The Beautiful Consequences

[Effie Kingston]

Effie sighed as she adjusted her Cardigan in the mirror of her bedroom at her home in New Zealand. It had been a few months since her encounter with Audel and Effie had not seen him since the night they had spent together, but Effie could avoid him no longer because recent events were going to try it's hardest to make things difficult for her. Glancing at her belly in the mirror she wanted to sigh again, over the past couple of months {Two and a half to be a exact}, Effie had been feeling extremely tired and under the weather to the point where it became even a pain for her to even consider getting up in the morning to do anything. Eventually Effie grew tired of trying to figure out what was wrong herself, she owled Nicolette Styx and asked her to come over and see if she could tell her if anything was wrong. "I can't believe I'm pregnant." She stated to herself softly as she pat her think stomach, in fact Nicolette had stated that it was most likely twins that she was currently carrying as well. At first Effie was nothing but excited, cheerful, and glowing about the idea of becoming a mommy. But then the thought of having to tell Audel came to mind and the excitement wore off very quickly. It wasn't that Effie didn't like Audel, actually she had like the world's biggest crush on him, she was just afraid that he would hate her and not want anything to do with the babies. But even if she was afraid of all of this going on she knew she would have to tell him, he had the right to know that he was going to become a father for the first time, hopefully he wouldn't be too upset about it because honestly Effie was a little excited about it and didn't want anyone to ruin this for her.

Apparating to Obsidian, Effie had every intention to head to the Poison Ater and see if she could talk to Audel about all of this and see what would become of this. Her flats scuffed across the ground lightly and it was only then that she noticed that not that many people were in or around Obsidian today and that made it a little quiet and that left Effie to her thoughts which was never good for her. 'I...I can't do this.' Effie thought to herself when she stepped onto a road that would lead her closer to her destination she liked Audel so much and wanted to share this with him...but what if he rejected her? She would be heartbroken, pregnant, and very alone feeling throughout the entire time. Effie stopped and leaned against the outside wall of a building. "I..I Don't think I can tell him." She stated to herself quietly as she let her eyes glance down at her stomach once more, was she really going to be able to actually do this? With a swift roll of her eyes she turned and started to head in the other direction, back home because she truly felt she couldn't do this.

 

[Audel Lesley]

Things had been slightly (okay, very) awkward between he and Effie since the night they had spent together. Technically they'd barely seen each other and when they did they were sweet, shy and so embarrassed around each other that he could hardly stand it. There was nothing Audel wanted more than to just sweep her away in his arms and carry her off into the sunset, but first of all that was ridiculously ... romantic, and second of all they barely knew each other. He'd been taking a lot of cr*p from his siblings who knew that something was up. How often was Audel seen taking a woman out of the restaurant and not returning until late the next afternoon? Robert had become a human Howler when he'd returned and his brothers had relentlessly teased him about his staring with a glazed over look with he was cooking. He couldn't help it, though. Thoughts of Effie filled Audel's mind. He was making the breakfast specials that morning when he finally decided that he needed a break to clear his head. Robert had simply rolled his eyes and nodded since there was barely anyone at the Poison Ater, yet. Audel grabbed his black jacket from the rack and power walked out the door, intent on getting away from the hot kitchen and simply letting the memories of he and Effie's night together wash over him.

He'd not walked very far until he came upon a sight that literally took his breath away. Was that ... a blonde head up ahead? The woman turned her face to the side slightly and his heart dropped into his stomach and rolled around like a loose bowling ball. Was she coming to see him? No, she was walking away from the Ater. If she wasn't here to see him ... Audel swallowed and kept a straight face, shoving away his hurt and running after her. Perhaps she had other business here and didn't have time to stop, but he wouldn't let her go without at least saying hello. "Effie!" Audel called out in a low voice, catching up to her easily and taking her hand. "Effie. Hey ... what's going on?" he asked her, keeping his face neutral.

 

[Effie Kingston]

Effie was just beginning to walk away when she heard someone call her name and begin to run after her, she jumped slightly in surprise when her name was called again but only this this time it was accompanied by her hand being grabbed by someone else's and the face of the one who called had her name being revealed. It was Audel who had called her name. "Audel...hi." There was so much more she wanted to say to him right there and she was sure he probably noticed that, but her mind grew blank as soon as she saw him and that adorable face of his. Could Effie ruin this poor man's life by telling he would eventually become a father, it would be so unfair to him because he probably wasn't looking for attachments or anything the night they spent together and here she was with a sudden reason for attachments to be formed between them. "I was just going for a walk, I would have stopped by but I figured you would be busy at work or something." This was semi-true, she really had thought he was busy but normally that would not stop her from visiting if she had important business with someone. No matter how much she liked him and wanted to share this, rejection was quite high because this world was a cruel world and those too innocent would get eaten alive. And to her dismay, Effie was most likely one of those people. Her eyes downcast to the ground as she held Audel's hand with hers gently, she was acting as if she had just committed a crime or something but really...she was just biding her time.

