Reza Mansour (aswritten) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2023-03-24 10:51:00 |
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Entry tags: | #july 2018, reza, reza x shane, shane |
Who: Reza, Shane, and Reza's sisters
Where: An unnamed restaurant in Chicago
When: Friday noon, 7/13
Status: complete
It was time for brunch with Reza's sisters and while Shane insisted he was fine, he knew Reza knew he wasn't because Reza - for better and worse - knew him too damn well. He didn't think anyone else would pick up on it, he was keeping his cool and easily chatting with the waiter when he and Reza first arrived, but there was a stiffness to him that wasn't usually there and despite the calm on the surface, his insides were in a riot of nervousness. He wasn't even sure what he was expecting. Reza had shown him pictures and told him a little bit about them and they seemed like good people. Maybe that was the problem. Shane was used to dealing with bad people and hurt people - not good, wholesome people. He had a drink while they waited; brunch or not, they were on vacation and he needed something to soothe his nerves.
Reza was certainly not oblivious to Shane’s stress about this meet up. He wasn’t complaining, but Reza could almost feel it rolling off of him in waves, and every time he touched any part of Shane, it felt tense. He’d already coached his sisters through text to be gentle with his new man, and Reza felt pretty confident they would behave themselves, but he suspected it would still take a while for Shane to get comfortable. If he ever did. Reza just wished there was any way he could help him stop judging himself so harshly all the time. He ordered a mimosa for himself to sip on while they waited for Rabia and Farah to arrive, stealing glances at Shane’s profile. “It’s going to be fine,” he said quietly and not for the first time that morning. He checked his phone -- his sisters weren’t late yet, but they were getting close. “They should be here any minute.”
Shane didn't want them to be late because that meant waiting longer and he wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. At the same time, if they were late that was a character flaw and he could stand to see some of that in Reza's family. He kept picturing them as too perfect, no matter what Reza told him, and he had no idea how to navigate that. If it wasn't affecting him it might have amused him how socially awkward he suddenly felt when he was usually the life of the party. This was just such a different scenario from what he was used to and it wasn't like he could flirt his way into making these women like him.
They weren't late and they were easy to spot as they walked into the restaurant, two pretty girls who looked a bit like Reza and lit up when they spotted him at the table. He might not be able to flirt, but he could still turn on the charm and as they approached, he got up when Reza did and gave them a warm smile.
"Hi," one of them said cheerfully as she raised her arms at Reza, hugging him and kissing both his cheeks before stepping back to let her sister do the same, turning to Shane to give him a quick look-over before hugging him too. So that was unexpected and Shane barely had time to even try to prevent her from picking up on just how tense he really was. He still hugged her back, smiling a bit helplessly when she stepped back.
"Even more handsome in person," she said. "I'm so happy to finally meet you. Reza's told me a lot about you."
“Ahlan, ahlan,” Reza’s older sister Rabia cooed as she wrapped her arms around Reza. She squeezed and swayed them for a moment before she let go. They smooched cheeks and Rabia tsked at him as she pulled back, lightly pinching at his sides. “You’re too skinny, don’t you eat lobster up there all the time?” She frowned at him a bit, then smiled and turned to look at Shane, her gaze more assessing than warm just yet. “So this is him, huh?”
“This is him,” Reza confirmed, his own smile bright and sunny. He gave Shane an adoring glance, then gestured between his sisters and his boyfriend. “Rabia, this is Shane, Shane, my sister Rabia. And that’s Farah. Sit, everybody, sit.” He slid back into his own seat, not too surprised when Rabia sat across from him and Farah across from Shane. Farah wasn’t just closest to him in age, and he could see in her eyes that she approved of Shane’s looks, at least. “Glad you both could make it, I know it was short notice.”
"This whole trip was short notice," Shane replied with an easy smile and a dismissive little wave, even if he was fully aware he was under a lot of scrutiny at the moment. It'd be even worse with Reza's parents, he was sure, so he needed to be able to handle this. "I'm just happy to finally meet you." He looked at Reza, mostly to look to that familiarity for some comfort as the two sisters stared at him with narrowed eyes, each for obvious different reasons. Rabia seemed more suspicious of him, that was for sure, but Farah was still sussing him out too, just more playfully.
The first few minutes were colored by small talk. Where do you work, do you like it, is the business going well... It was Farah who asked about Point Pleasant and what it was like there and that could so easily become something other than small talk but Shane navigated it just fine and kept it light. They ordered when the waiter showed up and Shane was already craving another drink - something stronger.
"I've never been to Firelight," Farah said when their drinks had arrived. She nudged Rabia. "We should go, see what kind of place it is, do a little dancing." She wiggled at that last word and swayed her hands at her sister in a dancing motion and it was hard to tell if she was joking or not - at least to Shane, because he didn't know her and she had a a bit of a twinkle in her eyes that made it seem like she was only ever half serious.
By contrast, Rabia’s expression was clearly asking if her sister had lost her mind. She had kids, young ones, that clubbing life was beyond her now. A thought occurred to her then and she smirked over at her brother. “Sure, let’s do it while Reza is in town so he can babysit,” she suggested, only slightly joking. “And maybe Shane can escort us and show us around.” Rabia flashed the other man a smile as well as she lifted her drink.
