It's Been Years

[Nathaniel Hilsinger]

Nathaniel Hilsinger was tired; tired of his life in America. Each day he was growing more annoyed with New York City and the rush that everyone seemed to be in all the time. He wanted to get out of Manhatten so this was eactly what he had done, he had told his girlfriend that they were over and that he was moving away. Nathan was determined to get rid of everything from his old life and she was just that, he felt that she represented all that he was beginning to feel disgust with. The way that she wanted nothing more than to be a famous singer made him nauseous at the thought of being with such a fool for the rest of his life. But Nathan knew that as long as he lived in Manhatten there wouldn't be many more people like him and if Canada wasn't so damn cold all the time, he would have gone there. No one that wanted to be famous stayed in Canada after all. He was sure that Canadians were more sensible and realistic than the foolish Americans that he had come into contact with for the past twenty-four years. These contacts would be all that he would strip from so before he made his final apparation into Australia he promptly through his cell phone in the garbage. There would be no need for it any longer, he had his cousin's number and he was certain that was all he needed to get re-introduced to Aussie life.

Although the majority of Nathan's life had been spent from place-to-place in America with his parents and older brothers and younger sisters, the Hilsingers had once lived in Australia. It had not been long enough for Nathan to remember the sun that would beat down on his young brow or the golden brown skin of nearly all people as they had moved when he was only a few months old. Unlike Nathan, his older brothers had a memory of living there for only two years and it had always seemed, to Nathan at least, that he belonged in Australia with his younger Finch cousins who had moved there after Leah had insulted the family by getting pregnant so young. When this news had travelled to the Hilsinger's by way of Auntie Amanda, Nathan had ony been fifteen but he remembered distinctly telling his mom that he wanted to move as well. But Nathan was finishing school and his parents simply wouldn't stand for him moving with them, afraid that he would get a girl pregnant because of the imprint that Leah Finch would have on him should he have gone.

But Nathan knew otherwise, Leah was a smart girl and from what he heard her son, Jay, was doing just fine. Izaak well no one was sure, considering his fiance had died not too long ago but Nathan hadn't spoken to Leah or Iz since they were kids and he couldn't be too sure about anything with the Finch family. Only that they knew he was coming by as their mother, and his aunt, had suggested. There wasn't much that Nate really expected out of this meeting, except maybe a catch up between cousins. He didn't want to push onto either Iz or Leah and ask for a place to stay while he looked for a more permanent homestead. In fact, he wouldn't even bring it up because he knew that the people back in Manhatten would have done exactly the opposite and as you know, Nathan wanted nothing more than to be the opposite of those tragically foolish Americans.

As the young man appeared with a pop in the muggle beach home, he glanced around him, his azure blue orbs only taking in the site for a moment before he knocked on the door and waited for his cousin to open, hoping that he would actually e home so he didn't have to go straight to his hotel and find something for him to do during that time.

i'll format this later!

 

[Izaak Finch]

the house that stood tall against the ocean breeze at one-hundred-and-twelve campbell
parade had not been a home to izaak finch for a very long time, he doubted it ever would
be again. the twenty-two year old took a poignant note of this for surprisingly the first time
as his feet met the solid cement, parting way from the sandy beach as it led in a ramp up
and onto the road. well see, it had four walls and a roof to lay over his head and it had a
drive he could park his car in, a backyard that the dog could run circles in. it had windows
and a doormat and a letterbox with the lot number plated on in silver; his azure blue eyes
spied all of these things as he, melodie and her twins wandered idly up the sidewalk from
a post-lunchtime dip in the ocean. it was a house, a neat one at that, but it wasn't a home.
it couldn't be a home without alexis. the then teenage couple had bought it together not
long after his graduation from hwa and it was the first thing that had ever truly been theirs.
izaak remembered how he had felt when he had first turned the key in the lock, he could
still remember the swelling pride that had fizzed up inside both he and his seventeen year
old girlfriend, the freshly painted excitement of boxes to unpack, furniture to arrange, and
friends to invite over. sure their lives here hadn't exactly been all sunshine and rainbows,
and if those walls could talk they'd have one mighty big story to tell - everything from ella
to isabella. perhaps that was why izaak still wasnt able to nail a 'for sale' sign into the
front lawn, no one else could possibly appreciate its sentimental worth, despite it not being
home anymore izaak still felt attached to it like a childhood toy or an ex-girlfriend, one of
which he found himself turning to as their bare feet picked their own way over the street.

