Not a Gerber Baby [Rhys]

[vasilia abigail fortescue]

March 2027
rhys alexander greyback

Vasilia was very proud of Rhys' and his stepping up into the role of fatherhood. There was one thing she was not so proud of him for though. And that was the baby food. But hey, Vasilia was a bit of a foodie (maybe more than a bit), so her extremely (though thankfully silent) judgement of Rhys and Maria in regard to this part of their parents was justified. Again though, she was proud of him as a father as a whole. Plus, baby Charlotte was ADORABLE.

Maria had dropped off the eight month old not to long before and Rhys was currently putting the baby down for a nap. Left to her own devices, Vasilia had immediately begun investigating the jars of baby food Maria had packed in the baby bag, squinting as she read the ingredients. It was a very judgy squint. Finally, as any good chef would do, she opened the jar, dipped a spoon in, and tasted the concoction. Almost immediately she gagged, almost dropping the jar but managing to set it down on the kitchen counter instead. "Why would you give that to babies?!" She muttered to herself, almost gagging again. It was at that moment Rhys seemed to have finished his task and come back to the kitchen...

[rhys alexander greyback]

Free to roam

made a home
out of everywhere I've been

March 2027
vasilia abigail fortescue

One thing that has become abundantly clear as Charlotte continued to grow was she’d inherited her parents’ quick looks of judgment. It didn’t appear often and really, she was eight months old so chances were something had simply caught her eye. But the times she was with him, he’d caught the way her eyebrows furrowed. Rhys was a little tired but he’d been away working for the last two and a half weeks and his brain was filled with the many things he was actively working on. There were trainee Cursebreakers he had to whip into shape, he was due to meet a few colleagues at the Island later this month. But all he wanted to do was come home. He wanted to come home to his family


After pausing a moment to just look at his daughter he gently closed the door most of the way behind him. He’d just wanted to come home and see his daughter, these lengths of time he was always made him feel a little guilty and absent. Not to mention he still mostly kept track of when Vasilia was working far too much. They’d get some time to hang out today, it had still amazed him that they’d made it over a year now and he hadn’t totally run their relationship into the ground in some way. But he stopped at the kitchen entrance, arms crossed as Vas placed the jar on the counter. “I haven’t heard any complaints.” And that was true. Charlotte was not a picky eater and ate pretty much everything.

Uncrossing his arms, his expression grew a little amused at her reaction. And he picked up the jar and turned to lean against the counter and face her at the same time. Which jar had she picked up? Peas. Rhys’ frowned slightly. Nobody wanted peas. “You haven’t spoiled her with your pie yet.” In hindsight, their first introduction at the bar where Rhys accompanied his whiskey and angst with a slice of pie—well maybe he’d fallen for her then and not even realized it yet.

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[vasilia abigail fortescue]

March 2027
rhys alexander greyback

Of course, Vasilia knew that her food wasn't food appropriate. The infant was in the teething phase, and thus not on solids yet. But still! That mushy monstrosity wasn't food. It was a mushy concoction that pretended to be food while betraying all taste buds in the process. Upon realizing that Rhys had witnessed her reaction Vasilia gave him an embarrassed look, before looking away quickly, her freckled cheeks flushing red. "I'm sure if she could speak she would complain," Vasilia answered far too defensively than seemed appropriate when discussing baby food. But hey, Vasilia was pretty passionate about food. Even baby food apparently.

Trying to avoid that look on Rhys' face she picked up another jar, again giving the ingredients a scrutinizing look and actually shuddering as she read. The mention of her pie though made her smile just a little, her gaze fluttering to Rhys for a moment before looking away. "That is how I snagged you after all," she commented softly. She didn't chalk up the whole relationship because he fell for her cooking but she was pretty sure it had helped.

Vasilia set the jar back down on the counter by the others and moved to lean against the counter next to Rhys. "You know, I always heard that some babies actually are pretty picky when it comes to food. What'd you do you get so lucky with her?" she teased lightly, nudging him softly with her elbow.

[rhys alexander greyback]

Free to roam

made a home
out of everywhere I've been

March 2027
vasilia abigail fortescue

Vasilia hadn’t seen him approach while she was grimacing at the food. The nurses said the food was fine and like the best, considering babies could not chew for some time. Plus, Rhys hardly had any cooking talent, soo whatever made It easier to keep his daughter fed and healthy worked for him. Merlin knew he took better care of her than he ever did himself, but Vasilia made it a point to ensure he ate and didn’t simply drink all his calories. Then he’d remind the irony that she owned a bar and was always happy to pour him a drink. Rhys shook his head. ”She pushed the carrots off her table the first time Maria tried to feed them to her.” But the next time, they were perfectly acceptable.

He grinned a little, putting the jar back on the counter and looking at her. This was nice. Rhys was home, his daughter sleeping in her crib and Vasilia here. And the best part was he hadn’t done something to cause a fight. If there was ever a skill he’d somehow mastered, it was starting something unnecessarily while in a mood, drunk, or simply stuck in his head. ”And whiskey, can’t forget that.” But Vas was right. It was mainly the pie and perhaps their first ever conversation where Rhys realized that she wasn’t giving him the typical expression of pity in her eyes when one saw a ‘Greyback’.

Rhys shrugged. He’d also heard that, but it wasn’t something he’d ever thought about. His friends didn’t have children, and he’d met his siblings when they were all much older. ”I wasn’t a picky eater.” Not that Rhys really had a choice. Orphanages were not known for their extravagant meals, not to mention his metabolism after being bitten had left him starving all the time. Hogwarts had been wonderful in that regard, and the scrawny boy managed to put on a bit of weight and muscle toward the end, but even now, he still had that appetite. Among other things.

But she was right. Rhys did feel lucky for a lot of reasons. ”I am pretty lucky.” He mumbled, thinking out loud. Thinking about Charlotte always made him feel good. He still remembered that feeling of pure panic when he’d gotten word Maria was in labor. Apparating that many times and almost splinching himself into a tall postcard stand in the Hospital Gift shop had almost made him collapse, but he’d made it somewhat on time. And for the most part, that fear he’d been carrying so heavily for the months before slowly slipped away. Rhys looked to his side to the red-head that somehow stuck to his side through everything. ”And what about you?” Rhys wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her in front of him. ”What did I do to deserve you?” While he was sincere in his feelings, he still struggled—always asking why? Constantly wondering how he’d fail as a boyfriend, as a brother, or as a father.

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