Closed To Find You Again

[D'Artagnan Dupont]

D'Artagnan had been busy. His life had been... hectic, to say the least. He'd grown up with just his mom, who had run a yoga studio in New Zealand growing up. Which had just so happened to be next door to Amy Davidson. He had been enrolled in her Gymnastics classes, and had spent four years spending quality time with one little Avaria Lockwood. She had been a sweetie, and they'd often been left in the rec center while their moms were working classes. They had been close at one point. She'd been like a little sister to him. But when he was 14, he'd started hanging out with the wrong person, who had been jealous enough he'd managed to cut Darts association with the girl.

And before he'd been able to reconnect, Ava's mother and grandmother had passed away, putting her into foster care. It took him a week to learn she was gone. He didn't want to admit it, but he'd cried. A lot. He had been close to Amy and Helen, and it had hurt him deeply to know they were gone. And to lose Ava on top of that had hurt him the most. He should have been there for her.

It wasn't long after that, when his mother had remarried. They had moved to Paris, France, and he'd been there for years. His mother and stepfather had divorced after a few years, and his stepfather had promptly run off with his secretary. He had started school then, having decided to be a private investigator. Mostly just because he wanted to see his little Ava again. He had just gotten his license, and his first order of business had been to locate the blond.

He stood outside of her flat now, nervous. Well... her families store. Would she even remember him? It felt like a lifetime ago. Nervous, he made his way inside, being allowed entry to the stairwell to the flat above by Ava's younger half-sister, Emily Hastings. He let out a slow breath, raising his hand and knocking on her door before shoving his hands in his jacket pocket and waiting for Ava to answer.

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava had been having a busy morning. Really, she would be absolutely lost without Vader. After breakfast with the twins, and their morning bath (necessary after they'd made such a mess with their oatmeal), she had them playing in the living area, safely blocked off with their toys. Magic was a wonderful thing, it kept the twins wonderfully safe.

She had just finished putting away the breakfast dishes when she heard a knock on the door. She glanced to Vader, surprised, before walking to the door and opening it. She looked up at the oddly familiar face a moment, took in his nervous smile. It took her a very short moment to realize who was standing there. "D'Artagnan!" Ava squealed loudly, bouncing out the door and slamming into the man, dragging him into a tight hug.

"Oh my god it's you!!" She giggled, ecstatic, melting into his embrace for several long moments before pulling back. She snatched his hand and dragged him into the flat. "Vader! Vader!! Come here!!!!" She squealed, laughing loudly. "Vader!!! This is D'Artagnan! D'Artagnan!" She giggled, bouncing with excitement.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader wasn't going to admit it, but he felt like so many parts of his life was falling through his fingers. The relationship with Goku was more and more strained. With each passing day he wasn't feeling as he once felt. It was reaching ahead, he knew it. he wasn't sleeping well, so he was more irratible. And it was only getting worse with the fact that Padme was acting weird. She barely came round, and he knew something was going on with her. When he'd gone to work, she had look tired and stressed, and stayed behind the counter. He'd spotted her being sick but when he'd asked her about she'd just rebuffed him, shut him down and they'd argued.

Vader was spending time with Ava and the twins, enjoying the normalcy that his best friend and the children gave them. He had Nico on his knee and was helping him finish off his breakfast, and enjoying the babbling. He was pre-occupied with Nico when Ava suddenly started shouting. She immediately went to him talking about this person, he stood up, still holding Nico. He walked to the door where Ava and the guy was. "Hi," he said in greeting to the man. "Come on in," he said. ​

 

[D'Artagnan Dupont]

Tag smiled shyly as Ava answered the door. She had gotten so big. But he had never forgotten those curls, those big blue eyes. He relaxed as she pulled him into a hug, holding her tightly. "Hey, sunshine," he whispered. He let her pull him inside, taking her hand and intertwining their fingers. He smiled shyly at the man, immediately appreciating the mans beauty. Somehow the baby on his hip improved his appeal. Tag smiled, pushing the thought aside. In another time. He rubbed his thumb over Ava's hand, before offering his other hand out to Vader.

"Vader Hume, you own that photography shop, yes?" He asked. "D'Artagnan Dupont. Private Investigator. Avaria and I knew each other as children." He introduced himself. "Speaking of children, Avaria," Dart slid an arm around her shoulders and looked around, taking in the twins. "Aurora and Nico, yes? They're about a year and a half old?"

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava giggled, loving being close to Tag again. She clung to his arm for a moment before moving over to pick up Aurora, who had climbed up on the couch and started fussing at her. "Oh, sweet baby," She murmured, picking up the baby and walking back over to the men. "You're a P.I. now Tag? Is that how you found me?" She asked.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader was a little surprised that the man at the door knew who he was. He felt almost a little shy around him. In a way that he hadn't been in front of anyone since he'd first spent time around Goku when they'd first started flirting around each other. He shifted Nico around to move his hand out to shake D'Artagnan's hand but the man had always placed an arm around Ava so he was quick yo not make it too obvious what he'd been doing. "They'll be a year old in January," he told him with a smile. He followed them into the living area. "Can I get you a drink...cofffee?" he offered. He'd probably put Nico down before he went to make any but needed to know if he wanted any and really didn't want to interrupt too much of Ava's reunion with her friend. ​

 

[D'Artagnan Dupont]

D'Artagnan smiled at Vader. "Oh, yes please, coffee would be lovely." He smiled at Ava and moved to sit at the table. "I am, and I did. When I heard your- your mother-" Tag's voice cracked and he cleared his throat. "And we never said goodbye, and I know I was a horrid friend before then, I just couldn't leave us like that," He pouted.

