Safe & Sound//Sebastian Sallow

thirty-five.

I didn't bother to hide my hangover the next day. We were nearing the end of the school year anyway, so I just let my students use the class to study for their final exams. Sebastian and I didn't really say much to each other that morning, but what was there to say that we hadn't already said? Even without my hangover, my mood was shit.

Ominis sent an owl saying that Lira had reached out to him again asking to meet up. While Sebastian wanted to wait as long as possible, I could hardly stand waiting any longer. I talked him into meeting her Friday after classes in Diagon Alley.

My birthday on Wednesday came and went without much celebration. Neither of us were really in the mood to celebrate and Sebastian had already given me my gift. Ominis dropped by and gave me a gift, which I thought was sweet. He and Imelda had found a first edition copy of one of my favorite muggle books and got it for me. I thanked him profusely and made him promise to thank Imelda for me. The two of them seemed to be getting close, which made me happy.

Friday rolled around quickly and I was a bundle of nerves all day. By the time classes were over, I felt like I could throw up at any moment, I was so nervous. I hurried to my room to change, wanting to make myself presentable for some reason. I knew I shouldn't care what Lira thought of me, but I couldn't help but want to make a good first impression, especially if we were to be a part of each other's lives to some extent.

"Are you ready," I asked Sebastian once I felt okay with my appearance.

"No, but I suppose we should get going anyway," he sighed. We held hands and made our way to Diagon Alley.

The street was bustling with people shopping and enjoying the start of the weekend. The weather was lovely and everyone but us seemed to be in a good mood. I did my best to stay strong for Sebastian, as he looked like he was going to get sick. When we reached The Leaky Cauldron, I had to practically pull Sebastian in behind me.

It seemed that we were the first to arrive, so Sebastian picked a table while I got us each a butterbeer to help calm ourselves. We sat in silence as we nursed our drinks, looking up expectantly anytime the door would open. Eventually, a woman with dark brown, almost black, wavy hair walked in holding a little boy with chestnut hair. We both stood up as she walked closer to us.

"Hi, Sebastian," Lira greeted. She looked just as uncomfortable as I felt. "And you must be Althea. It's lovely to meet you." She held out her free hand and I shook it.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Lira. And who's this little gentleman," I asked, motioning to the cute little boy who was trying to hide behind his mom's hair. There was no denying that he was Sebastian's son. His facial features alone were enough to calm any hesitations.

"This is Emery. He's a bit shy," she said.

"Hi, Emery. It's nice to meet you," I greeted, smiling at him. He gave me a small smile in return. I looked over at Sebastian who looked pale as a ghost. He had yet to say anything.

"I guess you both can imagine why I wanted us to get together," Lira said as she sat down. Sebastian and I sat as well.

"We have a pretty good idea," I nodded.

"He's mine," Sebastian finally spoke, barely over a whisper.

"He is," Lira confirmed.

"Why are you just now telling me," he asked, finally finding his voice. "Why didn't you tell me before you had him?"

"We'd just finalized our divorce and, in all honesty, I expected to have another loss. When it looked like I was actually going to get through the pregnancy, half a year had passed and I didn't want to burden you, especially since we'd agreed to not speak again. I wouldn't have reached out at all, but Emery has started asking about his dad and I just couldn't lie to him."