Hey guys! Happy Friday! I uploaded a third story yesterday called 'All Good', another fourtris fic cuz I just can't get enough LOL. It would mean a lot if you read it and gave some feedback!
I have a pretty succinct update schedule for my 3 stories now and I'm going to try and update biweekly! If you have any questions lmk! And thanks for the overwhelming amount of feedback on the last chapter! ILY all sm! Happy reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own Divergent
December 27th: Tris
"So are we doing this?" I ask Leo quietly, grinning.
"Fuck yeah, I'm not sure what's taking Caleb so long." He knocks on his door again.
Caleb wrenches it open, looking irritated. "I said I was coming!" He snaps at us.
"Shhhhh," I hiss, "We don't want to wake anyone up."
He rolls his eyes at us and closes the door again. I spy Nathan creeping down the corridor, trying to be as quiet as possible.
"Did you get the goods?" I grin at him.
"Yep." He responds, returning my smile. He holds a bucket of ice water in one hand and then in his other he has a small bag with 2 cans of whipped cream and a megaphone.
"I call ice water." Leo and I say at the same time.
"You're always ice waterrrr," He whines.
"You like being megaphone! It's the most important part!" I counter back.
"No, the most important part is throwing the bucket of water on him after he's recovered from megaphone and whipped cream."
"That's true. That's why I'm iced water." I say, grabbing the bucket from Nathan's hand.
Leo sighs, admitting defeat, and grabs the megaphone. Caleb's door creaks open and he steps out, dark circles protruding from his eyes. He's definitely not a morning person. "I just don't understand why we have to do this so early." He complains, hastily grabbing a whipped cream can from Nathan's bag.
"Because we want to catch him while he's asleep." I tell him.
"How does he even sleep soundly on this night anymore?" Leo asks with a chuckle.
"Well, we haven't done it in a few years. He probably thinks he's safe now." Nathan says, grinning mischievously.
"So are we all set to go?" Caleb asks, he still looks exhausted but a look of excitement has taken over his face as well.
"We're just waiting on Owen," I mutter, "He's new to this tradition so he better not let us down."
As if on cue, Owen emerges from the other side of the hallway, holding up our digital camera. He gives us the secret signal and we do it back to him. It's a go.
We begin tiptoeing down the hallway ever so quietly with our battle gear in hand. To an outsider we would probably look ridiculous in our fluffy pajamas, carrying normal household items like they're weapons. But we're on a mission.
Caleb is at the front of the line and when we approach Ezra's door he turns the knob as silently as he can and then ushers us all into the room. Ezra is on his bed, fast asleep. His mouth hangs open obnoxiously, and he's lying down on his stomach, one arm strewn across his bed, his other arm cushioning his head.
We all grin at each other, knowing exactly what to do, and Leo begins to count down from 3 as him, Caleb, and Nathan approach Ezra's bed.
By the time he reaches 1, the megaphone is on and positioned right next to Ezra's ear. "Happy birthday Ezra!" Leo's voice rings out through the megaphone.
Ezra jumps awake and Caleb and Nathan spring into action fast, spraying his face and neck with whipped cream. I can't breathe from laughter, but I still manage to complete my task, dumping the ice cold water all over him.
It's not over yet, though, because I see the flash of the camera from my peripheral vision, letting me know that this moment is documented forever.
Ezra is sprawled across his bed, covered in whipped cream, water, and shame. While the rest of us can't contain our hysterics, he is breathing heavily, looking absolutely livid.
He takes his hand and wipes some water and whipped cream from his eyes. "Get. The fuck. Ouuuut!" He screams at us, loud enough for our entire neighborhood to hear.
We obey his wishes, exiting his room, still dying from laughter. On our way out we all call out some form of 'I love you' to him. He flips all of us off before getting up and slamming the door.
"That went well." Leo grins. Nathan shows us the photo he took of pitiful Ezra and we have to sit on the floor for 10 minutes after that because we can't move from how hard we're laughing.
