is probably the least fabulous thing about this whole space, but that doesn’t deter anyone from jumping in fully clothed. Magnus introduces Alec around to few people that he knows making small talk before he himself hops in. Alec makes camp in a plastic chair at the far end of the pool watching as people slowly pair off one by one drifting down to the bus stop.
His eyes for most of the time stay on Magnus, Magnus who does a few laps and then lifts himself up with strong arms to sit at the edge of the pool chatting with a curly haired woman that Alec can’t remember the name of. She reaches out and brushes her hand across Magnus’ exposed forearm when he says something that makes her laugh and it sparks a twinge of jealousy in Alec’s gut that he’s never experienced before.
Magnus meets his eyes when he slips back down into the water and Alec looks away quickly.
“Alexander,” Magnus says slowly in a way that Alec doesn’t have the ability to ignore. His eyes return to Magnus’ the makeup around them a little smudged from the water and his once spiky hair is completely flat and pushed back away from his face. He looks impossibly good in the artificial lighting around them.
Alec’s always been aware that Magnus was attractive, he has two perfectly functioning eyes after all. But now here in this moment he’s never been more aware of the fact.
“Come on, get in,” he says and Alec shakes his head. A few others are lingering at the other end of the pool, but for the most part it’s just them. Alec’s not even sure what time it is, his phone discarded with Magnus’ dead one behind him.
He stands crouching over beside the edge of the pool with a shake of his head.
“I’m good staying dry,” he says and Magnus lifts up onto his elbows on the edge of the pool pretty brown eyes shining up at Alec.
“Come on, five minutes,” he says with a tilt of his head. “For me,” he adds on sweetly and Alec can’t resist.
“Fine,” he says trying to sound put out, but coming off fonder than intended as he settles down on his butt and takes off his socks and shoes. He slides into the pool next to Magnus and turns to him.
“There, happy?”
Magnus pushes off the wall and swims over till he’s hovering in front of Alec. “Almost,” he says just before he reaches out putting both hands on Alec’s shoulders and pushing him down with all his strength.
He submerges Alec and then swims away with a laugh. Alec pops up from the water shaking his head out like a wet dog and chases after Magnus catching him at the center of the pool by the ankle and pulling him back.
Magnus doesn’t fight it, just lets himself be pulled until they’re face to face again splashing a little more water playfully at Alec’s face.
“Really, Magnus?” he says with a smile splashing back at Magnus a bit.
“Really,” he says with a chuckle swimming around Alec once until he settles back in front of him. Magnus lifts his right hand from the water and pushes back the trusses of wet hair that have fallen in front of Alec’s eyes. His fingers drag through Alec’s dark hair and slowly move down across the shell of his ear and down till it’s settled on Alec’s neck. Magnus’ thumb falls a bit rubbing slowly at his exposed collarbone where Alec’s unbuttoned his shirt, his tie long abandoned.
Alec’s not sure which one of them leans in first or if it’s a simultaneous reaction, but between one heartbeat and the next their lips are a centimeter apart just about to touch when a loud honk breaks them apart.
“The bus,” Alec says as Magnus curses under his breath. They both swim to edge quick grabbing their discarded phones and shoes and making a run for it.
The bus is pulling away just as they reach the sidewalk, just far enough away that no one inside can see them.
Alec holds out his phone and sees the time, it’s just past midnight, he doesn’t know where the time went or how he lost such track of it. Magnus puts a hand on his arm and he is reminded of just why he lost track of it in an instant.
“That was the last one wasn’t it?” he says and Alec nods. Magnus sits down on the curb and slips his shoes back on. “Guess we’re walking.”
Alec sits next to him and does the same before pulling his phone back out and pulling up his GPS. As soon as he gets it connected to their coordinates his phone screen goes black.
He curses and pockets the dead device looking around.
“Follow the lights that’ll take us back into the city,” Magnus says pointing in the direction Alec agrees might be their best bet. “Once we get back to street signs we can figure it out.”
“Yeah, okay,” Alec nods and starts walking. They’re quite all the way till they reach the city limits just walking and enjoying each other’s presence. Or at least he hopes that’s what they’re doing, he hopes this isn’t actually an awkward silence after what had almost happened in the pool and on the dance floor.
The area starts to get a little more familiar as they walk, but Magnus starts to slow down his feet clearly getting tired. Alec can understand why with the heel on his boots being what they are.
“Hey, let’s cut through this graveyard, I’m pretty sure it’ll get us to the hotel faster,” he says coming to a stop in front of the large stone wall of the graveyard. The gate is cracked open and while technically they’re not supposed to enter after hours he’s willing to take the shortcut for Magnus’ feet sake.
“Through a graveyard?” Magnus says a little hesitantly peeking into the gates.
Alec smiles stepping up to Magnus’ side. “What, you scared?” he teases.
Magnus turns his head giving him an offended look. “I’m not scared,” he says assuredly. “Just a little superstitious.”
He leans down using one hand to stabilize himself on Alec’s arm and slips off his first shoe then switches and does the same on the other side.
“Magnus what are you doing?” he asks as Magnus holds his shoes in his hand.
“If we’re cutting through a graveyard, we’re running and holding our breath,” he says holding out his free hand for Alec to take.
“Seriously?”
“Most seriously,” Magnus says wiggling his fingers for Alec to take. Alec huffs out a little laugh and twines their fingers together. They step up to the gate hand in hand pushing it open enough so they can both fit through side by side. Magnus takes a deep breath in, holds it and then they’re off.
The warm summer wind whips around them as they rush through the graveyard, bobbing and weaving around gravestones as they go. Alec has to take a breath when they narrowly dodged a large epitaph and laughs.
Magnus joins in with him just as Alec trips himself up over a small epitaph just barely sticking up from the ground and lands face first into the grass.
“Alexander!” Magnus startles as their hands separate. He falls to his knees at Alec’s side as Alec turns over looking up at the stars and then at something much brighter.
“Ow,” he says when he meets Magnus’ eyes. Magnus giggles falling down into the grass beside him.
“Well so much for getting through quickly huh?” he says between giggles and Alec can’t help but join in. Magnus rolls to his side, pushing up close against Alec. He lifts himself up on an elbow and looks down at Alec still giggling just a bit. He moves one leg to tangle with Alec’s.
It’s not the first time they’ve been this close, they’ve woken up in the same bed numerous times now and they were even closer than this not but an hour ago in the pool. But something about this, about this carefree laughter and silly superstitions feels even more intimate.
Alec lifts himself up just enough for their lips to meet. There’s no hesitation on Magnus’ end, their lips slide together slow and easy until Magnus’ tongue trails along the seam of Alec’s lips. He opens his mouth to Magnus easy and falls back bringing Magnus along with him.
Magnus moves with him like it’s as natural as breathing resituating himself until he’s straddling one of Alec’s thighs. He can feel Magnus growing hard against his leg as they kiss making Alec rut his own hardness up against him.
Alec lets his hands drift to Magnus’ waist untucking his shirt and letting his hands drift up to naked skin. Magnus moves his hands down as well unfastening Alec’s belt. Alec gets with the program working at the buttons on Magnus’ pants as well.
They pull back before either of them go any further a question in both their eyes.
“Can I?” they say at the same time and start laughing. Magnus presses his forehead to Alec’s as they laugh hands still lingering at the edge of his briefs.
“Yes,” Alec says enthusiastically when his laughter settles down. He leans in kissing Magnus fast and hard once before he pulls back again. “Yes.”
***
Alec wakes to the whirring sound of a lawnmower. He peels opens his eyes to see the blinding rising sun. Magnus is cuddled up against his side, his head on Alec’s chest. Alec lifts a hand smiling as he runs a hand through Magnus’ hair. For a moment he forgets where they are until the lawnmower gets far too close to his head.
Alec watches as a graveyard groundskeeper cuts around them like they’re just a part of the grounds and Magnus grumbles.
“Magnus,” Alec says shaking his shoulder gently. “We gotta go Magnus.”
He moves slowly lifting his head up from Alec’s chest and squinting at the sun. He looks beautiful in the morning light, all bleary eyed and sleep warm. Alec doesn’t remember falling asleep here, doesn’t remember much after his mind-blowing orgasm and the look on Magnus’ face as he followed close behind. Evidently though they fell fast asleep not long after that.
He smiles despite the grass stains no doubt on his clothes and the ache in his back from laying half on the corner of hard stone. Magnus sits up, Alec following along as they help each other stand. Magnus reaches out with a chuckle redoing Alec’s belt, thankfully they’d had enough energy the night before to tuck themselves back into their underwear at least not giving the graveyard groundskeeper an eyeful.
They cut the rest of the way through the graveyard, which yes it turns out actually would have been a shortcut to the hotel if they had made it all the way through, hand in hand giving a passing wave to the groundskeeper who barely chances them a glance. It makes Alec wonder just how many times he’s found living people fast asleep here.
They’re in a rush once they get back to the hotel cutting their checkout time close, so close that they don’t have any time to talk. By the time they get on the plane to head back home they’re both still so tired they fall asleep almost instantly.
They share a cab once they land back in New York and Alec helps Magnus gather his bags from the trunk as they both linger outside of his building.
“So,” he says handing Magnus his bag their fingers lingering a touch as he does.
“So,” Magnus says in reply an almost shy smile on his lips.
“We should probably talk,” Alec says with a huff. “Maybe we can get lunch tomorrow?”
“I’d love to, but I have to leave for that business trip,” Magnus says sounding disappointed.
“Right, London and you won’t be back until the day before Hawaii,” Alec says sadly. He’d forgotten about the two-week business trip that will keep Magnus away, it’s why they won’t be flying to Hawaii together for Simon’s wedding.
Magnus nods his head. “We can talk then though right?” he says.
“Of course,” Alec says. Two weeks is a long time for Alec to think about this nonstop, but he can handle it.
Alec hesitates for a moment not sure what to do next, Magnus makes the decision for him leaning up and pressing a light kiss to his lips before turning away with a wave and a goodbye over his shoulder. He gives Alec one last look over his shoulder as he enters his building winking as he goes.
Yeah, it’s gonna be a long two weeks.
***
Simon & Maureen ~ June 26th, Oahu, Hawaii
Alec lands in Hawaii and just like the past two weeks his mind is instantly on Magnus. It should probably be on their old college buddy and his pending nuptials, but frankly he couldn’t care less about Simon right now.
They’ve talked here and there over the past two weeks a few passing texts and funny photos, but they still haven’t really talked about what happened, about what exactly they are now.
They fucked in a graveyard and it’s fine, it’s not weird, it’s not consuming Alec’s every waking moment or anything. It’s not. It’s just consuming about half of his waking moments and yeah, his wet dreams have gotten a lot more specific and star the same gorgeous man now, but whatever it’s still totally not a big deal.
He's totally cool with however this goes down once Magnus arrives in Hawaii and they see each other face to face.
***
He’s too jittery and eager to see Magnus to hang out in their hotel room once he’s settled in. He sits outside of the hotel at one of the little tables for far longer than he should head perking up every time a cab pulls through and being disappointed each time it’s not Magnus.
Eventually at least for a little while he distracts himself with the book he brought down to at least create the illusion of doing something other than eagerly awaiting his dates arrival like a dog waiting for their owner to come home from work.
“Oh my god, Alec Lightwood is that you?” a familiar voice says. Alec looks up pushing his sunglass back up the bridge of his nose to find Magnus hanging halfway out of a cab window.
“Oh my god it really is you,” he says far louder than he needs to pushing open the door. Alec huffs a little laugh and stands making his way over to the cab as Magnus hands a tip to the cabbie who’s pulling his suitcase from the trunk.
Magnus turns his attention. “It’s been what ten years, Cabo right?” Magnus says exaggeratedly as he bounds up to Alec tossing his arms around him in a tight hug.
He pulls back with a smile. “You look so different, the doctors finally figured out what to do about that face huh?” A few other hotel guests eye them questionably at that, but Alec’s focus stays on Magnus.
Alec smiles playing along, “Just like they figured out what to do about that hairline of yours it seems.”
Magnus shimmies his shoulders playfully thanking the cabbie as he sits his bag down beside him.
“It’s a miracle the things they can do with horse manes these days,” he says and the cabbie startles giving them both an odd look before he’s backing away and retreating to the driver’s seat.
“Hi,” Alec says with a smile amused by Magnus’ antics.
“Hi,” he parrots back finally speaking at a socially acceptable level. He looks down at Alec’s hands and snatches the book he’s still holding onto. “Did you bring a book to a Hawaiian vacation?”
Alec shrugs. “I was bored,” he says in his own defense.
“Aww couldn’t have any fun without me?” Magnus says using his free hand to tangle his fingers with Alec’s.
Alec pushes up his sunglasses and smiles. “Something like that.” They stand there for probably longer than two people should smiling at each other and swinging their joined hands between them.
“Be a dear and get my bag,” he says squeezing Alec’s hand once. “You have to show me this beach view we’re paying for.”
Magnus doesn’t drop his hand all the way up to the room only separating himself from him when he catches sight of the big fluffy bed that Alec has yet to touch.
Magnus flops back onto it bouncing a bit as he lands. He spread eagles out moving his arms back and forth like he’s making a snow angel.
“Well this is fancy,” he says smiling as he lifts himself up from the bed. He takes a moment to look out at the view as Alec looks at him before he catches sight of the bouquet of roses and chilled champagne sitting on the table.
“Was this you?” he asks turning back to Alec.
“Complimentary for all the wedding guests, but I’ll happily take credit if it scores me some romantic points,” Alec says just putting it out there. He’s been thinking about this, about Magnus nonstop for two weeks now and even though he’s not sure why it’s happening now he’s okay with this happening. He wants to try this with Magnus, something about them has always clicked and now it just clicks a little more.
Magnus runs his fingers over the petals of one of the roses before stepping over to Alec wrapping his arms around his waist.
“The way you’ve been looking at me since I hung my head out of that cab is earning you more romantic points than this would anyway,” he says. Alec leans down just a little hesitant to place a light kiss to Magnus’ lips.
“About what happened in North Carolina,” Alec starts as he rests his hands on Magnus’ shoulders.
“I don’t regret it,” Magnus says quickly.
“Neither do I.”
“Good, so should we maybe do it again some time? Preferably not in a graveyard,” Magnus says his finger unlinking behind Alec’s back to rub up and down slowly. Alec tenses at that, if Magnus just wants to keep having sex Alec’s not sure he could handle that. As much as he wants Magnus he’s never been good at separating sex and feelings and there’s no way in hell he could do that with Magnus. They’ve become too tangled up in one another lately for that.
Magnus must sense his tension though because he quickly continues on. “And other stuff too, you know like hand holding, cuddling, double date brunches with people we really don’t like and low-lit dinners.”
“So, like a relationship?” Alec says lifting his hands to cup Magnus’ neck.
“Yeah, one of those,” Magnus says leaning in to Alec’s touch. “If you want to try.”
Alec nods his head maybe a little too enthusiastically and Magnus chuckles. “I want to try,” he says before leaning in to kiss Magnus again.
***
They wander around the hotel for a while after they talk Alec’s arm slung over Magnus’ shoulder and Magnus’ hand in one of his back pockets like they’re some sort of teen rom com couple. It’d be cheesy if Alec didn’t like it so much.
Magnus tells him all about being back in London and how it felt odd that it didn’t feel like home anymore, which makes Alec a little sad for Magnus, but happy knowing that it means Magnus is staying put in New York.
Eventually they head down to the hotel bar meeting up with one of Alec’s lacrosse buddies that Magnus had never met when they were all at college together and his fiancé.
“Say what you will about us as people, but a queer couple would never make you travel this damn much for a wedding,” Victor says resting his hand on Elias’ thigh.
“Clearly you weren’t invited to Lorenzo and Andrew’s Canadian dream then,” Alec says with a disgruntled sigh, he’s not looking forward to that one at the summer’s end.
Victor chuckles, “Matter of fact I was not invited to that one, Lorenzo still hasn’t gotten over the fact I shagged his fiancé three full years before they even met.”
“Well, then how’d Alec get invited to that one, he did the same thing?” Elias says twisting the umbrella from his drink between his teeth.
Magnus turns to Alec with glee. “You did what now?”
Alec shakes his head furiously. “I did not! Fuck you very much Elias, I have better taste than your fiancé does, I turned blondie down after he fairly aggressively hit on me ten seconds after Vic dumped him.”
“Damn,” Magnus says with a sigh leaning a little closer to Alec. “We could have caused a real scandal at that one if you had.”
“Okay Alec what the hell? Why did you never bring Magnus around to hang with us in college, he’s my new favorite person,” Victor says with a laugh. Magnus raises his glass in his direction in thanks.
“That’s exactly why. I needed you to be my friend so I could cheat off your math homework to stay on the team and you’d have ditched me to hang out with him without thought,” Alec says pointedly and Victor concedes with a ‘you got me there’ shrug of his shoulders.
They stay at the bar till late drinking out of coconuts and trading stories with Victor and Elias until the other couple decides to call it a night. They head back to their room and get into their pajamas falling into bed together. For a moment they stay on their own sides of the bed just like they always have when sharing a bed, or at least have when they first go to bed how they wake up is between their sleeping selves, until Alec reaches out for Magnus because he can.
Magnus shuffles up close to him until they’re chest to chest and they fall asleep tangled together purposefully for the first time.
***
"How tacky would it be to steal all of these towels?" Alec asks from the bathroom as he ties one around his waist. He’s happy, hasn’t been able to take the smile off his face since he woke up in the morning with his head on Magnus’ chest and his strong arms around him. "Cause they're like heaven sewn into a towel."
"It's only tacky if we get caught,” Magnus says turning away from the mirror where he'd been fixing his hair to face Alec as he steps out of the bathroom still in nothing but the towel.
"Cool, we're definitely stealing them all then," he says and stops when he notices Magnus’ eyes dropping down, lingering, ogling really. That's when it hits him Magnus has never actually seen him without a shirt on. He's had his hands on Alec's dick, but they're graveyard tryst hadn't exactly given them time to get naked anywhere above the waist.
"Sorry, I'm back," Magnus says after a moment shaking his head, pulling his eyes away from the dusting of hair on Alec’s chest and the stark black tattoo over his heart to force himself to look Alec in the eyes. "I support you in all your towel thieving endeavors" he says taking one last look at Alec's chest before turning and walking over to his suitcase rummaging through nothing. Under his breath Alec swears he hears Magnus say a quiet emphatic "damn," and maybe just a little Alec privately gloats about it.
He gets dressed quickly, he and Magnus moving in each other’s space easily with lingering touches and quick kisses. The wedding is a lovely affair, Simon stumbles over his vows and Maureen doesn’t mind, she just laughs when a particularly hard wind comes through and nearly blows Simon’s yarmulka off his head catching it and pinning it back into his hair softly.
They spend the ceremony like a real couple, which ironically isn’t all that different from the way they were at the last wedding. They do shots with Victor and Elias and Alec gets to taste the tang of lime on Magnus’ lips when they’re done.
They slow dance a little slower and kiss this time though which is nice and when Magnus feeds him hors d'oeuvres he playfully bites at Magnus’ fingertips.
They don’t linger long at the reception both equally as eager to get back to their room and be alone. They don’t waste any time when they get there the door shut firmly behind them without pause. Alec pushes Magnus up against the closed door without hesitation kissing him for all he’s worth and pushing at his jacket.
It doesn’t take long for them to fall into bed both completely naked.
Magnus' reaction to Alec's bare chest pales in comparison to the no doubt slack jawed look Alec is sporting now. Alec's never seen anyone who looks like they were actually cut from marble before, Magnus' chest is like a damn Greek god. He always knew Magnus was fit could tell from the teases of skin he's seen over the years when Magnus would sport something particularly low cut, but the glimpses never could have prepared him for the full view. Alec dated a literal male model for a brief time a few years ago and even he couldn’t hold a candle to every bit of downright gorgeous that Magnus is. If Alec ever had any doubts that he was gay the vision of a naked Magnus straddling his lap makes him 1000% certain.
It's intense, but in the best possible ways. If they're graveyard quickie hadn't left Alec's mind for weeks this, this is going to be imprinted in his mind for the rest of his life. It's just him and Magnus and endless hours on soft sheets. He put his lips on every inch of Magnus' skin committing every pleased sound to memory, runs his hands over every dip and curve making a pathway he hopes to memorize as he goes. He gives it all, puts his whole self into making Magnus feel good. And Magnus, goddamn does Magnus give right back.
All it takes is one full night together and he's pretty sure Magnus has ruined him wholly and completely for any other man.
***
The glow of them being together doesn’t fade away when they get back from Hawaii like Alec feared it might. Dating Magnus in the city is just as good.
They get takeout and watch bad tv together on his couch, they even manage to get drinks with Izzy and Meliorn one night. It’s an easy thing almost like they’ve been double dating for years.
It’s all so easy the transition from friends to couple and for a good long while Alec doesn’t even get in his own head about how easy it’s been.
***
Lorenzo & Andrew ~ July 3rd, The Royal Conservatory of Music – Toronto, Canada
“I’d bet Andrew cheats on him before they hit their second year,” Alec says idly watching the couple as Lorenzo snips at something Andrew says.
“Alexander,” Magnus says chidingly stealing away his glass of champagne and sipping from it. “You can’t say that at their wedding, it’s so cynical.”
“Oh I can and I just did,” he says with a smile stealing his drink back from Magnus.
“Just because they’re,” Magnus pauses looking at them as Lorenzo straightens out Andrew’s tie, Andrew looking increasingly annoyed at Lorenzo’s micromanaging. “Unconventionally happy, doesn’t mean it’s doomed.”
“True,” Alec says sliding his glass back over to Magnus after he takes a drink of his own. “It’s doomed because Andrew has the ability to commit to monogamy the way a shark can commit to giving up living underwater, just ask Victor, and Lorenzo is an overbearing windbag.”
Magnus snorts covering his mouth to hide his obvious laughter. Alec smiles wrapping an arm around Magnus’ waist and pulling him closer to his side. This wedding has been ridiculous, a tacky nightmare of two personalities that clash so much Alec can’t fathom how they lasted this long. If it weren’t for the open bar, the giant complimentary gift basket back at their hotel room and the way Magnus looks in his auburn suit Alec would be questioning why they even made this trip all the way out here.
“You wanna get out of here soon?” Magnus asks discarding their shared glass on a passing ornate tray with a smile.
“Definitely, but I’m gonna steal some more of those shrimps before we go though,” Alec says already heading for the buffet with full intentions to stack a plate as high as he can and feed them to Magnus in bed.
***
Ragnor & Catarina ~ July 17th, San Francisco, California
Alec doesn’t realize he’s nervous about the San Francisco trip until he lands in San Francisco. This isn’t just some wedding of a college friend; this is meeting Magnus’ family. This is Magnus’ hometown; his sister is getting married to one of the friends he met in London that made London feel like home right in his mother’s backyard.
