Brunch, Announcements and Awkwardness

Keiran's eyebrow lifted in surprise at her distant response, unsure where to go after her question. “I don't...” He paused, blinked, and tried again. “I don't want you mad at me. I've already messed up today.”

He couldn't help but wish he could go back to yesterday. What could have happened since the day before and that morning? In less than an hour, he had seemingly ruined everything they had gained the day before. His hand came to rub his neck in a combination of embarrassment and frustration as he stared down the steps with a furrowed brow. Millie almost seemed to deflate after a moment, making him look up at her with concern.

She was sorry? No one seemed to know what was going on in this place, he mused without amusement. Keiran's gut told him that things would get worse before they got better, but he was often one to trust his head over his instincts. They clearly hadn't done him any good that morning. Millie set a kiss just next to his mouth before he sat himself down properly, arms resting on his knees.

His gaze settled over the expanse beyond Robin's land, but as he spoke he glanced at her again. “Someone needs to just develop a time machine already.” Keiran shook his head, wanting to give a small laugh at his attempt at a joke but not quite finding it in him. Instead he absentmindedly turned his ring around his finger as Millie had done the day before.

Letting out a huff, Keiran stood and offered her a hand if she wanted to return with him. “Still hungry? I have to go back.” He didn't voice the rest of what he was thinking, but the thoughts floated through his mind. I have to fix this if I want to get back to how I was yesterday.

Keiran's disappearance made Avery tense for a moment before extending a hand to Robin to take the bowl. Her hand gripped the rim and she released a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Upon gathering the right ingredients and returning to his side, Avery noted that a glance in his direction held surprising comfort. He was smiling, and then suddenly laughing, automatically drawing a smile from her as well.

A most unexpected blush rose at the idea that they weren't normal, though Avery knew it was perfectly accurate and that she couldn't change it at this point. Maybe if the law hadn't happened, they would have been good friends. Sure, she liked him before the meeting as something that she wished could be hers. But with knowing everything that had happened with Claire in the past, Avery wasn't sure he would have tried for anything more. The cheeky part of her suggested that she could have talked him into it, but the more sensible part of her laughed at the idea. She decided that it probably wouldn't be best to tell him, but she was secretly grateful for the Ministry for putting her together with someone who could challenge her in one breath, then turn around and make her laugh or just make things comfortable.

“Something like that. Or, I do at least.” She shrugged, grinning at him for a moment before looking back down at the bowl and stirring. Avery was glad she hadn't set anything into a pan yet – she was distracted and could have, in all probability, burned anything she'd set to cook.

Avery accepted his one-armed hug as the kiss pressed to her temple, but due to the spattering of pancake mix on her fingers she had to tell herself to refrain from the gesture. Instead she rested her head against the side of his shoulder and tilted her head to look up at him with a nod and an accepting smile. She lifted herself up onto her toes, aiming a kiss at his cheek in return.

If Millie was perfectly honest she wasn’t really angry with him. What she had reacted to was the sense that there had been a rupture of relationships. That she couldn’t condone. She loathed it. She was terrified of the idea that the fragile world they’d made would collapse and disappear before it had even existed long enough to be enjoyed. She’d lived through a torrent of arguments followed by rows followed by round after round of bickering. She didn’t want anymore. She’d cut herself off from her mother for that explicit reason. Life with Kieran had been easy. She didn’t want that to change, regardless of what provoked that adjustment.

“Overreacted,” she explained away, slipping her hand into his. “Just, don’t want you to be angry either. Not with me, not with Avery, not with Robin, not with anyone. I just needed a minute. A smidgen of time. I want everything to be calm. There’s no need for rocking waters. What is happening is going to happen regardless of what you want or what Avery or Robin wants. I just want us all to be friends. Friends at the very least. So if we’re going back in there. We are all friends.”

Millie rose to her feet with a smile and laughed a little. She shook her head a little, disbelieving the ‘make up’ that had succeeded so sublimely the ‘break up’ that had occurred for a moment there.

“Let’s go back in then,” she murmured.

Keiran nearly started asking again if she was feeling alright, but at his enquiry earlier she hadn't seemed very pleased to have to answer. Better to let her have the time without showing any judgement or asking any tough questions she wouldn't want to answer. So Keiran just nodded in return for her explanation. “I'm not mad, love. Not really. More confused. They don't know each other like they think they do, which is worse than not knowing at all. Presuming you understand someone is hardly the grounds for something like this.”

It felt a little weird, Keiran mused, when it wasn't Avery chiding him but instead the other way around. Especially when he somehow managed to go a little contemplative over the whole thing like he just had. Shaking off the strange feeling, he let his thumb brush over the back of her hand. Keiran wasn't sure they could just go right back to using obvious touches or even a kiss on her head to portray an attempt at comfort.