in fact melodie's had been home in the year that had followed his fiancee's death. she had
not thought twice to take him under her wing and thereafter had been remarkably patient
with him, even on the days when he'd wanted nothing to do with her, the twins or anybody
else for that matter and had slammed shut the door to the guest room. under her watchful
eye he had managed to grasp a hold on life once more and hoist himself back into its back
and forth games. but it had been the night that the two had dazedly slept together and the
pregnancy scare that had ensued, that had managed to wean izaak from his friend's help.
to put it frankly, theyd needed their separate space after that. you couldnt exactly get it on
with your best friend and then pretend as if it had never happened, especially when there
had been the possibility that she had conceived his child. and so izaak had bought his own
apartment and alternated where he spent his nights between a whole selection of places;
there, here, on business in the states and those blissful, secretive trips that he took over to
new zealand where he wound up falling asleep tangled up in quilts with his new girlfriend.
he hadn't told melodie about alianne yet even though the incog couple were always almost
inseparable nowadays, in fact nobody but her twin brother knew about their relationship
and until izaak was ready, it would be kept that way. but he could feel the truth wasnt far.

the hot tar was melting underfoot at the little group crossed the road, causing izaak to pick
up his feet before they were messily blackened by the bitumen. the twins, however, were
not so quick to act and protested against the molten road. "c'mon kiddos, you've gotta be
quick off the mark." he laughed and scooped up one in each arm. despite once not so long
ago having been so convinced that he had fathered a baby brother or sister of theirs, izaak
still got along famously with aiden and lucas, still loved them like they were his nephews.
his laughter beat down to a smile as he glanced over at melodie and hopped onto the less
scorchingly painful footpath. he wished that the three of them could stay a little longer but
izaak was expecting his cousin over sometime today, a cousin he hadn't seen for nearly
ten years. it wasn't as if melodie and her sons were to outspoken or brash or anything of
the kind for nathaniel hilsinger, in fact izaak was certain that his best friend and his cousin
had met in passing on several occasions all those many years ago. but it was just out of
courtesy, for all izaak knew nathan could have some sort of whack phobia of strangers or
children or... he was sure this wasn't the case though. anyhow, any courtesy seemed to
have been balled up and thrown into a waste bin when as he stepped into the drive, izaak
saw a man only just older than him knocking on the front door. "nathan?" the twins who
were still hanging off of his body like a pair of monkeys seemed to understand, or merely
became restless, and slid down his sides onto the ground. izaak, now free, made his way
forward. "sorry man, i wasnt expecting you until later." without any concerns for seeming
forward, izaak pulled his cousin in for a hug and clapped his shoulder, it had been years
after all. then he pulled away and let his azure eyes wander over this man that seemed
oddly familiar. well, he certainly wasn't fifteen anymore. "this is my best friend melodie and
her sons, aiden and lucas. you guys might remember each other... ?" izaaks eyes darted
between the two once he had made the necessary gestures and introductions. melodie
had always been a stunner, even back then. she wasnt someone that a fifteen
year old boy would forget easily.

Likewise

 

[Melodie Lowe]

With her long brunette hair still damp from the dip in the ocean, Melodie stumbled up the path of her best friend's apartment, her reluctant twin sons in tow. The hot pavement scorched their bare feet and Melodie rolled their eyes at them as they protested to the walk, only to be scooped up, one in each arm by Izaak, who still wasn't all that good at refusing them anything they demanded, then again, neither was their mother, who more often than not pandered to their every need. Smiling back at Aiden and Lucas safely in her friend's arms, she raised her eyebrows a little "You need to learn to say no to them" she teased, though she knew it was hard, and was sure the three year olds loved having Izaak as their favorite 'uncle' because he gave them everything they could ever want. "Trust me, they won't bite you" she added with a light chuckle escaping her lips, slightly chapped from the sea salt she had only just been immersed in. It had been so nice to go for a refreshing dip at the beach, after all that Melodie had been through it finally felt like her little family was coming together quite nicely, though Aiden and Lucas were still ever so mischievous, the twenty three year old had now fully settled into the swing of being a mother, that wasn't to say she wanted any more children anytime soon though.

The half veela knew all too well she wasn't ready for any new additions to the family, thanks to her 'trip down memory lane' with Izaak one night not too long ago. And the subsequent pregnancy scare was enough to shake her into submission. Thank goodness a scare was all it had been, she couldn't have fathomed what she would have done if she had really been carrying her best friend's baby. After that night, despite how close Izaak and Melodie had been, they had both agreed they needed their own space, so after staying with her for quite some time, Izaak had moved out of her guest bedroom and back into his own apartment, of which they were approaching just that moment, and the odd group that climbed the path so earnestly seemed to be met by another figure, with the exact same striking azure blue eyes that Mels would know anywhere, even from afar she had it set in her mind that they must have belonged to a relative of Izaak's, she had never seen somebody with such resemblance to him than the man the stood upon his doorstep. Watching her sons slip down Izaak's torso as he greeted the man who seemed to be 'Nathan' Melodie smiled, her eyes squinting just a little, she was sure she had met him before, since she had known Izaak nearly all her life and met so many of his family members it wasn't all that unlikely that they had in fact spent time together sometime as children.

