2019
"When are you coming to pick us up tomorrow?" Adam asked from the backseat.
"And will papa come too?" Warlock added before Crowley could respond.
"Yes, papa will come when it's time to get you tomorrow, which will be around noon, alright?" Crowley responded, sounding more annoyed than he actually was.
Truth be told, he liked that the boys would rather be with them than their grandfather. He liked that they would have rather spent a day at home with them, even if nothing exciting happened. But Ezra had a lot of marking to do, and a few lesson plans to make for when he was with Crowley during the hearing. And they were expecting Lucas for dinner that night to go over things with them, as well as have a look at the papers Crowley had been able to obtain. If that hadn't been enough, Erica had asked to speak with Crowley alone as soon as possible the night before, and so he arranged to meet with her while Ezra would be busy.
Much as he hated to admit it, it would be easier to deal with all this while the boys were out of the way.
The boys seemed pleased enough with his responses, so he let the subject drop.
It wasn't terribly long after that that they were pulling off the motorway and into Crowley and Ezra's home town.
It was the first time he'd been here without Ezra since the proposal, and he marveled at how he was no longer struck with a hit of melancholy at the sight of their old haunts.
He was, however, becoming increasingly nervous as they got closer to Tony's place.
Crowley pulled into the driveway, cut the engine, got out, got the boys out and grabbed their bags from the trunk. And while he'd done that, Tony had come out of the house, excitedly greeting the boys who ran to him for a hug. He smiled, thanking whoever was listening and watching that Adam had taken so well to this whole change in family over the last few months.
He hoped Warlock could adapt as easily.
"AJ," Tony called as he carried the duffel bags to the house. "You don't have to bring those in, I'm sure you'll want to be getting back to whatever."
"Actually, I want to talk to you all together, if that's alright." He said, shuffling his feet without meaning to.
Tony frowned, but nodded. He gestured with his head for Crowley to follow them inside as he put an arm around each of the boys and led them all inside.
Crowley brought the bags to the room he knew the boys would be sleeping in, dropping them at the foot of the large double bed, and then returned to the sitting room where he heard Tony telling the boys to wait a moment.
He popped in, smiling nervously as he took the armchair closest to the sofa where the boys sat with Tony, Adam looking particularly nervous.
Crowley had no idea where to begin, he only knew that with everything happening, he had to be up front to all of them.
"Lock," he began, meeting his son's eyes. "You know how Nana lived with Grampy James, but a lot of the time she would be here with Tony, right?" He asked.
Lock frowned. "Yeah." He said, sounding unsure.
"Well, there's a very good reason for that," He said, fidgeting similar to Ezra.
"AJ," Tony started.
"Dad," He said, asking for patience.
Tony was taken aback by being so casually addressed like that in front of the kids. He blinked rapidly then nodded slowly.
Adam and Warlock looked at one another in growing confusion.
Crowley started again. "The reason is, is because Nan and Tony are very good friends."
"Like you and Aunt Nathema?" Warlock asked.
"Bit more." He replied. "See… umm…. Tony and Nan were such good friends that he helped her have me."
"Like a man helped my mum have me?" Adam asked.
"Yes!" Crowley said, gesturing to Adam. "Yes, like that. But, see, she was married to Grampy James, I always called him dad. And you would have called him Grampy, because it's what's done. But, see… he and Nan aren't married anymore. So, so we're not going to be seeing Grampy James again."
"Why not?" Warlock asked.
"Because he doesn't like Ezra."
"How can he not like papa?" Warlock asked, wide-eyed.
"He doesn't like when people love people he thinks they shouldn't." Crowley shook his head and shrugged. "And Ezra loves me, and I love him, and he really doesn't like that. So, you're not going to have Grampy James anymore. But," He glanced at Tony and found his words wouldn't come.
Tony was crying, very quietly, with such hope shining in his eyes and a smile trying very hard not to show.
"Tony's gonna be our grampa now, right?" Adam asked.
Crowley nodded slowly, keeping his eyes on his father. "Yeah," he choked out. "Yeah he's going to be your grampa now. He sorta always was, he just couldn't say it."
