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 Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 9:40 pm
Elliot’s mouth was full but he nodded to answer, and when he’d swallowed he clarified “Yeah, big pockets of gas kept going off. I thought about it while we were walking around Alastor but then I dreamed about it, too.”
Devyn paused for a moment; his back was to the group but he seemed to be considering something. Eventually he shrugged and turned the stove off before pulling off the last two pancakes. The rest of the batter could go in the fridge, they could deal with it later.
He brought over the fresh stack and set it on the table. As he sat down in the empty seat next to Michael, he thought very much that he would like to kiss his cheek, but they hadn’t told the boys yet so he took his hand, squeezed it, and then picked up his fork.
“Well, I’m glad you’re all okay,” Oliver said; he’d been repeating his normal ritual–take a bite, put his utensil down, chew, swallow, repeat. “And that you’re so good at looking after each other. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to any of you, so just be safe. I get so worried with all of this ‘fighting evil’ stuff. I’m proud of you all, though. And I know I don’t have to tell you to be careful, but I can’t help it.”
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 10:02 pm
“That sounds really scary,” Atticus frowned at Elliot with concern, giving his hand a squeeze. “There was a lot of rain and water, but Alastor doesn’t seem like a swamp, so that’s really weird. Do you think the pockets of gas might have been everyone’s magic?”
He didn’t know why he was so curious about it. Maybe to distract himself from his own thoughts and dreams he’d had. And maybe because he could tell that talking about swamps was easier than what Elliot had seen from the Chaos.
Atticus nodded to Oliver, and offered him a little smile. “Elliot did a really good job of protecting me. I thought I was going to be in big trouble, but he didn’t let anything bad happen,” he said as he turned to smile at Elliot. It was so hard not to kiss him, but they were being good and not telling anyone their plans yet. “Tell me about it,” Michael let out a quiet sigh in response to Oliver. He knew what it was like to worry, but so far things were okay. They could have gone a lot worse at least.
Pleased that Devyn was beside him again, Michael let Devyn squeeze his hand, and then casually placed his arm over the back of Devyn’s chair.
“So, Elliot… Atticus,” Michael said after a moment, but paused to clear his throat. He knew he shouldn’t be nervous about telling the boys, but they were important to both of them, and wanted them to be happy.
“Would you be okay if Devyn and I uh… were in a relationship?” How else was he supposed to say it? And he didn’t know why he asked Elliot and Atticus if they would be okay with it when they’d just told Oliver and Asher, but… Atticus was very attached to Devyn, and Michael cared a lot about Elliot, having known him since before he was in school, and their lives would be most disrupted by it.
If they said no, then he would just have to make sure he and Devyn weren’t making their relationship too obvious, or… something.
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 10:12 pm
Elliot flashed a quick smile, because he wasn’t sure his dream was even scary, just…weird. It was strange to him, because it was a dream he hadn’t had before, but he just assumed that with everything that had happened on Alastor, maybe he was trying to imagine other places. Or maybe he’d seen a painting or something, he wasn’t quite sure. He bumped Atticus’ foot gently under the table while he listened to Michael, but–wait, what?
He couldn’t bring himself to speculate much about what his dream might have meant because–why was Michael being so weird?
Elliot squinted at him as he loaded up another forkful.
“Is that a trick question or something?”
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 10:26 pm
Atticus tilted his head in confusion when Michael asked about him and Devyn, agreeing with Elliot that it must have been a trick question.
“Oh… you’re not already?” Michael sputtered and sat straighter up in his chair, thrown off by their responses. He could feel the heat in his face, but did his best to ignore it.
“What do you mean, already?” he let out a breath of exasperation. “Well… you’re always close. And you touch each other’s shoulders and hands. And you share a room,” Atticus pointed out as he bumped his foot back against Elliot’s for the contact. He didn’t know why they were being asked about something that was already happening.
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 10:40 pm
Maybe it was sinking in now just how obvious this was for everyone else, and Devyn had to lean back in his chair as he chewed contemplatively. His ears were a little pink, but his hair concealed the worst of it. He felt it, though.
But they weren’t saying no, at least.
