Invitation To A Family Dinner

[Pocky]

Trick was caught hurrying down the stairs with overnight bag in hand by his father, who wiped a plate with a dishtowel and an amused look upon his face.

"Why don't you boys stay overnight here this Friday? I'd like to at least remember what you look like before you both dash over to Europe."

Trick slowed in his quick gait down the stairs and shrugged as he descended to the bottom-most stair. "We could have dinner here first if you like."

"Your offer to eat and run, as charming as it is, won't satisfy me. Invite him to dinner, tell him to bring his toothbrush and assorteds, and I'll make sure to turn the telly up loud when you two start rocking the bed."

Trick grunted his displeasure.

"If that's the noise you make while in the middle of-"

"Dad! For fuck sake I'll invite him. Just... stop talking."

Jon laughed and Trick scowled his way out of the house.

= = = = =

Friday night turned out to be a busy night for Harm so the invitation shifted to Saturday. Harm was supposed to rock up around five and they would have drinks and chat until dinner was served. Gia suggested board games and Trick agreed but regretted it when he saw the mountain of board games she'd collected in the living room for them to play. At least with board games nothing too embarrassing might be said. After staring at the pile for a long moment he pulled out his phone and took artful photos of them, finally posting the most interesting looking one to Insta with #gamesnight on it.

As five o'clock loomed, Trick sat on the armchair in the living room listening to Gia and his dad in the kitchen prepping food and discussing all the different timings for the main dish and sides. Apparently the seasoned broccolini was going in last minute. His leg jittered as time passed with frustrating slowness.

Dood peered up at him from his favourite position on the rug. Quite suddenly the dog leapt to his feet and barked once before rushing to the front door. Trick followed, doing his best not to look like he was hurrying. He checked his hair using his phone camera as a mirror and found that his hair hadn't moved from the last time he'd checked. He pocketed his phone and dawdled near the doorway of the lounge, waiting for Harm to knock before he opened up the door.

[Existentially Odd]

"Yeah, Joe, I gotta go, I'm here," Harm panted as he stepped onto Trick's lawn, having jogged the whole distance from the bus stop down the street and around the corner from Trick's place, just because he was so keen to see his boyfriend. He'd had drinks and karaoke with work people last night for Roslyn's birthday and it'd felt weird to sleep alone. Alcohol wasn't a great cure for loneliness, despite what all the classic songs would have people believe.

"Fine, fine, I see how it is," Joe drawled on the other end of the phone call they'd been on ever since Harm had dragged himself out of bed and chosen to amuse himself by catching up with his little brother while doing his laundry for the week. Two birds, one stone. He might've neglected his brother since meeting Trick but they'd been talking for hours - and Harm's voice was already husky from the late night and enthusiastic karaoke attempts. Joe should be fucking grateful.

Harm huffed, slowing as he got closer to Trick's door. "Hey. Don't be an asshole about it," he chastised his little brother, his shoulders relaxing when he received a laugh for his sharp tone.

"I'm kidding, chill," Joe snickered, followed by an exclamation of derision that proved he was well occupied by the remote in his hand anyway. "Fuck. I just died," he muttered, the background noise increasing with the ardent music of a home screen. "I'll let you go. Have fun. Say hi to Trick for me. Love you. Bye."

Harm laughed heartily at Joe's screen death, causing a bark to sound inside the house. "Oops," he whispered as he knocked sharply on the door. "Will do. Love you too, bye," he said cheerfully, grinning broadly at Trick, his hovering left hand pinching the bud in his ear to end the call. He was dressed casually in a shirt and a pair of basketball shorts, his messenger bag holding his toiletries and change of clothes slung over his shoulder and resting against his left hip.

An excited bundle of fur vibrated between them, drawing Harm's attention downwards. He laughed again at Dood's jiggly dog butt, his face becoming animated as he tried to hype the canine up. "My wingman!" he exclaimed but then paused, grasping his chin in his hand and making a show of looking thoughtfully between Trick and Dood. "Hrmm, dog kisses or boyfriend kisses? Really shouldn't do both," he taunted, squinting at Trick, challenging him to make a move.

