Disclaimer: Anything you recogniize from Harry Potter or its related works is not mine.
Author's Note:I'll say this now: I have never in my life been to Paris. I've been to France, but that was a youth group kind of thing and didn't really involve much in the way of restaurants or cultural experience (some rock climbing though, and caves). As such, I consulted google. And recipes in English, which is why I apologize for any butchering of the French language (I'm talking about the beef here. Really, I'm sorry.). I think that's it. I should say though that my weekend is going to be very busy and I can't say if I'll manage to update Sunday or Monday. I might be able to do another of those Sunday-night-falling-asleep-while-typing updates. We'll see. I might update Sunday morning even, but I just thought I'd warn you. So... you've been warned :) Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty
Thursday, July 28th 2022
Paris, France
"That looks good," Eva leans across the table to taste Lysander's beef bourguignon. He swats at her hand, but that doesn't stop her and Grace giggles quietly when he picks up his fork and the two of them start to have a fork fight.
Across from her, Lorcan groans quietly. "I don't know them. Really, I don't. They just happen to look like me," he mumbles and Grace turns to him grinning.
"You have to admit they're amusing," she says.
"They're embarrassing, that's what they are," Lorcan buries his face in his hands. "We could go sit somewhere else?"
He looks hopeful as he peeks at her through his fingers and she is entirely too tempted to say yes, but before she can so much as open her mouth, Eva has grabbed her arm and Lysander has turned his fork on his brother. "You are attempting to take the lady away from us, you fiend!" he proclaims dramatically and Lorcan groans even louder than before as he puts his head on the table. "I demand a duel!" Lysander pokes Lorcan's shoulder with his fork.
"Lysander," the younger of the brothers says slowly, "are you drunk?"
"They've been like this for at least three weeks," Eva whispers into Grace's ear suddenly.
"Really?" Grace turns to her best friend.
Eva nods. "It's almost as if they're fighting, but not quite. It's so weird. Like… so weird."
"Do you think they might be upset with each other?"
Eva shrugs. "I wouldn't know why."
Grace bites her lip thoughtfully and turns back around to watch the brothers squabble. She leans against Eva's shoulder. "So this has been going since school ended?" The blonde girl hums an affirmative and rests her head on top of Grace's. "Have they had an actual fight or just this… thing?"
"Just stuff like this," Eva says softly.
Their hushed conversation is interrupted by Lysander. "What are you two whispering about?"
"Nothing that you need to concern yourself with," Eva's retort is instant. "Also, your food really is good." Lysander rolls his eyes in reply and mutters something that Grace can't quite hear as she offers a rather unhappy looking Lorcan a smile. He returns it with a crooked smile of his own and Grace stubbornly ignores the butterflies in her stomach as she turns her attention to her own food.
The rest of their dinner is a far more quiet and far more peaceful affair and when the time comes to leave, long after the sun has set, Lorcan insists on paying with a genuine smile on his face. They let him, because they all know that Lorcan can out-stubborn all of them when he feels like it, and the four of them make their way back to the hotel in companionable silence. Grace's arm is linked with Eva's as they follow the boys down the cobbled road and Grace rather thinks that this is a moment to treasure.
Thank you for readiing! I hope your day is going well :) if you have the time, please let me know what you think (via review or PM, whichever) :)