Sean Nast (cabalrebel) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2022-04-14 21:39:00 |
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Entry tags: | !closed, !narrative, [plot] antagonist, sean nast (cabalrebel), ~2022 april |
Who: Sean Nast and Josef Nast
What: Just a little trolling, nothing to see here
When: Thursday afternoon
Where: Hinkle's
Warnings: None
Status: Complete Narrative
Two years ago, Sean wouldn't have thought to do this. Two years ago, he would have still been trying to find a way to earn his uncle's approval. Now, though? Now he had no interest in letting his uncle fuck things up for him or anyone else. He also wasn't going to let Josef get to Savannah without a fight. Yes, she had Paige and Eve on her side, but she was his little sister. It was in the healthy sibling relationship job description.
He'd reached out to Josef that morning, inviting him to lunch. He'd known that the older man wouldn't have been able to pass up the opportunity to catch up with the one person in town who -- supposedly -- actually liked him. Because as far as Sean could tell, his uncle had no idea that Kristof was in town. Sean intended to keep it that way if at all possible.
They'd made plans to have lunch at Hinkle's, partly because Sean wanted to see how truly unimpressed Josef would be -- he was possibly even more of a snob when it came to things than Kristof had been before almost a decade of a more normal life had mellowed him -- and partly because it was logical given that there was a small child involved in this. He was pretty sure that alone was why Josef hadn't argued. For all the problems Sean had with the man -- and oh, he had plenty -- he had to concede that his uncle wouldn't take anything out on a little kid. No, he'd save the emotional trauma for when the kid was older.
Sean and Stephanie got there first, and he settled her next to him in the booth. She was quietly entertaining herself when Josef walked through the door. Sean took a deep breath to steady himself.
Showtime.
"Uncle Josef, hey," he said, rising to greet the man when he approached.
"You're looking well, Sean," Josef said approvingly, leaning in to hug his nephew. "And who's this little lady?" Because his nephew had said he'd have a little girl with him because he couldn't find a sitter, but he'd been remarkably uninformative aside from that.
"This is Stephanie." Sean just smiled cheerfully as his uncle took a seat.
"Daddy?" Stephanie poked Sean in the arm. "Can I have tater tots?"
"Yes, sweetheart, you can."
"I wasn't aware you had a daughter." Josef was... surprised, honestly. It was apparently just another example of how this place could be good for someone. Fatherhood looked good on Sean.
It took another couple seconds for him to notice the ring on Sean's hand. Oh, and married. It was a shame that was here and not back home, because he had a feeling it was going to be a battle of wills to get his nephew married off to someone. Sean would come to his senses eventually, though -- and seeing that here just gave him solid hope.
"Oh, there's Katie! Can I go say hi?"
Sean hadn't arranged for Adam and his daughter to be there, but it worked out absolutely perfectly. "Of course, kiddo," he said, sliding out of the booth so Stephanie could scoot out. Once she'd darted off to say hi to her friend, Sean sat and turned his attention back to his uncle. "I'm surprised you agreed to this," he said, his voice mild. "I'm not exactly your favorite relative at the moment."
The feeling was mutual, though.
"That's hardly fair, Sean. Just because I'm looking out for the well-being of the family doesn't mean I don't still love you a good deal."
The look on Sean's face couldn't have been any more disbelieving if he'd tried for it. "Well, you should know a couple things," he said. "One, I've been here about two years -- Stephanie's not biologically mine. Two, I adore her to no end anyway. And three, yes. I am married."
Josef supposed that at least it spoke well of Sean, that he would raise another man's child. That sort of thing would have been acceptable back home. Not perfect, but a far cry better than the options Sean had wanted. "How long?"
"About a month." Sean paused. "Oh, wait, no. There's one last thing you should know."
"Oh, really."
"His name's Alex."
The look on Josef's face made everything worth it.