"You should...take a walk with me, Audel. I have something I need to talk to you about." She lifted head and gave him a forced smile before she leaned up and gave him a swift kiss on the cheek, maybe after a walk where they spent some time together and got the nerves out Effie would be able to tell him more easily. The air was a bit chilly though, Effie shivered for a moment before motioning with her hands for him to follow her, hopefully he would want to comply because she really wanted to spend some time with him anyways. "Please? I'm a little cold anyways." She asked softly, finally adding that in to hopefully persuade him to go for a walk with her. Maybe he could help keep her a bit warmer because it was a bit chilly outside, Effie would offer to take him to her house but that was quite a distance plus she had no idea if Alyssa was lurking around there today or not.

 

[Audel Lesley]

As he watched her face at the sight of his, Audel shrank a little inside as Effie seemed to hold some restraint. Perhaps what she really wanted was to tell him to leave her be but couldn't find the words. He was melancholy in that way, to think the worst on first judgment. But still she kept a hold of his hand and he was grateful for that, for just the touch of her flesh was enough to soothe his heart. Words escaped him but it was of no consequence as Effie began to speak instead. "I ... oh no, I just got off. I'm sorry to have disturbed you, I just missed-" said Audel but his fell silent and coughed slightly under his breath. They were not yet far enough away from the Poison Ater for such words to be safe. If any of his family heard, there would be hell to pay. But what was troubling her? Effie looked like she was being force fed polyjuice a spoonful at a time. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and, on impulse, lifted it to his lips to kiss as he had done the day they had met. The only sign of his smile was the curve of his lips on her skin. When he raised his head, only confused empathy remained.

Audel's cheeks went tomato red but he nodded and turned with her. "Ah ... of course. Here," he added as he swept off his dark jacket and placed it around her shoulders. He was left in a plain dress shirt; black like everything else he wore. The arm he left around her shoulder and he walked stiffly as if he was trying not to look like he was trying not to stand out. Audel looked down at the top of Effie's head and felt his stomach grow sick with apprehension. He didn't even know what he was fretting inwardly about but even knowing Effie for such a short time gave him enough to know when she was out of sorts. She was certainly out of sorts. "Why don't you tell me what's the matter," he said softly, running a hand through her hair absently.

 

[Effie Kingston]

The way that Audel was so sweet and kind to her made her feel just that more awful about the news that she had to tell him, the poor man probably had no idea about was going on and Effie's heart was breaking for him. "Audel, you could never disturb me." She blushed when her hand was kissed just like the way he had kissed her hand on the night they met, his kindness was one of the biggest reasons she fell for him. On top of that he had even offered his dark jacket to Effie to keep her warm as they walked together instead of wearing it himself, surely this man deserved far better than her because he was just too perfect to really be real and here for her right now. 'I bet he would be an amazing father.' Effie thought to herself as she used her hand to gently pull Audel into a random direction, further and further away from the Poison Ater where it would probably be safer to talk. "I'm sorry I haven't visited sooner, but I've been really busy. My brother's been really hard on me lately, and I've been a little...ill" But the further away they got the more nervous Effie was beginning to feel, she could not leave today without telling him and she was so afraid that he would be angry with her.

"How did you...nevermind. I guess it's obvious that something is wrong." Effie felt chills run down her spine when Audel ran a hand through her hair, it was such a sweet gesture that her shock from his statement was short lived. He knew something was wrong and that worried Effie that she had become that obvious at letting her emotions be shown, her brother had told her that letting your emotions overtake you was a suicide in the making. Effie walked for a few more minute's silent before she sighed softly to herself stopped walking. The hand that was holding Audel's tensed a little, she as going to have to tell him now if she already knew something was wrong then there was no way she could hide that everything was fine. "Audel I have something to tell you. I'm uh...well...I'm..oh no." About halfway through her sentence Effie got the overwhelming urge to start crying and it took her over body so quickly before she even knew what was wrong a single tear fell from her brown colored eye and slid down her cheek. Then another fell from her eyes and before she knew it they were followed by many and there she was, sobbing like a baby right in front of Audel, the man she admired on so many levels. "I'm so S-sorry, I didn't think...please don't be mad at me!" Effie managed to get out through her sobs and sniffles, the tears were probably going to ruin her make-up and make her look awful but she just couldn't stop them from falling, she hadn't even told Audel what was up either, but she did want him to know that she was sorry for this.

 

[Audel Lesley]

Audel could only shake his head, softly appalled that she felt the need to apologise for not visiting. "You've been ill?" he interrupted involuntarily and bit his lip as the words slipped out. For reasons he did not yet comprehend, the sentence seemed ominous. He couldn't bear the thought of her being sick and having not been able to owl him or floo in to stay so that he could take care of her. But then again, what they had was supposed to be just a one night stand. Random hook ups weren't supposed to see each other ever again; they weren't supposed to feel for each other the way he felt for her. The selfish side of Audel told him then that he must have her at any cost. Surprisingly, the gentle side agreed. This woman was not to be lost; and he was about to find out one (or rather, two) reasons why. "Effie ..." said Audel gently. "How could I not notice that look in your eye? I'm not as unobservant as I might seem. I think you should tell me what's going before I think the worst," which he was prone to do.