“Firelight is great,” Reza said after shooting Rabia a Look. He loved his niblings, of course, but they weren’t in Chicago long enough for him to want to get cornered into babysitting. And he definitely didn’t want to leave Shane on his own with any of his family. “You should go sometime when you can convince your husband to give you the night off.” There was an indication in his tone that Rabia obviously didn’t like, but she didn’t comment on it, just sipped from her glass again. “I’d love to swing by and see the kids though,” he added, to soften it a little. “Before we leave.” Reza didn’t expect Shane to go with him for that, and he hoped his boyfriend could read that in the glance Reza gave him.
Farah just laughed and nodded enthusiastically at Rabia's suggestion but she quickly piped down at the obvious little jabs from her brother, her eyes going wide and her smile now more one of amused apprehension than outright mischievous glee.
Shane didn't know how hard it was to get a babysitter and he didn't intend to find out but the thought of meeting kids was a lot less intimidating than the thought of meeting Reza's grown-up relatives and Shane grabbed the chance to ask something he knew was a welcome question. He didn't even have to fake his curiosity. "How old are your kids?" he asked with genuine interest and while he had a hard time imagining Reza staying back and babysitting, he could easily imagine taking these ladies out on the town. That was his strong suit after all; getting into good places, offering good cocktails, throwing cash around - this was where he was in his element, far more so than a polite brunch.
Rabia continued to give Reza a withering look for a moment, then focused on Shane again as he asked about her kids. She wasn’t sure if he was really interested or just trying to defuse the tension that arose, but she didn’t mind it either way. She would always take an opportunity to talk about her babies. “I have an eight year old boy, Hassan, and a five year old girl, Zara,” she told him, a smile stealing across her face again. She was already pulling out her phone to pull up the latest pictures of her two pride and joys. Rabia handed her phone over to Shane to look at them.
Reza leaned over to look at the photo on the screen with Shane, smiling a little himself. It was one he had seen before, probably on Facebook, but he really did love his niece and nephew, so it was always nice to see them. He felt a small stab of familial guilt -- he’d been gone for quite a while, and he was pretty sure that they missed him coming around as often, so Reza genuinely did hope that he could squeeze a quick visit in while they were back in town. He sat back and listened as Rabia started telling Shane all about their interests and how well they were doing in school.
The kids were cute and Shane was more than happy to just listen to Rabia talk about them because that meant the focus wasn't on him and he didn't have to talk about himself. It admittedly did make him feel a bit like an alien and it was a little surreal to see all the siblings together and tuning into the vibe between them. They were clearly close, even if Rabia seemed very different from Reza and Farah. Maybe it was just because she had kids now, but Shane got the feeling she'd always been more stoic. Farah seemed involved with the kids too and she told them about some new accomplishments too as a proud aunt, exchanging stories with Rabia and laughing. Shane had known Reza had a healthy family life but it just became more obvious now that he'd met his sisters. They all seemed so... content. "You should go see them," he said and nudged Reza gently when Farah had told them the kids missed their uncle. "I promise not to sneak back to Maine without you." It sounded like a cute and casual joke but of course it ran deeper with them.
Reza enjoyed listening to his sisters talk about the kids too, even though he’d heard a lot of it already from his phone calls home. It was different in person, he could see the way his niblings lit up his sisters’ lives, and it made him a little homesick. He missed them too. But being with Shane was important to him now, he was committed to see this through with him and make sure they both came out on the other side. Reza might miss his family, but staying in Chicago while Shane tried to face down all that shit on his own wasn’t happening. Reza looked over at his boyfriend for a beat before he chuckled faintly, reading between the lines of that statement. His gaze ticked back to Rabia. “Maybe for dinner?” he suggested.
That obviously made Rabia very happy and she beamed and started making plans out loud for dinner, what she had in the fridge she could throw together. “And of course you’re invited if you’d like to come,” she told Shane, though her tone said she expected him to say no already. From the way this brunch had been set up, she suspected that Reza was trying not to overwhelm the man with their entire family all at once.
Shane looked only a little surprised at that because it was a polite thing to offer and he was pretty sure she wanted him to say no, but she didn't really sound like she was and the idea of just meeting those kids was indeed a little terrifying. That wasn't the reason he shook his head no though, it felt more like it'd be weird to get to know Rabia's children and then maybe never see them again. As serious as his relationship with Reza felt to them, from the outside looking in it was a very brief affair so far. "I'll take a raincheck on that for the next time we come to Chicago," he replied easily and to his surprise, he meant it. It just seemed so far away and unreal, with the threat of death looming in between, it was easy to make vague promises like that. "We'll meet somewhere after," he added to Reza, nudging him gently.
Rabia seemed pleased with Shane’s answer, with an exclamation of ‘perfect!’, so Reza gave him a grateful smile. He wasn’t actually worried about Shane running off back to Maine, and he knew his man could entertain himself, especially in their city, so he didn’t mind taking a few hours apart on this trip. Reza got to see him all the time anyway, and it had obviously been a while since he’d seen his family.
“When are you coming back, anyway?” Rabia asked, glancing between the two men with a lifted eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’re moving permanently to that little hole in the wall town, are you? I looked it up online.” She eyed Reza a bit suspiciously.
“No, we’re not, we’re coming back,” Reza assured her. “Shane still has some family business to take care of up there, so I’m not sure when.” He tried to convey with his tone that the details weren’t his sister’s business so she wouldn’t go prying for more information.
