Not home for the holidays on At Home

Dorian Montoir

July 18, 2020 5:16 AM

Not home for the holidays by Dorian Montoir

The feeling of the world squeezing down to a narrow tube gave out, and Dorian gratefully breathed in a lungful of sea-scented air. For all that it was sharp and cold, it was no less welcome - in fact it might have been all the better for it.

“Are you okay?” Jean-Loup asked, and Dorian felt his boyfriend’s hands running down from where they’d been around Dorian’s shoulders, down the length of his arms and over his hands, “Got all your fingers, toes and everything else still attached?”

“I’m fine,” Dorian assured him. “Thanks for the lift,” he added. He’d been old enough for a year to learn to aparate but what with everything that had gone at home, it really hadn’t seemed like a priority. He’d have to sort that out… “Are you?” he checked, not to question Jean-Loup’s capabilities but more… It had, by wizard standards, been a fairly long journey. First they’d taken the wagon from Sonora to the nearest transportation station. Travelling on a budget meant taking scheduled public portkeys, and it had taken two of them to get to Greece, with a bit of a wait around for each one. They’d arrived at the transportation station slightly strung out and tired and hungry, and Jean-Loup had wanted a snack and some water before he tried side-alonging Dorian across the island to the hotel.

“I’m okay if you’re okay,” he assured him, putting his arms back around Dorian, and burying kisses in his hair. That had been a slightly terrifying experience, being simply trusted not to break another human, and in particular this most important one but he had done it. He allowed himself one more moment of holding onto Dorian, feeling he was real and solid and fine and then he stepped back slightly, taking in the view.

“I’m fine,” Dorian repeated, somewhat flatly. It was strange, staring at the view below. Having been here once before, and for an occasion that had been overflowing with happiness, it tugged on his memories and his heart, wanting to make it lift. But now he was here to what… run away? That was perhaps a little dramatic, but there was no denying that the beach below was not the sight that he expected to greet him for Christmas. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, leaning back into Jean-Loup, and trying to be okay with it.

He had Jean-Loup, and he would have Professor Brooding(-Hawthorne) - well, both of them, but one of them mattered more to him. Though it was her holiday, and he was determined not to need her - to let her relax and be happy. He was going to be in the position of being employed to look after her for a change, and he wanted to live up to that. Darius and Evangeline were… friends. And now employers too. He wasn’t sure what that was going to feel like. He wanted to be excited about seeing them again. He was certainly grateful to them. He wasn’t sure how much they really needed help around the place, though he suspected his and Jean-Loup’s presence would give them more time to spend with their twins during the holidays. Which would be nice. Because Christmas was a time for family.

He took one more deep breath, mingling the scents of sea and Jean-Loup’s cologne and straightened his shoulders. He slid his hand into his boyfriend’s, feeling strange that this was something permissible, but a little stronger, and led him inside, trying to focus on the people who were around him here, and not feel guilty about the ones who were thousands of kilometres away.

13 Dorian Montoir Not home for the holidays 1401 1 5

Evangeline Merlinos

July 20, 2020 11:19 AM

"Home" is an evolving term. by Evangeline Merlinos

Evangeline was a mixed bag of emotions on the day that Dorian and Jean-Loup were set to be arriving. The twins were getting older and needed to socialize with more than just the Brooding-Hawthornes, but that didn't mean it was easy for their young mother. That being said, Dorian and Jean-Loup had a number of things in their favor, and Evangeline really wanted to go on a date with her husband. He was real cute and they didn't get to go on enough dates. The young couple who would be arriving soon came well-recommended, and they spoke French. This was more important to Evangeline than to Darius, but she knew her husband was supportive of the twins learning Evangeline's home language as well, and it was nice to see that happening. Plus, if Evangeline had to guess, just based on the circumstances she was aware of, the young couple needed a place to go.

The house was fairly tidy - tidy because Evangeline preferred it that way, and fairly because of Darius and the twins' influence on their environment - when a knock sounded at the door. Evangeline took a breath, checked the little ones one more time, and made her way to answer it.

"Hello!" she said in French, greeting them with la bise. "I am so glad you made it safely. How was your trip? Come in, come in!"

Evangeline backed out of the way of the door so Dorian and Jean-Loup could enter and found that she had unintentionally left quite an opening for Louis and Calliope. The twins were grinning up at their guests with varying levels of sincere excitement and mischief.

"Bonjour," Calliope said politely, her eyes glinting with ideas. Louis echoed his sister's sentiment, looking much more interested than anything.

"Darius is in the kitchen. Calliope likes to play, but it is always friendly," she warned her guests before disappearing around the corner to fetch her husband.

Alone with two new people, Calliope and Louis glanced at each other, debating how shy they ought to be with a quick, wordless conversation, and then looked back up at them. Calliope stepped forward to the shorter of the two men and tugged on his pant leg. "Will you play with me?"

