Closed to Paris with love

[Chrysander Kaster]

Visiting with Liesl was always an experience, ever since she'd handed Honey off to him she'd expected him to visit her at least once every six months. Not so much for an update on their child but for... well honestly sometimes Chrys wasn't entirely sure. He'd go and visit her in whatever city she happened to be in (she was a model after all) and she would invite him to whatever hotel she was in and then sometimes she would just sit there and watch him do absolutely nothing. Sometimes it was incredibly infuriating, but she was a pureblood so he supposed he wasn't all that surprised about it. They did a lot of weird things, he'd found, given half of his family on the other side of the world were Purebloods for generations up until the recent generation. He sighed, his hair now long enough to cover his eyes. He stopped, a window to his left catching his attention. He didn't need to meet Liesl yet, she'd wait on him for several more hours - she'd be disappointed if he showed up too early after all. He had a couple of new pictures from Rowan and Elio in his pocket to show her. Sometimes he wondered what he was doing out here, not raising Honey - but he knew he'd make a terrible father, he didn't need to raise a kid to tell him that. He wasn't in the twins life either, Jett and Diamond and the only reason he even knew about them was because Sapphire had taken pity on him enough to tell him. Still, could have been worse, he could have just not known about any of them.

He turned to look at the window, his reflection broken up in the mini shelves. He had no idea what any of it said, he didn't speak French. Unfortunately it wasn't an inherent Veela ability - wouldn't that have been handy? He spoke enough of it to tell people he didn't speak French, but they were usually French people and they were (especially in Paris) notoriously against non-french speakers. He supposed most of them thought he was American since to most of the world, everyone that wasn't them was American. He couldn't fault them though, he did the same.

He carded his fingers through his loose hair. He really needed a hair cut, but he didn't trust them after the last hair dresser took off way too much. He could never make it work with a bald sort of look. Losing his hair would hurt him deeply, completely ruin his life - he could tell. He stepped back, intending on heading down to the hotel he knew Liesl was at, but miscalculated, hit a slightly raised lip in the pavement, rolled his ankle when he went to turn and fell to the ground like a tonne of bricks. "Ow! F*ck!" he called out, landing not only on top of his now definitely sprained ankle, but also against the wall of the shop. As if this day couldn't get any more ruined (since falling at all was embarrassing) he happened to look up straight into the only slightly wider surprised eyes of Onyx Michaels. Of course it would be Onyx. Who else?!

@Onyx Derouin ​

 

[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx had never imagined he could be this happy. He was doing well, exceedingly well. He was married to a wonderful man, they had one amazing son and two more children due soon. And of course, he was excelling in his school. It was an odd feeling- he'd never done well when he'd been at HNZ, and honestly he'd not done well in any aspect of it. Thankfully, his past was in the past, despite all its troubles, and he was a grown man with a whole hell of a lot more going for him.

He was happily in love, with a beautiful home and family, and he was comfortable for the first time in his body. Today, he was dressed a bit more casually, but he liked to think he was still cute. A black hoodie crop top, and a good pair of pocketed, chained black cargo pants that hung a little lower on his hips and fit him well. It was a very emo look, but Onyx enjoyed the aesthetic. He'd gone simple with his makeup that day, with just some smokey eyeshadow and framing black eyeliner, his hair pulled back in a low ponytail.

He was walking from the school to his favorite coffee shop, wanting to get some work done before heading back to the house. He'd just about reached the corner, a lollipop in his mouth and his folder in his hand against his side, when someone cursed, loudly.

He turned the corner just in time to spot none other than Chrysander Kaster tripped up, ankle twisted, smacked against the wall of the shop. Chrys' eyes met his, and after a heartbeat Onyx raised a hand up to take the lollipop from his mouth. "Uh, hi. You okay there?" He asked. So much for the past being past. He mused to himself, a brow quirked.

 

[Chrysander Kaster]

Chrys wasn't sure he knew what to say, since it had been a very long time indeed since he'd last seen Onyx. Was it the twins? Gods, had he told Sapphire about Honey? Did Onyx know? He was sure he'd told her, but now he wasn't sure, since he did often overlook sh*t like that. "Hi Onyx, not really," he said, testing his ankle on the ground as he leaned against the wall. It appeared he'd done some damage to it. The quarter Veela sighed and looked up at Onyx again, "if you don't mind, I actually could do with a hand?" He said, trying not to look like he actually cared. He didn't, well, he did, sort of, but he didn't want to ask a stranger to help him up either, he just wished it hadn't have been Onyx. He hadn't even realised that Onyx was in the neighbourhood. He should have, he'd thought he'd heard he lived here now, married or something. Luna would punch him for sure. "I seem to have f*cked up my ankle."​

 

[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx was silent for half a beat, but feeling absolutely fine (much to his surprise), he just shrugged. "Yeah, sure, come on," He put his work in his bag and stepped forward, ducking under Chrys' arm and bringing the man with him slowly down the street a bit and around the corner to the tables outside of the shop. Onyx was thinking about what he was feeling. It was... well, nothing really. Chrys could be any other guy on the street. Practically a stranger.

