#adele dumais

“Any minute now,” Pascal muttered.

“Not likely,” Celeste countered. “Look. Marc has a wand.”

Pascal grimaced, though that may have been his continued refusal to put his reading glasses on while peering out the kitchen blinds. She would never understand the desire to make his life harder for no reason. The glasses made him look quite handsome, in an academic kind of way.

“That hat is going to be ruined.”

Celeste turned the page of her book. “It was too small anyway.”

“Isn’t she going as a witch this year?”

“You are so…” She gestured at him, laughing. “Restless, right now. What is going on?”

“They’re going to get sick,” he insisted, as he had been since the rain began. “It’s cold out there. You never know.”

Eugh, cold. Celeste was perfectly content to sip her hot cider in peace. “Sirius and Logan are very responsible, mon cher.”

“Pssh.”

“If you’re that worried, you can go tell them to come inside.”

Pascal finally looked away from the window, blinking in the change of light. The corner of his mouth turned down and dimpled his cheek. “But it’s so quiet in here,” he said, evidently put-out.

“Then let them play and come join me.”

Often, all it took was a simple invite—that, and the expectant arch of her eyebrow while she shuffled her legs up to make room on the loveseat. The old wood bones creaked when he sat beside her with a long sigh. Celeste set her drink down and followed the tug of his arm around her shoulders happily, drawing the blanket with her as she laid her head in his lap. Her hairpin slipped out without a single pinch. His fingers combed through the ends, searching for tangles.

“If they get pneumonia, I’m blaming Logan.”

“Pascal.” She craned her neck up to get a good look at him. “They’re fine.”

“I know.” His thumb swept across her smile. He gave her chin a nudge to turn her again. “I worry.”

“You could power a small city.”

“We have a perfectly warm and dry house.” A warm palm found the pressure point at her nape for a gentle massage. Celeste let her eyes fall shut. “But no. Mud pies in the yard. I don’t understand.”

“Be grateful,” she murmured. “I almost locked the door behind them.”

“I’m sure we’ll hear all about it later.”

“I’m going to cut all my hair off.”

He made a distressed sound, working his fingertips at the back of her scalp. “No, why?”

“Heavy.” She stifled a yawn. Dark skies and a warm home were creeping up on her. “Maybe to my shoulders.”

His wordless noises were still distressed. She could get him better than that.

“Changed my mind. Pixie cut.”

“Why do you torment me?” he groaned. “You’re so beautiful and so cruel.”

“I think it would look nice.”

“You would look wonderful with any haircut, mon amour.” Now, that was properly mournful. Celeste smiled and kissed the bit of his thigh nearest to her. He was doing some sort of braid; she felt the ends of her hair lift and tug, ever so gentle.

“I won’t go that short. Maybe a few inches off, for the winter. What kind?”

“Fishtail.”

“Adele taught you?”

“She tried,” Pascal laughed. “It’s a bit of a mess right now. I’ll try again in a moment. How’s your book?”

“Less interesting than this,” she said, stretching her legs as carefully as she could without disrupting his pattern. “But good. I like it for a storm.”

“Quebecois beach read.”

“Exactly,” she snorted. Corduroy scratched her cheek pleasantly when she shifted. His index finger hooked a stray piece of hair that had been stuck over her ear, and she shivered.

“Cold?”

“Comfortable.”

He hummed in agreement, but tucked the edge of the blanket over her shoulder anyway. Outside, thunder rolled past and brought a wave of shrieks and giggles with it. She hadn’t seen lightning yet. The first flash would have her sending Pascal out to bring them in for real, but for now, this time was theirs. A little after-lunch peace in the eye of it all.

As it turned out, she didn’t have to wait for the lightning, nor commit her husband to wet socks and a blast of cold. The next peal of thunder saw the back door opening in a tumble of mayhem and mud. The rain was tender on the roof, but it had apparently been anything but for the mess of sopping children that crowded onto the welcome mat.

“Laundry room!” Sirius ordered over chattering teeth and half-shouted greetings. “Hey, no, shoes at the door, who raised you animals?”

“My fault!” Celeste called. She laughed out loud when Logan hoisted Louis up under his arms to drop him behind the laundry room door.

“My god, they look like pigs,” Pascal whispered, audibly gleeful.

“Okay—okay—I can get my own shoes off,” Sirius laughed, hopping on one foot to work his muck-coated sneaker free as Katie attempted to untie his shoelace in a puddle of giggles. Speaking of…

Celeste watched the rainwater pool at their feet in a sideways, half-asleep sort of haze while Sirius and Logan herded the kids into the laundry room. Noise ebbed and grew with every sway of the door. After a moment, Logan emerged alone, tiptoeing along the floor as if that would save his ruined socks.

“What happened to you?” Pascal asked. His voice was a light, teasing hum between her shoulder blades. Utter bliss.

“We had, ah, a bit of a potion mishap.” Logan’s grin was broad and bashful. He glanced back toward the laundry room at a very Sirius-sounding yelp. “They’re going to devour him.”

“Oh?”

“They need to ritually sacrifice the dragon—” He broke off for a moment when he ducked into the bathroom. Celeste exchanged a look with her husband. Ritual sacrifice? he mouthed. The shower squeaked on, and Logan materialized again. “—Sorry. Sacrifice the dragon to get the dragon blood to finish the potion to rescue the princess. And the wizard.”

“Who’s the princess?”

“Me. Louis made a hat out of leaves.”

“IT’S A CROWN!” Louis hollered from the laundry room.

“HOT SHOWER’S ON!” Logan yelled back. “And you’re last in line!”

“Do we tell him he’s still wearing some?” Pascal murmured, one hand half-covering his mouth. Celeste hushed him quickly.

Sirius hustled the children out of the laundry room, now missing their raincoats, socks, and sweaters. He looked, impossibly, even muddier than before. “Go, get out of here, go kill each other for the shower and leave me out of it!”

Adele skidded to a stop in front of the doorway and braced her arms against either side, blocking the path to curling steam. “Hold on,” she declared. “You were on the ground the most, don’t you want it?”

On the ground. Poor boy. Sirius only stuck his tongue out at them and tossed a loose sock behind him. “I have a shower at my own house that I can use.”

“You’re not leaving,” Marc said with a sudden sadness. “You can’t, we’re having your favorite.”

“What?”

“Mama’s cooking.”

Logan jumped in immediately. “Yeah, Sirius. You can’t leave.”

“…fine,” Sirius sighed, after a moment of pondering pause Celeste saw right through like glass.

“But you still get last shower.”

