Of Princes and Princesses
AvalonReeseFanFics
A/N: Happy Saturday my wonderful readers! So we made it. We made it to the movie part. We still have some more of the movie to go through but we're almost there. I should have this story finished in 8 more chapters. Isn't that amazing? Can you believe that we got this far? I can't believe it. As always, don't forget to review and I'll see you guys next week!
30.
Things with Marshall started off quite small. At first it was a call once a week, followed by a call every other day. Then out of no where Marshall hit him with a: "I'm sorry but Kate's insisting that you come over for dinner."
At first Louis tried to avoid it, but it wasn't Marshall asking him to dinner, it was Kate. And Kate was kind and sweet and he didn't want to disappoint her, so he tried declining once and then, when she persisted, he agreed to go.
To be honest, he was worried. He knew his brother. He knew what his brother was like with girls. To see him attempting to settle down, even if it was with a girl like Kate, even if he seemed super serious about it. Louis knew he usually ended up cheating and Kate was… well she was perfect and kinda and the kind of girl who would take Marshall's philandering ways to heart. Louis was worried his brother was gonna break that girl's heart. That she'd blame herself for not being good enough when the problem was his brother.
So, when the night came around for him to go to dinner, he had an ulterior motive. The plan was to ask his brother a few questions, figure out if he was doing that playing around thing he was famous for and if he was, either set him straight or get Kate the fuck out of there.
Louis got himself all dress up, not too fancy, pretty much the same kind of outfit he wore to Nick's party. Simple button up blue shirt, suit jacket and dress pants. When he got to the place, he found that Marshall too had been dressed up. He was in something similar, just a darker shade of blue button up shirt and navy-blue pants.
"Goddamn it," he said the second he saw Louis and from the kitchen he heard Kate laugh.
"He's dressed up, isn't he?" she called and Marshall just sighed. "I knew it! Not only do you have to stay in the monkey suit but you owe me twenty."
Marshall leant in towards him to hiss: "You coudni have just dressed down today huh?"
Louis, however was smiling. "You guys had a bet on what I'd wear?"
"Had to do something to get him in that outfit," Kate called from somewhere in the apartment.
"I dress up," Marshall growled, taking the bottle of wine that Louis had brought for them and ushering his brother in. "For special occasions I dress up."
"That's true you do."
"Ah, so I wasn't a special occasion then," Louis asked glancing to wear Kate was in the kitchen. She had a pink frilly 1960s house wife apron on, and what looked to be another cutsie dress just like what she had been wearing when Louis had first met her. This one was also Navy blue much like the pants Marshall was wearing.
She had made them dress up and match. And his brother wasn't bitching yet? He wasn't even blushing, he just seemed frustrated that he had lost a bet.
As Marshall and Kate continued to bicker with one another about how Marshall might have insulted Louis by insinuating he wasn't special enough to dress up for, Louis looked around the apartment.
He could definitely see elements of his brother. The Harley Davidson light up sign and the guitars on the wall, but everything else seemed very… girly. Like Kate had done up the place. So, he was sort of worried that maybe he wasn't at his brother's like he thought he was.
"Kay, well Kate's almost done dinner, she said we should chill until then, so did you want to…" Marshall started and then Louis grabbed him and practically dragged him away from the kitchen area to the table which looked like it was staged by a modern home life magazine.
"I thought you said I was coming over to yours," he whispered to Marshall and they headed further towards the head of the table and away from the kitchen.
"Yeah, I did. And you have."
Louis looked around again. "Why is it so…"
"Well Kate picked out most of the décor, I guess, but I don't mind…"
"You let her do over your apartment?"
"No, she did our apartment. I coulda sworn I told you Kate and I moved in taegether…."
She was living with him?! Dear god this was serious. And it would be monumentally bad if things went belly up. For Kate of course, Marshall would be fine, he'd've moved on to the next girl by then.
"Okay this is very important, are you fucking with this girl?" Louis asked and Marshall turned to him surprised. "Cause, she's like a decent girl and if you're playing one of your games…"
"Louey, I said I was serious about this one… what did you think that meant?"
"I unno?" Louis almost cried. The two men shot a smile to Kate who was now staring at then. Almost in sync the two men waved to her as if nothing was wrong. Except now she was staring at them with a narrowed look about her.
When she eventually turned away Louis turned back to his older brother to hiss: "You've never been serious about anyone and even with the girls you tried with you were absolute shite…"
"Thanks for that."
"I'm sorry but you were. You were absolutely shite at being a boyfriend and you know it."
He did know it too, Louis saw it on his face but then he watched his brother glance back to where Kate was standing putting the finishing touches on dinner and softness touched his face. A softness so tender that Louis actually took a step back.
"I know, but for her… for her I'm really trying," he said and then to make things worse he actually called her name and asked her to come to them. Kate stopped what she was doing and he said: "Show her the ring."
"Fuck no. You proposed?" Louis cried but she shook her head no.
"This commitment-phobe?" she asked but she still showed him the hand where a little princess tiara was sitting on her finger. "He did however give me a promise ring which I personally think is a major achievement."
It really was, but it wasn't until his brother said: "And I have a matching one," that he really believed it.