"So," Warlock puzzled as Tony let out a bit of a sob. He ignored Adam trying to comfort the man,and tilted his head to the side as if it would help him think. "Does that mean Chrissy, and Neil, and Terry are our aunts and uncles?"
"Yeah," Crowley laughed, "yeah it does."
"AJ, you don't have to." Tony said, sniffling.
Crowley's smile grew smaller again. "Lock, Adam, can you give me and gramps a second?"
The boys scooted off the sofa, heading down the hall talking about a board game that was somewhere in the house, leaving the two men alone.
Crowley rubbed his hands on his jeans. "It should have always been you as grampa." He stated. "James never gave a shit about Warlock aside from the fact that it meant I slept with a woman."
"Why now?" Tony asked. "Erica left him over a month ago now."
"It's like I told the boys: he doesn't want me and Ezra together."
Tony nodded, "I suppose I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth." He chuckled.
"Yeah." Crowley smirked. "Besides, you get to grandsons out of the deal."
Tony nodded, then glanced at the hallway. "Your mother isn't talking to me lately." He said quietly. "Won't return my calls or anything. Last time she did that, she was having you. And after that it was only polite consults from one Doctor to another until the day your appendix decided to burst."
Crowley rubbed at his eyes a second. "She hadn't really been in contact with me either, least not until the other day. Asked me to meet up with her, wanted to talk. 'S where I'm going next, actually. Figured I'd give Ezra some quiet time to get work done before my lawyer comes over for dinner tonight."
"What do you need a lawyer for?" Tony asked as the two of them got up, slowly heading toward the front door.
"James is suing me for his share of the Garden in London."
Tony's eyes widened. "Why didn't you tell me sooner, I could have-"
Crowley held up a hand and stopped him. "I already got this lecture from Ezra when I didn't tell him for a week. I learned my lesson. But, dad, really, there isn't anything you could have done to help. Lucas, the lawyer, helped us get around James possibly getting everything , and I have a way to make sure that, if he does win, he doesn't get to have any sway on me. I'll be free of him, one way or another, come Tuesday."
Tony nodded slowly. "At least there's that." He said.
"Yeah," Crowley smirked. He then clapped his hand on Tony's shoulder. "See you noon tomorrow?"
"See you then," Tony said, pulling his son in for a quick hug before letting Crowley get on with his next visit.
"Right," Crowley said before calling out, "Boys, I'm leaving!"
"Bye dad!" The chorused, and he smiled before stepping out and heading to the Bentley.
"Burning enough bloody petrol today." Crowley grumbled to himself as he pulled into his mother's home in London.
He had to stop for a coffee before getting back on the motorway. Caffeine likely wasn't the best thing to calm the nerves, but it was comforting. Despite having sort of dreamed of Tony taking his rightful title of Grandpa from the moment Warlock was born, Crowley still had felt rattled by the whole experience. He wondered if that's what it was like to come out, as a proper "sit down and tell the parents you like men" coming out instead of the disaster that was his "someone saw you kiss that new boy around town, care to tell me what the fuck that was" experience.
Yet despite the minor shaking that followed, Crowley felt like a heavy, weighted blanket had been shed from his shoulders. That was an aspect of his life he no longer had to hide.
It had him thinking of ways he could rid himself completely of James Crowley after Tuesday should things not go his way. He'd have to tell Bea, of course, as they were still being painfully stubborn, but that might mean getting to hear fun stories of the torture they'd inflict on James from time to time.
With a bit of a grin on his lips, Crowley sauntered up to the door, knocked quickly, and then went inside.
It felt different. He hadn't realized how much of James' presence permeated the house before, but there were enough subtle, small changes that nothing about it felt familiar. Entering Ezra's flat for the first time had felt less like walking into a stranger's home than this.
"Mum?" He called, almost afraid to hear someone he didn't know answer back.
"In here," Erica's voice called, momentarily giving Crowley a sense of relief before he processed her tone. It sounded cheerful, but there was something underneath it that gave him a terrible feeling.
He braced himself, unsure what he was about to walk into, and headed into the sitting room.