This is more than a wedding; this is Magnus bringing Alec home to meet his family like real boyfriend’s do. This is five days of Magnus showing Alec the places he liked to go to when he was younger, telling him stories about the streets where he used to ride his bike. This is what Alec does every day they spend together in New York when they pass by some place he has a memory, but packed into just five days. Even more so it’s Magnus really showing Alec a piece of him he’s never gotten to see. This is a man who despite his outward life of the party vibe is actually quite closed off saying to Alec here I am please still like what you see.
This is serious, because they are serious now Alec realizes, with each passing day Alec becomes more and more infatuated with his boyfriend. He won’t say he’s in love just yet, but that’s what this is.
“They’re gonna love you,” Magnus says reassuringly as they stand on the front steps of his childhood home.
Alec looks at him and lets out a deep breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.
“Mom’s gonna love you instantly it’s in her nature and Rag and Cat will hound you but I promise it’s only because they’re tired of hearing me talk about you,” Magnus says squeezing his hand once. “You got this.”
Alec nods his head and takes another deep breath before putting on his best win the boyfriends family over smile. Magnus smiles a happy little smile at him before pushing the front door open and pulling Alec inside.
In an instant there’s a woman turning the corner with a big, bright smile on her face rushing towards Magnus.
“My baby!” she shouts barreling into him and holding him tight. A little too tight it seems judging from struggling, but fond look on Magnus’ face.
“Hi mama,” Magnus says when she finally pulls back. She lifts up a hand and pats him on the face once before running her fingers along his goatee.
“This is new,” she says observing the look. “It suits you.” Magnus smiles pleased.
His mother turns from him and sets her eyes on Alec seriously looking him up and down once, twice before turning back to her son. Magnus looks so much like her and it’s especially clear in the way she looks when she’s in deep thought, sizing up something or someone and forming an opinion. He’s seen that exact look on Magnus’ face a number of times, even on himself when they met for the first-time years ago.
“So tall, and quite handsome,” she says turning back to Magnus with another big smile. She turns away from him and puts her arms around Alec pulling him into a hug. She’s about the same height and build as his mother when she doesn’t wear those sensible heels she’s prone to so Alec’s reaction to hug her back is immediate.
“I’m Nadira. It’s nice to meet you Alec,” she says pulling back from him. “Well I guess meet you again. Drop your bags, come along I’ll get you some tea.”
She grabs Magnus’ hand and gestures for them both to follow her along into the kitchen.
“You remember the first time?” Alec says as he trails along after them. She pulls out two chairs for them to sit in and gently pushes them forward to take a seat as she flits about the kitchen fetching them some tea.
“Of course,” she says as she turns around attempting to juggle three mugs. Alec jumps up to help her and she smiles at him in thanks when he takes two of the mugs, keeping one for himself and handing Magnus the other.
“So, polite,” she says with a smile towards Magnus before she takes her seat. “Anyways, yes I remember you. You were still growing into that handsome face, but just as polite that parent’s weekend at NYU. All of Magnus’ other friends were hooligans, but you called me ma’am and held doors open for me.”
Alec smiles putting his hands around his mug. “I was just doing what any decent person would.”
“Exactly, it made you stand out,” she says. She reaches out laying a hand on one of Magnus’. “Plus you two were so cute together, I’m surprised this,” she says gesturing between them. “Didn’t happen sooner.”
Alec looks at Magnus unsure of what to say. People here and there have been saying as such since they officially got together in Hawaii and Alec to started to wonder about it himself.
Magnus just shrugs. “I guess we happened when we happened,” he says and then the conversation shifts. Magnus and his mom catch up while she asks questions here and there of Alec wanting to get to know him better.
***
“So, do my west coast ways live up to your east coast snobbery?” Magnus teases as he kicks his legs out swinging them back and forth.
They’re sitting on the edge of his and Catarina’s childhood “treehouse” it’s more of a cabin than a treehouse really, but any argument about the semantics of its design died on Alec’s lips when he saw his boyfriend and Cat jump inside both really too tall to fit now but squeezing in anyways. Magnus had just looked so damn carefree and happy that Alec couldn’t stop smiling.
From there they’ve spent two days just exploring the city, Magnus taking Alec to all his favorite spots, showing him the little corners that tourists don’t get to see that he and Cat would spend hours just wasting time away in.
Of course there’s been wedding duties and huge family dinners as well that have felt so easy. Cat and Ragnor have welcomed him in like family just as Magnus’ mother had from moment one.
Alec laughs. “With the food your mother has been feeding me alone, and you can never tell my born and bred New York family this, I would happily convert into a California guy.”
Magnus smiles one of those private bright little smiles he does and wraps his arm around Alec’s leaning his head on his shoulder.
Alec places a kiss on his hair and smiles. Things with Magnus are just so easy, sometimes he wonders if it’s almost too easy.
***
The night before the wedding is a frenzy of decorating the backyard and attempting to the cover it all with tarps in the hopes no raccoons will wreak havoc on their hard work. Magnus is moving nonstop, Alec isn’t even sure what he’s doing half the time, but he watches from the sidelines fondly lending a hand whenever his height is needed.
“Well you’re in love-love with him then aren’t you?” Ragnor says coming up behind Alec and startling him from his post happily just watching Magnus flit about the backyard. He turns to Ragnor stumbling over his words a bit.
“It’s not like, we’re not,” he says and Ragnor just waves him off with a chuckle and an amused shake of his head.
“Sure you’re not,” he says. Alec starts to try and explain, it’s not that he’s not very fond of Magnus and it’s not that maybe he’s there already, but it’s too soon. It’s way too soon to be showing his hand like that, things have gone so smoothly so far he’s certain dropping the L word so quickly would not be the right move.
But he doesn’t really get the chance to say any of that, which is probably for the better, because Catarina calls out for her husband to be across the lawn.
Alec leans back against the railing of the back porch again and finds Magnus once more. He’s crouched down talking to one of the daughters of an old childhood friend of theirs. Magnus says something that makes the little girl giggle before handing her a twisty little bouquet of flowers that he has in hands.
The scene makes Alec smile and just like that he realizes Ragnor is right, but it can’t be that easy can it? Nothing is ever this easy.
He knows he’s distracted the rest of the night thinking about Ragnor’s words and his own realization.
It’s not until they’re alone in Magnus’ room that he finally snaps out of it his attention solely on Magnus when he crawls onto the bed and straddles Alec’s waist. He trails his hands slowly up under Alec’s shirt and leans down placing a light kiss in just the right spot on Alec’s neck.
“Magnus,” Alec says trying to sound put out while turning his head to give Magnus more access to the long line of his neck.
“Alexander,” Magnus says breathy and warm against his neck before pressing another slow sweet kiss there.
“Magnus we can’t have sex in your childhood bedroom,” Alec says looking around the space, he makes eye contact with Magnus’ plush llama and shakes his head. Magnus lifts up his hands still on Alec’s chest.
“Why not?” Magnus pouts and oh, boy Alec is going to have a hard time standing his ground here.
“Because your llama is watching me and your mom is down the hall,” he says sitting up so that he and Magnus are nose to nose. It’s a bad idea because now his resolve is crumbling even more with Magnus’ lips so close to his.
Magnus leans over for a second knocking the llama to the floor.
“One problem solved,” he says with a smile. “As for my mom wells she’s a heavy sleeper, don’t worry I used to sneak out all the time and she never knew. As long as you can stay quiet we can do this, baby.”
Alec scoffs. “Me stay quiet?” he says incredulously. “As if I’m the loud one, I thought for sure you’d end up waking the dead in the graveyard that night.”
Magnus chuckles resting his forearms on Alec’s shoulders. “Okay so we’re both a little rowdy, it’ll be a fun game to play see if we can both stay quiet.”
Alec sighs and feels his resolve completely crumble when Magnus leans in and brushes their noses together.
“Fine, but one loud noise and I’ll leave you wanting,” Alec says flipping them over so that he’s hovering over Magnus.
Magnus hums pleased. “Keep talking like that and this won’t last long.”
Alec rolls his eyes fondly then kisses Magnus all messy tongue and teeth letting himself get lost in it, letting himself drown out the little voice in the back of his head that’s saying he can’t be this happy by accident, that somethings gotta give.
***
Alec promises himself that he’s not going to overthink for the day and somehow he manages to keep that promise. He ties Magnus’ tie for him in the morning and just basks in the closeness of it, he helps Nadira set out food for the reception and sings along when she starts her own little karaoke party.
He lives in the moment for the day, just like he had when things with him and Magnus first started, when he wasn’t overthinking how this happened and what could go wrong.
The wedding is by far the nicest one he’s been too of late because of its simplicity. There’s no flash or fanfare, Cat wears a dress she borrowed from her adoptive mother and looks more beautiful than any bride ever has. Ragnor dresses like a librarian and says vows that Alec can’t believe aren’t prepared. They’re incredibly in love and happy in the backyard where Cat and Magnus used to play and it’s perfect.
“Thanks for coming,” Magnus says while they sway on the deck of the treehouse, some slow 90’s song Alec doesn’t recognize but Magnus had gotten insanely excited about playing in the background. The lights in the yard twinkle in Magnus’ eyes and here in this moment it kind of feels like they’re the only ones here despite being surrounded by dozens of people.
“I know this was probably a lot with the whole family and everything, so thank you,” he says quietly tightening his arms around Alec’s waist.
Alec shakes his head. “You don’t have to thank me, I wanted to be here. With you. This wasn’t a lot, you’re not a lot,” Alec says truthful. Whatever the hell has sparked his sudden brain melt about this being so good and thinking it can’t be this good has nothing to do with Magnus or his family being too much for him to handle.
Magnus smiles at him pleased and a little surprised which makes Alec want to fight anyone that ever told him he was too much to handle.
“Good, that’s good,” Magnus says before laying his head on Alec’s chest. They stay like that for a long while, well after the song has switched to something more upbeat.
***
The five days in San Francisco move by almost too quickly. Before Alec knows it he’s getting another massive bear hug from Nadira and being handed a massive bag of leftovers that he has to load into the car. Leftovers that he knows they will absolutely confiscate at the airport, but he appreciates the thought nonetheless.
He shuts the trunk and leans back on it watching as Magnus says goodbye to his mother and now in this moment he’s back to slipping into his own head.
Alec looks at Magnus and he realizes he’s doing that thing he does. That thing where he questions something good that happened without any rhyme or reason, without him having to put any work in to make it happen. He’s the happiest he’s probably ever been and he’s questioning it, he’s questioning why it’s happened when it’s happened and what will inevitably go wrong.
He doesn’t want to do that with this, but he can’t seem to stop it creeping in.
***
Victor & Elias ~ July 31st, Brooklyn, New York City
“Earth to Alexander,” Magnus says waving his hand in front of Alec’s face. Alec shakes his head, once again overthinking just like he has been on and off since San Francisco. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” Alec says smiling so that Magnus doesn’t worry. Again this is all Alec’s dumb head, Magnus doesn’t need to worry about it. “Of course, ready to go?”
Magnus nods and holds out his hand for Alec to take. Tonight’s not technically a wedding Victor and Elias just didn’t care about the fanfare of it and plan to at some point get down to the courthouse, tonight is just for bringing them presents and drinking on a rooftop.
Magnus talks all the subway ride to the party telling Alec about a guy he works with who made a fool of himself earlier in the day. Alec listens like he always does, but he finds himself drifting.
He continues to drift when they hit the party only halfheartedly putting his energy into conversation with Victor and playful photobooth pictures with his boyfriend. Magnus notices of course giving Alec all these concerned looks as the night goes on.
“Or at least that’s what I heard,” Victor says finishing up on the rumor he’s heard about Lorenzo and Andrew already having problems.
“Well damn, looks like your cynicism was not misplaced,” Magnus says nudging Alec’s shoulder. Alec just hums into his glass in agreement. He doesn’t want his cynicism to be right, because if his cynicism about that was right then what if it’s right about how they’re relationship has been too easy so far. He wants to be wrong about that.
“Okay, what’s up with you?” Magnus asks turning his body to Alec. Alec looks up from where he’d been gazing off into his empty glass to find Victor and Elias gone.
“Nothing,” Alec says pushing back from the table. “You wanna dance?”
Magnus gives him a somewhat incredulous look. “Now I know it’s not nothing you never dance unless I make you, so what’s going on. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you’ve been having these moments where you’re so distracted ever since Cat and Ragnor’s wedding, so tell me what’s going on.”
He takes one of Alec’s hands in a tender hold and Alec says the wrong thing.
“Do you think we happened too easily?” he asks and instantly wants to put the question back inside his mouth.
“What?” Magnus says dropping Alec’s hand.
“I just, fuck,” he says running a hand through his hair. Now that he’s opened his mouth he can’t seem to stop. “Everyone seems to think we should have gotten together ages ago and I just can’t help but wonder why now and then it’s been so easy, so goddamn easy being with you.”
“And that’s a problem?” Magnus says. He sounds angry, not that Alec can blame him for that, but he’s keeping his tone controlled making sure to not draw attention to them.
“Yes, no, I don’t know,” Alec says his hands moving as he talks. “I mean good things don’t just happen and if they do I mean somethings bound to give right.”
Magnus laughs humorlessly stepping back a bit from Alec. “So what we’re doomed because we’re happy?”
Alec shuts his eyes in frustration for a moment trying to collect his thoughts to actually say something right.
“No, that’s not what I mean, I guess I just wonder if this is too good to be true,” he says dropping his arms to his side feeling a little defeated. That’s not what he wanted to say, that’s not how he should have worded it. He’s in love with Magnus and he’s scared that something is going to go wrong because it’s all gone so right so far and he didn’t even have to try to make it that way, that’s what he should say but he can’t seem to get any of that out.
“No I don’t think that, god Alec where is this coming from? All this time you’ve been here with me you haven’t questioned it, you haven’t second guessed it, so why now huh?”
Alec opens his mouth and nothing comes out so Magnus soldiers on.
“I mean do you want this to end is that what you’re saying?” Magnus asks a sad look in his eyes that Alec hates he’s the one responsible for putting there.
“No, that’s not-“ he starts and stutters out uncertain of what to say to fix this. Of course he doesn’t want this to end, that’s the last thing he wants that’s why he can’t stop thinking about losing it. He’s not lost on the irony that he was in his head about this falling apart because it’s been so easy and here he is the one making it fall apart because he can’t get out of his own head.
“Why are you suddenly questioning this Alec?” Magnus almost shouts.
“I-” Alec stutters out frustrated with this argument and with himself for starting it, for not being able to turn off his damn brain just once. Just for this one thing, this one good thing. “I don’t know,” he settles on running a hand through his hair tugging a little too hard at the ends of it.
Magnus huffs and just shakes his head. “Okay, well when you figure it out, give me call,” he says turning to leave. “But don’t wait too long, I know I won’t.” He moves fast turning for the exit before Alec can even get out another word. Before he gets the chance to say something to maybe convince him to stay.
Not that Alec has the words, he’s doing what he always does. He’s blowing up a good thing because he can’t figure out quite how he earned it.
***
Sebastian & Kaelie ~ August 7th, Lakeville, Connecticut
He doesn’t want to be here. He doesn’t want to be anywhere, really. He wants to sit at home and wallow in his sadness and think about all the things he should have said to Magnus and didn’t, about the fact that he hasn’t mustered up the courage to call him because he’s now worried he’ll just keep saying all the wrong things but Isabelle won’t let him. So now he’s watching two people he only kind of knows through family connections get married and he’s doing it all alone.
Despite the fact she quite literally dragged him from bed to be here Alec doesn’t talk to Isabelle the whole day. Every question she asks about Magnus or what happened he brushes off. He huffs his way through the ceremony his arms crossed and a no doubt upset look on his face. When Kaelie’s vows talk about timing and how it’s random sometimes it hits a little too close to home and he just barely refrains from getting up and jumping into the nearby lake.
Everything at this wedding sucks without Magnus so to make up for it the second vows are exchanged Alec is at the bar. It becomes his go to spot ignoring the concerned looks from his sister and ordering drink after drink. He orders a few more when they find their way to their table and he sees the little place setting beside his with Magnus’ name. He crumples up the paper and shoves it into the bottom of a glass of whiskey and still drinks it anyways.
The sun is still high in the sky and Alec is well and truly wasted sipping on his he doesn’t even know what number drink of the day at their little table.
He looks down at his glass determined to refill it and stumbles as he gets up from the table. Izzy is at his side instantly gripping his arm.
“Okay, that’s enough of that for you big brother,” she says taking the half empty glass from his hand. “Let’s get you some water.”
Meliorn stands at his other side and takes his other arm. “Let me take him.”
Alec watches as they have some sort of silent married people conversation with each other, he tries to open his mouth to defend himself, he’s not their child he doesn’t need them to take care of him but the second he starts to Isabelle is covering his mouth with her hand.
He sighs behind her hand and evidently their silent conversation is over. Izzy lets his arm go and nods at her partner.
“Get him some damn mints,” she says before sitting back down at the table. “His breath smells terrible.” Meliorn chuckles dragging Alec off to the side and through the little pathway that leads to a series of benches.
They sit Alec down and sternly tell him not to go anywhere. Alec waits till Meliorn is out of sight and tries to stand an action he regrets instantly when he feels everything start to spin. He barely manages to fall back onto the bench his head in his hands
“Drink this,” Meliorn says holding out a glass of something that smells of vinegar to him. Alec takes a sip and instantly grimaces regretting the day he met Meliorn.
“All of it,” Meliorn chides giving Alec a look that’s very akin to the ones he’s received from Isabelle since childhood when she means business. Alec grumbles a bit but complies downing the whole disgusting glass.
When he’s finished it down to the last drop he must admit he feels better, clearer, even if there’s a putrid taste lingering in his mouth.
“What was that?” he asks wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.
“A mix of kombucha and some other things, a guaranteed instant sober cocktail I invented,” Meliorn explains taking the empty glass and sitting it on the ground beside them.
“Does it make people instantly sober because they want to be clear headed enough to punch you in face for making them drink something so disgusting?” Alec says still attempting to wipe the taste away.
Meliorn chuckles and gives him that I know more than you do look he gives sometimes. “Sometimes,” he says before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a water bottle and handing it to Alec. He takes it gratefully chugging it down and swishing some around for good measure in the hopes that it can wash the taste away.
“So, shall we talk about what’s going on with you and Magnus?”
Alec shakes his head. “There’s nothing going on with me and Magnus.”
“Yes, that seems to be the exact problem,” Meliorn says brushing their hair over their shoulder. It’s blue now a change from the last time he saw them. “So, what happened? Isabelle and I are very concerned, especially after that little display.
“How did you choose to marry my sister so easily?” he asks evading Meliorn’s question. They hadn’t hesitated when Isabelle had proposed on a whim after six months of dating. Alec can’t even get out of his head enough to make a relationship that could be the most important one he’ll ever have last a whole summer.
“I just did,” Meliorn says magnanimously.
“You just did?” Alec says laughing a little hysterically. “That’s it? God, I wish it was that easy, I wish I could just make a choice and not question it. In my head something doesn’t just happen, you don’t just do it. There’s work and there’s planning and if there’s not then the other shoe is always going to drop eventually.”
He runs a frustrated hand through his hair wishing Meliorn hadn’t sobered him up so easily.
“Alec loving someone sometimes just is, it’s not that there isn’t work you have to put in because there is, but sometimes things just happen and maybe the other shoe, as you say, will drop, but when it does you’re not alone,” Meliorn says. He reaches out a comforting hand resting it on Alec’s shoulder, it’s a rare moment of touch for them aside from when they first met and shook hands.
“And what do you do if you’re the one who dropped the damn shoe?” he says.
Meliorn drops his hand and stands up from the bench. “I hate the metaphor, but you pick it up and tell the person you love you’re a cynical asshole who is very sorry.”
He walks away at that leaving Alec alone on the bench with his lips turned up just a bit in a smile. He thinks about what Meliorn said in his own unique way and with a bottle of water in his hand and the lingering taste of vinegar hell in his mouth he decides to take their advice.
He might not be able to stop being a cynical asshole but at the very least he can tell Magnus what’s been running through his head, how he got scared and questioning because he’s a little messed up when it comes to these things. He doesn’t know if he stands a chance, it’s been a long week of radio silence that Alec himself has caused, but he’s determined to at least try to explain. To find the words that he couldn’t that night when Magnus walked away.
***
Bat & Gretel ~ August 14th, Queens, New York City
Alec technically wasn’t invited to this wedding, he knows that. He was just supposed to be Magnus’ date and that’s it, but that doesn’t mean he can’t hang around outside in a suit with a bouquet of Magnus’ favorite flowers hoping to catch the other man.
He thought about doing this some other way, but calling or texting seemed empty. Showing up without warning at Magnus’ apartment felt like a thing he just wasn’t allowed to do right now, so he decided to be here. Maybe in its own little way it’ll be romantic showing up at a wedding with some flowers since this has become their thing now, since weddings are what got them started in the first place.
Thanks to the fact that all of Magnus’ friends follow him on social media now he knows the wedding is still on and Magnus is still very much going, it’s just a matter of catching him at the door.
He’s spent a week planning what to say, planning exactly how to tell Magnus why he got so in his head and why he blew it all up and vow to do better. He also really needs to tell Magnus he loves him because it feels so stupid that he never did.
He wrings his hands as he waits leaning up against the wall outside of the church he smiles politely at guests who pass him by twisting around every time he hears a car door to see who’s getting out of the next cab.
What seems like hours pass as he waits until finally a cab door opens and Magnus steps out. He looks gorgeous and Alec’s never been so certain of the fact that absence makes the heart grow fonder because god he has never felt so much from just looking at person before. He stands up straightening out his jacket and double checking that the flowers are still intact and that’s when Imasu rounds the cab from the other side.
He doesn’t hold Magnus’ hand or offer his arm, but it’s clear they came here together. Off all the fucking people in the world it had to be Imasu. Magnus could have showed up with the ghost of Stalin and Alec would have been less annoyed.
Alec watches as Imasu looks Magnus up and down, a borderline predatory smirk on his lips. Alec wants to scream, to run and to punch Imasu for this and about a million little things over the years all at the same time. Magnus smiles at something Imasu says and he knows it’s not physically possible, but he feels his heart fall right from his chest.
“Shit,” he says to himself; this was clearly a mistake. He tries to move fast, turning around to find a place to discard the flowers and get lost before Magnus can spot him.
“Alec?” Magnus says and Alec hears his footsteps getting nearer, there’s no making a run for it now.
“Shit,” he whispers to himself again before putting on a brave face and turning. He does his best to keep the flowers behind his back out of sight and out of mind, but Magnus notices them his eyes trailing across the tulips.
“Hey, Magnus,” he says trying to come off casual and missing by a few thousand miles.
“Alec, what are you doing here?” Magnus asks and Alec for the life of him can’t read him. He’s more closed off than even when they first met in college. Alec can’t blame him for that, he’s the reason he’s put back up the wall, but it makes his heart clench.
“I am here to give these flowers to,” he pauses looking around and catching sight of a little girl who’s just about to walk past them. “You, here you go kiddo.”
The little girl smiles up at Alec and takes off with bouquet calling out to her mother excitedly.
“You’re here to give Gretel’s little sister flowers?” Magnus says his arms falling to the side.