“YES!” Louis cheered.

The slam of the bathroom door made them all jump. Celeste heard the lock go a half-second later and stifled a laugh in her hand. The clamoring kicked off once again, three voices begging Adele to play fair and gimme a chance and don’t use all the hot water. Logan was enough of an adult to keep his mouth shut, but even his face scrunched with betrayal.

She felt a tap at the curve of her shoulder and glanced up, where Pascal was waiting with the smile she had fallen in love with. “You’re done.”

“Hmm?”

“Your hair.”

She blinked, raising a hand to feel. She hadn’t even realized the weight was off her neck, leaving room for the heat from the fireplace to toast her skin. Each strand of the plait ran in an even ladder beneath the pads of her fingers. Sweet man. Hopeless romantic. “Merci, mon chou,” she sighed, closing her hand around his and pulling it around to kiss the band of his ring. “It’s perfect.”

“Only the best for you.”

Sirius gave them a smile and a little wave as he passed with the other kids in tow, shepherding them upstairs to the other showers. In the kitchen behind him, she heard Logan put the kettle on. Lightning flashed in a white-purple arc in an indigo sky.

“Hey.” She tugged Pascal’s hand and felt him sit up. “I’m going to work on my blog tonight.”

His eyes lit up. “Can I proofread?”

He had glanced up from where he had been texting his boys about when he planned to be home. 

“Of course, why?” He expected a joking comment about how it was “as if he never left,” that he had heard plenty of from Celeste and Dumo the past few days. 

But instead, Pascal looked genuinely worried.  

“Well, it just…seems like you’re having a tough time leaving. We love your company, of course. We want you around. I just wanted to make sure you felt like this was the best decision. I want to make sure everything was okay over at the boys’ place.” 

“Oh. Yes. It’s wonderful. It’s…” Logan had trailed off, knowing he had a goofy grin on his face. Pascal gave him a look before turning back to the road. 

“No details necessary, mon fils.” Which had caused Logan to blush and stare pointedly out the window. A few minutes later, Pascal brought up another point. “If you’re feeling guilty about the kids…” 

Logan hadn’t been the only one who was seemingly having a tough time with this transition. Every time he came over, the kids clung to him. The younger two physically, while the older two just wanted to spend time with him. And he'd be lying to himself and Pascal if he said that wasn’t part of the reason. But really, he was just…clinging to the family that had taken him in as a rookie. His “Gryffindor family” as he referred to them with his parents and sisters, who often just called them his "other family." 

And every time he remembered that he would be going home to his boys, his heart soared. But part of it dropped, too, when he remembered the sad look in Katie’s eyes every time he had to go to practice instead of stay and play. Louis holding out a game controller, a hopeful look in his eye. Celeste’s soft humming as she cooked dinner. The warm smell of the house. The feeling of safety and comfort.

It was a strange sense of homesickness, really. 

“Look, mon fils. As much as I joke about encouraging you to move out, you can always come back. I see the way you boys are and I doubt you’ll ever need to move back in permanently. But even for just the night. Or a weekend. Whenever. You are family. You will always be welcomed back with open arms. Moving out doesn’t change anything. You will always be family. Just as Sirius is family, too. I know you know this. But I need you to hear it again and understand that this doesn’t change anything. Oui?”

“Ouias. Merci, Papa.” Logan had said in a joking tone. And in some ways he wasn’t joking. And Pascal seemed to know that. 

So here he sat, stomach full from the delicious pot roast, sitting on the couch, Katie in his lap, Adele sitting next to him on the couch, Marc nodding off against his arm on the other side, trying to beat Louis at Mario Kart, as he heard a knock at the door. 

“It smells amazing in here! I sure hope you saved some dessert for me!” Finn’s voice drifted in as he walked through the living room, stepping in front of the TV.

Logan groaned as he lost sight of the track, forfeiting the game to Louis as Finn leaned down and kissed his forehead. 

“Rouge!” Logan said in a mock-groan. “You made me lose!”

Louis was laughing like a maniac as Leo drifted into the room. 

“Sounds rowdy in here!” He came over to the couch, smiling his bright sunny smile. “Hey guys, how’s it going? Oh, Adele, I loved that series when I was your age!” 

Marc had woken up a bit, and was now hugging Finn around the middle. 

“Harzy, Harzy, Harzy!” Finn laughed, picking him up so that he was upside down. 

“Goodness, should have known you two were here just by the noise!” Celeste said, walking through the entrance. 

“There’s chocolate cupcakes for tired kids in the kitchen.” 

And Louis and Marc were off, followed slowly by Adele, who was still talking with Leo. 

Then Finn stepped close, setting a hand on Logan’s back, arm out to pull him up to his feet when there was an ear-splitting scream. 

“NOOO!” 

Finn startled back, everyone staring at the little girl in Logan’s lap. Pascal’s face peaked from the kitchen. 

“Katie, what…?” Logan asked, moving to get up. But this only made her scream once again. 

“Stay, stay, stay! Don’t leave!” Then she turned to Leo and Finn, screaming, “Why do you have to take him away?” 

They all stared at each other for another minute before Logan felt tears forming in his eyes, and he turned, sniffing and wiping his eyes. 

Pascal came in, waving the rest of them out to the kitchen, coming to kneel near the couch. 

“Mon chou, no one has taken our Logan away.” 

He sniffed again, feeling an actual tear on his cheek. 

“Oh, mes enfants.” Pascal came to sit next to them, and Logan felt himself being enveloped into a hug. “Things are changing, and I know it’s hard, Katie. But we’re still going to see Logan so much. But we do have to let him grow up and move out.” 

“But…but why?” Katie asked in a tearful voice, effectively breaking Logan’s heart once more. 

“Because he can’t live with us forever. He wants to move in with his boys and make space for more people here. Just like when Sirius moved out.” 

“Sirius moved out and lived all alone.” 

“True, yes. Maybe a bad example. But he lives with Remus now.” 

“Loops!” Katie said cheerfully, smiling through sad eyes. 

“Oui.” Soft padded footsteps came from the other side of the room. Logan glanced up to see Celeste walking over. She sat on their other side of him, and put an arm around Logan’s shoulder. 

“Logan’s going to visit us so much. Whenever he wants. Or at the very least once a week.” 

“Oui, I promise,” Logan said, kissing Katie’s forehead. 

Celeste then leaned in close, talking in a loud whisper. 

“And in the meantime, Katie, do you remember that present you got for your birthday?” Katie seemed to think for a second. Then she perked up. 

“You mean we can have matching ones?” 

“Oui, mon minou.” 