All of the Prior's -minus Ezra- sit gathered around the breakfast table a couple of hours later. Us older kids are still grinning coyly at each other over our prank and our mother is looking at us disapprovingly. "I don't appreciate that, kids. I had to help Ezra clean his sheets and change them all morning."
"It's Prior tradition mom. We used to always do that on his birthday. And besides the look on his face was priceless, did Owen show you the photo?" Leo asks.
My mother's mouth twitches upwards in a way that lets us know that she did see the picture but she's not allowed to find it funny. "That's beside the point. No newly turned 19 year old should have to deal with your childish pranks! Especially on his birthday."
I shake my head. "He'll reminisce about that moment one day. We're creating lifelong memories mom."
"I will never reminisce about that moment." Ezra says coolly, striding into the room. He's already dressed for the day, which means he has plans to attend to.
"Oh, happy birthday, honey!" My mother stands up and gives him a kiss on the cheek and my father claps him on the shoulder. The younger Prior's who did not get to wish him earlier also say a happy birthday, and Anna babbles at him in greeting.
He smiles thinly at all of them, but glares at the rest of us.
"Oh, cheer up." Leo says. "We haven't done that since your 15th."
"Yes, and I was hoping that the tradition had died." Ezra comments, grabbing a piece of toast from the table and spreading jam over it. He doesn't sit down in his seat while he eats it.
"So, honey," my mother starts, desperately wanting to change the sour mood, "Where are you headed off to?" She gestures to his clothes.
Something flashes across my brother's face and then he shrugs nonchalantly. "Just celebrating during the day time with some school friends. That's okay, right?"
"Of course. Just make sure to be home by 6 because we're having your big birthday dinner!"
Ezra tries his best to muster up a smile, but I can tell that there's something that's troubling at him. "Yeah, sure thing, mom."
"Oh, and if you want to bring any more friends than the ones you've already invited, we'd love to meet them." My father adds, smiling kindly.
Now my brother really does look bothered. "Uh, yeah, of course. Uh, maybe. I'm gonna head out now, see ya!" He says in a rush, before hurrying away.
All of us look at each other concernedly, and I feel worry rising in me. I hope he's okay.
"What was that about?" Caleb asks, glancing to the spot where Ezra exited the dining room.
"Maybe just nervous about his big party tonight." Owen suggests. We all nod along at that even though we know that's not the case. Ezra has no problem being the center of attention, and while he doesn't like a lot of people, he's still good at socializing.
"So, Beatrice," my mother says, changing the topic from Ezra, "have you spoken to Tobias? How is he?"
"Um… no. Not since last night. I told him he should focus on spending time with his dad." I smile a bit.
On Christmas evening in Italy, Tobias's father took the first flight he could get back to Chicago to spend time with Tobias. He wasn't supposed to come back until after New Year's, but after their heartfelt call he realized he had a lot of time to make up for, and him and Tobias should try and repair their relationship.
I ushered Tobias home last night after his dad got in, and told him not to worry about calling me. I'm really proud of him, and happy for him. He deserves to have an actual connection with his father after all the loss they've dealt with. Hopefully they can reforge a good relationship.
"Well, that is so sweet," she smiles, "the caterers are getting here in a couple hours before Ezra's dinner so I want all of you to clean up around here so it looks tidy."
All of us nod and begin clearing our plates, but my mind remains on what Tobias might be doing with his dad, and what was troubling Ezra so much.
At about 3:30, I'm awakened by my phone ringing. The caterers are downstairs, setting up for Ezra's dinner, and I decided to go upstairs and take a nap.
I glance at the phone to see it's Tobias and I do my best to slide the green button before putting it to my ear. "Hello?" I grumble sleepily.
"Hey," I hear him laugh a little bit, "From the sound of it, I just woke you up?"