22 Evangeline Merlinos "Home" is an evolving term. 0 Evangeline Merlinos 0 5

Jean Wolfe

July 29, 2020 7:44 AM

Does it necessarily involve miniature humans? by Jean Wolfe

Dorian’s ‘fine’ was not the most convincing but Jean-Loup chalked it up to tiredness, or at least hoped it was just that. The situation was strange, sure, but for him ‘strange’ was better than the usual…
One example of good-strange was Dorian’s hand sliding into his like it was normal and allowed. Here it was. He’d gotten a little more used to the idea of being allowed to be Dorian’s boyfriend, out loud and in public, but it still took his breath away a little bit every time it happened.
They made their way in, and were greeted by French. Jean-Loup associated the language with home - the specific house and family sense - far less strongly than Dorian. He had grown up in French. He had gone to school in French. It wasn’t his family’s language, it was his and after months of only Dorian (who sometimes gave him tough love and would make him practise his English - and who, admittedly, conversation was not always his top priority with) and Tatya (who had the strangest accent he’d ever heard and sprinkled it liberally and seemingly unintentionally or at least uncaringly with one or more languages he did not speak) it was good to think about the weeks that stretched ahead where he’d be able to communicate properly with someone else around him.

“Yes, the trip was very smooth, thank you,” he stated with the effortless politeness of a familiar lie in a familiar language. “It’s nice to meet you - thank you so much for having us. Well, having us to work for you,” he amended. That was a new sentence, but it felt easy enough to make himself clear. He had missed that so much. He smiled easily at Evangeline, and it was the same social smile, neat and even, that he habitually offered, but he felt much more relaxed behind it than usual.

Then they were being introduced to the two small children. Cal-what? That had not sounded like ‘cal-ay-oop’ in the slightest. He wondered whether he could avoid saying her name until he’d heard it five or six more times, if not for the entire duration of this trip… Happily, she attacked Dorian first. Jean-Loup was his knight, his bowtruckle, and would slay any force that came after Dorian, but… well, this thing was wild and savage and it wanted to play, and he thought he might not be a match for that. Also, Dorian seemed perfectly willing to be abducted, so that was fine. Happily, Dorian was also asking Louis if he was going to play too. Jean-Loup had heard something about them having beds to change and luggage to carry in a hotel. That was what he had put as the things he would be remotely competent about on his resume and letter. Dorian, he knew, had volunteered child care duties, and Jean-Loup hoped that he and Louis and Caleyoop would have a lovely time without him, and perhaps just exhausting and squabblesome enough that it meant Dorian stopped talking about how cute small children were. Jean-Loup supposed they were… fine? He just wasn’t really sure what you were meant to do with them. Nor was he in a hurry to find out.

13 Jean Wolfe Does it necessarily involve miniature humans? 1506 0 5

Evangeline Merlinos

July 29, 2020 9:56 PM

Yes, definitely. by Evangeline Merlinos

Evangeline was only gone for a moment and she paused out of sight before going to actually fetch Darius. She was not trying to eavesdrop on their guests, but she did want to know whether the twins were behaving. There was no immediate shouting and she could hear Calliope's tiny voice speaking up, which was normal, so Evangeline smiled to herself and went to find Darius. He was occupying himself with a book and she leaned over the opposite side of the counter to get in his way when she found him. She had a big, playful grin on, and Darius tried his hardest to ignore her, leaning around her intruding face to finish his paragraph.

"Come come," she told him kissing whatever part of his face she could reach. "They are here. Hurry!" she added in French before coming around the counter and swatting at Darius' bottom as he closed his book and obliged.

"Okay, okay," Darius said, reaching back to wrap an arm around his wife and stop her from her swatting. He pulled her up next to him, kissed the side of her face, and then pushed her ahead. "Lead the way," he said, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

Evangeline was laughing as she led Darius back to the living room and gestured at their guests. "My husband, Darius," she explained with a smile, knowing her husband didn't speak enough French to comfortably keep up a full conversation, although he could get by, and he was used to Evangeline speaking it so he wouldn't mind. "This is Jean-Loup and Dorian," she added to him, only half sure he would remember their names from correspondence.

"It's good to be meeting you," Darius said, reaching out to shake Jean-Loup's hand since that's who was available. "I see Calliope and Louis got to you," he added to Dorian, grinning again.

"Are you playing nicely?" Evangeline asked with a lightly warning tone, raising her voice enough to catch the twins' attention. Calliope ignored her, continuing to focus on her new playmate, but Louis turned around with a small grin and nodded quietly before returning his focus there as well.

Darius chuckled. "Well, it's nice to have you both here. We have a room and a bed set up for you, although we can change things if you'd prefer to sleep separately," he said plainly, as if he were filling them in on the weather for the next morning. "Feel free to rest, get a shower, whatever you'd like. We have food, as well, and you can help yourself."

Evangeline nodded. "Yes, we have any accommodations you want. Sleep, shower, food . . . whatever makes you the most comfortable. If you want separate rooms, one of you will have to stay in the hotel, but we can put two beds in your room if you'd prefer not to share." She wasn't really sure how good Jean-Loup's English was, although Mary had mentioned that his French was much better, and Evangeline wanted to make sure that everything was very very clear. She herself had experienced being the odd duck out, not yet fluent in the language of the people around her, and it was not the best feeling in the world. In Greece, everyone should feel a little bit more at ease than they did anywhere else. Darius could get by, but it wasn't going to be perfect and his use of English made sense to her; after all, they were all just doing what they could with the languages they were most comfortable with.

22 Evangeline Merlinos Yes, definitely. 0 Evangeline Merlinos 0 5