[Pocky]

Trick puffed a laugh and gestured to Dood. "Go ahead. He hasn't seen you as often as I have."

"Is that Harm?" Gia called from the kitchen.

"No, it's girl guides flogging their cookies!" Trick yelled back.

Dood turned in circles around Harm and did small jumps off his front paws but didn't knock Harm over, whining in the back of his throat for a pat.

"Bitch, please," Gia replied sassily.

"None of that," Jon's stern tone followed.

Gia appeared in the doorway between the corridor and the kitchen, holding a spatula in her hand. The spatula looked like it had white sauce on it. "Hey, Harmon," she greeted. The roots of her hair to the first inch were a brilliant blue beneath the brown. "I'm grilling fish for you. You better like seafood or you're fuh... finished."

Trick chuckled but kept his distance, a metre away from Harm. He shifted his weight a few times.

[Existentially Odd]

"Yeah but you're way tastier," Harm husked, gasping for show as his attention shifted to Dood and he crouched down, fighting a losing battle to keep his balance as the lab leapt at him. Quickly shoved onto his ass, Harm did his best to peer past (and avoid) Dood's licking face and into the house towards Gia, shifting and leaning as required to do so.

"Uh, yeah, sounds great!" he called, giving a thumbs up and laughing at the fact Gia barely stopped herself from swearing. He went back to scratching and rubbing Dood all over, flicking away small clumps of chocolate coloured fur as he laughed and talked sweet nothings at the adorable dog. He was soon tired of dodging his voracious tongue and being headbutted in the nose, so he climbed to his feet, making settling noises and stroking Dood more calmly.

"Damn, I think he's actually clingier than me," he remarked as he stepped back to brush any lingering fur off himself while still outside, grinning broadly at Trick.

[Pocky]

"Impossible," Trick said, stepping close enough to reach out to Harm. Gia laughed at the jest but remained where she was, watching her brother kiss his boyfriend hello with avid interest.

Trick broke the kiss and turned to her. "Get lost, creeper."

Gia responded by flicking the spatula at both of them, droplets of white sauce near and on them. Dood snuffled and licked the floor wherever it landed. Smirking, Gia turned and headed back to the kitchen, speaking over her shoulder. "Set up one of the board games. Dad and I will be out shortly."

"Yep, in a bit," Trick said, then shooed Dood away before leading Harm upstairs by the hand. "Let's get you and your stuff to my room first," he said quietly.

[Existentially Odd]

"And wash the dog and - was that white sauce? - off me," Harm added, eyeing a spot on his shirt dubiously as he blindly followed his boyfriend. He was glad he'd kept his clothes casual. He was also glad his efforts at avoiding french kissing Dood had rewarded him with Trick's lips and he couldn't stop grinning about the greeting he'd received.

When they got upstairs, Harm insisted on veering into the bathroom first just so he could wash himself free of slobber, sauce and fur, telling Trick he'd be really quick. He was an expert at scrubbing his skin free of germs and, true to his word he was following Trick into his bedroom after a minute's delay, his forearms and face now scented by the Fallows family's liquid hand soap.

Walking in with a contented sigh, Harm toed his shoes off at the door and lifted the strap of his bag over his head, leaving it where he had last time he was here. That had been an impromptu and short visit, though, fuelled with excited intensity and uncertainty. Tonight was very different. After taking a moment to pull his AirPods out and rehouse them in the case in his shorts pocket, he moved towards Trick, wrapping his arms around his neck and giving him a brief kiss.

"I missed you," he sighed, proving he was, indeed, clingier than Dood. The missing him was not news to Trick as Harm had sent him numerous, increasingly-sloppy texts the night before attesting to the fact (many, towards the end of the night when he was in bed alone, including pictorial evidence to corroborate his loneliness). "Just how many boys have you had in there for sleepovers?" he queried, narrowing his eyes with mock suspicion as he gestured towards Trick's bed with his head.

