With a look of absolute seriousness, a man who was not quite used to appearing "human" fussed with his hair as he and his boyfriend drove down the street. With the other at the wheel, Logan stared into the mirror on the back of the sunvisor in the passenger seat, wondering how on earth he was going to get his thick black locks to cooperate with him. Really, he wasn't used to this at all.
"You look good. You don't need to keep messing with it." Kristopherson said to him, keeping his eyes on the road. Logan stared at himself a little while longer before answering as he thought he might be on the right track.
"I don't know how to get it to look right without styling around my horns. My forehead looks so big..." the incubus sighed. This was dreadful. He knew that he had agreed to come with his beau while visiting the wolfman's parent's house, but worried immensely about fitting in.
"Your forehead is not big..." his boyfriend answered with a smile. "You're just not used to it."
Rubbing his forehead where his horns would usually be, the incubus pouted. "It's just wrong."
"Mum and dad don't mind if you look human or not." Kristopherson said before pausing to think. "Though, I don't know about Ana. I don't know if her husband is coming, either."
"Your mum would probably want me to wear fifty articles of clothing if I were blue..."
"Not to fill you with dread or anything, but she will. I'm pretty sure she has designs already."
"She works fast..."
"She's a master at her craft. I am but a mere amateur."
The pair pulled into the driveway and parked the car in front of Kristopherson's former home. It was needlessly big by Logan's standards and upon seeing it, he felt a fresh wave of anxiety that went unsoothed by the sound of the engine shutting off. Turning to face him was his boyfriend, who wore a comforting smile on his face as he reached for Logan's hand.
"You'll be fine." the wolfman said. "Believe it or not, my parents actually really like you, and not just because you're blue."
"Why's that?" Logan questioned with an arched brow.
"You're honest, considerate, and offer to help out, which always impresses people's parents." stated the faux-blonde.
The incubus simply stared back at him for a moment while trying to come up with something to say. In the end, he came out with: "The bar is placed weirdly low."
"You've met my ex."
Nodding, Logan seemed to understand before both of them started taking off their seatbelts. Kristopherson got out and opened the door to the backseat, grabbing the things that they brought with them. "Need any help?" Logan questioned.
"Uh..." Kristopherson paused while his brain caught up with him, moving his focus from balancing a box of tarts that the pair picked up on the way while rummaging around. "Yeah. If you could take this box, that would be fantastic."
With his hands now free, Kristopherson could round up all of the bags. The wolfman had put the straps of both his own and Logan's suitcases over his shoulders so that they formed an "X" pattern across his chest, while piling the handles of several shopping bags on both arms. He then proceeded to shut the door to the car with his foot, prompting the other to snicker at him.
"You can make more than one trip or have me carry something else, you know." the incubus informed.
"No. I can't. Sorry, I don't make the rules. Why do you think I do all that lifting at the gym? I've trained for this day."
"This is a 'you're just weird' thing, and not a 'human' thing, right?"
"Wrong. Trying to carry all of the bags at once is the human condition." his boyfriend replied while walking to the front door. "Besides, if your hands were full too, who would ring the bell?"
Rolling his eyes, Logan pushed the button and they both waited for someone to answer the door. Eventually, it was answered by Kristopherson's mother, the fabulous woman who was the origin of all of Kristopherson's knowledge of fashion and glamourous disposition. She was made up, as the two men were expected and greeted them with open arms, only to stop herself when she saw her son.
"Logan, quick! You need to get inside, darling. You don't deserve to have to deal with that weird fellow right there." she said while tugging at the incubus' arm and watching her son's face out of the corner of her eye. The smirk she wore only widened when her child whined.
"Mum!" Kristopherson groaned while walking toward the door, only for it to be closed in front of him.
"I'm not your mother anymore. Logan is my son, now. You're just a bag-monster and bag-monsters don't need to be let inside, darling."
"MUM!"
"Hello, Andrea." Logan greeted while he and his boyfriend's mother tuned out the man on the other side of the door. "How has your day been?"
"It's been wonderful, darling! Now that fall is on our doorstep, that means it's time to design winter fashion!" the woman replied.
"Is winter especially fun or something?"
"Of course it is~! I get to use whatever fabric I want!"
