Keats Kubla Avery (effetsdesoir) wrote in disorderic, @ 2018-04-01 10:51:00 |
|
|||
With the gap in years between himself, Keats and Valkyrie, there were milestones that he’d missed -- especially in Val’s life. He wasn’t even home when Val was born, and for several years, he only saw her for a few months and change. His jobs abroad took him away and out of their lives for even more years until all of a sudden, they were both grown up and he’d missed so much. Coming home with gifts didn’t really make up for what he hadn’t been there for, and it didn’t make it easier for him to figure out how to be a big brother again. The time he spent in Azkaban didn’t help, either. Dante knew there was a lot of love here. He loved his brother and his sister, more than he could say. He knew they loved him, too, and knew that was why they felt hurt whenever he left them out of something, knew that was why they (especially Val) bristled when they didn’t know something important about his life. He wanted to change that. For his sake, for the baby’s sake. Everything was changing except for one thing: the three of them. That was why he’d dragged them to dinner -- although dragging was a bit of an exaggeration, really. They were at an upscale restaurant off Diagon Alley that catered more to their tastes, and he’d reserved a table in a quiet corner so they could have some privacy. He picked up a wine-filled glass. “Suppose we should toast to something, right?” he asked, looking expectantly at his siblings. “To us?” “To us!” Keats cheerily agreed. They had much to celebrate, and he was excited to spend the evening with the people he loved. It was hard to find the time to get everyone together these days when all of them had so many obligations. “This place looks lovely. I'm quite excited to see their specials.” "To us!" Val echoed her brothers, clinking her glass with theirs, and taking a brief sip of her wine. She was happy to have been extended an invitation to have a dinner with her brothers, knowing full well that it was harder to these days, when things had been tough on all ends. But they were here, and Val was determined to have a good time. "Welp gave this place excellent reviews, and one of the reviewers insisted that the lobster ravioli was the best item on the menu, so I think I'll give it a try," she grinned. “Have whatever you want,” Dante told them. “My treat.” It was the least he could do, really, for their patience and support over the last few months. They’d been there for him through all of it, and something that felt a lot like gratitude filled his chest. He took a sip of wine and then set his glass down. He wanted to tell them what he and Violet had found out, but he didn’t necessarily want to eclipse anything else going on in their lives right away, as difficult as it was to contain. “So, how -- how’s everything? With you two?” The question felt stupid, considering he saw them nearly every day now, but it wouldn’t always be like that. Not once he moved out to live full-time with Violet and the baby. “Oh, you know. Painting. Sculpting. Writing. I've got a few shows coming up. I'll make sure you both get invites!” Keats said happily. The same as it always was. Val shrugged, and tapped her fingers against the wineglass. "Not a whole lot. Working on plans for Uncle Hugo's dueling tournament and other smaller events. And," she shrugged again, taking a sip of wine, before hiding her face from view. "I guess hanging out with Thor or whatever." Another casual shrug. Another sip. Dante snorted. “Or whatever. Yeah, and I’m hanging out with Violet or whatever, too. And Keats is hanging out with --” He paused and tipped his head to the side a little. He almost said Vic, but that was weird and would likely get him punched when Vic found out about it. “Anyway - we’ll come to your shows, of course. Val can bring Thor. Or whatever.” Keats looked awkwardly from Val to Dante then back again, but kept smiling rather than commenting. “I’m so glad everyone’s having a nice time!” he declared. “Where’s the wine menu?” "Oh shut up," she retorted at Dante, rolling her eyes. Thank Merlin for Keats, Val sussed, giving her immediate older brother a smile, while snarling at Dante (though not out of malice). She even promptly stuck out her tongue at the oldest Avery, and turned to Keats, before shrugging. "Why do you need so much wine already? We haven't even ordered our main courses yet." And is if on cue, the waiter had come over, and Val was quick to order her lobster ravioli. Keats was quick to follow suit, copying her order as well as ordering another bottle of wine. “Why don’t you need so much wine already? It’s always time for more wine.” he said cheerily. “I think we should toast our good fortune several times over.” That was probably a hint that Dante should bring up his good news so that they could toast to that, too -- and that he should actually pick something from the menu. Before the waiter left, he pointed to something on the menu at random and ordered a bottle of chardonnay, to go with Keats and Val’s lobster. “I actually have something we could toast to. I mean, besides our general good fortune,” he said, and although he looked a little uncomfortable, it wasn’t due to nerves. “We, ah, had an appointment today. To find out if it’s a boy or a girl. I thought about making some big…” He trailed off and then shrugged. “Surprise. But I thought this would be nice, just us. What do you say?” Val kept an eye on Dante as he spoke, as if trying to get a read on him, after the last conversation they had engaged in, regarding this exact topic. She raised both of her brows, half-expectant, but she tilted her head to one side and pursed her lips, the sides of her mouth curling upwards. "Well, spill! What's