Crowley found his mum in the chair James had always occupied, sitting almost eerily like he would. Hands on the arms, back straight like the chair was a throne.
She gestured for Crowley to sit on the sofa, before leaning forward to prepare him a cup of tea. It was oddly strange in color, smelled a little weird, but all that was nothing in the face of the fact that Erica Crowley didn't make tea.
"What's all this, then?" He asked wearily, eying the liquid like it was poison. "Laying the hospitality on a bit thick today."
Erica glanced up at him, "What do you mean?" She asked with a weird pitch to her voice.
"You don't make bloody tea, and you certainly don't use the bloody tea service for an everyday cuppa, so what's going on? Got James suing me, you want in on the pot, too? Was partly your money, wasn't it?"
Erica set the teapot down, abandoning the poured tea in favor of sitting back in the chair with her shoulders back and her chin held high.
"I want you to give him what he wants." She said simply.
Crowley snorted. "Hand him the deed now?"
"No, I mean I want you to call off the engagement." She said simply, easily, like she was asking him to finish preparing their cups.
Crowley blinked at her, scowling. "You … you like Ezra. You were happy for us. Why this sudden shift, what do you get out of it?"
"I get you not being an idiot." She said bluntly. "Look, yes, I like Ezra. He's a great man, and he's always been a great friend. I'm glad you two got together after all your pining and what not-"
"This is an awfully big shift in attitude, so I'm gonna ask again: what do you get out of this? If I go home right now, tell Ezra marriage isn't happening, what happens to you?"
She pursed her lips. "I get the house." She said simply. "And I get spousal support. Plus he'll withdraw his suite."
Crowley's nostrils flared, then he snickered, "So you waited until, what, three or four days out before deciding to go after me?"
"I didn't know until just before I called you," She said, sounding bitter. "Which is a fantastic way to find out what my ex-husband has been up to, by the way. Didn't hear it from you ."
"Right, well, I figured you had enough on your hands, what with the divorce and all. And what would you have said then, eh?"
"To call the damn thing off!" Erica said as she threw her hands out to the side.
"Why?" Crowley asked, scowling deeper. "Why should I let him win?"
"Because Ezra Fell is just a man," Erica retorted like it was obvious. "Listen to your father-"
"He is not-"
"James, whatever. Listen to him, and you would have kept everything you worked for, been comfortable."
"And I would have been heart broken." Crowley pointed out.
Erica waved it off. "You got over him once, you'd do it again." She said casually.
Anthony shook his head. "I didn't get over him, I never got over him."
"You slept with other people, had a baby with a woman-"
"My married friend-"
"And see, she didn't abandon everything to run off with you, did she? Her and I, we have that in common at least. Except she had the good sense to ask you if you wanted Warlock, instead of thinking it a great idea to try and pass him off as her husband's."
Crowley scoffed. "Yeah, we both know dad wouldn't have been able to take me on his own. Don't try and pull that." He crossed his arms. "You could have left James and raised me with him."
"And would you have had as good a life as you had?" She countered. "Think of how you never wanted for anything, think of how you were set for school. Hell, had you just kept your dalliances with boys quiet, you would have had your money that much sooner."
"Yeah, real good life that would've been, mum. Have to hide every bit of who I am, bow to the whims of a man who isn't even my dad so I could keep it all and get it sooner. Hell, that was the life I had anyway. If I'd have been smarter, I'd have washed my hands of him the moment he pushed me out of Oxford."
"You wouldn't have had anything to fall back on." Erica pointed out, softening her tone. "You'd have had to drop out of school, get a job."
"Yeah," Crowley said. "And I would have tried to find one in Oxford, be close to Ezra. Or I could have gone and lived with his sister in London for a bit, she'd have let me. I had choices, I was just too stupid to realize it."
"Anthony," Erica huffed. "It's… just call it off."
"No." He said with a shrug. "I'm not going to live like you, mum. You loved Tony, you did. You might still do, I dunno. But you made the choice to let him go. You made the choice to stay with James, because he was a family friend's son, and you two had been together forever. You made the choice to live comfortably, I'm choosing different. I'm choosing to make sure James Crowley is as gone from my life as he can be."
