I've been waiting

Preparing for War

Arthur and I agreed Lucas and Maxwell should learn how to defend themselves against an unexpected enemy. It was unlikely, but Gwen's message had said the war would be soon, and now these boys were attached to us, they were attached to the war. So they had to be ready. I finally got to meet Alex when they came to deliver some old journals from Gwen and her Husband who as it turned out had been a magic user, hence the magical bloodline. 
They were an attractive person, short brown hair curling at their temples, bright green eyes and tanned skin, a masculine frame but a feminine voice, a very intriguing pair of grey dungarees, a camo tee, and black leather boots completing the gender neutral ensemble. Max was sad they weren't wearing their blue boots anymore, but found a new obsession with the cactus Pin they were wearing.
"My girlfriend says it's like me, spikey on the outside, but squishy on the inside." They laughed, handing it to Max to fiddle with. After having them over for lunch, i realised we got along very well, and Lucas had taken a liking to them, sharing a strange grunge fashion sense, a love of music, and a weariness of other people. 
Lucas was sad to see them go, but Alex agreed to come over again in the week to help Max with his Magical training, after all the more sorcerers, the better. Before he vanished to his room, once again, not to be seen until dinner, i stopped him and asked him if we could talk. He sat on the step hesitantly, and waited for me to say something.
"Look, I'm not sure-"
"I knew it, you want to toss us out again, huh? I been too difficult? Max been too annoying? Was it the comment i made about-"
"Woah! I was just gonna say, I'm not sure why your still refusing to talk to us, but i guess i know now..." I stared at him, he looked suddenly so small. "You really thought we were just going to chuck you out? Really? We love you, both of you..."
Lucas was silent, looking down at his shoes, fiddling with his laces. 
"Look, I'll prove it to you shall i? Give me a day to get the legal stuff sorted, but i'll write you into my will, you and your brother. You'll get this place when i die, and half of everything I own. That way, you can see i'm serious about you boys being part of this family." I patted Lucas on the back, trying to limit contact, as i was under the impression he wasn't much of a physical person.
Lucas proved me wrong, leaping at me, and wrapping his arms around my neck; i hugged him back, my arms sliding all the way around his slim body, a smile emerging on my face. When he finally pulled away, his face was red.
"Uh... you don't need to-"
"Nonsense, What's the point in having wealth if you can't pass it on to someone?" I chuckled, and he smiled, a real, full face, eyes crinkling smile. "I need you to know... We're never going to abandon you. We're a family now. Like it or not." He nodded.
"By the way, i was thinking, now you trust us- i assume you trust us- you and your brother could have different rooms, then you could do what you wanted with it- paint it, put posters up, anything you like. You think that'd be a good idea? Then Max would have more room for his toys too"
"I guess if it would be good for Max" He grinned, obviously pleased. "I guess i could make it work"
"I bet you could" I laughed, ruffling his hair. "Go pick one then, start moving whatever you want to take with you"

Once we'd helped Lucas move rooms, the rest of the week was spend reading through spell books and putting up protective spells around the house. Alex helped us, claiming their speciality was actually offensive not defensive magic, but that they'd like to learn some more to help protect their girlfriend. Lucas spent most of the days hovering near them, looking over their shoulder at books and humming rock music. Max on the other hand, spent his time turning paper into butterflies, and bringing plants back to life, which although beautiful, wouldn't help much when it came to needing to protect himself.
"Hey, Lucas, can we talk?" Arthur asked, as Alex was busy teaching Max to create a protective shield. He glanced up from his book and nodded, jogging over.
"We, uh, wanted to talk to you about something..." He said, planting a hand gently on Lucas' shoulder. "We want to adopt you and your brother"
Lucas tilted his head in confusion. "I thought we already kinda were?"
"We want to make it official. I can forge the documents, but we wanted your permission before we legally made you our son, it should be your decision" I said, praying to god that he would want us to be his guardians. Max was not even a question, he obviously already saw us as that.
"Oh, well i guess that's be cool. It's just a formality? I mean we already live with you, and eat your food and mess up your clean floors."
"Although that's mostly you" I smiled. Lucas pulled a face but mostly ignored my comment.
"So... yeah, I'd like to be your 'son' and i know Max made his mind up weeks ago" He scratched his arm awkwardly. "Can i go now?"
Arthur pulled him into a sudden, unexpected hug, a huge smile on his face, and Lucas let him, leaning into the embrace without hugging back- which I'd learnt was as good as a real hug from any other person.

We introduced Lucas and Max to Lee over the weekend, and though it came as a huge surprise, he was proud of us, and took a liking to the boys very quickly. He brought his niece over the next weekend- unexpectedly i might add, causing quite a hassle as Max had been setting fire to the curtains with his mind two seconds before the doorbell rang, a spell i wasn't best pleased Alex had taught him. I remembered the Chrissie from photos, and i had met her once when she was 7, but she had blossomed into a beautiful child, she looked a lot like Lee in fact, delicate cheekbones but a strong jaw and bright shimmering eyes, dark skin made more stunning by the white dress she wore, her frizzy hair dyed a vibrant shade of blue. Not that she could tell how pretty she was, the poor girl had been blind since she was 5.
Now, she was Lucas' age. And boy did he notice her. He spent most of the evening offering to get things for her, complementing her, and trying to get her to tell him every little thing about herself. As it turned out, she was a musician, and he was thrilled to find they had something in common. After they left, he went to his room and shuffled the songs they'd been talking about- mostly classic rock, with some indie and disco songs thrown in. Later that evening, when i strolled past his door, forming a huge fire bolt in my hand to hurl out of the window- A spell Alex had taught me that i was practicing, though i was surprised they knew any magic i didn't- i heard him singing along, his voice practically perfect for the song. I hadn't realised how good he was. 

After I'd tucked Max in that night, i went to check on Lucas, and found him passed out at the desk, paper strewn everywhere, his laptop open in front of him but dead, music still blearing through his headphones. Arthur helped me carry him very gently to the bed, and pull the blanket over him, turning off the music and plugging the laptop. I wondered idly what he'd been doing, but didn't have long to think about it before Arthur was dragging me to our room and kissing me softly.
"I need you Merlin... " He growled huskily, locking the door behind us and tugging me in by my shirt. "Their asleep now. Let me have you. Please"
I nodded, short of breath, and let him push the shirt off my shoulder as we locked lips passionately, completely lost in each other's being. I helped him out of his sweater, and pushed him towards the bed, never breaking our kiss, as if i needed him to breathe.