This is a follow-up to "A Night to Remember". Azel/Edin is discussed, but Edin does not actually appear in this fic.


It was hard not to jump to conclusions when Azel came down for breakfast wearing the same clothes he'd worn the night before and a deliriously happy expression. And having acted as Azel's only parental figure for a decade, Alvis could only go by his first instinct.

"You finally went ahead and did it, didn't you," he said. Azel blinked.

"Did it?"

"If I was your father I would ground you, but since I'm only your brother, all I can say is I hope you used protection," Alvis said. The empty plate in Azel's hand fell to the floor with a crash.

"What?!" Azel scrambled to sweep up the broken pieces. "You think Edin and I...that we...well, we didn't! You know we're both against premarital sex!" he sputtered.

"Azel, I've seen that look enough times to know when someone's just gotten laid," Alvis laughed. "If you didn't have sex with her, why do you look like you're about to float away?"

Azel dropped the broken plate into the trash pail and took another from the dish cabinet; the timer went off as his English muffins finished toasting.

"We spent a wonderful night together," he said, taking the butter out of the fridge, "and I finally asked her to marry me."

Alvis swallowed his mouthful of coffee harshly to avoid choking, wincing as it burned his throat.

"That's even worse! How can you think of getting married at your age?!"

Azel buttered his English muffins, poured himself a glass of iced tea, and sat down.

"We're not getting married right away. We talked to her parents, and we all agreed a long engagement was the best way to go," he explained.

"How long?"

"Well, planning a wedding's going to take a while and then there's college, so...we're thinking next summer," Azel laughed. "You should've been there last night, her mother was so happy I thought she would burst, and even her father finally came around!"

Alvis regarded his brother with a look of pure bemusement.

"When I left for college, I couldn't wait to meet all kinds of different girls and at twenty-four I'm still not ready to settle down!" he said. "Yet here you are, already intending to be tied to the same girl for the rest of your life?"

"I know, we're so weird." Azel took a bite of his English muffin, chewed thoughtfully, and swallowed. "But that's what I've always liked about us."

"You realize most people don't stay with their first love for the rest of their lives," Alvis pointed out. "Remember Deirdre?" Azel felt a sting of sympathy; Deirdre Heim had been his brother's first great love, but they'd broken up after being accepted to different colleges. They'd lost all contact and last Azel heard Deirdre had married Alvis's old rival Sigurd Chalphy.

"Yes," he said, "but Edin and I aren't you and Deirdre."

"I'm aware of that," Alvis sighed. "I've seen you together and your love for each other couldn't be more obvious. But keep in mind that love doesn't pay the bills, and it doesn't keep a roof over your head and food on the table." He took a sip of coffee. "I hope you two know what you're getting into."

Azel's face fell, and Alvis was suddenly overcome with compassion.

"However," he continued, "don't be afraid to ask me for help if you need it. If you ever have a problem you can't solve on your own, I'm here. You tell Edin that, okay?"

"Alvis...a-are you sure about that?" Azel asked. "I mean, you're always telling me adulthood's all about taking care of things for yourself..."

"It is, and I wouldn't deprive you and Edin of any valuable learning experiences," Alvis chuckled. "But there's a difference between self-reliance and stupidity. I don't want to find you two living in some crappy apartment with three kids, a bunch of unpaid bills and some nasty disease."

"Brother..." Azel smiled, feeling as though his heart would burst. "Thank you...I, I'll tell Edin as soon as we're allowed to talk on the phone again!"

"Speaking of which, I'm going to have to ground you for the weekend," Alvis said.

"Oh, come on! When you thought we had sex you weren't going to ground me!"

"That's different."

"How?!"

"I don't know, Azel, it just is."

And that was how Azel spent his weekend helping sort through his brother's old magazines.