Family

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

The plans were settled, and there was nothing for Kyle and Matt to do but sit in the living room and wait for the girls to get back from the dairy. He and Matt had thoroughly discussed their plans, and everything was set. Since Matt and April were both away for most of the year now, there was no real need for them to keep up the rent on their place and Kyle owned his own house with plenty of space for two more. It only made sense for the Wards to move in, and after three years together, it felt like the right time. Things were feeling sturdier than ever between them, now that there were no secrets lingering, and this really felt... special. Kyle hadn't been in love since his early twenties, but he definitely was now, and it would be wonderful to finally all be together, a real family.

Of course, October was going to be an issue. She and Matt had both told him about an argument they had had at Hogwarts, and she had been pointedly dodging the subject whenever possible, glaring at Matt when she didn't think Kyle was looking. It was pretty blatant that she opposed the relationship, and he wasn't sure how to take this next step in a way that would also be gentle to her. If he were forced to choose, his daughter would always be the most important thing to him, but he desperately hoped the situation wouldn't come to that. October was such a clever girl. Hopefully she would adapt.

Leaning on Matt slightly, Kyle sighed. "Please tell me this will all be okay..." He said softly, glancing at the front door for what felt like the thousandth time. Any minute now...

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt felt more anxious about this decision than he had expected. He really wanted nothing more than to move in with Kyle and live with him as his partner. Now that everything was out in the open, it seemed like the logical and best next step. And while Matt felt like April would adapt well to the news, even if it might be a bit of a shock at first, he didn't think Kyle's daughter October would react nearly as well. The girl had visited him in his office at Hogwarts last year to talk to him about his relationship with her father, clearly upset that Kyle had told him that he was a werewolf. He didn't want to upset the girl more, but this next step was one he and Kyle both wanted to make very badly. In the end, it was Kyle who knew his daughter best, and if he thought this was a good time for it Matt would trust his judgement.

He smiled a little at Kyle's statement. "Sure, it will all be okay." He told his boyfriend. "Now is your turn to tell me, okay?" He joked, squeezing his shoulder. He raised his head when the door opened and his daughter bounced in, October on her heels. It was time.

 

[April Ward]

April was happy to be away from school for a while. As much as she enjoyed being at Hogwarts, she also enjoyed being at home and getting to use things like electronics and the internet. She really missed her social media when she was at Hogwarts, it was really weird that it wasn't possible to use it there. She smiled at October as they made their way home with some lollies. "I'm telling you, this is the best kind of bubblegum in the store." She told her, sticking out her tongue at the responsible girl to show off the colorful gum on her tongue. "Dad always gets me some, you sure you don't want to try?" She shrugged before checking her phone, smiling at the screen at the notifications there. They were nearly at October's house, thankfully, and April put her phone away as they stepped onto the front porch. She burst the door open. "We're BAAACK!" She called.

 

[October Alcott]

It felt weird, spending time with April again like this. She had seen the girl in the halls at school all the time, but they had barely spent any time together since the year started. It was probably for the best, but now being at home and hanging out with April again felt like... stepping into a life that she hadn't really been part of for years now. Trips to the dairy were always nice though, and October had a couple of nice chocolate bars to look forward to after her tuition that evening. "I told you, I don't like gum." She sighed, wincing a little at the unpleasant sight of the inside of April's mouth. Gross. She followed the other girl back inside, frowning a little at how comfortably April made herself at home in October's home. Just another reminder of how deeply Matt and April seemed to be embedding themselves in her home life.

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Hoping Matt's words were true, Kyle was opening his mouth to reassure his partner in turn, when the door opening interrupted him. "Alright, this is it." He whispered, taking Matt's hand and squeezing it quickly as he called out to the girls. "We're in the lounge, could you both come through here please?" They could probably see him and Matt from the door, but he wanted to make sure the girls didn't run off to whatever they were planning to do next. Kyle had no idea how this conversation was going to unfold, and October's reaction was the part he really feared. Nothing to do but go for it. "We need to talk to you for a moment."

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Seeing the two girls together made Matt's heart feel light. He hoped they could grow close, like sisters. The thought made him even more nervous about this whole thing, as he worried that April and October had different thoughts about the matter. Though April tended to be agreeable and happy, he had no idea how she would react to this news. He gave his daughter a smile and gestured for her to sit on the other couch, hoping October would follow but knowing better than to directly tell her what to do. He glanced at Kyle, as he figured it was better for his partner to drop the news on both girls. October was most likely to object, and it would definitely be easier for her to hear it from her own father. Wouldn't it?