"Um… yeah," I rub a hand over my face, "It's all good, though. I was just really tired because we woke up early to do that prank on Ezra I was telling you about."
"Oh yeah! How'd it go?"
I laugh, "It went great. Owen can show you the pictures we got later. It was priceless. But anyways, how is everything with your dad?" I ask hopefully.
"It's going really good. We spent last night doing some of my mom's favorite winter activities together, and we made her favorite dinner. Chicken pot pie. Though neither of us have an aptitude for cooking so it tasted more… rustic, let's say. And then today we drove around Central Chicago, went out to eat, and I dunno… pretty simple stuff but it feels like we're keeping her memory alive, but in a happy way… sorry, sorry, I'm rambling."
"No, it's okay," I'm wearing a wide grin, "I'm… so happy that you're happy. You deserve it."
"I love you." He tells me, just like it's a plain fact, not like it's some revelation. I probably will never get used to the words leaving his mouth, though.
"I love you too… but come on, tell me more about your dad."
"Well, I dunno, we've been talking about mom a lot today, but like I said, not sadly. Just listing random anecdotes, you know how I do with you sometimes when you come over? We've been doing that, he told me some stories about how it was before I was born, and how they fell in love… but we've also just been talking casually. You know, about life. He tells me about work, Tiffany, and sometimes he'll sprinkle stories about mom in… just like it's casual. We aren't treating it like it's some taboo topic anymore. And we've also been talking about how it was like after she died, and he apologized for not handling it better. I guess… I dunno, I never expected to be having this conversation with my dad. So I sort of learned to shove all of these feelings down but… it feels so good. He lost her too, and we can finally talk and grow from it."
I feel myself getting teary eyed, like how I was the first afternoon when Tobias called Marcus, but I try to hold my crying back this time. He doesn't need any of that.
"I told him about you, too." He adds, shyly.
"Oh yeah? What'd you say?"
"Just that you're the best, and you and your family have helped me through a lot. I'd kind of like you two to get to know each other better, and for you to meet Tiffany. She's really great. They're interested in meeting you too."
"Well, of course, I'd be down. After all the time that you spend around my family it's only fair that I do the same with yours."
He's silent for a second, and then he says, "You know the one person I really wish you could meet isn't around anymore."
My heart pangs a little bit. "I know… I'm sorry. But I'm sure there's a lot of her in you and your spirit. When my dad's mom died, I remember my mom told him that even when someone's gone, they're still kept alive by the people who loved them. It's kind of cliche, but I bet your mom lives in you, more than you know." I tell him, and I hope that it was the right thing to say. I've never grieved for someone on my own, so I could only imagine.
He lets out a shaky breath, "Honestly… I really needed to hear that. Thank you." He murmurs.
"Hey, it's the truth… what are you up to right now?"
"Me and my dad just got home from a late lunch. I'm just taking the afternoon to relax."
"You're coming to Ezra's dinner tonight, right?"
"Uh, yeah." I notice his voice changes a little bit and I furrow my eyebrows. "But Tris, there's something I need to tell you." He says a bit seriously all of a sudden.
I grow more worried. "Oh? What is it?" I adjust the phone so it's closer to my ear.
"It's probably not a big deal, or maybe you already know and you just didn't say anything to me which I would understand… I don't want to betray his trust, though."
"Whose trust?"
"Ezra's." I feel my curiosity peak. Could whatever Tobias is talking about be why Ezra was acting so strange this morning?
"Just… what I'm about to tell you… I'd appreciate it if you kept it from the rest of your family. I don't think Ezra would like it spreading around."
I grow a little bit irritated at Tobias telling me what information I can and can't spread around regarding my siblings, considering that I don't even know what he's about to tell me. He seems pretty calm though, just a little bit nervous, so it shouldn't be that bad. "Okay…" I say slowly.
He sighs, "At lunch… at the restaurant, I saw Ezra. He was with someone. They were kissing."
