2019
"You were supposed to ask him to move in with you." Tony said as he hugged Crowley, the boys still jumping around and hollering in excitement at the news that they would be brothers.
"I was getting there," Crowley grumbled as he hugged his dad. "I was, you know, making my way to that point when he sorta just asked."
It had shut his brain down for a moment, because once again Ezra had beaten him to the punch of a big thing. After Ezra had said "I love you" first, Crowley was sure he'd be the one to bring up marriage. It was something he wanted, something he thought he could have, especially from the moment Ezra said taking care of Warlock was no different than Adam, but Crowley hadn't dared broach the subject just yet. Asking Ezra to share a home with him had been terrifying enough, given how new everything still was.
But Ezra had had a point. They'd known each other for twenty years, and even a decade apart hadn't changed anything for either of them. Why waste anymore time because it wasn't the done thing? Besides, there were people in the world who got married after only a few weeks together, they could do this.
Tony let go of Crowley, then Erica and he changed places. Crowley hugged his mum, who seemed genuinely happy for him.
"You'll do better than me," She told him quietly. "You love that man to death, already off to a better start."
"Can't say I ever aspired to have a marriage like yours and James," Crowley replied, stepping back and looking at her.
Erica gave a sad smile. "I left him, Anthony."
His eyebrows shot up. "You what?"
"I left him last week. It was time."
"It was… and you waited until now? What? Where are you? Are you living with dad?"
"No, I'm… I'm not living with him. Your father - James - he moved out. He had a place near work for his dalliances, so that's where he went." Erica said in a too casual way.
Crowley frowned. "Just like that? He walked out?"
Erica opened her mouth then darted her glance to Tony and Ezra. "We'll talk later." She said, taking a step back from Crowley. "So, will it be the Fell-Crowleys, or the Crowley-Fells? Or are you two not taking each other's names?"
Crowley looked to Ezra who frowned, who then looked to the boys who seemed utterly baffled by the prospect of a different name.
"I suppose we haven't discussed that bit." Ezra replied. "But a wedding would be a ways off, I think. Plenty of time to decide that."
"Right," Crowley agreed, clapping his hands together. "First, we need to figure out the whole single-household thing."
"Are we still sharing a room?" Warlock asked.
"Do you… want to?" Crowley asked, looking at Ezra for some guidance. He simply turned to Adam. When neither boy said anything, Crowley continued. "There's an extra room in the house upstairs. We can make Adam his own room. I know you two love each other, and love spending time together, but there might be some moments where you just want some space from one another."
"Maybe." Adam shrugged.
"Maybe we can get bunk beds." Warlock said, his eyes growing wide.
"Wicked." Adam agreed.
"We'll see." Crowley said in a way of saying no. "But for now, we'll probably look into giving Adam his own room. Move his stuff over first, and make our way through the rest of the flat."
"Where will papa sleep?" Warlock asked, and not a single adult made a sound.
Crowley, frankly, didn't know what silenced him more: Warlock casually calling Ezra papa for the first time within his hearing, or the innocence of thinking Ezra didn't stay with him.
"Couples, when they're married or… or just together, well," Ezra began, pausing when Adam put a hand on Warlock's shoulder and looked at him quite seriously.
"Couples who plan to get married sleep in the same bed. I know, my mum and her boyfriends slept in the same bed a lot." He said in that way five year olds always tended to sound when they thought themselves quite wise and much more grown than they were.
Warlock nodded in understanding, as if he had known all along and was simply asking to see if anyone else knew the answer. Then he frowned. "We should make sure there's room for your toys in my room. Just in case." He said with a decisive chin tilt.
Adam's eyes widened, "We should."
"No running," Crowley warned as it looked like the two were about to take off at a sprint. They slowly made their way to the stairs, and perhaps climbed them faster than they should, but they weren't technically running.
Crowley looked at Ezra and shook his head in exasperation. "See what you're signing up for? Life time of that, with me."
"I looked forward to it." Ezra grinned, moving to stand with Crowley.
"Well, we'll leave you to unpack your cases and start planning," Erica said, touching Tony's arm as she grinned. "Congratulations, again, you two. I'm very happy for you both."
