A/N: This is a coda fic for "Are You My Mother." You do not need to read that fic to enjoy this one, but you will miss a couple things. Additionally, it has a prequel titled "Boy, Look at You, Looking at Me," which works as a prequel to AYMM as well. I hope this gives you some warm fuzzies because Blaise & Dean warm my heart.
Dean Thomas was confused.
The morning and bit of afternoon they spent at Malfoy Manor was nice. His first Christmas with Blaise and they were already married! Though that was one holdover from the war: don't wait, because time moves even if you don't. His new family was coming together well, though it nearly killed Dean not having seen most of his sisters in nearly a year. He figured his mum would come 'round eventually, but she had already missed so much. Dean had since dated Blaise, broken up with him twice, and gotten married.
There were so many times I wished Mum was there to lean on, to guide me through.
Blaise was nervous as hell. Odd, because Blaise was never nervous. He had taken them to Queens Park, across the street from a lovely house.
"I must confess, I hoped your gift to me would involve the two of us in less clothing," Dean admitted.
"I believe you will like this better," Blaise replied.
Better than sex with you? Not bloody likely.
Dean turned his gaze on the house across the street. It was perfectly inconspicuous, nothing terribly special, made of light tan bricks. The windows were trimmed in white, the front door was painted navy, and it was partially shrouded from view by large bushes in the front. He said,
"That is a gorgeous house. Great neighborhood, too. Hermione used to live a couple streets over but she's selling the house. Is that why we're here?"
"No, we are not here for Granger," Blaise said.
"Not that your flat isn't wonderful, because it is. I love living there with you, but eventually … One day … We could have a house like this. Do you think we could take a look around sometime?"
"Probably. I know the owners." Blaise smiled, confidently this time.
"You do? Fantastic! Do you think they'll move within the next couple years?"
"No." Blaise shook his head and laughed. "I hope they will not move out of this house for many, many years to come."
"I don't understand," Dean said. "Why are you smiling at me like that?"
"Because I bought this house for you."
Dean's mouth fell open a bit. He glanced back at the house and his eyes went wide.
"When you said the present was too big to wrap …"
"I meant the house," Blaise said.
"I thought you were making a dick joke," Dean admitted. Blaise laughed.
"It has everything. I did it all the Muggle way, and they even did up the telly for me. I had to ask you fifteen times what the thing was called and you never caught on because you're so bloody stupid. Had some help from my favourite Muggles, of course."
Dean turned to face Blaise again. He said,
"I never thought you would move. Much less to here. London. England."
"All for you," Blaise admitted. "I love you more than anything, anyone, and the only thing that makes me happy anymore is you being happy. I want to do that for you, give you all that I can and even be there for you when you are unhappy."
"I was willing to give all this up. I would have moved to Italy if you had just asked me!" Dean insisted. "I don't want to have you regret marrying me because you can't spend enough time at home."
"Dean, I can make a home anywhere you are. And I would never make you leave your family, you know that!"
"Well they've done a great job of leaving me," Dean said. Blaise bit down on his lip as if to stop from saying something before he continued.
"I know the thing you want more than anything is to have your own family, and you cannot do that in my flat. At least, not the way you want to. There are four bedrooms, an office for me, and a basement where you can put a workshop. Our home should be a place for everything you love, and that includes your work."
"Oh my God, I can't believe it!" Dean shouted. He kissed Blaise on the cheek and said, "This is the best Christmas present ever."
"Do you mean it?"
"Of course. 'Course I do."
"Good. I love you so much and I still do not believe I can be a good father, but I know that you will make up for every fault I have. Every time I see you with kids I think of how you would give that up for me, and this is my way of saying you no longer have to."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes!" Blaise insisted. "I am serious, of course I am serious. I spent a month without you, wondering whether it was even possible for me to get you back. I am not sure you understand how painful that was for me. I have never had anyone love me like you before. Never, not even Draco. Then it was ripped away from me and I just wanted to die. Before then, I never understood what I had in you. I lost sight of how much I needed you and of how you changed my entire life."
"I still can't believe you did all this," Dean said, gesturing back toward the house.
"I never want you to wonder whether if you had just waited for someone else that they could give you a real family. The kind you always envisioned having, with a house and a yard and a child."
Dean was pretty sure Blaise could see his heart in his eyes. Blaise looked worried but proud of himself, too. They had talked about fathering a child one day, whatever path that took, but Dean always thought Blaise was only half-serious. In the back of his mind he thought Blaise meant, "Perhaps when we're old and grey we can get a dog."
Dean pulled Blaise into a tight hug. Blaise wrapped his arms around Dean's waist and if it wasn't so cold Dean would've been happy to stay just like that for hours.
"You are going to be a great father. You don't have to do this for me, getting to be with you every day is more than enough. Though I do wish my mum was here to see it. And I am curious to know what the Grangers got me. A bit scared, though, since they nearly made Malfoy cry."
"Oh, they outdid Draco's gift," Blaise teased. He dropped his hold on Dean, grabbed Dean's hand, and pulled him across the street toward the house. He opened the gate, waited for Dean to follow him up the steps, then opened the front door.