I have a feeling this isn't where the story ends. "Okay, and?" I ask him.
"The someone he was with… it was a guy. He was kissing a guy." He blurts out.
"Oh." Is all I can say, feeling a bit shocked, as I try and put the pieces together.
"You didn't know?" He doesn't say it like it's a question, more like he's confirming something.
"No, I didn't." I say softly, though the more I think about it, it makes an awful lot of sense. I mean, not in a 'gay stereotype' sort of way, but just the way he's been acting this morning. Secretive, nervous. And throughout his life he never really showed an interest in girls, I can't remember him having any dates throughout high school.
I all of a sudden feel very self involved. Why did this never occur to me? To think that my own brother who I've known my entire life, may be going through something difficult like this? As far as I know, my parents would be fine with it. They aren't the discriminatory type but they're also a little bit ambiguous when it comes to these things but still, that's not the point.
I would imagine that coming out like that would be hard for anyone, even if your family is accepting. I try not to feel hurt that Tobias found this out about my own brother before I did, because it's not about me. I feel like such a fool for being shocked, though. I should be expectant and ready for any of my siblings to come out as anything that's not straight because that's real life and my family also has like 12 people in it. Statistically, at least 3 of us would be gay, but again, not the point.
The point is that I was letting my heteronormative views cloud my judgement while my brother has been dealing with his identity for years. I'd be willing to accept him with open arms, as I'm sure everyone else in the family would, but again, it's not about us. It's about him, and when he's comfortable telling us.
"It doesn't really change who he is, you know?" Tobias says, and I smile.
"Yeah, I know. Thanks for telling me. I won't tell anyone else. I won't even bring it up to him. He deserves to have a good coming out moment to all of us… whenever he's ready."
"You're a really good sister." Tobias tells me.
"No… I'm just a decent human. I hope the reason he's not keeping it from me is because he thinks I wouldn't accept him though."
"I don't think that's it." Tobias reassures me.
"He didn't see you at the restaurant, did he?"
"I don't think so… but hey, I gotta go shower and get ready for dinner tonight. I'll see you then. I love you."
"Yeah, I love you too, can't wait." I smile.
For the next hour I remain in bed, scrolling through my phone, watching some netflix, and texting back and forth with Christina. I hear a knock on my door.
"Come in!" I call out, not looking up from my device. The door squeaks open and it's Leo.
"Ezra's home." He says.
"Oh, is he?" I try my best to remain casual, despite the new information I learned about him today. It doesn't change who he is, it's just a fact that I didn't know about him until today. He's attracted to other men.
"Yeah, he wants to talk to all of us." Leo tells me, waiting to gauge my reaction, to see if I'm confused as he is. I put on my best 'playing dumb' face and stand up.
"Okay, let's go." I head out in front of him and let him follow me from behind.
The rest of the family is already all seated on the living room floor and Ezra stands in the center of the room, looking nervous as ever. As soon as Leo and I take our seats he begins talking.
"So… you've probably all wondered why I summoned you," he attempts a laugh but it sounds more like a cough, "and why I was acting so odd at breakfast this morning." A few people nod, and when his eyes cross over mine nervously I do my best to give him an encouraging smile, even though he doesn't know that I know.
"Well… what I'm about to tell you, I hope it doesn't make you think differently of me. I'm still the same me. In fact, I hope it helps you feel like you understand me more. I know that the littlest ones," he looks in the direction of Chase, Carson, and Oliver, "may not understand what I'm going to say… and Anna won't grasp it at all. But I thought that it was important that I tell everyone, my family who I love so dearly, that I… am gay. And before you say anything, yes I'm sure, I've known for a long long time, and it's taken a lot of courage for me to get up in front of all of you and tell you." He lets out a huge breath.
Everyone seems fairly surprised. Then after a few beats, Chase is the first one to speak. "Does that mean two boys kissing?" He asks.