Audel felt Effie's hand tighten in his and he instinctively squeezed it back. Moments like these were excruciatingly embarrassing, but all he could think of was Effie and the tear that fell from her chocolate eye. His regular mask of 'indifference' shattered and Audel opened his mouth in shock. Before he could say anything else, Effie was sobbing and he clutches her to his chest. "Effie!" No, what had happened? What had he done? His heart was thumping wildly as a million panicked thoughts ran through his head as he cradled her against him. Was someone close to her killed? Did she lose something important to her? Nothing came close to the reality that would turn his world upside down. "I'm not angry at you, no! Please, Effie. I can't help you unless you tell me what's happened ..." Audel breathed in deeply and cupped her face between his hand to lift her eyes to his. "Please."

 

[Effie Kingston]

Effie nodded softly when Audel asked if she had been ill, the two little babies inside her caused her to be sick or feeling sick a lot of the time actually. If she wasn't throwing up or feeling like she was then her other problem was feeling extremely drained and tired which happened to be her problem right now as she stood here crying in front of the man she had so many feelings for. Effie felt so tired and weak that as she crowed she allowed Audel to cradle her against him without even the littlest hesitation. "But you will be angry with me." She managed out, her voice was weak and soft as she allowed more sobs to escape her, this was going to ruin Audel life's and she just knew it. After all he was an Ater who happened to be someone she had spent one night with, is family didn't like hers and he probably had only expected the two of them to be a fling for a night, not become parents after only such a little time of knowing eachother. "Audel, I'm so sorry. If you never want to see me again after this...I understand." Effie muttered through sniffles as Audel cupped her face between his hands so their eyes could meet with one another, as soon as they did Effie could feel her heartbreak all over again, she was in love or at least thought she was in love with him because she wasn't really sure what love felt like. But she thought that if she revealed this to him then everything was going to fall apart right in front of her very eyes like everything in her life did. But as much as she wished she didn't have to tell him and keep these moments strong between them, she knew she had to tell him. And she was going to.

"Audel....I'm pregnant." She blurted it out without any hesitation stopping her from finally telling him what he really needed to know about what was upsetting her. The tears still from from her eyes but she wasn't crying nearly as hard as she was a moment ago, she felt relief that she had told him but now just felt fear that this was going to get ugly and she needed to do something about it before she lost him. Effie reached up and softly grabbed one of Audel's hands and placed it on her small baby bump that she figured he probably hadn't even noticed was there, she thought it was kind of cute even if she knew that it would get bigger and bigger as the months went on. "I'm pregnant with twins on top of that. Thats why I've been so sick lately and avoiding you. I didn't think this would happen and I know your probably not excited to hear this but..I'm keeping the babies." With or without his help she was going to have her children and raise them. Without would be a lot harder but it wasn't like she was asking him to marry her, just to check up on his children from time to time if he didn't want anything to do with her after this.

 

[Audel Lesley]

Audel ran his thumbs across her cheeks and felt the tears slide down the back of his hands. He would have kissed them away instead if he hadn’t felt it was disrespectful at a time like this, and you never knew if a brother had tagged along for the ride. He could feel her hair in his hands again and it made his stomach ache with sadness for her pain that he didn’t understand. Audel opened his mouth but couldn’t even protest when Effie told him that he would be angry. How could you ever make me angry? he thought, unconsciously worrying away at his lip at the thought. “No!” he said, shocked at what she said next. “I want to see you still; I mean, if you want to but ... but nothing you could say would make me...” said Audel before his voice died away. Hang on. Did I hear that correctly? Effie was ... pregnant? Ouch. Feeling like he’d been kicked in the gut, Audel completely and utterly misunderstood. What a blow to his ego. They’d had one night together, of course she wouldn’t care that much for him. But to be pregnant to some other guy’s kid made him sick with jealousy and hurt. But there was nothing he could say, he was supposed to support her as a friend during a time like this, and ...

Merlin, twins. thought Audel in despair. She was having two kids with some bloke. He’d been stonily silent for a good few minutes but he figured it was time to voice his acceptance of the matter. “Effie ... I’m not so good at this sort of stuff, but ... I guess I should say congratulations. I’ll always be here for you and I’ll help in any way I can. I hope the dad hasn’t ...” No, no no. Don’t get angry, this won’t help. thought Audel as a fire burned in his chest. “... I mean, he hasn’t gone off and left you with two kids has he ... wait, what?”. Hang on. Things were getting confusing. It had just occurred to Audel that Effie had been a virgin when they met. How far along was she? It must have happened after they’d met, and he felt sick all over again. But what was she saying? Why would he care overly if she was keeping the guy’s kids or not?
...
“Sh*t,” said Audel.
His children. Their children. Effie was pregnant with his twin children. “Do you mean -” he said slowly. “-that they’re mine?”. Audel’s bottom lip was struggling before his entire face lit up. For the first time in his entire life, Audel beamed brighter than anyone would have thought possible coming from him. He let go of Effie and took a wobbly step back, pushing back his hair. “Merlin ... are you serious?” he stammered out as he fought to control the impulsive joy coursing through him. He was going to be a dad! Then he took Effie by the waist and swept her into his arms. There was nothing, nothing on the whole damn planet that could equal this. But reality gave Audel a swift kick up the *rse for his happiness and almost made him let go of Effie. “Oh sodding salamanders, Effie I’m so sorry!” he blurted out as guilt brought the features of his face screaming from ecstatic to guilty. “I’m such a bastard. I can’t believe I did this to you.” This time he did let go of Effie to bury his face into his hands and moan. It was no good him being excited when the poor woman was having his children. What the hell could he do to make this up to her?

