Chapter Fifty-Eight
Dinner is Served
Valerius Estate: August 20, 2010 – Night
Azrial had to physically force Aeliana to sit down. Even then, it took Marcus giving his sister a pointed look to stop her from fretting over the dining room. The woman was doing her best to make everything appear welcoming to the Winchester parents, but the undercurrent of stress from everyone else was making Aeliana overthink.
Once her sister-in-law was settled, Azrial took a sip of wine and ran her eyes over everything. She had no hope of this being a peaceful dinner and had purposefully only allowed wine to be served. Cassiopeia and Orion had escaped by the skin of their teeth and good planning. Cassiopeia successfully argued that if she were there, Thanatos would have to come since they were mates, which would only add kindling to John's fiery temper. Orion had pointed out that going without his twin would be rude and that his time was better used elsewhere. Cassius and Giaus had taken one look at Aeliana's stressed cleaning and decided they were urgently needed down in the camp. Lucky bastards. Felix had tried the same thing, but Marcus had grabbed him by the back of his toga and dragged him to get ready. Her husband was of the firm opinion if he was going to suffer, so would his brother-in-law. Misery loves company, and nothing promotes family bonding like a reluctant formal dinner.
"Feels like a damn funeral in here," Bobby said as he walked into the room.
She hummed in agreement, taking in his cleaned-up appearance. He hadn't gone over the top in any way, just a dress shirt, nice jeans, and his dress boots. It was more effort than she expected John to put in, and she had a feeling that was the point. He was trying to visibly show he was putting in an effort for the sake of his boys. It was sweet.
"Hopefully, the food will stay on the table," she said drily. "I've already prohibited any alcohol beyond wine from being served."
"I'm sure that will go over like a lead balloon," Bobby said. "You look good."
Azrial smiled, smoothing down the skirt of her emerald sundress. She'd done something like Bobby, putting effort into her appearance without going over the top. Her hair was in a half up half down style, and she was even wearing flats for the first time she could remember with a dress. She'd removed the armband from Marcus, choosing to wear no jewelry tonight. She doubted the Winchester parents had even put together that her and Marcus were married, so she had forgone a stola despite Aeliana wanting her dressed as lady of the house. They weren't interacting much with anyone from what she heard. The only reason they hadn't been called out on the lack of help was because of the tense situation with Sam and Dean.
"Thank you. You clean up well yourself," she teased.
He chuckled, but the amusement didn't reach his eyes. Dean and Castiel entered next, dressed very similar to Bobby. Azrial decided to try and lighten the mood when she saw how tense they both were.
"Did I miss the memo that went out with this dinner?" Azrial joked. "I've never seen hunters clean up so nicely!"
Dean snorted, gently shoving by her with a half-smile. "Same to you, archangel. We figured since Aeliana was putting in so much effort, it would be a good idea."
"I appreciate it," Azrial said. "Her, Marcus, and Felix should be down shortly. Have you seen Sam?"
Dean shook his head. "Not recently."
"He's been with your parents since he got off training."
Azrial looked over at Gabriel's voice as he and Rowena entered. She couldn't help the amused smile at how they were dressed. Their little makeshift family clearly had some ESP going between them because even Rowena, who normally dressed in elegant gowns, was in a subdued purple summer dress. Gabriel shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, frowning thoughtfully.
"He asked me for a change of clothes via prayer. Guessin' your mom convinced him to stay and talk until dinner."
Dean nodded slowly. "Yeah, I could see that happening."
Crowley entered the room quietly, having forgone his suit jacket. He walked toward her, and Azrial raised an eyebrow as he nuzzled her neck with a sigh.
"Bad day?" she whispered as the others talked.
"Just tiring. I was helping Gabriel finalize a few things for tomorrow."
"You can beg off dinner," she said. "Sam and Dean would understand."
"They might, but we need to be here for Robert."
Azrial kissed his cheek, letting him keep her enclosed in his arms. Bobby had clearly heard Crowley's words because he glanced over them with a half-smile that did manage to reach his eyes. Marcus entered, flanked by Aeliana and Felix. Romans, she'd learned long ago, didn't really do casual for large dinners. It's why she'd decided not to let Aeliana dress her. It was also a big contributor to Cassius fleeing the villa as if it were on fire when he heard of the meal. The extra steps taken to look presentable for a dinner party meant all three would appear extremely overdressed to Mary and John. Azrial figured the two would excuse the three Romans since it was their culture, whereas the rest of them wouldn't get the same understanding if they dressed as their personalities normally dictated.