Farah looked very curious for a moment and Shane had a feeling she was about to ask him about his family, what with the way she looked at him, but then she visibly held back and Shane felt like he could breathe again. Family business was hard to explain when he had no family and it was very obvious family was important to these women. It made him feel like shit all over again for having dragged Reza with him to Point Pleasant in the first place and it had become very blurry in his mind whether he'd actually known it was more than a fling back then or not. He'd joked about bringing a boy-toy with him to keep him from being bored but the more time went by, that just felt like a bad joke to cover up his true emotions. Now he just had to make damn sure Reza survived, even if he ended up having to kill himself to attain that goal.
"I might steal him away again though," he said apologetically, mostly to steer the conversation elsewhere. "We really want to go to Europe and Egypt, travel around a bit."
That sparked off a lot of chatter amongst the sisters about what aunties and uncles and cousins Reza and Shane could stay with when they went to Egypt. Reza got the sense both of them were pleased and impressed that Shane wanted to go there at all. Going to Cairo wasn’t always safe for white people traveling alone, but they assured him he would be fine with Reza and their massive extended family, before they started talking up what sights to see while they were there, like the trip was already planned for the next few weeks or something.
Reza gave Shane an apologetic-but-amused sort of look, glad they were on a topic that wasn’t secretly booby-trapped in some way, but aware of how intimidating family was to his boyfriend in the first place. A lot of the names they were throwing around were barely even familiar to him. “We’ll need you to say all that again once it’s actually time to go,” Reza told Farah and Rabia once he could get a word in. He gave them a lopsided smile.
Shane wasn't bothered at all, simply glad he'd steered the sisters into talking about something that had nothing to do with him. "We'll be staying in nice hotels," he told Reza. "No need to put anyone out." That didn't mean they couldn't visit some of these people if Reza wanted to, but there was no way Shane was staying at someone's house. He needed his independence and privacy, crashing at other people's houses was in the past for him. "Reza told me you've been there before, did you like it?" It was another winning question because it got them both talking again and Shane was more than happy to just sit there, listen and smile while idly resting his hand on Reza's thigh, giving it a playful little squeeze. This was going better than he'd dared to hope but he didn't really feel like he was in the clear yet.
Under the table, Reza put his hand over Shane’s and lightly stroked his thumb against his knuckles. It was nice and nostalgic to listen to his sisters chatter together, and he put in some comments here and there and joined in on telling Shane a few stories of past trips they’d taken to their homeland. He secretly agreed that they would be better off staying in their own places whenever they went abroad, but he wasn’t going to tell any of the aunties that in advance, lest he never hear the end of it from his mother. Hospitality was a huge deal in their culture, and even if they didn’t impose on anyone and stay with them, they would at least never go hungry for a home cooked meal, if they wanted one. The reminiscing went on for a little while, and Reza’s sisters asked them a few questions about life in Point Pleasant that Reza was happy enough to answer for them. He even brought his phone out to show them some pictures of the rental house, which garnered a few impressed noises from that side of the table.
“No wonder you’re in no hurry to come back to Chicago,” Rabia teased, her gaze a little more amused now. “Just make it home before winter. Ours are bad, but theirs have to be even worse.”
"Goodness, how many people are living there?" Farah asked, her eyes wide. "Only two? Just the two of you? Are you insane?" She laughed so her question didn't come off as rude, but Shane got the feeling she still meant it so he just nodded that she was right and he was aware of it.
"We're not planning to stay the winter, no," he said to Rabia, still kind of tittering at Farah's still bewildered expression. "Maybe we won't even be in the States for winter, we'll see." It was a nice fantasy to cling to, that they would come through this unharmed and not so traumatized that they couldn't enjoy a good vacation. Sometimes when Shane thought about it he imagined meeting some of the others in the group on some sunny beach in Europe. Diego and Toby especially with their entourage.
"Don't let him steal you away to Europe without introducing him to mom first," Farah said, tsk'ing softly. "She's bad enough with you just a few states away."
Wintering overseas somewhere sounded lovely to Reza -- the Chicago winters could be harsh and awful, and even if they ended up staying longer in Maine, he wasn’t keen to stick around for the huge drifts of snow and sub-zero temperatures. Going to Spain or somewhere tropical would be much nicer. And gods knew they seemed to be able to afford it. He didn’t know much about Shane’s finances, but between the two of them they’d been beyond comfortable so far, as their Overlook house proved. He chuckled at his sister’s warning and nodded. “Trust me, I won’t,” he said, shooting Shane an amused glance. They just had to get through the hard stuff, and then they would see how it all played out from there. “Next visit, we’ll make it happen.” Assuming they survived, which Reza was indeed assuming.
"Absolutely," Shane agreed easily but only because he wasn't as sure as Reza was that there would be a next time. Hopefully there would be for Reza, of course, but it was hard to shake that fatalistic feeling that had followed him for so long, that certainty that he wasn't going to make it. It was however easy to agree to scary plans when he didn't truly believe he'd need to follow up on them so his reply was genuine and he smiled at Reza, as if to say it wasn't really a big deal. Maybe he would 'meet' all these people again even if he died, maybe Reza would be the perfect widower who'd force his whole family to show up for his funeral. That was entirely too pessimistic of a thought, even for Shane; he'd never really considered what would happen after his death because it really was none of his business. Until now, apparently.
"If you're not gonna go see them now, we won't tell them you came," Farah told Reza. "It'd destroy mom, you know. If you came to town and didn't visit." She waved her fork at Reza in a way that seemed more joking than threatening. "You'd be pissed too, if we all visited Maine and didn't visit you."
