ORIGINAL: "DINNER PARTIES" (SLASH)
Meeting your boyfriend's family can be tricky. Especially when they're a bunch of crazy fairies.
Last story featuring the boys from Riddles and Fairies. Hope you enjoyed them!
"She's drunk already."
Gavin blinked and turned to look more closely at the fairy walking in front of them. "How can you tell?" he asked, turning back to Klem, who just looked at him like he was an idiot.
"How can you not tell?" Klem asked in disbelief. He gestured toward his sister in disgust. "She's weaving!"
Gavin bit back a giggle and tugged on Klem's arm until the troll stopped. He ignored his lover's death look and glanced around for a quiet alcove. He spotted a space beneath the stairs to their right and pulled Klem with him. "I think you're overreacting a little," he said calmly, proud when he managed not to wince at the look Klem shot him. It seemed like all the time he'd been spending with his prickly boyfriend was paying off. Right on.
His wandering thoughts were recalled to the present by Klem's low growl. "Overreacting?"
This time Gavin did wince. "Alright. That was possibly a poor choice of words. But I'm just trying to say it's not going to be that bad. What's to worry about? It's just dinner. Five hours from now we'll be back in our own house." He waggled his eyes suggestively. "And in our own bed."
His charm had little effect on Klem, who simply growled again and bared his teeth. "Is that all you can think of?" he hissed.
Gavin sighed and stepped forward to wrap his arms around the troll's waist, pleased when Klem glared but didn't move away. Oh yes. Progress was definitely being made. "It will be fine. I promise. So what if she's drunk? Mel is hilarious when she's drunk."
"No she's not," Klem protested, tugging at the arms wrapped around his middle. Gavin just smiled to himself and moved even closer, placing his head on Klem's shoulder. If Klem were really serious about removing him it wouldn’t take much-the troll was frighteningly strong. The tugging was half-hearted at best, though, and he finally gave up with a huff and seemed to melt all at once. "You only think she's funny because she makes fun of me."
Gavin continued to smile, nuzzling Klem’s neck a little. He watched as the skin turned a darker green. It always amused him how easy it was to make the gruff troll blush. "Well yeah. But don't worry. I'll steer the conversation away from you. They'll be so distracted by me they won't even think to tease you.” He pulled back and smiled brilliantly, then began to pull Klem out of their hiding space.
They had barely moved, though, when they were interrupted by a high-pitched squeal. “There you are, Klemy!” Gavin winced as Mel peeked under the stairs. He could feel Klem tense against him and he squeezed his boyfriend’s hand reassuringly.
“Heya, Mel!” he greeted cheerfully. He almost laughed out loud as he watched her squint with first one eye then the other. Only the dour looks he was positive Klem was casting at his back kept him silent. She was definitely drunk, though. And dinner hadn’t even started yet.
“Sooooo.” She drew the word out, ending on a slur. “If you two are done making out, it’s time for dinner.” She winked sloppily at Gavin. “Everyone’s dying to meet the pretty little human fairy.” She didn’t wait for a reply, but instead turned on her heel and walked back toward the dining room.
Gavin stood for a moment, watching her place each foot carefully in front of another. She stumbled halfway down the hall, but her wings gave a flutter and she managed to right herself. A resigned sigh sounded behind him, and he turned to see Klem frowning at his sister’s receding back. “Come on,” he murmured, tugging Klem’s hand. “Let’s go meet your family.”
Klem rolled his eyes but followed obediently.
An hour later found him seated at a small dining room table with Klem’s family. He was surprised at first at the austerity of the room. Klem was technically a prince after all, which made his parents a king and queen. But it seemed as though Klem had gotten his taste for simplicity honestly. There was not a throne or a gilded object in sight.
“Sweetheart, use a spoon. Don’t just drink straight from the bowl. And wipe your mouth, please. You’re dripping all over yourself.” Gavin tried not to stare as His Majesty, King Fneer the first, gave one last audible slurp of his soup, then set the fine porcelain bowl down. Gavin was suddenly quite glad that Klem had not inherited his father’s dining habits. He loved his half-troll’s green skin, frighteningly strong biceps, and grouchy temper, but there was something to be said about a little fairy blood to temper some of the more…uncivilized aspects of his heritage.