[Pocky]

Trick found a splatter of sauce on the arm of his tee shirt and he used a tissue to wipe it away while Harm was in the bathroom washing up. He dropped the crumpled tissue into the bin just as Harm entered, and he stepped into his boyfriend's waiting arms.

"I missed you too," Trick said with a giggle and a few pecks on Harm's lips. The question had him raising his eyebrows. "Tonight or this week?" Trick asked, glancing askew at his bed. "The notches don't mean anything, I swear."

[Existentially Odd]

"Wow. Just... wow," Harm deadpanned, blinking pointedly at Trick before he could no longer hold in his laughter.  He threw his head back because the joy inside him was too big to be contained in the just the tiny space between them but he was soon back nuzzling Trick's lips, still chuckling.

"You're incorrigible," he chastised, making a sudden break away from Trick, intending on crawling up his bed to make a show of peering at his headboard. "I'm fucking counting!" he announced gleefully, expecting Trick would either grab him and pull him back or pounce on him on the bed -  neither would be viewed as a loss.

[Pocky]

Trick giggled at Harm's reaction to his joke before he was pooching his lips for kisses. He puffed laughter at Harm crawling over his bed and shrugged. He thumbed towards the doorway. "I'm heading downstairs to set up the boardgame before Gia chooses Monopoly. C'mon," he said with a lingering look at Harm before tipping his head towards the door and then leaving the room.

He led the way downstairs, his feet heavy on each stair as he moved quickly down them. At the bottom he peered up to ask Harm, "do you want a drink or anything?" As he looked up the stairs, the kitchen was to Trick's right and the lounge room on his left.

[Existentially Odd]

Harm leaned back on his elbows and pouted when Trick didn't play along, having checked the headboard regardless. There were no notches, though he'd have found it hilarious if there had been. Where had that saying even come from, anyway? He heaved himself off the bed with a groan when Trick gave him that look, pausing by the door to dump his socks before continuing after Trick. He ran into him at the bottom of the stairs, hands gripping Trick's hips and chest pressed against his before he turned and looked into the kitchen. Realising he'd been impolite, he pulled back to allow Trick to move freely.

"Yes please! Got Coke?" he asked, wondering why Trick even had to ask after all this time. If Trick wasn't attached to his lips then a coffee or Coke usually was. Maybe Trick didn't have Coke, he only ever drank water. Hrmm. "Water's fine, too, anything cold and wet," he smiled pleasantly, heading over to greet his true host. He watched Trick's dad move, judging his moment until he could step in and give him a hug. He'd liked this guy a lot the first time he'd met him. Since then, he'd found out he'd endured his wife dying right beside him at a baseball game and had to drag his son out of a vampire sex nest. There was a lot of room in his heart and respect cabinet for Jon Fallows.

"Mister Fallows!" he began, wrapping his arms around him and squeezing him like he was an old and very dear friend. He also kissed his cheek before releasing him gradually. "Thank you so much for having me again, I really appreciate it. When Trick told me you'd invited me, oh!" he pressed a hand to his heart and rolled his eyes upwards, releasing a moderately-pitched exclamation of happiness before looked back at Jon, stepping out of his personal bubble, "I was so happy! And I get to taste your cooking again? I'm so excited!" he cried, his raw voice breaking because he'd pushed it too far. Clearly, it could no longer handle anything too high after his adventures the night before.

Taking another step away, he cleared his throat and blushed, his gaze falling on Trick's sister. "And Gia, thank you for having me and feeding me, too," he grinned, tilting his head as he looked at her, an expression of awe overtaking his features. "What is going on with your hair? I love it! That blue is divine!" he enthused. He had no idea why she'd only coloured her roots but it was a very cool effect.

[Pocky]

Trick headed for the fridge and uncapped a bottle of coke, pouring a tall glass for Harm while his boyfriend hugged his father and gushed over him. Jon hugged Harm back and glanced over at Trick, who winked and shrugged.