He chuckled. "Of course, my job did tell me a bit before coming back. I know your father took you in, I know he remarried and you now have five siblings." He looked to Vader. "I know Vader lived nearby and has two sisters, I know you both went to a magical school, travelled the world after graduation, and I know you had one night in a club that led to the twins." He looked to Ava and smiled. "Have I missed anything? Aside from your tattoo artist aspirations, his photography business and work for Evelyn, and Vader's mild caffeine addiction," He chuckled, trying to sound casual.

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava set Aurora back into the twins makeshift play area and moved to sit with Tag, saving the seat next to her for Vader. She smiled widely, pleased with how much the man seemed to know. "That would be a major coffee addiction, and I also dabble in making drinks," She winked playfully at Vader. "Why don't you stop telling us what you know of us and tell us more about what you've been up to all these years?" She teased Tag, unaware of how bright and bubbly she appeared. Ava felt like a little girl again with Tag around.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader nodded, he set down Nico in the play pen and then walked to the kitchen to make some coffee, he was surprised as he listened to what Nico said about how much information this man had found on him, Ava and their respective families. He wondered if he should be worried or if it just meant that Dart was good at his job. He finished making the coffee and handed it first to D'artagnan and then to Ava and finally sat himself down. "It's a minor coffee addiction," he countered with a little smile, though it was very much a major coffee addiction. He was curious about this man, what he'd been doing, who he was. ​

 

[D'Artagnan Dupont]

Tag took the offered drink with a small smile, thanking the man and turning to look at Ava. He smiled at her question. "Well, mother remarried and we moved to France. She's still a yoga instructor in Paris," He told them. "Of course, Pierre had an affair, and mother divorced him. He ran off with his secretary then." Tag sipped his coffee. "I went into school after that. When I'd found out what happened, that you went into care and I didn't get to say goodbye, I decided I would become a P.I. and find you," He spoke mostly to Ava at that point, reaching over to put his hand on hers. "It is good to see you again, Avaria." He smiled warmly.

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava raised a brow at Vaders comment. "Someone is in denial," She muttered, sipping her coffee to hide it. She listened eagerly as Tag spoke, turning her hand to hold his and smiling brightly. "Aww, Tag, I love you too!!" She giggled, looking to Vader then. "I knew Tag before I went into the foster system. Our mothers were friends, so we were friends." She explained to her best friend. She giggled again.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader mostly sipped his coffee and watched the twins as the two interacted. He had heard about D'Artagnan before, Ava had mentioned the name a few times to him, in passing and enough to know it was someone who'd been important to her but who had until now been long time out of her life. He thought it was sweet that he'd looked for her, looked to reconnect and find out what happened. "That's cool," he commented as Ava explained a little. "It's good to meet you," he had already said this he was sure, but it was worth repeating now too. "I'm Vader, which you know, Ava and I were at school together. Though we're not together together, I'm gay," which he also felt this man would know, he didn't know why he was ending up so flustered or why he'd so easily just casually dropped that he was gay. ​

 

[D'Artagnan Dupont]

Tag chuckled, watching the interactions between the two of them. He could tell they were close. It was good to see Ava was being so well taken care of. He raised a brow at Vader's declaration that he was gay, taking a slow sip of his coffee as he decided on a good reaction. Of course, he already knew that, and he knew who Vader was dating, as well. He set his cup down. "Oh, no need to worry about me, Vader." Tag gave the man a friendly smile. "I'm gay too," he confided in a bit of a stage whisper, before chuckling.

He turned to look at Ava. "So, sunshine, tell me, is there a man in your life? Other than us lovely gay men, of course," he chuckled, propping his chin on his hand. He knew who the father of the twins was. Or at least, he strongly suspected, but he didn't to seem very present in the twins lives. Was is because Ava didn't know herself? He was unsure how to best broach the subject.

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava raised a brow at Vader. What on earth was that comment for? She smirked a bit, pleased and slightly amused by how her boys were acting around each other. She decided not to say anything for now, but immediately decided that if things didn't work well with Goku then she was going to most certainly try and set up her best friend with D'Artagnan.

Of course, it was in that moment that Tag asked about men in her life. She immediately thought of Noelle but she quickly dismissed the thought. "The only other man in my life is currently chewing on his sisters toes," She motioned to the twins, who were cooing and fighting over who had possession of Aurora's feet. "What about you, Tag? Are you seeing someone?" She asked, sipping her drink and trying to act casual. She scooted closer to Vader, reaching to hook her foot around his. He might not be as present in the conversation, but she wanted him to feel included.

 

[Vader Hume]

Vader felt his cheeks blush deeply and it worsened when D'artagnan said he was gay too. He didn't know what had brought him to say it, but he'd said it and now unfortunately they all had to live with it. He needed to get out of this conversation, he needed to go to Goku, or do something. But he felt ava reach out to his foot and he glanced at her and gave a little smile to her. He'd finish his own coffee and then go, there had to be other places for him to be currently, especially after embarrassing himself in front of a guy who he thought was cute, when he was still very committed to his boyfriend. ​

 

[D'Artagnan Dupont]

Tag could see that Vader was embarrassed, and he decided at that point it was time for him to go. He chuckled at Ava's question and shook his head. "I just got out of a bad relationship, darling, I would rather be single for a while." He told her, not wanting to go into too many details about Pierre at the moment. He finished his coffee quickly and stood. "Unfortunately, this is all the time I have today, sunshine. I have an appointment I must be off to, but perhaps we can meet up again soon?" He asked, holding his arms open for a hug.

 

[Avaria Lockwood]

Ava pouted, at first because of Tag's words, but then because he said it was time to go. "Aw, of course, just send me a message and we'll find a time that you're free." She stood up, hugging him tightly for a moment before smiling and stepping back. "I'm really glad you came by, Tag, it was so lovely to see you again," She gave him a warm smile.