“Yup and that’s done so, I should go,” he says with a nod trying desperately to ignore Imasu.
He starts to move, but Magnus shifts just enough blocking his path. “That can’t be the only reason you’re here.” The walls fall a bit at that, Magnus’ eyes looking a little softer at him.
Alec sighs sadly. “It’s not, but the other reason doesn’t matter now I guess.”
“Of course it still-” Magnus starts, but he’s cut off by Alec’s phone ringing. Alec curses under his breath once again and pulls it from his jacket pocket.
“Hey, mom,” he says as he answers it his eyes still locked onto Magnus’ like it’s the last time he’ll get to see them. On the other end his mom is talking fast, way faster than she usually does. So fast that he has to have her repeat what she says three times before he believes it.
He hangs up a few beats later his mom giggling away on the other end.
"I gotta go. My mom is high at a mini golf course and needs me to pick her up," Alec says running a hand through his hair.
"Alexander," Magnus says his arm reaching upward. For moment it’s almost like he was contemplating reaching out to touch.
"I know it sounds like a fake made up excuse to avoid talking but I promise it's real," Alec says with a disappointed chuckle. "All I've wanted to do is talk to you for the past two weeks, to tell you how I felt." He adds on more somberly.
Magnus says his name again, so much emotion that Alec doesn't deserve in the one word. Alec waves him off stepping back just as he spots Imasu hovering just off to the side clearly listening in.
"It's okay you've got a date," he says nodding his head in Imasu's direction. Magnus barely spares his date a glance. "And I've got a high mother. I blew it I get it, it's okay."
He says it quickly not even hiding in his tone of voice how not okay it is for him before he brushes past Magnus and heads for his car parked down the street. For a moment he wonders if he should take one last look back, but he just doesn’t have it in him.
***
Alec slows down outside of the mini golf course double checking the address to be certain he’s got the right spot when he spots his mother running towards his car a few of her friend trailing behind. She pulls open the door before he even has the chance to stop the car fully.
“Hi sweetheart!” she says as she ushers in her friends all giggling their asses off before she rounds to the front hopping in the passenger seat. “Drive!”
“Mom,” he starts and she cuts him off.
“No seriously drive, the manager was not happy with our shenanigans, we are banned and we stole these,” she says with a big bright smile holding up a bag of multicolored golf balls. His eyes go wide before he focuses back on the road. He’s questions her, but his mother is clearly too high to care already rattling off addresses of her friends so that Alec can take them home.
It takes nearly two hours to get everyone settled in which is time his mother uses to finally explain that for a little early bachelorette party she bought some weed from the neighbor kid and decided mini golf was the best way to utilize it.
Soon enough after dropping off the last of her friends and making said friend take all the golf ball contraband but one it’s just him and his mother driving slow as the sun goes down.
“Where is the lovely Magnus tonight?” Maryse asks tossing the bright pink golf ball she kept back and forth between her hands. She’s always asking after him even though she’s only met him once before at Izzy’s wedding. She was smitten with him immediately; a reaction Alec understands wholeheartedly.
“We, uh, we broke up I guess,” Alec says trying not to think about the image of Magnus walking into that wedding with Imasu, fucking Imasu.
“Oh, Alec,” she says sounding sad and pitying.
“It’s fine, I’m fine,” he says quickly squeezing the steering wheel a little too tight. “I overthought it and ruined it, business as usual.”
“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry,” she says sounding even sadder than she did before. She tosses her golf ball into the backseat accidentally and undoes her seat belt crawling over the middle console to follow it.
“Mom!” Alec shouts as she stumbles her way into the back very narrowly missing kicking him in the face.
“I’m good,” she says triumphantly as she lands in the backseat making a little aha sound when she finds her golf ball.
Alec rolls his eyes focusing on the road as she settles in and leans forward her hand on Alec’s shoulder.
“It’s my fault,” she says with a sigh.
Alec squints looking back at her briefly with a raised eyebrow in question.
“Your father and I, we never taught you to accept good things when they come,” she sighs again squeezing Alec’s shoulder in comfort. “We always told you the only way to have good was to earn it, that there was always a catch when something just happened and to question it from every angle.”
“We made you doubt every accomplishment, every win, every little thing that made you happy. We made you skeptical,” she drops her hand from his shoulder in favor of leaning forward to rest her chin on his seat just over his shoulder. “We made you think everything through so much you over thought to the point of distraction; we made you bottle up all your feelings thinking it was for the best. I wish I could undo it; I wish I was a better mother to you all growing up.”
From the corner of his eye he sees her looking out the window a sad look in her eyes.
He doesn’t say anything though, because deep down he knows she’s right and he’s gotten a lot better in recent years at not giving her an out for the way she used to be, for the number that her and his father did on all four of them, him as the oldest in particular.
“I know it’s a hard habit to break, but sometimes things are just good. Sometimes things happen and you don’t have to work hard for them. All that cynicism and overthinking will only lead to a life filled with loneliness and you deserve to never feel lonely.” she says pausing to give him a moment to respond. He stays quiet and she carries on. “I know you’ve been thinking about why now when it comes to you and Magnus after all these years, that you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.”
Alec freezes at the red light and looks at her a little wide eyed. Damn if he isn’t his mother’s son and she can read him like a book when she’s paying attention.
“But sometimes the shoe doesn’t drop, sometimes good things happen without having to sacrifice, sometimes things take their time and happen at just the right time and you can’t overthink it,” her face transforms and she smiles at him. “Like me and Luke, all these years later and now it happens if it’d overthought it, if I’d questioned every little thing, I wouldn’t be here right now. A few months shy of marrying my dream guy.”
“Yeah, well I think I already blew it with mine,” he says finally responding to her.
“Oh, honey, you’ve only blown it if you don’t fight for it. Don’t think just speak from the heart it’s a lot better than bottling it all up and waiting for a fall,” she kisses Alec on the cheek making him feel like he’s five years old again just as the light turns green and he drives forward. She falls into the backseat laying down.
“Can we get taco bell?” she says suddenly like she hadn’t just poured out some shockingly coherent wisdom for a stoned woman who was just forcefully removed from a mini-golf course.
Alec huffs out a little laugh with a nod of his head, “Yeah, we can get taco bell.”
In the rearview mirror he sees his mother’s fist rise up triumphantly.
***
After their trip to Taco Bell his mother seems satisfied and a little bit more sober so he takes her home leaving her in the capable arms of her fiancé. Luke chuckles at his high wife to be when she offers him one of her quesadillas and salutes Alec in thanks.
He smiles as he watches Luke usher her and her bags of Taco Bell inside carefully before he turns around and heads to his car. He drives home quietly in thought thinking of how happy his mom looked with Luke or how happy he probably looked with Magnus before he obliterated it all.
But he wants to take his mother’s advice, take Meliorn’s advice once again. He wants to fight for it.
Alec parks outside of his lonely little brownstone wondering if it’s too late to call Magnus. To take his mom’s words to heart and just throw it all out there, no overthinking just him with his heart on the line and the hope Magnus would listen.
He gets out his phone as he gets out of his car thumb hovering over Magnus’ name when he hears someone clear their throat. He startles, his phone leaping out of his hand he just barely catches it before it hits the concrete when he finally looks up and there in the dim light of his brownstones stoop is Magnus sitting with his elbows resting on his knees looking far more beautiful than any person has the right to be. He’s still wearing his clothes from the wedding sans the jacket; it highlights his arms even more and Alec can’t help but look them over intently for a beat.
“Magnus?” he questions as he rises back to his full height, phone in hand as he meets Magnus’ eyes.
“Is your mom okay?” Magnus asks as he stretches out his legs.
Alec nods a little numbly, still trying to rattle his brain with the reality that Magnus is here.
“Yeah, got her a Doritos crunch wrap and you would have thought I handed her a bar of gold,” he says with a small smile, chuckling fondly at the memory of the child like glee she’d exhibited when he handed her the bag of food.
Magnus laughs a little, that small beautiful smile he does when he’s happy coming to his lips.
“Good,” he says with a nod. He pauses for a moment chewing on his bottom lip a little nervously. “So what was it you wanted to say to me? Because you didn’t play off bringing flowers to a little girl you’ve never met as being your sole reason for showing up today very well.”
Alec opens his mouth and nothing comes out, of course.
“Come on Alec, I’m not sitting on your doorstep for another mouth gaping silent treatment. You said if you just wanted to tell me how you felt, so tell me,” Magnus says a surety and forcefulness that’s oddly gentle in his voice.
Alec takes a deep breath and finally pockets his phone. He wrings his hands together nervously pinching the skin to ground himself.
“I have this tendency to overthink things,” he says. Magnus snorts at that, the ‘tell me something I don’t know’ clear in the sound. Alec just playfully glares at him before soldiering on. “And that’s exactly what I did that night. How we happened, when, if something could go wrong someday, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is we did happen, that if something did go wrong someday maybe we could face it together and then I just blew it up.”
He takes a step closer to Magnus, comforted when Magnus doesn’t even break eye contact.
“The short of it is that sometimes I’m a cynical mess, and I can’t promise I won’t be that sometimes, but I want to try so damn hard to not be for you, for us. And the long of it is I’m in love with you and it scares the hell out of me, not that that’s an excuse for how I acted or how long it took me to say all this to you, but it’s the truth and I just, I get it if I don’t stand a chance here, but considering you’re sitting on my doorstep I’m hoping I’ve got a little bit of one left.”
He runs out of steam at that and waits. The silence is excruciating in a way it’s never been between them as he waits and watches as Magnus twirls the rings on his fingers and thinks. Alec’s not sure if it’s minutes or hours, but eventually Magnus stands straightening out his vest. Slowly he gets closer and closer to Alec until he’s standing right in front of him.
Alec holds his breath.
“You do realize that if I give you another chance you absolutely don’t deserve it right?” he says reaching out a hand to smooth the collar of Alec’s jacket.
Alec nods with a little laugh.
“And you do realize that for at least the next two weddings you’re paying for the hotel all by yourself to make up for your jackassery, right?” he says this time curling his fingers into Alec’s lapels.
Alec nods again.
“Well, in that case you’re forgiven I suppose.”
Alec finally breathes and it’s a good thing too, because before he can even nod again Magnus is pulling him in connecting their lips. As their lips slide together, for the first time in weeks Alec feels happy, just purely happy.
It takes a while, but eventually they part needing to breathe, that silly living human requirement.
Alec’s hands move from Magnus’ hips where they’d landed during the kiss and slide around him pulling him in even closer into his embrace. Magnus tilts his forehead to Alec’s and smiles that small beautiful smile again.
“I’m in love with you too, for the record,” Magnus says after a beat his hands moving up and twining around Alec’s neck.
Alec smiles.
“Also I just brought Imasu to the wedding to make you jealous cause I had an inkling from some vague weirdness Meliorn texted me that you’d show up, he wasn’t actually my date or anything in case you were overthinking that too,” Magnus adds on kissing Alec lightly on the lips once.
He wasn’t actually overthinking that, he’s weirdly proud of the fact, frankly he’d forgotten entirely about Imasu the second he saw Magnus sitting on his front steps.
“Well it worked,” he says honest, even though he hadn’t thought it about since he saw Magnus here, that doesn’t mean he hadn’t seethed all through the drive to get his mother about seeing the two of them together.
“You always did hate him,” Magnus muses twisting his fingers in the hairs at Alec’s nape.
“He’s pretentious,” Alec says defending his dislike of the man, it goes far beyond his attachment to Magnus and all the way back to college. The second Imasu had played three different instruments in front of him just to show off and called a bowl of party snacks charcuterie Alec had not an ounce of patience for the man.
“He’s cultured,” Magnus defends with smirk, absolutely just teasing Alec at this point. It’s nice, it’s a thing he’d missed and craved desperately these last few weeks without him.
“That’s just a polite way of saying pretentious,” Alec with a roll of his eyes. Magnus laughs scrunching up his nose and getting impossibly closer to Alec holding him in a proper hug.
***
Luke & Maryse ~ October 2nd, Atlanta, Georgia
“So?” Alec says with a bright questioning smile turning his head to look Magnus in the eyes.
Magnus runs his fingers along Alec’s shoulder in thought as Alec’s grip on his waist gets a little tighter.
“Bringing up your mother’s ex-husband, your deadbeat father, might not be the best course of action,” Magnus says lifting his other hand up to brush Alec’s bangs to the side. “This is supposed to be a happy occasion.”
Alec rolls his eyes. “It’s a metaphor Magnus, you know about things not always happening the first time around,” he says pointedly making it clear it’s not only about his mother, but about them, about how they ended up here in the right spot close together where they were always meant to be.
“And while I appreciate that, love, I mean isn’t it a bad omen or something bringing it up?” Magnus questions hand now fiddling with the collar of Alec’s shirt.
“If I take out the part where I mention my dad, I have to rework the whole thing, babe,” Alec says reaching up to take Magnus’ hand in his. “The reception starts in like ten minutes I can’t commit a new one to memory in that time.”
“Fine, but if they don’t like it don’t complain to me,” he says squeezing Alec’s fingers once softly.
“Mom loves a metaphor she’ll get it, and Luke owns a bookstore, words, metaphors he’s all about that stuff,” Alec says with a smile, maybe it’s a bit of a risk, but he’s 99 percent certain they’ll like it. “Also, you’re my boyfriend I’m absolutely going to complain to you if they don’t like it whether you want me to or not.”
Magnus huffs out a laugh giving Alec a quick kiss before pulling away.
“Shall we?” he says holding out a hand that Alec immediately takes happily being pulled through the archway to the reception hall.
***
One Year Later
Magnus & Alec ~ City Clerk’s Office, New York City
“Are you sure?” Alec asks once more because he needs to hear it.
“Of course I’m sure,” Magnus says with a smile eyes locked to his. “You’re sure, right? Not doing that thing where you’re going down cynicism lane again?”
“Of course not,” Alec says a little defensively. He’s been working on that little voice on ignoring it and just thinking about the good, about the future they can build together. Not the what ifs or the how’s. “I just figured you’d want to do a whole party or at the minimum make everyone travel a million miles to our wedding since we had to for all of theirs.”
“Oh don’t worry my dear, we’ll have a big party somewhere down the line and make every single one of them attend somewhere far, far away,” Magnus says, he drops one of Alec’s hands and taps his chin in thought. “Like Greece or Aruba.”
“I like the sound of that,” Alec says pulling Magnus’ other hand back to him. He squeezes both of his hands with a bright smile. “So, we’re doing this?”
“We’re doing this,” Magnus says leaning up quickly once for a kiss before turning to the Justice of the Peace. “I know I’m supposed to wait till the end for that, but look at him, it’s hard to resist.”
The Justice of the Peace chuckles as Alec rolls his eyes.
“Magnus,” he says chiding and teasing. Magnus just smiles at him unbothered.
“Shall we proceed?” the Justice of the Peace asks. He’s been very patient since they showed up here with a marriage license and two freshly bought rings cracking jokes the entire time.
They both nod in unison stepping a little closer to one another. It all started at a wedding a year ago, a wedding that he thought might be the most important one he’d ever attend, but he was so, so wrong. This wedding right here, this spur of the moment thing in a courthouse is the most important wedding he’ll ever attend. And just like how Magnus made that one a year ago a little more special, he’s doing the same here when he says I do.
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Darius Beneviento - Dinner With The Silverstreams [Part 4]
Broken Truth: Hello Everyone! If you remember from the drawing of Darius Beneviento - he is the formerly ill son of Donna Beneviento from an ask by my friend @k1ngm1nt. Last time, Darius told his mother he was interested in someone and now...it's time for the dinner between The Benevientos & The Silverstreams! Huge takes to @k1ngm1nt for helping me out with it. Now, let the words weave together!!
[House Beneviento - Kitchen]
Donna peeked around the threshold of the kitchen, watching her son as he prepared divine meals for the...interlopers...she means 'guests' that would be arriving soon. Donna groaned at the thought of other people coming to her house - but if anything bothered her more than people, it was the fact those people were coming about her son. Darius told her that he was interested in the Eldest Daughter of the Silverstream Family - Stella was her name if Donna remembered correctly - and the two of them had been talking for a while but the Father - Mr. Marcus Silverstream - and his 2 twin sons - Max and Strider - weren't too fond of their only daughter/sister talking to a boy who was - according to them - a bad seed. Darius went over to their house yesterday and asked them to come to Beneviento Manor for dinner and conversation to show that he wasn't as bad as they believed; he even asked their preferred meals so they could be prepared.
"I don't get why they have to come." Donna heard Angie said Darius as he placed the finishing touches on Mrs. Silverstreams Tomato Soup.
"I've explained it before, Ang, we're having them over for dinner so they could see I'm not a bad person and hopefully give their blessing for me to date Stella." Darius explained again as he carried to soup to its tray and placed the cover over it.
"I still don't see why you want to get some stupid human girl's attention. You have Donna and I, aren't we enough to keep you happy?" Angie asked as she jumped on Darius's shoulder, only for him to place her on her feet.
"Family-wise, you and Mom are the only ones I really need but I eventually want a family of my own. I want to fall in love, Angie." Darius said as he removed the apron and smoothed out any possible wrinkles in his suit. Angie was about to say something else when Darius's silver eyes widened when he realized he forgot his grandfather's brooch on the cushion on the pillow on the nightstand in his room. He excused himself and began to power walk, then jog up the stairs.
"I don't like this." Angie said as she walked closer to Donna's side.
"I don't like it either, Angie, but I couldn't deny him this; he's been through a lot and as his mother I want him to be happy. Maybe it will be over and we won't have to deal with those...people, then Darius can continue to be happy at home with us, where he belongs." Donna said as she looked at the set table - too many plates for Donna's liking.
It would be a few moments before a knock came at the door of House Beneviento and the Blood Heir came marching down the stairs with the brooch polished over his heart as he marched over to the door and pulled it open with a smile - meeting 3 collective glares, a nervous smile, and an embarrassed face.
"Mr. Silverstream and Family, Welcome to House Beneviento. Please, come in and takes your seats." Darius said as he gave a light bow and moved aside so the family could enter.
"Hmph, what a glorified doorman." Marcus huffed as he walked in, looking around the house with uninterested eyes. His sons followed behind him with the same scowls on their face, followed by their mother who gave the boy a 'Thank you, dear' before following her husband, and finally, Stella - the one who was stealing her son from her - walked and looked at Darius; Angie and Donna glared at her.
"Sorry about my dad and brothers, Darius; they still don't want to accept that I want my own life." Stella said as Darius lifted himself to smile at her - that smile made Donna's blood boil.
"It's not your fault, Starlight. Let's just hope the dinner will go well and we won't have to...ya know." Darius looked nervous as 'ya know'. What was 'ya know'? Did he mean to break up? Oh, the very thought made Donna and the Doll smile.
"Boy! Where are food and drinks?!" The roaring voice of Marcus Silverstream called from his seat.
"Yeah, we were promised food! Where is it?!" Max barked after his father.
"One moment, please." Darius said as he and Stella began walking over to the table. The Young Heir pulled out his girlfriend's chair before standing straight. "I have a collection of wines 0r acholic drinks for you to try or even ciders if you aren't the kind for acholic beverages." Darius said with a smile.
"What do you have so much booze? Are you a drunkard?" Strider asked with a smirk.
"I don't really drink but my aunt has a wine business while my uncle tends to come into whiskey, beers, and cigars a lot; he gives them to me think that I would like them so I act them to be polite but I don't use them." Darius explained.
"Tch, yeah right." Marcus said as he rolled his eyes.
"Dear, you know the boy doesn't drink - you can tell that just by looking at his skin. And judging by the pure white of his eyes, he doesn't smoke either." Mrs. Silverstream said.
"Shelia, you don't know that. He could be doing some kind of trick to make us think he doesn't smoke and drink, he could very well be an abuser." Marcus said.
"Excuse me, Mr. Silverstream, but my son is not an abuser. I would be grateful if you watched your mouth about my son." Donna said as she narrowed her eye at Marcus.
Broken Truth: Quick Note - Darius made Donna a special eye patch that covers her Cadou Scar so she doesn't always have to wear her veil.
"It's fine, Mother. I'll be back with the food and drinks." Darius said as he excused himself with a slight bow and walked into the kitchen.
"You guys are horrible, you told me that you would be kind to him. He's done nothing to you." Stella glared at her father and brothers.
"Dear, we're just trying to keep you safe." Marcus said.
"Bullcrap, you just don't wanna accept that I want my own life that doesn't involve you or the shop." Stella retorted.
After a while, Darius came with the rolling tray holding the food and gave each person the food they ordered. He once again asked for what everyone wanted to drink and retrieved it once he was given the answers. The table was silent for a while as everyone ate their food and consumed their drinks.
"This soup is perfect, Darius." Shelia said as she looked at the silver-eyed heir, "Tell me, did you make this yourself?" She asked.
"Yes, ma'am. I got my grandmother's recipe book and I thought it would be good to see if I had the Beneviento Touch when it came to food." Darius said.
"I have to say you do, dear. This is very delicious." Shelia said.
"Yeah, it's good enough." Marcus said as he wiped his mouth with the napkin, giving Darius hope...until he said, "Good enough to be a cook but not my daughter's boyfriend." He threw the napkin down on the empty plate.
"Yeah, and this booze tastes expensive as hell. Just where the fuck did you get this?" Strider asked.
"As I've said before, my aunt owns a wine business and she gives me bottles from time to time." Darius said.
"Just who is your aunt?" Max asked.
"Lady Alcina Dimitrescu." Darius answered, making everyone look at him wide-eyed.
"That big bitch is your aunt? I guess Lord Heisenberg is your uncle and Mother Miranda is your Grandmother?" Marcus said.
"You would be right but don't call my aunt a bitch, please, it's not polite." Darius said as he tried to keep himself calm.
"Must be nice, being related to the 4 Lords - all the money you could want and get anything without having to work hard for it." Max snarled at him.
"I'm not a spoiled rich kid and none of their money is my own, I don't go around with my hand out and ask my mother, aunt, uncles, or grandmother for anything. If I want something, I work for it and I won't do anything dishonorable; that's not who I am." Darius said.
"What do you do for a job, kid? How do you get your money?" Marcus asked.
"I do freelance work around the village, if people need something do that others don't want to do, I take care of it. When no one asks, I do runs for the Duke and he gives me 45% of whatever he makes at the end of the day." Darius answered without fail.
"What do you even like my sister? We don't have money and we have an antique and book shop." Max said.
"Stella is an amazing person, she's nice to talk to and she always has something wise to say. She listens to me and doesn't hound for my money like every other girl in this village does. She has a calm aura that draws me to her and it makes me happy just being around her; I don't even need to talk, just hearing her voice is enough." Darius said - Stella blushing behind her hand.
"Tell me something - you have the village lords and the high priestess as your family, what's that like?" Strider asked.
"I love my family, more than anything in this world; but there are even things your family can't give you. I want to fall in love and maybe have a family of my own, not now but somewhere in the future." Darius explained. There was a moment of silence before Marcus spoke again.
"Where is your father?" He asked.
Darius looked confused.
Donna looked horrified.