My jaw drops just a little bit and I look to Ezra who is laughing. The rest of us start laughing along with him. Way to break the tension Chase. "Um, yeah bud, it does. And it's normal." Ezra tells him.
Chase shrugs, "Okay." He says.
"So you kiss boys?" Oliver asks him.
Ezra shoots a nervous glance towards our parents before looking back to Oliver. "Yeah, I do. But see, it doesn't really change anything about me."
"I know," Oliver responds.
"Why are you making it such a big deal then?" Carson asks, this time.
"Because… it's not really expected sometimes… people have gotten more accepting of it over time but still, it's usually expected that I would only like girls, unless I stated otherwise."
This just seems to confuse Carson even more, "Well why?" He asks.
"A lot of reasons, bud. Most of them are dumb, though."
Carson nods as if this is an acceptable answer.
"I mean it really can't be a shock," Caleb speaks up next, "statistically 3 people in this family would actually be attracted to members of the same sex." He states factually. I almost laugh at the fact that he's replicating my thoughts from earlier in a much more data like way. "But, I'm glad you felt comfortable telling us." He says to Ezra. "We love you no matter what."
My heart warms a little bit, it's not often you see Caleb get all fuzzy. Ezra grins at him. "I love you too, Caleb."
Caleb wrinkles his nose.
"No wonder you wouldn't go on any double dates with me, then." Leo says next. He's wearing a pondering expression on his face that makes it seem like he's assessing the past. "If I'd have known I would've brought a gay guy. But I love you, man. I'm always here to support you." He grins ryely at Ezra and Ezra grins back.
"I don't know if I'm supposed to give a speech or anything," Owen starts next, "But I support and love you and all that stuff. And if anyone doesn't just because of that, then they suck."
We all chuckle a little bit. That's Owen, underwhelming as always. But we love him anyway.
"Same," Nathan says, "I looked up to you a lot growing up, you know? So it's nice to see you so brave and open about who you are. I'm glad you're my brother."
This one earns a chorus of "awww"s from all of us, and I actually feel tears prick at my eyes because of my love for my amazing family. I realize then that I should probably say something as well, even though this wasn't exactly a surprise to me anymore. Still, I owe him kind words and support.
"You're amazing, Ez," I say, "I'm here for you a hundred percent, and there are tons of lucky guys in the world now, because they get you as a potential suitor."
Ezra laughs a little, shaking his head. "These are awfully kind words coming from the people who cruelly pranked me and photographed it this morning."
"Hey, don't think that just because we know you're gay now that we're gonna stop doing that. We stop for nothing." Leo says with mock seriousness.
We all laugh a little at this but our laughter dies down when we realize we're waiting for commentary from our parents. We all glance to them and I try to read their expressions. They aren't giving much away.
My father speaks first, "Son, you've always been such a light in my life. I know I'm not always the best at showing it, especially because now you're off at college and I've got work and 9 other beautiful children. Being a father of a big family is fun, exuberant, and never lonely. I know that it can make it hard to connect with each of your kids individually, though. Especially when I'm always out trying to make money to support all of you, I often feel as if I'm never with you enough…" He shakes his head and takes off his glasses. "This isn't about me, though. I'm just trying to say... that I'm so sorry if the reason you felt like you couldn't tell me this is because of how distant I was. It was never my intention for it to get like this, and it was selfish of me to not think that you might have been feeling so alone, and have no one to share it with. I love you so much. No matter what. And you can always come to me any time, with whatever burden you may be carrying. I just want to make that clear."
Ezra nods solemnly. "I know that, dad. It's not anyone's fault. Truthfully, this is just when I felt ready. I feel like I'm finally secure enough in myself and my mindset to where I can be honest. And, yeah, some parts of growing up may be tough, but it was never horrible. Mostly because I had a huge, wonderful, supportive family by my side."
My dad smiles lovingly at Ezra, and then all attention turns to my mother. I notice her eyes are watering a little bit, and she wipes a tear away.