"The three of you look lovely," Azrial said with a smile. "Aeliana, green truly is your color, sister."
It wasn't the same dark green Azrial had chosen, but rather a beautiful pastel shade that made Aeliana's golden eyes and tanned olive skin shine.
"Same to you," Aeliana said happily. "Have our guests not arrived yet?"
The mild fretting in her voice made Azrial's smile falter. "Not yet," she said lightly. "But it is a bit of a walk, and we only gave an estimate on the time."
Azrial may as well have summoned the remaining three people. Sam came in, his smile uncomfortably tight and dressed very similarly to everyone else. It made his parents' casual clothing stand out, and she noted John looked a bit disgruntled as he took note of everyone. Mary, for her part, didn't seem to care. She'd zeroed in on Dean and made a beeline straight toward the nervous man.
"Hey, Mom, it's good to—" Dean began but was cut off by the woman pulling him into a bear hug.
Azrial shooed everyone to their seats, giving the mother and son a much-needed moment. In avoiding John, Dean and his mother hadn't had the chance to reunite. She wasn't going to let the moment be ruined by people gawking. It also gave her a chance to make sure everyone was seated to best prevent any fights. Her and Aeliana had agonized for at least an hour to make sure no one felt too awkward next to their dining partner, and she wasn't letting it get ruined.
Marcus good-naturedly raised his hands as he made his way to the head of the table. Crowley followed, sitting on his right. Felix sat next to Crowley, the rest of the right side rounded out by Aeliana, John, Mary, and Castiel. It had been a rather large debate of whether to put Dean next to his mother or Castiel. Azrial had the sense Dean would rather a bit of space between his parents, and Castiel had no qualms with Mary. She was counting on the Winchester matriarch to keep her husband in check and hoped that her faith wasn't misplaced. The left side of the table started with her at Marcus' side, old habits and all that. Next to her was Bobby since she had the distinct impression the man would have a gun on him, and they were trying to avoid him shooting John. At least for now. Then Rowena, Sam, Gabriel, and Dean. Azrial had agonized about putting Sam across from John after she'd heard how ugly their fights could get from Bobby.
The issue was that if she put Bobby, Gabriel, or Rowena across from the man, more than words would be flung. Bullets, grace, and magic were far more disruptive to dinner than a few nasty words. Dean was across from Castiel in hopes that he'd be able to pull strength from his mate. It may not be enough, but it was the best Azrial could do given the circumstances.
John shot her an annoyed look at being directed to his chair, but Azrial kept a polite smile plastered on her lips. At least he sat down, which was a win in her book. Since everyone else had been seated, it was extremely clear to Mary and Dean where to sit when they broke apart. She didn't count on the painfully awkward silence that followed them sitting down, though. Death give her strength.
"I hope you are enjoying the villa," Aeliana said cheerfully to John and Mary. "It is so lovely to see how it has flourished, both in size and community."
Aeliana's warm disposition, coupled with wine being poured, seemed to break a bit of the dourness around John. He still didn't say anything, though, so Mary hurriedly tried to make up for it.
"Your home is very lovely," Mary said. "I've never seen so many different flowers in one place."
"Many were gifts," Aeliana explained. "It started with one grand gift, and then a tradition grew that whenever a courtship began, it was expected that the first gift would be flowers."
"Really? That sounds like a lovely tradition. Did it start with you?" Mary's genuine interest seemed to loosen the tension in Marcus and Felix's shoulders, as well as Sam and Dean's. Even if their father couldn't be sociable, it seemed their mother was willing to try for their sake.
"Oh, not me." Aeliana's smile turned wistful. "My first courting gift was a lovely necklace made with mother of pearl. It was later passed down through the family, as I understand it."
"It is part of the family jewelry collection," Azrial said. "A piece always marveled at by daughters of the family the first time they see it."
Felix looked pleased with himself as he sipped his wine. "Better than flowers, is it not, brother?" Felix teased Marcus.
Marcus rolled his eyes. "I would say my flowers were well received, considering the estate now has three gardens."
"They were from you then?" Mary asked.
"For my wife, yes," Marcus said. "I was at a loss for what to do for my first courting gift. Then, I found a flowering vine that only bloomed at night and shone as brightly as her eyes. I wound those vines around a stone arch and planted other flowers around it. To my understanding, that arch now leads to the matriarch's personal garden."