"Excuse me?" Darius asked.
"You heard me. Where is your father? Does he work aboard? Did he and your mother divorce, is that why he's not here? Was he an abusive piece of crap?" Marcus asked with force.
"I...I...I don't know." Darius whispered.
"What the hell you mean you don't know? How don't you know about your own father?!" Max yelled.
"Max, stop!" Shelia warned him.
"Are you just like him? Is that why you don't wanna tell us about him?!" Strider yelled in his brother's place.
"Strider!" Stella yelled to him.
"Why aren't you saying anything, kid?! Tell me about your father!" Marcus demanded.
"I...I can't tell you. I don't know anything about him." Darius stuttered.
"And why don't you?!" Marcus yelled. Donna had enough.
"He doesn't know his father because his father died when he was young! My son has been sick most of his life and came out of it a few years ago!" Donna yelled at the man.
"He never knew this father?! What makes this punk think he's worthy of my daughter when he ever had any parental guidance in his life?!" Marcus yelled at Donna.
"My son doesn't need parental guidance! I've been there for him since the day he was born and he came out fine!" She yelled back.
"Like hell he did! How can he call himself a man when he never had a male role model?! Your son is fucked up and I won't let him taint my daughter!" Marcus yelled.
"What makes you think that little homewrecker is good enough for my son! He is of noble blood and she would water down his gene pool!" Donna yelled.
"ENOUGH!!!" Darius and Stella yelled as they stood to their feet, their hands balled and shaking at their sides.
"We tried so hard to get you all to see that it doesn't matter what you think about us. Darius and I love each other and we care for what each other has to go through but if this is how you're going to act...we're breaking up..." Everyone smiled until "With all of you."
"What?" Marcus said.
"What do you mean 'break up with us'?" Max said.
"If you all can't get along and at least be tolerant of each other - Stella and I won't be a part of these toxic families anymore." Darius said as he took the Beneviento Brooch from his chest and Stella removed her family ring, both of them placed the objects on the table.
"What...Darling, you can't be serious..." Shelia began.
"Yeah, where will you even go?" Max asked.
"Darius built us a house away from here - where the 4 Lords territories meet but don't touch so the Lords have no say over us." Stella said as she walked over to Darius, who placed his hand around her waist and pulled her close.
"Until you all can at least get along on a proper level, don't excuse us to be the heirs of the Beneviento or Silverstreams. We're leaving and we won't be coming back for clothes, we went shopping for them last time." Darius said as he and Stella began walking to the door. Marcus shot up from his seat and tried to grab his daughter but Darius gave him a sharp uppercut and sent him to the ground. Donna and Angie followed behind them, begging, crying, for him to stay but their words were hollow as Darius and Stella left the house and mounted Darius's Horse, riding into the darkness.
Donna's heart felt colder than the Romanian Winter as she looked at the brooch in her hand...Her son had left her and she didn't know what to do.
[End]
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A Not So Blue Christmas
Book: Open Heart
Pairing: Bryce x MC (Kayla)
Word Count: 2925
This is my contribution to the 12 Days of Fictmas- 2019 edition and true to form, I am posting this at the literal eleventh hour. I was assigned “Blue Christmas” by the late and great Elvis Aaron Presley (may he rest in peace). Big thank you to @leelee10898 for hosting this event and wrangling us all and to @darley1101 for creating the awesome moodboard you see below. I hope you like it and happy holidays!
A Not So Blue Christmas
When Kayla matched at Edenbrook, some 980 miles from her hometown of Chicago, she knew there would be things she would miss out on. Her proud Irish family was huge and freakishly close; three brothers and one sister with Kayla smack in the middle, five aunts, three uncles, twenty-six first cousins and an absolute lunatic of a grandmother to round it all out. And that was just on her dad’s side. Birthdays, holidays, graduations, anniversaries; they were spent together whether you wanted to be there or not. Going away to college had been a blessing. For the first time, Kayla got to be seen as her own person instead of Sean and Connor’s little sister but she would be lying if she said she didn’t miss her family. The last time she saw them was back in June when she took Bryce home to meet everyone. Well, almost everyone. No one should have to be subjected to the entire clan on the first meeting, no matter how confident and easy-going her boyfriend was.
It was worth it though. She’d wanted to be a doctor for as long as she could remember and working with Ethan Freaking Ramsey on the diagnostics team was a dream come true. Her career fed her constant thirst for knowledge and allowed her to help people so she didn’t mind not being there for every little thing her family deigned worthy of celebration. Christmas was different. Christmas in the Donovan house was a huge deal.
The house would be so full it was fit to burst, food, candy, and cookies as far as the eye could see. Her oldest brother Sean and his wife Meghan sniping and snarking at each other, everyone spoiling the hell out of her niece because she was the first child, seeing what new bimbo was Connor’s latest flavor of the week because he was too stupid and too much of a playboy to find a nice girl, Gran handing out shots of whiskey and hitting on any poor soul whose only mistake was dating or marrying one of the Donovan girls; she’d had a field day with Bryce. Her dad and uncles escaping to the garage or basement, betting on how long after dinner it would take her mom to throw in the towel and switch from wine to liquor; Kayla was going to miss it all.
But Boston provided joys of its own; a group of friends she considered family that included the most supportive boyfriend the world had ever seen. Working as much as they did with no way in hell of getting off on a holiday meant none of them would be going home but that didn’t mean they would spend Christmas alone. Luckily, their apartment was spacious enough to house everyone for the open house party she and her roommates planned, though Kayla wondered why hosting always fell to them. Ethan had an even better apartment and you didn’t see him inviting anyone over. Rude.
“And, voila!” Kayla exclaimed from her post at the kitchen island. The cheese tray she put together looked damn good if she said so herself. Cheese ball in the middle with alternating yellow and white cheeses surrounding it in a pinwheel pattern. Yep, damn good indeed. “Sienna, where do you want the cheese tray?”
“Umm…” Sienna didn’t look up, too preoccupied with arranging upside-down raspberries on top of the chocolate ganache cake she made. “The banquet table by the window maybe? There’s more room for people to mill around over there.”
Kayla looked around, finding only empty space near the windows. “Banquet table?”
Glancing up, Sienna shook her head and went back to the raspberries. “Bryce!”
“Yo!” he called out.
“Where’s that banquet table you said you’d set up?”
“Oh, shit,” he laughed before bringing the table in from the living room where he and Elijah had been fiddling with the tv for the last half hour. “Sorry, ladies.”
“What are you even doing in there?” Kayla asked as Bryce unfolded the legs and flipped the table right side up.
“Helping Elijah with the surround sound,” he answered simply, taking a folded red tablecloth from the kitchen table and spreading it over the one he just set up.
“Do you really need to be doing that right now?”
Shrugging in response, he sauntered over, gave Kayla a quick peck on the lips while squeezing her ass, then snatched a piece of cheese, popping it in his mouth before going back into the living room.
Minutes later the front door opened with a thump and Jackie’s voice rang out, “Oh, hell no. You two don’t get to do whatever it is you’re doing in here while we do all the work. It’s all hands on deck so get your asses up and help. And before you say it, no, Lahela, I don’t care that you don’t technically live here. God knows you’re here enough it’s like you do. You can start by putting these bags of ice on the balcony.”
Eyebrows raised, Kayla slowly turned to grin at Sienna, finding her covering her laugh with a hand plastered to her mouth. “Remind me to buy Jackie a pony for her birthday.”
“Or a bottle of tequila,” Sienna giggled.
Kayla picked up her glass of red wine, waiting for Sienna to do the same before clinking their glasses together. “Hear. Hear.”
An hour later, people were trickling in. The cold food was moved to the kitchen table and the hot to the banquet table because that’s where the outlets were, the bar was set up, holiday music was playing and Kayla was mingling in a fitted midnight blue dress that was both sexy and elegant.
“I’m loving this party even more than your last one, Donovan.” Zaid’s tone was as dry as ever, expression impassive as he bopped to the beat of ‘Jingle Bell Rock’. “You’ve outdone yourself.”
“Oh, thanks! It was a team effort.” A knock sounded at the door and Kayla excused herself before opening it with a smile.
“Rookie.”
“You came!” Kayla gasped, putting on an air of shock with her hand pressed to her chest. “I never thought I’d see the day!”
“This is for you.” Standing stiffly in the doorway, he thrust a bottle of red wine into her hands. “I know you like red.”
“I do, thanks, Ethan.” Considering how reluctant he looked, she grabbed him by the wrist and tugged him into the room. “Come on, no one’s gonna bite you. Can I get you anything to drink? Bryce is supposed to be playing bartender but he’s fallen in love with my tv.”
A brief look of confusion flashed across Ethan’s face before he shook his head, probably deciding he didn’t care enough to ask. “What do you have?”
Kayla shrugged. “Everything? I can make you a brandy old fashioned or cranberry mule. Those are our signature drinks.”
“Old Fashioneds are generally made with bourbon.”
“Not in the Midwest,” Kayla smirked. “It’s really big in Wisconsin.”
“You’re from Chicago…” Ethan shook his head again. “What’s a ‘cranberry mule’?”
“Bryce,” Kayla called out. “What’s in the cranberry mule?”
Bryce’s voice came from by the tv, only now he had the thing turned to the side. “Four ounces ginger beer, four ounces cranberry juice, two ounces rum and the juice of half a lime.” His head popped up, looking at her over the top. “Put that in a shaker then pour over ice and garnish with a slice of lime and some cranberries. Make sure you use a copper mug.”
“Ok, seriously, what are you doing over there?!”
“I’m almost done.” Grinning, Bryce shot her a wink and ducked back down.
Rolling her eyes, Kayla turned back to Ethan. “Don’t ask because I have no idea what he’s doing.”
“I wasn’t going to. I don’t care.”
“Nice,” she stated, raising her eyebrow and pressing her lips into the tiniest pout. “Well? Your drink, Dr. Ramsey?”
“I’ll take Scotch if you have it.”
“Uh… if we do it’s probably not very…” Kayla grimaced, leading Ethan to the bar across the room. “Oh, wait! I think Landry might have left some here.” Reaching her destination, Kayla ducked down and pulled a bottle from the lower shelf. “Ha!” she exclaimed as she stood up. “Score one for the jackass.”
“Babe! Kayla!” Bryce shouted out over the noise. He smiled when she looked over, then his gaze seemed to move past her and he gave a subtle nod. “Can you help me with something quick?”
“Be right there!” she replied as she splashed some Scotch in a glass. She handed it to Ethan and gave him a little push. “Go have fun. Socialize. Be normal.” Ignoring his look of disdain, she moved back into the living room. “What’s up?”
“I need you to sit on the couch,” Bryce instructed, turning the tv back the right way.
“Why?”
“Because I need to make sure the angle is right.”
“Angle for what?”
Bryce’s eyes widened, brows raised to give her a look that said, ‘just do it’.
“Fine.” The couch that had been filled with various guests all night was miraculously empty and Kayla sat down carefully so she didn’t flash everyone with the new lingerie Bryce had given her. That show was for his eyes only. “Are you finally going to tell me what you’ve been up to?”
“Stop asking questions,” Bryce laughed as the conversation around them grew quieter. “Elijah?” The music cut out and the lull in conversations spread through the apartment. “Ok, now push the input button on the tv remote.”
Brow furrowed, Kayla reached for the remote on the coffee table. Whatever he had planned, it seemed like most of the people in attendance were aware of it. If it turned out to be a slideshow of embarrassing photos from throughout the year or a video of her drunk ass singing karaoke, Bryce was a dead man. All eyes on her, Kayla pressed the button and the tv lit up. She screamed, both of her hands flying up to cover her mouth as tears sprang to her eyes. Before her, her family sat crowded together, enough of them they filled all seventy inches of the screen.
Her dad Sean leaned forward, squinting at the camera in front of him. “Is that it? Can she see us now?”
“Oh my god, Dad.” Squished against him, Kayla’s nineteen-year-old sister Brianna rolled her eyes. “Why do you think she’s screaming?”
“Shut up, you’re all ruining it!” Gran scolded from where she was wedged between Kayla’s dad and her brother Owen. “On the count of three… one… two… three…”
“Nollaig Shona, Kayla!” Everyone shouted as they smiled and waved, not exactly in sync but close enough.
“Nollaig Shona, everyone!” Kayla returned the sentiment, smiling and waving back. She looked around the room at her smiling friends and colleagues. “That’s Irish for ‘Merry Christmas’,” she explained. Her lip began to quiver and she looked at Bryce, waving him over as her eyes flooded with tears. “Get over here.” She felt her face crumple and pressed her palm over her lips as her boyfriend finally came over, looking uncharacteristically subdued. Sitting beside her, he slung his arm around her shoulders and she turned toward him, hugging him around his waist as she buried her face in the crook of his neck, trying to choke back her quiet sobs.
“Hey, everybody.” Bryce’s voice was tight as he gently rubbed her back. He cleared his throat and when he spoke again, she could hear the smile in his tone. “Merry Christmas. Thanks for helping me out with all of this.”
The comforting movement of his hand didn’t cease as he continued to chat with her family and when she was sure the tears had stopped flowing, Kayla peeled herself off him. “Well, my make-up is officially ruined,” she laughed, swiping at her cheeks. Sienna appeared out of nowhere and with tears in her eyes, thrust a wad of Kleenex into Kayla’s hands. “Thanks, Sienna.” Kayla did her best to clean the mascara from beneath her eyes then smiled, shaking her head in awe. “I just can’t believe you’re all in front of me right now.” Her eyes watered again.
“That man of yours is more than just a pretty face, Kayla,” her sister-in-law Meghan said.
“And what a face it is,” Gran added, giving the most exaggerated wink possible.
“Oh, don’t I know it, Gran,” Kayla agreed. “Great hair, too.”
“And a body to boot!” Gran slapped her hand on her skinny little knee. “Bet he’s a right stallion in the sack. You young ones get all the action these days.”
“Okay! Enough of that!” her big brother Sean shouted, clamping his hands over his four-year-old daughter’s ears while Kayla’s dad dropped his head in his hand mumbling something Kayla couldn’t make out. If she had to guess, it was ‘Lord in heaven’.
“Sorry, Sean,” Kayla laughed. Her eyes roamed the faces in front of her; her dad, grandma, her sister and two of her brothers, a few aunts, and uncles and some cousins. “Hey, where’s mom and Connor?” Of all her siblings she was closest to Connor, they were best friends on top of being brother and sister and her mom was her biggest cheerleader. No way would they not be a part of Bryce’s surprise.
“Oh, I imagine they’ll be coming in the door any minute now,” her dad said with a twinkle in his eye. “We’ll let you get back to your party, Punkin. Don’t forget to call us now.”
“I won’t, Dad,” Kayla promised. “It was great seeing you guys and I love you all so much!”
“We love you too, Kayla!” they all shouted back, waving again as they said goodbye.
“Now how the hell do I turn this damn thing off…” her dad grumbled, looking down at his remote before the connection ended.
As the music started and the party resumed, Kayla turned to Bryce, who was looking mighty proud of himself. She grabbed a fistful of his sweater and pulled him to her, planting a kiss on his lips. The doorbell rang and she pulled away. “Duty calls but later, you’re mine.”
“I mean, we can just kick everybody out now,” he teased, leaning in for another kiss. She laughed, giving him a swat on the shoulder but he snuck one anyway. “Get the door, babe. I’ll even come with you.”
“Ah, now that your ruse is over you’ll join the festivities?”
“Something like that.” Grabbing her hand, he pulled her to her feet. When they reached the door, he stopped her a few feet away with an arm around her waist then stepped forward to open it himself.
“Shut the fuck up!” Kayla shouted when she saw who was on the other side.
“Kayla Donovan!” her mom Erin scolded. “Such language!”
“And on Christmas too!” her brother Connor added in a mock scandalized voice with his eyes wide and a palm pressed to his forehead.
Her mom laughed, holding her arms out wide. “Surprise!”
The initial shock had worn off and Kayla launched herself into her mother’s arms. “I can’t believe you’re here!” She held tight for a moment, then turned to Connor.
“Brat,” he greeted.
“Jerk.”
Laughing, he grabbed Kayla around the waist and lifted her off her feet, bouncing a few times before setting her back down. “Damn, it’s good to see you, Kay. Bryce,” Connor nodded as Bryce turned away from the warm hug her mom had given him and held out his hand, doing that weird handshake-shoulder clapping thing guys did. “Good to see you again, too. Thanks for inviting us.”
“Let’s get you guys a drink. There’s a ton of people you have to meet.”
Heart full and cheeks sore from smiling, Kayla paraded her mom and brother around the room, introducing them to all of the people who had become so important to her. When Sienna eventually dragged them to the kitchen to eat, Kayla turned to Bryce, smiling up at him as she looped her arms around his neck. “You.”
“Me.” His warm hands slid around her hips, pulling her tighter until they were pressed against his.
“You’re the best boyfriend in the entire world.”
“I know.” An easy smile spread across his cheeks. “Handsome, too.”
“And the smartest, most thoughtful,” Her words were punctuated by quick kisses. “most supportive, sweetest, the best lover, the…”
“Stop, you’re gonna make me blush,” he laughed, then raised his eyebrow as his lips settled into a cocky smirk. “You’re not wrong, though. I am pretty amazing.”
“And so humble,” she laughed with him. Gazing into his eyes, she knew she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Bryce was home, no matter where it was. “Seriously, Bryce, this was… I can’t believe you did all this.”
“I almost didn’t think I would pull it off,” he admitted. “The Portal thing was supposed to be here weeks ago but it got lost somewhere in Ohio and just came today. Then your dad couldn’t get his to work and threatened to throw the thing in the lake, and now today your mom and Connor’s flight was delayed by like four hours. I’m surprised I survived.”
As he spoke, Kayla’s smile grew wider and when he finally stopped talking, she pulled him down to press a slow kiss to his lips. She pulled back, just enough to lock her eyes with his. “I love you.”
“I love you too, baby. Merry Christmas.”
#open heart fanfic#Bryce x mc#choices open heart#12 days of fictmas#im super proud of myself I got this done on time#not even gonna lie
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A very Walsh Christmas
Summary: Charlie and Kate spend the day before Christmas at Kate’s grandfather’s house. Set in 1995 but I apologise if there’s some inaccuracies (Don’t think so but…)
Pairing: Charlie Weasley x ofc
A/N: Long ass fic. I’m sick and in bed and in the mood to write. I wanted to do a holidays special. OH and ALSO brace yourselves for a Charlie Weasley POV.
I wish you all happy holidays. Raise a glass to all your loved ones.
“Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Why are you asking that just in front of your grandfather’s house, we can’t go back now!”
For weeks I had been trying to convince Kate that spending the holidays with her family was a good idea. We had, in fact, spent one Christmas alone in Romania and although it was a nice rest from the chaotic atmosphere of the Burrow, it ended with both of us secretly miserable.
Now standing in front of Kate’s grandfather’s house, in the village of Stanton, staring at the Christmas decorations on the door, I found myself more nervous than when I first went to Romania.
I couldn’t help but shift in my place and I looked down at the bottle I was carrying; a fine firewhiskey if I dare say myself, and it better be, because I spent an entire week choosing one.
“Alright, I’m positively freezing, I’m going to ring.” I heard her say. Before she did, a deep voice near us startled me.
“If you are not going in, leave the presents at the door and leave.” A man with red cheeks and a smirk on his face was leaning on the nearest window to the door, from inside the house.
“Grandpa!” Kate’s eyes lit under the streetlights and that was the only thing that made all my insecurities go away.
“The door’s open, what are you waiting for? Snow? Can make it snow in a second, look.” Kate squealed when a snowball appeared out of nowhere and hit her full on the head. She rapidly opened the door and shook her hair out of the snow. I followed her closing the door behind me.
“Grandpa! You have to improve your snowflakes…”
“Ah, a stór, fashionably late, I see. You happen to have snow on your hair.” Kate shook her head and smiled, a sight so rare these days I couldn’t help but stare.
They hugged, tight and long, and I couldn’t decide if I wanted to watch or look away. Giving them space, I focused on the entrance of the house. I could hear the crackling of fire at my right and also a set of voices accompanying it. A clock on the wall marked 7:32 in the evening, we were fashionably late indeed, and to the left I imagined there was the table set with dinner.
“And you must be the famous Charles Weasley.” He comically bowed and I shook the hand he offered. I was strangely relieved by the look in his eyes and managed to relax slightly. I looked up at Kate, questioning about my popularity status but she avoided my gaze, a lovely shade of pink appearing on her cheeks.
“Yes, Sir. You can call me Charlie.”
“And you can call me Bernard!” He added so cheerfully that I had to smile. Suddenly I remembered my gift.
“Here, this is for you.” I handed him the whiskey and he inspected it with such a scrutiny that I felt the need to apparate to Romania just in one jump.
“Ah, but this is just perfect, we will have it with dessert. Excuse me for a moment.” Bernard left the entrance hall, leaving me alone with Kate. She had changed her shoes into a pair of fluffy slippers.
“I got you a pair, too, you’ll be more comfortable.” She grabbed the bags I was carrying and my coat and scarf and left for a moment as well. I had changed into the slippers when she came back.
“This is going to be madness.” She said putting her hands around my neck. I had a brief second to appreciate her dark green dress and black stockings, she does look good in green.
“You’ve been in my house, you know what that’s like.” I replied hugging her waist.
“Yes, but my family…”
“Is family.” End of discussion. Let’s do this, dear Godric I think I’m going to pass out. “Shall we?”
She guided me to the living room where a tree was set with multiple presents under it. Kate’s family stopped talking as soon as we entered.
“Katie!” A woman with chestnut hair stood up abruptly and hugged Kate tight to her chest. I recognized her to be her mother.
“Nat, you are going to suffocate our daughter.” Joseph Williams set his glass of bubbling liquid on the table and went to hug her as well.
“I don’t think, we’ve actually met, I’m Natalia, Katie’s mom, she offered a hand and I shook it. “Charlie, Charlie Weasley.” I couldn’t help comparing her to Mom, and how she would have crushed in a hug whoever I introduced her to. Very much the way she did with Kate when they first met.
“Of course, Kate told us a lot about you in her letters, I received the last one while I was in Bangkok, ah, I remember that time well.”
Kate’s father offered me a hand as well, a very firm and strong hand, and nodded once. “Mr. Williams.” I tried to smile but the man was certainly intimidating.
A blonde woman got up from the couch, she looked a lot like Kate’s mom.
“Ugh, come on, Nat, you can’t help but slip into minimal conversation one of your trips. Cornelia Walsh, enchantée.” I awkwardly grabbed her hand, but I wasn’t sure if she wanted me to kiss it or shake it. Luckily for me, I felt a familiar hand pressed against my lower back and it was like Kate was absorbing all of the tension.
“Charlie, this is my aunt, Cornelia, and her husband, Secondo.”
“I am actually the third of all my siblings, so I don’t really understand the joke there.” The man shook my hand and I saw from the corner of my eye how Kate’s aunt rolled her eyes.
“Are you going to say that every time we meet someone?”