Katie turned to Logan, now excited, whispering into his ear, “Can they be rainbow colors so we match Leo too?” Logan had no idea what she was talking about, but he nodded, trying to remember the gifts she had gotten for her last birthday just a few weeks ago. 

“Ouias, sure.” 

Katie hopped off his lap. But before she could get very far, Celeste held onto her hand. 

“First, you need to apologize to Finn and Leo for yelling at them. They aren’t taking Logan away from us. And they are part of our family, too. And they will be for a very long time, I think,” her eyes sparkled as she looked at Logan. He could feel himself smiling, and rolled his eyes half-heartedly as she kissed his cheek and followed Katie to the kitchen. 

----

Two days later, when Logan was once again at the Dumais’s house for dinner, he was presented with a bracelet, purple and pink, his and Katie’s favorite colors. A matching one sat on her wrist. 

“Now we match! Will you wear it?” 

“Always!” Logan said, kissing her on the cheek.

She then turned a little shyly to Finn and Leo, setting a bracelet into each of their hands, and another into Logan’s. Each was a mix of red, yellow, and green. 

“Mama says that friendship bracelets mean that we’re bound together through friendship. But you’re not my friend.” Logan was taken aback at that for a moment, and he saw Finn glance up at Logan, a small hurt clear on his face, and Leo still glancing at Katie, nodding patiently. “We’re family.” 

That night, when Logan had said his goodbyes to the family, Katie had not cried while he was leaving. A first since he had moved out. Instead, she was waving and jumping up and down at Logan’s promise to see her after their home game. 

“Okay, Marc, Louis, Adele! Can you come help Katie with the beach stuff, please?”

Finn looked up through the bedroom doorway at the sound of Leo’s voice. He tied the string of his shorts and ran his fingers through his hair before walking curiously towards the kitchen. It sounded like Leo needed help.

            It was still a trip to see Leo and Logan in his family’s Hampton’s house, even after three years together. The walls, once filled just with photographs of Finn’s childhood here, held some new memories, too: one of Kasey, Alex, and Natalie on the back deck; one of Leo, Logan, and Haley with cocktails in their hands; one of Finn and Leo building a sand castle, Logan asleep on the towel beside them. Finn smiled at the last one as he made his way down the hall.

“Louis and Marc, may you please take the boogie boards to the back and hose them down? Girls, can you go put the chairs and the umbrellas in the garage?”

Finn shook his head fondly at Leo, who was unloading grocery bags in the kitchen with Logan. He had sunglasses around his neck on a lanyard and his cap was a bit askew. He and Logan both looked tan from their day out. They’d gone to a different beach in the car today so the Dumais kids could catch bigger waves on their boogie boards, and so Leo could go to the farmer’s market and the butcher’s that he loved to pick things up for their dinner. It was a hustle, loading and unloading all of the gear into the Celeste’s minivan that she’d lent them, but Leo was nothing if not a natural delegator, and he had those kids doing their own tasks faster than Logan and Finn could even think. Finn gave Louis and Marc a fist bump each as they passed through to go wash off the boogie boards before he went to stand across the counter from his boyfriends.

“You need any help, lovers?”

“No, thank you,” Leo said. He didn’t even look around, too busy unloading some vegetables. Logan looked back to Finn and rolled his eyes with a fond smile.

Finn grinned back. “You sure?”

“Yes, honey, don’t you worry. I’ve got the kids cleaning up and then I’ll start on dinner.”

“You know, soleil,” Logan said, slipping Leo’s sunglasses over his head and placing them on the counter. He pressed a hand to Leo’s hip and nuzzled his cheek with his nose. “I think you can compete with Celeste for best mom voice.”

Leo scoffed. “Y’all should have heard my mama when I was little. I learned from the best, that’s for sure.”

“Yikes,” Finn teased. “Those Dumais kids don’t know what’s coming for them.”

Leo let out an exasperated sigh. “Honey, I’m not that bad. They made the mess, they can help clean it up.”

Logan kissed Leo’s cheek in bursts. “Ouais, but I seem to remember someone building sand castles and going boogie boarding with the kids. Maybe they should go help clean the mess.” At Leo’s raised eyebrows, Logan drew him in with a laugh, his arms around Leo’s neck and lips pressing more kisses to his face. “Non, désolé, mon soleil, désolé, I’m joking.”

“Mm,” Leo said, accepting Logan’s soft kiss and pulling his lip with his teeth. He was smiling, though, when they broke apart. “You’re lucky you’re handsome.”

Logan’s grin was the pleased kind that Finn associated with him being content. It came out more often now, especially since they were on summer break, but Finn knew he’d never get tired of seeing it, not in a million lifetimes. 

“Hey,” he said. “C’mere, ten.”

Logan complied, coming to stand across the counter from Finn. “Quoi?”

Finn shook his head. “Nothing. Just like seeing you smile.” He took Logan’s hand and kissed his fingers, then tilted his head to look at Leo’s lean back. “Sunshine.”

“Yes, sweetheart, just a moment. Want to get this chicken out and marinating.”

“Just quickly, baby, please?”

“Okay.” When he turned around, the small crease in between his eyebrows faded, replaced with his dimples appearing on his cheeks as he smiled. “Hi, sorry, I’m distracted. You both look handsome.”

“You, too, baby.” Finn reached for his hand, too, and kissed his way up his forearm. He bit at the sun-kissed skin. “Fuck, you’re both so tan. Drives me crazy.”

Logan stroked his nose. “And you are burnt.”

Finn let out a frustrated groan against Leo’s skin. “I don’t know how this always happens. I reapplied sunscreen and everything, I promise!”

Leo leaned his long torso over the counter and kissed Finn’s forehead. “Our own little tomato. Speaking of which…” He turned around to take up a paper bag, a cutting board, and a knife. “Gotta chop these for the fattoush. Oh, and the meat! Meat first, okay…”

Logan sighed and pressed his lips to Leo’s shoulder. “You’ll call us if you need help, please, d’accord?”

“Yes, I promise.” Leo set down his knife to cup Logan’s face and kiss him. “I promise, I swear. I think I’m okay for now, though, just a lot of chopping.”

“D’accord.” Logan kissed him once more and then settled back on his heels. “We’ll make sure everyone gets showered and clothes get washed.”

“Yes, please do. Make sure Katie washes her hair, she was laying in the sand a lot while the others made her into a mermaid.”

“D’accord,” Logan laughed. He walked around and rested a hand on Finn’s lower back. “Help us get stuff put away, then we make drinks and set the table?”

