A Spring Picnic

[Brodie Summers]

Takes place August 2037.

Brodie parked Marley in a group of dense trees at the park in Brightstone Village. He took off his helmet, and then got off so that he could help Aeon off. He had taken Aeon on many rides by now, but he still liked to help him off just to make sure he didn't hurt himself. Brodie took the two helmets, and put them inside the side compartment. He then pulled out a paper bag filled with Aeon's favorite Chinese food, and a picnic blanket.

Brodie took Aeon's hand, and led him to a secluded spot away from all the families at the park so that they could eat, and watch the sunset in peace. He wanted everything to be perfect for today. He had hoped to do this a bit later once he could be sure that everything would be done on time, but when Aeon told him that he would be going to work at the school he knew this needed to be done before he left. Brodie spread out the blanket, sat down, and patted the ground beside him. "Come on, and join me Professor Summers." Brodie said while giving him a cheeky smile.

 

[Aeon Summers]

Aeon kept his arms tightly secured around Brodie's waist as the two soared above the clouds, feeling as if he might accidentally squeeze the life out of his partner as the two dipped every so often to check their surroundings. Summers had no problem with flying, he played Quidditch as an alternate during school and his cousin was a professional player, so he had plenty of experience. Riding with somebody else was something different entirely, however. When he rode a broom, he was in control of what happened, the direction he was headed and how fast he was going, but sitting on the rear of an enchanted muggle vehicle, he could do little more than hold on. It took a while to get used to, but every time they went for a ride, his initial discomfort was banished by the feeling of having someone else there. Brodie kept him safe, at the cost of his boyfriend's constrictor-like grip around his chest.

Descending from the sky, Aeon was happy to be on solid ground again. A major fear about flying on the motorbike was getting caught by the Ministry's law enforcement. The vehicle was illegal, hence why they flew so much higher, to avoid detection. Still, he enjoyed the thrill of it, breaking the rules made him feel like a kid again. The wizard took the hand his partner offered out to him and dismounted the vehicle, stretching his arms and legs with a satisfied groan. The flight from Obsidian Harbor, where they resided, all the way to Brightstone Village was about an hour or so of a trip by air, and Aeon had grown too lazy in recent years to travel by any way other than apparition or floo. He was glad Brodie took him out as often as he did, it was a nice change to get out in the open air.

Lowering his arms once more and shrugging his shoulders a few times to release the stiffness, Aeon let Brodie lead him away to a secluded spot in Tākarokaro Park. He watched, amused at how adorable his partner looked laying out a picnic blanket, like they were teenagers. Gee, the last time he had a picnic was...years ago, now. With Vivienne, Arisa and the rest of the gang, back at the school. Time passed by so quickly nowadays, sometimes the wizard wished he could use a time-turner to go back and relive the events. He shook his head, removing the thoughts from his mind. Thinking back to then would only upset him. He missed it, but he'd lost contact with so many people he knew. Vivienne, Taylor, Arianna...at least he'd met up with Arisa again recently.

Putting a smile back on his face and returning his thoughts to the present, Summers sat down beside his boyfriend and rested his head on the brunettes shoulder, their fingers intertwining. 'Professor Summers'. He was going to be called that a lot from now on, with Hogwarts accepting him to teach Transfiguration at the school. It was going to be so weird going back after a decade. He wondered how many of his old professors were still there, or if anything had changed, as he knew all the secret passages and portrait holes hidden around the castle, even how to enter the Room of Requirement. His young Lancaster cousin would be there too. He'd be away for a while, unable to see his boyfriend too often during the year. The wizard had to enjoy the time he still had with him. He squeezed Brodie's hand. "Ten points to Slytherin for the romantic sunset picnic." Aeon responded with a grin, eyes drifting up to the slowly sinking sun. Stars were already beginning to become visible in the fading light.
​

 

[Brodie Summers]

Brodie laughed softly, and kissed Aeon on the cheek. Unfortunately he had never made Slytherin many house points during school, but at least he had never lost them either. When he looked back on his school years Brodie wished he had done more. When he wasn't spending time with Aeon during their brief time together he was listening to Quidditch games on the radio in his room. "Do I win a trophy at the end of the year? Worlds best boyfriend?" Brodie asked. "Although if I'm competing against you it's going to be stiff competition." He said with a wink.

