Clawen • What comes next

|| CHAPTER 63 ||

           

A couple of weeks later, the three of them were playing a boardgame in the living room. They were having a good time when suddenly out of nowhere, Maisie asked. "Weren't you going to get married?" Looking between the two, curiously, as she waited for an answer. Claire smacked her lips and moved her pawn forward. Owen leaned back in his seat on the couch, putting an arm behind Claire, who leaned back into him after making her move. They both shrugged, neither of them having thought much about it. "I guess it will happen at some point" Owen said, secretly hoping that Claire felt the same way. That she still wanted to and that she didn't feel like it had to be soon. "Yea, I don't think either of us have thought much about it, but eventually I think it will happen. Just have to find the right time for it" Claire said, luckily agreeing with Owen.

Maisie didn't seem happy about that answer, like she wanted them to get married tomorrow. "Why do you ask sweetie?" Claire then asked, slowly stroking Owen's knee. Maisie shrugged. "I don't know...Was just scared you weren't going to do it anymore" She then said, avoiding eye contact with them both. Owen tilted his head at her, bumping into Claire's who was already weighing in his direction. "Don't worry, it will at some point. I won't forgive myself if I don't make it official" Owen said, pulling away slightly to look at Claire and see how she felt. "Yea, same here" She whispered, running a hand through his hair, before going in for a quick kiss.

Maisie was smiling at them from the other couch, bending forward to move her pawn. "Good" She simply said. A few minutes went by with not many words exchanged until Maisie spoke again. "Are you going to have a wedding then?" She asked. Owen moved his pawn, expecting Claire to answer in the meantime. Thinking she knew what she wanted. Big or small or nothing at all. But to his surprise, she looked just as unsure of what she wanted, as he did. "Hon?" He then said, to get her attention and maybe an answer if he was lucky.

Claire's head turned to look at Owen, her lips smiling in a nonchalant way, as she shrugged. "I don't know...What do you want?" She asked, leaning forward to move her pawn. He looked shocked, clearly having been preparing himself for whatever gigantic event Claire had thought of. "What? I don't know, I thought you had it all planned" He said, kind of nervous, hoping it didn't sound mean or offensive in any way. "Did you now?" She asked, smirking over at him. It took him a second because of all the fear, to notice that she was playing with him. He nodded a couple times, before looking back at the board in front of him. She bumped her shoulder into him lightly, smiling from ear to ear. "If I have to be honest, I want it as small as possible...I don't want all the hype and the huge crowd of people that we haven't seen for 10 years and won't see again for another 10. It's not me" Claire said.

Owen hummed in agreement, extremely happy that he was marrying a woman how wanted 20 people instead of 200. "We should probably wait till Charlie is a bit older" Owen said, placing his hand on Claire's thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze. She gave him a smile and nodded. "Yea...Neither of our parents have met...Well any of us?" Claire said, realizing that she never met Owen's parents, or his sister. She briefly met his brother but that wasn't planned. He hadn't met her parents either, so apart from a wedding, it was going to be a big everyone meeting everyone sort of party. Claire wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"Yea, I told you my parents live in Europe because they're...well...my parents and they don't give many damns. But I think they'd spare some money to come to their son's wedding" Owen said, making Claire look at him with a sympathetic look, realizing that he barely ever spoke about his parents. She didn't know what to make of it, but decided to take that on later. "My mom and dad live on the other side of the country. They don't get out much. I mean me and Karen see them from time to time, sometimes pressuring me to fly to them, since they can't be bothered to fly to me" Claire said, huffing a laugh, thinking about her, kind of selfish parents.

Later in the evening, after Charlie had finally gone to sleep after, what felt like hours of feeding and burping and god knows what else. Claire could feel her head about to explode, before Charlie finally gave in and let her poor parents rest. After Owen had made sure Maisie had made it to bed, he crawled into their own. Making himself comfortable and ready for Claire to crawl in by his side.

When she finally did, it didn't take her more than a second, before she slung her leg over his and her arm over his middle, pulling her body as close to his as possible. When she sighed contently and closed her eyes, ready for sleep, she realized that there was still something burning at the back of her mind. Something that would bother her until the sun came up, if she didn't get it out before she tried to sleep.

"Owen" She whispered, as she slowly ran her fingers over his middle. He hummed, to let her know he was listening. She thought about what to say and how, for quite some time, before actually speaking. "Why don't you talk about your parents?" She asked in a low voice. She could feel his heavy sigh, almost rocking both their bodies. "I...don't know, not much to talk about I guess" He said, tightening his hold on her, for the extra amount of comfort she knew he needed to have this conversation. "I've only ever heard you talk about them once, and all you said, was that they live in Europe and that your dad likes fishing" Claire said, followed by a kiss to his shoulder, making him know she was here and that he could tell her anything.

For the longest time, she thought he had fallen asleep. But when he finally spoke, she came to realize that he had just been thinking hard and long about what to say and how to put it. "Remember my brother?" He asked and she nodded against him, giving his middle a little squeeze to urge to keep going. "Well I don't think I have to say much. I think you already know where I'm going with this" He said, followed by another deep sigh.

Claire felt herself sigh with him. "They don't approve of his sexuality" She said, not bothering to make it sound like a question. Owen hummed and Claire could feel the vibrations in her whole body. "Like at all?" She asked, still a whisper. "My mom is trying her hardest to accept him, at least she was, the last time I talked to them. My dad refuses, so both him and my brother aren't speaking. I thought about cutting off the contact between them as well, because it makes me so angry that they can't accept and love their own blood, just because of who he loves" Owen said.

Throughout it, she could start to hear more and more tears, trying to make their way through. She was very aware that none of them were going to make it, because that was Owen. Even if he felt as safe as humanly possible, he barely ever cried. It had to be way worse than this, to send him over the edge. Claire thought for a long time, not really knowing what to say.

"So, do you still want them at the wedding?" She asked. "I'm not sure. I'm sure I want Derek there, but I'm not sure I want to be the reason for hell breaking loose, by inviting them. On the other hand, I do still talk to them, not every week, or even every month but we do catch up from time to time. Not inviting them to my own wedding and letting them meet you. The woman of my dreams...And Maisie and Charlie. I'm not sure if I can rob them of that..." Owen said. Claire left a few more kisses to his shoulder, pulling herself closer, getting slightly on top of him in the process.

"Well as you said earlier. We should probably wait, so you have plenty of time to figure it out" Claire said and waited a few seconds, before Owen grabbed her chin, tilting her head upwards, giving her a big tender kiss. "God, I love you so much" He whispered, going in for another one, kissing her cheek, then the other. Claire couldn't help her growing smile, when he kissed her forehead and finished it off with a kiss to the tip of her nose. "I love you too, you dork" She whispered before pulling him down for a last kiss.

I know this was probably boring as all hell, but I'm trying to slowly fit everything together. Hence these kinds of chapters.

I put in some fluff for you guys. Well aware that you're all high on that stuff. No worries, me too!!