"I'm sorry…" She sniffles, "I'm just getting emotional at all the family love being passed around. Ezra… My second born. You are so special in so many ways. You make everybody around you laugh with your cynical humor, you don't love large but you do love hard, you're fiercely loyal and protective of all your friends and family. You're the boy who would walk your sister to the bus every morning just to defend her from bullies, you're the boy who got suspended multiple times in high school for getting into fights because you were standing up for someone, and you're my son. It's so unbelievable that I gave birth to a human being as righteous and gallant as you, and now I'm watching you become your own person. And I could not be prouder. Who you choose to love seems so insignificant compared to all of those things about you, but I do know how hard this world has made it for people to be themselves. It's a part of you, just like all those other things I said. And never in my life would I not want the whole you." Tears are running down both her and Ezra's face now and she gets up from her spot on the couch to embrace him.
Slowly, all the Prior's circle around them, and we embrace each other in a group hug, laughing and crying. I'm so grateful that I've grown up surrounded by so much love.
When we all pull away from each other, Ezra says, "If it's okay with you, I'd like to bring my boyfriend to dinner tonight. He's been eagerly waiting to meet you guys…"
"Of course!" My mother beams, "We'll set up an extra place."
"Who is this fellow?" My father asks.
"Ummm… his name is Kai. He goes to University with me, he's an engineering major." Ezra says bashfully. I can't remember the last time I've seen Ezra be bashful.
"We are just so excited to meet him." My mother says. "Okay, kids, time for showers and getting ready. Your brother's dinner starts in about 1 and a half hours."
I smile as I head up to my room to get dressed. Tonight should be fun, surrounded by my wonderful and supportive family
It seems as if a hell of a lot more people than Kai were invited, I muse, as I step around my house trying to get past guests who I don't even recognize. There are a few circular tables set up in the sitting area now. A large one in the center, and then 5 others surrounding it. This new dining hall looks elegant and esteemed. It's Ezra.
The tablecloth is a pure white color, and the dishes look like fine china. I spot a giant portrait of the birthday boy hanging in the center of the wall and I scoff. Then I notice placecards on the tables. He really went all out.
To my surprise, mine and Tobias's cards are at one of the small table's on the side. We are seated next to Caleb, Susan, Chase, Carson, and Oliver. This does make a little bit of sense, I suppose, because he invited so many people and he surely does not want to spend his birthday eating with the same family members that he always does.
I go to the center table and see Ezra's name and Kai's name but the rest of the names I don't recognize besides my dad's, my mom's, and Anna's. I'm assuming that my other brothers are sitting with the friends that they invited then.
I'm trying to get through the crowd of rambunctious college students to use the ladies' room when I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around, and there is Tobias, grinning at me.
My face lights up and I press a kiss to his mouth. "Hi! You look very handsome!" I say, gesturing to his white collared shirt and dress pants.
"Not too bad yourself." He remarks and I shove him playfully, before dragging him along with me out of the crowd. He presses his hand to my abdomen and whispers, "No, you look good, Tris." In my ear as we walk away. I shiver with delight.
Without thinking I pull him into the bathroom with me, because that's where I was planning on heading anyways. "Oh." He says, glancing around. "I mean, I've never done it in a bathroom but if you wan-"
I smack his chest lightly. "No, you idiot. I just wanted a… private place to talk."
"Mhm," He says disbelievingly. "Nice cover, Tris."
I laugh a little, "No, for real. Guess what?"
"What?" He sits down on the closed toilet and stretches his legs out.
"Ez came out to us today."
"Really? That's great then. Did your parents take it well?"
"Uh, yeah, the whole family was really supportive. Honestly a memorable day for the Prior's… how about you?"
He fiddles with the rings on his fingers. "Not much, I already told you what me and my dad were doing. After I called you, Tiffany came over and we played some scrabble… it was so weird, me and my dad haven't done anything like that in years. When I was heading out for the party they were on their way out to dinner."