"Yes, keep us up to date as to when the wedding is. And where." Tony said with a grin. "Do you want me to tell your brothers and sister, or are you going to want to tell them yourself."
Crowley started to stammer when Ezra said, "If I may." When the adults turned toward him. "Perhaps we can arrange something where I can meet them. I don't hope to have closeness with Anthony's siblings as he once had to my own, but I would like to meet them."
"Maybe we can have a family dinner at the house, then. Maybe some night when the boys can be looked after?"
"It would be your kids, Ton, I can watch the boys." Erica offered.
"I said family." Tony reminded her gently.
"And I'm not." She responded. "I'm Anthony's mother, that doesn't make me family to your kids."
"We'll figure something out," Crowley offered the out for them both. "Just let us know. Weekends are always easier."
"We'll be in touch," Tony said, clapping Anthony on the arm, then Ezra, then he and Erica left.
With his parents gone, and the boys upstairs, talking excitedly enough that there was a murmur, Crowley should have been relaxed. Instead, he began to pace in agitation. He pulled at his hair, his jaw tensing, and he only paused when he saw the worry in Ezra's face.
"What is it?" Ezra asked gently.
Crowley opened his mouth, then huffed and turned away.
"Anthony." Ezra insisted.
"What if you don't like them?" Crowley spat out, whirling back around, trying to get Ezra to understand with just a look how terrified the idea made him.
Ezra frowned. "What if… I don't like them?" He repeated.
"Yes!" Crowley said, gesturing wide. "What if you meet them and you hate them?"
Ezra looked around the room. "Forgive me, darling, but I think… it's supposed to be the other way around. What if they don't like me?"
"Who doesn't like you, you're a bloody angel, I named my son after you, for fuck sakes. What if you don't like them? I adored Liza, she was as much my sister as she was yours for the time we were… Well, not together together, but you know what I mean. What if you don't care for them?"
"Anthony," Ezra said as he closed the distance between them, taking Crowley's face in his hands. "Darling, I love you. I plan to marry you as soon as would be reasonable. I will love your family, because they are yours. And if I only love them because you do, then that will have to do. But from what snippets I have heard, I will adore them. Plus, getting to know them will allow me to be an uncle once more. It's an experience, I promise you."
Crowley smirked. "Spoiling Crissy's little one and then sending it back to her?"
"Admittedly, I had a lot less of that experience." Ezra conceded. "But I look forward to experiencing it with you."
Crowley shook his head before lifting his hands to cradle Ezra's wrists. "I can't believe I get to marry you."
"I feel the same way," Ezra said, kissing Anthony briefly. "Now, we should unpack, and then maybe we can begin to figure out this living arrangement of ours."
~A~
"Did you let your license expire?" Anthony asked once they were on the road, heading to the school, boys quiet in the backseat for once. Probably still mostly asleep. It was still early, after all.
Ezra had pointed out it was good practice for all of them to get back into the swing of it all, getting up early as the boys would need to the following week to be ready for school. At least, that's what he told them and himself when Anthony woke them up so they could go with them when Anthony brought Ezra to work.
"No," Ezra replied, looking out the window at the familiar scenery of the city. "I simply truly dislike driving." He turned to Anthony. "I could have taken the bus, love."
"I'm not letting you take the bus, not when I could bring you to work."
"You don't have to."
"It's what a good husband would do, isn't it?" Anthony countered.
Ezra huffed. "If it were raining, perhaps, I could see it. As it stands, it is not. And, I suppose, I could have asked Newton if he wouldn't mind swinging by and picking me up."
"How is Newt, anyway?" Anthony asked, frowning a touch. "I haven't heard much of him since the boys' birthday."
"I believe he took some time to see his mother in Surrey over the last few weeks." Ezra replied. "I suppose it's finally starting to sink in that Anathema is moving on."
Anthony's head moved side to side, "I don't think she is," he said slowly, uncertain. "I think Eric and her are just a thing, a sort've fling that's a bit more than that."
"But from Newton's perspective? The beautiful, charismatic person he finds attractive is now with an equally attractive partner? I'd say he sees her as completely out of his reach."
A few seconds went by in silence. "Is that how you felt?" Anthony asked. "Those times when I was with someone and you weren't?" Because that's how it was for me when you were with Oscar."