Not to mention the teeth. Klem’s were quite impressive as they were, but his father’s were something else entirely. Gavin couldn’t imagine kissing a mouth so full of sharp points.
King Fneer grunted as he held his spoon awkwardly, but his wife merely smiled fondly at him and turned back to Gavin. “So, my dear, you are Klem’s roommate?” She knew he was, of course. She probably even knew they were dating (more or less). But her wide, cornflower blue eyes gazed at him raptly as she brushed her pale hair out of her face. Her sky blue wings opened and closed slowly as she waited for him to answer.
He blinked after a moment, realizing he’d been thinking in crayon colors. “Yes, ma’am. I mean Your Majesty. I am.” He slid a glance across the table, but Klem was no help. His boyfriend was glaring balefully at his own soup.
The fairy queen’s wings rustled again, drawing his attention back. She was seated regally on an elaborate stool at the foot of the table. He’d noted that most of the chairs in the palace were backless. It had never occurred to him that wings might dictate furniture choice so clearly. “Oh, you don’t have to be so formal. You can call me Arianna.” She smiled encouragingly at him until he finally nodded. “And how did you meet my son?” she asked.
Klem coughed, prompting his sister to pound him on the back. “What’s wrong, Klemy? Soup go down the wrong way?” Mel giggled at the sour look her brother shot her, then reached for her drink. She had maintained a giggly sort of inebriation all night, but she never seemed to move into the obnoxious drunken state Klem so obviously feared. He watched as she tossed back a shot of something pink, then raised her eyebrows at Gavin. “Mama has a good question. How did you two meet?” she asked curiously, then hiccupped.
Gavin looked a little helplessly at Klem again, but the troll was obviously avoiding his gaze. “Nothing much to tell, really. I ended up under his bridge and was given the opportunity to answer his riddles.” He smiled a little as he remembered their first meeting and decided to gloss over the fact that Klem had been drunk at the time. “When I got them all correct he told me I could have any prize.” Gavin shrugged a little self-consciously. “I needed a place to stay, so I asked to be his roommate for a little while.”
Arianna looked as though she was going to question him further, but a small laugh interrupted whatever she was preparing to say. Gavin turned his gaze to the other family member sitting at the table. “Klem asked you his riddles?” the man laughed.
Gavin frowned at the fairy prince sitting next to him. The man was extremely pretty, with his hair, eyes, and wings colored in shades of green like his sister. He could see the resemblance to Klem in the prince’s face, smooth lines and soft edges where Klem was sharper and rough. Gavin was pretty sure that most people would choose Prince Sefam as the more attractive brother, but he was having trouble finding the fairy anything other than annoying. The man had been making eyes at him all night, and Gavin would swear he felt a small foot rub up his leg at some point. He tried to pull away a little more without drawing attention to the fact.
“I didn’t know Klem was still asking those silly things,” Sefam murmured fondly. Klem shrank a little further into his seat, and Gavin was suddenly overcome with the urge to smack the fairy prince. The man didn’t seem to realize he was being an ass, but that was really no excuse.
Before he could say anything, though, King Fneer had sat up a little straighter. “Sefam. Enough. At least your brother is doing something with his time. Other than shopping, that is,” he amended, looking pointedly between Mel and Sefam. They both had the grace to blush.
Fneer turned his gaze back to Gavin and smiled. Gavin smiled back, determined to ignore all those teeth. How did the frail-looking queen deal with them?
“You must excuse my children, my dear,” Arianna spoke from the other end of the table. “They are a little flighty. It’s the fairy blood, you see.” She fluttered her fingers delicately. “I used to be just as bad. It took my husband’s influence to cure me of the worst of my vanity and selfishness. I am still holding out hope some nice young creature will come along to straighten my children out.” Her eyes narrowed shrewdly as she looked him over. “Though it looks like Klem might have found his match.”
Gavin felt Sefam give a start beside him. “You?” he asked incredulously. “With Klem?”
Gavin frowned at Sefam’s baffled look. “And why not?” he responded. “Why is that such a hard thing to believe?”
He noted with a sort of pride that his nasty look must be improving, because the fairy prince’s eyes widened and he shrank back a little. Must be all that exposure to Klem.