Brodie's stomach growled interrupting the mood. With a flick of his wand the food was laying itself out on the blanket in front of them. He had gotten it from their favorite take out place. It was a little hole in the wall Chinese restaurant that served butterbeer if you asked the right waiter. However tonight they would be sipping on wine. Red wine to be exact. Aeon's favorite kind. Brodie wasn't much of a wine person himself. He would rather drink fire whisky on ice, but tonight was supposed to be fancy. With another flick of his wand two wine glasses flew into his hand. Brodie poured them each a glass, and handed one to Aeon. "To us. The best boyfriends of the year." he toasted. Brodie took a sip of wine, and then kissed Aeon. Wine tasted much better when they shared it.

 

[Aeon Summers]

Summers chewed on the bottom of his lip and tapped his chin with exaggerated thought as he pretended to consider Brodie's question. "I dunno, there can only be one World's Best Boyfriend and I'm pretty sure that's me. I suppose you're eligible for a consolation prize? "Bronze award to Brodie Fudge, runner up." He responded with a smirk, giving his partner a playful nudge. Reaching into the extended pocket of his coat, he withdrew his wand and whipped it through the air, all fourteen inches of the mahogany wand arcing through the fading light. There was a soft sound as the space in front of them bent and distorted, a dull, bronze cup materializing into existence. It dropped onto the center of the red and white checkered blanket and rolled onto its side. Another flick of the wand and Brodie's name was etched into the dark metal. Aeon returned his wand to its pocket. "There you go, done. I'm just the best, right?" He said, picking the trophy up and turning it by its base. Conjuration was becoming one of his favourite forms of Transfiguration, and the items created were lasting for far greater periods of time before vanishing.

Seeing that Brodie had brought along chinese food, as the wizard was producing from his mystery basket, brought an even bigger smile to Aeon's face. He set down the trophy and heaped a plate full of the assorted meats and rice. "And now you've earned an additional +5 boyfriend points. Moving on up to a silver award. Did you get all this from Móshù Shípǐn? They have the most perfect chinese food! Aw, Brodie!" He wrapped his arm around the brunettes and squeezed him tightly, resting his blonde mess of hair against his shoulder. His mind however, couldn't help but think about the occasion. Was Brodie just being fantastically romantic, or were they celebrating something? Was it a special date Aeon had forgotten? He shrugged inwardly. It was probably just a spontaneous romantic sunset picnic, a nice night for them to spend some time together out of the house. Aeon was happy just to be with him, no matter where they were. The wizard accepted the offered wine glass and clinked it in a toast. "To us." He repeated, leaning in to brush his lips against his boyfriend's, the two moving into a brief, but deep kiss.

 

[Brodie Summers]

Brodie raised an eyebrow when Aeon pulled out his wand, and began conjuring something up. Transfiguration had never been Brodie's strong suit. Charms had always been his subject of choice. They were an important part of his job. Huge houses inside of a small space had become very popular in recent years. With the muggles starting to expand everywhere it was harder, and harder to find secluded sports for wizarding families to live away from muggles so they adapted to hiding better. Brodie laughed when Aeon handed him the brass cup with his name on it. "If I'm bronze just who is silver? Have another boyfriend you haven't told me about?" he asked with a smirk.

"Would I get Chinese food from anywhere else?" Brodie asked while filling his own plate. Brodie had loved the food from Móshù Shípǐn ever since he was a boy. His mother had never been the best cook, and when she decided the house elves needed a break she would bring home take out from there. Brodie put down his plate, and returned Aeon's hug. Soon he wouldn't be able to feel his arms around him for weeks at a time. He needed all the hugs, and kisses, he could get. Brodie pulled away from Aeon's lips, and kissed him on the cheek. Unfortunately he couldn't survive on Aeon alone, and his stomach growled very loudly in protest. "Perhaps we should eat before this delicious dinner gets cold?" Brodie suggested.