"It was," Ezra conceded. "I still can't think of Fredrick Martin without wanting to hit something."
Crowley laughed, "You hit him! Wasn't that good enough?"
"Papa hit someone?" Warlock asked from the back, startling the grown ups, both seeming to have forgotten they were back there.
"He had a time out with police," Adam reminded Warlock. "Wouldn't say why. Maybe that was it?"
"No," Warlock said with certainty. "You don't go to jail for time out because you hit someone."
"Still, papa hit someone. Do you think he slapped him, or was it a pow ?"
"A punch, square in the nose." Anthony answered, glancing at the boys in the rearview mirror as they came to a red light. "Broke the bloke's nose, blood everywhere."
"Awesome!" Adam said as Warlock declared, "that's so cool."
Ezra rolled his eyes. "It was violent, and it solved nothing." He said firmly.
"It shut Freddie up." Anthony added with a smirk.
"You're not helping, dear."
"Dad's in trouble." Adam whispered loudly, Warlock humming in agreement.
"What do you mean, I'm in trouble?" Anthony asked as the light changed, and they started going again.
"Papa only calls you 'dear' when you're in trouble." Warlock pointed out.
"I'm not sure what if I should be happy they're jumping right in with the whole dad and papa thing, or worried that they noticed that before I did." Anthony grumbled.
"In fairness, I have called you 'dear' longer than I have any other sort of endearment." Ezra reminded him.
"Do you only call me dear when I'm in trouble?" he asked as they pulled into the school's virtually empty drop off.
"No, dear," Ezra replied with a smirk as Anthony parked the car. "Unlike a regular school day, I won't be out until four."
"Right," Anthony nodded, turning his head toward Ezra as Ezra unbuckled his seatbelt. "Don't forget to invite Newton to the thing Saturday."
"I won't." Ezra said as he leaned over to kiss Anthony. "Have a good day, my love."
Anthony smirked, "You, too." He added with another quick kiss.
Ezra looked into the back as he opened the Bentley door. "Be good for dad, you two, and I'll see you after work."
"By papa!" They chorused. "Love you."
"Love you, boys." He said as he closed the door, moving around the back of the Bentley and waving to them again as he headed up to the school.
He stopped short when he noticed Newton, just a few feet away, staring at him with wide eyes and high brows.
"Good morning," Ezra greeted him.
"Morning," Newton said, glancing back at the Bentley. "Things are good, then?"
"They are, quite good, actually. Which reminds me. Anthony and I are throwing a gathering on Saturday, and I want you to be there, if you could."
"Yeah, sure," Newton replied as they headed inside the building. "I'll be there."
"I don't know, sunshine," Gabriel winced as Ezra made the same request of him when he came by the school to have lunch with Ezra.
"Please, Gabriel, it's quite important to me." He said, putting his hand over Gabriel's. "I have some wonderful news I want to share."
"So tell me now, that way I don't have to endure a gathering on Saturday." He asked, turning his hands and clasping Ezra's.
Slowly, Ezra pulled away. He chewed his lip, wondering if maybe ripping off the band-aid here would be better than potentially causing a scene on Saturday in front of everyone. He knew Gabriel would never be as understanding as David had been regarding Richard with Oscar, but he hoped that perhaps his friend of a decade could set aside some of his hurt feelings and be happy for him. Ezra knew the chances were rather low.
"Alright," Ezra steeled himself, setting his fork down in the takeaway salad dish, and dotting his mouth with a paper napkin. He looked around the park they were in, most of the people a few tables away talking among themselves and not paying any mind to them. And then, because he couldn't even think it without smiling a little, grinned as he said, "Anthony and I are getting married."
Gabriel looked at him with narrowed eyes before he began to laugh. "That's a good one," he said. "You nearly had me."
"I'm quite serious." Ezra said when Gabriel continued laughing.
"Well, you can't be." He retorted as he started to come down from it. "It's insane!"
"What is insane about two people who love each other deciding to spend their lives together?" Ezra countered, unsure if he should be angry or confused.
"Because he doesn't love you!" Gabriel snapped, causing a couple people to look at them a moment. "And you don't love him," Gabriel said, quieter but just as firm.
"What would have ever given you that impression?" Ezra asked. "What in this world would have ever made you think I didn't love him?"