Mel giggled again even as she waved for another drink. “Oh I think they’re very well suited,” she opined sagely. She elbowed her brother a little. “Instead of keeping him grounded, Gavin brings out his more fairy qualities. Right, Klem?” She nudged him again, causing Klem to growl a little.
“Either way, it seems that the human’s influence has been good for our youngest,” Arianna mused aloud. Her husband grunted in confirmation and Mel beamed.
“Well,” Sefam said slowly, and Gavin was pleased to note the man was no longer sitting quite so close. “Klem hasn’t stormed off or overturned the table yet this evening. That’s always an improvement.”
“You know I’m sitting right here, don’t you?” Klem snarled, glaring at each in turn.
“Yes, dear,” Arianna said absently. “So Gavin, tell us a little more about yourself. Mel mentioned you’ve been doing her hair lately?”
---
“I’m not going back there.”
Gavin laughed softly and looped his arm around Klem, pulling the troll close. “It wasn’t nearly as bad as you think it was. By the time the main course was served you were even joining the conversation.”
He grunted. “You’re taking their side.”
“Whining doesn’t suit you, you know. Trolls shouldn’t whine. It’s just weird.” Gavin gave an oof as Klem’s elbow connected with a rib. He bent over, clutching his middle.
Klem immediately sprang to his feet. “Gavin? Gavin, are you ok? I’m sorry! Did I hit too hard?” Klem knelt in front of him, worriedly grabbing his hands. Gavin grinned and threw himself at the troll.
“Gotcha!” he laughed as they landed in a heap on the floor, Klem sprawled beneath him. He took advantage of the situation and leaned forward to kiss his grouchy half fairy prince, humming in pleasure when Klem finally kissed him back.
Eventually he pulled away a little and began nibbling the pointed ear ridge closest to him. “They’re your family, you know,” he breathed softly. “And they do love you, even if they are insane.” He pulled back, smiling at Klem’s closed eyes and relaxed face. “It’s not so bad,” he continued as Klem squinted one eye open and grunted. “And you have to go back eventually.”
“No I don’t.”
“Yes you do,” Gavin murmured as he bent to kiss his troll again. “Your mother wants to hire me to do her hair.” He laughed as Klem bared his teeth in irritation. It was never boring having a fairy troll prince for a boyfriend.
Last story featuring the boys from Riddles and Fairies. Hope you enjoyed them!
"She's drunk already."
Gavin blinked and turned to look more closely at the fairy walking in front of them. "How can you tell?" he asked, turning back to Klem, who just looked at him like he was an idiot.
"How can you not tell?" Klem asked in disbelief. He gestured toward his sister in disgust. "She's weaving!"
Gavin bit back a giggle and tugged on Klem's arm until the troll stopped. He ignored his lover's death look and glanced around for a quiet alcove. He spotted a space beneath the stairs to their right and pulled Klem with him. "I think you're overreacting a little," he said calmly, proud when he managed not to wince at the look Klem shot him. It seemed like all the time he'd been spending with his prickly boyfriend was paying off. Right on.
His wandering thoughts were recalled to the present by Klem's low growl. "Overreacting?"
This time Gavin did wince. "Alright. That was possibly a poor choice of words. But I'm just trying to say it's not going to be that bad. What's to worry about? It's just dinner. Five hours from now we'll be back in our own house." He waggled his eyes suggestively. "And in our own bed."
His charm had little effect on Klem, who simply growled again and bared his teeth. "Is that all you can think of?" he hissed.
Gavin sighed and stepped forward to wrap his arms around the troll's waist, pleased when Klem glared but didn't move away. Oh yes. Progress was definitely being made. "It will be fine. I promise. So what if she's drunk? Mel is hilarious when she's drunk."
"No she's not," Klem protested, tugging at the arms wrapped around his middle. Gavin just smiled to himself and moved even closer, placing his head on Klem's shoulder. If Klem were really serious about removing him it wouldn’t take much-the troll was frighteningly strong. The tugging was half-hearted at best, though, and he finally gave up with a huff and seemed to melt all at once. "You only think she's funny because she makes fun of me."
Gavin continued to smile, nuzzling Klem’s neck a little. He watched as the skin turned a darker green. It always amused him how easy it was to make the gruff troll blush. "Well yeah. But don't worry. I'll steer the conversation away from you. They'll be so distracted by me they won't even think to tease you.” He pulled back and smiled brilliantly, then began to pull Klem out of their hiding space.