Asher was hiding behind a cup of coffee, trying very hard to keep a straight face. Oliver had given up his forced method of slowing himself down; an entire pancake disappeared in a matter of seconds as he watched Michael and tried very hard not to laugh.
“I mean, I guess I just figured you didn’t put a label or anything on it?” Elliot answered. “You didn’t make a big deal out of it so I didn’t want to, either. I don’t know, do what makes you happy? We like you and, and we like Devyn. Why, are you getting married, or is this–you just want to start kissing and holding hands in front of us? Because my parents do that already so I’m fine with it.”
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 10:46 pm
Distracted by how quickly Oliver managed to inhale an entire pancake, Atticus completely missed part of what Elliot said, and gasped in both surprise and excitement.
“You’re getting married??” he squeaked with delight, whipping his head around to stare in awe at Devyn and Michael, tears springing to his eyes because -- “Oh, that’s wonderful! Does that mean you’ll be my dad too, Michael?” “Wait!” Michael sputtered again, feeling his face warm even more as he tried to cut off any misunderstood excitement -- preferably without breaking Atticus’ heart.
“Hold on, we’re just. We’re just dating!” he insisted, not quite knowing what to do when Atticus’ expression crumpled and he visibly wilted. “For now--” For now, what?? “We only just decided to date. Right, Devyn?” he asked as if begging for help. Probably because he was begging.
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 10:51 pm
“He’s already your dad, too,” Devyn answered, apparently unflustered by any part of this conversation. Or the way Oliver had to turn to hide his face against Asher’s arm to stifle his laughter. “I have to take Michael on a date before we can get married, and I’m already going out of order. Besides, I’d have to have your approval before I could ask him to marry me. But since you’ve given it already, that means we can skip that step when the time comes.”
Elliot squeezed Atticus’ hand because he didn’t want him to cry! He hooked his arm and drew him a little closer on instinct.
“But we only had our first kiss yesterday. I haven’t gotten him flowers, or chocolate, or given him one poem, and those are all requirements to proper courting. Although, we were planning on going on a date tonight, but I don’t even have a ring yet, Atticus. I don’t even know how to go about getting someone to make one.”
He leaned back in his chair thoughtfully and took another bite of bacon. “Maybe I’d do it myself. I’m sure they have classes. You like making jewelry. Maybe we can take a class together, Atticus. Oh, but–no, I have to take Michael on a date, first. Don’t let me get too far ahead of myself, I have a very difficult time doing this in order.”
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 10:58 pm
Oh, that made a lot of sense then, that Michael was already his dad. He was always a bit more distant than Devyn was, and tended to sneak away before Atticus had enough time to give him a hug or anything like that, but he liked him because Elliot liked him, and he was always nice to him.
Atticus couldn’t help but tilt his head a little to rest his head a moment on Elliot’s shoulder when he was pulled closer -- oh, but maybe he should be more careful about people thinking they might be more than just friends. At least for now!
Especially since… oh… oh no… Atticus hadn’t gotten Elliot any of those things. No flowers, no chocolate, no poems. He had to give him poems?? Oh… that wasn’t going to be easy. He didn’t know where to start with poems.
But he made sure to nod as proof that Devyn did have his permission. It wasn’t like he actually needed it! But it was nice that Devyn thought about him and what he would want.
“You’re going on a date?” he gasped, perking back up a bit, because what were the odds that they would decide the same time he and Elliot did to go on a date? “What will you be doing?” Michael was all but frozen in his seat. His face was red from being flustered at how casual it was for the others to talk about. Asher and Oliver were laughing. Atticus seemed excited and Elliot didn’t seem to mind either way -- as long as Atticus wasn’t upset.
And Devyn was just… talking about getting married.
Was he joking? Michael couldn’t tell. He didn’t think he was. Devyn didn’t really joke like that. And he was talking about getting a ring. About making a ring.
Michael forced a smile on his face, even as he absently gripped tightly to the necklace against his chest. He didn’t want to seem like he was upset. He wasn’t! He was just… overwhelmed. He was pretty sure he hadn’t been breathing for a few moments.
It was just that… Well, Devyn really did have a difficult time going in order, but, as Devyn mentioned, they’d only just kissed for the first time the day before, but he was already okay with marriage? Michael had a bad history with marriage, and he knew Devyn knew that.