Gabriel held his eyes meaningfully. When Ezra didn't acknowledge it, he said, "us."
"What 'us', Gabriel? There was never an 'us'."
"There was, sunshine," He said gently, lovingly, and it made Ezra experience the guilt he felt a little over four years ago.
And he had a feeling that was what Gabriel might have been going for.
"I had asked, very kindly, that we not address that night again." He said with all the patience he could muster.
"I think we need to," Gabriel said with confidence. "I think we need to address why it happened."
"We truly don't, I assure you."
"We do." Gabriel said with a nod. "Especially if you're about to dive headlong into this-this mistake with Anthony Crowley."
"Gabriel-"
"I love you." He said, reaching for Ezra's hands on the table and catching one before Ezra could pull it away. "I've loved you this whole time, and I think you need to know that before you commit to this whole thing with Crowley."
Ezra snatched his hand back. "Don't think I haven't known all these years, Gabriel, I have." He said through his teeth. "I have known, and I have looked at you, long and hard, on more than one occasion. And never once, not even that night, have I seen you as more than a friend."
"You did, then, I know it." Gabriel said with a gentle sort of certainty that may have made a lesser man question himself.
"I did not." Ezra replied firmly. "As a matter of fact, I might as well say that if you were just a moment later, that night might have never happened." He laughed mirthlessly. "No, actually, I can guarantee that, had you been a moment longer, that night would never have happened."
"Ezra," Gabriel tried to sooth. "You can't know that."
"Oh, but I do." He met Gabriel's gaze dead on. "A few precious seconds, maybe no more than a minute, and I would have never answered the door."
"What could have possibly changed that night?" Gabriel asked, his tone something of a wistful romantic sort.
Ezra smirked, "Anthony." He confessed. "He might have changed everything."
"How?" Gabriel scoffed. "He wasn't there. He was long gone by then."
Ezra continued to hold Gabriel's eye as he pursed his lips, thinking on how much he wanted to say since he'd yet to tell Anthony the same story. "I almost called him." Ezra replied. "But then you knocked."
"And you think he would have come to you if you had called? He destroyed you." Gabriel bit out. "He left you as nothing more than a shell for weeks. He wasn't there for any of the bad things, and I was. I was right there. I have been at your side since we met, and you… I did so many things for you!"
"And I never asked for any of it." Ezra said quietly. "Never once. I never asked you to move to Tadfield, or stay in England at all, for that matter. I never asked you to leave someone, nor did I ask you to wait for me. I have, in fact, done the opposite many times over."
"But you didn't mean it." Gabriel replied tenderly. "Because, really, what would you do if I had listened?"
Ezra shrugged. "Continue living as I had, I imagine. Not to be cruel, but I'd have gotten on perfectly fine without you."
"I'm your best friend!" Gabriel protested.
"No." Ezra shook his head. "No you are my good friend, and a dear friend. But you were never my best friend. That has always been Anthony, and when it was not, it was Eliza. I would even go as far to say Oscar was closer to such a title than you were." He said, glancing around and seeing some people beginning to pay attention to them. He glanced at his watch, then stood up. "I must return, I have a lot of work to do."
"Sunshine," Gabriel said, sounding almost apologetic.
Ezra lifted a hand, staying whatever he wanted to say. "I'm sorry you thought, somehow, that there was ever going to be a chance for us. I swear to you, I have never meant to cause you pain, nor did I ever intend to lead you on. Perhaps if Anthony and I had never crossed paths again, in the years to come, something may have happened, but I sincerely doubt it."
Gabriel flinched, but didn't protest.
"And, a small bit of wisdom for you to reflect on: If you love me, truly love me, then you would be happy for me. Because regardless of what happened in the past, or your view on things, Anthony and I love each other, he makes me happy, and I want to spend my life with him. If you can't accept that, then perhaps this is where we part ways." Ezra stepped away from the table, stopping at Gabriel's shoulder, putting a hand on it. "If this is goodbye, then allow me to say this: it's been lovely knowing you. May we meet again on a better occasion."
He continued on back toward the school, and it only sunk in what happened when he was back in his classroom.
~C~
"Holy shit, are you serious?" Anathema asked, leaning part way across the outdoor table toward Crowley.