Finn kissed him. “You got it, babe.” He patted Logan’s butt. “Let’s get this party started.”

***

“Dinner and dessert were really good, Leo, thank you,” Adele said as she folded her napkin and set it on her empty plate.

Leo smiled around his last bite of cobbler. “You’re welcome, hun, glad you liked it.”

Finn stretched and rested his arm around Leo’s shoulders, kissing the side of his head. “It was great, sunshine.” 

He looked around the patio table. Across from him, against the backdrop of the beach, sat Katie and Logan, Katie trying to teach him to make an origami swan out of some of the spare napkins they’d set out. Marc was on her other side with his cheek resting on his palm. He had droopy eyes and his head lolled a little on Louis’ shoulder before jerking awake. 

Finn nudged his foot under the table and smiled. “You tired?”

Marc shook his head quickly. “Non, no I’m not, I swear.”

Logan looked at him with a teasing grin. “I think it’s bedtime.”

“No! I swear, I’m awake! I also don’t have a bedtime anymore, Tremzy.”

Louis scoffed beside him. “You go to sleep at nine, don’t lie.”

Marc nudged him back, and there was a brief scuffle before Adele cleared her throat loudly at them. “Boys, come on.”

They rolled their eyes but complied, giving each other one last nudge before settling down. Finn could feel Leo’s light laugh reverberate against his own body. “How about we clean the kitchen, ouais? Then we can go to bed, gotta get up early to go hike to that beach y’all wanted to go to.”

Leo made to get up, but Logan reached across and patted his hand. “Non, soleil, you cooked. The kids and I will clean up, you and Finn stay here.”

Louis narrowed his eyes. “Are we going to have to wash dishes after you again? Because mom used to make me do it when you left them still dirty.”

Finn and Leo laughed loudly at Logan’s flushed face. He narrowed his eyes and said something in French to Louis, which just made him grin wider. He shrugged and began to clear the table with his siblings. 

As Logan passed, he bent down to whisper in Finn’s ear. “Keep him distracted, ouais? He did so much today.”

Finn kissed him lightly. “You got it, ten.”

“You’re not as quiet as you think you are.”

Logan just smiled at Leo and kissed him, too. “Je t’aime.” Then he was walking through the door and talking in loud French with the Dumais children.

 Leo let out a sigh and rested his head on Finn’s shoulder. “Today was a good day.”

Finn kissed his curls, golden from all the time they’d spent at the beach. “You’re good with them.”

“They’re good kids. I like hanging out with them.”

Finn smiled. “I’m glad.” He lowered his mouth to talk lowly in Leo’s ear. “But Le, you’ve gotta let yourself rest.”

A sigh. “Finn…”

“No, Le, I’m not- I’m not criticizing you.” Finn wrapped him up tighter. “You’ve just spent a lot of time organizing and doing things for other people on this trip, and Lo and I don’t want you to burn yourself out, baby. That’s all.”

Leo sighed again. “I know. I know, I’m sorry.”

“Nope, no, none of that.” Finn nudged Leo’s forehead with his nose until he looked him in the eye. They were a tired blue, and Finn brushed his hair out of the way to see them a bit more clearly. “Don’t apologize, Le, baby, it’s okay. Just rest with me for a bit, alright?”

Leo nodded and leaned into Finn’s hands. “I’m-”

“-not sorry.” Finn kissed him softly and grinned. “Lean on me, sweetheart.” When Leo did, the both of them looking out at the beach, Finn let out a content sigh. “I love you.”

Leo kissed his shoulder and closed his eyes. “I love you, too.”

Finn settled back in his chair to admire the dying sun. The evening breeze was cool on the coast, even with a bit of light still lingering. Finn loved the way it brushed gently across his burnt cheeks and cooled the skin. He breathed in deeply. He’d always loved the smell of the beach: the salt, the sand, the lingering scent of seaweed. The waves splashed gently against the shore, reflecting the orange and pink colors of the sky. The sunset had glowed against Logan at dinner, making him look ethereal almost, like a figment out of Finn’s dream. It did the same to Leo now, his blond eyelashes, brushing against the highs of his cheeks, shining with a faint golden tinge. Finn kissed just below them on the slightly purple skin. “You’re beautiful.”

Leo smiled and opened his eyes. At a stronger gust of wind, he shivered and cuddled closer to Finn. “Brr.”

Finn laughed and squeezed him tighter. “Cold baby?”

“A little,” Leo whispered. He pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his head and peeked out at Finn. “You’re warm.”

“Mm.” Finn kissed his nose. “Not as warm as our space heater.”

That made Leo let out a satisfied noise. He slouched down a bit to rest his head on Finn’s upper chest. “I wonder how he’s doing in there.”

“Hopefully not forcing Louis to wash dishes twice.”

Leo laughed. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”

They settled into a comfortable silence for a few minutes to watch the sunset. Finn remembered the first time he took Logan here and they’d done a similar thing, albeit physically farther apart. They’d spent the whole day at the beach and came back from their evening run to Ramsey making steak tips at the grill. Logan had been so happy and calm, calmer than he had been in a long time. Finn had known something was bothering him, even if he hadn’t known exactly what it was. He suspected it had something to do with the want that had been making its way through both of their bodies and hearts, made even worse by the way that, at the Hampton’s house, it had been so easy to imagine a life together: a vacation with Finn’s family, spending the entire day just enjoying one another’s company, having the exact same routine and not getting tired or wanting to separate for even a second. Finn counted himself lucky that he knew what that was like now. That he got it, doubled. Because every run he took with Logan he also took with Leo; every night after brushing his teeth there were two toothbrushes in the cup with his own; and every time he went to bed there were two pairs of arms to hold him, two sets of eyes to fall into. It gave a whole new meaning to this house, even. He got to introduce it to more people that loved it, that loved the time they spent there. For every childhood memory he had, in every room, he now had multiple new ones that were even more lovely. 

Finn held one of those memories in his arms now, all sweet and gorgeous in the golden hour. He ran a palm up and down Leo’s forearm. “Feeling better, baby?”

Leo nodded. “Yeah. Thank you.” He played with the strings of his sweatshirt. “I don’t think I knew how much I needed a break.”

Finn breathed in to reply, but was interrupted by a voice coming from the doorway. “Leo?”

Leo sat himself up to turn and look at the kids, who were standing all together with Logan behind them. He smiled then looked at Katie, who’d spoken. “Hi, hun. What’s up?”

She didn’t reply right away, just walked up to give him a hug. “Thank you for hanging out with us today.”

“And for dinner,” Louis added.