Erica held his eye for a long time, then nodded sinking back in the chair.
"I suppose I should be proud, you doing better than me." She grumbled. "It's just… can't you do this one thing? It's not like you have to actually break up. Just don't get married."
"No."
"Not even so I can keep the house?"
"No." Crowley laughed mirthlessly. "You left him, finally. This is the consequence. And what do you even want this house for anyway?" He asked, gesturing around at it. "It's not like it's in real close proximity to the hospital. Hardly like you have some sort of sentimental attachment to it."
"I hate moving." She grumbled.
Crowley gaped at her. "You wanted me to call off my engagement to the man I've loved since I was fourteen years old because you hate moving?" He asked incredulously.
"Well don't say it like that," Erica protested. "You make me sound petty."
"Mum, I love you, but you are petty. You're petty, and self-absorbed, and I'm afraid you're just going to have to realize that you aren't always going to get what you want. How I learned that lesson and you haven't is beyond me."
For a long, uncomfortable stretch, neither of them said anything. Crowley opted to look around the room, noting that there were no family pictures of any variety up on the wall, not even of Warlock. It all felt so flat, so lifeless. It certainly didn't feel like a home.
"I do like Ezra." Erica said after a bit. "I do like him, and I am glad you two are happy together. I just couldn't imagine loving someone enough to…. I guess my idea of happy and yours are somehow different, is all."
"You can't tell me that after not having dad in your life for all those years, after not seeing him for, what, fourteen? That you didn't want to just seize that second chance with both hands and run with it?"
He turned and met his mother's eyes, seeing them confused.
"I never got a second chance." She said. "He's married. It's an unconventional marriage, sure, but it's a marriage nonetheless. He can't ever give me what we could have had." She shrugged. "But if I'm honest… I don't know if I would have."
Crowley nodded, and for a fraction of a second, he actually felt bad for her. But it passed, and while he didn't like her very much at the moment, he knew she was his mum and he would continue to love her even if it took awhile for him to like her again.
It might be a long time before they get back to that point, but he knew that their relationship tended to ebb and flow, and eventually she would come around and be the mum he needed for her to be at least for a while.
For something to do, he leaned forward and picked up the tea, bringing it as far as just under his nose before he wrenched the cup away, sloshing a little over the rim. "What the bloody hell is that?" He asked.
Erica frowned at the cup. "I was almost out of black, green, and chamomile so I blended the three."
Crowley didn't say anything, he merely set the cup down and pulled out his phone to find the nearest cafe where they could sit with a proper cup together.
~A~
It was getting later in the afternoon, and Ezra was finally finishing the last of the work he'd been putting off in favor of reading and time with Anthony over the last week. His husband-to-be called about an hour ago to inquire what Ezra planned to make for dinner, and promised to pick up the ingredients as well as a few surprise treats from the city.
He was contemplating a cup of tea when he heard a knock on the door. Ezra double checked the time, seeing it was still far too early for it to be Lucas, but went to investigate anyway.
"Ah, Gabriel," He said as he opened the door, giving his friend a slight smile. "Unlike you to come to the house."
"Yeah," He agreed, coming in when Ezra stepped aside to let him. "I thought of maybe just calling, but I was in the area."
"It's fine, dear fellow," Ezra remarked as he closed the door, then went to the table to finish gathering his papers. "As it is, you caught me at an excellent time. I was just finishing up some things, and was going to put the kettle on."
Gabriel frowned, "Were you… grading?" He asked.
"I was, yes." Ezra said as he took the stack of papers and put them in his briefcase and closed it. "It's been a bit of a busy week here, and I hadn't gotten around to it." He put on the kettle, and began to gather what was needed for fixing a couple cups of tea.
After a few moments, Gabriel said, perplexed, "Why is it so quiet in here?"
Ezra chuckled. "Ah, yes. Anthony took the boys to his father's for the weekend. Then he went to meet his mother in London. He's likely on his way back, actually."
"Huh," Gabriel said, and Ezra turned to see him standing by the table looking rather torn. "Is it… do you two do that often? Send the boys off for the weekend?"