Reza had not given any thought to what would happen next if Shane died, nor did he have any intention to make those kinds of plans. Maybe that was stupid of him, he had no idea who else would Make Arrangements, but he refused to think they were going to be separated like that. If something killed Shane, Reza was going to be right there next to him. All those possibilities seemed so surreal and far away from where they were sitting, having a lovely brunch with his sisters, making plans for the future. “Oh I’m going to visit,” Reza clarified, because he knew just as well as Farah did how upset his mother would be. “I’ll stop by there before we fly out again, just ... by myself.” He didn’t want to have to explain Shane’s hesitance to meet the rest of his family, so he left it at that. His sisters could draw their own conclusions.
Shane almost expected Reza's sister to question why he wouldn't go with Reza, even sadistically poke at him for it, so he had some humorous responses lined up. He ended up not needing any of those since both of them seemed to get it and didn't make a fuss.
"Don't leave him alone too much or he'll get snatched up by someone hotter than you," Farah teased Reza instead. "We're in a big city now, gotta watch your man." She winked at Shane and raised her glass with a little titter. If only she knew how many hot men were around in Point Pleasant and yet neither of them had strayed. Maybe the fact that Shane felt like he could without lying to Reza made him more chill about the whole thing and he just wasn't interested. An orgy though? Definitely on the bucket list.
“Hey now, I pulled him in this big city, don’t forget,” Reza countered, his tone lighthearted. He gave Farah a playful glare. There were hot people all over the place, of course, and there seemed to be a higher concentration of them in Point Pleasant for some reason, but he wasn’t worried. Shane had had ample opportunity to cheat on him if he wanted to, and Reza was pretty sure he still had his man’s full undivided attention. Except for their fantasizing about some of their hot friends joining them, of course. That was stuff his sisters didn’t need to know, though. “I trust him.”
Rabia was keenly watching Shane’s face during this exchange, interested in his reaction. He was an incredibly handsome man, and seemed suave and certainly had a lot of money. It wasn’t that she didn’t think Reza could keep such a partner happy, she just wanted to make sure her brother had made a good choice and he was getting back the same dedication she knew he was putting into the relationship.
Shane was definitely not used to this kind of sibling banter and his eyes had gone a little wide before he laughed. "I think you gotta want to be snatched up to get snatched up, right?" he said playfully but Reza's words made him feel weird and warm at the same time. He trusted him, and shit Shane hadn't always deserved that trust and would probably let him down at some point. He'd been good lately but he was generally a disaster person and he knew it. Reza's sisters would hate him if they knew everything about him, that was for sure, but he was fine with putting up a lie for them to like to make things easier on Reza. "I'll make sure to hide while he's gone," he suggested jokingly with a bit of a questioning uptick in his tone. Of course he knew he was hot but so was Reza and together they were fucking amazing. "But yeah we trust each other, your brother is a catch."
Whatever was in their brief past, that seemed like a good answer to Rabia, her expression satisfied and slightly proud that Shane recognized Reza as a catch. He was, good looking and successful, intelligent and magical. She wondered vaguely if Shane knew about that last part, if her brother had been open about the bizarre gifts Allah had given him. It wasn’t her business to know yet, but if the two of them were serious about each other, it was something that certainly needed to be revealed. “He is, and don’t forget it,” she said, her tone pleased.
“Can’t snatch the unwilling,” Reza agreed with a little huff. It was good to hear Shane say that they trusted each other though. He knew that wasn’t the easiest thing in the world for Shane to do, and it felt like a privilege to have his trust. He put on a smug smile for his sisters and straightened his shoulders a little bit. “Besides, we’re already the hottest ones in Chicago. And Point Pleasant, come to think of it.” Maybe it wasn’t true, but it was fun to say, and they were at least pretty far up there in the ranks.
"On this continent," Shane corrected him. "We haven't verified the others, we probably should." That would actually be amazing, visiting most if not all of them - he wasn't sure how many there were or if the Antarctica was one, but he knew he didn't want to go there.
"Oh no, you're insufferable together," Farah laughed. "Reza was bad enough alone." She shot her brother another grin that said she was kidding and Shane was starting to get the feeling it was somehow her job to poke fun at Reza. It was kind of cute in a way that reminded him of the catty drag queens he'd met throughout the years.
"We'll just keep getting more insufferable," Shane promised her, nudging Reza playfully. "We'll outshine the sun one day."
“Mm, it’s actually on the schedule for next week,” Reza said, smirking at Shane and then Farah. “Outshine the sun, Tuesday at noon.” The fact they were bantering together was unspeakably delightful to him, and he felt a happy sort of vindication that they were all getting along. He’d known his sisters would like Shane, even if Rabia took a little longer to warm up to him, and vice versa. It was possible Shane was still just using his charm as a defense mechanism, but Reza hoped he was at least half as comfortable now as he seemed.
Rabia rolled her eyes affectionately and finished off the food in front of her, then sat back and sighed. “A match made in Heaven, truly,” she teased. “Insha'Allah you’ll keep on shining so we don’t miss the sun.” Her brother wasn’t the type to shout from any rooftops, but he looked happier than she’d seen him in quite a while.
Shane was getting more comfortable, more so now that there was friendly banter. Nobody bantered like this if they hated someone so at least Reza's sisters didn't hate him. He could understand why they might be reluctant to get to know him too well so soon but it was somehow easier to imagine getting to know them in the future and getting along with them, even. He tended to get along with just about anyone who wasn't a jerk but he'd never really felt this weird pressure of needing to be liked because of family connections. "I don't wanna be rude but what does Insha'Allah mean?" he asked, glancing at Reza after asking Rabia, hoping he wasn't asking a heinously stupid question. He wasn't even sure he was saying it right and maybe he should have asked Reza when his sisters had left.