"Yeah," He replied, barely able to get his smile under control. "We're having a gathering Saturday to announce it."
"You said you were thinking of asking him to move in! Not that!"
"He asked me." Crowley shrugged a casual thing, like it was no big deal when the reality was he still wasn't over it. "But listen, there's a reason I'm telling you now and not waiting 'til then. I need a favor."
"I'll watch the hellions," Anathema smirked. "Have another date night planner?"
"No," Crowley squirmed. "He's meeting my real family."
"Oh," Anathema's eyebrows shot up. "Wow, that's… a really big deal for you."
"Yeah," He said, watching the boys run through the sprinkler, chasing each other with water pistols. "And… I'm worried it won't go well. He, uh… he ended up telling Gabriel the other day at lunch."
"I can only imagine how spectacularly that went down." She said sympathetically.
Crowley groaned, "Yeah," He agreed, turning back to Anathema. "He says he's alright, but I think it's bothering him more than he's letting on."
"Well there was a history," Anathema said carefully.
Crowley rolled his eyes, leaning across the table. "They fucked, once." He said quietly, glancing at the boys and making sure they were still very much not paying attention.
"Exactly." Anathema replied. "But do you think Ezra is the sort of bloke who would just sleep with a friend if there wasn't something there?"
"I know he's the type of man who doesn't take it lightly." Crowley countered. "And I'm not stupid, I know he found Gabriel attractive, I know he probably considered him from time to time, even if he won't say."
"So I'm sure you can see why he might be bothered by the fact that his friend of ten years…. Well, I don't know what happened, but I'm sure it's likely a case where they aren't speaking."
"Been there," Crowley grumbled.
"Exactly."
"Not the same."
"No, maybe not exactly." Anathema said with a smirk. "I do know that Ezra wasn't in love with Gabriel ever. Where as you two…."
"If I were to tell me of ten years ago - hell, of five years ago - that I would end up engaged to Ezra Fell, I'd have never believed me. Five years ago me probably would have just told this me to mess off and hold Warlock so I could shower. Ten years ago me? Would have never believed it, not ever. Couldn't even dream of it."
There was a small lull in the conversation when Anathema said, "I have something I need to tell you." When Crowley shot his gaze back in her direction, she quickly added, "Nothing bad. Just… I've been holding it in for months, and now that all this has happened…."
"What is it?" Crowley asked suspiciously.
Anathema's grin turned sad. "I almost set you two up. I was going to, actually."
Crowley frowned. "Me and Ezra?"
Anathema nodded. "I always thought Ezra was just lonely underneath all his smiles, and 'dears', and being perfectly content with books and the rest of us on occasion. And then there was you, who was moving here, and only really knew Newt and me, and I thought… I could see those two getting along."
Crowley's brow furrowed deeper. "You said almost. Why didn't you?"
Anathema grew sadder. "Eliza." She said softly, glancing in the direction of the boys who really paid them no attention whatsoever. "I told her I knew a guy who Ezra might be good with. She asked to see your picture. She… squealed. Well, first she looked like she'd seen a ghost and then was just over the moon with the idea. But she asked if I would wait until she got back from her trip with Gavin, because she wanted to be there when you met. I guess what she meant was she wanted to be there when you two saw each other again."
Crowley blinked, his lips curling in a smile that felt heavy with his heartache. "She would have been insufferable." He said lovingly.
"She would have been," Anathema agreed. "She never even hinted that you two knew each other, though. I never said your real name was Anthony, and she never hinted that she knew it."
"Oh, she wouldn't have. It must have been eating at her not to say anything whenever she'd seen Ezra."
Anathema chuckled, "Enough that she was quite oblivious to Gavin's plans."
Crowley smiled. "What was he like? I mean, Ezra's told me a bit, and I hear a few snippets from Adam here and there, but from someone from the outside, what was he like?"
Anathema considered it. "Nice." She said. "He was just a really friendly guy. I'd say he was like an extroverted, up to date Ezra, but straight and way more handsome."
"Oi, that's my husband you're talking about." Crowley teased.
"Not yet he's not."
"Might as well be." Crowley grumbled. "So, Friday night, you can watch those two for us while we go to Tony's?Mum's not free."