I kneel down in front of him and take his hands in mine. "I'm glad you had a good day, then."
He grins at me and kisses my forehead. "This party is so fucking chaotic, I thought it'd be more of an intimate gathering."
"I know, but I guess Ez has a lot of college friends and he goes to college in the area so… also by the way, we're at one of the side tables with Caleb and Susan and my little siblings."
"Wow, we're not even important enough to make it to the main table." Tobias shakes his head with mock disappointment.
I laugh a little and slide one of his rings off. "These are pretty sexy," I comment, "Where'd you get this one from?"
He laughs a little and pulls me up onto his lap, so we both sit facing the same direction on top of the closed toilet. I glance at our reflection in the mirror and feel humored at the sight of us like this.
"Most of them are just for the aesthetic… but this one," he slides a simple silver band off of his middle finger, "was my grandpa's on my mom's side. Apparently it's been passed down in the family for years, though." He rests his chin and my shoulder and presses kisses onto my neck.
"Did you know your grandparents on your mom's side?" I ask.
I feel him shake his head. "No, they both passed away when I was very young. My dad's mom is still alive, though. She's in a home… she lives close to his brother's family so they take care of her."
"So you have cousins?" I ask, curious to know more about Tobias's family.
"Yes, I have 2. They're both like 10 years older than me though so we were never that close."
"Mmm… well now you have the Prior's," I remind him.
I can feel him grin against my neck. "That I do." He begins to pepper kisses along my jaw and then makes his way up to my cheek. "I love you so much," he sighs in my ear.
My heart skips a beat everytime he declares that. I can't help it, and I'll probably never be used to it. I turn my head toward his and peck him on the lips. "I love you too. So much."
He grins and traps me in a deep kiss, our mouths molding against one another intensely. He pulls away after a couple minutes and murmurs, "Remember what I was saying about the bathroom earlier?"
I roll my eyes and hop off his lap, shoving his chest gently in the process. "Yeah, you ruined it."
"Hey! It's a valid question." I sigh, glancing at my reflection in the mirror. My face is flushed and my hair is a mess. While I fan myself, I also try to fix my hair, and then I pull my dress down a few inches because Tobias loves to get handsy.
I pull him up next to me and run my fingers through his hair, before flattening his shirt and redoing a couple of his buttons. "I think we're presentable again. We should probably get back out there."
He pouts, but follows me back into the crowd. As we re-enter the sitting room, we find that most people are seated now, and Tobias and I find our table.
Everyone else is sitting in their places at our table and Caleb glances up at us as we sit down. "There you guys are… what took you so long?" After he sees the look on me and Tobias's faces he says, "You know what? Forget it, I don't want to know."
"Hello, Susan. You look nice." I comment politely to her. She sits next to Caleb in a pretty and modest yellow dress.
"Thank you, Beatrice. So do you. And hello, Tobias. How are you?" Susan's polite exterior is almost draining sometimes, because I feel like I have to be careful with my words around her. I try to be nice though, because I know she means well.
"Mmm?" Tobias looks up from the thumb war that he and Carson were participating in. I roll my eyes. "Oh, hey Susan, I'm doing good." He grabs a dinner roll from the center of the table and begins munching on it.
I smack his arm lightly. "You're not supposed to eat yet, the birthday boy isn't even in his seat. Bad table manners." I grab the roll from his mouth and set it onto his plate.
"Wait… holy shit…" I say, but then cover my mouth when I realize that my baby brothers are at the table but they seem far less affected by my cursing than Susam, who looks alarmed. "Are these menus?" I hold up the laminated folder.
"Yeah," Caleb says, as shocked as I am, "When mom and dad said birthday dinner this isn't what I was expecting. But I guess this is what he wants, right?"
"Ooh, fancy," Tobias says, opening his. "What the fuck, they have slow roasted salmon?" He exclaims, "This is fucking cool!"