They had barely moved, though, when they were interrupted by a high-pitched squeal. “There you are, Klemy!” Gavin winced as Mel peeked under the stairs. He could feel Klem tense against him and he squeezed his boyfriend’s hand reassuringly.
“Heya, Mel!” he greeted cheerfully. He almost laughed out loud as he watched her squint with first one eye then the other. Only the dour looks he was positive Klem was casting at his back kept him silent. She was definitely drunk, though. And dinner hadn’t even started yet.
“Sooooo.” She drew the word out, ending on a slur. “If you two are done making out, it’s time for dinner.” She winked sloppily at Gavin. “Everyone’s dying to meet the pretty little human fairy.” She didn’t wait for a reply, but instead turned on her heel and walked back toward the dining room.
Gavin stood for a moment, watching her place each foot carefully in front of another. She stumbled halfway down the hall, but her wings gave a flutter and she managed to right herself. A resigned sigh sounded behind him, and he turned to see Klem frowning at his sister’s receding back. “Come on,” he murmured, tugging Klem’s hand. “Let’s go meet your family.”
Klem rolled his eyes but followed obediently.
An hour later found him seated at a small dining room table with Klem’s family. He was surprised at first at the austerity of the room. Klem was technically a prince after all, which made his parents a king and queen. But it seemed as though Klem had gotten his taste for simplicity honestly. There was not a throne or a gilded object in sight.
“Sweetheart, use a spoon. Don’t just drink straight from the bowl. And wipe your mouth, please. You’re dripping all over yourself.” Gavin tried not to stare as His Majesty, King Fneer the first, gave one last audible slurp of his soup, then set the fine porcelain bowl down. Gavin was suddenly quite glad that Klem had not inherited his father’s dining habits. He loved his half-troll’s green skin, frighteningly strong biceps, and grouchy temper, but there was something to be said about a little fairy blood to temper some of the more…uncivilized aspects of his heritage.
Not to mention the teeth. Klem’s were quite impressive as they were, but his father’s were something else entirely. Gavin couldn’t imagine kissing a mouth so full of sharp points.
King Fneer grunted as he held his spoon awkwardly, but his wife merely smiled fondly at him and turned back to Gavin. “So, my dear, you are Klem’s roommate?” She knew he was, of course. She probably even knew they were dating (more or less). But her wide, cornflower blue eyes gazed at him raptly as she brushed her pale hair out of her face. Her sky blue wings opened and closed slowly as she waited for him to answer.
He blinked after a moment, realizing he’d been thinking in crayon colors. “Yes, ma’am. I mean Your Majesty. I am.” He slid a glance across the table, but Klem was no help. His boyfriend was glaring balefully at his own soup.
The fairy queen’s wings rustled again, drawing his attention back. She was seated regally on an elaborate stool at the foot of the table. He’d noted that most of the chairs in the palace were backless. It had never occurred to him that wings might dictate furniture choice so clearly. “Oh, you don’t have to be so formal. You can call me Arianna.” She smiled encouragingly at him until he finally nodded. “And how did you meet my son?” she asked.
Klem coughed, prompting his sister to pound him on the back. “What’s wrong, Klemy? Soup go down the wrong way?” Mel giggled at the sour look her brother shot her, then reached for her drink. She had maintained a giggly sort of inebriation all night, but she never seemed to move into the obnoxious drunken state Klem so obviously feared. He watched as she tossed back a shot of something pink, then raised her eyebrows at Gavin. “Mama has a good question. How did you two meet?” she asked curiously, then hiccupped.
Gavin looked a little helplessly at Klem again, but the troll was obviously avoiding his gaze. “Nothing much to tell, really. I ended up under his bridge and was given the opportunity to answer his riddles.” He smiled a little as he remembered their first meeting and decided to gloss over the fact that Klem had been drunk at the time. “When I got them all correct he told me I could have any prize.” Gavin shrugged a little self-consciously. “I needed a place to stay, so I asked to be his roommate for a little while.”
Arianna looked as though she was going to question him further, but a small laugh interrupted whatever she was preparing to say. Gavin turned his gaze to the other family member sitting at the table. “Klem asked you his riddles?” the man laughed.