Brodie dove hungrily into his plate of food. He had it devoured within minutes. How the wizard never choked was a mystery. When he was finished Brodie put his plate back in the basket, lied down on the blanket, and let out a sigh. To Aeon it probably sounded like he had just eaten to much, but it was actually a sigh of nervousness. When Aeon finished eating Brodie pulled him down to lie with him. "Hey the stars are doing something weird. Check it out." Brodie said while pointing to the sky. When Aeon was turned away Brodie pulled a wand, and a tiny wooden box. With a few swishes of his wand Brodie conjured a fake sky above them like the one at the great hall at Hogwarts. He had practiced the spell for months in their tiny shed trying to get it just right. Written in the stars were 'Will you marry Me?'. Brodie got up on one knee, and revealed the ring waiting breathlessly for Aeon's response.

 

[Aeon Summers]

"Well, clearly I take both gold and silver place." Aeon was quick to tease. Truth be told, Brodie was the only guy he'd ever developed such a strong feeling toward. He was his first real love, and that emotion hadn't died, or lessened since they'd been apart. Every other man he'd been with over the past ten years hadn't really been the same at all. He'd enjoyed their company, sure, but there hadn't been that essential spark.

With no hesitation, Aeon heaped himself a pile of chinese food, mixing fried rice, sweet and sour pork, mongolian lamb, garlic prawns and dumplings into one empty food container. Rummaging through the bag, he found a pair of chopsticks before the plastic forks and rather than bother sifting through the cluster of containers and napkins, he used the two sticks to jab into the food instead. Despite loving chinese food with a passion, the wizard had next to know idea how to actually use chopsticks properly. Every attempt ended poorly and he found it impossible to keep hold of what he was eating.

Before too long, both of the wizards had had their fill. Feeling a tug at his sleeve, Aeon discarded his now-empty plastic container and let himself fall back into the arms of his boyfriend. He curled up and rested his head against the warmth of his chest, listening to the other man's slightly rapid heartbeat. Happy, full and content with where he was, he almost missed Brodie's comment about the stars. Blinking in a confused manner, he propped himself up on one elbow and squinted into space, not too sure what he was supposed to be looking for. The stars seemed normal to him, he could see the big dipper, the southern cross-

And there, suddenly, the sky above changed before his eyes, the brightest stars rearranging across the dark void of space, forming...were those words? Will you marry me? Aeon's eyes scanned over each letter slowly, once, then once again. It took a few moments for the message to really sink in, as his brain finally registered what he was reading. With a start he turned to look at Brodie, his mouth silently hanging open. There he was, on one knee, presenting him with one of the most beautiful silver rings he'd ever seen. Aeon didn't know what to say. Well, he did know what to say, but it felt like his mouth just refused to work while he absorbed the situation, his heart pounding in a mixture of shock and excitement. He brought up a hand to cover his mouth, eyes darting between Brodie and the ring. Was this really happening? After a few moments, he once more found the ability to speak, drawing in a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. "Wha-wha...I...yes. Yes!" The wizard had to make a conscious effort not to yell as his voice had been steadily rising. "Of course I will!"

In his emotional state, he forgot how to proceed. Did he just take the ring? It had been a while since he'd watched any movies, and he was too overcome with feels to think straight. The animagus could feel tears stinging the back of his eyes, brought solely by joy. Feeling stupid, he eventually realised he had to hold out his hand and did so, waiting for his boyfriend, no his fiance, to place it on his finger.

 

[Brodie Summers]

Brodie couldn't help but laugh when Aeon used his chopsticks to stab his food. "You know that's considered bad luck right? You're going to get us killed on the way back I swear." Brodie joked. He had thought about packing a fork for Aeon, but he liked watching him struggle with the chopsticks truth be told. It was adorable.

Brodie watched Aeon as realization of what was happening dawned on his face. His stomach tightened waiting for Aeon's response. All those months ago Aeon had said that if Brodie asked him he would say yes. Of course a hypothetical question, and the real thing were different. What if he had changed his mind? When Aeon finally said yes it was like a huge weight was lifted off of the young mans shoulders. Blood rushed to his face in his excitement, and he felt tears welling up in his eyes. All the emotions he had been feeling came out at once. Brodie placed the ring on Aeon's hand, threw down the box, and embarrassed his new fiance. "I love you so much, Aeon Summers. I can't believe I get to spend the rest of my life with you. I'm the luckiest man in the world." Brodie told him as they hugged.