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Post by Markise Sterling on Jul 24, 2015 19:30:33 GMT -5
It would have been impossible to find a single student on the seemingly-infinite grounds of Hogwarts, and so lying in wait seemed like a better idea. It turned out that Samson was in the same House as Andy, which happened to be Hufflepuff, which happened to have been Markise's House, so they waited near the Common Room entrance, which happened to be near the kitchens.
Even dressed down, Markise attracted attention. The media liked him and, to be fair, he and Ariel obviously weren't students anymore. They got curious looks and, because so many Hufflepuffs were coming through now that supper had ended, kids stopped now and then to say hello. Markise had no issues having little conversations with these kids. They were the friendly, hardworking ones, and even if he didn't mention his shop it would probably get some additional business next week just for this visit.
Finally one passed who not only knew who Samson was, but had seen him recently. Markise asked the obvious questions, and the moment he was alone with Ariel again, he gave him another kiss. "That wasn't so hard, was it?" he teased lightly.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Jul 25, 2015 9:30:03 GMT -5
Ariel shifted his weight from one foot to another. Being around students again was strange, and knowing that somewhere was one who was a blood relative was even stranger. "There's still time to do this as a letter," he suggested, though his heart wasn't in it. "This is all just too strange." But Markise was with him. He kept telling himself that for the strength it gave him.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Jul 25, 2015 10:14:49 GMT -5
"You climb mountains and like, wrestle alligators with your lodge guys, you can do this," Markise said. If Andy had lied and this didn’t go right, Markise would make that kid so sorry... "Look, is that him?" he asked, gesturing with a slight nod of his head. His hair looked a lot like Ariel's, the texture of it, if not the color.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Jul 25, 2015 10:57:13 GMT -5
Ariel looked around and it took only a moment for his gaze to lock on a kid who looked like an old picture of himself. One that had maybe faded and changed a little over the years, but that could still be recognized. "God, he looks like me," he breathed. It had to be him, but Ariel's feet were rooted to the spot. He hadn't exactly had the best luck with family members.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Jul 25, 2015 11:02:22 GMT -5
That's usually how relatives work. Markise linked an arm with Ariel's and called out to the boy. "Samson?" He didn't know if the kid's last name was Callahan or not, but that wasn't important. "I'm Markise Sterling and this is Ariel. Andy told us about you."
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Post by Samson Callahan Koster on Jul 25, 2015 11:14:46 GMT -5
Samson glanced around at hearing his name, then his eyes widened at the names that followed. It had just been earlier that day he'd met Andy! He couldn't help that his eyes locked briefly on the men's linked arms, but he did manage to drag his gaze back up as he cautiously approached. Andy had actually talked to them. "Hi," he said, awkwardness setting in. Although he looked briefly at Markise, his attention was focused on the other one. Ariel. The guy he'd heard about back home in definitely not the best ways. "Really? I mean, my dad, Maverick, his brother?"
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Jul 25, 2015 11:19:30 GMT -5
Ariel swallowed and forced himself to speak. "That's me. I haven't seen him in years, though. You aren't the only one he left behind." They had only been in England a few months when Maverick disowned him, and after that they'd only seen one another once or twice, and never since the fight between them and Markise. There had been a cheeky wedding announcement, but that didn't really count.
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Post by Markise Sterling on Jul 25, 2015 11:35:37 GMT -5
Markise noticed that glance at their arms, but pretended not to. Andy had been right; whatever Samson was thinking, he hadn't said a word. He looked like any lost teen. He looked a lot more accepting than Ariel had been once.
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Post by Samson Callahan Koster on Jul 25, 2015 11:41:39 GMT -5
Samson's eyes darted toward the silent Markise, then back to Ariel. "They used to talk about you. Him, too, but mostly you. I never even met him," he said, shoving his hands in his pockets when he couldn't come up with anything to do. One found the letter Maverick had sent, while the other found the little pouch. Neither was something he wanted to lose, even if it was probably stupid to want to hold onto a letter from someone who'd never wanted anything to do with him. He'd never met Ariel, either, but maybe he didn't even know.
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Jul 25, 2015 11:49:57 GMT -5
Ariel nearly smiled at that. "That might be a good thing, he's a tosser. Careful if you do meet him, he's...well, you know how people are like back there. He never even told me for sure about you, I just heard rumors, knew that sometimes there was Kosters on the porch asking for him." He was suddenly very glad he hadn't met Samson when they were younger. Back then, he would have been just another bad influence on the kid.
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Post by Samson Callahan Koster on Jul 25, 2015 19:21:58 GMT -5
Samson hung his head for some long moments as he thought about what Ariel said and ran a thumb against his pouch. "He can't be all really bad, can he?" he asked, casting a flicker of a glance up before focusing on his toes again. "I mean, I know what I heard, and what people say, and he never...but he gave us money mostly when he was supposed to, and he sent me some today, just for me."
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Jul 25, 2015 19:28:32 GMT -5
Ariel thought carefully before speaking. He didn't want to give Samson some false image of Maverick in either direction, he just wanted to tell the truth. "Maverick...when it comes to people he's supposed to take care of, he does the minimum. He raised me when he could have chucked me off to social services, but he also used up all our money on bullnuts and attacked me more than a couple times for being gay. He isn't a good man. He isn't a demon, either, but just don't get your hopes up."
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Post by Markise Sterling on Jul 25, 2015 19:33:52 GMT -5
Markise's free hand lit onto Ariel's, beside his own linked arm, and he gave a light squeeze as he looked aside at his husband. Maverick had put Ariel through hell, and it was a testament to how strong Ariel had grown through it all that he could be so objective. Markise's jaw was clenched with the effort of not tearing into his so-called brother-in-law, even though he knew it wouldn't endear them to Samson any.
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Post by Samson Callahan Koster on Jul 25, 2015 19:58:30 GMT -5
Samson didn't miss that motion, and he wasn't able to stop his eyes from lingering on the new contact. Whatever he'd told Andy earlier in the day, he really did kind of want to have his dad, and gay Ariel, gay married-to-a-man Ariel, was a much more unknown entity than Maverick. Everyone back home drank or smoked or didn't pay their rent or got into fights, that was what was normal. Andy hadn't reacted well when he'd just said borderline unacceptable things, he couldn't imagine what these two guys would say if he said something he knew they wouldn't like.
So he bit his tongue and swallowed any comment about how people back home would say it would be better to focus his attention on someone like Maverick than someone like Ariel. "I can't just take his money and ignore him, though, right? People say that's bad, too."
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Post by Ariel Logan Callahan on Jul 25, 2015 20:00:23 GMT -5
"One thing that moving here taught me is that people back home have really sh~y views," Ariel said, ignoring the lingering look from Samson. "You can't live your life based on what they say. You've got to do what you think is right. If that means going to meet him, then go meet him. If that means accepting his help and keeping your distance, then do that."
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