Sins of the Father | Sebastian x OFC (Caroline Rookwood) | Ominis x Garreth

Chapter 29: To Love and Be Loved

Ominis

**

To love and to be loved were not synonymous in meaning. To love meant to give and shower the object of your affections with warmth and sweetness. It was meant to be an unconditional love. It meant to forgive the wrongs carved into the edges of your love's entire being. But to be loved meant to lay yourself bare— it meant to show your love the entirety of your soul in the hopes they would accept it all.

Ominis had always considered he loved many times in his lifetime, but not in the way he learned to love from a certain Garreth Weasley. He thought loving Garreth would be easy, with his bright personality, infectious smile, and boisterous laughs. But Ominis learned in a few short months that loving was no easy task. Loving Garreth meant sharing pieces of him with his family and their friends. It meant that though Ominis could sit and sulk at the twit of laughter from interested girls as they coo'ed at Garreth's soft hair or his way with potions, he could not begrudge the world of Garreth's dreams. To love Garreth meant accepting the inevitability of having his sheets hogged by his love at some point during the night. And to love Garreth meant being willing to put his happiness above his own covered in soot, slime, and other matter from a failed potion—because if Garreth was happy, Ominis was happy.

But to be loved was an entirely different matter to him. Though he could give his love to Garreth, the empty ache in his soul could only begin to be filled once he laid himself bare before him. Exposed of his family legacy, his misdeeds, and all the wrongs he had done. Stripped down to the faults that lay within him—his jealousy, his pride, and his quick judgment. They were traits that scarred and twisted a man from the inside out. And though they were traits Ominis thought he would hold from time to time in his life, he never thought he would have to hold them in Garreth's hands.

**

He grunted at the sudden jerk of Garreth's weight on him, the sound of their door opening and closing rapidly.

"Oh, Merlin!"

"Sebastian!" Ominis sighed, as the stammer of voices, the rustling of his sheets, and Garreth's yelp sounded around him as he fell to the floor, "Did you not see the tie?"

"I told her!" The squeak of his voice shaky as the sound of pacing began to fill the room, "I told Caroline."

"Told Caroline, what?"

"About Solomon—"

Ominis bristled, sitting up to fumble for his wand and trousers ignoring Sebastian's unintelligible groaning of self-pity as he paced faster around the room. He was trying to remain calm—There were slight heaves in Sebastian's breath as he paced, his words scattered as he tried to explain himself. Ominis turned to the shuffle of Garreth as he stood from the floor, "Garreth—"

"Not to worry, my beloved— I'll leave you and Sebastian to talk," bless him— Ominis thought as Garreth pushed his trousers and robe in his hand before giving him a quick kiss and a whisper, "I'll go check and see on Caroline if she's still in the Undercroft." He nodded gratefully, swallowing any other anxiety welling to the surface. If Garreth could focus on Caroline, he could focus on getting Sebastian righted.

The sound of the door clicking closed was overshadowed by the sound of Sebastian's mumbling—a mix of words in his Scottish tongue and all the swears known to wizardkind. There was a waver in his voice, the changes in pitch catching at what he likened as the sobs caught in his throat.

"Sebastian..." Ominis sighed, following the sound of his feet as they moved left and right.

"She's never going to look at me the same again."