 

[April Ward]

April wondered what was going on, as oblivious as she sometimes was, she wasn't unaware of the weird tension in the room as she and October entered. She glanced at the older girl and shrugged before heading to where their dads were sitting together. Seeing them together made her happy, it was so nice that they were happy with each other! She smiled at her dad and then at Kyle before taking a seat. "What's up?" She paused, frowning. "Wait, are we in trouble?" She tried to think of something she did wrong, nothing came to mind. "It wasn't me! ...I think." She said quickly, giving them a winning smile. Hopefully if she was in trouble for something, that would take the edge off. She doubted October had done anything bad, the girl was annoyingly perfect sometimes.

 

[October Alcott]

Dad wanting to talk couldn't be a good thing, and dad and Matt both wanting to talk sounded even worse. October followed April into the living room warily, eyeing them both. They both looked nervous, and October got a distinct impression that whatever this was, it wasn't going to be good. She folded her arms and ignored April's blabbering, eyeing both adults angrily as she took a seat.

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Kyle watched the girls as they entered the room, trying not to let his nerves show on his face. He laughed and shook his head quickly to April's question. "Nobody's in trouble." He said gently, trying to keep everything calm. "We just... wanted to talk to you about... about a decision we've made. We want to hear your thoughts." Kyle glanced at Matt, taking a long moment to re-gather his thoughts, before looking back to the girls. "We've been talking about... how the two of you, April and Matt, are both away most of the time now, and you aren't really staying in your house." Kyle couldn't quite bring himself to look at October yet, knowing the look of anger that was bound to be on her face. "We have some extra space here, it'd be nice to... bring our little family all together. The two of you could move in, and that way there wouldn't be a house sitting empty all year while you're away at Hogwarts." Kyle smiled encouragingly, still not quite daring to look at October. "How do we feel about that idea?"

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

Matt held Kyle's hand as his partner explained the situation to the girls, his gaze moving between both of them. He loved the idea of being a family together, but if the girls didn't want it, that would be hard to accomplish. Kyle explained it very well, and Matt was glad he let him take the word for the hard part. "It wouldn't change too much." He said, mostly addressing April. "It will only make a real difference during the holidays, and right now... we spend a lot of time at Kyle and October's house already." He pauses. "But you can still tell me if you'd rather not move, April. I want to hear how you feel." He didn't want to address October, leaving that to her father. He felt like acting in any way like he was also her parent would be an incredibly idea at the moment.

 

[April Ward]

October was starting to annoy April a little, as her entire posture and expression basically screamed that she was too good for this talk, even though it seemed like it was important to their dads. Her mouth dropped open as Kyle told they had been talking about moving in together, having April and Matt move into this house. She grinned. "Aw! Kyle did you ask dad or did dad ask you to move in together?" She asked excitedly. "I'm all in! It doesn't really matter anyway since we'll be at school for the most part, and it does get annoying to drag my stuff from our place to here and back since I keep forgetting things at one place or the other!" She giggled. "Besides, your house is so cool!" April wasn't very attached to where she lived now, especially not since the school year at Hogwarts where she had slept in the dormitory all year. From the corner of her eye she watched October, hoping the girl wouldn't ruin this for both their dads. Obviously they were very nervous about their reactions, so even if the other girl didn't like the idea, April hoped she would be polite about it.

 

[October Alcott]

Just the feeling she got from dad and Matt summoning them to talk like this was enough to put October's hair on end, but as soon as dad started talking, she knew this was going to be bad. It shocked October into silence for a long moment, though, just how bad this was. What was dad thinking? "Dad, they can't live here. This is ridiculous. April doesn't know about you, and you can't tell her, she's a blabbermouth, she'll go around telling everyone!" October wasn't interested in having a discussion Matt and April could understand, addressing her dad only in French. "And they'll have so much stuff, we don't have enough space, this is ridiculous! They can't live here!"

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

April's enthusiasm was encouraging, and Kyle gave her a quick smile. But the energy was quickly dragged down and he looked at October worriedly. She looked furious, worse than he had expected. "October, I know you're worried, but we're going to make sure she understands how serious this is, and how important it is to keep it a secret. We've known April for years, we can trust her. It'll be okay." He sighed, switching languages. "And as for the rest, we can discuss it in English, please. There'll be plenty of space, we'll clear out the spare room for April. We're not asking you to share a room. This is a good thing, October, we want to be closer as family."

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

As much as he had worried about October's reaction, Matt was still immensely relieved to hear April accept it so easily. Even more easily than he would have hoped. He gave her a smile, deeply grateful. "I'm glad you like the idea, April. I really want you both to feel comfortable." He said slowly.