Reza’s sister smiled, pleased that he’d asked, especially in such a polite way. “It means ‘if God wills it,’” she told him. “You’ll hear it a lot around our family.” It was a common Muslim phrase, and even if some of them practiced more than others, they were all still raised under the same belief system. Rabia knew better than to get into a discussion on religion with a white American man though, that realm was Reza’s responsibility to brief him on. She couldn’t promise the same about their parents though, so she hoped her brother prepared his boyfriend for whenever that meeting happened.
Aware that Shane hadn’t really been raised with any religion at all, Reza didn’t want to dwell there. Their family were fairly moderate Muslims, which he was always grateful for considering the magical gifts he’d ended up with and his sexuality. It could’ve been so much more dangerous if he’d been born into another family. “I’ll give you a little primer before we visit my parents,” he told Shane with a bit of amusement. “My mother throws around phrases even I don’t understand sometimes.”
Shane had suspected that the Allah part was a god thing but he was so used to people talking about things he had no clue about that he didn't want to assume anything about anything unless he was really faking his way through a social event. Faking didn't seem like the best idea here except for the necessary things, he didn't want to burn bridges - which honestly was a new concept for him. "Good to know," he tittered, relieved at Rabia's reaction.
"You're just lazy and don't bother to ask," Farah told Reza with a cheeky smile that suggested maybe she didn't bother to either.
Shane got the feeling that they might start tossing things at each other if they were alone and not in a nice restaurant. The sibling dynamic was becoming clear at least and it was weirding him out to see it all in real life instead of on TV. In a good way though, it was interesting to watch the three of them, so different and yet so alike.
“I do too and she tells me different shit every time!” Reza insisted, managing to be amused and insulted at the same time. He did consider lobbing half a breadstick over at Farah, but they were in public and their mother would lose her shit if they behaved like that, even though she wasn’t there. His exclamation got Rabia laughing and soon all three of them were chattering again about their parents’ quirks and foibles.
At some point the check arrived and then came the argument about who was paying -- Reza ended up winning that one, at least, and he looked a bit smug as he handed the waiter his credit card. This was their hometown too, they were not guests as Rabia insisted, and he’d been the one to invite his sisters out, so it seemed right that he should be the one to pay.
“So we’ll see you for dinner?” Rabia asked him, then turned a smile on Shane. “Hope to see you again next time, it was nice to meet you.”
Shane felt like he should be taking notes or something, learning the ins and outs of the family to know what to expect when he met the parents. That was stupid though and even if he did, he just knew he'd forget it all in a day. He decided to let Reza win the check-argument, not wanting to undermine him in front of his family.
Farah nodded along with her sister and smiled at Shane too. "Hope we didn't scare you with the parent tales, they're very nice and I'm sure they'd love to meet you."
Shane didn't think he could get any more nervous about meeting those people, if anything these stories had humanized them a little more and made him a little less anxious about it but he just smiled and shook his head. "They sound great. I'm definitely coming back so yes, I'd love to take you all out for dinner or something."
Rabia laughed a bit as she moved to stand up from the table. “Generous, but our mother would probably rather die than not cook for you,” she said. “At least the first time.” She had no doubt that their parents would be gracious and accepting of Shane, even if they didn’t fully understand Reza’s sexuality. There had been a lot about him that was difficult to understand over the years though, so they were pretty used to that. They had grandchildren now, so some of the pressure was off, and they really just wanted their boy to be happy.
“I’m sure there’ll be opportunities for both,” Reza chuckled, getting up as well. He moved around the table to hug each of his sisters, enduring their coos and smooches on his cheeks. They all exchanged some Arabic words of affection, then Reza moved aside so they could hug Shane as well.
The requests that he take good care of their brother were more expected than the hugs but Shane was happy to dole out promises while accepting them, smiling at the two women as they said their goodbyes. He wasn't really surprised to hear that Mrs. Mansour would insist on cooking, Reza had told him as much and it was a pity, since a restaurant would have been a nice, neutral ground - just like now. As Reza's sisters headed out, Shane let Reza take care of the bill and then hooked their arms together. "I survived," he said, before Reza could bring it up. "Did they actually like me or are they really good at masking their feelings?"
Reza rolled his eyes affectionately and hugged Shane’s arm tighter to his side. “They actually liked you,” he said with confidence. “Or that would’ve been a much colder lunch.” And he wasn’t talking about the food. His sisters were good at turning off the charm if it seemed warranted, with icy stares and deadpan tones. No, this whole thing had gone really well in Reza’s eyes. Rabia and Farah might still be a little cautious of Shane, but he’d definitely made a good impression. “Did you like them?” he asked as he and Shane strolled out of the restaurant and back onto the busy Chicago sidewalk. It was a relevant question, getting along was a two way street, and he didn’t want Shane to hate his family.
"Yeah, they're great," Shane replied cheerfully, glad to hear they probably weren't talking shit behind his back now. "And your nephew and niece are super cute. I don't know shit about kids, but they're fun." He rarely met children and they felt like little aliens to him at times but considering he so often felt so weird himself, that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "Farah is more like you," he added. "You were funny together." He slipped on his sunglasses as they walked, it was a sunny day out. "Haven't seen that kind of catty bickering in a while."