"No," Ezra replied. "But we're expecting a… well I suppose you could say we're having a work dinner for someone Anthony is currently working with. He's not terribly fond of children, and we also thought it best if we didn't have the boys around to listen in, nosy as they are."
Ezra thought it best not to mention the man was Lucas, or anything else in relation to the lawsuit. It was, in a way, bad enough that Gabriel was aware that Ezra was the owner of the Tadfield shop on paper.
"So things are… they're good?" He asked, not looking at Ezra.
"As they can be," Ezra replied, sounding as perplexed as he felt. "What's the matter, ol' chap?"
Gabriel sighed, then pulled out a chair. Before he could answer, the kettle was ready, and Ezra turned back to fix their tea.
Once the cups were fixed, he brought them to the table, then took a seat adjacent to Gabriel.
Gabriel looked at his cup rather than reaching for it, and Ezra waited him out, taking a sip of his own.
"I'm… I'm going to move back to London." Gabriel finally managed.
"Really?" Ezra asked.
"Yeah," He said. "I mean… I came here for you. And I know, I know, you never asked me to. I know, but I did it anyway because I had hoped, for a very long time, that I would be the one you chose. I hoped that maybe being closer would help, especially after…. But it's been a few years, and it's clear you're pretty set on Crowley."
"I am," Ezra nodded once. "But I have been since he came back into my life. And more so-"
"I know, you made it clear, time and again, that you didn't want me. I get it, I do, sunshine. I never wanted to, because that meant…." He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "I took one look at you and loved you. And I wanted… I expected… it's just…," He huffed.
"I understand." Ezra said soothingly, though made no move to physically reassure. "But why now ?"
Gabriel looked at him and smiled sadly. "Tadfield doesn't hold the appeal it used to, is all."
Ezra nodded slowly, sensing there was likely more that Gabriel wasn't saying, but didn't ask. And even if he thought to, the front door opened.
"Angel, I'm home." Anthony called, the rustling of a paper bag heard from the entryway.
Ezra stood, setting down the tea cup and going to help.
"Oh, goodness, Anthony." He said upon seeing the two paper bags filled with groceries. "I told you I already had some of the things we needed."
"I know." Anthony replied, kissing the corner of Ezra's mouth as Ezra took one of the bags to lessen the burden. "But I also grabbed a chocolate cake from a bakery I used to pop into from time to time. Thought you'd like it, even if Lu-"
"Gabriel's here," Ezra said quietly.
"Thought I saw the wanker's car on the curb." Anthony grumbled, but followed Ezra back into the kitchen and dining area with a smile. "Gabe," He called in greeting. "How are things?"
"He was just telling me he was planning on relocating back to London." Ezra said as they set the bags down on the counter.
"Is he now?" Anthony said, sounding genuinely intrigued. He turned to Gabriel, leaning back against the counter and crossing his arms. "I may just have a business proposition for you."
Ezra frowned, turning to look between the two men, seeing Gabriel's genuine surprise and Anthony's genuine grin.
"Y-you do?" Gabriel asked, looking briefly to Ezra for guidance he couldn't give.
"Yeah, see. I'm facing a bit of a legal… thing." Anthony said, waving his hand around.
"What are you playing at?" Ezra asked him, frowning.
"Relax, angel, I got this." Anthony assured him before moving to take the seat Ezra had before. "See, my adopted dad's being a bit of a dick. By Wednesday, I may not have full ownership of my shop in London. Now, I know the man, I know he'll try and go for all of it if he gets at least what he feels is his share, and frankly I think it might be fun to fuck him over if that's the case."
Gabriel pressed his tongue to the inside of his cheek, then made a sort of clicking noise before sitting back crossing his legs and folding his hands in his lap. "What did you have in mind?" He asked, revealing a side of himself Ezra had never seen. Gabriel's voice had even deepened to something more booming than normal, and Ezra was utterly fascinated.
And as he looked to Anthony, he watched his fiance shift as well. He sat up straight, resting one hand on the table in a pantomime of casual, his own voice becoming something very different.