To his dismay, October didn't react nearly as well. Her expression said enough, but she did speak. In... French. Matt had learned a few handful of words from Kyle by now, but not nearly enough to even follow half of what she was saying. He still tried, listening intently as she spoke, but he didn't pick up more than one or two words. It wasn't hard to see how she felt, though. He sighed, relieved to hear Kyle tell her to speak in English and clarify what she had said. "October, we won't take up much space. I've already started selling or donating some of our things." He glanced at April. "Nothing of yours, of course, darling. I wouldn't do that without talking to you first." He smiled encouragingly at the older of the two girls. "It won't be a big change. We'll fit right in."

 

[April Ward]

As April had expected, October just had to be a grump about all this. Couldn't she see both their dads were nervous about this? That they were happy together and they wanted this very badly? It was even more annoying that October started talking in French. April couldn't stand her arrogance for one more moment and she rounded on her. "You know, it's really rude to speak a language half the people here don't understand." She said loudly. "When we are all having a conversation, I mean. I've been listening to your snide comments for a while now, I can handle them." She added with a huff. "Even if you think they sail right over my head." She muttered, crossing her arms. Why couldn't October like them? Wasn't she happy her dad was happy? Didn't she like getting a sister? April was annoyed with her and her superior attitude.

 

[October Alcott]

October scowled, deepening her glare at dad. This was between the two of them, there was no reason to bring Matt and April into the conversation about their lives, their home. But it was April's comments that really pushed October over the edge, rounding on the younger girl furiously. "We speak French in this house." She snapped. "It's your fault if you don't understand the language of my home, though I shudder to think if you did, there's no need to subject more countries to your constant babbling. You'd never manage to learn it though, you've never taken anything seriously in your life, I'm amazed they're even letting you come back to school, you must be an absolute nightmare to teach!" October ranted furiously, glaring at April as intimidatingly as she could considering her diminutive height.

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

Kyle's jaw dropped a little, at the words coming out of October's mouth. When and where had she learned to be so nasty!? He had never seen her behave anything like this before, and it was staggering. "October!" He snapped, cutting her off. "I know you're upset, but that's a completely unacceptable way to talk to your friend. Go to your room, right now! We'll be having a serious discussion about how long you're grounded for. I expect better from you!" As October stormed out of the room, Kyle turned to April worriedly. "April, I'm so sorry, are you alright?"

 

[Professor Matt Alcott-Ward]

April's word left Mat worried, he didn't like how she had snapped at October but her saying that October made snide comments to her made him concerned about the two girls. He had really believed the two got along. "April, is that-" but before he could ask more, October started talking to April in rapid French that Matt couldn't even attempt to understand. It sounded angry, though, and he was glad Kyle sent October to her room. He decided to look to his daughter too. "April... has this been going on for long? I thought the two of you were friends." He knew April could stand up for herself, but he still didn't like the idea of the two fighting.

 

[April Ward]

April wasn't surprised when October started speaking in french again, and rolled her eyes at the girl in a way that she would clearly see. She made a talking gesture with her hand as the girl rambled on and gave her a dirty look when she was finally done. As her father sent her to her room, April stuck out her tongue at her as she got up to leave. She then turned to Kyle and her dad and shrugged at their questions. "I'm fine. And we are friends, she's just not always nice." She shrugged again. "I think she's just not in a good mood lately, I rarely see her at school so I don't really know what's happening with her."

 

[October Alcott]

October could scream. Was she just supposed to roll over and accept these intruders into her family? It was a nightmare. And how dare he, how dare dad be disappointed in her now?! October worked and worked and pushed herself for the perfect grades, perfect performance, perfect everything, she gave every bit of energy she had to try and be good enough for him, and she was the disappointing one?! April slacked, goofed around, never tried at anything, but everyone just loved her anyway, and October worked until she had nothing left and was a disappointment the moment she expressed how she felt?

October could scream. And so she did. She stormed away silently to her room, tears springing to her eyes, and threw herself onto her bed. She buried her face deep, deep in her pillow and screamed, letting out all the exhaustion and frustration and stress of working and working and working and being ignored, being told to try harder, to be better, over and over again. How on earth did April manage to be good enough, when October never could?

 

[Kyle Alcott-Ward]

April's words were eye-opening to Kyle. How had he never known this side of his daughter, that seemed so apparent to April? He knew October could be terse at times, knew that she liked to get her own way, but he thought he had raised her to at least be kind and polite to others. "I see." He said uncertainly, considering this. "I'm really sorry she's been making you feel this way, April. I'll talk to her." He knew October was going to push back against their decision, but learning about this side of her was... calling into question whether it had been a good decision at all or not. They had only been apart for two years of school - how had he grown so distant from his daughter?