 

[Noah Snow]

Noah felt like he never spent enough time with his family back at the Snow Manor anymore, between all the practices, Quidditch games, and traveling that he did he ended up spending more time away from them instead of spending time with them. Then again with all the family drama going on lately he wasn't exactly sure if he wanted to go see them anyways in fear that he would be yelled at or get pulled into the drama right along with them and end up in over his head just like he did every other time they pulled him into their family drama. 'Although I guess it could be considered as bonding.' Noah thought with a roll of his eyes, even as siblings they had fought and caused trouble for one another so it wasn't anything new but he still would rather avoid it now as an adult. It was on rare occasions like these that he was able to get out and do anything anyways, he was able to steal a day away to himself where he could travel to Obsidian and relax a little, but of course life was never going to give him a break away from his family. Immediately turning the corner he noticed a blonde set of hair that he knew all too well and froze immediately when he saw something he did not expect. His baby sister Effie was with a guy, some guy he didn't know and he had to embarrass her in front of her boyfriend or whoever he was to her. Effie was going to enjoy this..well not really.

"Effie Monique Snow!" Noah bounded over to his baby sister and within seconds he had enveloped his younger sister in an extremely tight bear hug that lifted her partially off the ground, she was so small compared to him that it was far too easy for him to do. After he squeezed her as tightly as he could and heard her let out a few gasps and whines he released her roughly and watched her stumble to keep balance. "I've missed my baby sister ohhh so much, eh who is this guy?" He pinched his sisters cheek before he finally blinked and released her cheek to stare at the man that she was embracing and talking oddly, he had never seen him before but he figured that it had to do something maybe a boyfriend, whoever he was it made Noah a little nervous.

 

[Effie Kingston]

It appeared that at first Audel had thought that it was someone else's child and that was so not the approach or reaction that Effie was looking for from him. Her different colored eyes widened in horror as the words spilled from his mouth about him always being there for her and hoping that the father hadn't left her alone and such, how could Audel think such a thing about her? She was not just some hussy that slept around or used him for a good time, she was must to shy and gentle for something like that to ever happen between them and her not to feel guilty about it. It looked like realization suddenly hit Audel and he was getting the big picture into his mind. He asked if they were his and Effie nodded her head softly and gave him a pretty but at the same time shy smile, she was one hundred percent sure that they were indeed his children. And then he beamed at her and suddenly she couldn't resist cracking a quick giggle because he just looked so cute and happy that it was contagious. "Whoa-H-hey Audel let me go!" The quick movement made her stomach churn and her unneeded nausea to return full front, she hadn't expect him to be this excited about the babies, it relieved her and at the same time made her feel like maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as she thought it would be, thankfully it wasn't long before she was set down by Audel though because she was starting to feel really sick and nervous in his arms like that. Once on the ground her smile faded as Audel put himself down about this whole situation, he was so excited a moment ago that it was almost a killjoy that his mood had suddenly changed like that. Effie's hands went to cup Audel's cheeks gently before she gave him a quick peck in the cheek and smiled at him. "You are not, I'm not mad at all. I've actually always wanted to be a mommy do there's reason to be upset with yourself. I'm just as excited as you are...well and a little nervous because having kids is a little scary too." A small sigh escaped her lips as she tried to think of what the following months of her pregnancy and her life was going to bring to her, especially when she had to face her family about all of this. What was Alphonse going to do to her, or worse to Audel when he found out who the father was.

"I thought you were going to be mad at me because you didn't want this, I thought you would feel like I was holding you back, and that you hated being seen with me or something. Does that mean..you want the babies too?" Effie averted his eyes away form his to look at the ground, she felt bad for ever thinking such thoughts because anyone who acted that excited couldn't be someone who hated the idea of having children, he seemed almost more excited then she did. Which was most likely due to the fact that he wasn't the one carrying them or feeling sick all the time because of them. In fact Effie put a hand on the small baby bump as she suddenly decided she might be a little hungry, or maybe it was the twins deciding..she wasn't sure.

Just before she could say anything else she heard her full name being by a voice she recognized far to easily, this day just took another dive into the wrong direction. "Oh no." Effie paled a little and she gave Audel a worried look, her brother Noah was probably the most abrasive person she had ever met in her entire life other than Nicolette who was just generally bubbly instead of obnoxious like her older brother seemed to be. And before anything could be said, done, or thought he ran over and picked her up into a tight bear hug that made her gasp in pain. Not only did his hug hurt her stomach but she became slightly worried over the little babies in her stomach. "Noah...stop it that hurts. And careful...the babies-" Her sentence was cut short when he quickly released her and she had forced to catch her balance so she wouldn't fall over. Then he pinched her cheek and she swatted his hand away before casting him an annoyed look, he was going to ruin everything. "What are you doing here?!" She snapped under her breath as she crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her sore cheek. Then he asked Audel who he was and Effie turned to look at the man that was the father of her children before she grasped his hand softly in hers he didn't have to say anything to him if he didn't want to, but she hoped this was the moment where Audel and her family became semi-familiar with one another. Though she doubted she and Audel would ever be anything more than just parents together.