"If this all goes pear shaped for me, I want to sell you my share of the Garden. At a reasonable price, of course, probably even lower than it's current worth." Anthony put the offer forward. "James Crowley will approach you to buy out the rest of it, at which point that decision will be entirely up to you. The man has seen the profit and loss reports for the shop for a couple years now, and is certain enough of the quality and reputation that he sends his interns to it to purchase flowers for his girlfriends. You could sell your share, which might be as low as forty percent, just so you're aware. Or, you could hold on to it. As of right now, the person who had been my partner from the beginning refuses to leave. They know what's about to happen, and they're encouraging the underlings to jump ship if it goes south. But, they're just enough of a… well, of a B to stay on board and make James Crowley's life hell. They will be the thing that keeps the business afloat, but they don't have quite the breadth of knowledge as I do."
"Why not offer to sell your share to them, then?" Gabriel asked.
"Bea doesn't want it." Crowley replied. "Never has. Bea could have had a share in it right from the beginning. They just want to work with the plants, that's all. They have no want or desire to run the business or be responsible for it."
"And what makes you think I would?" Gabriel asked.
"You've got the know-how. And while I know you're more of a trading sort of bloke, I think this would be a nice little niche hobby for you."
"It's an interesting offer you put out." Gabriel said placidly, his face not unlike one a poker player would have. "And I understand wanting to get out from underneath the man's thumb. But, what if he offers to sell me his share?"
Anthony scoffed. "You might be able to pull the wool over his eyes, I suppose. But the moment he makes a comment about a woman, and you don't respond exactly the way he thinks you should, he won't let you touch it. Oh, he won't come after you the way he did me. He didn't raise you, you don't have his name, and you're currently not about to marry a man."
"It's what it boils down to, does it?"
"Essentially."
"And how much will it bother you if I do sell him my share?"
"Only in so much that I think you'd be able to help Bea, but they're tough, and they can stand up to James Crowley well enough. If it comes to it, they know they have a spot with me here in Tadfield."
Gabriel stared a very long time, and moved only enough for his chest to rise and fall. Therefore, when he moved forward to offer Anthony his hand, Ezra was physically startled.
"You have a deal." Gabriel said, and Anthony took his hand.
"I'll keep you abreast of what's happening. And when my lawyer comes by tonight, I will tell him to have a document drawn up at the ready should it come to that."
"Am I actually witnessing this?" Ezra asked, more to himself than the others. "Is this … I almost think I've had dreams about this?"
"About what, angel?" Anthony asked, letting go of Gabriel's hand.
"Of the pair of you getting along."
"Let's not push it, sunshine." Gabriel said as he got up from the table. "I'll leave you two to get ready for your company." He said as he headed for the door.
"It was nice having you," Ezra called, only catching Gabriel's wave before he darted out the door. When it was closed, Ezra looked to Anthony. "This is the strangest afternoon I've had in a while."
"Wait until I tell you mine," Anthony replied as he got up from the table. "Need a hand?"
"Oh, yes," Ezra said, and the pair of them began working together to put things away and prepare for Lucas.
"I think we'll have what we need," Lucas said as he looked over everything he and Anthony had gathered over the last week.
They decided to have dinner first, and while some topics seemed oddly rough (Lucas' partner, for instance. He wouldn't say her name for anything), overall the men conversed with ease like old friends. Once the dishes were cleared, though, it became about business.
"I can't promise you a good outcome." Lucas continued. "The judge assigned to oversee everything, while not conservative, is very much of a literal mind. He may judge on James' side just because the money used was from him. But he's not going to weigh your choice of partner against you. That may actually be something that could, at least, cause James to have less than he'd like."
"I thought a judge had to be fair?" Ezra asked as he took a sip of his wine.
"They do, but they are human." Lucas replied. "They try not to bring their own, personal biases in, but they do tend to leak through. Like, for instance, you may know of a student who had a sibling who was quite rowdy. You wouldn't outright assume, or at least I hope you wouldn't, that the sibling currently in your class would be the same. But maybe you might watch them a little more than the others."
"I suppose you're right." Ezra agreed, and Anthony smirked at him. "I haven't consciously done it." He defended himself.
"No, suppose you didn't." Anthony agreed.
