Closed DInner for Two... or More

Abby chuckled as everyone settled in, starting to serve plates. She made Frasers' food fist, giving him just a little over half a piece and a little bit of salad she wasn't sure he would eat, with a half a slice of garlic bread. She made Zerrins' plate next, giving him a full slice of bread and more salad but about the same amount of salad. She made Graemes' plate as well before finally fixing her own and sitting down.

She got up again to pour everyone's drinks, looking to Fraser as she came back and sat down. "Fraser, baby, can you slow down for me please?" She asked, giving him a gentle smile. "Dinner isn't a race. Let's take smaller bites, please?" She asked him, glancing to Zerrin. "Would you consider copying Zerrin? Take a bite when he does, enjoy your food a little," She offered, looking back to the small boy. Without thinking, she picked up her napkin and reached over to dab the lasagna from the side of the boys mouth.
 
Fraser rolled his eyes excited at Zerrin, "But if not brothers, you'll be my best friend!" he told him, with such surety in the statement, there was no arguing to it. Fraser had decided that Zerrin would be his best friend and that was the end of that. He frowned at the portion he was given, but picked up his fork and began quickly eating, both hungry and eager for more. Fraser slowed down just a little looking up at Abby with a mouthful of lasgna, "But it's so good!" he told her, but he then watched as Zerrin ate and tried to do the same himself, "Like this?" he asked, taking much slower mouthfuls of food. ​
 
Graeme knew that Zerrin was quieter than Fraser. He knew Fraser had been raised amongst the noise of quidditch. He nodded at what Zerrin was saying. "Yeah, that's fair," He told him, and he knew what that was like. "When I went to Hogwarts here, I also was really worried for my mum being on her own. We lived rurally, had no family nearby, I was suddenly thousands of miles away....I was really worried for her," he told him. "She was fine, she made new friends, and we wrote to each other as often as we could...and with your mum I'll always be about to check in," he wouldn't mention that he didn't see his mother for years knowing that wasn't too relevant to Zerrin. He also wouldn't promise that he'd keep his mother company, he wasn't sure that would be what he wanted to hear. "We can also get you and your mum two way mirrors, that way you can check in with her more often?" ​
 
Zerrin ate his dinner slowly as he spoke with Graeme, actually finding an odd little comfort in talking to the man. He listened, and he was offering a good conversation about Zerrins problem. He didn't know that Graeme had been away from his mother as well, but that made him feel better. He actually smiled as the man said he'd be about to check in. It might not be a lot, but it was nice thinking his mom at least had someone to talk to outside of work.

He sipped his drink. His eyes lit up when he heard the mans offer, and he nodded quickly. "Yes! Yes, please, that would be amazing!" He smiled brightly up at Graeme. "You're okay for an old man," He offered then with a bit of a sly smile, hoping to antagonize the man just a little bit.
 
Abby smiled brightly at Fraser. "Absolutely! You're doing wonderfully," She praised him. "I'm glad you like it," She chuckled, starting to eat herself. "Fraser, sweetie." She smiled at him. "Will you please tell me about yourself?" She asked. "Zerrin's talked about you, but it would be nice to hear some things from you." She sipped her drink.
 
Fraser beamed at the praise, he was the sort to receive praise a lot, given he was usually surrounded by quidditch players, but he still loved it. "Me?" he was a little surprised. "I'm Fraser, I'm 7 years old, I was born in October just like daddy, I came to live with daddy when I was little but not a baby. I love quidditch, daddy is the best at it. I don't have siblings apart from maybe Zerrin, but I have lots of aunts and uncles. There's Auntie Bonnie, Uncle Rory, not-quite-auntie Therese, Uncle Aonghas, Auntie Katia AND auntie Liussaidh. Auntie Liusaidh is my favourite auntie because she always wants to play!" he told Abby with a warm smile. "Grandpa Fergusson is a meanie but now uncle Aonghas is in charge." he told her. he leaned in slightly. "Can I tell you a secret?" he lowered his voice. ​
 
Graeme had thought it would be something that pleased Zerrin. he gave a little nod and then laughed lightly. "Old?!" he exclaimed in fake outrage. "I don't believe an old man could do this," and he reached over and lightly tickled the young boy. After a few moments he pulled away and smiled. It was childish but he knew he needed to be good with Zerrin, needed to make more of an effort to get along with him and show him what sort of person he was. ​
 
Zerrin couldn't help but giggle as Graeme tickled him. He shook his head and went back to eating his dinner. "So, Mr. Graeme, can I ask you something?" He looked up to the older man and took a sip of his drink. "Fraser says that you work as a Quidditch player professionally. What's that like?" He set his drink down. "My father is a Quidditch Player." He added softly, peeking at his mother and feeling relieved that she wasn't paying attention to that bit of conversation.
 