"Welcome home," he said.
Dean stepped into the foyer and it was like he'd done it a hundred times before. It was comfortable and simple, perfect. The house also smelled like Christmas dinner. Dean turned to Blaise and asked,
"Are you cooking something?"
"You know me better than that," Blaise said cockily. "I never leave a hot stove unattended."
Dean followed the scent of Christmas ham to the kitchen. As soon as he walked through the door, he was accosted by a loud,
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS!"
All eight of his family members were there. Dean counted every single one of them just to make sure, and then he started to cry.
"Oh my God!" he shouted mostly at his mother who was standing beside a ridiculously large oven. "Are you really here right now?"
"Yeah, baby," she said with a smile, "we're all here."
Dean couldn't help himself, he ran over to give her a hug. A long hug that had Dean crying into her shoulder as she patted him on the back. Dean sputtered out,
"You missed so much and I missed you so much and I am so happy to see you."
"I missed you too, baby. I never want you out of my life, alright? You are my son and I love you no matter what. I mean it, no matter what."
Dean grinned, teary-eyed, because he never thought he'd hear those words from his mother. He wiped his nose with his sleeve and motioned for Blaise.
"Well, I suppose you should meet Blaise, then. Blaise, this is my mum, Hana. Mum, this is Bl—"
Before Dean could finish, his mum had Blaise by the chin and turned his face side-to-side.
"My God, you're gorgeous, aren't you?!" she said. "Dean, if you'd sent us a photo of him we would have come 'round a lot sooner. Look at you … Bit thin 'round the middle but then so is Dean."
Blaise was blushing. Absolutely crimson! Dean had little time to admire it before Lou jumped onto his back.
"Is this him?" she shouted.
"Of course it's him!" Leilani shouted back. She appeared at Dean's side and said, "Otherwise Dean has a lot of explaining to do."
Leilani looked most like their mum. She had the same dark curls, large round nose, and friendly eyes. Lou was taller and gangly, much more like her father but she had Mum's laugh. Dean held onto Lou's hands, happy to just feel her. It had been ten months since he'd been allowed to see them and they were all there. It still didn't feel quite real.
"I thought Ava was exaggerating when she said he was the most beautiful man she'd ever seen. Never thought she was lowballing it!" Kinsley said as she threw her arm over Leilani's shoulders. Kinsley had started university in the fall so Dean had seen her a couple times. She was the smallest of the older four, barely five feet tall, but she kicked arse in football. Perhaps because of that or because they had the same sort of smile, Dean saw himself most in Kinsley.
Blaise looked down at the floor and stuffed his hands in his pockets, like everyone he ever saw didn't immediately see how gorgeous he was. Dean awkwardly cleared his throat and started the introductions.
"This is Lou," he said, pointing to the fourteen-year-old on his back. "Leilani and Kinsley here, and you know Ava already." Ava waved at Blaise from the fridge where she was trying to hide the fact that she'd already dug into the pie. Dean told Lou to hop off and he knelt down to hug the twins.
"Come here, I missed you two so much!" He gave them each a tight squeeze. "Is Mum still trying to put you in matching outfits?"
"Yes!" they groaned simultaneously. Dean laughed.
"Blaise, this is Olivia and Amelia. Don't bother trying to tell them apart, I've been trying for twelve years," he teased. Blaise smiled shyly at them and then Dean picked up his youngest sister.
"This is my favourite little girl on the whole planet, isn't that right, Zara?" She nodded and Dean asked, "Where's my kiss then?" She gave Dean a quick kiss on the cheek and Blaise lifted his hand to cover his heart for a moment. Dean smiled at him and said, "Zara here is eight. Zara, do you want to meet Blaise?"
"Yes," she said, holding her arms out toward him. Blaise took her hesitantly and she said, "Do you like my brother?"
"I like him very much," Blaise said. "He is my favourite person in the whole world."
"Blaise. I like your name."
"Zara is a pretty name, too."
"If you're married to my brother, does that mean you're my brother now, too?"
Blaise's head snapped up to look at Dean, who felt himself go numb as everyone turned to look at him.
Oh no, they don't know.
"Um …"
"Married?!" Ava shouted. She stormed over and grabbed Dean's left hand before holding it out for everyone to see. "Married! You got married and didn't invite me?!"
"To be fair, he had no notice," Blaise said.
"None," Dean agreed.
"All those football matches I spent next to him explaining how it works and you didn't invite me?!"
"He proposed and we were married five hours later!" Dean insisted. "I didn't have any time at all. We got married at Malfoy Manor and—"
"You got married where?!" his mum shouted. "Oh, no, that simply won't do. You need a do-over, no, no, no. Absolutely not."
"Mum, really, it was nice!" Dean insisted.
"How many people were there?" Kinsley asked.
"Besides us? Seven," Blaise said.
"All the family you have and you only had seven guests?!" Ava asked.
They continued squabbling about planning Blaise and Dean's second wedding while Blaise stood awkwardly off to one side talking lowly with Zara. Eventually, they settled down for dinner and watched a crappy movie on the telly. Mum dragged Dean in to help with dishes about halfway through.