 

[Audel Lesley]

Audel touched the hand that cupped his cheek and linked his fingers with it. His smile became much shyer and abashed, still feeling like a complete *rse about getting her pregnant but too pleased to regret it. He paled slightly as he thought of all the things she would be going through within the next nine months, let alone the actual birthing of two babies. He held her hand a little tighter. It was just typical. He always managed to mess up the good moments in his life; first with Gregory and losing him as a friend, now with Effie and putting her through a lot of trouble. The first time he had ever had sex and he forgot a complete fundamental that everyone knew not to forget. Then again, for some people a baby was a worst case scenario where as Audel was delighted. But to have a child out of wedlock? Speaking of wedlock ... now he was feeling as sick as Effie. Yet soon he felt Effie kiss his cheek and the thought of marriage of any kind flew out the breeze. Today he hoped just to celebrate the prospect of being a dad and worry about business tomorrow and the long days to come.

"I am sorry to put you through all of this," said Audel, still feeling the need to apologise despite her reassuring gaze. "You deserved a better start to your ... our ... children's lives." But he smiled the tentative smile again that made his left eyebrow lift ever so slightly. "But I've never wanted anything more, and I can't imagine wanting to share it with anyone else but you." Audel bit his bottom lip slightly and watched her place her hand on her just-showing baby bump. "Because ... I-" 'Effie Monique Snow!'. Audel winced and glared instinctively at the interrupter. Usually it was one of his brothers who interfered in moments such as these. This time he wasn't sure where to be relieved or not, judging by the look Effie gave him before being swept into the stranger's arms. "Hold up, there!" said Audel in alarm as Effie protested vehemently in pain. Luckily he didn't have to get a fist out before she was released. For the first time since he had met Effie all those months ago, he witnessed his beautiful partner look quite miffed. "Are you two ... related?" ventured Audel hesitantly to break the stony silence. They did have a similar shaped face, indeed. If he didn't end up being a relative, Audel would simply tell him to jog on, old friend or not. He was a dad-to-be. No one messed with his three.

 

[Effie Kingston]

Effie didn't like that he felt he had the need to apologize, but she wouldn't stop him from doing it because he seemed to feel that it was something he needed to do. Effie kept herself calm though and lifted her head to look at Audel softly as he spoke to her about the start of their children's lives, he was so sweet to her that there wasn't a single doubt in her that he was going to be just as sweet to their little babies when they were born. "Audel, I have everything I need for the children. I can tell that your going to be an amazing father." Truly she did have everything she needed to give her kids a perfect like; she had a job, a house, family, and their father was being fairly supportive about this so there was nothing much else she could need to be any happier. Effie was so glad that she had told him about the pregnancy, it felt like an amazingly large weight was lifted off her shoulders and she could finally relax herself knowing that he wasn't going to hate her for this. Which meant that she was seriously entitled to a really long nap or cuddle session and a bowl of ice cream when she got home later on this evening. "You can stop by my house and visit me and the babies any time you want, as long as I'm home and....because you..what?" Effie stopped in the middle of her sentence to ask Audel what it was that he didn't finish saying to her, was there something up or was he just going to say that he was happy that he was going to be the father of her children. Effie wasn't sure and it made her really curious plus nervous about the whole situation as many ideas and assumptions ran through her head. The bottom line was though that Audel was happy and that made her happy, she would definitely have to see if he wanted to come to her house later or vise-versa.

However right now she had to deal with her idiot of a brother. "Yes, he's my older brother." She admitted grouchily as she glared at her older brother Noah for ruining everything for her, she and Audel ere having a moment and he was about to say something until Noah decided to ruin it for the both of them. Although she was far from pleased with her brother she was thankful that it was him instead of Alphonse that had seen her and Audel together, she really like this man and wanted her family to like him and stuff. "Noah this is Audel Ater, he's the father of the twins. And I want you to be nice." Effie said the 'nice' part through clenched teeth as she told her brother who Audel was and such, her brother was one of the few besides Nicolette and Audel that knew she was pregnant and with twins. But he didn't know to who and now that she told him she hoped he would behave himself and not cause her anymore stress then he was already causing. Effie cast Audel a shaky smile, telling him that it was okay...she hoped.

 

[Noah Snow]

Noah's icy blue eyes widened after a moment when he saw his little sister not only be caringly sweet and romantic towards a guy but openly in public too. Effie had always been one of those really shy girls who would rather stick her nose into a book rather than be this open and public with any man ever, it was like looking at a completely and utter stranger to Noah. "This is the man that got you pregnant? Oh Effie he's a doll." He winked at Audel playfully, mostly to get Effie all riled up before he walked over and ruffled his younger sister's hair and patted her cheek, the fact that there was going to be more children in the family had everyone in an major uprise and it was a wonder that Alphonse hadn't heard the news yet. But then the last name sunk into Noah's head and he froze for a second, did she seriously just say that this man was an Ater, one of those families that the Snows were definitely not fond of in any way, shape, or form. If Alphonse saw or heard about this there would be hell and Effie would be the victim of torture for the Head and the rest of the family to tear apart piece by piece.