"There are children around." Susan points out, even though the children in question look like they couldn't be bothered less by the explicit language.
"My bad." Tobias responds, though he doesn't seem very sorry at all.
I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around to come face to face with Ezra in a very fancy suit with a red tie, and a handsome young Asian man standing behind him, in an attractive grey suit.
"Hey, guys. I wanted you to meet Kai, my boyfriend."
"Hello." I stand up first, shaking his hand gently, "It's very nice to meet you, I'm Tris."
Kai nods politely, "Yes, Ezra's told me a lot about you." He turns to Caleb next, "You must be Caleb I presume?"
Caleb smiles and shakes his hand as well. "That I am, we're really glad to have you here tonight."
I kick Tobias subtly under the table, letting him know to act somewhat shocked that Ezra's gay, because he's not supposed to know that he knows. "Hello!" Tobias says with a little bit too much enthusiasm, standing up from his seat. "I'm Tobias, Tris's boyfriend." He shakes Kai's hand, and I notice him giving Ezra an extra supportive smile. "Dating Prior's… it's a journey isn't it?" He says with a laugh.
Caleb, Ezra, and I wrinkle our noses simultaneously. What the hell does that mean?
However, Susan and Kai both say, "Oh boy, it is." At the same time, before exchanging a knowing look with Tobias. I shake my head, smiling a bit.
Kai makes his way around the rest of the table, introducing himself to Susan and the little ones, before him and Ezra head off.
"What did that mean?" I ask Tobias.
He sighs, shaking his head. "You wouldn't understand, Tris. I think I need to start a club for everyone who's dated a Prior, though. We'd probably all get along really well."
I laugh. "That's fair, I suppose."
At that moment, a woman in a catering uniform approaches the table. "Hello, I'm here to take your order." She says to us politely.
"Ooh, yes," Tobias rubs his hands together before picking up the menu, "Can you give us a couple of minutes to decide?" He asks, while examining all the options.
She nods, "Whenever you're ready."
I glance down at my menu, and realize I'll have to order for my little siblings. "The kids will just have the chicken tenders option," I tell her. She nods and jots it down.
"What's your favorite… between the clam toasts and the cast iron roast chicken?" Tobias asks her. She seems taken aback.
"I'm not sure, sir… I'm just a cater waiter. Not a professional server." She says hesitantly. "My menu changes for every event that I work."
Tobias sighs disappointedly, "Okay… I'll go with the cast iron roast chicken, then. But Tris… could you get the clam toasts so that we can do halfsies?"
This dude is so ridiculous. Halfsies? However, I'm very much in love with him, so I nod. "Sure."
The woman jots this all down and then moves on to Susan and Caleb. "You're so foolish sometimes." I say to Tobias, taking a sip of my water.
"Hey! I'm just a man who has a good relationship with food. I want to eat well tonight, since I've been given the opportunity."
"Alright, I can respect that then." I lace his fingers with mine from under the table.
I hear the sound of clinking glass and then look up to see Ezra, standing up with his wine glass in toasting position. "Hello, guys. I know we have a big group tonight, and I want to thank everyone who showed up. It means a lot." He grins ecstatically before continuing his toast. "I hope you all have fun tonight, eat your hearts out, and make good memories. Thank you for all the endless love and support and laughter that you've given me during my 18th year around the sun. Hopefully we can make the 19th year a memorable one as well." His eyes cross mine, and I give him a thumbs up. He winks in return and then sits back down next to Kai, who squeezes his shoulder.
I grin elatedly, and the rest of the night is spent laughing at Tobias's weird dinner quirks, Susan's over politeness, my little brothers' horrible table manners, and Caleb's insistent need to list random facts and statistics to carry a conversation. These people are my family, though. And I wouldn't trade them for the world.
Let me know your thoughts! Have a great day, whatever time it is in the world that you're reading this!
-Kiki