becareful_boyo | (no subject)

~ Corus, Tortall ~
~ The Winter Solstice ~

Sleep.

Precious, precious sleep.

There had been far too little of it for Abigail and Raphael since their arrival at the palace the night before. Whereas they might have been happy to wait until morning to see everyone, the everyone in question suffered no such feeling and told them not to be ridiculous; having a large, widespread family meant cramming loved ones into their lives when and as much as possible.

(Everyone sounded a lot like Jamie.)

It had been well past far too late when they finally found their bed, and Abigail knew it had been even longer before Raph had finally fallen asleep. His grousing over their too large and too luxurious bedding hadn't kept her up, but she'd heard it before. She'd bet the Tortoise he tossed and turned until even his bad mood was no match for exhaustion.

Sometimes the idea that visiting the palace is something she does enough to have a regular room rocks her to her core and she has to sit down before it bowls her over.

Figuratively speaking, of course. At the moment she's already lying down, fingers ghosting over Raph's arm as he snores, as if the soothing motion could relax him into silent slumber.

She's not that lucky.

How long before the children burst in? For that matter, have they slept the morning away? Frowning, Abigail looks from the drawn curtains, too thick to allow in the morning light, to the last embers in the fireplace. The servants don't understand her insistence on tending the fire and fetching food herself. Abigail waits on people; she's not at all good at allowing anyone to wait on her in return.

Abigail catches herself drumming her fingers on Raph and quickly stops, checking his face for a half awake scowl. He lets out a loud snore instead and she smiles helplessly with the sort of blissful, happy sigh that once would have annoyed her to her bones. The drumming becomes a caress as she congratulates herself on marrying the man. He is hers, and she is his. Also the sky is blue, and the Lioness has a famous temper. Some things are as they always have been and always will be, no matter what. And how does a barmaid from Olau Valley wish her husband the very merriest of birth days in the royal palace?

Well.