Both of them were interrupted by the sound of Kristopherson kicking the front door. Logan thought about letting him in for a moment, but then there was part of him that wondered just how far exactly this was going to go. His curiosity got the better of him, so he left it up to Andrea to decide whether they let him in or not. Neither of them got to make a choice, however, as while he and Andrea were talking, a man around Andrea's age made his way toward the door. Upon opening it, he was greeted by a rather peeved-looking Kristopherson.
"Thanks, dad." the faux-blonde said before turning his attention to the other two. "At least someone loves me."
"You ruined it, Christopher." his mother huffed with her hands on her hips. "I wanted to see how long he would actually stand there!"
"What else is he supposed to do?" the older man asked while taking a few bags from his son. "Get in his car and go home?"
"I don't know. He's a smart boy. He'll figure something out."
"You're so mean!" Kristopherson whined right back, failing to realise that he was exactly the same way. Logan stared at him, waiting for him to make the connection, but he never did.
"It wouldn't have been so bad if you didn't try to carry everything in at once." the incubus informed, only to earn a pout.
"It would have worked out fine if you weren't such a little traitor!"
"Would anyone care for a tart?" Logan offered while changing the subject and holding up the single box that his boyfriend allowed him to carry in.
"Let's put those in the kitchen." offered the wolfman's mother, while the man's father helped him remove the bags from his arms.
"You've brought a haul this time, haven't you, Kristopherson?" Christopher asked, setting things down in the living room. "Your mother is going to start decorating again."
"I was telling her about Gehennan culture and about their art, so I thought I might pick her up a thing or two." The younger replied, earning a bit of a skeptical look from his father.
"'A thing or two?'"
"She now has a good sample of things."
"You know her too well, son..." the older chuckled while Kristopherson set the last of the shopping bags down. "Why don't you go put your bags up in your old room, yeah?"
"Alright."
"Christopher!" Andrea called out to her husband, tart in hand. "You need to try these! According to Logan, they're from a bakery in Gehenna! They're to die for!"
"We told the woman who runs the bakery that we were going to see the Andrea that Andrea's is named after, and she few in a few extra." Logan added with a smile.
"You hear that, darling? Even supernatural beings know about my designs." with her free hand, Mrs. Miles pretended to throw her hair over her shoulder in a dramatic fashion, despite it being cut too short. "What have you done, dear?"
"I'm an award winning actor whose been in more movies that have reached international acclaim than I can count. Surely, someone in Gehenna has heard of me." her husband replied. "Right, Logan?"
"Well..." the incubus trailed off, trying to think of something to say. "I'm sure it's possible."
While he was attempting to be polite, Andrea still cackled at the answer. Meanwhile, Christopher rolled his eyes. "I knew you'd have my back, Logan."
"Anything to help, Mister Miles."
"Yeah, you two have your laughs. I'm about to be knighted!" the older man stated, prompting Logan to nod while pretending he understood the significance of this.
"Oh! Good for you!" The Kendrick said somewhat unconvincingly.
"The Queen herself is going to give me a title." Christopher reiterated.
"That's… a good thing?"
"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you."
"No, I'm very sorry. I support you, though."
By this point, Andrea was gasping for air and worrying about her makeup running from the tears in her eyes. She was loving this perhaps way more than she ought to be, but for that moment, she didn't really care. While she was proud of her husband's achievement and supported him with everything she had, she couldn't help but laugh.
"Kristopherson tried to explain it but I still don't quite understand, I'm sorry." A slight blush appeared on Logan's face as the worry that he had just made a major faux-pas started to creep in.
"It's alright, Logan." Mister Miles reassured. "You don't really do titles like we do in Gehenna, do you?"
"No. The only thing close is judges and doctors and the like. Nothing given to you by a queen. I-I actually still have a bit of trouble wrapping my head around the whole 'Queen' thing."
"Right, that makes sense."
"I'm really sorry."
"No, no, it's alright, Logan. Don't worry about it."
When Kristopherson finally made it back downstairs, he paused at the sight of his boyfriend and his father standing awkwardly while his mother was stifling her laughter. Taking a deep breath, the wolfman tried to prepare himself for whatever it is that he had just wandered into.
A/N: This was fun to write. I'll continue it in another chapter. Maybe I'll cut to something else for the next one and then back after that? Who knows? I certainly don't.
I want more warm family interactions. There's so much drama with so many of these people that it's nice for a change.
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