"Oh god an Ater, Effie! Alphonse is going to murder you, or even worse...well...okay nothing is worse than that. But you know he is not going to like this?!" Noah remained talking softly so he wouldn't stress Effie out and so he couldn't be heard by any possible Snows lurking around. His eyes blue eyes shifted to Audel before he cleared his throat and gave the man an apologetic look, he didn't seem like a bad guy but it was just the way things were. "Effie he could be just using you, and secretly be just waiting to tear you apart or something...what is this is all a scheme?" Effie gasped after Noah finished his words and suddenly he felt bad as he watched his little sister's big different colored eyes fill up with Unshed tears, apparently she didn't like hearing that so much. Noah felt bad and wished he could have taken it back but it needed to said, Alphonse always said you could never trust anyone outside the family all that much, it could be a possibility that Effie was just being used...and now she was pregnant.

 

[Audel Lesley]

Audel looked between Effie and Noah in complete and utter disbelief. How on earth were these two related? To his astonishment, Noah called him a doll and gave him an extravagant wink. He looked to Effie as if to say 'Is this guy for real?'. "Nice to meet you, Noah." said Audel in his usual soft voice with his eyebrows still raised. Little did he know that this was only a small part of what being a Snow would mean; putting up with teasing. He could see just how grumpy Noah's treatment was making Effie and he longed to just excuse them both and drag Effie off in a hurry, but at the same time Audel was still curious to get to know Effie's sibling. He knew that she had a few and if this was just one of them, he might be in for a hard time. You'd think he'd be used to loud, excitable people because of all the siblings he had, but most of his brothers and his sister were sarcastic, cool and definitely more cruel in their torment. So what was this about being an Ater? Noah seemed to be very animated about the subject though he spoke in a low tone. Audel felt something wither inside him. He'd managed to forget that their was bad blood between their two families, but it appeared that Noah sure as heck hadn't forgotten. But it only got worse from there.

Noah looked at him apologetically before telling Effie something that both melted Audel into a little puddle and made the puddle boil furiously. What did he know about him or how he was treating Effie? All because he was an Ater! Audel struggled with his emotions for a long moment, all the while taking in Effie's stricken face and Noah's slightly guilty look. It was a very awkward silence until Audel finally managed to speak. “I suppose I should be used to aspersions being cast on my character because of the name I carry,” said Audel softly, carefully placing aside his anger at the injustice of it. “Sins of the father, and all.” His hand squeezed Effie’s once in reassurance as he met Noah’s clear blue eyes with his own midnight black ones. “But there is one thing I will no longer tolerate; and that is doubt about my regard for your sister and the responsibility I will take in helping her raise these two children.” Audel smiled then, glancing at Effie so briefly with his eyes filled with pride and quiet adoration. “Have a little faith in your sister, too. She is not a foolish person and wouldn’t be taken advantage of. I hope ... that she feels the same way about me as I do her.” He didn't know how to say anything else, so he went quiet again.

 

[Effie Kingston]

Effie was suddenly reminded by her brother that Audel was in fact an Ater by blood, and her family and his family had always had bad blood between them. Her eyes downcast to the ground as she tried to think of something she could possibly say or do to convince herself that everything was going to go just peachy from here, but so far there was nothing that convinced her that it was going to ever be. And as if that didn’t make matters already worse, Noah started to directly attack Audel with insults about him being an Ater and only using Effie for reasons she wasn’t really seeing yet. ”Noah relax! It’s not like I’m going to marrying him or anything, besides he’s nothing like you all say the Ater’s are!” Her voice was meek and soft and she hated it, Effie had never stood up to her brother before like this so it felt almost as if she was committing a crime right now by doing it. But she couldn’t just sit quiet as the father of her children and the man she admired get harassed by someone who barely knew him. Her blue and brown eye shifted to Audel for a moment, the way he spoke about caring for her and everything made her just want to hug him close and never let go, it was so unfair that he had to be judge because of the way his family was. ”I really like him Noah, please don’t do this to me! Just this once can you help me out?” Effie pleaded, she wasn’t really all that sure what he could do to help other than keep his mouth shut to Alphonse and Anastasia about this. That and if the times comes when they did know, he could even speak up and say something to defend them from getting punished. Noah had a big mouth, Effie knew that if he really wanted to say something he could.

A soft sigh escaped Effie’s lips, she was feeling really sick right now but she fully blamed that on her being stressed out about the whole situation instead of the pregnancy. Her hand was still encased in Audel’s, she made sure to give him a reassuring squeeze with her hand, she felt really bad about all of this. ”You still sure your up for this, Mr Chef? I feel like I'm causing you so much trouble over all of this. ” Effie asked a small smile as he leaned closer to him, she had to do a small amount of teasing to lighten the mood around them. She liked that he could cook, he was really good at it and his food was honestly to die for at times compared to hers which was nothing too special to really talk about. If he was still up for this then she would do whatever it took to keep him around. The gorgeous bracelet that he had given her was still on her wrist, she refused to take it off because it reminded her of him.

