Dinner

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Compared to the crowding and volume of the holidays, Kyle's home always felt empty during the school holidays. The quiet was... sometimes nice, but usually just lonely. He always appreciated evenings when Matt was able to come home from Hogwarts and spend some time at home. Tonight was one such evening, and Kyle had spent the evening preparing a nice dinner, candles lit on the table and soft music playing in the background. He hummed to himself contentedly, bopping his head slightly as he arranged everything on the plates neatly. Matt would be flooing in any minute, and Kyle relished the chance to surprise him with such a nice meal. Tonight was going to be special, and it was hard for Kyle to keep his thoughts from wandering back to the small black velvet box in his pocket. It felt like... the right time, they were in the right places in their lives, and Kyle couldn't imagine spending the rest of his life without Matt. He only had to hope that the other man agreed.

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt loved being a teacher and he loved being at Hogwarts, but truthfully nothing beat a night at home with Kyle. He was glad the two had decided to move in together, even if it had caused a few problems with their daughters. He was hopeful October would come around in the future, but the odds seemed smaller every time the two crossed paths. But the girls were both at school now, so it was just the two of them. As he entered the house, he raised his eyebrows slightly at the romantic atmosphere Kyle had created. Clearly he had been busy preparing for tonight and it made Matt smile. He walked over to the table and smiled. "You know, this amount of candles could be considered a fire hazard." He said by way of greeting as he kissed his cheek. "The food looks amazing, as do you." He said then, not caring that it was cheesy. "Thanks for this, you didn't have to go all out." He grinned then. "Not complaining, though."

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Kyle's heart skipped a beat with excitement as he heard the fireplace, announcing Matt's arrival. This was it. Everything had to be perfect. The moment he saw Matt, Kyle broke into a broad grin, laughing softly at his partner's teasing. "Hey, only the best for mon coeur." He teased, beaming when Matt kissed his cheek. "Charmer!" He said happily, lightly patting Matt's chest. "You look gorgeous too. It's been too long since I've seen that face." Kyle's tone was light, but the sentiment was true. Kyle's entire family felt so far away the year around. He tried not to let it get to him, but an empty home got so lonely sometimes. Kyle smiled quickly, giving a small bow. "I'm nothing if not a showman." He said happily, pulling Matt's chair out for him. "Come on, tell me how things are at school. How are the girls?" He asked, taking his own seat once Matt was seated.

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt’s heart melted at the sight of Kyle’s grin. That alone had been enough of a reason to come home tonight, just seeing him smile. Matt could tell he enjoyed the compliment, and he was happy to give it. He did feel a little guilty when Kyle said it had been too long. He knew he was busy, he just hoped Kyle understood. He tried his best to be there for him as often as he could, but it was difficult sometimes. That didn’t mean he didn’t want to spend more time with Kyle, though. It was hard to even imagine life without him. “You’re a showman and a fire hazard.” He said fondly as he took his seat. “But a cute fire hazard, so I can live with it.” Matt watched him take his own seat on the other side of the table, smiling at the question. He had expected it, Kyle always asked after their daughters. “October is working hard, as far as I can tell. I worry about her a little, I hope she has fun too.” He said honestly. Though he couldn’t see Kyle’s daughter very often, whenever he did see her lately she had her nose stuck in a book. “Though, April could learn a bit from her.” Alarmingly, he hadn’t really seen April study on her own accord yet. It was really unbelievable how opposite the two girls were sometimes. He had already sat down with his own daughter so he could help her study, it was one of the perks of working at the school. “How are things at the store?” He asked, interested to hear about Kyle’s life as well.

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Kyle chuckled fondly as he took his seat, enjoying the easy, casual banter with Matt. It did a lot to ease his nerves, being reminded how natural and familiar things always felt between them. He smiled, pouring them each a glass of wine as he listened to Matt talk about the girls at school. It was a relief to hear that October was working hard. "Well, I'm glad she's focusing." He sighed. "Her grades slipped last semester, I was a little worried." He chuckled softly at Matt's comment about April. "Well, I'm sure April will get by, she always does so well." Privately, Kyle wished that Matt was a little stricter with his daughter's study habits, but he knew it wasn't his place to comment. They each had their own daughter to parent, he didn't want to interfere with Matt and April. He laughed when Matt asked about the shop, taking a sip of his drink. "Oh, hectic. But I don't think I mentioned in my last letter, I got a promotion! One of the student assistants left so Sam's made me deputy manager, and there's a bit extra that needs doing around the place. It's good though, it's a nice, peaceful place to work." Smiling, Kyle took another sip of his drink. "How about you, how are things at Hogwarts?"