"Yes, I will watch them." Anathema conceded. "Would you mind terribly if I asked Newt to join me?"
"Newt?" Crowley asked. "Not Eric?"
"Newt." She said firmly. "Is that a yes or no?"
"Yeah, sure, just… you know, no…."
"I'm not an idiot." She grumbled, and he smirked. Best not to poke at that one.
~A~
"I haven't been back here since mum passed," Ezra said as he looked out the window while they passed through their hometown.
"Is it… are you alright?" Anthony asked gently.
"Oh, perfectly well, darling," He said, looking over at Anthony and smiling. "It just… given my fallout earlier in the week with Gabriel…."
"It happened here." Anthony pieced it together, and Ezra nodded while humming the acknowledgment. "Huh," Anthony said.
"Should I be worried you're suddenly going to find yourself in a bad mood?" Ezra asked, putting his hand on Anthony's thigh, perhaps a bit higher than was proper.
Anthony smirked. "I was gonna say no, but if I say yes, will that hand move higher?"
"We're going to see your family, you fiend." Ezra retorted, making Anthony chuckle. He couldn't help but smile, feeling his heart fill with more love than he thought it should contain. "I'm glad it doesn't put you off."
"Just tell me one thing," Anthony said as he made a turn down a road Ezra didn't recognize. "Was it in your childhood bedroom?"
Ezra frowned. "Goodness, no." He said firmly.
"Then I don't care where it happened."
"Would you have if I had said yes?"
"Well, no, probably not. I just don't want my fantasies of what could have been spoiled by knowledge that he-"
"Fantasies of what could have been?" Ezra asked in disbelief. "Am I not enough as I am?"
"You are far better than any fantasy, angel." Anthony assured, affectionately. "Even fantasies about you."
Placated for the moment, Ezra let it go, moving his hand off Anthony's thigh as he sensed they were nearing their destination.
Sure enough, within a minute, Anthony was pulling into a driveway deeper in the part of town where he had once lived himself. Ezra took in the house from the outside, noting it was far more grand than the one he had lived in, but not so large as the Crowley home. It also felt warmer, too, closer to how it felt for Ezra coming home. A family lived there, one that loved each other, he could sense it.
Anthony parked behind a simple, small car without a worry about blocking someone in, and then turned to Ezra.
"We have time to run." He said, hand going to the door handle.
"We do not," Ezra said firmly. "We're going to become a family, it's probably a good idea to meet yours. Better now than closer to the wedding, let them air their grievances with me with plenty of time to spare."
"Grievances," Anthony grumbled as he opened the door, and Ezra did the same on his side. He reached behind to the back and plucked up the bottle of wine he'd purchased for the occasion. Gift in hand, he allowed Anthony to take his other and walk him up to the front door.
Ezra frowned when Anthony rang the doorbell. When he looked at him, Anthony shrugged.
"I didn't grow up here." He said. "And I don't know if Tony's wife is going to be around."
"His wife ?" Ezra asked, recalling very clearly that Erica had declined dinner.
Before an explanation could be given, the door was flung open, and Ezra damn near dropped the bottle of wine.
A second, younger Anthony stood before him, dressed similarly, with red hair pulled back in a bun low on his head, and bright blue eyes.
The younger man looked from him, to Anthony, looked over the latter, and rolled his eyes. "Stop copying my style," he said, his voice only a touch deeper than Anthony's own.
"Born first, means it's my style you're copying." Anthony retorted as he let go of Ezra's hand. When the younger man smirked, Anthony stepped forward and hugged him tight. After a few seconds, he stepped back. "Ezra, this is Neil. Neil, my partner Ezra."
"How are you?" Neil asked, offering his hand for Ezra to shake.
"Well, thank you. It's a pleasure." Ezra replied, automatically and with a smile, but still meaning it.
"Likewise," Neil responded before turning back to Anthony, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. "Everyone else is here, and dad says dinner will be ready soon."
"Great,' Anthony said, taking Ezra's hand again and bringing him inside.
Within the home, all that warmth Ezra sensed was magnified. It made his heart ache, momentarily wistful at the way it felt more like a house filled with children still, and not one where they were all grown, and most moved on. Ezra looked around as he and Anthony toed off their shoes, noting family photos strewn about. Some, he noted, even had Anthony in them, though he didn't get to examine them long.