Things felt almost awkward now – but not to the point where he wanted to act differently because of it. Keiran had to keep himself both together and in line if he wanted the rest of their brunch meeting to go even remotely well. He pulled the door open, gestured that she should go on ahead, and then followed after keeping the door from slamming shut behind them. On his return, Keiran wondered if perhaps they should have just left. Avery and Robin seemed to have cooled off a little and were talking amongst themselves, Avery practically leaning on her match. The word felt so strange, even just to think it. Keiran just knew he would have to keep an eye on them.

Robin felt an unexpected comfort in Avery's touch. He was glad was she leaned into him and he felt himself lean into her in return. Her soft kiss lingered on his cheek and for a moment he had to resist an urge to lean down and brush her lips. Robin couldn't help but question his solace at this moment and knew it would be selfish to indulge himself in the impulse after Avery's emotional turmoil only minutes before. So he settled for the innocent touch she permitted him, continuing to quietly marvel at the newness of it.

Avery confused him. She had appeared on the verge of breaking in the bathroom but now stood like a pillar of strength beside him. Well, not exactly. But close enough to puzzle Robin about her true nature. Was she a strong woman who had her moments of weakness? Or a weak woman who was just very good at playing strong? Either way, the answer was slightly worrisome to the young man who was ill-equipped to handle any sort of weakness. He was barely able to handle his own.

Robin was just beginning to forget about the other obligations this brunch entitled when Keiran and Melissa reentered the room. Robin gave his fiancee a final squeeze and released his half-hug, feeling slightly uncomfortable in front of his best friend after his outburst earlier. Avery and Robin were just testing the waters of their newly formed relationship - each touch and tentative kiss was a step forward towards their preassigned fate, though neither seemed particularly reluctant to accept their situation.

The young man had just begun to have some faith. Their warm greeting at the meeting had been a monumental relief and the lunch after had only re-enforced his belief that they really could make something half-decent come out of this. Robin was slightly disappointed that this promising start had become so quickly spoiled - and by no one less than his best friend. Though to give Keiran some credit he would have never expected Robin's engagement, planned or unplanned.

When Keiran and Millie had settled back in to the kitchen Robin turned and gave the younger woman a smile. "Can I get you something to drink, Millie? We have orange juice.. water.. milk?" Robin glanced to Avery as if she should be well versed in the household beverage selection.

Avery smiled against Robin's cheek before lowering back down from her tiptoes and returning her gaze to the mix she was stirring. She could practically feel his eyes on her as she worked, making her smirk a bit before the noise of a door opening and closing caught her attention. Robin released her as she turned to look at Keiran and Millie. The former was seemingly still a bit disgruntled, while the latter almost looked embarrassed to be back in the house. Both made Avery slightly nervous.

Robin looked to her like she would have some clue as to what was in his house. All she could really find was the alcohol, and that probably wasn't a decent point to make – especially not that early in the morning. Instead, she turned and lifted the milk jug she'd been using to make the pancakes. “Any of those sound right?” she asked, trying to diffuse the tension.

- - -

Keiran led Millie back to the bar where their plates remained, eying Robin carefully. Somehow he had turned Avery around in mere minutes, which was a feat Keiran had only seem Mira or himself manage. And maybe his mum sometimes. But that wasn't the point. It was almost amazing, this change. Either Avery had decided she wasn't at all ready to explain things to Robin and they had passed over it entirely, or he really had done something to fix it. He wasn't sure which option concerned him more.

“I'll go for water,” Keiran said after a moment, watching Avery as she nodded and went for a glass, passing it to him once it was filled. He nodded his thanks before she turned away to start pouring the mix into the frying pan. It had been ages since he'd seen her cook – not since his house the past Christmas. Merlin, it had been forever. It was hilarious, really, how funny Avery was when she cooked. If nothing else, she could entertain Robin for days. Sometimes she ended up humming to herself, or flipping pancakes if that was the order of the day just because she could, or even dancing a little if there was music for doing so.

Today, mind, was entirely different. She was stiff, for lack of a better word, and glanced frequently over her shoulder at everyone else. Her eyes met his, like she had known he was watching, and she frowned before turning away. Although Keiran hadn't expected his apology to work, he'd certainly hoped for better than this.

“Was there anything else you needed to tell us?” He asked carefully, not wanting to set anyone off again.

Avery slipped a spatula under her pancake and flipped it before looking over at Robin with questioning eyes. “Um, I can't think of anything specific. It was mostly to, you know, let you know. We don't have long to get ready for everything, and since you two had already gone through it..” She trailed off and shrugged, shaking the frying pan a bit to move the batter around.

"Right." He nodded, looking over to Millie. Things had been a bit better as of late, considering where they had started. "Missie, you have anything you think we should mention?" He had to think through things that had happened, so, yes, he was stalling a bit. But in the end he hoped that if they helped the two standing across the bar from him and his wife, things could slowly start to go back to normal.