Closed Complicated Reunions

[Elliot Briar]

Graduation had been a flurry of mixed emotions; anxiety, fear, excitement, a giddy sense of relief, a hollow sense of loss, all tossed together. He had no idea how Alice had kept herself together last year. He did know he was beyond excited to see her at least, even if it hadn't been that long since he'd seen her at the last Brightstone weekend.

He was less keen about his dad being here, things between them still stilted and awkward with the unresolved tension between them still lurking there even after months. Elliot hadn't gotten any more owls from his dad and he hadn't wanted to send any either until inviting him to graduation. He'd considered not doing it outright, only the insistence from his mother when she couldn't make it making him change his mind. At least Katy was here too. Hopefully she could run interference for a bit.

For now though, Elliot ducked past the crowd, glad when he spotted Alice first and was able to sweep her up into his arms, burying his face into the side of her neck and just holding her there for a moment. She'd been through all this last year, she knew the overwhelming mix of feelings he hoped without him needing to say anything. But today also meant no more distance between them too. And as scary as that idea was too, he couldn't be more thrilled. "We made it, huh," he said, quiet enough with their faces to close, pulling back to rest his forehead against hers. "I'm trying very hard to stop my brain from going 'Now what'," he added sheepishly, opening his eyes to look at her properly and smile.

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice knew a lot of people would want to talk to Elliot. He was Head Boy and had given a terrific speech, but she was rather selfishly hoping he would make those people wait. She had missed him a lot. At the sight of him, Alice grinned, rushing forward and throwing her arms around his neck as he pulled her close. "Never again." She mumbled. "I don't care what ends up happening, I never want to be apart from you that long again." She said softly, fully aware that it sounded rather dramatic. She pulled back slightly and looked up into his eyes, reaching up to smooth his hair back. "You did it." She then said with a soft smile, leaning in to kiss him briefly. "Your speech was amazing, I didn't know you had it in you." She said, a hint of teasing in her voice now. Though she kept holding onto him tightly, not quite ready to let go yet.

 

[Oscar Brooks]

Oscar was doing he very best to not freak out. He'd known since he got the invitation that he'd need to talk to Elliot today. He also knew normal parents were not scared to talk to their children over a silly fight they'd had. Normal parents just made it work. Normal parents also didn't have to deal with magic schools and enchanted ceilings so Oscar was giving himself a bit of leeway here. He had genuinely been incredibly proud of Elliot today, and he hoped maybe he could focus on that part of the conversation and get away with ignore the rest of it until a later date.

After staring at the swirling ceiling above him and gathering some nerve for a bit, Oscar finally moved to find Elliot, pausing when he spotted him wrapped around a girl he was sure had to be Alice. It wasn't Lily, he'd actually met Lily a few times, but he'd heard about Alice, and the way they were holding each other took away any other doubt Oscar had. "Uh. Hi," Oscar said, clearing his throat and approaching the two before he could lose his nerve. "You did really well today, El. Congratulations," he said, glancing briefly between Elliot and Alice and wondering if he should introduce himself or just leave. This was exactly why Oscar tried to avoid social gatherings like this. Especially magical ones, he just never knew all the rules. He wished Miles where here. He'd explain everything to Oscar in that kind patience voice of his and it'd be so much manageable. Instead, Oscar just had to deal with his own internal monologue to get through all this.

 

[Elliot Briar]

Despite or the nerves and chaos, Elliot felt infinitely calmer having Alice back near him. Especially with the knowledge that this time, when she left, it would only be for a moment. “I’m sure we can come to some sort of arrangement,” he said with an amused huff, leaning his face into her palm as she brushed aside his hair. “Thanks, I had a good example to follow,” he said, aware he was being sappy but he couldn’t help it. It was like a switch had been pulled after he got off the stage and all the relief of the moment was making him a bit giddy.

The effect was almost instantly damped when Elliot’s dad approached though, like someone had thrown a bucket of water over Elliot’s mood. “Oh. Thanks, Dad,” he said cautiously, stepping back somewhat from Alice, though he kept a tight hold of her hand still. He knew inviting his dad was the right thing to do, but it still didn’t mean he’d been looking forward to this interaction. “Uh. This is Alice, my girlfriend,” he said, resisting the urge to sweat. “Alice, this is my dad,” he announced flatly.

 

[Alice Holland]

Alice wanted to cling to Elliot for a little while longer, but a voice interrupted them. She stepped back a bit, noticing how Elliot tensed immediately. The man standing there was clearly Elliot's father, and while Alice was aware of how complicated that whole situation was, she knew she wanted to make a good impression. She put slightly more distance between herself and Elliot, though she kept one hand on his arm. The other she extended to Elliot's dad, a friendly smile on her face. "Hi, I'm Alice Holland. It's nice to meet you." She said, the brightness in her voice sounding slightly forced to her own ears.

 

[Oscar Brooks]

Oscar often got the feeling things would be better off if he kept to himself, but he'd never been more sure that there was any truth to it beyond his own anxieties than right. Elliot's response wasn't outright hostile, but the coolness was almost worse. It reminded Oscar terribly of his mother, the walls that he and Harriette had managed to build between each other without Oscar even knowing how and he had no clue how to start dismantling them even now.

Clearing his throat, Oscar turned his attention to Alice instead, giving her a faltering nod hello before offering her a stiff handshake. "Nice to finally meet you," he tried, cautious of wanting to bring up what details Elliot had told him in the previous years, though it hadn't been easy to forget finding out his son was dating the magical version of the prime minister's daughter. "I uh. Suppose you two are glad to have time together again," he offered weakly, struggling for something to fill the stilted silence as Elliot watched him interact with Alice, noting the tight grip the pair had on each other and wondering if he'd make things worse by hurrying up and leaving now the ceremony was over.

 

[Elliot Briar]

It was weird seeing Dad and Alice interacting, like two pieces of Elliot's world suddenly colliding. It wasn't that Elliot hadn't wanted Dad to meet Alice. It was more that he'd just assumed Dad hadn't. Until recently, very recently, Elliot had always understood that the magical side of his life made his dad uncomfortable, long having accepted that that was a part of his life Elliot would never really get to share with him. Finding out Dad was dating another wizard just made Elliot wonder if maybe it wasn't magic that had been the problem this whole time.

He shook his head, derailing the train of thought before he could get caught up in another argument with his dad. Today wasn't the time or place for that and Elliot refused to dwell on the tangled knot of feelings in his chest, focusing instead on the grounding feeling of Alice's arm on his. "Yeah, no more long months apart, right," he said stiltedly, though the smile he shot at Alice was genuine. Elliot wasn't exactly looking forward to living with his dad with school ending, he'd almost considered moving in with Mom full time, but at least he could freely spend his time with Alice now.