“It was delicious.”

“You should give maman the recipe for the meat.”

Leo barked out a laugh. “I’ll text it to her, Marc.” He gave Katie a last gentle squeeze. “You going to bed?”

She nodded with a yawn as she removed her arms from around Leo’s neck. “Ouais. Gotta be up for the hike tomorrow, like you said.”

“I did say that, didn’t I?” He turned his body fully to smile at the others. Logan was looking at him fondly, an arm flung over Louis’ shoulder. Leo tilted his head in that way he did when he was calm and content. “Night, kids.”

They said their goodnights to Finn and Leo, then each gave Logan a fistbump as they went to ascend the stairs to their rooms. Logan watched them fondly for a second before walking over. He looked a little tired, but happy, as he leaned over to kiss their foreheads. “Ça va?”

“All good, baby,” Finn said softly. “Just keeping Leo relaxed and warm.”

“Mm.” Logan brushed a hand through Leo’s hair. “Cold, soleil?”

“A little chilly, yeah.”

“Allez, ici.” 

When Logan started to pull Leo’s chair out, Leo stabilized himself with a surprised laugh. “What-”

“D’accord.” Logan, with enough space in between Leo’s chair and the table, came to straddle Leo’s lap and wrap him in a hug. Finn placed a hand on his back, as warm as ever, admiring the way Logan pressed kisses all over Leo’s face. With a last one to his nose, Logan cupped his cheeks in his palms and touched their foreheads. “Better?”

Leo’s eyes were fond. “Much.” He wrapped his arms completely around Logan’s waist and settled his face in his neck. He looked like a cute little turtle, all hunched in his sweatshirt and his curls fanning out of his hood. “Mm, you’re toasty.”

 Logan sent Finn a smile. “Good.” He leaned back to squish Leo’s cheeks. “Feeling relaxed, mon coeur?” Leo nodded. “Ouais,” he said with a yawn. “I needed a break.” 

Finn kissed his shoulder. “Let’s go shower and go to bed, baby.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Gotta get up nice and early for the hike tomorrow.”

Leo’s face went red and he rolled his eyes. “God, I sound like my mama.”

“We’ll make sure to tell her,” Finn teased, laughing at Leo’s tisking sound.

Logan placed a smiling kiss on each of their cheeks. “Bed?”

“Oo-ways,” Finn said. He stood and offered a hand to each of them. “C’mon, shower and snug, doctor’s orders.”

Leo snorted. “What doctor?”

“Doctor Heartthrob O’Hara,” Finn answered, giving Leo’s hand a playful tug. He patted Logan’s butt. “Let’s go, time to get naked and wet.”

“Sh,” Logan shushed, but he was smiling. “The kids.”

“Are fine, promise. They probably didn’t hear.”

Logan pinched his side playfully. “Allez, I’m not explaining to Dumo and Celeste that we traumatized their kids. Let’s go.”

Finn brought Leo’s hand up to his mouth kiss it as they followed Logan to the downstairs main bedroom. “All relaxed, sunshine?”

“So relaxed.” Leo wrapped his arms around Finn’s waist from behind. “And ready to snug. And get naked and wet.”

Finn bit his lip around a grin. “Doctor’s orders. Gotta follow ‘em.”

“Ouais,” Logan said as they got to the bathroom door. He pulled his shirt over his head. Finn and Leo weren’t shy about staring at his muscles, and Logan looked between them proudly. “Clothes off, allez.”

“Yup, I’m so relaxed.” Leo stepped back and pulled his shirt over his head, too. Finn followed the long lines of his torso before looking back up and into his mischievous expression. Leo looked at him expectantly. “Well?”

Finn nodded. “Oh boy.” He clumsily reached behind himself to pull his shirt off. When his head was out of the fabric, he got a nice view of Leo and Logan stripping down to their underwear. He sucked in a breath. “Oh boy, you’re beautiful. Got me some tan Greek gods or some shit, holy smokes.”

Leo came up to take his hands. The purple skin was still there, a little puffy, but his eyes were as playful as ever, as well as his smile. “I love you.”

“Love you more.” Finn kissed him, then laced their fingers and turned around. Logan was watching them with a fond smile, and Finn laced their fingers, too. “Shower time?”

Logan shook his head fondly. “I think you mean ‘wet and naked’ time.”

“Potato, po-tah-to. I just can’t wait to feel up your abs.”

Logan rolled his eyes but squeezed his hand and let them into the ensuite. “Allez. We have to shower and go to bed. Gotta be up early for the hike.”

“That’s so not funny anymore.”

Adele shuffled over looking at the floor. “Um,” she stared before glazing back at her siblings, who nodded at her encouragingly. “So, we decided to make some things for the others. You know, since you’re having that Pride Party tonight? We thought we’d make little gifts for the team.”

Oh, Pascal’s heart was already a puddle. “You-”, he stared, but couldn’t continue. He had questioned a lot if he should have raised his children differently, more open to the rainbow or attractions and genders (or lack thereof) that was out there, but this made him feel like he and Celeste had at least done some things right.

Pascal only realised he hadn’t properly said anything yet when Katie rushed towards him, hugging his hip. “Please don’t be mad. I promise, we’ll clean it all up. Mama said she’d help us!”, the big eyes of his youngest daughter stared up at him, guilty, but hopeful.

“I’m not mad, mon chou.”, picking her up, he turned towards the other three, still standing in front of him. “Not at any of you. This is an incredible idea! The team will love them. Thank you so much, it’s really thoughtful.” Leaning down, he placed a kiss on each of his childrens’ foreheads, including Katie’s before setting her down to get back to the others. Celeste walked through the door the next moment, flowers of all colours in her hand.

“You found our little pride squad then?”she asked, walking past him and into the kitchen, probably to cut off the ends of the stems. “Don’t worry, I’ll help them clean up and we’ll be done before any of your teammates even leave their houses.”

His wife knew him too well. He hated when other people visited them and their house was messy. Of course there had been times where he couldn’t really keep it clean with four toddlers running around, but he still always tried and his family knew that and helped him. It wasn’t really that it bothered him that visitors could see that they were possibly not clean people, it was just the principle. He thought it should that they were prepared and anticipated someone’s visit. He never wanted them to think it was a bad time to visit because he would eventually excuse the mess. He always wanted everyone to feel welcome.

And that’s what tonight would be about. Making his team feel always welcomed and loved and accepted.