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt was happy to be with Kyle again, no matter how much time he spent at work it was always like a familiar and comfortable feeling when he was home with his boyfriend again. He sighed softly when Kyle expressed that he was glad October was focusing, as Matt privately thought Kyle put too much pressure on October. But he wasn't going to tell him so, it wasn't his place. He could just see the strain his daughter was under, and as a teacher and someone that cared about her it worried him. But now he wanted to focus on this moment with Kyle. He smiled in delight when Kyle told him he had gotten a promotion. That was definitely deserved, as he knew his boyfriend worked very hard. "Wow, that's amazing!" He told Kyle with a big smile. "I'm so proud of you. You should have written me so I could have gotten you something to celebrate." He said, shaking his head slightly. "But things at Hogwarts are fine... but soon I'll have a lot of stressed fifth and seventh years. I hope they will all do well."

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

It warmed Kyle's heart that Matt would think to bring something to celebrate, but he laughed and shook his head. "Having you home is celebration enough." He smiled, touching the other man's hand. They would hopefully have more to celebrate soon enough though, the ring in Kyle's pocket kept reminding him. It made it a little difficult to focus on the conversation they were having now, knowing what he planned to do, but Kyle stayed in the moment, laughing softly at Matt's comment. "Oh, poor kids. I'm sure they'll be just fine. They've got the best teacher at Hogwarts to guide them through." He smiled fondly, taking a sip of his wine.

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt laughed gently at Kyle's comment, though he a small stab of guilt at the comment as well. Perhaps he wasn't home enough, but it simply got busy at work. "I should still take you out to celebrate. Or take the girls too during the holidays." He said with a small smile. What Matt wanted more than anything was for them to be a family, and their daughters to be like sisters. He knew that wouldn't be easy. He felt his cheeks heat up slightly, and as usual deflected the compliment with a joke. "I'll tell Professor Haden you think so." He joked, taking a sip of his wine as well. "But really, I hope I've prepared them well... it is such a stressful time for them." He sighed, shaking his head. "I don't want anyone to feel bad about the exam, I always hate grading things down." It was Matt's least favorite part of being a teacher. It was hard for him to be strict to April, and that extended to his work as well. "It's so strange to think October will be in this next year."

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Kyle smiled warmly at Matt's suggestion. Their first night out for dinner together as a family. "That sounds perfect." Kyle said happily. "It would be so nice to take the girls out for dinner together. I'm sure they would love it." Kyle's gaze went distant for a moment as he envisioned it, their little family all together. Surely the girls were learning to at least tolerate the idea of each other as sisters by now. They had been friends when Kyle and Matt first started dating, maybe they would be able to get back there. "I really want that." He said gently, wanting to share his view of the future with Matt. "I want... to take the girls on outings with you, and do things together. Go places. I'd love to take you and April back to France with us some day. Take the girls to see la tour Eiffel, and the Louvre, show you where October and I were born. You would love Paris. I... really want to share those things with you." He said softly, reaching across the table to touch Matt's hand again. He wanted everything with Matt, in all honesty. Travel and nights at home, good times and struggles. Kyle couldn't see the rest of his life without the man across from him. Hopefully, tonight would just be the beginning of all of that. He chuckled lightly at Matt's comments about exams, but nodded sympathetically when he commented about grading. "It must be difficult, but I'm sure you'll do right by your students." Kyle said gently. It was definitely a strange thought that October would be in Matt's class next year. Her time at Hogwarts was flying by, and it hurt a little to think of how much his baby was growing up without him. "It is..." Kyle said softly. "She's grown up so fast."

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt watched Kyle as he told him about his hopes of taking the girls out, and go places with them as a family. The description of a trip to France sounded wonderful, and Matt felt a warm feeling in his chest as the other man described it all. He could picture it, them as a family. October telling April all kinds of facts about what they saw, April only barely listening but dragging October to shops to try on hats. Him with his arm around Kyle as they watched their daughters together. It was a wonderful mental image, and Matt was lost in the fantasy for a moment. "Marry me." He said, the words coming on their own accord. Then his eyes widened behind his glasses as he realized what he had said. "Wait-" His hands were suddenly shaking and entirely uncooperative as he tried to reach into his pocket to take the box out that had been sitting there for a while. As he finally freed it from his pocket, it tumbled from his hands onto the table. He started to reach over, then realized it had landed in front of Kyle, even if it was upside down. "Uh." He said, gesturing at it. "There's a ring in there." He said awkwardly. Then decided to reach over to pick it up anyway so he could open it, but the movement of his arm knocked over his own glass. He groaned and put his hands on his face to hide it. "Can I start over?"