Placing her arms around the two children that instinctively ran to her sides like lambs to their mother sheep, Melodie took in the conversation that began between the two men, hoping she wasn't intruding, and waiting to be introduced. And once her name had been spoken, she shuffled forward, motioning for her boys to move out of the way, and gingerly shaking the hand of Nathaniel, Izaak certainly was right, Melodie never forgot a face, and was pleased that the attack had only deprived her of her short term memory, so she could remember this man that had become a stranger to her. "You must be Izaak's cousin" she assumed, though knowing she was right, it must have been at least eight or nine years since they had seen each other, and the twenty three year old hoped he too would remember her, she wasn't one for awkward first meetings. "It's lovely to meet you, again." she said, so politely, letting go of his warm palms, and taking her place once more behind Aiden and Lucas, shifting the weight of the beach bag that had been slung over her thin shoulder during the walk up.

Looking from Izaak to Nathaniel and then back to Izaak once more, Melodie placed her hands together and smiled sweetly. "I had better be going, get these towels out to dry." she said sensibly, she didn't want to be the third wheel with her best friend and his guest. Her apartment was only next door so at least she hadn't far to walk. "I don't want to intrude" she explained, knowing that the cousins would have so much to fill each other in on, she didn't want to intrude on their guy time or anything of the sort.

ditto.​

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[Nathaniel Hilsinger]

Nathan had been ready to retire to his hotel as he heard his name uttered and he turned his body around so he could see where the word had come from. It was Izaak Finch with two brown haired children hanging off of his arms. The children seemed quite affectionate with his cousin and he thought that perhaps they were his boys. It had been nearly ten years since they had seen each other last and was feasible but rather disturbing to the man because Izaak was younger than himself. Nathaniel Hilsinger was a traditional man; he went by the honour code of a handshake and he did not plan on having children until he was married. Sex was a different story. However, there were precautions one could take and as he looked at the children he hoped that they were not his nephews because Izaak was simply too young. Looking at the two boys Nathaniel felt like he, too, was just a boy and to be a father, to raise young at the ripe age of twenty-four would be impossible for the man. Impossible and damaging. Perhaps it would not damage the children or the parents but it was likely considering the fact that most people their age were only just learning responsibility, they were still fresh from their academies and having a job that could support yourself and children at this age was difficult. But Nathan had not seen Izaak in years and was in no place to pass judgement on him or his children even if he did wonder what his fiancée had thought of the twin boys that were now standing with the woman he assumed to be their mother and the girlfriend or ex-girlfriend of his cousin... He could not be sure.

As Izaak came in closer and apologized for not being there, Nathan shrugged him off and said, "Don't worry about it." The truth was he had come a little early so he added truthfully, "I needed to get out of Manhattan so I left early... Merlin's beard you are lucky you left America," after he returned the hug and clapped his cousin on the back an open hand. The man standing before him was no longer the lanky fourteen year old who had been imprinted into his memory so he would have to adjust this part of his thoughts of Izaak just as Izaak would have to do with him because when Nathan was a pudgy fifteen-year-old they had seen each other last and only really thought of each other as such. But each had grown into and stood before each other, a woman and two children who would probably not have the same distance which the cousins had. As Izaak looked at the woman who stood with the twin boys, he did the same and smiled politely to her with his azure eyes gleaming in the sun. She was, simply put, stunning. It took Nathan a moment to realize who this familiar face was. Like the cousins, Melodie Lowe, had also changed but as he remembered how inseparable the pair had been as children it seemed that her relationship with Izaak had not. As they were introduced, the blonde man took a step forward and shook Melodie's hand but being careful not to grasp her hand too strong like he often did with other men to show dominance like the way a dog would raise it's fur and growl. Nathan was not sexist but he did not feel the need to do this with a woman, especially one who looked so breakable and doll-like.

Melodie's voice seemed to enthrall the man for he had not been exposed to a Veela as much as his cousin had (although he did not know that Melodie had veela blood) so he felt himself become slightly flustered as he looked into her warm brown eyes. "Yes, it's great to see you after all these years," he responded but instantly feeling as if he had spoken like an elderly man who had not seen his closest childhood friend but this was not the case. Once their hands had returned to their respective sides, Nathan looked down at her children, the ones who Izaak had not said if they were his children, and tried to find similarities between his cousin and the twin boys but it seemed that they had gained only Melodie's traits. But this was the same of his little sister, one could not tell that they were related but she looked exactly like their mother.

Deciding that it would be useless to continue on but also feeling that it might, somehow, insult the pair if he were to inquire if the twins were any relation to his, Nathan glanced back at Melodie. Although it was kind of her, the blond man did want to speak with her more, partly because she was so achingly beautiful and partly because she could very well be the mother to his nephews. "I'm sure Izaak won't mind. It would be good to catch up all together," he offered politely. "Besides, if you just give a flick of your wand, they'll dry up faster," he added poignantly.​