"Are you happy, Dean?" she asked as she poured soap into the basin.
"I really am," he replied. "Still kind of in shock that Blaise wanted to be with me at all."
"You sell yourself short. People love you because you are a nice person, you're loyal, and God knows you deserve more than life has given you," his mother said. "And your stepfather will come around."
"I don't care if he does."
"Well, we need you back home. Not all the time of course, but the kids miss you. You're their brother, after all. You were right, I don't care that you're gay, not in the least bit. Your stepfather does and I try to stand by him in everything. We've gotten through a lot together, and I thought I owed it to him to agree."
"What changed your mind then?" Dean asked.
"About four weeks ago a woman phoned me, introduced herself as Abigail. She said she knew a man by the name of Blaise Zabini who was dating my son. Now, of course, what sort of person would know that except one who knows you? So I listened."
"So this is their gift to me." Dean nodded. "I understand now."
"Yes, Abigail Granger. That name sounded familiar but I am getting older and lots of things are familiar these days. She said her daughter, Hermione, was friends with you. Friends with Harry Potter, so I knew she was one of you wizards. But you talked about Hermione and I remembered she was one of the ones with normal parents and it made more sense.
"We got to talking about the struggles of having magical children. Then she started talking to me about Blaise Zabini. You know he does needlepoint at their home during the week?"
Dean laughed.
"Yes, he loves Mrs. Granger."
"Well she told me about you two, about how in love you are. I thought she was overstepping at first, but I understand now the role she has in your lives. I got a little jealous because maybe if I had been a proper mother to you that role would be mine."
"Blaise and I help care for her grandson," Dean said.
"Yes, and she told me Blaise had purchased this house for you."
"He did this a month ago?!" Dean asked, surprised.
"Yes. Abigail said that we should get together sometime, so I went over to their house for dinner. Just me, you know, your stepfather doesn't want anything to do with the magical world."
"You can say it, Mum, he doesn't want anything to do with me."
"That's not true, baby. But Abigail convinced me it was the right thing to do, that a proper mum would be there for you like this even if it's hard. We talked a lot about her daughter and that Draco boy—"
"Oh! What did she say?" Dean asked.
"She thinks they will be married within the year, though her husband prays that won't happen."
"Mr. Granger likes Draco, I think," Dean said. "Deep, deep down. Way down."
"But that Draco boy went through a lot in the war, and I know you did, too. The last thing you need is for me to cast you out for being in love with, quite honestly, the most beautiful young man I've ever seen. So I was wrong and I am sorry for putting you through the past ten months. We are giving you another wedding, there is no arguing that."
"Whatever you say, Mum, I just … I really needed you here. I do, I swear, there were so many times I would wake up and think, 'Mum would know what to do.' Blaise and I had a rough go of it. We had a massive row and broke up for a month before he showed up at Draco's place and proposed to me on a whim. Literally, Mum, he showed up with the officiant and asked me to marry him."
"And you said yes?" she asked, surprised.
"Of course!" Dean exclaimed. "Of course I said yes, he's the first person I ever dated that makes me feel like … " Dean trailed off with a heavy sigh. "I dunno, Mum. He's the first person that acknowledged how much work it takes to love people, and I love so many people. I try to be a good person and most everyone takes advantage of that but Blaise never did. If he could see that from the off, how could I not love him, too?"
"I think you picked a good one, baby, I really do."
.oOo.
It was the best Christmas Dean could imagine. After sending Dean's family home, he and Blaise broke in their new bed. As Blaise rolled off and plopped on the mattress, Dean wondered what this day would have been like if Blaise had never walked into his shop. He couldn't imagine life without Blaise in it.
"Perfect end to the best day I have had in ages," Blaise said, lending voice to Dean's thoughts. He knew Blaise only had about two minutes of consciousness left; it had not been a gentle ride that evening. All Dean wanted to do was touch, so he pressed a kiss to the back of Blaise's hand and said,
"What was your last best day, then?"
"Our second date," Blaise replied without hesitation.
"Hmm? Why is that?" Dean asked. Blaise threw his arm over Dean's middle and nuzzled into Dean's shoulder.
"Because I spent the first half of the day looking forward to seeing you again. Then I got to kiss you again, watch you play football without a shirt on, then I took you home to shag you."
"Then made me dinner," Dean added.
"Mmm …" Blaise mumbled as he closed his eyes. "You will make such a great dad."
Dean chuckled.
"You really are serious about this child thing."
"Can see it … Little girl, your curly hair, your cute smile, taller than all the other kids."
"A girl?" Dean asked.
"Thought with all your sisters that's what you'd want."
"I love Scorpius too. And Al and Jay."
"Boy then," Blaise whispered. He yawned and his breathing started to even out.
"Yes, a little boy. You'll teach him how to cook, to speak Italian, and I'll teach him football."
"Stupid sport," Blaise mumbled.
"You love it," Dean insisted.
"Love you," Blaise said as sleep finally overtook him. Dean sighed contentedly.
"Love you too, Blaise. Happy Christmas."