“They’re awesome kids,” Reza assured him. “Loud and crazy sometimes, but that’s all kids.” As long as Shane was nice to them, he was sure that meeting would go fine too. It was probably far in the future, Shane was likely to meet his parents first and they would see how that went ... after they saw how everything else went back in Maine. Reza was ready to be past it all and working on figuring out their lives together. “Yeah she is, little pest,” he agreed with a soft laugh. “You should’ve seen us as teenagers. We had some epic fights, but she’s still my ride or die.” He loved Rabia too, of course, but the relationship to the oldest sister was always a little different.
Shane barely remembered being a kid before AIR but he was sure there had been more to it than the quiet moments he remembered. Those memories were so hazy and unimportant to him, just random snapshots of something he didn't remember really participating in. He remembered being places, he just couldn't say what it felt like being there, or what he'd actually done there. It was pretty wild to be so close to someone who'd had a happy childhood and a good family, who was still close to his family. So many of the people Shane had known through the years had problems galore in that area of life - and in most areas, probably. "Two down, two to go," he said cheerfully. "I feel like I'm revving up for a boss fight. I survived your sisters, now I gotta prepare for the ultimate showdown." He was joking of course, but it wasn't entirely bullshit; meeting Reza's parents was intimidating in different ways.
Reza laughed and bumped his hip against Shane’s while they walked. He knew meeting parents was a scary prospect, he’d done it himself a couple of times with past boyfriends and it had been fairly nerve wracking. Shane not having living parents of his own, combined with the way his childhood had gone, surely made everything seem even scarier. But Reza was sure his entire family would end up loving Shane, and he was going to do his best to help him through the process of getting there. “Better get your fatalities ready,” he joked back, grinning a bit. “Out of the two of them, I feel like my dad is the mini-boss, he’s more easygoing.” Really, he got the feeling that his mother would end up trying to adopt and mother-hen Shane if she was given half the chance. “But you’re doing great so far. Batting a thousand -- or wait, is that bad? I don’t know those straight sports metaphors.”
"And you think I do?" Shane scoffed before laughing. He could probably learn them all if he gave two shits. He heard them often enough around his straight buddies but nothing about it interested him so it tended to go in one ear and out the other. He was athletic, but he didn't much like the sports that were the most popular in mainstream media. "Do you have a picture of them?" he asked. "For research, of course. Gotta study their weaknesses." It was a joke but there was still some truth to it, seeing their faces might humanize them a bit in his mind and make him stop imagining some scary looking authority figures who were gonna hate him for debauching their son.
“Of course, yeah,” Reza said, a little amused that was even a question. It occasionally slipped his mind that Shane didn’t have any family of his own anymore, which was probably shitty of him, but it was such a different reality than his own. He unhooked himself from Shane to pull his phone out while they strolled and thumbed through his photo gallery until he found a good shot of all five of them together, his parents both beaming as they flanked their children. He offered the phone over to Shane to look at, smiling a bit. They just looked like happy older people to him, and he hoped Shane didn’t see them as something to be feared for very long.
Shane draped his arm over Reza's shoulders as he looked at the photo and hummed to himself. Reza's parents looked younger than he'd imagined them and definitely friendlier, there was even a slight resemblance between both parents and their kids which really drove it home that they were family. "They look nice," he said as he handed the phone back and maybe he sounded a little surprised about it. "Fuck, it must be weird to have kids. Responsible for some random person their whole life..."
“They’re not exactly random when they came from you,” Reza pointed out, chuckling. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and wrapped his arm around Shane’s waist. “I’m sure it’s really weird anyway, but there’s like ... instincts that kick in for most people, I think. Stuff that makes sure we don’t abandon our young because they’re annoying hard work, to make sure the species survives.” That was his theory anyway. Otherwise he wasn’t sure how people put up with all the crying and screaming and dirty diapers. Reza had very vague notions of being a father one day far in the future, but he wasn’t sold on it yet.
"Oh yeah, I mean, I don't want kids but if I had one I'd love the shit out of it," Shane said flippantly. "Like Diego's girl. She's not even his but she's his responsibility and that's just... Yeah. I get it. But it's still a random person, they may be yours but you'll have no idea what kind of person they're gonna be." He might be naive about a lot of things but he'd known a great deal of very damaged people and seen what dysfunctional families could do to a person.
A lot of it was a roll of the dice, Reza supposed, even genetics couldn’t account for everything. In his family all three of the kids had turned out well-adjusted, but he knew luck was a big component of that. “People who adopt have my mad respect,” he said with a sigh. “Especially them, taking in a girl they already know has had it so rough. I guess if anybody can understand it though, it’s them.” Diego wasn’t doing it alone, at least, and Reza didn’t want to forget his partner, even if Shane was still uncomfortable around him. Oliver seemed nice and chill, he couldn’t help what he was any more than the rest of them.
Shane liked to think he would have done the same thing but Haisley was lucky she'd found Diego and Oliver first, they were definitely better guardians than he could ever be. He liked Oliver despite the way he made him feel so he hoped they could work together on making the effects of his power weaker - and stronger, if needed - if Diego loved the man, Shane wanted to get along with him at least. "It's crazy to think that... If I'd have found someone to take me in when I was her age, I probably wouldn't have stayed," he murmured thoughtfully. "It was really hard to connect with people back then."