Azrial couldn't quite hide her blush, ducking her head and sipping her wine. Bobby chuckled softly at her side, gently nudging her under the table. "He's always making the rest of us look bad."
Mary was too busy cooing over the thoughtfulness of the gesture to hear Bobby's comment, but John did. "How is he making you look bad? Times have changed."
Bobby moved his gaze to John, and Azrial squeezed his knee. "Marcus is a romantic under all his army training. He treated his wife like a goddess, so it's been an ongoing joke that he makes the rest of us look bad."
Good save, she silently cheered. She was right then; John hadn't realized shewas Marcus' wife. She wondered how much the man had bothered to learn before tonight. Clearly, his desire to stay away from people he dubbed 'creatures' had limited his intelligence gathering. That, or he still expected his sons to tell him everything the moment he got them alone. She was putting her money on that being the case.
"It is not my fault that romance has fallen into shadow," Marcus argued. "Maybe you should all work on meeting the standards I once did."
"Somehow, we'd still fall short of your standards," Bobby ribbed. "I've seen the garden in question after all, and somehow, despite the world ending, new flowers have been planted."
Azrial blinked in surprise, shooting a covert glance at Marcus. He'd looked away, sipping his wine to hide a soft dusting of pink across his face.
"I have no idea what you speak of," Marcus said.
Dean muttered something at the end of the table that caused Castiel and Gabriel to snort their wine. John's sour look made her a bit uncomfortable, especially given how thoughtful Marcus' gift was.
"Do you miss her?" Mary asked. "Since you're here, I mean. It must be hard being without her."
Marcus frowned, not looking at the woman. "I would rather not speak further about it," he said.
He didn't want to lie, Azrial realized with a painful twinge. Dean let out a disgruntled snort, and Azrial glanced down the table at him.
"How have you not heard about Marcus' wife yet?" Dean asked. "The soldiers talk about her constantly."
"We only spend time with the hunters that came back," John said flatly.
Dean rolled his eyes. "Of course. Why bother coming back if you weren't going to help?"
Azrial winced, and Bobby squeezed her knee this time to stop her from butting in. Dean was staring his father down, clearly waiting for a response. Mary looked between the two, frowning at the tension that hung between them. John cleared his throat, cutting through the heavy silence.
"I'm here to save the world and make sure my sons have a future," he said amicably.
Dean raised an eyebrow but hummed in understanding. "Then you should know something so you don't continue being inadvertently rude to the people hosting you."
"What's that?" John asked.
Dean gestured to her, and Azrial was surprised by the hard look in his eyes. "Azrial is the Valerius matriarch. That inside joke you dismissed earlier was about Marcus' courting gift to her."
Mary paled at that, shooting a worried glance her way. "I'm so sorry. We hadn't realized—"
"It's fine," Azrial said, hoping to calm the woman who was already overwhelmed. "We thought it best to keep it to ourselves since you and your husband are not aware of Roman etiquette."
"And they are?" John asked, gesturing around the table. "There's no way my sons-"
Dean laughed, and to Azrial's surprise, he responded fluently in the ancient Roman dialect taught on the villa grounds. "Sam and I are very aware of the expectations of our station in this house."
"Damn," Bobby breathed into his wine glass.
Azrial felt warmth coil in her chest as Dean turned toward her, respect shining past the annoyance in his eyes. "We thank you for your patronage, Domina Valerius. Our lives would not be what they are without you."
She took a shuddering breath, too shocked to give the proper response to what was basically the preamble to an oath of fealty. She felt the tears stinging her eyes and blinked a few times to get rid of them. She refused to cry in front of John Winchester, of all fucking people, even if Dean had just yanked on all her heartstrings at once. Dean didn't wait for a response, though, turning back to his father with a flat look.
"Anything else you think Sam and I don't understand?"
The gauntlet was thrown, and they hadn't even reached the first course.
"Well, now that you've made the archangel weepy, why don't we get a refill on wine?" Crowley asked, breaking the tense stare off.
Dean sighed, looking away from his father. "Wine sounds good," he agreed softly.
Marcus didn't even hesitate to wave someone over before leaning over to her. "Are you well?"
She nodded, not quite ready to speak yet. Marcus hummed, shooting an appreciative glance at Dean as he straightened. Azrial sipped her wine, Bobby's fingers running soothing circles on her thigh the only thing grounding her. This was certainly not how she expected the dinner to start.