To my disappointment, Joseph dragged Kate away from me and put an arm around her shoulders guiding her to the dining room and everybody followed. “So, tell me, what does Dumbledore have to say about the conference with the Albanian government?”
Dinner went by with minimal problems, Kate’s grandfather had put some background music in a machine that Dad would certainly adore. He also made sure I was comfortable and was the only one to conversate with me.
It wasn’t once that Katie put a hand on my knee and caressed there absentmindedly, and it was a test to my auto control not to play with her hair or caress her neck in return.
I was excitedly sharing with Bernard some of the details about my dissertation about the Ukrainian Ironbelly when I heard Katie’s brother’s name in the conversation near me. It was clear that it was heading into an argument and my suspicions were rapidly confirmed.
“Oh, don’t tell me you wouldn’t have done the same!” Kate put the fork down with too much force and the cutlery on the table shook.
“It doesn’t matter what I would have done or not, you put your life in danger and others around you!” shouted her father.
“Oh, well at least I was doing something about it!”
“How dare you!” Kate’s mother rose abruptly and threw her napkin on the table, leaving the room.
“How can you say that, Katherine, it was my son you are talking about, don’t you think for one second that I didn’t try to get him back.” He didn’t shout, and that was more telling than anything he could have done. The hurt in his voice was clear to anyone with ears, and my heart broke for all the parents who’ve lost a child. He rose too and left the room presumably to comfort his wife. I watched how Katie’s jaw tensed and then how she closed her eyes briefly before going after him.
A tense silence surrounded us, and Cornelia’s voice seemed ten times louder when she talked.
“It’s never easy for them, you know, especially on holidays.” I nodded, not knowing how to reply. I had been there for her at Hogwarts and I will always be, I had cried Jacob’s death like it was my own brother.
Bernard sighed and proceeded to clean the table. I stood up and helped take the empty plates to the kitchen.
The second course was served, and Bernard insisted it was no use waiting for the rest to join us. Cornelia was in the middle of a very amusing story about a certain apparition test she had to examine.
“You know, as an apparition examiner, I’ve seen a lot of things, horrible things as well splinchings are serious business, but when that kid appeared tangled in the chandelier, I just couldn’t help but burst out laughing in the middle of the court.” I chuckled despite myself and made my best efforts to not give away my apparition abilities.
“Charlie had to take the test twice.” Kate’s voice invaded the small place when she appeared from the hall. Bloody hell, woman, you never give me a rest. She clearly had been crying but when I looked at her, she just smiled at me and I almost forgave her for humiliating me more. “Appeared on top of a poor muggle lady doing her shopping.”
“Really? Well, darling, don’t worry about that, I’ve seen worse.” Kate’s aunt wanted to make me feel better, I knew that, but I also knew that my face was probably matching my hair.
“Well at least I don’t have to sit down for fifteen minutes every time I make a jump…” I replied to Kate. She was left with her mouth open but smiling while the rest chuckled and her grandfather laughed before taking a sip from his wine.
“Alright, mister…” she chuckled and playfully tugged at the short ponytail low in my neck. When Mr and Mrs Williams came back, the mood was light again and I got the chance to relax and talk with everyone at the table.
Dessert came around and I was surprised with the outburst from Kate’s aunt.
“I can’t believe you tried to buy a crushing cabinet!” Cornelia stormed out of the room and her husband followed suit. “My love, it was on sale and I…” I consider myself a perceptive man, but I honestly didn’t see that the conversation was going to take that turn.
“This carrot cake is really good, grandpa, is it grandma’s recipe?” Bernard cleaned the corner of his mouth with his napkin. “It is, indeed, a stór. Your grandmother had the best cooking skills I have ever seen. When we were starting dating, as you would say, back in Ireland, I remember one summer when my Julie came home, a bunch we were, yes, all squeezed around a table that was as well the kitchen. And she came home with a radiant smile and some onions and can you believe she cooked for everyone! Everyone in the house gained at least five pounds that day, even young Sean who was all flesh and bones. Here let me…”
He rounded the table and opened a cabinet. “…grab the pictures…” This was obviously a frequent activity because Kate and her parents started to complain.
“Come on, Dad, we’ve seen those pictures a thousand times already!” said Natalia. Her father ignored her completely and shoved a leather album into my hands. “Look, lad, that’s what a full house looks like.” I opened the album to reveal several pictures scattered through the pages and I smiled. “Oh, I know how it feels, I have five brothers and a sister.”
“Five brothers and a sister! Ha!” He chuckled low and deep “That’s half a family, son. Look, look at it.” He tapped the pictures with his finger before clearing away the plates on the table again.
Kate felt the need to come to my rescue because she moved her chair and pressed herself against my shoulder. “I’m sorry.” She whispered in my ear, but I could hear the amusement in her voice. I shook my head and turned a page, there was something odd in the images.
“Wait. They’re not moving?” Bernard returned from the kitchen wearing pink rubber gloves. “Of course not! Who would have paid for that?” He wiggled his fingers and returned to the kitchen. “My Julie always said, Berny, I don’t care you can do magic! Don’t be a lazy bastard and wash the dishes! Been doing it the muggle way for years now.” He said from the kitchen. “Nat, dear, help me with this would ye.”
“Yes, Da.” Kate’s mother stood up and disappeared to the kitchen as well.
“Well, why don’t we go to the living room, we will be more comfortable.” Offered Joseph.
“I agree!” Kate rushed to secure all the albums into the cabinet again and took my arm guiding me through the entrance hall again and into the living room. “What do you not want me to see?” I whispered. She hesitated but answered me anyway. “Baby pictures.” My eyes widened and I turned to the room we’ve just left but she gripped my arm more securely and held me in place. “Oh, I want to see those!”
“Absolutely not.” She laughed and sat down on the couch in front of the fire.
“I believe you brought some firewhiskey, Charles?” I interpreted his tone as a good signal, maybe we had broken the ice. “Yes, yes, I don’t know where Mr Walsh put it…”
“I have it right here.” He pushed a trolley with some drinks and glasses and served a small cup for everyone. He handed us the drinks and sat down next to Kate, leaving me the armchair next to the couch for me alone. I know perfectly well that Katie drinks out of obligation, so I watched closely as her face contorted in displeasure when she took a sip.
I smiled into my glass before taking a sip myself just before Cornelia and Secondo entered the room.
“So, what were you talking about?” Cornelia demanded. “Oh! Look, honey, it’s your favourite!” She grabbed the glasses of firewhiskey and sat on a loveseat near the window.
“Grandpa took out the photographs.” Said Kate
“Ugh, every time, every time.” Cornelia tsked and then chuckled “That man. Now tell me: how long you’ve been together?” The question took me by surprise and I almost choked on my drink. I met Kate’s gaze and we both shrugged trying to do the math.
“I think…four, five years?” She offered and I nodded “More or less, yes.”
“Oh, that’s a long time! I can’t imagine being with someone for that long. How did you meet?” I resisted the urge to laugh at her husband’s expression and sipped from my glass again. I looked at Kate and we silently agreed that she would answer the interrogation.
“At Hogwarts, in fourth year, I believe. How did you two meet?” Ah, my Katie, queen of never giving too much details about her life. I’ve never been a man of many words and I admit I become slightly nervous when asked about other than my job. And although I prefer to keep our private lives private, I sometimes find the urge to explain every detail of Kate’s life with me and, why not, brag about it as much as I can.
“A toast!” I heard the deep voice of Kate’s grandfather announce. Immersed in my own thoughts I didn’t notice we were reunited all again. “To family, blood or not. To the ones we love and love us back, to the ones we lost but will always be in our hearts. And to the holidays, that give us the opportunity to be together once again.”
“Cheers!” After a round of clinking our glasses, I let myself shrunk in my seat and I stared at the fire. It was peaceful for a moment, the soft music, the lights, the fire.
I looked at Kate, and to my surprise she was looking back at me. She gave me a beautiful smile and I tried to take a mental picture of it. If I were more comfortable, I would have grabbed her hand and dragged her to sit with me and maybe try to steal a kiss or two. At the Burrow I would have done that without thinking.
“Hey!” Cornelia’s voice startled me “It’s Christmas already!” On cue, the clock in the hallway gave twelve o'clock and I stood up to greet everyone. Katie approached me and put a hand on my shoulder before pressing her lips against mine in a short but sweet kiss.
“Merry Christmas” she murmured. I put a strand of hair that had loosened from her clip behind her ear, the only gesture I was allowing myself to indulge. “Merry Christmas, Katie.”
“Let’s open some presents!” Said Bernard joyfully.
“Wait! I got ours in the closet!” Kate rushed to the hallway where she had put our belongings.
I watched how everyone talked and opened their presents, I am very proud of our selection of the watch we got to Kate’s father, he seemed quite taken with it. I had no clue that new omnioculars could make someone so happy, but Natalia was happily explaining some story about them in Egypt.
I wanted to participate in that conversation, having been in Egypt myself with my family, but someone put a hand on my shoulder distracting me. Bernard appeared from behind and gave me a meticulously wrapped present. Oh, I wasn’t expecting that.
“Here, lad. As soon as my Katie told me you were coming, I got this for ye.” In a million years I would have expected any member of her family would give me a gift and I was so touched by the gesture I ended up staring at the present instead of opening it. “Come on, son, I’m going to get old waiting.”
I did as he said, and I was even more impressed when I found what was inside: a copy of From Egg to Inferno: a Dragon’s keeper’s guide. I smiled and caressed the cover. I have read this book over thirteen times, but the fact that he bothered to look for something I might enjoy filled me with warmth.
“Thank you so much, sir. I’m touched.” He smiled and I saw the exact same expression that Kate has, just for a moment.
“You are welcome, son.” He hugged me and clapped my back twice.
“I have something for you, too.” Said a sweet voice behind me. Kate stood with her arms on her back and a smirk on her face. She handed me an envelope with my name on it. It was a letter. I turned it but there was no remittent, so I looked up at her.
“I had to erase it so it wouldn’t ruin anything.” She chuckled nervously, “Come on, open it.”
I did as she said and started reading.
Dear Charles Weasley,
I was told very insistently that I wrote a letter back to you instead of the original remittent.
Due to the multiple letters that arrived to me I decided to address the first one, which had attached parts of a manuscript draft that I believe you are the author of.
I read it thoroughly and I was very pleased with the contents of it, I certainly require a copy of the book when finished, I intend to buy it legitimately, of course.
I am particularly interested in your campaign to set free the Ukrainian Ironbelly that it’s been held captive inside the bank of Gringotts, and I support the cause wholeheartedly. Whenever you feel it’s appropriate, I am at your disposal to discuss the details.
Best regards,
Newt Scamander
P.S I kept the draft to read it one more time, but I will not mind sending it back to its legitimate owner, if you happen to want it back, please indicate so in a letter.
I don’t remember how many times I read the letter, probably too many, because my lack of response was making Kate shift in her place in front of me.
“Are you angry that I sent him your draft without your permission?” She said softly. I looked up at her and I could see she was afraid of my answer. How could I be? I hadn’t even considered sending it to Newt Scamander, THE Newt Scamander, believing he wouldn’t bother reading it. And she, on her line of making possible the impossible, made my dreams come true.
“I just…you gave it to me to read it, and I thought it was brilliant, I did have to use a couple of books to understand some parts of it but…” she chuckled nervously again and that threw me out of my trance.
I grabbed the letter and the book in one hand and hugged her as tight as I could. She lost her balance and laughed, but I wouldn’t let her fall. She hugged me back and I forgot where we were or that probably we were being watched by her family. That didn’t matter at the moment.
Sounds of an argument caught our attention and we separated.
“When were ye gonna tell me ye were not goin’ to be ‘ere for Christmas?” Bernard’s anger accentuated his accent. “Ye said ye were goin’ to stay!”
“Da, please, you know how it is, I must be in South Africa tomorrow morning.”
“And what in the bloody hell you lost in South Africa that’s more important than your family, Natalia!”
Kate sighed beside me and said, “Would you help me pick up all the wrapping paper?” I nodded knowing what she meant and grabbed the few papers scattered on the floor. She quietly exited the room and I followed, leaving the argument behind us.
I watched move her wrist and the wrapping paper elevated in the air floating towards the kitchen. She grabbed my hand and pulled me towards a room behind the stairs. “Wait! Wait! I got you a present as well!” I rushed towards the hall and picked up the box I brought “It’s not going to be as special as your gift, but…here.”
The room was clearly a studio, with big bookshelves covering the walls, a wooden desk with multiple drawers on it and some artefacts I couldn’t identify.
She had that particular look in her eyes when she knows something that I don’t, bloody hell it’s impossible to surprise her. I watched how she curiously opened the box and I was pleased when she seemed genuinely surprised. She gasped and a wave of pride washed over me.
She is not a girl that waits for you to give her a present, if she wants something, she gets it. Auto Gifts she calls them, but I wanted to do something nice for her and I anticipated. We were indulging in some ‘us time’ in Bucharest, away from the chaos of the magic world, the problems, the thought of a war, just a couple taking a walk under the city lights. It was a moment, just a split of second, in mid-conversation she had stolen a look to a hat shop’s showcase. I didn’t give it much thought until I found an opened Witch Weekly Magazine in her workplace back at home. She hadn’t told me about it, so I figured that she hadn’t decided yet.
“Oh, Charlie, this is…too much.” She took out the witch hat I got her: black with dark blue velvet inside and golden threads on the top. “Love, this is too expensive, I… I’m not working at the moment and…”
“You like it?” I knew she did because she hadn’t taken her eyes away from it.
“This is not practical, I…”
“It’s not supposed to be practical, it’s a gift, but do you like it?”
“I… I do! Oh, Merlin, this is perfect, how…?”
“Because I know you.” She put it on and posed for me.
“How do I look?”
“Positively beautiful.” She smiled and ran to a mirror on the wall where she looked at her reflection and squealed.
“It came with these…uh, things,” I took out a small bag with some star and moon pendants inside of it. “You can hang them on it, if you want, that is.”
“Thanks.” She walked up to me and grabbed my cheeks, probably burning by now, and leaned to kiss me. The hat had other thoughts, and my forehead collided with its wing. We both started laughing and I threw my head back.
“Hey, look, it matches with the ceiling.” I hadn’t noticed before, but the entirety of the ceiling was painted as a dark sky, a deep dark blue with stars all over it. She looked up as well and we stood there, what a sight to see! Both hugging and looking up at nowhere.
“Your grandmother painted it.” Said a voice from the door. Kate’s grandfather stood leaning on the doorframe. “I apologise for the scene” he said “My, my, there’s a witch in my house!” He joked and we both laughed, but I noticed the sadness of his eyes.
“I assume you won’t be here tomorrow either.”
Kate sighed and drew away from me, guilt all over her face.
“We thought we could spend today here and tomorrow with his family; his father’s been badly injured, and we were planning on visiting him at the hospital.” This was not right. Mom always said that no one should spend the holidays alone, that it misses the point completely.
“Mr Walsh,” I began
“Bernard, please,” he corrected
“Bernard, I invite you to spend Christmas day with my family.” Kate looked at me and I saw from the corner of my eye that she smiled.
“Oh, no, no, no, son…”
“I insist, “I interrupted “Mom cooks for a whole army anyway and they won’t mind another guest. I know it’s going to look like just half a family for you but, they always make everyone feel at home.”
“Perhaps, it would be nice…”
“It will.” Said Kate putting and arm around my waist.
“That’s settled, then.” I said. Kate turned around to grab the box and gasped. “Look! It’s snowing!” She rushed to the window behind the desk and the other members of the family came to investigate what was the commotion about.
We ended up all gathered together, pressed against the window watching the snow cover the street.
“My Julie said there was something magical in watching snow fall.” Bernard commented, and he was right, even though in Romania we have our fair share of snow every year, Kate and I always find ourselves staring out of the window for a few peaceful moments.
She rested her head on my shoulder, trying not to poke my face with the hat, and I hugged her waist.
“But that’s just because you always conjured snow just to fall in front of her!” Accused Cornelia with an amused tone.
“Certainly not!” He tried to cover the lie but ended up laughing anyway spreading it to the rest of us. I squeezed Kate’s hip and she turned to look at me.
“Ready for round two tomorrow?” Her eyes widened at the thought of a Weasley Christmas and we ended up chuckling together.
Despite all the mess that our lives were at the moment it was a nice rest, and it was certainly a holiday that I wouldn’t forget.
-
(Part 2/3)
#charlie weasley#charlie weasley fanfiction#charlie x jacob's sibling#charlie weasley x ofc#charlie weasley x mc#mc#hogwarts mystery#potterverse#christmas#weasleys#weasley
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a few years ago I consider myself to have been an alcoholic. every night I was drinking. a hard lemonade here, a whiskey spiked hard cider there, an entire bottle of wine. after some time I noticed that this was becoming a pattern. I was drinking to get drunk, daily. I decided you know what, fuck this, I am NOT going to become an addict like my dad to heroin, like my mom to painkillers, like my uncle to cocaine, like my stepdad to booze, and like most of my family to cigarettes. I'm not doing this shit. I don't need the alcohol, I'm not gonna buy anymore, I'm not gonna drink anymore, I'm DONE. cold turkey.
since my decision to kick alcohol entirely, I have had a grand total of three alcoholic drinks, each one roughly a year apart. one was at my aunt's birthday party. I had an angry orchard rose. a year later I found an old mike's hard blackberry lemonade in my old van and decided fuck it I'll drink it. that was last year. and the other day I went to a christmas party at my work (if we were gonna spread covid we would've done so by now, calm down), and I had one drink, half cranberry juice half bold ginger ale and half apple crown royal whisky.
and now I've encountered an anxiety spiral.
did I relapse three times? did I fully recover and consider myself entitled enough to have a drink every once in a while which just shits all over addiction psychology and also implies that I'm better than other addicts because I can control myself around the source of my addiction? was I ever an alcoholic at all and am I just saying I was so I can flex on my dad, fuck you I kicked my addiction and I'm better than you so every time you told me I was LAZY you were a filthy fuckig liar because now you're under house arrest for all the drugs you do all the goddamn time because you're always fucking relapsing because you're spending all the money you SHOULD have spent on MY COLLEGE on fucking HEROIN, just using fake alcoholism to help justify my own daddy issues?
well I didn't "relapse". for one, relapsing doesn't fucking exist. you're either addicted or you're not. if you're addicted to crack and you don't do crack for 6 months, so you kicked your addiction to crack, but then you go out and smoke crack again and you wake up two weeks later having done crack every day for those two weeks and still want it more, that's not a fucking relapse. you were still addicted to crack. you just didn't do any for 6 months. temperance changed nothing. "who made you the expert" my dad's rehab coach, that's who. but guess what, each of the three times, a year passed before I had another drink. I have the willpower of a fucking ox. I had some whiskey the other day, and I don't have any desire to have any more. a year might pass before I have another drink. two might. I might never drink again. If I wanted to I could go to Walmart right now and by some vodka and chug it. I have that power. I have the money to. but I'm not. you know why? because I kicked my addiction and I can still have a drink here and there if I wanted to just like everyone else. I don't need it. I don't even particularly want it. someone asked if I wanted some and I said ok. if I was an alcoholic emphasis WAS then I'm not anymore and I didn't relapse. but the other two options are bad.
am I now shitting all over addicts who don't have the same self control that I have? Am I saying to addiction psychologists "you're a goddamn idiot and don't know what you're talking about, I'm smarter than you, fuck you"? am I implying that addicts who struggle with their addictions who DONT just shrug it off and say no through sheer force of will are just weak and need to try harder? am I lording myself as the queen of all addicts and inflating my own ego as being so strong and so cool and so badass and so awesome for removing my alcoholism without any therapy or medical attention or anything because I don't need therapy just psychiatry to regulate my brain chemistry imbalances via medication? am I implying that it's so easy so why can't everyone else do it too? or am I just saying that you can have one drink without it being a big fucking deal because everyone else at the party who had just one drink could do it no problem. but I can't say that because EVERYONE QUALIFIED TO TALK SAYS THAT ITS A RELAPSE EVEN IF YOU HAVE JUST ONE DRINK PER YEAR.
so am I just not an alcoholic? did I just recently find out what being drunk was like and did it a few times because it was fun and didn't let it get in the way of my major responsibilities or daily life? do I just say I used to be and kicked it because I crave that sweet dopamine fix from people saying "wow good job on kicking your addiction I'm so proud of you" so I can lord it over my dad and say nanner nanner booboo my brain is better than yours, fucker? am I just being a giant drama queen?
...
none of the above.
I was an alcoholic. now I'm not. and I can have a drink if I want to. because that's me. that's not anyone else. every addiction is different. and I'm fine. and I'm overthinking this because of the anxiety I can't take care of because my dad has me on his health insurance but I can't use it because he's anti medication and he won't give me the updated information so I can't use it and I can't go to medical facilities and say don't use it just let me pay with cash because they tell me no fuck you we can't do it outside of your insurance, and I can't use my mom's because she dropped me from hers to save herself $100 a month. I've made it this far without ANY HELP WHATSOEVER from health care. I've had 20 therapists and they've all been no goddamn help. I've had to do this on my own. anxiety, depression, autism, gender dysphoria, some personality disorder or something probably, multiple childhood sexual assaults that my brain has repressed so I don't remember it. i made it on my own because I'm strong, strong enough to kick addiction and laugh in it's dumb fucking face as I kick back and have a drink because you don't control me. I control me.
also I do cannabis for fun and pain relief for my muscular dystrophy that's intense enough that sex is excruciatingly difficult. I have thc and cbd in my blood every single day that I work. drugs are nothing to me. they are tools and or pleasure vehicles that I use in occasion when I want to, not when I need to. I don't seek for this to be inspiration porn for other people or a guilt trigger for those who struggle with their own addiction because they are not me. this is about me. nobody else.
Thanks for coming to my ted talk
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Adventure of a Lifetime: Chapter Nine
If you need to catch up you can find all of Adventure of a Lifetime HERE.
**********
I’m on my way.
I am ready. See you in a bit. :)
“Savannah!” I yelled. I heard her laughter drift through the house before I heard her hurrying up the stairs to my room.
“Yes,” she said as she came into the bathroom and sat in the chair at my vanity.
“Do I look okay?” I asked. I knew I looked nervous and panicked. I felt it too. Enough that I’d snuck a beer into the bathroom with me while I got ready. I took another drink as Savannah gave me a once over.
“You look great.” I had put on a pair of black leggings and an olive green top that was long enough it basically qualified as a dress but it had a high low hem where the high was TOO high and the fabric was so lightweight it would be see-through without layers. A little bit of lace from my black bralette peaked out of the v-neck when I moved. She sat trying to talk me through my anxiety as I finished getting ready. I didn’t have much time, over the last two weeks I’d learned the exact amount of time it took Jeremy to get to my house, which was about 3 minutes less than it took me to get to his house. “It’s gonna get chilly when the sun goes down. Do you have a jacket?”
“I was going to wear my denim jacket.” Her face contorted. She apparently didn’t like that idea.
“Nope. I’ve got the perfect one.” She stood up and left the bathroom. I put down the curling iron from the last loose curl I’d added to my hair to make it look like I tried but also not like I tried too hard. I shut it off before following her into the bedroom. She walked out and threw a jacket at me before throwing a pair of shoes.