Well, he almost didn't believe it, but Marshall very proudly showed him this more manly looking black crown that rested on his own hand. Louis didn't know what to say so he just stood there staring at them. How strange his brother looked with that girl pressed to his side looking proper, respectable and happy. What the hell had happened?
After a moment Kate slid away from Marshall whose gaze stayed on her. "You two continue bonding, I'll be done soon," she said and then Louis watched as his brother watched her walk away, an appreciative smile on his face.
Jesus Christ. He wasn't even sure he knew Marshall anymore.
-AR-AR-AR-AR-
Dinner was actually great, and as the dinner continued the more their Irish brogue came out. And the more Louis realized he really had nothing to worry about. With every coy glance, every small motion, every single little thing that Marshall did, Louis became more and more certain that his brother had it bad. Like really bad. Like all the bad.
He had seen many a girl fall to his brother's charms the way Marshall seemed to have fallen for Kate's. It was nice to see the disgustingly smitten look on the other foot. Or in this case, Marshall's face.
They got through the dinner where they exchanged stories but Louis couldn't get enough of the stories that Kate and Marshall were telling of their exploits.
At that moment they were talking about a trip to Ireland that Kate had surprised Marshall with. All the way back to their home town and they had just dropped a major bombshell on him.
"Wait a second, you went tae see dah? After he kicked yews out?"
"It was Kate's idea."
"Jesus. Didni go well did it?" Louis asked Kate.
Kate shook her head and went back to cleaning up the table. She had forced Marshall to sit and wouldn't let either of them help, though she was very clear that the actual washing of all the dishes would fall to Marshall once Louis went home. She was just putting them in the sink.
"They nearly came to blows. Much like you two did at Nick's party, though I intervened before Marshall took a swing."
"Yeah and where were you when we were going at each other?"
"On the stairs."
Louis laughed and then turned to Marshall. "So how did it look? The house?"
"Good. Too good. It's all cleaned up and the lawn is immaculate, honestly thought he didni live there anymore."
"Ah that's how she got you there huh?" Louis said softly and then stopped. "Looked good, you said?"
"Yeah, he got his shit together. Doesni drink anymore either," he said.
Louis shook his head. "Better late than never."
"You should call him, he'd love tae hear from yew. I can give yew the number."
"Yew've been calling dah? Yew?"
"Yeah, Kate made me reconcile before we left."
Kate draped herself over Marshall and kissed his cheek. "And he's happier because of it."
Louis couldn't help but smile at the way Marshall seemed to light up just having Kate hug him and the way his brother seemed to angle himself closer to her no matter what she was doing. At that moment he had his nose against her cheek as he had turned to her the second she finished kissing him.
"No, he's happier cause of yew," Louis found himself saying and then Kate's eyes sort of lit up, like she hadn't realized that to be true.
They were quiet a little moment longer before Marshall half leaned over. "Yew know, it's not too late for yew tae be happy."
"Donni even know where she is, Marsh."
"Doesni have to be her, though, does it?" Louis turned plaintive eyes up to him and Marshall sighed. "Kay, so it does. Have yew tried looking her up?"
"Well… no…"
"You remember her name?"
"Course I do, her name is Lyla Novacek. If she hasni gotten married and changed it."
Marshall merely looked up to Kate with a goading smile and she sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll see if Rose is available."
"Donni worry, we're gonna find your girl," he said to his baby bro and Louis smiled. Damn he liked having Marshall back in his life.
-AR-AR-AR-AR-
Rose turned out to be Kate's best friend. She had this auburn red hair and a pale complexion that was that stereotypical Irish ideal woman. She had come down with a laptop, saying that she had found several Lyla Novaceks and she'd need Louis to confirm which one she was looking for.
She then looked up, caught sight of Louis, put her laptop down and then cuffed the back of his brother's head.
"Oi! Rose!" he cried.
"You told me you didn't have any brothers!" she cried. "And you have this hunk tucked away?"
"You're dating Thomas!" Kate reminded her and then elbowed her friend in the side. "And what have I said about hitting Marshall. He's an artist… he's sensitive. He'll put you in a song and immortalize you as a bitch, just you wait."
"Naw, Louey did the writing," Marshall said and then he scowled at Rose. "And I didni say I didni have a brother, I said I didni have one that I can introduce yah tae. I wasni talking to Louis until recently."
"And you're dating Thomas!" Kate near roared.
"Yes, and you're dating Thomas," Marshall added.
"Well, if my brother had introduced you to me it wouldni have worked out anyway," Louis said. "Seeing as I'm attempting to track down the girl that I'm really in love with."
"Tragic," she said and then she caught Kate's infuriated look and said: "And I'm dating Thomas. God, calm down."
She opened her laptop again and turned it towards Louis. "Okay, Facebook had 14 Lyla Novaceks, and I found one on this alumni website, she's hot shit though…"
Louis looked it over. "Alumni?"
"Yeah, from Julliard, plays the cello," she said. "Way out of your league."
"That's her," Both Marshall and Louis cried as tugged that laptop to him and opened up the tab.
Louis then made the terrible decision to read quietly to himself, while the laptop was angled towards himself.
"Well what does it say?" Marshall asked as Louis looked it over.
"She lives in Chicago," he said.
"You gonna go?" Marshall asked but Louis could only shrug.
"Dunno yet," he said but that was a lie. He knew he was going to go.