"AJ's here," Neil announced as he led them into the kitchen and dining area.
"Did he bring his imaginary boyfriend with him," A much deeper male voice said, followed quickly by Tony giving a warning that made Ezra grin before they rounded the corner and entered the space more fully.
At the table was clearly the youngest, and he looked nothing like his brothers. He grinned a sly grin, his dark hair long and lank against his head. "So you aren't imaginary." He said when he spotted Ezra.
"Very much real." Ezra said with an awkward chuckle.
"Don't mind Terry," Tony said as he set down the wooden spoon he'd been using in a pot. "He likes to irritate his siblings, all of them."
"I do recall what that can be like." Ezra said, then handed Tony the bottle. "I know you said not to bring anything, but I couldn't help it."
"It'll go well with dinner," Tony said, grinning. "Only pasta, afraid I can't cook worth a damn."
"Family trait," Terry pipped up, earning a gentle smack from Neil.
"Is he here yet?" A feminine voice said, coming down the stairs and pausing as she entered the kitchen. "Oh, he is. And he does have a boyfriend."
"I'm getting the sense you don't tend to introduce partners to your family," Ezra commented, smirking at Anthony.
"Never." Christine said, stepping forward. "Please, come, sit. You might as well be comfortable while we interrogate you."
"Play nice." Tony warned as Christine led Ezra to the table. "AJ's got news, and if you drive Ezra off before he can say it, I'll be cross."
"Might as well start with that one," Anthony said as his phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and frowned. "Anathema, wha- Adam? How did you… No, I don't know where your dog is. I don't know if papa knows, did you ask Lock if he'd seen it?"
"Who's Adam?" Terry asked, glancing at the others to see if they knew.
"My son," Ezra replied. It was a strange sort of right to say it out loud to someone who hadn't known him prior. It sent a strange sort of rush through him that nearly made him shiver.
"Right, hold on." Anthony said, handing Ezra the phone.
"Hello, dear, what's the trouble?" Ezra said to Adam.
"I can't find Dog." He grumbled. "Lock doesn't know where it went, but we thought it was with Duck, but it's not, because we found Duck, and Dog wasn't with him."
"I'm about to lose my mind, Ezra!" Anathema yelled in the background, and Warlock laughed.
"Did you check under your bed?" Ezra asked.
"Yes."
"Lock's bed?"
"Yes."
"Did you check under the blankets on both beds?"
"Yes," Adam said, growing more impatient.
"Did you check mine and dad's room?" He asked, which resulted in quiet. There was a sound of rushing movement. "Don't run, walk." He said firmly, looking up at Anthony and rolling his eyes in tandem with his partner.
There was rustling, and then, "found him! He was under the bed."
"See, you must have dropped him when you and Lock went in to get Dad up this morning. Now, be good for Anathema, and make sure to thank her for letting you use her phone."
"I will, love you papa." Adam replied.
"Love you, too, dear. Goodnight." He said, ringing off and handing the phone back to Anthony.
"Under the bed?" Anthony asked as he pocketed his phone, pulling out the seat next to Ezra and turning it to face him as he sat.
"It would seem so." Ezra sighed, then frowned. "Seems a bit early for them to worry about Duck and Dog."
"Anathema likes to do a movie before bed, Lock always had Duck with him, probably just picking up on the habit, is all." Anthony said, turning away and then looking surprised. "What?" He asked, and Ezra then noted the younger siblings watching them with interest.
"You guys haven't just started dating, have you?" Christine asked.
"Oh, right." Anthony said, ignoring Tony's chuckle. "Should probably start explaining, shouldn't I? We're getting married." He said with a grin, and Ezra pinched the bridge of his nose in the split second before the other three began to try and talk over each other.
~C~
"That went well," Crowley said a few hours later as they began to make their way down Tony's street.
"Surprisingly," Ezra agreed, looking out the window. "Though for a while I thought Chrissy would never like me."
Crowley cringed, because he had begun to worry about that, too.