Abby was listening to Fraser, peeking at Graeme as the boy said they both had October birthdays. She would need to look into that. Maybe start setting aside for it, in case they were all still together in October. She looked back to Fraser as he talked about his family, wondering idly if Graeme knew what Fraser thought of his grandfather. She might ask him later, if they had a bit to themselves. She ate her dinner quietly, storing away every little thing Fraser told her. He was a sweet little kid. She nodded, leaning in to listen to his little secret. "Of course," she whispered conspiratorially. "If you take a bite of your salad, that is," She smiled, winking playfully at the boy.
 
Fraser took his fork and stabbed a bunch of the salad and put it into his mouth, he was still chewing and then finished the bite before he grinned at Abby. "Uncle Aonghas and I have been replacing all the old pictures with new pictures, of the family now, of daddy when he was growing up, of uncle Rory, of dead aunt Mary and making sure that everyone is happy in them, and then next time daddy goes I'm gonna show him!" he told her barely keeping his voice at at whisper. "Do you think he'll like it?"​
 
Graeme smiled, as they settled down. "Just Graeme, no mister necessary," he was quick to assure him. He gave a little nod at the question. "Well....to me, it's the most amazing thing, I've never loved anything as much as I do quidditch," Graeme told him, he wasn't sure how to go about it. "I wasn't very good at school, quidditch just was my saving grace. I'm on two teams, so I'm kept pretty busy, between practices, games and seasons. I like to think I'm pretty good, but it's something I work hard at." Graeme took a little bit of his food taking a little break from what he'd been saying. "Have you ever played quidditch?"​
 
Zerrin ate his dinner, listening intently as Graeme spoke about Quidditch. It sounded like a great thing, really. When Graeme asked him a question himself, Zerrin sipped on his drink. "Well," He peeked to his mom and scooted a little closer, leaning in to whisper to Graeme. "Mom tries to hide it, but I think she's really sad when she hears about Quidditch. My father abandoned us to play. I've always been afraid to ask her if I could learn." He confided, talking quietly and occasionally glancing to his mother, who was whispering with Fraser. He looked back to Graeme. "Honestly, I was really surprised when Fraser told me what you do. You have to be pretty special if your Quidditch isn't making her sad,"
 
Abby was a little confused by Frasers secret, but she was trying to figure out what was going on. "I'm sure he'll love it," she whispered back. "Where are you replacing these pictures?" She peeked to the boys but kept her attention on Fraser. "Here, drink," She murmured, offering him his drink. He was talking a bit more than eating and she didn't want him to forget it.
 
Fraser grinned happily when Abby said his daddy would love it. he was sure he would too. "Because grandpa fergusson took them all down...well there were no pictures of daddy, but he took down the rest of them," Fraser replied as if Abby should've known. "But Uncle Aonghas says it's important to have pictures of everyone!" he said. He took the drink and happily drank some of the water. He then took his fork and shovelled more food into his mouth. ​
 
Graeme leaned in as Zerrin's voice dropped to a whisper. He nodded along, but could admit to knowing a little of it already. It wasn't that he believed Abby should hide any of it, but he'd noticed a little of it, knew a little from what she'd told him. He too after knowing her and knowing what had happened was surprised she had even given him the time of day. "Your mother is exceedingly special too, a truly...wonderful woman," he spoke softly. "My quidditch career is important to me, but so is your mother, I haven't known her that long, but she matters to me, deeply," he knew these words would probably mean little to him, and wouldn't mean anything without action to go along with them and at this point he knew there weren't many. ​
 
Zerrin listened to Graeme talk, tilting his head. He was encouraged by the way the man spoke. He was quiet for a moment after that, before speaking. "Are you in love with my mom?" Without thinking, Zerrin blurted out, not realizing he'd said it louder than he meant to until his mother interrupted them. He turned to her, eyes wide. That was when he noticed Fraser scarfing down his food. "Fraze, are you even tasting your food?" He teased his friend, taking a bite himself.
 