Reza’s mind had wandered in that direction -- could a couple like Diego and Oliver have helped Shane when he was at his most vulnerable -- but he didn’t feel like he knew enough about those years of Shane’s life to really have an opinion. He also didn’t know much about the circumstances under which Haisley left her AIR facility, but he was willing to bet there hadn’t been so much fire and death involved. “You might have, if they were the right people,” Reza offered quietly, just to make an attempt at optimism. He snagged Shane’s hand to bring it to his lips and kiss the back of it. “But maybe not. I hate that you went through so much pain ... but I like who you are now.”
"Self made man," Shane said with a proud grin but that wasn't entirely true. He'd had a lot of help along the way, from both well meaning and not so well meaning people. "I could have gone to a home, you know," he added because maybe on some level he wanted Reza to know a lot of that pain had been self inflicted. "I could have walked into the police station and had them find my... Whatever's left of my family. I got an uncle somewhere, cousins. I barely remember them, it just didn't feel right going back there after all that time, you know?"
It made Reza’s heart ache all over again for the kid that Shane had been, the choices he’d apparently made at his lowest and most self-loathing. He wanted to go back in time and wrap his arms around him, assure him everything was going to be okay one day, that he would make it through everything and actually grow up. That version of Shane probably would’ve hated it. “Why didn’t you do that right away?” Reza asked, glancing over at Shane’s face. He kept his voice neutral, simply curious. It had all happened a long time ago, but it didn’t exactly seem like ancient history, considering the current circumstances ... and all of the trauma Shane was still obviously carrying around.
"You know, I honestly don't know," Shane said, not bothered by the question at all. "I considered it sometimes, I could just go back and find them but it'd been years and I didn't know them at all." He wasn't even sure why he was talking about them now, maybe meeting Reza's family had him thinking about his own. He didn't really understand how all that family thing worked but the way Reza talked about Rabia's children made him wonder if his own uncle had grieved him or if he'd just been relieved not to have to take care of another kid. "I don't even really remember their faces."
Reza squeezed his hand gently, his heart giving another of those achy squeezes of sympathy. “If it was me ... I would want to know you were alive,” he offered, also thinking about his niece and nephew. No matter how many years later it was, family was family, and Reza couldn’t even imagine how much it would hurt to lose one of them like that. He knew every family was different, though, and he definitely didn’t want to push anything onto Shane. “If you ever consider it again, I would go with you, if you wanted.” He wasn’t sure how else to help, and he wanted to, more than he’d ever wanted to help anyone else. That was love, he supposed.
Shane was pretty sure that ship had sailed some fifteen years ago or more. It was one thing to come back when he was still a teenager, they were allowed a certain amount of stupid, but coming back now... He was sure his family would hate him for keeping them in the dark so long. They'd probably moved on and if they had cared, they'd have grieved him by now. Still, it made him a little curious, enough that he might at least look them up even if he didn't follow up on it. "I know, baby," he murmured, because of course Reza would come with him, support him in every possible way he could. He always did. "Thank you."
If Shane had voiced any of that, Reza likely would have argued just because he couldn’t imagine anything but overwhelming love in that sort of scenario. Sure, his family would likely have tons of questions that would be awkward to answer, at best -- impossible, at worst -- but surely they would welcome him back with open arms. He didn’t seem to have much more to say about it, though, so Reza just pulled his hand back up to kiss the back of it again. “Of course,” Reza said back with a smile. He swung their hands a bit and tried to think of something lighter to talk about. “We’ve got some time to kill before I go to my sister’s ... want to do some shopping or anything?”
Now he was talking. Shane lit up at the question and nodded enthusiastically. "I'm so sick of my wardrobe," he gushed and let go of Reza's hand to wrap his arm around him, pulling him in close to his side for a moment. "I'll buy you anything you want if you let me buy you whatever I want too and promise to wear it." Reza had great taste in clothes but the idea of picking something hot out for him was still appealing and Shane was a bit of a slut for fashion. "I promise not to buy anything dumb."
Reza chuckled as he side-embraced Shane in return, letting his hand wander down to squeeze his ass for a second. If there was any surefire way to cheer him up, it was shopping. Reza certainly didn’t mind it, as a clothes-whore himself. “I trust your taste,” he answered with a little faux-offended scoff. It wasn’t a lie, either, he did trust Shane to pick clothes out for him. They sometimes did that at home, choosing outfits out of one another’s closets for a night out. “But only if you let me pick something for you too.” Reza flashed him a grin, sure that Shane trusted his taste too, but still wanting to test it a bit.
"Fuck yeah," Shane replied and he had a feeling this would become more of a mutual choosing. They had yet to surprise each other in the fashion department though he was all for that changing. "Maybe we should check out some sexy stuff too," he added. "Some toys. A swing, maybe?" He grinned and pressed a quick, hard kiss on Reza's temple, glad they'd left the more difficult topics behind them for now. "We've got time."
That sounded even more fun than clothes shopping, and Reza let out a bright laugh. “How can I say no? We definitely need to buy some weird stuff to fly home, make the security guys raise their eyebrows.” They probably saw weird sex supplies in people’s bags all the time, but the idea amused him for the moment. “Oooh, and I want to pick out some manly lingerie for you,” Reza went on, giving Shane’s ass another squeeze. “You’d look delicious in some black lace, I bet.” They did have plenty of time, and Chicago was an absolute treasure trove of places to shop, compared to Point Pleasant.
