family doesn't have to mean a thing -- andy

[Deleted]

@lestrange

they always said there was a first time for everything. nik lestrange had never thought there would be a first time for him going to a carnival. yet here he was, a toddler in his arms and that said toddled had his arms curled around a purple bear. he didn't think he'd ever felt so out of place in his life but oddly enough he wasn't hating it. the rides were okay, nothing special to him, well the ones he was allowed to go on with seb weren't very interesting but seb seemed to be having fun so the smile on his son's face actually made all this worth it. he'd owled andy a few days before, telling her that he wanted her to meet sebastian. he was her nephew after all. he also thought that it might help her, something for her to look forward to in the new year. after all, it had been a hell of a new year. he looked at seb when his son patted his cheek and he raised a brow slightly. "what, what do you want kiddo?" he asked. he still had trouble showing the affection that he felt for seb but he was learning. slowly. very slowly. he saw the chubby hand point to one of the magical toys that was behind one of the stands.

"you already have the damn bear. isn't that enough?" he asked, almost smirking when he saw the pout on his son's face. "barking up the wrong tree kid. waterworks work on your mother." he said as he kept walking. if seb got upset he'd soon get over it, the beauty of being a toddler, the reason for tears were often forgotten before they dried on cheeks. he kept his eye out for andy, not wanting to miss his sister. he was slightly nervous, this was the first time one of his sisters would be meeting his son. he would have asked nat to come along but he wasn't even sure if she'd want to. they hadn't left on good terms at the hospital and he was tired of conceding to her moods. he finally spotted andy's face in the crowd and he walked toward her, hugging seb's small body closer without thinking and he raised his hand in greeting. he wondered how subdued he would seem to the people he'd grown up with, the people he'd worked with and the people who knew him as he had been before.

[Deleted]

Andy was... actually kind of excited about this? She wasn't good with kids but something about having a nephew made her feel... well, the fact that Nik had reached out to her made her feel like maybe she was wanted, and he wanting her around. But not necessarily in the way he had before. She didn't think he was out to manipulate her. Things were different now and... well, she was pretty sure she loved him and she wanted that to be a possibility. What better way then to meet the kid?

She was searching through the crowds, looking for him when she saw his hand wave in the air. She caught his eye and smiled, her hair a little but more of a wild curl today then usual. She wasn't so fixated on making it look perfect anymore. She slipped through people until she could see Nik and... Sebastian clearly. Her eyes flickered down to the boy, and the purple bear, and then back to her brothers face. "I... hi," she said softly. She was hoping to be more upbeat, but when it came down to it she was just... surprised? Shocked? Frozen on the spot. But somehow, at the same time, she wanted to cry. Not those ugly loud heartbroken sobs, but something a little more happy. Forgiving and amused. She smirked slightly, "hi," she repeated.

@nikolaj

[Deleted]

@lestrange

he ran his hand through his hair as they both made their way to each other. it was a strange feeling almost, to not have to worry about what was going to happen. he knew he'd made mistakes with his youngest sister, his actions had driven her away from him and while he would never regret them, because they'd shaped how they were today, but he did want to get closer to her. he was slowly learning the importance of family and while he and nat had always been closer, he wanted andy to be his sister too. also there was seb to think about now too, how would it look for his son to grow up seeing his father not getting along with his siblings. he knew that seeing seb might have been a shock for andy, he was the spitting image of nik at the same age, the same eyes and the same hair. carbon copy almost. it was what had made him believe sarah straight away.

"I... hi," he smiled slightly, slightly awkward as he wasn't used to smiling at people other than seb so he didn't really know how it came across. "hi." he shifted his gaze to seb and shifted the boy in his arms slightly. "hey." he said, just as unsure as she seemed. "so this is sebastian." he said as he introduced his son. "seb this is your auny andy .. aunty?" he wasn't sure. growing up he'd never really had aunts and uncles and he didn't know the etiquette behind it. he couldn't help but soften his face when seb's mouth turned up into a smile and a giggle escaped his lips as he said hello to his aunt. it was strange, the feeling of a fist pressed against his heart, something he could only akin to pride whenever he looked at seb. he wondered if his parents had ever felt that way about their children but he doubted it, if they had they couldn't have been able to treat them so awful. "so have you been here long?" he asked, attempting to make small talk.

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'Hey', her brother said. Her eyes flickered to the boy as Nik introduced him, and she took a deep breath. Aunty? She shook her head and bit her lip, brow furrowing before she spoke. "Aunt Andy is fine," she said softly, reaching over to hold a hand out to Sebastian. She made eye contact with him as he smiled and giggled, saying hello, and Andy bit her lip again. "Wow..." she muttered. She didn't have much experience with kids but... she was sure that she had just looked into the eyes of an angel.