"Well now, I think happy is underselling it a little," Jon said, returning the hug and clapping Harm on the back before extracting himself with a broad smile.

When Harm praised Gia's hair, she gave a delighted giggle and poked her tongue at her father. "See? I should grow it out."

"It's against school rules," Jon said adamantly. His smile disappeared as he checked a notebook.

"The rules say natural hair colour is allowed!"

"Just start the timer for the potatoes," Jon sighed. Gia pitched her jaw forward mulishly, an expression that Harm would recognise even though it was on a different face.

Trick handed Harm his glass of coke and left the kitchen to the lounge room.  "We'll set something up. You joining soon?"

"Two minutes," Jon promised.

Trick entered the lounge and pulled a wide-eyed expression at Harm. "I forgot to mention. I'm a freak for having brown hair. Water nymphs have blue hair so my dad and sis have to dye it to match."

[Existentially Odd]

Harm followed closely after Trick, sipping on his drink and frowning over Gia and Jon's conversation. His confusion cleared up the instant Trick made his revelation, Harm's eyes matching Trick's for width and his mouth dropping open. He sat close to Trick, practically in his lap because he was so distracted.

"You're... that's their natural hair colour? But not yours?" he asked, eyes now narrowed intently at Trick's hair. After a moment, they widened again and his gaze travelled downwards, along Trick's body before flicking back up to his eyes. "That's... their natural hair colour all over?" he whispered conspiratorially, imagining Trick's father with brilliant blue pubes. He wasn't sure how he felt about that.

[Pocky]

As soon as Harm asked about hair 'all over', Trick's expression downturned to disgust. "You freaking perv, that's my dad and sister you're imagining," Trick said, shoving Harm playfully but with some force. "Dad's hair is a lot darker than Gia's. Almost navy."

He stared at the pile of games but didn't move to one. "I pass for human better than them," he said pensively. "I don't have the light frame they both have, I'm taller and can make myself muscular. If it wasn't for my abilities with water, I wouldn't even be a nymph."

He gave Harm a tight smile and shrugged before reaching for the second topmost box. Blokus.

[Existentially Odd]

Harm took Trick's shove good-naturedly, swaying away before returning to his upright position, side pressed against Trick's, blushing and snickering embarrassed laughter. He wanted to argue that he wasn't thinking about his sister at all and not even really his father so much as imagining Trick with blue hair like Gia's (which looked cooler than navy blue sounded) all over his body. Which would be awesome and sexy. He was a perv, Trick was not wrong, but only for his boyfriend - not his family. Ew.

He sobered up when Trick continued to discuss his nymph traits seriously, sensing that it bothered Trick that he was different. "Do you wish you were more like them?" he queried, understanding the desire to fit in. Finding your family, your community was important and every gender, sexuality, species craved being the same as everyone else, to a degree. It was how folks felt like they belonged. The hand not holding Harm's drink rested on Trick's thigh, thumb rubbing lightly.

His gaze was intent on Trick's face so he didn't look at the boardgame he'd chosen.

[Pocky]

"Dad calls me his polar bear," he said, the boardgame pulled out of the pile and sitting on the arm of the sofa, his hand on top keeping it from falling. "Polar bears came from brown bears. A leap in evolution that one must've been born albino. Because it could camouflage better when hunting it was stronger and could win more mates. More albino bears are born and kaching, polar bears are the new normal. No polar bear babies coming from me, though. Nature played a good joke on evolution, there."

Gia was the first one appearing in the lounge. She flipped her hair standing in front of Harm before throwing herself onto the cushion beside him.

"How many times do you trot out that story, Rob?"

"Not as many times as dad," Trick replied.

"You haven't even moved the coffee table, you lazy arse." She spied the game her brother had chosen. "Oh, you want to be smacked down then?"

"Why else would Harm be here?" Trick replied, setting the box onto his lap and opening the top.

Gia's eyes were round when they went from Trick to Harm.