it going to be?" Keats slammed his palm down on the table excitedly. “Spill!” he echoed. “Okay, okay, no need to make a ruckus, Keats,” the oldest Avery scolded playfully, though he wasn’t actually annoyed. It was nice, honestly, to see Keats so excited and to have Val ask. Dante knew this had been complicated, especially for his sister. He glanced towards Val, remembering their conversation from just a few days prior. And then he smiled, genuinely, because even though he hadn’t expected to be happy, even though he’d lied just a little when he told Val that he didn’t have a preference, the emotions he felt had completely taken him off guard in the best way. “You’ll have a nephew.” Val found herself smiling before Dante had even finished speaking, and when the last syllable flew out of his mouth, she squealed. "OhmyGOSH!" Val reached over to give her brother a big hug, and she started to tear up with happiness. Even though she didn't even know she could be like this. (She'd scold herself later, surely.) "That is SO exciting!!!" she managed to squeal again, a little bit later, pulling back and dabbing at the corner of her eyes. “Oh my Merlin! That’s AMAZING! A nephew!” Keats said, equally delighted as he waited his turn for a hug. “I’m going to teach him to paint and about good poetry and all of the most important things! Congratulations, Dante.” If the news itself hadn’t brought tears to Dante’s eyes (which it did), the reaction and support from his siblings would have done him in. It almost did, right there in the restaurant. Somehow, he held on, only croaking just a little when he thanked each of them in turn. “Okay, okay, enough with the tears and sappy stuff,” he joked. His grin gave him away, of course. He’d never been terribly great at hiding things from the two people sitting at the table with him, as much as he’d tried to protect them and tried to shield them from the outside world and all of its horrors. “I’ll tell our parents as soon as we get back. You don’t have to keep it to yourselves for long.” "Thank Merlin," Val grinned stupidly, half tempted to give Dante another hug, but she'd save it. She raised her wineglass instead, and cleared her throat. "I just want to make a toast, okay? I mean, another one, that is. I know we've all had a weird few months and I know it's probably only going to keep getting weirder, but," she paused, sighing a bit. "I'm just glad that we are able to have moments like this for ourselves, you know? Not everyone gets this and I'm just really glad. So, here's to having more Avery sibling dinner." She clinked her glass against Keats' and Dante's and took a sip, before setting it down. "And what about the wedding, Dante? Any news there?" she asked him, half expecting a mumbling answer about not having told everyone yet. Keats clinked glasses and chimed in, “Yes, yes! I want to hear all about it!” “Um… besides what you already know?” Dante asked, brow furrowed a little. “Nothing’s changed. It’s still the 21st. We’re working out the rest… I had no idea planning a wedding involved so much. I can see why people elope.” He took a quick sip of wine before continuing, “not that we’re changing our minds on that bit. Don’t worry. We’re pretty well settled on what we have in mind. It’ll still be fairly small. The people we care most about.” “It’s going to be beautiful,” Keats said, obviously getting a bit choked up. He cleared his throat. “You should let us help with more of the planning. We’ll take it off your hands, won’t we Val?” "I'll think about it," Val said, giving Keats an earnest look. She cleared her throat, and smiled at Dante, and nodded. "Small weddings are good. Can I still bring a date?" she asked, grinning stupidly. Dante tried to keep his face as serious as possible as he looked at Val. “Only if his name isn’t Thor.” The guise didn’t work for long, though. He laughed. “Yeah, ‘course you can. Both of you can. We’re just not aiming for something really garish… war-time, and all. Violet thought that’d be crass. I’m just glad it means I can leave out the gossips and see their faces when they realise they’re not included.” Keats laughed awkwardly at the idea of bringing a date but made no further mention of it. “So, just the usual glares of jealousy then?” he quipped. “Yeah, the usual,” Dante agreed with a grin. “It might blow up in my face, but it’ll be entertaining while it happens.” But truthfully, he couldn’t imagine it any other way. Maybe if the circumstances had been different -- if there hadn’t been a war with the Order on, at least -- the family would have been more interested in grandstanding and showing off, but that didn’t feel much like him. This -- small, intimate -- felt more like him. Like them, which was an equally bizarre thought. Dante exhaled, not quite a sigh. “I honestly… I know I said I was done with the sappy stuff, but I know none of us expected our lives to end up where they are right now. For a lot of reasons.” He left those reasons unspoken, because he knew his brother and sister could extrapolate just fine on their own. “But there’s no one I’d rather be doing all of this with than the two of you. I know it’s been a lot for both of you, and it means a lot to have you here. To know my son,” his breath caught in his throat for a moment, his eyes lighting up again, “is going to have the best aunt and uncle possible. Thank you, I mean it.” Keats was unable to hold back his own tears. He swiftly stood and walked around the table to pull both of his siblings into the biggest, warmest hug he could muster. “I love you both very, very much. And I’ll love the newest Avery just the same.” "Ugh, you two are so sappy," Val rolled her eyes, but settled into the hug all the same, grinning after a moment. |