 

[Noah Snow]

Noah cracked a small surprised smile when Audel had spoken up to him like that about his little sister, it meant that he was more serious about her than Noah figured he would have been when he first took a look at this man before him. ”This one seems to have actual manners, unlike the rest of them.” He commented almost boredly, but really he was quite impressed by this one so far because Effie spoke the truth when she said that he was different from the rest of them. Still Noah decided not to let his guard down and become so fooled easily, his favorite younger sibling was already pregnant because of him so who knew what else could happen with him around, even if he spoke about truly caring for Effie how was Noah to be one hundred percent sure that this wouldn’t end badly His icy eyes darted to look around him, as much as he liked to watch drama unfold he knew just how bad this could get if Alphonse were to find out about this situation. ”I don’t mean that you’ll necessarily hurt her Audel. But if your family knows about her being a Snow, they could decide to harm or even kill her instead.” Noah stated crossing his arms over his chest with an almost dark look on his face, usually he was very lighthearted and fun but he was truly nervous about this whole situation. Effie said she it wasn’t like she was going to marry this guy or anything, and that made Noah even more nervous then before, what would happy if they did try to get married? Her stared at Audel curiously, wondering what he was thinking about right now.

”Oh Eff, Alphonse is going to flip. Honestly I think you’ll just be lucky to end up just unharmed once he hears about this, you know how he gets.” Effie begged him to help her and he couldn't say no to that face and plead, she after all was his favorite sibling out of the bunch just because she was the only who had enough guts to be different, thus why they called her the Black sheep. His eyes never left Audel though as she sighed to himself, this was not going to be pretty, and he could honestly admit he did not want to be around when it all happened. "How can I be completely sure that he's not just going to ditch you Eff, and your children...what do you think Alphonse will do to them?" Noah had seen his brother get angry before and it was a horrible sight to see by anyone, Alphonse was a man capable of murdering his own wife and children without caring the least bit. Harming his sister and those involved with her would be nothing to him.

 

[Audel Lesley]

Audel didn't even reply when Effie asked if he was up for all the strife that was sure to come. He simply smiled at her as if to say 'Is that even a question?'. Their being together was fraught with danger but to Audel it was imperative. There's was no force on earth bar death that would keep him from staying with his future children's mother. If either family didn't understand it, they would soon enough. Audel could be a force to be reckoned with if the cause was big enough, and there had never been a bigger cause. Noah had his doubts, which he could probably understand if it was his baby sister in this situation. But at that moment he went a little too far mentioning Audel's family and questioning Audel's loyalty. Hadn't he just said what he was willing to do to keep the four of them together? Audel's lips tightened and his jaw became slightly more pronounced; a very bad sign. His hand froze on Effie's and neither squeezed nor returned the hold. Then he spoke; his voice was tight and cold. "What can I say, Noah?" Audel said slowly with his eyes on the ground lest he lose control. "You've got me backed into a corner. Seems like the Snows are already on my case, and no doubt my father will be in due course." On the inside of his mouth he was biting his cheek slightly, worrying away with his teeth.

"If we take this theatrically, then the only thing standing between us and certain doom is me. I already told you that I'll fight tooth and nail to keep my family together." Didn't he understand? "So cut the cr*p." Audel's eyes flashed up and he took a step forward, leaving Effie in his wake. "Things are going to hell one way or another according to you. So what's with the unnecessary suspicion? I'm doing my best, so either shut up and help or just shut up." Audel said with his voice rumbling at the end. Face to face with Noah, he was struck again by the similarity between the two siblings. Yet it didn't stop the outrage bubbling in his veins as he faced off with Effie's brother, standing between him and what Audel knew was the love of his life. He refused to speak any more on the subject. He knew exactly what he was going to do now and his father and Alphonse could marinate their heads in concrete for all Audel cared. Harm Effie and the sh*t would hit the fan.

 

[Noah Snow]

Noah was a bit intimidated that Audel would actually get into his face like that and call him out to tell him to either shut up and help or just shut up, no one had ever spoken to him like that and as much as it scared him it also pissed him off at the same time. "Really now, then you can convince Alphonse not to kill her then if your so keen on keeping your 'family' together." Noah laughed and turned his face to look at Effie for a moment, she always had to be the black sheep of every situation didn't she? Even if the male was uncomfortable about this he refused to back down and narrowed his blue eyes at Audel, why was he so insistent that this was going to work if he had yet to even meet the man who would have the ultimate say in whether or not Effie would be allowed to do this. There were always ways around his word, but it wasn't always easy to get things to work out that way, namely one of them being Nicolette who could find thousands of ways to get around his word, but with her being pregnant and all who knows if she could do anything right now. "He'll tear you apart." Noah stated spitefully into Audel's face before he snorted and turned away, the closeness and the way Audel was looking at him made him feel uncomfortable. Besides he didn't want to ruin this for his sister in any way possible, she was a big girl so she could handle herself from now on and if it was going to be with this guy then he couldn't stop her.