Gavin frowned at the fairy prince sitting next to him. The man was extremely pretty, with his hair, eyes, and wings colored in shades of green like his sister. He could see the resemblance to Klem in the prince’s face, smooth lines and soft edges where Klem was sharper and rough. Gavin was pretty sure that most people would choose Prince Sefam as the more attractive brother, but he was having trouble finding the fairy anything other than annoying. The man had been making eyes at him all night, and Gavin would swear he felt a small foot rub up his leg at some point. He tried to pull away a little more without drawing attention to the fact.
“I didn’t know Klem was still asking those silly things,” Sefam murmured fondly. Klem shrank a little further into his seat, and Gavin was suddenly overcome with the urge to smack the fairy prince. The man didn’t seem to realize he was being an ass, but that was really no excuse.
Before he could say anything, though, King Fneer had sat up a little straighter. “Sefam. Enough. At least your brother is doing something with his time. Other than shopping, that is,” he amended, looking pointedly between Mel and Sefam. They both had the grace to blush.
Fneer turned his gaze back to Gavin and smiled. Gavin smiled back, determined to ignore all those teeth. How did the frail-looking queen deal with them?
“You must excuse my children, my dear,” Arianna spoke from the other end of the table. “They are a little flighty. It’s the fairy blood, you see.” She fluttered her fingers delicately. “I used to be just as bad. It took my husband’s influence to cure me of the worst of my vanity and selfishness. I am still holding out hope some nice young creature will come along to straighten my children out.” Her eyes narrowed shrewdly as she looked him over. “Though it looks like Klem might have found his match.”
Gavin felt Sefam give a start beside him. “You?” he asked incredulously. “With Klem?”
Gavin frowned at Sefam’s baffled look. “And why not?” he responded. “Why is that such a hard thing to believe?”
He noted with a sort of pride that his nasty look must be improving, because the fairy prince’s eyes widened and he shrank back a little. Must be all that exposure to Klem.
Mel giggled again even as she waved for another drink. “Oh I think they’re very well suited,” she opined sagely. She elbowed her brother a little. “Instead of keeping him grounded, Gavin brings out his more fairy qualities. Right, Klem?” She nudged him again, causing Klem to growl a little.
“Either way, it seems that the human’s influence has been good for our youngest,” Arianna mused aloud. Her husband grunted in confirmation and Mel beamed.
“Well,” Sefam said slowly, and Gavin was pleased to note the man was no longer sitting quite so close. “Klem hasn’t stormed off or overturned the table yet this evening. That’s always an improvement.”
“You know I’m sitting right here, don’t you?” Klem snarled, glaring at each in turn.
“Yes, dear,” Arianna said absently. “So Gavin, tell us a little more about yourself. Mel mentioned you’ve been doing her hair lately?”
---
“I’m not going back there.”
Gavin laughed softly and looped his arm around Klem, pulling the troll close. “It wasn’t nearly as bad as you think it was. By the time the main course was served you were even joining the conversation.”
He grunted. “You’re taking their side.”
“Whining doesn’t suit you, you know. Trolls shouldn’t whine. It’s just weird.” Gavin gave an oof as Klem’s elbow connected with a rib. He bent over, clutching his middle.
Klem immediately sprang to his feet. “Gavin? Gavin, are you ok? I’m sorry! Did I hit too hard?” Klem knelt in front of him, worriedly grabbing his hands. Gavin grinned and threw himself at the troll.
“Gotcha!” he laughed as they landed in a heap on the floor, Klem sprawled beneath him. He took advantage of the situation and leaned forward to kiss his grouchy half fairy prince, humming in pleasure when Klem finally kissed him back.
Eventually he pulled away a little and began nibbling the pointed ear ridge closest to him. “They’re your family, you know,” he breathed softly. “And they do love you, even if they are insane.” He pulled back, smiling at Klem’s closed eyes and relaxed face. “It’s not so bad,” he continued as Klem squinted one eye open and grunted. “And you have to go back eventually.”
“No I don’t.”
“Yes you do,” Gavin murmured as he bent to kiss his troll again. “Your mother wants to hire me to do her hair.” He laughed as Klem bared his teeth in irritation. It was never boring having a fairy troll prince for a boyfriend.