First Day of the Rest of Your Life (Boys and Moreaus)

[Andy Moreau]

Andy had jumped at the feel of that heavy hand settling on his shoulder, and his nerves stretched tightly enough that the first few words took a while to make it into his head. Intimidating... not pissed.

You'll go to school.

Andy looked up at that, as though to verify the truth of it. He wasn't being kicked out, and if he was going to school he'd need a wand, right? And they'd just bought him one today, so it wouldn't make sense to break it. Right? It was tougher trying to relate to the bit about Rhys. Dropping out of Muggle school was completely different from not being allowed to go to magical school, and periodically blowing things up.

[Matthew Moreau]

"If you want, tomorrow I can try to show you a spell or two. Getting some control will help," Matthew said, withdrawing his hand. Since Andy was a few years behind, he didn't feel bad at all about giving him some pointers. "You kind of ruined my bathroom, but that doesn't stop me from wanting you to succeed in school." He glanced over his shoulder toward the kitchen and took a deep breath. "Come on, let's go see what Rhys has done before he gets pissed at me for leaving him with the dishes." Sure, Matthew had done the majority of the cooking, but washing dishes with magic was infinitely easier than washing them by hand.

[Rhys Moreau]

Except in a few specific circumstances, Rhys had long ago decided never to do any dishes again when Matthew could just flick his wand and get them clean. His focus was mostly on packaging the leftovers so that they were just as tasty the next day. Well, that and attempting to eavesdrop on whatever it was Matthew was saying in the other room. Mag had taken up a place against the lower cabinets to shoot begging gazes up at Rhys.

[Andy Moreau]

Andy had almost started feeling better again. The idea of getting shown how to not mess up was good, but the reminder of ruining the bathroom negated the rest of Matthew's attempted pep talk. Yes, he knew he'd ruined the bathroom. He knew, and he was still sorry, and he'd continue to still be sorry. Rather than follow Matthew, he sat himself down on the couch to stare at his hands.

[Matthew Moreau]

Though Matthew glanced over his shoulder at Andy, he didn't stop in his journey to the kitchen. Within, he was directed to start the dishes cleaning. "Andy's going to be hard," he said softly. "Tam's easy." Give the kid a bit of ice cream or a new experience of some kind and he was on top of the world.

[Rhys Moreau]

Rhys lingered in the kitchen for a minute or two to talk to Matthew. "You can't tell me you thought a teenage would be easy, they can be really, really tough," he said. Matthew assented, but Rhys could see a bit of the wonder crumble slightly. "This'll be great, we just have to figure them out a little bit." Matthew nodded again, then Rhys stepped over to the laundry area to grab the newly cleaned and dried clothes. It was barely an armful of clothes that he toted out into the living room, leaving Matthew to work a bit more magic.

"Here are your and Tam's clothes, so even if you look the same tomorrow the clothes will be clean," he said, dumping his tiny load onto the armchair. "I promise Matthew isn't angry."

[Andy Moreau]

Andy nodded, but didn't immediately say anything. Matthew had promised more than once that he wasn't angry, but what did the man want out of him before he'd stop bringing up the wrecked bathroom? "Should I like, apologize or something?" he asked softly. "I tried to clean it up..."

[Rhys Moreau]

Rhys shook his head and sat next to Andy. "Matthew...he can get hung up on things. He doesn't quite realize how annoying or hurtful it can be sometimes, so he doesn't really mean anything by it. Trust me, I've got experience trying to break him of that habit. He's also a much better wizard than he lets on, so the bathroom will be good as new by morning." Matthew talked about things that had happened, facts and experiences, whether they should have been forgotten or not. He was a lot better at it than three years prior, but it was still grating sometimes.

[Andy Moreau]

Andy eyed Rhys, but he appeared to be telling the truth. He sighed, then finally stood to take his and Tam's clothes. "I really am sorry," he said. He held the clothes against his chest, unsure what else to do. It felt like it would be wrong to disappear into the bathroom again, even if it was just to put on some underwear, and he liked Rhys. It would be rude to walk out, right? He was doing his best not to screw this up.

[Rhys Moreau]

"I know you are, I'll pass it on," Rhys said. He was sure Matthew knew, as well, but if it helped Andy then a few words couldn't hurt. There were a few moments where he was silent before he spoke again. "Also, I don't know if you've realized, but neither of us care how you dress. Wear whatever makes you happy."

[Andy Moreau]

Andy blushed, despite the fact that he'd been assured of this several times over the course of the day. His gaze lowered, but he nodded. "I'm... going to go put something on," he said. It was probably pretty obvious what. That was what they were talking about, right? Everyone had seen his underwear, everyone knew he'd been wanking with his wand in the shower. He couldn't think of any worse secrets at the moment.

[Rhys Moreau]

Rhys nodded. "Go ahead." Yes, he knew what Andy was likely putting on, but he wouldn't judge. When he said he didn't care, he meant it. How much of his own past and self hate and judgement was appropriate to share? With other kids, it helped them be stronger. Was it different when he was talking to someone he had custody over?