“Why are you throwing things at me?”
“Because you don’t look like yourself. I’d tell you to wear the black version of that top but then you’d look like the angel of death so the green works, plus it makes your eyes pop. The black ankle booties are cute but halfway through the night you’ll regret them, you always do. Checkered Vans are who you are. They are part of your brand, your ethos, your…I don’t know what they are but you need to wear them.” She’d picked out a black and white pair that somehow didn’t look like I’d worn them for 10 years, they must be the new ones I ordered a few weeks ago. I pulled the jacket back and looked at it. “Tony told me what he said about the photo of you in that jacket in your studio. Wear it.” I smiled looking down at it.
The Rebel Girl Inside Me Will Never Die.
“You think?” I asked.
“Yes. Do it. The Rebel Girl inside you needs a night out or it’s highly possible she might die. Tony and I have the kids covered tonight. Stay out. Drink a little too much. Have fun. Relax. Be 36 and single for a night. The #MomLife you live will be waiting for you in the morning, or afternoon if you’d prefer it that way.”
“Oh shut it. I am not coming home tomorrow afternoon, I’ll be home at a reasonable time. I am so not staying at his house. We don’t even know if this is a date or not. It’s dinner.”
“It’s dinner together. At a restaurant. Without your kids. Without your brother. Without me. It’s a date.”
I’d kept pushing back the night together. Made excuses and reasons we needed to do stuff with the kids instead. Or that we should take Tony to this really great dive bar not far from my house for some live music or karaoke. I’d pushed back as far as I possibly could. It was Wednesday night. Tomorrow my family would arrive. They’d all be leaving in the morning and get here sometime in the afternoon or evening. Alex and her family would get her Friday mid-day. Sam’s family would be making the trip for Friday dinner and coming back on Saturday for the service since it was a short drive for them. I would have a full house for the next five days. I’d also run out of every logical reason we couldn’t be alone. Tonight was the night. It was all or nothing. To say I was incredibly anxious was an understatement, I was borderline terrified.
I wasn’t lying, I didn’t technically know if it was a date or not. But, all signs pointed towards date. We’d seen each other several times over the last two weeks. Lots of hanging out as a family, the girls really loved that they could still see each other even though school was on break. Then Sunday, Ava left to go stay with her Mom. She wouldn’t be home until Friday. Jeremy had still texted me every morning and found excuses to see me. I knew part of it was because he was lonely and processing the alone time without his kid. The weekends that Ellery and Axel would go stay with Sam’s Mom and Dad I usually sent Savannah home to see her parents. I’d wander around the house alone in sweatpants and go through a few too many bottles of wine or whiskey and probably too much weed in the timespan. As much as I hadn’t prepared myself to be so attached to them I was and when they weren’t in the house it felt unbelievably empty. I felt empty. I’d sit and stare at the house I called home now. The house that was so perfectly Sam and Michael and so not me. I felt the life drain from me when the kids were gone and they weren’t even my flesh and blood. It had to be exponentially harder for Jeremy. Ava was clearly his universe.
“So really? The vans and the leather jacket? It’s it too casual if it’s a date.”
“It’s borderline. It’s not too casual because you look fucking hot and that’s all he will focus on. The green makes your eyes stand out and show just how green they are. It’s also just casual enough that if this is another night of Jeremy trying to not be alone and not a date that you aren’t overdressed. If you’d worn the black dress you had picked out earlier you’d be overdressed if it wasn’t a date.” My phone beeped to signal that the gate had opened.
“Shit he’s here.” I grabbed my bag, threw on the jewelry I’d left laying on my dresser and hurried down the stairs behind Savannah. I ran to the kitchen and kissed the tops of the kids’ heads where they were seated at the island. “Be good for Savy and Tony tonight, promise.”
“Promise,” Ellery said. “Will you be home before I go to bed?”
“I don’t know. But Uncle Tony promised to sing songs with you tonight. That’s way better than me, right?” She smiled and nodded before shoving another spoonful of macaroni and cheese into her mouth. The front door opened and Jeremy walked in. I smiled and waved at him before giving Ellery one final kiss on her forehead. “Text or call if either of you needs anything.”
“We’ve got it covered, sis. Go be a grown-up.” He kissed my cheek. “Hey, Jer.”
“Hey T. Well hello Ellery Marie. Is that mac and cheese for dinner?” She nodded. “Nice choice.” He glanced at me. “ I talked to Ava before I came to pick up your Mom. She says hi and she can’t wait to see you on Friday.”
“I can’t wait for her to meet Papa and Nana and Aunt Frankie and Uncle Ryan and Aria and Harlow and Carter and and and everyone.” Ellie was excited about this weekend which made me happy and sad all at once. I’d told her that we were having a party to honor her Mom and Dad. She thought it would be like a birthday party, which honestly it probably would feel more like a birthday party than a funeral.
“You ready?”
“Yeah, let’s go.” Our last goodbyes were said and we headed out of the house and towards his truck. He walked with me to the passenger side, opening the door and helping me in. Once we were on the road, he turned music on and we drifted in between conversation and singing along to the music. “So where are you taking me?” I looked over at him and smiled hoping that the thoughts going through my head about if tonight was a date or not didn’t show in my face.
“I thought that we could go to dinner at the restaurant down by the shore to start and then go from there.” The restaurant he’d picked was one of the nicer places near me. Basically all of the restaurants I frequented were kid-friendly and honestly, I hadn’t done a lot of eating out in the last year.
“Ooo. I’m excited now. I’ve been there twice. It was great both times.”
“Well, I’m hopeful that the third visit will be even better. When did you go before?” he asked.
“The first time was several years ago with Sam and Michael when I came to visit. The second was when Frankie and Alex came out for my birthday last year and took me out for dinner without any kids.”
“When was that?”
“Is this your way of asking me when my birthday is?”
“Maybe.” He laughed a little bit.
“It’s October 31st.”
“Halloween. Well, that explains a lot.” I reached over and punched him in the arm. “I meant that in a good way.”
“Uh-huh. Sure.” It wasn’t much longer before we got to the restaurant. Jeremy was opening doors, pulling out chairs and had his hand on the small of my back when we walked anywhere. The date-o-meter in my head kept ticking closer to ‘date’ and less away from ‘night as friends.’
“So are you ready for everyone to get here?” Jeremy asked as soon as our drinks had been delivered.
“Umm, yes and no.” I sighed before taking another drink of my wine. “I’m ready for a chance to see my family. I’m ready for a chance to see Sam’s family and for the kids to see their grandparents. Saturday is the actual thing, Celebration of Life or whatever we are calling it. Sam’s Aunt, Uncle, and their kids will be there too which will be nice. I’m not 100% sure I’m excited to have all of those people in my house. Alex really thought we should invite some friends from LA and I wasn’t really in the mood to argue with her about it so I let her do it. I think there’s a few who RSVPed for Saturday, not many though. I let my sister handle all of that stuff. Of the people who contacted me about it, most replied saying they couldn’t make it, a few had some comment about how the funeral was a year ago, or that I should’ve planned it in LA so that they could come. All of that was why I didn’t want to invite people. Well, that and I’m tired of the faces.”
“Faces?”
“The faces people make at me or the kids when they see us. You know because they all moved on shortly after the funeral. They expect that I’ve also moved on because you know it’s been a year, why on Earth should I still be grieving?”
“Grief is different for everyone. People shouldn’t judge you for how you need to process such a huge loss. You went through more than everyone else. You had to experience so much trauma that other people didn’t have to experience. I am proud of how well you’re doing.” He reached across the table to where my hand was resting and placed his on top of mine. His thumb caressing it softly. “Do you really have friends who judge that you’re still grieving.”
“Yes.” I didn’t really know how to talk about this. But I knew I needed to or at some point this weekend I’d have a breakdown and there would be screaming and throwing things and it would not be good. “Alex judges it. You know because she’s a ‘doctor’ she thinks she knows just how I should be doing at this point.”
“She’s a doctor of English Literature.”
“Yes, yes she is.”
“She sounds like she’s fun at parties.” I almost choked on the drink of wine that I had just taken as I laughed. He had heard a lot of the phone calls I’d had with her in the lead up to this weekend. Listened to me rant and rave about the text messages and emails she’d been sending me. She felt that she should always be in charge of things, she always had, and because this entire weekend was the work of myself and my sister it was making Alex ridiculously difficult to deal with. “I promise I’ll be on my best behavior all weekend around her.”
“You know you really don’t need to spend your whole weekend babysitting me through this.” He’d cleared the entire weekend to make sure that he could be there for me at any moment that I needed him. He’d even offered to sleep on a couch so he could be at my house. I’d admitted to him earlier this week after a few drinks that the closer the anniversary came the harder it was for me to sleep. I’d had a recurring nightmare over the last year that was happening frequently this week. I’d woken up screaming one night and was glad that the kids’ rooms weren’t close enough for them to hear me.
“I’m not babysitting you. I’m going to be there for you because I care about you and you may eventually need backup. Or maybe someone to sneak you out of there for a little while.”
“Or a lot of alcohol.”
“That too. I’ve got it all covered. It’s going to be a good weekend. From what you’ve told me about what you and Frankie planned it sounds like it’s going to be a wonderful time and a great way to celebrate two people you love.”
“It should be. Ellie is so excited about it and I feel so horrible. I told her it was a Celebration of Life, so she basically thinks it’s a huge birthday party. Except unlike a birthday party, she’ll get to watch me cry the whole time. Okay, I guess that’s basically like all of the birthday parties now. Turns out I’m the one who is a ton of fun at parties.” Jeremy laughed a little. He’d quickly figured out I used humor when processing all of this and that he was allowed to at it because I did.
“Birthdays are hard, aren’t they?”
“The worst. Ellie’s birthday is in three and a half weeks. We were still in LA for her 5th birthday. It was the week before we moved here. I was a mess through the entire thing because I was leaving LA, I’d lost my best friend, I was responsible for a 5-year-old and a 2-month-old. I was the fucking conductor on the Hot Mess Express. If Mandi hadn’t thrown the party together and somehow figured out everything that Sam had planned before she died it wouldn’t have happened. I was still so heavily in mourning that I couldn’t function. I put on a happy face the whole fucking day. I said I was so happy that everyone came and honestly I really was happy everyone had come. Ellie deserved a good birthday. But as soon as everyone was out the door it was like I had a psychotic break of some sort. I started sobbing uncontrollably. I was screaming at everyone and no one all at once. I threw the beer bottle in my hand against the side of my Dad’s house and crumbled to the ground. Eventually, after bawling on the ground for a good 15 minutes Ryan picked me up and carried me up to my bedroom. Frankie laid beside me for the next 10 hours while I cried out every tear I’d held inside.”
“What brought it on?”
“Someone told me the birthdays would get easier with time and used the dreaded phrase that I no longer allow.”
“They are in a better place?” I nodded before taking another drink of my wine. “Worst. Phrase. Ever. I’ve never lost someone the way you lost Sam but even I hate that phrase. Or ‘God has a plan’ I heard that one a lot after my divorce. I highly doubt God’s plan was for my wife to put my daughter and me through the hell we went through and if it was I’m not quite sure what his plan is.”
“Also a super shitty phrase. Or ‘God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.’ I literally couldn’t handle breathing most days. Those phrases always pissed me off. I know people intend for it to be comforting but they are the least comforting thing someone could say, especially when you consider that Sam and Michael weren’t religious at all. They got married by a judge that my Dad was friends with. The kids were never baptized, we just had a party for them after they were born where everyone promised to accept these kids and the lives they chose to lead. Whether they worship a Christian God, a Greek God, Buddha, Elmo, or Satan that we were required to love them, support them, and let them explore life the way they wanted to. It involved streamers and flower petals and looked like a fun party that everyone would want to go to. Essentially that’s what Frankie and I used for our inspiration for Saturday. Friday night is just family and the closest friends. We are doing a really nice dinner with Sam and Michael’s favorite foods and a chance for us to have a quieter event.”
“All of it sounds like it’s going to be a great weekend. You’re all still coming over Sunday to swim and have a barbecue at my house, right?” I nodded.
“Frankie thought it was great that Ellie’s best friend wanted everyone to come to her house.”
“Leaving out that it was someone that wanted to do it for you I see.”
“No. I just try not to go into detail with my sister because it will become a deposition about my social life, more specifically my love life. She’s almost done with law school, she’s scary good at interrogating me. It’s like the worst cross-examination you could imagine.” I was ready to not talk about me and the heavy weekend that was approaching me. “How have you been holding up this week?”
“As good as I can, I guess. Thanks for putting up with me being around a little more this week. It’s always hard the first time she leaves for a long summer visit.” I’d started to learn a little bit about Jeremy’s custody arrangement with his ex this week. Ava had left Sunday morning to go stay with her Mom for the week. She was supposed to be there for two full weeks but he’d explained to his ex that Ava wanted to be in town to support Ellery and somehow that worked. She’d be back in Tahoe for the weekend and next week before Jeremy left to go back to LA with her for a while so that she could have more time with her Mom. Evidently, in summer it was two weeks with her Mom, two weeks with him, off and on. He’d slowed on work because she’d started school but he’d be leaving to go work on another Marvel project eventually and he was worried about how it would disrupt her life. Her Mom was trying to convince him that she needed to spend the next school year in LA since he didn’t know how much of it he’d be gone for. He wasn’t ready to agree to that and I didn’t blame him. I also hoped it wouldn’t happen because Ellery would be lost without Ava at school.
“I’m not putting up with you. I…I maybe like being around you, a little bit.”
“I like being around you too.” His smile lit his face up. I liked seeing the real smile and not the forced one he’d been wearing a lot of this week. I also loved that he could see through my bullshit, my terrible jokes, and see me behind the facade. “You’ve made what is normally the worst week of the year for me a lot easier.”
“You’ve done the same for me. Saturday is going to be a hard day. The closer it gets the more anxious I feel about it. Thank you for the distraction tonight.”
“I’m always happy to be a distraction for you.” Dinner was unbelievable. The food was delicious. He’d reserved a table inside the restaurant right by the window so we could watch the sunset. We had a leisurely dinner and sat there for over two hours. He even insisted on having dessert even though I was fairly certain I couldn’t eat a bite more of food. It felt good to be out of the house for a little while and not worrying about needing to get home. I knew that my brother and Savy had control of the kids tonight. I had all day tomorrow to prepare before my family got there and I’d have almost a full 24 hours with them before Alex, Max, and the boys arrived. Jeremy was going to be there for dinner tomorrow night so that my family had a chance to meet him before Alex got there. I needed backup since I feared she’d be super judgmental like she usually was. I wasn’t 100% sure why I was afraid of her judgment. After all, Jeremy and I were just friends.
“Thank you so much for tonight,” I said as we walked towards the car after dinner.
“Who says tonight is over?” His smile gave him away. I could almost read the thoughts in his head like there was an ominous movie voiceover happening. Charlie was right. Tonight is definitely not over. Jeremy had more up his sleeve.
“We just had the greatest dinner. What the hell else could we possibly do?”
“There’s a lot that we could do. Trust me.” He winked at me before opening the door to the truck and helping me in. My pulse started to race. I took a few deep breathes as he walked around the truck and climbed in. He drove through town stopping in front of the dive bar we’d taken my brother to earlier this week. I turned to look at him.
“Is your plan to get me drunk tonight?”
“Maybe.” His laughter filled the truck. “I’m not really. I know you have a lot to do tomorrow. But I thought you deserved one relaxing night where you didn’t have to think about what this week means, who you are supposed to be, and what you are supposed to be doing. Tonight you don’t have to live up to anyone’s expectations, you just need to relax and have fun.”
“And you are in charge of this fun?”
“Yes, yes I am.” We both climbed down from the truck and as I got to the front he reached for my hand, grabbing it and dragging me inside. He pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arm around me as he opened the door of the bar. Music poured out into the street from the jukebox. The place had a small crowd but decent considering it was a Wednesday night. His arm didn’t move from around my waist while we walked through the bar. We found a high top table right next to an open pool table. “I declare a rematch from Sunday. You cheated.”
“I did not cheat. I hustled your ass.” I batted my eyelashes. “Oh Jeremy, teach me how to play pool.”
“Yeah, you conveniently forgot to tell me that you a pool shark.”
“No, I’m just a kid who grew up with a pool table and parents who worked all of the time. I tried to learn trick shots when I was 10.”
“Well, I am certain I can beat you. So, it’s time for a rematch. But first, drinks. What would you like my dear?” He had me so at ease tonight. I hadn’t felt this relaxed in so long.
“I’ll have a beer. That blonde craft beer I was drinking Sunday. Get me one of those.”
“The one that had the high alcohol content.” I nodded excitedly. I’d had two drinks Sunday night and had a buzz. By the end of the third, I was in fits of giggles and a bit of a happy drunk. “Oh, you’re going to be fun tonight. I’ll be right back.” Jeremy headed to the bar while I sat down on one of the barstools. I pulled my cell phone out of my purse and quickly checked it. There were no calls, no texts. It appeared the house hadn’t erupted into flames while I was gone. I’m sure I had emails I could read but there was no point in it. I didn’t want to sit and stare at my phone when I could be staring at Jeremy. Shit. That’s not what I meant. Nope, it actually was.
“Your beer, my dear.”
“Thank you.” I took a drink of it and relaxed into the familiar flavor. “So, rematch huh? I’ll be nice and even let you break.”
“How kind of you, smartass.” Jeremy set the table and started our game. We’d developed a playful banter in moments like this. A little smack talk mixed with a lot of flirtation. “I can’t believe you fucking beat me again.”
“What can I say? I’m unstoppable.” I’d sat back down at the table after the third game in a row where I’d beat him. Jeremy walked over and stood between my legs while he grabbed his beer and took a drink.
“You are amazing.” I crossed my legs allowing my knee to brush against him. He rested his hand on my thigh. “I know that technically this night was for you to relax. But I am really having a great time.”
“I am too.”
“So Cinderella does that mean I can keep you out past midnight.” He’d already paid our tab here but I sensed that he wanted to find another place for one more drink or maybe two.
“Oh hell no,” I replied laughing. “I have to be up early to prep for all of my visitors.” I glanced down at my watch, it almost 10:30. “In fact, this princess might turn into a pumpkin if we don’t get her home soon. She’s also perhaps a little bit buzzy from her beer.”
“I guess I can take you home then.” He leaned forward, burying his face in my hair beside my ear. “I’d much rather keep you all to myself a little while longer. I have to share you all weekend. I’ve never been all that great at sharing. Just ask my kindergarten teacher.” I giggled a bit. “I love that sound.” The feeling of his breath on my neck sent a shiver up my spine. “You have a beautiful laugh. It complements your beautiful eyes, they sparkle when you laugh.”
“You read a romance novel before you picked me up. Didn’t you?”
“Nope. You just inspire that in me.” He kissed my cheek right by my ear before leaning back and grabbing my hand. “Let’s get you home Cinderella. I can’t have you turning into a pumpkin.” I giggled again as I laced my fingers between his. He walked me to the passenger side of his truck, opening the door and helping me in as he had all evening. When he climbed into the driver's side and headed on the road towards my place he grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers again. His hand didn’t leave mine until he needed to input the code on the gate.
Once at the house, we hopped out of the truck and he walked me towards the door, his hand in mine again. We stopped right before the steps that went up to the porch. The lights were still on in the main house so I didn’t want to take him up on the porch and risk that my little brother and nanny could see the end of what I was now almost certain was a date. As we stopped he grabbed my other hand.
“Thank you for tonight,” I said. “I had a great time.”
“I did too. I feel like I should be thanking you.”
“For what?”
“Finally deciding you’d run out of excuses as to why I couldn’t take you out tonight.” I looked down at the ground. I had made excuses. “It was well worth the wait though.”
“It definitely was.” He leaned towards me. My eyes closed as he got close enough to kiss me. I could feel his breath when I heard the door open and my eyes shot open. The door quickly shut and I turned to see Savannah hurrying outside barefoot. Jeremy backed away from me.
“I’ve been trying to call you all night,” Savannah said. I reached into my purse and found my phone. No missed calls or texts. “Shit. I accidentally flipped it into airplane mode when we got at the bar and I checked to see if you’d called me. Is everything okay? Are the kids okay?” I went from zero to full-blown panic in a millisecond.
“The kids are fine. Everything is okay." I finally sighed a huge sigh of relief. "But.” Savannah didn’t have a chance to even finish her sentence before the door flew open.
“Charlie, you’re home. FINALLY!” There in the open door stood my sister.
“Frankie, what are you doing here?”
“We decided to surprise you and come out early. Dad got the company plane for us so we didn’t have to drive.” She walked down the stairs and hugged me tightly. “Oh, I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too, Frankie.” I looked and Jeremy and mouthed out ‘sorry’ he just smiled.
“Oh, I’m being rude. I’m Charlie’s older sister, Frankie. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Hi, I’m Jeremy. It’s nice to meet you.” He stuck his hand out expecting a handshake and got a hug instead.
“Sorry, we DeLucas are huggers. I’m so glad to finally put a face with a name. Charlie talks about you constantly.”
“Oh does she now?” I dropped my face into my hands. I can't believe she outted me like that, okay I actually can believe that she did. It was very typical. Filterless Frankie.
“Well, why don’t you two come inside. We’ve found our way into the wine cellar, the kids are all tucked in bed, and the adults are having a good time.”
“I should really get home,” Jeremy said. He knew that I was panicking. This was not how I’d planned for him to meet my family. This is also far from how I wanted tonight to end. I should’ve listened to him and let him take me out for a few more drinks.
“Nonsense. You are coming inside, at least for one drink. You need to meet everyone.” Frankie grabbed Jeremy’s hand and pulled him up the stairs. I looked at Savannah in a state of shock.
“What the fuck is going on?”
“I don’t know. They didn’t warn Tony that they were coming even. They just appeared here. They flew in and had a car service pick them up at the airport. They got here right before the kids would’ve all gone to bed. Breathe deep. You’ll be okay.” I took one deep breath before sprinting up the front stairs into the house where I found my entire family surrounding the island in the kitchen.
“Chucky!” Ryan yelled before pulling me in for a hug. He hadn’t found the wine. He’d found my liquor cabinet and by the smell of his breath, he was drinking Jameson on the rocks.
“Hi, Ry.” I hugged him and whispered in his ear. “Really you couldn’t have warned me about all of you showing up? I thought you were my friend.”
“Your sister threatened me. She wanted to surprise you. Were you on a date?” He raised an eyebrow at me.
“Ugh.” I walked away from him and to my Dad. “Hi, Dad. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you too, Charlie.” I realized that as I was hugging my family Frankie was doing all of the introductions of my family to Jeremy.
“And that’s Charlie, who you clearly know,” she said as I walked over to Mandi.
“I do know Charlie.” I hugged Mandi from behind and whispered in her ear. “Am I allowed to smother Frankie in her sleep for this? I know it was her idea.”
“No smothering her in her sleep. She just missed you and thought an extra day would be nice. Then your Dad offered up the plane and it was done.”