"Ooh," Shane echoed, cocking a brow at that. "I'd wear lace for you, hell yeah." He thought he knew what kind of underwear Reza was talking about and he was all for that. Hell, even if he wanted something more feminine than Shane had in mind, he'd wear that for him too. There weren't a lot of limits to the things he was willing to do, not in the past and not now, and especially not for Reza. "You know I like you best naked but I know you'd wear something like that for me too, hmm?" He would honestly probably enjoy the look on the security agents, especially if they weren't jerks about it. Attention was fun either way though.
Reza had often thought it unfair that so many of the pretty lacy things were made for women’s bodies -- men could be absolutely gorgeous in lace and fishnet and silks too. Luckily things were starting to turn in the world where people were more aware of that, and Reza knew they were making more masculine lingerie these days. Shane would look good in a fuckton of it, Reza already knew, and now he hoped they could find something suitable. “I would wear anything you want, baby,” Reza assured him, equally eager to show off for him. “Now I’m just picturing us in hot little getups, lounging around together on silk sheets ...” If he thought about it too much he was going to get hard just walking down the street, so Reza left it at that, just humming softly.
"Anything is possible," Shane agreed and he liked that mental image of hedonistic joy. He loved luxury and sex, the best reasons for living, and sharing that with Reza was perfect. "We can make a little deluxe dungeon in one of the bedrooms," he added and whatever damage they did to the property, he was able to pay for. If he didn't end up buying the damn place first of course. "Silk sheets, swing, fuck-bench." He laughed because it sounded a little bit far out but hell, he'd do it if Reza wanted it.
It did sound pretty far out, but if any house was perfect for that kind of thing, it was the one they were renting in Overlook. Modifications weren’t usually welcome in rentals, of course, but Reza knew that Shane could pay off any complaints from the owners. It felt kind of naughty in a way, having that much disposable income, but he couldn’t pretend he wasn’t enjoying it. “Yes, yes, and yes,” Reza replied, lifting a finger like he was ticking off a list. “Also a few full length mirrors? Maybe some on the ceiling too, hmm ...” He grinned at Shane and bumped their shoulders again. “Wherever we end up after all this, we’re definitely designing a sex room.”
"You're a genius," Shane exclaimed and while he was all for watching himself fuck Reza, he was more excited about possibly fucking him from behind and still seeing his face. It was deliciously decadent and he loved that he and Reza were so likeminded. "Mirrors on every wall and the ceiling. Just make every wall a mirror." That was probably too extravagant but at least he wasn't suggesting the floor too. "I sometimes think about just buying the place but I don't really want to live in Point Pleasant." Or did he? Some part of him did and it was weirding him out. It just felt so much like home now and he had to remind himself that it was probably only because of Reza.
Reza laughed at the first part, picturing crazy never-ending reflections of the two of them fucking, like they were in some carnival funhouse. How trippy would that be, especially with his sound magic making all the audio input echo and multiply as well. Maybe they wouldn’t put one on every wall. “Oh no, we’re coming back here,” he replied, like it was already decided. But part of Reza hesitated inside too. So far Point Pleasant had been pretty good to them, though there was trouble on the horizon. There was definitely something magnetic about a place that was so full of magic. “... right?” Reza posed, his tone quizzical as he glanced over at Shane. “It’d be a weird place to have a summer home or something.”
Shane almost agreed that it would be weird but he just wasn't feeling it. He still looked as quizzical as Reza did as he thought about it and tried to decide whether to agree or disagree. "Well, we have friends there," he said with a little shrug. "And it's been nice to get out of the city for a while." Insane if he thought about it considering Point Pleasant was a place he should hate for all that had happened to him there. But then again, it was also the place he'd fallen head over heels in love with Reza. "Good thing we don't have to make any decisions," he added flippantly. "First we go to war, then we go to Europe."
Those sounded like good points to Reza -- he definitely liked a lot of the people he’d met there, and it was a lovely little town. It was nice being so near the coast. He wasn’t sure he wanted to live there full time ... but they’d already snuck in some short trips away just to feel the city life again, and he didn’t feel too deprived. It felt relatively easy to shrug off at the moment though, and he laughed a bit at Shane’s choice of words. “That doesn’t sound ominous at all,” he murmured. There was a joke in there somewhere about not bringing the war to Europe with them, but Reza didn’t really want to make light of that part of it. “We’ll celebrate our victory properly, then figure the rest of it out,” he said instead, sounding confident that was how it would go.
This was exactly the kind of optimistic energy Shane needed in his life. He might not fully believe it but it helped to hear it and Reza managed to sound so sure, like he knew something Shane didn't. And who was to say he wasn't right? One theory was that AIR probably didn't know they were coming, everyone who'd known them had died a long time ago and at least Shane had changed his name early on so even if there were files out there, he was in the clear. He didn't fully believe that though. There were other facilities and they had two escapees from somewhere else in town. AIR might find them. But this time they were adults and they had all sorts of juicy gifts to aid them through this. "Big ass party and then traveling, hell yeah," he said with an easy smile because it was just easier to ignore the risks right now.
“Hell yeah,” Reza echoed with a smile. He didn’t know if Shane actually believed that was how it would all pan out, but he could be optimistic enough for the both of them ... he was stubbornly determined to stay optimistic, at least. Whether that rubbed off on Shane wasn’t really up to Reza. But he was committed to staying by his man’s side through all of the upcoming craziness, and if it turned out to not be so crazy, they’d be more than ready to move on with their lives. All of it felt so far away and not terribly important at the moment, strolling down the sunny Chicago sidewalk. Reza slipped his hand into Shane’s and tried to focus on the here and now, the time he knew they had together, and the joy of embarking on an afternoon of retail therapy.