Maybe he was. Onyx couldn't say he'd ever really known Chrys, in the end. Had he? He'd been infatuated, for sure, possibly even obsessed. But their relationship had never been very... deep. Though perhaps he was biased. Things with Jamie were so different. The love he felt was different. Jamie was his other half, so much a part of him that Onyx wasn't sure if he'd recognize himself without the man.

Once he'd gotten Chrys into a chair, he stepped back and knelt down on one knee, stopping before he reached for Chrys' ankle. "Can I? I took a few first aid classes, I could see if its sprained, wrap it at least," He offered, not wanting to just leave the man stranded. He gave Chrys a small, friendly smile- extending a bit of an olive branch, trying to show there was no ill will left.

 

[Chrysander Kaster]

Chrys wrapped his arm around Onyx, being sure to secure his hold because he was really struggling to put any weight on his foot right now. He knew he should have cashed in on those healing classes that Zennon had offered him, d*mn, maybe now he wouldn't have this much of a problem. Not that it was easy to heal himself, it was just one of those things, but it would have been a damn site easier than having to rely on Onyx, who seemed completely indifferent to him to be honest. As they hobbled over to one of the tables by a cafe, Chrys sat heavily in the chair, not because it hurt, since he was uninjured except for his ankle, but because there was a lot of dead air between them, and whilst it was completely understandable, that didn't mean he had to be okay with it. He nodded and stuck his foot out so Onyx could look at it. "Sure, thanks, I appreciate it," he said, cursing himself for being so careless. It wasn't like he was one hundred years old. Merlin, his Grandmother would curse his family line for being so stupid. It was okay for her, she still looked younger than him.​

 

[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx gave Chrys a small smile and moved to look at his ankle. He had never been the best at spells, but he'd practiced this one a lot, thinking as a father that it was vital it was something he could do without Jamie. He slipped out his wand and discreetly cast a few minor healing spells. "How's that?" He asked, looking up to Chrys. He remembered how handsome Chrysander Kaster was, but he brushed it aside a lot easier than he'd expected. Probably because for him, no one would ever compare to his Jamie. Onyx relaxed a little, his smile growing. "You gotta admit, Chrys, once it stops hurting it's kinda funny," He teased lightly.

 

[Chrysander Kaster]

Chrys did his best not to wince like a baby as Onyx went about doing whatever he was doing with his wand, and he had to fight his instinct not to jump away at someone not in healer's robes pointing a wand at him. He barely managed to contain the beat of his heart over the fact that Onyx was the one pointing a wand at him and some years ago, it might even have been in anger, though honestly he wasn't sure that Onyx would have been capable even then of hexing him, or cursing him, despite how much he might have deserved it at the time. And that wasn't to say he wasn't physically capable, because he had no doubts about that, but it wasn't the person Onyx was, at least not the version of him he remembered from school anyway. "Yeah, not bad," he said, rolling his ankle carefully to get a feel for the tightening of the muscles caused by whatever spells he was using. It wasn't perfect, but hopefully it would get him home until he could see Zennon and get it fixed up for real. Even if it wasn't a creatures injury, he had Zennon practically on retainer these days. "Maybe for you," he grumbled rolling his eyes. "You're not the one who someone managed to fall over in the middle of f*cking Paris," he said, though there was no real bite to his tone.​

 

[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx smiled and stood, pulling up one of the other chairs and sitting down himself. He motioned for a waiter, ordering two drinks in fluent french. Once done, he turned to face Chrys with a small smile, chuckling. "That's fair. It might just be funny to me," He teased. "Let me grab you a drink, then, to apologize for laughing." He offered, crossing his legs. "Though running into you is absolutely a surprise," He agreed.

 

[Chrysander Kaster]

Chrys rolled his eyes, but he didn't really know what to say. It felt a little strange right now because whilst things weren't exactly awkward they weren't exactly right either and it felt like there should be something else happening. He hadn't really sat and had a proper conversation with Onyx in a really long time and he could barely remember the substance of the conversations he did have. Which also felt a little like an oversight he should have probably accounted for, but then, he hadn't expected to need medical attention because he'd tripped over in Paris of all places. Honestly it all felt a little silly. "Surprising for me too. Sometimes the world is huge and then things like this happen and it suddenly feels so much smaller." It was true that the wizarding world wasn't very big, but Paris was not the wizarding world so what were the odds. Did he know Onyx lived in France now? It felt like some information he should have had. "Things good for you? And no thanks on the drinks, I'm not really in the position to drink right now." he didn't want to go into it, it was just easier to say that.​

