Closed New Horizons

[Blake van Houten]

Blake had known from the moment he kissed Lars at the Quidditch match that he wouldn't be going home for the holidays. He was both surprised and grateful that Lars' family had agreed to have him to stay with no hesitation whatsoever, though he knew better than to take the hospitality as absolution, especially when it came to Lars' sisters. They had seen what he had been like at school in the past, especially Fleur, and likely heard all sorts of stories from Lars. Blake had come prepared for the entire holiday to be an uphill battle to win over the van Houtens.

It had come as a surprise, then, how peaceful Lars' home was. The farm life was pleasantly familiar, though Blake was trying hard not to think about his own home wherever possible, and though it had taken him a while to stop referring to Lars' dad as 'sir' out of habit, he was starting to actually feel settled here. It was nice, too, to expand his knowledge of what made Lars who he was. Seeing Lars' mother's illustrations, it was clear where the talent for painting had come. The farm work explained his wiry build, and the comfort soaked into every inch of this place slotted perfectly into his gentle heart. Blake hadn't thought he could possibly love Lars more, but every new thing he learned delighted him.

Lars' sisters were another matter, though. Though Blake had been on his best behaviour, he couldn't get a read on most of them. Fleur thankfully wasn't around all that often, and Blake knew he had a long road ahead before she would trust him. Iris was difficult to read but Blake was trying, and he had volunteered for enough tarot readings by now that he was pretty sure his entire future was set in stone. Emma, at least, he had common ground with. A Quidditch rival at school could still become a teammate over the holidays, and Blake was relieved they had plenty of space around to fly. Broom in hand, Blake rehearsed the words over and over in his head as he approached before speaking. "Wij... spel?" He asked, stumbling a little over the pronunciation of the S. It felt... both natural and important to at least try to learn his boyfriend's first language, especially while staying in his home, but Blake was quickly learning that languages weren't a gift he possessed. "Um... Zwe... Zwerkbal?" He attempted, holding his broom up slightly.

*Wij spel - We play
Zwerkbal - Quidditch

 

[Emma van Houten]

It had been bad enough that Blake had stolen the game, stolen the Quidditch cup and stolen her brother in front of everyone, but now he was at her HOME. Emma hadn't had the best year, and it had made her pretty frustrated to hear Lars' new boyfriend was staying with them. She had mellowed out a bit when she had heard why, but she still didn't like it much. It was their house, and now Lars was going to be all gross and kiss in it. At least her parents had given Blake a guest room far away from Lars' room, that was pretty smart. Emma was thinking of what to write to Nicole, wanting to show her friend she was still on her side, but writing letters was boring. Usually Emma made Iris do it and just signed her name too, but things were kind of awkward between Iris and Nicole. It was Iris' own fault, though. As she pondered this, Blake approached her. Emma frowned up at him, then wrinkled her nose at his words. "That's not what you say." She told him, though she thought it was pretty good of him to make an effort. "Close, though. You don't have to impress me, you know." She added, as she had the feeling Blake was trying her best to do that with both her parents and her brother. And Fleur. "But yeah, I'll play Quidditch with you." She said, getting up. It beat writing a stupid letter. Emma suddenly grinned. "If I beat you, do you give me the cup?" She asked him innocently.

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake knew his Dutch was terrible, but it still stung a bit when Lars' family pointed it out. He tried to brush off the stab, shrugging when she added that he didn't have to. "I know, but I'm trying to practice." He said, switching back to English. "Like, I'm in your home, I'm in your country, I should... know your language." He didn't bring up the fact that he was hoping to spend a long time with Lars, and he would feel pretty terrible if he didn't at least try to learn his boyfriend's first language. The whole 'boyfriend' subject was one he had been doing his best to dodge around Emma, for safety. He snorted softly at her joke about the cup, giving Emma a cocky grin. "We'll have to sort that one out at school next year." He said cheerfully, heading outside with Emma, his broom in hand. "Do you wanna both play seeker, or do you wanna use me as target practice?" He asked, glad practice bludgers weren't quite as hard as the ones at school.

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma wrinkled her nose a bit. "Why do you wanna practice? Do you want to move here? With Lars?" She asked Blake, blinking up at him. "And kiss him a lot?" She asked then, a teasing note creeping into her voice. She wasn't entirely on board with the entire thing, but that didn't mean she wouldn't tease both Blake and Lars about it mercilessly. Especially Lars. Emma pretended to pout for a moment when Blake said they had to sort out the cup at school next year, but it was worth a try. She followed him with her broom, thinking it over. "I wanna use you as target practice." She said then. "No fair if you get to practice your position and I don't."

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake had told Lars' parents about his situation, had needed to explain his need for a place to live, but he hadn't gone into detail with any of Lars' sisters, never having quite figured out where to start. He didn't know what Lars had told them or what they thought of his presence, but he couldn't hold back a small snort at Emma's comment. "I mean, I already... kind of live here. I... can't really go home." He ignored the comment about kissing, trying desperately not to think about how different the same words would have sounded from his own sister. That didn't matter; he was here. He chuckled softly, not surprised when she picked the target practice option. "Sounds fair." He said in agreement, reaching for the crate of practice balls to find the ones they would need.

 

[Emma van Houten]

Emma rolled her eyes at Blake's words. "I know that." She said, fully aware of his situation. Iris would probably have said she should have been more sensitive, but Emma had thought her meaning had been clear. "I meant later, when you're all grown up and stuff." Emma said. "Are you going to live here with Lars and kiss and get maaaarried?" She asked him teasingly, hopping up and down a bit as she waited for Blake to get the right balls out of the crate. She then hopped on her broom. "I'm not going to go easy on you, okay?"

 

[Blake van Houten]

Blake had tried very hard to side-step Emma's teasing and it was hard not to wince when she brought it back. Casting parts of himself he had been taught his whole life to hate into the public light wasn't as simple as a one-and-done romantic gesture, Blake was discovering. He wished he could just laugh off Emma's comments like he had no doubt Lars would but instead they stuck to the insides of his ears, echoing back and forth until they sounded like the mocking he feared from his family. Part of Blake wanted to snap, to lash out and retaliate, but he knew he couldn't act like that, especially not with Lars' sisters. So he swallowed his feelings down as he silently released the bludger and snitch, taking off quickly and trying to distract himself looking for the golden ball.