So raise your glass if you are wrong,
In all the right ways,
All my underdogs,
We will never be never be, anything but loud
And nitty gritty dirty little freaks
Won't you come on and come on and raise your glass,
Just come on and come on and raise your glass
"Raise Your Glass" -P!nk
He says her name for the first time, and it rolls off his tongue with such seductive grace that Nesta steels her back, suppressing the shiver that threatens to work its way down her spine. The man from the bar, Cassian, is most decidedly dangerous, far more dangerous than she realized at the bar if he's friends with her sister. Friends with an ease she's yet to see with any of her other friends judging by the way she laughs so freely at their jokes and jabs. When Nesta sits at the table, she wonders at the family Feyre seems to have created for herself and it burns a bit.
There's a tense and awkward silence at the table, one that Elain attempts to abolish by trying to talk to Az, who is the least dangerous looking of the group, but the conversation soon lags. Lags until Mor shimmies her way out of the booth, and turns to the table.
"I'm going to go get us drinks," she declares with a smile, and when Nesta goes to protest stating that she's perfectly fine with her water, because Nesta needs to stick to her ridiculously strict budget or next month the whole starving student thing won't really be a myth. But Mor insists, "Don't be silly. Rhys is paying anyway, aren't you cousin?"
Rhys rolls his eyes and groans dramatically, but it's all for show and Mor knows that. So she kisses his cheek and slinks off into the crowd in the direction of the bar. Feyre explains in her wake that Rhys' dad owned The Night Court and passed it down to his son as well as several other properties and clubs around the city including the townhouse that the two of them share with Mor. So yes, on nights like these where they all go out, Rhys often foots the bill. But something else in the exchange catches Nesta's attention.
"Wait, cousin?" Nesta says, eyes narrowing on Rhys, "I thought Azriel and Cassian were your brothers, and if she's your cousin…"
"Mor is my cousin in the loosest sense of the word. Her dad and my dad are something like second cousins once removed, or something like that. As for Az and Cas…"
"We're adopted," Cassian interrupts, proud grin on his face. Rhys and Azriel nod in confirmation. Nesta turns that icy glare his direction again and Cassian's grin falters a bit.
"Adopted?" Elain asks and there's something in the sweetness of her tone that begs for the story.
Rhys looks at Cassian, knowing it's his story to tell.
"My mom died when I was little," he begins, shifting his focus between the two sisters, "She never listed my father on my birth certificate and we were the only family each other had, so I got tossed into the foster care system. I was a pretty unruly kid, so I bounced around from family to family for a while. I met Rhys when we were eight. The family I was with at the time lived in the same school district as him and we were in the same class together. I took one look at him with his clean clothes and brand new sneakers and I wanted them for myself."
"He was a scrappy little guy who loved to pick fights," Rhys adds with a smirk.
"Hey, you try living off hand me downs." There's a joking smile on Cassian's face that doesn't quite meet his eyes that makes Nesta reassess him for a moment, until he adds, "Besides, you were so clean and new and looked… different, and I'd beaten every boy our age twice over already."
Rhys shakes his head and laughs with the rest of the table, who have obviously heard the story enough times to know what's coming.
"Anyway," Rhys continues the story when Cassian doesn't pick it back up, "He beat the snot out of me, but I got in a few good shots in before our teacher pulled him off me and sent us to the principal's office. They called our parents to come pick us up and my mom got there just in time to see Cas' foster dad slap Cassian in the parking lot. I'd never seen her so pissed in my life. My mother was soft and fiery and beloved by everyone she met. When she found out Cas was in the system, she called his social worker directly. Dad had a lot of pull with the city back then and they managed to get Cas out of the system and with us."
"Were you friends after that?" Elain asks.
"Hell no!" Cassian says with a laugh. This time the smile is genuine as the two brothers exchange looks. "It wasn't until we were eleven and Az joined us that we even tried to get along. Rhys' mom was friends with Az's mom and when she passed, rather than living with his asshole of a dad, he came to live with us. Which was a good thing cause his stepmom and half brothers were real pieces of work too."
Azriel nods, the quieter man looking like he wants to melt into the shadows, but Mor chooses that point to return to the table. He brightens instantly, all traces of shadows clinging to his eyes disappearing in a blink. She sets down a tray filled with shot glasses and Nesta blinks in surprise at the copious amount of alcohol there.
"I'm back," she sings. "And I brought some social lubricant!"