Maybe he was just joking. He would try to figure it out once he could breathe properly again.
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Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2022 11:14 pm
Devyn opened his mouth to answer but paused, only just slightly, when he realized that Michael seemed–
Flustered? Embarrassed? Upset?
He couldn’t place it, and it didn’t matter because if he wasn’t comfortable then they were all the same. One hand slid under the table so he could rest it over Michael’s lightly. It was meant to be reassuring, but if he was already overwhelmed by all of this, he didn’t want to make it work sand crowd him.
He didn’t look at Michael for long, didn’t want to bring extra attention to him, so he focused on Atticus when he answered.
“We’re still figuring it out. But I promise that we’ll talk to you about any major decisions. For now, let’s make it through breakfast. I want to understand this pumpkin business. Now, I know those are the big orange gourds, what are you supposed to do with them for Halloween? Oliver said you might go pick some up. That’s not a strength or endurance thing, is it? Pumpkin tossing? We had something like that on Alastor, but it was melons instead. Big, pink ones. And it wasn’t just about how far you could toss them, it was about how wide you could smash them. Usually it was the ones that were overripe or had some sort of flaw, so we weren’t wasting them, but the goal was to spread the seeds out so they could grow. I mean, I think that was the idea. I just liked to throw them. Maybe I’ll see if we can find some up on Alastor when I go again. I suppose we should see if they’re edible first, though. There’s so much I want to share with you all. But I do want to throw some, quite badly now. I’m sorry, I was supposed to be asking a question, not going on about throwing vegetables. Tell me about the pumpkins, please.”
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Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2022 9:24 am
Atticus picked at his plate while Devyn went over the whole bit about throwing pink mellons and giggled about how silly it sounded. Of course, cultures had their own silly traditions, so he supposed there was nothing wrong with Alastor having their own traditions!
“You’re supposed to carve or decorate them,” he chirped, before taking a bite of his pancakes. He wanted until he finished chewing and swallowing before he continued. “You cut a hole in them, scoop out the inside, and then make a design so that when you put a candle inside it shines the light through. People also paint them. We did some in school once, but it was thrown away when I got home.”
He knew things were different now, so he wasn’t too upset about it. Still, he’d worked hard on his little pumpkin that he’d made. He would have left it at school if he’d been allowed to. “Well, make sure you bring home some good pumpkins to carve,” Michael said, still smiling even if he was uneasy about… well, he couldn’t put his finger on it, but he let Devyn rest his hand over his. Lightly was good, because he was still trying to bring whatever anxiety flared up to come back down.
“I can’t believe they actually let you compete,” he snorted softly, amused despite being flustered. “Or did you participate in an honorary capacity?” Knowing Devyn, he probably wouldn’t have been satisfied if he didn’t win every competition, and it was likely incredibly stressful to have that much pressure put on him.
It wasn’t something Michael wanted to do to Devyn. He didn’t want him to feel any pressure about anything. So he was just going to breathe and take things as they were, a little at a time.
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Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2022 9:38 am
“Oh, no, I definitely competed. Since I was big enough to hold one. I must have been three or four the first time I did it. I completely missed, smashed it against the wall. We didn’t have pink melons back where I was born, so I got the pinkest looking beet I could find. Absolute mess, I stained the outside of the house. And when that wasn’t enough, I went over and squeezed the rest of the beet until it was jelly, and I remember–I remember my mother’s scream. She was horrified. And then,” he smiled, a distant, fond smile. “She laughed. I don’t remember her face anymore. Sometimes, it’s fleeting. I don’t remember her voice much, either. But sometimes it comes and goes. I was seven when I got my first melon, though.”
He seemed proud of this, and made himself a bit more comfortable. Now that the conversation had drifted a bit, he just smiled apologetically at Michael as he spoke. He was gentle, and even if he was usually an animated storyteller, he’d reeled himself back in and softened his voice a bit.
“And I smashed that right into the wall, too. I had horrible aim. I got better,” he assured. “Every year, little Devyn would compete. Sometimes with melons that were too big for him to throw. Once, he almost bowled over the mayor while he was practicing.”