Neil and Terry were too young to really know or remember what Crowley had been like when they'd all first met, but Chrissy was nearly an adult, and had already been extra tentative to Crowley after learning she wasn't the eldest after all. She'd wanted to know everything about him, and in that time, had heard about Ezra. And at the time, Ezra and he had started their decade long absence from one another. It didn't mean Crowley had never talked about him, of course, but his heartache translated to Chrissy as something Ezra was wholly responsible for.
While Terry and Neil were both warm and welcoming to Ezra, trying to ask questions to get to know him in general (what do you do? What's your son like? What do you do for fun?), Chrissy had drilled him on his intentions, how he could hurt her brother, and did he understand what would happen if Ezra had ever hurt Crowley again?
She eventually calmed down, but Crowley sensed she would never be entirely convinced that things were well.
"Can you honestly tell me that, if we had met up again before Eliza passed, that she wouldn't have been a bit of the same?" Crowley asked, because despite what Anathema said, he still was sure Eliza would force him into a dark corner or alleyway and ensure he knew the consequences of any further stupidity.
Ezra pursed his lips, tilted his head. "Maybe not to the same extent." He conceded. "She knew what happened, she understood it was both of us at play, and she also had the benefit of knowing you from that time. Chrissy doesn't, she had no idea who I was before, or even who I am now. I don't begrudge her her protectiveness of you. It's quite charming, really," Ezra grinned a moment, turning it briefly in Crowley's direction for him to glimpse. "I have a confession."
"Oh?" Crowley asked, genuinely intrigued as they came to a red light.
"I have seen Neil before." Ezra actually blushed, which only got Crowley's attention more. "When mum first fell ill, it was only a few years after our spat. I had seen him across the hospital cafeteria, and for a moment, I thought he was you."
"What made you know it wasn't?" Crowley asked, turning his attention back to the road just as the light changed back to green.
"I didn't, at first. I called for you, and your father had turned around, looking about. Neil, he started looking too, and, well, the eyes were a giveaway."
"Yeah," Crowley said, "it was a bit weird, when we met. Like looking at a picture of me, younger. Seems weird, too, that I got so much in common with Terry, genetics wise, yet Neil is the one I look like."
Ezra was quite a moment, then said, "You mentioned Tony's wife."
"Yeah," Crowley shrugged. "She's, well, she's alright, suppose. They had, and still have, an open marriage. She travels about, not even sure I know what she does, but she's barely ever around. I knew her a bit while Terry and I were in the hospital, and I see her about from time to time. But they had a rule, see, which was no children from other people. Only reason she didn't leave him was because I was conceived before they were married, and dad hadn't known if I was his or not cos mum never introduced us."
"Ah," Ezra nodded. "I suppose that would explain everything with your mum, then."
"Yeah." Crowley said, seeing a certain road coming up in the distance. " You said you were last here when your mum passed, and you were with Gabriel."
"Yes," Ezra said slowly.
Crowley glanced at the time on the car radio. "We've got a while before Anathema would expect us back," He said, glancing at Ezra. "Can I… can I take you on a date?"
Ezra smirked before Crowley looked away to pay attention to the road. "You sound like we're fifteen years old, and this is the first time you've ever inquired."
Crowley gave a nervous, self-deprecating chuckle. "I want to take you out to that place where we used to grab a tea before your shift at the library. Maybe take a walk somewhere there, or loop up to the park that was sort've between our houses when we were kids." He turned down the road, slowing down and parking along the side near the cafe. He cut the engine, turning to Ezra who smiled softly at him. "I can't go back and take the chances I was too scared to back then, and I hate the idea that Gabriel-"
"Anthony," Ezra interrupted gently.
"I just want to have something like that with you, here, too. I love you, and I love that we get to have the rest of our lives together. But I just…."
"And people think I'm the sentimental one," Ezra said as he reached over and stroked Crowley's cheek.
"And they're going to keep thinking that," Crowley grumbled.
"Quite," Ezra humored him. "Darling, I would be delighted to have a little date with you around here. I can't deny that I had dreamed of what it would be like to walk down these roads and hold your hand."
"Can I take you out for cocoa, then, angel? Maybe a little treat since dessert at dad's is never a good idea?"
"I would be delighted, love." Ezra said, keeping hold of Crowley's face as he leaned over and kissed him. And Crowley savored it, filing it away as at least one more good thing that happened here.