Celeste returned back to their dining room without the flowers, kissing Pacal’s cheek and then turning towards their children. “Did you show him what you made already?” they shook their heads but quickly climbed up onto chairs and sorted through the things they had made. “They’re all really cute, I already saw some of them.” Celeste whispered giddily into his ear, as excitement bloomed in his chest and they walked over to look at the crafts.

“Here!” Katie waved a piece of paper in the air and Pascal walked around the table to look at what she had made. SHe beamed up at him as she explained, “This is for Tremzy! And Harzy and Knutty! It’s a card and I drew Lo, Leo and Finn on the front, see!” The man took the card in his hands. There were three stick figures on it, the smallest with brown hair, the next one with bright red hair and the last, taller than the other with yellow hair. In the back there were blue, red and black dots. “Why did you use those colours, ma petite?” He did have an idea, but with the many coloured pens on the table it could have just been a coincidence.

He could see Katie look over to Adele and Marc, before her eyes met his again. “Del and Marc said that those are the colours when you have more than one love and Logan has Finn and Leo, so they said I should use those. They look good together right?” Pascal could see that he wasn’t the only one close to tears after glazing over at Celeste smiling brightly. “Yes, Katie, it looks beautiful. Lo, Leo and Finn will love it! Adele, Marc, thank you for helping your sister. I know that this will mean a lot to Logan.” then as if he couldn’t help but to add, “I’m also very proud of you for looking up pride flag colours. I’m really happy you're informing yourself about these topics. They’re important.”

They all smiled at him. Pascal went over to Louis next. “I made two! This one is a card for Olli and Del and Marc also helped me with colours, so it's black, grey, white and this really nice purple that Katie gave me. It didn’t really match the photo, but I liked it better than the really dark one. Do you think he’ll mind?” The fact that his youngest son actually looked concerned staring down at his work had a tear spilling over. He let out a wet chuckle. “Non, je pense qu’il va l'adorer, c’est parfait. For who is the green one?” Louis pulled it out from under his other one and now Pascal could see it was not just green. There were black, grey, white and purple stripes on it too. “It’s for Reg! See, it’s got these stripes and then I drew this heart above it, cause even though he doesn’t want a boyfriend like Siri, he still gets all the love he needs from me and Siri and you and Re and the rest of the team!” Celeste came over and placed a kiss on his cheek, “He loves you too, mon lapinou. They look amazing.”

He walked over to his older son, he didn’t know if he could be any prouder of them. “ I made one for Kasey, Nat and Alex.” Marc stated as he handed his father one of the cards he had made. There were three heads on it, one with long blond hair and hoop earrings, one with light brown hair to the shoulders and one with dark red hair, freckles filling up more of his face than the light pink his son had used for all their skin tones. Pascal was about to compliment it, when Marc gave him another one. “This one is for Nado and Kuny. I made it full of hearts in pan and bi colours, because you mentioned that once and I really hope it’s right.” before Pascal could even think his next thought a stack of cards was placed in his hands. “And then for some of then we didn’t know, but we didn’t want them to feel left out or asume, so I made some rainbow ones for Pots, Talker, Sergei, Timmers, Cookie, Bluey, Ringer, Volley, Wrangler, Sunny and Foxy.”

Pascal was a bit shaken, not only that his son even remembered everyone of his teammates, without missing a single one, but at him having crafted every single one of them a rainbow card. “They will all love them, I’m sure. They look incredible.”

He saw Adele look down at her cards and moving them slightly out of view. Frowning, he walked over to her, “Did you also make something, ma colombe?” She nodded, pulling out one of her cards and holding it up for him to see. It was beautiful. She had glued blue magazine cut outs on the top of the cards, which got lighter til they reached a white in the middle and to green ones at the bottom. Over it there was a heart which read “Some hockey players marry their PT, get over it” He didn’t know how she had thought of that, but it was true and funny and so Adele, Pascal had no choice but to love it.

“These are all perfect. Thank you so, so much for making them, they’ll all love them I’m sure. We can tell them to all sit down in the living room so you can give them their cards later, sounds good?” They all nodded, seemingly happy with the idea. “Now let’s clean up before they come here and don’t recognize the place, eh?” All of them nodded as they got up, Celeste telling them where to start and how to clean it.

Pascal moved to the kitchen with the tray of now empty glasses Celeste had no doubt gotten them earlier, when he heard something behind him. Once he had carefully placed down everything he turned around to see Adele standing in the kitchen, arms behind her back. He waited for her to speak for only a moment until she did. “So, you saw that we made cards for everyone, because they’re all great and we should let them know we love and support them, right?” Pascal nodded, letting her continue, “But there’s one more card I made,” Pascal had counted before, his children hadn’t forgotten a single one of his teammates, he had no clue what that last card could be for. “because it’s important that they know they’re loved right?” she continued, “that’s a really important part of all of this. So,” she slowly pulled out a card from behind her back, “this one is for exactly that. Just because someone’s not queer or questioning, doesn’t mean they’re not important this month. It’s not the main focus of it, of course, but having allies is a big part of being able to be proud of who they are for some people. I wanted to thank you for that. I could have gotten some homophobic dad like some of my classmates, but I’m really, really glad I got you.”

I

A little hand tugged on the hem of Dumo’s sweater. “Papa?”

He glanced up from his crossword and smiled, turning to lift Adele into his lap. “Bonjour, mon papillon. Do you want to help me?”

“Is Sirius okay?”

Dumo paused. His first instinct was to lie—how could he even begin to explain the complexity of the situation to a seven-year-old?—but the brightness in Adele’s big eyes told him she already knew the answer. She was a smart kid. She deserved to know at least some of the truth. “He’s having a tough day,” Dumo said quietly as dishes clinked in the other room. No matter what he and Celeste tried, Sirius insisted on washing up. “He’ll be alright.”

A little furrow appeared between Adele’s eyebrows. “Is it because of us? Because he misses his family now?”

“No, sweetheart, not at all. He just…” The words were impossible to find. “He just doesn’t like holidays very much.”

She worried her lower lip for a moment before wiggling free of his arms. “I’m going to make him feel better.”

“Adele—” Dumo made a grab for her, but she had already scampered out of reach and around the corner to the kitchen. In the three days since Sirius had come back from Thanksgiving, he had already reverted back to his shut-down ghost of a self.

“Excuse me, please,” Adele announced. The sink shut off. “Are you sad?”

That’s certainly one way to do it. Dumo craned his neck to watch their reflections in the glass of the back door without revealing his position. Sirius was always more comfortable around the kids than himself and Celeste. “Quoi?” Sirius asked, turning to face her.

“Are you sad? You’ve been frowny.”