It must have been another fond memory because he paused to consider it and then smiled. “It wasn’t until after I was in my twenties that I finally won. Which was good, because sulking after all of that was exhausting. I’m a little disappointed you don’t toss the pumpkins, but now that you’ve described carving them, I want to try that, too. It sounds like fun. And a bit less messy.”
He turned to Michael again and asked, “Can we try that?”
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Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2022 4:54 pm
Michael wasn’t upset with Devyn. Just overwhelmed. Thinking about all the things that could go wrong. That had gone wrong. He’d promised Devyn that he would trust him and know that nothing he could do would scare him away, but there was always that nagging feeling in his heart that he wasn’t good enough. That he wasn’t Percy and Devyn would realize that and decide he made a mistake.
Or worse, Michael’s indecision would keep them from enjoying everything they could together, and their time would be cut abruptly short, one way or another.
“Of course,” Michael said, his voice soft as Devyn’s was but he was smiling as he listened to Devyn’s stories. “We can do both. We can carve them and once they get too old, we can toss them. Ah, or we could find a place to plant some for next year. We have a big enough backyard, I think,” he hummed thoughtfully as he turned his hand enough to be able to catch Devyn’s and give it a squeeze of reassurance. While Atticus knew he didn’t have to get up every time something seemed sad or upsetting, the way Devyn talked about his mother seemed so bittersweet that he couldn’t help but stand up so he could move over to wrap his arms around Devyn’s neck.
“Maybe we can find some and plant more on Alastor too?” he suggested, because if it was important to Devyn, then he wanted to make sure it was continued.
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Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2022 5:07 pm
Devyn smiled as he instinctively returned the hug; he hooked one arm around Atticus so he could give him a good squeeze.
“I think I would like that very much, Atticus. You’re always so considerate, thank you. I hope we can figure out how to make the soil fertile again. I’ll have to show you all my garden, it’s so sad. The potatoes look like prunes, and they taste like dirt.”
He smiled reassuringly and then nodded towards Atticus’ plate; he had a big day ahead of him and Devyn wanted to make sure that he had the energy to take him through it all. But, he never rushed him back, and he was happy to hold him for as long as he needed.
“I like the way you think, Michael.” He laced fingers with him, as content as he could be. His heart was calm and steady and warm, and there was no denying that he was happy here, like this.
“I promise I won’t hit you with a pumpkin if you let me throw them. I can’t believe there’s still so much I don’t know about Earth. I like your holidays. I wish I could share mine with you. Maybe I will. And Oliver, Asher, Elliot. You three are invited, of course.”
“I want to celebrate more holidays. You should teach us all of them. We should take the day off of school.”
“I don’t know about that, Elli,” Oliver said, giving him a look and reaching over to smooth his hair again.
“Okay, okay,” he laughed, and looked up at Atticus with a smile. “As long as we’re all together, I’ll be happy.”
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Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2022 5:30 pm
“Oh, you don’t think I can handle being hit with a pumpkin? Maybe I’ll just catch it,” he laughed, but he obviously didn’t mind whatever Devyn was planning.
“We’ll bring something to test the soil. See if it’s too acidic or if it needs different types of nutrients,” he promised, because if Devyn wanted to do something, then they were definitely going to find a way to make it work.
“And we’ll add an aerator to the list of things to bring with us. Ah, it pokes holes in the ground to help with drainage and circulation for anything growing,” he explained, just in case any of them at the table was unfamiliar with the lawnmower-like tool. “I want to celebrate, too,” Atticus agreed. “As long as we’re all together,” he nodded to Elliot, because that really was all that mattered.
And he was going to eat more of his food! But since he had a chance while Michael was in one place and couldn’t escape, Atticus gave Devyn a gentle squeeze, and then pulled away so he could go over to Michael to give him a hug. He hadn’t been expecting a hug, so it took him a moment to remember what he was doing. He was confused at first because Atticus went around his chair to his left side to hug him, but he was appreciative of that because he didn’t have to let go of Devyn’s hand.
“You really want me to be your dad?” he asked, because it was such a strange concept to him. He was a teacher, but he convinced himself that he would never be good enough to be a dad.
When Atticus nodded, Michael let out a sigh and hugged him a bit tighter. “Alright. I can do that.” After all, Devyn seemed to think of him as Atticus’ dad already.
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