Pic-a-nic Basket (closed)

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"They're doing good, I think they like being outside," Michael said, reaching to stop Lestat from heading toward the edge of the blanket again. "He's already gotten a handful of grass." The two had also been fascinated by dandelion seeds scattered by a gust of wind a few minutes beforehand.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"He's tried to eat worse," Dare said. A handful of grass was nothing compared to some of the things the twins had pulled out of his book bag. He'd learned his lesson about leaving it on the floor pretty quickly once they'd started crawling. He stood for a moment longer before sitting cross-legged beside Michael and reaching for Alistair.

"I bet there are ducks," he said cheerfully, raising the baby up high. "Elouai can catch them, you can chew on them, what do you say?" Alistair giggled and waved his limbs excitedly.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"He doesn't need anything else to chew on," Michael said, though he was grinning. "He apparently likes wood, because he's destroyed a couple of my pencils." It seemed like every day he found something that had been hidden somewhere in the apartment with tiny marks from tiny hands finding the item and investigating with mouths.

[Keith Evans]

Keith was lounging back on his elbows and had commandeered a bowl of sweets. He tucked a piece in his cheek to speak. "Figures your kids would have an oral fixation," he teased. He was fully aware that Dare and Matthew had been talking about him, but really he hadn't expected any different. It wasn't a bad thing to have friends that cared, but he was determined to be in a better mood for the rest of the outing.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"Better than a fur fetish," Dare said, bouncing Alistair. "Michael's sister took out a chunk of Elouai's fur when they visited. Scared the hell out of me, you know? But Elouai's never bitten anyone, she's awesome." Dare absently turned Alistair upside-down, then tucked the wiggling baby under one arm, as though the squeals, giggles, and attempts to escape were nothing.

[Rhys Moreau]

"You have a sister?" Rhys asked, looking at Michael, though Dare's antics with Alistair made him smile. He knew Dare had a brother but even with what little he knew about Dare's family he knew even less about Michael's. It wasn't surprising, considering he hadn't spoken with Michael for more than a few minutes, but he couldn't help but be interested.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

"Yes, she's about...two and a half now," Michael said. He was certain she would love being around the twins if they could manage to get the whole family together. He hadn't seen her in too long. "I guess you could say she was my father's last gift to my mother, my mother never even told us until after the fact."

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

Dare turned slightly away from Michael to hide the inevitable grimace which crossed his face. Soren would always be on his sh~ list, and the thought of the man giving Mrs. Hardt the gift of his man juice was up there with the idea of his brother ever having sex.

"His father... passed away a few months after we were outed," Dare said, answering the most obvious question that would come next. He didn't volunteer any more, but set Alistair back on the blanket and reached for a quickly-escaping creeping Lestat.

[Rhys Moreau]

"Yeah? Sorry about that," Rhys said. He caught the flickering look that crossed Dare's face, but decided there had been enough difficult conversation for the day and refused to comment. It was like navigating a minefield when talking to the couple. Thankfully, he was stopped from having to come up with a separate topic of conversation by Alistair making his way over.

[Matthew Moreau]

They successfully avoided any further painful discussion as most of the food was used up and half full containers set back in the cooled basket for later if needed. Matthew had taken the first opportunity he had to disappear off with Rhys. His arm was comfortably around Rhys' waist as they spoke, and after a few minutes he told Rhys what Dare had told him earlier.

[Rhys Moreau]

"Wait, you think he was suicidal?" Rhys' voice dropped and he glanced over his shoulder in concern. They were far enough from the group that they wouldn't be overheard, leaning against a tall, thick tree. After a moment's thought, he glanced down at his own arms. "That must be why..." His voice trailed off and he looked back toward the blanket.

"I have to talk to him, Matt," he said, then stole a quick kiss before turning back to the group. He needed to talk to Dare. If things were as bad as he thought they were, even if it was just sometimes, between Dare and Michael, a dirty past like that could cause serious problems. For now, he wasn't considering just what he would tell Dare.

[Dare Blackwood-Hardt]

"Short walk," Dare observed, comfortably oblivious to having become the subject of someone else's conversation. He was busy holding Lestat up under the arms, helping the baby bounce on his feet as his brother caught handfuls of shirt in an attempt to pull himself to standing. "A little help here, Michael?" Dare asked.

[Michael Blackwood-Hardt]

Michael chuckled and reached for Alistair. "Come here, you," he said, bringing the boy in front of him and tickling him. The sun was good for all of them; he felt better than he had in months. Of course, the laughter helped. However, before Rhys was even with them Alistair was bored with the game and attempting to stand like his brother.

[Rhys Moreau]

"Yeah, well if you half lived with Matthew you'd only be able to stand short walks, too," Rhys said. "Can I talk to you?" He slid his hands into his pockets. He was far from subtle, he had missed the subtlety lesson somewhere along the road, but he would rather talk to Dare now while it was all fresh.

[Matthew Moreau]

When Matthew caught up he cast an apologetic glance toward Dare before distracting himself with Elouai again. He was about tired of babies and he could always talk to Keith another time. It wasn't every day he got his hands on a playful dog.