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Thinking of their future together, a future that would hopefully really come to pass filled Kyle's heart with warmth. He was sure this time. He couldn't see the rest of his life without Matt and April in the little family they were building. The words that came out of Matt's mouth were so closely tied to everything Kyle was thinking that for a moment he thought he had imagined them. It would have been easy to think he had just dreamed the words, if it weren't for the events that immediately followed. It was only as he watched Matt's fumbling turn to outright catastrophy that the reality of what had just happened sank in. Matt had just proposed to him. First. First! Kyle was touched, shocked, dismayed that all his planning had been so thoroughly undone. It was impossible to process all of his emotions at once, and eventually, after long moments of staring at Matt, dumbstruck, the only reaction Kyle was able to produce was a nervous, almost hysterical laugh. He quickly covered his mouth, not wanting to add insult to injury when Matt was so clearly embarrassed. "Sorry. I-" Kyle cut himself off, no idea where to start. "There's..." He picked up the box in front of him with shaking hands, turning it right side up and opening it. The ring inside was beautiful, and the sight of it, the thought of Matt going out and choosing to buy it, planning to ask, was what finally choked Kyle up, another nervous laugh making its way out of him. "It's beautiful..." He said softly, staring down at the ring for a long moment, then looking up at Matt. It seemed strange now, there was no easy, elegant way to respond. But there was also nothing Kyle wanted more in his life than to be with this goofy man. Reaching into his own pocket he pulled out the box he had been agonising over all evening, handing it across the table to Matt. "There's, ah... there's a ring in there too." He grinned nervously, as he passed the box to Matt. "So, I suppose we were on the same page..."

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Everything that had happened in the past five minutes had been mortifying, and Matt had never wished more for a time turner than he did in this moment. This feeling was worsened by the fact that Kyle started to laugh. That wasn't exactly the sound one wanted to hear after a proposal. Peeking through his fingers, he looked at his boyfriend, wondering for a moment if this was the end of everything between them. But he relaxed slightly as he saw Kyle open up the box. That wasn't a no... maybe he had just been laughing at the disastrous way Matt had proposed? He supposed it was funny, and perhaps he would even be able to laugh about it himself in a few years, or a few decades. He lowered his hands as Kyle said the ring was beautiful. That sounded more promising. Then his eyes widened as Kyle reached into his own pocket to bring out a box himself. Finally, he understood why the other man had laughed. He even cracked a smile himself. "Oh." He breathed. "I suppose that means yes?"

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Kyle couldn't help the sensation of tears pricking at his eyes as he nodded quickly, beaming broadly with happiness. "Of course it means yes." He said quickly, voice cracking a little with emotion. To love and be loved, that was all Kyle had ever wanted, and now he felt like he had truly found it. He picked the ring out of the box Matt had thrown at him, admiring it a moment longer before sliding it onto his finger, heart throbbing with warmth at the sight. This was everything he had ever wanted. "Wow..." He breathed, then looked up at Matt, laughing slightly. "I can't believe you stole my thunder. I decorated the whole rest of the house, I wrote you a song, I had this entire evening planned..." He chuckled, wiping his eyes quickly. "This is perfect though. Wow." He sighed shakily, looking back down at the ring.

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt's heart was soaring. His earlier embarrassed had faded to nothing, and now he just felt happy that Kyle said yes to his question. He opened the ring box Kyle had handed him, grinning at the ring inside. "This one is beautiful too..." He said softly, sliding it onto his finger with an awestruck smile on his face. He looked up again when Kyle started to talk. The revelation that he had written a song for this came as a surprise, though it really shouldn't have. Matt laughed. "Of course you did." He said, shaking his head fondly. "I didn't mean to steal your thunder, and I'd still like to hear the song." He said, reaching over to grasp Kyle's hand in his own. "We're going to get married." He said then, disbelief clear in his voice.