Silence fell for a few seconds. “Ouais, a little,” he said at last. “But I’m not sad because of you.”

“That’s good. Papa said so, too. He says you don’t like holidays, but that’s so silly, because we were just talking about Christmas last week.”

“I like some holidays,” Sirius said haltingly. There was a rustling noise; Dumo saw him pick Adele up and settle her on his hip with a thoughtful tilt to his head. “I’m very excited to spend Christmas with you.”

“Pinky swear?”

“Pinky swear.”

“Good. I want you to spend all the holidays with us. Will you be frowny on Christmas, too?”

“I don’t think so.” Dumo could practically hear Sirius’ smile. “See? I’m already better.”

“Will you open presents with me? Marc and Louis always open theirs together, and Mama and Papa, but Katie’s too little to do it with me. I like playing Santa, but it means I hafta go last.”

In the glass, Dumo saw Sirius press a raspberry kiss to her cheek until she burst into giggles; his grin lit up the whole kitchen. “Of course I will.”

II

“You have to smile,” Adele groaned. “You’re scaring off all my customers.”

Sirius raised his eyebrows. “Pardon?”

She turned a big, sunshine grin on him, pressing her fingers into her dimples to exaggerate it. “Big smiles! You like being here! These are the best cookies you’ve ever had! Everyone should try them!”

“They should!” Sirius agreed. “I don’t know why you’re upset!”

She heaved a sigh and clonked her forehead on his stomach, knocking some of the air out of his lungs. “You look scary when you don’t smile.”

“I do not.”

“You do! You’re built like a brick wall and when you’re thinking, you get frowny!” She adjusted her Girl Scout vest and straightened up. “You have to be perky and fun and the cutest little kid on the block.”

“…I might have a problem with the last part.”

“Then I’ll be the cutest little kid on the block,” she said, exasperated.

Sirius narrowed his eyes at her. “Do you think I’m scary?”

“No,” she snorted. “But other people do.”

“No way.”

“Yes, way. Mama looks surprised when her face relaxes, but you’re, like, looming.”

“So…you’re upset with how my face looks?” he teased, dodging her attempt to poke his ribs.

“No, I just don’t need a bodyguard to sell cookies!”

“That’s literally what I’m here for,” he laughed, tugging one of her pigtails until she stuck her tongue out at him. “Alright, madame, I’ll try to be ‘perky’ and ‘fun’.”

“The air quotes weren’t necessary,” she informed him with great gravity, though she couldn’t hide the smile on her face as she turned back to the people walking across the street. “Hey, lady, do you want cookies?”

III

“So,” Logan began, then shoved another handful of pretzel sticks into his mouth. “Dating the captain. What’s that like?”

Sirius looked up from his phone and glared. “I am sitting right next to you.”

“Shush. Loops?”

Remus sighed and let his head fall toward Logan’s armchair; he was starting to get lightheaded from laying upside-down for so long, but it was doing wonders for his lower back and sore feet. “Dating the captain? Pretty cool, to be honest.”

Logan made a noise of disagreement. “I don’t believe that for a second. Does he make you run drills in the basement, or is it just a cuddle party all the time? ‘cause there’s no in-between.”

“Tabarnak,” Sirius muttered, flicking Logan’s ear as he headed out of the room. “You two gossip like middle-schoolers.”

“It’s really not bad,” Remus mused as he stretched one leg toward the curtains. “I’m the one who likes running drills, so he’ll usually watch tape while I do that for a bit. Cuddles aren’t as frequent as you might think. We’re boring.”

“Mmm, with some wild nights in there, eh?” Logan wiggled his eyebrows and Remus chucked a pillow at him, though it did not seem to deter him. “I seem to remember hearing a certain conversation about a new bedframe?”

“A headboard,” Remus corrected, pulling a face at him. “And it was already almost ten years old. You’re just jealous.”

“Ugh, for him? Nah. Peanut might have carried a torch—”

“You’re kidding. Did he really?”

“Oh, yeah,” Logan snorted, as if it was obvious. “But he has better taste now. Honestly, though, I’m glad you two are together. And that you’re happy in your boring domesticity, even if you’re breaking beds left and right.”

“Headboard, and it was one time.”

“Did I ever tell you about—”

The front door slammed open; both of them jumped as something heavy hit the ground with a thud. “Sweetheart?” Celeste asked from the living room, audibly concerned. Remus’ heart dropped and he shared a worried look with Logan, who was already on his feet. “Adele, what’s wrong?”

“Adele?” Logan called, his voice laced with worry. Remus’ heartbeat picked up as Adele appeared in the doorway to the living room with tears streaming down her cheeks, only to throw herself into Logan’s arms with a harsh sob. “Woah, hey, qu’est—”

“Boys are so stupid!” she half-shouted, half-wailed. “And I hate them!”

Remus stood there, useless, as she tore away and sprinted for the backyard, yanking the door shut with a bang before tearing across the grass. “Logan?” he asked after a moment. There was no protocol for this. He had absolutely zero experience with preteen breakdowns, and the Dumais kids always fell into Logan and Sirius’ territory. He could count on one hand the number of actual conversations he had had with Adele.

Logan’s nose twitched; he opened his mouth to speak, but the words died in his throat when Sirius came through the doorway and made a beeline for the yard without a single glance to either of them. “She’ll be okay,” Logan murmured as Sirius walked slowly to the swings, where Adele was sitting on the bench seat with her arms wrapped tight around herself.

“She seems pretty upset.”

Logan shook his head, not taking his eyes off the pair. “I’ve got Katie, he’s got Adele.”

“Yeah?” Remus asked, surprised. Logan and Katie were famous for their bond, two peas in a pod. As far as he knew, Sirius was equally close with all the Dumais kids.

“Apparently, they bonded from day one,” Logan said with the flicker of a smile. Outside, Adele laid her head on Sirius’ shoulder and pulled his arm around her back, burrowing into the softness of his hoodie as he gently rocked the swing with his foot and gave her a light squeeze. “They’re both quieter. Oldest children and all that. You really didn’t know?”

“I…” Remus trailed off and shook his head. “You and Katie are much louder about it, but that makes sense. He talks about all of you all the time., I guess I just assumed it was different since he was so closed off at first.”

Logan hummed. “Ask about it sometime. Dumo always likes talking about them.”

Sirius and Adele walked back after a few more minutes, still attached at the hip as Sirius jostled her lightly and pulled half a smile from her; they entered the house in relative quiet and Adele wrapped her arms around him one more time. “Love you,” she said, voice muffled in his sweater. Sirius rubbed her back in slow circles until she pulled away and padded down the hall to the bathroom

“Children are so mean,” he said as soon as the door closed.