Then Nik asked if she had been their long and she shrugged, "no, not long. I was... just pacing until it was time to meet," she admitted. "Do you... guys want to play a game?" she finally looked away from Sebastian and up to Nik, and her expression changed a little. It was... a tiny bit guarded, but she also knew that gratitude was showing on her face. "I'm just so glad to see you," wait, what? She hadn't expected that to come out of her mouth.

@nikolaj

[Deleted]

@lestrange

"Aunt Andy is fine," he nodded slightly as he watched her reach towards seb. he smiled despite himself as the boy clasped his hand around andy's like only a kid could and that giggle that went along with his greeting. almost, almost made nik's heart melt just slightly. "Wow..." he nodded slightly, understanding exactly how she felt. he'd gotten used to the idea of being responsible for someone else's life over the last few weeks and he was growing not to dislike it when he thought about the things it would stop him from doing. the trade off was worth it whenever seb did something adorable. "no, not long. I was... just pacing until it was time to meet, Do you... guys want to play a game?" he glanced about at the games and then to the bear that seb was still holding in his hand and he shrugged slightly. "i don't mind, you can choose. we haven't had anything to eat yet so there's that too." he said, sounding almost, domestic. if someone had said to him that he'd be here, at a carnival talking about games a few years ago he'd have laughed, but here he was. "I'm just so glad to see you," he was a little taken back by that, in a good way though. after everything he'd be happy with her not hating him but that, this was good. "i'm glad to see you too." he said, the honesty evident in his voice.

[Deleted]

When the boy clasped onto Andy's hand she gasped a little. Crazy. Then she pulled her hand back as Nick said that he didn't mind what they did, and that she could choose. Food was a great idea, though. Nik said that he was glad to see her too, and a part of her almost stepped forward to kiss his cheek or give him a one armed hug or something... but she didn't do it. "Food sounds great," she said softly, giving a nod. She hoped that would ease this... nervousness she felt at how normal of a conversation they were having. "The Broomsticks?" she suggested, "or there are carts with pretzels and things..." she added, glancing around a little.

@nikolaj

[Deleted]

@lestrange

"Food sounds great," then food it was. it would probably also serve as a good way to keep seb occupied while they spoke. "The Broomsticks?" he raised a brow and scoffed. the broomsticks? yeah because that would work. he rolled his eyes to look at her and fixed her with a 'really' look. "someone like me? in the three broomsticks? the place would burn down around us on principal." he said as he shifted his hold on seb, the kid getting heavy in his arms. "how about the hogs head? i know a guy. he'll hook us up with some great food." he said, a grin turning his mouth up slightly as he looked down at seb. "it's all about who you know bud. learn that." he said as he started walking down the path. even if she didn't want to eat at the hogs head they were at least headed in the right direction for food.

[Deleted]

Andy didn't really think that three broom sticks would burn down around them because he was in it, he had been in it before. But she was going to let him make the decisions. She nodded, as he mention the Hogs Head, which she felt a little silly for not suggesting in the first place considering he had work there for so long. When he looked down to Seb and made that comment about it being all about who you knew, and he shuddered internally. She did not like the sound of that. She knew the kind of people that Nik knew and ... Well, they weren't the kind of people she would want her nephew to know. But it wasn't her business really... She also realized, in that moment, that she knew hardly anything about her nephews mother. She wasn't sure if she could bring it up or if Nik wanted to explain it himself. On his own time.

They started moving towards the Hogs head, and she was still silent for a few more moments. Then, as they were getting close, she spoke up again. "So, what are you doing for work now anyway? I mean, if you're doing anything," she wasn't sounding accusatory or anything, really just interested in what he was doing.

@nikolaj

[Deleted]

@lestrange

"So, what are you doing for work now anyway? I mean, if you're doing anything," he almost laughed and looked at his sister as she asked that question. he shifted to put seb down on the ground when he squirmed and he kept hold of his hand, holding onto it tightly so he couldn't slip away. "now i know the house falling on us didn't wipe your memory." he said, teasing her slightly. "i own the hogs head andy. have done for a while now." since a few days after his sisters had left the lestrange house. he wanted a reason to be in the small town that was on the outskirts of the grounds. this had been the easier way he could think of to stay close to them, rather than have to fight through the longbottom family defenses. when they reached the bar he pulled seb back up into his arms gently, pushing the door open for his sister to walk through.