That's for him to wake up and discover, isn't it?

~~~

Later, much later, they both lift their hands to knock on the door to the royal suite and laugh when they catch themselves.

"Go 'head," Raph grunts.

"Don't go gettin' all chivalrous on me now," she replies, knocking. Her free hand slips into his.

"It seem too quiet in there for you?" he asks, shooting the door a frown. "And why's this door so tall again? They got giants walking around in here or somethin'?"

Abigail snorts. "Royalty."

Speaking of, the Queen herself opens the too-tall door and sweeps her arm wide in a grand gesture. "Come in! My apologies for the overly eager welcome last night. I hope you got some sleep," she says, eyeing Raph.

"Some."

"Enough," Abigail adds, rolling her eyes. "Don't let 'im complain to you too."

Raph ignores this and looks around. Bracing himself. Somewhere in this illustrious set of rooms monsters await.

Don't they?

"Awful quiet," he notes again.

"Is it?" asks the Queen. "I suppose so, what with Jon at council meetings all day and the children at lessons. Sit, please." She waves them at a set of chairs, a tea pot steaming on the table between them. "Tea?"

Unsettled, Raph glances at Abigail. What's going on? They hadn't made plans for today, it's true, but surely the brats hadn't forgotten. When had they ever passed up an opportunity to bug him about his age?

Not that he's one to care about birthdays, of course. That's Mike's area of expertise. He'd had a pretty great morning with his wife, and that's more than he'd once thought he'd be able to say about this particular date. Looking smug and knowing it, he laces his fingers with hers as they sit.

Abigail gives them a squeeze. "Everythin' lookin' good for tomorrow night?"

Thayet nods. "Oh, yes. The mages have outdone themselves with the gardens this year, and the feast will be one to remember."

"They're all ones to remember," Abigail says, tone dry.

"You're right," Thayet says, cheerfully. Her gaze barely even shifts from Abigail's when something goes thump in her bedroom. "Tapestry airing," she explains.

Raph's shoulders remain tense. The whole thing is fishy, if you ask him. Which they didn't, but he shares anyway. "S'fishy."

"Relax," Abigail orders. "He's always like this the first few days. All the people, all the noise."

"All the wrongness," he grumbles. "Where's 'Lanna?"

"Preparing," Thayet answers. "The whole palace is. Same as last year, Raph. Don't fret. Now, why don't you tell me about Adam's latest brew? He brought bottles with him, but I've yet to sample any."

Meaningless conversation, missing family, and thump, thump, thump. Raph yanks his hand away and jumps up, ready to go find answers for himself if he has to pound them out of someone.

"Oh, it's fine and tasty as always," Abigail carries on in a bland, bored fashion. "Tart, though. The apples were, this year. Strange for Olau apples."

"Very. Was there more or less rain in the valley?"

"Are you serious right now?" Raph spits out.

Thayet merely raises an eyebrow. "As serious as one can be about apple crops and rain totals in the off season."

"Everyone is crazy in Corus. How come I always forget that?" Raph stomps off toward the noise, swaying slightly like he'd spent all day yesterday on a pony. (He had.)

"I wouldn't..." Thayet starts to say, then gives an elegant shrug and winks at Abigail.

Raph bursts through the door and finds the Lioness sitting on the bench at the foot of the royal bed, legs crossed under her, an annoyed look on her face. "You."

"Me." She sighs. "It's annoying, being left behind. I always forget that. Do you think the Gods did this to me for all the times I've left them behind? She probably thinks it's funny." Alanna jabs a finger upwards towards the ceiling and, presumably, the Divine Realms.

"What?"

"The lock out." She scowls at her friend. "Keep up."

Raph blinks and starts to say something when the wardrobe door slams open and his family pours out.

All of them.

First there's Thom, unceremoniously pushed out by his sister, an arch expression of superiority on Grace's face. Jamie is close behind, grinning like the fool he wants everyone to think him to be, and in his arms is a bundle with a suspiciously long trunk making snuffling noises. Adam's got his hand on his son's neck like he's steering him. After that comes Leonardo and Don, serious in different ways, and Mike laden down with supplies and wearing one party hat on his head and two party hats not. Last through is Splinter, moving slowly as he steps down, but smiling as his eyes meet those of his astonished son's.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" shouts Mike. "I'd hug you but there's a cake under here, and smearing that all over you comes later. At least, that's what Abs said. Badum-ching!"

Leo sighs.

Raph ignores the sigh and continues to stare. He'd expected a 'happy birthday.' Maybe a card. He hadn't expected this. Alanna comes up beside him and bumps his shoulder. "Got it."

"What?"

"The lock out," he says. "Keep up."

~ ~ ~

Mike waits until Adam has doled out the last of the cider before unveiling the cake. Monstrosity is a better word, and Raph suspects there's a pie baked in under all that chocolate, caramel filling, and buttercream, not to mention the piping on chocolate fondant forming the words Abigail finds so damn funny.

"Oh. Oh, Boy-o. Your face. I wish I'd thought of it myself," she says, snorting out another laugh. "I'd've put it on the invitations."

"Uncle Raph. Your whole head is red," Jamie points out, grinning.

Raph sighs. Why is it always about the hair?

"You have to admit, it's catchy," Adam says, taking a sip of cider as he stares down at the cake. "And you'll get used to it. I did."

Alanna looks up and flashes a self-satisfied grin.

Leo avoids Abigail's eyes when he says, "It seems fitting, from what I've seen-" before breaking off and leaning closer to study the words from a different angle, fascinating as they are.

Raph smirks. Nothing like remembering his brother's embarrassment to cure his own. "Yeah," is all he says, staring at the cake.

Happy birthday, Mr. Abigail of Olau. He could learn to live with that.

~ ~ ~

Much later, full of good food and drink, familial teasing quotient met for the next ten years, everyone settles around the sitting room and catches up on news, be it from Tortall, Earth, or Milliways. Kalasin finishes telling Raph about the changes she'd seen on a recent visit to Pirate's Swoop and moves off to chat with Grace. Raph holds in a breath and lets his gaze roam over Abigail. She breaks off in the middle of berating Jamie for his... actually, Raph's not sure what it is this time. It could be anything with that kid. He plays at being a charming, cheerful disaster, and Raph can't quite get over that he's known him his whole life.

Seriously, when did the brats get so... old?

Studying him with a fond look, Abigail tilts her head and asks, "Time?"

"Time," Raph agrees.

Here goes.

She takes a moment, hand reaching for his, before letting loose with the "OY!" she typically saves for stragglers at the end of the night. "We've news."

Suddenly there are a lot of eyes looking at them. A lot of very curious, concerned eyes. Raph shifts uncomfortably and runs his free hand over his head, intensely aware of the ties binding them all together and how he's about to tighten those knots even further. "We're... There's..." He makes a vague gesture at Abigail's torso.

Abigail, who clearly finds this funny and makes no effort to help him out. Traitor.

Thayet catches on first. "Ah." She smiles. "Congratulations."

"NO WAY!" Mike shouts. "WAY? WAY! CONGRATS ON THE SEX!"

Splinter whacks Mike gently on the shoulder with his cane. "Felicitations, my son. And daughter."

The well-wishes pour in from every corner of the room, and when Alanna breaks tradition and wraps an arm around his shoulders to deliver a swift pat, Raph pulls her in for an actual hug. Why not? It's his birthday after all, and marriage changes a turtle. Probably.

She laughs, squeezing him tight. "Maybe you can fit a cork on the end of that knife I gave you. Sharp, pointy things are dangerous to have around children, you know."

"Yeah. Known your spawn all their lives, remember? We got it."

A quiet but firm "I'm going to marry that kid" catches everyone's attention. Thom frowns at Jamie and asks, "What if they have a son?"

Jamie simply looks back and shrugs.

"Well then." Alanna lets go of Raph and rocks back on her heels, while Adam laughs and says, proudly, "He got that from me."

~ ~ ~

"I don't care if we have a girl, boy, or turtle, Jamie Young's gettin' nowhere near it."

Abigail laughs, leaning back on pillows so soft she momentarily disappears into them. "Relax, Mr. Abigail of Olau. Whatever it is or isn't, it will know its own mind. No child of mine'll be a fool, and no child of yours will suffer them."

"I love you, you know."

"I know." Abigail fights her way up and over until she's resting on Raph's chest. "You're my lobster."

Half a beat later: "What?"

"Somethin' Mike told me. He said you'd either remember or have'ta catch up when you get back to the land of movin' pictures. And he said to add once you finished rewinding the BVDs. Whatever that means."

Raph's lips twitch. "DVDs. That asshole."

Abigail frowns. "That's no way to talk about the man who made you that... that... well, I suppose it was a fancy dessert, wasn't it?"

"Yeah it is. I'll kill him," Raph says, but the smile creeps into his voice and he holds Abigail close. Right now, he doesn't even mind the pillow slowly puffing back up in his peripheral vision. It was, all told, a good birthday. And there's something pretty great about knowing that Gods willing, the next one will be even better.

Unless they have triplets.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I cannot possibly like this enough.
It's...amazing.
I'm utterly beside myself with glee!

Best Birthday Present Ever!

I am glad. :D :D :D

THIS IS SO GREAT. And also completely adorable, in the ridiculous way of this collection of family. <33

Thanks! <3

They ARE ridiculous. I love them. XD