“Jer, what do you want to drink?” Tony asked.
“Whatever is fine,” he answered.
“Chucky, what do you want?”
“Tequila. Now that I know I don’t have to wake up early to finish getting the house ready for all of you I’m going to allow myself to have a little more fun.” Tony ran downstairs and came up with a bottle of tequila. Jeremy took it from him and reached into the cabinet to get two glasses, filled them with ice and tequila before handing me one.
“He knows his way around your kitchen?” Mandi asked quietly.
“Shut it.”
“He’s really attractive.”
“Yes, yes he is.” I took a sip of my drink before jumping up onto the counter since all of the seats in my kitchen were taken.
“So where have you been all night, Charlie?” Frankie asked.
“Jeremy and I went out for dinner. And then I schooled him in pool.” I smiled proudly and took another drink.
“She beat me three times.”
“You’re a glutton for punishment,” Tony said. “You lost to her four times Sunday night.”
“I thought that I could take her. I don’t know why I thought that but I did.”
“Charlie made enough money to come visit us in Boston right after her freshman year of college in one weekend by hustling people at pool. She then hustled her way around Boston.” Ryan laughed recalling what I jokingly referred to as my part-time job my freshman year of college. “She said it was better than the alternative which was playing guitar on a street corner.”
“I wasn’t in the mood to be a busker.”
“The truth is she didn’t need to do any of that. She just liked trying to make me nervous constantly. I blame every single gray hair on my head on Charlie." My Dad shook his head and laughed. It didn't matter how old I was, I'd always be his little girl and a bit of a pain in his ass.
“That doesn’t surprise me in the least bit,” Jeremy said. He walked to where I was sitting and hopped up on the counter next to me.
“So Jeremy, what do you do for a living?” Ryan asked. I started to laugh really loudly as Jeremy answered.
“I’m an actor. I do some producing and music too.”
“Ryan, don’t lie. You were the one crying as we walked out of the theater in the middle of the night after a midnight showing of Infinity War and ranting about how they went a full two hours and forty minutes without a single mention of Hawkeye minus ‘he’s on house arrest.’ You absolutely know what Jeremy does for a living.” Jeremy laughed.
“It took you 10 minutes after the credits rolled to be able to speak!” Ryan retorted. “And you also cried. Tony is the only one that didn’t.”
“He totally did. I was in the middle of you two. You just didn’t hear him crying.”
“Spiderman didn’t want to go!” Tony defended himself and his tears causing the entire room to erupt into laughter.
“I like your family,” Jeremy said as he continued to laugh. “I also can see where you get a bit of your special brand of crazy.”
“It’s just those three,” Frankie interjected in an attempt to pretend that it was her husband and siblings that were weird, not her.
“Oh, I have a feeling you’re the wackiest of them all, Frankie.”
“What has she told you?” she asked.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I laughed and leaned toward Jeremy, my head resting on his shoulder for barely a second before I realized what I had done and I moved quickly.
“So how long have you two been friends? I was almost positive that Charlie lived here as a recluse minus Savannah until Tony ran away from home.” Ryan was always full of smartassed remarks and questions.
“The girls are best friends,” I answered.
“My daughter Ava and Ellery are in school together. We met on the last day of school when Ava begged me to have her friend over to celebrate the first day of summer. Charlie and Axel came with and that’s the day Tony called in a panic about running away from home so I somehow got roped into helping move him into his place.”
“You volunteered,” I scoffed before reaching for the tequila to pour myself another glass. Jeremy took the bottle from me and filled his up as well.
“You looked like a panicked sister. I imagined what my two look like when I do something stupid so I thought I’d help.”
“Hey! I wasn’t doing something stupid. I was moving in with my sister to help her with her kids,” Tony said.
“Umm, hi. My name is Savannah. I’m the nanny. You’re the dude who shows up in the house every morning and steals my coffee.”
“That’s not surprising. He’s done that for ages,” Mandi said. “I’m determined that I failed at motherhood because he can’t figure out how to work a simple coffee pot. There’s no way he’d know how to work the espresso machine in this house.”
“I’ve figured out the regular coffee pot here. But Savannah and Chuck make better coffee than I do.”
“It’s because I worked at a coffee shop in high school,” Savannah replied. She’d worked at my favorite coffee shop that I frequently used as an ‘office’ when I didn’t want to be in the studio. “And coffee is an entire food group to Charlie so she had to get good at it or she would’ve gone broke a decade ago.”
“True fucking story,” I replied. I scooted back on the counter resting my feet on the end so my knees were raised. “I went broke the first summer that Savannah worked at that coffee shop. The anxious non-mom in me stopped by every morning to check on her.”
“Was that the summer she got her first boyfriend?” Mandi asked.
“Yes. He worked with her and was 2 years older than her. I stalked her for an entire summer because I was terrified that he was going to hurt my little girl. That was when I decided I wasn’t capable of being a mother. The universe clearly laughed at my ideas for the future.” I threw back my glass and took a giant drink. Jeremy rested his hand on my thigh, it wasn’t flirty, it was meant to be comforting.
“The universe didn’t decide this for you, kiddo,” Dad said. “But you were obviously wrong about being incapable of being a mother. A year later and you’re one of the best mothers I know.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“I have to agree with that,” Jeremy added. “I didn’t know you before but honestly, you’re an incredible mom to those kids. You do everything you can to give them the best life they can have considering everything. You’ve survived a lot of trauma to come out on the other end as a really amazing person. A lot of people wouldn’t have come out on this side of the last year with the grace you have. It shows how strong you are and that you are capable of making it through just about anything life can throw at you.”
“Well said,” Ryan agreed.
“Thank you,” I replied before laying my head on Jeremy’s shoulder. This time I left it there, he moved his arm so it wrapped around my back. “It hasn’t been easy but it would’ve been a hell of a lot harder without you guys. I am lucky to have such a great family and awesome friends.” I took a deep breath trying to keep myself from crying. “So I clearly don’t have the house ready for all of you. I slacked off tonight.”
“For good reason,” Frankie said. “You had dinner plans with Jeremy. You don’t need to worry. I can help you out tomorrow. I thought getting here early might be beneficial because I could help you get everything ready. We can spend the day together.”
“Okay, I’m maybe now not pissed that you showed up unannounced.”
“You were pissed?” Frankie asked.
“You know your sister better than anyone,” Ryan said. “Do you think she is happy that she got home from a date and found her house full of people? She’s probably been sitting over there plotting some form of torture on you because you ruined her night.”
“I didn’t ruin her night. I didn’t ruin your night, did I?” I held my glass to my lips taking a sip while giggling and trying really hard not to look like my sister ruined my night, even though my sister kind of ruined my night. I was also trying not to react to Ryan calling it a date. Though judging by the fact that Jeremy’s arm was still draped around me and pulling me in close to him I would say that it was a date if he was comfortable touching me with my family in the room. “I ruined your night?”
“Not at all,” Jeremy interjected. “I think she was just surprised and I’ve learned in the short time I’ve known her that this woman does not like surprises.”
“No, she does not,” I answered. “I am so glad you’re here but a heads up that you’d be coming would’ve been nice. So that I don’t know, I could’ve made sure I changed the sheets in all of the beds.”
“You did do that,” Savannah said. We did the sheets yesterday. I flipped her off.
“You’re supposed to side with me.” The laughter and obnoxious storytelling between my family continued. It was getting close to 1:30 when I caught Jeremy yawn.
“You’re tired,” I whispered. “You don’t have to stay here with us. I’m going to try and move them towards bed soon. It's way past my bedtime and the kids will all be up at the crack of dawn."
“I’m okay.” He yawned again and I frowned at him. “Okay, I’m tired. I didn’t sleep well last night. Are you sure you don’t need me to stay here tonight?” I found it so sweet that because of my nightmares he was offering to stay with me. It had been a rough few nights but I’d be fine. I had a sneaking suspicion that I’d be sharing my bed with Frankie for part of the night.
“I’m sure. Thank you for offering though. You can just come over tomorrow for dinner.” He jumped down off the counter.
“I hate to be a buzzkill but I’m tired and need to get myself home.”
“Are you okay to drive?” Dad asked.
“Yeah, I quit drinking over an hour ago.”
“She has space just stay here,” Frankie said.
“I’m okay to get home, really.” He turned to me. “Walk out with me, Charlie?” I nodded so he helped me down from the counter. He said goodbyes and pleasantries to all of my family before we headed towards the door. I closed it behind me and he grabbed my hand. “Tonight was even better than I imagined. Your family is hilarious.”
“They are annoying but funny most of the time. They will probably be watching out the windows so we should not stand on the stairs.” Jeremy laughed as he pulled me closer to his truck. Where he’d parked wasn’t completely visible from the living room windows, especially if we positioned ourselves properly.
“Tonight really was wonderful. Thank you for letting me take you out.” He now had both of my hands in his. We were standing and looking into each other’s eyes just as we had before Savannah interrupted us earlier.
“It was exactly what I needed. Honestly, it was one of the best nights I’ve had in a really long time. I’m sorry about Ryan and Frankie. They are nosy. They like to pick on me when it comes to the men in my life.”
“I didn’t mind it. I mean it was a date.” I couldn’t tell if it was a feeling of relief or excitement that he confirmed that it was a date. “I was actually going to end our date with a kiss until Sav rudely interrupted us.”
“I was kind of hoping you were going to.” He unclasped his right hand from mine, pushing hair away from my face before cupping my cheek and bending down to kiss me. It started out slow, sweet and innocent. It didn’t take much for me to open my mouth and deepen the kiss. A kiss that I felt from tips of my toes to the ends of my hair, which were probably badly split. He briefly ended the kiss before I stood on my tiptoes to capture his lips in mine again. “You know you really can stay if you have had too much to drink. I’ve got lots of space.”
“I’m okay,” he said as he laughed, bending down to kiss me again. “I wouldn’t drive if I wasn’t okay.”
“Okay.”
“Was this more that you just wanted me to stay here tonight?” He slid an arm around my waist, his hand resting on the small of my back as he pulled me into him.
“I mean maybe. Like not because I think you should stay here and like have sex with me or something. Or not because of my nightmares, I’ll be okay. I just really like you and don’t really want tonight to end and like making out for a while would be really fun. But sadly our night is having to end because my family fucking blows. They’ve never been great with timing or throwing surprises.”
“It’ll be okay. If you want to sneak out tomorrow you can come spend some time at my house.”
“That sounds nice but I’m sure that Mandi and Frankie have my entire day planned. Probably setting up for guests and girl time.”
“You’ll have a lot of fun with them.”
“I’d probably have more fun with you.” I smiled.
“I won’t deny that.” He bent down to kiss me again. This time as he ended the kiss he rested his forehead against mine. “We need to say goodnight. We both need to sleep. We have a long weekend ahead of us. Tonight was only the beginning.” He bent down to kiss me once more. If this was just the beginning I couldn’t wait to see where the rest of the adventure took us.
*****AUTHOR'S NOTE*****
This chapter was so fun to write. I had a couple of different ideas for where to go with chapter nine and I'm REALLY glad I chose this option. Jeremy and Charlie going on a first date that she wasn't even sure was a date played nicely into where I want the story to head. I also felt that it was important to take a bit of a jump in the story to the anniversary and when Charlie's family and friends were in town. It shows the advancement of their friendship without making the story move too slowly.
The next few chapters will heavily revolve around the Celebration of Life and the influx of people at her home. By no means do I intend to have this section be incredibly heavy, however, death carries that weight no matter how it is approached. But as Charlie has said, she doesn't want this to seem like a sad and depressing funeral. She wants it to honestly be a celebration of two people who meant so much to so many people. Obviously, nothing in Charlie's life ever goes as planned so expect some speed bumps and a disturbance or two in the force.
I do want to say that I honestly have no idea what Jeremy's custody situation is like for his ex. For the premise of this story, I've made him the custodial parent and that his ex-wife has visitation rights. There will obviously be periods of time where Ava is with her mother and Jeremy is alone, much like this chapter. There will also be times where Ellery and Axel go to stay with members of their biological family leaving Charlie without the kids. Complicated families involve complicated custody arrangements. So please remember that this is 100% fictional and made up for the purpose of this story, I don't presume to know what anyone's custody arrangements are like.
I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter and the direction that I'm taking not just the story but the relationship between Charlie and Jeremy. I originally hadn't intended for them to rush into a relationship, if you've read anything else I've written my characters tend to move fast. These two felt like there was more history involved in their lives and baggage that might make them want to move slowly. I also felt that their natural chemistry might make them relax a little where they might not with just anyone else. Their families have naturally melded together so they've spent more time together than most people do as they are building a friendship and relationship.
I did feel like it was also appropriate to add a bit about her family laughing about Jeremy’s job. Only appropriate considering the faceclaims for almost the entire cast are MCU actors. I mean Tony crying about Spidey, come on that provides a laugh.
I'm super excited to get to work on the next chapter. I've come down with some sort of plague. I've got all the body aches, sniffles, coughs, sneezes, throat scratches and earaches you could ever dream of which means my Mom has confined me to my portion of the house so that she doesn't also get the plague. The benefits of being a grown-ass adult living with your Mom is when you feel sick she sometimes is willing to make you soup and let you sleep for a full day or two. As I'm being forced into my little basement studio I'll probably be writing until I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Feel free to keep me motivated. :)
xx. Annie
Also, let’s just all enjoy Chris scaring Lizzy. :)
#jeremy renner#jeremy renner fanfic#jeremy renner fanfiction#jeremy renner fan fic#jeremy renner fan fiction#fanfiction#fan fiction#fanfic#fan fic#oc fanfiction#oc fan fiction#oc fanfic#oc fan fic#original female character#original female character fanfic#original female character fan fic#original female character fanfiction#original female character fan fiction#original character fanfic#original character fan fic#original character fan fiction#original character fanfiction#mcu#marvel#hawkeye#lizzy olsen#elizabeth olsen#tom holland#chris evans#scarlett johannson
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A Discovery of Witches reread
Last week I re-read A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness and it took me a long time to do it; I had to pause every few pages (sometimes paragraphs) because of the choices characters made I didn’t agree with. I will be doing my reactions about episodes as well (as soon as I re-watch them) and comparing the show to the first book.
My reactions, notes and everything under the cut. There are some trivia I forgot about, some minor changes book vs tv show, some stuff referencing the next books and what not.
BEWARE OF SPOILERS FOR THE BOOKS. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE BOOKS, DON’T READ THIS POST. Enjoy!
[ a discovery of witches | shadow of night | the book of life | time’s convert ]
the book takes place in 2009 in the span of 40 days
miriam and marcus have very different taste in music (The whole area seemed unoccupied, although from somewhere there came faint strains of a Bach cello concerto and something that sounded an awful lot like the latest hit recorded by the Eurovision song-contest winners);
marcus wears converse and he's BLOND (so are nathaniel and satu);
the killings that occurred at the time (a.k.a jack’s doing) were the reason matthew thought that vampires are going extinct and are not able to sire anyone else;
Patience, alas, was not the strong suit of Bishop women - you can clearly see that in the books as well as in the show;
sarah and rebecca's mother's name is joanna (which only matters to me because it’s my name too);
matthew came to oxford at 1989 (when he met hamish);
matthew was 37 eyars old when we was re-born as a vampire and baldwin was in his late twenties or early thirties. marcus was in his late twenties and diana is 33.
marcus is into red-heads (but phoebe is not a red-head, which will be notet later by baldwin or matthew (i don’t remember which)) ;
"I asked if you were hungry.” Why he continued to do so was a mystery—when was I not hungry? #relatable, I’m Diana here;
“I love your hair,” he murmured. “It has every color imaginable—even strands of red and black.” which will be important later on when diana’s hair change
matthew knows how to knock the cork off with a sword (and now i feel robbed that we didn't see it)
both matthew and hamish won all souls prize fellowship
"What’s your name?” I asked, smothering a smile. “Timothy,” he answered, rocking back on his heels. He was wearing mismatched cowboy boots, one red and one black. His eyes were mismatched, too—one was blue and one was green. “You’re more than welcome to check your e-mail, Timothy.” “You’re the one.” He tipped his fingers at me, pivoted on the heel of the red boot, and walked away. - i just love Timothy, okay? He’s a sweetheart PLUS he is somewhat important in The Book of Life
ashmole 782 has been missing since 1859 but gerbert had it a thousand years ago and “it is a strange book, is it not, Diana? A thousand years ago I took it from a great wizard from Toledo. When I brought it to France, it was already bound by layers of enchantment."
diana's fingers were already colorful (mostly blue) especially when she was angry/stressed
Somewhere in the center of my soul, a rusty chain began to unwind. It freed itself, link by link, from where it had rested unobserved, waiting for him. My hands, which had been balled up and pressed against his chest, unfurled with it. The chain continued to drop, to an unfathomable depth where there was nothing but darkness and Matthew. At last it snapped to its full length, anchoring me to a vampire. - matthew could feel the chain if diana wanted him too. I think she weaved it subconsciously without realizing she’s using her weaver’s powers at the time
Matthew also knew his faults, anger chief among them. Typically, Matthew’s rage was so destructive that once the poison was out of his system, he disappeared for months or even years to come to terms with what he'd done - first reference to the blood rage
matthew used to be friends with marquis de lafayette
when marcus was dying and matthew told him about vampires, marcus thought he was tormented by a demon
“Holy God,” Marcus said softly. Staring at the picture, he tried to imagine what it would be like to receive a photo of his own father ripped to pieces and tossed into the dirt to die. - a.k.a. WAIT TILL SHADOW OF NIGHT AND NOW I'M CRYING I JUST LOVE MATTHEW AND MARCUS’ RELATIONSHIP SO MUCH OKAY
Matthew wore his pilgrim’s badge only when he was afraid he was going to kill someone or when he was thinking of Eleanor St. Leger—or both. - i wish they kept it in the show too especially since it created the tree of life in bishop’s house
My aunt was good with spells. Emily wasn’t but could fly for short distances and see the future.
Matthew’s books were arranged not by size but in a running time line. Those on the first bookshelf were so ancient that I couldn’t bear to think about what they contained—the lost works of Aristotle, perhaps? Anything was possible. - headcanon that he has books from a Library of Alexandria (maybe he got them from Philippe or Hugh or Godfrey?)
“It was spring, you were bored, and so you got up one morning and went to Italy to make war. Your father had to beg forgiveness from the king on his knees”. now I NEED TO KNOW WHAT MATTHEW HAS DONE
“Perhaps, but one thing hasn’t changed in all these years. Whenever there’s a crisis, there’s a de Clermont nearby.” - it should be their motto, really
diana has visions too - i know it's obvious but i completely forgot about it since the show didn’t include it at all except for episode 7 when everybody saw the past
Matthew was unusually tall for the time, though not as tall as he became once he was a vampire - being reborn as a vampire not only makes you stronger but bigger and taller too.
His mother strode forward and slapped him, hard, across the face. “How dare you ask that question?” i need to see it, WHY DIDN’T YOU INCLUDE THIS, SHOW?
marcus is "good at wheedling information out of people."
“And you are going to give me gray hairs—long thought impossible among vampires, by the way—with your courage, your firecracker hands, and the impossible things you say.” - i just like it and i wonder if deb already knew that diana would do that for him in the book of life?
Baldwin had him by the throat before the words were out of his mouth. Their heads close together, one dark and one bright, they rocketed to the far end of the hall. Matthew’s body smashed into a wooden door, splintering it with the impact. - friendly reminder that Baldwin is a much better fighter than Matthew and the show SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF MAKING HIM WEAKER
Vampires didn’t usually get all of their names (5) when they were reborn but over the years.
One reason the de Clermont family was so long-lived was that each member had different skills in a crisis. Philippe had always been the leader of men, a charismatic figure who could convince vampires and humans and sometimes even daemons to fight for a common cause. Their brother Hugh had been the negotiator, bringing warring sides to the bargaining table and resolving even the fiercest of conflicts. Godfrey, the youngest of Philippe’s three sons, had been their conscience, teasing out the ethical implications of every decision. To Baldwin fell the battle strategies, his sharp mind quick to analyze every plan for flaws and weaknesses. Louisa had been useful as bait or as a spy, depending on the situation. Matthew, improbably enough, had been the family’s fiercest warrior. His early adventures with the sword had made his father wild with their lack of discipline, but he’d changed. Now whenever Matthew held a weapon in his hand, something in him went cold and he fought his way through obstacles with a tenacity that made him unbeatable. Then there was Ysabeau. Everyone underestimated her except for Philippe, who had called her either “the general” or “my secret weapon.” She missed nothing and had a longer memory than Mnemosyne. - i really like it and i wish it was in the show too. That being said I really am interested what are the talents/skills of Verin, Stasia and Freya.
A helicopter,” Baldwin said. “It was waiting in Clermont-Ferrand to take me back to Lyon. - does Baldwin have a house there?
”Fancy seeing you here, Miss Bishop”. It was what he always said when I sneaked into his study at home or crept downstairs late at night for one more bedtime story. FRIENDLY REMINDER THAT STEPHEN TOLD HER THE SAME THING IN LONDON TOO
Let me know if you need anything, Ysabeau.” Baldwin brushed her cheeks with his lips. - WERE THEY ENEMIES? FRENEMIES?? I THOUGH THAT HATED EACH OTHER WHAT IS GOING ON I NEED ANSWERS ESPECIALLY THAT YSABEAU SAID SHE HATES HIM IN BOL AND THAT HE TRIED TO BANISH HER FROM JERUSALEM ONCE
Marcus was Matthew’s son. He was my son. / When the door swung open, Marcus’s blue eyes met mine with a twinkle. “Hi, Mom, we’re home!” I JUST LOVE IT, OKAY, WE NEED MORE OF THEM IN THE SHOW
Marcus prefers whiskey even though all of his family loves wine
One morning Marcus turned on his heel and stormed back to the house, leaving his father alone in the old apple orchard. “Diana,” he growled in greeting before streaking through the family room and straight out the front door. “I’m too damn young for this!” he shouted as he left. - I LOVE YOU MY BABY DRAMA QUEEN
Gerbert had always wanted to be included among the Knights of Lazarus, and my father refused him time and time again. - which is why he sent Juliette to spy on Matthew and it gives interesting layer that he told about The Knights in the show. He’s so bitter loool
Stephen Proctor could timewalk into the past OR into the future hence why we saw him in the 1x01 - he wasn’t just a hallucination, he probably timewalked into the future to make sure Ashmole 782 is safe
also, at the end of the book, right before they timewalked, Matthew noticed that there are some annotations in his “Doctor Faustus” copy he made that he didn’t remember putting them there. - is this a sign that 16th century Matthew somehow subconsciously remembered Diana or his fight with Kit or something? I wish that was explained too because that’s interesting.
this is so long I’M SORRY. Overall, I had very hard time re-reading this book especially when Matthew was so possessive and controlling. I wanted to punch him every time he said or did something. Show!Matthew is definitely more bearable and les creepy. Also, I love the familiar/platonic relationships between Marcus & Matthew, Marcus & Diana, Marcus & Miriam, Miriam & Diana, Sophie & Diana, Sarah & Marcus and more. Too bad the show didn’t care about those relationships too much. As for the romantic relationships, I wish I knew more about Miriam & Bertrand, Philippe & Ysabeau, Sophie & Nathaniel too.