Abby was utterly confused by this secret, and she knew she would need to ask Graeme later. Of course, only after Fraser had shown Graeme the pictures, she didn't want to take away the surprise. She would have to poke Fraser a few more times later on to see when the secret was out. Before she could respond, or tell him to slow down with his food, Zerrin said something that made her head spin around. Her cheeks flushed a dark crimson. "Zerrin! What- baby, no. That is certainly not something you're hearing before I do, and definitely not something at the dinner table."
 
Fraser was stuffing more food in his mouth and wasn't really paying attention to the conversation. Not until Zerrin spoke to him. "YES! It's delicious!" he told him excitedly, and as much as he wanted more, he was getting pretty full. He reached for his drink and drank it happily. He then looked back at Zerrin. "Don't you agree?" he asked him. Before just looking to his dad, since he was getting filled he was already thinking of what they could do next. "Daddy can we build a blankfort in the living room?" ​
 
Graeme was a little thrown by the question Zerrin suddenly blurted out and thankfully Abby was to his rescue. But he looked to Zerrin and gave a little smile. "It's okay...well...certainly not something I'd say to anyone but her first. But....I could definitely love her, if I'm lucky enough to have a chance to," he told him, it wasn't saying it either way, but he could admit that, he knew he was two steps from falling for her entirely. After all, he couldn't imagine anything more perfect than kissing her in the kitchen and then sitting down to eat with their children. This domestic little date they were having, were things he definitely wanted and he currently couldn't imagine them with anyone other than Abby. He looked to Abby and flashed her a smile. His attention moved to Fraser and nodded "You gotta ask Abby if you're allowed to rearrange her living room for that sort of thing,"​
 
Zerrin looked between the people sitting around him. He decided to drop the adults entirely, taking the last bite of his dinner and sliding the plate aside. "Actually, there's already a fort. Fraser, lets go wash up! We can both brush our teeth, mom bought extra in case you wanted to stay the night." Zerrin stood up and started for the bathroom. "If we're awake long enough, mom might even make us ice cream sundaes!"
 
Abby took a deep breath, putting her hands over her nose and closing her eyes. She took a few moments to breathe, not seeing right away if the boys had left, but she was sure that Fraser had hurried after him. She was busy trying not to die. "Graeme," Abby managed quietly, taking another deep breath and sitting back. "You have exactly two seconds to kiss me before I throw something at you." She managed, trying not to hyperventilate.
 
Fraser squealed excited at the prospect of a fort already being there. He jumped up from his seat, taking a long drink of his water before heading straight for the bathroom after Zerrin. "Daddy can I stay the night?!" he was yelling with his mouth filled with toothpaste as he was quickly trying to get washed up. Zerrin was so cool!​
 
Graeme watched Fraser follow behind Zerrin, some oblivious to what he'd caused for Abby. he glanced at her after she said his name and gave a little frown before smiling. He moved towards her and leaned in to kiss her, only to be interrupted by his son's yelling. "Can we stay over?" Graeme spoke at a whisper since his lips were mere meters away from Abby's. He was sure the answer would be yes, and though he wanted to kiss her he was waiting for the answer, so he'd be able to yell it back and then focus entirely on Abby. ​
 
Abby's breath caught, and she turned a bit in her seat to be closer to the man, but just before he kissed her Fraser was yelling. "Honestly, I was already planning on it," She retorted. She picked up her cloth napkin as he yelled back to Fraser, and as he turned back, she tossed it in his face. "Time's up," She managed softly, giving the man a shaky smile.
 
Graeme laughed lightly as she retorted and threw a napkin at his face. "Yeah buddy, we can stay," he called back to his son, listening to his son's excited chatter to Zerrin at that. "Can I have that kiss now?" Graeme smiled at her, he wasn't sure if he was going to get it. "That was delicious by the way," he knew that Fraser was going to be spoiled with Abby's cooking. ​
 
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