“Then I’m glad she has you.” Remus curled his hand around Sirius’ shoulder and felt him relax beneath his touch. “Is she alright?”

“Some little asshole told her nobody would want to date her because she plays hockey.”

Remus’ heart panged. “How can we help?”

“Teach her how to throw a right hook,” Logan suggested. In a rare turn of events, Remus couldn’t tell whether he was joking or not; from the look on his face, it seemed to be the latter.

“She’ll be okay, baby,” Remus said. Sirius didn’t look away from the closed door. “Kids have always been mean, but the best thing you can do is be there for her, which you just did. It’s hard and it sucks but as long as she knows you love her, that’s enough.”

“Does she?” Sirius asked, almost too quiet for him to hear.

Remus looped an arm around his waist and kissed the top of his shoulder. “She does,” he promised. Without a doubt.

IV

Sirius drummed his hands on the steering wheel with a wide smile. “I’m so excited,” he said for the fourth time in twenty minutes.

“I can tell,” Remus said, still reading through his missed messages. The cell service in customs had been abysmal, and for some godforsaken reason his dad desperately needed to send paragraph updates on his hunt for the perfect holiday lights. Some days, Remus wondered whether he was happiest with his family or in Home Depot.

“I missed them.”

“Yep.”

“And I can’t let Logan get there first.”

“Sure thing, honey. Speed limit.”

“Three weeks is a long time, did you know that?”

“Mhmm. Sirius, speed limit.”

“How do you manage being away from Jules for that long?”

“Very poorly,” Remus said as he typed out a quick response to his dad’s latest text. His mother would end him if he allowed their house to be decorated with anything green—in all honesty, he was starting to think she had a personal rivalry with the Snakes. They turned onto Dumo’s street and he felt the excitement radiating off Sirius kick up several notches. “Deep breaths, love.”

“Ah, fuck me, the cubs are right behind us,” he muttered, pulling over to the curb and unbuckling his seatbelt.

“Sirius!” Remus spluttered.

“What?”

“Turn the fucking car off before you get out!”

Sirius heaved a sigh and pulled the key out, then took off toward the house at a jog; Logan went sprinting past the passenger window half a second later, and Remus heard Finn shouting after him from the still-running car to no avail. They reached the front steps at the exact same time, shouldering each other in an attempt to reach the doorbell first.

“—want to push it!” Logan insisted, kicking Sirius lightly on the shin as Remus headed up the walkway.

“You did it last time!” Sirius argued.

“I’m the youngest, so I get to do it!”

“That’s not how it works!”

The door swung open just as Logan tried to bodily shove Sirius out of the way, only to be put in a scrambling headlock. Dumo regarded them with an exhausted look on his face. “Bonjour, Loops.”

“Hey, Dumo,” Remus called from the base of the steps. “Nice night, eh?”

He shrugged, ignoring the two grown men roughhousing on his welcome mat. “Not bad.”

“Are les enfants here?” Logan panted, trying to heave Sirius into the nearest hedge.

Dumo rolled his eyes and opened the door the rest of the way. “Kids, we have visitors!”

Thundering footsteps echoed off the walls; Logan and Sirius tripped over each other in their haste to get inside. “Tremzy!” Katie shrieked, launching herself into his arms with a beaming smile.

Sirius hoisted Adele straight off her feet and shook her back and forth as she wrapped her arms around his neck in a tight hug. “You were gone forever!” she laughed. “We missed you!”

“What am I, chopped liver?” Logan teased as he set Katie down and opened his arms for a hug of his own. Marc and Louis slammed into him, nearly toppling him in the entryway.

“No, no, no!” Katie giggled as Sirius blew a raspberry kiss on her stomach, only to mimic it on his cheek a moment later. “You’re all scratchy.”

“Tough for kisses,” Remus agreed. “You should tell him to shave, Katie-bird.”

Katie squished his cheeks in her hands with a solemn frown. “No more porcupines.”

“You got it,” Sirius confirmed. “What do you think, Adele?”

She pulled a face and they all dissolved into laughter, exhausted from the long roadie and unable to contain their happiness. It was a tradition Remus was coming to know as he spent more time with the team—Logan and Sirius just couldn’t resist swinging by the Dumais house after a long trip, no matter how drained and battered they were. It was a combination of a competition and a family reunion, and the kids loved it every time.

“Are you staying the night?” Marc asked, lazily tying Sirius’ shoelaces together.

“Not tonight, no.”

“But it would be fun,” Louis said from his place hoisted under Logan’s arm, legs dangling.

“They’re tired, boys, be nice.” Celeste winked at Sirius as he leaned down so she could kiss his cheek before moving to Logan to do the same. “We watched all your games. You were wonderful.”

“Merci, Celeste.” The corners of Logan’s eyes crinkled, and Remus saw Finn and Leo share a smile behind him.

Sirius craned his neck to look back. “Oh, she wasn’t talking to you.”

Remus hummed under his breath as he finished the last clasp on the front of his vest, listening to the occasional giggle fits from the Dumais kids in the living room. Hopefully they weren't terrorizing Hattie too much--her chameleon costume made it hard to hide under the table.

"Are you almost done out there?" he called, buckling the belt around his waist. I should wear blue more often, he thought as he headed out of the bathroom with a final glance in the mirror. "Guys?"

"Wait, wait, wait, I'm not done!" Adele yelped, though she was too late.

Sirius beamed at him from his spot on the floor. "Bonjour."

“Why are we braiding things into his hair?” Remus laughed. "Does Rapunzel usually have flowers?"

"Because of the boat scene," Adele scoffed, as if it was obvious. "Have you even seen the movie?"

"It's the most romantic part," Sirius informed him with a glimmer in his eye as Katie tucked a dandelion behind his ear. Her fluffy Anna dress stood out against his purple vest quite nicely, in Remus' opinion.

Adele blew a strand of hair out of her eyes and leaned back to admire her work. "Done. I think I got a little glitter in there, though. Sorry."

"You've got plenty to spare," Sirius assured her as he stood and stretched. "What do you think, Flynn Rider? Ready to go trick-or-treating?"

"Eugene Fitzherbert," Adele corrected.

"Apologies."

Remus tilted his head to the side. Sirius didn't wear a lot of purple, but the vest contrasted well with his white shirt and his brown pants. Adele had done a great job of braiding his shoulder-length hair and interspersed the perfect number of flowers from the garden in it. "You look fantastic, love. All you're missing is the chameleon."