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Strong as Stone --Part Thirty-Four.
HELLO! WELCOME BACK!
Previously, we watched T’Challa and Nakia finally get married! Praise Bast, it’s proof that T’Challa finally got off his ass and popped the question!
This week, we’ve got a nice, little interlude with Okoye, Ayo, Aneka, and Djabi. We’re long overdue for a girl’s night, after all.
Rating: Probably a solid PG to PG-13.
Pairings: Okoye x M’Baku, T’Challa x Nakia, Shuri x OC, and Ayo x Aneka x OC.
Warnings: Consumption of alcohol. This one’s pretty tame, all things considered.
@skysynclair19, @the-last-hair-bender
Invest in your friends as much as you invest in your romantic relationships, my dears. Nothing is certain in life, and it’s easier to weather life’s uncertainties with people you trust and care about by your side.
“This is long overdue!” Djabi announced as she set a package of pastries down on the coffee table.
Aneka grinned as she uncorked a bottle of wine. “I couldn’t agree more.”
They were settled in the Dora Milaje break room, taking advantage of the evening and the empty space to have a much needed girl’s night.
Okoye smiled as she set down her contribution to the night --several containers of moderately unhealthy, mostly fried vendor food. “It seems like we’ve barely had time to sit down and talk since last New Year’s.”
“Blame that on the dissolving international political arena, the sociopathic technopath, and the demonic cyborg,” Ayo muttered with a huff.
“No!” Djabi pointed fiercely at the Commander. “Absolutely not! You are not bringing work into tonight. I refuse!”
Aneka poured four glasses of wine, handing them out to her friends and partner in turn. “A toast,” she said, lifting her glass.
“To what?” Djabi asked.
Aneka mulled it over, then grinned impishly. “To King T’Challa, for finally getting past his freezing.”
Okoye laughed as she clinked her glass with her friends’. “I’ll drink to that.”
“Drink to something that’ll never happen?” Ayo snickered. “He’s married to Nakia now. He’ll be freezing every damn day.”
“Well, at least he got off his ass and asked her,” Djabi said with a grin.
Okoye took a sip of her wine, then set the glass on the table and settled back in the chair she was sitting on. “Alright. We need to catch up. What’s been going on with all of you lately?”
“Gaslighting,” Ayo grumbled into her glass.
“Oh, get off it!” Aneka laughed. “Stop being so dramatic!”
“I’m sorry, but what else do you call a torture session that is portrayed by the torturers as for the victim’s own good?”
“I’m lost,” Djabi said. “Because, unless you’re talking about a sadism session gone wrong, I can’t put together what you’re talking about.”
“O’Chenga and I finally took her to a furniture store to get some basic necessities,” Aneka explained.
Ayo rolled her eyes. “You call it a store. I call it hell...”
The overhead lights glared like miniature suns, making the concrete floor gleam forebodingly. Garish displays of color, design, and style were strewn everywhere, creating a chaotic, indecipherable field of obstacles and paths. Countless other prisoners --shoppers, whatever--ambled around, mindlessly swaying from one patch of furniture to another.
She’d braved countless battles, looked foreign diplomats in the eye without blinking, and gone several rounds in the sparring ring with the best fighters that Wakanda --that the world--had to offer. And yet, as she surveyed the setting for the oncoming battle, Ayo wasn’t confident she’d make it out of the damn store in one piece.
Aneka’s hand was a vice on hers, unrelenting and inescapable. She scanned a strategy map with cool precision, nimble mind undoubtedly plotting out the best course to ensure total victory.
Ayo had always loved her girlfriend’s keen intelligence and wit, and now she was devastated --blindsided--to find it being so callously used against her--
Okoye howled with laughter as Aneka swatted at her girlfriend’s shoulders.
“Oh, knock it off! If it was that bad, it’s only because you were being so moody and melodramatic!”
“I am not melodramatic!” Ayo insisted, indignant.
“You called the other shoppers ‘prisoners,’” Okoye pointed out between gasps of laughter. She clutched at her stomach. “Oh, Bast, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard something that funny.”
“It isn’t funny,” Ayo said sullenly. “I barely survived.”
“Yes, it is,” Djabi chortled. “Aneka, you’re gonna have to tell the story if you don’t want it to turn into a tragedy film.”
Aneka huffed as she set her half-eaten pastry on a napkin. “Really, it wasn’t anywhere near that bad. The three of us stopped for breakfast first --and Ayo agreed ahead of time that we’d go shopping--”
“I agreed to go shopping!” Ayo snapped. “I did not agree to going to that hellsite against my will!”
Aneka shook her head, smiling anyway. “Honestly, it was a pretty good time, once you get past Ayo’s dramatics...”
Aneka perused the pamphlet that showed the store’s layout. She already had a general idea of what styles she wanted to aim for --she and O’Chenga had spent several months going over different design choices--and she didn’t want to flounder about needlessly through a bunch of different sections that wouldn’t have what they wanted. As much as tormenting her girlfriend was fun, she didn’t want to sour the experience with incompetence.
O’Chenga’s hand was warm and loving on her arm as he peered over her shoulder. “Do you have our route figured out yet?”
“I do,” Ayo grumbled, still upset at being duped. “Right back out the way we came. It’ll take less than a minute.”
“Oh, hush,” Aneka chided as she tugged her girlfriend to the right. “This has been a long time coming and you know it. If we go this way, we can loop around the whole store and end at the checkout aisles.”
She and O’Chenga compared prices, fabrics, and colors as they meandered throughout the store, while Ayo trudged along with them.
“I have gotten this far in my life without throw pillows,” she griped when the two of them started setting options on the couch they’d picked to see which patterns went best with the soft gray stripes that ran along the fabric covering on the cushions. “I don’t need them now.”
“They look nice,” Aneka said as she eyed the plush, yellow polka dot pillow directly in front of her. “They can be used for extra support and cushioning. They’re fun!”
“They’re meant to sit on a couch and look pretty,” Ayo said, unimpressed. “And don’t pick yellow! I hate yellow!”
Aneka and O’Chenga shared smirks before going back to narrowing down their choices.
“Whoa, wait,” Djabi said as she scooped fried plantains onto her plate. “You didn’t say which pillows you ended up going with.”
“Oh, we went with the solid royal blue ones,” Aneka said. “We all liked the color best.”
Okoye grinned teasingly at Ayo, who was pouting --as much as she pouted--dejectedly. “You picked out throw pillows?”
“All I did was ask them not to get the yellow ones,” Ayo grumbled as she gulped down a swig of wine.
“Djabi, how’d your family reunion go?” Aneka asked as she patted Ayo’s arm.
Okoye raised her eyebrows. “Wait, you already made it through? How’d I miss that?”
“Because,” Djabi groaned. “My mom managed to swipe my communicator on the first night and ‘lose’ it. And I made it through by staying mildly buzzed for the most of it.”
Djabi liked her family. They were loving, fun to be around, and enjoyed a good meal as much as she did. Plus, everyone was fairly laid back, which meant there weren’t stupid bouts of drama every other week.
Unfortunately, for as laid back as they were, her aunts, mother, and grandmothers loved playing matchmaker.
“Look at you,” her Aunt Djani remarked during the second day of the reunion. “In your prime and without a man at your side.”
“And just what is wrong with that?” Djabi muttered as she poured more whiskey into her glass.
“Nothing,” her mother said as she took the bottle and set it out of her daughter’s reach. “It’s just that we worry about you being lonely. We want you to be happy.”
“I am happy,” Djabi mumbled into her glass. Especially when I’m not being set up with every single guy in the territory.
It wasn’t that she disliked men. She enjoyed them just fine.
She also enjoyed being independent. As much as she admired Okoye and M’Baku’s relationship --or Ayo, Aneka, and O’Chenga’s--it wasn’t something she wanted right now.
Not that her aunts, grandmother, or mother believed her.
“Sleeping alone isn’t good for you,” her eldest Aunt, Zidwe, said. “It can lead to depression.”
“Actually, people sleep better alone because their sleep cycles are less likely to be interrupted by their partner’s movements,” Djabi shot back. “And I’m not depressed.”
“Not yet,” her grandmother muttered.
“There’s a young man--” her mother swatted her arm lightly when Djabi rolled her eyes “--he’s a friend of your cousin’s. He’s the son of one of the sector leaders. Very respectable, a year younger than you.”
“And he’s got shoulders for days,” Aunt Djani added.
“He’s actually here; we managed to talk your cousin into bringing him along,” her mother said. “He’s by the food tables, in the bright red shirt.”
Djabi looked over her shoulder surreptitiously --and, well, her aunt hadn’t been kidding.
He did have shoulders for days.
Djabi smiled internally as she turned around again. Maybe this family reunion won’t be so bad after all.
“Wait, so did you hook up with him or not?” Ayo asked.
Djabi smirked. “I did. More than once. I actually have his number for my nights off.”
Okoye clapped a hand over her mouth as she snorted. “Oh, Bast. Your aunts and your mom found you a booty call.”
“Hey, it’s their fault for always trying to set me up with someone!”
They all laughed together, doubling over and pressing their hands against their mouths.
“Anyway,” Djabi said once they calmed down. “What about you, Okoye? What’s new with you?”
Okoye shrugged. “Not much. I’ve been pretty busy here. Although...”
She did her best to keep her face smooth as M’Baku walked towards her. How did I get roped into this again?
She’d agreed to act as a ‘decoy’ for Shuri and Dewani --yet another escalation in the ongoing prank war between the Chief and the two teens. If she listened carefully enough, she could hear them giggling on the balcony above.
At this rate, they’ll give themselves away. She smiled as M’Baku kissed her cheek. “Thanks for meeting me out here.”
“Of course. You said you needed me, my love?”
Fortunately, she didn’t have to think of some random, plausible enough excuse.
There was a sharp laugh from the balcony overhead, and then Shuri and Dewani dumped a bucket of ice water straight onto M’Baku’s head.
He let out a yelp as the frigid water hit him. He stared down at his soaked clothes and the puddle at his feet, then glared up at his sister and her girlfriend. “Oh, you think this is funny?”
Dewani and Shuri cackled in unison.
“It is!” Dewani crowed.
“It’s for ALS,” Shuri said as she filmed the Chief. “It’s good cause!”
“You will regret this!” he shouted as the girls darted inside the palace. He huffed, then fixed his glare on Okoye. “Really? You decided to help them?”
She smirked and stepped towards him, placing her hands on his chest. “I figured I could make it up to you.”
“Oh, really.” He hefted her over his soaked shoulder before she could dart away and carried her into the palace. “We’ll just have to see about that, ‘koye.”
“And so, the mystery of how Okoye manages to walk properly ever lives on,” Ayo said. “Seriously, though--”
“You’re making the mistake of assuming M’Baku’s on top all the time,” Djabi interjected.
Ayo pointed at Djabi. “That would do it.”
Okoye rolled her eyes. “You two are impossible.”
#sass writes#black panther fanfiction#okoye x m'baku#t'challa x nakia#shuri x oc#ayo x aneka x oc#girl's night!#just a bunch of best friends sitting down and having a good time#wakanda forever
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They Say an Alcoholic is Always an Alcoholic
I am the child of an alcoholic. In fact, I am the child of a severe alcoholic. I witnessed her going to work still drunk. I have answered the phone an hour after she got off of work to discover she is in the early stages of a black out drunk. I have been in the car when she has driven drunk. I have taken a drink of her morning Diet Coke to discover it was mostly whiskey. I have picked her up off the floor. I have picked up her out of the bathtub. I have stopped her from touching the stove because she fell off the counter and turned on the burner.
She. Is. A. Drunk.
As an adult who enjoys alcohol, this is difficult for me. I do not want to be my mother. She is emotionally neglectful and manipulative. I spent years telling her hard truths before I realized she was black out drunk when she begged for my honesty. When I have pointed out my concerns about her drinking, she has given me the silent treatment. When she dries out to “prove” she’s not an alcoholic, she does nothing to change her habits, and she does not seek outside care.
My mother, when I visited in April and I mentioned I was on migraine medicine, replied with, “You were so much healthier when you lived down here.”
This is the level of denial I’m dealing with. This is the woman who raised me. This is a woman who starts drinking at six and is black out by eight (on the nights she doesn’t start drinking at five and is black out at six). When I realized, during the visit, she was gone due to black out, I stopped talking to her. The next morning, I had to re-explain a tattoo I had shown her while she was black out and demanded to see it.
My mother has not called me while sober in 18 months. When I called on Father’s Day to say hi to my dad, she answered the phone because he was busy and was clearly unhappy to talk to me. It was in her tone and her responses. She had no recollection of having called me the night before.
(I am, as far as I can tell, the third person she has designated as her drunk dial in her life. Before me, it was a aunt. Before my aunt, it was an old high school friend. I don’t know if it was anyone else before that, but I assume it was. Good on my aunt for finding a way to shut that shit down.)
But, I’m an adult, and I like to have a drink. I like the taste of drinks. Give me a crystal clear martini, a dry cider, a perfectly balanced glass of wine. Get me a gluten-free lager, a smokey whiskey, or the tartest Cosmo your bartender can make. I ENJOY having a drink. I also enjoy going out with friends and having a few because we decided we’re gonna do that and catch up or sing kareoke. Get a little silly together in general. Eat too many fries. Maybe hug a little more than usual.
This is hard for me. Because I don’t want to be my mother, and any time I realize I’ve made a decision to have more than a “responsible” amount, I worry I’ll turn into her.
And then I’ll realize that I made a decision. I made a decision to go to a friend’s birthday and do an extra shot with them. I made a decision to have a third martini because my friend was also having a third drink. I made a decision to gather friends to bring cheap wine and watch stupid movies.
The only decision my mother makes is that she’s going to keep drinking. There is no nuance in how my mother drinks. She is not making informed, weighted choices about when and how she drinks. She is simply opening the bottle and pouring until the booze runs over the rim.
Honestly, I’ve had nights like that. The day or week has been so fucked up, all I want to do is have one too many and sink into a happy haze. But. Again. That’s STILL not my mother. I STOP. She doesn’t.
Maybe it doesn't make much sense. Maybe you’re reading this and thinking I’m about to dive into a bottle of cheap vodka (Mom’s preferred drink, though when I was growing up, it was Franzia by the box). But maybe you grew up with an alcoholic in the house and like booze to, and seeing this will help you see that you can enjoy having a drink and not be an alcoholic.
#alcoholism#abuse#child abuse#emotional neglect#emotional abuse#i am forever fearful my mother is secretly reading this blog#because she did that on my lj#but fuck it
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Chapter 1
The view of that narrow street right in front of me is at best nauseous.
Ugly and melancholic are the right words to describe it. I bite the inside of my cheek, trying block the urge to vomit on top of my shoes. This catches Uncle Patrizio's attention — me immobile as a tree in full state of astonishment.
“Godness, you are sluggish” he clears his throat, glimpsing at me with the corners of his brown eyes.
I take a look at the alleway one more time before joining Uncle Pete, smiling at the expense of the only English who can use those words without looking like an ignorant. True, Uncle Pete isn’t the most pleasing personality in Burford, but that can’t be my problem right now and it won’t be for a whole winter, I force myself to remember that — no fights, no verbal fights, no fist fights — as my mom made very clear before she kicked me out of London.
“You better come in. Your aunt must’ve taken all the tea from the store while you’re on the train“ he runs over my shoulder with a thud. I start to get annoyed as I watch him leave the boxes with all my belongings in the middle of the street, after empting the car.
“Uncle Pete?” I call him by name twice and the third time he turns himself, raising his eyebrows as I point the stuffed cardboard boxes.
"I don’t know how things work out in the big city with your mother, but we're in Burford now, sweetheart. You can leave all this fancy trash here all night long and no one will take it. Leave everything as it is!” He ends the sentence screaming while I mention raising one of the boxes, making me jump in shock. I acknowledge uncle Pete is the only person who can call Louboutins and Manolo’s ‘fancy shit’.
I don’t waste a second and the next one I'm already on the trail of Uncle Pete down the damp street, clacking my teeth by the cold. Black clouds begin to form above our heads and a sudden furious stream of air spreads dry leaves all over my hair.
I look at the avenue in front of us, more precisely the house across the street. My new old home. The spare windows and the green poisonous ivy rising up the walls seem just like I remembered. I tight my coat on my chest and walk through the door my uncle held open.
“There she is! There it is!”
I am greeted with a tearful aunt and an effusive hug that almost dismounts me. When she finally sets me free, I’m rewarded with a kiss on the forehead and a lot of handshakes, one behind another. Apparently, aunt Margot had summoned the whole hall of English relatives for my welcome tea, which gave me no choice but sitting on the edge of the table and smile a little.
The house is not that bad afterall, and it’s exactly as I remembered from my childhood. Everything was made of wood, the floor, the walls. The sheep wool carpet tickle my feet and I’m not too impressed with the moose head above the fireplace — once it was a bear.
They all ask me questions about London and about my mother. I try my best to answer everything, although my displeasure is so big it could fill the whole room. My cousin Irina is the first one to notice, because she simply leaves me alone with that subject. I really like her, and the last time I've seen her she still lived in this house with my uncles. I must’ve been about five years old at that time, and now she lives two streets above with her boyfriend, Liam, who happens to be sipping on a cup of tea the chair next to me.
Taehyung, her brother and my cousin, is probably my age and the one who shot me the most with his piercing intrusive questions, which is not so inconvenient afterall as most of them only involve Glastonbury and if I have seen any Beatle in person.
Few minutes after, he slipped by my side and told me he left the house two weeks ago. “Freedom, Twiggy” he dripped milk in his tea and spilled his cup as if it was whiskey. I don’t have enough time to mock his awful mannerisms or censure the use of my childhood nickname before he can continue “Why did you come back to this one-horse town anyways? Burford didn’t miss you, I did.”
“You tell me” I smile back. I wish I could tell him why I came.
“I came to see you. And to get some clean t-shirts” he smirks “You can have my room if you want. It’s full of bats at night.”
“Funny you” I give him an unentusiasthic laugh but end up smiling too “And will you ever come back?” I ask. At this point, my previous responses seemed to have quenched the family's curious thirst and no one pays any attention to my conversation with Taehyung as they discuss the informations I gave, like that one time I saw Robert De Niro in person and the list goes on.
He ponders a bit and I wait for some sordid detail of the remote Burford clan as I devour a cookie, propped up against the chair guard.
“Not really” Tae hesitates. “I don’t know if my mother wants me back. And I'm in a good place now” he smiles excitedly.
“You're disappointing me” I sigh, in fact disappointed with the lack of thoroughness in the story. “And where is that place, may I know?”
“A friend's house. Well, it's not exactly a house” my eyebrows rise “It's a bar, and I stay in the garage. I can work there during the day.”
“A tavern, is that it?” I wrinkle my nose. He nods, just to tease me. Taehyung laughs and gets up, wiping the corners of his lips with a napkin. He wears an elegant overcoat and I can say he became a man at least charming. I wonder how someone so handsome and gentle could have Uncle Pete's genes.
“I'm leaving. You can come with me if you want to. You’re at your own risk” we both look out the window. Stormy clouds covered the last remnant of blue sky.
I didn’t want to sleep outside the first day living with my uncles, but it happens that I didn’t wanted to be alone too.
And I missed Taehyung. God, how I did. And still I couldn’t list one single excuse why didn’t I call him this whole time.
“So that's what you wear at the big city when it snows?” Taehyung gestured to my feet, mocking my heels as soon as we left.
And he was right. Those shoes crave into the snow and it’s not the easiest activity in the world walking on them, but I'm getting the hang of it as we pass through the village. The streets are completely covered by a thick layer of snow.
“So now you work? Like for real?” I smirk under my scarf and gladly he doesn’t see. Tae thinks a little before answering me, running his hand through his hair.
“It's not a job” he explains. "It's more like a gig than a job” I nod and he looks at me, his blue irises sparkling as a smile come to light on his lips. “And I don’t have to do almost anything as Yoongi is the one taking care of everything.”
“Yoongi?”
“Exactly. The house’s friend I told you about. His father owns the place” he now has his thin lips pressed on a slight smile. I can see the hangover in his eyes half a block away.
“Nice.”
That's all I'm saying. Get to know someone else in this city apart my relatives would be a pain in the ass, but at this point it's pretty obvious Taehyung would show me to as many people as he could, like I was some kind of trophy or something.
At the center of the town, I feel stuck in a Christmas movie. The weather remains ugly, and most businesses are closing their doors — except for a bar that at first glance seems to be something you could easily find at Knockturn Alley, in Harry Potter.
Between the spare windows of two stores, a well-crafted metal plate hung on the wall indicates ‘Beer’ in a careful calligraphy. The entrance of the bar has a staircase and my stomach wraps up as soon as Taehyung goes up without hesitation. He looks back. “Are you coming in?”
“Right behind you” I murmur as my heel hits the stairs. At the first glance inside the place I’m already amazed.
The space is made with an overlap of stones, which makes a perfect cozy contrast to the inhuman chill outside, and I immediately feel the urge to take off my scarf. Tae hangs it on the coat rack, along with his overcoat, revealing a moss-green sweater underneath.
He shakes the snow from his feet at the base of the stone fireplace. The ceiling is made of wood and the only sparse lighting comes from the chandelier, subtle and almost non-existent compared to the fire, and behind the counter, an UK flag has been harshly nailed to the wall, near the most diverse wine cellar i’ve ever seen. But besides all of that, the tavern is like any other ordinary bar, with tables and chairs placed in the corners of the place. It’s not so bad. It’s rustic. And very English.
“Yoongi, are you there? I want a beer” Tae yells through the door behind the counter, tapping the palm of his hand on the wood.
In London people aren’t used to leave their establishments alone. Not for a second. But here, in the parallel reality, it doesn’t seem to happen many robberies or people drunk not willing to pay the bills. Odd.
I keep running my fingers through the pictures and trying not to laugh until Taehyung realizes we're alone and the barman must’ve left. For a moment, I thought I was right.
Then a blonde hair appears behind the counter, passing straight through the door without looking at us. My heart jumps in surprise.
Black shirt, unbuttoned on the collar and sleeves held up to the forearm, he doesn’t bother to look up to us not even a single time. What a jerk, it’s my first thought, but then even with the roaring fire in front of me my spine still freezes in the presence of that boy. Part because of his tattooed arms and whitish hair, part because he really doesn’t even bother. For real.
“Then just get one yourself” the guy mutters, looking quite pissed. His tattooed fingers quickly pick up a mug on the counter and he turns his back, filling it with something in a barrel.
When he turns again, our eyes briefly met and he stops abruptly, spilling a little foam on the edge of the mug with the bump.
I can’t read his expression, and at the end I'm convinced there's no expression at all. Then he wrinkles his forehead and when he speaks I’m aldready regretful I put my feet out of home.
“Who is this?” and looks at Taehyung, making it clear he wasn’t talking to me.
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