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Post by Rhys Moreau on Sept 27, 2018 0:58:36 GMT -5
Of course Matthew had agreed to let him tell Dare, to keep things quiet until at least Dare knew. They had told Matthew's parents together, which had led to happy screams from mum, chokingly-strong hugs from mum, and a trip to an expensive restaurant. But Rhys wanted to tell Dare the good news all on his own, to have something so good be his, and Matthew was okay with it, because even when Matthew didn't understand, he accepted.
Rhys sat at a table by a slightly dusty window and he couldn't stop fidgeting as he waited for Dare. Butterbeer really wasn't that great, though he had a mug of it in front of him. Maybe wizarding folk wouldn't like it so much if they knew what soda was. Most of his attention was on the cobbled street outside that window, anxious for Dare to appear.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 27, 2018 1:14:06 GMT -5
Dare hadn't known what to think about the brief message from Rhys. The words were brief, but they were meeting at the Three Broomsticks, and you didn't meet at the Three Broomsticks to give bad news, so Dare tried not to speculate.
"Hey, what's up?" he asked as he approached the table. "Your owl didn't say much." He sat down across from Rhys and slid back into his chair, one foot tucked between the legs, the other extending into the space beside the table.
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Post by Rhys Moreau on Sept 27, 2018 1:20:34 GMT -5
Rhys' eyes glittered, and he twisted his fingers together so hard that they might have been pulled off. He managed to hold back for all of five seconds before he let it out. "Yeah, I know, I just didn't want to give too much away. It's just too important to write down, and I wanted you to know. It's official," he said. "It took forever, but we've adopted Andy and Tam. They've got our last name and everything." It would have been impossible to stop the broad grin from spreading across his face.
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 27, 2018 1:27:29 GMT -5
Dare's eyes lit up. "Oh my god, congratulations!" He leaned forward to give Rhys a hearty pat across the table. "Damn, I'm so happy for you guys." He ordered a couple beers from a passing waitress, who couldn't help smiling at the excitement she got from the table. "Andy's almost seventeen, isn't he? And you all decided to go for it?" Obviously, but it had been so long that Dare hadn't been sure it would happen for them.
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Post by Rhys Moreau on Sept 27, 2018 1:33:40 GMT -5
It was hard to talk through the wide smile, but Rhys tried anyway. "He's almost seventeen, yeah, and we hate it took so long, but between Andy's age and other things it took a while to get things going. Tam was so excited he about vibrated out his skin," he said, then shook his head and chuckled. "That kid...you know how he is." Then Rhys' expression shifted and the smile lessened into nothing. "Andy thought at first that we wanted to take Tam and kick him out, we had to convince him that we wanted him just as much."
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 27, 2018 1:41:21 GMT -5
Dare shook his head. "He's a good kid," he said, "but it's obvious he's got issues." Professors talked, more often about the bad kids, the troubled kids, and Andy was troubled. Years in and he was still nervous every time he brought out his wand. "You guys have been so good for him. He's still quiet, but he was so damn quiet when he started that it was hard to get him to do anything. He doesn't..." Dare paused to think.
"I see a lot of things in him that I saw in my foster kids. He's quiet, he gets pissed off easy, but he doesn't look like a whipped dog anymore, you know? You're great for Tam too, he's one of the happiest kids I've ever seen, but..." He grinned. "Congratulations."
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Post by Rhys Moreau on Sept 27, 2018 1:53:04 GMT -5
The grin returned as the waitress brought their drinks. Rhys brought up the glass toward Dare. "Cheers, mate." After the glasses clinked and he'd taken a drink, he spoke. "We try to be good for them, though..." he hesitated then, dropping his eyes to look at the liquid in his mug. "Sometimes I think that I should tell Andy at least some basics about what I've been through. Maybe he would understand things a little better. then I think he doesn't need to know all of that, and I just want to give him the best I can offer."
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Post by Dare Blackwood-Hardt on Sept 27, 2018 2:00:03 GMT -5
Dare set down his drink. "You're protecting him from stuff he already knows about," he said. "In the wizarding world, seventeen's an adult. He's been abandoned, abused, beaten, and who knows what else. He's stronger than you give him credit for, and really?" Dare leaned in slightly, and lowered his voice. "Think about how good it feels not to have to hide things from Matthew. Give Andy what you're comfortable with. You opening up might help him open up."
Dare knew that Andy didn't talk about his past. Michael had talked about his as little as possible, and the Freydenlunds liked to pretend the past didn't exist. Dare knew how hard it was, but in his experience, sometimes things needed to come out before there was any chance of healing.
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Post by Rhys Moreau on Sept 27, 2018 18:16:47 GMT -5
Rhys was silent and still for a few moments before he nodded. Dare was right, of course, he knew that. "I'll try," he said, "it's hard, but I'll try." He was silent another moment before he looked up and put a smile on his face. "In other news, we were thinking of having a party. The shop has plenty of room." They could invite whoever they wanted, and Matthew could conjure up more chairs if necessary.
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