"You should take him to see Alphonse,I hope to go you know what your doing Effie." Noah gave one last look to Audel before he shook his head and told Effie that he was going to head off, he needed to be somewhere anyways, plus it was always best to just let these two alone. This Ater seemed different than what Alphonse had described the Ater's as acting like and it made him curious to see what would happened between Audel and Effie.

 

[Effie Kingston]

It wasn't long before her worst fear of having these two around eachother came true, Audel and Noah seemed to close to just tearing eachother apart as they even got into eachother's faces and such. "GUYS CUT IT OUT!" Effie had never yelled at Audel before but she didn't want to see him get into it with her brother when she had wanted to see them get along so badly with one another. Noah seemed to be bent on getting Audel to try and talk to Alphonse about something and Effie just couldn't allow that because her brother would not be willing to budge for this and Effie wanted to keep Audel close to her instead of losing him without so much as a fight to keep him with her. Luckily Noah started to back off, he told her that she should bring Audel to Fonsie and she shook her head softly trying to get the fact that he would find out about this eventually out of her head for the time being. Once she was sure Noah was gone and out of sight she sighed softly and turned to Audel before stepping over and wrapping her arms around his stomach in an quick but loving embrace since she was a bit too short to reach any higher. "I'm so sorry Audel, but he's right. When my older brother finds out we'll both be screwed." Effie released him after a moment and stared up at him with her different colored eyes sadly, she had seen enough people get harmed in her lifetime and since she cared about Audel a lot she never wanted to see it happen to him, suddenly she began to feel very emotional again and she cursed the hormones she had due to being pregnant. Effie wiped at her eyes for a moment to make sure she wasn't crying like a big baby again or anything but luckily it was only a few tears that she managed to get out of her eyes before it got worse.

"Maybe you and I-I don't really know what to do. I can't even think when I'm feeling so...eck." Effie was cold, hungry, and a little weakened feeling because of all that was happening to her right now and she wanted nothing more then to just spend time with Audel or at home cuddled under a big warm blanket., maybe even think of baby names or get some food while she was at it. "I refuse to believe your like the rest of your family, you seem to happy and excited to be a father. But..Audel what if your family doesn't like me or the babies?" Effie bit her lip, she was still close to him because whether or not he knew it she thought he was pretty warm. The vague thought of her going home with Audel to some time with him fluttered across her mind as well, but she found that to be a bit inappropriate at a time like this even if it was probably a good way to celebrate the announcement of her pregnancy and everything. What was he going to do if his family was against this, would they hurt him or the babies? "They won't kick you out or anything will they? I don't want you to get in trouble." Effie bit her lip, would his father be worse than her own brother was when it came to being angry about this? Alphonse was actually low enough to harm a baby or a pregnant woman if he got angry enough which is why his temper had to be minded during these times. The only people she had ever seen get away with it was Nataliia, Nicolette, and Danielle..all three of whom had much more of a backbone then she did.

 

[Audel Lesley]

Audel's lip curled slightly as Noah told him he'd be torn apart by Alphonse. It seemed that the older man still didn't understand just how far Audel was willing to go to keep Effie and his children with him. By the sounds of it, not even Effie understood it. No one else would. Her family would probably laugh at him; his family, too. Not one of them had any idea how protective Audel could be of anyone. he who had cared for nothing and no one all of his life now had something bigger than himself to protect. There was nothing less worth holding on to, to him. His job, his money, his home; worthless in the face of his new family, the four of them together. But Audel said nothing and only sniffed at Noah derisively as he usually did. He didn't feel the need to explain any more and it their fighting was obviously stressing Effie. Her arms wrapped themselves around his waist and he touched her hair, kissing her forehead softly. He said nothing in response to her sentiments, making it plain that he cared little about the response of Alphonse Snow. Audel would be a hypocrite if he said he wasn't a pessimist himself, but there was nothing optimistic about the way he faced this problem. There was only his unyielding conviction in his strength to protect his family. Audel kissed her cheeks as well, feeling the soft tears on his lips. Seeing her crying was hard to bear.

"My family and I have little to do with each other after an incident some years ago," said Audel softly as he hugged Effie close, feeling her shiver with cold. "My brothers and sister I see every now and then in the restaurant. My father owns the Poison Ater but for some reason I barely see him, too. I have a house that I live alone in, with more rooms than I need." He bit his lip unconsciously as he thought about the mechanics of keeping his love and children away from his family. No doubt Acwel Ater would be livid and no doubt stage an attempt on Effie's life. Audel didn't even count this as a threat, though not even he could say why he wasn't afraid of the eventuality. "Effie, to my family I've always been a pretty bad egg. I'm too much like my mother, and she is the only close family member to me that is dead. Despite my sibling's and father's taunts, they don't interfere in my life because I'm uninteresting. You would be safe in my home and my father would need never know." Everything in Audel's voice betrayed only honesty. He took her hand and began to walk to a good apparation spot. Audel's fingers stroked over the back of her hand in a quiet sign of reassurance. Effie was scared, everyone was scornful ... but for once in his life, Audel was the only one who knew it was going to be okay.