 

[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx felt oddly comfortable in the situation. He knew Chrys would be part of their lives in some capacity- he was the biological father of Dia and Jett, after all, but he'd been very absent. Which was fine, Sapphire rocked the single mom life, and it wasn't as if she lacked money or support. He just gave Chrys an easy smile. "Well, it seems less fate and more just chance. I go to school here in Paris, and I live outside of Marsielle with Jamie and our kids," He chuckled. "It's not a big chance, but it is plausible to find me in Paris." He tucked his hair behind his ear, blushing as Chrys declined the drinks. "Oh, sorry, I should've asked." He smiled sheepishly. "It was just a few coffees, but I can take one to go and just take it home," He offered, which worked since he'd ordered Jamie's favorite anyways. He brushed the thought aside and turned to Chrys. "On the subject of asking, do you want to chat a bit? Catch up? Or was there somewhere you needed to be? If you aren't too indisposed," He teased gently, propping his chin in his hand. Gods, he'd never thought he'd actually sit and joke with Chrysander Kaster after everything that had happened. Unthinkingly, he subtly rubbed the cool metal of his wedding band against his jaw, a habit he had picked up alongside flicking his lip ring.

 

[Chrysander Kaster]

"I've never been a really big believer in fate anyway, it's too religious to me, but I don't believe in chance either, too many hours spent in Kingsley's Ancient Runes class," he adds, shaking his head. He might not have been a particularly good student, but he likes what he likes and he hasn't done much with it, but he's done enough. Perhaps Divination would have made more sense in the end, but he hasn't spent any time in that class, and he certainly hadn't the grades he would have needed for it. "I don't spend too much time in Paris usually, but I'm glad to see it agrees with you." Paris is... dirty, in more ways than one. It's one of those places that you only go to out of desperation, but people that live here seem to think of it differently, he's never been able to stand the place. "Yeah, I can probably catch up, maybe not here though, can we go somewhere that doesn't smell like Paris?"​

 

[Onyx Derouin]

Onyx laughed lightly. "Oh, she always hated me, I avoided that class," He offered, accepting the to go coffees as they came out. He sipped his, shutting his eyes and purring a little in content without really thinking about it. He opened his eyes again and looked back to Chrys. "I just come to school here, but I see its charms," He countered lightly, propping his chin in his hand. He considered Chrys' counter and after a moment he nodded. "Alright, sure- we could go back to my place in Marsielle if you'd like." He settled on. "Jamie's out till tonight and the kids are at Aunt Em and Uncle Jayce's for the weekend." He smiled softly. "I could probably put out a summons, if you wanted, I think Sapph is back for the weekend, she's always happy to annoy you," He offered, thinking that it might be polite to offer a not-alone option for Chrys if he wanted it.

 

[Chrysander Kaster]

Chrys didn't really know what to say here, he was far more out of his element than he was used to being and he didn't like it. It felt like he was... a guest almost, in his own life right now, just kind of tagging along with Onyx, mind you most of that was his own fault. When he mentioned going to his place and calling Sapphire, he wasn't sure what to do with that. He tended to avoid either twin for the most part, though his relationship with Sapphire was greatly improved these days than they had been ten years previous, but that didn't really help any. He shrugged, "Sure if you want to call her I won't say no," and perhaps he felt the need for a barrier, one that could help to translate the world for him right now with him so off-kilter. He was clearly getting too old for this.​

 

[Onyx Derouin]

It wasn't long before they'd made it back to Onyx's seaside villa. It was two stories, but it wasn't very tall, the walls were a lighter auburn color mixed with a lighter gray, there was a lot of tiling, it was large and spread out. It was all very warm and vibrant. He could smell the mint and lavender from the garden peeking from around the house, the property was abundant with olive and almond trees. Onyx led Chrys in through the foyer and left him in the living room, moving over to the open kitchen to put away Jamie's coffee. It was so open and warm with family pictures everywhere. "Do you want anything to drink, a snack?" He called back. He'd sent a message to Sapphire but he didn't know when or if she'd show up. He peeked out of the kitchen to Chrys.

 

[Chrysander Kaster]

It was... odd, being in this place. It felt exactly like he would think it would, being Onyx, and yet there was definitely touches of non-Onyx around too. It was warmer, and more open than he remembered Onyx being, but that probably wasn't fair to the time they spent together, since he remembered it in rather a poor light. That was on him though, not on Onyx. "Whatever you have, sure," why was he here again? An apology? He could have delivered that at the restaurant they were at, he hadn't needed to come here to do it. They were having a catch up, it had been a long time since he'd had any kind of catch up with anyone - and yet this is where he had now found himself, kind of ironic at the end of it all. "How many kids you got now?" ​