"Excuse me!" Ezra said, affronted, and Anthony laughed.
"Angel, you were wary of me when we first met because of who you saw me with. Don't lie, I know you were."
"I was," he grumbled. Then he turned to Lucas. "So the judge won't be against Anthony because of me, but are there other ways he could lose?"
"If you're wondering if anything in Anthony's appearance might make a judge leery…."
"Are you talking about my eyes?" Anthony asked, narrowing them.
Lucas blinked, staring at Anthony who currently had his brown lenses in. "Umm… why would I?"
"Those aren't his natural ones." Ezra said as Anthony left the room, mumbling something about getting the lens case.
"Alright." Lucas said, uncertain. "I merely meant that he wasn't expected to cut his hair, or cover his tattoo."
"Oh, hadn't even thought of that." Ezra said as Anthony returned, showing the case to Lucas before plunking down in his chair and opening it up. He then proceeded to remove his left lens, a process Ezra couldn't really watch but Lucas seemed fascinated by.
"Oh!" Came the man's exclamation, and Ezra looked up to see the odd combination of Anthony's proper eye along side of one still hidden under the dark brown coloring.
"Should I go like this, or?" Anthony asked, gesturing to the left side of his face.
"Umm…." Lucas blinked. "Best not. Might be seen as you wearing contacts… except… bloody hell, did anyone ever tell you those are very reptilian?"
Crowley laughed before reaching up to take out the other. "Yeah, got a lotta looks growing up. Didn't bother hiding them until I couldn't get a job, though."
"Forgive me for asking, but why do you keep them covered up at your own shop?"
Anthony shrugged. "Makes people uncomfortable."
"I suppose there's that." Lucas agreed, staring still. He shook himself. "As I was saying to Ezra, you don't need to change anything about your look. Well, anything else. Just show up on Tuesday clean and professional."
"Figured as much." Crowley nodded.
Lucas drained the last of his wine, then set the glass on the table. "We should meet there, at the courthouse, about a half hour before you're scheduled. And when you're there, regardless of what he might say, don't talk to James."
Anthony snorted. "Easy enough."
"Would it be a hindrance if I were there?" Ezra asked as Lucas rose.
"No." He replied. "You wouldn't be able to sit in on the proceedings, these things are usually done in a sort of conference room setting. But if you were to go to the courthouse, wait for Anthony, be seen there supporting him, one never knows if that will somehow make a difference."
"And you'll have the contract done up, the sale bit, ready to go for that bloke to sign?" Anthony asked.
"You tell me the price you two settle on. If Tuesday ends poorly, I can have the papers to you by Wednesday."
"Thank you, again, Lucas, for all you've done." Ezra said as he followed him to the door.
"It's what family does." Lucas said as if it was merely a line he'd been taught. Still, he smiled genuinely at Ezra as he got on his jacket. "I do wish things between Liza and I could have worked out. I'd like to think if we hadn't had such different desires, we could have made something."
Ezra wasn't sure if it was romantic thinking on Lucas' part, or if they really had had something special she'd kept quiet from the family. Either way, he smiled and nodded, because it was rather pointless to try and say otherwise at this point, and then bid goodnight to Lucas.
"It'll all be over soon, one way or another." Anthony commented as Ezra returned to the table.
"It will," Ezra agreed. "And then, perhaps, we can finally move on to happier things."
"Mmm," Anthony hummed, smirking up at Ezra. "All this will be a blip, won't it? In the grand scheme of things."
"It will be," Ezra agreed. "I wish I could say that there would be no more rough patches."
"Isn't that part of the vows?" Anthony teased. "Better or worse and all that."
"It is," Ezra smirked. "As is richer or poorer, but you had forgotten that bit for a moment."
"Hey, now." Anthony chided without heat. He grabbed Ezra's arm, pulling him down in his lap, holding him enough to bury his face in Ezra's neck. "Get you in the end, all that matters. You and the boys."
"I agree wholeheartedly." Ezra said, turning to place a kiss on Anthony's head before looking at the papers scattered on the table.
It felt like one last hurdle, but finally one they were prepared for. And in only a matter of days, it would be past them.